[whistling]
[Parker] This season is going
to be different.
Have to battle on two
different fronts right now.
One in Fairbanks,
one in the Klondike.
[narrator] In just
nine seasons, 27-year-old Parker Schnabel
has built one
of the most successful
gold mining operations
in the Klondike.
But faced with tight
regulations, skyrocketing fuel prices
and a world on the edge
of a recession,
his future in the Yukon
is now unclear.
The truth is, the ground
that we've been mining
is not going
to just last forever.
There's serious concern about
the future of the company
and for us to be able to keep
mining at the scale we are at.
[narrator] But the young mine
boss isn't throwing in the towel.
To keep his dream alive,
Parker's expanding his empire
with a new mine in his
home state of Alaska.
So we're going to have a
very big, busy season in the Yukon,
you know, and then
we're also going
to be setting up
this operation in Fairbanks.
[narrator] To fund Alaska, his Yukon
operation is already up and running,
bringing in gold earlier
than ever before.
[Parker] That's kind
of exciting, you know,
I'm actually really looking
forward to that.
[narrator] Last season, Parker struck
a deal with landowner John Reeves...
[Parker] That's 100 ounces.
[narrator] ...to mine
100-foot-deep gold rich ground
near Fairbanks, Alaska.
Dude, you hit a nugg.
[narrator] To tackle
the deep ground,
he's investing
nearly $1 million.
Look at that.
[narrator] On a state
of the art, custom built
mobile wash plant for
the clay-packed Alaskan ground.
[Parker] You better get
on building a real one.
[Parker] I have a lot riding
on this.
This new wash plant
is the heart
of the new operation
in Fairbanks.
The new plant we're building
gives any clay
or anything like that,
a chance to break up
when it's like lots of water
and velocity and lots of material flow.
But, um, you know,
there's a lot to do
and not a lot of time
to do it.
[narrator] Parker wants to be mining
Alaskan gold in a month's time.
[Parker] Yep, yep, yep.
[narrator] So he's checking in on
the plant's progress with designer Jeff Turnell.
Here. There's Jeff.
- Jeff!
- [Jeff] How goes it, man?
- Good. How are you?
- Good.
- How's things been?
- Good.
- Long time no see.
- Yeah, you too.
What country
is this one going to?
So it's headed to Peru,
so making sure everything's with it.
I've got the sluice runs
and all that out in the yard.
Just a smaller version
of your plant.
- [Parker] So is this
our screen deck? - No.
[laughs]
That one's a little small.
And you could be, uh, pretty mad at the throughput.
- Who's plant is this?
- This one's stock.
- Oh, so...
- This one's, uh, meant for overseas.
Doesn't have a lot of the
options that, uh, you're looking for.
All right. Well, so do we have
a full-size wash plant?
No, that won't
be here for a bit.
[Parker] Really?
Everything right now
is so hard to get.
[Parker] [bleep]
That's not good.
Where does that leave us for,
like, a delivery date?
If I had to guess right now, it's
going to be close to the end of August.
[bleep]
- There's just lead times on everything.
- [Parker] Yeah.
I don't know what to do if
we don't have a wash plant until August.
[Parker sighs]
Because John Reeves,
our landlord in Fairbanks,
I keep telling him, like, "Don't worry,
we just ordered a badass wash plant
it's going to be there
for the season and..."
- [Jeff] No.
- I've wrapped myself into quite the...
[bleep] sandwich.
[narrator] After months spent
searching for the perfect plant
to methodically tackle
his Alaska claim,
Parker must now
rethink everything.
- Keep me in the loop if anything changes.
- I will do. I will do, man.
Looks like Fairbanks
is [bleep] from day one.
I'm not happy,
no... nobody is happy.
[Fred] We live
in a pretty remote place
with pretty remote access
to our claim, so...
So it's definitely not
an easy minesite to mine.
[narrator] On the outer edge
of the Klondike,
junior year mine boss
Green Beret medic Fred Lewis
fights for his own
gold mining dream.
[Fred]
It's do or die this season.
My house is on the line.
My family's lives are on the line.
We're here to live the dream.
We're here to get purpose and we're here to find gold.
[narrator] Fred's gambling on ground
at the remote California Creek
delivering 500 ounces,
nearly five times
what he mined last year.
But last week...
[Fred]
What the [bleep] is that?
[narrator] Fred suffered
a near-fatal blow.
Our entire claim is under ice.
[narrator] An ice sheet
stands between him
and his gold rich paydirt.
What the hell
are we going to do, man?
Mother nature really dealt us
a [bleep] hand this year.
It's just going to be
another battle for us.
We're just going
have to work our ba*ls off
until we get
to where we need to be.
[narrator] Fred clears
a fresh dump of snow
that's stopping him
from getting vital machinery
from up at base camp
down to the claim.
I've never seen
this much snow in my life.
Right now, it's just me and JB.
We're busting our ba*ls here.
We're going to have to clear
the snow manually, foot by foot,
until we get to the claim.
[narrator] But help
is on the way.
After a four day drive
from Washington state.
Fred's 22-year-old stepson,
Christopher Parker,
and old buddy,
sn*per Stuart McKenzie,
are finally arriving.
I cannot believe we're [bleep]
back here already.
- It really feels like we just left.
- [chuckles]
The amount of stuff that we had
to deal with with the thaw last year
it's going to be times ten.
Are we even going to be able
to get down to the claim?
I don't know.
Let's see how much Fred's gotten done.
You have to overcome, right?
[bleep]
A lot of adapting to do.
There's Fred.
Yep.
Oh, hot dog.
[honking]
Stuart and Chris are here.
[Stuart] How much you want to bet
he's going to put us to work?
[Fred laughs]
- What's up, guys?
- How was your trip?
Oh, good, man.
- Guess what we're doing?
- What's going on?
- Work.
- Well, we're setting a goal for 500 ounces this year.
- Holy [bleep].
- [Stuart] Awesome.
[Fred] So it's going
to be a battle, guys.
I got some bad news.
There's glacier-sized ice covering the entire claim.
[Stuart] Oh, my [bleep].
It's going to be the biggest
challenge we've faced as a team.
[Stuart] Yeah.
So we're not, we're
not waiting on mother nature.
[Stuart] Okay.
We're taking the two pieces of equipment
we have and just going for it.
That's our mission.
[narrator] To get their share
of 500 ounces,
the Lewis crew
must first clear snow and ice
from a treacherous four mile
downhill mountain dirt track
plagued by dangerous bends
just to get to their claim.
[Christopher] We just finished
driving 2000 and something miles.
To already being put back to
work and building roads kind of sucks.
[narrator]
The team takes shifts
to clear the road
in the dozer.
Stu punches a trail
through the snow.
Chris follows
in the 220 excavator
scraping up the ice beneath.
Hey, Christopher.
You're doing great but, um, there's
a way a lot faster than this.
- You don't even have to scrape, ever.
- [Chris] Okay.
It's easy.
Just hop out real quick.
I don't know what was wrong
with the way I was doing it.
I was trying to get the,
like, all of like the surface snow,
the surface ice off.
So that later on when
it starts to warm up
and everything starts
to really melt,
we won't be dealing
with a flood.
But Fred's the boss.
I got to do the way he tells me to do.
That is my life for
the next four, four months.
That's just the way it is.
[Fred] Christopher
stepping up this year.
He's telling me he wants to be
in more of a leadership role.
Right now,
he's just a young buck,
doesn't have a lot
of experience in life,
doesn't have a lot
of experience with leadership.
But I see the potential there.
It's getting more dangerous.
It's cold.
Having a hard time
controlling it.
I mean, this is just,
I can't even go straight.
[narrator] Two miles from
claim, Fred hits a treacherous
20 degree steep
downhill slope.
Whoa!
[bleep].
Oh, that's not good.
[bleep]
[bleep]
[bleep] that.
Oh!
All right.
Well, that was a pucker effect of ten out of ten.
But I'm through it and
I'm seeing there's dirt road here.
This is making me so happy.
I think buzz and I really
did push through the hardest part,
and now the road's
starting to open up.
Rick is a pretty,
pretty closed off guy.
But it just seems like lately he's
been a little bit more closed off,
um, kind of keeping
more to himself.
[narrator] In Wisconsin Rick
Ness' hometown buddy Zee Zaremba,
hasn't heard from Rick
for weeks.
[Zee] Just feel
like something...
something's definitely
going on.
I just, I don't know.
I love the guy, and I hope he's all right.
That's all I really want.
Well, let's see if he's here.
[knock on door]
- Holy [bleep].
- [Rick] What's up, buddy?
- [Zee] What's up?
- [Rick] How you doing?
- Good. Are you here?
- [Rick] Yeah. Yeah.
[Zee] What's going on?
- Oh, lots.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- You all right?
- Yeah, I'm okay.
Um, there's probably
lots to tell you,
I... I'm, uh,
I'm working on a car.
- Do you want to just meet
me in the garage? - [Zee] Yeah.
- I can meet you there.
- Okay, let me put my shoes on.
- How you doing?
- Good to see you.
Well, yeah.
All right, I guess
I'm standing.
Check this out though,
I, uh...
I had a dehumidifier and
everything running in the garage.
- Yeah.
- Dehumidifier actually quit on me and I didn't notice.
- And, uh, there you see it oxidizing.
- [Zee] Oh.
- At least you caught it quick enough.
- Yeah.
They said they think they can, you
know, get back on top of it, anyways.
Uh...
Why?
Why are you here?
Why aren't you mining?
Um...
Just wondering that myself
a lot too, I...
I don't know, man,
I just haven't been...
I haven't, I haven't
been up for it.
- It sounds weird.
- [Zee] It does.
- I know it sounds weird.
- [Zee] Physical, mental what?
I, I just, I got back
from mine last year
and, you know, I crashed hard,
like I always do.
You know, I put in so many hours up
there, you know, I spent a couple of weeks.
I just sleep
and I catch up, right?
- This year, I just haven't been able to get out of that.
- [Zee] Just a funk?
[stammering]
I guess it's a combination.
I mean, there's, you know,
a seasonal affective disorder
that they think I have
and then just depression and I...
That's, it's tough for me to accept,
because I didn't grow up like that.
No.
I mean, when do you
think all the depression stuff started?
I mean, when we went up, what
was it, a month after your mom passed?
Did you ever really
grieve for that yet?
- You know, I have her house.
- Yeah.
- It looks, it's like she never left right now.
- [Zee] Yeah.
And... and, uh...
I haven't been
to the house for two years.
- You know what I mean?
- Yeah.
- I haven't been able to go up there.
- Yeah.
The... the...
the other tough part
is I know it's not just me, right?
- Like, there's a lot of people counting on me.
- [Zee] Yeah.
And everybody's in limbo right now,
wondering, and I'm counting on me.
Like, I can't, I can't
sit here in my house.
No, but I would just
get yourself right.
And once you get
yourself right,
go ahead and go back up
and just k*ll it.
- Keep having successful seasons.
- Yeah.
That all you know how to do.
- Yeah, I appreciate that, man.
- [Zee] All right.
- I'll talk to you. Okay.
- All right.
- Keep you phone on.
- I love you.
- Maybe answer it.
- Yeah, yeah.
I'm getting better.
[Zee] I'm just relieved.
He's doing the steps he needs.
It sounds like
to get back, um, to old Rick.
So things are good.
Hopefully he just keeps doing what he's doing.
[Rick] I am doing better.
But it's, uh, there's just a lot
of things that I don't understand still,
you know, with what I'm...
whatever this is I'm going through.
It's, uh, you know,
it's tough.
Well, Zee brought up,
you know, my mother passing
and... and, you know, I...
I don't like talking about it,
because he's not wrong or, you know,
I have her house and I
haven't been there in two years.
You know, I probably need to go
there and I need to face it.
And maybe that'll help,
maybe it won't.
Once again, that's the
frustrating thing about it.
I don't know
what's causing it.
And I think that's,
I don't know if you ever know.
When I'm ready,
I will be gold mining again.
I just don't know
when that is.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] For over 30 years,
Tony Beets has reigned
as the undisputed
king of the Klondike.
But with red tape blocking him
from mining his Indian River claims
he's trapped on Paradise Hill.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
To hit his 5000 ounce goal.
Tony's chasing the elusive gold
rich white channel pay layer
in two of the deepest cuts
he's ever mined.
First, the nine acre 130 foot
deep cold cut
where he's down to paydirt.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
The crew stockpiled paydirt,
ready for youngest son Mike to start
sluicing by the end of the day.
[Mike] I want to get sluicing.
Because you gotta remember if we're
not sluicing all we're doing is spending.
It gets very [bleep]
expensive not to sluice.
[narrator] Eldest son,
whose fixed equipment
since childhood
prepares
the 30-year-old trommel
for its first fire up
of the season.
[Kevin] Glenn is on his way
to finish up his checks
and then at that point, fire
up the pump at full speed.
But [bleep] we're pretty
much ready to [bleep] go.
[narrator] To wash precious
gold out of the dirt
they need to feed the plant
with 1500 gallons of water a minute.
A 900 horsepower pump propels
water from the intake pond
half a mile uphill
to the wash plant.
[Tony speaking]
Yeah.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] The pipe that links the intake
pond to the pump is iced up.
[Tony speaking]
[Len] Yes, I do.
[Tony speaking]
[Len] Oh, yes, I will.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Over nearly
40 years of mining,
Tony has collected
a machine for every problem.
The custom built steam truck heats
up water to over 100 degrees,
then fires it out as a
2000 PSI jet of hot steam.
[Tony speaking]
So this year, Tony talked
a lot about stepping back,
giving me and Mike
more responsibility.
[Tony speaking]
[Kevin] But it's hard for him.
He's just so used to being in charge.
He just can't keep
his fingers out of the pie.
- Any more, I'd be worried.
- [Tony speaking]
[Kevin] We hit something.
[narrator] Just three feet in
the steamer rod is blocked.
[Tony speaking]
All right.
[Tony speaking]
Pulling it.
[Tony speaking]
Ice coming out.
[Tony speaking]
- Oh, yeah.
- [Tony speaking]
No, that one's solid.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] The ice in the pipe
stretches 30 feet
all the way from
the intake pond to the pump.
It will take days to thaw.
Every hour the trommel
is down costs Tony, $3,000.
[Tony speaking]
[Carolyne] I just worry every year when
you guys go up there on the roads,
top of the world highway
makes my stomach churn.
- So I just want everybody to be careful and...
- [Brandon] Right.
- Mm-hmm.
- ...watch out for each other.
We know we're going
a long ways away from home.
[narrator] 23-year-old
Brandon Clayton
and his 20-year-old
brother Brady
are part of a new generation
of young miners
preparing for a make
or break season in the Yukon.
You guys are leaving tomorrow?
What's your plan?
[Brandon] Well, we're going for
500 ounces of gold this season,
but fuel
is through the roof, so...
Mm-hmm.
I think we just got
to figure out what's economically viable
and if all goes well
and get some pay to the plant
and hopefully start
washing within a week.
You've got to get ground
stripped quick, screening for sure.
And then you just give
her give her hell.
[narrator] For father Glenn
and the rest of the family,
the financial stakes
couldn't be higher.
At the end of the day, our
goal is to clear up our debts,
and that means all of us work.
In 2014 when oil tanked,
bills were big and stacking up
and everybody's battling
their own battles.
I guess we lost ours.
We ended up going broke
and, and had to restart.
- His pudgy, little face.
- [Carolyne laughs]
[narrator] The family's
construction business
relies heavily on the Albertan
oil industry.
So when oil prices plummeted
in 2014,
they were pushed
into crippling debt.
Very much into machinery, he's sitting
there wanting to drive the tractor.
[narrator] Now using decommissioned
equipment from their business,
Brandon and Brady are gambling
the little money they have
to claw back the millions
they owe by mining for gold.
[Brandon] This is my passion.
I love gold mining. I absolutely love it.
I think mine and my brother's
work ethic came from my dad
and we're just happy
to carry it on
and help out
our family business.
Brady and I have
a pretty good relationship.
He does complain a little bit
when he... gets it,
when I give him
the [bleep] jobs,
but they've got to be done and he
knows that, so he goes and gets them done.
[Brady] Taking orders
from my brother
obviously brothers,
we butt heads sometimes.
I mean, he's showing me
everything that I know up there.
He is the boss,
so got to respect that.
[narrator] The brothers have been fixing
heavy machinery since they were kids.
Experience they will need
in the remote Yukon.
[Brandon] And we're hoping
to hit her good this season.
We're going
to work her a*s off.
We're coming up to this season
with bigger equipment,
more equipment
and more manpower.
[narrator] Last season,
Brandon and Brady
joined forces with
second year miner Fred Lewis.
We'll pull from my area, your area,
just [bleep] get dirt all around this season.
- And we can just split the gold, 50-50.
- We got a deal.
I'm down with it.
[narrator] Agreeing to share their
home-built wash plant, the dirt devil
in exchange for pay, led
to the Clayton's best season ever.
- 38.66.
- 38.
- That's pretty good for you as
well, right? - Yeah, I'm happy with that.
Yeah.
[narrator] This year,
they plan to mine solo
to increase profit and pay off
their family debt faster.
[Brady] Yeah, the last thing we
want to do is let you down.
So we're going to do everything
we can to keep that going strong.
[Glenn] You don't have to
worry about ever let me down.
You guys are...
I'm pretty proud of you guys, so I know it's tough...
It's tough slogging up here.
And I know you guys work hard, so you
don't have to worry about ever letting me down.
You do your best,
and that's all we can ask for.
[narrator] Delayed two weeks
fixing faulty equipment,
the brothers are finally ready
to make the three day drive
to the Yukon.
You know, the pressure
is already on.
We should be in the Yukon
at California Creek
running gold
by now and we're not.
So we've got to hustle it up.
It's very humbling to hear that your
kids are invested as much as they are.
- Love you.
- Love you.
- Yeah.
- Bye, mom.
- Love you.
- Love you.
[Carolyne] They could go on
and do whatever they want
because they're very
talented in many areas.
Take care of mom and dad.
They just want to contribute
and do it all together.
Mm-hmm.
Yukon here we come.
Let's go get some gold.
[Parker] I just landed
here in Fairbanks.
But we've got a mountain to do
in the Yukon still,
so there's just a lot
to juggle, you know?
[narrator] Nearly three weeks
into the season,
Parker has left his crew
running his Yukon mine
to jump start
his new operation in Alaska.
Any time you start getting very
spread out, it's pretty high risk.
If I can't figure out how to
get something to work in two different areas
then I shouldn't be
doing this.
[narrator]
To make matters worse,
a four month delay
on his new wash plant
designed to tackle
Alaska's deep clay-riddled ground,
has left Parker's plans
shot to pieces.
Now he must face up
to legendary Alaskan landowner John Reeves.
Basically, I don't know
how big of a season
we're going to be able
to have here,
because by the time the
new plant for Fairbanks is built,
most of the season
is going to be gone.
And John really wants us to be
doing at least 1000 ounces a year.
That might prove problematic.
Worst case scenario, things could
get a little bit nasty.
[knock on door]
- [Ilaura] Hi.
- [Parker] Hi.
- [Ilaura] How are you?
- [Parker] Good. How are you?
- Welcome to Fairbanks.
- Hey, John.
[John] Welcome back, dude.
- Hi, Drew, good to see you.
- [Drew] Yeah. Good to see you, too.
- [Ilaura] Have a seat.
- Oh, thanks.
Yeah.
[narrator] John's daughter, Ilaura,
works for the family business
with husband Drew.
[John] So what's new?
[Parker] Well, down the
barrel, our main permit
in the Yukon is expiring at
the end of this mining season.
So we have to have
that whole block of ground mined
and reclaimed
by the end of this season.
So we're just
slammed over there.
I understand
you're a busy guy
and you got some
big operations going
and this is going to be
another big operation.
So what's your plan, dude?
I wish I had some
good news about
this whole operation
right now, but I don't.
We spent a good chunk
of the winter designing a plant.
We were trying
to find one to buy.
By the time we pulled
the trigger on it,
the lead time puts us into
the like back third of the season.
[John] So you're not thinking
you're going to get your plant
up here until,
what, late summer or...
Yeah. Right now it's looking
like we're going to miss
at least two thirds
of the season.
Yeah, so I don't know what
that means for our deal, you know?
Our deal's a deal.
You gave me an advanced
minimum royalty, which covers this season.
- If you say I'm not going out there, you lost it.
- All right.
There is a little bit
of a gold rush going on.
And with things happening
in this economy,
a lot of people
go to gold as a hedge.
So we got a lot of miners
and there is a lot of outside interest.
I'm still committed
to the project
and still committed
to the ground,
and we'll make it work, one way or another.
We'll make it work.
I just right now, I
don't know what that looks like.
It's a tricky business
that you're in.
If would help, Ilaura and
Jordan have been out there
prospecting for quite
a few years, maybe ten years.
[Parker] We're at a stage now where I
could definitely use all the help we can get.
You might need
to get creative.
We kind of know some spots
that are pretty good,
so there might be something that
can keep you afloat, you know,
while you're waiting for your,
your pretty machine.
- On Cleary Creek.
- On Cleary Creek, some old drift mines.
Hmm. Maybe I'll have
to twist your arm
and try to get,
try to get your secret spots.
Figure it out.
Can I show them where there's
some gold out there on top?
- Yeah.
- Thanks, guys.
- I'll be...
- Thank you.
- I'll be back soon, hopefully.
- Yeah.
And, um, and we'll put
a plan together,
and we'll start whaling some dirt
out there and find some gold.
- [Ilaura] All right.
- [John] All right, dude.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Excited to show you around.
- Appreciate it.
- [John] All right, man.
- [Parker] Looking forward to it.
[narrator] If Parker is
to have a successful season,
he now needs to come up
with a new mining plan.
Overall, that seemed
to go pretty well.
You know, it seems like John
and Drew and Ilaura
all understand that we're
really under the g*n.
We're fighting
a battle on all fronts.
We're fighting, you know,
just supply chain issues.
The big thing is just I do want
to get this project going and make it happen.
- [Tony speaking]
- Yeah?
- [Tony speaking]
- Okay.
- [Tony speaking]
- Yeah, that works.
[narrator] Tony Beets
is desperate to start sluicing,
but he needs water and the pipe
to the pump is blocked with ice.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Veteran miner
Len Hoekstra
has spent a day
clearing ice from the top half
of the pipe
closest to the pump.
[Tony speaking]
[Len] Looks like it.
[narrator] When testing the lower end
of the pipe through an access vent.
Tony comes up
against more ice.
It could take Len another 12 hours
to steam the bottom of the pipe out.
This downtime
will cost Tony $36,000
in wages, fuel
and gold he can't get mined.
[Tony speaking]
[Mike] All right.
I'll be up there soon.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Tony's plan, open a channel
to the river and fill the pond.
15 feet, more water will increase the
pressure on the ice in the pipe
by seven pounds
per square inch,
which should be enough to
force out the frozen blockage.
[Tony speaking]
Get a bunch of pay ready.
The last [bleep] thing
before we can get sluicing is
is to make our pump
get goin'.
[narrator] The Beets family
races to get on the gold.
To send water to the wash plant
they need their frozen pipes clear of ice.
[Tony speaking]
[bleep] yeah.
Have water.
As you can see, we've got
a full pipe of water,
meaning all the ice has
been blown the [bleep] out.
- How's that look?
- Beautiful.
[Tony speaking]
Yeah. Everything up top
should be good to go.
[Tony speaking]
Okay. Three, two, one. Boom!
[engine firing]
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
A day behind schedule
the water pump
is up and running,
so Tony is finally ready to
get his 30 year old trommel turning.
[Tony speaking]
Good for Tony.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
After two weeks mining
Tony's finally running the cold
cut's gold rich White Channel pay,
the first step on the long
road to his 5000 ounce gold.
[Tony speaking]
We're stoked to be here, but
we need to hit the ground running.
[narrator] After a three day,
23 year old mine boss
Brandon Clayton and his brother Brady
finally arrive in Dawson City.
[Brandon] We're already late.
We're going to have a tough time trying
to make a 500 ounce season gold already.
For my brother and I want
to help out with the family debt
and we want
to get that paid off.
We're on our way to check out our equipment right now.
That's out all winter long.
We've got to get things on the
go and as quick as we can
to get out to California Creek
and start washing dirt.
[narrator] The Clayton brothers
left their vital D8 Dozer
locked up in town
in the off season.
Let's see how she starts.
[engine starting]
Oh, look at that.
Not bad at all.
Satt all winter,
she's fired right up.
[engine revving]
Not bad.
[loud clunking]
What the heck
is going on here?
That didn't seem right.
Doesn't want to move in first.
There's something wrong, eh?
It's holding itself.
- I'll go find Shane.
- Okay.
Shane!
[Shane]
What's happening, Brandon?
[narrator] Crew member,
mechanic, Shane Colliou
works for the family
construction business.
So when I put it in gear,
it's like slipping almost.
It's not moving, but
second gear works just fine.
Nothing's wrong, but first
gear, it just doesn't...
something's not
clicking right.
We'll pull the filters and
take them out, tear them apart
and see if we can find
anything inside.
Okay.
[narrator]
Shane has a quick test
to find out if the
cogs in the transmission are damaged.
Any filings
that we find in here would be,
we got something coming apart
inside the transmission.
And that's why we don't
have first gear possibly.
[narrator] Metal filings
in the gearbox
come from the gear cogs
grinding abnormally.
Can you grab this Brandon?
[narrator] A sure fire sign.
The transmission is damaged beyond repair.
Look at the crap in here.
That's bad.
Holly [bleep].
Yeah. I think you got
a lot of metal filings.
We need that Cat to be stripping.
I can't even run dirt.
And putting new filters in
ain't going to help it.
- You got to get a transmission up here.
- A transmission?
Oh, yeah.
Holy, we're down
before we even started.
We were hoping to be
washing dirt in a week,
but realistically,
that is not happening anymore.
I don't know what to do.
We'll have to see how quick we can
get a transmission and see what it's worth, too.
We don't have
a whole lot of money.
[phone ringing]
- [Carolyne] Hello?
- Yeah. Where's Dad?
[Carolyne] Oh I don't know
where he disappeared to.
- He might be downstairs because
we're out of water. - Oh, okay.
[Carolyne] Wait just a sec,
I'll grab him.
- [Glenn] Okay.
- Yeah, Dad.
We just got up here,
and, uh, we're actually going
through the... the equipment,
and we started
the dozer up.
Shane, wanted to look
at the filters,
so we pulled them apart,
and, uh, they're full
of filings, filings and dirt.
So, so, it's gone.
We... we... we kind of need
a transmission, unfortunately.
[Glenn] Oh.
I don't know how much
it's going to cost,
but, uh, I don't really
have a choice, unfortunately.
We can't do anything
without that dozer.
[Glenn] Let me see
what I can do.
Let me pull a few strings,
make some calls.
Okay. Awesome. Thank you.
I love you. So, let me know
what you can find.
It feels like
we're coming here
with our hands tied
behind our backs
and just getting punched
in the face.
It's not the way
to start a season.
[narrator] Already over
two weeks behind schedule.
Fred's entire claim,
including last year's cuts,
is buried under
a thick block of ice,
until it's melted,
Fred can't mine for gold.
As a leader, I brought
these guys here for success,
to find gold and to bring
that home to their families.
And now, we're going to have
to fight to even get started.
[Stuart] Wow. Look at that.
[Fred] There's no break.
It's just all the way.
Getting 500 ounces
was already a tall order,
but now it's going to be
a monumental task.
[Stuart] Our entire
infrastructure is gone.
[Fred] All right, guys.
If we don't break this ice up,
we're going to be sitting here
losing money.
This ice has to go.
Stealing our gold, guys.
My overall plan is to find
a section of water
that's deep enough
to put the pump in.
- [Stuart] Yeah.
- [Fred] Pump the water back up over the ice.
That should facilitate
this [bleep] to melt faster.
Overall objective
is to get to our gear,
get that water pump running
and just rush water over the top
of the ice as much as possible.
Without access there,
we can't do any of it.
So this is exactly
how we're going to do it.
I'm going to bring
the excavator down here
and I'll walk up
on the ice slowly,
try and break the ice
with the bucket.
If that works, great, we can
just start peeling it up
and... and move through
pretty quickly.
[narrator] Fred's plan uses
to cut a path through
the side of the glacier,
all the way to an access road
on the other side.
Next haul a six inch pump
into position
at the top of his claim
and pump creek water
on top of the ice
to help it melt and wash away.
One false move and Fred
could fall through the ice.
Constantly, we have to be
testing this ice,
and you guys have
to have your eyes on it
because if it starts shifting,
I need to know immediately.
You know, I, uh, I really trust Fred.
I trust his ability.
I trust what he's capable
of doing on the excavator.
But, you know,
there's no amount of gold
that is going to be worth
Fred getting injured.
Somebody's got to do it
and I don't want anybody else
doing it, so...
I am a little nervous
about this, don't know why.
[narrator]
Ex recon sn*per Stuart
and stepson Christopher
act as spotters...
Okay.
[narrator] ...looking for signs of
any weak points in the ice.
Oh, that broke.
What's the ice doing now?
Is it holding me?
[Chris] It feels fine.
You're good, man.
Ice is... ice is good.
It ain't moving,
it ain't cracking, nothing.
I'm going to try
and go a little bit forward.
[Stuart] Walk it forward.
Mind the tracks up
right there,
and you should be good.
[Fred] Oh, [bleep].
- Oh!
- Oh, nice.
[Stuart] Holy [bleep].
I felt the wind just, like,
come up and just hit me.
[bleep] crazy.
[Fred] I'm gonna turn around.
We're having
to kind of scrape,
let the sun weaken it,
and now coming back
at it a second time
and it is coming up
a little easier.
Yeah, it's melting.
Ugh, [bleep].
There's water
underneath this ice.
And now that we've melted
it, it's starting to break through.
I figure, we could just
scrape across the top and drive.
But now I've got to go
through this water hole
to get over here
to drain this [bleep].
It's just way more complicated
than I thought.
[Fred] [bleep].
[narrator] If Fred loses
his only operational excavator,
his season will be over
before it's even started.
Get up, get up,
get up, get up.
[bleep], come on.
[Fred] All right, Ice, you
may be winning this battle,
but we're going
to win this w*r.
Good job, man.
[Fred cheering]
[narrator] Fred is in touching
distance of dry land.
[Fred] Golly! This is not what I
[bleep] want to be doing right now.
There's a big crack
in front of me.
Don't even know
if this is safe.
Okay. Well, I'm past it.
Geez, Louise.
I'm just going to go to land.
Whoa, I'm sliding.
I'm sliding.
Whew!
Golly, that was not fun.
That's about as good
as I'm going to get it.
[Stuart] Oh, [bleep] dude.
- Well, you're alive.
- Yeah.
- [Stuart] Did a good job, bro.
- [Fred] That was nerve-wracking, dude.
[Stuart] Good job.
[narrator] Path complete,
Fred is one step closer
to clearing the ice
and getting on the gold.
[Fred] We know now
that we can drive over it.
- [Stuart] Yeah.
- [Fred] I see it draining.
I also see it
not getting any lower.
We're going to have
to come back tomorrow.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Having spent
$2 million
stripping the 130 foot
deep cold cut,
Tony Beets is finally
running the paydirt,
he hopes will deliver half
his 5000 ounce season goal.
[Ruby] Well, it's kind of
pretty frozen this spring.
I'm... I'm doing my best here,
but you're probably going to have to
bust 'em up even more over there.
[Megan] Yeah, send me
what you got
and I'll slam her through.
[narrator] On the pay pile,
high school friends
Ruby and Meghan
work in tandem to feed
the trommel 200 yards an hour.
Kind of put the nightmare squad
back together for a little bit.
[laughs] We should do, like,
a bucket wave at each other.
[laughs] We could do that.
Hi, Megan!
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] This season, Tony is
looking to 31-year-old son Mike
to step up
and run the crew.
[Tony speaking]
[Mike] I'm watching
the feeder and the conveyor
to see if any big, big,
big chunks
I have to worry about
are going to pop out.
The hauler-upper is
supposed to watch them,
but I understand
why she misses some sometimes,
'cause they are literally
just frozen chunks of pay.
Damn near impossible
to tell the difference.
Oh [bleep].
Oh [bleep]. Oh [bleep].
Watch out!
[Mike] [bleep].
- Oh [bleep].
Oh [bleep]. Oh [bleep]. - Watch out.
[narrator] At Paradise Hill,
Tony's left his sons in charge
of running the trommel,
but a chunk of frozen paydirt
has jammed the top
of the feed conveyor,
forcing Mike to shut down.
[Mike] She's got to watch a
little bit more cover for them.
All you [bleep] want
is for things to go smooth.
[narrator] At the other end
of the conveyor,
the frozen pay has clogged
the hopper feeder.
I shame,
I don't smoke anymore.
I really [bleep] want
to do it right now.
[bleep]. Ugh!
[Ruby] We're going to try
to break it up
and try to get it out
and hopefully the belt moves.
[Kevin] It is moving.
Yeah. Let's try bumping it.
See if you can get
everything to move.
So everybody off the conveyor,
s'il vous plait.
[narrator] To dislodge
the blockage,
Kevin plans to bump it
by surging the belt.
[Kevin]
When it's really bound up
and you just press play,
the belt's going
to either spin
and get stuck and it's just
not going to go.
You bump it short,
little bump,
so strong pull stop,
strong pull stop,
get a little bit of roll back
and then boom and boom!
[Ruby] It's definitely frustrating
whenever we're down,
we give or take,
lose about $25 a minute
whenever this thing
is down.
- [Fred] 50$.
- Pardon me.
I think it's $50 these days.
It's $50 these days. Okay.
So, yeah, we're losing
$50 a minute
with the plant
being down right now.
It doesn't seem like we're
having a whole lot of luck.
[Ruby] There you go.
Come on.
Whoo!
- [Kevin] There we go, [bleep].
- Whoo-hoo!
- [Kevin] There we go.
- [Ruby] Throw it off.
Woo-hoo!
Good. All right.
Reset. Forward.
[narrator] Mike and Kevin have got
the wash plant back up and running.
[Kevin] Tony's taking
a bit more of a step back.
So there's a lot more pressure
on me and Mike this year.
We spent a lot of money
getting new equipment
so we can strip that cold cut.
So me and Mike are gonna have to
hit it hard to keep this trommel going.
[Mitch] All the times going up to
the Yukon never made her into Alaska.
- This is your first time?
- [Mitch] Yeah.
[bleep]
You're gonna give me
the grand tour?
Yeah. I have a pile of dirt.
[narrator] 20 miles north
of Fairbanks.
Parker Schnabel must rethink
his entire Alaskan mining plan.
