15x10 - Big Cat Fight

[bunniefuu]

We're about a month behind
where we'd wanted to be.

We thought we'd already
be sluicing by now,

but delays, delays,
breakdowns, breakdowns.

So the faster we
can get this pay out,

the faster we can set the
plant up and get running.

First-year mine boss Kevin Beets

is falling way behind schedule.

Nine weeks into
his first season,

he hasn't mined
an ounce of gold.

But that is about to change.

The crew down in the
cut has hit pay finally,

so that's a big [bleep] plus.

But [bleep] is frozen,

so all the pay has gotta
come out to get that.

By the time it's
all out, though,

he's gonna have
a [bleep] mountain.

Eager to get gold coming in,

Kevin wants to dig
out all the frozen pay

from 3 acres of the Lynx Cut by
the end of the week, stockpile it,

then let the sun
thaw it before sluicing.

There's just one problem.

To dig out the
frozen pay quickly

requires a big dozer
to rip the ground.

And Kevin's D10
is still out of action

after blowing its
transmission a month ago.

Breakdowns k*ll us
every single [bleep] time.

And it's very frustrating.

'Cause I don't know the...

I'm gonna push out, you guys,

and you guys can head
back to the back. Uh...

For [bleep] sakes.

With no dozer,
Foreman Brennan Ruault

is forced to break
up the frozen pay

with an excavator's smaller,
less powerful ripper blade.

It just ba*ls to the wall
the whole time here

because we're already a
month behind on everything.

Definitely not been
a smooth spring,

that's for sure.

Operator Matt Kiefer

loads the ripped pay dirt into
rock trucks to haul to the stockpile,

but progress is slow.

I mean,

the original plan was to have
the cut completely stripped by now,

so I'm definitely a
little stressed about it.

We're doing as much as we can,

but it's just... Making
deadlines is tough

with a small crew
and old equipment.

And...

off, you [bleep].

If someone comes on the radio
again, I'm done for the [bleep] day.

I swear to [bleep].

There's definitely a lot
on my shoulders right now.

There's all these million
things to think about, you know,

and that's where I put a
lot of pressure on myself.

There's all that huge...

How the off you [bleep].

You wanna get that radio?

Brennan's a little stressed.

He really wants us to hit
our target and our gold total.

We spent over a million bucks, so
we're starting to feel the pressure.

Kevin, do you copy? Kevin?

Go for Kevin.

Hey, Tony and Minnie are here.

I will be right there.

Tony and Minnie have arrived.

I don't even wanna
imagine what they want.

Kevin leases the ground on
Scribner Creek from Dad, Tony,

owing Tony 10% of
all the gold he mines,

and he's late with
his first payment.

We were just kind of figuring
how you guys were doing.

Yeah, been better.

We're spending a lot
of money day and day.

Our piggy bank is
dwindling, so to speak.

Hopefully we get some
gold coming in pretty quick.

Still got some permafrost.

With the D10 down, we're really
in desperate need of a dozer,

something we can rip with.

I think so, if you
don't mind, yeah.

Very much so.

Yeah, so...

We really need to
get [bleep] sluicing.

You're gonna give him the 11?

Tony's $4 million, 115-ton D11

is one of the biggest, most
powerful dozers in the Klondike,

and will supercharge Kevin's
battle to stockpile pay dirt.

But you have to make
sure it's only Brennan on it

because I don't want
anyone else on it.

No, it's only him.

Really appreciate it, thank you.

- Yeah.
- Never-ending.

- All right, we'll see you guys.
- Okay.

That went pretty good.

Yeah, that was
a very nice visit.

I'm really happy that
Tony is lending us the D11.

That is gonna make such
a world of difference for us.

Oh, yeah, that's nice.

We hope so.

Yeah.

I'll polish the scales.

No, I wouldn't do
that to my own kid.

No, I wouldn't.

Well, that's why I'm
in charge of that part.

Whoo!

Oh, this thing is sick.

Yeah, what a game changer.

Time to destroy some
ground around here.

You compensating for
something with that thing?

Well, guys, with
this dozer here,

I think we'll get
this cut opened up,

so this is a huge win.

