Where Was Gold Rush: South America Actually Filmed?
It's genuinely impressive to see how far Discovery's "Gold Rush" has come from its relatively humble beginnings. What began as a show about people who turned to gold mining following the 2007 recession has exploded into one of the biggest reality TV franchises on television, turning miners like Parker Schnabel and Tony Beetz into veritable superstars. The original show's remarkable success has also spawned a multitude of spin-off series over the years, including "Gold Rush: The Jungle," "Gold Rush: Winter's Fortune," and "Gold Rush: Parker's Trail."
Though "Gold Rush" itself is primarily located in Alaska and the Yukon (in fact, the show's original name was actually "Gold Rush: Alaska") these spin-offs have allowed the team to take their talents all across the world in search of the next big score. Perhaps the best example of this was "Gold Rush: South America," a short-lived limited series that saw the team traveling to various countries throughout South America to try and expand their mining operations in a new locale.
The environment present in South America is massively different from the conditions the team were accustomed to in Alaska, and as such, the location of the show was a crucial part of the drama in that series. With that in mind, fans will be happy to hear that "Gold Rush: South America" was shot entirely on location.
Gold Rush: South America was filmed in Guyana, Peru, and Chile
"Gold Rush: South America" was filmed between Seasons 3 and 4 of "Gold Rush," and primarily focused on series lead Todd Hoffman as he and his crew travel to South America while their Alaskan mining operation was in the off-season. During a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Christo Doyle revealed that it was actually Hoffman's idea to bring his operation south and that the camera crew simply followed him on his expedition. "When Todd announced to us that he was looking around in South America for better ground, it was a no-brainer for us," Doyle said.
Filming for the limited series took place across Chile, Peru, and Guyana as Hoffman and his team scoured those countries for places to set up a brand new gold mine. Everything you see in "Gold Rush: South America" was genuinely shot on location, though ultimately, their quest throughout those countries came to a disappointing end. The Guyana expedition was particularly disastrous, as Hoffman's questionable decisions led to his team losing an incredible amount of money, while only managing to prospect 2 ounces of gold.
The "Gold Rush" franchise continues to expand with each passing year, and as such, the team continues to search for gold in numerous different environments all across the globe.