Tony Beets Targets Parker Schnabel Amid Record-Breaking Season

When the season of Gold Rush began, Tony Beets had a 6,500-ounce goal. It wasn’t long before that number appeared conservative under the current conditions. So much in fact the veteran miner looks within striking distance of Parker Schnabel’s 10,000-ounce aspiration. The race is on, but much like the “King of the Klondike,”  Parker has revved up his own operation. 

Meanwhile, Rick Ness is just trying to stay afloat while these two titans are breaking records. Things are starting to look up for the underdog with gold once again finally coming out of Rally Valley. But is it too late? Read to see how things shook out for the three during the April 17 episode of the Discovery Channel series. 

Tony Beets

Tony Beets (Discovery Channel)

The Beets patriarch has already generated more than $30 million, but isn’t done yet. He saw the potential of running a 1,000-ounce week. It would all come down to getting Harold sluicing at the Hester Cut. The crew needed to get the wash plant running quickly starting with building the pad and installing the hopper feeder. Next was connecting the hose as part of the process to send water to the plant. An ECM (electronic control module) was causing issues where the pump computer wouldn’t fire up due to thinking the coolant was low. 

After working past mechanical problems, Mike welcomed couple Brent Nibecker and Taylor Olson, who each brought their respective experience to the jobs. The intense pace caught up with Brent as he called over Taylor to help so he could take a break. They work through the buckets over six hours. Tony panned to see there was quite a bit of gold to be pulled. The weigh-in of the four wash plants came next. Sluice-A-Lot gave them 238.20 pounds, Find-A-Lot added another  217.54 ounces at the Corner Cut. The Trommel generated a massive 423.92 ounces. Harold at the Hester Cut finished it off with 133.50 ounces. At 1,013 ounces, this was a big pay day worth $3.7 million. Tony was now within 300 ounces behind the Parker. 

Parker Schnabel

Parker Schnabel (Discovery Channel)

Parker wasn’t slowing down and began thinking ahead to next year. He added more responsibilities for foreman Mitch Blaschke. The boss wanted him to keep an eye on the stripping crew that came in at Indian River. Mitch already had his hands full with multiple acres to min and sluice with Roxanne before the end of the season. The crew risked getting the equipment stuck in the mud. Parker brought some welcome assistance for Mitch in the form of his new toy, a brand-new D11 Dozer worth $4 million. 

Foreman Tyson Lee juggled managing three plants Golden Goose and Big Red in the Golden Mile with Bob in the Bridge Cut. The crew had hopper chain drive system issues with Bob, but was only down for four hours as new sprockets were installed. Bob brought in 174.20 ounces. The Golden Mile plants generated 302.25 ounces. Roxanne added 150.08 ounces That brings their total to $2.5 million with the season total at 9,569.45 ounces.. “We got this. Oh yeah,” Parker said confidently. 

Rick Ness

Rick Ness (Discovery Channel)

Rick got a welcome and much-needed boost thanks to his good friend Brian “Zee” Zaremba. His crew were barley over 600 ounces. Though Monster Red pulled more than 200 ounces last week showing progress. There was still a chance to accomplish the 1,800-once goal, especially if they could get 300 ounce gold hauls. Operator Bailey Carten brought Rick over because Vegas Valley was almost out of pay. Rick was undeterred giving instructions to Bailey to dig down and get to the 40-feet gold rich pay before winter freezes them out. For Rick, the juice was worth the squeeze. 

“Zee” and mechanic Ryan Kent had to deal with discovering the pin that connects the grizzly bars to the feeder was broken in half. The guys searched for a replacement pin found on equipment they weren’t using. During the process Ryan opened up to “Zee” about his struggles at home and wondering if he’ll come back next season. After two hours down they were able to get the wash plant back in the game. Rick met with the group for the weigh-in. In all, the crew took another step in the right direction with 433.54 worth $1.6 million. Rick’s decision to pivot back to Vegas Valley paid off with the biggest gold weigh so far. Maybe “Zee” was also good luck?

Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel