The nugget, which has a small hole in the middle, was discovered in a Scottish river by an unnamed explorer.
This is the largest golden nugget ever discovered in the UKCredit: Lee Palmer/pictureexclusive.com
This is the donut-shaped nugget of gold found in a Scottish riverCredit: Lee Palmer/pictureexclusive.com
The gold hunter and the owner of land it was found on has kept their identities a secretCredit: Paul Jacobs/pictureexclusive.com
It was found in two pieces which slot together perfectly, earning it the nickname The Reunion Nugget.
Lee Palmer, author of Gold Occurrences In The UK, said: “This is now the largest nugget in existence in the UK.
“When you look at it, it’s doughnut-shaped.
“There are no impurities in it, it is just pure gold nugget of about 22 carats.
“It really is a remarkable find.” The Reunion Nugget was discovered in a mystery Scottish river in May.
It was found using the method of “sniping”, which sees gold hunters lying face-down in a river while wearing a snorkel and dry suit.
A Brit enthusiast unearthed the larger piece first, which weighs 89.6g, before finding the other 31.7g half 10 minutes later.
Mr Palmer, 50, said: “The man just threw the bigger piece in his bucket with the rest of his stuff – he knew it was big but didn’t realise how big.
“He found the second nugget 30 centimetres away and chucked that in his bucket too.
“It wasn’t until a couple of days later that he had a look at them and realised how big they were and that they fitted together.”
GOLD RUSH
He added: “The hole in the middle could have been caused by a strike off a rock or glacier.
“One mineralogist thought it looked like an entry and exit hole that could’ve been made with a neolithic antler pick, which were used by farmers in the Iron Age.”
Both the finder of the nugget and the owner of the land where it was discovered are keeping their identities secret due to its magnitude.
Mr Palmer – who has interviewed the owner for his book – hopes it will be purchased by either the National Museum of Scotland or the Natural History Museum, but legally it may have to be handed over to The Crown Estate.
He believes the fact it is in two pieces should not affect its value.
Mr Palmer said: “From the top, you could say it looks like two bits, but when you see it from underneath, it’s a perfect fit.
“It’s like an exact jigsaw, there’s no disputing it.”
He added: “Even if you took the largest individual piece, it is still the biggest one in the UK.
“Add together the second piece and the story behind it and you’ve got something amazing.”
