In a season packed with setbacks and uncertainty, legendary miner Tony Beets has found a glimmer of hope—and gold—hidden in a pile of history.
With Mike’s cut slowing down and production falling short, Tony decided to gamble on an idea he had been considering for over 35 years: exploring an old pile of tailings left behind by the early gold miners of the Klondike. With gold prices high and fuel costs low, Tony figured there was no better time to take a chance.
Just half a mile from Mike’s trommel, Tony and his crew uncovered remnants of old sluice runs—wooden structures from the mechanical mining boom of the 1800s. “They quit working this hill back in the 1950s,” Tony explained. “They probably started around the original Gold Rush.”
Gathering the team, including Kevin and rookie loader operator Desiree, Tony proposed running a test sample. “It doesn’t take much gold at today’s prices to make a living,” he told them. The plan: feed the pay dirt through their New Zealand-built wash plant and see if the old-timers had left anything behind.
A Promising Discovery
As Tony dug into the old tailings, it quickly became clear they were onto something. “Look at that—gold all over!” he exclaimed, showing off pans filled with fine gold particles. “After wondering for 35 years, it’s pretty exciting to finally find out.”
Excitement turned to action as Monica Beets began feeding the Kiwi plant 100 yards of pay dirt per hour, while Desiree worked on clearing fine tailings. But just as operations picked up, disaster struck: a misstep with the loader damaged the sluice run, costing the team eight hours of lost production and an estimated $16,000 in missed gold recovery.
Still, the crew made repairs and pressed on. With just four hours of runtime, it was time to weigh the results.
The Payoff
Tony’s goal was modest—just half an ounce per 100 yards to break even. When the gold was weighed, the results far exceeded expectations: 4.22 ounces worth around $7,400 from only 400 yards of dirt.
“That’s very suitable,” Tony said with a smile. “Actually, that’s amazing!”
The old-timer tailings are proving even richer than the fresh cuts on the hill, leading Tony to ramp up plans to mine more of the historic material.
As the season charges toward its finale, Tony Beets’ gamble on old ground might just be the comeback story Gold Rush fans have been waiting for.
