"Gold Rush" Up on Nugget Creek

1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,074 2 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,790 [Parker] It's kind of a perfect storm. 3 00:00:25,870 --> 00:00:28,070 I'm out and I've work to do. 4 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,230 High cost and short amount of time to do it. 5 00:00:31,310 --> 00:00:32,830 It's not ideal. 6 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:34,510 Uh... 7 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,670 But that's the hand we're dealt. 8 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,070 And we're gonna play it. 9 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,710 [narrator] Now in his 12th year as a mine boss, 10 00:00:44,790 --> 00:00:46,870 27-year-old Parker Schnabel 11 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,870 is betting his crew can pull off an epic feat. 12 00:00:50,950 --> 00:00:56,070 Mine more Klondike ground than ever before, 90 acres, 13 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,830 before his water license runs out at the end of the year. 14 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:03,350 [Parker] It's a big year of sluicing. 15 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,510 30% or 40% more than ever before. 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,350 Not just a little bit. A lot 17 00:01:07,430 --> 00:01:10,950 And all of this has to be do by the end of the year. 18 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,910 [narrator] Seven weeks into the season, 19 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,270 Parker's one working wash plant, Big Red, 20 00:01:21,350 --> 00:01:24,830 has delivered 1,344 ounces. 21 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,630 $2.4 million of gold. 22 00:01:28,710 --> 00:01:33,550 Now, with over half the 90 acre airstrip strippe 23 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,870 Parker needs to get his second wash plant, 24 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:37,830 Sluicifer, up and running. 25 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,510 [Parker] It all comes down to getting two plants running 26 00:01:43,590 --> 00:01:48,470 and needing to really push through as much of this ground as we can. 27 00:01:48,550 --> 00:01:51,910 I'm gonna just talk to Mitc about all this stuff 28 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,030 and make sure that they're on track. 29 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,190 [narrator] To get both plants running, 30 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,790 Parker turns to foreman Mitch Blaschke. 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,270 -[Mitch] How's it going? -Good, how are you? 32 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:04,350 [Mitch] Oh, not too bad. 33 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,390 Trying to make some headway here. 34 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,110 Getting two plants up and going... 35 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,390 This is a critical move for the year, right? 36 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,110 I'm gonna go over to Fairbanks, so I'm not gonna be here. 37 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,350 Do you feel comfortable about where you're at? 38 00:02:19,430 --> 00:02:22,270 Big Red's doing a good job down there, but we're falling behind 39 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,030 on getting through the square footage we need to 40 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:25,830 -without two plants going. -Yeah. 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:29,630 When you get back hopefully we've got, 42 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,350 uh, wash plant pad done with Sluicifer sitting there. 43 00:02:33,430 --> 00:02:34,430 Two plants going. 44 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,100 Two plants banging. 45 00:02:37,180 --> 00:02:39,390 -All right, see ya, man. -Sounds good, man. Have a good trip. 46 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,670 [narrator] Parker's leaving to get the wheels in motion 47 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,390 on the Alaska claim he plans to open in just weeks. 48 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,510 Mitch, is left with five day to get Sluicifer running. 49 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:55,150 You know, approaching the middle of summer, pretty soon here, 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:56,870 the days are gonna start getting shorter. 51 00:02:56,940 --> 00:03:01,110 So each day it's just clicking by faster and faster. 52 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,790 We need to have Sluicifer on that new wash plant pad. 53 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,230 [narrator] To hit Parker's target, 54 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,030 Mitch plans to drag Sluicife onto a massive 30 foot high pad. 55 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,310 Then, install the super stacker 56 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,590 to feed pay dirt up to the t of the 18 foot high plant. 57 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,150 Where it will be washed, cleaned of its gold, 58 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,110 and the worthless tailings can fall to the ground out of the way, 59 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,230 making them easier to remove 60 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,230 [Mitch] All righty, she's all latched up. 61 00:03:46,310 --> 00:03:49,710 -Shall we? -To the top of the mountain, let's go. 62 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,270 [narrator] First step, the 45 ton wash plant 63 00:03:59,350 --> 00:04:03,870 must be dragged up the pads steep 15 degree slope. 64 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:05,790 [Mitch] She's gonna start getting heavy. 65 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,310 Sluicifer is just getting ready to crest over 66 00:04:20,390 --> 00:04:23,190 this little bit of ramp then we'll be up on the top 67 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:31,790 This is definitely sketchy. 68 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:36,310 Take 'er nice and easy. 69 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,630 Be careful, you're right at the end right there. 70 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,710 That's it. Right there. We are right on the money. 71 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,710 I'd say our first experimen with Sluicifer for the year went pretty good. 72 00:04:50,830 --> 00:04:51,910 Yeah, there ya go. 73 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,230 [narrator] Before they can fire up 74 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,350 mechanic, Alec Kelly, runs final tests 75 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,990 on the 120 foot long super stacker. 76 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,550 The only conveyor capable of reaching the high setup. 77 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,470 Got the generator running. 78 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,350 Just gonna hit "go" on the hydraulics here, extend the stinger out, 79 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,110 check all the rollers, this, and that. 80 00:05:17,190 --> 00:05:21,110 Once I deem it's all good, tell the boys it's all good to get hauled out. 81 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,430 We got no time to waste here, right? 82 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,350 Oh, yeah. We're gonna hit the building over there. 83 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,310 Whoo! There we go, max extension. 84 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,110 Let's raise the conveyor. 85 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,390 Incline, 13.5 degrees. 86 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,270 This is why they call it the super stacker, like, 87 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,350 they're not joking, this thing's massive. 88 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,030 Fifteen and a half degrees. 89 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:01,830 Oh, boy. 90 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:04,750 Seventeen degrees. 91 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:06,350 [loud bang] 92 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,590 -[loud bang] -Oh, [bleep]! 93 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:14,630 We are coming down. 94 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,430 Oh, boy! 95 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,030 [beep]. 96 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,030 Get some spill pads here. 97 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,110 [bleep] thing. 98 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,910 Oh, man. Oh, [bleep]. 99 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,230 Oh, my [bleep] [bleep]. 100 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,100 This is serious. 101 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,990 And you see right here, it blew the plug right out of the cylinder. 102 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,390 [narrator] The plug holds the hydraulic oil 103 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,270 that regulates the lifting cylinder. 104 00:07:03,350 --> 00:07:06,310 As Alec attempted to raise the stacker, 105 00:07:06,390 --> 00:07:10,430 the top of the plug that seals the cylinder broke free. 106 00:07:10,510 --> 00:07:12,750 'Causing a catastrophic leak 107 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,630 All that's left of the plug is it's thread still in the cylinder. 108 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,110 How's she going, buddy? 109 00:07:31,110 --> 00:07:33,870 We got Sluicifer down in the cut, we're ready for this thing. 110 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:35,950 We're not ready to give it to ya. 111 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:37,950 Right now, this thing is [bleep]. 112 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,790 Top half of the plug blew right out of the fitting there. 113 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:49,390 [Mitch] Well, that's not good. 114 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:52,850 On many levels. 115 00:07:54,880 --> 00:08:00,310 I mean, I can guarantee you that they're not gonna have one in town. 116 00:08:00,470 --> 00:08:02,070 Well... 117 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,310 Pretty sure I got some of these in my service truck at home. 118 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,150 Oh, yeah. Keep 'em warm in the garage there? 119 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,110 [Mitch] But not here. 120 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:12,820 [sighs wearily] 121 00:08:12,820 --> 00:08:15,470 [Mitch] It's not the big pieces that shut you down. 122 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,750 -It's the 10 cent items you don't have. -Yeah. 123 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,510 Well, we can't wash any rocks with Sluicifer without this conveyor. 124 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:39,190 [Fred] We haven't seen any gold all season. 125 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,030 It's tough. 126 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:43,730 And we aren't slicing yet 127 00:08:43,740 --> 00:08:48,110 and the guys are starting to wonder is this season gonna be successful. 128 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:52,750 [narrator] Deep in the Yukon wildernes 129 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,510 ex-Green Beret medic, Fred Lewis, 130 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,950 is 7 weeks into his season, 131 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,590 but still hasn't mined a single ounce of gold. 132 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,110 We have a lot of money going out, zero money coming in. 133 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,790 If we can't get some gold coming in really soon 134 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,310 we may not make it. 135 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,870 [narrator] Fred's wash plan is ready to run. 136 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:19,750 And he's identified ground at the Freedom Cut, 137 00:09:19,830 --> 00:09:21,910 which he thinks could hold the source 138 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,590 to all the gold at California Creek. 139 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,750 If he can hit this motherloa 140 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,150 Fred could make up for the lost weeks of mining 141 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:34,550 Freedom Cut is what we're calling it 142 00:09:34,630 --> 00:09:37,510 because it's gonna make us a more self-sustainable team. 143 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,790 We've got probably 20,000 yards of high-grade pay to come in that cut. 144 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,390 And it should carry us to the end of the season. 145 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,110 But really, the key is that big Komatsu dozer. 146 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:55,030 [narrator] Fred's waiting o delivery of the 53 ton doze he purchased 6 weeks ago 147 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:56,710 to strip the Freedom Cut. 148 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:58,950 The hell is that? 149 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:00,310 [helicopter whirring] 150 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,030 Flying pretty low. 151 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:15,510 He's coming back this way. 152 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,310 Whoa! He's coming in. 153 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,190 That looks like Tony Beets to me. 154 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,150 Hey, Tony. 155 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,590 Good. How you doing? 156 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,430 That was a pretty good landing, not gonna lie. 157 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,310 Yeah, right to the claim. 158 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:08,110 That really sucks. That pretty much puts us at a frigging halt. 159 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,550 All right, I appreciate it. 160 00:11:12,630 --> 00:11:16,950 [narrator] Last week, Fred made a deal with Tony to haul his dozer. 161 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,510 But a road ban on heavy load close to his claim 162 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,910 has left it stranded in Dawson. 163 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:28,230 [Fred] Soon as that road ban's lifted 164 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,830 the Komatsu's gonna push that road to the Freedom Cut 165 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,230 in less than a day and we're gonna be mining within a week. 166 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,830 [narrator] With no date for the road ban lifting, 167 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,990 Fred's dream of mining the Freedom Cut, and hittin his 500 ounce target, 168 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:45,550 is fading fast. 169 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:50,860 Think we're up to 100 days at this point. 170 00:11:50,940 --> 00:11:54,150 We predict, until Mother Nature tells us to get the [bleep] outta here. 171 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:56,510 So is there anything you can think of? 172 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,350 This is what we mined out last season, yep. 173 00:12:04,430 --> 00:12:06,310 We still got some pay around this corner. 174 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,750 Yeah, but it's covered in 30 feet of overburden. 175 00:12:22,830 --> 00:12:24,190 We don't have the right equipment. 176 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:41,990 [Fred] Yep, yep, you're right. 177 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,750 [narrator] Tony's plan to kick-start Fred's season 178 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,150 put the gold rich Freedom Cut on hold. 179 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,830 And mine the lower-grade pay dirt from last year's cu 180 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,230 that is finally accessible after the ice melt. 181 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,430 But with no dozer it could still take weeks to strip. 182 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:08,110 [Fred] Enough. 183 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:12,030 Yeah. No, you're right. 184 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:14,590 No. 185 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:18,190 No, I agree. 186 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:19,550 Hey, well, I appreciate it, Tony. 187 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:21,630 Yep. I'll get back to work. 188 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,670 Tony has suggested pulling pay from last season, 189 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:54,510 which is great low bearing fruit. 190 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,430 However, it's under 30 feet of overburden. 191 00:13:57,510 --> 00:13:59,670 And we don't have the right equipment. 192 00:13:59,710 --> 00:14:02,110 [narrator] Faced with that much overburden, 193 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,550 without a dozer, Fred is still dead in the water. 194 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,990 We've gotta figure out some way to pull some pay to get this thing running. 195 00:14:13,070 --> 00:14:17,190 And, um, yeah, I just don't know. I don't know how we're gonna do it. 196 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,430 [Brandon] We've had a pretty rough start to the season. 197 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:37,630 We gotta start making some progress. 198 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,510 I'm just hoping we can make enough money to keep paying our bills back home. 199 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:50,190 [narrator] Across California Creek from Fred Lewis' claim 200 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:55,310 brother's Brandon and Brady Clayton are also chasing 500 ounces of gold. 201 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,510 They need to help pay off a crippling family debt. 202 00:15:01,590 --> 00:15:06,790 But so far they've brought in just 0.3 ounces of gold. 203 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,030 With no spare cash they're operating hand-to-mouth 204 00:15:11,110 --> 00:15:13,070 with a team of just three. 205 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:18,190 And relying on a homemade wash plant built from scrap steel. 206 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:21,580 [Brady] It's a lot of weigh on our shoulder. 207 00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:25,150 We need every [bleep] oun we can get. 208 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,950 I'm nervous, there's always that doubt in your mind. 209 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,350 [narrator] Half a mile downstream from their plant 210 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,430 the brothers are banking on hitting a bonanza at Golden Acres. 211 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,750 But first, they need to buil an access road. 212 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,230 Golden Acres is kind of the holy grail. 213 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:59,750 But it's just gonna be a bit of a struggle to get the money to build the road. 214 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:01,310 [Brandon] With fuel prices so high 215 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,590 we reckon it's gonna take about 50 grand in fuel 216 00:16:03,670 --> 00:16:06,190 and wages to get us to Golden Acres. 217 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,110 We just don't have that kinda cash laying around. 218 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,230 So we need every speck of go we can get 219 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,310 to fund getting to Golden Acres. 220 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,150 [narrator] The Clayton brothers 221 00:16:18,150 --> 00:16:22,630 planned on pulling a quick 50 grand in gold from near their wash plant. 222 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,230 [Brandon] We'd like to see 3/4 of an ounce per 100. 223 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,710 0.3 of an ounce. 224 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,230 [narrator] But their first r was a bust. 225 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,190 [Brandon] Well, back to the drawing board. 226 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,390 Kinda just lost for words. 227 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:54,630 [narrator] To get their seas back on track, the brothers need to find gold 228 00:16:54,710 --> 00:16:57,950 to pay for the road to Golden Acres. 229 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:02,030 [Brady] We gotta kinda mine as we go, it's not idea 230 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:04,190 But without Golden Acres 231 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,790 we might as well pack 'er up and go home, our season's done. 232 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,710 [Brandon] The only thing at this point to do is to go prospecting 233 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:13,710 we'll see what we can find. 234 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,990 If we're gonna get to 500 ounces this season, 235 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,950 that's the only way we're can do it. 236 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:20,300 Kinda out of options. 237 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,750 We're gonna go down to some virgin ground 238 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,390 dig some holes, do some pans, 239 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,510 and see what kinda numbers we can come up with. 240 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:34,230 Let's dig right here. 241 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:36,310 Yeah. 242 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:47,630 The creek would've came around the corner 243 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,110 and would've rubbed on the bank. 244 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,070 So any gold that that creek was carrying 245 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,150 would've hit the bank and deposited right there. 246 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,790 [narrator] A third of a mil downstream from their wash plant, 247 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:02,430 towards Golden Acres, is an S-bend. 248 00:18:02,510 --> 00:18:06,910 When fast flowing water carrying gold hits the inside bend 249 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,390 it slows, causing the heavy gold to sink 250 00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:12,190 and settle on the creek bed 251 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,710 But is it enough to keep the brothers in business? 252 00:18:18,790 --> 00:18:21,710 We'll take a quick pan and see what it has to offer. 253 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,510 We need some kinda results today. 254 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,390 -One right there, see? -Yeah, there's a few there. Yeah. 255 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,110 -[Brandon] Couple flakes in there. -Yep 256 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,510 Well, Brady, it ain't much, but it's there. 257 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,190 Hopefully there's enough gold in the box to keep buying fuel 258 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,750 and keep going ahead. 259 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:08,390 [Brady] Won't know till we run it. 260 00:19:08,390 --> 00:19:11,550 -Let's open it up and start hauling it to the plant. -Okay. 261 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,390 -Well, let's go get the iron. -Yep. 262 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,830 [narrator] The Clayton brothers are taking a huge gamble 263 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,950 on running this unproven S-bend pay dirt. 264 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,790 If it doesn't deliver the go they need to build to road to Golden Acres, 265 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,310 their season could be over. 266 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:40,050 [Brady] Feels good to be bac in the machine, 267 00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:42,310 beats the hell out of fixing [bleep], I can tell ya that. 268 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,350 Well, this is it. Finally seeing some gravel here. 269 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,910 It's a good sight. Once you see gravel, you're gonna see gold. 270 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,950 Well, that's it Brandon. This is the first load of S-bend cut pay dirt. 271 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:08,590 [Brandon] Awesome, buddy. 272 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,590 Well, let's fire that [bleep] thing up. 273 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,110 [Warren] It's exciting to be finally back. 274 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,470 and, you know, the trommel's turning. 275 00:20:34,550 --> 00:20:37,790 So I'm excited, man, for the season. 276 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,310 Finally back sluicing. Finally getting some gold. 277 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,390 It's one step closer to Golden Acres. 278 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,790 [narrator] At Parker Schnabel's airstrip claim, 279 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,910 Big Red sluices Easy Street Cut pay dirt. 280 00:21:05,990 --> 00:21:09,990 While partner in crime, Sluicifer, lies dormant. 281 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:15,590 Waiting for foreman, Mitch Blaschke, to find a needle in a haystack. 282 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:22,110 [Mitch] Right now, everything's held up because of one little plug. 283 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:26,950 [narrator] The super stacke needed to feed the plant gold rich pay 284 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,950 has had a major oil leak shutting it down. 285 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:33,190 All because of one small par 286 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,790 a quarter inch plug. 287 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,830 [Mitch] So we had to start thinking outside the box. 288 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,350 Well, this truck, one of our old rock trucks, 289 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,230 we ended up just parting it out. 290 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,630 Using parts and pieces on different trucks and, uh, 291 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,550 hopefully we can find something here to get our conveyor back together. 292 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,150 Well, there we go. What have got there? 293 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:57,470 [Alec] There's a lot of parts missing off this truck. 294 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,270 [Mitch] Oh, yeah. We've used a lot. 295 00:21:59,270 --> 00:22:02,870 This is, I mean, probably what we're after, just a smaller size of that. 296 00:22:02,950 --> 00:22:06,390 -[Alec] Mmm-hmm. -And that's the problem, it has to be tiny. 297 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:09,950 [Alec] Looks kinda like a little plug there. 298 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,150 [Mitch] I hope so. 299 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,110 -Oh, that's way too big. -[Alec] Yeah. 300 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:21,430 [Mitch] It's not looking good. 301 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,830 All right. Well, we gotta keep looking. 302 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:27,510 [Alec] We got any other machines around here? 303 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,390 Tell ya what's got a lot of hydraulics on it, 304 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,270 -is that drill. -[Alec] Oh, yeah. 305 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,710 [Mitch] And it's getting a new engine put in it right now, so... 306 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,710 It's the Yukon, if it stops moving, it becomes parts. 307 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,630 It's about a million dollar drill here. 308 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:48,710 Let's look over there. 309 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:51,830 [Alec] Holy smokes! 310 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,070 Oh, yeah. We've got some stuff in here. 311 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:55,710 [Mitch] But, is it the right stuff? 312 00:22:55,790 --> 00:22:57,790 -We just need a smaller version of that. -[Alec chuckles] 313 00:22:57,870 --> 00:23:00,190 -Well, everything's bigger. -[Mitch] Yeah, it's all bigger. 314 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:02,550 [sighs] Could take a look at that. 315 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:12,390 The bottom of this lift cylinder for the mast, it has a little 316 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,630 plug in it, and maybe it's the right one. 317 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,390 [Alec] Oh, come on. That's looking small enough. 318 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:23,550 [Mitch] Oh, buddy. 319 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:26,790 Let's go try it out. 320 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:42,710 Come on, baby. 321 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:48,350 Dude, that's it. 322 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:50,150 Wow. 323 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:53,030 Oh, yeah. 324 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,270 Buddy. 325 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,550 [laughs] I like it. 326 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,110 [narrator] The super-stacker fixed, 327 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,590 the crew must now race to get Sluicifer running pa 328 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,150 before Parker returns from Alaska. 329 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:15,710 [Mitch] We got a lot of work to do here, 330 00:24:15,790 --> 00:24:17,390 and we're running out of days already. 331 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,030 Here we go. 332 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,830 We have the super-stacker heading down to the cut. 333 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:36,310 This is the last piece of the puzzle. 334 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,870 [narrator] Parker's crew are nearly ready 335 00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:45,870 to fire up Sluicifer. 336 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,150 First they have to connect the 120-foot super-stacker. 337 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,310 [man] Getting right there, Mitch. 338 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:57,630 Here we go, the moment of truth. Is it gonna lift? 339 00:24:57,710 --> 00:24:59,710 And is it gonna reach the pre-wash? 340 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,470 Oh, yeah. Keep it going up. 341 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,950 We are just going to clear the pre-wash. 342 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:09,910 And... 343 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:11,830 [machine stops] 344 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,390 -Looking good! -Oh, yeah. 345 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,310 [Mitch] Whoo! Big moment. 346 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:22,670 This is what we've been waiting for 347 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,390 and working on all day, buddy. Let's do it! 348 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,550 [machine rumbles] 349 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,590 Here we go, my first scoop of 2022 season 350 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,990 in Sluicifer. Game's on. 351 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,470 This is what it's gonna take if we got any shot 352 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:43,870 of getting through all this ground. 353 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,470 It's two wash plants running. 354 00:25:45,550 --> 00:25:48,310 So, it feels good. 355 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,030 -How's it going? -You're washing rocks. 356 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:08,870 Are you guys happy with that set-up? 357 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:10,030 [Mitch] Yeah, seems to be working pretty good. 358 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:11,550 [Parker] Sweet. 359 00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:13,070 Long as the end result is some money. 