01x05 - The Pain Barrier

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:

For six rookie miners...

- Let's go!

...the pressure is mounting

to get gold

in the Alaskan wilderness.

Shut it down!

[groans]

Narrator: Eight weeks

into the mining season...

Come down. Watch out!

Narrator:

...and it's all falling apart.

- Good Lord.

- This isn't good.

[grunting ]

Narrator: Todd pushes men

and machines to their limits.

And for one member

of the team...

The disrespect

has to end today.

...it may all prove too much.

There's a chance that I'll never

go back to Porcupine Creek.

Narrator:

Todd Hoffman is arriving

back in Haines,

southeast Alaska,

after a week away looking

after his daughter, Olivia,

who had a seizure.

If something shows up,

then I'm done mining.

Narrator:

But with Olivia recovering well,

he's back

and ready to hit pay dirt.

Todd: Losing 1,000 bucks a day,

I can't do it anymore.

We're going to run.

We're going to get some gold.

We can run for 24/7

if we need to.

Narrator:

Since he's been gone,

his dad, Jack,

started finding gold.

Hey, look at this.

This is our biggest chunk

right now.

Todd: Holy crap, Dad.

If that doesn't get you going,

I don't know what's gonna.

Now, listen,

this came out of --

I'm not kidding you --

that much dirt.

That was all

that was left.

- No kidding?

- That was it.

[ chuckles]

And so...

- Is there any doubters now?

- There's gold there.

Well, if they are,

they're not excited.

They're dead or they don't

have any blood in them.

That's awesome.

Narrator: They've found

about $20 worth of gold.

But they're going to need

a whole lot more.

Just to cover their costs,

they'll need around $250,000 --

about 200 ounces of gold.

And they have

less than three months

until the Alaskan winter

closes them down.

To make a profit, Todd and Jack

will have to keep

their wash plant running

all day, every day.

Todd:

We're just gonna run, man, 24/7.

Narrator: But running

the equipment this intensively

will push it to its limits.

Team mechanic James Harness is

overseeing final preparations.

We're almost ready

to make some more noise

and some big noise.

The most important thing

is that we don't get down

for any period of time

by something breaking

that we could have avoided.

- Ready to run?

- Yeah. Let's go.

Narrator: The team

has only ever run the wash plant

for an hour at a time.

Today, they want

to keep it running all day.

Man: You ready for water,

Thurb?

Thurber pumps water

from the holding pond

up to the wash plant.

Todd drops gold-bearing dirt

into the shaker

where it's washed and sifted

by powerful vibrations

and jets of water.

All the gold and material

smaller than an inch across

falls through the punch plate

and passes into a trough.

Larger pieces of gold are caught

in the nugget trap

while everything else is washed

into the trommel.

The trommel spins the material.

Anything smaller

than half an inch

falls through the mesh

into the sluice box.

This is where the team hopes

to catch the finer gold flakes.

The gold sinks to the bottom

of the sluice box

and is trapped in miner's moss,

heavy-duty plastic carpet.

But someone's made

a big mistake.

We don't have

our miner's moss in.

Where's Dorsey?

Where's dingbat?

Dorsey was supposed to clean out

the miner's moss,

but he hasn't put it back.

Dorsey:

Let's get it washed out.

If Todd wants it in there,

Todd will get it back in there.

You should have that [bleep]

you take it out, put it back in.

- Here you go.

- Go put it in yourself!

You took it out.

Yeah, I took it out.

Your dad asked me to.

Well, put it back!

We're gonna run.

You saw us getting ready.

We've been getting ready

for three hours!

Miner's moss --

it's a common-sense thing.

To forget that is a rookie deal.

You know, all the fuel

that we ran for that

just went up in smoke.

Narrator: The equipment

burns $700 a day in fuel,

so the team needs to catch

every grain of gold they run.

Todd:

Hurry up! Let's go!

With the miner's moss

back in place...

Here comes the water!

...they're back in business.

[ indistinct conversations]

They've only been running

for 40 minutes

when Greg notices

a major problem.

[whistles]

What are you

worried about?

There's a lot of water

coming out of here.

Water is gushing out

of the bottom of the shaker.

God dang it!

They have to shut down

to find the problem.

Remsburg:

Not much else we can do.

This water --

it's going everywhere now.

Where's all that water

coming from?

[ rattling ]

I can hear it rattling.

I can hear something

rattling right there.

We got something right in this

area just pouring out.

- Let's see.

- Well, this isn't moving.

Right back in there.

It's not moving dirt

like it should be.

Geez.

It's just sitting there.

I smell the belts, too.

Yeah, it's working

extra hard.

There's a hole.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Narrator:

The shaker is over 20 years old

and was designed

for rock quarrying.

Back in Oregon,

Harness and the team

customized it for gold mining

by fitting a lower deck

to catch gold-bearing material.

The lower deck is made

of 1/8-inch steel plate,

and it's not thick enough

to cope with the violent

movement of the shaker.

It's vibrating against

the bottom of the machine.

Several of the bolts

have sheared off,

and it's cracked,

which means water

and potentially gold

are leaking into the ground.

I'm pissed.

This is [bleep]

It's one thing

after another.

Tired of it.

Tired of crap breaking.

Todd: You know,

they all got families.

So if we don't get gold,

it'll get bad.

Narrator:

Harness crawls into the shaker

to see the extent of the damage.

Well, it shut us down completely

for this thing

to break down like it has.

Now, there's a bolt here,

and it's cracked underneath.

These bolts

have actually pulled themselves

right through the bottom.

It's the movement

that's k*lling us.

If things can move,

then they wear out.

Narrator: Harness will have to

replace the damaged lower deck

with new steel

that's twice as thick.

[ hissing ]

Harness: Trying to crawl around

in here isn't too much fun.

Narrator: Working

in these cramped conditions

is taking its toll

on Harness's damaged body.

Harness: I've got a fractured

neck from a car wreck.

I have an implant in my ankle.

My ankle was completely

taken off my body.

The pain is, without morphine,

impossible to deal with.

Narrator: But this morning,

he's taken the last dose of

morphine he brought with him.

Harness: You've got to

have your medication,

or you're going to get sick.

And if you don't have it,

you're going to be in pain

or you're going to

be in a position

where you wish you were dead.

And unfortunately

this is the wrong place

to play with that kind of deal.

Todd: Dude, I got two



Harness: Awesome.

I can just yank it out

with the excavator on the end.

Okay.

Narrator:

Harness has completed

the acetylene cutting.

But the rusty, steel plate

is still wedged into the shaker.

I'm going to

shake it up a little bit,

and then we'll pull it

out of there.

[ rattling ]

Todd: That's not going to

be easy to get out.

I got to pull us

out of here.

[engine turns over]

Fire on the rubber.

Underneath.

Me and James have got to

get this steel out of here.

The steel will be here

in the morning,

and we're gonna

start fabricating.

- Can you see at all?

- Can see a little bit.

Looks good.

Okay, stand clear.

Okay.

That's better.

Just a little bit

at a time.

I'll get it. Hang on.

Okay. Just gonna

have to persuade it.

Hold on.

Down. Down.

[ creaking ]

[grunts]

I don't know.

I'm hoping that we someday

get to the stage

where we actually

can call ourselves miners.

Before I go completely broke.

Narrator:

Todd and Harness try again.

This time with a stronger chain.

Harness: It's gonna bang.

A little bit.

Was it loud?

[laughs]

How's the rubber look?

Narrator: But when they see

the supports under the old deck,

they get a nasty shock.

Harness:

It's not looking good.

The main supports that

hold this thing together across

are cracked.

Todd: The rails that this

narrow rubber's on are broken.

[ clanging ]

Narrator:

The damage to the shaker

is much worse

than anyone expected.

If the team

can't find a way to fix it,

their mining season

will end in failure.

That ain't funny.

Narrator:

Todd Hoffman and his team

are ripping the broken deck

out of the shaker.

They're discovering

a far bigger problem.

The entire structure below

needs fixing.

Harness: Broke off.

The main supports that hold

this thing together across

are cracked.

How many of them

are broke?

Thurber:

One, two, three, four.

That support

where Jim is.

See that? See that crack

all the way through?

- The supports

themselves are broken?

- Yeah.

They're trashed. They're

busted all the way through.

It's not looking good.

Narrator: The biggest crack

is half an inch wide

and spans the whole shaker.

Yeah. This isn't good.

We were using

used equipment

where somebody put band-A*DS

on stuff a long time ago.

Harness will have to reinforce

the entire base

of their secondhand shaker

in the Alaskan wilderness.

Our fix just turned

into a lot more time.

Harness:

So we're in the neighborhood

of 600 welds I've got to make

by the time I can get that thing

beefed up.

Narrator: Even if Harness

takes 10 minutes per weld

and works through the night,

he's still looking

at four days of repairs.

I'm not so happy.

And it'd be nice

to have a little more help.

But everybody's got

other things to do, apparently.

[sighs]

[ buzzing ]

Narrator:

The other welder in the team,

foreman Greg Remsburg,

is off logging.

Remsburg:

Right now the plan is to build

this cabin for my family,

and I don't have the money

to go out and buy materials.

Narrator:

So Greg's made a deal --

for every tree he delivers

to the local saw mill,

he gets one milled for free.

And with all that free timber,

his family cabin

is turning into a palace.

Remsburg:

Hey, I'll be right back.

[saw buzzing ]

- I'm pissed off, dude.

- About what?

Just a second.

Please don't saw for a second.

Dude, I'm pissed off

because we're up there

mining and everything,

and you're building

a frickin' neighborhood

or something down here.

I mean, this is gorgeous.

I appreciate it.

I'm not sure,

but it looks like it might have

walk-in closets, you know?

Yeah.

It's taking a lot longer.

I get that.

It's taking a lot longer.

We've had all kinds of delays.

I give you a line of excuses.

Who's the dude on the roof?

Narrator: Greg's even got

his carpenter buddy Chris

up from Portland

to help him finish his house.

This is not okay with me.

And it's not okay with the rest

of the guys, either.

You are losing face

with the rest of the mine.

[grunting ]

Like all the other guys,

Greg is only working

for a share of the profits.

So Todd can't force him

back to the mine.

I got to keep working here.

I got to give my family a home.

That's the bottom line.

So, you know,

he can be pissed off.

You know, all those other guys

can be pissed off.

I got to get my stuff done.

Narrator: Todd's dream of

running dirt day in and day out

is looking more and more remote.

Things are going

from bad to worse.

Without his medication,

Harness is suffering withdrawal.

I've got kind of

a strange request.

Well, I'm talking to the doctor,

trying to get a prescription

sent 2,500 miles away.

And that's not a normal request.

I'm gonna be here

about two more months,

and I was hoping to have

someone pick that up for me,

because I can't do it myself.

I'm too far away.

I'm tired of hurting.

And it would be nice

to have my normal prescriptions

so that I can be

partly normal anyway.

Narrator:

But there is some good news.

Pastor Mike Halstead has made

a 500-mile round trip

to Whitehorse, Canada,

and is returning

with $3,000 worth of new steel

for the shaker.

- Just at the border

a little bit.

- Good job, Mike.

This rode really well.

Narrator:

Jack is planning to unload

it with the 270 excavator.

Don't pull those out of there

with that excavator.

If it gets bent,

it will be useless

and mean even longer delays

to the shaker repair.

They're about ready

to make a major f-up.

The only way Todd

can stop his dad

is to pull the pin out

on the chain Jack's using.

Don't screw up our mine

by grabbing it with

a frickin' excavator.

[ indistinct shouting ]

Dude -- yeah, I will.

I'll pull them

right the frick out. Watch.

We got enough guys

to pull it right out.

He's going to bend up one corner

of this, and we're screwed.

Would you get

that excavator out of here?

Narrator:

He insists they lift the



If do you this, Todd,

put the chain on both sheets.

I can slide it out.

It will come right out.

And then you're going to

put a dimple like this.

No, you won't.

Why don't we slide

one sheet out at a time?

It won't do that.

Yes, we will.

Pull them out.

I'd like to see this.

Gonna be interesting.

[ breathing sharply]

We can't lay it on the end.

We got to kind of hold it.

Everybody's got to get a corner.

Right now.

Don't get

your finger cut off.

Does anyone know

where we're going?

Get it down to the hip.

Todd: This is the steel

Mike picked up from Whitehorse.

This is the bottom

of our bottom deck.

So we can't bend it.

That's why we did it by hand.

Without that,

we're dead in the water, so...

Narrator: It's two days

since the shaker broke.

And with the steel on site,

the next stage of the shaker

repair should be under way.

But the only man who can fix it

could be about to leave.

[voice breaking ]

I'm in a tough place right now.

So it's kind of hard to talk.

My mom's sick,

and things aren't going well.

And I can't seem

to get ahold of her.

Narrator: Harness' mother

is critically ill

in the hospital in Oregon.

Harness: Timing is everything.

And it's screwed up right now.

If I go to be with my mom...

Who knows what

will happen here?

Narrator:

Without Harness to repair it,

the shaker is useless.

Harness:

When I met the Hoffmans,

I was at a very low point.

And their generosity and...

...their faith...

gave me new hope.

I don't want to let them down.

But my mom's probably the most

important person in the world.

It's pretty hard to make

a decision, you know?

Narrator: At Porcupine Creek,

the team's not mining

until James Harness

fixes the shaker.

His mother

is sick in the hospital,

and he was about to leave,

but he has finally gotten

through to her on his sat phone.

At this point I'm thinking

I can put it off a little bit.

She seems to be reasonable

at the moment.

Maybe if everything's

running smooth and

nothing breaks down,

I can go home.

But so far they've been breaking

stuff faster than I can fix it.

Narrator:

Greg's also put his loyalty

to the mining team first.

That's not good for his house,

but it's good for the mine.

Today I'm mining, and I'm

getting some modifications done.

It's gonna be midnight madness

around here.

Narrator:

Greg's help at the mine

couldn't have come

at a better time.

Harness' body

is close to collapse.

Harness: Well, this is

the third day in a row

that I've had to deal

with morphine withdrawals

that I take for pain,

that I've been taking

for seven years.

And it's a hard road.

I was in the bathroom all day

puking my guts out.

And that's one of

the lighter things to say.

Todd:

He's been through the ringer.

And you know he's got to crawl

into that frickin' hole

and weld.

And I know

it's going to hurt him.

But he does it.

Harness: I'm suffering

through everything I do.

Getting out of bed,

or if I'm working and trying

to turn a wrench, it hurts.

Narrator: After doing

all the welds he can

on the deck from above,

Harness needs a break.

The rest of the team has to

hoist the shaker off the ground

to be able

to work on it from below.

They lift the 22,000-pound

shaker onto wooden blocks.

With Harness out of action,

Greg takes over the welding.

Remsburg:

I'm going to give it a shot.

Hopefully something

will stick together today.

Narrator:

While the rest of the team

has been working on the shaker,

Dorsey's been making

unauthorized improvements

to the duplex jig.

It's frickin'

plugged up.

He's cut the top

off the outflow pipe

to fit it under the jig.

Now there's nothing

to stop the gold-bearing liquid

spilling out of the hole

and escaping.

Mechanic James Harness

designed the system

that realtor Dorsey has adapted.

This is just common sense.

No. We ran this on a table.

There was no gold.

This is basic plumbing.

- Okay.

- Okay?

Todd: You should have asked

before you cut the pipe.

You know it's hard

getting that stuff.

Narrator:

The outflow from the jig

is where the team expects

to get most of their gold.

It's the most important part

of the whole wash plant.

You know, Todd,

my mom's dying,

and I'm choosing

to stay here with you guys

instead of

be by her side.

And you put the pet monkey

for [bleep] camp

on the most important part.

I cannot do --

he's not capable of that.

Dude.

He needs to be punished

or put in his place

or whatever it takes.

This is the most important part

of all of this.

And we can't take a chance on

all of it going down the tubes,

or it's worthless

being here.

Well, here's what

I want you to do.

I want you and me

to take over that, too.

Bottom line -- no one knows

what they're doing.

Everyone has an opinion.

Jack: Yeah, when I looked

down there at that pipe

and Dorsey cut the pipe,

I don't know why he did that.

But if he hadn't done that,

we wouldn't be --

everything would have stayed

in the pipe, you know,

and gone down sluice box.

But a lot of extra work.

He's probably going to

try to figure it out.

Just let him do it.

I should have winched

this jig up higher.

Don't talk, okay?

Narrator: With no morphine

and in severe back pain,

Harness climbs 20 feet

down into the pit.

Harness:

I want to fix this drain pipe

so we don't lose anything.

[groans]

Get that black piece of plastic

and fix this tube.

Get in a certain position

or work too many hours,

and it gets screwed up.

James, how long until

you have her fixed?

Narrator: Harness is pushing

himself to the limit.

Todd: Easy. Easy.

[grunting ]

- Watch it.

I got to have help.

'Cause my legs went out again.

Are you okay?

I might need help

getting out of here.

Are you okay?

Help him!

Get me over to there.

Jack: Easy.

- [groans]

James has fallen!

Jack: Are you okay?

My legs are shot.

You hold on,

and I'll pull you up.

Harness: I got down there,

and I just felt a snap

in my lower back.

It's what's been holding

so long.

- Did something pop?

- Yeah.

Hold on. Here we go.

[groans]

I don't normally grab

a man's boobs.

Todd: Get him...

Man: Start it up!

[engine turns over]

[ indistinct conversations]

It's like one of those deals

where you hurt

and you want to find a spot

where it doesn't hurt,

so you try moving around.

And my problem

is I get muscle spasms so bad

that I can hardly breathe

when this happens.

It's trying to protect my back.

So everything

starts getting weird.

[groans]

I need Harness real bad

right now,

and his health is just --

it's up and down,

it's up and down.

Narrator:

With his chief mechanic down,

Todd must rely on Greg

to get the shaker fixed.

And he wants a word

with Dorsey.

- I was helping you

out, wasn't I?

Todd: No.

Like I haven't been helping

you out for five months?

Listen, dude,

you were not --

Look at me, Todd.

Hey, look at me.

I've been helping you

for five months.

The disrespect

has to end today.

You want to help,

you can say, "Hey, Todd,

do you mind if I come in

and help you on that?"

That's fine.

Don't just come in --

Again.

You're doing it again.

Tell me one thing --

are you gonna

keep disrespecting me,

or do you want me to go home?

If you keep doing

these things, yeah.

If you keep talking to me

like that, I'll be going home.

- Go home. I don't care.

- Fine. I'll go home.

Narrator:

For Dorsey, it's all too much.

Dorsey: I've been thinking

about going home.

It's affecting my dignity

as a man.

I should probably get to doing

some other type of a job.

Narrator: Todd seeks out

his father's advice

about how to deal with Dorsey.

Dorsey is like dealing

with a little kid, you know?

And he gets

his feelings hurt.

And --

I know,

but I'm finding myself

being the kind of guy

that I don't want to be.

Good grief, you know.

The dude -- he just -- he

pushes all the wrong buttons.

Next morning,

Dorsey's not at the mine.

Joy: I can't believe

you're leaving me here

by myself, the mine.

I'm going to keep $20.

This is our last 50 bucks.

So that's it.

Hopefully I'll come back

with something.

At least with this,

I know what I'm getting.

He managed to line up

some paid work

on a salmon fishing boat.

If they give you any crap

about it,

just tell them Jimmy needed

a guaranteed amount of money.

I just don't want to have to

answer questions, you know?

Especially about you

going off and making money.

I love you.

Love you, too.

Joy: When Jimmy told me

he was going on the boat,

I was just pissed.

I don't want

to go back to the mine

and face everybody's comments

and everybody's faces

and, you know,

what they're thinking.

[voice breaking ]

It's really hard to wake up

and be the outsider.

Narrator:

But back at the mine,

Dorsey's departure

hasn't gone unnoticed.

Jack: Dorsey should be

right here helping us.

It's not right.

He should be here.

It's --

if he wants to mine,

he needs to stay here and mine.

If he wants

to cry and be a sissy,

yeah, go be a sissy.

But do it someplace else.

He's wasting my time.

Dorsey: Whoo-hoo-hoo!

We're trying to catch

as many fish as we can.

We don't quit

until we're done.

- There is a hit right there.

- Yeah, there we go.

Looks like we're doing

all right, doesn't it?

So, Jimmy,

you grab the buoy.

We're gonna pick

the nets now.

Don't pick the fish up

by the tail.

Always pick them up

by their head.

All right.

All right!

Yeah. Hey!



Another one. Money fish.

- There we go.

- Whoo-hoo!

How am I doing?

You're doing great.

[laughs]

I feel like I'm living my dream.

I'm in Alaska.

You know, this guy is great.

Greg's a really good guy.

I'm just getting to know him.

But he's also really

encouraging, you know?

He's told me three times today

that he thought

I was doing a good job.

It's just really good

to hear it.

It's really good for the soul.

Narrator: Unlike mining,

this pays cash in hand --

over $600.

$450...

Dorsey: That's about as good

as I've ever done in one day.

- Good job, Jimmy.

- All right.

Man, I hope you come out

with me again next week.

Narrator: With plenty

of fishing work available,

Dorsey's examining his options.

- Yeah, pretty good.

--...lost our net.

I mean, I'm elated

to have a job opportunity.

I don't know

what I'm going to do.

This is the biggest decision

I've ever made

in my entire life.

And there's a chance

that I'll never go back

to Porcupine Creek.

Narrator: Dorsey's left

the team in Porcupine Creek

and been working as a deckhand

on a fishing boat.

Todd: We're all pissed

about Dorsey leaving.

You know,

I know he needs the money.

But we all do.

We need a team player

right now.

He should know that.

Narrator:

He's heading back to the mine

to talk to Todd

about his future.

Dorsey: There's a large part

of me that says run away

just like I have

in a lot of other situations

when it's not agreeable.

You know,

trust my instincts and run.

But you don't get the gold

that way.

Narrator: Todd wants Dorsey

to make a commitment

to the rest of the team.

When you work as a team,

you have to submit to the team.

You're not Team Dorsey.

Not enough.

And we're a team

up here, dude.

I mean, it really is.

We're trying to be.

We're trying our best,

you know?

There's got to be that little

thing in your head, Dorsey,

when you get up

and you make your decision

to leave at 4:00 in the morning

and you just say to yourself,

what would Todd do?

[laughs]

Are you serious?

You should.

Todd wouldn't leave his team.

- Todd wouldn't leave...

- WWTD, huh?

- There you go.

- What would Todd do?

For two days, we started

relying on you. I did.

It's hard to be a team player

when you're a self-starter.

What's Team Dorsey

all about?

All right, good meeting.

I guess.

All right, man.

I can't leave home

without Daddy's permission.

So I got that.

Narrator: Todd has gotten

Dorsey back on track.

And he's come through

for Harness, as well.

He's managed to get him

his morphine prescription.

It's tough.

I know it's tough.

But we're gonna make it, okay?

You are the frickin'

best mechanic in the world.

You guys are like family, and

I don't want to let you down.

You won't let us down.

And you never have.

Narrator: Todd wants the shaker

fixed by the end of the day

and calls a meeting to find out

what needs to be done.

What do we got left?

Well, we got upright

stem center.

I got to finish building

the end cap and a tanning tray.

Well, let me know

whoever's available.

Number-one priority

is to keep James flowing.

Let's get on it.

Narrator: The first step

is to put the steel plates

into the shaker

to form the bottom deck.

Todd: Yeah!

Now, Jim, if you could --

I'm gonna run

the rope through.

Yeah, run the rope through,

and then we'll clip on

when I get up there.

I wouldn't get near it.

Just let it go kind of.

Harness: Don't let that baby

come down on you.

Narrator:

The plate weighs 500 pounds.

Todd's got to lift each one



It's a little dangerous.

That's why I keep

everybody clear.

Harness:

Do not get under that thing.

I don't trust it at all.

Chris, get on the inside.

Harness: Get on the inside.

I got it.

Just stay right there, Todd.

Okay. Here we go.

It's coming down.

We got one plate in.

Not all the way,

but, yeah, it's going in good.

Narrator:

With the new plates in place,

they need to make

the whole structure rock-solid.

They can't weld the sheet metal

into position

because the vibrating shaker

would crack the welds.

So they drill and bolt it

in place

through two layers

of quarter-inch steel.

Sometimes that drill will grab,

and the power of the drill just

flings it out of your hands.

I mean, a lot of guys

have broken their wrist

and things like that.

It's no fun.

Narrator: Harness can now start

on the final stage --

strengthening

the inside of the shaker.

Harness: It's going to join

everything to be one piece.

And by doing that,

we don't have two pieces

destroying each other.

Narrator: It's a tough

and painful grind for him.

I'm hoping that the end is near.

I can't take much more

of this crap.

I'd like to find a nice hot tub

and a drink with

the little parasol in the top

on a beach somewhere.

But I don't think that's

gonna happen right away.

Narrator: At half past 9:00

in the evening,

Harness makes the last weld.

I got lots of burns.

I caught on fire twice.

My hair started smoking

inside my helmet.

But I don't care how bad I hurt.

I'm glad to have this done.

We're really close

to running now.

Come on up. Let's help James

get out of here.

