Gold Rush star Tony Beets pushes his rookie crew to expand the Early Bird cut as pay dirt runs dangerously low

During the November 21 episode of Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush season 16, Tony Beets focused on expanding the Early Bird Cut as his available pay dirt ran low.

Beets, who was aiming for a 6,500-ounce target this season, had already accumulated 632 ounces.

With production slowing, he directed his crew to extend the Early Bird Cut immediately. Beets explained the approach:

"So what I want to do is strip it a hundred feet white all the way to the other end. So they can take all this gravel, load it up, dump it in the old cut. So we can get people on the go down here."

Tony Beets expands Early Bird cut as pay dirt runs low on Gold Rush season 16

New recruits take on key roles

Like Parker Schnabel, who was pursuing a 10,000-ounce goal with only 400 ounces over two weeks, Beets relied on new recruits to maintain operations. Beets stated,

"We're gonna have another 40 more people this year, so we gotta make do with whatever you can get, and then I hope they turn out OK."

New crew members included Sam Moore and Tyler Swan, who were responsible for operating rock trucks to reach pay dirt within the week.

Moore noted he was relatively inexperienced, having worked in gold mining for only a little over a month and facing a near-constant pace of work, describing the work as "rarely" slowing down.

Tyler Swan indicated that it was his first year in the Yukon, mentioning that he appreciated the environment and the "chaos" of the mining operations.

During early operations, Moore ran into difficulty with one of Beets’ $300,000 rock trucks, which caused a temporary halt in production.

Heavy equipment operator Jacob Moore intervened to get the truck operational again.

Tony Beets addressed the incident, telling Moore to pay attention and warning that repeated mistakes could result in termination.

Equipment challenges and pay dirt recovery

The Early Bird extension involved both new and experienced team members handling heavy machinery. Mason MacIntyre, a veteran truck driver, flipped his $300,000 rock truck during operations.

A 480 excavator was used to return the truck to service. Beets monitored all activity on-site and directed team members to ensure that production targets were met.

After clearing additional gravel, Beets panned the area to check for gold. He called team members over to observe that pay dirt had been reached.

The Early Bird Cut added 142.14 ounces of gold during that period, which had an approximate value of nearly half a million dollars.

Tony Beets emphasized the need to maintain momentum, stating,

"As soon as we have a nice early start, now the ticker's gonna be out to stay ahead of the game. So we can't let up."

The episode also highlighted the approach of integrating rookies in critical tasks. Beets described his strategy for new team members, saying,

"We're gonna have another 40 more people this year, so we gotta make do with whatever you can get, and then I hope they turn out OK."

The combination of panning, equipment operation, and hands-on supervision allowed the crew to continue working toward Beets’ 6,500-ounce target while managing operational challenges.

During this episode, all mining activities, including rock truck operation, gravel stripping, and excavation, were directed under Tony Beets’ supervision.

The Early Bird Cut expansion demonstrated a coordinated effort among new recruits and veteran miners to reach pay dirt while ensuring that equipment issues were addressed efficiently.

Stay tuned for more updates.