Discovery Channel’s #1 local production, Aussie Gold Hunters returns this April. The international hit series follows hardcore crews of gold prospectors determined to find a fortune on some of Australia’s most extreme landscapes.
This season the hunt is bigger than ever with 20 episodes and seven teams of gold hunters – the largest number in the show’s history – embarking on the ultimate treasure quest across the country. These gold hungry crews are driven by the record-breaking price of Australian gold, the increasing number of nuggets being found lying very close to the surface and the unwavering belief that they too could strike it rich and land a monster nugget.
There are a lot of new faces this season with five new and incredibly determined teams joining the hunt, as well as returning favourites. Fresh off the back of unearthing the biggest gold nugget in television history last season, the Victoria Diggers – Mick Clark and Neville Perry (VIC) are determined to build on their success. They’re upscaling their operation with a wash plant and believe a multi-million-dollar nugget lies beneath their German Gully gold lead, but red tape is holding them up. Gold Gypsies – Greg and Chris Clark (WA) will be challenged like never before, but they’re holding on to the one hope all prospectors treasure – that the next swing of their detector could uncover a life-changing nugget.
The new season has three crews of rookie detectorists lured by the prospect that they’ll uncover a huge nugget that will give them the freedom to pack in their day jobs. Marcus McGuire and Linden Brownley (WA) are First Nations Wongutha men who have a large family scattered all over the goldfields. Their cultural background allows them to bring a unique perspective to hunting and surviving in the remote bush, as well as their culture’s relationship with the country.
Rob Dale and Rob ‘Turbo’ Linton aka the Gold Timers (WA) are tradesmen and with their contract work in the city at an all-time low are putting their mortgages and family finances on the line and taking a huge gamble. Prospecting partners Shane Calegari and Russell Nash (WA) met working on plumbing jobs in Perth. Shane is a fifth-generation miner and returning to gold hunting after a 30-year break, while Russell is relatively new to the game. Together they’re determined to take their hobby to the next level.
It wouldn’t be Aussie Gold Hunters without those larger-scale operations and machinery bringing the wow factor! Meet the Dust Devils – Paul Mackie & Jake Armstrong (WA) and their dads John and Mike. This crew dig deeper and employ three gold processing plants to recover every gram of gold from their pay dirt. Meanwhile the Poseidon Crew – Brent Shannon and Ethan West (VIC) are working some of the most gold rich ground on the planet.
In the past the guys (who are neighbours to the Victoria Diggers) have pulled up several nuggets weighing over 100 ounces from their Poseidon Lead gold ground in Victoria’s Goldfields and have their sights set high for the season.
There’ll be hope and heartbreak but one thing’s for certain – it’s an all-out battle in the greatest gold rush on Earth!
Aussie Gold Hunters is produced by Electric Pictures for Discovery Channel.
Will this play in the States?