For Mr Bogusis the hunt for gold in Beechworth is as much about finding peace as the flecks left in his pan.

His long days toiling at the riverbank paid off in a way he never expected on Saturday when he found a 3.81-gram nugget.

“Nuggets just don’t exist up here,” he said.

“It’s extremely rare.

“You’re looking at that one bit of gold that’s been missed by thousands of prospectors before you.”

A couple of years ago, the gold prospector was introduced to the search for gold by an old friend.

“A friend of mine had been doing it his whole life, he was in his 70s then, he took me up and showed me what to do,” Mr Bogusis said.

“I have post traumatic stress disorder and he took me out to help get me back on my feet.

“I always liked being out in the bush and when you’re in a deep dark hole getting out into the bush with your hands in the dirt, you reconnect.

“It’s pretty special.

“It helps to soothe the demons.”

Mr Bogusis said he could not believe his luck when he saw a large glint of gold in his pan. 

“I said to a friend ‘get the camera’, I was absolutely speechless, we got it all on film,” he said.

“It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

While nuggets are extremely rare to find Mr Bogusis said he often finds alluvial flakes of gold.

“I’ve been told spots from an old timer who was told by an original prospector in the 1930s,” he said.

“The guy is in his 80s now so he can’t get out and do it himself.”

Mr Bogusis, who runs the Vo-Gus Prospecting Facebook page, said he now takes others out to learn about prospecting, not for money but to pass on his skills. 

“It’s just my way of coping,” he said.

“I encourage anyone who had problems in the mental health department to come out and give it a shot.

“It’s very relaxing.

“It’s something to get you reinvigorated in life.

Mr Bogusis said the search for gold had proven to be highly addictive and his recent unique find had only served to reinforce his love of prospecting and fuelled his desire to get back out there.