There's definitely
a lot of, um,
struggle, you know,
and there's a w*r for ground
in the Klondike.
And there's some breakdowns
we're fighting.
[narrator]
On Indian River,
Parker Schnabel
is pitting the success
of his season
on a deep piece of ground
rumored to have upwards
of 8,000 ounces of gold.
We've been on the new cut
for quite some time now.
It's been maybe two weeks.
[narrator] But getting
to the pay layer has been
an expensive slog,
with Parker spending
more than $700,000 already
and no gold coming in.
Yeah, we really need
to get a wash plant
running here soon.
Um, and the only ground
that's close to ready
is around the Airstrip.
[narrator] A mile west
from Mud Mountain,
Parker still has 21.8 acres
of the Airstrip Cut
left in reserve
from last season.
But opening another cut
will mean
he has to divert
resources away
from Mud Mountain,
including upcoming plant boss
Tyson Lee.
Um, look,
I really appreciate you
stepping up a lot this year.
I know it's going to be
a hectic season,
and, um, we're shorthanded
on experienced people,
- especially with
Brennan leaving.
- Yeah.
But I hope you're ready
to take on a bunch more.
- Oh, yeah. Any day.
- Good.
For right now,
that means, um,
we really need
to get a plant up and going.
I'd like to get
Sluicifer going if we can.
I'm hoping
you can pull out of here,
and probably the only spot
that's anywhere close
to ready for us
is down by
the Airstrip, huh?
Yeah, probably.
So, the biggest problem
is, you know,
you're gonna have
to take new people
because the experienced people
have to stay in here.
- What about Mitch?
- Uh...
Steal Mitch for this or...
Probably not until later.
You're gonna have to get
started on it on your own.
I know you're gonna
have to get a plant pad built
and start getting
things organized
and just train up
some new guys.
Right on.
I'll do my best.
All right,
you can head down there,
and you can take
a couple of these machines.
- Thanks, man.
-[Tyson] No worries.
Parker just told me
that he wants me
on to Mud Mountain
and getting
the Airstrip ready,
which I couldn't be
happier to hear,
because I hate the mud.
The only thing is,
got a green crew
to do it with,
so it's gonna be
challenging.
[narrator]
With no gold coming in,
Parker rests
his whole business...
Come on. In ya get.
...on a green plant boss
and two rookie
rock truck drivers,
Evan Kurtz
and Justin Fraser.
The only gold
I've ever mined for
is the one up my nose.
Are they... both the brake?
Uh, so, right now,
I'm just sort of
scouting out the spot
where Sluicifer
is gonna be sitting
sluicing the Airstrip Cut.
I think I have a spot.
We're gonna
lay the greenhorns out
with the plan here,
and then
we'll get to her.
[narrator] First step,
a pad for the wash plant
to sit on.
If you guys could try
pulling up just one
tire width further away,
that would be great.
Thank you.
[narrator] Tyson operates
a 480 excavator
to load Evan
and Justin's rock trucks
with coarse tailings
which need to be
stacked and levelled
before the plant
can come in.
[Justin]
Oh, this is my first time
setting up a sluice plant
or anything like it.
So, following
the direction of Tyson
is definitely important,
or else I'll be sitting
like a chicken
with his head cut off.
[Tyson on radio]
This one, also, can go
to the waste site there.
Just this mud here.
And I don't want that
going into our plant pad.
[Justin]
Yeah, they've got
us greenhorns
building this pad
for Sluicifer.
But, uh, there's no doubt
in my mind
these greenhorns
are gonna be goldhorns.
I think it's a recipe
for success for sure.
It's, uh, going
really good so far.
It's just really
[bleep] bumpy.
Oh, [bleep].
[bleep]
[bleep] me.
What the [bleep]
are you doing, Justin?
He did [bleep] hit me.
The boss is probably
gonna be pissed.
'Cause I don't know
if you can fix it or not.
Hey, Justin and Evan,
what the [bleep] going on
over there?
You guys gotta
take it easy.
You know, we can't
afford any screw-ups
at this time.
We've spent a million dollars
stripping Mud Mountain so far,
and with the first setup
of the season,
you know, it's pretty crucial
having things bang on.
We've got a few
rock trucks rolling again,
and all the boys
are working,
so that's all good news.
We're gonna [bleep] be
ba*ls to the wall.
It's gonna be time
to make some [bleep] money.
[narrator] After two days,
Evan and Justin have hauled
enough tailings
for loader operator
Tatiana Costa
to make a base
for the wash plant.
[Tatiana] Still a bit of work
to finish here,
but it's looking good.
This is, basically,
the icing in the cake.
The last step.
I guess the, uh...
the plant will be the cherry
on the top of the cake.
[narrator]
Foreman Mitch Blaschke
checks on Tyson's work
before Sluicifer
is hauled into position.
Tyson's done
a nice job here.
He's got tailings down,
he's got it packed in.
We're one step closer
to getting sluicing
and, uh, getting
some gold.
[Rick] We're here
early in the season,
and we have
gold coming in.
I mean, that's huge.
That's a great start
to any season.
[narrator] In the mountains
above Keno,
Rick Ness is on the gold.
Just two weeks
into the season,
he's already mined
We pretty much showed up
and got sluicing right away,
and we're not even
at full capacity yet.
[narrator] He's determined
to level up
and double his gold production
to 2,000 ounces this year,
but he's lacking the manpower
to get it done.
[Rick] In order to double
the gold total,
we have to add
a few people
and get some
bigger machines in here, so...
If we can keep
this momentum
and get the rest
of the people here
and get all the machines
up and running,
[bleep], I-- It's gonna be
a good year.
I would love
for my first year with Rick
to be his
best season ever.
[narrator] Brennan Ruault
joined Rick
after leaving
the Schnabel crew.
He's working with
Rick's Milwaukee buddy,
Chris Kruse,
who's trucking pay
to the wash plant.
Up and running
another day.
[narrator] New recruit
Nathan Thornington...
This is awesome.
...loads wash plant Rocky
with 100 yards of pay dirt
an hour.
[Nathan] Seeing the gold
in the pan
makes you all giddy.
It's like being a little kid
in a candy store,
and it's like, "Holy."
With my gold share,
I'm taking off
to the Caribbean.
[horn tooting]
[laughing]
[Rick]
Where's the [bleep] water?
Oh, [bleep] me.
That pump is [bleep].
What, has that [bleep] thing
lost prime?
That's weird.
I don't know why
it lost prime.
Did anybody turn
any of the valves on--
for the compressor, or no?
[Nathan] I never
touched anything.
[Rick] If nobody
touched anything,
then it should be...
[bleep]
[Brennan] I [bleep] hate
water pumps, man.
[Rick] I do, too.
It's like you've got
one [bleep] job,
pump water.
Why can't you do it?
Struggled with this
for [bleep] six years.
[Rick] What a [bleep] joke.
It's always something.
And then, on the wrong day,
a little something
just makes me [bleep] snap.
[Chris] Right now
would be an optimum time
to have Karl here,
'cause I'm sure he'd know
exactly what's going on
and get it
sorted out right away.
But, uh...
We're kind of all
scratching our heads
right now,
trying to figure out
what's going on.
