The machine helps them meet their welding, compressed air and power generation needs on the floating structure. Beets and his crew installed a Big Blue 800 Duo Air Pak engine-driven welder/generator from Miller Electric Mfg. He knew he needed durable and versatile equipment to accomplish both.

Then he needed to keep it running on a demanding 24/7 dredging schedule. Relying on Millerīeets first needed to relocate and reassemble the massive piece of machinery at his Eureka Creek claim. A recent season of the show chronicled the efforts of Beets and his crew to disassemble, move and then reassemble a 75-year-old gold dredge that hadn’t run since the 1980s.īeets purchased the dredge for $1 million, believing a return to the old-school dredge method of mining could help him sluice more dirt - and find more gold - at a lower cost per ounce. 1-rated reality show about gold mining, which is watched by millions. “We liked it so much, we never turned around and went back.”įor the past several seasons, Beets has been a popular fixture on “Gold Rush,” the Discovery Channel’s No. “People always said you can make more money in the north than anywhere else,” Beets says. He has been mining in Canada’s Yukon Territory since 1984 after relocating from his family’s farm in the Netherlands in search of better work opportunities. Beets expects a lot from his people and his equipment.Ī willingness to work hard has led to decades of success for Beets. They call Tony Beets “the Viking.' As his nickname suggests, the veteran gold miner is a tough, determined character for whom failure is not an option.

Why are gold dredges not used anymore