Gold Rush (TV series)

"Gold Rush Alaska" redirects here. For the gold rushes in Alaska, see Alaska Gold Rush (disambiguation).

This article is about the Discovery Channel reality TV show. For other uses of the term, see gold rush (disambiguation).

Gold Rush
Starring	Rick Ness, Parker Schnabel, and Tony Beets (from left to right) of Season 11
Narrated by	Paul Christie, Dean Lennox Kelly (UK broadcast)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	258 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Christo Doyle
Production locations	Klondike, Yukon, Canada (Season 11)
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Raw TV
Original release
Network	Discovery Channel
Release	December 3, 2010 (2010-12-03) – present
Related
Gold Rush: White Water, Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine, Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue, Bering Sea Gold, Flying Wild Alaska, Jungle Gold

Gold Rush (titled Gold Rush: Alaska for the first season) is a reality television series that airs on Discovery and its affiliates worldwide. The series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. In its 11th season as of early 2020, prior seasons also included mining efforts in South America and western North America.

Overview

Gold total per season (in ounces)

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Hoffman/Turin	14.64	93.5	803	2	1349	3032	1100.77	1644	-	-	-
Schnabel	-	34	191	1029	2538	3372	4311	6280	7427.25	7223	7504.9
Hurt	-	80.4	163	280	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Beets	-	-	-	-	?	737	2176	3659	~4400	2259.36	3030.26
Ness	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1105	547	~1080
Lewis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6.39

Season 1

The show was named Gold Rush: Alaska in its first season, and featured six men from Sandy, Oregon, a small town 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Portland, who, due to the economic downturn, have lost their jobs. They decided on an all-stakes gamble—travel to Porcupine Creek, Alaska, and prospect for gold. Most of the people on the show have little or no previous placer gold mining experience and must learn on the job. By the end of the season, the Hoffman crew had recovered 14.64 ounces.

Season 2

In season 2, with the show renamed to Gold Rush, Todd misses a lease payment on Porcupine Creek and "Dakota" Fred Hurt buys the claim from owner Earl Foster, not needing to honor the lease due to the missed payment. The season explores the Hoffman crew's new mine at Quartz Creek, in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as "Dakota" Fred's operation at the site of the original Hoffman mine, Porcupine Creek, and Parker Schnabel's attempts to mine his grandfather's property at Big Nugget Mine. The gold recovered by each team for the season was:

Hurt Crew, Porcupine Creek: 80.4 ozt (2,500 g) $125,000

Schnabel Crew, Big Nugget Mine: 34 ozt (1,100 g) $55,000

Hoffman Crew, Quartz Creek: 93.5 ozt (2,910 g) $150,000

Season 3

The third season began in October 2012. The Hoffman crew returned to the Klondike to once again mine the Quartz Creek site but also brought on additional crewmen to simultaneously work another site in the area. But, with Hoffman having delays and equipment trouble at his site, they decided to merge with Dave Turin's team at Indian River. Parker Schnabel returned to the Big Nugget Mine site with larger and more efficient equipment, while "Dakota" Fred Hurt and his crew returned to the Porcupine Creek site.

The Turin crew mined 803 ounces of gold, earning them over $1.28 million. Parker and Dakota Fred mined 191 ounces and 163 ounces, respectively, worth over a quarter-million dollars each. This was a large success in comparison to the first season, where no team recovered more than 50 ounces of gold.

Season 4

The fourth season began airing in August 2013 and started with a pre-season episode called The Dirt featuring interviews with all of the teams featured in season three. Gold Rush: Guyana South America features the Hoffman crew in South America, Parker Schnabel guest-mining on new land with mentor Tony Beets in Dawson City, and "Dakota" Fred Hurt and his son Dustin mining at Cahoon Creek, a hard-to-reach, post-glacial area mined only with pickaxes in the late 1800s. The actual Season 4 premiere was October 25, 2013.

The Hoffman crew mined barely two ounces of gold and were forced to pack up and leave their Guyana mining operation; the Dakota boys mined 280 ounces, and Parker and his crew mined 836 ounces by the end of the season. Parker then stayed and continued mining with Rick and picked up an additional 193 ounces, bringing his season total to 1,029 ounces. Parker's $1.4 million haul not only broke Todd Hoffman's single-season record of 803 ounces, but also eclipsed Hoffman's entire four-season total.

Season 5

The two-hour Gold Rush Season 5 premiere kicked off Friday, October 17, 2014, at 9 PM ET/PT with The Dirt airing beforehand at 8 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel.

By season's end, Parker mined 2,538 ounces totaling just under $3 million and the Hoffmans mined 1,349 ounces totaling just over $1.6 million.

Season 6

The two-hour Gold Rush season 6 premiere started in the United States on October 16, 2015, with The Dirt airing beforehand on the Discovery Channel, while the UK premiere was on October 20, 2015. By the season's end, Tony's dredge pulls out 737 ounces, Parker managed to mine 3,372 ounces worth almost $3.5 million, while the Hoffmans mined 3,032 ounces worth just over $3 million.

Season 7

Season 7 premiered on October 14, 2016. By the end of season 7, Todd's mining effort in Oregon had failed, although he finished the summer at a Fairplay, Colorado, mine with a break-even total just over 1100 ounces. Tony Beets and family finished with just over 2100 ounces using a refurbished gold mining dredge. Parker Schnabel and his crew finished with just over 4300 ounces, worth just over $5 million.

Season 8

Season 8 premiered on October 13, 2017. The season finds the Hoffman and Schnabel crews wagering 100 ounces of gold to the company that mines the most gold, with both vying for a 5,000 ounce season goal. Meanwhile, Tony Beets is disassembling, transporting, and reassembling another vintage dredge, resurrecting a method of placer mining that has not been in common use in Dawson City for half a century. It was announced on Gold Rush Live that Season 8 would be the last season on the show for the Hoffman family.

By season's end, the Hoffmans mined 1,644 ounces in Colorado, worth just under $2 million. Schnabel's crew finished with 6,280 ounces mining in the Yukon, worth $7.5 million. Tony Beets finished with 3,659 ounces at Eureka Creek, worth $4.39 million.

Season 9

Season 9 debuted on October 11, 2018, with an Episode 0 entitled "The Story So Far". Episodes during this season focused on the mining efforts of Rick Ness in his first season operating independently, Parker Schnabel and his crew, and Tony Beets and his family. The season was slated to have 20 episodes, with the final one airing in March 2019.

Parker's crew exceeded his 7,000 goal at Scribner Creek, mining 7,427.25 ounces (worth nearly $9 million). Rick Ness mined 1,105 ounces, worth $1.3 million, and beat his 1,000 ounce season goal. Tony Beets fell short of his 6,000 ounce goal, mining just under 4,400 ounces.

Season 10

Season 10 premiered on October 11, 2019. It focused on the mining crews of Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets, and Rick Ness in the Klondike. The 21st and final episode of the season aired on March 6, 2020. Parker Schnabel mined 7223 ounces, worth $10.8 million.

Season 11

Filming of Season 11, and mining for the 2020 mining season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though miners were considered essential workers by the Yukon government, the film crews themselves are not part of that determination. Canada having been on travel lockdown at the start of the filming season meant that the production crews from RAW TV production company were still stuck in Britain. At the start of mining, only one filming crewmember was onsite with the Beets, and Monica Beets had added on filming duties. Neither the Schnabel nor Ness mining crews were onsite at the start of the mining season, they've been at home in quarantine, mostly in the U.S. For the new mining season; Parker Schnabel successfully crosses the border from Alaska and quarantines for two weeks in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Beets quarantine for 2 weeks at their mine site, and plan to have it locked down for the season. After a 2-week quarantine, a local film crew of 4 comes to film the Beets. Rick Ness quarantines while on the road from Wisconsin to the Yukon, with an extended fuel tank for his pickup, by limiting any contact while roadtripping. On October 2, 2020, it was announced that the eleventh season will premiere on October 23, 2020.

Other programming

Aftershows and specials

Numerous "aftershows" and specials (several named The Dirt, some called The Aftershow) have been produced that document behind-the-scenes action featuring additional footage, as well as studio interviews with miners and crew. Several extended versions of episodes (usually named Pay Dirt) have information bubbles and more mining coverage. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the TV season, the interview shows were affected, these episodes were called The Dirt: Home Edition.

Gold Rush: The Jungle

Between the second and third seasons, Todd Hoffman and several crew members traveled to a remote site in Guyana in South America to determine the feasibility of opening up an operation there during the Klondike offseasons. The trip was covered in a single one-hour episode. Although they did discover gold on the claim site, it was not of a sufficient quantity to cover the high expenses of mining the remote site which was accessible only by hiking through a trackless jungle after a harrowing river passage. While the Hoffman crew does go to Guyana for season 4 a year later, given the low probability of profitability, Hoffman chose not to pursue the venture for season 3. The episode ended with doubt about whether they would return.

