Meet Gold Rush’s newest addition Morgan Lauren

Morgan Lauren has been living in Alaksa her whole life, but season 14 is her first season mining with Rick Ness’s crew.

So far, season 14 of Discovery’s hit series, Gold Rush, has been filled with surprises.

Not only have fans been elated to see both Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets return for yet another chance at striking it big in Alaska’s Yukon Valley, but this season has also seen the return of Rick Ness after his sudden departure in season 13.

And while Rick may have felt like he hit rock bottom after leaving the show last season, he has certainly returned with a new energy this season – and a new crew member.

All about Morgan Lauren

If you have not yet watched the newest season of Gold Rush, then you may not know that Morgan Lauren has signed on as the show’s newest crew member.

Morgan has taken up the all-important task of operating as Rick’s equipment operator and gold washer.

And while she may seem very young, she actually has about a decade’s worth of experience working as an equipment operator in the oil industry and thus, certainly knows her way around a front end loader.

While Morgan might be fairly new to the world of gold mining, she did grow up in Palmer, Alaska and has actually shared that she used to go panning with her family in the Alaskan wilderness when she was younger.

So there is no doubt that her enthusiasm to learn and keen eye for detail have already made her an invaluable addition to Rick’s team.

Gold Rush season 14

Morgan’s first (but hopefully not last) season on Gold Rush can be summarized as follows:

At the end of the “Pivot!” episode, Rick’s gold total amounted to about 11.93 ounces (which is only worth about $24,000).

However, the crew still has three episodes left in this season, so hopefully they will find enough gold to keep the operation running until next season.

Morgan’s secret to success

Compared to some of the other so-called “lifers” that have been featured on Gold Rush over the years, Morgan is undeniably green. But this has not stopped her from jumping in feet-first this season.

And while Morgan admits that living in Alaska her entire life has definitely helped her, even on the tough remote, Yukon claims, she suspects that the secret to her quick gold-mining success runs much deeper.

Morgan claims that in order to find your way in these remote claims, “You have to love the plugs that are flying around and the mud.”

And since all of these things are “second-nature” to this inexperienced gold-miner, it looks like Rick and his crew may just be able to pull off a miracle this season.

How Morgan got the job

Gold Rush has certainly given the rough and tough world of gold mining in Alaska a much glitzier image than it had a few years ago, but it seems like the promise of small-screen fame is not what attracted Morgan to this new career path at all.

In fact, Morgan shared via her Instagram stories that she actually applied to work for Rick and only found out about his connection (and return) to the series, later on.

Either way, it seems like things have worked out better than planned for Morgan.

Morgan has already established herself as a firm fan-favorite in this season and she seems to get along well with her fellow Gold Rush stars, also stating in another story that “Mining is great, the filming was interesting. But the crew is the absolute best part.”

Will Morgan return for next season?

Right now, Morgan is making the most of the off season by travelling and spending time family. However, it seems like she has big plans for the future.

Morgan already shared that she would love to return to Rick’s crew (and Gold Rush) for another season. However, she has also stated that she will need to consider her relationship with the friends and family that she leaves behind first.

Though if Morgan returns to mining in the future, she already has detailed plans to possibly run a claim of her own one day.