10x23 - Last Gold

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
at the start of this season,

A crisis hit the klondike...

...sending three men
in new directions.

We don't have
a water license.

[Bleep]
eh?

Parker: we're definitely up
against it

With these licensing issues.

We really risk leaving gold
in the ground.

It's a treasure hunt.

It's gonna be
a treasure hunt.

Narrator: rick ness headed up
into the mountains

On a hunt for big nuggets.

Holy [bleep]

There could be a life-changing
amount of gold

In that pile back there.

Narrator: parker schnabel
confronted the reality

Of owning his own claim.

We have to mine the whole piece
of ground out this season.

The whole thing?

We've never failed
a season goal yet,

And we're not about
to start right now.

Narrator:
and tony beets shut down

His dredges
and abandoned his claims...

...and turned to his kids
to rebuild his season.

Now all over the yukon,
the race is on...

...as miners fight...

Gold!

...for the last gold
of the season...

I got to do whatever it takes
to break even.

Narrator:
...before the big freeze

Shuts them down.

Parker:
let's see where we end up.

[ All cheering ]

--[Font color="#ffff00"] captions by vitac[/font] --
[font color="#00ffff"] www.vitac.com[/font]

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator: rick ness' quest
to make his fortune

In the legendary hills above
keno city is at a standstill.

Rick:
it's just it ain't working.

I know there's big gold here
at duncan creek,

But the ground just does
not want to give it up.

Time is running out, and I'm
running out of options here.

Narrator: in the second year
of running his own operation,

Rick has run out of pay dirt and
shut down his entire operation.

Kruse: all of a sudden,
we find out we're done.

We're not getting gold bonuses.
I don't know.

I don't like going out
like this.

Narrator: so far, rick has only
mined 480 ounces of gold,

Not even enough
to cover his expenses,

But the season isn't over
until the water supply freezes.

And rick has one final
hail mary.

We fell short of our 500-ounce
break-even point for the season,

And as it stands right now,
I'm going home broke,

And I just don't know
what to do at this point.

So I'm going to talk
to a friend,

See if he's got
any ground to mine.

It might just save our season.

♪

Troy: come on in, rick.

Thanks, troy.

Got to have you down
more often.

Yeah.

I always mean to get out more
often, but it never happens.

I know.
I know.

Damn mining gets
in the way, right?

It's a nice place, man.
I love it.

Been here over 40 years now,
so it's our home.

Yeah.

So, rick,
how'd it go this year?

It's been a rough one,
not gonna lie about that.

Well, we've been there.

We've had some tough years,
so I know how it feels.

This was a first for me
this year.

I've never come to the end of
a season and ran out of pay.

I mean, we haven't hit
our break-even point.

Can't beat yourself up.

If the gold is not there,
it's not there.

You just do
the best you can.

Look like
you're very thorough.

Well, I'm glad you think that
because I came up here.

That's what I wanted to kind
of talk to you about.

Hmm.

I know that you've mentioned
that you do have

A lot of ground up here.

Yeah, we've gotten
a lot of ground.

Yeah.

We don't want to be
finished yet.

So what would you think about me
coming here yet this fall,

Maybe letting us mine
some of your ground here?

We're done for the season,
so it's good timing

If you want
to hammer out a few yards.

Yeah.
It's fine with us.

Do you have any kind
of figures or anything?

Yeah, for sure.

We've got some really
shallow ground,

But the shallow ground
is not very good pay,

So the better ground
is the deeper ground.

Okay.

If we could work out a
royalty thing or something...



Yeah, that works for me.

I think we'd be happy
to have you.

I really appreciate it, man.
I'm excited.

I'm gonna go back
right now.

I'm gonna tell my guys and
get some equipment mobilized.

Great to have you
down here.

Awesome.
Sounds good.

Appreciate it, troy.
Right on. Let's do it.

Narrator: the land rick has
leased is deep and unproven,

But it's his only shot
at redemption.

Rick: guys.

Well, I guess you guys are
wondering what we're doing here.

The reality is setting in
is that we're done

At duncan creek this year,

And it's not fair for you guys
to suffer for that.

I mean, we haven't hit
our break-even point yet,

Our 500 ounces.

I take that personal,
and I know you guys, too,

But for me, I don't want
to see you guys go home

Without a gold bonus.

So I made a deal with troy.

It's another swing for the
fences late in the game here,

But he said he's got some ground
we can mine for 10% royalty.

It's decent ground.

Anything is better than what
we've been doing, so...

Kruse: been spinning
our wheels all summer.

It'd be nice to finish
on a high note.

I agree.

I mean, got a good opportunity.

Well, should we get
after it?

-Yeah.
-Let's get after it.

Sweet.
[ Whistles ]

Let's go, you [bleep]

[ Horn honking ]

♪

♪

It's awfully late in the season

To be trying to start
somewhere new.

It's probably even ridiculous,
but you know what?

I got to pull out the stops.
I got to do whatever it takes

Because if I'm gonna have
any chance at breaking even

And being able
to come back next year,

I got to have a plan.

Alright, boys.

Let's get the gear back here,
start stripping.

♪

Narrator: troy has thrown rick
a lifeline, but there's a catch.

To get down to pay,
they'll have to remove

Up to 30 feet of overburden.

We might only get a small piece
of ground open to the pay,

But if it pays really well,
it'll be worth it.

I just hope we get down to pay
before winter hits.

♪

♪

The battle is on now.

I wish we didn't have to be
in such a big rush,

But we have
a [bleep] ton of ground

To get through down there.

Narrator: 25-year-old
parker schnabel

Is on the brink of realizing
his season goal

To mine out the first claim
he's ever owned

In just one year.

Now, with winter closing in,

He has around 10 days to mine
an entire cut -- the red zone.

Hi, guys.
How's it going?

Starting to get
a little chilly out.

I thought that was your breath,

But I should've figured
it's just a cigar.

Doumitt: it'll happen
in july, too.

So all we've really got left
is the red zone back here, huh,

Because this is really the only
piece that we've left behind.

It's definitely
the last remaining

Piece of good ground here.

Yeah.

It's a lot of ground
to get through.

Yeah, lot of sluicing,
and I don't intend

On leaving any gold
in the ground.

So how's it looking
in the gold room?

Doumitt:
banging right along.

In fact, there's a chance
we might even match

Last year's total.

We're still about 940 ounces

Underneath where we finished
last season at.

Brennan: nothing to complain
about there.

Oh, yeah.

Well, let's go crank
some wash plants up

And finish this ground off while
we still have sluicing weather.

-Yeah. Sounds good.
-Thanks, guys!

You betcha.

♪

Narrator:
at 115 acres, parker's claim

Is the size of 90 city blocks.



Or has too little gold
to be worth mining.

Parker started this year
at the cluster cut,

Moved on to the crater cut,

And last week
he finished death valley.

The area he's dubbed
the red zone

Is the last cut
he has left to mine.

Starting right now,
the race is on.

Narrator: parker is nearly


Of last year's
record-breaking haul.

He strategically left
the red zone to last

As it's located right
next to big red and sluicifer.

I'm gonna dig this bit
of pay up quick!

Yeah, for sure.

Brennan can pile pay dirt
right beside the hopper feeders,

Cutting down the time it takes
getting to the wash plants.

Brennan: it's all resting
on my shoulders right now.

I'm the guy digging
the pay here.

We need to get through
all this ground

Before the weather
freezes us out of here.

Narrator: loader operator bree
works in tandem with brennan

To feed the two plants.

Bree: it's crazy what
we're doing right now.

Like, brennan is throwing it up

While I'm running it
to the plant.

This really is the final
push to the end.

Narrator: but the extra speed
comes at a cost.

With the equipment packed
together in such a small space,

All of the operators
have to be in perfect sync.

Brennan:
it's insane down here.

Got everyone going like crazy
trying to keep the plants fed.

Very chaotic
and tight down here.

Mitch:
such a good feeling here

To just be down here
at the red zone,

And this is all that's left
is just this little square

Right here.

And if there's good gold in it,

We got a shot at beating
what we had last year.

You know, no snow on the ground,

So it's a real cool thing
when you get all done with it.

Aaron, get your truck
out of the way, man.

[ Horn honking ]

Aaron, roll it, buddy.

Get that thing moved
out of the way.

I'm [bleep] stuck here,
dude.

There's nothing I can do!

She ain't [bleep]
moving, buddy!

I put her in gear!

Narrator: aaron's truck is
blocking the way to big red.

Move the [bleep] truck!

Mitch: hey!
What's the deal?

I don't know, man.
She won't [bleep] budge.

I got no drive.

Right in the [bleep] way.

Hey!
Hey!

Narrator: if they run the plant
with no pay,

Excess water will wash gold

Out of the sluices
into the tailings.

Come on.

Mitch: hey!

Something happened
with aaron's truck.

Just [bleep] push it
out of the way, man.

I was wondering
why he's [bleep] stop.

♪

Let's get that truck
out of the way

And get some material
back in it.

Hang on! Hang on!
I got the...

Hey!
Yeah! We're trying to...

Hey!
Put it in neutral!

She's in neutral!

Hey, don't rip the [bleep]
tailgate off of it!

Come on!
Let's go!

♪

Brennan:
he's holding up production

From getting this
[bleep] finished.

Man: hey, bree.
Be ready with a scoop.

Get it out of the way!

Hey, you guys need to move!

Get out of the way!

[Bleep] sakes, man.

You got to take a look
at the truck here

To see what's going on.

Most important thing is,
it's out of the way here,

So bree can keep
feeding the plants!

We're gonna finish
this thing up!

Good to go!

Ah, I did not need
that bull [bleep] today.

♪

These trucks go through
a lot out here.

By the sounds of it,
probably lost one of the gears.

Everything is wore out.
It's tired.

It all needs work.

That one didn't quite make it.

Narrator: mitch's quick thinking
keeps the crew in the game,

Chasing their biggest
gold total ever

Until winter
freezes them out.

Mitch:
it's been a hell of a season,

But we're not out
of the woods yet here

Because we still got
some dirt to get through,

And we're gonna try and get
through these wash plants.

♪

Monica: hello.

While I'm here.

You know, I was just [bleep]
tired of everything,

And, I mean, let's make it
a strong finish, will you?

All our bills are paid.

Mike:
yep, let's make it happen.

I'll just finish my drink.

Kevin: let's do this.

Narrator:
at the start of the season,

The king of the klondike,
tony beets,

Was forced to abandon
his indian river claim,

But despite
this disastrous beginning,

He succeeded
in breaking even last week.

Now with just days left
before winter,

His kids are going all out
to make him a profit.

Give me power!

Mike and kevin team up
on the megacut.

No matter how the year goes,
it always seems to end the same,

Mad struggle
in the [bleep] cold.

♪ Back and forth, back
and forth, back and forth ♪

Narrator:
and down in the hunker cut,

Monica works with friend ruby
to sluice the last

Of her stockpiled pay dirt
before it freezes.

Monica: hop to it.

What?

Swing, swing, swing,
swing, swing.

Calm down, man.

I can only feed this [bleep]
thing so fast.

