Gold Rush is coming back for its 12th season, and this year, mine bosses Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets, Rick Ness and Fred Lewis are going to war. The Discovery series returns on Friday, Sept. 24, The Hollywood Reporter announced Thursday, and with the price of gold near record highs, each miner is going to have to fight for the best ground they can, even if it means digging deeper into the ground and forging further into the wilderness.
Schnabel may have spent most of his life mining, but running out of ground has forced him to gamble on a narrow paystreak that could either make him rich or leave him in the lurch, as it will spend him millions just to reach where it lies, 50 ft. below the surface. He’ll also travel deep into the Alaskan wilderness to stake out his next claim as the Klondike taps out for him. Beets is also returning this season, putting everything on the line to reach his goal of 9,000 oz., worth more than $16 million. Reopening his Indian River and Paradise Hill operations will cost Beets more than a pretty penny, but with no water license on the Indian River, Beets will have to draw on his decades of experience to make the next move.
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Ness is starting the new season in a good place with a record-setting personal goal of 2,000 oz. of gold, but a lack of crew has thrown a wrench into things. With two key team members choosing not to return, Ness is going to have to break out a massive dozer and new excavator to make up for the lack of manpower. Lewis’ last season in Oregon might have been a bust, but moving his stake to the Yukon, the special forces veteran is determined not to fail again. When he gets to the Yukon, however, Lewis is forced to reach out to the only person he knows, which happens to be Schnabel.
Following Gold Rush is another season of The Dirt, which returns Nov. 5 with a whole new look. Host Christo Doyle is making his way out of the studio to head to the gold claims in person and investigate what life is really like on the claims when the cameras aren’t rolling. Season 12 of Gold Rush premieres at 8 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 24, and The Dirt returns at 10 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 5.
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