16x22 - Dig Deep or Cash Out

[bunniefuu]

The last few weeks have been
really difficult and set us back

quite a bit
with low recovery, uh...

and low ounces an hour and lots
of hours and lost production

and just being a general pain
in the a*s.

Parker Schnabel is ready
for a new chapter in his season

and is launching an all-out
blitz to hit his 10,000-ounce

goal by getting over 600 ounces
this week.

We've got four plants back up
and running now,

which is really good.

We've got GG,
the Golden Goose, running.

The new plant's awesome.

You know, GG is a really nice
addition to the sluicing fleet.

And so that's,
you know, hopefully gonna

put us over the top because it
does run a bit more yardage

than any of the other plants
on the mine site.

With Dominion Creek firing on
all cylinders, Parker's relying

on his other claim,
Ken and Stuart's,

run by foreman
Mitch Blaschke,

to be the difference-maker
this week.

We're just, like,
spread really thin

and you know, Mitch has done

an incredible job without
having a ton of equipment.

Well, right now I'm in the 550
here at Ken's,

loading rock trucks, and we are
barely keeping up with Roxanne.

Washplant Roxanne is running
all-out, putting pressure on

Mitch's two rock truck drivers
to stay ahead of the pay pile.

Here at Ken's,
it's all about yardage.

The ground here in Cut Two isn't
real high-quality, so we got

to get through the volume.

And in order to do that,
I need, you know, as many

trucks down here as I can get.

You know, we've been pushing
everything since the start

of the season here.
Everybody's getting tired.

Yeah, so Mitch is pretty
frustrated right now.

We need some support.

Like, they want us to get
all this pay out of here.

We need some [bleep] help,
for sure.

Hey, Billy, how's she going
today, buddy?

Yeah, I'm just feeling super
tired towards the end

of the season here.

Yeah, that happens, buddy.

[bleep]!

Mitch, you got a copy?

Billy, copy.

I got sucked
into the ditch a bit.

Box is really close to tipping.

All right, man.
I'll be over there in a sec.

Ha-ha-ha!
Holy [bleep]!

Billy, how you doing?

There's a little bit of piss
in my pants,

but other than that...

Holy [bleep]!

When it's leaning like this,
you can't dump it

to get the load out.

You know, you can see
the tire's already

off the ground.

It'll flip it the rest
of the way over.

Last thing we want to do is
damage anything.

You want to do it,
or do you want me to do it?

What are you doing?

Yeah, dude,
I'll jump in there and do her.

If the fully loaded rock
truck's box tips any further

into the ditch, it could flip
Billy's cab.

So what we're going to do
here, I'm gonna try keep

a little pressure on this,
put it in drive, just give it

a little bit of throttle
and a little bit of steering

input back towards the center
of the road, and if you feel

that cab start lifting at all,
just kick it into neutral

as fast as you can,
because the last thing we want

is this cab to roll here.
- Yeah, copy that.

- You ready?
- Yeah.

Try and give it a little.

There we go.

[bleep], man.

Dude, that A-stay is smoked.

The A-stay holds
the front axle

suspension system together.

I'm just limping this truck
back to Dominion.

You know, I've just lost 50%
of my trucking crew.

The pay pile's getting low.
I need trucks rolling.

- Yo!
- Yo!

What's going on?

Unfortunately, this one here
is completely shot.

This A-stay bushing is kind
of brought out, and--

a little concerned
just because, like...

this plate is
completely dropped.

So, you got one,
two, three...

four...

five broken bolts.

This is a [bleep] nightmare.

Those broken bolts are
two inches inside of that hole.

The A40 rock truck has a front
suspension axle stay that keeps

the front axle aligned when
moving on uneven ground.

It's made up of two shock
absorbers and two spherical

bushings all bolted together
to the frame of the truck.

But five bolts have broken off
inside its housing.

To get them out, holes will
need to be drilled into

the bolts so an extractor tool
can fit inside

and unscrew them.

Then the A-stay can be pulled
apart and new parts installed,

allowing the truck to be
driven safely.

Every hour we're not moving
material is putting us behind.

I get that, dude.

I think the fastest thing to do
is we just fix this.

But we can't give you
a spare right now.

I don't have a spare
available here.

There's no spares
around here, man.

- Nothing?
- No.

Tyson's not gonna give up
any trucks.

Well, maybe I'll just
go take one.

I think you should.

We're gonna have
to figure something out,

because otherwise we're
gonna be turning off
a wash plant.

Let's go find Tyson and see

if we can get ourselves
a rock truck.

You know, I've only got two
rock trucks down at Ken's,

and one of them's gone down,
so we definitely can't keep

the plant going
with what we got.

There he is right there.
Perfect.

Hey, man, how's it going?

Pretty good.
You?

Oh! Had better days.
In search of a rock truck.

We got the front axles about
ready to fall out of one of

ours, so I took it to the yard.
Janko's working on it.

He's got the parts,
but he's going to be a bit

to get it running.

And I was hoping you had
a spare that I can grab,

get back down so we can
keep sluicing.

We don't really have
a spare, man.

We're running flat out here
with three wash plants.

Yeah, I hear you.

I don't know what to say,
because, yeah, every truck's

being used, and you know how it
is when you're running

lots of trucks.
One goes down,

another gets up, and it's...

I mean, if I don't get a truck
and get back down there,

like, Roxanne's gonna
shut down.

Right.

So, I mean, I could
really use the favor today, bud.

I mean, I know it's not ideal,
man, but I just...
- Yeah.

...if we're gonna hit


and keep all these
wash plants running.

It'd do me a huge favor
if you had something I could...

I could grab right now, man.

Right, well,

I just can't do that, man.

- Thanks.
- No worries.

This is [bleep].

Last week was a big blow,
you know.

We spent almost two months
stripping this Valhalla Cut,

and when we got to the bottom,
you know, right above pay,

we got the worst news,
basically, at least 20 feet

of clay on top of that,
and we do not have the time

this year to deal with it.

So we had to abandon that
and move on, and it's--

that's a big one.
That's a big [bleep] up.

Rick Ness is
licking his wounds.

After spending a million
dollars on his Valhalla Cut,

he hit a clay layer,

blocking his path
to the pay dirt.

Rick doesn't have enough time
to break through it this year,

and now he's heading back
to another spot he abandoned

earlier this season.

We've got no choice now.

We've got to return
to Vegas Valley.

We've got, uh...
pay dirt.

We know it's good.
We know it's got a lot of gold.

We still got a lot of work
to do to make it safe.

Last year, Rick's Vegas Valley
Cut saved his season,

paying out nearly


in just three weeks of running.

Whoo!

Seven weeks ago, Rick
and his crew tried to return

to the hot spot.

I don't like this.

It's too dangerous.

But were forced
to pull the plug.

Hey, Bailey, let's get
the [bleep] out of here.

We need to get this
set up better.

We're not ready for this.

With the unstable wall making
it too hazardous to mine,

Rick decided to gamble
on opening a brand-new cut,

Valhalla, hoping to hit
an even bigger score.

If we do this, we're not just
risking our gold bonuses

or your gold, but it could be
the end of the company as well.

Now, with the little money
he has left,

he's back where he started.

We've got a bit
of an overhang of permafrost

that's hanging over it.
I just don't like it.

It's not safe right now.

But there's nothing
I can do about it.

I have to clean it up.

If this new plan doesn't pan
out, Rick has one final option.

Tony Beets came here and he
gave me an offer on this ground

to buy everything
and it's a really good offer.

It's starting to look like
maybe the smartest thing

I can do.

And I turned it down,
but you know,

nothing's off the table forever.

Yeah, you know, I think this
is our best plan of action,

just trying to get down to pay
as quick as we can.

We know there's pay here.

Pretty sure Rick knows
what the [bleep] he's doing.

He could probably show me
a few things.

To get to Vegas Valley's
exposed pay, Rick needs Bailey

in the 700 to widen the far
side of the cut, creating more

space for their trucking crew.

But there's a block of thawing
permafrost overhanging

the entrance to the cut,
making the wall unstable.

Rick must use the 460 to dig
back the overhang and make it

safe enough to mine
the cut below.

Can you hear me, Rick?

Yeah, go ahead.

It definitely probably sucks
to be in that 460 right now,

not a 700.

I don't know how I'm even
gonna make this work,

but that's what
I'm gonna do.

Walk back and forth
a million times.

Harder than [bleep].

You know, we don't have
a dozer here

or any kind of ripper machine

to get this permafrost
out of here.

All I've got is our 460, and--
with this big old

kind of held-together bucket,

you know,
you can't cry about it.

You can't just not do it.

You just have to do it.

What the [bleep] is that?

Are you [bleep] kidding me?

Oh, dude.

Oh, [bleep] great.

That's a first.

[bleep]!

Yeah, this is not
what we need right now.

That's the only other
excavator, and they've got

no [bleep] bucket now.

[bleep] [bleep]!

Rick Ness has hit
a major obstacle

on his return to Vegas Valley.

Ryan, you got a copy?

Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, I just ripped
the [bleep] floor

out of a bucket on that 460.

It's completely gone.

I guess I don't know what
you're going to do about it,

but I'm gonna-- I guess
I'm gonna get this machine

the [bleep] out of here
if I can,

and we're gonna have to look
for another bucket.

What the [bleep]?

Yeah, I knew it was worn out,

but I didn't think it was
that [bleep] worn out.

I mean, I've seen it
happen before.

I didn't think this one
was there.

I knew it was getting thin.

Looks like it's been
patched together before.

So what's
gonna be the quickest?

- You better go buy a bucket.
- Yeah.

I would get your phone
out of your pocket

and start making calls.

Well, you got to figure out
who to call first.

Yeah.

Good luck with that.

I'd pretty much do it as soon
as that happened,

that we could fix that bucket,
but it's gonna take

way too long.
We need that machine now,

so I'm gonna have
to find a new one

and get it here [bleep] quick.

Klondike kingpin Tony Beets
has been on cruise control,

with two plants sluicing on
the Indian River and son Mike's

trommel running 24-7
on Paradise Hill.

But last week, Tony stumbled,
spending $4 million

on a property he can't mine.

To bring in even more gold,

Tony wants son Mike
to dial up his production.

Huh, I wonder
who that could be.

I've got better days, had worse.

Yep.

Hm.

That's from when the dredges

used to come around here.

Five years ago,
Tony discovered two old-timer

dredge boilers
at the Hester Cut.

From 1913 until the 1960s,
the old-timers dredged

the Hunker Valley for gold,
and on one legendary day,

they pulled in 800 ounces.

Tony thinks they abandoned
the dredge at his Hester Cut,

leaving behind a pocket
of rich virgin ground.

But the spot has been
Tony's perennial

end-of-season nemesis.

Talk about a waste
of [bleep] time.

Now, he's determined
to conquer the cut.

I was just thinking,
when we start digging it out,

you start with the wall first,
if anything, because then

if anything slumps down,
we don't have to worry

about it no more.

Yeah.

Yes.

Before he can pump out
the water, Tony needs to remove

the old dredge boilers,
then make the hillside safe

from sloughing into the cut
by digging it back

and trucking the mud out.

Perfect.

Put the other one
over there too.

He's gonna have to clean
it off a bit, level it off

so the trucks can get up
to them flat.

OK, sounds good.

With a stable ledge,

the trucks can start hauling
the mud out.

Hopefully it all goes smooth,
and then, yeah, I'll be happy.

But if it is consistent
[bleep] [bleep]

then, no, I really
ain't gonna be happy.

Job done.

Wall dug back,

now, Mike and his crew can
focus on draining the cut.

End of the week?

Everything on that fuel well
is tight, right?

Yeah, OK.

Fire in the hole!

We're trying to catch up here.

Having that rock truck go down
definitely didn't help us out.

You know, we're behind
right now.

Foreman Mitch Blaschke is
feeling the pressure,

with Parker relying on him
for a good haul this week.

He's been down to one
rock truck hauling pay

for the last 24 hours.

How's it going, man?

It's a big cut.
We're gaining on it.

Yeah, which is good.

What do you-- do you think
we're going to get through this?

It'll be close.

- You think
it'll be close?
- Yeah.

I'm a little concerned
about it.

We're hauling pay up there

just while I have, like,
one truck.

All right, yeah, I don't
really have anything else.

We're still gonna have
to keep the circuit going.

There's nothing
we can do about it.

Just do as good a job
as you can, right?

You know, the truth is,
Dominion, that's a priority

right now...
- OK.

...which is a little
bit problematic for you,

but it won't be for long,
I don't think.

OK.

Um...

OK.

- All righty, well...
- Right.

- We'll keep at it.
- Thanks, man!

All right.
No worries, man.

You know, we've all got

to learn to share
our resources up here.

There's a lot going on,
but, you know, one truck down

here is 50% out of my fleet
at the moment.

For some reason,
it's still not here.

Man, it should have been here
hours ago.

So just gonna get
a hold of Taylor here.

Yeah, hey, Taylor, man.

Uh, just down here at Roxanne.

We're not gonna be able
to keep up with this thing.

Um...

Dude, I don't know
what to tell you, man.

It's not gonna take us
too long.

We can get this thing up
and running for you.

OK.
Thanks, man.

The rock truck's fix has been
delayed due to five broken

bolts inside
the A-stay housing.

Just finishing up here,

trying to get
this last bolt out.

Once I get a hole through it,
I should be able to tap

an extractor through it
and try to take it out.

Nice.

Cut all the way through it.

I finally got
these broken bolts out.

With the final bolt out,
Janko and Taylor can now

separate the A-stay
and remove the worn parts.

So we need to lift up this
front end of the truck here to

split the A-stay from the frame
and then get it pounded out

and get new parts put back in.

Just trying to get this thing

right on the tow hooks
to lift it.

This A-stay should
start separating.

Yeah, there we go.

OK, hopefully this thing will
just fly out of here.

Beauty.

We got these and now
I'm ready to install them.

Everything's all cleaned up,
ready to go.

So this is gonna push this
bushing into this housing.

As you can see, it's going up
nice and easily now.

Awesome, it's seated.

Should be able to send this
thing to work right away.

Hey, Mitch,
this truck is good to go.

Hey, Billy, go get
your truck, man.

We got some pay to haul.

We're the A-team
out here, baby.

Mitch and his skeleton crew
are back to full strength

and must now play catch-up to
deliver a big haul this week.

It's so nice having that rock
truck here now.

It's making a huge difference.

We're getting caught up,

and it is putting a dent
in this material.

I know it took a little bit
to get it here,

but it's certainly
worth the wait.

Well, today I'm in Dawson City.

I don't get over here too often
anymore, but I need a bucket

for my 460 excavator.

Hoping to get a good deal
on one.

This is where
the Gold Rush happened.

This is where everybody came
to, and they were in

the gold fields just outside
of this town

trying to make their fortune.

There was a lot of gold
out there.

I mean, there is still good
ground here, but it's real hard

to come by, you know.

People have had it locked in
for a long time,

and Parker and Tony probably
have the bulk of it.

If I'm being honest, I mean,
they both have tons of ground,

and they're making a fortune.

I've seen a lot of people come
and go since I've been here,

and not a whole lot
of people stay.

Somehow I've managed to stay
for 13 years.

Rick is heading to
the Hunker Creek turnoff,

which leads to
some of the biggest gold mines

in the Klondike.

I've only been to this spot
once before.

It's, uh...

Look at this stuff.

Look at that.
Money to burn.

brand-new D11.

There's a sign
that says "Office" on it.

It's gotta be it.

All right.

Hopefully he's around.

Puppy dog.
Wet dog.

- What's up?
- What's going on, man?

- Who's the wet dog?
- It's Bosco.

- Have you met Bosco?
- No, I haven't.

How's it going?

Good, man.
Good to see you.

- It's a pleasure.
- You good?

- Oh, yeah.
- All right.

No, I'm having
a blast still.

That's good.

I mean, there's a brand-new D11
sitting there.

- That's [bleep] cool.
- Fresh off the truck.

- How many of them?
- That's number five.

- Elevens?
- Yeah.

Holy [bleep], man.

I've heard rumblings.
How many wash plants?

- Four.
- Holy [bleep], man.

