A schoolboy found a lump of valuable ambergris whale vomit while combing a beach for scrap metal.

Siwat Laetong, 16, had just returned home from school when a friend told him there was a 200-litre water container lying around the Ga Singha Beach in Satun province on May 21.

The kid thought he could bring the discarded container home to use so he rushed to the area but someone had taken it already.

However, while walking along the shore towards home, he spotted the unusual object which he initially thought was a coral but turned out to be the expensive perfume ingredient.

Footage shows Siwat unwrapping his treasure weighing 1.3kg which he kept in his old blue shirt. He said he was overjoyed when he realised what it was.

The value of the substance varies according to its quality and the current demand. But based on previous finds, which have been valued at around 31,850 GBP per kg, Siwat's sizeable haul could land him as much as 41,000 GBP.

He said: ‘It felt like I had won the lottery. I have seen the same thing on television.'

The schoolboy said the ambergris had a fishy smell when he first held it. He said: ‘I have also seen the same thing online. I brought it home.'

Now, Siwat said he wanted to sell the ambergris to buy fishing gear such as nets and boats for his father who used old equipment.

He said: ‘I don't know how much it would sell but I hope it's going to be a reasonable rate.'

Meanwhile, his father Maesa said he doesn't know how to know the quality of ambergris but hopes experts will help them so they wouldn't be scammed.

He said: ‘We are open to sharing the profit so I hope some experts can contact us to help.'

Provinces along the southeast Thai coast - where currents from the South China Sea and Java Sea merge into the Gulf of Thailand - have been the scene of dozens of finds, helped by growing awareness of what the waxy substance is.

In 2021, Thai fisherman Narong Phetcharaj found a 30kg piece of ambergris which was authenticated. He received an offer from a Chinese businessman of GBP 23,740 per kg.

In 2018, Boonyos Tala-upara, 44, found a piece weighing 10kg on the island of Koh Samui, which was valued at GBP 318,500 (USD 500,000).

Elsewhere in the world, in April 2016, a 1.57-kilogram ambergris ball found in Lancashire, England, sold for GBP 50,000 (USD 67,182) while in November of the same year, three Omani fishermen found 80KG of ambergris and sold it for GBP 2,233,000 (USD 3,000,000).

Ambergris valuations depend on the quality of the product. But based on previous valuations, Isdarit's haul could fetch up to GBP 31,850 per kg.

Ambergris is produced by sperm whales when bile ducts in the gastrointestinal tract make secretions to ease the passage of large or sharp objects. The whale then vomits the mucilage which solidifies and floats on the surface of the ocean. The solid chunk has a foul smell at first but after the mucilage dries out, it develops a sweet and long-lasting fragrance, which makes it a sought-after ingredient in the perfume industry as it gives off a 'musky, sweet, or earthy scent'.