Narrator: On the all-new
season of "gold rush"...
Don't stop for nobody.
...A world-wide crisis...
The world health organization
is declaring
The coronavirus
a pandemic.
Narrator: ...Shuts miners
out of the yukon.
What sets the stage for
the opportunity of a lifetime?
Gold prices hit
a seven year high.
Narrator: Gold prices
reach record highs...
-Yee-haw!
-...And fuel bottoms out.
Oil prices have turned negative.
Narrator: The perfect conditions
for huge profit...
Rick: Doesn't get better
than this.
That's a quarter of a million
dollars a month.
...Driving parker,
rick, and tony
To take risks
like never before.
Parker: The high gold prices
are awesome,
But it's also a bit scary.
Narrator: And a group
of new miners...
Listen, everybody!
Narrator: ...Flock
to the gold fields.
This is the little slice
of freedom up in here,
It's like the american dream,
if you ask me.
Narrator: Every minute counts
in the shortest season ever.
-Let's go!
-Yeah!
Fred: Beautiful!
-Oh, my god.
-[ laughs ]
That's a beauty
that's worth some serious money.
Whoa! Our [bleep] wash plant
is on fire.
You with me?
[ groans ]
For that kid being
such a genius,
Somedays he's
a [bleep] moron.
It's a disaster.
Fred: This is the biggest risk
I've taken in my life.
Mitch: Oh-oh-oh! Stop!
If anybody wants to go home,
they can [bleep] go home,
I'll go pack my [bleep]
and I'll leave right now,
I don't give a [bleep].
Yee-haw!
Look at that thing.
[ laughs ]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Yikes. [ laughs ]
Whoo! Let's get some gold, boys!
Alright!
Holy smokes, wow.
Hell, yeah.
[ laughter ]
Man: $4.3 million worth of gold,
definitely a record breaker.
--[font color="#ffff00"] Captions by vitac[/font] --
[font color="#00ffff"] www.Vitac.Com[/font]
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: It's may
in the klondike.
For the first time
in living memory,
The gold fields
are shut down.
But all that is
about to change.
Tony, tony, tony,
do you copy?
Hey,
it's the film crew here.
We're down at your front gate.
It's all locked up.
We're here to start
the season filming.
-Hi, tony.
-Hi.
Excellent.
Glad to be here.
How are you?
Yeah, you got a lock
down here.
Can you tell me
what's going on here?
What's the rules here
with this gate?
So we come in
and we lock this behind us?
Okay.
Narrator: Klondike legend
tony beets has successfully
Mined canada's gold-rich
yukon claims for 30 years.
He's learned to deal
with every kind of crisis.
But he's never seen
anything like this.
This far north,
the short yukon mining season
Is measured in days.
Now tony's already
a month behind.
In that time, he could have
earned over a million dollars
In gold.
But in the midst of the chaos
and delays,
A silver lining
that could change everything.
♪♪
Parker: It's definitely
the latest start
We've had since showing up
in the yukon.
With this virus
going on and covid,
This is definitely
going to be probably
One of the more challenging
years that we've ever had.
Narrator: 25-year-old mining
prodigy parker schnabel
Is used to winning.
In nine years, he's gone from
a three-man operation
To a crew of 20, mining over
$10 million last season.
But now he's behind schedule
with massive overheads
And in need of a plan.
The biggest problem that
we face as a company right now
Is that we are
running out of ground.
So if we're not looking
for more,
Then we'll always be at risk
of going out of business.
Narrator: Last year,
parker realized his dream
Of mining his own ground...
Man: That makes our season
total...
Narrator: ...And didn't pay
a cent of royalties on it.
So cheers to all
of you guys.
Cheers to all of you guys!
But he struck out finding
his own ground for this year.
I mean, it's a pretty bad mine.
Well, you'd probably lose money
on a cut like that.
Now parker wants to expand
his empire beyond the yukon.
Parker:
The trip to australia definitely
made me start thinking
About what other opportunities
are out there in the world,
And prospecting definitely
is quite the gamble.
But there's a property in alaska
That's for sale
for like $3 million.
If we can go to alaska and find
lots of ounces in the ground,
That's where we're going.
This season is going to be
particularly rough
Because we don't have
our own ground.
It's a little scary, almost.
♪♪
Well, I'm still at home,
coronavirus lock down.
Unable to move around,
unable to do anything.
Narrator: Third-year mine boss
rick ness thought
This would be his season
to hit the big time.
But the global pandemic
shut the canadian border
And the state of wisconsin
has issued a stay at home order
While the price of gold rises
towards an all-time high.
Whew. Wow.
Right now, I mean,
It's well over 1,700 bucks
an ounce today.
This is the time
to be mining right now.
I mean, it's exciting.
And it's also driving me
Absolutely bat[bleep] crazy
right now
Because I'm sitting here
on my couch
Staring at the price
of gold on a screen
Rather than being up
in the yukon mining it.
♪♪
A little chest action.
Narrator: Last season,
rick barely broke even,
But now with prices soaring,
This could be the season
he hits the big time.
I have got everything
at stake right now.
You know, I mean, this is --
I've got a whole lot
of redemption
Waiting for me up
in the north.
I didn't do it last year,
But I can't have
another one like that.
I can't endure another one.
To be taken out of the game
Before I even get
to give it a shot
Is about the worst-case
scenario for me.
Like, I'll never be
able to accept that.
I never will.
I need to be in the yukon.
Some miners are getting in
and some aren't,
Even if I can get in,
it's super late
And it's going to be
a really short season.
I just don't know if it's
going to be long enough
To get the gold I need.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: At parker's claim
on scribner creek,
His crew returns after
the long off-season lockdown.
Chris: I just finished my
two-week quarantine
In the yukon territory,
got a clean bill of health.
Got to get up here.
Narrator: Chris doumitt,
parker's gold room expert,
Has been allowed across
the canadian border
As an essential worker.
It's amazing the drive
from home back up to here
Was there's nobody out
on the road.
I got in and did
my quarantine for two weeks.
And I tell you, I'll never
do anything bad enough
To go to jail because that
was unbelievably boring.
Couldn't imagine
being locked in a cell.
Excited to get back to work,
start making some money.
Home sweet home.
Narrator: Mechanic and
co-foreman mitch blaschke
Has also made it
across the border.
[bleep] brother!
Hey, buddy! How you doing?
Good, you?
Big ol' covid hug for ya.
Oh, man, well, I just
got out a lockdown.
So.
You just come back to jail.
[ both laugh ]
I don't know what's better.
Give me a hug,
you old bat.
Oh!
[ laughs ]
How are you feeling?
Oh, not bad.
Yeah? Good. Good.
I feel about as old as you.
Uh-oh, uh-oh.
That not good.
We'll be down here --
Hey, mitchell.
Finally made it, man.
[ laughter ]
papa.
Yeah.
How you doing?
Doing good.
