"Gold Rush: Alaska" Coming Back To Discovery Channel

There was enough viewer demand from Discovery's "Gold Rush: Alaska" show for it to return, starting tonight at 10 PM ET on the American channel. Seven more episodes are going to be shown after the first three (including the blockbuster premiere.)

The unscripted series follows a group of Oregon men hard-hit by the economic downturn that decides to head north with hopes of striking it rich. Led by Todd Hoffman and his father, Jack Hoffman (the only experienced miner in the bunch), the would-be gold miners sell property (including two of Jack Hoffman's planes) and scrape money together to buy heavy equipment and supplies and ship them up by barge to Alaska.

After an arduous journey -- including forging a glacier-fed river when a bridge proved inadequate -- they set up near Porcupine Creek and start searching for the glory hole (a rich vein of gold).

As the rest of the article explains, these ain't the old days. The six heroes of the adventure have to continually battle red tape. Tonight's episode features them being blocked by an Alaska Fish and Game inspector worried about the salmon in the creek they were planning to get water from.

The series focuses on placer mining, so it isn't representative of corporate exploration. Still, the buzz generated will (continue to) spill over into the exploration sector.


Canadians have a chace to see the first three episodes this and next week on Discovery Channel Canada.