360 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:14,790 What it's all about. 361 00:26:14,870 --> 00:26:17,870 Well, we're sure spending it like we're making it. 362 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,110 [Mitch] How things been going in Alaska? 363 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:20,670 [Parker] Good. 364 00:26:20,750 --> 00:26:23,750 Just me and a couple others. Three of us. 365 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,670 But we'll just start stripping and build a plant pad 366 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,430 and we'll get some stuff sorted out. 367 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,350 [Mitch] You're thinking a wash-plant set-up over there 368 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:32,830 -in a week and a half or so? -Couple weeks. 369 00:26:32,910 --> 00:26:34,190 All right. 370 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,190 I'm gonna go work on the training plan. 371 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:38,550 [Mitch] We all need training? 372 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,550 [narrator] For the first tim this season, 373 00:26:43,630 --> 00:26:46,910 Parker has both his wash plants running pay dirt 374 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:48,510 and is one step closer 375 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,150 to mining out the 90-acre air strip, 376 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,110 and opening up his Alaska operation. 377 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:56,910 [Parker] Boys have wash plants sorted out, 378 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,310 so with Sluicifer up and running, 379 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:00,990 we'll be staying on schedule here. 380 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,350 [Fred] It's nice to have the King of Klondike 381 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:17,310 land his helicopter out here to come and check us out. 382 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,710 But the news he gave us was pretty freakin' dismal. 383 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,150 With that road ban being extended, you know, 384 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,390 I've got no idea when the dozer's gonna arrive, 385 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,510 so I really have to act now. 386 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:31,390 [narrator] To kickstart his season, 387 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,630 Fred plans to put his Freedom Cut on hold, 388 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:36,270 take Tony's advice, 389 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,990 and mine the now accessible ground 390 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,510 left over from last season. 391 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,390 But to get down to pay, he needs more muscle. 392 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,870 [Fred] Right now I'm deep in the hole on cost. 393 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,230 I need to sluice ASAP. 394 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,750 [narrator] And he only has one place to turn. 395 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,310 What's up, guys? 396 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:05,430 -Hi Fred. -How's it going? 397 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,710 I don't know if you noticed the helicopter. 398 00:28:07,790 --> 00:28:09,110 Oh, that flew over? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 399 00:28:09,190 --> 00:28:10,430 -[Fred] That was Tony. -Oh, okay. 400 00:28:10,510 --> 00:28:12,830 He kinda pointed me towards an idea. 401 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,030 -Yeah. -Wash the pay that I had from last season 402 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,150 that I couldn't quite access 403 00:28:16,230 --> 00:28:18,830 and get us on to some gold quicker. 404 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,670 -Are you using your dozer? -No, it's just sitting. 405 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,910 Okay, so here's what I can do. 406 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:25,590 If you can let me borrow that, 407 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:27,870 I'll get it back to you with the same amount of fuel 408 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,470 and I'll let you use my dozer once it gets here 409 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:30,630 for the same amount of time. 410 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,190 -Kinda desperate. -Right. Yeah. 411 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:39,950 Okay. 412 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,190 [Fred] When would you need it back by? 413 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:44,910 We'll be stripping tomorrow morning. 414 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:46,870 Okay, I can have it back to you by the a.m. before you start. 415 00:28:46,950 --> 00:28:48,370 Yeah, that works out good. 416 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:49,790 [Fred] I appreciate it. I know you probably need it. 417 00:28:49,870 --> 00:28:52,070 -Yeah, no worries, man. -I really appreciate it. 418 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,310 -Sure. Yeah, go have at her. -Thanks. 419 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:54,910 -See you later. -Yeah. 420 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:01,830 We're gonna get moving on this overburden 421 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:03,910 with the dozer from Brandon, 422 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:05,310 and hopefully we're gonna get to pay 423 00:29:05,390 --> 00:29:08,030 a lot sooner than we thought. So I'm pretty stoked. 424 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,710 'Cause we're gonna need the money. 425 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,310 [narrator] Fred puts Buzz Legault, 426 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:20,990 the most experienced miner on his crew... 427 00:29:21,070 --> 00:29:22,790 Buckle up for safety. 428 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:26,150 [narrator] ...in charge of removing 30 feet of overburden 429 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:27,630 in just 12 hours. 430 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:35,590 Oo-ee! 431 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:38,430 Hopefully it'll get us some access to some pay, we can get moving. 432 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,110 There he goes. Whoo! 433 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,310 All right, well, we'll give him some time. 434 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,630 He knows what he's doing. If he can't do it, nobody can. 435 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,310 [Buzz] Oh, man. 436 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:20,780 He's stuck. 437 00:30:20,780 --> 00:30:23,910 [narrator] Summer temperatur of over 80 degrees 438 00:30:23,990 --> 00:30:27,550 have melted ice covering the overburden. 439 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:29,310 [bleeping] 440 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,590 [narrator] Turning the groun into a swampy mess. 441 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,710 I'm beginning to regret this decision already. 442 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,310 [machine turns off] 443 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:54,900 Just [bleep] off. 444 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,590 [narrator] Buzz is stuck in a quagmire of overburden 445 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,390 in a dozer Fred must return to the Claytons 446 00:31:04,470 --> 00:31:05,750 in just 12 hours. 447 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,750 [Buzz] This is just a little D8, 448 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,550 so it definitely gets defeated 449 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:16,390 in this sloppy muck really easily. 450 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,470 Back in Alberta, you use D8 Cats to push snow around. 