Gold Nugget

Come in and see the ultra-pure (97% Au), 28-ounce Centennial Gold Nugget, on permanent display at the Mineral Museum @ Montana Tech was found in 1989 in Cooley Gulch by placer miners at Highland Gold Property. It is the largest recorded gold nugget discovered in Montana since 1908. The Highland mining property has been owned by the Stratton family since 1892. In 1991, the nugget was purchased by Crown Butte Mines. Subsequently, its President David Rovig, a Montana Tech graduate, donated the nugget to the Montana Tech Foundation.

Like the Centennial Gold Nugget, we have other mineral specimens are so special we keep them in a fortified safe! One such sample is mesolite. It is so delicate, it must be in a special place where it is never disturbed.