Warning: The below contains spoilers for Gold Rush Season 15, Episode 17.]
The miners of Gold Rush hit some serious snags that unfolded during the February 28 episode. Parker Schnabel has been struggling to get enough of the good stuff from the Dominion Creek claim. So much, he had to lower his overall season goal from 10,000 to 8,000 ounces. With two wash plants running out of the three at the moment, that’s easier said than done. Sulphur Creek ran out of stockpile pay dirt, which shut things down there. It’s up to Dominion Creek and the Long Cut to deliver the goods.
Elsewhere, Tony Beets had a hot run at the start, but that momentum slowed down running at limited capacity. After going from three plants down to one, his 5,000-ounce goal could be in doubt. Not helping matters has been waiting for the frozen ground to thaw at Indian River. This put all the pressure on Tony’s son Mike to sluice as quickly as possible to get results at Paradise Hill with the Trommel.
The Beets eldest son Kevin has suffered first-year mine boss growing pains, working around the clock to keep his business afloat. He has invested nearly $2 million of his life savings into the venture. Running 24/7 brought in 155 ounces into his 1,000 goal thus far. Going through so much pay pile, he looked now to open up another cut at Scribner Creek.
Let’s unravel the activity for these three crews.
Parker Schnabel
James Kurtz driving rock truck. (Discovery Channel)
One of Parker’s right-hand men, Mitch Blaschke, was on a mission at the Long Cut to deliver a big week. He used two giant A60 rock trucks together to deliver 600 yards of dirt an hour. Blaschke has depended on new operators to help get the job done like James Kurtz. The 22-year-old heard not-so-good noises, beeps and four error-codes flashing. The drive shaft was discovered to be broken, destroying breaklines and hydraulic hoses. Mechanic Taylor Matejka managed to get the down vehicle back to the yard for repairs.
After the broken drive shaft got repaired after only six hours, they were able to get back up and running. The Schnabel team met up for the weekly weighing. Big Red ran red gravel from Bridge Cut and delivered 100.08 ounces. Roxanne at Long Cut was next, resulting in 206.08 ounces, almost a hundred ounces less than last week. This was Parker’s worst gold weigh in seven weeks when production should be peaking. Schnabel has a long way to go and a small time to get there.
Tony Beets
Wide shot, Old timer mining equipment. (Discovery Channel)
Tony noticed dirty water with the Trommel filling the setting pond. If it spilled into a nearby creek, environmental authorities would shut them down. He had no option to stop sluicing until the crew raised the dike as slit was clogging the culver creating the muddy discharge. Son Mike’s team used a side dump truck and worked to narrow the roads. He leveled the ground using the D11 Dozer. Disaster struck when crew member Curtis Koch tipped the vehicle. It hanged of a 15-foot drop, adding insult to injury.
Mike called in dad to help. His plan was to disconnect the truck from the trailer and rescue each piece separately. Mike nearly smashed the semi into his own excavator as they got the truck back upright. After two days down, they were back on track with the truck rolling and the dike work completed. In between, Mike and Tony discovered a piece of equipment that 80 or 90 years ago was used to locate gold. He hoped to bring back the antique’s luster at some point. Mike raised the culvert to get the settling ponds ready for more sluicing. Running with one wash plant over three nights and two days gave the Beets family 143.58 ounces worth $350,000. That put them at around 3,800 overall into the 5,000 goal.
Kevin Beets
Discovery Channel
The crew has been running to strip the overburden and get down to pay, but faced a massive water problem. A truck got stuck as they worked on the Links Cut extension at Scribner Creek. A pump has been desperately needed. The problem was Kevin already borrowed a pump from Tony to run their wash plant, which left them without a spare. He ran out of favors and had no more cash to spend. Foreman Brennan Ruault grew frustrated as sluice water seeped through the space they were working on and turned the cut into a muddy mess.
He drove off at one point, waved off producers and disappeared without Kevin knowing where he went. Ruault returned with a new $11,000 pump he purchased. The job could continue. Kevin’s dad Tony and mom Minnie stopped by for the weekly weigh-in as they await their 10 percent royalty. The Links Cut brought in 156.60 of gold, worth more than $390,000. It was Kevin’s best haul of the season and doubles the overall total to 312 ounces. They were on the right path.
Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery