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NARRATOR: On Outback Opal Hunters...

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Look at it. It's  out. Is that hydraulic fluid?

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..the Rookies... Say. ..battle busted hoses...

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Whoa. Oh, there's a pipe. Beck, there's a pipe.

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..and finally hit treasure.

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Oh, my God.

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The Boulder Boys... We're gonna go broke, the way we're going.

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..bring in an old monster about to self-destruct.

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What's wrong, mate? We're gonna have a fire, electrical.

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Go get your fire extinguisher on the dozer.

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And, at their wash plant, the Cooke brothers...

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I thought we had enough left in the dam to finish that.

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..race to beat the worst drought in a decade.

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You're making it hard on me! Look at that.

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Opal.

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# Money

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# And fancy clothes

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# Telling you what to do

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# The right way to live

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# And where to go #

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Coober Pedy, South Australia.

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With temperatures reaching up to 47 degrees Celsius,

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it's a brutal desert landscape.

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It also produces more opal than anywhere else in the world.

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32 kilometres north of town, at Veno minefield,

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rookies, Justin Lang and fiancee Becky MacAllan,

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are struggling to reach their target,

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after a series of unlucky claims that have yielded them no opal.

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Is that something in the wall on that top level?

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There's a few bars or something.

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Nothing, darling? No.

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Justin is convinced their new claim at Veno has great potential.

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It's an old field, and it has produced a lot of opal.

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But it's the toughest ground they've ever tackled.

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It's just slow going. The time it takes

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just to get those few extra metres

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is really draining mentally, actually.

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This is a mammoth job to get through, you know?

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It's not like a small trench you're digging,

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you're actually moving, you know, tens of thousands of tons of dirt

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with a small excavator, probably not intended to do that.

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Already $60,000 in the red,

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every day without opal costs them an extra $200 in fuel.

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The pressure's on because the last thing I want

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is to be broke with a family

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and not being able to mine. You know, that would suck.

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So, I've gotta make enough money for a family and also, to keep mining.

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That's my dream.

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Oh, I feel so bad. It feels like I'm doing burnouts

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in an old car that I like.

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It's just windy, it's hot, the dust.

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It's tough. It's really, really tough.

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The ground is just too hard to penetrate. This is .

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Justin only recently bought

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this 20-year-old second-hand excavator,

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and he's pushing it to the limit.

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Yeah. Flaming mongrels.

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I do worry about it because, without that excavator, I can't mine.

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I'll be finished.

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What the hell... I cannot believe it. ..was that?

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Oh, man.

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Look at it everywhere.

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Biggest hydraulic hose burst.

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Dragonfly claim, Opalton.

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A 900m by 300m patch of opal-rich ground,

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120km from the nearest town.

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Partners, Aaron Grotjahn, Greg Geran and Ron Sellick,

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are hot on the heels of their season target.

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Tiring making rocks, Greg. It is.

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Nice blocky sandstone here. All the way through here.

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With temperatures now rising rapidly,

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they have just a few months mining left

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before the searing heat makes work impossible.

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A bit cooler today, Greg. It is, eh? 37 they reckon.

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Nice cool 37. Aye, with a breeze, mate.

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Nice day.

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The team are working a promising area of their claim

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they've nicknamed The Pit.

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A lot of people had dug here over the years.

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We can see where they've produced opal.

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Three to six metres below ground is a layer of clay,

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where the ironstone boulders that contain the opal are found.

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But the ground is covered with dumps from nearby digs.

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First, they must clear these with the bulldozer.

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Then, use the excavator to dig down to the clay

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and opal level.

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Bit of luck, we'll produce some nice opal.

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It's been 5,000 litres to do this.

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We'll try and to do the job properly, take the whole lot.

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Make or break.

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Aaron's father dug here decades ago.

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Dad found good opal in there over the years

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and we're just probably doing what he would've liked to.

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We're sort of following his tracks again.

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Yeah, I'll just bring her in.

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I'm always thinking about Dad when I'm out here.

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Many a times we'd be nearly broke, even as a family,

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and Dad would come in with another load of opal.

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He probably left a bit for us. You watch.

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Have a look at this, Aaron! Oh, what?

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Last time they followed in his father's footsteps...

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Have a look at that. ..they hit big opal. Whoa!

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And they're hoping for another big score this time.

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After an hour's digging, Greg is three metres down...

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..and the signs are looking good.

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I think that's level.

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Come and have a look, Greg. See what you reckon.

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Top of the level. That must be top of the level, Greg.

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Yep. What do you reckon, Ron?

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That's what you're after. Yeah, I know.

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That's not bad.

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Well, it's level, we just need a rock. We'll keep...

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We gotta dig it out. Then we'll trench back. See if there's any rocks.

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We have to find the ironstone rocks.

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We're starting to make ironstone rocks.

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They're hunting for brown ironstone rocks amongst the clay.

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Inside these rocks is where the opal gradually forms,

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deposited by silica-rich water

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in a process estimated to take as much as 110 million years.

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I think it must be pressure

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that makes levels sort of press in and make the boulders.

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There. Yeah. That's our level.

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But there's bad news.

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Not a rock in sight. No.

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No ironstone rocks means no opal.

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It's all mixed together. Yeah.

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It's a blow for team leader Aaron.

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It's not making much sense to me.

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Lightning Ridge, New South Wales.

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Home of opal hunting brothers, Pete and Mick Cooke.

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We never really do it the standard way.

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We're always trying to reinvent the wheel.

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They're chasing the most expensive opal of all, black opal.

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Worth up to $35,000 for just a fifth of a gram.

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This season, the brothers have barely scratched the surface

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of their $200,000 target.

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We got a fair way to go to get anywhere near that.

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But now that can be one truck. One truck can have

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a couple hundred grand of opal, if it's the right dirt.

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In Lightning Ridge, the opal forms in thick clay

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that must be washed away in a repurposed concrete mixer,

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called an agitator, to reveal any gems.

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Plenty of water going through.

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It'll wash all the dust and that out first.

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They need 10,000 litres of water

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just to wash a single truckload.

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Our sort of opal, you've gotta wash the dirt to find the nobbies.

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Different places like Coober Pedy, or even Grawin -

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seam opal, it's not quite as critical

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cos you will see it in the face as you're digging.

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To ensure a constant supply,

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miners must dig their own dams that fill up with the winter rains.

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But a six-year-long drought has hit the entire state hard,

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and the brothers' dam is nearly dry.

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We haven't had a decent rain here for a couple of years now

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and there's no forecast of rain in the near future.

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Erm, yeah, it's a drought situation.

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Without water, everything stops.

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The water stopped. Stopped?

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I thought we had enough left in the dam to finish that.

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Oh, I don't know, we're gonna have to do something.

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We gotta get water.

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The water level is normally, up around those skis.

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And I can zoom around the dam.

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But, yeah, we haven't had rain for a while.

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They haven't planted crops or anything. It's hard times for everyone.

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And we can't process without water.

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She's dry as a witch's down there. Yeah.

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It's all pretty sad, isn't it?

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Won't wash much dirt with that. We've gotta come up with a solution.

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If they're going to keep their operation running,

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the brothers will need to find a new source of water...fast.

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If we don't wash our dirt and don't process it,

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we won't find the opal, you'll just miss it.

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It could end up on the dump site

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and potentially throwing away thousands and thousands of dollars.

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32 kilometres outside Coober Pedy,

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a burst hydraulic hose has brought Justin Lang

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and Becky MacAllan's mining operation to a standstill.

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What... Is that hydraulic fluid?

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Sake.

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Already $60,000 in debt

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and with costs mounting by the day... This is ridiculous.

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..it's an additional expense they can barely afford.

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What a day. And I don't know why it's happening to me.

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With the hydraulic shot, the excavator

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and their mining operation, has ground to a halt.

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So, that was hydraulic oil that just went spurting...

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It's probably a couple hundred dollars or more worth of hydraulic oil.

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And then that hose will cost nearly...

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..close to $1,000 to fix. What?!

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It couldn't have... It couldn't have been any worser timing

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than right now. Oh, mate, I wanna cry.

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Bloody hell.

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The excavator's out of action.

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OK.

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That's what happens when you have an old machine.

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Yeah.

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All right. I'm just gonna make a phone call, Beck. Yep.

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Justin needs Coober Pedy's only hydraulics mechanic.

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VOICEMAIL: Hi, the person you have called is...

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No answer. Great

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Looks like I'm on my own doing this.

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Come on, Penny. What are we gonna do, mate? Dam's dry.

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In Lightning Ridge, lack of water

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has crippled brothers Mick and Pete's opal business.

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We can't wash our dirt. So, if we can't wash our dirt,

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we're not working, we're not gonna find any opal.

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The brothers need a plan.

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We could run water from my block in town.

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Yeah, yeah. We just gotta pay for it, that's all.

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That's 1.5km of polypipe, mate. What are you gonna do?

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You're not gonna make any money if you can't wash dirt.

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Their nearest main supply is at Mick's workshop,

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nearly two kilometres from their agitator wash plant.

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To get the water there, they must lay a pipe

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under regularly-used trackways, across the main road

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and through the final kilometre of dense bush.

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It's not gonna be easy either. It wouldn't fun without a challenge.

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To take on this challenge, the boys need help.

