"Outback Opal Hunters" Episode #4.3

1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,280 ..the Tunnel Rats are under threat from poison gas... 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,320 If he's down there for too long and passes out, it'll kill him. 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,400 ..apprentice Sam steps up... 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,400 Look out, mate! Get out of the way! 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,960 ..to get a new mine up and running... 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,000 and rookie miners, The Poms... Crikey. 7 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:25,280 ..go deep underground for the very first time. 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,360 That ceiling looks a bit dodge. Oh, blimey. 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,440 It's just falling off when I'm touching it. 10 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:37,074 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,000 The end is coming very close for us. 12 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,600 To know that, finally, after 20 years, 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,680 I'm on opal and I'm on good ground and then I have to leave that behind, 14 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,760 that's what's pissing me off the most. 15 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,960 Mintabie, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,600 Summer temperatures consistently climb above 40 degrees. 17 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,120 So, now we'll drill some holes and do a blast. 18 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,440 Tunnel Rats Rodney Pearse, 19 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,760 son Bayden and partner Elisa are in a race to find opal. 20 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,480 Their chosen mining technique? Explosives. 21 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,080 First bomb in the hole. 22 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,200 They've set three bombs. We'll fire them. 23 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,000 We'll head into a safe zone, we'll count them going off. 24 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,080 It's just so important to make sure that every single bomb is going off. 25 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,600 If you're going in there and there could be an unfired explosive in there, 26 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,040 it could actually go off, which is deadly. 27 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,200 Two. 28 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,520 I only heard two. 29 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:01,640 Looks like we've got a misfire. 30 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,520 Could be anything. It could be a little cut in the fuse. 31 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,600 Elisa, just stay here, 32 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,280 I'm gonna go down there and check on that misfire. 33 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,840 Once I know what's going on, I'll let youse know. 34 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:16,520 If I have to blow it out, I'll have to blow it out. OK. 35 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,600 Dad, you stay there, too. 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,800 If the fuse is burned, that creates heat. 37 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,160 And if there's still heat within that explosive, 38 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,600 the explosive can go off at any time. 39 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,680 It's very dangerous. 40 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:39,200 The Tunnel Rats are hunting Mintabie crystal opal, 41 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,200 one of the world's most sought-after. 42 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,440 Still short of their season target, 43 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,760 the Tunnel Rats have just two months 44 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,400 before Mintabie is permanently shut down. 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,760 If I don't get at least $200,000, 46 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,200 I'm stuffed, Dad is stuffed. We need money 47 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,120 to be able to buy another place, another home. 48 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,520 You all right, son? Yeah, I found it. 49 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,640 All right, I've got the misfire out of the hole. 50 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,000 The bomb is now disarmed. Faulty fuse. 51 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,440 Yeah. Good. 52 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,760 I'm just making another bomb to put in the hole. 53 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,040 So, all good to re-enter. 54 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,560 The home-made bombs contain enough ammonium nitrate explosive 55 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,080 to blast through a metre of solid rock. 56 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:01,840 Righto, lighting now. 57 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,520 Well done. All good. That was a good one. 58 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,120 We're heading out to an old claim of ours 59 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,240 in an area called Hidden Valley. 60 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,320 We're gonna pull the digger out of there 61 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,400 and take it out to Allawah where we need it to keep mining. 62 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,320 In the remote Outback of New South Wales, 63 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,320 Pete Cooke and his 20-year-old apprentice, Sam Westra, 64 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,200 are getting ready to do some heavy lifting. 65 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:51,040 What we'll do, I'll just get the crane set up over the hole. 66 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,120 I just hope it's gonna lift it. Well, we will find out. 67 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,600 Little has been found in their Hidden Valley claim. 68 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,000 In an effort to rescue their season, they're cutting their losses 69 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,480 and hauling their one-tonne hydraulic digger 70 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,360 out of Hidden Valley and into their Allawah claim. 71 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,280 We still probably haven't had a claim 72 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,560 that's consistently producing good money. 73 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,640 The claim at Allawah is our best chance now 74 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,720 to pull out some gems. 75 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,240 Damage their only digger or get it stuck in the narrow shaft 76 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,800 and their season will be as good as over. 77 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,760 Hopefully, it'll fit. I think it'll be a pretty tight squeeze 78 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:30,920 to try and get it out, so we'll see. 79 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,360 I'm gonna back this as close to the edge of the hole as I can, 80 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,440 so we can hook the crane onto it. 81 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,080 Hopefully, the crane's got enough guts to pull it out. 82 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,520 Don't put yourself in that hole. 83 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,160 I don't want to have to pick you up out with the crane! 84 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,880 They're hunting for one of the most valuable gems on the planet. 85 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:57,160 Black opal. Worth up to $43,000 a gram. 86 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:01,920 If we don't find any opal this year, 87 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,760 you'd have to have a bit of a think about whether you continued on. 88 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,280 At the end of the day, I could be earning more money doing something else. 89 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,280 I'd miss him if he left. That would be a shame. 90 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,160 And I really hope we find some opal, so that he can stay. 91 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,440 Moving to their Allawah claim 92 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,280 could be the last chance to hit their target. 93 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,560 But first, they need to get the digger 94 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:29,080 up the two-metre-wide mineshaft using their three-decades-old crane. 95 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,080 I'm gonna have to go up and then, when the weight comes on, 96 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,080 it's just gonna... ..swing in 97 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,280 and then take the full weight on the crane. 98 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,480 There is still plenty of room for a disaster. 99 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,840 Righty-ho. Well, you're good to go. 100 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,760 At one tonne, the ungainly digger 101 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,080 is at the limit of the crane's capacity. 102 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,400 It's coming. 103 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,000 Cable up. 104 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,400 There we go. How's that? 105 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,920 Yeah, keep going! 106 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,080 I can hear that crane struggling a bit. 107 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,800 It struggles with the weight a little bit. It's right on its limit. 108 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,720 Yeah, it's a pretty awkward load for Pete, so... 109 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,520 I'll get out there, give him a hand and get it on the back of the truck. 110 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,280 Is that the oil leaking out, is it? 111 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,360 Yeah, see it under there? 112 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,120 That crane's playing up. It must have blown something on the winch. 113 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,120 There's a locking valve and that's supposed to hold the winch in place. 114 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,200 Look out, mate! 115 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,240 Get out of the way! 116 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,320 Down. That'll do. 117 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,040 That's nearly uncontrollable, that. Right, well, it's on there 118 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,560 and we won't move it until it's fixed. 119 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,080 A little bit touch and go there for a moment. 120 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,160 I'm very glad it didn't happen as we're pulling up out of the hole. 121 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,240 That could have been... ..a bit of a disaster. 122 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,360 Whatever we've been doing, I've always had in my mind 123 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,680 that this is where... Where we're coming to. ..we're coming to. Yeah. 124 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,560 We're gonna be miners! We are gonna be miners. 125 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,760 Well, when I say "we", I mean you. 126 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,920 Are you gonna dig? Yeah, when you find the opal, I'll dig it out. 127 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,800 Oh, yeah, I see. Deal. 128 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:49,840 Ex-school-teacher Carl Grice 129 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,000 and jewellery-maker Mary McMillan 130 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,640 have finally reached the scorching desert plains 131 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,520 of White Cliffs in remote New South Wales. 132 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,120 It suddenly feels really real. 133 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,400 I just hope it's what we dreamed it to be. 134 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,280 Three months ago, they sold their home, 135 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,000 packed up their entire lives into a camper van 136 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:13,360 and travelled across the country on their first-ever quest for opal. 137 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,640 We literally have sold everything, apart from what's in the van. 138 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,640 This isn't just a holiday for us. We need to make money from opal. 139 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:25,160 So far, the rookies have struggled in the harsh Outback 140 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,240 and now they're hoping their luck will change 141 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:30,760 in the oldest opal field in Australia. 142 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,720 Population is 200. Really? 143 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,120 Oh, yeah. 202. 144 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,240 We chose White Cliffs over one of the bigger fields, 145 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,120 because we've seen some of the opal that comes from here 146 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,280 and it's absolutely beautiful. 147 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,920 The Poms are hunting for the stunning pineapple opals 148 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,080 that White Cliffs is famous for, worth up to $500,000 apiece. 149 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,040 Can't wait to get started. 150 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:05,720 To help them, they've enlisted veteran local miner Graeme Dowton. 151 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,560 Welcome to White Cliffs. Thanks. Good to see ya. How are you going? 152 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,560 We've been very fortunate to have been in contact with Graeme. 153 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,320 He's a second-generation opal miner here in White Cliffs, 154 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,240 a bit of a local legend and he's helped organise our claim. 155 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,320 I've sorted out a bit of ground for them, 156 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,320 erm, part of the old historic opal field. 157 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,480 What's special about this spot? I do know that there's been opal 158 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:30,960 coming out of that section there. That's on the edge of your claim. 159 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,080 Oh, I can't wait to get in there. 160 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,840 It's an old hole, dug out over 120-odd years ago. 161 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,920 This is a good option as a starter... Yeah. 162 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,120 ..because your level is gonna be somewhere between 20 and 30 feet. 163 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:46,800 So, we've just saved 20 feet of digging already, then. 164 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,240 And 20 feet of the worst ground 165 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,920 that you don't want to actually go through yourself. 166 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 Oh, superb. We could be digging quite soon, then. 167 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,080 Have you brought anything with you at all? 168 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,160 I've got a spade and a bucket. 169 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,120 OK, so you actually sound very unprepared at the moment. 170 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,360 You're really gonna have to start from scratch 171 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,560 and just put all of your gear together. 172 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,800 You're gonna have to go back and get it. Yeah, that's fair enough. 173 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,080 We'll pop down to the shop and grab everything. 174 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:17,720 Well, the shop where I'd be probably recommending will be in Dubbo. 175 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,480 How far is that? 650km. 176 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:22,760 650km? 177 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,280 This is why I asked, did you bring anything with you, 178 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:27,600 just to save you that drive. You're kidding. 179 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:29,680 A bit unprepared, Carl. 180 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,000 OK. I thought we were done with the long drives. 181 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,960 I'm annoyed for not doing my research before I turned up. 182 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,680 I just assumed there would be mining equipment available here. 183 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,240 That's gonna take us a day to drive there and a day to drive back. 184 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,320 I did suggest to Carl a few times, 185 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,600 maybe we should pop in and just grab something. 186 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:51,080 But Carl said, "No, no, don't worry, everything will be for sale there." 187 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,560 What have you actually got? We've got hand tools. 188 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,520 You haven't got any leads? No? One. One. 189 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,160 OK, so you're gonna need a couple of 25s. 190 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,280 You're gonna need at least two lights. 191 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,640 We haven't got a jackhammer either. Oh, OK. A jackhammer. 192 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,360 This is just all the basic stuff you probably could have brought with you. 193 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,360 Bit worried about them now. We're out here in White Cliffs. 194 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,960 This is a serious mining country. You can't toy around with this. 195 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,440 I can't set up the mine and now I've got to drive, 196 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,720 I think, a 1,300km round trip 197 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:21,800 to the nearest store to buy something. 198 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,560 It's not what we need. It's extra money, it's extra time. 199 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,040 Yeah. Not happy about it. 200 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,760 My lack of preparation. 201 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,760 Now we've got to drive a very long way just to get some equipment. 202 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,280 The gases after you blast, it's nitrous oxide. 203 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,280 It can actually cause big, big problems for your lungs. 204 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:58,120 120 metres into their Grasshopper Mine, 205 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,920 the Tunnel Rats are carrying out safety checks, 206 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,160 before they can let off more blasts. 207 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,600 So, what I'm doing is just... 208 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:07,920 Sometimes, we'll just create a bit of smoke 209 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,680 or see which way... that flame's going. 210 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,560 So I'll know that the smoke is going to come this way. 211 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,000 It's always good to know the direction of where your gas is coming from, 212 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,400 cos sometimes it'll just get locked up somewhere. 213 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,400 That's one. Three. 214 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,840 Hello. 215 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,440 Three, two... 216 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,080 ..one. 217 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,080 As we get down deeper into the mine, the gases are taking a lot longer to clear. 218 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,200 Very, very, very harmful to the lungs. It'll chop your lungs out. 219 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:46,880 I can still smell it. It's musty. 220 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,640 Like, real stale. Yeah, we should go. 221 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:55,440 Exposure to nitrogen dioxide fumes can cause respiratory problems, 222 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,920 rapid heart rate, seizures, and even death. 223 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:02,920 It's taking longer to clear. Dad said you'd be lucky 224 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,640 to put two sets of shots off for a day, that's bad. 225 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,080 Yeah. But, back in the day, we used to put 226 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,280 six to seven shots off, no worries at all. 227 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,040 After a two-hour delay, 228 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,520 Bayden and Elisa try and return to the mine face. 229 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,320 That's stinky. No. 230 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,800 So, we can't just waste time. 231 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,000 It'll take three or four hours to clear out. 232 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,080 Time is money for us at the moment. 233 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,560 Bayden! He can't help himself. 234 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,280 Worst-case scenario, if he's down there for too long and passes out, 235 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,280 it'll probably kill him. Get out of there! 236 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,920 Stinky? Yeah, it's too bad. 237 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,480 Glad I wasn't down there for any longer. 238 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,480 I'm already starting to get a bit of a head spin. 239 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,880 I feel a bit tired on the chest and feel just that little bit dizzy. 240 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,680 So that's a good indication that I was down there for way too long. 241 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,000 If the Tunnel Rats are to continue mining safely, 242 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,880 they need to ventilate the tunnels. 243 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,640 We're definitely gonna have to drill holes. 244 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,760 Can't wait that much longer any more. 245 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:19,960 That's not looking real good, that crane. 246 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,040 That's not safe to use it like that. 247 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:25,640 Always something. If you've got tyres or wheels, 248 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,120 it'll cost you time and money. It's just not safe. 249 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,880 At Hidden Valley, Pete and Sam have serious crane problems. 250 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,680 So, erm, it's pretty bad, the way that winch is playing up. 251 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,440 So, we can't take it out to Allawah the way it is, 252 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,800 it'll end up in a disaster. Yeah, mate, I agree. 253 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,680 It was all going way too smooth. Something had to muck up. 254 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,240 The crane is critical for lowering their one-tonne digger 255 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:55,680 20 metres into their Allawah mine. 256 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,240 Difficult to see. I don't know how you even get at it. 257 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,720 It's gonna be a headache, no matter what, I think. 258 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,440 Plan B is I've got another old crane truck 259 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,520 that I use on another machine. 260 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,240 It's unregistered, so I can't drive it out to Allawah, 261 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,720 but what I might do is, I'll put it on the back of this truck. 