Jimmy Dorsey on Gold Rush has fans asking what happened to him and where he is. He was the youngest member of the Hoffman Crew, a group of men from Oregon that go to Alaska to mine for gold.
In 2021, Jimmy, more commonly known as “Jim,” delivered a memorable performance on Gold Rush: Alaska, culminating in him leaving the dig site before the season was even over.
He met Gold Rush star Todd Hoffman through a hunting group, which is how he ended up in Alaska mining for money. However, there’s been no sign of Jimmy in the current season and we can explain why.
Jimmy Dorsey on Gold Rush
Jimmy spent a total of 80 days with the crew on Gold Rush. His Facebook lists him as a former greenhorn at Gold Rush Alaska Season one but continues to state he’s a gold miner who lives in Happy Valley, Oregon.
The married former cast member to two children was part of Todd’s team but just a few months into Dorsey’s only year of mining, he had to throw in the towel and leave the show’s first season.
During season one, Jimmy took a job salmon fishing. He claimed in an Oregon Gold interview: “Even me leaving was scripted, but the way in which it happened was not. The plans were made, but the footsteps were ours.”
What happened to Jimmy?
Jimmy claims he was paid $3,000 for his Gold Rush appearance by the time he left. He went on to take classes in Nevada at a school of mining to learn about gold mining. He told Oregon Gold, “I am not done with gold mining.”
The Gold Rush star claimed it was “never his intention to leave” and said his plan was to stay the entire summer and see it out. After leaving the mine, Jimmy still continued to do mining off-screen.
He went on to speak to investors about a mine up north as there were a couple of hard rock mines in Oregon that he was looking at. Jimmy said he was performing assays up on the mines.
Where is the Gold Rush star now?
Jimmy is now working in real estate but is still a gold miner on the side. He told Oregon Gold:
I didn’t think we had a good show unless we got gold and I wasn’t making very much money from the show; nothing substantial, so for me I didn’t think we’d get a second season once we got gold and I didn’t think I’d be able to feed my family once we got gold. It was very real for me. Real estate has really devastated me in the last year.
He also has plans for him and his family “to show the face of the mining industry.” He said: “We can change things by opening natural resources here in Oregon and Alaska. I want to show how mining can be good for people.”
