Fred Lewis has had a difficult time on “Gold Rush.” While the experienced gold miner has been a mainstay on the series for several seasons at this point, Season 13 proved to be an exceptionally rough outing for him and his team as they faced myriad issues, such as a faulty wash plant. For a time, it seemed like Lewis might be finally calling it quits for his time on “Gold Rush,” as he was not initially slated to be one of the miners featured in Season 14. However, it turns out that this absence has simply been a temporary one.
Fred Lewis may not be one of the main stars of “Gold Rush” Season 14, but he still shows up during the season. Episode 6 in particular, titled “Down, But Not Out,” sees the series catching up with Lewis as he develops his future plans for a return to full-scale mining. In an interview with TV Insider, Lewis further clarified that he’s simply taking a break from the show to re-evaluate his operation. “It’s a pause to see what I have outside of gold mining while I continue to look for the ground I need to continue mining,” he said. “I’m always the type of person who throws their anchors out and whatever catches I’ll investigate it.”
Lewis is planning for a big return
As can be seen in “Gold Rush” Season 14, Episode 6, Fred Lewis is making plenty of moves behind the scenes in order to figure out the best way to continue his mining operation. However, it seems like he’s also taking time for some personal reflection on his life outside of “Gold Rush.” “It still makes sense, but at the same time, it doesn’t slow me down from doing other things,” Lewis explained in his interview with TV Insider. “I’ve got options, contracting jobs, ways to help veterans on the nonprofit side and adaptive sports. I’m looking to get back involved in that.”
From his recent appearances, it’s clear that Lewis’ main priority is locating a mining area that will yield better results for his team. While it remains to be seen whether he can resume full-scale operations before too long, he indicated that he is searching for “mining options next season,” suggesting that he could be back in time for “Gold Rush” Season 15. “I’m not slowing down,” he said. “If anything I’m speeding up, focusing on finding that better ground to make it. I want to succeed. I don’t want to keep struggling. If I go up there, I want it to be something worth it.”
Whether his future mining endeavors bring success or failure, Lewis is confident that viewers have plenty of more time to spend with him — regardless of fans’ split opinions on the “Gold Rush” star. “I’m not going away,” he said. “There is no quit in me. Failure is just a thing in life you learn from. I’m not done. I’ll be back.”