262 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,640 It'll be a truck on a truck, so... 263 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,120 Yeah, it'll be a fair old load. 264 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:27,200 So, mate, as soon as we can get this old girl out of retirement, we'll get her running. 265 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,440 Yeah, mate, hopefully it won't be too much mucking around. 266 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,200 Chuck in a couple of batteries and bleed it up, it should start up. 267 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,040 Pete's old crane has been abandoned five kilometres away 268 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,120 at a disused claim. 269 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,720 The truck itself is a bit worn out. The crane still seems to be OK. 270 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:51,560 And that's the bit that we need, so we'll transport it out to Allawah. 271 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:53,640 You've got this old gear. 272 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,000 It's all come here to die, really. 273 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,520 You've got to make the best out of what you've got. 274 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,600 Just patch it up, keep it going. 275 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,160 Yeah, that's on the back there. Only just! But it made it. 276 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,920 Now we'll head back to the shed and put the digger 277 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,000 and the power pack on the back of the top truck. 278 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,160 Next step, get that digger down the hole. 279 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,040 We'll be ready to go, you know, tomorrow or the day after. 280 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,160 But, the next day, there's bad news. 281 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,360 Oh, no! What have you done? 282 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,440 I've, er, wrecked my shoulder. How did you do it? 283 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,760 I lifted the jerry can to fuel up 284 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,840 and it's just gone "bang", it's just exploded. 285 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,240 I knew I'd torn something. It was excruciating pain. 286 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,040 I can't climb ladders. I can't go underground. 287 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,120 Several weeks before it's back to good again. 288 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:56,280 It's a pain, yeah, it's a nuisance. 289 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,480 Oh. I thought we were done with all these long drives for now. 290 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,520 I thought we'd literally get our gear and be down a shaft. 291 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,360 In White Cliffs, rookie miners Carl and Mary 292 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,280 have been forced to make a costly and time-consuming detour. 293 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,880 My lack of planning has cost us a lot. 294 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,600 A 1,300km round-trip 295 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:27,440 to buy vital mining equipment they forgot to bring with them. 296 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,600 Now, they need to show mining mentor Graeme 297 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,520 they're serious about getting started. 298 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,160 Good morning! We are back. He's back from Dubbo. 299 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,000 Good to see you, mate. Had a long drive? Yeah, it was, 300 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,680 but I think we've got everything now on the list. 301 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,320 You know you get carried away in these hardware shops. Yep. 302 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,120 We've got the genny, got the jackhammer. Most important. 303 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,840 We've got some lights, cables, even hooks for pulling the opal out of the wall. That's how confident I am. 304 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,440 Oh, way to go. I think we've covered it all. 305 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,280 The Poms' unexpected shopping trip 306 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,400 has cost them $3,000. 307 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,920 Most of our pot of money has gone. 308 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,080 We really need to get the mine set up 309 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,480 and crack on and find some opal now. 310 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,680 At the moment, we've just got a hole in the ground and a shaft, 311 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,800 which was built 100 years ago, maybe. 312 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,840 So, today, we're going to have to build a metal collar, 313 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,040 which is a frame around the top of that shaft, to make it secure. 314 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:27,320 These holes are really deep. I measured the one that we're going to use at 27 feet. 315 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,880 Erm, and the sides are very, very steep where all the rubble is. 316 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,720 So, it's a little bit sketchy around there. 317 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,600 And the collar has got to support the entire shaft. 318 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,200 It's gonna be our entry and exit, so it has to be secure, has to be safe. 319 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,520 You're a machine! I'll sit back and watch you. 320 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,080 I'm not gonna feel right 321 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,160 if I don't work a sweat up today. 322 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,080 You all right? Yeah. 323 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,720 Snug as a bug. 324 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,000 It's a bit hairy, watching Carl so close to a hole. 325 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,680 It is a big drop here, so just be... Be really careful. 326 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,000 Oh! Look at that. Spot-on, mate. 327 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,200 Hang on, let me just get the next one. 328 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,840 I'm really excited now. Can't wait to get down there and have a look at what's there. 329 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,040 The reality is, we've got our own mine. 330 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,520 We're going to start digging in there. I can't wait 331 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,800 to find that first piece of opal that I can cut 332 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:55,920 and Mary can set, because that's our dream. 333 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,000 And our dream is very, very close now. 334 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,040 Keep it steady now. Keep your toes in, push that ladder out. 335 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,400 Use your toes and keep it out. Right. 336 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,960 I see you. 337 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,040 It's a bit wobbly. 338 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,880 Crikey. 339 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,440 I think this ladder is as old as the mineshaft. 340 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,400 I'm at the bottom. 341 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,080 How is it looking down there, Carl? 342 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,080 Blimey. The walls are a bit crumbly. 343 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,160 How is the ceiling looking? You need to check that first. 344 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,240 The roof is a bit, as well. 345 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,040 Oh, blimey. It's just falling off when I'm touching it. 346 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,280 The 100-year-old mine shaft 347 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:43,600 leads to a network of tight tunnels... 348 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:45,680 I'm gonna go in there. 349 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,080 ..filled with tonnes of unstable dirt and rocks. 350 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,440 It's like a maze down here! 351 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,400 Oh! That ceiling looks a bit dodge. 352 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,200 Get your legs out, Carl. Yeah. 353 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:16,480 Well, I'm not really having much luck here, Dad, due to the gas. 354 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,800 Yeah, I'm not surprised. It's taking ages. 355 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,880 Poison gas has forced the Tunnel Rats out of their Grasshopper Mine, 356 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,480 losing them half a day's mining, as they race to find opal 357 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,920 before being evicted. 358 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Got to get rid of that smoke. 359 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,160 And the only way I know how to do it is to, er, to get the drill up 360 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,000 and to drill some holes for ventilation. 361 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,120 So, y'all will get ready to go with the truck? 362 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,920 Yep. I've done a bit of service on it and tuned it up. 363 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,680 Their hopes rest on a 13-tonne investigator rig 364 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,360 to drill the critical ventilation hole, 365 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,160 but its weight makes the 50-year-old army truck it sits on 366 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,800 unable to tackle the five kilometres of sand dunes in its way. 367 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,000 I'm gonna probably gonna have to pull you 368 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,240 through that sand dune with the dozer. 369 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,560 I would say so. We're not gonna get through. 370 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,680 We don't have to get it anywhere. 371 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,000 We just tow it around with our bulldozer, a D9H, 372 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,080 so it pretty much tows anything. 373 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:23,440 With 410 horsepower, the D9H gets to work. 374 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,720 Everything went well, the dozer went well, we can start drilling a hole. 375 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,960 The plan is to drill a new shaft through 20 metres of sand and rock, 376 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,560 to release the trapped toxic gas. 377 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,240 The gas will just get sucked out. 378 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,760 Once it's out, I'm going straight back in to work. 379 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,400 We'll have to put the 75ft on to break through. 380 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,480 That's all the augers that we've got to break through. 381 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:14,520 After just six metres, they hit hard ironstone caprock 382 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,120 that could destroy the tungsten-steel teeth on the drill head. 383 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,760 It's gone down a bit, that much in ten minutes. 384 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,440 They thought the drill felt like it was moving a little bit skew-whiff, 385 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,680 so I think they wanna pull it back up 386 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,160 and check the teeth on the bottom, to make sure nothing's broken. 387 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,880 Stop. Oh! Oh, stop! 388 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,120 It chewed out all the bullets on our drill head. 389 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,560 We'll have to change out the bullets. 390 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,080 That's bad. 391 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,920 The ground, we call it caprock, 392 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,600 it's just so damn hard, so abrasive to machinery. 393 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,680 Very, very hard. 394 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,200 But in the rush to replace the teeth, 395 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,960 Bayden's forgotten to wear protective equipment. 396 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,600 What got ya? Ah, just a bit of metal. 397 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,680 A shard. 398 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,440 Had a little bit of a shard fall back, hit me on the eye. 399 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,840 Just hold it on it for a while. 400 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,920 It could have been really bad if it was in my eyeball, 401 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,080 but, luckily enough, it decided to go into my cheek instead. 402 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,200 Giving it another crack. 403 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,680 Now we've got teeth, proper teeth on the head, 404 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,360 so we'll just give it another shot, it should drill better this time. 405 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,680 After a five-hour operation, 406 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,880 it's time to check if they've drilled in the right spot. 407 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,080 There's our hole. We said about there before, didn't we? 408 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,560 There. Right there. Where we are, here, 409 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,920 this is where a lot of gas used to get trapped. 410 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,160 Since this hole has been put in, the gas will come straight up here. 411 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,000 So, yeah, we're pretty happy the way it's worked, yeah. 412 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,560 It'll definitely help us get in there a lot quicker. 413 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,640 So, we can start, get back to work. 414 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,920 It's just a pain in the neck. It really is. It's a bit of a blow. 415 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,560 A tough mining season has finally caught up with Pete. 416 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,360 His injured shoulder could derail their plans 417 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,040 to get their digger into their last workable mine, 418 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,320 Allawah. 419 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,760 That puts a damper on the plans a bit, doesn't it? 420 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,360 It does, but I reckon we can still do it. 421 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,440 Just still dig it out? Yeah. 422 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,400 To keep their season alive, 423 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,160 apprentice Sam must take on the responsibility 424 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,240 for their underground operations. 425 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,320 Just take... Let her down. 426 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,680 Down there is good. 427 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,000 We can throw in the towel for four months 428 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,160 or we can keep moving. 429 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,680 Just means I've got to learn a bit quicker. 430 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:57,800 You just gotta get in and give it a crack. 431 00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:59,880 Righty-o. 432 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:02,560 Me and Pete, we just gotta keep going. 433 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,720 Poor old Sam, you know, 434 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,400 he's gonna have to just, er, step up to the plate a bit 435 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,840 and, erm, shoulder a heavier load. 436 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:16,480 At the mine site, fellow Lightning Ridge miners, Gav and Tim, 437 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,760 have been called in to provide Sam with some backup. 