16x18 - The Silence of the Sluice

[bunniefuu]

[calm music plays]

We've got a lot of sluicing
time in so far this season.

The plants are running really
well, but it doesn't mean

we can take our foot
off the gas.

[narrator]
Parker Schnabel's season is
at a critical point.

Two-thirds of the way in,
he's banked over $23 million,

but he's spending close
to a million a week,

and his gold hauls
are slipping.

[Parker] We've got Bob
in the Bridge Cut.

I'm not worried about it.

That ground's been
open a while.

It's plugging away.

We've got Mitch with Roxanne
on the Indian River.

He's got a good handle on that.

My main concern is the Golden
Mile and what we do in there,

because probably most
of the gold that we're going

to find is going to come out
of there, but also those pits

cannot be left with pay in them
this year.

And it screws the whole mining
plan up if that happens.

So, that's my main concern
right now.

And I'm probably going to be
stepping on Tyson's toes

a little bit, but we just have
to stay on top of that.

This season, Parker has
foreman Tyson Lee running

three washplants with Bob
in the Bridge Cut and Sluicifer

and Big Red in the Golden Mile,
churning through a combined

total of 680 yards
of paydirt an hour.

We have a major problem.

With the depth of pay,

what's going to happen to us
at the end of the season?

And the knock-on effect
of what's going to happen to us

next year if we don't get
those pits all out,

at least out, right?

We don't have to necessarily
get them sluiced,

but the dirt can't be
in the hole anymore.

Right.

Because if the dirt's still
in the hole, we can't strip

the next bite into those pits.

And then it's just like
the knock-on effect of all

of that causes like a huge
amount of pain

and suffering and heartache.
-[Tyson] Yeah, sure.

It's just where do we put it
that we can sluice it once

we start stripping?

[Parker] I think we should
start hauling it out.

We have a lot of big
waste sites of gravel, right,

that we could just start making
pay piles on top of.

How long do we have to get
this done, then?

In my mind, we have to get
at least half of it out

in the next, like, seven days.

And who do I have to get
this done?

[Parker]
Your plant crews.

You shut down both Sluicifer
and Big Red.

Parker's mined the Golden Mile
for four months.

But with winter fast
approaching, he's behind

schedule, with over


still left in the cut.

To get it all out,
he's gambling on shutting down

both washplants, which will
cost him three quarters

of a million in lost gold
each week.

He'll use the plant crews to
help haul the remaining pay out

into two massive stockpiles.

Then he can start stripping
overburden from a new cut

into the mined-out Golden Mile,

while Tyson's crew races to
sluice as much of the pay pile

before winter hits.

I don't know another option,
do you?

I get what you're saying by,
"We don't have to sluice it this

year," but it sucks doing that
because when have we not

sluiced something we've pulled
out of a pit?

I know, but when have we had
a pit that needed to get

stripped into and we didn't get
the pay out of it?

That's a bigger problem.

Right, there's no chance of
getting anyone from the Indian

to come up?

If you absolutely have to,
you can talk to Mitch

about taking trucks
from Ken and Stuart's.

Well, I wish there was another
way, but it doesn't seem like

there is, eh?
-No, there's not.

I don't really see another
option, so I think we're just

going to have
to bite the b*llet.

Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer
of bad news, but thank you.

Oh, that really breaks
Tyson's heart.

He loves washplants
to be washing.

As do I.

But there's not much you can do
about this situation.

We were either gonna have
a situation like this now

or a much worse situation
in the end of the season.

And I really don't like...

[bleep] over our future selves.

Much rather [bleep] the present
than the future.

[Tyson]
Hey, Amy, you got a copy, Amy?

[Amy] Copy.

[Tyson] Well, that can be
your last scoop there.

We're shutting down
both plants.

[plant winds down]

You know, these plants pull out

millions of dollars of gold
out of the ground.

It's a big gamble shutting down
two washplants in the middle

of the season --
we've never done this before.

So we got to focus on getting
that pay out of the Golden Mile,

up in massive stockpiles,

so we can fire our washplants
back up.

So here we go.

Now we're going
to shut her down.

Holy [bleep].

[plant powers down]

You know, I really hope
this gamble pays off.

In due time, we'll find out.

[ominous music plays]

Unlike Parker,
Klondike kingpin Tony Beets

is running flat out.

He's already hauled in $19
million in gold and is fast

closing in on his


[Tony speaking]

Things like
to break, consistently.

It's been [bleep] nothing
but a headache this year

trying to get [bleep] going.

I got it going,

and I'm still going,
and I'm going to keep on going,

but it doesn't mean I can't ask

when the [bleep]
is it going to stop?

At the start of the season,
Mike made a pitch to his dad

to run his own claim.

You gave Kevin a bunch of help
getting him going.

Is there anything you can
help us with?

But he spent four months
struggling with

a skeleton crew.

[Minnie] Mike really
wants to impress his father,

and that's sometimes
a little hard.

And last week, when he finally
fired up the trommel...

...his plans fell apart...

[Mike speaking]

...in front of his family.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Hey, Len.

You gonna show me all
the rollers you put in?

[Len] Yes! If you go up here,
I can show you.

So I put five rollers in it.

Hopefully, you don't have
the same problem than before.

That should stop anything
from kicking over.

Let's see how it works.

[Mike]
OK, then we'll start it up.

The whole thing,
hopefully, will work this time.

[plant powers up]

[rattling heavily]

Over the past six seasons,
Paradise Hill has delivered

almost 20,000 ounces of gold,

worth over $70 million.

Now, Mike is ready to run
a stockpiled mountain of fabled

white channel pay if he can
just keep the trommel turning.

[Colby]
All right, here we go.

First bucket going
into the trommel.

Late start, but a late start
is better than no start.

[Minnie]
Hey, Mike, I thought I heard
something moving.

One sec.

Colby, stop.

[plant powers down]

The belt's tracking over
real bad that way.

-We got to [bleep] adjust it.
-OK.

Yeah, we just gotta
[bleep] with the belt.

The belt decided to [bleep] off
in the wrong direction.

We're resetting the whole
[bleep] thing up,

so I'm not surprised it's doing
this and that.

There's always something going
on, right, to get it right.

We're just going to have
to keep adjusting it

until she does start to work.

[Minnie] It's not too big
of a job, is it?

[Mike] No.

It's going to change the moment
dirt hits it, Len.

It did move over
by about an inch or two

by the looks of it.

-Want to give it another try?
-Yeah.

-Start it up.
-Yep.

OK, let's get this show
on the road.

Kind of a sight for sore eyes,
ain't it?

[bleep] finally, about time.

[Minnie]
It's good to get some money
out of here, eh?

[Mike] Yeah, it'll be nice.

Now it's set up, and it should
be good for quite a while.

So, I mean, he's proven
himself, so it's good for him

to get his own shot, too.
Same as Kevin, right?

So far, so good.
It's working for now.

I've been having so many
one step forward,

two step backs that I'm not
getting my hopes up,

I'm not getting excited.

Until I get a week in,
I ain't saying [bleep].

It's turning, that's all
that really matters right now.

[ominous music plays]

[Rick] This is not where
we want to be.

Our gold total is very low.

We're a little less
than 500 ounces,

and we're looking
for 1,800.

Rick Ness is gambling
on turning his season around

on a huge new cut, Valhalla.

But three weeks into the big
dig, he's still not hit

paydirt and is
burning cash fast.

It's easy to give up out here,

it is, you know,
especially when

[bleep]'s going wrong,
like we've had.

It's a mental game.

You can say, "I'm going home,
this ain't going to work."

Or you can put your head down,
work harder and make it work.

We're fighting for our lives.

Sometimes that's where
a guy thrives,

and we'll see this year.

It's a lot to take on,
but everybody's up for it.

Rick believes Valhalla has 160
feet of overburden that covers

a gold-rich pay layer.

He has already dug halfway
down, shifting enough dirt

to fill over half
of the Empire State Building.

Rick still has to remove
another 80 feet to hit an area

of gold-rich pay the size
of a football field,

then sluice it all by the end
of the season.

[Rick] I made the decision
to extend the cut.

It's a risk, no doubt about
that, but with the amount

of time that we've got left in
the season and what we've got

to work with, there's really
no choice.

There's definitely no guarantee
that this is going to work,

but there never is in mining,

so we've just got
to suck it up.

Rick has just six crew,
and he's thrown everyone

into trucks to help move
the mountain of overburden.

From his cook, Heather...

[Heather]
Oh, you know, just k*lling it.

Only two jobs today,
kitchen and here.

...to his mechanic, Ryan.

Yeah, I'm in a truck.
We're struggling.

Nobody likes a rock truck.

If you like a rock truck,
you're a [bleep] liar.

We definitely have been
waiting a long time, hauling

overburden just to be able

to get payout, which is kind
of a pain in the a*s.

We could always have
a couple more trucks.

Hey, Ryan.

So what's your thoughts
on Rick's plan

for this expansion here?

[Ryan] I think we got
an assload of dirt to move.

It's definitely bigger than

the last time we did
Vegas Valley.

And I do worry about timing.

If we have one thing go down,
something happens to that 750,

there's no way we're going
to hit 1,800 ounces.

Yeah, it is true, man.

You know, this is the [bleep].

We need more [bleep] rock truck
drivers because being

stuck in this [bleep]
rock truck

when I should be working
on equipment,

that doesn't make
any [bleep] sense.

After his shift, Ryan sits
down with his family before

he leaves with them for a short
break from the claim.

[Ryan] You want to learn
how to drive a rock truck?

-Yeah.
-[laughing]

Sold, sold.
I'll tell Rick.

We'll get you your paperwork
and get you going.

[all chuckling]

You've been gone quite a few
months, so it's been pretty

hard back home.
-[Ryan] It's still, it's tough.

But obviously we're up here

to make a better life
for ourselves.

And, you know, the first two
seasons we've hit our goal,

and it's helped us in life.

-[Rachael] Yeah.
-So, you know, this one here,

this -- this is going
to be a struggle.

So it's kind of a...

I don't know,
touch-and-go subject with

how much gold we brought in
this year.

We haven't even --
we haven't done [bleep].

Yeah.
That's kind of scary.

You know, I guess that's
another question to just --

you know, I mean,
how do you feel to continue?

You do, like, miss out
on everything at home.

-Oh, yeah.
-Like, I don't know, just...

everything.

[Ryan] Yep.

[laughing]

-[Ryan] It's tough.
-Yeah, I gotta quit crying.

[Ryan] It is, it is tough.

Yeah, I mean, I haven't had
a summer in three years.

Yeah, like going to the lake
or just like vacations

or just like anything.

Obviously, we rely on the gold
bonus to, you know, that's what

we're working for,
and I don't know if it's there.

And right now, we're barely
cutting the bills, so...

I just wonder, you know,
at what point do you just,

like, have to, I don't know,
just call it a day
-[Ryan] Yeah.

and just be back with us,
you know?

-[Ryan] How many
relationships last
-Yeah.

if they don't see each other
for six months, so...

Want Daddy to keep coming back?

-No.
-No?

[Ryan over radio]
Hey, Rick.

I got [bleep] bothering me.

I just want to talk
to you about it.

Down here at Monster Red.

[ominous music plays]

[Rick]
What's the scoop?

Honestly, I had a long talk
with Rachael.

You know, I've got to think
about my future and leaving

them home alone all the time.
It's just not easy on them.

You know, that's, uh,
I don't know.

[Ryan] I want to be in all
different places at once.

It's tough.
There's a lot to think about.

I, I, I...

I'll tell you this, like,
as far as people goes,

um, you're --
I mean,

lack of a title, I mean,
you're my go-to guy out here.

It's always going to be
in the back of your mind of,

[bleep], are we going to see
a bonus this year?

My family relies on it,
and I always want to make sure

there's food on the table,

and that's my
number-one concern.

I don't take that lightly,
you know what I mean?

I never have.
I'm not going to lie.

I mean, we don't finish this,
or we don't get

to the bottom of it,
or we get to the bottom of it,

there's no gold this year,
I don't know how to
survive that.

And that's when it starts
[bleep] with your head,

especially when
you're in a rock truck all day.

Uh...

I think there's a few things
that you're gonna have

to ponder about.

Like, [bleep], dude,
your cut is double now.

It's a [bleep] cut, man.

You know, this is aggressive.

We're hoping the [bleep] money's
in the ground, but, yeah.

We won't really know it until
we get down there.

But with the price of gold,
doing what it's doing, it does

not take that much gold to make
it profitable.

All it takes is one bad season
to lose everything.

It's a gamble with the amount
of gold we brought in.

I mean, we've all talked,

so everybody's
got their concerns.

I'd hate to see
this crew change.

[pensive music plays]

I know he's been stressed out.
I get worried that

he might just call it quits,
leave us right now,

just bail on us in the middle
of the season, cause

he's got a business at home,
he's got a family at home,

and that's a lot
to leave behind.

It's...

[sighs]

[Ryan] All right, let's go.

