The Largest Gold Nugget Ever Found on Earth

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

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[@bobkoroua]

When I was there in 87 there was a nugget that was found by a guy waiting for a bus. It was huge.

[@revolutionaryhamburger]

Warning. Watching this video could give viewers gold fever.

[@Skilled4dathrill39]

Or amplify preexisting gold fever... aaaahhhhhhh! when the narrator said they found it in a dark colored quartz rock...my heart rate skyrocketed... few days ago, while following bears through the forest on my property, I came across a massive tree that had fallen a long time ago, it's root ball were 75% exposed. in the dirt that was where the tree used to be standing was several pieces of quartz among a soap stone vien... out of curiosity I dug up many pieces of quartz, but one was really big and took over an hour to get loose. once loose, lol, I discovered it is about 20 inches by 23 inches, has dar coloring in it and views of black going through it. But when I went to lift it, I discovered that I can hardly lift the thing. and when I did, I could only maintain holding it for about 10 to 15 seconds, it's too heavy and the hillside dirt is too soft. my feet just push the dirt down hill, no way I can carry it anywher. so I'm making a cable pully block mechanismto get it up the hill... and now I'm super excited.... please, please, please be a giant gold nugget inside this insanely heavy, rock!

[@jesseallan3886]

That is 71kg and some change for those of us who use the metric system.

[@jesseallan3886]

@KyleWhite-f4r cool story

[@anothergoldprospector]

Awesome bit of Victoria's Gold history thanks for your take on the most famous nugget found to date.

[@Aabergm]

51 Seconds new PB. Love your vids BTW. Always facinating.

[@chairmanrexton956]

I used to be a mine guide at Sovereign Hill many moons ago, and liked to tell a less detailed version of this story. I had no idea there were some doubts about the finders’ legitimate claim to the nugget though. Fascinating!

[@webmaster4980]

Holtermann Nugget, the largest gold specimen ever found, 59 inches (1.5 m) long, weighing 630 pounds (290 kg) and with an estimated gold content of 3,000 troy ounces (93 kg), found at Hill End, near Bathurst,

[@steventeter3332]

Yeah I was thinking about that God I remember seeing a picture of that nugget and it was damn near up to the guy's armpit

[@benandjillmchenry9005]

wasn't a nugget - was an ore specimen....

[@webmaster4980]

No matter what you label it, it is and has been considered a blood big nugget for nearly 200 years.. however, having said that, understand an even bigger one was found in South America somewhere in the 1990s

[@peter.wilson]

It's also rumoured that the same mine later found a larger nugget. After removing the first nugget, which took much time and effort and was then still melted down, they broke up the second larger nugget to ease bringing it to the surface.

[@steventeter3332]

@@benandjillmchenry9005 A Boulder. To big for a nugget. Won't fit in your pocket.

[@dave-hp3rf]

I am to old now and a disabled war veteran but I always wanted to go after gold ,to anyone in the business there is still plenty of gold in Australia,to those in America some have come and found gold well keep coming.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

Thank you for your service, mate, and for sharing that encouragement. It’s never too late to stay connected to the gold hunting community, and you're absolutely right-there’s still plenty of gold to be found in Australia! It’s incredible how much wealth is still hidden beneath the surface, and for those who can go out there, whether they’re in Australia or even from the US, there’s always a chance to strike it lucky. Your passion for gold hunting lives on, and your words will inspire many to keep searching!

[@Max_Flashheart]

Great video. The lesson is move it fast and sell it quick.

[@MrWombatty]

Many of those flocking to the Victorian goldfields were extremely keen to become rich from gold, but had no intention of digging for it!

[@rossphilpot7080]

I played junior cricket for Moliagul C.C. in the early 90s. We were coached by Dick Deason. I guess he was a descendant of John Deason. I wish I'd known at the time so I could ask him about it.

[@julieannepatterson3295]

i really enjoy your vids cheers

[@logic.and.reasoning]

We need a 5 degree spead, 50m deep metal detection coil... Dreams are free😊

[@alaska_gold]

DIGHEM and its variants have been around since the 1980's.

