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Friday, 23rd February 2007 (3373 views)

A mammoth-sized gold nugget has been found in a mine in Alaska by Silverado Gold Mines.

The 13.78 troy ounce gold nugget was discovered in the Mary East underground mine when workers were carrying out some sampling and grade control necessities. Such is the rarity of a nugget this side that it is expected to reach a very high price, especially as it is of jewellery quality.

Large nuggets are a characteristic of Alaskan gold fields and now the tunnels at Mary East are being systematically analysed to give some idea of the gold content being stockpiled within gravel every day.

The "nugget factor" means that gold content throughout the mine is uneven and so Silverado has taken to scanning the walls with a metal detector to give an indication of levels of gold. This also helps to guide the tunnels as they are built.

Some parts of Mary East have been delineated with areas of very rich gold bearing found including nuggets with a weight of 24.26 ounces.

 

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