Narrator: with only one person
helping her run the kiwi plant,

Monica is struggling
to get up to full speed.

Monica:
I push dirt up with the 10,

And then usually I'll do, like,
a little walk-around,

Make sure everything
is hunky-dory.

Usually not built up that much.

Shouldn't have this big of rocks
in here!

There must be a hole!

Right [bleep] there.

Hey, ruby. Do you copy?
Quit loading.

Oh [bleep]

Damn it!
Hey, kevin.

Do you copy, kevin?

Go for kevin.

I have a hole in my trommel.

I've got rocks in my run.

I'll head down.
I'll head down.

Narrator: the hole in the
trommel is allowing small rocks

And gravel
into the sluice runs,

Filling the riffles
and disrupting the flow of water

And causing gold
to wash out into the tailings.

Thank [bleep] this guy
is finally showing up.

Yeah.

Hopefully he could fix it
faster than he drives.

-Hola.
-Hey.

What you break?

There's a hole
in the trommel.

Let's go see.

I mean, we know what happened.
We did a patch there.

It's just now
it's this chunk's turn.

These two middle chutes
had nothing coming out.

You might have
to go inside.

Like, underneath?

Underneath the trommel.

Yep, I know.

We'll do 14 to be safe.

Looks like a small problem,
but you got to [bleep] fix it.

Narrator:
while kevin goes to fetch

A punch plate to cover the hole,

Monica and ruby pick out stones
from the runs inside the plant

So the water will flow evenly
once the trommel is fixed.

So rocks this size
aren't supposed to be in here.

Let's go, kevin.
Time is money.

Okay.
Everybody ready for some noise?

[ Pounding ]

Beautiful.
Pass up that plate.

Get a bolt in.
Oh.

Watch your ears.

Ugh [bleep] [bleep]
[bleep]

Ready?
-Yep.

[ Drill whirring ]

There we go.
Beautiful.

Oh [bleep]

The plant is gonna need
a lot of work soon.

It's all getting worn thin,
and eventually we're gonna

Have to reskin the inside
of this trommel entirely.

So we're just doing a quick fix
so we make it

To the end
of the season, eh, kevin?

Next-year problem.
Let's go!

Fire it up!

♪

♪

Alright.
Let's get sluicing again.

I'm really happy we were able
to bolt that up quick.

We were down, what,
half-hour if that?

Good enough.
So you're good to...

Go?
[Bleep]

I appreciate
everything you do!

Thank you!

Narrator: kevin returns to push
dirt for mike

While monica and ruby

Get back to chasing
hunker creek gold.

Super great to be up
and running again.

Hopefully
nothing else happens.

We should be all good.

♪

♪

Rick: if I'm being honest,

We almost
pretty much went all season

Without one
really good cleanup.

I mean, really there was none.

Narrator: rick ness
is fighting for survival.

He's gambled on moving
his operation


To neighbor troy's ground

In a desperate effort
to find pay dirt rich enough

To end his season
with a profit.

Rick: now it's just about trying
to break even, you know,

And if I can get
the 500 ounces,

Breaking even for me means that,
you know,

I can pay my bills
and send my guys home with gold.

Narrator: rick is burning
thousands of dollars of fuel

A day hunting for gold
on unfamiliar ground.

Zee: I'm all for giving it
a super good effort.

I just worry.

I just don't know what the cost
is just to get to the pay.

We all hope this gamble
that rick is taking

Is gonna pay off.

If we can find something
to get us past

That break-even point pretty
much means a gold bonus or not.

Narrator:
but after two days,

They still
haven't reached pay dirt.

It is taking a little longer
than I'd hoped,

But this excavator
is awfully small.

If I had my 700 here,


Fills one of these rock trucks,
you know?

This machine takes 12 or 14.

We all thought we were
gonna be

Hauling pay quicker
than what we have.

Narrator:
after digging down 20 feet,

Rick and gene
go in to inspect the dirt.

What do you
think there, gene?

I think we're down
to the pay layer here

From what looks like.

That's what
I wanted to hear.

Just want to make sure,
I guess.

Just feels different
digging it.

Kind of feel the rocks
chattering off the teeth.

Definitely got a lot more
big rocks in it and stuff.

Yeah.

I like that, should give us
some answers.

That water looks cold.

Yeah, looks
a little chilly.

♪

Rick: this pan right here could
be the difference

Between me going home
broke or not.

♪

♪

Rick: there's gold in it.

Gene: there's some color in it.
It's a good sign.

Well, looks pretty good
to me, gene.

Yeah.
Get that pay to the plant.

Sounds good.

Hell yeah,
gold in the pan.

Narrator: at last, they can
start hauling pay to the plant.

Kruse:
ah, we're good at this.

Taking quite a bit longer
than I think anybody expected,

But once we get this dirt
over to that plant,

Should be smooth sailing.

I probably shouldn't
have said that.

We certainly lucked out
with the weather

And to be able to
have kind yukon neighbors.

Maybe we'll have a chance
to scrounge up

What we need
to finish the season strong.

So you guys ready?

Let's go.
Start it up!

[ Engine starts ]

Narrator: rick fires up
troy's old wash plant.

He's still 20 ounces short
of breaking even.

There she goes.

If this last-ditch effort
pays off,

He could save his season

And send his crew home
with money in their pockets.

We got it!

Let's go!

♪

♪

Parker: everybody down here
have just been sl*ves

To these wash plants
all summer long.

Narrator: parker schnabel is
chasing his best season ever

And needs to bank more than


The red zone,
before winter freezes him out.

Brennan:
everyone here is getting tired.

We're busting out over 500 yards
an hour,

But there is not
much dirt left.