All we can do is pull
this [bleep] thing apart.
We gotta start
from the end and go...
Right?
-[Kruse] My man.
-[Brennan] My man.
The only thing it can be is
a [bleep] air leak somewhere.
That's it.
The seal looks fine.
What if we just try it
one more time
when he tightens it,
and just see
if something happens.
Yeah, we'll put it
back together, we'll try it.
[narrator] With no clue
why the pump failed,
the crew decide on the old
shut down and reboot plan.
[Rick] I'll just get it
right over there.
[grunts]
[bleep]
I think the handle
should be on top
just so it's easier,
but I don't know
if it's just down pressure
at this point.
But I think that it might
pull it [bleep] tighter--
It might pull it up higher.
You know what I mean?
[narrator] The hose
is joined to the pump
by a collar
with a hook and clamp.
With the clamp at the bottom,
the weight of the hose
allows air into the top.
This could create an airlock,
stopping the water flow.
Rick will rotate the pipe
placing the clamp at the top
to make the seal airtight.
[Rick] Well, we've done
everything we can here.
I mean, I...
You know, I'm not
a professional mechanic, so...
If this doesn't work,
I don't [bleep] know, man.
We don't have
another pump.
Is it all, uh, sealed up?
[Brennan]
We're gonna fire it up, boys.
[machine whirring]
[Rick] That's it.
It works.
There was just
a little gap in the seal
and putting the handle on top
pinched it off.
[narrator]
Seven hours downtime
has cost Rick
worth over $9,000.
I say we start throwing
dirt at it
and get some [bleep] gold.
[Chris] I'm with you.
I like the sound of that.
[Brennan] Whoo!
We're gonna have
to get into full tilt.
Our season's
are short up here,
and we got a lot of rocks
to wash to find some gold.
[narrator] On top
of dealing with shutdowns,
Brennan's also forced
to dig pay
with a 480 excavator,
instead of Rick's new
and much bigger
million-dollar 750,
which is sitting idle
until a mechanic
can assemble it.
[Brennan] I hope
Rick has somebody
lined up here
so that we'll have
a full-time mechanic.
'Cause we just can't
struggle through
another month or two
like this without one.
[Rick] Well, I need
this stuff put together.
[line ringing]
-[Karl] Yeah, dude.
- Good to see you, buddy.
So, I'm just calling
to see how your health is.
Yeah, Rick. Dude, I got
some real bad news, man.
-[Karl] Yeah, dude.
- Good to see you, buddy.
So, I'm just calling to see
how your health is.
Yeah, Rick. Dude, I got
some real bad news, man.
- What is it?
-[bleep] hit the fan
here for me
health-wise, right,
and...
Are you okay?
Like, what...
They need to figure out
what's wrong with me.
And coming up there
and being seven hours away
from the nearest hospital
isn't, uh--
Isn't gonna cut it, right? So.
- Yeah.
- They, uh...
They basically said,
"Don't think about
going to the Yukon
at this point, right." So.
- Wow. Yeah.
- Yeah.
I'm sorry, dude.
I really am sorry, so...
[Rick] Don't--
No apology necessary, Karl.
I mean, all the gold
in the world isn't worth
your health, right, Karl?
- You're totally right.
- Yeah.
I'm gonna be sitting here,
hoping that you get here
at some point.
- I'm just a phone call
away, right?
- Yeah, man.
Take care of yourself, Karl.
I appreciate that, Rick.
I really do.
Yeah, I'm hoping
for the best myself.
Well, put all your energy
into yourself right now,
and, uh,
I'll talk to you soon.
I'll be in touch, buddy.
- You betcha, man.
Talk to you soon.
- All right.
[narrator]
Without a mechanic,
Rick is losing
the headway he made
washing gold
early in the season
and could end up
in a downward spiral.
I still gotta find somebody
that can put all this [bleep]
together for me.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
Tony Beets is chasing
a record 9,000-ounce
gold haul.
He needs his claims
at Paradise Hill
and Indian River
to deliver.
But two weeks
into the season,
he's only working
the Hill.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
He needs 475 ounces a week
to hit his target,
more than twice
what he's getting
with the trommel.
With good new ground
nearly impossible to come by,
Tony heads back
to a well-worn honey hole.
-[narrator] Last season...
-[Tony speaking]
...Tony found a pile
of old-timers' tailings
that produced
$620,000 in gold.
[narrator]
Tony now plans to wring
every last bit of gold
out of it.
It should [bleep] be.
Yeah.
[Kevin] We've really gotta run
as much material as we can
if we're gonna hit
and seeing as we don't know
what's happening
at the Indian River yet,
well, we might as well
run this plant
while it's here.
Let's get [bleep] running.
Watch your ears.
[machine starting]
[Kevin coughing]
[bleep]
Let's do this.
Hey, Megan, you can
preload that feeder
a little bit.
Great. Sounds good.
[Kevin] So, right now,
we've got new folks
running the equipment.
We've got Megan
up on the excavator.
So, we just got
to keep an eye on it.
Come down every once
in a while, make sure
[bleep] is going right.
[narrator]
To hit Tony's goal,
[gasps]
[bleep]
...must feed the plant
with 200 yards of tailings
per hour,
ten hours a day.
That was not good.
The tooth just caught
the grizzly.
I was just
dipped down too low.
[laughs]
Anyway, me, Ruby and Monica,
we're all really good friends
from school.
[metallic thud]
Oh, [bleep].
[Kevin]
No, don't you [bleep] dare.
[groans] Oh! [bleep]
Shaker deck's not shaking.
Cool. All right.
- You see it?
-[Tony] Eh?
Not spinning?
[narrator]
One of the shaker deck's
two drive belts
has lost tension
and slipped,
stopping the deck
from operating.
Well, she's not spinning.
So we gotta do something, so.
I really don't wanna
have to [bleep]
put that [bleep] guard.
[Kevin] No. [bleep] too big.
Oh, for [bleep] sakes.
Pretty much there, we...
Yeah, that's
gonna work [bleep] great.
[narrator]
After three hours...
[Kevin]
Well, attempt number two.
...and over $6,000
in lost gold,
the shaker deck
is ready to fire up.
Looks like we're finally
up and running again.
Everybody clear?
[machine starts]
[Kevin] Glad we got that
tightened up.
She seems to be doing okay.
Now that it's running,
let it buck.
See how much we get out of
the old-timers' tailings
from the top.
[Tony speaking]
We sure are.
[narrator]
Back at the Fenley home,
Tony's daughter, Monica,
is on her way...
...to give birth to
her first child.
[Monica] Well,
wouldn't you be surprised?
No hug?
[Minnie] Give the girl a hug.
[Monica] Wait, are you dirty?
[all laughing]
[Tony speaking]
-[Kevin] Bye.
- Don't burn the place down
while I'm gone.
[Kevin] Bye.
[Tony speaking]
[pleasant music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
I can't afford to
fail this season,
but I still don't have
the ground I need.
[narrator] In his first season
in Oregon,
ex-special forces medic,
Fred Lewis,
and his band of
military veterans
mined just six ounces of gold.
[Fred] I lost a lot of money.
But to me the worst part
was letting my guys down.
Right now, I'm all in.
I have nothing left in my life
to liquidate to
make this happen.
This season is sink or swim.
[narrator] Now, he is joining
the hunt for gold-rich ground
in the Yukon.
Mining in the Yukon is
a lot more challenging
than I thought.
With the price of gold
so high,
everyone is scrounging
for ground and I'm
running out of options.
[narrator] Last week,
Fred turned down an offer
on a piece of
ready-to-sluice ground...
[Paul Phillips] We just did
a lot of time on that.
And all you got to do is
pick up the dirt
and throw it in the plant.
...because the royalty
was too high.
I can't bite on.
[Fred] I've got to prove it
to my team that
we can make money,
because if I fail,
these guys are losing hope,
and a future,
and a purpose.
They have nothing
to go back to.
[narrator] After searching
hard for another Yukon claim,
Fred is pinning his hopes
on a meeting
with two of Dawson's
best-known prospectors.
I've been doing some research,
going a little special forces.
I've been trying to reach out,
make some friends,
get some information,
and I've gotten intel
on these two guys.
One's a German,
and one is Italian.
I think one of them's
a geologist.
Sandro and Joerg,
they're using science,
and they're finding gold
that hasn't been found before
because it's harder to get to.
- Good Morning.
- Good Morning.
Hey, my name is Fred Lewis.
- Hi, I'm Joerg.
- Hi, Fred, Sandro.
I've been looking for claims.
I'm just kind of stopping by,
driving through
just seeing
what you guys are up to,
or see if you guys might have
something I can look at, or...
[narrator] Joerg Lotz
and Sandro Frizzi
run an exploration company.
They own
covering 9,000 acres.
Have you mined before? Or...
I mined last season in Oregon.
And this is only
our second season
as a mine team mining.
- But, we're basically taking
the jump from the lower 48...
- Okay.
...to come up here
for some real gold.
Last season, I think,
had we been on good ground,
we would have done
really well.
But there just wasn't any
gold in the ground.
So, I think that if I can
get them good ground,
within a few years, they could
be a really good mining team.
Well, you see, it's not
a matter of good ground.
It's a matter of good miners.
So you are not experienced
with the ground up here,
with permafrost
and... to deal with...
No, that's gonna be
all new to us.
So normally we are looking for
experienced miners.
The guys are, kind of,
I guess you could
call it hungry.
We will work our asses off
to make something happen.
And you know that it's not
an easy business, huh?
It's a big challenge.
- I am looking for a challenge.
- That is guarantee.
The only thing that I can
guarantee as a geologist
is the challenge.
And I think if you
give me a chance,
I know we can perform.
I just-- we gotta learn
how to gold mine.
I think you guys
won't be let down.
I will run it
like the military.
[Joerg]
Maybe on California Creek.
Close to the other guys,
which could be helpful.
[Sandro] We got some place
we better go, you know that.
-[Joerg] Yeah.
- But it's so hard to get to,
it will get
broke the first week.
-[Joerg] And the big reason
is that--
- California Creek,
you can get the gold
right away.
[Fred]
The last claim I was on,
they wanted a 50% royalty
on this stripped ground.
- Sounds good for us.
- Yeah, so that's one thing
I'd like to get out, kind of,
in the beginning is, what--
What would guys normally
ask for a royalty?
We only ask straight 10%.
- Really? Wow.
- Yes.
We can grab a chopper
and go out there
and have a look.
It's a very
interesting comparison
to the Indian River
where there's nothing
but mine sites.
Out here, it's basically
untapped wilderness.
[narrator] California Creek
is over 40 miles by road
from Dawson City.
You have to really want it
to come out here and get it,
that's for sure.
[Sandro] There we are.
You see the mine there?
Yeah, right here
in front of us?
Yeah. You go,
you see it's a bit stripped.
Below us we tested,
we got gold.
[narrator]
The claim Fred's prospecting
spans over 90 acres.
- Lot of quartz.
-[Sandro] Oh, yeah.
Holy cow.
You don't have gold
if you don't have quartz.
- Okay.
- There we go.
We tested there.
There is gold.
It looks like it's in
the same quantity that
the gold that we got
- on the right branch.
- Right.
- The feeder should be behind
this hill that we see.
- Okay.
This should feed
both the branches.
[narrator] The source
of the California Creek gold
is the 60-mile Pika Fault.
Thousands of years ago,
water eroded gold
from this fault
and deposited it
in the creek beds below.
Two of these creeks meet up
on one of Sandro's claims.
The right side has already
proved rich.
Sandro believes the left
could also hold
millions of dollars in gold.
So I think the best thing
I could do right now is
to go get a pan and some dirt
close to the bedrock,
and, uh, I could just meet you
back at the chopper?
So, right now, I'm pretty much
willing to settle
for anything above
a half an ounce a hundred.
I think I could still
turn a profit on that.
But with the low royalty,
I can make some money on that.
I think the first time
you pan on a claim
is always the worst because
you just really hope
you're gonna see something.
Ha-ha-ha, there's a nice
little piece right there,
shining like the sun.
But if I'm seeing gold
that size and finds...
Sandro's not lying.
Sluicifer's wash plant pad
is all set ready to go.
[narrator]
At Parker Schnabel's
Airstrip Cut,
Tyson Lee is leading
a crew of rookie miners in
their first-ever
pad build and plant move.
See, now, normally,
we use the 700 or the 750
to move our wash plants
'cause they're the biggest
excavators we have.
But, right now, they're
all needed in Mud Mountain.
[narrator]
With so many machines
stripping Mud Mountain,
the only excavator available
to Tyson is the smaller 480.
Never pulled a wash plant
with the 480 before.
Don't have much choice though.
[purrs]
Yeah, we're setting these up,
Justin, so the conveyor
doesn't break on us.
When we're dragging her,
we have to be really careful.
[narrator]
Greenhorn operator
Justin Fraser
must guide Tyson to
haul the $600,000 wash plant
into position.
[Justin] So what do I got
to look out for here?
[Tyson] All those chains
we put on,
we want to make sure
they stay tight.
The conveyor is
gonna wanna sway a little
when we're moving it.
[ratchet clicking]
Something looks hairy,
just stop me.
And I'll get out
and we can readjust.
- Do you have your radio?
- No-- No first time like now.
-[Tyson] Yeah.
- Yeah, good to go.
- Pretty much all set
to drag her.
-[Justin] Cool.
First time moving a plant.
Aah, [bleep].
How are we looking, Justin?
So far, so good.
And now here comes the hill.
This is my biggest concern.
So, we'll see how she goes.
[narrator]
With only 373 horse power...
[Tyson] She's struggling.
...the 480 has 30% less power
than the 750.
It isn't wanting
to straight pull it like
the 750 would, so.
I'm gonna have to
try something here.
Ah, [bleep].
Whoa!
[bleep]
[Justin] [bleep]! Look out!
[Justin] Whoa!
[Tyson] [bleep]
Look out, guys!
[narrator]
At Parker Schnabel's
Airstrip Cut...
Hey, you know,
it's two steps forwards,
one step back
with pulling Sluicifer.
[narrator]
Tyson and rookie Justin
are struggling
to move 45-ton wash plant,
Sluicifer.