Yeah.

This is, especially with gold
prices up, this has become

a much bigger sluicing project.

So you just have to have
the wash plants going.

Yeah.
Slammed.

- Hence four plants.
- Yeah.

What else is new?

I need to find a bucket.

Let's go have a look around.

Cool.

What's your season been like?

Mm...

- Chasing a girl, you know.
- Sure.

Same as you, probably.

I don't know, I'm not chasing
any single one anymore, ever.

Do you have any pin
on 460 buckets?

I-- we might.

Oh, right there.

There's these guys.

I remember that bucket.

I don't think that fits,
because this we used

for the coupler, right?

- Because we had a coupler.
- Yeah, yeah.

I'm pretty sure
this is a Hitachi bucket.

Yeah, that's the wrong one.

Um...

- There's a real peach for you.
- That's a beauty.

I think this
might be your only bet.

- Not in terrible shape.
- No, not too bad.

What do you want
for it, a handshake?

I'm not saying I'm going
to give it to you for free.

So maybe
you could help us out?

I mean, I would normally say
like, 10 grand,

but that's just because
I don't like...

dealing with things like this.
I don't know.

Five grand?

Yeah, why not?
Five grand?

Yeah.
Perfect.

- Appreciate it.
- No worries.

What else do you need?

- Half my life back.
- Yeah.

Can't help you there.

Do you think
about getting out?

I mean, I...

less think about getting out

and just wonder
when the out is.

- Sell the place.
- Eh...

I'll buy it from you.

Sell the place.

I'll buy it from you.

The only other
competition is Tony.

He keeps coming down there.

Yeah, he won't pay you
what it's worth.

No.

It'd be a bad time to sell,
I think.

Well, no, when gold prices
are high, is the time to do it.

- Yeah.
- OK.

Think about it.

All right, well, I'm sure you
need to get back to the grind.

I have a few things I need
to get wrapped up.

All right.

Good to see you
as always, man.

- For real.
- Good to see you, too.

Well, it's always good
to visit Parker,

see what he's got
going on out here.

I mean, it's astonishing.

The amount of work
that they get done here,

it's just crazy.
It's cool to see.

And I got a 460 bucket
out of it,

and, you know,
got to catch up,

and it's a good trip.

Time to get back to the mine.

Yeah.

This is as far
as you're going?

It does.

Mike has drained
the Hester Cut

ahead of schedule
and has already started

hauling pay out of the cut.

It does.

Yes.

Yeah, I agree.

Well, this is why I said,
"You don't come in here unless

you're going to come in here
full [bleep] force."

Because otherwise...

if we stop for a week,
it'd look like that again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Fearing that the cut could
flood again, Tony wants to get

all gold-rich pay dirt out
as quickly as possible,

so he sends in
a fleet of machines.

It's to the floor, Tony.

Rock truck driver.
Rock truck [bleep] driver.

Oi! [bleep] moron
in the truck!

That's not where my bucket is.

I need him over here
so he can get out.

Otherwise,
he's gonna be in the way

of the other trucks, too.

Oh, no.
Where are we going?

Where are we going?

Oh, no!

Will we get up this hill?

Well, we've got
no choice but to.

It doesn't want me to go
up the hill.

I just got to come at it
from a different angle.

Monica Beets.

She got stuck.

Come on, little truckie,
you can do it.

Good.

Two hours later,
the operators have found

their stride in the chaos

and are starting to build
a pay pile.

- That looks pretty good, Mike.
- Thank you, Monica.

Cut now under control, Monica
heads back to Indian River

to clean more gold.

Tony tells you
he's proud of you by...

not telling you
he's proud of you.

And that's just how that is.

That's how it'll always be.

If he calls you a [bleep],
it's probably better

than if he says,
"You've done a great job."

So, yeah, back up with the 460.
Finally got a bucket on it.

You know, I went all the way
to Parker's, and he was nice

enough to sell me one.

You know, getting this
permafrost out of here

so we can get back
into Vegas Valley.

After five days of work,
Rick has nearly dug back

the overhanging permafrost

while Bailey has widened
the bottom pit,

ready for his rock trucks
to start hauling.

