15x31 - The Man in the Gold Room

[bunniefuu]

Come mid-March,
I start thinking
about coming home.

This is home.

I spend the most of my year
up here.

I don't have gold fever,
but I have mining fever,

because I absolutely love
what I do.

Hi, my name's Doumitt,
and I'm a mineaholic.

[narrator]
On this old Rush...

This thing weighs a ton,
must be full of gold,

[narrator]
Chris Doumitt reveals
his unlikely journey...

Who would not want
to go to Alaska?

[narrator] From carpenter...

[Chris] I knew nothing
about gold mining--

[narrator]
...to gold cleaning guru.

[Parker] There's some great
gold in here. Thanks, Chris.

[Chris] You have now exceeded


[Parker] You've cleaned
a lot of gold down here.

[all cheer]

I finally realized
that's my niche in life.

[narrator]
And he gives new insight...

It's going to take hours--

Just frickin' do it, okay?

[narrator]
On his relationships
with the Klondike's

most notorious miners.

Look, you don't want
to waste your [bleep] time.

It's my [bleep] time to waste.

End of conversation.
End of conversation.

Parker's probably
one of the worst people

I ever worked for in my life.

We're going to do a cleanup.

Kind of excited, really,
to see what's in here.

[narrator]
After a week of sluicing...

Yeah,
let's pluck those rubbers off
and see what we got.

[narrator] The Schnabel crew
clean out the gold.

And there's no one better
to take charge...

[Chris] We have gold puddle
after gold puddle
after gold puddle.

[narrator]
...than Chris Doumitt.

[Chris] There should be
four mats in there.

Let me get
these tanks drained out,

head back to the gold room,

and start processing
this stuff.

It's been a wild ride.

It's been an incredible
life experience.

I just wish
I was 30 years younger
when I started.

[narrator] Now,
a mining veteran of 15 years

and Parker Schnabel's
right hand man.

How'd I get here?

Is that what you're asking?

At the wrong place
at the wrong time

is what happened. [laughs]

[narrator]
Chris's journey to the
gold fields starts in 1951.

[Chris] I was born
in Portland, Oregon.

I was, uh,
kind of a problem child,
you might say.

I was called incorrigible.

And because of that,
I ended up in a foster home

for about seven years,
from 10 to 17.

Actually, that's where
I learned work ethic,

because it was
a produce farm, farmers.

And that's all you do is work.

[narrator] After graduating
from high school,

Chris finds his calling.

[Chris] I was a carpenter.

I was a furniture maker.

I was a cabinet maker,
cutting up wood
and making stuff.

Sharon and I were married
in 1971.

We spent six years
getting to know each other

and then started a family,
raised them in Oregon.

It was great.

At 58, I was retired.

I'd been retired
for three years.

And I was fishing and golfing
with my buddies.

[narrator] But in 2010,
Chris gets a call
from an old buddy

that changes everything.

[Chris] Greg Remsburg asked me
if I'd come to Alaska with him

and build a cabin
for his family.

[narrator] Greg Remsburg
is part of a group of guys

hit hard
by the 2008 financial crisis.

[Jack]
You're all millionaires.

The only thing is,
you've got to get it
out of the ground.

-[all laugh]
-You know?

[narrator]
Led by Todd Hoffman.

Good job, buddy.

[narrator] They're seeking
their fortunes,

mining for gold
deep in the
Alaskan wilderness.

[Chris]
I'm an outdoorsman, right?

I love the mountains,
the trees, the snow caps,

the rivers, the eagles,
the fish.

Who would not want
to go to Alaska?

Build a cabin.



But we were having a hard time
getting materials.

And I can't sit still.

So I'd help out where I could
with the Hoffmans

and the mining process.

[Todd] Hey,
welcome to the team.

[Chris] Thanks.

I appreciate it.
This is going to be a riot.

[Jack] Turn it on...

[Chris] You know,
these guys are investing
everything they have.

But I think they're pursuing
the great American dream

that we've lost sight of.

And to be involved in that,
what a thrill.

Todd asked me
if I could run a loader.

I said, sure.

I went and I found
Greg Remsburg.

I said, "Greg,
what's a loader?"

I didn't know anything
about mining.

But I quickly learned

that they didn't know
that much either.

It was the blind
leading the blind.

[Todd] I wouldn't get
near it, Chris.

Just let it go, kind of.

[Parker] Don't let that baby
come down on you.

We're going to take this
to a tray we have up here

with soapy water in it
to help release all the gold.

I think with what
this thing holds,

it could take you for a ride,
you know?

[narrator] Chris pitches in
wherever he can.

This thing weighs a ton.
It must be full of gold.

[narrator] But Todd's
inexperienced crew

struggle to bring in the gold.

Two-point-seven ounces.

[narrator]
And after three months,
the cracks begin to show.

I'm coming apart up here.

I've been here
for three months, man,

and ain't [bleep] money.

You and I, you want to do it?

We'll [bleep] do it.

And then you'll learn to shut
your [bleep] mouth.

Being with the Hoffmans
was a challenging time.

Come on, dude. Don't get--

[Parker] Get off!

Back up.
Just back off a little bit.

There was a lack
of proper leadership.

You take it out,
put it back in.

-And go.
-Go put it in yourself.

You took it out.

Todd and I really, I don't...

We get along real well.

I don't think
we work well together.

It's going to take hours.

Just frickin' do it, okay?

Todd was one
of the guys who goes,
"We need to open a cut.

You guys go take care of it,"
and walk away.

It's hard to follow someone

when they're going
the wrong direction.

Where in the hell
is everybody?

Well, I don't know.
It's just me, you,
and Thurber here.

It was just, uh...

I didn't want to say this...

A clash on how things
should be done

and why isn't
everybody working?

Why isn't everybody
pulling the same weight?

The way I was raised,

you do your work
and you go play later.

And you're our main man.

You're our go-to guy.

And you weren't there
to go to.

And I think
that was a frustrating part.

I'm tired of excuses.

And that's it in a nutshell.

Super brief summary,
the first season
was disastrous.

I was not part
of the original six.

I wasn't one of the friends.

I wasn't part of the clique.

I had a different work ethic.

But I really wanted to see
the Hoffmans be successful.

That's why I stuck out
that year.

When you take
that last little swish

and a layer of black sand,

it floats off, and it leaves
that gold in the pan.

-[man] Good lord.
-[laughs]

That's a rush. It really is.

-Yeah!
-Oh!

[narrator] Chris and the
Hoffman crew gather

for the final gold way
of their first season.

There's 14.64 ounces here.

-[crew cheering]
-[narrator] Worth $20,000.

-[man 1] Let's do it again!
-[man 2] Whoo!

That is what motivated us all
to come back the next year.

[narrator] In 2011,

the Hoffman's make
the bold move to leave Alaska.

[Chris] The second year
was a huge step.

We came
to the Yukon territory.

We came up
to Dawson City, where...

That's where
the big boys played.

[Parker] This is it, guys.

This is our claim right here.

[narrator]
For their second season,

Todd enlists
expert dirt mover,

Dozer Dave Turin.

I need you to come with me.

Dave was more of
a hands-on kind of leader.

You say, okay, you guys,
we need to open up this cut.

And then you jump
on an excavator,
you jump on a loader,

I'll jump on a dozer.
We go do it.

[Dave] There's gold
under this ground.

We just got to dig it up.

The second season
was much more encouraging
than the first.

[Jack] Ninety three
and a half ounces.

[narrator] Worth $150,000.

Seven times more gold
than their rookie season.

Now we're miners.

[narrator]
In 2012, Todd doubles down
for his third season

and goes all in
on two separate claims.

So here's the deal,

we're going to have
to split up.

[narrator]
Todd will run his old
Quartz Creek claim,

and Dave will run
the new claim at Indian River.

Todd had picked up
another wash plant.

He wanted to run two plants,
two crews.

He gave us a choice.

We could either work with him
or work with Dave.

What do you guys think?

Chris.

I'm up for Indian River.

Yeah, that wasn't really
much of a choice.

That was more of a given.

[Dave] We got nine claims.

It's virgin ground.

[Chris] Dave and I have
a closer work ethic
than Todd and I.

So I'm going to pick
the screen, swing it over,

and then I got to walk it in
because we don't have a crane.

We had the go-getters,

the guys that just wanted
rip and tear

and dig and sluice.

We had Big Red.

[narrator] Costing $250,000,
the 180-yard-per-hour
shaker plant

has the potential
to supersize their operation,

but only if Chris can learn
how to run it.

Big Red was in pieces.

[Dave] There you go.

And I'd never seen
a screen deck.

[man] Hey, let's get
our springs on.

[Chris]
I had no idea what it was
supposed to look like

or how it even operated.

And I helped Dave
put the thing together.

Good. You got it.

All right.

Looks like a wash plant,
doesn't it?

Get the plant running.

