14x16 - Ring of Fire

[bunniefuu]

You know, ever since
we got into Australia Creek

and Dominion, our resources
are stretched pretty thin

all across this mine site.

Deep in the Yukon wilderness,

Parker Schnabel's crew

is bringing in gold
on two fronts.

Dominion Creek
and Australia Creek,

where the crew
is working the boomerang cut,

which delivered
a big payday last week.

But the two locations

are pushing Parker's
operation to the limit.

We're really struggling with
just having enough personnel

and, you know,
enough big equipment

to keep up with everything.

With only two
months left in the season,

Parker has mined
over 3,400 ounces

closing in fast
on his 5,000-ounce target.

But the breakneck speed
needed to hit his goal

is coming at a cost.

You know, you look
at all the equipment here

and it'd sure be nice
to have some operators.

We got a lot of ground
to get through there,

but it's making the struggle
very real right now.

- How's it going, man?
- Good. How are you?

Not too bad.

What you got going on?

We need some more loader
operators, I'm thinking.

I mean, right now we got
Australia Creek going.

We got the money pit happenin'
and we got everybody

that knows how to run
a loader stretched.

- In a loader?
- Yeah.

You know, it's easier
to hire a truck driver

than it is loader operator,

so why not we repurpose
one of our truck drivers

and then I can cycle new people

into truck driving positions
if need be...

- Okay.
- You know what I mean?

Yeah. You got anybody in mind?

I would be curious
to try Sandy out.

I think she's ran
a loader before,

but running a loader
somewhere else is not...

- As you and I well know.
- Yeah.

Running a loader here
is not like

running a loader anywhere else.

No.

Gold mining, it's fun.
It can be fun.

At this point in my life,
I don't really see myself

doing anything else.

Twenty-five-year
old rock truck driver,

Sandy Dubois, joined Parker's
crew this season.

A Klondike local, she's been
gold mining for three years.

I don't know what I wanna be
when I grow up,

so I think this is probably it.

I know my biggest dream as a kid

was to be like a world-famous
soccer player,

but that dream got crushed.

It's all right.
As long as I'm not stuck

trucking for the next decade
I'll be fine.

Well, right now, we got Sandy,

and she's been running truck
for us for a bit here,

but this is a big step-up.
Running a wash plant,

you're not only operating
the loader,

but you're also responsible

for the wash plant which means,

you know, the shaker deck,
the conveyors,

the water system
going through sluice runs.

So a lot to look out for,

but hopefully
she catches on quickly.

I'm pretty pumped
that I get the opportunity

to run Sluicifer for a bit,
try him out.

Yeah.

Yeah, I hope I k*ll it
down there.

Make mama proud.

Sandy has run small wash plants,

but nothing like Australia
Creek's 250-yard an hour

beast of a plant, Sluicifer.

It's my first day on Sluicifer.

It was very fast-paced.

I'm definitely feeling
stressed out.

Like, I haven't run a loader
in two years,

so it feels nice to be able
to get back into it.

It's good. I love a loader
over a truck any day.

But this loader sucks.

But this stupid armrest
keeps slamming against the key

and turning the key off while
I'm ripping in fourth gear.

So that's a great...
That's also,

a little whiplash.

My this loader.

Bro, it just
shut off on me again.

That loader stalls a lot.

Yeah, dude,
I'm so annoyed right now.

My main challenge here so far
is trying to make sure

that feeder has dirt in it.

Sluicifer here is just

going through a lot of dirt
really fast.

You don't wanna see
your belts dry.

It's just like a big no-no.

If Sandy
doesn't keep the plant fed,

water will white-wash the plant

and blow gold out the sluices.

Getting shut off again.

What is going on?

Did it shut off again?

I'm so frustrated!

And the belt is dry.

God.

And my face is going tingly.

I don't wanna have a
panic attack right now.

Evan, my face is...

My face and body
is going tingly.

I might need you
to switch me out

before I have a panic attack.

Evan

Evan, I need you
to switch me out now.

I really need you
to switch me out now.

I can't really see, man.

I need you to switch me out.

You want me to switch you out?

Please, now.

Okay.

It sounds like Sandy
is definitely struggling there

and it looks like Tyson
is on his way over right now.

Just definitely...
Something's going on there.

You okay?

