Dave Turin Wants to Make Gold Mining More Accessible With 'America's Backyard Gold' (Exclusive)

Dave Turin is exploring new frontiers of gold mining on America's Backyard Gold. The Gold Rush star opened up to PopCulture.com about bringing mining fever to the masses as he embarks on a mission to show modern enthusiasts where and how to look for gold – without the heavy equipment or expensive investments.

Traveling from California and the Dakotas all the way down to the deep south, the master miner said he's "always wanted" to bring viewers in on the "real people" and history surrounding gold mining. "The people that I met along the way are just incredible," he told PopCulture. "So I wanted to combine those human interests and the history of gold and then the process of gold. And I think we've come up with a pretty good recipe, a menu for America's Backyard Gold."

For Turin, it's important to take the gold mining narrative "a level down" from what people have seen on shows like Gold Rush in order to open it up to hobbyists. "People can't afford million-dollar wash plants and million-dollar machines and to travel to the Yukon, but what people don't realize is that there really is gold in people's backyards," he explained, adding a warning that you've got to be "very careful" and do your homework before you go out excavating. 

Gold mining is about more than just making money, the Discovery star noted. From keeping people active to connecting them with the natural beauty in their own backyard, there are plenty of ways to turn an interest in gold into something even more beautiful than the nuggets themselves. One man Turin met during filming even used gold mining as a way to help redirect "troubled youth" from life inside gangs to life in the great outdoors. "He's changing kids' lives," Turin emphasized.

Finding these people and these stories is at the heart of America's Backyard Gold. "It's one thing to make a TV show about what people do, but when people are out there and they're having fun and [being] passionate, you can't help but smile," Turin told PopCulture. "It's a little bit of a change from most of the gold shows that are serious, and they need the money, but we're out there just having fun, and it's infectious and there's a lot of passion."

America's Backyard Gold airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel.