The largest nugget of gold in the UK was found by luck

A gold nugget weighing 64.8 grams was found in the Shropshire Hills, England. This is the largest discovery of its kind in the UK, but the story behind the discovery is impressive. Richard Brooke discovered the substance using faulty equipment.

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The largest gold nugget in the United Kingdom

The value of the gold nugget is estimated at approximately 38,000 US dollars, which is approximately 190,000 Brazilian reals. It was found during an expedition organized in May last year by a group of hunters in search of valuable materials.

What makes this discovery even more impressive is that Richard Brooke was late to the event. He says that he traveled three and a half hours to participate in the research, but he arrived more than an hour late and was sure that he had missed any opportunity.

Furthermore, he realized that his detection array wasn't working. Therefore, he had to resort to an old and faulty machine.

However, it only took a few minutes for him to make the great discovery of the event, which he called the “Hero Cluster”.

Everyone there had this updated kit, and I arrived with three old machines, one of which didn't work. It just goes to show that no matter what equipment you use, if you walk over the find and are alert enough to what might be hiding underground, it makes a big difference.

Richard Brooke

The largest nugget of gold found on British soil so far weighs 54 grams, according to The Guardian. Information is from Science Alert.

Shoe of Cortez: The largest gold nugget ever found (Image: Heritage Auctions)

Search for precious metals

Amateur hunters have been active for decades, driven by the hope of finding valuable treasures or historical artifacts.
In 1989, for example, a man searched the Sonoran Desert, on the border between Mexico and the United States, in an area that supposedly contained gold.
One day he discovered what became known as the “Shoe of Cortez,” the largest nugget of gold ever found in the Western Hemisphere.
In the shape of a shoe, it weighed more than 26 kilograms of pure gold.
The development of technology has increased this interest, with metal detectors and other devices becoming more sophisticated, as well as GPS-enabled applications for tracking tracks and tagging finds.
The most expensive metal detector can cost US$15,000 (about R$75,000), but basic models can be found for a few hundred dollars.