Warning: The below contains spoilers for Gold Rush Season 15, Episode 15.]
Time has been ticking closer toward the end of the season, which meant the Gold Rush mine bosses had to make some big moves to get to their goals. Parker Schnabel has only banked less than 3,000 ounces into his 10,000-once target. To speed up the process, he decided to purchase a mining company for $2.5 million, which included the Sulphur Creek claim that had ground ready to sluice.
Over at Indian Creek, Tony Beets started out strong. However, operations have stalled out due to frozen ground. This left him with only the wash plant Trommel sluicing for gold at Paradise Hill. With gold prices high, he wanted to do all he could to take advantage of that. During the February 14 episode, it seemed that this laser-focus eye on the prize means the children take a backseat. At least that’s how daughter Monica felt.
Then there was the underdog Rick Ness, who cleaned up at Rally Valley. Unfortunately, his luck at Duncan Creek has run out more than halfway through the season. After the windfall, he has hit a plateau with three cuts failing to deliver. Burning through his profits and struggling to mine, Ness has been desperate to find new ground.
How do things shape out for the three? Let’s dig into this week’s activity.
Parker Schnabel
Parker Schnabel’s crew Mitch Blaschke. (Discovery Channel)
Damien Browne and a skeleton crew have run a full week with Bob to see if the gamble at Sulphur Creek was worth it. Damien ran into problems as the pre wash conveyor jammed up that forced him to shut the plant down. Father and son mechanics Bill Horton and Justin Driessen dropped what they were doing elsewhere to help. It was believed the shaft was no longer aligned, bringing the belt to a standstill. Making matters worse, the shaft was destroyed.
The distance between sites has also become an issue. A replacement drive shaft needed to be cut after initially not fitting, so the mechanics work through a makeshift fix. The Schnabel crew came together to see what progress was made. Big Red was running top gravel in the Bridge Cut and totaled 98.50 ounces worth around $250,000. Next up was Roxanne at the Long Cut, which racked up 168.20 ounces worth more than $420,000.
Last, but not least, was Bob, which ran at Sulphur. The result came in at 299.00 ounces, worth nearly three quarters of a million dollars. This could possibly save the season. The season total so far was 3446.20, a third of the way into the goal. So, more to do.
Tony Beets
Tony Beets and Mike Beets at Trommel sluices distribution box. (Discovery Channel)
Daughter Monica called Tony over to talk about her plan to run Hester Cut. Four years ago, Tony discovered a pocket of ground missed by the old-timers. He drilled it and found good gold. He opened up a 1.5-acre cut, but so far it has never been mined. Monica wanted to change that. Tony liked the idea. Monica looked to use Tony’s 33-year-old Moose Creek Trommel to sluice the Hester Cut. Brother Michael lent a hand by dragging the wash plant that sat idle for two years so welders work on repairs.
Just as things were getting started, Mike was called over back to his site. There was an issue with the Trommel’s distributor box, which was losing water and gold just before hitting sluice runs. This meant Monica’s project was put on hold. Monica felt less of a priority and the “bottom of the list” in terms of the Beets family kids. After two days of welding, the Beets only working wash plant was back sluicing for gold.
With the issue resolved, attention could be turned back to the Trommel at the Hester Cut. Monica’s first step though was going to be draining the cut of water using a pump. Tony once again put a halt to her aspirations to redirect all the energy to an existing cut that would give more of a sure-thing in terms of gold return. Monica was shafted again. The family convened for their favorite activity together, the gold weigh-in. Four days on the Trommel resulted in 203.32 worth half a million dollars. This brought them to 3,695 ounces toward their 5,000-ounce goal for the season.
Rick Ness
Rick Ness and crew together. (Discovery Channel)
After striking out for the last six weeks, Ness turned to ground he initially thought was too risky to mine. An extension of Rally Valley, a channel that was about half a mile away. Drilling reports and other research led him to believe he may be sitting on some good gold. The problem was it was so deep, calculations meant it would take 7-8 weeks to strip it. Then if he was lucky, the crew may get two weeks of sluicing in the end. If he spent a million dollars stripping it and didn’t get any gold out of it, he couldn’t absorb the cost. The risk was astronomical as he must move a mountain to dig 160 feet down to pay dirt and then sluice as much as possible before winter shut down his operation.
Ness explained the potential plan to the group, and they are on board. Rally Valley 2.0 is a go with the crew’s gold bonuses and Ness’ financial security on the line. The 750 excavator began working to transition the dirt to move into rock trucks. A truck lost the hinge pin, which could have been disastrous if it wasn’t noticed and fixed quickly. Ness has been happy with the progress of a week’s work with still much more to be done. Ness dubbed the new space “Vegas Valley.”
Can he hit the jackpot? We’ll see if the odds are on his side.
Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery