'Gold Rush' Parker Schnabel Has One Year to Hit It Big After Water Licenses Dry Up
By Gary Trock on October 10, 2019 at 8:47 AM EDT
Discovery
"Gold Rush" is about to kick off with its newest season and veteran miner Parker Schnabel already has some tough decisions to make.
The Blast obtained a preview clip ahead of the Discovery reality TV show's landmark 10th season.
25-year-old Schnabel, owner of the Big Nugget Mine, starts off by telling his crew that the claim they were able to secure in the Klondike had issues with the water licenses and that they would be forced to mine all the gold they can out of the land within a time limit of one year.
In Alaska, miners must obtain the rights to divert from natural water sources to use during the mining process. Without a fresh water source, there is no mining.
Causing a greater problem for Parker is that his new plot is twice the size of the claims he's previously mined, and would normally take years of work to extract all the gold.
Discovery
Parker is realistic but hopeful about the challenge. However, his crew thinks the feat is far too great to be accomplished.
Parker's not the only gold miner with troubles, as the other two stars on the show are facing equally challenging circumstances.
Discovery
Legendary minder Tony Beets also had issues with his own permits and was forced to pull the plug on his Indian River operation just as the season was getting started.
As a result, Beets relies on his family to go out and try and secure a new plot of land before the family finds themselves in real trouble.
Discovery
Finally, "Gold Rush" star Rick Ness moved his entire operation out of the Klondike in wake of the water issues.
Ness has taken a big risk and set up shop in the Yukon, but a failure to score a big payday could mean the end of his business.
The 10th season of "Gold Rush" premieres Friday, October 11, at 9 PM ET/PT on Discovery