IT appears that it's not just in them there hills where gold can be found. 

A treasure hunter has uncovered the largest nugget ever discovered in Britain while diving in a Scottish river.

The lump of precious metal, the size of a golf ball and said to be worth £50,000, was spotted while the man - who has chosen to remain anonymous - was lying face down in the stream using a snorkel.

The technique, known as sniping, allows prospectors to scour riverbeds for traces of gold. But the lucky explorer, who is in his 40s, had no idea he was about to uncover the find of a lifetime.

READ MORE: Gold rush on after Canadian finds £10,000 nugget

The Herald:

Named the Douglas Nugget, the ball of ore weighs 2.75 Troy ounces [85.7g], and is said to share a similar diameter to that of a 1.6ins golf ball.

Experts say it is 500 years since a similar nugget has been found in Britain - although there may be more where this one came from.
However, the location of the river is being kept under wraps to prevent a disorderly gold rush.

The Herald:

The man, who has been hunting for gold as a hobby for 20 years, said: “I was following a crack in the bedrock and found around 2g in fine gold. 

“This then led to a pocket, where I uncovered the nugget. I called over my friend to have a look and we both assumed it to be around 5-7g in weight.

“It wasn’t until I removed it that we realised just how big it was.”

READ MORE: Scotland gears up for World Gold Panning Championships 

He added: “I took off my glove and picked it up, jumped out of the water and screamed, ’Bingo!’ to my friend. We were both stunned and couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime.”

The owner is currently unsure what to do with his nugget, but keeping it in a safety deposit box in the meantime.

Gold expert Leon Kirk, from Gold Panning Supplies UK, said: “This is a very exciting and unprecedented find. But the nugget’s rarity means it is very hard to put a price on it.

 “I would say it is worth at least £50,000 but, as it’s rarer than a Aston Martin or a Faberge egg, a billionaire could easily come along and pay a lot more for it. Historically, it is off the Richter scale.”

Mr Kirk hopes it will end up being purchased by a British museum, although legally it may have to be handed over to The Crown Estate. 

The Herald:

The nugget was found using a technique known as 'sniping'

Dr Neil Clark, author of Scottish Gold: Fruit Of The Nation and curator at The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, believes the shape of the Douglas Nugget could mean there is more gold just waiting to be found close to the mystery location.

He said: “It is difficult to say whether this nugget broke from a larger chunk or not. 

“The rounded edges of the piece indicate that it has certainly been in the watercourse for a while.

 “The size of the nugget suggests that it probably did not travel far, though.”

But he added: “The fact that we have waited over 500 years for this nugget suggests it may be difficult to find another comparable one in the near future.”

The Herald:

Prior to the Douglas Nugget, the previous record holder for the biggest gold nugget to be found in British waters dates back to 1808. 
This was a 59g lump discovered in Cornwall.

READ MORE: Momentous occasion for gold production in Scotland’ hailed by Argyll mine company Scotgold

In 2016, a 97g nugget was found off the coast of Anglesey by Vincent Thurkettle.

However, experts later concluded that it had originated from Australia and gone down with the steam clipper Royal Charter.

The boat, laden with gold, sank when it was hit by a hurricane while sailing from Melbourne to Liverpool in 1859.