Now, as Ryan leaves
to take his family home,

he has a big
decision to make.

[Ryan]
It's been a tough week.

You know, I got to think about
things at home and think about

the things I'm missing
and think about the situations

I put them in.

I don't know.
There's a lot going on.

Got a lot to think about.

[ominous music plays]

[machine whirring]

[Tyson]
So you know, we got Sluicifer
and Big Red shut down.

Up in the Golden Mile,
we have our sluicing crew

in trucks, in excavators,
getting that mass volume of pay

in a stockpile.

Parker Schnabel's crew has
shut down both plants to focus

on clearing half
the remaining pay

out of the Golden Mile
by the end of the week.

But foreman Tyson fears it will
take longer and cost even more

in lost gold.

You know, right now,
we're stretched so thin

up here at Dominion.

Although we have a lot
of resources, we have a lot

of the work up here.

So we need all the help
we can get.

Hey, Mitch, you got
a copy, Mitch?

Yeah, dude, what's up?

Hey, man, we're gonna need
one of your trucks

up here at Dominion.

We got a mountain of pay
to move.

Dude, I only have two trucks.

It's gonna leave me
with one truck.

I gotta keep a washplant going


Foreman Mitch Blaschke

is running one
of Parker's remaining

two plants still sluicing.

[Tyson]
Yeah, I know it's not ideal,
but this comes from the top,

so we got to make it
happen here.

[Mitch] Well, if that's
what Parker wants, like,

I mean, I can send Sean
up there with a truck,

but you guys need to get it
done as fast as possible

because this plant's going
to run out of dirt here.

[Tyson] Alrighty.
Thanks, man.

Unreal, dude, like...

[mimicking Tyson]
"Yeah, make it work.

"Oh, you're making it work
with hardly anything?

"OK.

We'll see if you can do it
with a little less."

Yo, Sean.
Hey, man.

[Sean] Yeah, go ahead.

Take that truck
up to Dominion.

They got to get a bunch of dirt
moved out of the Golden Mile,

and they need
everything we got.

So get up there
as fast as you can.

Just get it done
and rip back here.

Yeah, I'm on my way.

Parker needs all hands on deck
at Dominion.

It's not the best thing that
we can do down here.

We know we got so much
to get through here.

Mitch ain't too happy about it.

The crew is so stretched

that even Parker
is helping out

in the Golden Mile, dozing pay
into windrows for the rock

trucks to haul
to the stockpiles.

So basically, the best hope
we have of kind of staying on

target is bringing all the pay
out to a big stockpile

as fast as we can.

So there's a lot going on
up here right now.

It's kind of all hands on deck.

It's a lot of dirt to move.

Up until
the last few weeks,

I thought we'd had


I thought we'd
have it by now.

But it's proving to be
a bit elusive.

Sean, in the vital extra rock
truck, is only halfway

into the 15 miles
of rough mine roads

between the Indian River
and Dominion.

[truck bangs, sputters]

What the [bleep] is that?

Truck's not going nowhere.

[bleep]!

[bleep]
Man.

[bleep]!

[sighs]

That's not good.

I've been hearing this noise,
and I knew it sounded

like a U-joint.

So this is going to take
some time.

Hopefully, he can get down here
and fix this soon enough.

Taylor, you got a copy?
Taylor?

No answer.

[bleep]!

Mitch wasn't too happy about me
leaving, and now Parker's not

gonna be too happy about me
not making it there.

[drill whirring]

Right now...

it ain't going to be driving
[bleep] all.

There's no repairing
this end of the driveshaft,

'cause, uh...

the yoke here where
the U-joint mounts,

part of it's snapped clean off.

That's toast.

On the road to Dominion,
mechanic Taylor Matejka

is under the g*n
to fix a rock truck

desperately needed to help

Parker's Golden Mile blitz.

I just got back to Dominion.

We do have a boneyard here.
We do have a few options.

I think they've all been pretty
ransacked, so I'm 50-50

on my level of hope for that.

[suspenseful music plays]

This is where I'm most hopeful.

Um...

This is one from before we ever
bought the place.

This is the closest
I've ever been to it, but...

[sighs]
[bleep]

The drive shaft's obviously
been hijacked as well.

That's a bad start.

If we can't find one,
we might be in trouble.

Every hour is super important
right now for all

of our trucks.
It's crazy.

We're running everything 24/7.

So we got one more
junkyard here.

