Chinese herder discovers gold nugget shaped like China

Chinese media reported Friday that a Kazakh herder, Berek Sawut, found a 17-pound gold nugget — and it's shaped like China.

Sawut found the nugget on Jan. 30 while resting near a mine. He was apparently afraid he wouldn't be able to keep it, because he thought all ore from local mines belonged to the government, but so far he has been able to hold onto the nugget.

The nugget is the largest of its kind to be found in the Xianjiang region, which has more than 600 gold mines. It's not solid gold, though — the nugget is made of "dog head gold," which contains natural gold ore along with quartz and other minerals. China's news reports did not estimate the nugget's value.

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