Do you wanna go
for a drive, Sandy,

and clear your heard?

- Yeah.
- Let's go for a drive.

Evan is running it.

Sandy and I are just gonna go

for a little drive here, Mitch.

No worries.

No, you have nothing
to be sorry for.

You have nothing
to be sorry for, Sandy.

King of chaos, Tony Beets,

is trying to turn things around

after changing plans repeatedly.

He's only brought in 462 ounces

of his 6,000-ounce target.

Now, both his Indian River

and Paradise Hill operations
are at a standstill

and he hasn't produced
an ounce of gold

for three weeks.

Tony's now focused
on Paradise Hill.

He has huge stockpiles of
super pit pay dirt ready to sluice,

but still needs to get
his trommel up and running.

Last week,
after months of battling

to get his trommel running...

Ended in a catastrophic

water pump breakdown.

In a last ditch attempt

to get his trommel running.

I don't think we're gonna take
much more of this.

Leaving Tony without his
chief mechanic once again.

The future of the family
business I think is not looking great

because as it stands,

he's kinda running it
into the ground.

In a last-ditch attempt

to get his trommel running,

Tony is changing out
his broken pump

for a well-worn


that he must first connect
to the wash plant pipeline.

Okay.

Yeah, we got water.

Are you ready for dirt?

This is the latest we have
ever started sluicing.

We literally have
some yellow leaves on trees,

but we are finally here.

Monica, do you copy? Monica?

Yes, yes, yes.

The belt is too far over.

Yeah, no kidding,
I see what you mean, Mike.

It looks like the belt
is tracking too far over

on the electrical van side.

Can you go do the water for
me? I'm gonna shut her down.

Well.

We ran for approximately



At Paradise Hill,

after just 10 scoops
of pay dirt,

Tony's trommel is shut down

with an off-centered
conveyor belt.

Once again, his moneymaking
machine is not washing dirt,

and Tony's empire
is in disarray.

The belt is riding to the side.

You don't want a belt
to ride too much to one side

or the other because it will
rub on the edges

and will actually wear a hole through
your seal and you don't want that.

To adjust
the position of the belt,

Mike needs to tighten
the alignment rods,

a system of steel bars that
pull the belt to either side.

It should start sliding over
here real quick-like.

See how much I have here?

It's not supposed
to have that much there.

So I'm gonna constantly
and consistently

keep tightening it

until it sits
where I want it to sit.

It should of shot right over

but it's not.

Not moving over at all

and it's starting
to piss me off.

Hello, sir.

No matter how much
we tighten or loosen it,

the belt
will not shift even slightly.

I cannot see why.

I don't know what to tell you.

Something's not quite
right and I don't know what.

Actually, let me have a look.

I gotta figure out what's
stopping it from moving.

I see the issue.

'Cause look at that.
Look at that.

The whole thing is horribly
slanted this way.

And you can see it,
that just does not sit right.

- You wanna...
- Yeah.

We're gonna shut it off.

The plant's crooked too.

In his haste to install
the trommel last week,

Mike's brother, Kevin,

failed to correctly
level the conveyor.

The whole thing
is not level at all.

Tony, do you copy, Tony?

The conveyor is
come take a look?

The conveyor's bent
out of shape.

She's not level at the top.

How level is it?

The 30-year-old trommel's feeder

conveyor belt is off-center.

The feeder connects
the hopper to the wash plant

and sits on steel struts
and columns,

which hold up the top end.

One of the columns is lower

and the imbalance is causing
the conveyor belt to drift.

Rather than adjust
the whole conveyor,

Tony's bush fix is to cut
through the lower column,

lift the conveyor with
a crane until it's level,

and fill the gap
in the column with a stack

of steel plates, which
will be welded in place,

realigning the belt.

Hopefully it works, because
enough is enough.

So you want me to cut that one?

Okay.

That was it?

Just a hair more.

Too much.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Perfect.

All right.

With only eight
weeks left in the season,

Tony's Paradise Hill trommel
is finally up and running.

So I thought I heard something.

It's good to see it running,

It's nice to finally see some
gold coming out of this thing.

Yeah,
we've done that before too.

Mining up here,
it's a tough deal.

This is the toughest business
by a mile I've ever done.