Unlike his son, Kevin,

Tony Beets is ahead of schedule.

At Paradise Hill, his
youngest son, Mike,

has finally fired
up the trommel.

And on Indian River,
Tony's nephew, Cousin Mike,

is sluicing with the Shaker
Deck and Sluice-A-Lot.

Together, they've
banked 2,131 ounces,

but Tony is hungry for more.

To haul in 369 ounces
by the end of the week

and hit half his


Tony needs both
Mikes on their A game.

Running two plants, it comes
with two times the trouble,

but I see it as a challenge

so I could see myself
being a miner like Tony.

I work good under pressure.

I'm hoping this plant holds up.

It's older than I
am, unfortunately,

but with that comes
complications.

Feeding the


new loader operator Jacob Moore.

It's been a little frustrating,

and the plant
keeps having issues.

We're getting some rock
drilled up on the grizzlies now.

You got a copy?

Go ahead.

You wanna open the grizzlies?

Yeah, I'll open them up.

Anything happening, Jacob?

Are the grizzlies opening up?

Not that I reckon.

Oh, [bleep].

Hydraulics aren't working.

Pump is [bleep].

Hey, Jacob. I'm
gonna shut it down.

We don't have
time for that [bleep].

So, yeah, we're gonna
have to order a new pump.

That will probably
take a couple of weeks.

We can't wait for that, so we'll
take that thing out of the way

and feed directly
onto the conveyor belt.

It's not ideal,

you risk putting in big
rocks that can jam [bleep] up,

but we can't wait for parts
and all that bull [bleep].

The Shaker Deck
has two conveyor belts.

The first has grizzly
bars that stop large rocks

entering the wash plant
and causing damage.

But the hydraulic pump that lifts
these bars to clear the rocks has failed,

shutting the plant down.

To get it running again, Mike will raise
the grizzlies' conveyor out of the way

and use an excavator
to feed rocky pay

directly onto the wash
plant's second conveyor.

It's a bit of a high
risk, high reward plan.

It has been sitting here
for long enough now,

may as well get it
going any way we can.

I'm gonna lift it
as high as I can

and out of the way
of the excavator.

There we go.

So firing this plant up, see
what she does with this setup.

Hopefully, it's good
because it's a simple way,

and, yeah, at
least we're running.

There's multiple things
that I have to watch for.

Honestly, I have
all these windows

and doors open right now

because I really need

to be able to hear everything.

To carefully feed the pay
dirt directly onto the conveyor,

Cousin Mike's called in
veteran operator Ruby Mahoney.

So we are taking a
huge risk right now,

just bare feeding
it on to the belt.

We're in the Indian River, the
bedrock and the rocks are really thin,

but they're really
big and really sharp,

and they're just
belt eaters, man.

The hydraulic pump is [bleep].

We're feeding with an excavator

directly onto the conveyor belt.

- Oh, no.
- It's in the belt...

The belt, the belt.

Now we might be [bleep].

At Indian River, the Beets'
Shaker Deck is shut down

after Cousin Mike's plan to feed
the conveyor directly backfired.

Because we don't use
the feeder right now,

rocks fall off to the
side onto the bottom

and then jam back in there.

The jam has ripped
the conveyor's belt,

putting the shaker out of action

until the grizzly bars and
the belt can be repaired.

No, it's pretty [bleep] now.

We're behind on a lot of fronts,

both just ground on
pay and gold in the box.

I have no interest in running
out of money or anything like that,

and so we need to get
more gold coming in.

29-year-old Parker
Schnabel is struggling.

Nine weeks into the season,

Parker has spent $2.5 million
chasing Dominion Creek gold,

but so far, he's only brought in
just over a million dollars' worth.

Roxanne's been on
ground that's not that good

in the Long Cut.

Big Red's been just running
top gravel in the Bridge Cut.

But Damien's got
in the Indian River,

down at Ken and
Stuart's, very close,

and he's just about
ready to sluice now,

so we need to get Bob
down there and fired up.

It should be around 900
ounces in three weeks.

To dig himself out of
his Dominion Creek hole,

Parker's going to do something
he's never done before:

Run three wash
plants simultaneously.