[ Warbles like chewbacca ]

We're at 10% or less of
what we have left to mine here.

Right now, we're, you know,
over 6,000 ounces,

And hopefully we can beat
what we did last year.

It's gonna be cutting her
pretty close.

♪

Narrator: while his crew churns
through pay dirt,

Parker heads up the valley.

I got to go see our neighbor.

That's the guy that we
bought the ground from.

[ Sighs ]

Somebody is always upset
about something.

Hopefully it's nothing bad.

It could just be he needs
a [bleep] cup of sugar.

We'll see what it is.

Can you just stay here?

He doesn't want to be on camera.

♪

♪

[Bleep]

[ Sighs ]

[Bleep]
we're in trouble.

♪

Hey, guys.
Mitch: what's happening?

Oh, we got a bit of a flag
on the play.

And?

Well, I just talked
to our neighbor,

The one that has the water
license on this ground,

And it expires
in june of next year.

But when I bought the ground,

Our agreement for it only goes
till the end of this month,

And I didn't think
that it'd be an issue

With extending it
until it expired.

It was a pretty weird
conversation.

He said, "you know, those nice,
shiny gold bars

That I see you pour on tv,
I want one of them."

Huh,
that's a [bleep] joke.

It's a really [bleep] situation.

So better get
our a*s in gear

And get everybody
on the same page here.

Yeah.
We've only got one shot at this,

And then, after that,
there's no more sluicing.

It's all getting left behind.

Maybe next time you find us
a little nicer neighborhood.

We're in the ghetto
right now.

We'll make it happen.

It's easy for me to get upset
at our neighbor

That has the license here,
but really this is on me.

He's got every right to ask
for however much money he wants.

It's given our season
a pretty hard deadline,

And, like, my one job
if nothing else is to make sure

We have all our paperwork
in order and are legal.

So pretty disappointed
with myself with that.

Narrator: now the team has just


That should take over a week.

Brennan: I can't believe that
our neighbor won't even

[Bleep] play ball with us.

He's the guy with the water
license, not us.

He calls the shots
at the end of the day.

♪

♪

There's no flashy gold
in sight anymore.

My house, everything I own
is on the line.

Narrator:
rick ness is rolling the dice.

Finally on the gold, he's got
his crew running pay dirt

From their new cut
on his neighbor's ground

In the hope
of turning a profit.

Our gold bonus is kind of
in the air right now.

I might have to go back to work
when I get home.

♪

Time is of the essence.

We don't know when the weather
is gonna turn around here.

I definitely got the feeling
we're gonna wake up

One morning to snow
on the ground.

♪

Zee: I foresee a good rest
of the day, just running it,

Trying to hone
the plant with some dirt.

Gene, you got a copy?

Anyone get ahold of gene?

What the [bleep] happened?

Gene: [bleep] [bleep]

♪

Zee: gene!

What the [bleep] gene?

Gene: [bleep] [bleep]

Narrator: gene cheeseman is
a 1/4-century mining veteran

And gold-recovery legend.

His truck has slid off
the soft edge of a berm,

And he's not happy.

What?

Nothing.

I parked it there.

Wasn't really a mistake.

I parked it there.

Nothing really to see.

I could probably drive
out of there.

Narrator:
every minute they're down

Means less gold.

Gene: [bleep] like a bunch
of [bleep] vultures.

Get out of the [bleep] way.

Zee: our plan was to use all
those coarse tailings

To actually widen the road,

So we just didn't get it
wide enough in time.

♪

Zee: stop!

[Bleep]

Nothing.

I don't trust that...
No, I don't like it.

...thing.
It's...

We tried hooking it up
to the front of the loader here,

But there's just not enough
power to pull it over.

The loader just doesn't have it.

Narrator: the only machine
on-site strong enough

To rescue gene's truck
is the excavator,

But that's loading the plant.

Rick: what the hell
is going on?

Gene: I trying to dump off
the side here,

And it's just soft shoulder,
so front wheel sunk in

And just stopped
before it went any further.

Narrator:
there's no other option

But to shut down the plant

So the excavator
can rescue gene's truck.

Gene:
I don't want to shut down,

But I'm gonna get this truck
out of the side of the road,

And then we'll come back
and start running again.

♪

Rick: hey, gene!

Okay.

You might have to back up,
but I'll see how it goes.

Yeah.

♪

[Bleep]

No, don't go. Don't go.
Don't go.

♪

♪

Gene has got it.

♪

♪

Narrator: it's cost them
an hour's downtime,

But gene's truck is safe,

And rick is back sluicing.

It's not an ideal situation,
but I'll get over it.

Zee: gene has been running
this stuff since he was 12,

So kind of makes you realize
gene is human.

♪

♪

Mike: you know, coming to the
end of the season here.

Got this trommel running 24/7,

Ain't gonna stop
for nothing but a cleanup.

I'm gonna run the crew
hard until the end.

Narrator: mike beets starts his
fourth shift of the week,

Feeding the paradise
hill trommel

At a massive 300 yards
of dirt an hour.

Mike:
it's just a giant old party.

Narrator: in the mega cut on top
of paradise hill,

Kevin is working through
a mountain of pay dirt.

The gold layer here can be


And mike is going to run it all.

Kevin: so, right now, we're just
trying to get through

The last little bit.

Weather sucks.
It's cold.

It's miserable, the usual
end-of-season fun.

♪

Hey, kevin, do you copy?

Kevin?

Go for kevin.

The feeder is making
a funny noise.

Can you have a go look at it
for me please?

Yeah.
I'll go have a look.

♪

Narrator: the base of the
trommel's hopper feeder

Is in a shelter
underneath the plant.

