Todd Hoffman and his mining crew are moving to Canada.
Friday’s “Full Disclosure” epilogue of “Gold Rush: Alaska” on the Discovery Channel revealed Todd, his father, Jack, and their team of rookies from Oregon no longer would have access to the gold claim in the Porcupine mining district where they had hoped to strike it rich.
“After five months in Alaska, $275,000 and thousands of tons of dirt, the Hoffman crew produced less than $20,000 worth of gold,” the show’s narrator said.
Jack, though, insisted the men were only a few feet from their millions, and Dakota Fred, a representative for the claim’s owner, seemed to agree.
“I personally would like to work the Porcupine claim by myself, with my own crew,” Fred said.
That announcement sparked Todd and Jack’s search for a claim about 400 miles north, near Dawson City, Y.T.
“Their destination is the Klondike, home to some of the richest gold fields on earth,” the narrator said.
“Gold Rush: Alaska” earned a second season following 10 episodes that drew strong viewer numbers. According to a Discovery news release, the Feb. 18 season finale delivered “a whopping 4.55 million viewers.” The show had debuted with about 2 million viewers in December, and the reality TV program grew into a hit, especially in the men’s age 18-49 and 25-54 demographics.
The finale numbers were a series high and ranked 13th among all cable programs in a week dominated by NBA All-Star Game festivities. “Gold Rush: Alaska” has paired with aviation show “Flying Wild Alaska” on Friday nights.
The finale referred to a second season, and Friday’s extra, “Full Disclosure” episode was a summary that previewed next fall’s program.
“Dad, I feel really bad,” Todd told Jack. “I screwed up a bunch of things this last year, so this next season we need new equipment, I need a new wash plant and I’ve got to bring in somebody who knows what … they’re doing. I might be able to scrape enough money together to do it one more time.”
Todd called his time at the Porcupine a “summer from hell.” Despite a take of only around 14 ounces of gold, he remained optimistic about life in the Yukon. The narrator promised, “This time, they know what they are doing.”
“Full Disclosure” showed the Hoffmans back in Oregon, before their trip to Alaska, recruiting a team of men facing financial disaster.
They opened their time in Alaska by transporting an excavator across the Steel Bridge, and the greenhorns then drove a 40-metric-ton excavator through the Klehini River, briefly stranding their camera crew from London.
“People were upset that we crossed that river, and they don’t understand – I had a permit; I did not crush fish beds or anything like that,” Jack said. “It was a great place to cross.”
James Harness, a man in near-constant pain, was overwhelmed by the scenery of the Haines Borough.
“The beauty is just insane,” he said. “It’s like being on another planet.”
Jack inspired the team with his proclamation, “You’re all millionaires. The only thing is, you got to get it out of the ground.”
Neighboring miner John Schnabel provided a “harsh reality check,” the narrator said.
“Other people have come here,” Schnabel said. “They have all gone with nothing.”
He told the Hoffmans success likely would require more than just one summer.
“It took us two years to get the heavy gold,” Schnabel said of one dig.
The Hoffman crew battled faulty equipment and the frustration of real estate agent Jimmy Dorsey, who eventually left the show after a fight with Greg Remsburg that spurred both men to make a visit to the Haines Borough Police Department.
“I’ve given Todd Hoffman five months of my life, and he’s let me down in every way,” Dorsey said. “There’s no gold, there’s no promise, there’s nothing … He’s been a terrible leader, he hasn’t listened to me, he’s treated me like a child, demeaned me in front of national TV, international TV.”
“Full Disclosure” showed that the men then set fire to Dorsey’s cabin, and Jack tore it down with an excavator.
Dorsey phoned the Chilkat Valley News in January and said he was in Reno, Nev., taking a class in metallurgy toward learning hard-rock mining. “I’m actually going to learn how to mine and do it for real. It’s being filmed right now. I’m just not sure where it’s going to be played.”
He said his pay from work on the show was $3,085 plus a 1998 Chevy Silverado pickup.
Dorsey said the show was scripted, but that he and others in the crew under Todd didn’t get to see the script. He said it became obvious to him early on that he was to be the show’s scapegoat.
Dorsey’s take on the show, and comments on it, can be found at http://www.goldminingrealityshow.com.
An early October freeze sent all the miners packing.
Todd gathered the men again in Oregon to encourage their return to the Porcupine, but Dakota Fred thwarted their plans.
“Right when I just start liking you, Fred, you go and do something like this,” Todd said.
The financial stakes at Dawson City are “double or nothing,” he said, and the goal is to collect 300 ounces of gold on ground that has never been worked with machinery.
The Hoffmans visited the Yukon when “outside, it’s 40-below zero, and the roads are buried under four feet of snow,” the narrator said.
At the end of “Full Disclosure,” the Hoffmans still had not reached a deal for a Yukon claim.
“Mining this far north is tough,” the narrator said. “The ground is frozen and the season is short, but with giant nuggets hidden in the permafrost, the rewards could be huge.”
Rachel Wiegers, manager of marketing and events for the Klondike Visitors Association, said she expects the Oregonian miners to be back in Dawson City around May.
“We have heard from one of our mining inspectors that they’ve been in touch with the mining recorder, and apparently it’s a go,” Wiegers said.
She wondered if Discovery Channel will change the name of the show, and noted many people already assume Dawson City is in Alaska.
“We’re really excited,” Wiegers said. “There’s no way that we could ever afford that kind of exposure as a tourism organization.”
She said Dawson City is a “party town,” with a population of nearly 2,000 in the summer. Wiegers said the show probably will be entertaining for area miners.
“If they’re going to walk away from Dawson City rich, there would be a lot of other rich people here, too,” she said. “I wouldn’t be in tourism anymore; I’d be in mining.”