To help he's brought in his
trusted right-hand man,
Mitch Blaschke.
[Mitch] So what led you
to this place
in all the places
you've looked for ground?
[Parker] It's deeper,
but much richer.
Which is not, you know,
not always a good trade off,
as we well know.
[narrator] Last year,
Parker drilled test holes
through deep
clay packed ground
and hit a pay streak four
times richer than his Yukon claims.
But a four month delay
to the wash plant
he designed
for this ground
means digging deep is
not an option.
- [Parker] Hello.
- [Ilaura] Hi.
[Parker] How are you
guys doing?
[Ilaura] Good. How are you?
- [Parker] This is Mitch.
- [Mitch] Nice to meet you.
[Parker] Nice to meet ya.
I'm really just trying to get Mitch's
head wrapped around all of this right now.
He's a tough sell, so
I might need your guys's help.
[narrator] Claim owner
John Reeves daughter Ilaura
and husband Drew
think there might be a way to
salvage his season on this historic ground.
There's a lot of gold
to be found out here,
so I'll show you.
You know
where I've had success.
[Parker] Sweet.
[Drew] We can go right up
here to this one.
[Parker] So is that
the conveyor
you want me to use here,
or what?
[Mitch] Uh, no way,
it's on tracks.
- [Parker] Yeah.
- [Mitch laughs]
[Mitch] Dude, that is sick.
[Parker] Pretty [bleep] cool.
[Mitch] It looks like
it's built on an old tank.
[Parker] Yeah, they didn't
screw around.
[Mitch] You know, seeing this
size of equipment out here,
how complex it is, um, how
well this is all put together.
Um, it's definitely
concerns me on,
well, if they did this good
of a job here,
how good of a job
did they do in the cut?
What did they actually
leave behind?
We're here to try and find
anything they left.
Um, but looking at this, looks
like they really had their [bleep] together.
What do you got over here,
old dredge buckets?
Yeah.
A piece of punch plate
out of the trommel here, or...
And this almost looks
like an old...
- [Parker] Oh, yeah.
- [Mitch] ...section of trommel screen.
- [Parker] I wonder.
- That seems really small, though.
[Mitch] Leading edge, that's
what I'm thinking, right?
[Parker] Yeah.
I mean, we're running half inch bottom deck on Big Red.
This is a lot tighter
than that, obviously.
The more we know about what
they did and how they did it,
I think the more
it's going to help us out.
[Mitch] Yeah, for sure.
[Ilaura] And it means
any gold bigger than that,
they left behind for y'all.
- [Mitch] Exactly.
- [Ilaura] Yeah.
[narrator] Ilaura leads
them further into the claim
to prospect an area first
mined in the early 1900s.
[Parker] Nothing in that one.
[Mitch] This would be
all drift tailings, right?
[Ilaura] Yep.
All this area
is drift tailings
and we've punched
several holes.
And just because
you don't find gold in one pan
doesn't mean
you won't in the next.
[Parker] We're used, we're used
to not finding gold panning.
[Ilaura] It's easy to do.
So all of this was brought up
through shafts?
Yeah. Before the dredges
came through.
They drift mined
this whole area.
So there's a layer
where there's, there's going
to be gold.
So they would channel down.
- [Parker] Yep.
- Get underneath.
Get down to the pay layer.
They'd have a shaft... Exactly.
[Ilaura] Yeah.
[narrator] The old timers
excavated shafts
through concrete
like permafrost
up to a hundred feet deep
until hitting paydirt
above bedrock.
Then they drift mined
horizontally
and hauled out the seam
of gold back to the surface
where they washed the paydirt
through primitive
sluice boxes,
leaving some of the gold
in their tailings.
[Mitch] They left some
in this.
This would be
pretty easy pickings.
It's sitting up here
on the top, but...
[Parker] Yeah, so this would have
been put here a 100 years ago
and just ran through
some super crude sluice box.
[Mitch] Yeah.
All right, Ilaura, it's your turn
to show us where the gold is.
- I'm not getting the job done.
- [Ilaura] All right.
You can see that pile
over there,
a lot of times with tailings.
If you see birch trees growing
out of it, they've got roots.
There's gravel.
There could be gold.
[Mitch] Go find it, Nugget.
[Ilaura] This is our spot.
Mitch, you want
to give it a go?
[Mitch] Here we go.
- Let's see what's in it.
- [Ilaura] All right.
[narrator] If the old timers have
left gold behind in the tailings,
it could be a game changer.
Quick and easy ground
for Parker to mine
when his wash plant
finally arrives.
[Ilaura] It's good.
I think you're going
to want to see this.
[Parker] See, this is why
I get so frustrated with panning,
is I just like pan duds
all over the place.
[Ilaura] Well, you're going to want
to definitely take a look at this.
It's already peaking
on the side.
It's just like the best pan
I've ever had.
- [Parker] Oh, yeah.
- [Ilaura] [bleep].
That's insane.
[Parker] Yeah,
there's some gold there.
- That's very good.
- [Ilaura] Like, like, I'm shook.
[narrator] Not only have the
old timers left them fine gold,
there sluices missed
sizable chunks
that Parker can mine
right away
with any wash plant.
[Mitch] That's wild.
[Parker] There's a start.
We're on the board, Mitch.
Well, that's an awesome pan.
And if we're going
to be mining here,
we're going to have
to move all this stuff anyway.
So it only makes sense
to slam it through a plant.
[Mitch] Yeah, I like it.
I mean, if you can sluice it,
you don't have to strip it.
I feel really confident that we
can have a successful season out here.
Yeah.
We have a lot of work ahead of
us and we're already behind the eight ball.
[narrator] 23-year-old
Brandon Clayton
is stuck in Dawson
till he can fix his D8 dozer
and haul it up to
California Creek to start mining.
Ta-da!
[narrator] His dad sourced him
a second hand
refurbished transmission,
unable to pay for a workshop
and a team
of specialist mechanics,
they'll attempt to replace it
in the yard with mechanic Shane.
[Brady] We can't really afford
that new tr*nny either
and it definitely
wasn't easy on the pocket,
so we just got to make sure
this one works and we don't wreck it.
[Brandon] We'll slide
the ripper off
so we can get out that
transmission to get it taken out.
How are we making out, Shane?
- [Shane] Uh, not very good.
- [Brandon] Oh, what's up?
[Shane] The pins
aren't being as agreeable
as we'd like them to be.
The bottom ones
are very sticky.
[Brandon] Okay, well, we definitely
didn't need this, did we?
[Shane] No.
[narrator] Brandon must
first take out the D8's bolts
on the one ton ripper
and remove it.
Then carefully remove the old
transmission box using a forklift...
before installing
the new transmission.
At $50,000,
any mistake could cost them
their season.
- Oh [bleep].
- I want a--
[Shane] You just need
a pin driver now.
Yeah, I was just going
to say pin driver.
It's basically an extension
for the hammer
to help us hit that pin up.
We're using more time
than we want.
Nothing ever goes
easy up here.
You always got to have a
backup plan for your backup plan.
[Brandon] The walls
are probably going to break.
Probably.
[bleep]
[Brandon] You're going to have
to make a longer one.
