Kevin Beets’ decision to keep his operation running around the clock has delivered an early reward, with a strong two-week gold weigh offering fresh momentum to his season. But the latest developments also brought another notable twist, as former Parker Schnabel crew member Tav Peterson secured a new role and quickly found himself at the centre of Kevin’s push to keep the plant moving day and night.
The episode followed Tav at a difficult moment. After being let go from Parker’s crew, he made clear that he was not ready to leave the gold fields behind. Determined to stay in mining and build a future, he set out in search of another opportunity, arriving at Kevin Beets’ site with little more than experience, honesty and the hope that someone would give him a chance.
Sitting down with Kevin’s team, Tav explained that this would be his fourth season in mining and said he was eager to keep learning. He pointed to his time around Parker’s operation, including work on rock trucks and a brief spell feeding the wash plant on night shift. Although his exit from Parker’s crew remained unclear even to him, Tav tried to focus less on what had gone wrong and more on what he could still offer.
That approach appeared to resonate.
Kevin and his team were already looking for operators, particularly for rock trucks, loaders and crucial roles around the plant. When Tav mentioned his experience feeding Sluicifer, it was enough to catch Kevin’s attention. In an operation where keeping the plant moving is everything, even limited wash plant experience can carry real weight. Kevin made it clear that if Tav joined the crew, one of the first places he would be sent would be the night shift at the plant.
Tav did not hesitate. It was exactly what he wanted.
Within moments, Kevin gave him the news he had been hoping for: he was hired. For Tav, it was more than just a new job. It was a chance to reset after a difficult departure and prove himself in a smaller crew, where, as he put it, the work he does is more likely to be noticed.
That chance came under pressure almost immediately.
As Kevin’s operation continued its 24/7 run, the crew faced a mechanical problem that threatened valuable production time. The grizzly bars on the feeder, designed to stop large boulders from reaching the wash plant, had been worn down after months of use. The damage left openings wide enough for a major rock to slip through and fall into the hopper, jamming the feed conveyor and bringing progress to a halt.
For any crew trying to maintain continuous production, downtime can quickly become expensive. Kevin’s team moved fast. Their solution was practical, rough and effective: dig a tunnel underneath the huge boulder, wrap a chain around it, attach the chain to the grizzlies, and use hydraulic force to work the rock loose.
The recovery was not smooth. At one point there was concern that the chain had broken or slipped. But after several careful adjustments, the crew managed to free the rock and get the plant running again. It was the kind of field repair that says a great deal about a mining crew: messy, improvised and entirely focused on one thing — getting back to work.
By the following day, Kevin was able to reflect on the incident with some relief. The important fact was simple: the rock was out, the plant was running, and the crew had protected the momentum of a crucial stretch.
That momentum was soon measured in gold.
At the end of Kevin’s first full week of running 24/7, he invited Tyler and Chelsea to join him for a gold weigh and assess whether all the extra effort had been worth it. The visible gold on the table may not have looked enormous at first glance, but everyone knew appearances can be misleading, especially when gold prices are strong.
Kevin was hoping for at least 200 ounces from the latest run. The final tally came in at 250.245 ounces — his best weigh of the season so far. At current prices, that total was worth about $876,000 and pushed Kevin’s season haul to 583 ounces, valued at more than $2 million.
It was a major moment, not only because of the value of the result but because of what it suggested about Kevin’s strategy. Running continuously brings extra pressure, more wear on equipment and greater demands on the crew. But the number on the scale offered clear evidence that the effort is producing results.
It also strengthened the case for Tav’s arrival.
When Tyler was asked how Tav had been handling the night shift, the answer was encouraging: so far, so good. Most importantly, he was helping keep the plant running. In a system built around constant motion, that may be the most valuable contribution of all.
For Kevin, the weigh was a sign that the season could still build into something much bigger. His long-term target remains 2,000 ounces, and there is still plenty of ground to cover before that becomes a reality. But with the Sphinx cut beginning to deliver, the plant staying online, and a new worker settling into the crew, this was a rare stretch where several pieces seemed to fall into place at once.
For Tav Peterson, meanwhile, the story was simpler but no less important. After a setback that could have ended his season, he found a crew willing to trust him — and a chance to show that his time in the gold business is far from over.