I think he's done.

[groans]

Dude, you are

heavy-metal, man.

You're straight rock.

I need you to go get the oil.

He needs a rubdown.

[laughter]

James, you can have

the rest of the night off.

Thurber, carry him

to his camper.

We're mining.

Narrator: But Todd's only got

one thing on his mind.

Are we mining?

- I want in.

- Dude, we are mining.

Narrator:

Even though it's 9:30 at night,

there's still a couple hours

of daylight left

in the Alaskan summer.

Todd: We fixed the shaker.

I thought it would take us

three days. It took us a week.

I'm just tired.

I'm ready to run.

You know, run or break it.

I don't care.

Narrator: It's 9:30 at night,

and the shaker is finally fixed

and ready to run.

Todd:

It's been down a week.

Tempers have flared.

People have threatened to leave.

So as I start putting gold down

here in these sluice boxes,

and people start seeing it,

dude, then it's gonna feel like,

"Oh, man,

this is why we're here."

Dad, you got the dirt?

We got dirt to run?

Yeah, I got dirt.

Yeah, yeah.

Let's go!

Fire it up!

Todd:

If I break that shaker now,

I'm just going to pack my crap

and go home.

Narrator: Todd loads in

the first bucket of rocks.

It's a lot quieter.

Nothing has split apart,

and the deck's now watertight.

It's looking good.

But after just minutes,

Todd spots yet another problem.

James!

The generator!

Push the "shaker off"

button.

Todd!

Todd: Not even close

to blowing oil. It's puking.

[groans]

The shaker works great.

But the generator

is blowing oil out of it.

So I don't know.

We need to get a bunch of guys

with shovels and some dirt

and throw it on the oil.

Narrator: Without the generator,

nothing can run.

The generator's just

puking oil out the front.

I hope you didn't go

[beep] shut it off.

Whatever.

I think

it blew an O-ring here.

Narrator: Two days ago,

Jack replaced a rubber washer.

My dad went in there

and "fixed" it,

so we'll find out what happened.

Jack: I put a new part on

to stop the oil dripping.

Now we got a flood.

Harness:

Well, they don't just blow out.

When you slipped it on,

it cut it 'cause of that ridge

right there.

What I do is I load them up

with Vaseline,

and then when you slide them on,

it's got a chance.

Narrator: One hour later,

Harness has fixed the seal,

and they're back in business.

Okay. I'm clear now.

It's 11:00 at night,

and everyone's exhausted.

But nothing is going to

stop Todd from running dirt.

I really don't care anymore.

I just started mining.

I'm just tired

of stuff breaking.

Trying to feed

the machine nice and even

so I don't overload it,

you know,

so I'll just kind of

dribble a little bit.

Normally,

I can look down the shaker

and see the rocks coming off.

But I can't see it

tonight, so...

Kind of got to go by feel.

Narrator: Finally, their wash

plant is running like a dream.

Remsburg:

How's the shaker?

God, it sounds so good.

I can barely hear it.

I walked over there.

I couldn't even see it moving.

Dude, it feels like a --

it sounds like a Cadillac.

How's the generator?

Purring like a kitten.

Good.

I'm happy with the shaker.

It's very quiet, very stable.

But I don't want to jinx it --

so it's a piece of crap.

Narrator:

After a week of repairs,

the plant

is finally processing dirt.

But is there any gold in the

material coming out of the jig?

Dorsey's panning to find out.

Dorsey: Looks like the stars

of the sky right there.

--4, 5, 6, 7, 8...

- Bunch of gold.

Those are good size.

Those aren't --

Wow.

- There's gold in there.

- Yeah, there is.

Ha ha ha ha!

This will turn

our sluice box yellow.

Yeah, this is absolutely

the best dirt we've seen.

Yeah! Good work, Jimmy.

It's dark, so I can't even see

all the gold that's in there.

There's money there.

There's money, money, money.

If we can run this,

I mean, we might have

a 10-ounce day or something.

That's how big this is.

That's like $10,000 day.

Narrator:

Finally, the shaker's fixed,

the plant's working,

and the miners are getting gold.

Remsburg: Todd's been,

you know, a little bummed out.

And he's been walking around

a little mopey.

And it's good to see him back.

We need to mine.

These guys are losing heart.

We needed a win.

I'm gonna try to mine

till the sun comes up.

Look out.