The nugget weighs over 1,200 grams, with testing showing around 940 grams of pure gold. The prospector said the discovery came down to persistence, after he nearly walked past the nugget while finishing up a day of searching with his metal detector, a Gold Monster 2000.
"It wasn't a loud signal for the size of the piece that it is [but] once I got down to 100 [millimetres] or something like that, the machine was squealing," he said. "It might have been on the first or second scrape I just seen this bright yellow dot in the centre of the hole."
Fossicking for years and familiar with coming up empty, he said metal scraps were the most common find. "You dig lots of rubbish … lots of lead bullets, old timer's nails, horseshoes, everything," he said. His tip for would-be prospectors: "Just keep walking, keep swinging [and] keep digging every target."
Greg Spangler, who has spent 20-odd years selling prospecting supplies in Broken Hill, said he had only seen one other person find a nugget weighing over a kilogram. "We have a fictitious club [called] the Ounce Club … but not many people [are] in the 'Kilo Club'," he said.
Mr Spangler believes a surge in gold prices has drawn more people to the hobby. Gold prices peaked in January at almost $8,000 per troy ounce (31.1 grams) and, while down since, still sit at about $5,700 per troy ounce. Beyond the chance of a payday, he said prospecting offered exercise, fresh air and quiet. "You get up in the morning, you're the first one to see the sunrise … it's very peaceful," he said.
Gold prospecting around Tibooburra dates back to the late 1880s and remains a drawcard for tourists. Fossicking on the Tibooburra Common is currently banned while Native Title permissions are being pursued, but Mount Stuart and Gumvale stations allow fossicking for a fee. Mr Spangler said there could be plenty more gold to be found: "[It could] keep going forever and ever, because every time it rains, other people find gold where they didn't before."