On tonight’s Bering Sea Gold, it’s a fantastic mother lode of gold, as Emily Riedel and her Eroica crew are atop a spot where gold is laying among flat rocks and calm seas, making the gold retrieval easier.
It’s a good day for the woman who is an anomaly in a business where so many men seem to make up the miner ranks.
Emily Riedel is a tough boss. A third-generation Alaskan, Emily is the only female dredge owner in Nome. She nearly became an opera singer but chose to stay in Alaska to mine. This season, Emily has brought two Nome gold divers aboard the Eroica — Jessie and Ricky — to get that gold and mine the rich sea beds and ground. She has her sights set on other valuable mineral wealth to be had in other parts of Alaska.
This summer, Emily has a total of three of the most experienced offshore gold miners in Nome and they explore the limits of their producing leases located in the Norton Sound. Now, five years in as captain, Emily owns a high powered, ten-inch suction dredge that has the capacity to produce a lot of gold results in short order. If nature allows her to do so.
In our exclusive clip, she is on a hot streak as her diver radios up that gold is there and it looks really good. Holy smokes good.
In the clip, Emily explains what she is up against and says: “If we’re not on exciting ground if I don’t hear the diver saying ‘oh this is awesome this is ounce an hour plus’… if I don’t hear that I start to worry.”
She adds: “It’s not just my operation and my divers have to make money too. I have to make sure that the boat is on producing ground.”
About Bering Sea Gold
Discovery’s docuseries takes us to Nome, Alaska in the balmy summer. This is when gold mining season moves to the shallower waters and new tactics, new territories, and new technology is used to extract the gold that lays among the rocks and sand.
There are established miners and upstarts, and a clash of these larger than life personalities in a bid to secure the gold sweet spots, the hidden, and the more widely known places where gold is to be found.
Shawn “Mr. Gold” Pomrenke faces his newest competitor, Ken Kerr. What is threatening Shawn’s reign is Ken’s 600-ton gold-digging monster that dwarfs all the competition.
Now Shawn must invest in a mega-dredge monster to stay afloat. Also, Vernon Adkison makes his return to the Bering Sea with his custom “Gold Ship,” but can he even navigate his dredge 1,000 miles down the treacherous Yukon River? It remains to be seen.
Fan-favorite Emily Riedel, a successful female dredge owner in Nome, sets her sights on proven grounds and riskier chances — she will face many tough obstacles, including a scare that may include losing her vessel, Eroica, to the Bering Sea forever.
In addition, Kris, Brad, and Andy Kelly are all riding high and have made gold-mining expectations come to fruition as The Bluff yields gold, but Kris is eyeing a claim in remote grounds to call his own.
Discovery says: “Going up against life or death decisions, the crews will be challenged in more ways than ever before, but it’ll be an all-out race to winter to see who will lead the pack and earn the title of top miner in Nome.”
Indeed, and also tonight, Shawn’s rival Ken unleashes his 600-ton gold gobbler dredge while Shawn fights to preserve the family business. Vernon makes a valiant return in an attempt to strike it rich with a new dredge.
Emily is tenacious and will reclaim her hotspot.
Bering Sea Gold airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on Discovery Channel.