Fourth-generation gold prospector and TV personality Tyler Mahoney has struck it rich once again, discovering a massive 20-ounce gold nugget worth at least $130,000 buried in the red dirt of Western Australia.
The discovery, revealed in a viral TikTok video on Monday, shows Mahoney uncovering the gleaming lump of high-purity gold nestled in the soil.
“There is $130,000 sitting on the floor right now,” she said. “It’s worth about triple my car’s worth!”
The nugget, which filled the palm of her hand, was described as a textbook example of true Aussie gold — large, red-dirt-covered, and remarkably pure.
Mahoney, who rose to fame on Discovery’s “Gold Rush”, hails from a family of prospectors and grew up just 20 minutes from the mining hub of Kalgoorlie. She’s no stranger to success in the goldfields, having found a $35,000 nugget last year with just a metal detector and collecting numerous smaller pieces along the way.
Despite a few envious TikTok comments, the response online was mostly celebratory.
“So do you get to keep that now and retire or what?” one follower joked.
In another notable find last September, Mahoney purchased a 22-gram “Inca nugget” from a Queensland prospector — a rare hopper crystal shaped like a pyramid and reportedly 92% pure. She described it as one of the world’s rarest nuggets.
“I will never ever hold anything like this again,” she said at the time. “It’s insane.”
Mahoney continues to be a passionate ambassador for Australia’s gold heritage. Speaking to Yahoo last year, she emphasized the enduring appeal of prospecting in Australia, highlighting Western Australia, Victoria, and Queensland as the nation’s richest regions.
“Gold is pretty much in every Australian state,” she said. “We are known for our big gold nuggets.”
She also urged prospectors to hang on to their big finds.
“Gold is a good investment and a hedge against inflation,” she said. “If you find something special, hold on to it as long as you can.”
As Australia’s golden history continues to write itself, Tyler Mahoney is proving that the gold rush is far from over.
