Tony Beets Breaks His Promise – Monica’s Dream Claim Slips Away! | GOLD RUSH SEASON 15

While Tony focuses on keeping his season afloat, his daughter Monica is eager to carve out her own path in the family business. She reminds her father of a long-standing promise—just like her brothers Kevin and Mike, she wants her own mining claim.

“Everybody else has a claim,” she points out. “I’d like to get going on mine, but until I get Tony to talk to me, I can’t put a plant in place.”

Monica has her sights set on a promising piece of land that Tony first discovered four years ago. The 1.5-acre cut, overlooked by early miners, was confirmed to have rich gold deposits based on drilling results. At the time, Tony had called it virgin ground. However, the area has never been mined. Now, Monica sees it as the perfect place to prove herself.

“If we can make a solid plan and get the equipment ready, we should be able to mine it,” she insists.

Right now, the Beets crew is dealing with one of the biggest obstacles in gold mining—the unpredictability of nature. The frozen ground at Indian River has put a serious dent in their progress, slowing down operations and reminding everyone that success in this business is never guaranteed.

Tony himself is feeling the pressure, as only one of his three wash plants is currently running, leaving his operation in a precarious position. For him, the formula is simple: “No sluice, no trommel, no gold.” Keeping the trommel running is crucial, and every breakdown or delay threatens the season’s success.

Despite these setbacks, Tony has already mined nearly 3,500 ounces of gold—an impressive haul as he pushes toward his ambitious 5,000-ounce season goal. With gold prices skyrocketing to $2,500 per ounce, the stakes are higher than ever. Tony understands the opportunity at hand and is determined to extract as much gold as possible before the season comes to a close.

“With prices this high, the more gold we get, the better off we’ll be,” he explains.

His focus remains firmly on production, but his daughter Monica has a different priority—securing her own claim.

For years, Monica has worked alongside her father and brothers, learning the ins and outs of the gold mining industry. However, unlike her brothers, she has yet to receive a mining claim of her own. Kevin and Mike each have their own operations, while Monica is still waiting for Tony’s approval.

“Everybody else has a claim,” she repeats. “I’d like to get going on mine, but until I get Tony to talk to me, I can’t put a plant in place.”

She is more than ready to take charge but needs her father’s backing to move forward. Her determination is backed by a promising opportunity.

Four years ago, Tony identified a lucrative pocket of land that had been overlooked by early miners. Drilling confirmed that the 1.5-acre cut contained rich gold deposits, but for some reason, the ground was never mined. Monica sees this as the perfect chance to establish herself as a leader in the Beets mining empire.

“If we can make a solid plan and get the equipment ready, we should be able to mine it,” she insists.

One of the biggest hurdles Monica faces is securing the right equipment. She plans to use Tony’s aging 33-year-old Moose Creek trommel to process gold from her cut. While the equipment has seen better days, she remains confident in its capabilities. Expressing her gratitude to her father, she hears him respond with a rare moment of support:

“Anything for family.”

Mike steps in to help by towing a massive 35-ton wash plant—one that has been sitting idle for two years—to the yard for much-needed repairs. However, the process proves to be more difficult than expected.

“It’s sunk in pretty deep, but we’ll get it out,” Mike says.

Once the plant reaches the yard, welders assess the damage and discover multiple issues, including a weak nugget trap and a water distributor full of holes. The extent of the damage is alarming.

“This thing is holier than the Roman Catholic Church,” Mike jokes.

It’s leaking water and gold, which is a serious problem. The necessary repairs will take a few days, delaying Monica’s plans yet again.

Monica’s biggest challenge isn’t just the frozen ground or broken equipment—it’s Tony’s priorities. As always, his own projects come first, leaving Monica frustrated but not surprised.

“Tony Beets first, then Tony Beets again,” she says wryly. “Then it’s still not my turn.”

However, she refuses to back down. Despite the delays, she remains determined to prove herself in the male-dominated world of gold mining.

“I love gold mining, and I’m excited to see what we pull out of here,” she says with conviction.

For Monica, securing her own claim isn’t just about finding gold—it’s about proving her capability as a leader in the Beets family business. She has the drive, the experience, and the determination to succeed. Now, she just needs the chance to prove it.

As she waits for repairs to be completed, one thing is certain—when the opportunity finally comes, she will be ready to take charge.

For the Beets crew, gold mining is always a race against time. Equipment failures, unpredictable weather, and shifting priorities make every day a battle to keep the operation running. Right now, the team is finally seeing some progress. After a major repair job and two grueling days of welding, their only operational wash plant is back up and running, allowing gold to flow through the sluices once again.

While the fix might not be permanent, it’s enough to keep the season moving forward. With that urgent problem addressed, Mike’s welding crew can return to another critical task—repairing the aging Moose Creek trommel, which is essential for Monica Beets to begin mining her long-awaited Hester Cut.

However, before she can even start digging into the promising ground, there’s a major obstacle standing in her way—water.

The cut is flooded, and without draining it first, no mining can take place. Monica knows this step is crucial.

“It would be nice to see what comes out of that cut, but we can’t do that until we get a pump down there to start drying it out,” she explains.

For her, this claim represents something much bigger than just another gold mining venture—it’s about proving herself as an independent operator within the family business. Unlike her brothers Kevin and Mike, who already have their own setups, Monica has been waiting for the opportunity to run her own claim. Now that she finally has a chance, she’s eager to get started.

Determined to keep things moving, Tony and Mike set out to a mined-out section of the Super Pit to retrieve a pump. The plan is simple: bring the pump back to Monica’s cut, start draining the water, and get her operation up and running.

But in gold mining, things rarely go as planned.

As Tony and Mike inspect the area, something unexpected catches Tony’s eye—visible gold embedded in the bank.

“See that? You can pick it right out,” he exclaims, pointing to the rich deposit.

It’s not often that gold is this easy to spot, and even Tony, who has seen it all, recognizes the significance of the find.

“I don’t get excited very much, but we both know what this means.”

Gold mining is all about seizing opportunities, and Tony knows this is one he can’t ignore. If they don’t mine this pay now, they risk losing it to shifting ground or frozen conditions later in the season. Without hesitation, he makes the call—Monica’s operation will have to wait.

“If we don’t do it now, it’ll be next year again, so let’s not waste time. Monica’s cut will have to wait,” he declares.

Monica faces another delay.

When Monica arrives expecting to receive the pump for her claim, she is met with a frustrating reality.

“What’s up with you? I thought I was getting a pump today,” she questions, already sensing the bad news.

Tony breaks it to her bluntly—the newly discovered gold takes priority.

“Mike’s pay first,” he says, signaling that her cut has once again been pushed to the back of the line.

Frustration flashes across Monica’s face. She understands the logic—gold in the ground is money waiting to be made—but that doesn’t make the delay any easier to swallow.

“It sucks getting pushed back to the bottom of the list,” she admits.

Tony, however, is focused on the bigger picture.

“This morning, we didn’t know that was there. Now we do, and we need to get it out before moving on,” he says.

But Monica isn’t convinced.

“How do you know my cut isn’t just as rich as this one?” she challenges.

Tony smirks, his experience in the Klondike giving him confidence in his decision.

“If your cut is as good as this, then we’d be lucky twice,” he replies.

Monica walks away feeling disappointed but not defeated. She knows her time will come—and when it does, she’ll be ready.