Q&A with Gold Rush’s Parker Schnabel and Rick Ness
We have been following this cool show called Gold Rush on Discovery Channel DStv 121. The show follows a group of ambitious miners in pursuit of gold in the brutal wilderness of Yukon.
Season 9 of the show brings a new set of challenges with new miners, new claims, new machines and new ways to pull gold out of the ground, and the stakes are higher than ever.
Then while we were so excited about the show, we had the opportunity to chat to Parker Schnabel and Rick Ness who are the main miners from the show, to speak about all things Gold Rush season 9, see below Q&A……
Q: How profitable gold mining is in general and would you recommend dedicating yourself to spending time, money and effort – beginner’s advice?
A: I mean, gold mining is a risky business, and there’s a lot of – there’s a lot of reasons for that, I won’t go too much into detail into any one of them. But the problem is, it’s a business where 100% of your cost or upfront cost – buying equipment, getting launch plans, finding ground, doing explorations – you spend a huge amount of money upfront before you start making any. And so, that makes it a difficult business because cash flow is such a tough thing to have in that – in this business.
Q: What was the greatest challenge for you during this 9th season of the Gold Rush?
A: We had two big hurdles to jump this season.
The first one, of course, we had a foreman, Rick Ness, quit and went out on his own mining. Overcoming that for our business was a difficult, and we had to deal with the fallout of that, and I had to figure it all out. It created a bit of a power vacuum that caused some issues as you guys will see on the show.
The second challenge we had to deal with Tony Beets and this is an ongoing challenge we face on the show as you will know. This season he really stepped up his “difficultness” and it proved to be very turbulent time. So, we were getting hit from both sides with not having a foreman and then also having to deal with a very unpredictable Tony Beets.
Q: Why do you think the audiences love it so much and has this fascination about this profession?
A: I think the main reason why our audience gravitates towards the show is that it’s a unique business in that you go into not knowing what the outcomes will be. We take our audiences through an intense ride of the risky side of the business.
On the flip-side of that, there are very interesting characters in the show. Most of the miners around the Yukon have been with the show for a very long time and I think the audiences want to see how far their favourites go on every season.
Q: Rick, what is the most difficult thing you have faced in the new season?
A: There’s been a lot of things tough about this season. Right off the bat, going in with almost no planning on this season. I mean, I had such an incredibly rough winter and I only had about 2.5 weeks to plan and put together a team for this season, which is unheard of. With, I did what I had to do, and ultimately made it work.
Q: Parker what have you learned about yourself from gold mining?
A: I learned that I have a lot more patience than I thought.
If you like what you hear about the show, then don’t miss out, catch Gold Rush only on Discovery Channel (DStv 121) on Mondays at 8pm and you can share your thoughts on the show with us!