[Bleep] [bleep]

[Bleep]

Shut down the water.
Shut down the water, mike.

♪

Narrator: at paradise hill,
kevin has discovered smoke

Coming out of the wash plant.

Shut down the water.
Shut down the water, mike.

Turn it down.

♪

[Bleep] [bleep]

That's it.

Tony and juan, tony and juan.
You guys got a copy?

Yeah, can you come to the feeder
at the trommel?

Something is [bleep]

Mike:
what did you break?

-That thing was jiggling.
-That's not good.

There was smoke.
No.

Narrator:
tony and juan join them

At the base of the hopper feeder

To find the source
of the smoke.

Mike heard a sound,
so I came in the back.

I saw smoke, so I maybe
kind of panicked

And shut everything down.

Those are fine.
I looked at those.

Yeah.

Juan: where was the smoke
coming from, kevin?

Honestly, near the back.

I thought I saw some
in the front, too.

I don't see anything up here,
walking the paths.

Oh [bleep]
that's hot.

Oh, don't tell me that.

Oh [bleep]

That bearing
is fricking hot, guys.

Should we bump her real quick,
see what's going on over here?

Hey, kevin. Let's go ahead
and bump this thing.

Let's see what it does.

Righty-o.
Here she goes.

[ Engine starts ]

Oh [bleep]

Have this whole housing
starting to twist a little bit.

We're bumping it just to
make sure that it's [bleep]

I mean, we know it's hot.

We can smell it.

But if we see that
it's not [bleep] turning,

Then you're [bleep]

Hey, kevin, can you bump it
a little less,

Just real, real quick?

That's done.

That whole bearing
is seized, tony.

It wants to pull
that whole housing out.

Narrator: at one end, the hopper
feeder belt is kept tensioned

By a tail pulley.

The bearings have seized,
creating friction

And enough heat to cause
the grease to start smoking.

How'd it look?

Juan:
it probably seized.

That's what you saw,

And then
you saw the belt slipping.

So how long would it take to get
the part and get her fixed?

Because I know it only takes
about a day to pull her out.

That is unfortunate.

[Bleep]

[Bleep]

[Bleep] way for it to go.

Narrator: eight weeks ago,
tony had all three kids

Running their own wash plants,

Sluicing a colossal 600 yards
of pay dirt an hour.

Now he's down to one plant,
his smallest,

Which can run
just 100 yards an hour.

Me, my brother and my sister
are gonna try

To keep that plant running
until the end of the season.

Narrator: to squeeze every last
dime out of the hunker cut,

Kevin and mike head straight
over to help monica,

Who's running
the kiwi plant alone.

Monica: ruby had to leave,

So it's just me and the dogs
down here.

So every once in a while,
I've got to stop

And give myself more dirt.

Sucks when you're by yourself.

Release the hounds!

-'Sup?
-Hi.

What happened up there?

The bearing seized
on the feeder.

Cool.

No, it was hot,
very, very hot.

That's [bleep] but I've been
down here by myself,

Which is doable,
but hella [bleep] sucks.

Yeah.
So it'd be great

To have one or two
dozer operators around.

Yeah, I'll run the 10.
I'll feed you some pay.

I can help you
with those tailings.

It'd be nice.
Alright.

I better get back
on that hoe.

Yep.

Alright. Let's do this thing,
chicken wings.

Narrator: with all three working
the hunker cut,

The beets kids should be able

To get through
the remaining pay dirt.

♪

We worked pretty damn hard

To get what pay
we could out of the cut.

It'd be nice if we could end
the season

By having sluiced everything.

Mike: considering how many
headaches my sister had

Trying to get her plant up
and running,

It is nice to see that at least
it keeps running

Until the [bleep] end.

We all started the season
working on the kiwi plant.

It's kind of fitting
that we're all gonna

End up here, too.

♪

♪

Brennan:
it's chaos down here right now.

Narrator:
for the last 42 hours,

Parker's crew
has been in a panic,

Working 'round the clock,

Trying to get all the gold
out of the red zone

To break last season's total

Before their water license
expires at midnight tonight.

Tyson: I don't know if we'll be
able to top the last season,



It's a lot of gold.

If we do, it will be a record
season, that's for sure.

So I just turned the feed rate
up a bit.

That's the nice thing
about this plant.

When you need it, it's got
some capacity for washing rocks.

♪

Hey, mitch.

Dude, I got to go.

So I just talked
to hailey,

And she just had
her doctor's appointment,

And they're saying
any day, man, so...

You have a child imminent.

Yeah, like...
You better [bleep] go.

So I know we don't got
many hours left here, but...

Oh, no.
None of this is worth

Being in the doghouse
in that way.

Yeah.
Mitch, have a safe drive.

Thanks, buddy.
Have a good one.

Honestly, mitch.

I know you're in a rush,

But thank you
for the help this summer.

Yeah, no problem, man.
Alright.

Thanks for giving me
the shot.

Dude,
it's been unbelievable.

You are a hell of a leader.

Well, thank you.
I appreciate it.

Have a safe drive.
See you next year, man.

There's bigger things in life
than gold mining,

And this is definitely
one of them.

I couldn't have asked
for more of him.

Narrator: while mitch races
to get back home,

The crew pushes on
without him.

♪

Brennan: we don't have a water
license coming up next year,

So we can't leave a speck
of pay in the ground here.

Parker: hey. I just wanted
to give you a heads up.

We've only got about an hour
left here.

And then we have to [bleep]
wrap up in a hurry.

Sounds good, man.

Have fun.

Oh, always.
You too.

Narrator: parker still
has 500 yards to go,

And it's already 11:00.

