English
Doosan wheel loader is machine of choice for “Gold Rush” star
Spring 2012
There are few people who have lived a life of adventure and worked as hard as Fred Hurt. Now Hurt is enjoying a new career, of sorts, and is a star on the highly rated cable show "Gold Rush." Nearly 5 million viewers tune in each week to watch Hurt and two other groups in their exciting search for gold.
Known as "Dakota Fred" on "Gold Rush," Hurt came out of retirement in 2004 to start a new career in mining, specifically for gold in Alaska. In 2010, Hurt was asked by a Discovery Channel® production company to lend his expertise on the new TV show. In 2011, Hurt returned for the second season, only this time he took on a more prominent role on the show - purchasing the Porcupine Creek claim and becoming his own boss.
During the second season, Hurt experienced troubles with an older used wheel loader. He asked around for suggestions for a replacement and someone recommended the Doosan dealer in Juneau, Alaska, Miller Construction Equipment. Hurt was previously unfamiliar with Doosan equipment, only seeing them for the first time when he attended CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, Nev., in March 2011. He trusted the recommendation and took a chance (sight unseen) on a Doosan DL400 wheel loader.
Since Juneau is only accessible by air and water, a salesman from Miller Construction Equipment made arrangements to put the Doosan wheel loader on a ferry and send it to Haines, Alaska. Once it arrived, Hurt's son, Dustin, put the machine to work right away, loading boulders into Hurt's wash plant to mine for gold. Both Fred and Dustin were impressed by the machine, its ability to handle the rock, and the visibility and comfort inside the loader's cabin.
"I have fielded many questions about our Doosan wheel loader we used last season," Hurt says. "Interest has certainly increased since the DL400 appeared on national TV. I believe Doosan has an opportunity to become a very strong contender in the heavy equipment business."
A Miller Construction Equipment service technician from Juneau made regular visits to the mine site to ensure the Doosan wheel loader was in top form for the rigorous mining application.
A career adventurer
Hurt attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, for two years, and studied the sciences and oil refinery operations. In 1968, he started his professional career as a commercial diver, doing underwater construction, burning and demolition. During his 10-year stint in diving, Hurt wrote a diving safety manual for Smit-LeCler International Divers.
With experience working underwater and having many contacts along Louisiana's Gulf Coast, Hurt started his own construction company in 1978 called Blue Ribbon Bulkheads and Hurt Construction. He specialized in marine pile driving, dock, wharf and bulkhead construction.
In 2002, Hurt took a break from being a business owner and went to work for Herbert Trucking and Equipment in Crown Point, La. He was a foreman at the company and oversaw underground utility repairs in New Orleans. There were many times that he and his crews stumbled across unmarked pipes, came across old clay pipes and discovered rail car tracks. Hurt says at one time there were numerous street cars in New Orleans to transport its residents and the remnants that lie beneath the concrete and asphalt pavement.
Looking toward retirement in 2004, Hurt and his wife moved from Louisiana to Minot, N.D., to be closer to family. He isn't the type to sit around, so he quickly decided that mining was a natural way to use his 30-plus years of construction equipment experience to launch a new career. That's when he started Blue Ribbon Gold and began mining on state and private land in the Porcupine Creek mining district in Alaska.
Over the course of the next five years, Hurt and his son-in-law, Paul Behm, mined in Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada and Montana. In May 2009, he traveled back to Alaska to design, build and operate a 100-yard-per-hour wash plant for Goldrich Mining Corporation in Little Squaw, Alaska. Goldrich Mining is a publicly traded company that owns 100 percent of the historical Alaskan Chandalar gold district, which is approximately 27 square miles in size, and located 190 miles north of Fairbanks. The following year he went to the Porcupine Creek claim with owner Earle Foster to oversee a group of new miners who participated in the first season of "Gold Rush."
Short mining season
Surrounded by beautiful scenery - mountains and tall pines - crews at Porcupine Creek have a short mining season of approximately 150 days. When crews arrive in May, there's typically still snow along the roads. There is very little room for error, and crews must get to work immediately to ensure they can mine enough gold to cover their mining season expenses, as well as take some money home. Having a dependable wheel loader is critical because if it breaks down, Hurt and his crew cannot maintain their progress in search of gold.
Hurt anticipates participating in a third season of the show, which may be filmed this mining season. If so, Doosan equipment will surely return as well. Learn more about the show and Fred Hurt by visiting www.dsc.discovery.com and clicking on the link for "Gold Rush."
