GoldIn 1872, a slab of slate in New South Wales, Australia, was found containing 82.11 kg of gold. Known as Holtermann's Nugget, it was largest mass of reef gold ever found. More correctly, it was not a nugget, but a specimen also known as a matrix. The slab weighed 286kg and measured 150cm by 66cm with an average thickness of 10cm.It was found at the Bald Hill Mine at Hill End Gold Mine, 275 km NW of Sydney. It was crushed and the gold content recovered. Alluvial gold had been discovered at Hill End (then known as Bald Hill) in 1851 and there were were 150 miners on the site within a month. In 1967, Hill End was proclaimed an historic site and placed under the care of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. |
