The gold mining season is about to begin… and this year means war. With the price of gold holding near record highs, each miner is battling to find and mine the best ground. But with most of the good ground tied up, they are forced to dig deeper and go further into the wilderness in search of the motherlode. Discovery’s #1-rated show GOLD RUSH returns for its 12th season on Friday, September 24 @ 8PM ET/PT and streaming on discovery+.
This year mining prodigy Parker Schnabel finds himself with his back against the wall. After years of growing gold totals, the 26-year-old is running out of ground – forcing him to gamble on a narrow paystreak that could be the richest he’s mined. But there’s a big problem… it’s more than 50 feet below the surface. To get down to paydirt he’ll have to spend millions. Will Parker finally stumble? Or will he notch another record-breaking gold total? As he taps out his Klondike claims, he also travels deep into the Alaskan wilderness in search of his next big claim.
Returning this season is King of the Klondike himself, Tony Beets. Tony has spent four decades building a family gold mining empire. This year, he’s putting it all on the line to cash in on his life’s work with the goal of mining 9,000 ounces – worth upwards of $16 million at today’s prices. For most of Tony’s career, he’s been buying up gold-rich ground in the Yukon. This season, Tony has big plans to re-open his Indian River operation and has spent more than $5 million in new gear to mine it and the Paradise Hill claims 24/7. There is just one big problem. There is no water license on the Indian river. Will all the pieces come together in time before the new season? And will Tony and his family be able keep up with the grueling work to mine that much gold?
Also returning this season is Rick Ness, who starts the year on a hot paystreak and ahead of schedule. Rick is coming in swinging by doubling down and going for 2,000 ounces of gold, the most he’s ever mined. But Rick starts the season off as a captain without a crew. Two of his key teammates don’t return, leaving him to supersize his operation’s horsepower to make up for the lack of manpower. Rick breaks out a massive half-million-dollar dozer – one of the biggest you can buy – as well a massive new excavator. Will the comeback kid finally end up on top?
Meanwhile, special forces veteran Fred Lewis is also back. After striking out in Oregon last season, Fred is driving into the Yukon with the dream to make it as a gold miner and provide a windfall for his all-veteran crew. He cannot fail again. Upon arriving in the Yukon, Fred reaches out to the only person he knows – Parker Schnabel. Will Fred be able to muscle in on some ground in the Klondike?
This season of GOLD RUSH is unlike any other as each of the miners and their crews battle the odds and the elements in the hope of finding millions in gold. There’s a ground war in the inhospitable wilderness of the Klondike. But one thing is certain, once gold fever strikes, these crews will never give up.
Also returning this year is THE DIRT, premiering November 5 @ 10PM ET/PT on Discovery, with a whole new look and format. Christo Doyle, original host of THE DIRT and bona fide GOLD RUSH expert, is leaving the studio behind to head out on to the gold claims – this time to reveal firsthand what life is really like for the miners when the GOLD RUSH cameras aren’t running. Christo on the claim will dig deep into a side of mining life never seen before.
Viewers can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #GoldRush and follow Discovery on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest updates.
GOLD RUSH is produced for Discovery Channel by Raw Television, where Dimitri Doganis, James Bates, Tom Sheahan, and Mike Gamson are executive producers. For Discovery Channel, Carter Figueroa is executive producer and Greg Wolf is coordinating producer.
THE DIRT is produced for Discovery Channel by Public School Productions. Christo Doyle is Executive Producer and host. Mags Miller is the Show Runner.
