Gold Rush star Parker Schnabel has struck a new claim for another piece of land in Alaska. This is a new deal that allows Parker to build his gold mining business up even more, proving to be one of the most successful miners from the Discovery reality series.
Here is a look at what Parker has closed on and what this means for his future.
Gold Rush Parker Schnabel gets a new claim
Metallic Minerals has signed a new production royalty agreement on 5 ½ miles of alluvial gold claims at its Australia Creek property in the Klondike Gold District of Canada’s Yukon Territory with Parker Schnabel’s Little Flake mining.
This agreement means that Parker will have exclusive rights to extract gold from the Australia Creek property. In exchange, Metallic Minerals receive a percentage of the production as a royalty. Metallic Minerals is a company that has expertise in mineral exploration while Parker has expertise in gold mining. This should help both companies maximize profitability.
This also is a good deal for Metallic Minerals, as Parker Schnabel recently won the Robert E. Leckie Award for Excellence in Environmental Stewardship by the Yukon Government for his reclamation work in the Klondike.
Under the terms of the Australia Creek property agreement, Little Flake and Parker have to complete a $1 million minimum annual work commitment. They also have to pay Metallic Minerals an annual advance royalty plus a variable royalty on all gold production. While this is something Parker never liked before, since this is virgin ground, he likely made the exception.
There is no word on whether this new land will play into Gold Rush. There have been rumors that his most recent new claim would get its own spin-off series, but with a new one, there could be enough for Parker to get more on his own spin-off series on Discovery.
Fans worry Parker Schnabel is working his way out of Gold Rush
However, there is also the thought that Parker Schnabel could be working his way out of Gold Rush for one ironic reason. The best episodes of the show are when the miners struggle and have to find a way to make something work when everything is going wrong. When it comes to Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets, the two are both extremely successful.
It is often boring to watch Parker’s claims since he has everything down to a science. He is no longer playing it by the hips and he knows what works and what doesn’t. When something goes wrong, he is often there with the answer without having to figure things out. With the new claim, Parker is becoming the preeminent gold miner in Canada right now, and his success does not make for compelling reality television.
Are you surprised that Parker Schnabel has been so successful since he got his start on Gold Rush? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