It's a bit of a fight.
I'm just trying to use the
bucket as a bit of a prybar
and trying to pry myself
up this hill.
[over radio]
How are we looking, Justin?
We made it. Now,
we're at the top of the hill.
It should be smooth sailing.
I sure hope so.
'Cause we gotta get sluicing
sooner rather than later.
[Justin] So far, so good.
I don't want to jinx it.
[Tyson] Coming up
to the pad here,
so I'm gonna get it lined up.
It's all in this turn we're
gonna do right here.
Got about a meter.
Perfect.
-[Mitch] How'd we do?
- The greenhorns
did a good job.
Looks good, man.
Hey, I know that it's
your first plant move,
but good job, man.
- We didn't break anything
and that's the main thing.
- It's all you can ask for.
Thanks, Tyson. Thank you.
[narrator] The final move,
position the
So, right now, we're trying
to size up the conveyor
to Sluicifer.
It looks like we're gonna be
way short here.
[groans]
So here's the problem.
There's the end of
the conveyor,
and he can't get any closer
to the wash plant
than he is right now.
We really don't want
to pull the conveyor closer
because there's a ditch
that runs along here,
so it looks like they got
a puzzle to work out here.
[narrator] A drainage ditch
lies between the super
conveyor and the plant.
[Tyson] We're gonna have
to come up with something that
can handle
a fair bit of water flow.
- Obviously, a culvert's best.
- Do you think we have
a culvert that's long enough?
[narrator] The plan,
line the ditch with
a section of drainage pipe,
then cover it with
a pad of tailings
so they can move the conveyor
closer to the plant.
Do you think we can go to
the yard and see what we have?
Even if you have to take
a couple of culverts
and put 'em together.
- Well, sounds good.
I'll go see what I can find.
- All right, man.
We've got one very good thing
going for us right now,
and that's
how the plant's running.
Everything around that is...
very scary.
[narrator] Rick's chasing
his biggest-ever gold target
with his smallest-ever crew
and without his new monster
dirt-moving machine.
[Rick] At the moment,
I'm able to keep things
going with my 480.
The plant's running right now,
but we're gonna run out of pay
and, uh, we're gonna be
dealing with a lot of
overburden this year.
And the machine I'm in
right now,
is not the machine
for the job.
But, the biggest problem
that we've got right now
is my 750, uh...
excavator needs to be
put together fast.
I mean, really fast.
[Kruse over radio] Hey, Rick.
You got a copy, Rick?
Yeah, go ahead, Kruse.
Uh, there's a fellow up here,
name of Torsten.
That's great news.
I'm gonna go up there
and see him right now.
- Thanks.
- Copy that.
[narrator]
Rick put the word out that
he needed a mechanic
in a hurry.
- Oh, man.
Finally, a mechanic here.
- How's it going, Rick?
- Good, what's your name?
- Torsten.
You, uh... [chuckling]
You look young.
Ah, [bleep], I get that a lot.
Is your mom
picking you up later?
- Basically, pretty much.
-[laughing] Holy [bleep].
- Can't even grow a beard yet.
-[laughing]
- I wish, but...
- Well, I'm glad you got
a sense of humor about it.
I'm just busting your ba*ls.
Because I--
Honestly,
I appreciate you coming,
because it's been tough
trying to find a mechanic
this time of year.
Yeah, I'm a third-year
apprentice mechanic, so,
almost there.
So, close to a mechanic.
- Close to, yeah.
-[laughing]
- One more year left.
- Right on. Well, we'll, uh...
We'll test your skills
for sure.
I've got a big excavator
sitting in pieces,
not making me any money.
- So you can handle that?
- Yep, for sure
I can handle that.
No problem.
- You look like
you're ready to go.
- Yeah, good to go, so.
- All right, man,
I'll get right to it.
- Thanks again, buddy.
Well, I asked for a mechanic.
I got an apprentice.
We'll see what this kid's
made of.
-[Brennan] You pulling them
right out?
- Yeah.
- You strong enough?
- Oh, yeah. I hope so.
- Better take some
protein shake.
- Eat my Wheaties, eh?
Yeah, that's it.
[narrator] Now the young
needs to prove he can
build the million dollar
- You want me to help you
lift those pin down?
- No, I'll be good.
[Torsten] Well,
I've been working on stuff
since I was, I'd say,
at least, like,
Just working on stuff at home,
like snowmobiles
and dirt bikes, and stuff.
I've officially gotten into
the trade about
three years ago, so,
I've got all my
schooling done.
I just need
to get my hours now.
You know, Torsten seems like
a good kid, but...
at the same time, he's--
he looks like a damn kid.
An apprentice is
an apprentice.
A mechanic is a mechanic.
[Torsten] Well,
we gotta put the boom on.
Get the bucket on and then
widen the tracks.
[narrator] The 750 boom,
stick and bucket
must be attached.
It's also being
transported with the
adjustable undercarriage
set to the narrow gauge.
To widen the tracks for
the Duncan Creek terrain,
Torsten must undo
the retaining bolts, then
use the boom to prop
the excavator up
and drag the track
into place with the 700.
[Torsten] Okay, now if
you want to walk it in a bit.
Okay.
Well, the pins are in.
Looks good.
All right, buddy.
What's the next step here?
Rig that 700 up to either end
of this track frame.
And then, we'll, uh,
loosen off the bolts and then
start tugging her out,
and see if it goes well.
It should go pretty well
if we have everything
rigged up good.
All right.
Well, that's on you.
- Rigging it up good.
- Yeah.
- Let's go in between,
see where it clicks from.
- Yeah.
That hook would be
better to have the other way.
So flip upside down,
so then,
- when the weights on,
they can't fall off.
- Got you.
- Okay. Let's get
the impact out.
- Okay.
-[Kruse] That bolt's
the same size as your wrist.
- Right?
[Kruse laughs]
Go back slowly.
Okay, stop right there.
The bolt holes
are lined up perfect.
Good job, buddy.
-[bleep] yeah.
- Right on.
[narrator]
Now for the second track.
[Torsten] So this is
the second piece
of the puzzle here.
We're almost done.
We just got to pull this out,
and, hopefully,
it goes just as smooth as
the last one.
A little bit more. Okay, good.
[narrator] Now,
the moment of truth.
Time to find out if
the 20-year-old
has got Rick's season
back on track.
That feels [bleep] awesome.
No, the kid, he might
just be an apprentice,
but he pulled it off, man.
He did a great job.
[narrator] The 750's bucket
is three times bigger
than the 480's.
[Rick] So far,
that's the first bucket
with the 750,
and there is no comparison
with the 480.
It's just this, uh...
This thing is [bleep] massive.
And the bucket on this thing
is just as wide as
the box of this truck here.
This makes things a lot more
exciting for me.
This is what I've been
waiting for.
This is some
next-level [bleep] here.
Yeah!
[Fred] I definitely think
California Creek's gonna
pose some challenges.
It's definitely not
the most simple
mining operation we could
have taken on, but...
Sandro and Joerg have done
drill results up and down
the creek that's
already being mined
and the very beginning of
where we're starting.
For the most part,
it averaged over
an ounce a hundred.
That's enough for me
right there to know that
this was the right decision.
