Massive gold nugget back home

PRECIOUS: John Day with a 23.26kg golden nugget. Picture: Lynn Webb Source: PerthNow

TIPPING the scales at more than 23kg and worth more than $1 million, a massive gold nugget found in WA's eastern goldfields had its homecoming today.

The valuable hunk  the third largest nugget in the world found with a metal detector  was discovered by a prospector in April last year and has been on display in Victoria since then.

Only a nugget called the Hand of Faith, weighing 27.21kg and discovered in 1980 in Victoria, and the 25.47kg Normandy Nugget found in 1995 in Kalgoorlie, are bigger.

Purchased by Perth gold company in 2010 and known as the Ausrox Nugget, the 23kg lump of gold was later sold to an anonymous American collector before going on show in Victoria.

Today it was welcomed home to Kalgoorlie-Boulder where it will be on display at the local museum until January 2012. Then, it embarks on a world tour taking in America and Europe.

Arts Minister John Day, who was in Kalgoorlie to unveil the nugget yesterday, said: ``It is fitting that this nugget has, in effect, come home to be on display at the WA Museum's Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the Vault exhibition, which houses half of the State's gold collection.''

``Bringing objects and collections such as this to the museum is important not only to ensure the museum remains a key attraction for visitors to the Goldfields, but also so the people of the Goldfields have access to their heritage,'' he said.

``Since gold was first discovered near Kalgoorlie by Paddy Hannan in 1893, it has been a valuable resource to the community, and indeed the State, and has come to define the region.

``It is fitting that the nugget be brought home for the people of the Goldfields to see before it embarks on its international tour.''

Via: perthnow