Tony Beets Takes Million Dollar Gamble – Did it Pay Off?

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

The miners of Gold Rush have pushed their crews to level up halfway through the season. With rising gold prices, Tony Beets isn’t above spending a little money if it means getting more as a result. Parker Schnabel also takes big swings, especially as he looks to meet a 10,000-ounce goal. 

After reaching a crossroads, Rick Ness found direction thanks to being able to finally get back to Vegas Valley. Tony’s eldest Kevin Beets has struggled due to losing team members and some other delays. Can he rebound? 

Read on to see what happened during the two-hour January 16 episode. 

Parker Schnabel 

Parker Schnabel/Discovery Channel

The mining prodigy has already generated around $15 million and wants to take advantage of the summer months by running four plants. Mitch Blaschke and Brennan Ruault oversaw operations at Indian River. At Dominion Creek, Tyson Lee had been enduring 15 to 16-hour work days. Parker came to the foreman to add a third at the Golden Mile. “We’re taking chaos to the next level,” Parker said. He wanted to resurrect Big Red in three days, and pair it with Sluicifer to double down at the Golden Mile. The wash plant needed a lot of work after breaking down last year.  Sluicifer was first moved to the new location. The crew brought out the big guns in the 950 excavator and Super Stacker to get the job done. Parker appreciated the work Tyson had put in and let him and the crew off in the day to get a good night’s sleep. 

Tyson caught up with girlfriend India Greenhalgh, who was concerned how tired he looked. The next day it’s back to work to finish up Sluicifer’s move and then finish up with Big Red. There was a problem after a main water line ripped off. This was secured thanks to welding rods. The Parker crew came together for their first four-plant weigh-in. Roxanne ran for seven days at Ken & Stewart to generate 204.02 ounces worth over $700,000. Bob at Bridge Cut came in at 229.65 ounces worth over $800,000. Sluicifer moved to Golden Mile and for three days added 174.85 ounces worth nearly $600,000. Big Red had just over a day’s work and brought in 61.15 ounces worth $200,000. That brings the total to $2.3 million with all running in one week. 

Tony Beets

Beets Family/Discovery Channel

Tony Beets had $10 million in gold so far and worked to build from there. It’s why he dropped $1 million on a new wash plant. It was the same model as Sluice-A-Lot, which finished up at the Early Bird Cut. The plan was for it to move up to the River Cut with the two pieces of equipment running together. However, first the crew needed to drain the area that was flooded. The new wash plant was named Find-A-Lot.  It took some precision to have the addition and Sluice-A-Lot side-by-side sluicing. The family met for the weigh-in. Find-A-Lot’s two-day run in River Cut brought in 84.86 ounces worth almost $300,000. Sluice-A-Lot’s three days in the River Cut added another 124,82, which was more than $435,000. Sluice-A-Lot’s final Early Bird Cut weight finished at 172.44 ounces, worth over $600,000 for three days. The $1.3 million weekly total was well enough to cover the new wash plant.  

Rick Ness 

Rick Ness/Discovery Channel

Troy Taylor paid a visit to Duncan Creek to meet with Rick Ness. He was looking for his 100 ounces. “I need the money,” he said. Rick was two weeks late on the last $350,000 payment to buy out Lightning Creek. Rick told him he pulled resources from Lightning Creek after it didn’t deliver and put all efforts into Vegas Valley. He told Troy he’d have the money by the end of the week. Rick had a stockpile at Vegas Valley waiting to run, but Monster Red needed repairs. Mechanic Ryan Kent was tasked to repair the damaged pipe. 

The quick fix patch job created a bigger issue. They had to dig up the 200-foot long pipe to make repairs. The rain wasn’t making things easier. A flat tire on a truck proved to be another barrier. The crew moved the pump from Lightning Creek to Duncan Creek for Monster Red. Ryan got a reality check when his wife Rachel and daughter Brinley stopped by for a visit. They served as a reminder of the sacrifices made for those who leave home for this line of work in the hunt for gold. The family member sat in for the Ness weigh-in this week. Over three days, Vegas Valley generated 109.94 ounces worth $388,000. Rick could now pay off Troy and get back to his goal. 

Kevin Beets 

Kevin Beets/Discovery Channel

The team at Scribner Creek was mining the last bit of pay at the Pyramid Cut, but Kevin knew that would run out soon. He searched for another spot to strip as the second-year mine boss struggled to stay in the game. There was a block of ground 500 feet north of the wash plant set-up. He’d dub it the Sphynx Cut. It was then time to rip, strip and get down to pay before the stockpile runs out in a week. The D10 dozer went down and caused Kevin to speak to partner Faith about getting another one. He’d go to dad Tony to make a deal on one.

The “King of the Klondike” negotiated with his son for the piece of equipment for $425,000. It only took a few hours to get the dozer going at the Sphynx Cut. Tony and his wife Minnie came by for Kevin’s weigh-in, which totaled 142.22 ounces worth just under $500,000. Most of that would go toward paying for the dozer. Another step in the right direction. 

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