The world’s largest surviving gold nugget is the Pepita Canaã (Canaan Nugget) which was found by miner Júlio de Deus Filho in the Serra Pelada (‘Naked Mountain’) gold mining region of Brazilian state of Pará in 1983. Therefore, the following list, based on research to the best of our abilities, profiles the largest ‘named’ gold nuggets which are still in one piece, all of which are famous, all of which are on display, and all of which can be visited by the public.

We think a list of gold nuggets which still exist is more accurate, since many historical nuggets are now just legends and have long since been melted down into gold bars or gold coins.

There are also a number of “largest gold nuggets' lists which confusingly mix historical nuggets which no longer exist alongside nuggets which still exist. Obviously, not all of these claims can be true. There are a number of gold nuggets which claim to be the world’s largest. “Gold nuggets' can also technically be extracted from hard rock gold deposits as long as the surrounding rock can be removed. Gold nuggets can be found in alluvial deposits (sediments formed by water movement) or in other placer deposits (formed by other movement), but gold nuggets can also be found in or close to primary gold deposits, for example gold lodes or veins which have been exposed by the weather. It has probably something to do with so much gold being found at the same time, often with relative ease. Throughout gold rush and gold mining history, the discovery of a large gold nugget is a phenomenon which always causes excitement throughout a mining community as well as capturing the wider public’s imagination.

Shows at the golden nugget