Rick Ness Faces Difficulties with New Ground and Struggles to Hit Gold Targets
Rick Ness, a key member of the Gold Rush team, is facing a tough challenge as he embarks on mining a new area, Lightning Creek. After spending 200 ounces of gold to secure the claim, Ness is now grappling with the pressure of meeting his targets and making the investment worthwhile.
In a risky move, Rick purchased the claim covering over 1,600 acres from Troy Taylor. Having already paid half the amount upfront, he must pay the remaining 100 ounces of gold within two weeks. The area, though seemingly promising, has not seen much mining activity in the past, leaving Rick with mixed emotions about the purchase. Despite some promising test results, he’s aware that the gamble could pay off or backfire. “I’m nervous as hell. My family relies heavily on how we do here,” said Rick. “We need to get the gold coming in now.”
However, things didn’t go smoothly from the start. As Rick’s crew set up their wash plant, “Wash Glenn Rocky,” disaster struck. The bank where they had set up was eroding far too quickly, and water pressure began to cause problems in the system. The plant’s spray bars were blocked by rocks, reducing the efficiency of the wash and risking gold loss. “We’re losing material out the side, and there could be gold in it,” Rick commented, as the team scrambled to address the issue.
After a 30-minute shutdown, a simple fix by their new employee Ryan widened the shaker deck spray bar nozzles, allowing the water to flow properly and pushing the rocks through. Once the issue was resolved, the team was back to work. However, the setback could not be ignored, especially as Rick is facing a tight deadline to meet his goal of pulling at least 40 ounces of gold from the new ground to break even.
When the crew finally weighed the first batch of gold from the new area, the result was a disappointment: just 7.35 ounces, worth only $25,000. “That’s a big waste of time,” Rick admitted. “That’s terrible.” The outcome was a far cry from the required one ounce of gold per 100 yards of material they needed to pull. With the season’s pressure mounting and the new ground proving more difficult than anticipated, Rick began to question his decision. “I can’t afford to be up here and not bring anything home,” he said, worried about the future of the operation.
Despite the disappointing result, Rick’s crew is determined to keep pushing forward. They’ve already staked more than 100 claims and plan to move on from the poor results. However, with each passing day, the risk of failure looms over their operation. “I’m wondering, did I make the right decision?” Rick reflected, acknowledging the gamble involved in working new ground. As the season progresses, Rick and his crew must quickly turn things around or risk going bankrupt.
With his family’s livelihood on the line and a looming deadline, Rick faces one of the most challenging moments of his Gold Rush journey. The pressure is mounting, and the team is hoping that the next haul will yield better results as they push forward in the search for gold