[@ericvanvlandren8987]

The “on Earth” qualifier is odd. Has anyone ever found a gold nugget anywhere off Earth?

[@ManfiCat]

thought the same thing

[@petert3355]

Not yet. But pretty sure it WILL happen at some point.

[@daniellarge9784]

Yes, gold has been indirectly observed by astronomers. Examination of emission and absorption lines in the electromagnetic spectrum can positively identify both elements and compounds in space. Yes, gold has been detected in the remenents of super novas.

[@ericvanvlandren8987]

Surely you would agree there is a world of difference between finding a lump of gold (a nugget) that you can actually touch and using a telescope to detect the spectral lines of gold in the light of some celestial body millions or billions of miles away? “Finding a nugget” as a phrase must necessarily encompass the property of “on Earth”.

[@patster4040]

Agree, how would we know if one had been found other than on Earth? But meanwhile the Drake Equation implies one pretty much must have been.😊

[@Radio_FM_3123]

It may contain the "fingerprint" of the instant of supernova explosion which is more valuable than the gold itself.

[@Albon29yd]

Canadian Gully, Ballarat holds the record of most unearthed nuggets over 1000 ounces.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

It sure is one of the most richest places. The Blacksmith’s Lead, was one of the richest and most celebrated spots in Ballarat’s goldfields, producing staggering amounts of gold that fueled much of the excitement and frenzy during the gold rush.

[@johnk-pc2zx]

Great stuff mate.

[@120downunder]

Awesome work 👍

[@goss1961]

Long ago, people used to think gold nuggets were the poop of some magical animal. In the story of the goose that laid golden eggs, it was golden poop originally. And the thing about catching a leprechaun and holding on to him until he provides a pot of gold.....think about it.

[@danielflinn3571]

Thanks for sharing well done

[@famousfoodd.i.y3737]

Hey mate very interesting video as usual. On another note, I can't find one of your previous videos where you found a gold reef. What has happened to the gold reef you discovered?

[@TheRoon4660]

Can the music. Do not drown out your narrator with noise of any sort. Save your music for pauses in the narrative. Even quiet music is annoying.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

@OzGeology Could you please discuss silver in Australia? I think silver gets overshadowed by gold. Is there any platinum in Australia?

[@daniellarge9784]

I'm pretty sure the Mt Isa mine has silver and platinum.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

Hey Eric! That's definitely on the agenda. We have a silver mine in St Arnaud in Victoria, but one of the most famous silver mines are in Broken Hill in New South Wales. BHP is actually named after Broken Hill as that's where they started their legacy and I intend to travel there in the near future and get some footage of the huge open cuts there. Stay tuned!

[@Slayeranon]

They still finding big nuggets in the golden triangle to this day

[@rosa9079]

When I was very young and 7 decades ago, I read a book about Lassiter’s lost reef. Can’t remember where this was.

[@Beeroclock81]

N.T

[@markissboi3583]

I was told by dunolly locals it was found in doomsday hill where we where married at the Dunolly festival 1980s A school girl stubbed her foot on a rock & took it home to show her parents a few days L8tr her father seen the sun shine thru the window on kitchen table and seen it was Gold $2.5k worth the legend of Lasseter's Gold Reef story still fasinates me 1 mile long should be a movie about it see a few Documentrys

[@unoriginalsyn]

I know I've said it before but I think it's time for Lasseter's Reef ❤

[@timandrews1613]

If it's not a fable

[@unoriginalsyn]

@@timandrews1613 well I still think it's an important story regardless and I would be interested in OzGeology's take on the wether the geological makeup of the area would support the idea of a gold reef and so on, plus it's a pretty epic story 👍

[@markissboi3583]

Like a movie made about it somwhere near alice springs thought left but now its right near a dry lake its rear as the tassie tiger But if true ? oh boy your name be world famous australia Imagine finding it and some locals see you digging & go claim its a sacred site there ancestors once did a dance there & the Govt takes it all Tell no one anything just chip a bit away a time wheelbarrow wud do me 1 mile gold that wud plummet the gold price from $3.5k down to $500

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

Agreed! It's coming, I started a script on it a few days ago. I'm mainly trying to add in where it could possibly be by reviewing geological structures in the area. I suspect it has something to do with the Petermann ranges, but there's some sources that state Lasseter might've found it in the opposite location of where he claims it was (in the east) so I'm looking at areas there too. Stay tuned!