Gold Rush: South America

Between the third and the fourth seasons, Todd Hoffman and , several crew members traveled to South America to prospect for gold in Peru, Chile, and Guyana. This was covered in several episodes, in a summer season for Gold Rush.

Gold Rush: Parker's Trail

Starting in 2017, a series of episodes branded as Parker's Trail have followed Parker Schnabel on trips to other areas. In 2017, a five-part series featured Schnabel and his crew attempting to follow the Klondike Trail. In 2018, a seven-episode series followed Schnabel and his crew flying, hiking and boating through and attempting to mine at stops in Guyana. In 2019, a ten-episode series followed Schnabel and his crew sailing, flying, hiking and driving through Papua New Guinea in northern Oceania, while attempting to mine at stops along the way. In 2020, in a series that debuted on March 13, Schnabel drives through and stops to mine in Australia's Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia states. For the 2020 Australia season, Parker is joined by Australian female gold miner Tyler Mahoney, who previously appeared in Aussie Gold Hunters, a show similar to Gold Rush.

Gold Rush: White Water

Main article: Gold Rush: White Water

This spin-off series follows the "Dakota Boys"—Dustin and his father, "Dakota" Fred—as they mine McKinley and Cahoon Creeks in Haines Borough, Alaska, using an unconventional dredging method: diving into whitewater collection pools at the base of high country waterfalls. The series debuted in January 2018.

Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine

This spin-off series follows Dave Turin, formerly of the Hoffman crew, as he looks to start new mining operations at disused gold mines in the Western United States. The series debuted in March 2019, centering on a placer mine along Lynx Creek near Prescott Valley, Arizona. In 2020, the show's second season ran from February to April, with eight episodes centering on a placer mine in Birdseye, near Marysville, Montana. In 2021, the show's third season started in March, centering on a placer mine along Box Creek in Lake County, Colorado.

Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue

On December 3, 2020, it was announced that a spin-off titled Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue would premiere on January 4, 2021 on the Discovery+ video streaming service. The Martinson mining family, shown as background characters on Bering Sea Gold, was featured in one episode of season 1, where the show featured excavator barge seafloor mining.

Gold Rush: Winter's Fortune

The spin-off premiered for the first time on July 30, 2021. Tony Beets, Rick Ness, Fred Lewis, and Dustin Hurt start the off-season spring mining together, because of high gold prices due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Winter's Fortune is the latest spin-off and mainly takes place in the Yukon and Alaska.

Episodes

Main article: List of Gold Rush episodes

Cast

Current Cast:

Seasons	Name	Details
1 – present	Parker Schnabel (age 30)	Parker was given the Big Nugget mine in season 2 when his grandfather, John Schnabel, decided to step down. He guest-starred and appeared to give advice in Season One.
2 – present	Rick Ness	Parker's right-hand man. Left Parker at the end of Season 8 to go out on his own. Mine boss in Season 9.
2 – present	Roger Schnabel	Recurring guest star, part-owner of Big Nugget mine, father of Parker Schnabel, son of John Schnabel.
1 – present	Fred Dodge	Recurring guest star, helped the Hoffman Crew re-assemble their wash plant in Season 1. He returned to the Klondike in Season 2 to give the Hoffmans better gold recovery tools. He also went to Guyana with the crew in Season 4.
2 – present	Tony Beets (age 67)	Dutch-Canadian gold miner and owner of the Tamarack Mine, one of the most successful mining operations in the Klondike. He also owns and leased out the Scribner Creek claim that Parker Schnabel mined in season 4. Beets will have his own crew for season 5, working on moving a 75-year-old Dredge from Clear Creek to his claim over 150 miles away in the Indian River.
1 – present	Chris Doumitt (age 59)	Originally he was only meant to come to Alaska for ten days — to help build a cabin for Greg Remsburg and his family. But gold mining quickly got under his skin and he ended up staying for five months and becoming a key member of the team. He calls himself a "pumpologist". Chris retired from the Hoffman crew after season 3. As from season 4 he worked for Parker Schnabel.

