Bering Sea Gold (2012–…): Season 7, Episode 2 - Fear the Reaper - full transcript
When Zeke's custom sluice malfunctions, Emily must step up to try and save the Clark's season. The Kelly clan moves in too close to Vernon's claim and Mr. Gold races to plug a hole that's threatening to devastate his budding empire.
Shawn:
Work never seems to end.
Got a lot of moving parts.
And they all need to hit
for me to build this empire.
You could lose
a whole season of mining
from one stupid mistake.
All the water's
running out of the pond.
It's leaking out somewhere.
If we don't plug this hole,
we're gonna be screwed.
Zeke: I haven't really
found my stride.
Team unity is the most
important thing out there.
If we can't work together
and live together,
everything
is gonna fall apart.
Whoa!
Freakin' beautiful.
Emily: Holy [bleep]
the sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
Do not argue with me
about this.
Kris: I've been in constant
competition with my father
about how he thinks
I know nothing.
Four years of my life spent
on this journey to get here.
I need to see this was
all worth it in the end.
I need to be a success.
Brad: If it looks good,
we're gonna start here.
If it doesn't, then we'll move
another 30 feet closer to
vern.
Hey!
Oh, [bleep]
this is my crane, brad.
We're not moving it
at all, vern.
I don't give a [bleep]
shawn: Easy days?
No easy days in my life.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
narrator: Nome, alaska,
center of
the gold-mining universe
for over a century.
But something new is brewing
in the heart of gold country,
a once-in-a-lifetime chance
for ice miners
to strike it rich
on untapped ground,
as mr. Gold, shawn pomrenke,
opens his own 160-acre virgin
claim to the ice-mining fleet.
Well, what are all
these gps marks here?
Today, shawn has brought
his father, steve,
out for a company board
meeting.
I don't actually hear no
diving going on right now.
Shawn: We're looking at
the biggest year of our lives.
That's what dad's worked
his whole life for.
It's what I've worked
so hard for.
This coming season's gonna
be our biggest season yet.
I want to see what the hell's
going on around here.
Let's see who's working,
who's not working,
what's going on.
Narrator: While most miners
would be content
with one successful project...
Shawn:
Whoever gets out there first
...Shawn's trying to build
an empire in western alaska.
Perfect, perfect for us.
All right, baby.
With so much on my plate,
I decided to let
all these other guys
do my prospecting
for me on 38.
I mean, you think about it.
The more people
you put out there,
the more chance you have
of finding that mother lode.
We're gonna be able
to figure out
where to bring the new barge
and go mining right off the
bat
without having to do
any prospecting.
Man: Thing is massive.
Narrator:
And setting in motion plans
to build a mega-dredge
that will eventually mine
the 160-acre claim.
This is the one tool
that I see
that we would need to get
that gold out of that ground.
He's also in charge of getting
the family's lucrative
inland mine ready
for the summer season...
It's been a lot of work to get
this thing up and running
and getting it
to where it needs to be.
This is the biggest pile
of gold I've ever seen.
Narrator:
...While making sure nothing
shawn: Chaos is good,
for the most part.
Sometimes I do get spread
a little thin,
but I'm doing what I have to
do
to keep things moving forward.
Steve: I don't understand
what I'm looking at here.
Well, this is us,
right here.
You got the reapers there,
wild rangers right there,
and the clark.
We're just marking
their gps points
to kind of put them on
a generic map here.
And then we get
prospecting point of view
for the big dredge when the
big dredge gets put together.
Yeah. Instead of coming out
and looking for it,
we'll be outright
on top of it.
There ain't no damn way
they're gonna get
the whole damn 160 acres
checked out this season,
are they?
Steve: Shawn takes on a lot
of projects all the time.
He thinks he can make it work.
And maybe he can.
But more chance of failure,
I think, the bigger you go.
Yeah. We're just not doing
any of the manual labor.
I guess.
So long as something
actually gets done.
I've been mining
with my father
since I been 13, 14 years old.
He's taught me a lot --
a lot of what to do
and a lot of what not to do.
He just wants to keep it
small and simple,
where I want to get large.
And we would actually
like these guys to make us
a little bit of money
on this.
Oh, yeah.
We're waiting for some
cleanups,
and we'll start
tallying it up.
The wild ranger is right here.
They've been on.
They're hitting
three-quarter ounce an hour.
What are we charging 'em?
20%.
Be nice
if they made something,
be a little extra money
in our pocket.
We got a little bit
of information so far,
but, I mean, in order to get
this whole play mapped out,
then we better get some --
see some more action here.
It's in our best interest to
keep everybody moving out
here,
so let's go get 'em moving.
Narrator:
Less than a mile away,
on the far eastern edge
of the claim...
Morning, guys.
Oh, we got bacon going?
...Miners zeke tenhoff
and emily riedel
have already done
the impossible...
Well, we didn't
float away last night.
That's good.
Man: I feel good about that.
I'm feeling pretty good
about that.
We're still in
the exact same spot.
Narrator:
...Surviving 24 hours of
working
and living with each other
on the ice.
I thought I heard icebergs
grinding together,
but it was just emily
practicing her singing.