Parker: we're just so close
to the finish line here.

Gold-wise, we're damn close
to where we were at last year.

♪

♪

Brennan: we're down to the last
scoop of pay here.

Oh, man.

That's a good feeling.
I'm tired.

It's been a long day.

Nice cold beer
and hit the bed, man.

I'm beat.

♪

Last one of the year.

-Oh, yeah.
-Whoo!

-Yeah!
-Yes!

Yeah! Yeah!
We're done.

We're done.

[ Laughter ]

♪

♪

Hi, boys.

-Hey.
-Hey.

Well, hopefully
there's some gold in it

Because what a [bleep] fight.

How many more [bleep]
sandwiches you gonna feed us?

We're full.

I got [bleep]
in my teeth.

I got [bleep]
in my face.

You want another [bleep]
sandwich, my friend?

No.
I'm full.

Who would have thought, eh?

We were scared we would never
get through it this year.

It's been great,
having you guys here.

Yeah, where the [bleep]

Is my brother foreman,
mitchell?

He's having a baby.

Hopefully he makes it home,
or else.

God, I hope so.

Pretty excited for him.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

It's nice to finish off
when it's not minus 20 out.

Yeah, don't get used to that.

Yeah.

Next year, we'll be back to
icicles hanging off wash plants.

-Aw.
-Aw.

Boy, I've got to get
someone pregnant.

[ Laughter ]

Parker: anyways, we finished
with not much time to spare,

So thank you all
for staying it late.

Doumitt will clean it up
in the morning,

And we'll find out
what we've got.

Hopefully there's
lots of gold in it.

Narrator:
five years ago, parker's grandpa

Advised him to mine
his own land.

-I'll see you in the morning.
-Good night, parker.

-Thanks, guys.
-Anytime, buddy.

You got any beers?

Narrator:
now it's time to see

If that decision will pay off.

Parker: pretty satisfying to buy
a piece of ground

And mine it
and make money doing it.

It wasn't without its headaches,
but, um...

Yeah, good season.

♪

♪

Parker:
we mined so much area in a year.

You really have to replace
that every year

If you're going
to run a business.

Narrator:
the morning after shutdown,

Parker schnabel starts
thinking about next season.

He succeeded in mining
out his own ground,

But without a claim
for next year,

His crew will be homeless.

Parker: it's really hard
to find good ground.

So right now, I'm heading
over to adrian hollis'.

He's been a great resource
for us,

Like, massively helped us
out mining multiple times.

He is one of the smartest
gold miners up here.

I'm hoping to talk to adrian
a bit about what ground

He knows of
that might be available.

♪

How you doing?
What are you doing here?

How you doing, mate?

Just coming to say hi
and pick your brain a little.

Ah, good man.

How are you doing?
Good.

Yeah.
Good season, yeah.

Good.
Lots of gold, lots of fun.

Boy, it must be a whole
different atmosphere here.

You like chaos, right?

I do like chaos.
Yeah.

And we've got that.

Yeah, well,
I'm getting older, you see.

I like
the tranquility better.

You've got gold
on your table.

We use it like salt.

We have gold-flavored
sandwiches.

I'm really trying
to hunt hard for ground.

Boy, it's just...
Pickings are slim, you know?

We've done
a bunch of drilling,

And then I spent
a day out

Doing some testing out
on black hills.

What was the result like?

All over the place.

That's why all that stuff
is left.

It's either lean,
or it's 150 feet deep.

I don't like what prospects
are out there.

Well,
go off to australia,

And you could look over there
if you like.

Yeah, I guess they wouldn't
have the cold to worry about.

Do you think
there's opportunities

Worth exploring
over there?

Well, anywhere it was easy,
the gold is already gone.

Same as up here, right?

Exactly the same.

But they produce a lot
of gold over there.

Huh.
You've got me thinking.

I've been looking for a place
to go this winter.

We're just going into
their summer, right?

Yeah.
Yeah.

Yeah, so, you know,
be a good time

Not to be going there,
you know.

Think it's gonna be
too hot?

Do you like


Like 110.

That's pretty hot.
Oh.

You have to put up
with the big bugs and snakes.

Because, man,
there's some advantages.

Like, not having permafrost
would be a big one.

Man, I might go try and find
some ground over there.

Well, talk to the local people
and get local knowledge.

Yeah.

You can go and talk
to this ted fellow.

I knew him back in school,

And he's wandering around out
in the bush there.

I'll get ahold of him here,
and you can go and talk to him.

Oh, I see.
Is he a gold miner?

Yes, he is.

Awesome.
Yeah.

Having an insider
is really helpful.

There you go.

Although, for me, up here,
I don't know that tony beets

Was the right insider
to have,

But got us going anyways.

Yeah.
Okay.

Well, I'll talk to him,

And then
I'll send you an e-mail.

Sweet.
Awesome.

Thanks for doing that, adrian.
Yeah, not a problem.

Appreciate it.
My pleasure.

Come anytime.

Cheers.

If adrian has contacts
in australia,

That might be
the place to go.

I know there's a hell
of a lot of gold there

And a lot of production,

So it's definitely something
we're gonna look into.

♪

♪

Rick: the weather is just
going to hell.

Today is gonna suck.

Narrator: the big freeze has hit
the mountains above keno.

For most miners at this
elevation, the season is over.

But rick ness is determined
to get one final day's sluicing

On the new claim
in the hopes of turning a profit

And sending his guys
home with gold.

Even running water right now has
ice shelfs on the sides of it.

Yeah.
It's cold.

There's definitely ice in here.

First struggle is just
get the water flowing.

