‘Gold Rush’: Tony Beets’ Brother Nick Helps Him Reach Massive Season Haul Benchmark

Things are looking up for Tony Beets after a slow start on Gold Rush. The veteran mine boss not only wants to bring in big numbers. He aims to show the young gun Parker Schnabel who still sits on the proverbial throne as “King of the Klondike.” Tony’s Sluice-A-Lot has produced 800 ounces in his Midas Cut with the hope it’s just the beginning of a hot streak.

Rick Ness remains optimistic about his future after being given the greenlight to start mining again. Now it’s a matter of mapping out his next move and assembling a crew. Expectations are high for Greg Gibson with the hard rock mogul looking to build his empire. That means the pressure is on for his Foreman Buzz Legault to deliver. 

Let’s break down how it panned out for these three during the November 6 episode. 

Tony Beets

Tony Beets in front of the excavator. (Discovery Channel)

Tony makes no bones about the fact he wants to see the biggest weigh-in so far this week. He has all the confidence in his younger brother Nick, who stepped in as foreman for the season. Tony left Nick in charge while he ventured to Fairbanks for an auction. The crew were tasked with keeping Sluice-A-Lot and Find-A-Lot fed. Andrew Moran was second in command with newcomer Jasmine Gatensby put in charge to keep Find-A-Lot running.

The Irish temper got the best of Andrew when the wash plant ran into some issues. Find-A-Lot’s grizzly was blocked to the point the team needed to widen the gaps to make it so larger rocks wouldn’t be an issue and stop dirt from reaching the plant. Nick gave Andrew some leadership advice, which he took to heart. Andrew apologized to Jasmine about their past interaction. 

Along with hopper feeder issues, Find-A-Lot also had to be shut down when a main water intake hose blew. It turned out Jasmine closed and opened the wrong hoses. Nick rushed to find a replacement. The family met to see how they did. Sluice-A-Lot generated 449.96 ounces. Find-A-Lot’s first run of the season added another 350.50 ounces over the five days. It did end up being the biggest gold weigh of the season, pulling in 800 ounces and an overall $3.5 million pay day. 

Rick Ness

Rick Ness (Discovery Channel)

Rick was excited to start mining now five weeks into the season. Authorities banned him from working out of the high wall pits, but he could mine shallow ground. The leftover stockpile brought in a little over 30 ounces, which wasn’t quite the 100 he had hoped for. He had an idea of some ground that was shallow. With that, Rick met up with Troy Taylor.

The one who Rick leased land from over the years. He bought 1,700 acres of Duncan Creek ground worth $1.4 million from him.  The land paid out well, so Troy had a good track record given his local knowledge. Rick also acquired another 1,600 acres in the past at Lightning Creek. Troy took Rick to a potential honey hole, a 32-acre chunk of land south of the current operation. The trail sample and water worn boulders were good signs gold could be there. 

The underdog miner brought in a mechanic named Curtis Demayer and familiar face Bailey Carten as operator and excavator. Rick’s team convened to go over their updated mining plan. Bailey wasn’t too sure about the unproven ground and thought returning to Lightning Creek would be a better option. The numbers weren’t that great there or reliable enough. He felt the new ground was their best option. The team agreed to move forward if they were able to do some further testing. Unfortunately, Rick had another obstacle to overcome when his 700 excavator ran into problems. It would cost big money and time to fix. Will this  be a bump in the road or a roadblock?

Greg Gibson 

Buzz Legault (Discovery Channel)

Greg has invested significant funds for equipment to make sure his operation had the best chance of success. This included a feeder that was stuck 40 miles away at Sulphur Hill. Greg wanted the feeder hauled to the work site at Trail Hill and the Hot Box wash plant going within the week. That meant Buzz needed to get the feeder over two mountain passes with the highest being 3,800 feet through a treacherous route.

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The tight hairpin turns left no room for error. Buzz enlisted Stephen Caffray to man the loader. It was his first day on the job, so he was thrown into the deep end. The feeder driver was stuck overnight waiting for a rescue. A bolt fix helped save the team five or six hours. With the hopper conveyer eventually set up, the Hot Box was fired up and running. Greg returned happy to find the work that had been done. 

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