438 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,000 The ladders? Rip 'em out? 439 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,680 Well, if we do, it makes it easier. 440 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,200 I think we do. There's no reason they should be there. 441 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,680 If we can get them all in one go, that'd be good. I'll give it a go. 442 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,320 On the surface, Pete and Tim will operate the crane 443 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:38,440 and lower the one-tonne digger down the 20-metre shaft, 444 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:43,640 while Sam and Gav must guide it in and reassemble it below. 445 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,720 This worries me. Yeah. It's all gotta come out. 446 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,360 Yeah. It sure has. 447 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,800 The roof has got a bit of a slip in it, it's not in the greatest state. 448 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,840 Erm, and, yeah, we're just worried bringing the digger down, 449 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,160 it might knock parts of this roof out. 450 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:00,240 You see that? 451 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,920 Well, that could fall down then on top of us, on top of our heads. 452 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,000 I know we've got hardhats on, 453 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,040 but it still can sprain or break your neck. 454 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:13,800 Wouldn't want our roof to cave in, that's for sure. 455 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,080 The ceiling could be very soft and crumbly. 456 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:30,000 Rookie opal miner Carl Grice is underground for the very first time. 457 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,640 Blimey, this place looks old. 458 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:36,640 Opened up in the late 1800s and unused for decades, 459 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,920 the mine is treacherous. 460 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,000 The, er, walls are a bit crumbly. 461 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,320 You have to wait. I'm coming down. 462 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:50,040 Mining veteran Graeme Dowton has found this claim for The Poms, 463 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,960 but, until now, he hasn't been able to check the conditions underground. 464 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,960 It's an old hole... Yeah. 465 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,120 ..and it hasn't been overly worked yet, 466 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,160 so you've got plenty of direction to go off this. 467 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,280 Oh, just watch for any of these cracks 468 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,560 just opening up a little bit, anywhere. OK. 469 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,200 And, I mean, if you don't dig anything out too big down here, you're not gonna have any dramas. 470 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,760 It's actually a good hole for you to start on, this one. 471 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:22,000 How's it looking? Superb, Mary. Yeah, it looks good. 472 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,520 While the mine has got the green light, it still needs lots of work. 473 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,600 There's quite a lot of backfill in there, a lot of old rubble, 474 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,520 so that needs to come out before we can dig anything fresh. 475 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:40,200 Critical to getting the dirt out is this 350kg tipping machine, 476 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:44,000 costing The Poms yet another $1,500. 477 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,560 So, the tip is really, really important for us. 478 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,200 That's going to bring all the dirt up for us. 479 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,400 You're gonna grab a leg, walk 'em in and spear 'em into the ground. 480 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,000 You're not... 481 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,800 Just lock him off there, somewhere. 482 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:12,960 It's obviously very unstable. 483 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,520 What we're doing now is potentially a bit dangerous, 484 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,760 because, obviously, if it falls down, erm, it could clout one of us. 485 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:21,840 Drag it just a little bit. 486 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:26,360 Let's start putting the ladder together. 487 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,680 This 18-metre ladder will allow a bucket of dirt 488 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,320 to run up and down the mine shaft. 489 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,400 There we go. 490 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:42,040 Ready? One, two, three... 491 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,360 After half a day's hard graft, 492 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:48,120 it's time to put the 50-year-old tipper to the test. 493 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,840 Hey-hey! 494 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,320 Finally, you're ready to start digging, start lifting dirt. 495 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,600 Oh, fantastic! Thanks, mate. No worries. 496 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:07,680 That's brilliant. That's brilliant. 497 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,520 Hey, he's already punched through. 498 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,880 We'll definitely get out of the way now, the sand's gonna come down. 499 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,280 It's gonna be too dusty to see it, might as well move and be safe. 500 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,560 Whoa! 501 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:28,640 That's enough for me. 502 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,400 The Tunnel Rats' new ventilation shaft is finally in place, 503 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:36,440 but it will still take time to disperse all the toxic gas. 504 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,680 We won't be able to do any underground mining, 505 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:43,040 so, erm, until then, we'll have to do something else. 506 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:49,080 While they wait, Rodney has a surprise plan B to find opal. 507 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:54,200 Well, I've got a confession to make, that while you were away, 508 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,440 I used to dump 20-litre containers of opal 509 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,000 and stuff down a drill hole. 510 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,800 Why would you do that? Because I had nowhere here to hide it. 511 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,200 Didn't know what else to do with it, so I shoved it down a drill hole. 512 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:10,600 I've had my camp broken into. 513 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,760 I didn't wanted to run the risk of that happening again. 514 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,280 So, I thought, 'Well, I'm gonna put it down a hole.' 515 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,360 Oh, the old 'X marks the spot'. Exactly. 516 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,920 You buried your treasure... Exactly. My treasure! 517 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,960 Been calling it 'my little bank', keeping it my little secret. 518 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,800 It's better than a kick in the teeth. How about we go and get it? 519 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,040 You know, Dad, he's classed as an old-school miner. 