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Enter lookalike Gavin.

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I get this quite regularly - "Am I a long-lost

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or a missing brother of the Cookes?"

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I can assure you I'm not a brother.

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We're here. We're here, and we've gotta go up to here.

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Where it crosses any tracks, I want it underground,

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so it's not getting run over by cars.

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We'll have to cross the road and look for a culvert up here somewhere.

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Then we've gotta get from there... To there.

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..to that high spot on the tank.

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It's a big task. It's a huge task.

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Moving nearly two kilometres of pipe

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will take all the brothers' ingenuity.

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We'll put this pipe on this decoiler,

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hook the quad bike onto it and just drive off into the sunset.

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It's Pete and Gavin's job to drag

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the polypipe to the agitator wash plant.

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But if I get going too fast and stop,

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it will keep uncoiling and end up in a .

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Just try that, Pete.

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Not much break happening.

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Yeah, a bit more adjustment, I think, Gav.

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Give that a go.

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That looks really good to me, not overcoiling.

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Bringing ahead the big guns, mate. Got the big gear now.

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Mick's job is to dig a trench for the pipe under every trackway.

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This is where we drive in, I don't wanna crush the pipe.

249
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,159
So this would just protect it, put it underground.

250
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,319
Pete and Gavin take the shortest route possible.

251
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,399
Pete and I sort of took a bit of a direct route.

252
00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:45,959
Where it's all clear, no trees. So I've just gone and done that.

253
00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,719
But up ahead, a danger sign

254
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,159
just under the surface - communication cables.

255
00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:58,119
Hit one of these and it could be a $26,000 fine.

256
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,599
I was drilling a contract hole for a guy.

257
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,839
Put the bucket in the ground and brought up

258
00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,759
all these colours - red, blue, green, orange.

259
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,359
It was a  telecom... It was a telecom cable.

260
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,479
Yeah, wrong sort of colour.

261
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,239
Yeah, Mick?

262
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,479
Why's that?

263
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,079
Yeah, but telecom should be 600 deep.

264
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,919
Pete and Gavin will have to start from scratch.

265
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,719
All right, OK.

266
00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,119
All right, Mick's having a pink fit back there.

267
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,479
He reckons we're too close to the telecom wires.

268
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,679
So far, what we've experienced going in

269
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:57,759
doesn't look real good to me.

270
00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,999
120 kilometres from civilisation at The Pit,

271
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,439
Aaron, Greg and Ron's first trench is a dud.

272
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,519
Have you got rocks in it?

273
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,039
There's no sign of the ironstone rocks

274
00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:12,119
that contain the opal.

275
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,199
So, it's from here...

276
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,159
..to there, the bottom of the bucket.

277
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,359
Three metres from top to bottom,

278
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,999
this clay band is too deep for the opal boulders to form.

279
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,279
I don't know what it is, it might be compression,

280
00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:27,679
but you only find opal when this level goes to...

281
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,799
Instead of three metres, it's a metre, metre and a half.

282
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,119
They need a thinner band of clay.

283
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,759
So what do yous reckon? Is it stupid to trench that way?

284
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,239
But finding it is now just guesswork.

285
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,079
I don't know. You don't know much, do you?

286
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,759
This thing's not real good for trenching.

287
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,519
She's bloody mixed-up the level here, innit? Yeah.

288
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,559
Eh? Too mixed-up.

289
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,519
Well... ..we have to try a different hole.

290
00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,599
I'm about as deep as I can go. Nearly about full depth.

291
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,919
to me, anyway.

292
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,039
Former coal miner, Aaron, is leasing this claim from his family

293
00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:08,919
and needs it to pay off, so he can buy them out

294
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,599
or they will sell and Aaron will lose everything.

295
00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,079
You can't mine that, Greg. I don't reckon it'll be viable at all.

296
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,799
Aaron needs to rescue this disaster.

297
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,239
Maybe we put the machine in and go and drill another one up further.

298
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,319
That's why we got it.

299
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:34,199
We've just gotta go where the opal lives - and it ain't living here.

300
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,239
So, what we're gonna do is, fill in this hole and then

301
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,319
we'll keep trenching backwards till we hit where the level sets a bit more.

302
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,599
Then we'll probably start mining there.

303
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:51,359
He's hoping this second trench

304
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,319
will reveal a thinner band of clay and opal.

305
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,639
But still no ironstone boulders.

306
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:05,319
And no opal.

307
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,879
Just more money down the drain.

308
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,479
I don't know what to think of it.

309
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,559
We're gonna go broke the way we're going.

310
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,279
I'll have to have a yarn.

311
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,519
For Aaron, the pressure is starting to tell.

312
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,839
This hole's . It's been a waste of money and time.

313
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,759
OK, I'm gonna have a cigarette. I'm stressed. You do that. Calm down.

314
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,199
Aaron's hope of keeping his father's dream alive

315
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:39,039
is falling ever further into a deep hole.

316
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,359
Laying two kilometres of emergency water pipe

317
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,639
to their agitator wash plant,

318
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,559
the Cooke brothers and mate, Gavin, have hit a snag.

319
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,559
Mick wants Pete to start all over again.

320
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,399
Why not back there, mate? You're making it difficult.

321
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:10,599
Mick was driving the excavator. So, if he dug up telecom, he'd be responsible.

322
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,639
I reckon it'll be fine but never mind, we'll do it your way.

323
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,079
Pain in the ass. He should have said he wanted it that way.

324
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,199
Pete and Gavin will have to drag back one kilometre of pipe

325
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,479
already laid, and re-route it through the bush.

326
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,159
All right, we'll hook on the rope here,

327
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,279
pull the thing all the way back out there somewhere

328
00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,079
and can go where he  wants. Righto.

329
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,159
We'll get there in the end, hopefully...

330
00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,439
..before we kill each other.

331
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,519
Righto.

332
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,359
That's good, Gav.

333
00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,399
Two hours later... OK.

334
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,559
..Mick is finally happy

335
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,639
and he can safely bury the pipe.

336
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,879
One kilometre down, one to go.

337
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,959
But now the boys face one of their biggest hurdles -

338
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,039
crossing the main road.

339
00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:23,679
Pete finds a handy culvert. All right.

340
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,759
But getting the pipe through it safely

341
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:27,839
has its own challenges.

342
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,759
I need something so that I can get this pipe.

343
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,839
I've gotta get it at 90 degrees

344
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,479
without putting a cut in it, if I can avoid it.

345
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:38,919
Here we go, this is a bit more like it.

346
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,159
Something like this would do.

347
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,199
Have the pipe run round there. Yeah, that might work.

348
00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:56,279
Poking it in through there might do it.

349
00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:00,639
A discarded wheel hub guides the pipe safely under the road.

350
00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:03,959
We'll see how we go.

351
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:14,879
Finally, on the home stretch,

352
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,279
the last kilometre is through dense scrubland.

353
00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:20,039
We've gotta try and get a bearing,

354
00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,519
take the shortest possible route, obviously, to save the polypipe.

355
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,919
Well, I've got the two waypoints. OK.

356
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,119
OK, so... Which direction? ..we're here at the culvert.

357
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,199
There's your direction there.

358
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,359
Just 15m short of their goal...

359
00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,679
..the pipe has run out.

360
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,959
We're a bit short in our estimate.

361
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:55,959
We gotta go to town and get another 300m of pipe, really.

362
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,519
That... That GPS thing must have lied.

363
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,919
Justin and fiancee, Becky's, hydraulic pipe nightmare...

364
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,199
I can't believe it, eh, Beck?

365
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:19,799
..is continuing. Unable to reach a mechanic,

366
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,479
the rookies must fix the problem themselves.

367
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,519
It's gonna be a messy job. Oh, it's gonna be a beast of a job, that one.

368
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,479
Before he can remove the damaged pipe,

369
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,279
Justin must clean the area around it.

370
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,879
To keep mining, I need to get this fixed.

371
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,919
We don't really have the right tools for anything, really.

372
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,839
We're just sort of improvising at the moment.

373
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,999
It's really important you don't allow dirt into the actual pump.

374
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,079
I've gotta make sure that it's all clean

375
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,399
and then I wanna try and take it off.

376
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:54,479
I cannot believe this, eh?

377
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,879
A-ha. There it is.

378
00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,679
That's it. That's the culprit.

379
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,679
Completely wrecked.

380
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,439
We've gotta get back into town as quick as we can, Beck.

381
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,839
Next stop, Coober Pedy.

382
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:17,159
A 64km round-trip to track down a mechanic,

383
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,679
wasting yet more valuable mining time.

384
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,039
See, we might be able to weld up that fitting

385
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,119
onto another one of mine.

386
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,119
I can get this welded up by tomorrow.

387
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,039
Yeah, let's get that one done.

388
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:35,519
That would help us out heaps. Yeah, no worries, mate. All good.

389
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,679
A whole day of mining has been lost.

390
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,479
Next day, Justin and Becky

391
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,679
are keen to make this fix a quick one.

392
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,439
All right, it's gonna be difficult.

393
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,399
Can you see that pipe? Yep. What you do is hold that pipe.

394
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,239
Ah.

395
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,639
OK, there...

396
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,599
Maybe just do one nut first so you have...

397
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,479
Maybe I'll just do it myself for a second, hang on.