It's where things go to die.

It's possible, though.
We gotta never say never.

You wanna come along?

OK.

A lot of this stuff is either
just junk or taken off

of old machines and [bleep].

I mean like, you got a bunch
of coolant pipes here.

Like, a lot of it is just
failed components as well.

But holy [bleep].

Look at this!

Ah-ha-ha-ha!

[bleep] yeah!

This means we've got
a bit of work to do,

but we can get that truck going.

So, end of the day today,
that thing will be moving dirt.

Taylor's rock truck fix can't
come soon enough

for Brennan Ruault,
who's also been drafted in

from their
Indian River operation.

Up here in the Golden Mile,
helping Tyson out.

I'm loading some trucks here.

Just seems to be sucking up
every single resource.

I'm sure if he had 100 people
here, we'd still don't feel like

there's enough
equipment and machinery.

It's just crazy busy.

So, I really need
that truck running.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Taylor] We'll get this truck up
and running,

hell or high water.

[grunts]

It's a pretty delicate balance,

speed versus meticulousness.

Try to do both.

If you overextend in one,
you fail in the other.

All right.

That's her.

Every truck on site,
we're needing down

to the Golden Mile, so we need
to get this thing

up and running ASAP.

Tyson's going to be super
stoked we got this thing going.

[Sean]
Hey, Tyson, I'm here now.

I heard you got some pay
to be moved.

I thought you were taking
the day off, man.

-Didn't think I'd see you today.
-Hell yeah, brother.

-We'll get her done, man.
-[Tyson] That's awesome.

It's what we need to get
this project done.

Tyson now has a shot to get
half the payout by Parker's

end of week deadline.

[Tyson]
Hopefully we can pull it off.

[Bailey] Come on!
Let's get to it!

At the Valhalla Cut,
Rick's only mechanic, Ryan,

has left with his family
to think through his mining

future, and his remaining five
crew are racing to get

down to pay.

Yeah, I'm excited to finally
see some gold out of "Vahalla."

This sounds stupid
as [bleep], but, uh...

It's "Valhalla."

We're going to get some
Valhalla gold here soon, buddy.

[bleep] right.

My life is on the line here,
but the amount of dirt that

these guys can move, with not
ideal situations and not

the amount of people that's
necessary, is surprising.

Like, it's more than surprising.

It's amazing.
It's gonna work.

I usually know the gold's
gonna be there.

I've started to learn to trust
my gut out here, and so far,

it's paying off.

[Chris]
Rock trucks sucks today.
The roads are rough.

[truck rattles,
powers down]

What the [bleep] was that?

That didn't sound good.

[ominous music plays]

-Hey, buddy.
-What's up?

I think my drive shaft's
[bleep] -- the rear one.

[Kai] Let's take a look.

It's the rear drive shaft.

Yeah, she's [bleep].

[bleep]!

Hello, Rick.
Gear, copy.

[Rick]
Yeah, go ahead, buddy.

[Chris] Yeah, this truck,
it looks like I blew

the rear drive shaft.

She's going to be down
for a bit while Kai and I try

and figure this out and see
if we got parts.

Are you [bleep] kidding me?

What the [bleep] is going on
out there?

Limp this thing into the yard,
I guess.

[rattling softly]

I've done this one other time,
and it was with Ryan.

I'm glad he showed me
how to do it, because

here we are
without Ryan.

So, we need to get
[bleep] done somehow.

What was the other one,
Kai, 17?

-[Kai] No, eight --
-Yeah, got that.

[Kai]
And a 19 regular wrench.

We just have to pull
the driveshaft off,

put the new one on,
and it should be ready to rip.

[drill whirring]

Yeah, it really sucks not
having Ryan here,

especially when [bleep]
like this goes wrong

and we are already
down a truck.

[drill whirring]

There we go.

[Chris] It appears to have
worked, Kai.

Yeah, It's definitely not what
we want to see, a truck down

and only have two working.

You know, I'm here sitting
waiting for trucks,

and, you know, three is barely
enough and two is definitely

not enough.

We might have to grind
this other bolt off.

[revving]

[Chris] You done?

-[Kai] I will be in a sec.
-You got your socket?

No, hold on.

-Agh! Nope, that's tightened.
-[Chris] Yep.

[whirring]
Oh, [bleep], that hurt.

[hissing sharply]

[hissing stops]

I'm just trying to fix
this [bleep] rock truck,

and it just seems
like today's one of those days

where nothing's [bleep]
going right,

especially after I broke
a rock truck.

