Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine

1 00:00:03,470 --> 00:00:06,230 Pioneers make their own rules. 2 00:00:06,270 --> 00:00:08,570 You just go out and take a risk, 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,010 do something that nobody else has done before. 4 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:15,010 For centuries, people have risked it all 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:17,310 for the allure of gold. 6 00:00:17,350 --> 00:00:20,350 I stand in awe at what they did, 7 00:00:20,380 --> 00:00:23,780 but it also gives me the passion to do the same. 8 00:00:23,820 --> 00:00:27,820 But only the very few have the vision and drive 9 00:00:27,860 --> 00:00:31,360 to change the course of history. 10 00:00:32,430 --> 00:00:33,790 Let's go. 11 00:00:33,830 --> 00:00:37,330 Today, gold miner Dave Turin. 12 00:00:37,370 --> 00:00:39,670 You have to take your dream and put it into action. 13 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:43,300 Uncovers the secrets of gold trailblazers. 14 00:00:43,340 --> 00:00:45,370 There are no rule books, 15 00:00:45,410 --> 00:00:47,570 so you have to write your own rules. 16 00:00:47,610 --> 00:00:49,310 That ain't right. 17 00:00:49,340 --> 00:00:52,310 And unpacks his top 10 lessons. 18 00:00:52,350 --> 00:00:53,150 You gotta take a risk. 19 00:00:53,210 --> 00:00:54,720 You gotta think outside the box. 20 00:00:54,750 --> 00:00:57,650 Learn from pioneers of the past. 21 00:00:57,690 --> 00:01:01,060 There's something about men that do what we do. 22 00:01:01,090 --> 00:01:03,090 - We're kindred spirits. - I'm Dave. 23 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,660 And those he's met on his own journey. 24 00:01:05,690 --> 00:01:07,430 - Nice to meet you. - He's out here pulling nuggets 25 00:01:07,460 --> 00:01:08,830 out to feed his family. 26 00:01:08,860 --> 00:01:11,370 To understand what drives men. 27 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,330 We freaking did it. 28 00:01:14,370 --> 00:01:16,670 To risk it all for gold. 29 00:01:16,700 --> 00:01:17,970 - You're getting... - We have the fever. 30 00:01:18,010 --> 00:01:20,310 - A little gold fever. - That's why all 31 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:22,280 these pioneers went and did it because 32 00:01:22,310 --> 00:01:25,350 that really is the American Dream and it's freedom. 33 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,074 Do you want subtitles for any video? -=[ ai.OpenSubtitles.com ]=- 34 00:01:35,460 --> 00:01:39,060 America was built on the backs of the pioneers. 35 00:01:39,090 --> 00:01:43,060 They took areas that were inhospitable 36 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:45,630 and they turned them into towns and cities 37 00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:47,500 so that they could thrive. 38 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:49,540 And that's what made America. 39 00:01:49,570 --> 00:01:53,740 The 1848 gold rush gave birth to a new wave 40 00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:56,510 of pioneer. Thousands of these adventurers 41 00:01:56,540 --> 00:01:58,280 descended on California, 42 00:01:58,310 --> 00:02:00,950 desperate for gold to change their lives. 43 00:02:00,980 --> 00:02:04,690 And in doing so, they would change the face of America. 44 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,650 There's certain things, 45 00:02:06,690 --> 00:02:09,020 certain characteristics that you have to have 46 00:02:09,060 --> 00:02:11,860 to be a pioneer. 47 00:02:11,890 --> 00:02:15,200 Now, Dave believes the go-get them the spirit 48 00:02:15,230 --> 00:02:17,970 of the early gold rushers was instilled in him 49 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,900 from an early age. 50 00:02:19,930 --> 00:02:22,370 My dad's job as a teacher was very secure. 51 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,010 And he gave it all up to go paving, 52 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,740 to open a rock pit, to start a business. 53 00:02:28,780 --> 00:02:31,980 And he taught me that in order to have a pioneer spirit, 54 00:02:32,010 --> 00:02:34,780 you have to take a risk. 55 00:02:40,460 --> 00:02:42,890 If you're gonna be a successful gold miner, 56 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,290 a successful pioneer, you have to be able to gamble. 57 00:02:46,330 --> 00:02:48,500 I believe that's the reason George Hearst 58 00:02:48,530 --> 00:02:51,100 went to California. 59 00:02:51,130 --> 00:02:53,870 In 1850, George Hearst, 60 00:02:53,900 --> 00:02:56,900 a general store clerk, put it all on the line, 61 00:02:56,940 --> 00:02:59,310 leaving the family ranch in Missouri 62 00:02:59,340 --> 00:03:01,940 and traveling 1,800 miles 63 00:03:01,980 --> 00:03:04,480 to join the California Gold Rush. 64 00:03:04,510 --> 00:03:07,250 After a disastrous first year, 65 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,020 George was down to his last $40 66 00:03:10,050 --> 00:03:13,250 but he didn't give up, finally striking gold 67 00:03:13,290 --> 00:03:14,620 in Grass Valley. 68 00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:17,360 George Hearst took a massive risk. 69 00:03:17,390 --> 00:03:18,890 He had family at home, 70 00:03:18,930 --> 00:03:22,230 but yet he went all the way to California. 71 00:03:22,260 --> 00:03:24,830 I mean, the struggle just getting there 72 00:03:24,870 --> 00:03:27,370 and then you get there, You don't know what's there. 73 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,570 Hearst continued to roll the dice, 74 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,610 reinvesting his money in mine after mine across the US, 75 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,410 amassing a fortune in today's money 76 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,650 equivalent to almost half a billion dollars. 77 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,850 George Hearst was truly a rags to riches story. 78 00:03:43,890 --> 00:03:48,160 One of the wealthiest family fortunes in American history. 79 00:03:48,190 --> 00:03:51,930 He risked it all and he succeeded. 80 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,600 Todd Hoffman was a risk-taker. 81 00:03:55,630 --> 00:03:58,200 I believe he was a pioneer. 82 00:03:58,230 --> 00:04:02,470 Let's be honest. Todd gave me my first start in gold mining. 83 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:04,200 We're going for it, man. 84 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:05,810 I'm just your average guy 85 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,940 tired of sitting here not making any money. 86 00:04:08,980 --> 00:04:12,280 So, like my forefathers, they ballsed up 87 00:04:12,310 --> 00:04:13,950 and they went out into the frontier. 88 00:04:13,980 --> 00:04:15,420 Eleven years ago, 89 00:04:15,450 --> 00:04:17,520 Todd Hoffman and a group of friends 90 00:04:17,550 --> 00:04:20,450 from Portland, Oregon, take a leap of faith 91 00:04:20,490 --> 00:04:21,790 in the name of gold. 92 00:04:21,820 --> 00:04:25,330 You think about it, in 2008, 2009, 93 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,860 the economy was terrible. And Todd and Jack knew 94 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:31,130 a little bit about gold mining. 95 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:33,700 Holy cow. He got twenty-nine grams 96 00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:35,100 in that one test hole. 97 00:04:35,140 --> 00:04:36,170 There's millions of dollars. 98 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,410 Todd puts everything on the line. 99 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,870 Another day, another thousand dollars. 100 00:04:40,910 --> 00:04:44,140 In the hope of finding life-changing gold 101 00:04:44,180 --> 00:04:45,750 in the frozen North. 102 00:04:45,780 --> 00:04:48,750 I've done a lot of crazy things in my day. 103 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:51,650 This might be the biggest, most ambitious thing 104 00:04:51,690 --> 00:04:53,190 I've ever tried. 105 00:04:53,220 --> 00:04:54,990 So I met Todd through church. 106 00:04:55,020 --> 00:04:58,790 I was mining in the family rock quarry for 21, 22 years. 107 00:04:58,830 --> 00:05:00,530 That's a long time. And I felt like 108 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,560 I wasn't challenged. 109 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:03,760 I was restless. 110 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,270 And when Todd talked to me about 111 00:05:06,300 --> 00:05:08,000 going gold mining in Alaska, 112 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,140 I was jealous. I wanted to go. 113 00:05:11,170 --> 00:05:13,440 Without your help, I gotta be honest with you, 114 00:05:13,470 --> 00:05:15,310 I don't think I'd be... It'd be tough. 115 00:05:15,380 --> 00:05:17,840 You know what? I'm gonna help you out any way I can. 116 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,350 I wanna see you succeed. You guys are an inspiration. 117 00:05:20,380 --> 00:05:24,050 I decided to break away from the family business. 118 00:05:24,090 --> 00:05:26,190 My dad was torn. 119 00:05:26,220 --> 00:05:29,120 Todd Hoffman asked me to join his crew. 120 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,220 If I worked at one job my whole life, 121 00:05:31,260 --> 00:05:33,860 then I wanna go chase a dream. 122 00:05:33,930 --> 00:05:35,700 That's tough. 123 00:05:35,730 --> 00:05:37,460 What about you, dad? What do you think? 124 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:39,370 He understood that pioneering spirit. 125 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,100 He understood that I was restless. 126 00:05:41,140 --> 00:05:44,500 Well, I know you're adventuresome and I guess 127 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:46,340 we're gonna have to let you do it. 128 00:05:46,370 --> 00:05:47,910 Thanks, dad. 129 00:05:47,940 --> 00:05:52,350 He didn't want me to look back and go what if. 130 00:05:52,380 --> 00:05:54,380 You guys are an inspiration. 131 00:05:54,420 --> 00:05:56,620 You know, there's so many guys that are on their butts 132 00:05:56,650 --> 00:05:59,550 sitting around watching TV, 133 00:05:59,590 --> 00:06:01,860 collecting unemployment, and you know, 134 00:06:01,890 --> 00:06:04,260 guys aren't made to do that. You're gonna encourage a lot 135 00:06:04,290 --> 00:06:07,030 of people. Keep your heads up and let's find some gold. 136 00:06:07,060 --> 00:06:08,830 - Amen. - Amen. 137 00:06:08,860 --> 00:06:09,730 - Let's go, guys. - Go. 138 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:11,800 Let's do this. 139 00:06:11,830 --> 00:06:13,900 It's working? 140 00:06:13,940 --> 00:06:17,540 Those first years with the Hoffman crew, 141 00:06:17,570 --> 00:06:20,410 we learned from our mistakes and we kept moving on. 142 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:22,710 I've got something that I can get some traction on. 143 00:06:22,740 --> 00:06:25,750 It wasn't just the gold that excited me. 144 00:06:25,780 --> 00:06:27,850 It was working with a team. 145 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:29,220 We can do it. 146 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:32,790 And we did become successful pioneers. 147 00:06:32,820 --> 00:06:35,060 - Whoa. - Oh, my God. 148 00:06:35,090 --> 00:06:36,320 You freaking kidding me? 149 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,090 Look at that, it's amazing. 150 00:06:39,130 --> 00:06:42,260 Gold mining, it's not for the faint of heart. 151 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:44,300 You really have to adapt. 152 00:06:44,330 --> 00:06:46,130 Otherwise, you're gonna lose money. 153 00:06:46,170 --> 00:06:49,870 You're gonna lose gold. You're gonna lose people. 154 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,380 "Big Al" McDonald was one of the most 155 00:07:00,420 --> 00:07:03,620 successful miners in the Klondike Gold Rush. 156 00:07:03,650 --> 00:07:06,850 Big Al got his start on Eldorado Creek, 157 00:07:06,890 --> 00:07:10,320 one of the richest creeks in all of gold mining history. 158 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,430 And he bought that claim with a sack of flour 159 00:07:13,460 --> 00:07:15,660 and a side of bacon. 160 00:07:15,700 --> 00:07:17,530 In 1896, 161 00:07:17,570 --> 00:07:20,870 Alexander McDonald's bacon bought claim 162 00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:23,140 on the Yukons Eldorado Creek 163 00:07:23,170 --> 00:07:26,540 was netting him $5,000 per day. 164 00:07:26,570 --> 00:07:28,910 Encouraged by his success, 165 00:07:28,940 --> 00:07:30,640 McDonald went on a spree, 166 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:32,850 buying up more than 50 claims 167 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,880 and becoming known as the King of the Klondike. 168 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:37,520 And the guy made millions. 169 00:07:37,550 --> 00:07:39,920 He didn't quit with just a single claim. 170 00:07:39,950 --> 00:07:42,190 Then he bought other claims and he bought other claims. 171 00:07:42,220 --> 00:07:44,320 And that was his downfall. 172 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,430 When the gold rush bubble burst 173 00:07:46,460 --> 00:07:48,090 in the late 1800's, 174 00:07:48,130 --> 00:07:52,830 MacDonald continued to invest in ground of dwindling value, 175 00:07:52,870 --> 00:07:54,570 which cost him his fortune. 176 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,340 And he died destitute in 1909. 177 00:07:58,370 --> 00:08:01,440 Once you become successful, 178 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:03,180 you really have to be careful 179 00:08:03,210 --> 00:08:04,980 and you have to continue to make 180 00:08:05,010 --> 00:08:07,880 good decisions because gold can change 181 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,480 your rational thinking. 182 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,090 I felt like we were doing pretty good 183 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:12,990 with the Hoffmans, 184 00:08:13,020 --> 00:08:14,720 but Todd started to make decisions 185 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,320 that weren't adapting to success. 186 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,460 They were more decisions based on emotion. 187 00:08:20,530 --> 00:08:22,300 I think one of the worst choices he made 188 00:08:22,330 --> 00:08:23,400 was going to Guyana. 189 00:08:23,430 --> 00:08:26,900 Now, it's a whole another level of adventure. 190 00:08:26,930 --> 00:08:29,900 It's a whole another level of risk. 191 00:08:31,570 --> 00:08:34,210 Todd went, we can go there and mine the way we did 192 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,810 in the Yukon. We took big equipment. 193 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:38,750 There it goes. Watch it! 194 00:08:38,780 --> 00:08:40,780 - Watch out! - Stop! Watch out! 195 00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:43,650 - Whoa, stop! Stop! - Whoa, whoa, whoa! 196 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:44,850 When you go to the jungle, 197 00:08:44,890 --> 00:08:47,120 there's no stable ground. There's no rock. 198 00:08:47,150 --> 00:08:50,720 And you take this big equipment and it just sinks. 199 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:52,890 Look out! 200 00:08:52,930 --> 00:08:54,690 And if you don't adapt, 201 00:08:54,730 --> 00:08:57,830 if you just stayed doing the exact same thing, 202 00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:00,530 you will fail. I don't believe he adapted. 203 00:09:00,570 --> 00:09:04,040 It was a complete failure. It was a bust. 204 00:09:04,070 --> 00:09:06,010 I'm done. 205 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,580 I try to keep adapting 206 00:09:08,610 --> 00:09:11,980 and that's the key to success. 207 00:09:12,010 --> 00:09:14,510 So after I left the Hoffmans, 208 00:09:14,550 --> 00:09:16,480 I wanted to do something different. 209 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,890 The word got out that I was looking for ground. 210 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,090 I got so many emails and phone calls 211 00:09:24,130 --> 00:09:27,060 from families that have these claims 212 00:09:27,130 --> 00:09:28,860 and they have no idea what to do with them. 213 00:09:28,900 --> 00:09:31,530 So I wanted to try and do something different 214 00:09:31,570 --> 00:09:34,100 that was my own and follow the old timers 215 00:09:34,140 --> 00:09:36,670 and get gold that's left in these lost 216 00:09:36,700 --> 00:09:39,910 and abandoned mines. 217 00:09:44,980 --> 00:09:48,250 Herbert Hoover is one of my favorite mining 218 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:49,680 legends. 219 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,850 One of the things that Herbert Hoover did 220 00:09:51,890 --> 00:09:56,090 to make him successful is he brought back these old mines. 221 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,930 Before he became the 31st President 222 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,230 of the USA, Herbert Hoover 223 00:10:01,260 --> 00:10:03,100 was a gold miner. 224 00:10:03,130 --> 00:10:07,330 He specialized in taking failing or abandoned mines 225 00:10:07,370 --> 00:10:11,000 and using new technology to return them to profit. 226 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,310 Over two decades, he amassed a fortune 227 00:10:14,380 --> 00:10:18,240 equivalent to one hundred million dollars. 228 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,250 They named him "The Doctor of Sick Mines". 