Minecraft wiki entry for Gold_Nugget, associated text: Nether gold ore mined using a pickaxe drops 2-6 gold nuggets. If the pickaxe is enchanted with Fortune, it has a 33.3% chance to multiply the drops by 2, Fortune II has a 25% chance to multiply the drops by 2 or 3 and Fortune III has a 20% chance each to multiply the drops by 2, 3, or 4 for a maximum possible drop of 24 golden nuggets. The average drop rate for a Fortune III pickaxe is 8.8, while the drop rate for a Silk Touch pickaxe is a single ingot, or a flat rate of 9. It is slightly more efficient to mine with a Silk Touch pickaxe.