398
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,919
No need to get cranky. Yeah, I don't need

399
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,519
a bit of your advice every 0.4 of a second.

400
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,199
I'm not. I'm listening to you whinge every 0.4 of a second. OK?

401
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,959
Got it. I'm certainly not trying to prove you wrong.

402
00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:29,599
I'm trying to help. When your arm's deep in diesel

403
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,879
inside of a motor, you know, you can't coach someone else

404
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,799
while you're trying to concentrate. I wasn't coaching. I can't coach.

405
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:41,399
If it came across too hard because you were asking too many questions, then sorry.

406
00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,559
Now, we're down a day-and-a-half. So, a bit disappointing.

407
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,519
The loss of time mining, and the $500 repair,

408
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,959
pushes Justin and Becky further to the brink.

409
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,319
It's definitely worth having a look now.

410
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:06,239
Finding opal is now make or break.

411
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,719
Whoa! Oh! There's a pipe!

412
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,879
Beck, that's a pipe. Oh, my God.

413
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,879
That's a belemnite.

414
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,879
Highly-priced, rare belemnite pipes

415
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,439
are the backbones of ancient cuttlefish

416
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:34,399
fossilised in opal, in a process taking millions of years.

417
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:39,119
The most valuable ever found was worth a cool $1 million.

418
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:45,039
This is not the first belemnite pipe Justin has unearthed.

419
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:47,119
Do you see that? Yeah.

420
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,759
I think I might have moved it. Oh!

421
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,839
But it didn't end well.

422
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,439
I broke it. No?! Oh, no!

423
00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:57,639
So, you gotta be really careful.

424
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,799
Just make sure that you get it out in one big chunk.

425
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,119
If you crack it, that's it.

426
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,799
There we go. In one...nice piece.

427
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,999
It's so heavy. I wanna hold it. I wanna hold the belemnite baby.

428
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,799
Can I have that? Can I hold it? Look, it's crystal. I know.

429
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,799
Don't drop it. Don't drop it. I know.

430
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,519
Ooh, it goes back into the rock.

431
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,599
I know.

432
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,839
What a treat. At the very end of this trip,

433
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,399
bang, when we were least expecting it,

434
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,479
we found a bloody good pipe.

435
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,039
1,200 kilometres to the east,

436
00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:55,079
the Cooke brothers' pipe dream is turning into a nightmare.

437
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,159
You're making it hard on me, Gav.

438
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,799
The two kilometres of water pipe they desperately need

439
00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,719
to restart their operation is 15m short,

440
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,959
meaning more pipe, more time, and more money.

441
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,319
Even then, they don't know if their pipe plan will work.

442
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,519
I'm not sure how much of a flow we'll have at this end.

443
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,599
I don't think it'll be a huge amount.

444
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,839
We need maximum water when we first put the truckload of dirt in.

445
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,559
As the final join is made,

446
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,039
Pete's still worried, the main's water pressure

447
00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,439
won't be up to task. Righto.

448
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,839
1,700m of polypipes it ended up being to get here

449
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,359
and that's a lot of friction.

450
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:39,439
Pete waits at the wash plant

451
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,999
while, nearly two kilometres away, Mick turns on the mains.

452
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:45,079
Righto. It's coming on now.

453
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,719
It will take nearly five minutes before they know

454
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,959
if it's been a success. Look at that meter spin.

455
00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,879
We'll hear from them in a minute, unless it pops off somewhere.

456
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:06,919
Six joints, nearly two kilometres of pipe over rough bushland

457
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,479
and under a main road, it's the moment of truth.

458
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,599
Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo!

459
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,519
Yay! OK, it's coming out of the end of the pipe.

460
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,839
Pretty good flow, pretty good. Whoo-hoo! Very good.

461
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,359
With a flow of 50 litres a minute...

462
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,439
Mission successful.

463
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,719
..the Cookes are back in business.

464
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,959
The Boulder Boys have spent four weeks

465
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,279
and $5,000 in fuel

466
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,279
digging the pit - and found nothing.

467
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,839
Aaron has a tough decision to make.

468
00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:02,519
I've seen enough of this. You have? Yes.

469
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,199
OK. So, it's drill day. Yes. All right.

470
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,399
And if three of us get into it, we'll get three hours a day.

471
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,839
Well, we'll just do it.

472
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,279
They abandon The Pit.

473
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,719
Spent five grand on diesel and it's a dud hole.

474
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,119
It's a waste of time and money.

475
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,359
The team go back to basics,

476
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,199
prospecting a different part of the Dragonfly claim

477
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,319
with their 40-year-old Caldwell drill.

478
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,399
We know that ground ain't good, where we've done the big pit

479
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,159
We're gonna put a series of holes heading that way.