[@timandrews1613]

@@unoriginalsyn Sure is, the Gold he brought back came from somewhere

[@stucar7677]

Thanks from Cornwall

[@chrismalcomson7640]

These days its value as the largest gold nugget ever discovered would at least double its value.

[@BlueEyed888]

So $12 million USD .. ..until a larger nugget is discovered. 😂

[@robmadaffari6270]

Should do one on the Beta mine discovery a couple of years back. Was an old nickel mine below a salt lake that recently turned up some of the largest gold reefs with free mill gold. Has been well documented.

[@lucdaigle2394]

The largest mass of gold was found in Western Australia's Beta Hunt mine a few years ago, over 9000 ounces of gold in an under ground mine, the mass was broken due to the actions of mining, which if left to the actions of erosion weathering and time could have eventually become the worlds largest "nugget".

[@Flyingdutchy33]

At the bottom of the sketch it says: "THE WELCOME STRANGER" from a photograph by Webber, Jun.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

In the 19th century, especially during the early years of photography, it wasn't uncommon for some sketches or illustrations to be labeled as "photographs" or "photogravures" if they were reproduced using photographic processes, even though they were originally drawn by hand.

[@Flyingdutchy33]

@@OzGeologyOfficial So what it says at the bottom would translate to: "a drawing from a drawing"?

[@bigjm3143]

Prettiest gold comes from Australia 😊 wish our gold was that pretty on America

[@larryleejohnson2821]

Larry Lee Johnson in Miami Florida, there's a 49 POUND Nugget at the Gold Miners Musium in Central California. I was found in Jamestown California making a Horrible noise that they stopped everything at the Mine to carry the 49 POUND NUGGET to the mine office with the weight print out.

[@ingtao]

Finally! Somone using AI for a good reason! Great video!

[@philbophilbo4945]

Hi. You make great videos. Thank You. Was the Holteman nugget considered to be a nugget or a specimen

[@adhawk5632]

Speci

[@LopuDesigns]

Bloke recently found a potato nug here in VIC 🙏 bought a Pajero with it 🙌🙌🙌

[@dataglasses]

We just had a get together for Pete's Gold Adventures there on the weekend, sadly my gold monster did not find an equally as exciting occurrence ......

[@QuickFixTips]

YIKES!! That sure would be worth digging for, yes? HA! Thanks Oz!

[@jeffreywickens3379]

Fascinating.

[@jeremyborders]

I would not no what too do, GOD IS GOOD AND HAS EVERYTHING WE NEED OWN HIS EARTH 🌍 CONGRATULATIONS 👍👑🇮🇱🇺🇸👑☝️🦁🙏

[@toddjones1403]

Larger ones are still out there…

[@MrWombatty]

Unfortunately, modern highly mechanised mining methods would tend to break up large quartz impregnated nuggets like the Welcome Stranger before they were spotted. Same sort of thing happens with diamond & other gemstone mining operations!

[@scarabeo52]

Read a report today about some Australian research linking gold nuggets, quartz, and the piezoelectic effect.

[@markhepworth]

Was just reading the same,fascinating!

[@ninjamoves3642]

what's the relationship? Granodiorite?

[@GoddaryuTUBE]

@@ninjamoves3642 pressure from tectonic activity causes pressure on the quartz which causes the piezoelectric effect and the charge being released all the time over time make quartz act like a magnet for the gold

[@ninjamoves3642]

@@GoddaryuTUBE 😯 wow, cos of golds conductivity

[@jennyohara4011]

I went all the way there to see the presentation area where they said it was in Moliagul but never found it

[@Goldpan-SuntanNM]

Now that's what I need to find!

[@jumboegg5845]

The nugget in the back of the wagon (1:08) looks to be about a metre long and half that in girth. So its more than twice as big as the actual nugget, which it said was about 610 x 310 mm. Or maybe its a hobbit's wagon.