520 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,120 The old-school miners, 521 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:41,040 they do old-school mining things, like that. 522 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,880 Righto, we will... We'll follow you and then... 523 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:45,960 yeah, go and get it out. 524 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,560 Well, I'm looking forward to seeing some colour come out of the hole, that's for sure. 525 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,960 With countless drill holes to choose from, 526 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:10,040 the team must rely on Rodney's memory to find the right one. 527 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,960 Rodney's been struggling, definitely struggling. 528 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,360 You can see it in him, he's getting very forgetful. 529 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,440 He's not remembering to do lots of things. 530 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,480 Yeah, we'll see how we go. Hopefully, it's all lined up. 531 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,880 There's, like, a piece of cardboard or something down there I can see. 532 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:44,320 When we started putting the drill down, material started coming up, 533 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,360 all sorts of stuff, a bit of paper and all this kind of thing. 534 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,880 What the hell? We're drilling up a rubbish tip! 535 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,560 But then, lo and behold... 536 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,840 That's got colour in it. 537 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,160 Look at that! 538 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,600 ..opal and potch and all that started coming up. 539 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,000 Oh, that's a big bit of green. 540 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,560 Some of them are quite valuable. 541 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,160 Dad? Yeah. What the hell were you doing burying that? 542 00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,960 Look at that one. That's gorgeous. That's nice. 543 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,160 Once it started coming up, there were just some quite big chunky bits 544 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:19,360 and it was a lot of dark material. 545 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,800 Oh, yeah, that's nice. 546 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,600 Oh, I'm stoked. That's awesome. That's a nice stone. 547 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:29,080 That's probably another $300 stone, 400 bucks. 548 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,080 The old 'X marks the spot' did the job, paid off. 549 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:36,200 How many more of these holes have you got? Oh, that's it. 550 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,800 I knew that there was opal down there, 551 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,560 but I didn't realise there was that much opal down there. 552 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000 For the Tunnel Rats, 553 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,120 Rodney's hidden stash has delivered an unexpected haul, 554 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,280 over four kilos of rough opal. 555 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,840 You see that? 556 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,000 Wouldn't want our roof to cave in, that's for sure. 557 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:11,920 20 metres below the parched Outback, 558 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,520 rookie Sam is having to step up, 559 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,000 installing a one-tonne digger in the new Allawah mine. 560 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:20,880 Bringing the digger down might knock bits of the roof out, 561 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,960 with the state it's in. 562 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:28,120 I'd rather see it come down... Now. ..now. 563 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:32,760 On the surface, injured Pete is relying on just one working arm 564 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:37,040 and his 30-year-old crane to make the tricky descent. 565 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,240 Righty-o. 566 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:43,320 Go down a bit there. 567 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,840 Yes, them wheels are just touching the edge. 568 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,120 That'll help guide it. 569 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,280 Oh, it's gonna go close. 570 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:00,680 Righty-o. Righto. 571 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:06,640 There's always something, isn't there? 572 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:12,720 The truck's radiator has sprung a leak, stopping the crane. 573 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:14,880 Hey! Yo! 574 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,120 Lower it down a bit more. 575 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,880 I've just stopped the truck to put some water in. 576 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,080 That's our water. That's it? 577 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,160 The 500kg digger arm still needs to be lowered, 578 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:29,640 but if the truck runs out of water, the engine will overheat 579 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,120 and destroy itself within minutes. 580 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:36,120 Righto, rocks coming down and the digger arm is coming down! 581 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,600 Righty-o! 582 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,640 That? Yeah. All right. 583 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:48,320 Down. Gentle. Down, gently. 584 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,600 Righto. Keep going. Down a bit? Yeah. 585 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:03,880 It's gotta be in two pieces and then one piece has to be suspended 586 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,440 and reassembled at the bottom of the hole. 587 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:10,760 You need millimetre control over the crane to do that successfully. 588 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:13,400 How's that? A little bit more. 589 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,920 You all right? Too much... Too much on me. 590 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,480 Hold on. How is that? Oh, slow, slow. We're getting close. 591 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,320 I don't want the pin that close. Just put them in? Yeah. 592 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,320 That twists. That's it. Going OK. That's it. 593 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:31,280 That's how you want it to go in, mate, so it falls in itself. 594 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,960 That's good. All good. 595 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,560 The tools copped a bit of a battering. 596 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,680 Lucky it wasn't one of our legs or something. 597 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,680 So, that's the digger down, all ready to go. 598 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:46,760 Unfortunately, with Pete's shoulder, he won't be coming down, 599 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,040 but we can finally get digging. 600 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,960 It will be my first time operating it, but we'll see how we go. 601 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,040 Hopefully, we dig some gems out. 602 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:58,240 This ought to be another first for me, running things on my own. 603 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:05,560 With his first major test over, Sam's future is looking up. 604 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,400 Oh, good on you, Sam. Thanks. You did well. No worries. 605 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,480 All right, guys. Let's go home. 606 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,800 Beer o'clock? I think it's getting damn close. 