Okay, just go make
a longer one.
- What? It's fine.
- No, you don't have any...
You're hitting the rail more
than you're hitting the [bleep] bar.
[bleep] waving it.
[Brandon] Well, you can't hold it.
You're hitting this.
- Look at it.
- We're hitting the seal.
We're going to
[bleep] that seal.
Think I got [bleep] heat
exhaustion and I'm [bleep] getting angry.
[bleep] hell. [bleep] great.
Let's hope
this doesn't break now.
[narrator] Brandon
now improvises,
using a forklift to haul
out the busted one ton transmission.
[Brandon] Like to see
what it does here?
[Shane] Well, there we go.
So just go back slow.
Just going straight up.
Okay, backwards a bit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You're almost out.
[Brandon] Ta-da!
[Shane]
Kind of a risky situation
doing this job outdoors.
Typically it would be done
in a shop.
We currently have a $50,000
transmission suspended in the air here.
So we've got
to be very delicate
that, uh,
we don't hit any bumps.
We definitely don't want to get it dirty or...
or break the housing.
[Shane] She's there.
It's home.
[narrator]
Transplant complete.
Now they need to check
if the new transmission
will allow Brandon
to change from first
to second gear.
[Brandon] All right,
here we go.
Here goes first gear.
We'll try second now.
Oh, boy.
- [Shane] It's all good.
- [Brandon] Everything's good, it's instant.
First gear is instant,
second's instant.
[Shane] Awesome.
That's excellent.
Good job, kid.
- Uh, good job, guys.
- [Shane] Yes.
We're back to minin', boys.
Our season is back on track.
- [Fred] How's it look?
- [man] Uh!
[narrator]
At California Creek,
a quarter-mile-long,
30-foot-thick ice sheet
blocks Fred Lewis from mining
his claim.
He's cut a path across the ice
to reach vital equipment
on the other side
of the creek.
You know, there's just never a time
in my life I see something as impossible.
Improbable definitely,
impossible never.
[narrator] This is just the
latest challenge for Fred and Stuart,
who served on tours
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[Stuart] Well, there's multiple times
where, like, I'll be like,
"But I've broken both my
legs, Fred." you're like, "So?"
[Fred laughs]
[Fred] Well, you know, I took
a round on the helmet in Afghanistan,
ended up finding out
I had a bruise on my brain.
The biggest compliment
I ever get
is when people tell me
I don't look disabled.
It's also an insult because there is
no such thing as a disabled look.
That whole stigma of there
being no visible disabilities
needs to go away.
Like, I'm sorry, you can't see
the bruises on my brain.
I'm sorry.
I wish there was a sign
on my head that said,
"Hey, his brain's bruised."
But when I introduced myself
before gold mining,
I had a really hard time.
People would say,
"What do you do?"
And I would say,
"I'm a disabled veteran."
And that got to the point
where that was how I identified myself.
Now, when people ask me
what I do,
I say, I'm a [bleep]
gold miner.
[narrator] After cutting
a path through the ice,
Fred leads his crew
to the six inch pump,
which he plans to use
to melt the ice,
holding their claim
and paydirt hostage.
Think we got her.
Oh! [laughs]
- Man, these things are heavy.
- [Stuart] I know. I got you a hand.
All right, hang on.
- [Fred] Ready?
- [Stuart] Yep.
[narrator] The next stage
of the plan,
get the pump set and ready
to sh**t water.
[Fred] All right.
I don't trust this chain very well.
Okay. Lifting.
I'm going to swing it around.
Everybody clear?
If we drop this pump, guys,
we are done.
I'm going forward.
[Stuart] Yeah. Good.
[Fred] Careful. Careful.
[bleep]
[Stuart] All right, Christopher.
Chock the wheel behind it.
Fred, you're good.
[Fred] Let's get those hoses down
there and get them hooked up.
Oh. [bleep].
If one of us falls in,
we're not coming out.
[JB] Pick up on it
a little bit, Fred.
Let's do the intake while
we're waiting for the rope.
[Fred] Look out, Christopher.
That's deep.
We're taking our main pump
and we're going to turn it
into a fire hose
to run water
on top of this ice.
I'm going to tie
a rope to myself
and try and get up over here
because our hoses need
to be going that way.
So, once I have a rope on me,
if I fall, they can
at least pull me back.
[narrator]
To melt the ice,
Fred must walk the pump hose
50 feet upstream,
but the glacier could break
beneath him at any time.
[Stuart] What I'm thinking is, we tie
one to you as you go, a tether,
and then somebody kind of go
down a little bit.
So, in case you do
go through,
somebody has to let go
if you're basically being drowned,
you have one more opportunity to grab a
rope before you go in the snow tunnel.
- Good luck.
- [Chris] We got this.
See you on the other side.
Kind of feels like right before
a halo jump in the military.
You're all amped up to do it.
You can't wait and then the
door opens and you're like, "Oh, [bleep]!
What am I going
to do now?"
Obviously, if you feel
a lot of pressure,
if it starts pulling you, you
need to let go of me, right?
[Chris] What's the worst
that could happen?
Drowning. Hypothermia.
[Chris] Oh, yeah.
This is like your biggest fear.
- Yeah. Yes.
- [Chris] Drowning?
Love you, son.
[narrator]
Fred's first challenge,
clear a crevasse that
could plunge him straight
in the freezing water.
[Fred] Slack.
I'm jumping.
Chris, you got me?
[narrator] Green Beret
medic Fred Lewis
is crossing a glacier that
has buried his gold rich claim.
His plan to get mining,
pump water from the creek
on top of the ice
to speed up the melt.
[Fred] I'm jumping.
Chris, you got me?
[grunts]
- There's a big hole up here.
- [Chris] Is there?
[Fred] I think
it might be like top mount,
but there's a big hole
with a bunch of water in it.
I can't pull it, guys,
you're going to have to help.
[Chris] Go, pull.
Here we go.
[Fred] I'm just going
to jump on to the bank.
It's only like
a four foot gap.
[narrator] Hose in place,
it's time to see if
Fred's desperate plan will work.
[Fred] Fire it up.
[JB] Oh, here it comes.
Here it comes.
We got water.
We got water going
all the way down this channel
right where we
want it, actually.
It's definitely eating
through the snow already.
[Fred laughing]
[Stuart] I'm happy
he made it.
- He is safe.
- Huh!
Fred, it's cutting through.
Right through it.
- [Fred] Oh, it's cutting it through.
- Yeah.
[Stuart] It's cutting
right through it.
It's cutting right through it.
- It is, right.
- [Fred] Already about a foot.
[Fred] The first success
of the season [bleep].
[bleep], that ice
kicked our asses.
I think that's a huge victory, guys.
We probably saved ourself
a week of sluicing here.
[Stuart] Yeah.
I'm excited, man. Keep fighting.
[Fred] Keep pushing,
not waiting on our asses.
And, uh, we'll be mining
before we know it.
[Brandon]
We're off to the mine.
We're going to go see what
we got going on over there.
Apparently,
there's a lot of ice still.
[narrator] Three weeks
into his season,
Brandon Clayton finally makes
it to his remote claim
on the outer edge
of the Klondike.
