‘Gold Rush’: Critic From Iowa Files Complaint Against Fairplay Mine In Colorado, Says Discovery Show Appears Scripted


Gold Rush, Season 7, premiered on Discovery back in October, and the Hoffman crew already stands to lose the Fairplay mine in Colorado. Todd Hoffman and his mining crew have left Oregon for upcoming episodes of Gold Rush to mine in Colorado. A recent report on the Denver Post says that a critic of the long-running Gold Rush reality TV series filed a citizen’s complaint against the Fairplay mine in December, stating that the show appeared scripted. Now, the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety out of Denver, Colorado, is inspecting the Fairplay placer mine. Results of the inspection could lead to thousands of dollars in fines per day for owners of the Fairplay mine, possibly leaving the Hoffman crew to relocate again.

After a short break from Season 7, Gold Rush returned to Discovery on January 6. TV Ruckus shared that the last episode of Gold Rush left off with Todd Hoffman leaving the Buckland mining site in Oregon in a fit of “abandonment.” Apparently, though, Hoffman and his crew can’t abandon gold mining for good, allegedly due to debt ranging in the six-figures, including money owed to his employees. Hoffman, himself, said that he can’t quit because he’s “in too deep.” As the creator of Gold Rush, Todd Hoffman and his crew propelled the reality show to success on the Discovery Channel, starting with Season 1 in 2010. Gold Rush now focuses on three crews who mine for gold placer deposits in several locations, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

But the Hoffman crew has been anything but successful in finding gold over the previous six seasons, and somehow manages to keep a “skeleton” crew of four people together for the continuation of Season 7. So far, though, Hoffman and his crew have found nothing but bedrock and just a few ounces of gold. TV Ruckus wonders why Todd Hoffman just won’t admit defeat and move on, adding that Hoffman isn’t ready yet to give up and decided to move his mining operation to Colorado, where he’s already facing legal trouble. Thanks to a disgruntled Gold Rush viewer, the Fairplay mine where Todd Hoffman and his crew recently relocated to is now facing possible penalties from Colorado environmental regulators.

One retired construction worker from Iowa, 62-year-old Robin Rindsig, says he dislikes Gold Rush and triggered a state inspection of the Fairplay placer mine, located about two miles northwest of Fairplay, Colorado, along the headwaters of the South Platte River. Starcasm reported that the Fairplay mine in question is owned by High Speed Mining, LLC, and allegedly leases the mine to Hoffman and his crew for upcoming episodes of Gold Rush. Allegations state that mining at the Fairplay placer mine has taken place outside of permitted site boundaries, and recent inspections of the mine apparently confirm those allegations.

According to inspection reports, High Speed destroyed over two acres of forest adjacent to the Fairplay gravel pit, an area that is “outside of the approved permit boundary,” as reported by the Denver Post. A letter from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety to High Speed states that if they are found to be mining without a permit, fines of up to $5,000 per day could be assessed, along with a cease-and-desist order, which could potentially put Todd Hoffman and his crew out of work.

Previous owner of the Fairplay mine, Boyd Astemborski, said it does look like High Speed went outside of permitted boundaries, but went on to say that he thinks they’re trying to do a good job and not trying to trash it. Astemborski faced criticism from homeowners as far back as 2009, even before he applied for a permit to mine at Fairplay. A report published on the Gazette on July 8, 2009, said that people who bought homes near the Fairplay placer mine were unhappy with plans that Astemborski had to mine there — so unhappy that they picketed and started both a petition and a website to stop him.

“I didn’t expect this kind of opposition, but hey, they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. I’m just going to ignore it and go about my business. I was here first. It’s zoned for mining.”

Astemborski calls the Gold Rush crew a “good group of guys,” and says there is gold at the Fairplay placer mine. But Robin Rindsig hopes Gold Rush is taken off the air, saying that his “father and grandfather ran mining operations,” and the show appears to be scripted. Rindsig went on to say that Gold Rush makes it look real, and they “fool a lot of people.” Rindsig is hoping for the full $5,000 per day in fines and wants Gold Rush taken off the air as a good example.

“It would make people aware that the laws and regulations are there for a reason and you don’t just go willy-nilly doing what you want. You get caught. You pay the price.”

Rindsig says he also plans on taking aerial photos of the Gold Rush mining operation at Fairplay this summer in an ongoing effort to keep it honest. The Discovery Channel allegedly declined to comment on the inspection report that’s published in full on Starcasm.

[Featured Image by Gold Rush/Facebook]

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