sciencetech-blog

comments

A huge nugget of gold, nicknamed the Devil's Ear because of its peculiar shape, was found by miners in Siberia on Friday 13th, as a full moon shone over Russia.

Initially the precious lump was cast aside by a sifting machine, but was later spotted by an eagle-eyed worker at the Ukhagan mine in the Irkutsk region's Bodaybinsky district.

'Even the giant nugget's weight seems sinister - including three sixes - 6.664kg (14.69lb)' reported The Siberian Times.

A huge nugget of gold, nicknamed the Devil's Ear because of its peculiar shape, was found by miners in Siberia on Friday 13th, as a full moon shone over Russia. Depending on its purity, it may be worth £180,000 ($300,000)

WORLD'S LARGEST GOLD NUGGET

The Welcome Stranger Nugget is thought to be the biggest gold nugget ever found.

Weighing in at 72.02 kg (158.78 lbs), it was more than ten times the size of the Devil's Ear nugget recently found by miners in Siberia.

It was discovered near Dunolly, Victoria in Australia on 5 February 1869. The nugget was 61 cm (24 inches) wide. This compares to the Devil's nugget which is 21 cm (8.3 inches) wide.

Soon after it was dicovered, the nugget was melted down into ingots and shipped to the Bank of England.

Depending on its purity, this would make the nugget worth around £180,000 ($300,000).

'The nugget was found on Friday 13 June, coinciding with a full moon,' said a statement by local officials.

'The weight also favours secrecy - there are three sixes - and the shape is very similar to a pointy ear. So miners immediately called the find the Devil's Ear.'

They admitted that the mine's machinery, meant to identify gold, cast the find aside.

'A worker, who started to level the pile, found the nugget.'

Now there is added excitement at the Siberian mine. Such finds rarely come singly.

'If there is one, there will be a second and it is possible that very soon the Devil's Ear will have a brother.'

Sergey Kozlov, Ugakhan director, said: 'The nugget was found in a new mine that according to preliminary estimate doesn't have that much gold.

'Now the miners are very hopeful that an old saying 'one nugget never walks alone' will work for them again.

'But first we will have to check the dropouts more carefully - to see what else the clever equipment threw away.'

The Welcome Stranger Nugget is thought to be the biggest gold nugget ever found.

Weighing in at 72.02 kg (158.78 lbs), it was more than ten times the size of the Devil's Ear nugget.

Miners admitted that their machinery (pictured), meant to identify gold, cast the find aside. Instead, a worker, who started to level the pile, found the nugget

Even the giant nugget's weight seems sinister - including three sixes - 6.664kg (14.69lb). The largest nugget ever to be found - the Welcome Stranger Nugget - is around ten times larger at 72.02 kg (158.78 lbs). Pictured is the Irkutsk region where the Devil's Nugget was discovered

The nugget was found by an eagle-eyed worker at the Ukhagan mine in the Irkutsk region's Bodaybinsky district in Siberia. Miners are now hoping to find more gold nuggets in the region