480
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,079
The old Caldwell drill can dig test holes

481
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,999
down to 24m deep.

482
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,439
If it pulls up signs of opal, they will bring in the excavator and bulldozer.

483
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,799
Don't stand there, Ron, eh? Watch out there, Ron.

484
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,239
But the clumsy machine is dangerous

485
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,519
and has seriously injured people in the past.

486
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,359
Now how are we hanging? Right? Yeah.

487
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,959
It is dangerous. You gotta watch your hand, fingers, everything.

488
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,319
And if anyone's around it, you gotta explain to 'em what's going on.

489
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:19,879
At the end of a ten-metre arm,

490
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,999
the 1.7-cubic-metre bucket rotates,

491
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,479
digging out over a ton of earth at a time.

492
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,319
On the surface, as the bucket ascends,

493
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,399
Greg attaches a release wire to empty the dirt.

494
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,519
That's yellow.

495
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,439
He doesn't like yellow.

496
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,279
A bit mellow, yellow.

497
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,759
Aaron is pushing hard to find opal.

498
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,119
What's smoking? What?

499
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,119
Go get Ron.

500
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:01,599
An out-of-control engine fire could destroy the entire drill.

501
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,159
Greg!

502
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,439
Aaron can't let go of the brake handle to help.

503
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,159
Wait a sec. Greg disconnects the battery.

504
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,919
Greg! That's it, take it all off. But the truck is still smoking.

505
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,879
What's wrong, mate? Gonna have a fire, electrical.

506
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,319
Go get your fire extinguisher on the dozer.

507
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,399
Yeah, have a look at it, Ron.

508
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,359
What's going on here? Is there a starter motor there?

509
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,319
It's electrical. Just disconnect the battery, mate.

510
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:39,879
I have. Oh, well, that's all right.

511
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,519
We've had a short. I could smell something before, eh?

512
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,959
What is it? Is it a short, a dead short?

513
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:51,439
Yeah. Where was it?

514
00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:53,359
Oh, there it is. It's in your wire here.

515
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,159
It's the wire. Starter-motor wire, Ron.

516
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,319
I'm not gonna touch it for now. Yeah, I know. Don't leave it.

517
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,519
We weren't even using the truck.

518
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:04,599
Where's it go to? All the way up here.

519
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,919
You can see it. It's all the way up. We have to replace the whole lot.

520
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,479
Eh? Your whole system's burnt here, I think.

521
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,799
All this here is burnt out. Yeah. So...

522
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,279
So, somewhere in the line, it shorted out and then melted the rest of 'em.

523
00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:21,519
me.

524
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,519
With the truck dead, the drill is useless,

525
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:26,599
stuck in one spot.

526
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,279
Out of options, Aaron has just one way

527
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,359
to cover their costs this week.

528
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,119
I might ring Eric and see if he wants to buy some opal.

529
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,679
Yeah, well, give him a ring. An opal buyer is visiting the area.

530
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:41,079
He's in the paddock. I think he's going next week.

531
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,039
Might as well get him before he goes. I'll sell him what I've got,

532
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,119
then we'll get some diesel. All right.

533
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:53,159
Selling some of his stash of opal is Aaron's last roll of the dice.

534
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:04,159
At Lightning Ridge, the Cooke brothers' ingenuity has got them water.

535
00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:08,399
Now all they need is opal.

536
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,839
We've got water, we can start washing.

537
00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,479
The drought's broken, so to speak.

538
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,719
With only $9,000 so far this season,

539
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:21,119
the brothers need to find quality stones fast.

540
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:23,799
It cost a couple of thousand dollars in polypipe,

541
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,719
but we're gonna wash dirt and find a few gems now, hopefully.

542
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,799
This truckload is 15 tons of dirt,

543
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,799
representing several days of hard work.

544
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,159
It could hold a fortune... or nothing at all.

545
00:34:37,240 --> 00:34:39,719
It can be pretty frustrating. You keep doing this

546
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,079
and I've done it 100 times and found nothing.

547
00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:45,559
But, the next one, that could be a quarter of $1 million.

548
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,639
I've seen it here on the tray.

549
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,439
Now putting the agi into reverse

550
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,799
and it'll unwind and the tailings, they'll come out the shoot,

551
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,239
and we'll have a sort through it and see how many gems we find.

552
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,679
They're looking for the tell-tale flash of opal colour.

553
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:14,279
This is when they find out if all their hard work has paid off.

554
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:18,679
Look at that. Opal.

555
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,759
Whoo-hoo!

556
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,359
Look at that one. Now we're getting somewhere.

557
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,599
That is beautiful. That's what opal is.

558
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,119
A bit of beauty. A bit of blue.

