MOOSE CREEK, YUKON — With gold prices at a record high, veteran miner Tony Beets is making bold moves to meet his massive 30,000-ounce season goal — even if it means dragging a rusting, 35-ton mobile trommel out of the bush and back into production.
“You got to do something different once in a while,” Beets said, standing next to the towering 20-foot contraption that hadn’t run in decades.
Located nearly 100 miles from his base at Paradise Hill, the massive trommel — originally built 30 years ago by a maverick miner — has sat dormant after only one season of use. Now, Beets has secured it for a cool $400,000, calling it a calculated gamble.
“This thing was going for a million bucks once,” Beets explained. “Now the guy’s finally ready to let it go for a price that makes sense.”
A Risky Recovery Mission
To bring the trommel back to life, Tony has deployed a full crew and a convoy of iron to Moose Creek, tasked with carefully dismantling and hauling the beast out in just three days.
“The sooner we get that thing out, the sooner we go back to making gold,” Beets told his team.
The extraction began with removing the 50-foot conveyor, followed by the sluice box, hopper, and eventually the enormous drum — each move requiring precision and teamwork on the steep, remote terrain.
Despite tearing two rims on one of the trucks and the bone-rattling ride, spirits were high.
“You got to try this stuff,” Tony said with a grin. “Otherwise, you’ll get old and wonder why the hell you didn’t do it.”
Gold Gamble or Golden Opportunity?
The trommel, equipped with hydraulic motors and designed to walk itself through paydirt, could be the key to turbocharging Tony’s season if it runs as expected.
“If it works — bingo,” said Beets. “If not, well, so be it. But there’s no reason it shouldn’t.”
After a long day of hauling and heavy lifting, the crew settled into the bunkhouse above the road head. Kevin, one of Tony’s team, staked his claim to the best mattress and joked about the creature comforts of bush life.
“I’ll be cozy as hell,” he said. “You guys have no clue — I’ll be sleeping like a baby.”
With millions in gold on the line and the clock ticking, Tony Beets’ old-school gamble could either strike it rich — or sink under the weight of its own ambition.
