Chinese herder discovers gold nugget shaped like China


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Net zero: the looming 'energy gap'
Talking point UK has made strides in decarbonising UK's electricity supply but government has few plans to expand capacity
By The Week Staff Published
-
Britain's gambling habit: are we dicing with serious damage?
The Explainer The UK's betting industry has become a multibillion-pound juggernaut
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Russian rights, British class and world expos
Podcast Will Russia rejoin the UN Human Rights Council? Are we all now working class? And could the world call a halt to expos?
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published