Representational image. (Thinkstock)
In an once-in-a-lifetime discovery, a man in Australia has unearthed a 2.7 kg gold nugget which could be worth a whopping 141,000 dollars. Mick Brown, a gold prospector from Kerang in northern Victoria, had recently quit smoking and was getting grumpy so his wife told him to leave the house for some air.
Mr Brown, 42, went prospecting near Wedderburn, Victoria, in an area he had been before. He started moving across with his detector when the machine went off loudly over a particular spot. Only 15 cm beneath the surface, Mr Brown hit the top of a gold nugget.
At first, he thought it was a "big molten blob of copper" but realised it was gold after digging up "87 ounces of the good stuff."
Mr Brown said the nugget was worth about 141,000 dollars but he hoped a private collector would offer more, 'stuff.co.nz' reported.
"Sometimes they do say gold is worth twice its weight in gold if it's a really nice looking nugget," Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown hopes his good fortune would encourage other prospectors to keep at it and inspire others to try prospecting.