Gentlemen.
What's happening?
Not a whole lot, how are you?
Doing good.
Good to see you.
So thanks for coming up here.
I know it's been a [bleep]
Disaster of logistics
this spring,
And it's left us a bit behind.
I mean, the best thing
that's happened right now
Is fuel prices are really low
and gold price is up.
Right?
So that's a good thing.
The ground that
we bought last year,
I mean, not only is
the license expired on it,
But we pretty
well mined her out.
So it doesn't really leave us
much options for ground,
And the only place
that I can really think of
In terms of like close
to getting ready to go
Is downstream of the last cut
on tony's ground.
♪♪
Narrator:
With the clock ticking,
Parker makes a key decision
To start his season
on the last cut,
The best ground he's ever mined.
He'll have to pay landlord
tony beets a cut.
But with gold prices high,
it's the perfect place
To make up for the late
start to the season.
You know, the royalties
I know are high,
But it is what it is,
and it's fairly close
To being ready to sluice.
It would be nice
To try to get a wash plant
running as soon as we can,
And you guys should be able
to get going in a hurry.
Chris:
It sucks that it's tony's,
But we can still
salvage this season.
We might even wind up with
a record season, who knows?
So is that
our only option for this year
Then, is just back
on tony's ground or what?
Not for the whole season.
We're still trying to figure out
if we can operate
On ken and stewart's property.
We have lots of ground to open,
But there's still some
permitting problems
Going on there.
Okay.
We need a w*r chest
and we need to buy ground
And we need to explore ground.
So I'm spending most of my time
Looking in a couple of pieces
of ground in alaska.
We're trying to buy a piece
of ground up by fairbanks.
Narrator:
In seven years in the yukon,
Parker's been so successful
he's now running out of ground.
The time has come to expand
his empire beyond the yukon
And head home to alaska,
where his mining career began.
Now you guys need
to make us some money
So that we can pay for it.
Just get big red up
and running
And ready to go in a few days
And we can start washing
some rocks, right?
Just to get the pad
tweaked up there.
So get a little bit
of help on that.
I think we can
make it happen.
Sweet.
Get a wash plant and run it
And hopefully you can find
us something in alaska,
That'd be nice.
Yeah. It would be.
Alright.
♪♪
Narrator: Brennan uses
the super conveyor
To build a pad for wash plant
big red to sit on.
So our goal this year is
to make as much money as we can
So we can raise a bit of money
to buy some new ground in alaska
That parker's looking at.
With the amount of time
we've lost here,
If we can't do something
real special
In a short period of time here,
I might have been better off
just to stay home.
That's kinda
the tough thing for me right now
Is just making sure
that we succeed.
♪♪
Narrator: Coming up...
The pressure's on for miners
to make big moves.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator:
Over a month behind schedule,
The beets family meets to hatch
a plan to make up for lost time.
Pbbht.
This season, we really do want
to go ba*ls to the wall.
Gold's up, fuel's down.
It was a really [bleep]
start last year.
Narrator: Last spring,
tony was forced
To shut down his massive
indian river operation.
We don't have
a water license.
He abandoned two
multimillion dollar dredges
And left thousands of ounces
of gold in the ground.
From indian river, tony moved
his entire operation
On top of paradise hill.
At the end of the year,
The water license crisis
left the beets down
On the previous season
by $2 million.
Mike: I got a lot of pacing
in the [bleep] hillside
That I can get to.
I can get sluicing.
Narrator: Last season, tony's
son mike produced over
$2.5 million of gold
from the mega cut,
on the hill.
With over half the cuts
still to be mined
And gold prices at record highs,
it could be a massive payday.
Having faith up will
make a world of
[bleep] difference I bet.
Minnie:
Oh, I think it will.
She's also your girlfriend.
Yeah. That's also a bit of
motivation.
Which makes for a happier
kevin.
It sure does.
Might be
a little bit of trouble
Because of all the flights
have been canceling
Left, right and center.
So airfreight
Might be a lot harder
to get in this year.
I'm very happy you're here
Because it makes a hell
of a difference for me.
You do that very well.
[ laughter ]
-Bye, honey.
-Bye, dad!
Narrator: Tony opened
the mega cut last year.
It's the most reliable piece of
ground he has left on the hill.
Now the whole family
must work together to mine
It out to hit
his 3,000-ounce season goal.
Making sure everything
is ready to run.
♪♪
Beautiful!
Narrator: Tony repaired the
trommel in the off season,
Now he's relying on it
To run 350 yards of gold-rich
pay dirt an hour.
Next in line, now that
we got the trommel going,
We want to see if we can
get crews stripping 24/7
And then just try to keep
[bleep] running.
This year,
We really do want to do
better than we did last year.
We want to have, you know,
all the plants going.
We really want to
have a bit more of a success.
♪♪
Narrator: Back in
the united states,
In the throes of the pandemic,
The border with canada
is closed.
Going a bit nuts just around
the house here.
I don't really know
what to do anymore.
Narrator: As gold prices soar
to record highs,
Rick ness is trapped
in his hometown of milwaukee.
I'm just not really willing
to sit around and do nothing
Because I'm just sick of this.
I got to do something.
Narrator: Rick calls long-time
friend and crew member,
Chris kruse.
Hey, buddy.
Well, I don't know about you,
but, man,
I can't
sit on my a*s any longer.
I'm going to throw
my [bleep] in my truck.
And I'm going to head to
the border, try to get across.
So just load up the trucks
and take a chance
That after we drive 2,000 miles,
the guy at the border says,
"sorry, folks, park's closed
Moose out front
should've told you."
Yeah, well, when
you put it that way.
I know it sounds silly,
but listen,
I've been talking
to everybody I can think of.
Mining is still considered
essential business up there.
And I've heard that some
gold miners have made it across,
But I've also heard
that some haven't.
So it's risky for sure.
But the way the gold prices
are right now,
I mean, I just I got to go, man.
I got to try it.
I think if we go
and we get across,
We can still have
a mining season, man.
Do you want to go?
I mean, you know
as well as anybody,
I've not been doing anything
for the last six months, so.
Yeah, man, let's do it.
Alright, pack your [bleep], man,
let's go.
♪♪
Narrator: The first year
rick broke off from parker
To run his own claim,
he barely broke even.
That's it? That's all of it?
That barely pays
for the fuel for the week.
Narrator: Rick took
a massive gamble...
-Ready!
-Ready!
...And moved his operation
To the hills above keno
in search of a big payday.
This is the biggest
gamble I've made.
Holy [bleep]
The potential is huge.
Sounds like a dream come true.
Narrator:
But the ground was poor.
Shut it down.
We got a [bleep] block.
Narrator: Rick finished the
season with 547 ounces of gold,
Half of his 1,000-ounce goal.
Oh, man.
I mean,
if I'm being completely honest,
Things did not
go great this year.
