Dave Turin and the cast of Gold Rush have returned to the Discovery Channel for season seven, and before tonight's new episode, Dozer Dave spoke to Enstarz about what fans can expect to see from the new episodes.

Enstarz: How do you stay motivated after facing challenges in the mining industry?

Dave Turin:I stay motivated by remembering why I mine. I mine for other reasons than just the gold. I enjoy mentoring and teaching younger men how to mine and how to do it responsibly. My motivation comes from helping the team achieve our goals, it's all about teamwork and being a part of something bigger than just mining for gold. The gold makes a big difference in some of the crews life and helps their families afford a better lifestyle. Gold mining is a hard way of life and it can be difficult to stay motivated, especially if we aren't finding the gold and reaching the goals that we have set for ourselves, so we have to rely on each other within the team to keep each of us motivated. It's hard being away from home and family for such long periods of time.

Enstarz: What made me want to join the Hoffman's team?

Dave Turin: When I met Todd and he told me that he was going to go gold Mining in Alaska it excited something deep in my soul, there was the allure of gold in the last great frontier of Alaska. It made me think of the Jack London books I had read, I felt like a little kid who wanted to go on an adventure. At the time I was kind of stuck in my family business, I had done the same job for 28 years, and I was frustrated, unmotivated, I needed a new challenge. The timing was perfect, all my kids had graduated from college, my wife had retired from nursing, so the timing was right for me to go on this wild crazy adventure. I loved the idea of learning a new type of mining and being challenged by the new environments.

Enstarz: You have assembled a great team, what makes your latest group stand out?

Dave Turin: It basically boils down to one thing, experience. When Todd put this group of guys together, I thought what was he thinking? There was only Jack and Todd with any gold mining experience, and that was pretty limited for a short period of time in the 1980's. The first few years were extremely difficult and we made a lot of mistakes, but we learned from those mistakes and we gained valuable lessons. Sometimes the best lessons are learned the hard way, they stick with you the longest. It's been fun to watch some of the younger guys grow and become good operators and great young men. Now guys like Logan, Andy, Sterling,and Hunter stepping up and taking on a lot of responsibility which takes some of the burden off of the shoulders of the older guys. We also have some great addition s like Juan and Randy who are great mechanics and good guys to hang out with. We have a great team with great chemistry.

Enstarz: What do I like most and least about filming Gold Rush?

Dave Turin: My least favorite thing is doing pickups, which are pieces that we have to film that fills in the blanks for the audience. Sometimes the cameras don't pick up all the decisions that are made in the Mining process, so we have to film a short segment that helps explain why we did something a certain way. The pickups help tell the story.

One of my favorite things is the encouragement I get from people who are motivated to do something risky, because Gold Rush inspired them.

Enstarz: Who are your favorite and least favorite co-stars?

Dave Turin: Todd is a good friend, we have been through a lot together and because of that we have very good relationship. We haven't always seen eye to eye on everything but we've always been able to work things out. I trust him and he trusts me so I would have to say Todd is my favorite.

My least favorite, I don't have anyone on the show that I don't like. I get along with just about everyone.

Enstarz: What should fans know about season seven?

Dave Turin: It is going to be a rocky road. We will take the audience on a roller coaster ride. We start the season coming off of our biggest year ever, 3030 ounces of gold and we decide to go to Oregon. We have the highest hopes and aspirations than we have ever had at the start of the season. We are close to home and family which is one of the reasons we came back to Oregon, and the gold is the most promising that we have ever seen. Half way through the season our dream season takes a bad turn and our troubles come from within the team, it was a difficult time for all of us, but we make some radical changes and come out of the valley, but is it enough to keep this dream team together?

Gold Rush airs tonight at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel. Check out a sneak peek at the new season below.

Tags: gold rush Reality TV dave turin