Former Cast:

Seasons	Name	Details
1–8	Todd Hoffman (age 55)	Inspired by his father's gold mining adventures in the 1980s.
1–8	Jack Hoffman (age 71)	Father of Todd, he previously mined for gold in Alaska 25 years ago, and joins the crew for a second chance to live his dream.
1	Jimmy Dorsey	A Realtor and self-confessed adrenaline junkie. After an off-camera physical altercation with Greg Remsburg, he left the mining crew in season one. He has claimed at least parts of the show are scripted.
1–2	James Harness	The crew mechanic, he prided himself on being able to repair nearly anything. However, a car wreck left him with metal pins in his ankle and a severe spinal injury which, due to lack of finances, he could not afford to have surgically repaired. A Baltimore medical center donated a medical procedure to correct his back problem, which resulted in the need for yearly injections. During season 2 when operations were halted due to dirty water, Todd asked him to build a water filter. Instead, he left the camp to spend a week with his girlfriend in a motel. At the end of the season, the crew fired him, blaming him for missing their 100-ounce target. James died in June 2014 at age 57, reportedly of a stroke.
1	Earle Foster	Recurring guest star in season 1, owner of Jim Nail Placer Mine in season 1; cameo appearances in season 2 and 3. Foster died on April 23, 2013, aged 86.
1,5	Michael Halstead	In the first season "Pastor Mike" was billed as the crew pastor. Mike was pastor of the Harvest Christian Church in Troutdale, Oregon at the time. He had done charity work in Mexico in the past and had met Jack Hoffman twenty years ago on one of those trips. Jack introduced Mike to elk hunting and the two of them shared an enthusiasm for outdoor adventures, often going on trips together. He took part in a few episodes in the first half of season one, but went home for an unknown reason and was never mentioned again. Reappears in the beginning of season 5 to counsel Todd Hoffman who has been battling depression from the aftermath of season 4.
3	Wayne "Nugget Brain" Peterson	Joining the Dakota Boys for part of Season 3, Wayne was an experienced miner who has been working claims since 1983. He was fired by Dakota Fred due to his use of Oxycodone (with prescription) to treat a back problem.
3	Jason Otteson	Main investor for Hoffman/Turin crew for season 3. Set a 350-ounce ultimatum and, when it was not met, he suggested to Todd that he should cut some crew. He was never seen or mentioned again.
1–4	"Dakota" Fred Hurt (age 70)	After advising the Hoffman crew in the last half of season 1, Dakota Fred returns for season 2 to purchase the Jim Nail Placer mine to mine himself with his own crew. Fred, Dustin, and Melody left the show after season 4. Gold Rush: White Water, debuting in January 2018, follows Fred and his son Dustin as they search for gold in McKinley Creek.
2–4	Dustin Hurt (age 34)	Dustin is "Dakota" Fred's son. He worked at the Jim Nail Placer mine in Season Two. Left the show after season 4. Gold Rush: White Water focuses on Dustin and his father.
3–4	Melody Tallis (age 51)	Joining the Dakota Boys in Season 3, Melody is an experienced miner who has been working claims across Alaska since 2002. Left the show after season 4, along with the Dakota Fred and Dustin, although during Season 5 she can be seen working loaders and monitors in the background of shots covering Tony Beets, and also worked with Freddy Dodge at Carmacks.
1 – 5	Greg Remsburg (age 41)	Greg left the Hoffman crew after season 3 for undisclosed reasons; however, he returned to work with Parker Schnabel in season 4 in the Klondike. Left the show after season 5.
2 – 7	Dave Turin (age 52)	A guest star for several episodes of season 1, Turin became a full-time member during season 2. He is an experienced quarry foreman. Todd Hoffman convinced him to chase his gold mining dream, join the group, and take some time off from his family's business. After a season 7 filled with frustration and Turin's involvement in a fist fight, his retirement was announced on the March 17 episode. In the 8th season, in a Gold Rush special episode named "Dozer Dave", Turin announced his wish to get together his own "Turin Crew" to mine with family members from his Oregon-based quarry. He specifically named a desire to mine with his father as a repayment for trusting him throughout the years during Gold Rush. Turin and his mining team became the subject of another spinoff, Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine, which first aired in early 2019.
1 – 6	John Schnabel (age 96)	Recurring guest star, owner of Big Nugget mine and grandfather of Parker Schnabel and Payson Schnabel. He died in his sleep on March 18, 2016.
2 –	Gary Grogan	Recurring guest star, employee at Big Nugget mine.
1–8	Jim Thurber	Camp Safety Officer