Narrator: Now he's at
a turning point.
To make matters worse...
There we go.
...He's down a couple
crew members.
Rick: I lost a couple of crew
members this year.
Zee's not coming up.
He just had a kid and he doesn't
want to leave her,
Obviously, and his wife.
I get that.
And brian's got a steady job
And there's not a whole lot
of those right now.
So I get that too.
Pretty much just
leaves me and kruse.
But karla's gonna be
meeting us up there, too.
So we've got at least a small
crew, but that's all I need.
Narrator: Five weeks into
the mining season, rick sets off
On the 3,000 mile journey
north to the yukon.
It's go time.
It's time to quit waiting.
And it's time to act,
so I'm gonna hit the road.
♪♪
What do you say, rubes?
Let's get out of here.
And we're off.
Gonna be a long ride.
♪♪
Narrator: In oregon,
skyrocketing gold prices
Are sending new hopefuls
Flocking back
to the gold fields.
Fred: I really feel like with
the price of gold going up,
It's time to hit it.
Narrator: Greenhorn miner
fred lewis
Is on the hunt for
his own claim.
Fred: With everything going on
in the world,
Everybody I know
is struggling.
I don't have a job right now
and I've got nothing coming in.
Narrator: For the last three
years, ex-special forces medic
Fred has been hunting gold
with parker
In papua new guinea, australia,
and the yukon.
First time I pulled gold
out of the ground myself,
That was it. It had a profound
effect on me personally.
Whew! Gold fever.
Narrator: Fred fought
in iraq and north africa
Before a combat injury
in afghanistan
Ended his military career.
Fred: I was a special forces
medic, my time in the military
Was a pivot point
in my life
That kind of taught me who I was
and brought out the best in me.
And in afghanistan,
I took the round to the helmet.
Snapped one of the side foramens
on my neck.
After that firefight,
I started having issues
and seizures and migraines
And they ended up finding
I had a bruise on my brain.
I went from fighting in combat
with a full team of brothers
That I loved to being on my own.
To wake up in the morning
And have nothing to do
for the first time in 14 years,
That is a challenge.
Narrator: Looking to rebuild
his life, fred's gambling
Everything on finding
his own gold mine in oregon.
Fred: You know, I've been
all over the world,
Been on some really
crazy missions,
And when I try
and compare this, honestly,
It's one of the most challenging
things I've ever done.
Narrator: He also plans to build
a crew of military vets.
Fred: I don't think
it's been done before.
A team of all combat vets,
This is a place that we can
pull gold out of the ground
And give ourselves a living.
We'll secure our own future,
We'll not have to
worry about [bleep],
We'll be mining gold.
Narrator: But before
he can form a crew,
He needs to find
a good piece of ground.
One thing I know is that
you never want to go anywhere
Without a good battle buddy,
so I've asked one of my buddies,
Kendell, to come out here
and meet me in this crazy place
To give me an idea
what I want to do.
And I know he's always
got my back.
♪♪
Kendell,
what's up, brother?
How are you doing?
Long time, dude.
Narrator: U.S. Air force
veteran kendell madden
Is part of a gold
mining dynasty.
His dad is a prospector
and wash plant expert.
He even taught
his younger brother,
Gold recovery legend
freddy dodge.
I remember freddy and my dad
had a big gold wheel,
And I just remember
thinking, like,
"this thing catches money?"
There's something about seeing
that shiny rock
That is indistinguishable
From just about anything else
on planet earth
That people realize
how quickly it goes from being
Just another rock
to like printing hard cash.
Better than cash, actually.
♪♪
What in the heck am I doing
all the way up here, man?
See that right down there,
the little creek
You followed it up?
The little clearing?
Yeah, that's little
cr*cker creek
Comes all the way
up to here,
Down at the bottom it
runs into cr*cker creek.
And right down there where
those two creeks come together,
I think there's
some huge potential.
And I know at least one claim
for sale down there.
Really?
I think there's there's
a lot of potential.
But I got to actually
see something.
What if I could show you
some gold at this elevation?
Gold all the way up here,
Right now.
If you got gold
All the way up here,
I'm definitely going to want
to go down there
And see it as well.
Alright.
Did you bring your headlamp?
Of course, man.
Mind your feet
getting wet?
Oh, let's do it.
Let's go.
Go get your [bleep]
and meet me over here.
Alright.
Let's do it.
Kendell:
Fred thinks that we can start
a gold mine here in oregon.
Pretty crazy, but let's see
what he has to show us here.
Here it is, dude.
Wow. [ laughs ]
There hasn't been anybody
in here in a long time.
Is that right?
I don't know how far back
it goes yet.
Wow.
Buckeye mine began production
in the 1900s,
But was abandoned at
the outbreak of world w*r ii.
Fred: [ laughs ]
This is pretty crazy.
Alright.
[ laughs ]
So see how these
are all rotten?
Be really careful,
don't touch anything.
Okay.
♪♪
[ sighs ] dude.
You see how this vein
right here is exposed?
There's gold all through it.
Follow that vein down,
there's gold in it.
Yep.
This is a vein
that nobody ever saw
Because it was covered by rock
and that this collapsed
And I came in around this side,
tells me
There's still a bunch of gold
here that nobody's found.
It's there. Now we just got
to find it out there.
Yeah, right?
Narrator: This gold vein is part
of a mother lode running
Through the mountain.
Over millions of years,
rivers eroded gold
From the rock and washed it
down to the valley below
Where it formed
placer deposits.
If fred can find
one of these deposits,
With today's gold prices,
He could make millions
of dollars in gold.
-Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
-God!
Kendell:
You know, got to see a little
bit of gold on the wall there.
I'm excited to see what
we can find down below.
Fred: My goal in getting kendell
out here was to convince him
That now is the time
to start a mine.
Now, I'm going to go and see
if I can show him that claim
And get his interest
a little more.
♪♪
♪♪
We are clearly in montana now
and we are burning up the miles.
You like being in montana?
[ whines ]
She says, "hell no,
keep going west.
We've got to get to the yukon."
Narrator: In a bid to rescue
his mining season,
Rick ness and buddy chris kruse
Have driven 2,000
miles north
In the hope of making it
across the canadian border.
Rick: At the end of the season
last year,
I tested some ground at troy's,
I told troy
That I wanted
to mine that ground,
But things have changed.
I got to get there and we got to
be face to face
And shake hands
and say we're still on.
I've done everything I can,
I've done everything right,
And hopefully whoever I get
at the border
To process my paperwork
feels the same way.
My entire summer,
my entire season,
My entire mining career in fact,
Is gonna be figured out here
in the next 10 minutes.
Whew!
Well, this is it,
I'm pulling up
To customs right now.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: The u.S./canada border
has been closed to all
But essential travel
for six weeks.
Rick: Well, this is it, I'm
pulling up to customs right now.
Narrator: Rick must convince
the officials
That he is an essential worker
To have any chance
of making it across.