Once you get the water flowing,
it'll thaw it out, I hope.

This time of year,
trying to run a wash plant,

A wash plant
needs lots of water.

The water is trying
to freeze right now.

♪

What's going on, gene?
Just died?

It's frozen.

Well, the pump died
as soon as we tried

To send the water to the plant.

Probably just the diesel fuel
gelling up in the pump.

It's just too cold.

You ready?
Yeah.

We're good.

♪

Oh [bleep] [bleep]
shut her down!

Shut it!

[Bleep] sake.

Well, a bunch of ice
in the line

Built up a bunch of pressure,

And it [bleep] blew the water
line off the plant.

So gonna have gene
turn the pump on.

We'll flush any ice
that's in there out of there.

We'll rehook it up,
and hopefully it'll be fine.

Narrator: if the water pressure
from the pump

Is not strong enough to force
the ice through the line,

Rick's season will be over.

You want me to turn the pump
back on, ready to go?

Rick: let's go.
Stand back.

♪

♪

Yeah.
I can see chunks of ice

[Bleep] rolling out of there.

That's good.

So we get it
cleared out?

Yeah. A bunch of ice
blew out of it, gene.

Hopefully that's it.
Let's fire this thing back up.

Narrator:
with the water flowing,

It's time to clear
the sluices of ice.

Well, it's frozen, so we just
got to let the water trickle

Across things
and thaw things out.

Rick; turn it up.

Here.
Hold on.

There you go.
There we go.

Kruse: look at that.

I'm melting water.

I don't work outside
much back home,

So this is a first for me.

♪

Ryan: good job.

That water is really
running through there now.

Yeah.
I know.

Narrator: it's taken them
over three hours,

But, at last, they're ready
to sluice for gold.

[ Engine starts ]

Rick: we're going.

[Bleep] you, ice.

Aw, I love that sound.
Love it.

♪

Narrator: rick sluices
for nine straight hours.

But as the sun sets,
the temperature plummets.

Rick: wash plant is just one
big shower, you know,

And as soon as that water
hits the cold steel,

It's trying to freeze.

Narrator:
if he runs any longer,

Frozen pipes will destroy
the wash plant

He's borrowing
from the claim owner.

Rick: it's too cold.
There's ice everywhere.

Sometimes you just got to know
when to walk away.

Yeah.

That's the last bucket of dirt,
so [bleep]

I really hope the gold is
in the box because that's it.

We're done.

♪

♪

For what we ran,
I think that looks pretty good.

But I've been fooled before,
so I'm not gonna try

And guess, so we're just
gonna pull these mats,

See where we're at, man.

Narrator:
the final gold weigh will reveal

If rick's last gamble
of the season has paid off.

Rick: what'd you find?
Oh, look at that.

We finally got some nuggets.

Karla: way at the bottom.
Oh.

Well, I like that, man.
That's cool.

Anytime I can pick nuggets
out of the box

And shove them in my pocket,
that's a good day.

We did the work.

Hopefully there's enough there
to get us over 500 ounces.

That means everybody goes home
with gold in their pockets

And I don't lose my a*s.

I cut it even again and have
another shot

At redemption next year.

♪

♪

Narrator: after a final push
at the hunker cut,

Tony beets has shut down
for the winter.

Minnie: hey.

What's up?

Hi, guys.

At the end
of a difficult season,

The family is finally in profit,

And they still have
a week's gold to weigh.

Hi, everybody.

They gather to discover
their final total.

So how did the season
go for you?

Considering our mass exodus
from the indian river

And everything else
that [bleep] followed...

It was not
a problem-free year.

Let's put it that way.

At the start of the season,
when the beets family

Lost their water license
on the indian river,

They were faced with disaster.

But the family pulled together
and saved their season.

You better start weighing
that stuff.

-Whose is this?
-Mine.

Narrator: monica, with the help
of her brothers,

Succeeded in keeping
the kiwi plant running all week

And made it through
all the stockpiled pay.

Monica: 35, 40, 45,



...60.52.

That's not too, too bad.

Wow.
That's nice.

Mike: I don't think I've ever
seen one bigger.

Anyways,
the next one is mike.

Narrator: mike only managed
to run his trommel with kevin

For just four days
before it broke down.









That's our total
for the season.

Worth over $3 million,

$2 Million less than last year,

But still a decent profit.

This spring,
tony asked you guys

To kind of step it up,
and I think you all did.

So are you proud of us?

Oh, man.

Oh, my god, that face.

He looks so proud
right now.

Kevin: I'm just awesome.

I'm proud of you.

[ Slurping ]

♪

♪

Rick: hello, fellas.

What's going on?

There we go.

-Oh, yeah.
-Yeah.

That's what
I'm talking about.

-Oh.
-It's good-looking stuff, huh?

Rick: I mean, that's not
everything that we've got.

I just wanted to show
you guys that

Because it's still impressive.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, man.

Lots of nice,
chunky stuff in that one.

Yeah. Yeah.

That's some of the more
medium-sized nuggets

That we got at duncan creek.

We ended up at duncan creek

With just barely
over 480 ounces,

And 500 was the number
to beat for a break-even point.

Narrator:
after running out of pay

On his claim at duncan creek,

Rick ness moved his operation
in a last-ditch effort

To avoid a loss

And to be certain he can send
his crew home with a gold bonus.

Now it's the moment of truth.

Rick needs at least


Gene: it was a hell
of a gamble to go,

You know, down there
to troy's.

It was pretty deep pay,
and it got cold.

There was a calculated amount
of recklessness there.

All we needed was 20 ounces
to hit that break-even point.

Doing what we did, at the end,
at troy's, did it pay off?

