Prosecutors Brent Shannon and his brother-in-law Ethan West found the nuggets in a matter of hours with the help of West’s father Paul West, according to a Discovery Channel press release.
The nuggets could fetch up to 30% more than their estimated value per weight when sold to a collector, according to the release.
“I thought we were a chance,” Shannon told Australian morning talk show Sunrise. “It was in a little virgin soil, which means it’s untouched and not mined.”
The couple had been waiting for months for a permit that could allow them to search for gold in the area, according to the release.
West said he estimates he has collected thousands of small pieces of gold in four years.
“These are definitely one of the most important findings,” he said. “To have two big pieces in one day is pretty awesome.”
The team – who call themselves the Poseidon Crew – told Sunrise that they use an excavator to dig up dirt, before using a metal detector to see if there is any gold to be found.
In January 2013, an amateur explorer discovered a 5.5-kilogram (12.1-pound) gold nugget buried 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) in the ground outside Ballarat, about an hour south of Tarnagulla.
At present, experts estimate the find at least $ 300,000.
Gold has been continuously found in the region since 1851, but technology has become an essential tool for modern prospectors, said Cordell Kent, owner of The Mining Exchange Gold Shop, in 2013.
“In the old days, miners could only see or feel gold – but now with detectors they can hear it,” Kent said.
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