10x15 - Fortune Favors the Bold

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
on this "gold rush"...

Easy! Shut it down!

...with the end of the season
in sight,

Parker schnabel
turns a corner.

Man, I never would've thought
it was going to be

Anything like the fight
that it's been.

Good job!

Finally on good ground,

Rick ness makes up
for lost time.

A few seconds here and there
add up to a lot.

Then I would say it's time
to turn the thing way
the [bleep] up.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
and tony beets' hunt for gold

Takes him way off
the beaten path.

♪♪

♪♪

It's been a fight the whole way.whoo-hoo.

Yeah, buddy.[ Both laugh ]

At parker schnabel's
indian river claim,

The crew feeds the final bucket
of pay from the cluster cut

Into wash plant big red.

Parker: we started this season
with a massive goal

And a lot of ground
to chew through.

To be honest, I'm not sure that
we're going to be able to do it.

Narrator: with just seven weeks
left in the season,

Parker still has
three more cuts to mine.

We've never failed
a season goal yet,

And we're not about
to start right now.

Narrator:
to hit his goal, parker cannot
afford any downtime,

But he's spread himself thin.

He's running a second wash plant

On ground leased
from tony beets,

And now he needs to move big red
to his next cut fast.

Look, I know we've
got a lot to do,

But we're three-quarters
of the way through the season

And only halfway
through this ground.

We've got to make this
plant move happen fast.

We've got night shift
coming,

So we need to have this plant
ready for them to sluice.

We'll do what we can here, but,
man, if one thing goes wrong,

It's probably not
going to happen.

What are you thinking, shaner,
on putting all that
back together?

It's going to be a battle.

Narrator: the next cut to mine
is the crater cut.

Last week, parker's crew
got down to pay

And built a new pad
for the wash plant.

Now they need to move big red
800 feet on to the pad,

Where it will sluice back into
the mined-out cluster cut.

Let's do it.
Let's go.

Okay! Let's go!

If they pull it off, it will be
the fastest big red move

Parker's crew has ever done.

Oh, it feels nice to get
the [bleep] out of here

And get moved on
to the last part,

And the nicest thing is,
we got all hands on deck today,

So we got a lot of extra people
helping out,

And things are going
a lot quicker.

He's just going to give me
a little extra push,

And then we'll get
this hopper feeder out of here.

♪♪

Narrator:
running short on time,

Shane and ty take the initiative
to move the folding conveyor,

Known as a radial stacker,
into position.

Ty: it looks pretty good.
Going through school,

Nobody teaches you
how to move a wash plant.

You just do it.

We don't really know
what we're doing,

But we're doing it anyways.

Narrator: brennan drags
the shaker deck on its skids

Using the 700 excavator.

Nice and easy, buddy.
Nice and easy.

Let's get it over there
as quick as we can, now.

We're just running
out of time here.

You need --
yeah, you're square.

You look good.
Keep walking that way.

But you might want to swing
over this way a little bit.

You're right on the edge,
man.

Whoa! Left a bit.

Got it!

Anything that happens
right now

And big red is down, you know,
that's $2,000 an hour,

So it starts adding up
real quick.

Nice and easy.

Nice and easy, man.

Narrator: big red has safely
made it to the pad,

But shane and ty's attempt
to get ahead has backfired.

Hey, brennan,
you need to come up here.

Every time brennan and I
set up a wash plant,

We start with the shaker deck,
and we do that for a reason

Because everything is based
off the shaker deck.

We only have this much
on each side of the [bleep] --

The radial stacker --
to fit inside of the prewash.

That's why we do things
the way we do.

Let's go
have a talk here.

We wanted to get the plant here
first, but you guys
were quicker.

I mean, there's nothing wrong
with getting it done

As fast as we can here,

But we might be
getting it done too quick.

And it's a lot easier
to move a conveyor

Than it is a shaker deck.

That's why you start
with the shaker deck.

You get it level.
You get it happy.

Then you put your radial in.

Narrator:
now brennan must line up the
much-harder-to-move shaker deck

With the conveyor

Instead of the other way around.

Brennan:
it's not like we're not grateful
for having these guys.

They bust their asses.

Just, mitch and I found a system
that works good

Because we've done it
100 times now over the years.

Did something
get [bleep] up?

No point in getting excited.
We'll fix whatever
we need to do.

♪♪

Powering out, mitch.

Hope she fits.

It's going to be close.

♪♪

I think we're in trouble.

This thing is off
a [bleep] ton.

I'm [bleep] frustrated
right now.

This is what happens when you go
and set an unrealistic goal

And then somebody just says,
"hey, deal with it."

We're trying our best here,
but, at the end of the day,

I don't know if it's
going to be enough.

♪♪

Narrator:
klondike kingpin tony beets
is falling behind schedule.

Last week, kevin's shaker deck
pulled in just 13 ounces,

The lowest haul of the season
out of all three kids.

♪♪

Kevin:
I mean, it wasn't a great start
to the season,

And just getting the shaker deck
going has been a pain in my ass.

Now it's my turn to catch up.

Narrator:
kevin has struggled to sluice
the clay-rich material

From the mega cut
with his shaker deck plant.

Kevin: the shaker deck really
doesn't work well with that.

It doesn't mix it enough.

We basically need a trommel,
like mike.

Narrator:
younger brother mike's trommel

Breaks up the clay
and is able to produce gold.

Kevin modified his shaker deck
by retrofitting a spray bar

To try and break down
the clumpy pay.

But last week's cleanup

Indicates
there's still a problem.

Kevin:
let's see if there's anything
in the [bleep] box.

None of the same [bleep]
as mike's plant.

We could [bleep] see it
that [bleep] day.

But it's a lot better
than it [bleep] was.

But we should have a lot more
gold in the box

At this [bleep] point.

It's not like we haven't been
running the [bleep] yardage.

Honestly, not terribly
[bleep] great.

The pay is still
pretty [bleep] gooey.

Though, it's not running
with the [bleep]

The we're running in there
has a lot of clay in it,

And it's no [bleep] wonder
we're not getting a lot
of gold in the box.

Half the [bleep] material is
going off the tailings conveyor.

Narrator: if they can't get
the shaker deck working,

All the time and money
they invested

Will be for nothing.

[ Sighs ] we can have a look,
see if we can pull pay
from somewhere else.

Spent all the time and effort
to get it to this point.

Got to [bleep]
try something.

Yeah.

Maybe.

Yep.

Yep, yep.

See you.

♪♪

In a last-ditch effort
to keep kevin's plant running,

They've decided to look for pay
dirt with a better consistency.

So tony is heading out
of the mega cut

To a two-acre piece of ground
known as the gully cut.

Ruby loads the first
of the gully cut pay

Into kevin's shaker deck.

Ruby: tony is giving kevin
one more chance.

Hopefully we can feed him
some material

That works better
for this plant.

Kevin:
tony brought in some new pay.

We're hoping it's going to be
less gooey than the stuff
we were running before,

Won't clog up the shaker deck.

So, we're going to run it,
see what the [bleep] happens.

♪♪

This had better work.

What the [bleep]

♪♪

♪♪

Ah [bleep]

♪♪

Narrator:
at paradise hill, tony beets'
search for gravely pay dirt

To run through
kevin's shaker deck

Has ended in disaster.

His 360 excavator is sinking
deep into the gully cut.

If they can't save
the massive machine,

It'll cost tony $370,000,

Over 15% of his gold
so far this season.

So I wonder
what's going on.

Tony's wife, minnie,
and kevin's girlfriend, faith,

Arrive at the gully cut.

Holy [bleep]
oh, my [bleep]

Tony, you sunk her good,
eh?

Well, for someone
who never gets stuck,

He did a good job.

I can't believe he did that.
It's like, "wow."

Your sea sucks, and your island
is a little expensive.

Uh-huh.

Righty-o.