607 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:20,760 Hey! Hey-hey! 608 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,880 Finally, you're ready to start digging, start lifting dirt. 609 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,240 In White Cliffs, The Poms are one step closer 610 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,760 to finding opal in their new mine. 611 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:34,880 I think you'd better get started, mate. 612 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,960 With their 50-year-old tipper up and running, 613 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,080 Carl can finally fulfil a lifelong dream. 614 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:44,000 Ever since being a little kid, I've wanted to find treasure. 615 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:47,200 It started out with wanting to be a pirate. That wasn't an option. 616 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,480 But certainly finding opal is an option. 617 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,240 So, to find that in the ground and be the first person to see it would definitely be a dream come true. 618 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,760 Guys, I'm gonna pull the cord. Righty-o, we're watching. 619 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,800 There she goes. Now I'm gonna get right out of the way, 620 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,080 because if anything goes wrong and this thing comes down, 621 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,760 you can imagine the weight in there. 622 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:11,800 It's going way down there. 623 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:15,200 There it goes! 624 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:19,840 Perfect. It was a perfect tip. 625 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:21,960 A perfect tip. We've had a perfect tip. 626 00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:24,560 Let the morning begin. 627 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,600 This is where our dream meets reality. 628 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,280 So, the task at hand, at the moment, 629 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,920 is to dig down another two or three feet, 630 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,560 before I can start to make any progress forwards, 631 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,240 towards the face, to really chase the opal. 632 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:44,320 So, there's a lot of work to be done 633 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,720 before I can actually even hunt for opal. 634 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:52,240 So, yeah, the next step on the process is to find some opal 635 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,320 and make some jewellery with it. 636 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,080 We need to get going, we need to crack on and find some opal now. 637 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:15,920 Yesterday, we drilled up all this material. 638 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,320 I'd say, about 150 ounces of opal. 639 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,440 Desperate for all the opal they can find before eviction, 640 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:27,200 the Tunnel Rats have dug up Rodney's buried treasure. 641 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:29,280 Pays the bills, mate. 642 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,240 They're counting on Elisa to maximise its value on the cutting wheel. 643 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:37,080 We managed to sort through a little bit last night 644 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,920 and plucked out, as you can see, quite a few big chunks. 645 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,000 Gonna give this one a rub, in particular, 646 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:46,080 cos it's really quite bright. 647 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:55,000 In the past, when they have found opal, 648 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,360 they've just, you know, separated it, maybe into certain grades 649 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,200 and then just sold it as rough. 650 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:03,520 The dollar difference between the rough parcel 651 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,400 and the finished product is on levels like this. 652 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,480 You're essentially selling yourself out 653 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,880 by selling it in the rough form. 654 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:15,480 But Elisa has only one month of cutting experience. 655 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:18,480 Can you have a little squint at this one? 656 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:21,480 So, that was that orangey one. Yeah. 657 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:23,960 I've got maybe half a mm of play there. 658 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,080 So, should I go down lower or not? 659 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,400 I'd probably just leave it. 660 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:32,160 If I rub stuff, I can bring that to him and then we can critique it 661 00:41:32,240 --> 00:41:34,520 and then we can finish them off together, 662 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:37,360 just learn the processes from start to finish. 663 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,000 This is all just in this morning's cuttings. 664 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:43,400 That's what we got out of the hole. There's plenty more to go through. 665 00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:46,640 That's just fantastic. You can't get much better than that, really, 666 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:49,120 just digging it out of a bloody drill hole. 667 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:52,840 But will Elisa's handiwork impress veteran miner Rodney? 668 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:56,200 You get a bit of gear? Yeah, I got a bit. 669 00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:59,040 I can't wait to see it. This is what we've been doing. 670 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,400 A little bit. 671 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:04,680 Do you wanna show Dad the little goodies? 672 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:08,760 I made a little goody bag to show you. Oh, wow! 673 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:12,480 They're lovely. Now, that was worth digging up, wasn't it? 674 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:16,360 Well done, boys and girls. Top job. Pulled out the treasure chest. 675 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:19,760 In my own opinion, what I think it's worth, 676 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,760 nothing less than ten grand. Ten grand is what it is. 677 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,840 At least. 678 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:28,840 Rodney's treasure trove is made up of Mintabie opal, 679 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,520 milky white with blues and greens. 680 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,480 They have 12 grams, worth an estimated $10,000, 681 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,360 bringing them even closer 682 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,240 to the amount they need 683 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:41,320 to secure a new future. 684 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:45,280 Ten grand is pretty good for a day's work. 685 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:47,360 I don't think anyone would complain. 686 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,240 Fantastic to see that colour again. 687 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:54,520 Can you just step back and think, 688 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:58,200 is there any other hole that you might have dumped opal in? 689 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:01,800 No. You're sure? I'm sure. No, that's it. 690 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,560 If you're happy with that... Yeah. ..I'm happy with that. 691 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,920 There might be opal miners out there that just do it for a job, 692 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,600 but, for us, it's the passion to be able to hold your own opal and go, 693 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:13,680 'You know what? I found it.' 693 00:43:14,305 --> 00:44:14,945 Do you want subtitles for any video? -=[ ai.OpenSubtitles.com ]=-