Foreman Tyson Lee’s Girlfriend India Greenhalgh Joins Parker Schnabel’s Team

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Gold Rush Season 16.]

Going past the halfway point on Season 16 of Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush, the miners put their operations into high gear. For Parker Schnabel, that meant pushing his crew like never before with four wash plants running. 

It has been a rocky road for Rick Ness up to this point, but the underdog mine boss hopes to turn his fortunes around at Vegas Valley. Kevin Beets has felt his share of growing pains from equipment breakdowns to personnel challenges. The eldest son of Tony Beets did get a welcome addition during the January 30 episode to the team after an unfortunate series of events. Let’s unpack. 

Parker Schnabel

Parker is in pursuit of $35 million and 10,000 ounces. He wanted the best of the best to accomplish this lofty objective, but found one person lagging behind. Manager Nona Loveless felt Tayvin Peterson, loader operator, was not being a team player in his second year at Dominion Creek. When confronted, she told him he had an attitude problem and came off as a know-it-all. Nona broke the news she was letting him go. “I did the best I could,” he said. Tayvin got emotional about the firing. He was down, but not out. More on that below. As far as filling the position, foreman Tyson Lee turned to his girlfriend India Greenhalgh. She worked behind the camera with the Gold Rush film crew for four years. The time spent in the field led to her getting together with Tyson. “A gold mine was not a place I would ever thought of finding love, but here we are,” India confessed. 

Now the newcomer found herself in the action. Tyson had to train her up, which created a unique dynamic. The hopper feeder clogged with pay and stopped it from getting to the plant. Tyson showed how to troubleshoot. India then set out on her own to gain more experience. Later, Tyson received a text that said, “HELP!,” from India. He rushed to the site. She shut down Bob due to a jammed up conveyer. Tyson would like more context next time as he assumed the worst like she was stuck in the machine, or there was a fire. Tyson lent a hand to clear the rocks. He was happy she reached out. “I broke my shutdown virginity,” India concluded. The Schnabel team gathered to see if they got out of last week’s slump. Roxanne at Ken & Stuarts generated 150.40 ounces. Sluicifer and Big Red at Dominion Creek collectively contributed 251.55 ounces. Bob at the Bridge Cut added another 103.70 ounces, which was down a bit. It was slow and steady to that 10,000 goal. Overall, though he had mined more $20 million, more cash than he ever generated in a season. Not chump change by any means. 

Rick Ness

Rick Ness (Discovery Channel)

Rick stood at less than 500 ounces at Duncan Creek, but he believed there was good gold at Vegas Valley. The road was built to the bottom, but there was slop and muddiness that needed to be removed to get down to pay. He took a similar approach as last season by using a water monitor to blast the messy material and sucking it out with a 12-inch water pump. He enlisted Chris Lalonde, the new operator, to get it down. This was his shot to prove himself. Chris noticed water levels increasing in the pond and the pump failing. Mechanic Ryan Kent built a new intake basket with bigger screens to reduce the potential for blockages. 

Chris cleared the sludge. It then became a concerted effort to move dirt. Though Rick saw the narrow area made the area a bit dangerous to run. So much so that if mine inspectors visited the claim, and saw the risk of landslide, Rick could be shut down for the season. He had second thoughts as a result. Rick knew he had to expand the bottom of the pit to make more room, which could take weeks and delay gold production. The two rock trucks showed some results that there was massive potential. Rick remained optimistic about hitting a jackpot at Vegas Valley. However, he had a big decision to make. Spend weeks expanding Vegas Valley or find a new place to mine? 

Kevin Beets 

Tayvin Peterson (Discovery Channel)

After being given the book by Parker’s team, Tayvin wasn’t willing to go home. He looked for a fresh start and searched for someone to hire him. His car pulled up to Kevin Beets’ site. It turned out Kevin was looking for rock truck drivers and loaders. He thought the arrangement would benefit each of them. The next generation Beets eyed new ground on the Sphinx Cut to help dig him out of his rut. His goal was 100 ounces a week, and to do that, the wash plant needed to run 24/7. Tayvin took on the night shift alongside veteran miner Rick Johnson. 

Early in the morning, they had to shut down the wash plant due to a big rock in the hopper. Chelsea March and Tyler Potter from the day shift arrived early to clear the blockage. They worked to get the dirt out, wrap a chain around the boulder, and attach the chain to the grizzlies to lift and free the rock. Kevin was happy how Tayvin handled the situation. The crew met up for the first weigh-in of running 24/7. The results were 250.45 ounces worth $876,000. It’s his best gold weigh-in of the season. He has now produced over $2 million in gold. The hard work was paying off. 

Gold Rush, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel