The AU Grabber (pronounced as: ''Gold Grabber'';"Au" is the chemical symbol for

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

) is a self-propelled barge

excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fro ...

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

used to mine

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

placer gold deposits in the region around

Nome, Alaska Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 recorded ...

, USA. It is owned and operated by Richard Schimschat and featured in the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

USA mining reality TV show ''

Bering Sea Gold ''Bering Sea Gold'' (also known as ''Gold Divers'' in the UK) is a reality television series set in Nome, Alaska, on Norton Sound, that airs on Discovery Channel. It is from the creators of the ''Deadliest Catch'' reality TV show. The show is di ...

''. It cost $600,000 to buy. In 2017 a 120-lb two-week-old

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

was found on the dredge. Hank Schimschat retired from mining in 2019, and hired out the AU Grabber. Though no longer part of the show, in 2020, the dredge once again appeared on Bering Sea Gold, still mining in the Nome region. At the end of the 2020 season, while pulling out the dredge, it was improperly supported, bending the boat, ending its journey. The equipment of AU Grabber was moved to a new barge, the

Mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

(stylized as ''Mistre$$''), for the 2021 gold season.

Specifications

:Vessel 1031061 * Launch date: 1995 * Length: * Width: * Depth: * Net tonnage: * Gross tonnage:

Notes

References

External links

* Boat Database (boatdb.net
Nome, AK port boats

Specifications

Notes

References

External links

See also