229 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,220 I can take our new equipment, our technology, 230 00:10:26,250 --> 00:10:28,790 and apply it to the old timers 231 00:10:28,820 --> 00:10:30,690 and get the gold that they left behind. 232 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,290 And that's what Herbert Hoover was doing. 233 00:10:32,330 --> 00:10:34,160 I could have taken the easy road, 234 00:10:34,230 --> 00:10:36,260 gone back to the family business, 235 00:10:36,300 --> 00:10:38,100 but I wanted to be a pioneer. 236 00:10:38,130 --> 00:10:41,100 I wanted to take my knowledge 237 00:10:41,140 --> 00:10:44,070 to these lost and abandoned mines. 238 00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:47,670 Three years ago, Dave begins to blaze a trail, 239 00:10:47,710 --> 00:10:49,940 scouring the nation for gold 240 00:10:49,980 --> 00:10:53,080 the old timers couldn't get. 241 00:10:53,110 --> 00:10:57,250 Over yonder is where the dredge operated. 242 00:10:57,280 --> 00:10:59,420 I mean, the old timers were here from 1898 243 00:10:59,450 --> 00:11:01,090 but it's all hand work. 244 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,760 Dave, the easy gold's gone, buddy. 245 00:11:03,790 --> 00:11:07,290 I knew that the old timers didn't get all the gold. 246 00:11:07,330 --> 00:11:10,360 And I felt that with my knowledge, my wisdom, 247 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,830 my experience that I could go 248 00:11:12,870 --> 00:11:15,340 to those lost and abandoned mines and become successful. 249 00:11:15,370 --> 00:11:17,600 We've got all of the right pieces in place. 250 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,140 We're gonna pioneer our way together. 251 00:11:21,180 --> 00:11:23,380 That's how we got started. 252 00:11:25,650 --> 00:11:26,750 Coming up. 253 00:11:26,780 --> 00:11:28,580 - Go find some nuggets. - All right. 254 00:11:28,620 --> 00:11:29,850 Obsession. 255 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:31,550 Doubt that I was full of 256 00:11:31,590 --> 00:11:32,850 And instinct. 257 00:11:32,890 --> 00:11:36,090 He will not give up until he finds it. 258 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:37,920 Guide the way. 259 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,700 Oh look at that. 260 00:11:45,570 --> 00:11:47,730 Over the past 10 years, 261 00:11:47,770 --> 00:11:51,670 Dave Turin has studied pioneers of the past. 262 00:11:51,710 --> 00:11:54,870 I stand in awe at what they did, 263 00:11:54,910 --> 00:11:58,680 but it also gives me the passion to do the same. 264 00:11:58,710 --> 00:12:01,510 To create his own mining rule book. 265 00:12:01,550 --> 00:12:03,020 I love the word pioneer. 266 00:12:03,050 --> 00:12:05,320 It means you're exploring, 267 00:12:05,350 --> 00:12:08,290 you're out trying to find things that other people 268 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:09,520 haven't done. 269 00:12:11,590 --> 00:12:14,430 There's a fine line between being obsessed 270 00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:16,660 and perseverance, 271 00:12:16,700 --> 00:12:20,170 but in order to be a successful gold miner, 272 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,770 you have to be borderline obsessive. 273 00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:31,640 Humans have been chasing gold for... 274 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:33,450 thousands of years. 275 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,250 And so you can become infatuated with it. 276 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,590 Jack Swilling was obsessed with the idea 277 00:12:40,620 --> 00:12:42,620 and the fact that there was gold in Arizona 278 00:12:42,660 --> 00:12:46,160 and he devoted his life to finding it. 279 00:12:46,190 --> 00:12:49,100 Frontiersman and prospector Jack Swilling 280 00:12:49,130 --> 00:12:51,230 was consumed with the notion 281 00:12:51,270 --> 00:12:53,630 that the Central Highlands of Arizona 282 00:12:53,670 --> 00:12:56,470 were rich in gold, 283 00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:58,940 but prospecting in the 1800's 284 00:12:58,970 --> 00:13:02,440 was a risky business with warring Apache tribes 285 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,010 and violent bandits. 286 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,050 It was a rough place. It was such a harsh climate. 287 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:09,780 Despite the dangers, 288 00:13:09,820 --> 00:13:11,520 Swilling persevered. 289 00:13:11,550 --> 00:13:13,850 And late in 1862, 290 00:13:13,890 --> 00:13:17,620 he teamed up with legendary scout Joseph R. Walker, 291 00:13:17,660 --> 00:13:19,890 making significant discoveries 292 00:13:19,930 --> 00:13:22,700 at Hassayyampa and Lynx Creek. 293 00:13:22,730 --> 00:13:25,900 Jack's obsession with gold in Arizona paid off. 294 00:13:25,930 --> 00:13:27,870 He eventually found Lynx Creek. 295 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:29,800 He's a lot like KC. 296 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,170 Those two guys walked the same ground. 297 00:13:33,210 --> 00:13:35,840 It was just Jack Swilling did it hundreds of years 298 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:37,940 before KC. 299 00:13:37,980 --> 00:13:40,850 KC, he was obsessed with getting that gold 300 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,280 that Jack Swilling left there. 301 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,020 Three years ago, 302 00:13:46,050 --> 00:13:50,660 Dave meets Arizona-born KC Morgan at Lynx Creek, 303 00:13:50,690 --> 00:13:55,330 where he spent over 30 years fixated on finding gold. 304 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,800 I drove by here since I was eight, nine years old. 305 00:13:58,830 --> 00:14:00,900 People said I was crazy for doing that, 306 00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:02,840 but I believe that that 307 00:14:02,870 --> 00:14:04,370 for so much gold to settle 308 00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:06,610 this part of the Western Arizona territory, 309 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:08,210 there had to be a lot of it left over. 310 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,180 How much gold did you get out of this you think? 311 00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:12,880 To be honest with you, Dave, it's gonna shock you. 312 00:14:12,910 --> 00:14:15,450 Up to an ounce for every 10 yards. 313 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,750 Come on. Are you kidding me? Out of this? 314 00:14:17,820 --> 00:14:20,620 When I first met KC, that obsession, 315 00:14:20,650 --> 00:14:22,620 that passion excited me. 316 00:14:22,660 --> 00:14:25,660 When he showed me the pans, I didn't believe it. 317 00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:28,900 I really didn't. Come on, baby. Come on. 318 00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:30,630 Holy . 319 00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:34,800 There's at least 50 big colors in here. 320 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:35,700 - Yeah. - That's a hell 321 00:14:35,740 --> 00:14:36,900 of a pan right there. 322 00:14:36,940 --> 00:14:38,240 I'm impressed. 323 00:14:38,310 --> 00:14:41,310 Once I proved that that gold was real, 324 00:14:41,340 --> 00:14:43,980 then it just... I mean, I was excited. 325 00:14:44,010 --> 00:14:46,680 Then I became obsessed with getting that gold. 326 00:14:46,710 --> 00:14:49,380 I'm gonna come in with a wash plant 327 00:14:49,420 --> 00:14:53,120 and excavators and I'm gonna get the gold. 328 00:14:53,150 --> 00:14:55,050 Dave initially goes all in 329 00:14:55,090 --> 00:14:57,920 on KC's Lynx Creek infatuation. 330 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,360 Well, I've got $80,000 of my own money 331 00:15:00,390 --> 00:15:02,000 invested in this. 332 00:15:02,030 --> 00:15:03,600 If we don't find any gold, 333 00:15:03,630 --> 00:15:07,000 we're all gonna starve to death this winter. 334 00:15:07,030 --> 00:15:08,900 But then Dave and his crew 335 00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:10,770 begin to have their doubts. 336 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:12,810 KC's reputation all on the line here. 337 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,210 I told KC, I said, 338 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,210 "You better hope there's good gold, man. 'Cause if not, 339 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:17,640 I'm gonna kick you in the nuts, dude." 340 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,290 - We've got a problem. - What? 341 00:15:19,310 --> 00:15:20,910 It's about $3,500. 342 00:15:20,950 --> 00:15:23,880 Doesn't even pay the fuel bill. 343 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,020 That first week was tough there at Lynx Creek. 344 00:15:27,050 --> 00:15:29,890 Um, yeah, I was doubting KC. 345 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,660 I was doubting my decision to go there. 346 00:15:32,690 --> 00:15:35,060 But after a tough five-week season, 347 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:37,930 KC's obsession finally pays off. 348 00:15:37,970 --> 00:15:39,780 I'm loving this. 349 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,530 - Packing now. - She's packed. 350 00:15:41,570 --> 00:15:42,770 I'm loving it. 351 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:44,300 I've been doing this a long time 352 00:15:44,340 --> 00:15:47,640 and I haven't seen a sluice box packed like this before. 353 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,580 Basically, they all thought I was . 354 00:15:50,610 --> 00:15:52,380 Eighty ounces, that's a lot of gold 355 00:15:52,410 --> 00:15:55,080 versus a short time for a small team. 356 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,290 KC had an obsession for gold still at Lynx Creek. 357 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,720 And it was that obsession similar to what Jack Swilling 358 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:04,760 did that caused us to go there. 359 00:16:04,790 --> 00:16:07,730 We had success on Lynx Creek. 360 00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,500 Every mistake, I have to learn from it. 361 00:16:13,530 --> 00:16:17,200 Your instincts should be developed from experience. 362 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,240 You can't just have a hunch and go, 363 00:16:20,270 --> 00:16:22,240 "I think there's gold there." 364 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:23,840 You'll fail every time. 365 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:25,980 I'd advise you to cut your losses. 366 00:16:26,010 --> 00:16:29,720 That instinct, intuition has to be based on experience. 367 00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:32,890 And so you've gotta have clues that then 368 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,460 guide your intuition and your experience. 369 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,460 Thomas Cruise was a good example of 370 00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:47,000 trust your instincts because he had the experience. 371 00:16:47,030 --> 00:16:49,970 He had gold mined on Silver Creek. 372 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,310 He knew there was gold there. His instinct said, 373 00:16:53,340 --> 00:16:55,410 "Just follow it, follow it up." 374 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:56,840 And guess what? 375 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,680 He founded one of the richest claims in Montana history. 376 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,750 Irish immigrant Thomas Cruise 377 00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:07,090 arrived in Montana in 1867 378 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:09,290 on the hunt for an A grade claim 379 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,960 in the ancient riverbeds of Silver Creek. 380 00:17:11,990 --> 00:17:15,730 Cruise discovered gold and signs of quartz. 381 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,530 At that point, his mining instinct came to the fore. 382 00:17:19,570 --> 00:17:21,130 He searched the hills, 383 00:17:21,170 --> 00:17:23,840 convinced that following the quartz 384 00:17:23,870 --> 00:17:26,010 would lead him to a fortune. 385 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,210 People probably mocked him, 386 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,610 probably was like that's a crazy guy. 387 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,610 He's trying to find the source of the gold 388 00:17:32,650 --> 00:17:33,650 that's in Silver Creek. 389 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,180 Cruise's intuition finally paid off 390 00:17:36,220 --> 00:17:38,280 in 1876 391 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,890 when he discovered the Drumlummon Load. 392 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,690 The site was valued at a price that today 393 00:17:44,730 --> 00:17:49,060 would make it worth more than 41 million dollars. 394 00:17:49,100 --> 00:17:50,660 He was like a... 395 00:17:50,700 --> 00:17:53,170 hound dog sniffing a, you know, a scent. 396 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:54,730 He just kept following it. 397 00:17:54,770 --> 00:17:58,370 And I feel like Jason Sanchez 398 00:17:58,410 --> 00:18:01,210 is a lot like Thomas Cruise. 399 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,810 The first time I met Jason, I thought there's a guy 400 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:05,980 that should have been born a hundred years ago. 401 00:18:06,010 --> 00:18:07,950 He had that pioneer spirit. 402 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:09,820 Three years ago, 403 00:18:09,850 --> 00:18:12,990 Dave finds Montana-born Jason Sanchez 404 00:18:13,020 --> 00:18:16,890 hunting for nuggets alone in the Nevada desert. 405 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,460 One of Jason's best attributes is his instinct. 406 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:24,130 Jason knows there's gold out there 407 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,370 and he will not give up until he finds it. 408 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,540 Are we done here? Oh, hell no. 409 00:18:29,570 --> 00:18:31,540 It's his intuition 410 00:18:31,570 --> 00:18:33,940 based on good gold mining experience 411 00:18:33,970 --> 00:18:35,680 that then leads him to that gold. 412 00:18:35,710 --> 00:18:37,540 Trying. 413 00:18:37,580 --> 00:18:41,610 Whoa woo. 414 00:18:41,650 --> 00:18:43,450 Look at that. 415 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:47,020 That, ladies and gentlemen, is a nugget. 416 00:18:47,050 --> 00:18:48,860 For two seasons, 417 00:18:48,890 --> 00:18:51,460 Jason's used his sixth sense 418 00:18:51,490 --> 00:18:54,360 to hunt out the gold for Team Turin. 419 00:18:54,430 --> 00:18:57,130 Look at that. That rock change is just different. 420 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,570 Every rise drops down, 421 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,070 and when it drops, that's where the gold likes 422 00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:04,970 to settle. Holy 423 00:19:06,940 --> 00:19:08,370 Definitely good. 424 00:19:08,410 --> 00:19:11,580 I think Jason's great at following his instincts 425 00:19:11,610 --> 00:19:14,850 and his intuition is because, one, he's made the mistakes. 426 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,020 He's failed, but he tries to learn from that. 427 00:19:17,050 --> 00:19:19,420 That's the right there, a happy boss. 428 00:19:19,450 --> 00:19:22,390 One of the most valuable pieces of a team 429 00:19:22,420 --> 00:19:24,360 is somebody that can keep you in the gold 430 00:19:24,390 --> 00:19:26,530 and keep that plant fed. 431 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:27,530 Coming up. 432 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:29,530 - Oh - Nathan, Nathan, 433 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:30,800 Nathan, stop, stop, stop. 434 00:19:30,830 --> 00:19:32,770 When the chips are down. 435 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,330 Freddy Dodge really is a pioneer. 436 00:19:35,370 --> 00:19:37,170 He really is good at what he does. 437 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,210 Creativity leads to innovation. 438 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,740 You're gonna build a wash plant on the beach? 439 00:19:43,780 --> 00:19:45,310 That's crazy. 440 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,090 The definition of being a pioneer is really 441 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,560 you're charting new territory. 442 00:19:55,590 --> 00:19:57,790 You're finding new ways to build something. 443 00:19:57,820 --> 00:19:59,530 Check this out. 444 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,200 By harnessing the creativity and passion 445 00:20:02,230 --> 00:20:04,500 of the gold mining pioneer. 446 00:20:04,530 --> 00:20:06,800 This was an attempt 447 00:20:06,830 --> 00:20:09,140 at capturing the fine gold with cyanide. 448 00:20:09,170 --> 00:20:11,800 Dave Turin has learned lessons to live by 449 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,570 in pursuit of his lost mines dream. 450 00:20:14,610 --> 00:20:18,310 To be a good successful gold miner, you have to innovate. 