Belgian Student Jackhammers for Gold Accidentally: Hoard of Gold Bars and Coins Worth $10 Million Found

   I thought this was a fun story, and it has similarities to drilling for profit, although in this case it was purely accidental. A Belgian student working part-time in construction was jackhammering and literally drilled into a box of gold bars. After the site was carefully excavated, the hoard included 40 gold bars and about 4000 gold coins, with a total worth of about $10 million.

     Andy Corbley featured the story on Good News Network, his awesome collection and collation of good news stories. He notes that over half of the gold thought to be in the Earth has already been found, and even small finds like this can add to the total on the market since gold has many industrial uses in addition to its extensive use for fine jewelry. Since it adds to the refined metals market, I am classifying this story under mineral exploration and production.  

     It is not yet known why the hoard of gold bars made in the 1960s ended up underground roughly 60 years ago.

“The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office told CNN authorities had recovered the gold and taken it to a secure and secret place where it would be held pending an investigation into provenance and ownership.”

“They also said that several people have already contacted them with proof of ownership documentation.”

“Most of the bars date to the 1960s, while the coins feature a variety of dates and bear a variety of origins.”

     The hoard was found under the foundations of an old brewery.

“While using a jackhammer on the property in the city of Dendermonde, about 19 miles outside of Brussels, construction workers noticed coins beginning to appear in the hole they were making.”

“Kobe Phillips, a student working a part-time, said that he thought at first they were 1 euro coins, and asked a colleague to help him dig them out. Then they saw that they weren’t—and that there was a gold bar stuck to the end of their jackhammer.”

     The picture below shows where the jackhammer hit the gold bar on the third one from the left in the top row.

 

   

    

References:

 

Construction Worker Discovers Gold Hoard After Literally Striking a Gold Bar with His Jackhammer. Andy Corbley. Good News Network. August 18, 2026. Construction Worker Discovers Gold Hoard After Literally Striking a Gold Bar with His Jackhammer