Locations

Alaskan Panhandle

Alaska, United States

• Jim Nail Placer Mine, a tributary of the Klehini River in the Chilkat Valley, on the East bank of Porcupine Creek. The closest airport being Haines, Alaska. When the Hoffmans arrived at Porcupine Creek in Season 1, the mine was unnamed. In Season 2 'Dakota' Fred Hurt purchased the porcupine creek mine and renamed it the Jim Nail Placer Mine.(Coordinates: 59°25′6.91″N 136°13′48″W).
• Big Nugget Mine "Emerson Trench" along the West Bank of Porcupine Creek; & Smith Creek / Smith Creek Hill and the Discovery Claim further up the valley. (Coordinates: 59°24′52.15″N 136°14′2.83″W).

The Klondike

Yukon, Canada in the Klondike Region, near Dawson City.

• Quartz Creek Mine, outside of Dawson City: on Quartz Creek, at the confluence with Toronto Creek and Calder Creek, 1 km North-west of Indian River Mine. (Coordinates: 63°45′41.74″N 139°6′53.70″W).
• Indian River Mine, 2 miles from Quartz Creek Mine, on the Indian River 36 km South-west of Dawson City (Coordinates: 63°45′16.16″N 139°8′43.45″W).
• McKinnon Creek Mine, 28 miles South of Dawson between McKinnon and Montana Creek. Leased from Klondike Gold Corp. (Coordinates: 63°41′45″N 138°59′49″W).
• Scribner Creek Mine, 33 miles Southeast of Dawson City at the confluence of Scribner Creek and the Indian River. Leased from Tony Beets' company, Tamarack, Inc. (Coordinates: 63°37′07″N 138°42′29″W).
• Eureka Creek Mine, 30 miles SSE of Dawson City at the confluence of Eureka Creek and the Indian River. Owned by Tamarack, Inc. (Coordinates: 63°37′37″N 138°49′13″W).

Guyana

The Jungle, near Mahdia, Guyana, South America on the Potaro River

• Q.O.D. Claim (Coordinates [approx.] 5°22′45″N 59°07′46″W)
  • Maple Creek Cut, claim-jumped prior to Season 4
  • Patience Creek Cut
  • Redemption Creek Cut
  • Hope Creek Cut

Oregon

Baker County, 18 miles SSW of Baker City on west bench of Pine Creek

• High Bar Mine (Coordinates: 44°31′30.54″N 117°55′25.43″W).

Colorado

Fairplay, Park County, 2 miles NW of Fairplay, south of Middle Fork of South Platte River

• Katuska Pit, (gravel pit) (or Freedom Plant) 1215 Platte Drive, Fairplay, Colorado (Coordinates: 39°13′36.60″N 106°00′40.84″W).

Reception

As of its first-season finale, Gold Rush: Alaska was the most-watched Friday night program in all of US television among males aged 18 to 49 and women aged 25 to 54. For 13 consecutive weeks in its second season, Gold Rush continued to hold Friday's top rating in the demographic of men aged 18 to 49. With Gold Rush leading the way, Discovery wrapped a dominant first quarter in key male demographics, including a stranglehold among the rankings for top unscripted cable programs.

For the December 28, 2015, to March 27, 2016, ratings period, Discovery stood number one among non-sports cable networks in its target demographic of men aged 25 to 54. It claimed eight of the top ten reality shows in this group, including the top three — Gold Rush (1.89 million), Fast N' Loud (1.20 million) and Alaskan Bush People (1.18 million). Discovery also dominated the cable unscripted rankers in other male categories. It claimed seven of the top ten in men aged 18 to 49 and five of the top ten in the younger men aged 18 to 34 demographic, with Gold Rush on top in both.

See also

• Gold mining in Alaska
• Yukon Gold, a cancelled similar Canadian reality TV series with placer gold mining in the Cassiar and Atlin districts of British Columbia and the Klondike, Yukon.
• Aussie Gold Hunters, a similar Australian reality TV show on Discovery Channel Australia, about placer gold mining in the states of Western Australia and Victoria.
• Bering Sea Gold, a similar reality TV show to White Water, except scuba mining at sea instead of on a creek
• Reclaimed (TV series), a similar reality TV show to Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue

References

• "Gold Rush Season 11 episode 1 Release Date, Watch Online". cwr-crb.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.

External links

• Official Discovery Channel – Gold Rush web page
• Gold Rush at IMDb
• on et20s
• lambeteja
• cundelatoteh
• viralch.info