Since the mid 1800's, folks with the bug to strike it rich have made the trip over the mighty Rocky Mountains and through the Buttes and Deserts to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Foothills. They have panned the creeks, dug the hillsides, and crushed the rock all in search of the elusive yellow metal that has been the standard of wealth across the globe for thousands of years. Prospectors search high and low, testing and processing and jumping for joy at the sight of color in their gold pans but, in the depths of every prospector's soul there is a longing to find the nugget, the pocket, the big one...
One of the largest Gold Nuggets to come out of California in recent years, The Mighty "Bigfoot Nugget" weighs in at an astonishing 10.5 ounces. What's more is that this monster was unearthed in 2023 just feet from the motherlode vein in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Not water warn, or covered in quartz rock as many large motherlode pieces tend to be. Rather, this spectacular specimen of lightly warn Crystalline Gold is 90% Gold by weight. With such little attached rock, this piece may well be the heaviest piece of Crystalline Gold by volume to come out of the motherlode vein in over a century. The old timers walked right over it. The vein that this beast eroded from was heavily worked during the Gold Rush however, this piece had eroded out and made it's way about 30 feet downhill from the vein and about 18 inches deep into the soil where it laid until Chase Kliest of Bigfoot Mining Co unearthed it with his Minelab GPZ7000. Or maybe an old timer dropped it on his way to the saloon? All we know for sure is that this amazing piece of Gold is likely the largest solid nugget of Crystalline Motherlode Gold to be found in a very long time and another may not come for another century or more. Initial estimates appraise this nugget from $50,000-$60,000 but the value may well exceed that even. I have a feeling that one day this historic piece will reside within the halls of the Smithsonian for all to enjoy. The Gold Rush is alive and well in California and this nugget is the stuff legends are made of.
You can follow Chase Kleist on social media and YouTube @bigfootminingco, or visit his website at www.BigfootMiningCo.com
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