[@MrWombatty]

Many of those flocking to the Victorian goldfields were extremely keen to become rich from gold, but had no intention of digging for it!

[@leenonolee4629]

Of course greedy people seeing that fortune in gold would declare that the original finders were claim jumping. That is what thieves would always say when they wanted to claim someone else's gold.

[@tasd5673]

How much for a good gold detector? Is there much up in north qld

[@geosid1696]

There is not much if you dream about. Get out have a crack and let all know how you fare or not.

[@ninjamoves3642]

they didn't find it with one, just a shovel & pick costs $50 at Bunnings

[@ProspectingLife]

Interesting how the Welcome Stranger “Nugget” contains a large percentage of quartz and still claims it’s “Nugget” title, but the Holtermann Nugget is classed as “gold in matrix/quartz specimen” and not a “Nugget” yet it contained twice as much gold in a single slub than the “quartz filled” Welcome Stranger.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

That's a great observation! The distinction between the Welcome Stranger Nugget and the Holtermann Specimen comes down largely to how the gold was found and the form in which it appeared. The Welcome Stranger is considered a true nugget because it was almost entirely made up of gold, despite some quartz content, and found in an alluvial setting where it was weathered out of its host rock. On the other hand, the Holtermann Specimen was a massive slab of gold still embedded in quartz, which is why it's referred to as a "specimen" rather than a nugget. While the Holtermann Specimen contained more gold, its classification comes from it being a large piece of gold still within the rock matrix, rather than a naturally weathered piece of free gold like the Welcome Stranger. Nuggets typically refer to naturally weathered gold that has broken free from the host rock, while specimens, like Holtermann's, are gold still in its original quartz matrix.

[@ProspectingLife]

@@OzGeologyOfficial cheers for the clarification mate. Strangely enough I’ll be in HillEnd tomorrow on the hunt for gold nuggets with the trusty detector, so fingers crossed your reply brings me a little luck on the gold. 👍🏽

[@Yakomoe]

Lmao all time calculations are based on guess work.

[@jasonthompson5324]

Great video once again

[@ray.shoesmith]

A bit over $6.5 mill AUD in pure gold weight alone in todays prices

[@dalesmth1]

I believe there was a nugget found in the western US that weighed in at around 3,200 ounces, or 200 lbs.

[@jimcockburn4652]

When the Coolgardie goldfield was first found the prospectors called it the "spud patch". I wonder what other goldfields had potato size nuggets.

[@christopherslane7830]

The title. “Largest on Earth”, makes me wonder what the record is for off Earth.

[@TStheDeplorable]

At current prices the gold is worth $6 Million USD.

[@allinski]

My Dad used to prospect Dunolly, i wnrt with him a couple of times as a little fella. He found a few nuggets over the years.

[@glassontherocks]

How big was the one found on Mars?

[@lorditsprobingtime6668]

I find this, plus google results confusing and I'm pretty sure wrong. I seem to remember it being something about definition of "nugget" vs "specimen" or possibly the fact that the one I have ties to, and even a bunch of the original photographs broke in half while being winched out of the mine at Hill End., Looking at the google results the Welcome Stranger weighed 79 kgs and the biggest specimen "Pepita Canaã" is stated as being nearly 61 kgs while Holterman's nugget at nearly 5 foot tall weighed TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY Kilograms! Is there something I'm somehow missing here? It seems to me, whichever way you describe it, that's a LOT bigger. I'm not trying to be argumentative and even google search for largest nugget OR specimen name other ones yet Holtermand was more than three times the size of the Welcome Stranger. Google conflicts with itself so, it's very confusing. I can say with certainty, with Holterman standing beside it, it's huge!

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Victoria just can't give up it's status as superior. The rest of us know the reality.

