‘Gold Rush’: Parker Schnabel Speaks Out as He Faces Shutting Down Business

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Gold Rush Season 16.]

Things were heating up in more ways than one on Gold Rush. During the January 9 episode of the Discovery Channel hit series, the miners faced the threat of wildfires in the Yukon believed to be caused by lightning. In all there were more than 90 of these raging infernos across 250,000 acres. At Dominion Creek, fires moved three or four miles from camp. Parker Schnabel was inching toward 3,000 ounces so far for Season 16, but intense wildfires could shut him down at any moment. 

Though, much like the mining prodigy, Tony Beets wanted to build on momentum and showed no signs of stopping. With gold prices at all-time highs, there was a lot on the line. Rick Ness also felt the heat. He wanted to deliver at Lightning Creek while his crew questioned the decision not to move immediately to Duncan Creek after the water license was renewed. 

Let’s dig into what happened this week.   

Parker Schnabel 

Discovery Channel

Amid the threat of wildfires in the backdrop, Parker moved forward running at Sulphur Creek. That meant it was a race against time for foreman Mitch Blaschke to finish up there before the water license expired there in two weeks.  “The worst thing that could happen is the roads are engulfed in flames,” Parker told Mitch. I don’t know how encouraging those words were, but it was pretty much business as usual. Thankfully, rain helped extinguish the blazes. Parker had to leave for five days, which was the timeline Mitch felt he needed to finish sluicing the stockpile pay and move Roxanne 25 miles to Ken and Stuart’s. Transporting Roxanne proved easier said than done thanks to a narrow bridge. After completing their mission, the team met up for the weigh-in. The last of the Sulphur pay brought in 221.02 ounces. Next up the Gold Mile Cut generated 273.15 ounces with another 216.50 ounces for the Bridge Cut. An all around good 710.05 ounce finish worth $2.5 million. This contributed to their season total of more than 4,200 ounces headed to their 10,000 once goal. 

Tony Beets 

Tony Beets/Discovery Channel

At Indian River, Tony was undeterred by the fires, which were two miles nearby. The “King of the Klondike” looked to build generational wealth, and this season would certainly help get him there. Son Mike struggled at Paradise Hill running Harold going through old timer tailings. However, the one paying the bills was Sluice-A-Lot at Indian River. So when the wash plant started smoking and had to be shut down, that proved a big deal. It turned out the wiring burnt out and the motor overheated. The crew replaced the 600-pound motor, but the plant remained inoperable. Stumped, Tony called in an electrician. They needed a generator to help get the equipment going again. Every hour without gold production cost Tony around $8,000 an hour. Overall, the plant ran for two days and two nights and brought in 121.10 ounces worth $420,000. Mike’s sluicing at Paradise Hill generated 36.88 ounces over five days. The more than $100,000 wouldn’t’  be enough in Tony’s eyes to get him to goal. He wanted Mike to now concentrate on the Trommel for big hauls. 

Rick Ness

Rick Ness/Discovery Channel

Rick found himself in a tug-of-war with his crew. He already invested money and time in Lightning Creek. He owed 100 ounces to buy the claim outright, even though it only net him 29 ounces thus far in the weeks there. The underdog mine boss received good news the water license went through at the Vegas Valley claim, meaning he could head back to Duncan Creek for the sure thing there. Much to the chagrin of his crew, Rick also didn’t want to abandon Lightning Creek. He planned to split his crew, but mechanic Ryan Kent noticed issues with a 700 excavator. The whole engine needed a rebuild. After sluicing for a few more delays,

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Rick ultimately decided to move resources to Vegas Valley and finish up at Lightning Creek. Some of the team prepared a pump for Monster Rd to run the stockpile, which was also a process. Rick’s last weigh- in at Lightning Creek came in at 50.40 ounces. This combined with past collections still meant he was 20 ounces short to pay off Troy Taylor. Though Rick knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of Vegas Valley. 

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