Karla, you got that?



-Wow.
-No way.

Karla: yeah.

Narrator: their season total

Is 547 ounces,
worth $766,000.

Rick's made a profit
of 47 ounces,

Worth over $65,000.

And there's one last thing.

Well, we went over our goal
by 47 ounces, and...

-Oh, man.
-...that one's for you guys.

-Guys.
-Yeah, man.

Narrator: each of rick's crew
will go home with a bonus

Of over $11,000 in gold.

-Appreciate it.
-Yeah. It means a lot.

I mean, if I'm being
completely honest,

Things did not
go great this year.

About a month ago, I didn't know
if there was a future,

But you know what?
You guys all stuck here with me,

And I've still got another shot
to come back up here

And do it again.

Zee:
we didn't strike it rich.

I mean, we're still able to hang
our hat on something,

I think, after this year.

Rick: I can't wait to come back
up here, do it again next year.

I am just thankful that you guys
all stuck with me,

And I get to send everybody home
with some gold in their pockets.

Right?

Bring it in here, fellas.
Let's get one last one.

All: hey!

Narrator: parker schnabel's
co-foreman, mitch blaschke,

Made it home in time for
the birth of his daughter, mia.

Dude, look at those fists.

You so angry.

Just hungry.

Yeah, is that better?

She's all happy again here,

So we're gonna work
on some racecars.

What do you think?

Alright.

Oh, perfect.

No safer spot.

♪

♪

Parker: hey, buddy.
Where's your stick?

Brennan: we gonna weigh
some gold?

Man:
let's weigh up some gold.

Let's weigh up some gold.

Narrator: after mining out every
inch of his claim,

Parker's crew assembles for the
last gold weigh of the season.

Parker: where's my truck?

There's still a nugget
in my glove box.

Doumitt: just think
what the number would be

If all the gold made it
to the gold room.

Yeah.
Chris, you're one to talk.

Talk what?
It evaporates.

[ Laughter ]

Every season up here
is a big challenge,

And you guys have been
phenomenal this season.

That piece of ground we bought
was a pretty big gamble,

And you guys made it worthwhile.

Last year, we did, what, 7,400,
something like that?

We're at...


Let's see where we end up.
Let's start with big red.

Ready?
Yup.

Narrator:
parker needs over 900 ounces

To set a new gold-total record.

Brennan: 320, 330...



-Whoo!
-[Bleep] yeah!

Holy [bleep]

Doumitt:
so total for this season...

With weighing out big red,
our season total

Is 6,820 ounces.

Oh, boy.

We need 607 ounces
to beat last year.

This is all we got left.

Aaron: 100, 150.

Come on, come on,
come on, 250.





-Whoo!
-[Bleep]

Just shy, guys!

So that makes our
season total...



[ All cheering ]

Narrator: despite a final haul
worth more than $1 million,

Parker has ended his season


Of last season's total,
but by mining his own ground,

He's increased his profit
by more than a million.

We paid, like, 1,400 ounces
in royalties last year,

And this year,
a 700-ounce difference.

After royalties...

Doumitt: it's our most
successful season.

Yeah. It was
a lot better of a season.

Narrator: and with gold prices
peaking above $1,500 an ounce,

Parker schnabel has broken
through to the next level,

Mining over $10 million
in gold.

In gold mining,
you're only as good

As the group
of people you have,

And we've got
the best of the best.

So cheers
to all of you guys.

Thank you.

[ All cheering ]

After achieving his best season
ever in the klondike,

Parker's thoughts
turn to the future.

It's really difficult business
to have a future in

Because you eat up ground.

Once it's mined, it's done.

Luckily, we had a good season,
so we've got money in the bank,

But, really,
we don't have much time.

We're gonna have to make
a decision and go mining again,

And that's what scares me.

Narrator:
after mining out his claim,

He needs to find a new claim
for next year,

And he's looking way
outside of the yukon.

♪

On the next episode of
"gold rush: parker's trail"...

Parker:
for this trip to be a success,

I really want to find
a piece of ground

That either has
lots of gold on it

Or some really big gold on it.

And australia has the biggest
gold reserves in the world,

And they're producing more gold
than they ever have.

I mean, take a look
at the nuggets

That come out of australia
and tell me

That you wouldn't
want to come here.

It's just gonna be
a whole new world.

These are the two largest
nuggets I have ever found.

Where we get frozen out
of the yukon after six months,

Here,
you don't have that problem.

Look at that.

No.
See?

Just pulling gold out the wall.

You can mine here


This is a new team,

And I don't know what
that dynamic will have.

Yes!

You're a hero.

I have a great teacher.
Thank you.

[ Laughter ]

I'd like to think that we'll
come out of here smiling

And having fun and laughing.

Good job.
You did great.

But I'd be lying if I said

It was gonna be
that way the whole time.

Every single thing is broken.

It's just bull [bleep]
that should've been done.

We can't mine at all.

I'm done.
I'm just done with it.

-Terry!
-Oh [bleep]

-Ooh!
-Parker!

Smoking up a bit.

What the [bleep] is that?

-Oh!
-Whoa!

[Bleep] brutal.

Well, I know we'll have
some hard times.

-What the [bleep] is it doing?
-It's a bloody death trap.

Somebody is gonna get hurt.

I know australia is gonna
be hotter than hell.

Look at the fire.
It's huge.

There's the five most deadly
snakes and spiders in the world.

-Aah!
-Whoa!

-Aah!
-Aah!

But none of that matters

If you find a good enough
piece of ground.

-Holy [bleep]
-whoa.

Are you kidding me?
Shut up.

I will mine in hell
if the ground's good.