559
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,519
Oh, yeah, look at that.

560
00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:34,359
Yeah, starting to pay off. That's a bloody good thing.

561
00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:37,959
It's a dream come true. We'd just like to have more of it.

562
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:40,479
Look at the red in that. Ooh.

563
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:45,319
I'm not gonna kiss you, but it's good. Don't kiss me, kiss the opal.

564
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,399
Mwah!

565
00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:51,079
We haven't put a dent in that and we spent a couple of grand, at least, on it.

566
00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,559
With the entire load washed and checked,

567
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,679
15 tons of dirt has come down to just a handful of opal.

568
00:35:57,760 --> 00:35:59,839
Oh, God, that's beautiful.

569
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:02,159
That is a beautiful piece of fossil.

570
00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:05,319
Good result. Beautiful blue.

571
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:09,719
It's a bit hard to guesstimate, but maybe ten grand if we're lucky.

572
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,559
Whilst a haul of $10,000 is a great outcome,

573
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:15,959
it's still well short of their target

574
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,799
of $200,000.

575
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:22,959
But, for the brothers, right now, any win is worth celebrating.

576
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,959
Back at camp... Have a look at this opal, Greg, eh?

577
00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,759
Oh, yeah. ..with $5,000 wasted on digging The Pit,

578
00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,519
Aaron must now sell some of his opal to cover their costs.

579
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:53,359
He's selling a mix of boulder opal and less valuable sandy opal.

580
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,319
It's blue-green and only in the rough

581
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,519
but he has four kilograms of it,

582
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:02,399
making its value between $6-9,000.

583
00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,759
I'd like to get four grand for this lot

584
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,839
and four grand for that lot.

585
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:08,959
$8,000 all up. $8,000 all up.

586
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:12,759
But, at the moment, I'd probably take six or five.

587
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,359
What do you reckon, Ron?

588
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,359
Oh, I think it's worth more than six.

589
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,199
I reckon that. I reckon a minimum of 7,000. Yeah.

590
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:26,319
But haggling isn't Aaron's strong point.

591
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,759
Aaron's got a very caring and loving heart.

592
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:33,039
He's generous. And that's his downfall.

593
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,719
Let's get rid of it. If I got five grand, I'd be happy with that.

594
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,199
This one here, right.

595
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:40,959
Look, it's bright.

596
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:43,839
That's a bloody good stain.

597
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,119
I'm selling you your own opal. OK.

598
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:49,199
Maybe you need Ron to be head negotiator.

599
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:53,239
He starts too low and he leaves himself no room but down.

600
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,959
We're slowly getting him in to the mode of start higher,

601
00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:00,479
and you've got some room to move.

602
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,879
Start at eight. Eight, nine. Minimum. Yeah.

603
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:05,999
And then you've got room to rumba. Yeah.

604
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,079
OK? Yeah.

605
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,399
So, righto. I'll start at about nine.

606
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:12,559
It'd be nice if I could get $6,000.

607
00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:16,039
Be better if you got more, but if your lowest is six,

608
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:18,319
don't ask six cos you won't get it.

609
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,759
Looks like he's coming here. Here's Eric now. Here's Eric now.

610
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:27,039
Oh, that's looking at us, too. It's not too bad.

611
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:30,519
Get ready to wet it, Greg. OK, I'll wet it. How you going, Eric?

612
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,839
Yeah, I'm good, mate. Good. How you been?

613
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:35,279
Yeah, good to see you again. Yeah. Yeah.

614
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,039
The big hole, the big level, it looks nice,

615
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:40,679
but no rock at the moment. Yeah. Doesn't matter.

616
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:42,799
Well, that can change, eh? That's it.

617
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:47,199
Ron, how are you? I'm good. G'day, Eric. How are you going? Good, mate, how are you?

618
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,759
Got a bit of sandy stuff here and a bit of pancake.

619
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:52,079
Yeah, OK. All right, mate.

620
00:38:54,800 --> 00:39:00,439
You know how some people get stage fright? They're all good, they know their lines, everything.

621
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,039
That's the better of the stuff up this end. Yeah.

622
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:08,119
The curtain opens, the buyer rocks up, and it all flies out of the window.

623
00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,279
Unfortunately, a lot of these pieces here

624
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:15,359
are not the quality that I'm looking for.

625
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:18,759
Er, and a lot of pieces are gonna be quite small.

626
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:20,879
Yup. Yup. Erm...

627
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,399
But I'm still interested in the... You're selling it as a lot, right? The whole lot.

628
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,279
You're selling the whole lot? Yep.

629
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:29,559
He's already got his mind set on something,

630
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:33,959
and then, if it doesn't come through, he does what we call panic sale.