451 00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:20,450 You have to invent new things, 452 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,320 new ways, new techniques. 453 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,720 One of the biggest innovations 454 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,690 that revolutionized plaster mining was the dredge. 455 00:20:32,730 --> 00:20:35,900 Walter Johnson was the guy that perfected these dredges. 456 00:20:35,930 --> 00:20:38,730 He built over 50 of them that went to the Yukon 457 00:20:38,770 --> 00:20:42,370 and into Alaska, and what it did was it allowed 458 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,300 high volume mining. 459 00:20:44,340 --> 00:20:47,410 So it took the place of a thousand men 460 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,140 shoveling into a sluice box. 461 00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:54,080 Walter Johnson was an innovator of gold recovery. 462 00:20:54,110 --> 00:20:56,120 In the early 1900's, 463 00:20:56,150 --> 00:20:58,680 with rich deposits on the decline, 464 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,190 mining operations needed to increase the volume 465 00:21:02,220 --> 00:21:04,960 of pay dirt they could process. 466 00:21:04,990 --> 00:21:07,830 Johnson's solution, the dredge. 467 00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:10,500 Capable of shifting a thousand times 468 00:21:10,530 --> 00:21:12,570 more dirt than by hand. 469 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,140 It revitalized the industry. 470 00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:20,240 He saw a problem and he invented the dredge, 471 00:21:20,270 --> 00:21:23,240 these huge buckets would just mass excavate. 472 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,910 It really took plaster mining to the next level. 473 00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:28,550 In the 1930's, 474 00:21:28,580 --> 00:21:32,520 Alexander McRae purchased two of Johnson's dredges 475 00:21:32,550 --> 00:21:34,620 for his Alaska claims, 476 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:37,190 which over three decades earned 477 00:21:37,220 --> 00:21:40,060 more than six hundred million dollars. 478 00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:41,560 Walter Johnson 479 00:21:41,630 --> 00:21:43,900 actually reminds me a lot of Freddy Dodge, 480 00:21:43,930 --> 00:21:46,470 another guy that's very innovative. 481 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:50,370 He's got the pioneering spirit because he's never satisfied. 482 00:21:53,770 --> 00:21:56,380 Eight years ago, the Hoffman crew travels 483 00:21:56,410 --> 00:22:00,050 to the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. 484 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:01,810 We're flying over this beach 485 00:22:01,850 --> 00:22:03,950 and the guy looks down and he goes, "There's 486 00:22:03,980 --> 00:22:06,290 six billion dollars' worth of gold." 487 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,090 And I never forget it. I said, "That's great. 488 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:09,720 But what are we gonna do? Pan it by hand?" 489 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:11,890 And Freddy goes, "I got an idea." 490 00:22:11,930 --> 00:22:12,960 We're gonna test it. 491 00:22:12,990 --> 00:22:14,530 We need to run a lot of material. 492 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,730 We need to build a plant that we can actually get 493 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,130 - material through. - You're gonna build 494 00:22:18,170 --> 00:22:20,600 a wash plant on the beach? 495 00:22:20,630 --> 00:22:22,700 That's crazy. 496 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,770 We didn't have access to steel 497 00:22:26,810 --> 00:22:28,910 and wash plants, but Freddy said he could build 498 00:22:28,940 --> 00:22:31,910 a wash plant out of lumber, out of wood. 499 00:22:36,750 --> 00:22:38,120 Remember our plant last year, Big Red? 500 00:22:38,150 --> 00:22:39,220 Yup. 501 00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:40,720 Let's call this Little Fred. 502 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,760 Looking good. 503 00:22:44,790 --> 00:22:46,660 It's really coming together well. 504 00:22:46,690 --> 00:22:48,860 I've never met anybody that could build a sluice box 505 00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:50,760 out of wood in the middle of the desert, 506 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,900 in the middle of Chile. Pretty darn impressive. 507 00:22:56,540 --> 00:22:58,170 We'll pick this back end up, 508 00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:00,740 we'll get this setup at the degree we want. 509 00:23:00,770 --> 00:23:03,140 And put two more stands in middle. 510 00:23:04,340 --> 00:23:06,710 Hey, cut it, Dave. 511 00:23:06,750 --> 00:23:07,810 What do you think? 512 00:23:07,850 --> 00:23:09,320 Freddy, this looks good. 513 00:23:09,350 --> 00:23:11,550 I'm gonna tell you straight up about how this crazy idea 514 00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:12,990 but you're making me a believer. 515 00:23:13,020 --> 00:23:14,590 Thanks, Dave. 516 00:23:14,620 --> 00:23:17,220 Freddy Dodge really is a pioneer. 517 00:23:17,260 --> 00:23:19,990 He really is good at what he does. 518 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:22,290 Fire it up. 519 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,200 Here it comes. 520 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:29,970 We got water. 521 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,670 Pretty good for a makeshift sluice box. 522 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,110 - Nice job. - Yeah. Throw some dirt 523 00:23:36,140 --> 00:23:37,240 in that thing. 524 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:38,980 Freddy Dodge thinks like a piece of gold. 525 00:23:39,010 --> 00:23:41,180 That's how he knows how it's going to fall 526 00:23:41,210 --> 00:23:43,020 into a sluice box. 527 00:23:43,050 --> 00:23:45,220 I see some gold in here. See that one? 528 00:23:45,250 --> 00:23:48,450 Freddy, what he did is solve the problem 529 00:23:48,490 --> 00:23:49,620 and it worked. 530 00:23:49,660 --> 00:23:54,030 We were able to sluice the sand that was on that beach. 531 00:23:59,230 --> 00:24:02,170 With gold mining, you have to think outside 532 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:03,870 the box. And a lot of times, 533 00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:08,210 that's the difference between success and failure. 534 00:24:13,110 --> 00:24:15,280 You have to know 535 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,950 how to fix something because if you're hit 536 00:24:18,990 --> 00:24:21,250 with a problem and you don't know how to 537 00:24:21,290 --> 00:24:23,990 work around to figure out how to solve that problem, 538 00:24:24,020 --> 00:24:26,790 you're gonna fail. William Otis was... 539 00:24:26,830 --> 00:24:28,630 an amazing mechanic. 540 00:24:28,660 --> 00:24:32,300 He was an engineer at a very young age. 541 00:24:32,330 --> 00:24:33,970 In the 1830's, 542 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,040 as the pioneers opened the west of the nation, 543 00:24:37,070 --> 00:24:38,940 America expanded quickly, 544 00:24:38,970 --> 00:24:42,610 and with it the need for a railroad. 545 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,440 Twenty-two-year-old William Otis 546 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,650 sought a creative solution to the big problem 547 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,680 of clearing dirt by hand for hundreds of miles of track. 548 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,690 He was one of those guys that could 549 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,790 solve a problem by fixing and building something. 550 00:24:57,820 --> 00:24:59,660 In 1836, 551 00:24:59,690 --> 00:25:02,860 after studying the physicality of human digging, 552 00:25:02,900 --> 00:25:04,730 Otis was inspired. 553 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,670 He replicated the action in the mechanical steam shovel, 554 00:25:08,700 --> 00:25:11,840 a bucket on tracks that could move more than 555 00:25:11,870 --> 00:25:14,570 600 tons of dirt per day, 556 00:25:14,610 --> 00:25:18,080 paving the way for the modern excavator. 557 00:25:18,110 --> 00:25:20,880 Yeah. You have to be ingenious. 558 00:25:20,910 --> 00:25:23,150 Well, Nathan Clark is one of those guys, 559 00:25:23,180 --> 00:25:26,350 he's a great mechanic, he's a great technician. 560 00:25:26,390 --> 00:25:29,720 Nathan is smart enough, ingenious enough 561 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,360 to either fix that part or he'll make a part 562 00:25:32,390 --> 00:25:34,930 to make it work. 563 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:36,900 On the final day of sluicing 564 00:25:36,930 --> 00:25:39,000 during their second season of mining, 565 00:25:39,030 --> 00:25:42,400 Team Turin faces disaster. 566 00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:45,940 Oh, . Oh, . 567 00:25:45,970 --> 00:25:47,540 Nathan. Nathan, Nathan, 568 00:25:47,570 --> 00:25:49,280 - stop, stop, stop, stop. - When cold weather 569 00:25:49,310 --> 00:25:52,710 snaps the drive chain on the trammel. 570 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,480 We forced it over. 571 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,150 Almost like pan-sheared. 572 00:25:57,180 --> 00:26:00,420 it ain't good, Dave. 573 00:26:00,450 --> 00:26:03,420 People just don't understand how remote 574 00:26:03,460 --> 00:26:05,520 we are when we gold mine. 575 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:07,860 I thought by the time we get a new chain, 576 00:26:07,890 --> 00:26:10,360 winter is gonna set in and I thought it was over. 577 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,030 Nathan, 578 00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:15,000 you know, cool thinking, very methodical, 579 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,500 and he just started, you know, figuring it out. 580 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,510 Too long, too small. 581 00:26:25,550 --> 00:26:27,550 Might got something here though. 582 00:26:32,690 --> 00:26:34,890 That's got to be about the right length, dude. 583 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,960 We got something. 584 00:26:40,330 --> 00:26:43,130 Hey, Dave, I think this will work. 585 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,000 That bar in the back of the haul truck 586 00:26:45,030 --> 00:26:46,930 is the same width as that chain. 587 00:26:46,970 --> 00:26:48,600 - No way. - Yeah. 588 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,070 I think it's gonna fit. 589 00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:52,810 Come on, baby. 590 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:54,610 Boom. Look at that. 591 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,610 - Ice come out the end of it. - Look at there. 592 00:27:00,010 --> 00:27:02,110 Yeah. I got a lot of respect for Nathan, 593 00:27:02,150 --> 00:27:04,220 he can fix just about anything 594 00:27:04,250 --> 00:27:07,490 and he's a hard worker. 595 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:10,320 He proved himself and saved the season. 596 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:12,990 And he's got the pioneer spirit. 597 00:27:13,030 --> 00:27:14,190 Coming up. 598 00:27:14,230 --> 00:27:15,830 Throughout history, 599 00:27:15,860 --> 00:27:17,600 you find people that are deceptive. 600 00:27:17,630 --> 00:27:19,060 Lessons in honor. 601 00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:22,200 They caught up to him and, uh, there was a gunfight. 602 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,170 And trust. 603 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,240 They're all pointing at me right now. 604 00:27:26,270 --> 00:27:27,610 You got to find out what the is going on. 605 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,040 - I'm looking, man. - If that would've 606 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,910 happen maybe a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago, 607 00:27:32,950 --> 00:27:35,810 it could have got kind of ugly. 608 00:27:38,650 --> 00:27:39,820 Watch your step. 609 00:27:39,850 --> 00:27:43,160 Dave Turin is revealing his top 10 rules. 610 00:27:43,190 --> 00:27:45,860 Learn from the success and failure 611 00:27:45,890 --> 00:27:47,660 of gold mining trailblazers. 612 00:27:47,690 --> 00:27:49,900 I think the pioneers, 613 00:27:49,930 --> 00:27:51,600 to a certain extent, 614 00:27:51,630 --> 00:27:53,570 did some things alone but... 615 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,730 once you start mining, you got to have 616 00:27:55,770 --> 00:27:58,070 somebody you can trust. 617 00:28:08,750 --> 00:28:10,880 We have to be able to trust each other. 618 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:15,620 Trust is something that is gained and it's worked on. 619 00:28:15,660 --> 00:28:18,590 And so with our team, 620 00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:21,260 I trust every one of them. 621 00:28:21,290 --> 00:28:24,400 But miners are a tough bunch and if you 622 00:28:24,430 --> 00:28:27,830 screw them over, they're gonna come after you. 623 00:28:27,870 --> 00:28:29,770 The gold rush era 624 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,070 was marred by suspicion and paranoia. 625 00:28:33,110 --> 00:28:35,940 Those suspected of stealing gold 626 00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:38,480 would face tough vigilante justice 627 00:28:38,510 --> 00:28:42,050 often without evidence or trial. 628 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:43,720 Sometimes when you're mining 629 00:28:43,750 --> 00:28:45,980 and you're getting gold 630 00:28:46,050 --> 00:28:49,220 and then all of a sudden the gold goes away, 631 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:50,320 right? 632 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,460 Well, first thing you think is where is the gold? 633 00:28:54,490 --> 00:28:56,430 Did somebody put it in their back pocket? 634 00:28:56,460 --> 00:29:00,930 I've seen examples of that and it can tear a crew apart. 635 00:29:00,970 --> 00:29:04,700 I mean, it can destroy relationships and friendships. 636 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:09,780 Two years ago, 637 00:29:09,810 --> 00:29:13,750 Team Turin's faith in each other is put to the test. 638 00:29:13,780 --> 00:29:15,410 - We need some good news. - Oh. I don't have any 639 00:29:15,450 --> 00:29:17,820 good news, Dave. 640 00:29:17,850 --> 00:29:21,550 That's it. Two ounces. 641 00:29:21,590 --> 00:29:22,820 That's it? 642 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:23,860 That's it. 643 00:29:23,890 --> 00:29:26,930 After several days of seeing good gold 644 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,860 in the sluice box, the tally isn't reflected 645 00:29:29,900 --> 00:29:31,360 in the gold room. 646 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,470 Whatever we're putting in is going somewhere. 647 00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:38,000 I don't know if it's getting taken or lost or... 648 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,710 We got to figure this out. 649 00:29:42,310 --> 00:29:43,910 Everybody was nervous. 650 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:46,350 There was certain amount of paranoia 651 00:29:46,380 --> 00:29:48,080 in the crew because 652 00:29:48,110 --> 00:29:52,150 we were looking at every aspect. 653 00:29:52,190 --> 00:29:53,790 Not on my side. There ain't nothing 654 00:29:53,820 --> 00:29:55,720 getting lost here. There's on it. 655 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,120 We got to find out what the is going on. 656 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,360 I'm looking, man. I don't know either. 657 00:29:59,390 --> 00:30:02,560 You have to ask questions and we never accused anybody, 658 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,660 we never pointed fingers. 659 00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:07,530 But for me, I thought it was a great exercise 660 00:30:07,570 --> 00:30:09,970 in checking our process. 661 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,440 Last place for me is the gold room. 662 00:30:13,470 --> 00:30:14,670 I've been with Jess. 663 00:30:14,710 --> 00:30:16,810 He seems to be doing a good job. 664 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,010 Maybe your... You can see something that I didn't. 665 00:30:20,050 --> 00:30:23,220 - I'll give it a look. - All right. Thanks, Jason. 666 00:30:23,250 --> 00:30:24,980 Jesse took it real hard 667 00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:28,090 because we looked at the gold room 668 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,760 because that's the last place 669 00:30:30,790 --> 00:30:33,390 and sometimes the last place you look, 670 00:30:33,430 --> 00:30:37,700 you know, you're thinking that's where it disappeared. 671 00:30:37,730 --> 00:30:39,830 I can't point fingers at anybody 672 00:30:39,870 --> 00:30:42,300 and they're all pointing at me right now. 673 00:30:42,340 --> 00:30:44,940 I'm not stealing the stuff or taking it 674 00:30:44,970 --> 00:30:46,870 but where is it going? 675 00:30:48,980 --> 00:30:51,410 The hell is all this? 676 00:30:52,950 --> 00:30:54,610 Oh, . 677 00:30:55,950 --> 00:30:57,520 See all that lead? 678 00:30:57,550 --> 00:31:00,890 It's plugging what should be an open screen. 