Gold Rush Betrayal: Beets' Crew Jumps to Parker Schnabel

One of the greatest difficulties faced by the miners ofDiscovery Channel’s Gold Rush This season's challenges aren't the constant equipment malfunctions. Rather, it's the personnel issues, as team members are leaving for other crews. The most recent departures occurred at the beginning of Friday's (February 20) episode, with seven individuals leaving.Tony Beetswent to visit my bossParker Schnabel.

Tony received the information from Cousin Mike as you might anticipate: "I don't care. It must have been my amazing personality," he remarked. The "King of the Klondike" then went on to refer to them as a "group of scoundrels." The Beets family continued onward, focused on the $16 million already in the box.

Parker also exerted pressure on his workers, having accumulated $22 million. However, those figures have been declining, as he recently faced his lowest gold yield of the season. Parker has been spending $100,000 daily to operate four processing plants. Therefore, securing the gold was crucial. Could the 31-year-old manage to improve the situation and fully utilize his new equipment? Continue reading to discover.

Tony Beets

With gold prices rising sharply, Tony aimed to maximize his gains and had just completed his largest weekly gold weighing of 672 ounces. He hoped for another payday like this by the end of the week. Cousin Mike was responsible for maintaining the wash plants, which included two units at the Corner Cut, Sluice-A-Lot, and Find-A-Lot. However, this task proved more challenging than expected due to recent staff reductions, resulting in a less experienced team. Among them was Darian Dennis, who was given additional duties. Unusual noises emerged from the plant, prompting colleague Meghan Roberts to check it out. Cousin Mike was upset that Darian allowed the issue to persist before shutting down the plant.

Tony quickly drove his truck to check the situation. The impact bed had fallen into the plant, breaking the entire top shaker deck. Tony contacted the manufacturing representative and suggested removing the top deck entirely and replacing it. They would need to reconstruct the entire plant. To make things worse, the crew had to wait for a part before starting the work. The downtime was expected to cost approximately $190,000 in lost production. With Sluice-A-Lot out of commission, Find-A-Lot was responsible for generating some revenue. Tony chose to go for a larger profit by working through rough bedrock. He was ready to take the risk of the sharp rocks harming the wash plant. There was a blockage, but fortunately, it only resulted in less than an hour of downtime.

Tony continued to face challenges. At Paradise Hill, there were constant issues as Mike tried to keep the Trommel operational throughout the season. The team there dug a feeder pond and installed a new pump, but the Trommel encountered problems with its water pipes. Tony received positive news that the piece arrived for Sluice-A-Lot. The new shaker deck was put in after six days and over a million dollars in potential losses. Darian had another opportunity to show his worth. The family gathered for their weigh-in. Sluice-A-Lot produced 45.58 ounces valued at $150,000 after running for 24 hours. Find-A-Lot processed bedrock, resulting in 237.68 ounces worth more than $830,000. The Beets family was back on track.

Parker Schnabel

A pit located at Ken and Stuart's area was nearly exhausted, with a second pit twice as large needing to be completed by the end of the season. With so much work to accomplish across all his locations, Parker was glad to have the new team that arrived from Tony's side. These former employees appreciated the more friendly atmosphere, less teasing, and not having to constantly watch their words. Parker had also worked under Tony for several years and might have understood their perspective. Not everyone was pleased with the new hires. Evan Kurtz was frustrated because they were hindering others' opportunities for advancement.

Rick Raymond was hired three days earlier and assigned the responsibility of feeding Sluicifer. He caused a jam in Sluicifer's super stacker. The generator surging and smoke emerging from the equipment led to a shutdown during Rick's shift. The team identified the issues and returned to washing rocks, but not before foreman Tyson Lee removed Rick from the task. Back at Indian River, fellow foreman Mitch Blaschke had to hurry to set up sluicing in pit two of Ken & Stuart's area to boost their weekly target. This required the crew to quickly relocate the wash plant Roxanne.

They initially needed to construct a road linking the two pads. Following four years of working with trucks and loaders, Evan was finally given a chance to operate an excavator. Mitch valued how Evan took initiative and managed the machinery effectively. Once the dirt was compacted and solid enough to allow the wash plant to move, the team completed their objective. Pit 2 was prepared for sluicing just as the night crew arrived.

Parker gathered with his inner group for the weekly weight check to assess their progress. Roxanne's final piece from pit one of the Old Cut weighed 76.03 ounces, valued at $266,000. Bob from the Bridge Cut added another 120.07 ounces, worth $422,000. Sluicifer and Big Red at the Golden Mile produced 236.04 ounces, valued at $822,000. Normally, that would be a significant amount. However, considering the target of 10,000 ounces for the season, it was somewhat disappointing to see a decline in output for the second consecutive week. Parker's team understood they needed to increase their efforts.

Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel

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