♪♪
Good, how are you doing, sir?
Sure.
♪♪
I own a mining company
based out of b.C.
Operating
in the yukon territory,
So I'm going to start it up.
I do, sir, yes.
Yes.
Yes.
No.
Yes, sir.
Okay, well --
That's it. There's nobody
overlooking it right now.
I have to get there
to open it up
And get my people working.
Of where I'm going to
quarantine?
That I can give you, yes, sir.
Uh, write you an e-mail.
♪♪
[ laughs ]
yes, sir. Thank you.
[bleep] yeah!
Well, if you made it through,
I guess I'm gonna make it
through.
♪♪
Yee-haw!
I mean, we're across
the [bleep] border, man.
Kruse, you got a copy?
Narrator: Rick ness
and buddy chris kruse
Have successfully crossed
the border into canada.
Yeah, I think basically what
happened in that border crossing
Is they never seem
two hunks as handsome as us.
And they were just, said,
"yeah, go on,
go on through."
Rick:
Clearly you are correct.
I mean, there's no other
explanation on why
We breezed on through like that.
Were you as nervous as I was?
Because I was [bleep] bricks.
Yes, I do say.
Narrator: They now
have just 1,000 miles
To their destination,
keno city in the yukon,
And a chance to take advantage
of the perfect
Gold mining conditions.
I mean, I can't tell you
how nervous I was.
That was the one thing
holding us back.
And we just made it
and that's it.
We're going to have a mining
season. That's all that matters.
♪♪
Parker: I'm just looking around
for some pay,
And it looks like
it's thawed out pretty nicely.
Narrator: Over a month later
than normal,
Parker schnabel is finally
digging down to pay dirt.
With huge ambitions
to expand his mining empire,
He needs to start sluicing and
get gold as soon as possible.
Right now, I'm just
downstream of the last cut
That we did on tony's ground,
Which incidentally,
we called the last cut.
You know, with gold price
high and fuel price low,
It makes sense to try to take
another slice out of this ground
That we've got from tony.
Narrator: Over three seasons,
parker has mined
More than $12 million
of gold from the last cut,
But he's never started
this late in the year
And he's pushing the crew
to move faster than ever before.
We've got a pretty good
sized area down to gravel,
And now I'm finding some pay.
I'm definitely pulling up
a lot of nice sized
Rock and saw some
bedrock in a few spots.
Now it's a matter of trying
to get a wash plant in
And actually get the gold
out of the ground.
Narrator: Brennan finishes
building the wash plant pad
With the super conveyor.
Brennan, how you
doing down there?
Five or six loads left.
That's what you said
five or six loads ago.
This is [bleep] frustrating.
We are way behind.
And we're trying
to get caught up
And get plants going
and running.
Narrator: 20 feet down,
parker's hit pay dirt.
He can't afford
any more delays.
Man, you've been
busy over here.
Somebody should be.
What's that mean?
Hmm?
I just want to get
a plant running.
I got 26 people
on site and no money coming in.
Yeah. Yeah.
Narrator: Every day the plant
is not running
Costs parker $85,000
in lost gold.
You know, this is a late
start for us here.
He's got a lot of people
on the payroll
And no income coming in.
So I get why he's a little
worked up here.
Brennan: We're going to have to
have it running by tonight.
Once again, you know,
we're always rushed as usual,
But happy parker's a better day
for the rest of us.
Narrator: To move the wash plant
from the yard to the last cut,
Mitch calls on mechanic
shane smith.
Hey, shane,
how's it going?
Hey, good,
what's happening?
Oh, buddy, we just got to get
big red drug down to the cut.
Parker's just chomping
at the bit to get sluicing.
We're about ready
for the shaker deck.
I was just going to see
if you can maybe
Help us get it down there.
Yeah, we'll put it
on in a little bit,
But I think we'll save quite
a bit of time doing it that way
And then it'll
keep him happy.
That'd save us
a bunch of time.
Perfect. Sounds good.
We'll see you out there.
Thanks, man.
Dragging the plant to the last
cut with an excavator
Could take six hours.
Instead, shane plans to load it
onto the narrow lowboy
And haul it
the half mile to the pad.
It's a risky move, but if it
works, it will save four hours.
Yeah, this is a new thing
hauling it on the lowbed.
So it could be
kind of a mystery.
We'll see what happens.
Parker's in a panic
to get it all done today.
Load up!
When he does that,
all hell breaks loose
So anything could happen today.
What do you think?
We have this thing running
In the next 24 hours?
Is that what the boss wants?
I think so.
He'd rather have it
running in about four hours.
[ laughs ]
♪♪
Drop that one in.
I'll come poke them in.
Narrator: Shane uses two
For a makeshift ramp.
♪♪
♪♪
You're good!
I'm just going to
move this over a bit.
That's alright,
you can suck it over now.
♪♪
Now we gotta try
and drag it on,
Hopefully we got enough power.
Tires should hold it up
or take most of the weight.
♪♪
Easy.
Looking good!
♪♪
Nice and easy.
Looking pretty good there.
Then I'll spin it right
where it is.
Narrator: Shane must now turn
The quarter of a million
dollar plant 90 degrees
To line up
with the truck bed.
♪♪
It would totally destroy it
if this thing came off
The trailer right now,
We've got to be
a little bit careful here
And make sure
that everything goes smoothly.
Yeah, a little bit more.
Perfect.
It's a snug fit?
We're good to go.
♪♪
Narrator: Mitch trucks the
top-heavy plant half a mile
To the completed pad.
♪♪
What I'm really concerned
about here is just,
You know, having any hiccups
here today.
I know parker's real adamant
about getting the wash plant
Running and getting
some money coming in.
At the end of the day, we need
a lot of things to go right
And a little bit of luck.
Maybe a lot of luck.
♪♪
[ horn blows ]
At least it's here, we're
a lot closer than we were.
You want to yank
it off, shane?
Or watch you guys
do this or what?
Sure.
Oh, come on,
you can do her.
I've never done you guy's
the system yet.
We haven't either.
[ laughs ]
I was scared, geez, man.
So I didn't want to do it.
Narrator: Shane turns the plant
to ease it off the trailer.
Some days you just
got to sit back
And watch an old boy do it,
and learn something new here.
♪♪
Get back.
Oh-h*.
Whoa!
Drive it back!
Whoa, whoa!
♪♪
Oh-h*.
Whoa!
Drive right back!
Whoa, whoa!
♪♪
Nailed it!
Narrator: In the last cut,
Co-foreman mitch blaschke
and brennan ruault
Are racing to install
a 50-ton wash plant, big red,
So parker can begin sluicing
for the first time this season.
That's the sketchy
part there.
You can see when big red
started coming ahead.
You see this distance here
between the cylinder
And the wash plant,
it's a good thing
Big red stopped
when it did.
He's all yours, big cat.
