11 pound gold nugget found

An Australian miner found a more than 11 pound gold nugget worth at least $300,000, a gold shop owner said Thursday. The (Ballarat) Courier reported the nugget was found about 2 feet underground in Ballarat by a local prospector who took it to the Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop. Gold shop owner Cordell Kent said the nugget would be worth about $300,000 by weight but actually is more valuable left in its natural state. "I can't remember a nugget this big ever being found locally," he told The Courier. He said a find like this "gives people hope" and predicted a fresh gold rush.