Just three weeks into the season, the Gold Rush veteran admitted there was little reason to remain at Paradise Hill while his operation was producing no gold.
With gold prices providing an added incentive and Beets targeting an ambitious 6,000 ounces for the season, the Klondike miner decided it was time to make a major move.
“We’ve got a lot of pay dirt easy to get,” Tony said as he outlined the plan. “If we’re going to get 6,000 ounces, we’d better get going.”
Indian River offered one major advantage. When the Beets family previously left the property, they had already stripped enough ground to give themselves a head start should they ever return.
Tony explained that much of the preparation work had already been completed, meaning the crew would only need to remove a relatively small amount of material before they could begin sluicing.
However, getting the equipment there proved far from straightforward.
The convoy faced a roughly 40-mile journey south from Paradise Hill along muddy backroads before tackling Hunker Summit, a steep climb rising to more than 3,000 feet.
The route then continued down Sulphur, where narrow and winding roads added another layer of danger for the huge vehicles transporting the Beets family’s mining equipment.
Tony’s youngest son Mike encountered one of the most alarming moments of the journey when his vehicle began losing momentum on the steep climb.
Unable to change gears quickly enough, Mike became stuck and warned that the machine was beginning to slide sideways.
“I am sliding off the hill,” Mike said as the situation became increasingly tense.
Tony attempted to direct the recovery operation from nearby, telling the crew to prepare chains and arrange another vehicle to help pull Mike to safety.
Mike, however, was not impressed by his father’s constant instructions.
“My dad will always micromanage till the day he dies,” he joked after the tense incident.
Eventually, the convoy safely reached the summit, allowing the family to continue toward Indian River.
The return marked a significant moment for the Beets operation. Four years after leaving Indian River behind, Tony and his family were finally back on the property.
Once the equipment arrived, Tony quickly turned his attention toward another potential advantage — his long-idle dredge.
Although Tony plans to use a shaker deck wash plant as the main processing system at Indian River, bringing the dredge back into operation could dramatically increase the amount of ground the family is able to process.
After inspecting the machine alongside his daughter Monica, Tony appeared confident that much of the equipment remained in usable condition.
“The pumps are still on there. The jets are still on it,” he said.
Tony also noted that the hydraulics appeared to have survived and said the dredge could be upgraded with new monitoring screens before returning to work.
Despite its age, Tony remains convinced dredging is still one of the cheapest ways to recover gold.
According to him, the machine can operate with just two people while consuming around 10 gallons of fuel per hour, making it significantly cheaper to run than many modern mining setups.
There was also an encouraging sign during the inspection.
Tony and Monica tested material from around the dredge and quickly discovered several visible flakes of gold, including one larger piece.
“Beauty,” Tony said after counting the gold.
Monica was equally eager to see the giant machine working again.
“Now get the thing running so I can start actually cleaning it,” she told her father.
For Tony, the return to Indian River represents both a gamble and an opportunity.
Paradise Hill had failed to deliver early production, while Indian River offers prepared ground, existing equipment and the possibility of running two gold recovery systems simultaneously.
If Tony can get both the shaker deck and his old dredge operating, the move could provide the boost the Beets family desperately needs to chase their enormous season target.
“I can’t wait to see it running again,” Tony said of the dredge. “I think it’ll be perfect.”
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