An Australian teenager has revealed how her friend found ‘$20,000’ lying on the ground after stumbling across a huge gold nugget in the woods.
Tyler Mahoney, 27, showed off the shiny chunk of gold on Instagram, noting that he had “cleaned it up” after finding it.
The professional gold prospector said the nugget was found in Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town 600 kilometres northeast of Perth in Western Australia, in unusual circumstances.
“It was just lying on the ground,” she said alongside a photo of the heart-shaped gold piece.
Ms Mahoney, who rose to fame on reality TV show Gold Rush and later became the founder of The Prospectors Club, said it was “hard to believe” her friend’s luck.
“They found him sitting on the ground while they were walking through the bushes,” he explained.
She named the 146-gram nugget “sunbaker” because it was found on the surface and not underground.
Followers could not believe the size of the nugget found in plain sight.
Tyler Mahoney shows off $20,000 ‘sundress’ gold nugget found in Washington
“Have you ever found $20,000 lying on the ground? It’s hard to believe, I know,” Tyler said of the surprising find.
“Wow! It’s huge. What a beauty, an incredible find,” said one fan.
“Jesus, I’d love to accidentally stub my foot on one of those walking through the woods,” another joked.
“She has a real heart of gold,” said another follower.
Tyler, a former model and fourth generation gold prospector, works on his family’s prospecting farm in the WA goldfields.
“I don’t get paid a fixed salary for gold prospecting,” Mahoney said. “I get paid in gold.”
Tyler, a former model and fourth generation gold prospector, works on his family’s prospecting farm in the WA goldfields.
“Every day is different and it depends on what we find. It’s not a secure income at all. Some days it’s baked beans and other days it’s lobster,” Tyler explained.
“Every day is different and depends on what we find. It’s not a secure income at all. Some days it’s baked beans and other days it’s lobster,” he explained.
While the $20,000 gold nugget was found in the topsoil, Ms Mahoney says it still takes an experienced prospector to locate it.
“To be a prospector you have to know how to read the terrain and follow the gold,” he said.
Tyler’s memoir, Gold Digger, describes her journey through the male-dominated industry of professional gold prospecting.
“As a woman it’s very difficult to get a seat at the table and then when you’re at the table it’s very difficult to be respected and heard,” she said.