Big changes are in store for the long-running unscripted series when it returns Oct. 12.

Gold Rush is coming back to Discovery Channel for a ninth season, and The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive first look.

This year, Rick Ness has decided to step it up and become a mine boss with a claim of his own — cashing in his life savings — after working six years under fellow miner Parker Schnabel.

"I've been working for Parker [Schnabel] for six years, but I'm done working for somebody else. I want to work for myself," he says in the clip. "And this is my chance. I've got everything on the line. My house. Every penny I have. I've got my friends with me, their livelihoods. It doesn't get any bigger than this."

In the off-season, Rick spent most of his time nursing his mother until she died. As a result, he's far behind the others as they race into the mining season. Rick has recruited a crew of his Wisconsin buddies, who leave behind their jobs, families and homes to take a chance on striking it rich. The stakes are high as Rick tries to prove his dad was wrong when he predicted that Rick will "come home broke with no friends."

Elsewhere, while gold miner and rival Todd Hoffman is out, things haven't gotten any easier for 23-year-old Parker Schnabel, who finds himself in a land war with legendary Klondike miner Tony Beets. Parker's initial plan was to return to Tony's ground — the richest he's ever mined — and deliver more than 6,000 ounces of gold worth $7.2 million.

Echoing Rick's sentiment, Parker says: "This season, I've got everything I own on the line. I've spent millions of dollars buying my own ground, and I could lose it all this year."

Meanwhile, legendary Klondike miner Tony Beets has a master plan this year — to get the two ancient dredges mining and turning around some major profit. And he's determined that nobody, especially Parker, will get in his way.

Says Tony in the clip: "My master plan is coming together. This year, I'm gonna double up on the dredges, I'm gonna double up on the boats, and I wanna get twice as much gold as we got last year."

Gold Rush continues to be a top performer for Discovery Channel. Last season, the show averaged 4 million total viewers, with 4.4 million tuning in to the finale. It's also the No. 1 unscripted series on all of cable among adults 25-54, males 25-54 and males 18-49, and is Friday's No. 1 show across all key male demos.

The unscripted series will return Friday, Oct. 12, at 9 p.m. ET/PT with preshow The Dirt also coming back at 8 p.m. that same day.