A beautiful 38-ounce gold nugget, worth more than $50,000, has been uncovered in North Queensland by a dedicated prospector using a metal detector.

The life-changing find came just moments after he uncovered a three-ounce nugget worth $4000.

“When I found the first nugget I was super stoked because that was my biggest ever,” said the Queenslander who wishes to remain anonymous.

“I would have been really happy with just that but after I’d calmed down, I went back to the same spot, restarted my detector and after just two or three swings I found the big one.

“It’s fair to say I was emotionally overwhelmed at that time,” he said.

Weighing more than a kilogram (1176 grams), the nugget was 15cm below the ground when he found it.

“It’s just incredible. I’d been looking in this particular area for a while that day and I was about ready to leave but I gave it another quarter of an hour and then with five minutes left I got this fairly good signal – not too loud but I was confident it was gold – so I started digging.

“At first, I didn’t know just how big the nugget was because the scales I had with me only went up to 500 grams. It wasn’t until later when I got home I found out I’d broken the kilo mark.

“It was beneath some vegetation so it was a bit of a challenge to get to, but now I’m thinking maybe those roots are keeping some other big nuggets safe ready to be found another time.”

The joyous prospector has named his find the Arcus Nugget because of the role nature played in its discovery. Arcus is Latin for rainbow.

Driving back to camp the day before, he saw a double rainbow for the first time in his life. Ignoring the adage that gold is found at the end of rainbows, he identified the section of ground beneath the highest point of the arc and decided that was where he would look the next day.

“I said to myself that’s where were going to find gold tomorrow but I never thought it would be so much.”

He’s now negotiating to sell the nugget privately.

A man who loves the bush, he got bitten by the prospecting bug about 10 years ago. That was when, during only his second trip out, he uncovered his first piece of gold.

Have you ever prospected for gold? Did you have any luck? Would you consider taking it up as a hobby?