Engineer and entrepreneur Jörg Lotz (57), who hails from Wachtersbach, has been prospecting for gold in Canada for years. Meanwhile he has become a television star. He can be seen in the TV show “Gold Rush” shown on DMAX in Germany.

Waechtersbach/Schlüchtern/Whitehorse – Jörg Lotz is known by many as an expert on the Gold Prospector Show. He began his apprenticeship at Schluechtern (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) with an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and technical diploma (construction) at the Kinzig-School before going to university. He has had an engineering office in Wachtersbach for nearly 25 years: “I have experience digging in the ground,” he told our newspaper in 2019, sitting on a red KN sofa. At the time, our headline was: “Sir, Over 700 Claims”. The Yukon has become something of Lotz’s second home, and the engineer plans to bring his all-terrain expedition vehicle from Wachtersbach to Canadian territory. (Read here: Main-Kinzig district apprentice celebrated as a chef in Salzburg)

The reality show chronicles the experiences of various gold miners in the Yukon and neighboring Alaska. The TV team joins you in the exciting gold panning season in the far north in the short summer. Lotz can be seen as the owner of the claim, who has a new team of prospectors working his land.

From the Maine-Kinzig District to the Canadian Wilderness: Gold Prospector Jörg Lotz is a Television Expert

“We invest in the discovery of new gold reserves using scientific and engineering processes and secure the claims, that is, mining rights. Then the prospectors take out the gold on the claims and we get a share or we sell the claims. On the show, Fred Lewis comes up to me and asks about prospecting areas. We come to an agreement, and the show shows every week how Fred sets up his mine on our claims in California Creek, searches for gold. and finds her too,” Lotz reports about his work and TV show.

When asked how it is in front of the camera, he says: “I really enjoyed it, but it took a long time to do it. Sometimes they shoot for hours, but only a few seconds in the show ends the same – or not at all. We had a film crew of 12 on our claims every day during the summer. Scenes must be repeated or shot from different perspectives. You get 15 minutes of conversation with three sentences The content also has to get to the heart, and then it will be cut accordingly. Some tension must also be built. Despite this, there is no script and no material invented. But of course it is an entertainment program. Not a geological documentary.”

Wächtersbacher doesn’t feel like a TV star just yet, but the reactions from fans are increasing. But it can be a double-edged sword: “Fred Lewis, as we claim, is likely a ‘greenhorn’, but he has the courage to do so. He also faces criticism and envy. Many people in America Troubled by his haircut, but he takes it effortlessly. We’re not focusing, but that could change.” The show ran every Friday in the US for 23 weeks in prime time and has very high ratings. In Germany it always runs on DMAX on Wednesdays, but with a delay of 13 weeks.

Jörg Lotz will return to the Yukon in April and continue to build his log home. Mining can resume only after the snow melts in May. This year the engineer will move a large expedition vehicle to Canada. The 33-ton “6×6 MAN” has an exclusive body from Austrian manufacturer Actionmobil, a manufacturer of luxury long-distance travel vehicles. Lotz has good contacts there: the company’s founder is his great-uncle OT Ritz, who was born in Wachtersbach.

Jörg Lotz wants to move 33-ton truck to Canada

The impressive vehicle is already in his yard in Wachtersbach, where it is being fitted and upgraded for longer travel. The comfortable accomodation cabin provides a comfortable and safe stay even in the harsh climate of the sub-arctic. A workshop with a crane is currently being set up at the rear of the vehicle.

In the summer, the trip begins by ship to Halifax in eastern Canada and then travels a distance of 7,500 kilometers across Canada to the Alaska border. Lotz plans two to three weeks for the voyage, with the ship’s journey taking only ten days. The man at Wachtersbach can’t yet say whether the vehicle will also be shown on TV next summer: “The show ‘Gold Rush’ will be re-filmed on our claims, but of course I don’t know yet what showed.” But I’m currently in intense talks with another TV production company about the possibility of gold as well. Of course mine and of course my ‘Yukonwolf’ will be, as will the car’s. The naming has been done, to be seen.”

Video: My Life as a Gold Digger

At Lotz, of course, it’s not all about sleeping and adventure, but about nature and the environment as well. Areas for gold prospecting also need to be cleared. “Gold is an important precious metal that is also used in every mobile phone. You have to get into the ground to extract the mineral resources. In Yukon and Alaska, only water and gravity can be used to pan for gold. It is not a highly toxic material like on other continents. Areas are re-cultivated. This type of gold extraction is one of the most environmentally friendly in the world. We often work in basins that were previously glacial, several sections Kilometers has monotonous alder shrubs. This is not an ecosystem optimal. Also there are many more boundary lines, pools and open grassy areas where moose and caribou often migrate. The excavation leaves no permanent damage, in many places But it’s the exact opposite,” says Lotz.

Is there still time for companies in Wchtersbach? “Meanwhile, in modern companies everything is set up and secured in such a way that you can work from the comfort of your home office. This also applies to the operation of technical systems. We have good employees whom I trust. I can, and I am always on site for important maintenance work and appointments. Otherwise in most home offices, only ‘home’ is a little further away”, reports the engineer and managing director of BioEnergyWatchersbach. (Earth, Tim)