679 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,990 Holy . Oh. That's all gold. 680 00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:07,830 That is all gold. Jess, look, the lead shot. 681 00:31:07,860 --> 00:31:09,800 Wow, that explains it. 682 00:31:09,830 --> 00:31:12,530 - Look at all the gold. - Oh, my God. 683 00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:15,130 I could kiss you, brother. 684 00:31:15,170 --> 00:31:17,540 You don't know the relief. 685 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,710 Yeah. I'm happy. 686 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,240 If that would've happened maybe a hundred 687 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:24,540 or a hundred and fifty years ago, 688 00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:27,450 it could have got kind of ugly. 689 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:28,950 In the end, it all worked out. 690 00:31:28,980 --> 00:31:30,820 Nobody was wrongfully accused 691 00:31:30,850 --> 00:31:33,490 and our trust grew. 692 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,860 It ended up being a good situation. 693 00:31:41,030 --> 00:31:43,460 I think it's really important to have integrity. 694 00:31:43,500 --> 00:31:46,370 It's not just in gold mining, it's life. 695 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:48,600 Your word is what you stand on. 696 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,570 Your word goes before you. 697 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,210 And if you cannot have integrity, 698 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,040 you're not honest, I don't want to work with you. 699 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,750 Sometimes there's not a lot of integrity 700 00:32:05,790 --> 00:32:09,490 when it comes to people involved in gold mining. 701 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,660 There was a seedy character named Soapy Smith 702 00:32:11,690 --> 00:32:13,130 in Skagway, Alaska. 703 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,990 And so Skagway is the way that the miners 704 00:32:16,030 --> 00:32:17,330 got to the Yukon. 705 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,430 Well, when there's that many people that are so obsessed 706 00:32:20,470 --> 00:32:23,640 with getting gold it's... They're kind of easy targets. 707 00:32:23,670 --> 00:32:25,770 In the late 1800's, 708 00:32:25,810 --> 00:32:28,810 frontier con man, Jefferson "Soapy" Smith 709 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,510 earned his nickname by running a rigged raffle 710 00:32:31,540 --> 00:32:33,310 using bars of soap 711 00:32:33,350 --> 00:32:36,010 that he claimed contained money. 712 00:32:36,050 --> 00:32:38,350 Soapy also rigged card games 713 00:32:38,380 --> 00:32:41,720 that even setup an elaborate fake telegraph line, 714 00:32:41,750 --> 00:32:45,020 cheating miners who wanted to contact home. 715 00:32:45,060 --> 00:32:48,560 Soapy was very deceptive. He had many, 716 00:32:48,630 --> 00:32:51,400 uh, ways of screwing miners out of their money. 717 00:32:51,430 --> 00:32:53,530 And eventually, there was a gunfight 718 00:32:53,570 --> 00:32:56,300 in Juneau, Alaska and they killed Soapy Smith. 719 00:32:56,340 --> 00:32:58,540 Guys like Soapy Smith, 720 00:32:58,570 --> 00:33:01,510 they were bad business. 721 00:33:01,540 --> 00:33:04,140 They took a lot of miners' money. 722 00:33:04,180 --> 00:33:06,380 Probably cost some of those guys their life 723 00:33:06,410 --> 00:33:10,920 and it's unfortunate because it still happens today. 724 00:33:12,220 --> 00:33:13,420 Three years ago, 725 00:33:13,450 --> 00:33:17,490 Dave travels to Willow Creek Mine in Nevada. 726 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,520 - Hey, Chris. - Dave. 727 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:20,930 Good to see you. 728 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:23,630 To meet with a miner at Rock Bottom, 729 00:33:23,660 --> 00:33:27,230 North Carolina-born Chris Taylor. 730 00:33:27,270 --> 00:33:30,800 Willow Creek was discovered back in 1924 731 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,040 when old cowboy was up on top of this range right here 732 00:33:34,070 --> 00:33:37,040 and found a ninety-ounce nugget, eight inches wide, 733 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:38,280 eighteen inches long. 734 00:33:38,310 --> 00:33:39,480 If there's this kind of gold in here, 735 00:33:39,510 --> 00:33:40,810 why haven't you been mining it? 736 00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:43,050 Our business partner stole twenty million dollars 737 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,550 from about a hundred different families. 738 00:33:46,590 --> 00:33:48,320 Chris, that's a lot of money. 739 00:33:48,350 --> 00:33:49,960 Can we ever get that back? 740 00:33:49,990 --> 00:33:51,360 Uh, I'm not... 741 00:33:51,390 --> 00:33:53,630 I don't have to try to make up the 20 million 742 00:33:53,660 --> 00:33:55,660 but there's, you know, 743 00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:57,830 my dad got taken about 800,000. 744 00:33:57,860 --> 00:34:00,230 Damn, Chris, that's rough. 745 00:34:00,270 --> 00:34:03,070 I feel for you, I feel for your family. 746 00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:06,000 It's probably destroyed a lot out of your dad's retirement. 747 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:08,010 Retirement? 748 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:09,440 - Well, that's... - He's struggling to stay 749 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:11,180 in his house. 750 00:34:11,210 --> 00:34:13,150 Yeah. I love that about Chris. 751 00:34:13,180 --> 00:34:14,310 He showed integrity 752 00:34:14,350 --> 00:34:18,380 because he wanted to turn it around. 753 00:34:18,420 --> 00:34:21,220 He wanted to, you know, help his dad out. 754 00:34:21,250 --> 00:34:23,420 The day that I pay my dad's house off, 755 00:34:23,460 --> 00:34:27,430 it will be worth a lot more than my struggle right now. 756 00:34:27,460 --> 00:34:30,300 You know, I didn't end up with any ground out 757 00:34:30,330 --> 00:34:33,030 of that but what I gained 758 00:34:33,070 --> 00:34:37,540 was worth way more than the gold. 759 00:34:37,570 --> 00:34:39,600 Would you consider coming to work for me 760 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:41,710 if I find some good ground? 761 00:34:41,740 --> 00:34:44,080 - Really? - I'm serious, man. 762 00:34:44,110 --> 00:34:46,550 You know, he got screwed over 763 00:34:46,580 --> 00:34:48,310 but Chris worked his ass off 764 00:34:48,350 --> 00:34:50,520 trying to make that gold mine work. 765 00:34:50,550 --> 00:34:52,580 And that's what I love about Chris. 766 00:34:52,620 --> 00:34:55,550 He's a man of integrity and principle. 767 00:34:57,720 --> 00:34:59,190 Coming up. 768 00:34:59,230 --> 00:35:01,560 If they had quit, there's a lot of gold 769 00:35:01,590 --> 00:35:02,560 that wouldn't have been found. 770 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,760 Dave delivers his number one rule. 771 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,270 That's not only a lesson in gold mining 772 00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:11,000 but it's a lesson in life. 773 00:35:12,970 --> 00:35:15,270 The future of mining is called virtual mining 774 00:35:15,310 --> 00:35:18,410 where there is no person sitting in the cab. 775 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:22,250 So we may be mining with robots. 776 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,820 A Dave Turin mining robot would probably 777 00:35:24,850 --> 00:35:28,050 not have very much hair, you know, an angry robot 778 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,590 that can't talk without moving his hands. 779 00:35:30,620 --> 00:35:32,490 He'll work hard though. 780 00:35:32,530 --> 00:35:34,830 Okay. Shut it down. 781 00:35:34,860 --> 00:35:37,060 This is it. We're done. 782 00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:38,430 Scene over. 783 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:46,340 Dave Turin has a passion 784 00:35:46,370 --> 00:35:49,070 for gold mining trailblazers. 785 00:35:49,110 --> 00:35:51,410 Keep your heads up and let's find some gold. 786 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:54,650 And is creating a rulebook for success. 787 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:56,150 This is what I'm looking for. 788 00:35:56,180 --> 00:35:57,750 - Let's go find some nuggets. - All right. 789 00:35:57,780 --> 00:36:01,150 Gleaning clues from legends of mining history. 790 00:36:01,190 --> 00:36:03,760 He just kept reinvesting his money 791 00:36:03,790 --> 00:36:06,160 because he wanted to be more successful. 792 00:36:06,190 --> 00:36:08,390 And modern day masters. 