He's sending a third wash
plant and additional crew

to raid the piggy bank at Ken
and Stuart's on Indian River,

hoping to score $2.5
million in just three weeks.

So, you know, when we have
three wash plants running,

that's what it's
gonna be all about.

You got all that

gold weigh at the
end of the week

and we should have,
you know, a good result

from each one of
those wash plants.

It's gonna be a
hell of a lot of gold.

It's gonna put a lot of
stress on everybody,

but it's the only hope I see for getting
anywhere close to 10,000 ounces this season,

that's for damn sure.

At Dominion Creek,

Parker already has
wash plant Roxanne

running pay dirt
from the Long Cut.

A mile and a half away,

Big Red is churning through
the top gravels in the Bridge Cut.

Now Parker plans to fire up the


From his Dominion Yard,
his crew will haul it 12 miles

down narrow, winding dirt tracks

through a 25-foot-wide creek,

to its new home, at Damien's
Cut on Ken and Stuart's ground.

- Hey, Tup!
- Yo!

So today we're gonna
move Bob down to Ken's.

There's a lot of moving pieces,

a lot of parts, a
lot can go wrong.

Let's just get the heart of the beast
loaded up and get her chained down.

Copy that.

To help transport Bob,

Tyson Lee has brought in his mentor
and haulage expert, Mike Tupper...

Yeah, let her rip, Tys.

Who's previously trucked a
similar plant to Ken and Stuart's.

Up a bit, Tys.

Hopefully, it doesn't fall off.

If it falls off, we've
got problems.

Lift.

Come in a bit and lift.

Done.

Now for the hard part,
we gotta try and spin it.

Okay, watch out, guys.

All right, pull it. We don't
have much to play with here.

Yep, stop it there. Go to the
front, pull that corner, we're done.

That's it. Disconnect.

Tupper can now haul out...

We're on the road.

With Tyson scouting
ahead in a pilot truck.

We're ready to roll. Get in.

Are you ready,
Tup? Let's do this.

Let's get down
there in one piece.

Copy that. Here we go, liftoff.

No! We're trimming trees. Oh...

Oops.

So right now we're coming
up to the creek crossing.

That looks [bleep] deep.

Hey, Tupper, just try
and get through this.

We have no equipment
around to pull us out.

If we get stuck,
we're on our own.

All righty, Tupper, here we go.

These creek crossings
are so unpredictable.

All righty, I'm
through. You're next.

It was a little soft there and a
little rough, so just slow and steady.

All right.

Yeah!

Well, here we are,
Tupper. Ken and Stuart's.

Here's Damien.

- ' Sup, fellas!
- We got you a wash plant.

If you wouldn't mind rattling
your excavator up there

so we can get Bob unloaded, get
it put together before the day's out.

Yeah, man.

There it goes.

Yeah, send it!

That looks like about as
good as she's gonna get.

Everything's looking good.

Once we hit this button, there
should be nothing stopping us.

How are you feeling to
start feeding, Brendan?

Yeah, absolutely.

And it's such a nice
feeling, firing it up now.

Should it all go well,

we shouldn't have to shut it
down again until the first clean up.

So now that we have
three wash plants going,

that means we're gonna
have a fighting chance

of getting 10,000
ounces this year.

Somebody make a deal
with the devil for that thing?

Stole it from Parker when
he was sleeping, actually.

Just don't break
this one, too, buddy.

I mean, you've been
hard on dozers this year.

Kevin Beets' crew
is finally on a roll.

Tony's loaned Kevin a D11 Dozer

while he fixes their busted D10,

turbocharging his mission to stockpile
and thaw out the Lynx Cut's frozen pay.

That was awesome of Tony to do,

to help us out fixing the dozer

and giving us one of the biggest
machines we could get out here.

This bad boy came in and
cleaned house immediately for us,

so I honestly feel like we are back
on track now because of the 11.

With the clock ticking

before the D11 needs to be
returned at the end of the week,

Brennan rips and piles pay
dirt for Matt to load into trucks

operated by Chase
Dreger and Hunter Canning.

We're hauling pay right now,
so that is lovely to be doing.

We got a stockpile over
in the corner over there

we're just hauling to.

It's pretty small, so
we need to get to work.