[narrator] Fred Lewis has
found the claim
he wants to lease
with a royalty he can afford.
[Fred] It's gonna be hard
to say no to this.
[narrator] Now he needs
to convince his investor,
Karl Smith,
it's the right ground.
To be honest, I've kind of
been dreading this call.
[chuckling]
- Dude, it's good
to see you, brother.
- How've you been?
[narrator] Last season,
Karl invested $40,000 in
Fred's mining venture...
Let's do it. You got a deal.
...this is the last gold-weigh
of the season.
That puts our total at 6.39.
...and lost everything.
That means this is the end.
[narrator] Now, Fred must
convince him to double down
to get his money back.
-[Karl] Hello.
- Karl, hey, it's Fred.
How's it going?
I'm doing good.
How are things with you, man?
I think I found
a good piece of ground, Karl.
I really do.
And I know
you said last season
it would take some convincing.
[Karl] Last year was
a pretty big bust.
Yeah.
It definitely was, Karl.
It definitely was.
How do I know
this season is not
going to be like last season?
You know, I've done
a lot more homework, Karl.
I've tested the ground.
The ground tests out at about
which isn't as much
as we wanted,
but the creek has another
creek that runs into it,
and it's being
mined right now.
And they're averaging
an ounce a hundred.
And those creeks run
pretty much identical
to each other.
So, we're in a really
good spot.
We're getting offered
a 10% royalty,
and the gold is in
the ground. So I think...
that's what I've
got to offer, Karl,
and I hope it's enough
for you to bite, but, um...
I feel like we have
a million chance more
to succeed this season
than we did last season.
[suspenseful music playing]
When am I gonna start
seeing some of my money back?
Bro, I think we can get
up and running
by the middle of the month,
and, uh, we could
probably start getting
some of your money back
within a month.
How's the team looking?
We would look at, probably,
having four Green Berets,
and then, um, the guys that
are returning would return.
[Karl] Well, last year was
a complete [bleep] show.
But...
I'm ready to reinvest.
Don't make me regret it.
Karl, you will not regret it.
I know that I
let you down last season,
but, uh, this season's
different brother.
And I'll prove it to you.
I know it.
- See you, man.
- Yep, later.
[Fred whispers] [bleep] yeah!
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] WIth Karl on board,
Fred heads to
negotiate a deal,
with California Creek
claim owners,
Sandro and Joerg.
How's it going, guys?
Fred. Good. How are you?
Hoo. Doing good.
So, as far as
the contract goes,
what are my obligations
to fulfill for you guys?
You have to sluice the minimum
amount of 35,000 yards.
[dramatic music playing]
[Fred] 35,000 yards is
quite a bit.
Yeah.
My bare minimum I'm
sh**ting for is 100 ounces.
Look, to do okay,
you should do at least
the double of that.
You should make more
than 100, I hope for you.
- It can be also zero, ah.
-[Fred] Yeah.
I mean, be ready
for everything.
[Joerg]
Well, it won't be zero,
but there's no guarantees.
-[Sandro] Zero, no.
- That's the science
part of the business.
If there's anyone out there
who guaranteed
that you get this gold,
you... well...
[Sandro] That's
gonna be up to you.
So, yeah,
let's sign this thing, yeah?
Let's do it. I'm ready.
Here we go. [clears throat]
[Fred] Let's hope this is
the beginning of
a long relationship.
Well, Fred...
welcome in the family, man.
Thank you very much.
Welcome to our ground.
And thank you, guys.
- I will work my butts off
for you guys, I promise.
- Yeah.
[Fred] Right now,
I'm pretty freakin' excited.
We're officially mining.
Time to get that gold!
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] On Paradise Hill,
Tony Beets has started
his second sluicing operation,
squeezing every
last bit of gold he can
out of the tailings
the old-timers left behind.
[Megan] The shaker deck could
definitely use a bit of TLC.
Belt's fixed, we firing it up,
which is really exciting.
I think we wanted
to start it around 10:00
this morning,
and we only just got
going 10 minutes ago.
So it's been hours...
that we could have
been sluicing.
[dramatic music playing]
[machines whirring]
[Kevin] What the [bleep]?
Hey, Megan, we're
gonna shut her down,
we're gonna shut her down.
[Megan groans]
Argh, [bleep] a duck.
Looks like the plant
is shutting down again.
One thing after another,
which is pretty frustrating.
It's a lot of strain
on all of us,
'cause we just want
to get in and get out.
[machines shuts down]
[Tony speaking]
[Kevin] We gotta
replace some of the bolts.
[Kevin] Uh, the shaker deck
on the top deck,
it's missing three bolts
on one side,
so if we don't put some in,
she's gonna flog up
and [bleep] on us.
We just tightened up the belt
for the shaker deck,
but I noticed some
bolts were loose.
So I gotta go investigate,
see how much work
we're gonna have to do
to fix that up
before we get going.
Holy [bleep].
This is not good.
So...
If you'll kindly
hop over here,
this thing looks
like [bleep].
Here's the problem.
Here is our sheet of
four by eight punch plate.
We can't sluice
without that in here,
or else this whole sheet
is gonna shake,
and huge rocks
are gonna pile up,
and then it's not
gonna shake at all.
Okay, beautiful.
Do I even have
a grinder with me?
Without that piece
of C-channel,
there's nothing there
to hold the sheet of steel
in the shaker deck, so it's
just gonna go...
[imitates clanging]
...and [bleep] off on us, so,
till we get that piece,
we really can't do
[bleep] all here.
[Tony speaking]
None of that C-channel
that I need, no.
My guess is along
the bank somewhere.
That'd be about the only
other spot I can think of.
[Megan] Uh, so we're
down at the moment.
Kevin noticed that there's
something missing from
the screen deck.
He thinks it's
a piece of C-channel, so...
probably got thrown in
with the tailings.
So we're trying to find it.
It's like finding
a needle in a haystack.
[narrator] Unless they find
the two-foot section
of C-channel,
among the 150 ton
tailings pile...
-[Megan] Is this it?
-[Kevin] That's not it, no.
[metal clanking]
...the plant
will be shut down.
[sighs] [bleep]
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] Tony Beets'
shaker deck is shut down
for the second time this week.
-[Kevin] Not much?
-[Megan] No.
[Kevin] Probably buried.
[Megan] Eww.
[bleep]
[narrator] Operator Megan
searches the tailings
for a 2-foot length
of C-channel
broken off the wash plant.
I mean, this is like finding
a needle in a haystack.
And I'm not a [bleep]
mountain goat.
[chuckles]
So, these rocks
are kicking my a*s.
[Megan sighs]
Now the whole point
of firing this up
was to double up
on the hill, but...
it's turning into
a [bleep] nightmare.
[machine whirring]
[Megan] Ooh, what's that?
[metal rattling]
Does it look like this?
What's up?
Well, so...
- We found that.
- What's that?
That's two holes.
This is the only one we found.
- Yeah, that's it.
- Oh, perfect.
[Kevin] Yeah,
the rest of it's gone.
So, our battle plan is,
seeing as we only
a bit more to sluice here,
before we move it...
we're just gonna roughly
weld this [bleep] in,
so we can run
the material through.
[narrator] The retaining
bolts in the C-channel
that hold the screen in place
have sheared off.
[metal clanging]
Kevin, plans to weld
the C-channel back in place.
We were gonna run this till
we wore it the [bleep] out,
and I think we got
our money's worth.
So, weld, weld, weld.
Fix it up.
That's about what.
[dramatic music playing]
[Kevin] These things give
me headaches every time.
She's welded in,
we'll clean up,
then we'll [bleep] fire it up.
It's not great, but it's
better than it was.
This thing is on its last
[bleep] leg, and then some.
Like holy [bleep].
Let's try this...
yet again!
What are we at?
I lost count.
Try it one more [bleep] time.
Cool.
Hey, Megan,
we're about to fire up.
[Megan] Standing by. Okay.
Fingers crossed,
it won't break down.
And we can, hopefully,
at least
finish these tailings.
[machine starting up]
[Kevin] That's that.
We had to do a quick bit of
welding on that piece
to hold it in.
Threw a few bolts in...
fingers crossed it lasts.
[dramatic music playing]
[Tony speaking]
[truck honking]
[Tyson] Here he comes.
[narrator] At Indian River,
Tyson's mission to
fire up Sluicifer
is at a standstill until
he can install a culvert
and reposition the super
conveyor closer to the plant.
[Tyson] Steven's just
bringing the culvert down.
We're gonna put it in place.
And then, I'm gonna push
all that material forward.
Hopefully, we can have
the conveyor lined up
by the end of the day.
That is another day that we're
getting delayed on Slucy.
Here he comes.
We're just busting
the rust off.
I said it was
gonna be polished.
Just watch yourself.
Whoo!
That should be good there, eh?
It's been the most messing
around I've ever done,
trying to get a conveyor in.
Things need to happen faster
in order for us to start
making any amount of money.
Like, I was thinking
this conveyor
would be in
and set up yesterday.
Full steam forward motion!
[narrator] With the super
conveyor in position,
Sluicifer can be hooked up
to the power and water.
That'll work there, Justin.
[narrator] Ready to fire up,
for the first time
this season.
[Mitch] It's definitely
been a struggle
without Brennan here.
But, you know, we're
ready to start doing this.
We got a lot of
new people here
that, uh, this is gonna be
their first time they've
ever seen,
you know, what we're
actually here to do.
[narrator] WIth stripping
at Mud Mountain
costing $50,000 a day,
firing up Sluicifer
in the Air Strip
couldn't come soon enough.
Right now, we're just trying
to wake this old girl up.
-[chuckling]
- I mean, it's been
sitting all winter.
And, it's time
to make some money.
[machine starting up]
She's shaking.
Tyson, you ready at the valve?
[over radio] Born ready.
Go ahead and throw
some water, we're ready.
Here we go,
let's bring it!
[Tyson] Start feeding, Tats,
start feeding.
Here we go, the first scoop
for Sluicifer, 2021.
Looks good, guys.
Thanks for getting this done.
[Mitch] Matter of keeping
her fed now.
Crank that [bleep] up.
Everything looks good.
It's nice to be
washing rocks again.
[Tatiana] After all that money
and the time spent at
Mud Mountain,
we definitely need some
gold to start paying off
this whole operation.
But I feel we're
gonna crush it this year.
This is it, boys, this is
the first dirt for the season,
let's make it count.
-[both] Let's do it!
- Yeah, buddy!
- Oh!
-[all laughing]
- You almost slapped him.
- Let's try that again.
[Fred] JB!
-[John] Holy cow!
- You're out of prison!
[John chuckles]
- I'm out, man.
- Corona free.
Out of jail. [chuckles]
[narrator] After months
of searching,
mine boss Fred Lewis,
has finally secured
ground to mine.
- Finally.
- Is that a journey?
[sighs]
Almost, here. Yeah.
[narrator] To get
a jump on his season,
Fred brought in
a new team member
to fill the one vital position
he didn't have last year...
a mechanic.
Ex-Green Beret, JB,
worked on machines
in the military
for over 35 years in Central
America and the Middle East.
[John] Been shot at
and blown up.
Done crazy stuff.
I retired from the military
almost 16 years ago.
There's some things I miss,
you know, jumping out
of airplanes...
But, uh, having some
gold to go home with
would be, uh, probably
the best thing ever, no doubt.
You know, like a deployment,
we're setting up a FOB here.
[narrator] JB's never
mined gold before.
But now,
he's counting on Fred
to provide him a new future.
To be honest,
it's gonna be you and me.
- Yeah.
- Um,
probably setting up the entire
mine site by ourselves.
So that when
the crew gets here,
we can just hit the mine
and start mining.
- Wow.
- And there's only gonna be...
- six, maybe seven of us, so...
- Right, right.
So, yeah,
we got a lot of work,
but I think, um...
- I think you and I
can handle it.
- All right.
I'm looking forward to it.
All right, first things first,
I'm gonna start punching
the exploration holes
- to see where we're gonna put
our ponds and our wash plant.
- All right.
I've got a test plant
- we borrowed for
an ounce of gold.
- Awesome. Wow, wow.
And I need you to pick up that
test plant and drive it down.
[Fred] So right now the mining
plan is to punch three holes,
to determine where
we're gonna start mining.
We're gonna punch holes
left and right
and up at the bend.
The results are gonna
basically set up
our mine for
the entire season.
[narrator] Fred is digging the
three holes 200 yards apart.
He'll take 100 yards
of pay dirt from each
to find out which side of
the claim has the best gold.
[Fred] It's gonna tell us
where our tailings ponds
need to go.
It's gonna tell us where
our settling ponds need to go,
where our plant needs to go,
and more importantly,
which dirt we're targeting.
[narrator] After three hours,
Fred's got dirt from
his first hole.
They will use
the claim owner's test plant
to run the dirt.
Fred Fred, you got a copy?
Hey, JB, this is Fred.
Got a good copy.
Hey, man, I got this doggone
shaker deck down here.
It made it down fine.
All right, up there.
-[chuckles]
- Here we go!
This is it.
[engine starting]
[Fred] These tests
are immensely important.
Without these results,
without these numbers,
we're just guessing and, um,
I'm not guessing anymore.
With these 100 yard samples,
we're gonna be able to run
that material to the plant,
weigh the gold, and know
exactly what we're sitting at
as far as the ounces
per 100 yards.
So this will be our
first bucket in the Yukon,
pretty freaking exciting.
You wanna try
and feed it all along it.
Don't just drop it
in one spot.
You'll get it though.
A little faster.
Yeah, like that.
Just keep that speed.
All right, JB, that's 100.
I'll clean this out.
Why don't you come on down,
we'll check it out.
Okay.
[Fred] Sample one complete.
[John chuckles]
- That was exciting, man.
-[Fred] Good.
- Good job, dude.
-[John chuckles] Thanks, dude.
[Fred] We're
officially miners, man.
I know, man. It feels great!
[John cheers]
- You know what it is.
-[chuckles]
- Two Green Berets
running a mine.
-[chuckles]
Yeah, that's crazy.
How many Green Berets
does it take to start a mine?
[both] Two.
[chuckles]
[Fred] Let's see what we got!
[sighs]
[groans]
Not seeing anything.
I was really hoping
to see some color in here.
All right.
And I'm...
I'm not.
[narrator] Fred pulls
the mats for cleaning
in preparation for
the second test hole.
[grim music playing]
[Fred] I'm hoping that
this second sample hole
is gonna give us a little bit
of gold showing in the sluice.
[John] Think I saw one speck.
I kinda moved-- There's
another one right there.
I see some little
speckles in there.
[Fred] If three is the same,
I'm going to be
severely disappointed,
because I need
this one to excel.
Hey, let's shut it down
and take a look.
I'm a little bit
nervous right now.
If I can just see
some gold in that sluice,
I'll be happy.
[dramatic music playing]
[Fred] Oh, I see one.
-[John] There's a big one.
-[chuckling]
Oh, my [bleep].
Look at that man.
- Wow.
-[Fred] Look at that.
- Yeah.
- It's your first
piece of gold.
- Oh, my God.
- Don't lose that.
[John] Oh, man.
After seeing a little bit
what we saw
in the sluice box there,
uh, I'm super excited.
All right, well,
let's pull these mats.
We'll get all the
concentrate together,
we'll bring it up top side,
and we'll pan it out.
We'll cook it, dry it out,
and then we can weigh it.
[John] All right.
Man, can't wait to see it.
Right now, we're
trying to determine
where the best spot
to start mining is.
When we clean these mats out
and, uh, pan it down,
we're really gonna
know what we have here.
All right, dude,
so these buckets
pretty much tell our season.
These test holes
are gonna tell us
where to focus
our first cut at
and where to focus
our first dig sites at.
[narrator] To determine
where they'll mine first,
Fred and JB
clean the concentrate
from each of the three holes
on Fred's new
California Creek claim.
Yeah, I'm seeing some color.
Let's cook it, let's get
some real numbers,
- and then we'll know
what our fate is.
- All right.
Don't lose it.
All right, so this is
the left side of the creek.
Let's get this in there.
Oh, yeah, it's getting dry.
[Fred] All right.
Okay, go ahead, dump her in.
[dramatic music playing]
Let me try to get-- All right.
- All right.
- This is not enough.
- Barely even pay for the fuel.
- Is that right?
- Let's get that other one.
- You know.
Yeah, all right,
let's do the middle one.
Sounds good.
- You got a hold of it?
[chuckles]
- Got it.
- Makes me nervous though.
- I know.
-[Fred] 0.52.
- All right.
So, we did go up.
It's like the bare minimum.
- Yeah.
- I mean, we'd get paid.
But it'd be scraping by.
Hmm.
So I really hope
this last pan's got more.
[John]
All right, she's pretty dry.
You ready?
You got the honors,
here you go.
[John] Ah, look at that.
-[John] Sweet, look at that.
- So, bro.
- All right.
- That is what we need.
[John] I told you
it looked like more.
Man, look at that.
[narrator] Fred's total gold
from all three test holes,
- That's crazy.
- That's a third of what
we did last season,
- on three test holes
that you and I have done...
- Wow, just the three.
-...by ourselves.
- Yeah.
[triumphant music playing]
This is celebration time, man.
[John chuckles]
- This is a good moment.
- Prost! Cheers.
- Cheers, skoal.
- Definitely, yeah.
Now, I know exactly where
the mine site is going
to start,
where our cut's gonna be,
where our ponds are gonna be,
and where our plant's
gonna sit.
[exhales]
That third test, one ounce
a hundred, almost,
is gonna give my guys
enough motivation
to get their asses up here
and start mining.
[John chuckles]
All right.
What's up guys?
Hey, how's it going?
I'm glad you guys
got a fire going.
[narrator] At Duncan Creek,
the Ness Crew gathers
for the weekly gold weigh.
Sucks that Karl can't
come up this year, eh?
[Kruse] I know.
If Karl was here,
you know, the whole
scurfuffle with
the pump there for,
you know,
how many hours it was...
[chuckling]
You know, he would have went
through that pump before
it even got out there.
You know, that is
gonna be a problem for us,
you know, until
we get a mechanic.
Really the bigger picture is
we just got to hope that
he gets better,
you know what I mean?
Like, his health
is more important.
Seems to be able to not let
it bother him too much.
He's done some hard living,
man, I mean.
[chuckling]
I mean, Torsten
luckily came in,
and he was able to put
our machines together.
- Did a great job.
- Oh, sure.
He's a good kid.
I mean, he's quick.
Even if he could stay,
I don't--
What's he gonna know
about wash plants and
stuff like that,
you know what I mean?
Well, are you guys
ready to see what we
did for the week?
-[Brennan] Yes, sir.
- Sure.
[narrator] With just four
crew and no mechanic,
Rick has only run
for less than half a week.
[Rick] See what
we did for the week?
[narrator] Last year,
Rick averaged
just over 70 ounces a week.
-...90.36.
- No way! [bleep]
-[bleep] [chuckles]
-[bleep] For sweet.
For one week,
it's about 160 grand.
[bleep] yeah!
[Kruse] That is [bleep]
awesome, man.
- Nice.
- Cheers to that.
I'll cheers to that for sure.
- And that is...
- Four people, wow.
And a kid.
And a kid. [chuckling]
- The four for us putting up
over 90 ounces...
-[Kruse blows raspberry]
Like, for what we're running,
man, that's [bleep] amazing.
Like, that [bleep] pumps
me right up to see that.
-[Nathan] Talk about
lean and mean.
- Yeah.
If we keep doing that, we'll
get to our 2,000 ounce goal.
- That's awesome.
- I'm excited.
- Let's roll.
- Karl's not here to say it,
but I'll say it.
[bleep] for sweet.
[all laughing]
Time is money
and the faster I can get
my g*ng up here,
the faster we can get
some gold in the sluice, so...
this is where
the rubber meets the road.
[narrator]
Fred's keen to start work
at California Creek.
At this point,
I need my crew.
- What's up, guys?
- Good.
Hey!
[narrator] He gathers his crew
of military veteran buddies
to see if they are up
for the challenge
of mining his new claim.
[Fred] All right, guys,
basically I found a claim
called California Creek.
It's a little bit
of a challenge for us.
But the gold is there, guys.
And they offered me
a 10% royalty.
I need to know...
really quickly where
you guys are at on this.
Are you guys coming?
Stuart, what about you?
If you got equipment,
and you got the testing done,
and you know
there's gold there, then
I will come up there,
and I'll give you a hard yes.
So, what about you, Johnny?
We had an awesome baby.
I mean, she's got my genetics,
so you know she's beautiful.
-[laughs]
- She's perfect.
[clears throat]
So, it really sucks that
I'm not going to be able
to make it this year.
Yeah, Johnny, I get it.
It's the right thing to do.
But, um,
I just lost my marine.
Kyle, what's on
your brain right now?
[bleep], dude, you know...
Uh, right now,
it's not really...
not really about me.
I got kind of a bigger
situation going on
at home with
my little brother.
He needs my help right now.
I mean, he needs everybody's
help that he can get, so...
the last thing I can do is
leave my brother right now.
Yeah.
Well, listen, dude,
every single one of us
is your brother.
