Parker Schnabel looks to rebound during Season 16 of Gold Rush after a series of disappointments. The 31-year-old has been in the game of mining since age 16 and transformed his business into an empire. He hopes to expand the business further at Dominion Creek with a fleet of more than 60 machines and four wash plants. With expenses topping at $100,000, failure is not an option for Schnabel. He puts the pressure on his crew including Mitch Blaschke and Tyson Lee to deliver on his 10,000-ounce goal across his vast land.
The popular Discovery Channel series also follows longtime “King of the Klondike” Tony Beets and underdog Rick Ness. Beets was riding high at Indian River, leaning on family to get the job done. His son Kevin continues to pave his own way in a second year as a mine boss. Ness’ future at Duncan Creek remains questionable without a water license. What will his next move be?
Ahead of the two-hour November 7 premiere, Schnabel digs into what’s to come and says how he fears for the future of mining because of a “lack of clarity” from President Trump.
Parker Schnabel
Discovery Channel
After last season’s challenges, what was your mindset going into this one?
Parker Schnabel: This season is the first one going into it where we really got the new property we acquired in 2023, Dominion Creek, up on step. We had done a lot of prep work in the years before that to get stripping done, learn the property, and figure out what we’re doing with that new block of ground. It takes some time to figure that stuff out. That process was taking a bit longer than we had hoped. Going into the season, there was definitely a lot of anticipation whether we were going to actually be able to get our production up on step where it needs to be to find that 10,000 ounces a season. That is a lot of gold. It’s a lot of work to get that done.
You also invested a lot into new equipment and bringing more people onboard. How was it working through all those challenges that come with expanding?
The expansion of the business happens really naturally if you have good people around you because they are hungry and capable of managing smaller teams, or slightly bigger teams, or ones where they have three or four direct reports, and now have six or seven. With gold prices being high, it brings the cost of finding equipment down. Those two factors came together for us in a really good way in the last 18 months. Managers that were capable of managing more people and increased gold prices, which dropped the CaPex cost. It all played a factor.
It probably also helps to have reliable lieutenants like Mitch and Tyson to deliver on what is asked.
Mitch and Tyson are great. Then there are a lot of other people that run smaller teams adjacent to Mitch and Tyson. It’s something in 90 percent of businesses where your ability to grow and increase revenue is totally dictated by the ability to put the right and qualified people in management positions.
Fans are always excited when you, Rick, and Tony get together. What can you tell us we’ll see from those interactions?
We got together a couple of times and had a few beers, the three of us. I don’t get too involved in what they have going on. I frankly don’t really care. People seem to be super interested in the dynamic between us. I definitely enjoy getting together with them. Now that Tony and I don’t have much of a working relationship, we’re actually somewhat decent friends now, which is nice.
Mitch Blaschke, Tyson Lee and Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush in conversation
Mitch Blaschke, Tyson Lee and Parker Schnabel (Discovery)
You’re all competitors in a lot of ways. However, it seems like you’ll get together behind a cause, especially one that impacts your business like union decision-making, permits and water licenses. How is it maneuvering through those challenges as we don’t tend to see that side on the show as much?
It’s a pretty difficult one to figure out how to manage because it’s a process you have no control over. That and they are being totally indiscriminate towards operators like us that have won reclamation awards, and do all we can to operate in a proper way versus someone who doesn’t care about it at all. We’re treated the exact same. That’s difficult because you would think if I do the right things, they would treat me better, right? That seems only right. That’s not the way it’s going where they’re indiscriminate. That creates confusion and lack of clarity. The lack of clarity from the government is really difficult. You see it from Donald Trump and all over the place.
If you can’t count on some rules that are some known quantity, it’s very hard to make the investment. That’s mining. Mining is a game of just massive amounts of CaPex. It’s a challenge to spend as much money as you possibly can a lot of the time. It’s hard to do that and keep those budgets up when you don’t know what the future has in store for it. This has led a lot of miners to be under this unsustainable spot where they’re mining at a higher rate, find the best ground they can, and it’s not sustainable. You want an industry that is sustainable. It has created a lot of issues. For us, it’s a big factor in our decision-making. What’s the permitting environment like? What’s the government going to be doing? What does that mean for the company? Ultimately, continuing, I would be surprised if eventually this all puts us out of business at some point in the future.
You started in the industry at age 16. How do you look back on your journey?
It has been a wonderful journey. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. Some of it has been tough, but I’ve always had very good people on my side. I got extremely lucky a whole bunch of times. I’m very grateful for that because there is a lot of opportunity for it to go wrong. It has been a lot of fun. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
What has it been like to be a part of this show for as long as you have? Viewers have essentially watched you grow up on camera.
For me, the show is a job. I don’t watch it hardly ever. I don’t really pay too much attention to it. I work with a lot of friends who are part of the film crew, which is nice. I don’t really get too wrapped up in it. I’m a bit too busy these days to really even think about it too much.
What made this Season 16 stand out in your eyes? Anything you can tease.
I would say this season everyone really stepped up their game and left it all on the field. It was a hell of a season, and that comes with a lot of range of emotions and an array of mayhem on everyone’s part. It’s amazing what the mentality of the business turns into when the value of your product goes up by 50 percent year over year. That lit a fire under everyone’s ass. That was pretty exciting.
You’re in your 30s. What are your hopes for the next 10 years, 20 years? Are you looking to settle down, start a family?
My number one focus has been toward elevating the business to the next level. That will continue to be my priority.
Gold Rush Season 16 premiere, November 7, 8/7c, Discovery Channel
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