I had a fitting fail on
the airline, so then I got

covered in dust and [bleep],
but whatever, it is what it is.

[Kai]
Well, we've taken the truck
apart as far as we can take it.

We're just not
licensed mechanics.

It's just everything's a mess.

Hey, Rick, you got a copy?

Go for Rick.

Without Ryan, I'm about as far
as I can get without,

you know, taking the risk that

I [bleep] something else
up on here.

Oh, you're [bleep] kidding me.

That's just [bleep]
more bad news

than I don't need right now.

You know, we're so far away
from our 1,800 ounce target.

It's a nightmare
without Ryan here.

I know that right now.

I knew the chances were good,
that, you know,

we'd be [bleep]
without a mechanic,

and it's all coming true.

[ominous music plays]

We're in it.
We're hitting it hard.

We're going, going, going.
So now it's nice.

It's fine.
It's good.

The trommel is going through
dirt faster than I even thought

it would.
It's almost scary.

At Paradise Hill,
with the trommel now eating

through the gold-rich white
channel pay at over 350 yards

an hour, Mike is digging
paydirt in the super pit,

racing to stay ahead.

I guarantee you, my plant
alone does what two, three

of those Macons
my dad has does.

The trommel goes through it
like [bleep] wild.

Hey, Colby, Colby,
it's racing here.

There's no water running
through the trommel here.

I think we might have
to shut it down.

[Colby] What the [bleep]?
What the [bleep]?

[trommel powers down]

For [bleep] sakes.

[water gushing]

Yeah, Mike, can you get here
as soon as you can?

The line blew off the pump.

Made a big mess here
in the lower yard.

Pipe busted off.
Still pumping water.

It's a big mess.
Almost washed out the pump.

It's a good thing we caught it
when we did.

If I can actually start
sluicing steady for more

than [bleep] two hours...

I don't drink,
but this [bleep] sure is

encouraging the behavior.

Hose just ripped itself off.

It's probably because all
the weight from the water

and pressure from up top just
created enough pressure to rip

the hose right off.

So now, I'm gonna
have to disconnect

this whole [bleep] thing.

I'm gonna have to move
a check valve,

reset up this whole
[bleep] thing,

and then I'm gonna have
to weld a solid steel line.

No more [bleep] around.

I want a solid [bleep] pipe.

Because every [bleep] time
something blows off,

it's cost me so much time.

And I am so absolutely sick
of [bleep] with this thing.

We got to pick this up.

We're going to lift
the check valve.

Pick that thing up.
Get that out.

Watch your fingers.

Oh, that might be the problem.

Don't touch nothing yet.
Shut it off.

It's on backwards.

The check valve was
on backwards.

So here, come here.
I'll show you.

The check valve,

by design, is to stop water
coming one direction, right?

So...

if it's not like this
and it's facing this way,

the check valve
don't stop [bleep]

except the pump from pumping.

The trommel is set up 100 feet
high on the hill.

To protect the pump below
from any water backflow,

they installed a check valve,
but it was put on backwards

and the pump's 1,500-
gallon-per-minute output built

up enough pressure to blow
the plastic pipe off

and crack it.

Mike needs his crew to put
the check valve on the correct

way and replace the cracked
pipe with a new metal section

to the pump so he can get back
sluicing again.

If we can take a pipe like
this and you just cut a section

out of it, and then it already
has the two ends, right?

-[Keith] Yeah.
-Yeah.

Why don't we take this one?

[buzzing]

Going through the process,
trying to figure out

the angles, and then
once we get it

where we need to be, then we'll
get a better picture of it.

There's no real
mathematical equation.

You're just doing it
by fit and feel, basically.

It just takes time.

[fast-paced music plays]

-Oh, you stupid [bleep]!
-[Keith] Here we go.

-I think we got it.
-[Colby] OK.

Throw the clamp on.

-I think it's on there.
-It on there?

-Yeah.
-OK.

[Keith] And breathe.

It's on now.
Oh, it'll be amazing!

You know that it's rigid,

that it's going
to hold the pressure.

Mike will be happy back
sluicing and making money

at the hill, and Tony will
probably be happy too,

and one big happy family.

[chuckles]

[Mike]
Let's get things started
and get sluicing.

Ready?

[plant powers up]

I don't think there's anything
left that can break down.

Everything that could break
down broke and is now fixed.