451 00:31:20,550 --> 00:31:24,990 [narrator] The D8's 325-horsepower engine, 452 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,390 half the strength of a top-of-the-range SUV, 453 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,350 isn't enough for Buzz to break out of the mud. 454 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:34,590 [Fred] You don't want to spend most of the time 455 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,670 you've already wasted trying to get it unstuck. 456 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,630 Every second Buzz is stuck in that dozer, 457 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,790 it's less time we get to use it. 458 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,230 We only have it today, so we gotta get it out, 459 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,390 we gotta get it back in operation, 460 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,150 we gotta get it moving dirt ASAP. 461 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,390 Should just be able to back up and pull it right out. Ready? 462 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,350 [engine revving] 463 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:12,830 [bang] 464 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:25,790 Come on, come on, come on. 465 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,750 Don't drive, pull. Pull, pull! 466 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,550 [Fred] He wants me to use the boom. 467 00:32:34,630 --> 00:32:35,820 We're gonna go ahead and try 468 00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:38,670 the hydraulic system instead of the tracks. 469 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,310 [narrator] Fred can't get enough traction to haul Buzz out, 470 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,590 but the excavator's powerful boom hydraulics 471 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,310 can deliver over 30,000 pounds of force 472 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:01,310 [Fred] Now she's coming. 473 00:33:01,390 --> 00:33:04,630 [Buzz] There we [bleep] go, chief! 474 00:33:04,710 --> 00:33:07,590 That's the shiznit right there. 475 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,790 All right, Buzz is out. 476 00:33:09,870 --> 00:33:11,310 Get him back to work. 477 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,310 There we go. 478 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:17,910 [narrator] After a two-hour delay, 479 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,750 Buzz now has just 10 hours to hit pay 480 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,670 before he must return the dozer. 481 00:33:24,750 --> 00:33:27,230 [bleep] man, the way this chick is going, 482 00:33:27,310 --> 00:33:29,390 we'll be down here the rest of the night. 483 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,630 But hey, whatever it takes. 484 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,390 Let's just get it done. 485 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:55,390 Right now we're just loading some pay 486 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:56,750 out of the S-bend cut here. 487 00:33:58,480 --> 00:33:59,830 We don't have a whole lot of working room, 488 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:01,100 it's pretty narrow. 489 00:34:01,100 --> 00:34:05,190 But it's not gonna stop us. We'll find a way. 490 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:07,590 [narrator] The Clayton brothers 491 00:34:07,590 --> 00:34:12,950 need to find $50,000 to fund a road to Golden Acr 492 00:34:13,030 --> 00:34:15,230 where they're gambling there's enough gold 493 00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:17,310 to hit 500 ounces. 494 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,750 Look who's here. 495 00:34:30,830 --> 00:34:32,470 [Brady] It's about time, eh? 496 00:34:32,550 --> 00:34:34,630 [narrator] With only a minimal crew, 497 00:34:34,710 --> 00:34:37,230 the brothers have called in reinforcements. 498 00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:41,110 -Hi guys, how was the drive? -Good, babe. Yeah. 499 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,070 [narrator] Brandon's girlfriend Riley.. 500 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,390 [Brady] Hi J. 501 00:34:44,390 --> 00:34:46,750 [narrator] ...and their kid sister Janae. 502 00:34:46,830 --> 00:34:47,910 -Hi JJ. -Hi Brandon. 503 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:49,670 -How are you? -Good. 504 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:51,390 We could definitely use your help today. 505 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:52,790 -Are you ready? -Mmm-hmm. 506 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,510 [Janae] I love driving this thing. 507 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,950 I just love being up here, and working for the family. 508 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,950 It's a passion, that's for sure. 509 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:20,550 [narrator] 16-year-old Janae first job - 510 00:35:20,590 --> 00:35:23,510 truck S-bend pay dirt to the plant. 511 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,830 [Janae] I just finished school. 512 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,110 I'm here to hopefully save the family business 513 00:35:31,190 --> 00:35:32,690 with my brothers. 514 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,310 Brandon said I was the best rock truck driver there is, 515 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,630 so now I have to live up to that standard. 516 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,230 I didn't really learn how to drive the rock truck 517 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:45,790 Brandon kind of just threw me in here 518 00:35:45,870 --> 00:35:48,990 and showed me the controls and then said, "Get going." 519 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:51,390 [Brandon] It's not typical to have 520 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:52,910 a 16-year-old working for us 521 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,670 but she helps out just as much as we all do. 522 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,790 She has an eagerness, and she's always learning. 523 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,430 We're all in it together her 524 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,590 I'm very proud of my brothers. 525 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:09,470 It's just amazing how they made that thing. 526 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:11,070 [narrator] It took the brothers three years 527 00:36:11,150 --> 00:36:14,830 to build their wash plant, Dirt Devil, from scratch. 528 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,190 Oh, what the [bleep]? They're piling up. 529 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,110 [bleep] me. 530 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,190 [machine stops] 531 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:42,470 Some rocks that I missed got in the hopper 532 00:36:42,510 --> 00:36:43,910 and [bleep] piled it up. 533 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,510 [bleep] me. Trommel's down. 534 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,510 I'm gonna see what the [bleep] is going on. 535 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,550 -[bleep] going on, bud? -She's [bleep] packed. 536 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,510 Yeah, we don't have anything to filter out 537 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,670 these big [bleep], you know? 538 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:07,350 [Brady] Yeah, I just gotta be more careful. 539 00:37:07,430 --> 00:37:09,030 It's not your fault, you know. 540 00:37:09,030 --> 00:37:11,230 [Brady] It's just like, feeding it this way, you know, I... 541 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:12,630 You gotta keep it consistent. 542 00:37:12,710 --> 00:37:14,310 You don't really have time to watch... 543 00:37:14,390 --> 00:37:16,030 -Yeah. -...for rocks and [bleep]. 544 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,590 You can't really pick through every little piece, right? 545 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:21,830 You got a number of fair-sized rocks. 546 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,950 They're all kinda interlocked and blocked your opening. 547 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:26,070 [rocks rattling] 548 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:28,230 -It's like Tetris in here. -Yeah. 549 00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:29,790 Probably should have cleaned 550 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,350 the hopper out at the start of the year. 551 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,190 [narrator] Two big boulders 552 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,430 have clogged the hopper feeder. 553 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,750 To get back on the gold, 554 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,030 Brady and Warren have no option 555 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,110 but to pry the rocks out by hand. 556 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:53,030 [Warren] Yes. 557 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:57,310 [groans] 558 00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:01,750 [Brady] We're hitting here. 559 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,430 [Warren] Well, it's tempting to jump in the trommel 560 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:07,030 to pour it down again. 561 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:09,830 Oh [bleep]. 562 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:11,390 I'll pry it. 563 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,350 [Warren] Yeah, pry that bottom end. 564 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:19,790 Yeah, buddy. She's going. 565 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:23,670 Hey, one less. 566 00:38:23,750 --> 00:38:25,590 -One down... -One to go. 567 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:26,860 We got a big one there, 568 00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:28,510 -but if we lean her over... -Should go down. 569 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:30,030 She should go, yeah. 570 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,710 Beautiful. [bleep] yeah, man. 571 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:35,950 Let's fire her up. 572 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,190 [machine whirring] 573 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,950 Those rocks are kind of a kryptonite 574 00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,430 to the plant right now. 575 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:04,750 'Cause that's just downtime that we don't need. 576 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:07,030 Yeah, that one's on me. 577 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:09,750 We gotta get this road built quick, 578 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,230 and get some dirt running through the Dirt Devil ther 579 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:14,750 so we can get some money in our pocket 580 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,790 and keep pouring it into the Golden Acres. 581 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:27,550 [Mike] I don't like that new stuff. 582 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:29,790 [narrator] There's one piec of equipment 583 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:34,390 that Tony Beets gets throug more than any other. 584 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,270 My dad doesn't wreck his trucks on purpose, 585 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,590 they just don't build them tough as he is. 586 00:39:38,670 --> 00:39:43,590 [narrator] This is Tony's 15th SUV in 10 years. 587 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:54,230 [whistles] 588 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:14,630 [Mike] How's this gonna affect your season? 589 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:18,070 [Mike laughs] 590 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,590 [Tony laughs] 591 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:33,900 [Buzz] Been a long night, ma 592 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:38,390 [narrator] Fred Lewis has borrowed the Claytons' dozer 593 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:40,910 To return it in time, 594 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,230 Buzz has worked through the night to get down to pay 595 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,510 [Fred] Hey, hey, hey. You look tired. 596 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:55,870 -You worked the whole night? -Hell yeah. 597 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,390 -Gonna kill yourself. -Yeah. 598 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,510 Given freakin' loss of months in winter this year. 599 00:41:01,590 --> 00:41:02,710 [Fred] Yeah, that is true. 600 00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:04,030 I just don't want you burning out. 601 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:05,350 This is pay, right? 602 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:08,190 [Fred] Well, dude, you did good. 603 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:09,430 Why don't you go get some rest? 604 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:12,070 I'm just gonna walk up and do a couple pans, 605 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:13,150 see how it looks. 606 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,110 [bleep] yeah, dude. Good work. 607 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,110 So, here's the pay that Buzz exposed. 608 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:29,470 We're seeing our larger rocks here. 609 00:41:29,550 --> 00:41:31,150 Nice and weathered. 610 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:32,430 And our fractured bedrock. 611 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:34,310 So this is the part we place the test. 612 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,430 We know there's gold here from last season, 613 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,230 but we wanna make sure there's enough to mine 614 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:40,590 so we don't waste time and money 615 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,310 moving all this dirt for nothing. 616 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:50,790 [narrator] If there's enough gold, 617 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,590 it could mean Fred can finally get sluicin 618 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:55,990 and start to make some money 619 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,150 [Fred] That's what we're looking for right there. 620 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:10,030 There's probably 25 to 30 colors in there. 621 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:13,350 Probably closer now to 100, which is absolutely fantastic. 622 00:42:13,430 --> 00:42:15,790 I was not expecting to see this much gold. 623 00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:19,710 This is a huge sigh of relief. 624 00:42:19,790 --> 00:42:21,670 We got money in the bank right there. 625 00:42:21,750 --> 00:42:24,310 We can pull it out, we can cash it in, we can keep mining. 626 00:42:24,390 --> 00:42:25,510 And we are laughing. 627 00:42:25,580 --> 00:42:27,910 This right here is exactly what we needed. 628 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:29,590 Exactly what we needed. 629 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:50,070 [Brandon] All right, guys, here's the week. 630 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,390 -Right here. -Yeah. 631 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,030 [narrator] To fund their mov to Golden Acres, 632 00:42:56,110 --> 00:42:57,950 the Clayton brothers are betting big 633 00:42:58,070 --> 00:43:00,910 on unproven S-bend pay dirt 634 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:02,510 [Brandon] I think for us to keep going, 635 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:03,870 we need to see 10 ounces. 636 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:06,590 Otherwise we might as well just call it, so... 637 00:43:06,670 --> 00:43:08,910 There's quite a bit of diesel fuel went into this. 638 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:11,070 -Mmm-hmm. That's right. -Lot of man hours. 639 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:12,230 [Brandon] I don't know about you guys, 640 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:13,900 but my heart's a little racing, 641 00:43:13,900 --> 00:43:16,310 so I think we should just weigh it out and get it over with. 642 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:18,750 [Warren] Yeah. I'm anxious to see this, too. 643 00:43:18,830 --> 00:43:21,830 Okay guys. Here we go. 644 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:33,830 One, two, three, four, five. 645 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,830 Six, seven, eight, 646 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,710 nine, 10. 