793 00:36:08,430 --> 00:36:11,660 You're going to build a wash plant on the beach? 794 00:36:11,700 --> 00:36:13,130 That's crazy. 795 00:36:13,170 --> 00:36:16,640 Now, in his make or break third mining season. 796 00:36:16,670 --> 00:36:19,450 This is our year. This is our destiny. 797 00:36:19,470 --> 00:36:21,610 Dave puts his number one rule 798 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,540 for pioneering success into practice. 799 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:31,280 There's a lot of things that I believe 800 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,990 are in that playbook. You know, one of them is 801 00:36:34,020 --> 00:36:36,760 perseverance. You can't give up. 802 00:36:36,790 --> 00:36:40,460 That's not only a lesson in gold mining 803 00:36:40,490 --> 00:36:42,390 but it's a lesson in life. 804 00:36:42,430 --> 00:36:45,700 In the midst of adversity, in the midst of bad weather 805 00:36:45,730 --> 00:36:48,500 and, you know, dangerous things, we get up, 806 00:36:48,530 --> 00:36:51,200 put our boots on just like the old timers did. 807 00:37:00,650 --> 00:37:03,520 If they had quit, went back home, 808 00:37:03,550 --> 00:37:05,650 there's a lot of gold that wouldn't have been found. 809 00:37:05,690 --> 00:37:07,720 There's a lot of cities and civilizations 810 00:37:07,750 --> 00:37:10,090 that would not have thrived. 811 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,290 So there's a guy named Reginald Stanley 812 00:37:12,330 --> 00:37:15,460 that came to the area around Montana called 813 00:37:15,530 --> 00:37:16,560 Helena, Montana. 814 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,600 And he came a little bit late to the party. 815 00:37:19,630 --> 00:37:22,730 When Reginald Stanley and his crew of Georgians 816 00:37:22,770 --> 00:37:25,700 arrived in Montana in the 1860's, 817 00:37:25,740 --> 00:37:28,770 most of the prime claims on Grasshopper Creek 818 00:37:28,810 --> 00:37:31,440 and Alder Gulch had been taken. 819 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,550 Reginald kept looking and kept thinking that 820 00:37:34,580 --> 00:37:36,280 they're gonna find the next strike a gold 821 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:38,720 and they were just about done. 822 00:37:38,750 --> 00:37:41,190 They'd worked their butts off all year 823 00:37:41,220 --> 00:37:42,920 and now finally they're like 824 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:45,060 let's give it one more chance. 825 00:37:45,090 --> 00:37:47,630 After several hopeless prospects 826 00:37:47,660 --> 00:37:49,960 and on the brink of admitting defeat, 827 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,300 Reginald and his team discovered 828 00:37:52,330 --> 00:37:54,530 Last Chance Gulch. 829 00:37:54,570 --> 00:37:57,170 Their perseverance paid off. 830 00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,740 The discovery went on to produce 831 00:37:59,770 --> 00:38:03,980 more than 35 million dollars in gold. 832 00:38:04,010 --> 00:38:05,880 They hit it. They hit it big. 833 00:38:05,950 --> 00:38:09,880 The thing that makes him so appealing to me is the fact 834 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,480 that he never gave up. 835 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:13,950 I can relate to Reginald Stanley 836 00:38:13,990 --> 00:38:16,690 that relief of finally hitting it. 837 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:20,360 You know, this year we went to Arizona 838 00:38:20,390 --> 00:38:22,360 with KC and it was a bust. 839 00:38:22,430 --> 00:38:25,660 That's why the gold left 840 00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:27,600 - because it's too dangerous. - Oh, yeah. 841 00:38:27,630 --> 00:38:30,240 Jason and Jesse were looking in Montana. 842 00:38:30,270 --> 00:38:32,640 It didn't work out. I mean, there wasn't enough gold. 843 00:38:32,670 --> 00:38:34,940 Not even a microdot. 844 00:38:34,970 --> 00:38:37,280 But we've kept going. We didn't give up. 845 00:38:37,310 --> 00:38:40,450 We learned from our mistakes and we kept moving on. 846 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,620 And finally we get an opportunity to go to Colorado 847 00:38:43,650 --> 00:38:45,420 and, you know, we're thinking this is it. 848 00:38:45,450 --> 00:38:48,520 It was our last chance. 849 00:38:48,550 --> 00:38:51,160 After striking out across the country, 850 00:38:51,190 --> 00:38:54,530 Dave is on a Hail Mary mission to Colorado 851 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:58,000 and the site of a historic mine. 852 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:01,930 It's kind of exciting, first bucket 853 00:39:01,970 --> 00:39:04,170 and hopefully we find virgin ground 854 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,270 with a lot of gold in it. 855 00:39:07,870 --> 00:39:09,240 Son of a gun. 856 00:39:11,940 --> 00:39:13,110 I think it's tailings. 857 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,980 So I think this hole is no go. 858 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:21,320 So we prospected in Colorado 859 00:39:21,350 --> 00:39:23,290 for two or three days straight. 860 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:25,860 How is it going, Dave? 861 00:39:25,890 --> 00:39:27,960 Is the gold matching what it would need to be 862 00:39:27,990 --> 00:39:29,030 for that depth? 863 00:39:29,060 --> 00:39:31,860 I don't think so, Jason. 864 00:39:31,930 --> 00:39:32,760 Yeah. 865 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:35,770 And we really were done. 866 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:38,900 There's nothing there worth looking at. 867 00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:40,610 They're so damn small. 868 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:42,570 We're out of luck, we're out of time. 869 00:39:42,610 --> 00:39:46,380 We just happen to see, you know, a deep valley 870 00:39:46,410 --> 00:39:47,780 and it was over at the hummocks. 871 00:39:47,810 --> 00:39:50,580 I'm off to the spots that Dave was talking about. 872 00:39:50,620 --> 00:39:53,890 And we were like let's give it one more shot 873 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:55,890 at this. 874 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,660 This is our last chance at any season. 875 00:39:58,690 --> 00:40:01,160 This is do or die right now. 876 00:40:01,190 --> 00:40:03,560 All right. Let me grab a sample, just drop your bucket, 877 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:05,400 I'll shovel in there. 878 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:13,470 Dave and I need to find something. 879 00:40:13,510 --> 00:40:14,610 Something. 880 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,850 - Jason. - Hello? 881 00:40:24,650 --> 00:40:27,190 Whoo! Okay. I'm on my way. 882 00:40:27,220 --> 00:40:29,920 It's 11th hour and we found it. 883 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:31,860 Oh, thank you, Lord. 884 00:40:31,890 --> 00:40:34,530 That literally is the best pan I've ever had 885 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:36,230 in the lower 48 states. 886 00:40:36,260 --> 00:40:37,900 Damn it, Dave. 887 00:40:37,930 --> 00:40:39,900 That proves that you just never give up 888 00:40:39,930 --> 00:40:42,400 because Jason and I could've packed it up 889 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:43,740 and said there's no gold there. 890 00:40:43,770 --> 00:40:46,240 And instead, we just kept trying 891 00:40:46,270 --> 00:40:49,310 and kept looking. And that was our last chance. 892 00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:51,210 Similar to Reginald Stanley, 893 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:54,350 that was our last chance at having a season 894 00:40:54,380 --> 00:40:56,080 and being successful. 895 00:40:57,820 --> 00:41:00,590 So with my experience, those are the rules 896 00:41:00,620 --> 00:41:01,850 that we have to live by. 897 00:41:01,890 --> 00:41:04,860 And it's similar to what the old-timers have taught us. 898 00:41:04,890 --> 00:41:06,060 You had to be innovative. 899 00:41:06,090 --> 00:41:08,690 You had to stick with it and that's how we're 900 00:41:08,730 --> 00:41:10,960 going to be successful moving forward. 901 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,670 I think we're on the precipice of having a great year. 902 00:41:14,700 --> 00:41:16,870 We've got all of the right pieces in place. 903 00:41:16,900 --> 00:41:20,270 And I just feel like it boils down to having a crew 904 00:41:20,310 --> 00:41:23,440 that does have this pioneering spirit, that has 905 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,950 the knowledge and the wisdom and the experience to take it. 906 00:41:26,980 --> 00:41:30,380 If there's gold in the ground, we're gonna get it. 906 00:41:31,305 --> 00:42:31,306