‘Gold Rush’ Miners Lament ‘No Shortage of Problems’ This Year Ahead of Season 10 Premiere (Exclusive)

Gold Rush stars Tony Beets and Rick Ness have their work cut out for them in Season 10 of the hit Discovery show, premiering Friday at 9 p.m. ET. Having to scrap their initial plans to take home a major haul due to permitting issues right off the bat, the veteran and rookie mine boss had to get creative to save the season from the odds stacked against them.

Ahead of Friday’s season premiere, the Discovery stars talked with PopCulture.com’s Anna Rumer about what’s to come, with Ness admitting right off the bat that he struggled to catch a break.

“It’s growing pains, still growing,” he said of his second season as boss. “There’s no shortage of problems this year, there’s no doubt about that, but we just roll with the punches and keep going forward.”

Coming to terms with being the man in charge of the whole operation has been difficult for Ness, who worked for years as Parker Schnabel’s foreman before striking out on his own with a crew of completely green and completely dedicated pals from back home.

“I would say I figured it out right at the end,” Ness admitted of finding his place as boss. “I don’t think I got there during the end of the season, but I’m gonna be pretty confident going into next year, I’m just gonna put it that way. … [The crew is] still green, I mean you can’t learn everything in a year, two years, but it went along well and everybody was certainly up for the task, so I’m still OK with my decision.”

Ness is shaking things up when it comes to staking his claim this year, venturing out into the Yukon wilderness in search of massive gold nuggets unlike the flakes he relied on to break even last year.

He said of the risky move, “Definitely the location I moved to … there’s a lot bigger gold out there and when you say treasure hunt, if you’re digging in the right spot, you’re gonna get some treasure, and if you’re not, there’s like nothing. That’s the big difference there, it’s all or nothing.”

As for Beets, despite having to go hat in hand to Schnabel for assistance with his permitting problems, teased having a “great season” while getting adult children Monica, Michael and Kevin to come into their own on the family’s claims.

“Nothing that they haven’t done before, it is that we never kind of put it in place,” he explained. “So by moving this year, I have the one property ready for Monica and Michael to stay there and then Kevin and me, the plan is to go back to Indian River. So by getting it all set up, I think the season was pretty successful in that aspect, yes.”

Will Ness and Schnabel be as lucky in their pursuit of their fortune? Don’t miss the two-hour Season 10 premiere of Gold Rush kicking off Friday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery and DiscoveryGo.

Photo credit: Discovery