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

I see where the confusion comes from, and it mostly revolves around how we define a "nugget" versus a "specimen." The Welcome Stranger is considered the largest nugget because it was almost entirely gold, despite being found with some quartz and soil material-it’s essentially a solid mass of gold. On the other hand, the Holtermann Nugget, although much larger in overall size and weight, was primarily a gold specimen with a significant amount of quartz. The quartz made up a large part of its size and weight, which is why it’s not classified as a nugget. So, while the Holtermann Nugget was enormous and impressive, the Welcome Stranger's near-pure gold content makes it the largest true nugget. This distinction in gold content and composition is why there seems to be conflicting information online.

[@lorditsprobingtime6668]

@@OzGeologyOfficial Ah, thanks for that. It's along the lines of what I sort of remembered. I did read that there was a lot of other material and the figure I quoted for weight was including that. Even so, the amount of gold was still greater so I still can't help feeling a bit cheated by the classification of it neither being the biggest nugget OR the biggest specimen. Family pride plays a part but, it still did contain more gold than the others, so there lol. In my efforts years ago I dredged for gold, trying to make a living at it but failed. I only ever found 1 piece of gold metal detecting but, while only about 3 pennyweight it was straight off a reef and only a little over 1mm thick but woven through quartz which I repeatedly got glowing red hot then dropping it into cold water, bit by bit shattering the quartz away to reveal what was fairly delicate and through an optical loupe was very finely detailed and absolutely beautiful. I really wish I'd kept it but, I was trying to earn a living so had to try not to be sentimental about any of the gold I found dredging too. Now I have just 1 little tiny piece only worth about $5 in weight. I still do have fond memories of my few years of doing that full time, despite the hardship it was beautiful mountainous country on a clear running river and never regret it at all. Thanks for the help explaining it, I still think it's wrong based on the actual amount of gold though containing 93kg of gold. It also helps confuse things when they call it: "holterman's nugget" too. Oddly if you search "what was the biggest specimen" it comes up with that "Pepita Canaã", at least they do till slightly different wording gives a result from Australian Geographic of: " 19 October marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Holtermann Nugget, the world’s largest gold specimen. ". It seems even the experts are conflicted about it. Either way, I'd much rather have found Holtermans one with it's extra weight in gold. EDIT And a PS: The mine was "was found in 1872 at the Star of Hope Gold Mine, Hill End " and though I haven't seen him mentioned anywhere on google so far, Holterman had a partner and it used to be referred to as "The Holterman Byers mine". Whispers among the family hint at some degree of "skullduggery" but, no facts about any of that.

[@lorditsprobingtime6668]

@@redtobertshateshandles Don't worry, there's still gold in NSW, even being mined now. Victoria seems to be the area where the most surprises come from but, a mate headed up into the northern Territory and came back with some REALLY good finds. One I held in my hot little hand was rock and mostly gold and it was found to have 80 ounces in it! Unfortunately, I knew he could outrun me lol.

[@leongt1954]

The Hand Of faith is only 11th on the list of gold nuggets found in Aus the biggest being Welcome Stranger

[@mikeystrikes7203]

Small gold boulder

[@sophdog1678]

What became of Deeson and Oates?

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

John Deason made some poor investments and ended up losing a significant portion of the wealth he gained from the nugget. He later returned to farming in the area. Despite the initial fortune, his financial situation did not remain prosperous in the long term due to those bad investments. Richard Oates, on the other hand, had a more stable outcome. He purchased land and lived out the rest of his life comfortably as a farmer. Unlike Deason, Oates managed to avoid financial ruin and maintained a relatively secure lifestyle.

[@sophdog1678]

@@OzGeologyOfficial Many thanks

[@HoulieMon]

That's no nugget ! It's a boulder !

[@jerrycornelius5986]

Are you sure there weren’t bigger nuggets that got melted down during the last five thousand years or more?

[@williambristow9610]

I thought the golden eagle from wa was the biggest

[@jasonphillips2029]

It is, in Western Australia

[@3209-f4h]

Or is this 3 pieces put together for a new record?

[@thedarkmoon2341]

The gold is created in a split second as a result of a electrical discharge of a magnitude few could ever comprehend, I worked around the Gold Reef in South Africa in the mid 70s and even to an amateur geologist the native legends told a much more likely explanation for the creation of gold and other resources and the diamonds too than the academic geologists offered. Everything is millions and billions of years but in an Electric Universe can happen in seconds, minutes and hours. Once you see it you can't unsee it.

