Xinjiang herdsman finds 17-pound gold nugget that was "practically lying on bare ground" http://t.co/lr7c8bFUnt pic.twitter.com/IJLrmKa5co
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 5, 2015
The New York Time reports that:
"The nugget found by the Kazakh herder in Qinghe County is the largest of this kind to be discovered in Xinjiang, according to Modern Express, a newspaper owned by Xinhua. Folklore says the Empress Dowager Cixi coveted such nuggets and became furious once when no one was able to find one for her birthday. The official news reports did not estimate the value of the nugget found recently. If it were pure gold, which it is not, it would be worth about $346,000, at $1,250 per ounce."