Hey, Chase, you might
wanna check something.

There's like a big puddle on the
driver's side where you were sitting.

Okay, I'll hop out
and have a look here.

Yeah, something's definitely
pissing out, that's for sure.

Shut her off and walk
over and let Kevin know.

Yeah, copy that.

Sakes. What a pile of [bleep].

Kevin already has two
rock trucks in for repair.

Now he's getting down
to his last working truck.

Having just me
on the rock trucks,

I'm having to rush around
'cause I'm the only one

and Matt's there waiting for me

with the bucket up in the air.

Well, that's great.

Only having one rock truck
going is almost not worth it.

The only reason it's still going
is that I hope I can get this fixed.

I'm gonna get
you to fire this up.

Okay, copy that.

Okay, shut it off.

We have a blown hydraulic line.

Basically, you
turn the truck on,

and with the hose
being broken, it goes...

You can't really
operate like that.

The hydraulic line
carries pressurized oil

to activate the truck's brakes.

But the line on Chase's truck has
ripped open, risking a brake failure.

To fix it, Kevin must replace
the hose and refill the line.

Yeah, see, that's
pretty [bleep]. Okay.

I feel the clock ticking way
too much, you know, and it's...

Ugh.

Hopefully Kevin can get that
thing fixed up right away here

so we can get that
stockpile of pay finished.

One end is
successfully attached.

Thank you.

Don't be like that, come on.

There you go.

Now I'm gonna put
in the wet brake oil.

This is very much a job I wish
somebody else would be able to do.

I, for some reason, didn't
hire any other mechanics.

Quickly fire it up. I gotta make
sure that nothing is leaking

and if this doesn't work
out, then we're [bleep].

Interesting.

I'm guessing no one's
seeing oil spurt everywhere,

so it must be good.

Successful job.

Kev did a wicked
job on this truck,

so it's all fixed up
and ready to go.

We've got them running again.

So now that we keep stockpiling,

if the crew hits it hard,
I think we can do it.

It's just a race to get this
little bit of the cut finished up

and off to the races we go.

To hit 2,500 ounces,
half his season target,

King of the Klondike Tony Beets
is chasing a 369-ounce week.

But the Shaker Deck is down

after a botched quick
fix by Cousin Mike.

Now the pressure is on
Sluice-A-lot at Indian River,

and the Paradise Hill trommel, run
by Son Mike to make up the shortfall.

My cousin, he's not a dummy.

He's just gotta
learn how to think

of what you're trying to
do with the equipment,

and that comes with experience.

So like I said, give
him enough time,

he'll be just like my dad.

And just like I'll
be just like my dad,

and just like my brother
will be just like my dad.

You know, master
of all, or was it...

Jack of all, master of
none. That's the saying.

Fire this up.

Okay, firing it up!

That looks pretty good.

I have to go check.

I like working for Mike.

He's doing an
extremely good job.

And I'm happy to
be a part of his team.

Loader operator Clinton McHarg

clears tailings from
the rear of the trommel.

So far, we've been
able to keep Mike happy

and the plant running.

Oh, no. [bleep].

Shut it off!

Why the is it all of
sudden doing this?

I have not a [bleep] clue.

I'm just having them think here.

At Paradise Hill, Mike
has shut down the trommel

after water and gold-rich pay
began splashing out of the prewash.

I need that leak fixed

because right now, not only does it create
a giant mess throughout my entire yard,

but it's gonna
wash away my gold,

which is a bigger problem.

Oh, I see why.

I have a rubber to prevent
splashback inside the trommel here,

and it fell off.

Get that welder over
here, weld that on

so you can put
the rubber back on.

Take it off, weld it flat.

Paydirt enters the
trommel in the prewash,

where it mixes with water
before traveling down the drum.

A rubber mat should
stop it from splashing out,

but the mat has detached
due to a broken bolt,

allowing water and gold-rich
pay to spill to the ground.

To fix it, Mike wants steel
bars welded to the prewash

and the mat reattached
with a row of bolts.

It's all good to go.

Do the water. The water.

That's better, I
can live with this.

I don't care about
a little water,

I don't care about
a little bit of mud.

So long as it's not
bucketfuls, this is fine.

After a series of [bleep]
unfortunate events,

I have it finally back
and going again.

In a desperate
bid for more gold,

Parker is running three wash
plants for the first time ever.

At Dominion, Mitch is overseeing
Roxanne in the Long Cut.

You know, we've been
struggling all week here,

just trying to keep
up with Roxanne.

It's a very hungry wash plant.

And Tyson is looking after
Big Red in the Bridge Cut.

We just got a lot of
work to do this year, still.

Just gotta try and do our best
to get as much gold as we can.

Ten miles southwest
at Ken and Stuart's,

Damien and his small crew
are sluicing with wash plant Bob,

aiming to deliver Parker 300
ounces by the end of the week.

Parker's expectations
are pretty high right now.

The wash plant
is up and running,

and for the next
couple of weeks,

the people here and
the equipment here

is not going to get
much of a break.

Hey, Damien, we've
got a rip in the belt.

Oh man, there's
a big rip in the belt.

What the is going on here?

Piece of [bleep].

We gotta get help down here.

Look at the plant,
see what we've got.

Oh, man. That is a
sizable [bleep] rip.

How far does this... Oh... Oh!

Oh, it spread a lot
more than... [bleep].

So one of those Flexcos that was holding
the patch in place seems to have let go

and got caught on one of
the scrapers or whatever,

and just peeled the
strip right out of our belt.

Small rips in a belt

are patched up with metal
fasteners called Flexcos.

But a fastener fixed to
this belt has come loose

and caught on the
end of the conveyor,

tearing out a long, thin strip.

The ripped section must be
replaced before Bob can run again.

We've got Bill looking for
a 48-inch belt right now.

See if we even have any.

- If we don't, then...
- We're screwed.

I mean, we haven't even been
running down here at Ken's for a week.

So, I mean, we've just got to get
this up and running as fast as we can.

That's the last thing
we need right now.

Mechanics Liam Pukila
and Justin Driessen

head back to Dominion to see if
they can scavenge a replacement belt.

Yeah, that looks like a 48.

Looking like it's in well and good
enough shape for what we gotta do.

It's better than what we got.

To get the belt free
from the conveyor,

the crew must cut the belt
and remove a metal guard.

We're gonna just take
that guard off real quick,

hook it up in the
back of the truck

and we'll head
out to the Indian.

This is gonna be on Bob tonight.

Okay, let's cut her.

Watch your head.

To repair Bob's belt,

the crew first remove
the ripped section,

then replace it with a new
section from the scavenged belt.

Forty-and-a-half plus 276.

If we get this up in place

'cause we'll be able to hold
it here with the come-alongs.

Holes are drilled.
Just lining it up,

and this girl will be spinning
in T-minus no time here.

There we go. Okay.

Good job, guys.

Now is the moment of truth.

See if it all fires back up and
start getting some rocks washed.

Now we have the conveyor fixed
and Bob is back up and running.

Bill, Liam, and Justin
managed to get it done.

I don't know how they managed
to swing it, but they pulled it off.

With three wash plants running,

this could be the
week Parker's fortunes

finally take a
turn for the better.

It's just try and keep
it running for 24 hours

and keep gold coming in the box.

I'm taking the D11
back to Tony's right now.

It's super sad to see
this monster leave.

It's the end of the week

and time for Brennan to
give back the D11 Dozer...

Why are you taking
my baby from me?

I brought you another one.

In exchange for
the repaired D10.

Oh, I'm gonna miss it. It
sure helped us out a lot.

It was a blessing to
have. Appreciate it.

- All right.
- You treat it good.

I will, I promise.

Thanks, Ruby, have a good day.

- See you.
- See ya.

I feel like I jumped
into a freaking car

after getting out of that
D11, when I ride this.

But, again, super thankful that
Tony's able to help us out this much.

This is the last little
sliver of the Lynx Cut.

Hasn't come easy,
that's for sure.

Kevin's crew have been digging
out and stockpiling frozen pay

so they can get it
thawed and start sluicing.

- Howdy.
- What's going on, buddy?

Did we make you a big enough
piggy bank to get started?

I hope so, holy [bleep].

I know. I hope
there's gold in it.

