Australian sheep spin riches

A flock of Australian sheep have produced the world's finest bale of wool - so valuable that it is in a bank vault under lock and key.

The wool is 11.9 microns thick, or about one-fifth the diameter of human hair, and the 90kg (198pound) bale is valued at more than A$1m (US$752,000).

It is expected to be sold to a top fashion house.

It was produced by sheep farming brothers Bim and Richard Goodrich in Queensland.

The Goodriches keep their flock in the finest conditions. The sheep are reported to enjoy luxury food and a climate-controlled shed with piped soothing music which their owners have dubbed the "Wooldorf Astoria".

"It's a world record that highlights the amount of research and development put in by Australian farmers," Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said on Wednesday.

"I hope buyers are as happy and excited as we are," Bim Goodrich said.

"It's just a great privilege for us to have produced such a beautiful bale of wool. It's the softest and the highest quality of wool that's ever been produced," he said.

One micron is 1,000th of a millimetre and 14-16 micron wool is normally used for cashmere clothing. The average wool produced in Australia is 20 microns.

The previous record for the world's finest wool was 12 microns thick and was also produced by an Australian sheep farmer.