07x01 - Virgin Ground

[bunniefuu]

[ Engine rumbling ]

Shawn: I consider myself
to be a risk taker.

Growing up, dad told me,

"Do something that
scares you every day."

Well, now I just got to
find more things to scare me.

Narrator: on an all-new season
of "bering sea gold"...

The good gold is
starting to deplete,

And there's opportunity
out in deeper water.

Narrator: shawn pomrenke is
opening an untapped claim,

Kicking off
a modern-day gold rush.

It's been mined for a mile
in every direction,

And that's the only piece
not mine.

We're looking at
the biggest year of our lives.

You do know
we bought this thing.

We're gonna make
more money this year

Than most people
make in a lifetime.

-Pretty impressive.
-There's your new boat, shawn.

We're building
an empire up here,

And it starts now.

How much are they asking
for this ground?

Over $10 million.

Zeke: I grew up in nome.

I tried to go to college,

And then I noticed that there
was absolutely zero chance of me

Being able to find any kind
of productive employment

After I finished college.

So I decided, "well,
the best thing for me

To do is go find
some other way to make money."

Two divers simultaneously --
it's gonna be rad.

I put together
a really awesome ice mining

Operation from scratch,

And my gold dreams
can come true.

The only failure will be
not trying hard enough.

Emily:
I have hopes for a prosperous
future working with zeke.

There is nobody else up here
that I would work with.

But we fought a lot
of battles together,

And then we fought a lot
of battles against each other,

And that gives you
a lot of history.

This winter we can make
a lot of gold

And put the past behind us.

Oh, my god!

Look at that
nice chunky, sexy gold.

Shawn: I know there's gold
on that claim.

Those miners better
get their asses in gear

And get out there
and get some gold.

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator: nome, alaska --

Home to over
a century of dreamers,

Prospectors and treasure hunters

All looking to claim
their fortune in gold,

And for shawn
and steve pomrenke,

These golden dreams
have become reality...

Remember when we first
tied into this last fall,

And you were just worried sick
about, "oh, boy.

Maybe there ain't
no gold there at all"?

I was worried about that, too.

...as the father-and-son team

Are coming off the
biggest season of their lives.

...but then look what it
turned out to be.

You know, 2,100 ounces
in five weeks.

That's amazing.

Narrator:
for years, the pomrenkes
have ruled the bering sea

With their mega dredge,
the christine rose.

Every riffle's got
gold behind it.

And last summer...

Let's turn some
dirt over, boys.

Dad gambled big with
the inland mining,

And it paid off big.

This is the biggest pile
of gold I've ever seen.

It's amazing, I mean,

To be doing a half
million dollars every week.

We're living the american dream.
[ Cork pops ]

-Wow!
-Yeah!

Narrator: but just as the inland
venture is taking off...

And what's going
on on 38, exactly?

...shawn's got unfinished
business on the water.

You only got so
many more years,

So we got to start
producing on there.

Five years ago...

The next track we'll be
selling is track 38.

Okay, here we go, dad.

Last call for $67,500.

The bid's $67,000.

Narrator:
shawn bought a 160-acre tract

On the bering sea known
as claim 38.

Claim 38, 10 miles
from the city of nome,

Is 160 acres
of untapped ocean floor.

In the 1980s, geologists
spot-drilled the grounds

And estimated it could hold up
to 11,000 ounces of gold.

Shawn:
I have to show production.

Narrator: but to keep the mining
rights to the virgin claim,

He's got to show results.

So, what are we gonna
concentrate on?

Are we gonna
concentrate on this,

Or are we gonna
concentrate on 38?

Well, I want to do both.

Well, yeah.
You gonna do both,

You're gonna stretch
yourself thin,

And end up not getting
either job done.

He takes on 20
different jobs at a time,

And only finishes half of them.

That's not the way
to do things.

Shawn: I want to keep growing
the business

And making it bigger and better,

And trying to explain it
to dad to get him

To go on board with it --
it's a little hard sometimes.

Narrator: but mr. Gold
has a plan.

So, you got to go out
and spend some time

On 38 there to get set up?
No.

Well, if I don't have one
of our rigs out there,

I got five other people working
for us finding that gold.

Narrator: shawn's doing
something

He's never done before...

We're gonna put them out there,
let them prospect for us.

Opening up the claim
and taking a cut

Of every ounce that
comes out of the water.

Shawn:
I decided to open up the area

And let all these other guys
do my prospecting for me on 38.

It's a big opportunity.

Well, you better prove to me
that something's

Really gonna happen out there.

I'll make it happen.

I'll light a fire
under those guys' asses.

Going into business
with my dad --

We've butted our heads
and fought and yelled

And screamed at each
other the whole way.

But whatever we're
doing is working.

Whoever gets out there first
can pick out the best spot.

Now these guys can move
enough dirt to find it.

That'll tell if these guys
are miners or not,

'Cause I know the gold's there.

Narrator: to maintain access
to the claim, miners

Will have to follow
a set of rules.

They're gonna have
to pay me 20%

To come work for me.

Narrator: rule number 1 --
pay the rent.

I'm gonna make money
off of them no matter what.

Narrator: rule number 2...
I want them to work and be

As serious
about gold mining as I am.

Narrator: ...do the work.

We're gonna be watching
their cleanups,

Making sure they ain't
stealing gold from us.

Narrator: rule three -- do not
steal gold from mr. Gold.

Catch them stealing from me,

They'll definitely
get kicked off the claim.

Narrator: and rule four --
everyone must be off the ice

By the state-mandated
end of season, april 15th.

Shawn: the ice season's short.

Time's limited.

Not easy work, but I've done it
for years and years

And know it's possible.

When I dropped the flag,
I dropped it on a spot

I knew there was decent gold.

The first one there wins.

[ Water splashes ]

Narrator:
six miles to the east,

Back at the port of nome...

All right, all right.

...29-year-old zeke tenhoff
is seeking freedom

In the form of gold.

Zeke: well, I started
mining back in 2007.

Okay, I'm about 10 years in.

Like, I'm not getting wealthy
doing this yet.

And, like, one might say
that it's kind of asinine for me

To keep thinking
that I'm going to.

But I do think
that's still possible.

Geologists say, like,
there is probably 3/4

Of a billion ounces out there.

And we've named our shacks --

That shack there
is name john cushack.

That shack is named
earnest shackleton.

And we're almost ready to go.

Narrator: with an opportunity
to mine virgin ground...

Zeke's had to partner up
with a familiar foe --

Emily riedel.

Zeke: I'm forced to dissolve
some of the equity

In the operation
and take emily riedel

On as a 50-50 partner
in exchange

For some operating capital.

Okay, dog.

Let's hook this snow
machine up to the shack.

Narrator: since bringing
his childhood friend

To nome six years ago...

This ship is unsinkable.

Not even god
could sink this ship.

[ Laughs ]

...zeke and emily have
forged very different paths.

The whole, like,
dynamic of running a boat

For a corporate entity --

It's treasure hunting
for somebody else.

Narrator: zeke...

It's pretty dang sturdy,
for sure.

Narrator: ...the solo artist.

Zeke:
it is a little more in my nature

To get away from everybody.

I trust myself, but, like,
when other people

Are going underwater
under my watch,

With my equipment, it's
a constant source of stress.

And emily...
You ready to dive, daryl?

...the conductor.
[ Engine turns ]

I've been running a dredge
successfully for three years.

As long as terms are met
and money is there,

Anybody can do business
with anybody.

Might have to take you up
on your offer

To go do some dredging
on your dredge.

Oh, yeah?

But try as they might
to go it alone...

Yeah, we can try
the business thing.

...fate...
Go make some gold.

...or a mutual love for gold...

Holy [bleep].



...keeps bringing them
back together.

I'm taking 10% off
for all the sass.

I think maybe,
since we don't know

How the trail's gonna be --

I think maybe I should drive
the bigger snow machine.

That's cool. If you get it
stuck, it'll be your fault,

And I -- I'll enjoy that.

I mean, like, no offense to your
snow machine driving skills,

But I guarantee you will
get this thing stuck.

Hey, don't start the morning off
by being a [bleep], okay?

Narrator:
while things remain complicated

Between the old friends...
Okay, we about ready to do this?

...this season...
All righty, roo. Here we go.

...it's all about opportunity.

I think in order
to succeed at ice mining,

Especially if you're
going real remote for your gold,

You have to spend a bunch
of money on your operation.

I think that zeke looks at me,
and he sees dollar signs.

But I do know my [bleep]
about gold mining.

I was forced to take emily on
as a 50-50 partner

In exchange for enough money

To get the operation
up and running.

[ Shouts ] whoo!

Emily: I mean, it's always hard
for me to get respected up here.

That's just a part of my job.

But if the gold
opportunity is good,

Then I'm gonna go for it.

I'm really excited
to get under the ice

And grind, and nothing's
gonna stop us.

Narrator: all they have to do is
get 10 miles out to the claim.

And they are not alone.

Whoo! Whoo!

Yeah!

[Bleep]!
[ Shouts indistinctly ]

[ Thud ]

[ Engines roaring ]

[ Thud ]
oh!

Narrator: four miles from nome,

With virgin ground
open to the fleet...

Whoo!

...there's a modern-day
gold rush

On the frozen bering sea.

So zeke and emily are racing
to stake their claim.

And they're not alone.

Whoo! Whoo!

Yeah!

[Bleep]!
[ Shouts indistinctly ]

[ Thud ]

[ Engines roaring ]

[ Thud ]
oh!

Emily: hold up!
Are you okay?

Are you okay?

Who the [bleep] did that?

Narrator: on a collision course
for the flag,

Zeke got run off the road
by another crew.

Those [bleep] worthless [bleep]

Low-life piece of [bleep]

Cut [bleep] the shack off,
'cause we got ahead of them.

The [bleep] kellys.

Narrator: the other crew --
who else?

We got to hurry up.

Narrator:
the notorious kelly family.

Over the last three years...

I'm gonna take one
of your keys before I leave.

Yeah? Let's do it.
Jump on my boat and hit me.

...the fighting kellys
have bludgeoned

Their way through nome.

The kellys have an air
of desperation around them

That kind of makes them
a little bit more inclined

To operate in an unscrupulous
fashion, if you will.

They know we're on good
gold out here, dude.

They're coming out
with their gps

Probably just to mark
our spot for later.

You have to kind of keep
an eye out for desperate people.

You never really know
how they're gonna act.

Make [bleep] specials.

And that's what you get when
you [bleep] with the reaper.

Narrator: all this on the way
to the bottom of the gold count.

Ounce and a half.
Not good.

[Bleep]
those guys!

Let's go.

And they just [bleep] drive on.

They don't even
give a [bleep],

Those [bleep] wastes
of [bleep] space.

Shawn: oh, my god.
What happened?

The snow machine's upside down,

Smashed, the windshield...

Like, how [bleep]
far do you [bleep]

Have to go before you [bleep]

Start trying to [bleep]
help people?

That was [bleep]
attempted m*rder!

-That was a close call.
-Yeah, just like [bleep]...

You all right?

Yeah, we're okay,
but it was pretty close.

We were doing a little race
with kris and the other kelly --

He came up right ahead
with his snow machine

And tried to stop.

We can't stop or slow down.

No, you got a lot of weight.
It's like a train.

The kellys,
they have no remorse.

They stop for a second,

They look at us, like,

With a dazed look on their face,
and then they drive off.

Thanks for
righting it, you guys.

-I really appreciate it.
-No problem.

Narrator: back up and running

After a fight
to get to the claim...

Zeke: you don't want
to have to have

Any more trouble
with the kellys,

So the best decision
is to get as far away

From them on the lease
as we can.

Narrator: ...zeke is giving up
on shawn's flag

And looking to get away
from the pack.

See that pressure ridge
right over there?

Like, that's shawn's
eastern drill.

So we need to get through this,
like, moat thing.

Everybody's clustering
after the same target.

I would like to start out
the season knowing

For sure,
that I would get on some gold,

But I don't like to be
in the cluster, really.

I like to go out,
try to find gold in places

Where people haven't
found it before.

There's generations of gold
off shore of nome, no doubt.

I don't really think about it
in terms of, like, "oh, boy.

I hope I can get
my 100 ounces this year."

'Cause I'm sh**ting for,
like, 1,000 ounces.

That's what I'm looking for.

All right, guys.

They made the drill log
somewhere in this area,

Which is great,
because we have,

Like, flat ice for days.

It's perfect --
it's perfect for us.

Narrator: with other miners
aiming for more certain gold...

X marks the spot!
...zeke is rolling the dice

At the far eastern edge
of the claim.

First dive hole -- right here.

I have pretty damn high hopes.
I really do.

Then they drilled
through here in the '80s,

And they took a sample
right over there,

And that sample's was,
like, bangin' gold,

And nobody's dredged
over here yet.

Narrator: to get after that
"bangin' gold,"

The clark's got a system shed

That provides
compressed air

And hot water to divers.

A third engine powers
the six-inch suction dredge

That feeds dirt
to the sluice box,

And a communications shack
brings it all together.

I haven't been in the water
since last october,

And I spent a lot of time
building

All this awesome equipment
and dreaming

About this gold
that's out here.

We're about to do
our first dive.

It's been a pretty rocky start,

And now we're kind of on
the far side of the claim.

It's a little more of gamble
than I like it to be,

But I still have a really
good feeling about this.

But ice mining --

It's dangerous,
technical diving.

You have one air supply
that freezes up constantly,

And you could get trapped
under the ice at any second.

There's absolutely no room
for error in ice diving,

Absolutely none.

Narrator: despite
trouble on the way out...

-Everything looks good.
-Awesome.

That sounds good to me, man.

...zeke tenhoff is about
to be the first

To get a look at
shawn pomrenke's claim.

Okay, I'm going down.

[ Air hissing ]

All kinds of little
ice crystals down here.

Just assessing
this whole area right here

And see what the trends are.

I'm just looking
for trends.

Do you see any cobble?

Yeah, lots of cobble.

I'm going up to where the cobble
gets a little heavier.

The most important
part of ice mining

Is already knowing
where the gold is.

In this case, we don't know
exactly where the gold is,

But we do have
drill logs suggesting

That the gold might be richer
in certain areas on the lease.

Zeke: all right, guys.
I'm just gonna get right to it.

[ Air hissing ]

Crank up that motor.

Okay.

[ Motor revving ]

That full throttle?
yeah, full throttle.

Okay.

Here we got a big stretch
of exposed vein.

and there's a little
hillside of rocks.

Zeke is an excellent
prospector,

Which can make the difference

Between success and failure
in a gold mining operation.

We have to find the gold,

Otherwise this season's
gonna fail.

I'm looking for a pocket.

[ air hissing over radio ]

but I haven't found
a big pocket yet.

Narrator:
one mile northwest...

We're off
on another adventure.

With his competition
leaving it up for grabs,

wild ranger owner
vernon adkison

Is heading straight
for shawn pomrenke's flag.

Shawn put a flag out there.

First one to get
to where that flag is,

They get the best spot,

And that's what
we intend to do.

Narrator: for vernon,
getting a prime spot

On untapped ground is critical.

I'm already in for, probably,

$25,000 Or $30,000
just getting ready for winter,

And it's really money
I didn't have.

Narrator:
for the last six years...

The gold that was on the bottom

Of the sea is now in my bucket.

Narrator: ...vernon has spent
his life savings

In pursuit
of a golden windfall.

The only thing that
really stores value is gold.

Gold doesn't lose its value.
It keeps the value.

Land does --
they can tax it to the point

Where you don't really own it.

Paper money --
you can wipe your butt with it.

But I do have faith in gold
as a way of storing wealth.

-61.705.
-Yeah!

Narrator: along the way,
there have been highs...

That's pretty [bleep] good.

But on the bottom line...

Every time I open the mailbox,
it's the bills, bills, bills.

