Gold Rush Facts: Learn All About This Critically Acclaimed TV Show

'Gold Rush' (formerly named 'Gold Rush: Alaska') is a reality tv series that airs on Discovery and its affiliates across the globe.

The series covers the placer gold mining activities of many family-run mining firms, especially in the Klondike area of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the state of Alaska, in the United States. Prior seasons covered gold mining attempts in North America and South America, and it is now running season 12 as of early 2022.

Hoffman and many crew members flew to South America between the third and fourth seasons to prospect for gold in Guyana, Chile, and Peru. In a summer season of 'Gold Rush', this was covered in multiple episodes.

Filming

The cast members, as well as the movie and production team, have a difficult task while filming 'Gold Rush'.

Season One

In its first season, the program was titled 'Gold Rush: Alaska', and it followed six gold miners from Sandy, Oregon, a tiny town 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Portland, who had lost their jobs owing to the slump in the economy.

They decided to take a high-risk bet and drive to Porcupine Creek, Alaska, to look for gold. The majority of the participants on the program have no prior expertise with placer gold mining and must learn on the job.

The Todd Hoffman team had collected 14.64 oz (415 g) at the conclusion of the season.

Season Two

Todd skips a lease payment on Porcupine Creek in season two when the program is called 'Gold Rush', and 'Dakota' Fred Hurt buys the claim from owner Earl Foster without upholding the contract owing to the missing payment.

The season follows the Hoffman crew's new gold mine at Quartz Creek (at the confluence with Toronto Creek) located in the Klondike area of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as 'Dakota' Fred's operation at Porcupine Creek, the old Hoffman mine, and the efforts of Parker Schnabel to mine his grandfather's land at Big Nugget Mine (along the west bank of Porcupine Creek).

For the season, each team won the following amounts of gold:

Quartz Creek, Hoffman Crew: 93.5 oz (2,908 g) $150,000

Big Nugget Mine, Parker Schnabel Crew: 34 oz (1,058 g) $55,000

Hurt Crew, Porcupine Creek 80.4 oz (2,501 g) $125,000

Season Three

In October of 2012, the third season started. The Hoffman mining crew went to the Klondike to mine the Quartz Creek mining sites once again, but they also hired extra crew members to work another site nearby.

However, since Hoffman's site was experiencing delays and equipment issues, they chose to join with Dave Turin's team at Indian River.

Parker Schnabel returned to the Big Nugget Mine site with bigger, more efficient machines, while 'Dakota' Fred Hurt and his team returned to the Porcupine Creek location with smaller, less effective equipment.

The Turin team earned nearly $1.28 million by mining 803 oz (22,764.7 g) of gold. In comparison to the first season, when no team retrieved more than 50 oz (1,417.48 g) of gold, this was a huge success.

Season Four

The fourth season premiered in August 2013 with a pre-season show titled 'The Dirt', which included interviews with all of the teams from season three.

Guyana's Gold Rush Parker Schnabel guest-mining on new terrain with mentor Tony Beets in Dawson City, and 'Dakota' Fred Hurt and his child Dustin mining at Cahoon Creek, a hard-to-reach post-glacial location mined solely with pickaxes in the late 1800s, are all shown in South America.

The first episode of season four aired on October 25, 2013.

By the conclusion of the season, the Hoffman team had only mined 2 oz (56.7 g) of gold and had to pack up and quit their Guyana mining operation; the Dakota lads had mined 280 oz (7,937.87 g), and Parker and his group had mined 836 oz (23,700.2 g).

Parker then remained and mined with Rick for another 193 oz (5,471.46 g), increasing his total for the season to 1,029 oz (29,171.66 g).

Parker's $1.4 million hauls shattered Todd Hoffman's single-season record of 803 oz (22,764.7 g), as well as Hoffman's four-year total.

Season Five

The two-hour 'Gold Rush' season five premiered on Friday, October 17, 2014, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on the Discovery Channel, with 'The Dirt' running before it at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Parker had mined 2,538 oz (71,951.09 g) worth just under $3 million at the conclusion of the season, while the Hoffmans had mined 1,349 oz (38,243.51 g) for just over $1.6 million.

Season Six

The two-hour 'Gold Rush' season six debut aired on the Discovery Channel on October 16, 2015, with 'The Dirt' running before it, while the UK premiere was on October 20, 2015.

Tony's dredge pulled out 737 oz (20,893.6 g) towards the conclusion of the season, Parker mined 3,372 oz (95,594.59 g) for about $3.5 million, and the Hoffmans mined 3,032 oz (85,955.75 g) worth a little over $3 million.

Season Seven

It debuted on October 14, 2016. Todd's mining operation in Oregon had collapsed at the conclusion of season seven, but he concluded the summer in a Fairplay, Colorado, mine with a break-even total of slightly over 1,100 oz (31,184.48 g).

Using a restored gold mining dredge, Tony Beets and his family came up with slightly over 2,100 oz (59,534 g). Parker Schnabel and his team came in second place with a little over 4,300 oz (1,21,902.9 g), valued at just over $5 million.

Season Eight

IT debuted on October 13, 2017. The Hoffman and Parker Schnabel crews are betting 100 oz (2,834.95 g) of gold on the firm that mines the most gold this season, with both teams aiming for a 5,000 oz (1,417,47.6 g) season objective.