[Brandon] We're already late
with the transmission,
so we need mother nature
on our side right now.
Okay... let's have
a little peeksy.
We might be, uh...
might be looking
for some conveyor rollers.
It looks like they're all gone.
That's a big cost.
Obviously, there's a lot of ice over
there and it's built the creek up
and that took out a
conveyor pad, tipped it over.
We lost a bunch of rollers.
So we're going to have to fix all that now.
And that'll set us back a bit,
but, uh, the valley itself
looks pretty good.
Dirt Devil is standing as strong
as she could on her post.
I'm sure we'll be
washing within a week.
We'll go look over
Fred's side there.
See what it's...
what his looks like.
Oh, yeah. Fred's [bleep].
Yeah, he's got a while.
He ain't washing for a month.
He's in a lot worse shape
than I am, that's for damn sure.
Hey, Fred, what's up?
How's it goin'?
- [Fred] How you doin', neighbor? - Not too bad.
You?
- Good to see you again.
- You too.
- You ready to rumble?
- You betcha.
So how long until you
think you're gonna be sluicing?
I'm hoping within a week.
Crap.
I thought you had a big piece of ice last season,
but we've got, like,
- Yeah, we traded.
- It's [bleep] me.
- Crazy.
- We're in a bad spot right now.
So what's your season goal
this year, buddy?
- I think me and the team are sh**ting for 500.
- That's what we're aiming for.
- [Brandon] Are you? -
Yeah, exactly what we're aiming for.
I think we can do it, too.
What about a good old US
vs Canada wager here?
- [Brandon] Yeah.
- How about a case of whiskey?
- A case of whiskey?
- Whoever makes the most.
- Yeah, case of whiskey.
- Down. I'm in.
- Deal.
I like this. We'll talk soon. - Good luck.
[Brandon] I'll be mining
before Fred. 100%.
He might have been
here earlier,
but he definitely has
the [bleep] end of the stick.
Yeah.
So, joke's on him.
I'm really taking home the win.
[Fred] I have got a challenge
for you.
I'll give you 50 bucks to sit
in that ice pool for a minute.
- Make it 100.
- 100 bucks. Deal.
- [Stuart] All right. Ready?
- Whoa! Start.
- Start!
- [bleep] [bleep]. Whoa!
[Fred] I can't believe
you're doing this.
Why are you breathing
so heavy?
[Stuart] 20, 20 seconds.
- You got 40 left?
- Forty left, yeah.
There you go.
Zen moment, there you go.
- There you go.
Find your moment. - There you go.
- All right.
- Four, three, two, one.
You can get out.
Go, go, go to the side by side.
I would never do that.
That is nuts.
Go check for hypothermia.
Then he's back to work.
[woman] Jasmine.
Hi, my easy girl.
Num-num.
- Here we come.
- [Minnie] Hi, guys. Long time no see.
[Mike] I'll start
the first one of the season.
[Tony speaking]
[Minnie] At least you have
something to weigh.
[narrator] The Beets claim,
it's time for the family's
first gold weigh
of the season.
- So how are things?
- [Tony speaking]
[Minnie] And we only
sluice at day time, right?
- Yeah.
No night here. Not in dark. - No nights.
[Tony speaking]
- No, couple million.
- [Tony speaking]
As you spend, spend, spend
and nothing comes in
and you piggy bank
gets smaller and smaller.
- I like to replenish it.
- [Mike] Well, yeah. It can all just be going out.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Having spent $2
million getting down to pay,
Tony hopes the cold cut
will deliver more gold
than last season's first
week of running, 80 ounces.
Everybody ready?
You're ready?
Let's do this thing.
Five, ten,
fifteen, 20, 25, 30, 35,
forty, 50, 55,
sixty, 65, 70,
seventy-five, 80.
eighty-five, 90, 95.3.
[Minnie] For three days, eh?
That's not too bad
for three [bleep] day's eh?
We can work for that.
[narrator]
Worth over $170,000.
If the cold cuts, white
channel pay streak continues to deliver,
it could easily make up half
of his 5000 ounce season goal.
If it stays that nice over
for weekdays and nights, that'd be good.
- The gold price is still fairly decent.
- [Kevin] Oh, yeah, yeah.
So I'm not complaining
there either.
[Tony speaking]
We only have,
like, 4900 to go.
- [Tony speaking]
- [Minnie] Guys, let's get on.
[Tony speaking]
[Tyson] While Mitch and Parker
are gone, I'm in charge
of basically the Yukon
operation, keeping Big Red going,
making sure we're still
moving, lots of overburden gravel.
I want to show them that they can
spend as much time as they want in Alaska,
they need to and not
be concerned about things over here.
[narrator] At the airstrip,
Veteran operator Tyson Lee
has been in charge of running
Big Red all week
while Parker and Mitch prepared
for their new Alaskan operation.
- Hey, how is it going,
Mitchell? - Good to see you.
- Welcome home.
- Hey, young man.
- How was Alaska?
- Interesting.
Yeah. Welcome back.
There's some really like,
drift tailings
from, like, the early 1900s.
- Is there quite a bit
of tailing there? - [Parker] Yeah.
- That kind.
- [Parker] Yeah, I bet.
I bet all
of 50,000 yards anyway.
Really?
But the tailings, I mean,
they're, they're already piled, right?
I mean, you're not
removing overburden.
Yeah. There's no...
there's no stripping.
We have to show John that
we're serious about mining over there.
We have to go get some
dirt moves and pay him some royalties
or else he's going
to just piss out of there.
- We did move some dirt while you guys were gone.
- [Parker] Yeah.
Things went pretty good.
We got some gold to weigh.
- [Parker] Good.
- Yeah.
Okay, Tyson,
here's your week, buddy.
- Big Red right there, man.
That's yours, you ready? - [Tyson] Oh, yeah.
[narrator] Parker expects
Big Red at the airstrip
to produce around 1.8 ounces
per hour.
This week it ran
for 90 hours,
so should deliver
around 160 ounces.
Sixty, 70,
ninety, 100.
- One-thirty.
- Keep going.
One-ninety, 200, 224.35.
- That's not bad.
- Not bad.
Nicely done.
[narrator] Worth $400,000.
And I mean, you got to think about it too.
Big Red's just slogging along.
That must be like two
and a half ounces an hour, huh?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- It's not bad.
I'm glad you guys had a
successful trip and a safe trip.
More importantly, I'm glad
this place is running good.
Yeah.
[Mitch] Nicely done.
Need a hand doing it?
I got her. Thank you.
[Tyson] No worries.
- Looking nice, as always.
- Oh, thank you, young man.
It's really nice knowing Mitch
and Parker can leave
and everything's still
moving the way it should.
You know,
that's what we do out here.
We find gold and we move dirt,
and hopefully there's a lot more to come.
The trip to Alaska was good.
It was productive.
There's just so much to do.
So I'm glad this place is running fine without us.
That's important.
It makes me feel better about
being able to be gone
and then see how far we can
spread ourselves out without things falling apart.
Should be interesting.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
13x02 - Searching for Rick Ness
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.