...the retired serviceman

Has shelled out far more
than he's recovered.

Last year was really
a bad season for me.

We ready?

A year ago, vernon brought to
nome a big, blue game changer.

And I'm thinking,
"we got a winner."

That sub dredge --
I didn't make any money with it,

And I burned up a lot
of money supporting it.

Narrator:
despite his best efforts...

Oh!

...he never got it
to change the game.

-0.29.
-0.29?

By the time I left out of here

At the end of the last
summer season,

I was so far in the hole
I couldn't see the light of day.

Narrator: now...

This is gonna be
our last chance.

We got to give it
everything we got.

If we don't make it here,
we don't make it.

...the veteran skipper is back
for one last shot at glory.

This season is back to basics --
no time for innovations.

We're just using
a suction dredge.

What we're trying to do
is pump up the gold account,

Put some gold in the box.

We're gonna do what
we're good at

And what we got
the equipment for,

And hopefully we'll
make enough gold

To pull ourselves
out of the hole.

And I think that that's it
right over there.

Oh, yeah.
[ Chuckles ]

We're the first ones out here,

No doubt about that.

All right, baby! Ha!

According to shawn,

He supposedly put this flag
on a good spot,

So we got this spot.
This is our spot.

Narrator: but despite flags
and core samples,

Nothing is certain until
they get eyes on the bottom.

So, now all we got to do
is just, you know,

But our little bippy
together here, pop our hole,

And get after it.

Right now it's all on the line.

Narrator: 10 miles from
the city of nome...

Vernon:
we got to get a diver down.

...at the wild ranger
ice station...

So, according to shawn,

There's supposed to be


Narrator: after capturing what's
supposed to be the best spot

On shawn pomrenke's claim...

I don't know how many of
those ounces we can get,

But the closer to 11,000,
the better.

Narrator: ...vernon adkison's
not leaving anything to chance.

First dive of the season's
the most important --

Sets a tone
for the season, I think.

I got a lot of bills,
you know, bills, bills, bills,

So I got to make sure that I'm
successful at it or we're done.

Okay, bobby, let's do
a little strategizing

Before you go down.
Narrator: with as much

As $14 million in gold
up for grabs,

And vernon's future
as a gold miner

In the balance,

He's implementing
a new strategy.

Okay, the hole's here.
We'll divide it into quadrants.

We're gonna check out
these two sectors first,

Then we'll move
around the clock.

Instead of them just
popping here and popping there,

We're gonna be
systematic about it.

When we do a hole --

Essentially dividing
the dive hole up like a pizza,

And we do one slice at a time.

We haven't done
this in the past.

It was just like
by guess or by god,

The guys would go down there
and then say,

"Well, I worked over there,"
or "I worked over there."

This time we're gonna be
a little bit

More systematic about it.

You know, if we tried
to get good gold here,

And he takes off
in this direction and runs out,

We'll know about
where to come back to.

[ Steady breathing ]

All right, bobby.
Go get it, buddy.

On a scale of 1 to 10
for being dangerous,

I'd put ice mining
up there with --

Around about 9 or 10.

There's all kinds of things
that can go wrong.

[ Air hissing ]

You can run out of air

And not make it back
to the hole.

I've woken up in the middle
of the night

Just in horror thinking
about something going wrong

And one of my divers
getting injured down there.

[ Air hissing ]

Okay, I'm making my way back

To the back of the sluice box

Underneath the discharge hole.

Do a number 8 first,

And then after that,
we'll go clockwise.

all right. 10-4.

we got cobble on...

the 8th side --
the 8th side of the rig.

He's got cobble on 1 and 8.

It sounded good.
We got cobble.

Lot of times
right at the cobble

And sand border
where they meet --

A lot of times
that's a good place

To get the gold,
and seems like it settles out

Right there on that land
a lot of the times.

Okay, number 3 --
sand and cobble.

Number 4 -- cobble and boulders.

When you flip those boulders,
a lot of times

There'll be gold
under those boulders.

And number 7 is, uh...
Cobble.

Bobby, if you're
pretty well satisfied,

If you've scouted it out,
let's get the nozzle going.

Over.

all right. Fire away.

Narrator: with the hole
successfully mapped,

Now the real question --

Is there any gold
down there?

Looks like we got suctions.

all right, bobby.

sounds good.
we're standing by.

I think that strategy
of dividing

The holes up into sectors

Is gonna put more
gold in the box.

Nobody's really done it before.

It better pay off.

Narrator: on the eastern edge
of claim 38...

how far away from the hole
are you working?

Visibly maxing out the hose,

So probably about 35,


Directly to the north.

Narrator: after rolling the dice
from the flag...

I'm just checking in between
these boulders here...

...zeke tenhoff is still
searching for any sign of gold.

...trying to find where
the sand gets black

And the gold gets good.

Narrator: drill logs provide
some bearing,

But if the gold's out of reach,

The whole area could be a bust.

Emily: I don't know anything
about this ground.

Zeke doesn't know anything
about this ground.

I mean, if there's
not gold here,

We're just completely blind.

I don't know where else to go.

[ air hissing over radio ]

I just found the black stuff.

I like the black stuff the best.

[ air hissing over radio ]

Oh, yeah! Look at that
little pile of gold!

-Yeah!
-Whoo!

-Oh, my god!
-Yeah!

Zeke: there's just
a bunch of cobble.

There's a tiny little strip
of overburden on it,

like, an inch.

Right underneath
that there's gold.

Narrator: two hours into
his prospect dive,

The first gold on claim 38.

Oh, my god. It looks those
drill logs were correct.

Oh, yeah!
Look at all that gold!

Oh, [bleep] yeah!
yeah!

Yeah!
[ Cheering ]

[ Laughs ]

All right, guys, well,
I need to come up soon.

There's definitely
a bunch of gold here!

We just need pound out
a bunch of hours.

[ Barking ]

Are you stoked or what?
[ Blows nose ]

Dude, you just
nailed me with that.

-Did i?
-Oh, my god.

[ Laughs ]

Yeah?

-Ow!
-I know.

We had to go out
on the far side of the claim.

But our first hole,
I'm seeing really good gold.

It looks like the kind of stuff
that we need to be on.

I know that there
is an unlimited amount

Of ounce-an-hour
gold out there for me

If I can just get my [bleep]
together enough,

And, like, get my life
straightened out enough

To where I don't have personal
failures and business failures.

The only thing
that's holding me back

From becoming
extremely wealthy is me.

Narrator:


At the wild ranger ice station.

I like my burgers
when I'm hungry.

I don't care how they are --

Rare, well done,
I don't give a damn.

It's just food to me.

-You got to be sanitary.
-[ Laughs ]

That's good enough.

Now that's a damn good burger.

Just your basic burger --

Burger, bread,
and mustard.

That's it.
That's my secret --

Keep it simple.

Narrator:
vernon adkison has taken

His operation back to basics.

Bobby, how's it
looking down there?

How you doing?

Not seeing anything
stand out yet.

Narrator: but after two hours
mapping the ground,

Vernon's diver has yet
to land on a pay streak.

hang on a second.

[ Air hissing ]

-Wow!
-Oh, yeah!

Yeah! Way to go!
[ continues over radio ]

all right, well, okay...

We've got everything trimmed
right down to basics.

It's critical that
we put gold in the box

So that I can keep doing with
what I want to do that summer.

What we're sh**ting
for is 200 ounces.

Bobby: the gold just keeps
falling out right here.

We're on the gold right now.
We're on gold.

What would be your guess
on ounce per hour?



That's good, bobby.
Man, keep after it.

Roger that.

A few minutes ago, I was --
my knee was hurting,

I was a little bit tired.

I'm not tired,
[bleep] my knee --

-This is what it's all about.
-I'm ready to get down.

I want to get a few hours
in, that's for sure.

conditions down here
are pretty good.

The visibility is spectacular.

Man, summertime dredging
does not compare to this.

Yeah, I hear you, bobby.
I hear you.

There's no reason why
we can't go round the clock.

and even if we only get
a quarter of an ounce an hour,

If we do it 20 hours,
that's five ounces a day.

I mean, that'll keep
the lights on.

Whoo!

Narrator:
the lead diver's seeing gold,

But there's no telling how much
until they check the test mat.

Vern, you're gonna like this.

Narrator: the verdict?

Narrator: gold.

-Chunky!
-Yeah!

Chunky, chunky!

Ooh, purty!

All right. 'Cause this is what
makes it all worthwhile.

All right, buddy.
Good luck.

All the equipment
is looking good.

Everybody is positive.

When we do the clean out,
I think we're gonna have

Some really good
gold out of this hole.

[ Squawking ]

Narrator: 180 miles away...

We're here.
...in st. Mary's, alaska.

-Nice.
-St. Mary's

-Yeah.
-First time.

Shawn pomrenke is kicking off

The next phase
of his empire-building plan.

-You find our barge?
-Check this barge out.

-For a barge?
-For a barge.

I'm building a new barge.

It's gonna be 10 times
bigger than the christine rose,

And hopefully 10 times
as profitable.

The person that comes up
with the right dredge

To mine the ground efficiently

And at a low cost --

You're gonna be
a multi-millionaire.

And I think I have an idea
to make that happen.

This thing is massive.

All right, there.
That's the christine rose width,

And only about right here.
It's twice as much.

Narrator:
the christine rose is dwarfed

By the 48-year-old,


The $200,000 price tag
is just the beginning.

Shawn will also
have to fabricate

And install an excavator,
wash plant,

And control room
for a total cost

Of nearly 2 million bucks.

How's it look up there?
How's that deck look?

A little rusty, but...

Hell, we're used
to old rusty junk, aren't we?

I'd hate to spend 200,000 bucks
for a pile of rusty steel.

Shawn: that barge --
it's the closest thing

In a alaska that
fits what I want.

And I had to put a down on it

Before it got sold
to somebody else.

Steve: shawn's talking about
spending $2 million

On this huge, humongous dredge.

It's gonna be 2 million
of his dollars, not my dollars.

That's all I got to say.

Well, usually with more stress
comes more profit, so...

We got that claim 38,

And there's 12,000
ounces on there.

And this is the one tool

That I see that
we would need to get

That gold out of that ground.
It needs paint.

It needs a bunch of welding,

And it needs
some fixing up, but...

I mean, dad and I have
always had old junk,

And we always fix it up
and make it work.

I'm not trying to be
that naysaying.

I mean --

I guess where there's
a will, there's a way, but...

Man, I see the potential of
mining in that ocean,

And I think we could
do $75,000 a day.

Getting that barge to nome
is not gonna be an easy task.

There's all kinds of money
to be spent.

Dad gambled big with
the inland mining,

And it paid off big.

Now it's my turn
to gamble a little bit.

Narrator: 10 miles from
the city of nome...

Vernon: I got bobby down
dredging right now and...

...at the wild ranger...

Jenny and gary are
doing a cleanup.

Narrator: after being the fleet
to the flag, mapping the hole,

And proving gold
at the test mats,

It's time to find out just
how rich the ground will be.

The startup expenses
on this operation

Was just off the charts,

And gary and jenny,

Bobby -- everybody's
been working hard.

Yeah, how's it looking, jenny?
You got any gold over there?

Yeah, there's a little bit
of gold in there.

I want to wait until
it's done before I look.

Part of the reason
I do this is to make sure

That my family's
taken care of,

So I got to make sure
that I'm successful at it,

Or, you know, they'll suffer
because of it.

I'm gonna get this
last little bit,

And then we get
to see what we got.

Vernon's cleaning the first
gold of the winter season.

Knock, knock.
How's it going, vern?

Narrator: and the landlord
is back on the ice

To reap the reward.

Yeah, we did.

Vernon:
...gold wheel to find stuff,

And we're working on separating

Some of the other
concentrations over there.

Well, when get done
with this cleanup,

Make sure you
come pay the piper.

-All right.
-We'll see you.

Will do.
Will do.

When you get access to a new
claim like shawn's claim,

You got to pay him the royalty.