Ah, that should do it
right there.

I feel a hell of a lot better
about that.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, Bailey, you got a copy?

Yeah, go ahead, Rick.

Yeah, I feel a hell of a lot
better about this overhang.

I got it all pulled back,
and I think that you continue

the way you're going now,
and we'll be in business.

Just get after it.

[bleep] great, man.

Thanks.

Rick's crew can finally get
to work digging for gold

at the bottom of Vegas Valley.

You know, Tony made me
this big offer on the ground,

and I really didn't even
think about it

because I liked the direction
we were heading.

But now, you know,
Parker's offer, who knows?

That might be the answer
for the future.

There's a lot to think about.

It's really [bleep]
with my head.

- Hello.
- Hi, guys.

Long time, no see.

Yes.

So do I.

The Beets family already have
a record gold haul this season.

Should we weigh it up?

With the two wash plants
in the Indian River averaging

over 450 ounces a week,
the only question is,

how much more
can they get this year?

So, this is Sluice-A-Lot.











Yeah, Sluice-A-Lot
has been down a little bit,

but it's up again now.

Find-A-Lot.











In just one week,
Tony's two plants

have delivered nearly
$2 million.

- Yeah.
- True.

- Ready to weigh it up?
- Yes.



As well as opening the Hester,
Mike's crew have run

Paradise Hill's trommel,

averaging 215 ounces a week.







All-in,
a massive 924 ounces,

worth over $3.2 million,

the Beets' best-ever
gold weigh.

Yeah.

The Beets' season total,


Nearly $28.9 million in gold.

You guys should clean this up.

Put it away.

Bye!

Sounds like a plan.

Bye.

- Yo, yo.
- Hey, man.

After Tony's monster
gold weigh,

Parker is now


We're swamped down here,
back to four plants again.

- Yeah, finally.
- Oh.

Were you able to keep Roxanne
going all week?

- We were, yeah.
- That's good.

I know Mitch and Tyson
butted heads a little bit,

but no punches
were thrown, huh?

I'm disappointed in you guys.

I didn't raise you right.

Last week, Parker's three
wash plants brought in

just over 421 ounces.

Let's start with Big Bob.

Now he has four wash plants
running at full capacity

and wants at least 600.

Come on, Brennan!

- Ready?
- Yep.

Bob has been running
in the Bridge Cut,

where it's averaging








- Nice.
- Not bad.

- Yeah, that's good.
- They've been consistent.

Gotta give them that.

OK, Tyson, ready?

For the first time,
Parker has two plants sluicing

the huge Golden Mile pay pile.

First up,
his oldest wash plant.

Big Red, here we go!







Yeah!

Parker, do you want
to do the Goose?

Sure.

Here's your brand-new baby.

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



uh...


Keep going.





Nearly $620,000.

- Nice.
- Hell yeah.

- Yeah.
- Good purchase.

- Sick.
- [bleep] yeah.

That pretty much
almost paid it off.

To hit Parker's goal
this week,

Mitch's plant, Roxanne,
needs to deliver

over 137 ounces.

The old Ken and Stuart's
operation, eh?

- Yeah.
- All right.

Let's see what we got here.

We got 20...







- Nice.
- Yeah.

- This was solid.
- Yeah!

Last week we had


This week...

it's 606.55.

So, we broke 600 ounces
in a week.

- Wicked.
- Back on track.

That fourth plant makes
the world of difference,

it really does.

So, where does that put us?

So our season total...

is 8,393.65.

Worth nearly $29.4 million,

the most ounces of gold
Parker was ever mined

in a season,

putting him back
in a pole position,

with over 136 ounces
more than Tony.

There has never been a better
time to be gold mining, ever.

We just need to keep
these things going.

Mm-hmm.

I know it's been a hell of
a year, and at this time of

year, things get so difficult,
but I appreciate you guys just

sticking with it and, you know,
keeping everything running.

That's what
we're here for, man.

All right, gents.

Such a good week,

having four wash plants
back running,

and, you know, now we're
over 8,000 ounces.

It's in shot to hit 10,000.

If this weather holds,
we can keep these plants going.

Just got to try
and make it happen.