Me, too.

It's hard to not get
excited because of that pile.

Brennan just showed me his giant
pile of pay, which is pretty [bleep] nice.

It is one of our first
big wins this season,

which is again
really [bleep] nice.

But we are still quite a ways
behind, and we got a long way to go.

So our next step,
move the plant in place

and we can get [bleep] sluicing.

Hi, guys. Hello.

- So how's everybody doing?
- Peachy.

Indian River, how is
the Indian River doing?

Considering that
Tony isn't there,

things run pretty
smoothly on the hill.

It's probably quieter.

He called, like, 20
times in, like, three hours.

I know, I get the
radio on the other side.

"Call Minnie, call Minnie."

Or, Ma, it's 'cause
he misses you.

This week, Tony is hoping
to sail past 2,500 ounces,

half his season goal.

To do it, he needs his wash
plants to deliver 369 ounces.

First up, the Shaker Deck,
which ran for just half a day.

- I'm ready.
- Better go slow.

Yeah.

One, two...





Worth just over $50,000.

That's it? Not more in there?

That's not that great.

Next up...

All right, trommel,
let's give it a go.

Mike's trommel at Paradise Hill.

- Ready, Mike?
- Yes.









Worth $580,000.

Oh, yeah.

Last up is the Indian
River's Sluice-A-Lot,

also run by Cousin Mike.

- Are you ready?
- Let's go.







Worth just over $500,000.

Sluice-A-Lot
sluice a lot or what?

It's nice to see that considering
that the Shaker Deck was down.

Bringing the season
total to 2,588 ounces,

over half Tony's season
goal in just 10 weeks.

That's pretty nice.

It bodes well for us
meeting our season total.

And you spend a
lot of money, too.

No, that's not how that
works. I like a piggy bank.

Silly man.

Well, now we got three
wash plants running.

That's not the
only thing running.

I'm spending more time in
that truck and in sluice boxes

than I am down here.

Nice to be back down
on Ken's ground, though.

- Definitely nice to have options.
- Yeah.

So you had an exciting
week, huh, Damien?

Your setup down there is probably
one of the best ones I've seen.

Thank, Mr. Tyson for that.

Yeah, but it's hard for me
to pay Tyson a compliment.

I understand, yeah.

- I take the abuse well around here.
- Yeah.

But we do have three
thermoses, so that's good.

That's all that matters.

Tyson, you ready for Big Red?

- I spelled it out for you, Big Red, okay?
- Nice.

Big Red's still just
running gravel, so.

If we mined it the way everybody
else has mined that ground,

they would have
thrown that away.

As long as we're
not losing money.

Here we go. 10, 20, 45,



Worth $147,000.

Well, that's not good.

This is making me think,

"Oh, you know, the
Indian River wasn't so bad."

All right, Let's see what we
got, Roxanne for the week.

All right.

Oh, there we
go. I'm liking that.

Unless you really are
getting good at fooling us here.









Worth $464,000.

- There we go.
- Not bad at all.

I'll tell you what,
you keep that up,

and that's gonna be
a tremendous boost.

New guy, so this is Bob.

Ken's ground's always kind of
come through in a pinch in the past.

And this year, with the
gold coming in a little slow

and things at the
Bridge Cut being frosty...

That might give us hope.

Brought in to get Parker's
season back on track,

wash plant Bob is expected to
bring in around 300 ounces per week,

but it only ran for two days.

You wanna read it out?







Worth $146,000,

bringing the season
total to 1,107 ounces.

That's [bleep] embarrassing.

That is a lot of work
for 300 ounces, though.

Yeah, we would have done that with
one plant last year in the money pit.

This is bad.

Yeah, we're in trouble if
we don't change something.

We've got a long row to hoe.

Well, we got three wash plants.

But we got three
wash plants, yeah.

Like, three big wash
plants rolling away.

And they're finding less gold
than one plant was finding last year.

Insult to injury, right?

Sorry to be the Debbie Downer.

I never wanna be in a position where,
like, a bad season, puts us under.

Right now, Dominion
seems like a bad decision,

but I do feel like
long-term, it's gonna work.

But, it's a long road
ahead of us, still.