FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Roger Warin]

Hi,
What is or what was the biggest nugget found in the world?

Here a nugget of 64.797 kg found in November 1943 in the Lukala River near Kamituga in South Kivu (R.D. Congo).
This nugget was considered the sixth biggest found in the world. What do you think ?
Roger.

[Roger Warin]

Here the plaster cast of a nugget of 64.797 kg found in November 1943 in the Lukala River near Kamituga in South Kivu (R.D. Congo). Reverse side view. The Great Lakes Mining Company made this mold and then it melted that big nugget.
It is harmful because it is a part of the heritage of humanity that has disappeared.
Roger.

[marco campos-venuti]

I'm not sure my cabinet would bear it!!
The problem of big nuggets is to find peoples with enough money for save it from melting.
I remember in 2010 when the Ausrox Nugget was found in Australia, it was saved just in time. It was finally brokered by Arkenstone and Ausrox that spend a huge amount of money.
It was on display at the 2011 Tucson Show where I took the pictures.
It weights 748 troy ounces that are about 23.26 kg.
Now it is in the Pinnacle Collection and exposed at the Victoria Museum.

[Tobi]

https://www.discoverychannel.com.au/images/worlds-biggest-gold-nuggets/

The heaviest and largest gold specimen ever found was the Holtermann Nugget (named after the German miner Bernhardt Otto Holtermann) that was discovered in 19th century Australia ... you can find old images likes this on Google photo search: https://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn4728501-v

But the pure gold content was "only" between 50 and 60 kg, so it was NOT the largest pure gold nugget ever ;-)

[alfredo]

There was an even bigger one: over 109 Kg nugget, with 72 Kg gold content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Stranger

[Roger Warin]

Hi,
I intend to talk about the biggest nuggets found in the Belgian Congo between 1930 and 1945. At this time Kivu was part of this vast country the Democratic Republic of Congo, colonized by King Leopold II of the Belgians (who donated afterwards to Belgium, before being returned to the Congolese people in 1960).

Several major mining companies exploited gold. This is the Great Lakes Mining Company, which found the biggest nugget of 64kg797 (picture already posted).
This nugget occupied in 1945 the 6th larger nuggets found in the world.
Passau (Geol.Ing.) tells its exact origin, located in the yards of Kalingi region (South mines) in the D 7 tributary of the river Lukala (South Kivu).
Note: If the polar coordinates found on his sketches match, it is difficult to match this sketch (with only rivers, and only one actual locality, Kamituga) with Google maps. The visualization of the rivers is difficult in a 'white' area (Google Maps), in full virgin forest (Google Earth).
Only two tributaries of the Congo River are visible, Elila south and Ulindi north, both from the North East of Lake Tanganyika.
Without any guarantees, I located the site of the Lukala NNE of Kamituga between Elila and Ulindi rivers. An area currently used is visible on Google, east Kamituga.
Kamituga is located 100 kilometres southwest of Bukavu (with N2 road).
I had the opportunity to shoot 6 plaster casts of these historical nuggets (Lab. Miner. University of Liege, B. Prof. Frederic Hatert) .Colors of these monsters (plaster cast) seem correct and true to the original nuggets.
Roger.

[Roger Warin]

Pépite n° II (Passau)
Origin : Kamakundu river, Little Mobale). Extraction date : 1929.
Maximum dimensions: length, 22 cm; width 13.3 cm; height, 4.65 cm.
Weight : 3 kg. 322 (3 kg. 3895).
losses from melting: [208 gr. 9, i.e. 6,17 % ].
Content : [968 Au - 27 Ag].
Nugget plate, brown in the hollows, relief most excavated on the face photographed than on upside; fibrous appearance, relatively pronounced wear.

[Roger Warin]

Pépite n° X - Passau.
Origin: Terrace of the small Mobale downstream of the confluence of the Kahosimira, South Kivu (DR Congo).
Extraction date: in Dec. 1935.
Maximum dimensions : length, 15,2 cm.; width, 13 cm.; height, 5,5 cm.
Weight : 4 kg. 4267 (4 kg. 425).
Losses from melting : 160 gr. 4, i.e. 4 %.
Content : 964 Au - 30 Ag.
Very nice nugget, and richly colored worn on the face was reminiscent of a sheep's head; worn and browned on the front face, excavated.

[Roger Warin]

Pépite n° XII. — Origin : Little Mobale, at 110 m. upstream from the falls situated 350 m. the confluence with the great Mobale. Extraction date Feb.1933.
Maximum dimensions: length, 26.3 cm.; Width, 13.1 cm.; height, 9.05 cm.
Weight : 8 kg. 400 (8 kg. 3985).
losses from melting : 844 gr. 7, i.e. 10 %.
Content : 970 Au - 26,5 Ag.
Large nugget, highly burnished, high relief

[Roger Warin]

From January 1940 through May 1945, it was further extracted by Mining Great Lakes Cy to the southern mines, sites in the Lukala:
26 nuggets of more than one kilogram, 9 weighing more than 5 kg. :
9343 kg, 5940 kg, 21,075 kg, 5428 kg, 13,765 kg, 6,300 kg, 17,011 kg, 9,035 kg, 17,583 kg.

Roger.

[cptbtptp248]

What a wonderful find！ My child and I both love outdoor pursuits. I decided to take him metal detecting with me. Now, this is an important lesson in what he does in science. Education is central to his growth. I wish I could teach him. Now I come to this forum. I want to grow up, too.