I learned to run Big Red
and make it operate

with the problems it had.

I figured out how to avoid
these problems

or to work around them.

One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.

[Dave] Twenty nine!

There it is! We're over 30.

-Whoo! Yeah!
-[crew cheers]

[Dave] Nice job!

-[Jack] We got 81 ounces.
-Oh, yeah.

[Jack] We've got a grand total
of 803 right now.

-[Dave] Yes. 803.
-[crew cheering]

[Jack] Yeah.

Man, that's cool.

[narrator] Worth $1.2 million.

Around that campfire,
what was going through my head

is, "Okay, I can go home now."

Now we can honestly say
we're full-fledged,

I can make a living at this,
gold miners.

I wanted to see them
become successful miners

because that would mean that
I was a successful miner also.

And I thought, you know,
now's a good time

to go back to fishing
and golfing with my buddies.

[narrator]
At the end of the season,

Chris joins
the rest of the crew

for a TV special.

We did he Dirt Life show.

And that's when I announced...

Well, this year I retired.

You know, I threw in
with these guys,

helped them become
successful gold miners.

Look in front of you,
you know?

So it's time to step aside
and let a younger guy

get in that could use a job.

-[Todd] Well, we're sad
to see you go, Chris.
-Thank you.

-Thank you for everything.
-Thank you, Chris.

Parker popped up, "Hey."

-If I might interrupt,
do you mind?
-No.

I have no idea
what you're going to say.

Right now I'm crewing up
to go up to the Yukon.

-So...
-Well, yeah.

I mean, I need some veterans.

I need some Klondike veterans.

So that offer extends
to all you guys.

[audience laughs]

[Chris]
It was kind of funny because
he was quite a character.

Seventeen, c*ck.

But at the same time,
it's kind of cool.

[man] All right,
that's enough out of you.

[narrator] Coming up...

[Parker] Ain't no vacation.

You know that.

Parker was very aggressive.

Parker!

Get out of my [bleep] way.

Parker was probably
one of the worst people

I ever worked for in my life.

[Chris laughs] Got it.

We have a tank
with a concentrate
from the sluice box.

It's in the gold room now.

[narrator]
Veteran miner Chris Doumitt
is doing what he does best.

I'm just going to hose it down
into here,

Now we can honestly say
we're full-fledged,

[narrator] Recovering gold
from monster wash plant,
Big Red.

This drum has a screen in it.

Materials dropping down
to the screen

in a centrifugal bowl.

The bowl has ridges in it.

And as it's spinning,
the gold is being cast up

into those ridges
and being captured.

All the impurities are getting
washed over the top.

What doesn't make it
through the screen,

the pickers, the nuggets,

they'll come down into
another sluice box down here.

[narrator] To date,
he's cleaned more than


[Chris] This is awesome.

[narrator]
But in 2013, Chris thought
he was done mining.

After three years
with the Hoffmans,

it's time to retire again.

[narrator]
And he swapped shoveling dirt
for working on his swing.

I was getting kind of bored,

starting to get underfoot
with my wife.

And early spring,
Parker calls.

They're having a problem
with the new wash plant,

Big Red.

I was wondering
if there's any way

I can convince you to come up.

I mean, you'd really be
saving my a*s.

Big Red and I
had a relationship,
let's put it that way.

We spent
a lot of time together.

[narrator]
After buying Big Red
from the Hoffmans,

[narrator] Parker knows
Chris is the best person
to run it.

But can he tempt him
out of retirement
for a second time?

I always did like Parker,

even though he was
this little ornery kid,

maybe reminded me
of me too much.

I first met Parker, actually,

season one for our first year.

[Parker]
Get some neighbors off.

And I remember it
like it was yesterday,

he'd come riding up on
this little bitty motorcycle,

he's only 15, just c*ck,
arrogant little kid.

He was selling firewood
to the Hoffmans,

-[groans]
-because we didn't have
a camp generator.

No.

I charged him double
what I usually do.

He left quite an impression.

[Jack] That's gold.

[Parker] I mean,
it's just gold fever.

When you think about it,
a couple hundred dollars

worth of gold isn't much

compared to everything
they've spent here.

And I remember
I was still on the phone,
and I said,

"Sharon,
Parker wants to know..."

And she was gone.

And a couple minutes later,
she had my bags.

She knew
I was going stir crazy.

I wanted to come back north.

I just wasn't
willing to admit it,

only this time I knew
it was going to be
for more than 10 days.

Ain't no vacation.

You know that.

[narrator] At his new claim
on Scribner Creek,


is struggling to process

enough pay through Big Red.

You just have to stay
on top of it.

You get it running too fast,
things just jam up too quick.

Between Parker
and the Hoffmans
is day and night.

The Hoffmans ran
very few hours a day.

Parker was very aggressive.

Just go, go, go, go, go.

[Parker] Crank her up.

We've been doing
about 100 yards an hour.

And I just
turned the feeder up,
so it'll be at about 180.

I think starting off 100%
right off the bat
could be disastrous.

But he's got the control,
so we'll see what happens.

The plant's hardly getting
pushed at all.

I think it's moving
awful fast.

Parker!

What the [bleep]

Parker pushed Big Red
beyond its limits.

Get out of my [bleep] way.

[bleep] that plant.

[Chris]
I had a better understanding
of the wash plant than he did.

So he and I
have this discussion.

With this material,
you can't push it.

If you want to get gold,
you just go steady.

Give me the loader
and the wash plant.

What other choice you got?

Sounds like a plan.

He was willing to do that.

I know reluctantly,
because he wanted

to just push dirt as hard
as he could through the thing.

[narrator]
Chris makes the call
to slow the feed rate by 20%.

[Chris]
Parker, he's been around
mine sites his whole life,

but he'd only been around
Big Red a couple of weeks.

I've been around that thing
since it was born.

[narrator] Parker meets
with landlord Tony Beets

to find out if Chris's call
was the right one.

[Tony speaking]

[Parker] Whoa. Awesome.

-[Tony speaking]
-Six.

Geez.

[narrator]
Worth nearly $200,000.

[Tony speaking]

Well, I think the thing
that's helped us the most

is Chris Doumitt showed up,

and he's been running
the plant pretty steady. Uh--

It was important to me
to have success

running Big Red my way.

Good job, Chris. Well done!

[Chris] It helped a lot
with gaining Parker's trust.

I think he started giving me
a little bit more leeway

than other people.

Or either that
or he was afraid of me.

[laughs]

That could be too.

[narrator]
Chris wins Parker's respect,

but the rest of the crew
are feeling his wrath.

When we start
getting treated like robots,

don't expect much more than
a machine would give you.

[Chris] This is a mess.

The first couple of years
with Parker were difficult.

Parker, this schedule
is not going to work.

I don't think he understood

the responsibilities
of a boss.

That's what hours
we're working, you know?

So if you can't handle it,

then maybe this isn't
the place for you.

You're not considering
your crew.

And no, I'm not the only one
that feels this way.

If you're not happy,
then you can leave.

The door is always open.

-End of conversation.
-You have a--

End of conversation.
Don't talk.

That's why people
don't approach you.

Okay, just leave.

He was probably
one of the worst people

I ever worked for in my life.

Look, you don't want
to waste your [bleep] time.

It's my [bleep] time to waste.

[Rick] I'm just
looking out for you.

Yeah, it is your [bleep] time.

I am looking out
for myself, Rick.

He'd be gone
for two or three days,

and be come back
yelling and screaming

because things weren't done
the way he thought

they should have been done.

-Two days?
-Well, I know.
You weren't around.

I had to make the calls.

I had to make
something happen.

Well, I mean, that's just...
that's not good enough.

How do I stay out of
the firing line?

[Parker]
If it had been done right,
this wouldn't happen.

And that's not on you.

-I'm not saying
that's on you, Mitch.
-I know.

Like I said,
I'd like to just--

[Parker] That's not on you,
but some of it is.

I understand Parker
and his personality,

and what sets him off,
and why it sets him off.

[narrator] Still to come...

We are not a crew here.

We are a family here.

[narrator] Chris is pushed
to his limits by Parker.

[Parker] Look at the position
you're putting me in.

What am I supposed to do?

The only result is

that things were going fine
when you were gone.

-Uh-huh.
-So leave.

Had Rick walked that day,
I would have walked with him.

[Chris] This is violent.

[narrator]
Chris Doumitt

brings in the rod mill
to recover the hardest
to catch gold.

We'll run this open
so you can see the action.

[narrator]
The gold rich concentrates
pass through the mill.

You're going to crush,
you're going to pulverize,

you're going to liquefy
everything

except gold, lead, and steel.

Once it's all crushed out,
look what you have.

Life is like
a sluice ball cleanup.

You never know
what you're going to get.

When I left the Hoffman's
and went to Parker,

I kind of went from
the frying pan to the fire.

[narrator]
Chris feels the heat
more than ever

in his second and third
seasons with Parker.