No, that's not
[bleep] gonna work.

Narrator: tony's plan?

Use a powerful water cannon,
known as a monitor,

To blast mud away
from the machine...

...bring in the 18-ton oshkosh,

And use its two
27-1/2-ton winches

To pull the excavator free.

[ Whistles ]

We're going to move the monitor,
hook up some hoses,

And we're going to blow
a lot of this [bleep] muck
out of the way.

♪♪

We're using the monitor
to blow all this black muck out

Because it's the easiest way
to get [bleep] rid
of that [bleep]

Narrator: the monitor blasts
more than nine gallons of water

Per second.

♪♪

♪♪

Len brings in
the 18-ton oshkosh.

♪♪

♪♪

[Bleep]
the cable broke.

Yep.

Monica brings in
the only machine the beets own

That's more powerful
than the oshkosh...

...the d10 dozer.

Monica:
that's more like it.

They attach 2-inch
wash plant cables.

This time, lisa will drive
the d10, tony will direct.

And monica will attempt to drive
out in the submerged excavator.

Let's go.

I'm trying.

[ Grunts ]

♪♪

[Bleep] nailed it.

All you needed was the [bleep]
brigade on it, huh?

Yeah.

We got lucky, eh?[ Radio chatter ]

Tony and kevin
inspect the damage.

If mud has flooded the engine,
a replacement will cost $50,000.

Oh, it's not that bad.

The crew has rescued
the excavator,

And now they will find out
if the new pay dirt

Can save kevin's season.

[Bleep] you.

No [bleep]

Sounds good. Okay.

If you see any wet ground,
stay away from it.

♪♪

Rick:
well, mining is not easy,

But this area
is definitely a lot harder

Than the indian river,
where I was last year.

Narrator:
on duncan creek, despite his
extremely disappointing season,

Rick ness is determined
to turn a profit.

I mean, there is still a chance
that I can do better

Than break even.

Narrator:
rick only has 265 ounces.

He needs 500
to save his business

And pay out his crew.

Last week, freddy dodge
gave rick a confidence boost

When he identified
high-grade pay dirt.

That's the first smile
I've seen on your face.

If this ground holds out like
it is and there's enough of it

And we can run enough of it,
you know,

Not only can I get everybody
a nice bonus to go home with,

Might even have a little bit
extra for myself.

That'd be nice.

Narrator: rick has enlisted
gene cheeseman,

The best dirt mover
in the north,

To help get his crew
up to speed.

♪♪

Gene: I've just been watching
zee here,

Just trying to see
how things are going

And get him
to be more efficient.

The whole goal of this is,

To buy this wash plant,
was to run 300 yards.

I only have about three or four
months of experience,

And that's a lot of dirt.

Hey, I was checking things out
and seeing how they're doing

Around the plant there,
watching zee,

How long it takes him to make
a pass to the plant, you know.

We're going to have to get him
to be a little more efficient.

Yeah.
20%, 30% Faster,

It'd be a big deal
at the end of the month.

Don't have to race to do it.
It's just making all
your moves count.

That [bleep] adds up at the end
of a season, big time.

Yeah, I'm all for it,
gene.

That's what I came here for,
so...

Sweet, man.
Okay.

Thanks, gene.

Oh [bleep]

Gene: you know,
he's spinning the tires.

That's the number-one no-no.

Got to get him
to stop doing that
'cause tires are expensive.

Narrator:
each loader tire costs $15,000.

Hey, zee, can I talk to you
for a minute?

Yeah.

Hey, I just was talking
to rick here

About, you know, trying to
help things out here,

Get a little more
efficient,

And I guess one of
the first things is,

Keep from spinning the tires.okay.

It's the number-one rule
on the loader, running loaders.

And then, there's need to ram
the loader into the pile.

Just ease into it, you know?
Use the throttle.

And as soon as you start
to go into the pile,

Lift up on the boom
a little bit

And put some weight on
your tires, front tires.

That'll help you keep
from spinning them.

Okay, thanks.
All right.

Thanks, gene.

If he can get more efficient
and not tear the equipment up,

It's going to be better for
everybody at the end of the day.

Gene's timing my run
from the pile to the plant.

Gene: you know, we're trying to
get up over 50 buckets an hour.

Narrator:
fifty 6-yard buckets

Would hit monster red's
300-yards-an-hour capacity,

But for that, zee must do
the round trip in 1 minute 10.

Gene: it's 1 minute 25.

That's not very good.

♪♪

Zee:
gene's a bundle of knowledge,

So that's going to help me out
and kind of make my life

And the rest of the season
easier.

I'm obviously
going to listen to him.

Narrator:
on rick ness' claim,

Gene cheeseman is attempting
to increase production.

He needs zee to speed up
on the loader.

When zee first started going,
it was taking him 1 minute 25.

Narrator:
a 1-minute-25-second turnaround

Feeds 42 buckets of pay dirt
into monster red every hour.

You know, we're trying to get up
over 50 buckets an hour,

And all your moves count.

As you can see, he's turning
the dial up right now

Because he thinks
I can go faster.

He's just got that
[bleep] grin on his face.

Oh, I just screw with him
a little bit, make it look like

I'm turning it up.

Get him thinking.

[ Laughing ]

Yeah, you're number one.

[ Laughing ]

♪♪

A minute 2.
He shaved 20 seconds off.

No, it's a huge improvement.

Narrator:
working together, gene and zee

Have pushed the bucket count
to 58 per hour.

He's getting better
on his cycle times now

And on how fast he gets
to the plant with a bucket.

Then I would say it's time
to turn the thing way
the [bleep] up.

Turn it up.

Rick can now run monster red
at maximum capacity,

300 Yards an hour.

30% More material
passing through the sluices

Should mean 30% more gold.

Rick: I've been wanting
to turn this thing up.

I've just been waiting
for some consistent run time

So I can [bleep] see
what this thing can do.

♪♪

You've got night shift
sluicing crew showing up.

So we need to have that plant
running for them.

You know, how things
have been going today,

We're probably not
going to make it.

[Bleep]

Narrator: parker tasked
co-foremen mitch and brennan

To get big red moved
and sluicing crater cut pay

Before the night shift
arrives in four hours,

But a misstep in the move
has put them behind.

Parker wants all hands on deck
down here,

So we got everybody helping,

Everybody doing
different pieces here.

The guys got
the radial stacker in

While we were
dragging the wash plant.

You know, they've pretty much
committed us here now,

So it just makes it
a lot harder.

Nice and easy!

You don't need much here.

Narrator: brennan must use
all his operating skills

In the 700 excavator

To position the massive plant

Perfectly in line
with the conveyor.

You're really close,
but you're just off.

You can see the gap here
versus this side.

Give her one more.

Right there.

[Bleep] love you, man.

[ Laughter ]

Think mitch and I are going to
take two excavators over,

Grab the sluice runs,
walk them in,

And after that, we'll be
damn near ready to sluice.

Narrator:
the 640-square-foot sluice runs

Weigh 7.5 tons

And are the most delicate part
of the plant to move.

Gonna have to be very careful we
don't twist these [bleep] things

Or bend them.

And that would be
the end of the season.

Just make sure you got enough
bucket curl on that thing, man.

Your teeth
look pretty flat.

Narrator: mitch and brennan must
coordinate the two excavators

Precisely
over a distance of 800 feet.

If they screw up, big red could
be out of action for weeks.

I'm really thankful
to have these guys, you know?

Just, like, brennan and mitch
are doing a k*ller job.

It's pretty damn nice.

Brennan: the boss is sitting
over there watching this.

Mitch: a little more.

Nice and easy, man.

Parker: incoming.

Right there.

Hold up there.

Boy, that was a little tense
climbing that hill.

That should be some
sort of, like,

Team bonding
relationship exercise.

Right?
No kidding.

I think we look pretty good,
only we just need

To get her
leveled up here.

One step closer
to sluicing again.

Mitch: so right now, we've got
the shaker deck set.

It's level.
Sluice runs are set.

We got our angles on them
that we need.

Radial stacker's in place.
Feeder's good to go.

Narrator: two hours left.

Last job --
set up the sluice runs.

Chris:
you know, I thought this thing
would be down two or three days.

The faster these boys get in
and out and we get in and out,

The quicker we get back
to sluicing gold,

And we've got a lot of ground
we've got to sluice.

I tell you what -- this year is
coming to an end real quick.

We could use an extra month,
that's for sure.

Narrator:
one hour before night shift,

The crew races to hook up
big red's water line.

Mitch: we're ready to go.

Just fired up our water pump.
Got to warm it up.

Hey, shut it down!
Shut it down!

You can see our water line here
is all kinked up.

You could blow that pipeline
right in half

With the pressure
we're running from our pump.

Just got to get it
straightened out here.

There you go.

Bring her out a little bit more.

If we would've rpm'd up the pump
with that big twist in it,

Would've ended up
blowing this pipeline,

We would've washed out
right underneath big red here

Before we ever
got any dirt through it.

Narrator: as tyson lee arrives
for his night shift,

Big red is finally
ready for action.

Fire it up.

♪♪

With the first pay dirt
from the crater cut loaded,

Parker is one step closer

To mining out his claim
in one season.

Good job!
[Bleep] yeah!

Mitch: yeah, at least this one
is back up and making money,

And big red is shaking
like it never turned off.

Now you can relax
a little bit.

Oh, yeah. For about
the next five minutes.

Yeah.

I'm, like -- no,
the only problem

Is that, normally,
when we move a plant,

It's like a big old breath
of relief.

Well, like, it's just
[bleep] started now.

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

Narrator: in a desperate attempt
to get his shaker deck working,

Kevin is running new pay
from the gully cut.

He's hoping for a lower
clay content in the pay dirt

That will finally
land him a big gold haul.

I don't really know.

Yep.

Get depressed.

[ Machine powers down ]

♪♪

That even looks
[bleep] worse.

[Bleep]

That is way too [bleep]
clumpy and gooey
for this [bleep]

No.

♪♪

Tony and kevin
face a tough decision.

Yeah, the way
it's [bleep] going.

Yeah.

Shut this one [bleep] down,
keep the other two going.

Yep.

Yep.

Hey, ruby?

No more dirt.

Get those rock trucks back here,
load it up,

Send that [bleep]
to the trommel.

We're [bleep] done here.

Well, that's [bleep] it
for the season.

We're done.

Narrator:
the king of the klondike is now
down to only one operation.

Kevin: well, shaker deck
is [bleep] dead.

Doesn't work worth
a [bleep] [bleep]

Just, it's been a [bleep] up
this year for me.

[Bleep]

♪♪

Gene has definitely
been a big help.

He's shown me some tricks,
you know, to running the loader

And just to get more efficient,

More streamlined
I guess you could say,

And that's where we want to be.

Narrator: at duncan creek,
with the help of gene cheeseman,

Monster red is running
at full capacity --

300 Yards an hour.

I've been [bleep] waiting
to turn this thing up.

You got to produce.
You got to get volume.

Zee:
rick kind of dialed the plant
up pretty much to full speed.

That's a lot of yardage to run.

Narrator: zee is loading
30% more pay to the plant.

Ryan and kruse drive pay dirt
from the cut to the stockpile.

I mean, we can sit here
and try and baby this thing

For the rest of the season,

Or we can get the thing [bleep]
moving and get to our goals.

♪♪

Zee: yeah, I'm actually
almost out of pay here.

Narrator:
if the plant runs out of pay,

Rick will be forced
to shut down monster red.

Gene: one of the bummers
about running so much dirt --

We're kind of
running out of pay.

Yeah. Yeah.

I don't want to shut down
any more than you do,

But we got to do something.if I get more people and trucks,

You're good with that?yeah, just -- I don't --

Give them wheelbarrows.
I don't care.

Yeah, gene has been real great.

He just comes in here,
and he's leading the ship,

And, you know, he gets
the sense of emergency.

Gene:
you know, right now, everybody
has got something to do.

Karla was kind of
between cleanups here,

So she can get in a truck
and help us with the plant.

Well, I didn't plan
to be in a truck.

There's priorities around here,
and sometimes you got to

Drop what you're doing
and go get another job done.

Narrator: rick needs all
the hauling power he can get,

But one of his rock trucks
is down

With a broken
articulation point.

Rick: hey, dude,
we're shorthanded,

And gene is looking for
rock truck drivers.

You think you can do it?yeah, I can do that for you.

Is this one ready to go?

I'm close to having
this thing done.

Thanks, man.
Yeah.

Under pressure to
get the truck out,

Carl needs to replace a bearing
as fast as possible.

Yeah, something [bleep]
funny here.

There's a rubber in there.
They're pressed together.

It's worn out, so it's
metal on metal now, right?

So the thing rides, it could
break the [bleep] house.

Of course, it's not coming apart
like it should,

So I'm going to cook it out.

Narrator:
the shock-absorbing rubber

In the rock truck's
articulation point

Has worn through
and must be replaced.

You're all right.
No.

But the joint is stuck solid.

Carl: I b*rned myself
pretty good there.

She's on fire.

I cut the ring, right?
So the main ring is off.

And then now, it's going to
just burn that rubber out.

Just going to lift it up here.
Hopefully it comes off.

Narrator: carl attempts
to shake the joint free.

[ Clanging ]

♪♪

I haven't seen one this stubborn
before. Like...

♪♪

Just like that.

That was a [bleep]
[bleep] [bleep]

I'm gonna let her down,
put my bearing back in it,

And put it back together, so...

Back to work, bud.

Narrator: rock truck fixed,
carl heads out to join the crew.

Rick: just wanted to give out
a site warning.

Carl rosk is going to be
running a rock truck.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
with two extra rock trucks,

The crew pushes to get ahead
of monster red.

I don't know what's going on
with this dump thing.

I'm going to [bleep]
lose it here.

Carl, I remember
my first time backing up.

Rick: oh, that right there
will work [bleep] perfect.

Narrator: rick's operation
is now running at full strength

And could be looking
at a record gold weigh.

Rick: well, the positives are,
we've got gene here.

Our efficiency is improving.
Our run time is improving.

But what we really need
is for the gold to improve.

What is that?

Narrator: 12,000 years ago,

Parker's claim was a stomping
ground for woolly mammoths.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure
it's a tusk.

I've never dug one out before.

Brennan has found
a few small ones.

Come on, baby.

Oh, no way, man!
[ Laughs ]

That is definitely a tusk.

That is unreal.
Look at that thing.

Can you imagine having this
hanging off your face,

Walking around out here?

Oh, gee!

Dude, it's heavy, man.

I'm glad
I got the light end

Because it's still
not very light.

That's just awesome.
That's incredible.

You can let brennan know
he's got to try

And b*at this one now.oh!

He's going to have to dig
a lot of dirt

To find one
better than that, man.

♪♪

What's up, doumitt?

Hey, mitch.
What's shaking, man?

Looks like
it was a good week.

Narrator: all week, parker
has been running sluicifer

In the last cut,

The ground he leases from tony.

Before mitch moved big red,

He ran the final pay dirt
in the cluster cut.

I think, though,
it's pretty safe to say now

We're well over halfway
through the ground.

Yeah,
but not a lot of time left.

No. It's going to be a struggle
to get through that.

Yeah. It's nice that we're up
and sluicing again, though.

Like, you guys did
a damn good job.

Let's see what the cluster cut
wound up with.

Narrator: first up, the last
of the cluster cut gold.

Oh, that looks pretty good
for having a plant move
in the middle of it.

Man: 10, 20, 30, 50...

It's over 100.

...70, 90, 100, 120,
140, 150, 165.

Sweet!
[Bleep] not bad.

That's a good end
to the old cluster cut.

Yeah.
Yeah.

Narrator:
worth over $230,000,

Bringing the cluster cut's
grand total

To more than $4.5 million.

You guys want to see
what sluicifer did this week?

Man: 200, 250,
260, 280...

291.10.

291?
291.

That's almost 300.

Narrator:
worth over $400,000,

The last cut has now produced
over $1.7 million this season

And still has pay
left to mine out.

The season total
is 4,461 ounces.

4,400 Ounces.
Wow.

We've never been close to that
this time in the season.

If the rest of our cuts
keep going that way,

I don't see why we probably
couldn't have a record
season again.

All right, guys.
k*ller week.

Yeah, that's awesome.almost 500 ounces.

Good week.have a good night.

You guys got this?

We'll bag it.

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

Minnie: hey, guys.

Living the dream.

Oh!

Narrator: after
a disastrous week for kevin,

The beets family gathers
for their weekly gold weigh.

All right, kevin.
Explain yourself.

The pay is not running through
the shaker deck.

It's not [bleep] working.
It's too clay.

Got to shut it down.

I mean, that's the long
and short of it.

Narrator:
the beets start with the final
haul from kevin's shaker deck.

Kevin's plant has only produced
42 ounces of gold all season.

8, 9...

9.30.

Bringing the shaker deck's
season total to $72,000.

Yep.

No shortage of that.

Narrator: with monica's
kiwi plant also shut down,

The only working plant
is mike's trommel.

Mike:
5, 10, 20, 30, 40...

50, 60, 70.

78.82.

Worth over $110,000.

So, mom, what's our season total
sitting at?

1,821.42.

It's better than nothing.true.

A full $2.5 million

But 25% down
on this time last year.

Let's go back to work,
guys.

Thanks, guys.
Come again with some more.

♪♪

Hey, you big old hunks.

That sounded heavy.

Wow, did you say "lunks"?
I think you meant "hunks."

No, I was talking to champ.oh, okay.

Yeah, I was calling champ
the big old hunk.

Narrator:
after a week of gene cheeseman's
mining boot camp,

The team is eager to see
if it paid off.

What a week, huh?

Small tweaks here and there
don't seem like much,

But when you add it up
over a season,

It makes a big difference.yeah, man.

You're not going to get
100% run time.

We got to keep it
as maximum as we can.

I think we got that going on.yeah.

Hopefully we can just stay
on some better ground.

All right.
Shall we weigh it out?

Thanks, champ.
Thanks for the room, buddy.

Narrator: to reach his
break-even point of 500 ounces,

Rick needs 33 ounces a week.

This season,
his average is less than 20.

All right.
Let's see what we got.

So we got 10.
We got 20. We got 30.

We're going good here.
We got 40.

We got 50.oh, yeah.

Yeah.that's what I'm talking about.

Yeah. Yes, sir.

Looking like 54.91 ounces.

That's the best one
of the season, boys.

Yes, it is.

Narrator:
worth almost $77,000...

...bringing their total
to 320 ounces

And putting rick
in with a chance

Of making a profit this season.

It's a good direction to go in.rick: that's the key thing.

I mean, this isn't going to
blow anybody's doors off,

But it's the right direction
to be heading in.

Well, let's stay over 50
from now on.

That would be good.

Well, let's hope we stay on
that high-grade ground.

And I think that calls
for a cheers.

One, two, three, ready!

Narrator:
on the next "gold rush"...

What the [bleep]
is going on?

...down to only one wash plant,
the beets face a new obstacle...

[ Grunts ]

...parker schnabel
doubles down...

Mitch: there's not a chance
we're going to get through this

Unless we get
sluicifer down here.

Whoa, hold on!
Watch out!

Whoa, hold it!

...and rick ness' hopes
of salvaging his season...

What the [bleep]

...are left in tatters.

Boy, oh, boy.