After a challenging start to the mining season, Parker Schnabel and his crew have finally hit their stride, running three wash plants at full capacity. Their perseverance has paid off with the biggest gold haul of the season, a staggering 652 ounces, bringing their season total to 2,453 ounces.
Fighting to Save the Season
The decision to run three wash plants simultaneously has pushed both the crew and their equipment to the brink. But with the slowest start of his career, Schnabel had no choice—this was the only way to salvage the season and meet his ambitious 10,000-ounce goal. Halfway through the mining season, Parker was still playing catch-up after a series of disappointing cleanups. However, a recent 500-ounce haul sparked renewed hope for the team.
“You start building a company bigger and bigger, and it becomes a monster you have to feed,” Schnabel admitted, noting the overwhelming financial demands of the operation.
Managing Multiple Sites
Parker’s crew has been deployed across three key mining sites:
- Indian River – A skeleton team is processing Keenan Stewart’s pay dirt.
- Dominion – Crews are stripping the top layer of the 114-acre Bridge Cut.
- The Long Cut – The crew has just completed mining the first half of this 20-acre site and must now relocate Rock Sand, one of their primary wash plants, to continue processing pay dirt.
Relocating Rock Sand proved to be a logistical challenge. Instead of placing it inside the pit, Parker decided to set it up outside and haul pay dirt to it, allowing the stripping crew to remove overburden more efficiently and open up new ground for the next season. The team moved 10 acres’ worth of overburden in the past eight weeks and now faced the challenge of tackling the remaining section.
High-Stakes Wash Plant Relocation
Moving Rock Sand over a mile upstream required dismantling and reassembling multiple components, including the feeder, stacker, pipeline, and generator. The crew worked quickly, determined to have everything in place before the night shift began.
“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,” foreman Tyson reminded the team as they methodically moved the plant. Despite careful execution, a major issue arose—a costly pump failure jeopardized operations. Parker had recently invested $180,000 in a high-powered pump capable of moving 77,000 gallons per minute, but it failed to start. After a tense inspection, the crew discovered an airlock caused by a loose intake hose. Once tightened, water began flowing, and operations resumed.
Trial by Fire for New Loader Operator
With Rock Sand operational, Parker entrusted 20-year-old Tav Peterson with the critical task of feeding the wash plant. Having spent the season running rock trucks, this was his first time operating the loader solo. Six hours into his shift, he struggled to maintain the required 250 yards per hour, and disaster struck—a hopper jam caused by a large rock slipping through the grizzly bars.
Recognizing the danger, Tav called for help. Tyson and Mitch arrived to assess the situation, shutting down the plant and carefully clearing the blockage. “If he had kept running it, that rock would have cut the belt, and we’d be replacing it right now,” Mitch said, acknowledging Tav’s quick thinking. The wash plant roared back to life, and production resumed.
Massive Gold Weigh-In
Despite the operational challenges, Parker’s crew delivered their best cleanup of the season. As the team gathered for the highly anticipated gold weigh-in, anticipation filled the air.
- Rock Sand – 222 ounces
- Big Red (Bridge Cut) – 82.8 ounces ($127,000 value)
- Big Bob (Keenan Stewart’s Cut) – 368 ounces ($867,000 value)
Totaling an impressive 652 ounces, the cleanup was the season’s biggest single haul. The crew erupted in excitement, with one miner joking that they hadn’t realized the scale could register numbers that high.
Looking Ahead
With the season winding down, Parker remains focused on maintaining momentum. “Right now, things are looking good—we have dirty rock going in and clean gold coming out. Now, the real challenge is keeping it fed,” he said.
If the crew can maintain this pace, they might just turn their rocky start into a record-breaking success. With every ounce of pay dirt crucial to reaching the 10,000-ounce goal, the team is pushing harder than ever in the final stretch of the season.
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