647 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:47,750 11.59. 648 00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,950 [narrator] Worth over $20,00 649 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:57,910 nearly half the gold they ne to get down to Golden Acres 650 00:43:57,920 --> 00:43:59,470 Let's go! 651 00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:01,590 [Warren] Thank God, man. Thank God, guys. 652 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,270 We made it. That's a close call though, man. 653 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:05,830 We gotta start somewhere. 654 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:07,910 -So... -[Warren] Oh, man. 655 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:09,270 [Brandon] At the end of the day we got the gold 656 00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:10,350 sitting in front of us. 657 00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:11,630 We know we're still mining. 658 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,070 What else could we want? 659 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:15,030 I mean, that's not bad, like, 660 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,230 an ounce a hundred? 661 00:44:17,240 --> 00:44:18,910 So I think if we keep that going, 662 00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:20,910 we'll be down to Golden Acres in no time. 663 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:22,310 Couldn't have done it 664 00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:24,030 without the world's greatest rock truck driver. 665 00:44:24,070 --> 00:44:25,870 Good job, Janae. 666 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,430 Permanent job. 667 00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,870 [Warren] All right guys, let's get at it. 668 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,990 [Brandon] We had a tough start to the season, but I think we're happy. 669 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,790 The gold's here. We're gonna keep powering through it. 670 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,150 [Brady] I'm sure dad's gonna be kinda shocked, 671 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:42,910 getting a good call for once, not a... 672 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:44,990 not a call about we're breaking down, 673 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:46,470 or we need parts, or something like that. 674 00:44:46,550 --> 00:44:48,230 It's kind of a big relief, 675 00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:51,030 and this is a good step in the right direction. 676 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:06,590 [narrator] At Indian River, 677 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:10,230 Parker finally has two wash plants running. 678 00:45:10,310 --> 00:45:13,230 But not long enough for Sluicifer to deliver 679 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:14,790 for this week's gold weigh. 680 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:17,430 [Parker] Hey. 681 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,710 Stay out of there. 682 00:45:20,790 --> 00:45:22,470 The next thing you hear is [imitates splash]. 683 00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:24,110 [laughing] 684 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:26,950 -Well, Doumitt, back to work for you. -Yeah. 685 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,470 So, what happened with this conveyor? 686 00:45:30,550 --> 00:45:31,830 [chuckling] 687 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,030 That plug, just the top of it blew right out. 688 00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:36,030 I mean, it was just tiny. 689 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:37,750 And the drill's sitting up there, 690 00:45:37,790 --> 00:45:39,150 they're doing that engine swap on it. 691 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:41,150 -[Parker] Liam's drill. -And, like... 692 00:45:41,230 --> 00:45:42,930 -Oh, no. -It's parked in our yard, right? 693 00:45:42,940 --> 00:45:45,510 -Don't park your personal vehicle down in the yard. -[Mitch] No. 694 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:47,510 [Chris] Okay, you wanna see what kind of gold we got? 695 00:45:47,590 --> 00:45:49,750 [narrator] Parker's other wash plant, 696 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:55,150 Big Red, has been sluicing Easy Street Cut pay all week 697 00:45:56,920 --> 00:46:00,350 [Mitch] All right Chris, what have you got for us? 698 00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:02,110 [Chris] So, here we go. 699 00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:07,150 30... 700 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:09,390 50... 701 00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:11,750 80... 702 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:13,590 100. 703 00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:15,750 120. 704 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,950 -140. -Keep her going. 705 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,390 -[empty tub clanging] -162.85. 706 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,630 [narrator] Worth over $290,000. 707 00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,510 [Chris] For the season, we just broke 1,500. 708 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,710 1,506.6 ounces. 709 00:46:42,240 --> 00:46:44,990 Last year at this time, 710 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,990 -we were at 863 ounces. -[Mitch] Wow. 711 00:46:48,070 --> 00:46:51,630 But you gotta remember, we also started sluicing, 712 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:55,470 what, almost two weeks earlier this year? 713 00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:57,150 -[Tyson] Well, that's the idea. -Yeah. 714 00:46:57,230 --> 00:46:58,910 [Mitch] We gotta keep the push on it. 715 00:46:58,990 --> 00:47:00,910 [Chris] 1,500 ounces this early in the season. 716 00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:03,110 That's not bad at all, guys. 717 00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:07,070 -[Parker] We're almost double what we were last year. -Exactly. 718 00:47:07,150 --> 00:47:09,350 We're on track for a record season. 719 00:47:09,430 --> 00:47:10,390 Whether we do it or not, 720 00:47:10,470 --> 00:47:12,110 we won't know until we start 721 00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,430 hogging some of that other ground, but... 722 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:17,150 [Mitch] It's only been one plant up until 723 00:47:17,230 --> 00:47:18,990 your Big Red did a hell of a job, 724 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:20,630 Sluicifer's got going. 725 00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:24,830 Things have to work right. We're gonna [bleep] fight. 726 00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:27,630 It's gonna make or break the season. 727 00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:30,870 No pressure. 728 00:47:30,950 --> 00:47:32,470 -No pressure, but... -[laughing] 729 00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:34,110 No pressure, but, uh... 730 00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:35,310 [Tyson] Don't [bleep] it up. 731 00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:37,070 Hey, I found a pressure relief somewhere. 732 00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:38,790 [Mitch] Oh yeah, Alex is trying 733 00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:40,630 to get rid of pressure for us. 734 00:47:40,670 --> 00:47:43,030 I thought you didn't need that much pressure. 735 00:47:43,110 --> 00:47:46,150 [Parker] Alex is our designated pressure-relief man. 736 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:47,430 Okay, let's bag this stuff up. 737 00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:48,950 Cool, man. 738 00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,110 -Thanks Chris. Nice work. -You betcha. 739 00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,550 -Thanks, Alex. -Yeah, no problem. 740 00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:55,790 -Have a good one, Doumitt. -You too, bud. 740 00:47:56,305 --> 00:48:56,483 Support us and become VIP member to remove all ads from www.OpenSubtitles.org