Brian McCaughan
and his two sons,

Gage and Bryce are mining
gold on a 70-acre

claim at Eureka Creek.

For us, mining up here
is like the family farm.

I grew up on a farm, harvest
would come and we were 24 hours,

flat out for a month,
six weeks just going.

This is harvest
the whole season.

This is not for the faint
of heart.

In 2015,

Brian brought his family north

to the Yukon to join him
in the search for gold.

I know Gage loves it,
he's crazy about it.

Bryce is quiet,
but I know he's hooked.

Twenty-three-year-old Bryce

and 22-year-old Gage

have been full-time gold miners

since they left high school.

I've been mining since I was 14.

I started on a rock truck.

That was since grade ten and...

Yeah, I've been doing it
ever since.

I've always been working
with my parents.

So it's... I don't really know
like what it would be

at a normal company

if I were to be treated
differently or not.

My dad is very go, go,
go gadget.

He's really good
at thinkin' new ideas,

more efficient ideas.

We try to be as efficient
as we can.

We're chasing hotspots.

The McCaughan family hunt

for small channels of pay dirt

with the highest
concentrations of gold.

We see lots of other miners
do massive, massive cuts

and so that's just...
It's kind of scary to us

'cause then we're gonna have
to hire 10 more mechanics.

But after three
successful years at Eureka,

they're now running out
of hotspots.

We're trying to find our ground

for next year
that we wanna mine.

We need ground for the future.

Last week,
Brian invited his neighbor,

Parker Schnabel,

to look at his operation,

hoping to lease land from him
in the future.

- Is there a lot more ground here?
- No.

We're coming to an end.

I'm looking for something
for this spring.

Got you.

What about ground?
You thinking you might have

any side creeks
with smaller cuts?

Maybe.

I'll let you know.

Sure.

In the gold room,

mom and office manager Sharon

is in charge
of processing the gold.

Well, we got married in '92.

And then we've run every kind
of business possible.

First we started
with siding and roofing.

Brian was a race car driver.

So, then we built
our dot car racetrack.

And we started gold mining
in 2012

because the economy went
for in Alberta.

Brian and I have never really
had a good working relationship.

We've been in business together

and we're total opposites.

Anyone who's ever worked for us

knows the drama
between Sharon and Brian.

To secure their mining future,

the family want 1,500 ounces
this season,

but two-thirds
of the way through,

they've mined less
than a third of their goal,

481 ounces.

And Mom Sharon isn't happy.

This is the worst position
we have been in.

We had the late start sluicing,

so we're way behind
that we've ever been,

ever in a decade of mining.

The bills are piling up and
I'm concerned, very concerned.

Obviously we're behind more
because of the rebuild on the trommel.

Once we got into it,
we wanted it perfect,

but it took some time.

We're still aiming
for that 1,500

as my goal for the year.
We gotta have it.

You guys, what's
going through your head?

I think it's gonna be
pretty easy actually.

You think it's gonna be easy?

- I think it's gonna be really easy.
- -Okay.

To reach their goal,

the family need to hit
over 100 ounces a week

for the rest of the season.

It's not gonna be the easiest
thing you've ever done.

There's plenty of gold.

We just gotta find it.

Yeah, that's great.

You're confident

because you're in La La Land
some days

and you're all Mr. Positive.

However,
I've heard all this before,

so, I'm concerned.

Youngest son Gage
runs the sluicing crew,

feeding the trammel of 300 yards

of pay dirt an hour
from their latest hotspot,

the Red Cut.

Well, to reach our goal
this year,

the boys are gonna have
to get me a lot of dirt

to pump through this machine.

Whoa, what's going on?

Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Trommel's not spinning.

Anyone at the pump?

Set her down at the pump.
Set her down.

Is the... Are the belts loose?

Well, we would've
heard it for sure and I...

It looks all tight.

I'm on my way up.

I'm not quite sure
what the problem is.

Our drum is skipping
and spinning

and it's not getting traction.

My dad just showed up.

Rip around,
check the other side.

We need to figure this out
real quick.

Need to find out
why this thing's not spinning.

I mean,
we need our frickin' gold.

If we don't get our gold,
we don't...

We don't stay in business.
It's that simple.

I'm just hoping it's
not a engine electric motor,

so... Because if it's one
of those,

then we're gonna be shut down
for a couple weeks.

Gage, Gage,
I'm gonna try and spin it.

- She's spinning her wheels.
- Yeah.

Yeah, this wheel's
really, really greasy.

Yeah.

Pretty sure it's the grease.

Damn, that doesn't come off.

- Find anything?
- Yup.

We've got a grease issue.

- Yeah.
- This thing had been leakin'.

And it's just one drip
at a time and it gets

on there and it gets pounded in.

Those drive wheels
are just spinning on the drum.

Slipping like this,

we're gonna have to run
half speed.

The 300-yard an hour trommel

is driven by two steel wheels.

With one of the wheels slipping,

it only has half the power
to rotate the drum.

Yeah, I mean at least
we'll be washing,

so we'll have some type
of income.

It's frickin' brutal. We're
not here to run at half speed.

- That's...
- Yeah.

That's bull. I'll figure it out.

Brian's quick fix
allows them to run,

but cuts their gold
production by 50%.

The drum itself
weighs 44,000 pounds.

With that kind of weight,

you better be right
or it's not gonna work.

So it's not right
until we get this grease off.

We need it gone.

This is half speed.

So with our little
solution here,

it's only temporary.

It's... We're running
at half speed, so, you know,

it's gonna take double
as long to get to our goal

and we already don't even have
the full season,

so we're way behind.

We're gonna need
a full solution.

I hope my dad comes up
with something

'cause I'm out of ideas.

I'm just down in Australia,

back in a rock truck,

pulled off the plant for a bit.

And it kinda sucks

it's the way she goes.

In Australia Creek,

operator Sandy Dubois
is taking a rest

from loader
and wash plant duties.

Here we got Sandy in a truck

and she seems to be
handling that well,

so, you know, this is
a very stressful place

and, you know, it's very easy

for it to, you know,
just get to you.

I end up having a panic attack.

It's scary.

They're paralyzing.

You just feel so helpless.

Yeah, I've been struggling
with my mental health

for years.

My mom said it's pretty much
since I was 11.

So I started last fall,

talking to a psychiatrist

and he diagnosed me

with anxiety borderline
personality disorder

and ADHD.

I've been trying to hide this

from, I guess, the bosses
and most of the crew.

So I just don't
wanna lose my job.

Parker doesn't like that I was
trying to hide it from him,

so I won't do that
in the future.

But he's super-supportive

and wants to keep me here,

which feels really great.

I'm really happy I have
this big family here.

It's so nice to work in a camp

where everyone's so supportive.

Short-staffed,

Mitch's crew still need
a loader operator

if they're going to find out

whether Australia Creek

will keep bringing in big gold.

It's a struggle

because, you know, putting in
a lot of hours,

everybody's tired,

and everybody's,
you know, trying to do

as much as they can plus more.

After doing some
self-reflection,

I'm... just trying
to talk myself up,

I'm confident I can
get back in that loader

and sluice out of this dirt.

Yeah, I wanna do it.

I know I can.

Where is it?

Hey, Tyson, do you have a copy?

Go ahead.

Hey, my guy, I just
wanna let you know,

I'm pretty confident now
that I'll be able

to run the
out of the sluice plant

if you're ready
to have me back on there.

Okay. I'll see
what I can figure.

What's up, dude?
Sandy looks like she's doing

- pretty good in that truck.
- Yeah, she just radioed me

and said that she's ready
to go back in the loader, so.

I kind of was hesitant,

but she's gotta get back
on that saddle at some point.

I mean, the only way
to figure it out

is to get in there and do it,

you know, I mean,
it isn't gonna get

- any easier than this.
- Yeah.

I'll definitely keep
an eye on her.

- I mean if she starts like...
- Yeah, absolutely.

Having any issues just tell her,

- "Park the thing, get back in the truck."
- Yeah.

But, yeah, let's give her
another try

and see how she does.

For the second time this week,

Sandy's back in the hot seat
running Sluicifer,

the same high-pressure situation

that caused her panic attack.

Hey, Sandy gal.

How's it going? How you doin'?

Yeah, that was pretty good.

A lot more comfortable.

I don't feel
like crying anymore.

Well, I can tell you,
from the outside,

you look like you're
doing really good.

Aww, that's so sweet. Thanks.

Is that good?