Meanwhile, Tony Beets is dismantling, moving, and reassembling another antique dredge, reviving a placer mining technology that hasn't been used in Dawson City in over a half-century. Season eight of 'Gold Rush Live' was announced to be the Hoffman family's last season on the program.

The Hoffmans mined 1,644 oz (46,606.62 g) in Colorado at the conclusion of the season, valued at little under $2 million.

In the Yukon, the Parker Schnabel team mined 6,280 oz (1,780,35 g) of gold for $7.5 million. At Eureka Creek, Tony Beets finished with 3,659 oz (1,037,30.91 g) for $4.39 million.

Season Nine

It premiered on October 11, 2018, with 'The Story So Far' as the first episode. This season's episodes centered on Rick Ness's first season working independently, Parker Schnabel and his team, and Tony Beets and his family's mining activities.

The season was supposed to comprise 20 episodes, the last of which ran in March of 2019. Parker's group mined 7,427.25 oz (2,105,58 g) (worth approximately $9 million) at Scribner Creek, exceeding his aim of 7,000 oz (1,984,46.7 g).

Rick Ness mined 1,105 ounces worth $1.3 million, exceeding his season goal of 1,000 oz (28,349.5 g). Tony Beets mined little under 4,400 oz (1,247,37.9 g), falling short of his objective of 6,000 oz (1,700,97.1 g).

Season 10

It followed the Klondike mining teams of Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets, and Rick Ness. On March 6, 2020, the season's 21st and final episode aired. Parker Schnabel mined 7,223 oz (2,047,68.61 g) for a total value of $10.8 million.

Season 11

The COVID-19 epidemic hampered filming for Season 11 and mining for the 2020 mining season. On October 23, 2020, the eleventh season debuted.

Season 12

Ground War, the first episode of Gold Rush Season 12, premiered on Discovery Channel on Friday, September 24, 2021. It centered on Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets', Rick Ness', and Fred Lewis' mining teams.

Parker Schnabel has been traveling throughout the country since 2017, and a series of episodes dubbed Parker's Trail has followed him.

Parker Schnabel and his team attempted to retrace the Klondike Trail in a five-part series that aired in 2017. A seven-episode series aired in 2018 that followed Parker Schnabel and his team as they flew, hiked, and boated around Guyana, trying to mine at various locations.

In 2019, a ten-episode show followed Parker Schnabel and his team as they sailed, flew, hiked, and drove around northern Oceania's Papua New Guinea, trying to mine at various locations.

Direction

The various episodes of the 12-season long series have been directed by multiple directors. David Lawrence, Tom Whitworth, Tim Dalby, Edward Gorsuch, Jereme Watt, and Justin Kelly are some of them. Also, Parker Schnabel has been mentioned as one of the principal producers of 'Parker's Trail' since the second season.

Audience Reception

'Gold Rush: Alaska' was perhaps the most-watched Friday night show in the United States among males aged 18 to 49 and females aged 25 to 54 as of its first-season conclusion. In its second season, 'Gold Rush' maintained the top rating in the demographic of males aged 18 to 49 for 13 weeks in a row.

Discovery had a strong first quarter in major male demographics, including a grip on the top unscripted cable programming, owing to the success of the 'Gold Rush'.

Discovery ranked first among non-sports cable networks in its target demographic of males aged 25 to 54 from December 28, 2015, to March 27, 2016.

Eight of the top ten reality series in this category were produced by it, including the top three, 'Gold Rush' (1.89 million), 'Fast N' Loud' (1.20 million), and 'Alaskan Bush People' (1.18 million). In other male categories, 'Discovery' also topped the unscripted cable rankers.

It took seven of the top ten spots among males aged 18 to 49 and five of the top ten spots among younger men aged 18 to 34, with 'Gold Rush' topping both lists.

FAQs

Do they actually find gold on 'Gold Rush'?

Yes, they actually find gold on 'Gold Rush'.

Do people on 'Gold Rush' get paid to be on TV?

Yes, the cast of 'Gold Rush' gets paid to be on TV. Despite the fact that Parker Schnabel complains about living in poverty on the program, the contrary is true.

Schnabel comes from a long line of wealthy gold miners in his family. Schnabel's grandpa, John, was the owner of 'The Big Nugget Gold Mine,' which put him up for life. Schnabel makes a respectable living from 'Gold Rush', despite his family's gold mining prowess.

Has anyone died on 'Gold Rush'?

According to a Discovery Channel spokeswoman, Jesse Goins, a gold miner who participated in 'Gold Rush: David Turin's Lost Mine', died during the filming. Goins died in Colorado, according to a spokeswoman, after being discovered unconscious on set by a crew member.

What is the location of the 'Gold Rush' TV show?

Locations used mainly were in the Klondike region in Yukon, Canada.

How old is the TV show 'Gold Rush'?

'Gold Rush' is 12 years old.

Why do all the gold nuggets on 'Gold Rush' look the same?

Because the show is scripted, we can't really tell if they were different nuggets or the same.

How much do the workers on the tv show 'Gold Rush' make?

To name a few, Jack Hoffman makes roughly $10,000 every episode, while Chris Doumitt and John Schnabel receive $25,000 per episode. Todd Hoffman owns his own airport and has earned a lot of money in the mining industry and on reality TV, but his first significant business endeavor was buying the little airport in Sandy, Oregon.

Where has Gene Chessman gone on the TV show 'Gold Rush'?

Gene Cheeseman left as he had to tend to his family.