So we should be good
for the rest

of the season, hopefully.

[Mike] I'm not the biggest fan
of not producing gold.

So now I'm just going
to sit there

and watch that
[bleep] thing spin

to make sure
nothing goes wrong.

And we will be
nothing but sluicing.

[ominous music plays]

[dog barking]

What's up, dude?
Good to see you.

[Ryan] What's up, brother?

After taking some time off
with his family,

mechanic Ryan Kent is back.

Oh, man.

[Ryan] Oh, [bleep].

How'd the week go?

You know,
I'm not going to lie.

I'm pretty nervous.

I knew that it would be good
for you to go home,

but when you start thinking
about things, you know,

at a certain point
while you were gone,

because, you know,
I overthink everything,

I'm just like, "Man, I think
he's probably going to see what

"he's missing, and I'm a bit
worried he might just call it

quits and just bail on us."

[Ryan]
Yeah, I mean, so if I'm going
to be staying, I mean,

it's like, how much longer can
we move dirt and not see gold?

And, you know, on top
of that, it is a gamble.

What are we at, 400?

Just shy of 500.
I'm not going to lie to you.

Most of it's gone.

I rely on that when I go home.

Yeah.

And if we strike out this year,

that's the hard part
of telling Rachael, of, "Hey..."

You know, I'd sell everything
to give you guys --

you know, make sure
that you guys are paid,

because that's...
I give a [bleep].

You guys are never gonna walk
out of here [bleep] over,

and I'll make sure,
no matter what happens,

that'll never happen.

But, you know,
I need you to trust me,

and I need you here, obviously.

Right now, we've got less
than two weeks, I'd say,

before we have to be sluicing.
We're set up to [bleep] roll.

Like, we got the water,
we got everything.

Like, we're gonna [bleep]
flog that thing.

And you guys all put your faith
in me before, and I just need

it one more time, right?
-[Ryan] Yeah.

[suspenseful music plays]

It doesn't happen without you,

and that's just a fact, right?

We survived a week without you,
but man, we'd never survive

the rest of the season
without you, that's a fact.

And I'm not just
pumping your tires.

Well, I appreciate that, man.
I do.

So...

yeah, you've got me.

-[Rick] [bleep] yeah, buddy.
-[Ryan] All right, brother.

[Rick] I got you.

-I've always got you, guys.
-Yeah.

We've got everything we need
to be successful.

[Ryan] I think so.

Man, it was great having
some time off

with my wife and daughter.

It really gets you thinking
about things and coming back

here, just wondering
our direction, wondering

if I have a future here,
wondering what we're doing.

But having the chance to sit
and talk to Rick and have him

actually open up to me
means a lot.

You know, he's got a game plan.
He's got our backs.

He's never going
to let us down.

He's going to do
everything he can.

So when I came back, I didn't
know if I was going to stay.

But after that talk, I think
Rick's got me forever.

[Tyson]
At the beginning of the week
when you said, "50% of that cut

has to be out of there,"
I thought it was going to be

pretty tough to do,
but with the extra truck,

it definitely helped out.
So thanks, man.

No worries, yeah.

[Parker] Yeah.
Good job.

[Doumitt]
So you think you'll be able
to grind through that,

that pay pile?
-[Tyson] Hopefully.

-It's pretty big.
-[Doumitt] Yeah.

It's definitely the biggest
pile of pay we've ever put up,

but we've never really done
that before.

[Doumitt] It's just that
the timing is really bad.

You know, each week our goal
numbers are going down and down

and then to shut down two
plants like that, it's like...

[Tyson] Yeah.

There's no good way
to deal with it.

It's just...

the lesser of two evils.

[Tyson] So there isn't much
this week, Doumitt?

[Doumitt] Yeah.

Well, with everything that's
going on with the two plants,

you're not going to have
a great deal.

I don't even want to be here
for this [bleep] gold weigh.

It looks pretty depressing,
not going to lie.

-[Parker] Yeah, yeah.
-[Tyson chuckles]

[Doumitt]
All right, here we go.

First up, the Golden Mile.

Before the shutdown,

it averaged


[Tyson] Is that it?

[Doumitt] That's all that's
in the jug, man.


Two plants.

That's depressing.

-[Doumitt] Yeah.
-[Mitch] They got to run
to make gold.

Well, Tyson,
since you're already up.

[Tyson] Yeah?

