VIDEO: Prospector makes $285,000 gold discovery

A 177 ounce gold nugget has reportedly been unearthed near the south-west Victorian town of Ballarat.

A video of the nugget has been posted on multimedia sharing site YouTube and claims the nugget was found with a hand held metal detector at a depth of 60cm.

At the current Australian gold price of almost $1600 per ounce, the nugget could be valued at nearly $285,000.

The last reported gold nugget found in the Ballarat region was in July last year.

The nugget, named Destiny, weighed 3.66kg and was discovered in the Golden Triangle region of Ballarat, Bendigo and Stawell.