[Parker]
We're not done mining.

We need to keep working.

We need to stay
and find some more gold.

Is there an issue
with that? So...

This is [bleep]

I understand you wanted to get
as much gold as you could get.

I understand that.

But everybody's wore out.

We've wiped your a*s
for 2,000 ounces all season.

Now we're empty.

It's been [bleep]
Parker, you're gone.

I don't want you guys here
if you don't want to be here.

He fired a lot of good people

for not of good reason.

When you go through
a lot of people,

you pick up a reputation.

And when you pick up
that reputation,

you don't get good people.

Uh-oh!

I guess we got a leak.

We all remember Derek.

Yeah.

[narrator]
In 2015, short on crew,

Parker brings in
mechanic Derek Antoniuk.

Every weld Carl
welded is crap.

[Chris] He kind of thought
he was a rooster.

And he came in just pushing
and bossing people around.

-Mitch.
-Yo.

From now on,
you listen to me.

Everything all right?

Yeah.

Did you tell Rick
you wanted to strangle Derek?

He told me to
go make him a pizza.

I didn't hear an ask on that.

"Doumitt, go make me a pizza."

You know,
I went and made his pizza.

And I put it at his feet.

I said, "Do that to me again,
I'll--"

I don't think so.

In the mining world
that we're in,

you live with people


You have to get along.

Whether you
like a person or not,

you have to get along.

Because one person
that's a troublemaker

can infect a whole camp.

And now
you have real problems.

[narrator] Parker's longtime
foreman, Rick Ness,

has been away from the site
for a few days.

He returns to discover
all hell has broken loose.

[Rick] Pretty clear
what's going on here.

There's one guy
messing everything up,

and the one other guy
that matters

doesn't seem to see it.
Parker.

Just tell him to stay
the [bleep] away from me.

-Wow, Rick.
-I'm serious.

[Parker] That's not a position
that I like to hear from you.

-You--
-All he's done is try
to get the plant up and going,

-and we're running--
-And talking [bleep] about
everybody that's been here,

making this is what it is.

And...
and that's bull [bleep].

[Parker]
Don't put me in this position.

[Rick] What position?

Pitting everybody
against each other.

I'm not pitting anybody
against anybody.

Parker was pointing his finger
at the wrong person.

And Rick may
have handled it wrong,

but Parker should've got more
information before he blew up.

I just don't like the guy.

Yeah. I don't think it's my
job to like everybody, is it?

You don't get
to just not like somebody.

That is right. You have to
at least give people a chance.

That is a job requirement,
yes.

You are making
an enemy out of me.

That's not what I intended.

That is-- that is the result.

So what do I do?

What-- Look at the position
you're putting me in.

What am I supposed to do?

-I--
-The only result is that

things were going fine
when you were gone.

-Uh-huh.
-So leave.

[Chris] You got to remember,
Parker comes from
a very small town

in Alaska, right?

So he didn't
have a lot of exposure

to a lot of
different kinds of people,

and so his people skills
were were pretty limited.

And it was just a matter
of helping him
develop those skills

and to recognize the solution
isn't always to fire someone.

[Parker]
Rick could have brought life
back into this place.

-Instead, he's--
-And he will.

He-- he's not right now.

-Should I fire him?
-No!

How many times
do I want to tell you no?

Don't do that to Rick,

because these people have been
with you a long time.

A long time.

And I don't know if
you've noticed,

but we are not a crew here.

We are a family here.

-We are.
-And if something, someone,

is tearing up that family,

some kid, new--

he's only been here, what,
a couple weeks?

Who would you get rid of?

Had Rick got fired that day,

I would have walked with him.

That was the attitude I had.

But then I thought,
with Parker, you know,

you don't sh**t a good horse
just because he's lame.

There's good in there.

Just stifle the bad,

draw out the good,

fine-tune it,

and you're gonna
have yourself a champion.

Rick needs a second chance.

[Parker]
He doesn't have my back.

Well, he's watched your back
for all these years,

and then you jump on him.

I think Parker and I
have always been able to talk.

We've always been able
to work it out.

I said, "Why on earth
would you take this position?"

He says, "I'm trying
to keep a crew together."

-Yeah.
-He's the reason
it's getting torn apart.

Well, all right.

It's easy to see
where the conflict is

and smooth it out.

[Parker]
Your attitude is outrageous.

[Rick] I know I came in
kind of like a [bleep].

That was stupid on my part.

[Parker] You told me at
the beginning of the season,

"You don't know how much your
mood affects the operation."

And the same goes for you now,
right?

I really want to move forward.

[Parker]
You've always had my back.

So are we good for
a fresh start?

[Rick] All right.

If I got to
shake a guy's hand,

that's what I got to do.
Whatever.

Still don't mean I gotta
[bleep] like the guy.

Sorry I called you an imp.

Come on, handshake.

All right.

[Chris] And one of
the best things I can do

is give Parker
a real good listening to.

And sometimes
that's all it takes.

I'm glad I helped save Rick.

[narrator]
At the end of the season,

Parker brings
his reunified crew together.

[Parker] It's been a long one,

and you guys
have all stuck it out,

and I appreciate that.

It's ended up really good.

And a lot of that,
I have you to thank for, Rick.

You've been
one hell of a leader.

-[Chris] Yup. Yeah, Rick.
-I appreciate it, buddy.

I want to thank you
for giving me a shot.

You know, I appreciate...

[Chris] Parker was man enough
to thank him.

And compliment him
for his leadership skills.

That tells me
there's good in the boy.

You know?

There's a tremendous amount
of potential in Parker

when you see someone
do something like that.

[all exclaiming and laughing]

So that takes us to 3,362.

-sh**ter!
-[all cheering and laughing]

[narrator] In 2015,

Parker mines $3,698,000,

the biggest take
of his gold mining career.

Parker, you don't know
how pleased

and proud I am of you.

[Chris] You know,
his grandpa, John,

He's the one
who got the kid started.

You know, they were close.

They were very, very close.

[party chatter and cheering]

That was the last time
I saw John Schnabel.

That spring,
John Schnabel passed away.

I wasn't quite sure how Parker
was gonna handle it.

And I was kind of wondering

how that might affect
his mining season.

Now that his
grandfather is gone,

does he have any goals?

You know, is it...

I think a lot of those goals
were set for his grandfather.

You know, "I'm going
to do this for my granddad.

I'm going do
this for my grandpa."

Now, with Grandpa gone,

does he still have
these goals?

[Chris] Some gold, it just
doesn't want to get cleaned.

This is designed
to recover superfine gold.

[narrator]
For miner Chris Doumitt,

cleaning gold is a mix of
science and art.

[Chris] The part I love
the most about the gold room

is seeing just
how clean I can get the gold,

and if I can
get every little flake.

I want it all.

Trial, error, and fine-tuning.

Constantly changing the table,
changing the speed,

changing the water flow,

add a little,
take a little away,

it all helps direct that
gold to the path it should go.

[narrator]
Chris knows better than anyone

the path to success
doesn't always run smooth.

It's always hard
leaving home for six months.

But the fourth season
with Parker

is the toughest.

[narrator] In 2016,

Chris is tested more
than ever.

How are you doing, kid?

-Oh, my God.
-I'm good.

[Chris] My wife, Sharon,
was dealing with cancer.

This is a real cook when
you know you're cooking gold.

At the same time,

I was dealing with
some real bad back issues.

[groaning]

Ah, damn.

And so I had to have
back surgery.

So I can't lift anything.

Which, in mining,
means you can't do anything.

[machine creaking]

That thing sounds like me
when I walk now.

I think this sounds
a little better.

Hurry up, Tyson.

I'm tired of standing here
watching you work hard.

[Tyson] Do you want me to
grab you a chair?

One with wheels.

Once I realized
I couldn't run the plant,

I felt like
I wasn't contributing.

I had no worth.

I mean, I hate to say it,

but I think
it might be turning

into a young man's game
around here.

[Chris] The back surgery,

it got me out of equipment,

but it got me
into the gold room.

Is your back
all right doing that?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I'm going slow.

All right.

It's very, um...

secluded here.

You don't want
a lot of traffic

going through your gold room.

I felt left out for a while,

because I wasn't out in
the cut with everybody else.

We're gonna jig it.

We're gonna
clean the jig real well.

We'll table it--
We'll clean it.

Yeah, I don't feel like I'm
part of the whole crew.

I'm an outcast.
I'm worthless.

You know, I'm not bringing
anything to the table.

I have no worth.

I thought, well, you know,

you got to get good at this.

We got a Big Red coming in.

[woman] 70...





Ooh, not bad, man.

[Parker] Let's see what
old Sluicifer did.

[Chris]
Now I have worth and value.

Even though I'm not out
with everybody else,

I'm just as much
part of the crew as anyone.

How's it looking, Doumitt?

You're looking
at about $320,000.

[Rick] [bleep] Yeah.

[Chris] I finally realized
that's my niche in life.

Bingo.

That's where I belong.

[narrator] Gold isn't
the only thing of value

to come out
of Chris' new role.

Hi, Chris.

Hey there, youngster.

What's going on this week,
huh?

So I think the first few years
I was in the Gold Room,

Park and I spent a lot of time
together, quiet time,

and we'd talk
about all kinds of stuff.

It's one-on-one.

There's no interruptions.

I have to live
in a different world

of-- of keeping
this business afloat.

So much money has gone out

and hardly anything has
come in, right?

That's not good.

I definitely wasn't looking
for that position,

but I think I ended up being
in this position of a...

a counselor.

Mentor.

[Parker] Sometimes
it's pretty tough to do this.

It's pretty tough to
keep going.

[narrator] In 2018,
without his grandpa, John,

Parker turns to Chris.

[Parker] Yeah,
I'm just feeling like
a piece of [bleep].

I would-- I wouldn't say
lonely and depressed,

but, really, I'm just feeling
[bleep] sorry for myself.

-[Chris] Yeah.
-Which is [bleep]--

which is...

which is pretty stupid.

But, um...

[Parker sighs]

You know,
it just takes me a...

longer and longer every day

to convince myself
that this is all worth it.

[Chris] Well,
you can either sit up here

and smother yourself
in self-pity,

or you can get out there
and be a leader again.

Everything I touch
turns to [bleep].

[Chris laughs]

Honestly,
that's how I [bleep] feel.

[Chris chuckling] No.
How can you say that?

We're on schedule
for our goal,

even though
we started a month late.

That's all you, Parker.

And now is the time
where you can't stop.

This is the final push
of the season.

-I get that.
-Right?

-Okay.
-I get that.

Parker's just looking for
a little bit of encouragement

and a bit of confidence.

I mean, the team
can't score a touchdown

without a quarterback.

You're the quarterback.

You're not the boss anymore.

You're a leader.

You have to get out
in the cuts

and show people
that you're out there,

you're in it.

It's the encouragement.

You can do it.

Yeah?

-[laughs]
-Yeah.

Okay, buddy. I gotta go.

You take care, right?

Jump in there, man.

-Yeah, we'll be all right.
-We'll make it.
You'll be all right.

We'll catch you later,
youngster.

Thanks, Chris.

[Parker]
You know, Chris is right.

I'm definitely going to
have to step up.

And we can get
through the season.

Mitch, fire it up.

Parker,
send us some material.

Parker is a smart kid.

He just needed a friend.

[narrator] Coming up...

[Chris] There was never
a doubt in my mind

about buying Dominion.

[narrator] Chris opens up on
Parker's $15 million gamble.

[Parker]
That's a lot of money.

And we haven't gotten
to the good stuff yet.

[Chris] Yeah, see,
now that it's dry,

see how it moves so easily?

We'll, um, demag it,

and we should have
some good clean gold.

There's a magnet in here.

You push it down,

and it'll compress
against that plastic plate...

and pick up any magnetics
that were left.

[narrator] To date,

Chris has cleaned nearly


[Chris] Put in perspective,

that weighs about
the same as a small car.

Just about all fit in
one wheelbarrow.

And you're looking at
about $118 million.

And we cleaned 'er
one flake at a time.

-7,427.25 oz.
-[all exclaiming]

[narrator] Over 11 seasons,

Parker,
with Chris by his side,

has gone from a young minor
to a Klondike powerhouse...



...smashing previous
record-breaking gold hauls...

[Mitch] 399.65.

...time and time again.

This year,
we have 8,309.75 oz.

[all cheering]

[Parker]
I never in 1,000 years

thought it would
turn out like this.

[narrator] And in 2022...

-All right, you guys.
-What do you got, Chris?

...they hit
an incredible milestone.

[Chris] With this week's
gold weigh,

collectively, in your career,

you have now exceeded


[narrator]
Today, worth $115 million.

-Fifty-- fifty thousand.
Well...
-50,000 oz of gold, right.

And you guys have been
a big part of that.

Where the [bleep]
did it all go?

[all laughing]

[crew member] D11! D11!

[Parker] What in the [bleep]?

Parker,
if you want to open that.

Ready? Let her buck, man!

Whoo!

[man laughing]

Did you notice we have
one extra glass?

Honestly, I think one
should be for your grandpa.

He's the one
who got you started,

and I think we should pour
one out for Grandpa John.

That's a good call.

-[man] Oh, yeah.
-[man 2] Right.

[Chris] To Grandpa John!

-[man] Whoo!
-[man 2] Whoo!

Thanks, Chris.

Oh, my pleasure, young man.

[Parker]
You've cleaned a lot--

You've cleaned
a lot of gold down here.

Yeah, no kidding.

Here's to 50,000, you guys.

-[Mitch] 50,000 more.
-[Chris] And to the next 50.

[bleep] it.

[narrator] In 2023...

Thank you.

Congratulations.

...Parker drops $15 million

on the 7,500-acre
Dominion Creek claim,

catapulting him to the top
of the Yukon Gold miners.

[Parker] We bought the place.

-Whoa!
-[woman] Whoa!

-[Mitch] There he is.
-Look at you.

-Our own place.
-All the headaches.

-We got everything.
-Yeah, all the bills?

-All the good and the bad.
-Yeah.

If it's a success,
we did it.

If there's something wrong,
you did something wrong.

[all laughing]

[Chris] I think
it was a great investment.

Parker was really smart

and he really
checked things out.



We spent a lot of money
drilling holes.

[Mitch] 220, 230...

But it told us an awful lot.

[Mitch] 340...

And from what I understand,

we haven't gotten
to the good stuff yet.

Well, you threw
a 5,000 oz goal at us.

You nailed that.

You threw a 7,000 oz goal.

Our season total...

is 7,381.1 for the season.

[narrator] In their
first season at Dominion,

Chris cleans up almost
$15 million worth of gold,

nearly covering the cost
of Parker's new claim.

You know, there was never
a doubt in my mind

about buying Dominion.

The best is yet to come.

[Parker] I really want
to thank you all.

And, um, I mean it
from the bottom of my heart.

You know, through the years,
it's just...

it's been a joy and a pleasure
just to watch Parker mature

and transform
into the person he is.

In his early years,
there was no recognition.

There was no reward.

There was no pat on the back.

"You're here to work for me.

You're here to make me money."

Period.

He realizes the value
in people now.

Good people
are good to have around.

You know,
I think Parker is probably

one of the best people
I've ever worked for...

now.

I've got a gift in mind
for Parker.

Hopefully this is gonna work.

[Parker] Chris, he's been
a really good influence on me

in terms of just...

life,

and dealing with people
and dealing with problems.

I give him a lot of credit
for where we are now.

[Chris] Over the last
three or four years,

I think I probably got away
from the mentoring...

part of things,

and just a trusted friend.

-Hi. What you doing?
-Hey, Parker.

[Chris] It's kind of odd
for a 72-year-old man

and a 30-year-old boy
to become friends.

But it is what it is.

-Nice day.
-It's beautiful out.

[Chris] You need the opener?

[Parker] No, I got it.

There's been
so many butterflies around.

It's an omen.

-It's a sign.
-Is it a good sign?

Yeah. Look at
the color of their wings.

They're kind of goldy.

Right?

Through our lives,

we have
a lot of acquaintances,

few friends.

When you really look at the
true definition of a friend,

someone who's willing to lay
their life down for you.

That's a friend.

Everyone else
is an acquaintance.

So, anyway, I made you that.

Nice.

That is cool.

[Chris]
Caesar Parker Schnabelus.

I hope you
get a kick out of it.

I know how you like
old Roman coins.

Oh, that is so cool.

I'm glad you like it.

-Thank you, Chris.
-You bet.

I hope it brightens your day.

It does.

It just kind of a...
a little bit of a thank you

for giving me an opportunity
to be down here

and work on
these gold rushes.

-Oh, Chris.
-Man, I've loved it.

It's been such a joy.

It's been a hell of a ride,
that's for sure.

[Parker]
Who'd have thought, huh?

Who would have thought?

I came up north for
ten days...



just to build a cabin.

Yeah.

[Chris] What a thrill.

And to be involved
in the life of a kid...

that get 38 oz his first year

to becoming one of
the largest gold producers
of the Yukon now.

Couldn't ask for a better boss
either, Parker.

And I mean that.

Oh, Chris. I appreciate that.

-Thanks for the coin, man.
-You bet ya, buddy.

[Chris] Thank you
for everything, man.

Chris, thank you
for everything.

[Chris] I'm as proud of him
as any of my kids.

It's amazing.

He's just-- he's done
such a wonderful job.

Life is like
a handful of dirt.

Somewhere in there,
you're gonna find some gold.

You just gotta cherish it
when you find it.