And in shawn's case,
he wants the gps coordinates.

He knows that
I will pay my rent,

And I will the royalty.

-It's definitely payday time.
-Payday.

We're cooking the gold here,

And we're drying it
and putting it on the scale.

[ Beep ]

-All right.
-All right, guys.

What do you got so far?



Whoa!

Narrator:
with 13 hours on the box,


Worth almost $12,000,

Less 20% to the landlord.

We've got our first
taste of gold.

We can pay some bills,
and I damn sure need it.

I need it desperately,
and I'm sure you guys do, too.

I think this hole that
we're on right now --

It's gonna be pretty damn juicy.

Narrator: with vernon's
long-term plan

Coming into focus...

Half a mile away,

Zeke tenhoff and emily riedel

Are working
on a plan for tonight.

Some of that ice --
it's kind of dicey.

I don't know, but it's
looking kind of wearing thin,

And, like, the tides
are moving it around a lot.

I don't know how I feel
about it.

Narrator:
after finding a hot spot

On the untapped eastern edge
of the claim,

Zeke, emily, and crew are
considering camping out.

Let's make
a pros and cons list.

[ Laughter ]
yes.

Zeke: we can only mine
till april 15th.

We're getting shut down.

That shortens our season way
beyond what it'd otherwise be.

One of the main hazards
in mining is losing focus,

Like, in town in the saloons
and whatnot.

I think it's the best idea
to just live out on the ice

Right where you're mining
and focus on that all the time.

[ Laughs ] that's "pros."

You guys get it.
All right. Pros...

Emily: I didn't get it before.
Now I totally get it.

...money. Cons...

Period.

We...all...

[ Laughter ]
die.

[ Laughing continues ]

Emily: living on the ice
is terrifying.

I mean, there's always
the imminent danger

Of this really
volatile piece of sea ice

That may or may
not go to russia.

-...eternal...
[ Laughter ]

...glory.

[ Laughing continues ]

And I can't really think
of any other cons.

That's what they told
the roman soldiers.

I think that's
a good list right there.

So, we'll reassess
this list in the morning.

[ Laughter ]

But for now,
seems to weigh heavily

In the favor of "pros."

[ Laughing continues ]

Narrator: and just like that,

They make the call
to spend the season

Living out on the ice.
[ Dog whimpers ]

And back at headquarters,
that'll be good news

For mr. Gold.

Shawn: I want these guys
to take gold mining

As serious as I do.

None of this half-a*s
[bleep] around.

You want to be a gold miner,

Then take it serious
and work hard.

All these guys wonder,
"oh, why does shawn do so good?

Why does he get
so much gold?"

It's 'cause I work way [bleep]
harder than they do.

Every day's an adventure
being a gold miner.

You don't know
what's around the corner.

There's $14 million
under this ice.

Come and get it.

Narrator: with the season
off and running,

Vernon jumps to the top
of the leader board,

And mr. Gold takes his cut.

[ Wind whistling ]

On an all-new season
of "bering sea gold"...

An empire built on
a modern-day gold rush.

Shawn: I have an opportunity

To leave something behind
for the pomrenkes

That will last forever.

Zeke: I think that
we're gonna prove this is

A better way to ice mine,

And we're gonna get double the
gold we otherwise would have.

Vernon: gold mining
is my passion.

You got to be dedicated to it.

I'm not quitting,
and there's nothing

That can happen around here

That's gonna make me quit.

Narrator:
the fleet battles

On one of the last remaining
hot spots...

I'm gold mining for my mom.

A year into her retirement,
she finds out she has cancer.

I would love to be able
to take care of her.

I would do anything to do that.

I don't really care
too much about gold.

I'm here to actually --
to get rich.

Narrator: ...to claim a fortune
before the ice melts away.

-Welcome to gold town, mom.
-[ Laughs ]

Hey!
This is my claim, brad!

-Hooked on something down here.
-Losing air!

-What the [bleep]...
-Oh, god!

Look at all that [bleep] gold!
It's gold!

-Yeah!
-Yeah!

We know it's here. We just got
to get it out of the ground.