And, um, I absolutely agree
you need to be
with your brother
in this moment.
But just understand
we've all got your back
if you need anything.
Stefan, are you, uh, willing
to the come to the Yukon?
If we were anywhere
in the lower 48,
I'd be on board.
When we were in Oregon,
I can bring the family
to come see me.
Yukon is a hell
of a lot harder, man.
-[Fred] So I mean, I get it.
Whatever.
-[Stefan] Yeah.
I think it's something.
If you can do it...
I need you, man.
This is more akin
to a deployment
than... a mining season.
I'm gonna have to be
a hard pass on it this time.
I've done about
everything I can do
to set us up with
something that's really
gonna give us our victory.
I need all of you guys. But,
um, circumstances
are circumstances.
Stuart, get your bags packed.
Um, I've got to
get back to work.
I've got a lot of stuff
to do still.
[narrator] Despite finding
promising ground,
Fred's a soldier
without a platoon.
[Fred] Well,
that definitely sucks.
I've got the source
new bodies.
Stefan is definitely not
somebody I can replace.
But you just can't
replace the Master Sergeant
that is Stefan.
Not having him here this
season is gonna be a big blow.
We need that leader.
We need that organization
in our team.
And I need someone
I can trust.
And then, at this time,
I don't have a lot of time
to figure that out.
[narrator] At the gold room,
Tony Beets is taking over
from daughter Monica.
[bleep]
[Tony grunts]
[Tony speaking]
[Freddy] Yeah. [chuckles]
[chuckles] See.
[burps]
[laughs]
[Tony speaking]
[scraping utensils]
- Hey, Doumitt.
- Hey, Tyson. What's up, man?
Not much, you?
Ah, just finishing up
the cleanup.
[narrator] At the gold room,
it's time for the
Schnabel Crew's
first gold weigh
of the season.
-[Mitch] What up? What up?
- Hey, Mitch.
How's it going, man?
Ah, not too bad. Yourself?
Pretty good, thanks.
- I hope there's more
than that.
- Yeah, there is.
This is just the last of it.
Gotcha.
- Hi.
- Hey. How's it going?
- Not bad. How are you?
- Good.
[Chris] Well, I think you did
a good job, you know,
down there.
Working with a bunch
of greenhorns
- and new crew.
- Yeah.
And everything's all focused
on Mud Mountain that
I'm surprised you got
that all set up as quickly
as you did.
- You did a good job.
- Thanks, Doumitt.
Good job, guys.
[Mitch] Well, it's nice that
we finally have a wash plant
up and running.
We've been moving
a lot of material.
Definitely spent
a lot of money.
- Finally got something
to put on the scale.
-[Chris] Yeah, we do.
We got 70 and a half hours
on this clean up.
Yup.
- Yes, sir.
- 70?
Seventy and a half.
And that usually gets us
So, if you want,
we can throw it on the scale
and end the suspense.
[narrator] To match
Sluicifer's average
on the Airstrip Cut
last season,
Tyson will need to show
at least 90 ounces of gold
for his 70 hours of runtime.
[Chris] Here we go.
[narrator]
Worth over a $150,000,
but off the pace for Sluicifer
in the Airstrip.
[Tyson]
Well, we've been fighting
a lot of frost in there
and, hopefully, all the
good stuff is still frozen
and still in there,
'cause we've run
pretty much high gravel,
high bedrock and ditching.
And that's all we've run
through the plant so...
Cool. I trust your guys'
judgement totally.
I'm not worried.
And the gold will come.
You, obviously,
haven't lost your touch.
- It looks very good.
-[Tyson] Oh, thank you.
Just wish there is more of it.
But we'll go out there
and keep looking.
- Yeah.
-[Tyson] How long is it
gonna take you...
Like, when you first
started doing this, Doumitt,
was it like a lot
of black sand?
Oh, I first started
doing this, what,
six years ago?
[Parker] Yeah, we were just
drunk the whole time.
[all laughing]
-[Parker] You guys joining me
for dinner?
- Oh, yeah.
Dozer!
Hey!
[laughs] [bleep] Weirdo.
[Tyson] What was he doing?
Just... dozing around. Looking
for something [bleep] to eat.
Lot of mud moving but, um,
Mitch and Tyson,
they're k*lling it.
And the gold will come.
[Tyson] The cleanup
wasn't too great
at the Airstrip Cut
with Sluicifer.
[engine revs]
We need to start pulling
more gold in
'cause Mud Mountain's
costing a lot of money.
That's all I can say.
- You know, all we need
is more gold...
-[engine whirring]
...and a lot faster than
we're getting it.
[Tony speaking]
[Minnie] Hi.
How are you, guys?
[narrator] It's time
for the Beets to weigh
their gold for the week.
Oh.
- Hola.
-[Tony] Hey.
[narrator] And Monica's back
with a latest addition
to the family.
[Monica] Oh, grumpy as ever.
- Ooh.
- Hi, baby.
Aww.
[Tony speaking]
-[Monica] So now
I'm completely displaced.
- Right?
You fed the dog
and you didn't feed me today?
[all laughing]
[Minnie]
She's pretty cute though.
[Tony speaking]
[scoffs] Hoe operator.
She's gonna be a busy chick.
She's gonna be a rich [bleep].
-[all laughing]
-[Tony speaking]
[Minnie]
That's pretty funny. Well,
I'm glad you could make it.
Yeah.
What kind of damage did
you guys do while I was away?
[Tony speaking]
We ran the last bit
of the old-timer trailings,
and that poor
shaker deck has shaken
itself to [bleep] death.
Then I think that Mike's
trommel was mostly peaceful.
That trommel's Old Faithful.
Keeps going, keeps going,
keeps going.
[narrator] First, the weeks
gold from Mike's trommel.
[Monica] I'll count, seeing
as Mother has my baby.
-[baby cooing]
-[Kevin] Everybody, ready?
[Monica] 10.
-[baby cooing]
- 150.
[chuckles]
[narrator]
Worth over $310,000.
[Kevin] No, not too bad.
Everybody ready?
Three, two, one.
Fire in the hole.
[Minnie] 10.
[narrator]
Worth over $145,000.
Yeah, something like that--
So, is that it
for the shaker deck?
That is for the shaker deck.
Like, it's pretty dead where
she's sitting right now. So.
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Their total
for the week is worth
almost $460,000.
Over double what
they had mined
this time last year.
[Tony speaking]
Oh, that wouldn't be
too bad every [bleep] week.
[Tony speaking]
Oh, then we get
the real [bleep] work.
Okay, wrap-up time?
I feel like we all
help pay the bills here.
[all laughing]
I can't laugh and feed her.
Then she gets a milkshake.
[chuckles]
[all laughing]
[Kevin] Bye.
Anyways, that's still
a long ways away from
the goal of 9,000, no?
Yeah, well, you have
to start somewhere.
And that's usually
at the bottom.
- Oh, I know, so.
- So, you'll work your way
up to it.
As soon as we get
a license to the Indian,
we should be able
to double up.
- Hopefully.
- That's good.
And Monica came back
with a granddaughter.
There you go.
So, we really have nothing
to complain about, do we?
No, we don't.
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12x02 - Battle of the Greenhorns
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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.