A promising morning quickly spiraled into chaos for Tony Beets’ gold mining crew this week, as mechanical issues and space constraints shut down both of his wash plants—threatening his ambitious 200-ounce weekly target.
Just 100 miles west of Kino, operations ground to a halt when fine tailings clogged the sluice runs at “Slooot,” one of Tony’s two key wash plants. Compounding the crisis, his second plant’s shaker deck was in pieces. “You don’t set it up quite right, the fine tailings will pile up,” Tony commented, visibly frustrated. “So I got to fix that.”
Enter Cousin Mike, the rookie foreman, who was handed a mission critical to the season’s success: relocate the 45-ton wash plant one mile across a narrow, hazardous road to higher ground—hoping the elevation change would solve the tailing overflow.
“This wash plant is pretty new,” Mike said nervously as he maneuvered the 30-foot-wide machinery through a tight corridor flanked by the Indian River on one side and a sheer drop into the comeback cut on the other. “You got to pay attention here… if I hit anything major with the sluice runs, it could bend the whole thing out of shape—or worse, rip it off completely.”
After a tense haul and a few too-close-for-comfort squeezes between trees, Mike successfully landed the plant at its new pad. “Perfect. In place,” a relieved Tony declared as they reconnected hoses and cables. “Now we’re going to have lots of room for our tailings.”
With both wash plants finally operational again, the crew resumed sluicing operations at Indian River. But with Paradise Hill still silent, all eyes turned to the latest gold weigh.
The Beets family gathered for the moment of truth. Tony’s sharp wit was on full display: “I was so nice by myself and then my wife shows up,” he joked, poking fun at the family dynamics. Meanwhile, cousin Mike’s performance was up for judgment.
For three days of sluicing, the weigh-in yielded 75.3 ounces of gold—worth over $188,000, bringing Tony’s season tally to 849 ounces. Not quite the 200-ounce weekly mark, but a respectable recovery amid mechanical setbacks.
“Slot didn’t lose a lot,” Tony quipped dryly. “The events weren’t in our favor, but we got a little gold anyway.”
Despite the challenges, spirits remained high. “At least we got a couple ounces,” Mike said. “All we can do is do better next week.”
As the crew headed back to their rigs, Tony added with a grin, “I’m so glad I have a bit of space… Just kidding.”
Sidebar:
Gold Watch
🎯 Weekly Goal: 200 oz
📦 This Week’s Haul: 75.3 oz
🏆 Season Total: 849 oz
💰 Value of Week’s Gold: $188,000
Stay tuned to Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush for more updates from the Yukon gold fields.
