[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Gold Rush Season 15, Episode 18.]
The miners of Gold Rush are really starting to feel the pressure as they inch closer to the end of the season. For Rick Ness, it’s a race against the clock knowing this could be his last chance to pull anything out of his Duncan Creek claim without a potential water license. The crew has been hard at work moving overburden with hopes of sluicing as they hope to hit a potential $2 million payday. Ness spent all the profits gained on this big gamble at the aptly named Vegas Valley.
Parker Schnabel also took a massive risk investing $2.5 million on other land including pre-stripped ground at Sulphur Creek. He has battled to save his season from disaster after a misfire at Dominion Creek. As it gets colder, Tony Beets starts to really feel the heat to finish the season strong 3,800 ounces into his 5,000-ounce goal. With only one wash plant running by his son Mike, that is easier said than done. He hopes to change that going into the March 7 episode.
Let’s unpack how things shook out for these three this week.
Rick Ness
Discovery Channel
Earlier this season Ness hit a 900-ounce jackpot mining out the Rally Valley pit. Three weeks ago he went on a high stakes treasure hunt chasing the same at the newly minted Vegas Valley. Good progress was made, but the crew still had 60 feet to go before hitting pay dirt. Maxed out of people and resources. Ness realized he needed another person to join the immediate efforts. He turned to foreman Buzz Legault to get in fourth truck. Legault isn’t about that life and pushed back a bit. He would end up getting in a truck before running into issues with the turbo. To get him back on the road, mechanic Ryan Kent replaced the part with a $4,500 spare after only four hours down.
With the four trucks working, the roads were rough. Legault hopped back into the excavator to run through the rocks and smooth things out. Feeling demoted, he felt less motivated to get the job done and decided to take a nap. Ness attempted to contact him and grows frustrated by his work ethic. The mine boss honked his horn to try to get him up, but to no avail. He yelled for him on the walkie and got him to come out of his sleep. Ness met Legault, who at this point was on the verge of leaving, to address his concerns. Ness was basically going to lay down the ultimatum to step and to help or leave. Though he tried to uplift Legault by expressing how much he was needed for the small team. The two found common ground for now and hugged it out.
Parker Schnabel
Damien Browne cleaning filter. (Discovery Channel)
Schnabel needed Damien Browne to deliver 600 more ounces with Bob by the end of the season. A big ask, especially when the crew lead noticed the intake pond that fed wash plant Bob was filled with junk. He couldn’t fire it up until there was a clean water source. Browne went full MacGyver developing a makeshift beaver dam out of trees. The unique solution saved hours of downtime, which meant more opportunity to retrieve gold. The crew ran into an issue with the rock truck as it was stuck and needed a pull to get out. Browne noticed a crack in the top plate of the bucket of the 480 excavator causing it to go down.
Browne drove 25 miles to Dominion Creek to the yard for a replacement. He hoped he got the right one to take back. With the excavator down, the pay pile was small once again, which meant Bob would need to potentially shut down again. Luckily, Browne retrieved the right bucket and was able to rebuild the pile. After five months away, his wife and child came for a visit from Ireland. A nice moment came when Damian was able to take his son for a ride in the truck. I’m not sure how safe that was, but heartwarming nonetheless. Browne was MVP no matter how you slice it. During the weigh-in, Big Red gave 110.03 ounces from the red gravel. Next up was Roxanne at the Long Cut with 132.00 ounces. Bob came in at 176.02 ounces worth more than $440,000. Schnabel was happy to see at least gold comin in with 4,593.90 ounces so far this season. Just above half the adjusted 8,000-ounce goal.
Tony Beets
Tony Beets working in excavator. (Discovery Channel)
Given his current situation, Tony once again looked to his daughter Monica to take on the challenge at the Hester Cut. Three weeks ago, she tried to kick start her own operation at Paradise Hill and mine the three-acre cut believed to be missed by the old-timers. Unfortunately, an unexpected discovery in a super pit diverted resources. She felt shafted, but this might be her chance. Tony brought a pump to take the water out to see about getting pay out of it.
Brother Mike and his crew got the pump into position. Mike used one of his dad’s famous Frankenstein machine pipe layers to suck the water out. There were some delays with the final clasp connecting the pipe and pump not closing. After four days of draining, there was hope the Beets crew would get the first taste of pay at Hester Cut. Unfortunately, Monica and Tony noticed the banks caved in and turned the area into a swampy mess.
The Beets had to haul in coarse gravel from old tailings to stop this from happening and shore up the bank. Monica switched to an excavator and loaded a rock truck. Tony was worried about the unpredictability of the waterlogged hill. Plans were put on hold once again. The Trommel went for seven days and generated 320.56 worth more than $800,000. This brought the season total to 4,159 ounces. Good progress as they are within reach are hitting their target.
Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery