‘Gold Rush Mine Rescue’ Stars Spill Show Secrets: What Fans Don’t See on TV

Freddy Dodge and Juan Ibarra have hit the road once again for Gold Rush Mine Rescue. And with prices at historic highs, the stakes are higher than ever. Not just for them, but the people they’re looking to help. Many who have nowhere to turn and are on the brink of financial ruin hope the two can help turn things around for them. For Season 5 of the Discovery Channel spin-off, Dodge and Ibarra head throughout North America to help these miners climb out of the rubble. 

They have a successful track record lined with gold, meshing Ibarra’s mechanic skills alongside Dodge’s troubleshooting abilities. First on the itinerary is the Yukon during the two-hour season premiere on February 13. It’s there the duo work with Morgan Fraughton and tackle their most extensive hunt so far. A total of 288 claims across more than 6,000 acres means double the breakdowns. The team enlist the help of experts like Yukon geologist Jeff Bond over the course of the season.  

We caught up with Dodge and Ibarra to find out what goers on behind the scenes, and what fans can expect in upcoming episodes. 

This is going on in Season 5. How do you reflect on all the good you’ve done and what you’ve taken from the experience working together? 

Freddy Dodge: Juan and myself, we work extremely well together. Out in the field, out in the bush, there is nobody else I’d rather be with than Juan Ibarra. He is a master of many talents. 

Juan Ibarra: Some we don’t talk about [laughs]. 

Freddy: That’s right. 

Juan: I feel the same way. Freddy and I have been working together for over a decade. We’ve been doing the show for what will be going on six years. Freddy has taught me plenty of things across the board. Not only about gold recovery, but also I was already fabricating before I started working with Freddy years ago. But since I started working with Freddy, he has taught me some tricks to save time. He has become my mentor. A lot of the stuff I do now as a fabricator I’ve learned from Freddy. He has shown me different ways of thinking. 

How is it traveling together? What are some things we don’t see on camera? 

Juan: Honestly, it’s sad some people don’t get to see some of that. I mean some of the adventures we have, the breakdowns. We have had a lot of adventures outside cameras over the years. Being that we travel upwards of 20,000 miles a year, if not more, we see a lot of the country, a lot of people, and have unique interactions. We get to see some crazy things at times. They have shown some of it on the series over the years. Last year we ran into an incident where we had our truck and it was so muddy down at the mine site that when we tried to get our trucks out and our trailers, we ended up taking the trucks and trailers sideways off a hill. That has happened more than once. We’re stuck in a position where we genuinely could lose the trucks. Obviously, we’re going to jump out of there before it gets to a certain point, but we’ve run into issues time and time again where our equipment was in danger. 

Freddy: We’ve had a lot of moments where bad things could happen over the years just getting in and out of the mines. 

As the show has become more well-known and people have an idea of the concept, how difficult is it to decide the sites and what you tackle? 

Freddy: Well, we mainly want to help the people who need help. There are miners out there who are very good at what they do. There are some that truly need help. A little bit of help for some of them is the difference between going broke or making a living. 

Juan: It genuinely is getting harder and harder for the miner because they’ve been watching the show for so many seasons and see a lot of the things Freddy and I are going to do, and they’ve done it themselves. They call us in and we have to think outside-of-the box and then try new things. It does get a little difficult at times because they are learning right alongside us. We’re figuring things out, teaching the public, and learning. Then we have to go to their mine and help fix things after they’ve also tried the things we’ve done in the past. 

Freddy: We have to reach deeper into the toolbox with some situations to figure out ways to help them. 

We’re seeing the flagship show right now. Gold prices are at historic highs. What’s the environment like now on your end? Are we seeing people take bigger risks as a result?  

Freddy: It has made ground that wasn’t cost effective in the past more cost effective. 

Juan: I think because of the gold price we’re going to start seeing more mines come online because they can be profitable at $5,000 an ounce. We’re talking just last year where we’re at upwards of $3,000. It has dramatically gone up. We’re going to see a lot more mining come into play. 

What stands out this season about what to expect? 

Freddy: The viewers can expect a lot of different terrain, a lot of different environments. Miners in different situations and problems for different reasons. It will be an up and down ride. 

Juan: This will be an extreme season. Both extremes we will face with some really big high highs and really low lows. The truth is Freddy and I, every time we go out and do this, we do it with everything we have. We put our whole heart and soul into mining and what we’re trying to accomplish. We did some really big fixes this year. We helped a lot of people. A few things didn’t go as planned. Regardless, we still worked our tails off. That’s what we do. People call us and genuinely want our help. We want to make sure we get out there and do it to the best of our abilities and hold nothing back. And we did that. 

Freddy: What the viewers don’t see sometimes is the stress for Juan and myself. We’re out there trying to change people’s lives and make them change for the better. That stress is to no end sometimes. People don’t see us sitting in a hotel at night strategizing and trying to figure things out until 12,1,2 in the morning. Like we’re in trouble here. We have to try to figure out what to do. The viewers don’t see that stuff. 

Juan: The headaches and stress that goes on behind the scenes is amazing. Freddy wasn’t exaggerating at all when he said we’ll sit there and maybe till 1 a.m. trying to figure out exactly what we’re going to do and how we’re going to accomplish things with the time we have. It really does put a lot of stress on us. We still do it because we both love it. 

Freddy: Like they say Juan, never say whoa in a horse race. 

How would you describe your fan base and success of the show? 

Freddy: I hate to even use the word fan for Juan and myself. They are people just like us. We never really use the word fan, but we have a lot of people who love what we do. We have a lot of people that love our challenges and like to follow to see if we’re going to get it done or not going to get it done. To all those people out there  who follow Juan and myself, thank you for watching our journey, adventures, watching our failures and wins. I just want to thank all those people. 

Juan: Freddy knocked it on the head in that we’re just average guys. We’re fortunate in that we have the good luck of being filmed and doing what we love. The truth is there are others like us who do this job and never get filmed, but the people that watch the show and appreciate the show and know the struggles and can sympathize with it. That’s what has made this thing grow and it has a huge fan base now. We’re just regular guys. I don’t see them as fans. They are just friends. They watch what Freddy and I do and appreciate what we do, and it works. 

Gold Rush Mine Rescue Season 5 premiere, February 13, 9/8c, Discovery Channel