In the Bridge Cut, washplant
Bob is averaging







[Parker]
Not great, but not terrible.

Triple digits, can't argue
with that, right?

[Tyson]
One plant versus two,

pulls off double the amount.

[Doumitt] And then old
truckless Roxanne, huh?

-Yeah.
-[Doumitt] Let's go.

Finally, Roxanne, which last
time delivered just 76 ounces.

Gonna break 100.



-That's not bad.
-[Doumitt] No.

Not for the ground you're on.

That pay does not look great,
just super sandy.

Yeah, no, looking at the dirt,
that doesn't look bad.

So, last week was 433.4 ounces.

This week, it's 306.25.

Worth $1,071,000...

the third week in a row
Parker's numbers have fallen.

[Doumitt]
We've lost a lot of gold.

Of course, you got
the two plants shut down.

There's things
going on, right?

Our season total,


We did break the 7,000 mark.

We just need to cough up
another three somewhere.

Somewhere [chuckles].

[Tyson]
Is this our worst week
of the season?

Pretty close, yeah.
Yeah.

It's like our season's
going backwards.

[Mitch] Yeah, I don't like
the direction we're heading

when each week it's a little
bit less, a little bit less.
-Yeah.

[Doumitt]
And this was a bad jump,
over 100 ounces.

-[Mitch] Yeah.
-[Parker] All right, well,

we'll get those plants back
up and running.

Much better to deal with this
now than in September, though.

-Right?
-[Doumitt] Yeah.

Yeah, when it gets cold,
you don't want to be dealing

with those problems.

Hopefully we can make up for it
on the back end.

[Tyson]
Yeah, hopefully it's a late
fall and a warm fall.

-Yeah.
-[Doumitt] All righty.

[Mitch]
Next week, a lot of sluicing,
hopefully more gold.

-[Parker] Lame.
-[Doumitt] Lame?

-Lame.
-[Doumitt] Yep.

Crank them up, guys!
Crank them up!

Will do.
See you Doumitt.

[upbeat music plays]

Gentlemen, gentlemen.

Holy [bleep]!
That's a big one.

I've never seen --

That's actually huge.

[Mike] Every [bleep] mat.

[Colby]
Use that for a tooth cap.

The trommel has been the bane of
my life this year, but she does

do good [bleep] work
when she gets the ground.

I've been getting nothing
but good big gold nuggies

and a [bleep] ton
of little gold.

It's turned out to be
quite nice.

After nearly four months
of setbacks, Mike's trommel is

finally producing gold.

-Hi.
-[Minnie] Hi, guys.

How are you?

[Monica] Fantastic.

So, Mike, I saw the trommel
turning when we come

into the yard this morning.

[Mike] Yeah, it's been going
for three days, so, yeah.

[Monica] That's exciting.

-Yeah.
-When I sit here,
or I'm in the office,

I can hear the trommel go.
It's kind of nice.

[Tony speaking]

About time.

Yeah, I'm kind of proud
of what you've been doing, dude.

Doing my best.

That would be really cool.

[Monica]
Let's see Sluice-A-Lot.

[Tony speaking]

Sluice-A-Lot has been mining
Indian River's Corner Cut,

where it's averaging


That's 120, 160...






Well, it seems like you're
kind of getting a little

dry spot there, bud.

[Tony speaking]

[Monica]
Shall we do Find-A-Lot?

[Minnie] P-p-p-pour.

Find-A-Lot is also mining
the Corner Cut,

averaging 250 ounces a week.

[Minnie]




That's not bad.

[Tony speaking]

Yep.
Ta-da!

Michael, I'm excited.

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie]
And that's three days only.







Mike's trommel has brought in
$425,000 in gold,

bringing the season total

to 5,992 ounces,

just 500 ounces
short of Tony's goal.

Yeah.

For three days,
that's pretty good.

[Mike] Mm-hmm.

Anyhow.

So now that the trommel's going,

you said there'd be
other opportunities?

OK.

OK.

[Minnie]
We'll see you guys later.

I'm happy for Mike
that he's got the trommel going,

because it was pretty
frustrating for him.

[Tony] Oh, I'm sure it was.

[Minnie] What are we going
to do about his deal?

Because we said he would be
able to do his own thing after

he got the plants going.

Leave it with me.
I will come up with something.

Sounds good.
You should go to work.

I'll go to my own sandbox
in the Indian, see you later.

Sounds like a plan.
Talk to you later.

[Tony] Yep.