Oh, I was enjoying
watching this,
The old seasoned pro.
Nicely done.
Now the heat's on you.
-Nicely done.
-Thanks, shaner.
Shane: It's always dicey
pulling stuff off
A little bed like that.
I mean,
You never know what's
going to happen.
It all came off.
I knew it was
coming down fast, so.
Narrator: Brennan pulls big red
into place on the pad.
Yeah, it feels pretty nice
to get big red up
And going, still a long ways
from the finish line.
Mitch: This year, we're gonna
need to find more gold faster
Than it ever has,
and we're just gonna have to
Push her right to the limit.
And knowing parker, we're going
to push it past that point.
♪♪
Go long!
Whew!
I could feel that
all the way over here.
Brennan:
Everything looking alright?
Now you got about
six inches.
♪♪
Like that?
What I want to see
is just the sight line here
Of big red to the cut
into the tailings pond.
That's good.
I think we got it,
we got big red its new home.
It's a good feeling.
We're close to sluicing
And start getting
some gold coming in.
Narrator: Mitch guides
the radial stacker into place...
This is really
a critical set up here
Because there's just
no room for error.
Looks really nice.
...And positions
the 40-foot sluice runs...
There you go.
Hey, looks good.
Boo-yah!
...And connects
the water supply.
A month later than normal,
Big red's finally ready
to start sluicing.
♪♪
She's definitely
quick and dirty.
Gentlemen.
Don't look at it too close.
I don't give a [bleep]
Is it gonna wash rocks?
It should.
Then that's all
that matters.
It's all there.
♪♪
You ready?
Here we go!
♪♪
On the way it starting, imagine
she's running just like she
Turned off.
Looks good.
Narrator: To make the most
of record gold prices
And raise the money
he needs to fund
A new operation in alaska,
Parker must now
keep the plant running 24/7.
Parker: It's nice to be
sluicing with, you know,
Just the way this spring's been
and this year overall,
I mean, it's nice to finally see
some money coming in,
Hopefully, assuming there's
gold in this [bleep].
♪♪
Yay!
Big cat! Good to go!
Good job, man.
Thanks, man.
Looks like a good set up.
♪♪
Narrator: With his plant set up,
Parker looks to recruit
an old friend to join his crew.
♪♪
[ skype tone rings ]
-Hello?
-Hi, fred.
Parker!
I can't take this covid anymore.
Yeah, tell me about it.
It's been a [bleep] show.
As far
as the summer goes,
Where do you stand on
coming up to the yukon?
I've been fighting
the border, man.
Every time I go
and talk to them,
They keep telling me
it's getting pushed.
And two days ago,
they pushed it another month.
So for me to
get up there,
It's going to take an act
of congress, basically.
Yeah, it's a really personal
decision for everybody,
Whether they want
to do this or not.
And I won't hold it against
anybody that doesn't want to.
♪♪
So what have
you been up to?
I've been kind
of struggling,
Trying to figure something out,
to be honest, dude,
I'm kind of thinking about
getting my feet wet.
I've actually got a few leads
on some claims down here,
And I'm thinking about putting
my feet in the pot.
Going gold mining?
I don't know, man. I feel like
with the price of gold
Being the way it's at
And with my life being
as available as it is
And with my experience
that I gained from you,
I really feel like
I'd be stupid not to try it.
Yeah, I mean, prices are good
right now,
Finding good ground's
the difficult part.
You know, a lot of it is just
getting your feet on the ground
And moving some dirt
and figuring out how it goes.
Don't be afraid
to reach out.
And if there's anything
you think I can do to help,
Then let me know.
Thanks, dude.
I really appreciate it.
Kendell: Look at this, dude.
Look everywhere,
There's tailing piles
everywhere.
Narrator: Down in oregon,
fred takes veteran buddy
Kendell madden
on the hunt for a gold mine.
This place,
they've chewed it up, bro.
But finding a claim
in the lower 48
That hasn't been mined out
is a challenge.
You've got to understand,
dude,
Those guys they used to mine
in the '20s,
They got almost all of it.
So don't get your hopes up.
I know.
But I think, honestly,
What we found potentially
could be virgin ground.
I hope you're right.
This is it?
Elkhorn claim.
Elkhorn claim is at the junction
of two mountain creeks.
♪♪
Fred believes this ground
Will be rich with gold
washed down from the mountains.
It's the first mine set
I've driven on
And not felt like I needed
to be careful not to get shot.
[ laughs ]
Now, I know you say
all miners are bull[bleep]
But this guy seems like
a really straight sh**ter, dude.
He got a lot of equipment.
Oh.
Jeff hawk and russ schimetz
Have owned the claim
for four years.
Russ.
Fred?
Fred, yeah.
Nice to meet you finally.
Yeah.
Is this jeff?
Jeff.
Jeff, kendell.
Kendell,
very nice to meet you.
Man, it's beautiful out here.
Holy cow.
Love it up here, yeah.
Like, if I could think
of a place to tuck myself
In and mine,
I think this is it.
Jeff: What is your plans?
What are you guys looking for?
Fred: Well, you know,
I got into gold mining
About three years ago.
Kendell's been doing this
for over a decade.
And I kind of feel
like the time is right.
You know, gold is soaring.
With my military background
And kendell's a brother in arms,
you know, we served.
I just feel like time is now.
All your guys are military,
then?
All military, all have
combat experience, right?
Well, that's good.
Yeah, I'm a vet and was,
You know,
in the air force.
Hell, yeah.
Got the tat to prove it.
And that
just makes it even better.
So when did they stop
mining in this area?
They usually pick through
pretty heavily.
Russ: The main stuff was
probably back in about 1912.
They had three dredges
running about 35 years
And they took out over
And didn't even get down
to the good stuff.
Those dredges
only go down 29 feet,
Bedrock's like 80.
Yeah.
So even those dredges
were just scraping the low pay.
I feel like
the gold's winning.
It's been here for so long
and no one can get it.
I don't like that.
You guys want to go for a walk?
Yeah,
let's go check it out.
-Wow.
-Okay.
So hold on.
How far to bedrock down there?
-Never hit it.
--Never hit.
You serious?
-55 feet.
-Never hit it.
This is all pay?
Yeah.
Kendell: Wow, there's
a lot of rock in here.
And a lot of big rock too.
It's a lot more wear and tear
on an equipment
And supply chains and absolutely
everything else as well.
Big gold runs with big rock.
Look at that quartz.
Wow.
There is gold in this rock.
Right here, look at the red.
There's a lot in your coppers.
Fred: I mean, if you ask me,
This is pretty much
the perfect scenario,
I understand there's some issues
that kendell has and obstacles,
But I'm seeing evidence that
there's going to be gold here
And soon as
I can see it in a pan,
I think it'd take a lot to kind
of change my mind on this one.
I want to rely on kendell's
opinion a lot,
But I'm feeling pretty good
about this place.
Russ: We got some nugs.
Okay, I'd like to see that.
Go them all here in
displays here, so.
Oh, wow.
Try to keep them
All separated out.
Ooh!
Look at that guy.
Whoa.
Looks like
a piece of ham.
Yeah, this is exactly
what I wanted to see.
Yeah, this is -- this is
what I was hoping to see.
And all of this is from here?
Yeah.
So this is last season?
To be quite honest.
It makes me makes me wonder
Why you are going to get rid
of a gold mine like this.
We have access to other
property closer to home.
Other gold mines
closer to home?
A little easier on everybody,
the family.
Yeah, that does
makes sense.
And you think the whole property
is going to look like this?
Yep.
You'll pull nuggets
about the size of your thumb,
So we've seen all this gold.
What's the price?
What are you looking
to get for the claim?
We're asking a million dollars
for the claim.
A million dollars
straight up?
Yep. All the equipment,
whole operation.
Cool million.
Just one.
Just one
just one million dollars.
Okay.
Yeah, that's quite a bit more
than I actually
Had been thinking.
What would you be willing
to do for a lease?
I mean, we're out
to sell the property.
If we were to entertain a lease,
it'd be pretty stiff.
Okay.
Be $20,000 bond,
That's a lot of money.
Um, you mind if we go have a
talk over there real quick?
No, that's fine.
♪♪
That's a lot for a lease
and a lot of property
That we haven't
actually seen gold come from.
Look, I like these guys,
But all that gold
could have been bought on ebay.
It's a good possibility.
Nice cases.
Those nice cases.
Yeah, there's a chance, man.
We got to do
some testing around here.
We have to see this stuff
for ourselves.
Proof is in the pudding.
Narrator: Before fred and
kendell commit to a lease,
They need to test the ground
to find out
If it's as rich as jeff
and russ claim.
I'm wondering if maybe
we could go forward
And do a test.
I'm not opposed to a test,
are you?
-No, no.
-Okay.
Sounds like a plan.
Thanks for showing us around.
You bet.
Look forward to hearing
From you guys.
Pleasure meeting you guys.
Appreciate you coming out.
Take care.
-You guys have a safe drive.
-We'll talk to you soon.
Come on, girl.
♪♪
I'd have to sell my house twice
for a million dollars.
Oh, man.
[ laughs ]
♪♪
♪♪
There's a lot of dirt
I got to push off this hill
And I got to get it done
as fast as I can.
So peter, patter,
or get at her.
Narrator: For over 30 years,
Tony beets has been
a mining legend in the klondike,
But after spending
millions of dollars
Resurrecting two ancient dredges
that he now can't use,
Tony needs to get back
on top or face financial ruin.
Last year, we kind of got
boned with that water license.
So we got kicked out
of the indian
And came up to the hill.
We essentially had to start
from scratch
And that was pretty intense.
Narrator:
He's putting all his hope in
the mega cut on paradise hill.
The beets family must mine
around the clock
To make up for lost time and hit
tony's 3,000-ounce season goal.
So as long as we can keep
that plant fed,
Then we're golden.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Did you hear that?
I don't like
the look of this.
This is bull [bleep]!
This was bouncing.
So panicked,
shut everything down, come over.
Find out that the bolt
had broken off.
So with only three bolts
holding it in,
It doesn't sit solid,
so it wibble wobbles,
Luckily caught it in time,
Otherwise probably get a [bleep]
gearbox, half a distributor.
♪♪
It's a simple fix
when it goes well.
Narrator: The whole plant is
down until kevin can remove
And replace the broken
gearbox bolt.
Come on.
♪♪
[bleep] you.
[bleep] with this probably
four hours now.
Narrator: Every hour
the wash plant is down,
Tony is losing $2,500 in gold.
We are exposing a lot
of ground right now.
And I mean,
as soon as kevin says go,
I can start shipping trucks
of pay over.
I'm sure he's feeling
the pressure.
The entire operation is down
because a stupid bolt
Doesn't want to come
out of its hole.
Minimum, I'd say the bolt's been
in there probably 20 years.
That's 20 years in the rain,
in the weather.
Plenty of time to get
all nice and rusty.
Ugh!
Deep breaths, deep breaths.
This bolt is so seized in
I don't think she's
coming out anytime soon.
Yep.
[ grunts ]
Okay, I think we may be
getting ahead of ourselves here,
The bolt's not
really the problem,
Is that it wiggle wobbles, so
We reinforce it
with seven bolts
Instead of [bleep] three,
wouldn't that [bleep] do it?
Yeah, sweet.
Yes.
There we go.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: To stop
the gearbox shaking,
Kevin cuts two large brackets
out of half-inch steel,
He'll mount them on either side
of the gearbox on the plant,
And then secure them
with bolts on each side
So the sluice runs will get
even distribution of gold.
It's a start.
Okay, we got it all mounted.
Well, it's definitely
not going to go anywhere.
She's really solid now,
like no wibble wobble,
So we just got to fire it up
and see if it works.
-Kevin, do you got to go?
-Yes.
As soon as you say she's fixed,
I can start sending trucks.
Kevin: Yep, we got it.
Alrighty,
let's get ready to rumble.
♪♪
New plates good to go.
Should have done that
from the beginning, but.
Narrator: Kevin finally has
the trommel back up and running
And washing 350 yards
of gold-rich dirt an hour.
Yes.
♪♪
Shoeshine!
Come on!
Narrator: Greenhorn miner
fred lewis has set his sights
On a 36-acre claim in oregon,
But before he signs a lease
with the owners,
He needs to confirm
there's gold in the ground.
He's going to test
a section of paydirt pulled
From near the surface
between the two creeks
That run through the claim.
What's up, guys?
-Hey, how's it going?
-How you doing?
Good, good.
This is our other
partner, jude.
Nice to meet you finally.
My pleasure.
Jude oversees all the equipment,
maintenance and stuff.
Okay, perfect.
Kendell: All of this testing
that's going to be going on,
What are we going
to be using to test?
What about that
guy over there?
Well, we can take a look at it,
it's been a long time
Since she run.
How long's a long time?
Five years.
-Five years.
But jude, he's good.
He can bring us back to life.
We'll see.
Jude, do you think
You can get that going?
Yeah.
Alright, well, can we go
check it out?
You bet.
It's a beauty.
Ooh, this thing
is a pig, guys.
[ laughs ]
that's a perfect name.
I like this pig.
Fred, you see this?
What?
The electric motor
to a gearbox, to a drive shaft,
To a differential,
to a chain drive,
To a differential,
to tire driven trommel.
I'm going to need a diagram.
[ laughter ]
I think I am too.
Narrator: Jeff built this
makeshift trommel
Out of spare parts,
An electric motor
drives a shaft,
Which turns two truck tires,
They rotate the trommel drum,
An old 1,500 gallon propane tank
which feeds the sluice.
