Amateur prospector finds $150,000 gold nugget in outback

Key points

• An amateur prospector who wishes to remain anonymous has found a gold nugget worth about $150,000 on Mount Stuart station near Tibooburra in north-western New South Wales. He spotted the nugget in mid-October after a signal from his metal detector.
• The nugget weighs over 1,200 grams, and testing shows about 940 grams is pure gold. He has nicknamed it the Tibooburra Spud and plans to sell it to a collector.
• Greg Spangler, who sells prospecting supplies in Broken Hill, says rising gold prices have drawn more people to the hobby.