631
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,159
Well...

632
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,599
Er, I can give you an offer on it.

633
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,879
Er...

634
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:47,999
I can offer you five.

635
00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:50,519
Five thousand. Whole lot? Yeah.

636
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,919
All right. If you're happy with that, I'm happy with that. OK.

637
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,799
I'll give it a go. Yeah. I'll write you a receipt, eh?

638
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:58,879
OK. Thanks very much.

639
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:02,559
Yeah, well, that's how it is. Opal's worth what it sells on the day.

640
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,799
It's up to you what you take.

641
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,919
If you need it, well, you gotta take it.

642
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,479
And a teardrop. Yeah, a big teardrop.

643
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,479
Aaron's already allocated that money to getting a drum of oil and diesel,

644
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:19,839
so that we can keep going through

645
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,599
and finding the pocket that we're looking for.

646
00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:25,319
With their fuel costs this dig covered,

647
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:27,599
Aaron, at least, is happy.

648
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,759
Well, now I can get more diesel and oil.

649
00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:32,039
That's what we want at the moment.

650
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:34,639
We're looking at the bigger picture.

651
00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:36,719
That's opal mining. A week later,

652
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,279
you might be jumping up and down, you know, happy.

653
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:50,679
It'd be nice to at least get a couple of thousand bucks for all this,

654
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,279
once we've cleaned it up, just to sort of at least put it towards diesel.

655
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:57,799
Justin and Becky are hoping to maximise their profit

656
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:00,999
by cleaning up their week's haul for sale.

657
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:03,319
That's a better size.

658
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:06,999
First step is clipping off any worthless rock.

659
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,079
The colour in it is just incredible, eh?

660
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,559
Yeah, that's a good chunk, that one.

661
00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:16,359
It's a bit like selling a house. Presentation's everything.

662
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,599
Washing what's left is the final stage.

663
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,879
We should be left with just opal at that point.

664
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:24,959
No more sandstone? Hopefully.

665
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:31,599
Next morning, Justin and Becky's haul is ready for sale.

666
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:35,079
Good day, Nick. Justin, Becky, how are you? Hi, Nick. Come in.

667
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,639
Nick Troisi is one of the Rookies' regular buyers.

668
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:40,959
Straight from the field? Pretty much, yeah.

669
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,399
We cleaned up a bit of opal to show you,

670
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:46,999
and see if we can potentially sell it to you. What have we got?

671
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:50,639
Their first offering is a bag of small opal chips,

672
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:54,199
a mix of white and crystal opal in the rough.

673
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:58,799
At two kilograms their estimated value is $1,800.

674
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:03,679
Erm... For me, erm...

675
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,479
It's not for me, material like this.

676
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,199
OK. OK. So you're not interested in that stuff.

677
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,519
But there's a lot of opal chip jewellery makers in town.

678
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:17,999
This is gonna appeal to them. They're gonna put 'em in little vials,

679
00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,519
they're gonna put 'em in resin and into jewellery.

680
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:24,039
The big reveal. Yeah. This is what Becky found.

681
00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:27,719
We actually cleaned it up a little bit as well.

682
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,439
You did the work, and you've recovered it like that and presented like that.

683
00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,959
This is even... Hm. Even better, er...

684
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:40,639
Wow. Justin and Becky want $3,500

685
00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:42,719
for this opalised belemnite pipe.

686
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:44,999
It's really nice and it's lovely presented.

687
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:47,239
This is the best bit about things like this.

688
00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:50,199
It crosses both markets - fossils as well as opal.

689
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,279
These are so rare. They are.

690
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,759
What were you looking at?

691
00:42:56,840 --> 00:43:00,199
Well, we're hoping to get $5,000 for that one.

692
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:02,279
OK. OK.

693
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,039
Look, I'll be honest with you, I'm interested in it...

694
00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:10,279
..for three. Mm.

695
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:17,839
Well... Tell me what you feel

696
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:20,319
and, yeah, we can work with that.

697
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:22,919
What do you reckon, sweetie? I'm pretty new to this.

698
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,119
If we can go four and a half, you got yourself a deal.

699
00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,479
Erm...

700
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,759
Let's do it. Four and a half? Yeah, four and a half. We can do that one.

701
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:37,839
Perfect. Thanks. Thank you, Becky.

702
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,319
Hopefully we'll see you with some more. Thanks, Nick.

703
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:44,439
This sale brings Justin and Becky's total up to $5,000.

704
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,799
We were aiming for $3,500 to cover those costs

705
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:49,879
and, in the end, we hit $4,500

706
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,319
and, you know, we made some money, which is good.

707
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:58,639
It looks like Justin and Becky's luck may finally have changed.

708
00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:00,719
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