[@johnk-pc2zx]

I actually respect the EU paradigm, especially re comets, but I try not to force it into everywhere. It seems to me that successful blind, hard rock mineral discoveries based on the textbook explanations for deposit origins, would indicate that those textbook theories probably tell most of the story correctly.

[@williamgriffing4263]

Troy or apathacary?

[@leannevandekew1996]

Should've put in a shrimp on the barbie.

[@alexsetterington3142]

Was a fairly big alien what laid y'nugget

[@NelsonZAPTM]

Oh yeah? We have pineapple lumps.

[@BCHonea]

Grams are easier? Huh?

[@charliestaples9899]

Tha Holtermann find nugget, found at Hillend NSW during the gold rush in 1872was the biggest nugget ever found weighing in at 3000 troy ozs

[@adhawk5632]

It was a speci, not a true nugget.

[@nothinggrand3805]

It is the largest specimen of gold ever found but it wasn’t a gold nugget. It’s quartz reef.

[@charliestaples9899]

Both the Welcome Stranger and Holtermann "nuggets" were both intrinsically mixed with quartz, slate and other minerals. The extracted gold weight for the Welcome Stranger was measured in at 2284 troy ozs. The Holtermann nugget gold weighed in at 3000 troy ozs.

[@nothinggrand3805]

@@charliestaples9899 that doesn’t matter. Gold nuggets are found in alluvial deposits while the holtermann nugget was found in a hard rock deposit.

[@ChuckyMcNubbin72]

​@@adhawk5632you mean gold mass. Speci is small nuggets.

[@David-z7n5y]

You’d probably like chatting with a bloke named John Tully

[@sockpuppetbitme]

A bit repetitive.

[@geosid1696]

Your choice!!

[@sockpuppetbitme]

@@geosid1696 Obviously.

[@marclouisb]

Kill the useless distracting background music

[@Hossak]

Why do people always use ounces to calculate gold value. Gold is 120 per gram. 1kg is 120 000 and sp on. Grams are just easier. Great video.

[@jessedrabble]

Lots of us know an ounce is 28 grams...for reasons

[@olsim1730]

​@@jessedrabblewhatyatalkinabeet?yewfukndruggo 😅

[@ChuckyMcNubbin72]

Except gold is measured as a troy ounce, which is 31.103 grams. ​@jessedrabble

[@deanstevenson6527]

After purification, that's 71.04034 kilograms. Have a nice day. 🥝✔️

[@geosid1696]

If the welcome stranger revealed it's friend to me....ounces or in grams mean zero😆

[@thesnaggletooth19]

All this discussion about the alphabet people, inclusiveness and anti-discrimination and no one is mentioning the lack of a 'H' for heterosexual or 'S' for straight !

[@r.ramjet5060]

its a dog

[@lutomson3496]

meanwhile here in california we have had large nuggets and the last auction made millions this is nothing

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

How can you call the largest nugget ever discovered nothing lmao. It's monumental. Australia has historically produced far more large gold nuggets than California. Some of the largest gold nuggets ever found have come from Australia, particularly in the state of Victoria during its gold rush era in the 19th century. California had a significant gold rush, but it did not produce as many large nuggets compared to Australia. Most of California’s gold was found in smaller flakes or grains rather than large, intact nuggets.

[@Clarence_13x]

There are bigger nuggets identified from space by a USGS survey of the southwestern United States, the results of which released in early 2023. Everyone else seems lazy here, I keep finding them. I’m sure other people need a leg up. Look at the maps and just grab the alluvial stuff.

[@JeffCrow-sy5ui]

once you started talking about millions of years, I realized your education level or lack therof

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Conspiracy theories ?? I'm heartily sick of them.

[@A.D.Prospector]

What conspiracy theories? This is a proven find.

[@OlakalO]

Another world record held by our humble yet mighty country

[@MyThai1612]

Some people here live 100 years ago. Since what time has a Troy oz 28g? And why people talking so smart when they know nothing 🫵🏽😝