My.

The lower feeder conveyor

has stopped working,

meaning pay dirt
can't get to the plant.

Pumps, what the...

What did I do wrong?

What was I doing wrong?

This is nothing you did.

In the cold weather,
this conveyor turns off.

Sandy, want
to jump back in the loader?

Yeah.

Sluicifer's
temperamental lower conveyor

has shut down by itself.

Tyson simply reboots the system

to get it back up and running.

It doesn't look
like it's a big deal.

It could have been much worse
if Sandy didn't see it.

Nice work, Sandy.

- Hell, yeah, dude. I'll catch you later.
- Bring it on.

I sure do enjoy being in
a loader over a truck.

Hell yeah.

Yippie!

Hey, Jason. You copy, Jason?

Yeah, go ahead.

Now what you thinking of this
pay speed we got going on?

Having trouble
staying awake, man.

We can't keep going like this.

Just... It sucks.

At Eureka Creek,

the McCaughan family are chasing

a 100-ounce week,

but excess grease

is causing one of their
trommel's drive wheels

to slip,

forcing them to limp along
at half speed.

This thing is designed
for 300 yards an hour.

We're pushing like 50 right now.

Gage, heard you guys
yapping on the radio.

Well, I got an idea.

It's a little bit different.

I think I wanna burn it off.
Start it on fire.

Don't have to shut down,
just melt it,

clean it up and go.

Well?

You got some weird ideas, man.

I know.

They work.

Shutting down
and trying to get that clean,

I don't wanna waste
a few hours at that,

so let's just hammer it.

We'll throw the flames to her
and see what happens.

It's not gonna burn.
It's solid steel.

I don't know.
It's kind of risky though.

You're setting
the freakin' trommel on fire.

If the fire goes down
and the oil's on fire,

we could burn out the seal
and our gearbox,

then we're short of the gearbox,

we'd have to shut down
for a week.

Well, I don't have
to put that much on there.

And I'm not...
I'm not using a hose.

I'm just gonna spray it
with a smaller container.

I think it'll be fine.
So let's try it.

I'll take your word for it.

You're right
about a lot of things.

Let's go, buddy. We're doing it.

Ready?

Okay, let's go.

Woo!

Yeah, buddy...

- Come on, baby!
- Burn that up!

Reminds me
of my racing days, Gage.

Up in flames.

- Smells like it too.
- Smells good.

Yeah. Check it out.

We're getting it. It's all off.

Yeah.

Awesome. Awesome.

Gage, should be good to go, man.

Hit her.

Turned up the trommel
back to full speed.

It's running smooth.

Woo-hoo!

The ring's hot
and the pay's hot too.

Woo!

- Hey, guys.
- Hola.

Hello.

Yeah.

The Beets

are in desperate need
of a miracle

from their first gold weigh
in three weeks,

and the first of the season

from their trommel
at Paradise Hill.

Minimum.

I've never seen it
takin' this long.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Me too.
- I am ecstatic.

Well, it's no longer
The Tony and Kevin Show.

Anyways, let's not go then.

Let's...

It's nice to see some gold

out of the trommel,
the first gold.

Three.

Tony needs his super pit

to provide over 690 ounces

of gold every week

for the rest of the year.







You know, you can keep
on pouring more.

Nope.



Worth over $170,000.

For three days, that's
actually not bad at all.

Well, I'm glad to see
some gold off the hill.

Yeah.

God. Yeah.

Yeah. It's about time, guys.

Anyways, I think
you should pour it back.

And then I guess go back to work

for a little longer.

Okay?

Bye, guys.

Bye.

As long as everything
is paid for.

Welcome to the first

annual Dominion Creek Dog Show.

After a tough week,

Parker's crew
and their canine companions

let off some steam.

- Go.
- Okay, come on. Come on, Joe.

- Come on.
- Come on, Benzo.

Big jump. Come on...

Whoa, that was good.

- Yeah.
- Come. Nacho, come.

Ger, come on.

You go, Ger.

Come on, Sesh. Come on.

- Come on.
- Yay.

Come on.

Yeah, jump.

Don't lie down.

Go. Go, go.

Come. Nacho, come.

Get him back.

Come on.

Come on, up.

We got a winner.
Taylor and Nacho.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Nacho, you're
the top dog, buddy.

The McCaughans
are back running full speed.

Where's the rest of them?

They're coming.

Now it's time to see

if they've hit
their weekly target

of over 100 ounces.

- Hey, bud.
- Hey.

And prove to Parker
they can be relied on

if he ever gives them
a chance on his ground.

So it's nice to have the
trommel back up to full speed

because that half throttle

wasn't gonna get nothing done.

You're not making money

when you're bringing
in half the gold.

- So.
- Yeah.

Good job
on the flaming trommel, guys.

You got some good
ideas sometimes.

Sometimes.



So currently,

we're totaling
right now 481 ounces.

And that's three weeks'
worth of washing.

So we're behind the g*n

right now at the 481, so...

We've had every issue going,

short manpower, very late start.

I mean, there's really nothing
that hasn't slowed us down.

I think we're doing great.

I think we have
enough hours left,

but it's high-pressure time.

I mean, we need this.

So, Gage,
you wanna do the honors?

Okay.









- Woo-hoo!
- 120,



Nice.

Worth over a quarter

of a million dollars.

That puts you over 600.

The grand total now, 607.

So, we're not
even halfway there.

And we're past halfways
in the season.

We're gonna have
to start running at night.

It'll be long hours, so.

But I mean, we're used to that

at the end of the season
anyways.

We'll just have to be doing it.

We're gonna be doing the end
of the season now.

- Yeah.
- For longer is the problem.

I think we should go stripping

instead of posting all of our
resources

on hauling our pay.

We need the crew stripping

- at all times.
- 100%.

Pitter-patter,
let's get at her, boys.

So it was a pretty
exciting week for Sandy.

You know, she got on
some new equipment,

learned just how temperamental
a wash plant can be.

Emotionally, she paid
the price for it,

but she got over it,
stepped up to the plate.

I mean,
that's outstanding to me.

Tyson jumped in,
got her settled down.

This is family,

and this is what we do.

We take care of each other.

After running
Sluicifer and Big Red

for five days at Australia

and Dominion Creeks,

Parker's crew gather
to weigh the gold

from all of their hard work.

- And there's Mitch.
- What up?

How'd your week go, Mitch?

About the same as yours.

But no, it didn't go too bad.

I mean, you know, definitely

you just see
the difference there.

You know, putting people
in different positions

and everything
that's going on out there.

Like, it definitely
can get stressful, right?

Yeah, she did good.

She came back from it, so.

And I mean, you look
at a lot of our operators,

you know, Tatiana, Evan, Jacob,

you know, came here
with little or no experience,

and look what they're doing now.

Still have plenty of ground
down there to chaw through?

- Yeah, there's lots.
- Good.

You wanna see
how much gold you got?

- Yeah.
- What you got first?

- This is Australia.
- Here we go.















So 140 ounces.

I mean, who won't
take that, right?

- Yeah.
- It's 140 more ounces

- than we had last week.
- That's right.

How'd the old money pit do
this week?

Here we go. All zeroed out.

Start pouring, 20,



there's 100,





Don't fall for it.

- There's more.
- Yeah.

But, you know,
the story about Red, right?

I see you got one
with the hat on it over there.

Yeah. Yeah.

So 172

and another solid 300.

So for the week,

we got 600 and 11.35 ounces.

Worth over $1.2 million.

Parker's biggest cleanup
this season.

That's really consistent,
isn't it?

Yeah, that's good.

Three, four more of those
and I'd be real happy.

Where does that bring us to?

A season total,



We broke the 4,000 mark.

Yeah. I mean, at the pace
we're going, we'll pass our target.

- Yeah.
- Well, till next week.

Yeah. We got a lot
more dirt to move, so.

- Better get after it.
- -Go check up on your people.

All right. All right.
Have a good one.

- See ya.
- Yup.

- I'm tired.
- Are ya?

- Yeah.
- We'll get a bite to eat.

You know, that
was our best week yet.

I've seen a lot of gold,

Dominion, the money pit,
not disappointing,

and you can put it all together,

ends up to a lot of gold
at the end of the week.

What a week this week.

We found the most amount of gold

with both plants in one week.

You know, things seem
to be going well

up here at Dominion,

so just gotta keep this going

and we'll hit
our 5,000-ounce target.