Look at these tires, dude.
Fred: That tire is not
going to be good.
That one over there
doesn't look so hot either.
Look at this thing,
it's definitely a pig,
But I think we throw
some lipstick on this thing,
We can actually make it
alright.
We're going to blow up this
tire and see if it'll hold air.
Because without that
tire it won't spin,
I don't think, will it?
-No.
How's it looking?
Oh, it's moving.
Oh, my goodness.
Seems to be holding air.
Now, you need
to come to this side.
Yeah, we need
to get over there.
Thanks, buddy.
I hear air.
That one's no good.
If it's a flat, we're going to
have to find another spare
Is it a 15?
It's a 15 inch, yeah.
-Yeah, that's 8, 10.
-This one?
-15.
-15.
I wonder if that would work,
Pigs' getting some new shoes.
We can jack up the weight
off this trommel tire
So we could pop it off,
change it.
It's clear.
It's clear.
Alright. Whoo!
That was the last one.
Kendell: Alright, we got four
tires on the old pig here.
She's rubbing
in a few places.
But I think that will
kind of self correct
Once we actually get
the motor running.
A few small things to put on
and then --
And we're pretty much ready
for testing.
Fred: I think kendell's
finishing the last couple pipes.
I don't want to jinx it,
we're getting close.
Nice and easy. All the way.
Narrator: Fred directs
the test trommel
Into place
next to the test site.
So we got the pig in place,
took a little
More work than we wanted to,
but it's here.
Is it bulk test time?
Start moving some dirt.
♪♪
First bucket!
So I'm seeing a lot of large
rocks, they're mostly round.
Really good sign
because this is the area
Where the two creeks converged.
Narrator: Fred believes that
where the two ancient
Mountain creeks
once converged,
They deposited
millions of dollars in gold.
Kendell: I'm seeing everything
that we need.
I just got to hope
that the old timers
Didn't come through here
and clean up everything.
How much dirt you think
we got here?
Oh, we probably have
Okay, so we'll run it.
Yeah.
I'm ready to run it.
Yeah.
Like right now.
Let's go now.
That's going to
be good dirt.
We're so close now.
Just need to run that pay dirt.
♪♪
Kendell, it's fred, water's
on its way, you hear?
Kendell: There she goes.
Let's get this pig fired up,
See what kind of bacon
she can make for us.
♪♪
♪♪
Eating dirt!
That's what I wanna see!
Fred: It took us about three
times the amount of time
I wanted it to to get here,
But now we're up and running pay
dirt, looking good right now,
But the proof is in the pudding.
When we're done with the tests
We'll see what the sluice
shows.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Alright, guys, that's enough,
let's shut it down.
Fred: Whoo!
Narrator: Fred and kendell
have run 20 yards of pay dirt.
For not cleaning these mats,
and if we see some gold,
We're really looking good.
Kendell: No, let's not get
too excited quite yet,
Still haven't seen
too much on the surface.
There's a good piece
of gold right here.
That's a good one.
It's all fine and dandy
to see the flakes
Stuck in the carpets,
but at the end of the day,
We've got to weigh the gold.
Then we know.
I think this is like a little
slice of freedom up in here.
Do what we want to do,
pulling gold out of the ground,
I mean, kind of like
the american dream.
You know,
if there's gold here,
This is definitely
the american dream.
Just need to find the gold.
Just need to find the gold.
Narrator: To prove the pay dirt
is worth running,
They need to get half
an ounce of gold per 100 yards,
So the 20-yard test
Must give at least a tenth
of an ounce or the deal is off.
You ready?
Alright, see what we got.
♪♪
Jeff: It's a pretty nice little
nugget you got.
Jude: Yeah.
Kendell: It's a tenth of an
ounce for 20 yards out.
-Half ounce per hundred.
-That's pretty freaking good,
Right?
-That's not bad at all.
Not from surface.
Yeah, that's scratching
the surface there.
We didn't even
get to 10 feet of that.
We keep going down and should
be getting a lot better.
That's phenomenal, actually.
Narrator: Fred and kendell's
Has produced a tenth of an ounce
And proved that the claim
is rich in gold,
If they continue at this rate,
They could take home
upwards of a million dollars.
I'm like liking this,
it's a small test.
That's a decent
amount of gold.
I think that we can pull a lot
more of this out of the ground
If you guys are willing
to work with us on a lease.
I just -- I don't have the money
to purchase this property.
I wish I did.
You know, we're trying
To start a lot
of dreams here
For a lot of veterans.
And, you know,
with your guys' help,
This is something that we can
actually all pull together.
Jeff: We love the story.
And what you're trying to do,
It weighs heavy on us, too.
So is that you guys saying that
you're willing to work with us?
I think we're
good with it,
As long as long as you're good
with the terms.
It'll be a $20,000 bond.
Okay.
That's for reclamation?
For reclamation.
Okay.
That's fair.
Doesn't sound too bad.
I don't have a problem
with that at all.
A win-win
for everyone.
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited.
Now we just need to get
a whole bunch more of that.
We'll be set.
Kendell: So I was super
skeptical coming in here,
But, you know, it seems like
all the stars are aligning
And I really want to put in 100%
of everything that I am
To make sure that we can
be successful here.
Fred:
This is probably the biggest
risk I've taken in my life.
I've emptied every penny
I own on this and borrowed some.
But everything
is coming together.
I don't really think
we could have gotten off
To a better start.
I'm pretty stoked about this,
So I'm ready to roll.
I'm just ready to roll.
♪♪
♪♪
I haven't seen a bar
that's been open in months.
Just my luck. Quarantine is
over, bars are back open,
And we've got
a [bleep] ton of work to do.
Rick: Yes, we do.
Narrator: After 3,000 miles
on the road,
Rick ness and buddy chris kruse
Are just a few miles
from their last year's claim,
Upper duncan creek.
So it looks like you're the last
one standing there,
Kruse,
it's you and I.
Yeah.
I don't know if I can fill
The shoes of both
of those guys.
We've got a lot of time
and a lot of ground to make up
And I'm going to have
to find some more people.
Buy a kayak right now
with karla.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Made 'er, buddy.
Yeah.
What a long [bleep] trip.
Yeah, I'm tired
of being in that truck.
I was planning
to be here April 1st.
Yeah.
Well, one thing's
For sure, upper duncan's
done for us.
We ain't doing any more
mining here.
Narrator:
After a bad season here,
Last year, rick tested
a new claim on lower duncan...
Oh, I love that sound.
Love it!
...And had his best cleanup
of the year.
-Oh, man.
-That one's for you guys.
-Guys!
-I've still got another shot
To come back up here
and do it again.
Narrator: If he can make a deal
on the ground,
This season could be
his biggest yet.
We can get all this stuff
moved out of here, and...
Yeah.
...Get on with new ground.
Yeah.
I'm gonna miss the view
Of these mountains, but I'm not
gonna miss this place.
No, well, dude,
it's just two of us.
I'm staring at a mountain
of work down there.
I don't know about you.
Gonna have to get
some crew here.
There's no way you and I
are handling all this.
Nah.
I mean, we can get started,
But we're
going to need some people.
We got a lot of [bleep] to move.
Yes, we do.
Yeah, we've got a lot to do.
A lot.
A lot.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Beautiful. We're happy.
Narrator: After a one month
delay starting the season,
The beets have run their trommel
at paradise hill for four days.
Kevin shuts down
so they can remove
And clean the concentrate
before the weigh in.
♪♪
Narrator:
It's the beets family's first
gold weigh of the season.
-Voilà.
-Hello!
Okay, well, here we
are once again.
Well, we ran, what, three
or four days
Before the distributor went?
Yeah, three days.
So there's about 100 hours
there.
Yeah.
Do you want to see what's
How much is in the dirt?
I would love to
see how much.
Kevin: 10,
Narrator: When tony started
mining, gold was $500 an ounce.
Now it's $1,750,
Making this worth nearly
a quarter million dollars.
Yeah, just shy ounce
and a half an hour.
Not a bad three days.
Minnie:
We're still productive.
Kevin:
We had to slap that gearbox,
Those mounts back
together pretty quick.
We should have
picked that up there,
But...
Oh, yeah,
By at least a gearbox itself
isn't [bleep].
Yeah, right.
Because that would be
Another whole
different issue.
That's right.
Yeah.
You know what? This pandemic
isn't gonna kick our a*s.
♪♪
♪♪
Finally made it up to the yukon,
but I'm real late.
I need to get
my equipment running.
I need to get crew up here.
But really,
none of that's going to matter
If I can't secure my deal
for the ground.
Last fall, we went
to lower duncan.
We did some testing
and it was good.
Everything was good
to go with troy.
And then we had
a global pandemic, you know,
And now I'm two months late.
And I'm finally here,
But I haven't been able
to get a hold of him lately.
I mean, he's out in the bush,
he's working
And he doesn't have service.
So I've got to get with him
And I've got to make sure
that this deal is still on.
Narrator:
After weeks of uncertainty,
rick has made it to keno.
Now he must secure a deal
on new ground with landowner
Troy taylor or his mining season
will be over before it started.
I barely broke
even last year,
And I worked pretty hard
all winter
To try and get some money
to give this another shot.
But I'm actually starting off
worse than I ever have been.
I'm starting off
in the hole this year,
And that feels terrible
because I've taken great pride
In not being in debt
as an adult.
If for some reason
this deal that I've got
With troy falls through
And I don't start
getting gold right away,
I think that's it.
You know, I scrambled
to put this together last year.
If I lose that big again,
it's over.
I won't get another shot.
I can't do it.
So if troy says no,
I'm going home.
♪♪
♪♪
Hey, troy.
♪♪
♪♪
That whole plate's
bent out further.
Yes, it is.
Narrator: In parker schnabel's
gold room,
There's a problem
with the jig.
You [bleep] [bleep]
So here's my short-term
solution, hold that down.
♪♪
This is like straight out
of your playbook
Right here, alec.
Isn't it?
Oh, man.
The tension in the chain.
Ooh.
[ laughs ]
There you go.
Right there.
Cool.
Looks like a scrap yard.
Set the angle of the sluice
with a pipe wrench
And a strap holding it up,
at least I found my pipe wrench.
♪♪
Narrator:
Rick ness is meeting claim owner
troy taylor to do a deal
That will decide
the fate of his season
And his future as a gold miner.
Hey, rick.
How you doing, buddy?
Good. How are you?
Good. Good to see you.
Have a seat.
Rick needs to secure 2,000 acres
of troy's land
To mine this season.
You've probably been
wondering where I've been at.
Well, I just broke
out of quarantine jail.
I figured, yeah.
I told you last year
that I fully intended, you know,
I wanted to come
here and mine.
I don't know
if things have changed.
Yeah, rick, I know that covid
isn't your fault,
It's just one of those things.
It's frustrating, though.
It's so late in the season now.
I'm not sure if it's -- if you
can really salvage it or not.
I understand
your concerns there.
I mean, I know
this is not ideal,
I still plan on getting a hell
of a lot of work done.
We're ready to hit
the ground running,
Get some gold out
of the ground.
Just to be clear
that we're on the same page.
Our deal is 10%
or 100 ounce minimum.
Yep.
From my perspective,
I just want to -- I'm worried,
Worried about it's a big ticket
for you to pull this off.
So I'm hoping
you can pull out
in a month or so
And then I'll feel
more comfortable
That we're going to be
okay at the end of the season.
Okay, so you want
your 10% up front
And you give me
a month to get it.
Yeah, I mean,
that's, I mean, that's not --
I think we can
manage it.
Right on.
Well, I'm gonna go get some gold
out of the ground.
Thanks a lot, troy.
I appreciate it.
Good to have you, rick.
Narrator:
Rick has one last chance
to save his mining career.
I'm taking this year
very personal honestly,
When we walk out
of here this fall,
I think we're going to have
a huge amount of victory
In our corner.
I aim to leave with it.
♪♪
♪♪
Parker: Bring it here.
Bring it here!
Dude, you were rocking it.
You didn't break your neck
with that thing, though.
Chris: Oh, look, at this. Now
you got to throw it for him,
[ laughter ]
Just get clubbed
over the head.
Do we throw some gold on the
scale and see what we got?
Narrator:
After a four week delay at the
start of the season,
It's time for parker's first
gold weigh from the last cut.
Holy, that is
a big silver jug.
I hope it's full.
Narrator:
With gold prices soaring,
Parker needs a big season to pay
for an even bigger gamble,
Expanding his empire
into alaska.
So you want to call it
out, mitch?
Sure.
Let's get her going.
There you go.
-[bleep]
Narrator: Worth nearly $390,000.
Chugs along, doesn't it?
Has for years.
[ laughter ]
Parker: I'm glad it's
pulling together.
And thank you guys
for coming up here
And making this happen.
For sure.
I know we've got a long ways
to make up,
But we're off to a good start.
Thanks, guys.
I had no idea what our season
was going to look like,
And so I'm really glad
that we're up here.
Crew's back together,
Finding gold and operating
and getting ground
Opened up and have a wash plant
running, late but good.
Narrator:
On the next "gold rush"...
Where's all this water
coming from?
[bleep]
Tyson! Shut it down now!
Tony: Where I come from, they
call this completely [bleep].
It's a mess.
I see water coming!
Get ready!
That whole [bleep] sluice
just flew off
Like it was a firework, man!
There's a whole lot
of redemption waiting for me.
Kruse: Watch out!
Whoa!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
This is an ugly situation,
real [bleep] ugly.
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
11x01 - The Perfect Storm
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.