Zeke: The opportunity to work
on claim 38 this winter is
huge.
So I need to take on
the partnership of emily
to get everything under way.
Working with emily in the past
has caused problems.
And it could cause problems
again.
But right now,
her financial assistance
is what I need to get
the operation afloat.
I want to just really pound
out
some diving today.
Yeah, dude.
Put some gold in the box.
That would be nice.
Emily:
I have hopes for a prosperous
I mean, I'm supplying
half of the funds
to implement the project.
But I'm also -- I'm cautious.
I'm hesitant.
There is a lot
of emotional angst.
There's a lot of anger.
There's a lot of --
there's a lot
of problems, still.
All right.
All right.
Narrator:
For the two former friends
turned reluctant
business partners...
I think maybe I should
drive the bigger snow machine.
That's cool. If you get it
stuck, it'll be your fault.
And I -- I'll enjoy that.
...Old wounds run deep.
Oh, yeah. Look at that
little pile of gold.
Yeah!
Whoo!
Narrator: But nothing eases
the pain quite like gold.
High-five.
Yeah!
Narrator: With one good dive
on the books
and gold in the box,
the partners are off
to a hot start.
Zeke: Dive number two.
Emily: Dude, you're gonna,
like, pop down there
and just start seeing
gold immediately.
Immediately.
That's what I'm planning on.
Immediately.
Now, one more dive
should clear this hole
so they can start the search
for the next hot spot.
I pretty much put everything
into this.
Really banking --
really banking
on making a bunch of money.
I really gambled
on myself this year,
basically spent
the last of my money
going to the red.
I mean, it's a lot of pressure
to put myself under
because if it doesn't work,
nobody's gonna make enough
money
to make it worth it.
Hey, comm check.
Yeah, I got ya.
Ready to go.
Coming in.
Oh, that's so cold
on the forehead.
Good god.
I'm way over to the left
of the hole right now.
Man: What's it looking
like over there?
There's basically
just sand to the south
and a little hillside,
big boulders
right where the sand meets
that little hillside.
I was seeing gold yesterday.
Really need to get
some floats for this tether.
Fire up the pump.
Yes, sir.
You want it
all the way up?
Full throttle.
Okay.
Hey, emily.
Crank up the pump motor.
Hey, what are we
gonna name this spot?
Oh, you guys will have to
think about that.
I'll let you name it.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Whoa!
Little cluster.
Freakin' beautiful.
Awesome.
It's just delicious-looking.
Whoo!
Yeah!
Emily: Zeke and I have
been through a lot.
We've fought a lot
of battles together.
And then we've fought a lot
of battles against each other.
Sometimes he pisses me off
and I want to kill him.
But dude does make some gold.
Hey, zeke, this spot's gonna
be
feeding me for a while,
so we figured
we'd name it "the larder."
"the larder?"
yeah.
It's our little gold larder.
I'd eat that for breakfast.
Narrator: The gold is flowing,
and everything
is running smoothly...
Hey, tell him
his hot water's at 160.
...Until...
Holy [bleep]
...It's not.
The sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
This is basically
spraying gold out.
Narrator:
Ten miles west of nome,
on the eastern edge
of claim 38...
Hey, zeke, this spot's gonna
be
feeding me for a while,
so we figured
we'd name it "the larder."
"the larder?"
yeah.
It's our little gold larder.
I'd eat that for breakfast.
Hey, tell him
his hot water's at 160.
Narrator:
Zeke and emily are looking
of the season
with one more good dive.
Holy [bleep]
the sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
This is basically
spraying gold out.
Hey, zeke, I think you should
probably come up.
What?
Better come up.
Not quite yet.
I want to get as much out
of the site as possible.
All right. Yeah.
Pull my tether up.
Roger that.
This is, like,
the biggest [bleep] nightmare
you could possibly have.
What you want is the water
to have enough time
to sort of come up
and flatten out.
And so when it brings
the gold into the sluice box,
it deposits the gold
and pushes it down
into the carpets for recovery.
Narrator:
The malfunctioning jet
is sending every flake
of gold zeke's collected
right back down to the bottom
of the bering sea.
Zeke:
That whole dive, I was
probably
losing most of the gold
that I was seeing.
Apparently, I made
my jets wrong.
It's just not working
right now.
Zeke came up with this
brand-new jet design.
It was basically just meant
to optimize water pressure.
So the box probably
isn't recovering anything.
But the water flow in
the sluice box is just a
spray.
I mean, you could pour,
like, a 10-ounce bar
into that sluice box
and it wouldn't recover it
with the way
that it's functioning.
This is pitched
a little bit too steep.
I think we can
raise it up a little bit
so the water comes out
at a more leisurely angle.
Yeah. I mean,
that should help a little bit.
But I'm not
overly optimistic.
What might work
is to dramatically
adjust the angle
of the sluice box
so the water
at least moves through
at a different rate of speed.
Then maybe we'll be
catching some of the material
that we get.
Is that in all the way?
Did it go all the way in
there?
Yeah. It is.
Okay.
Miners are constantly wanting
to reinvent the wheel.
And sometimes they do,
they invent a much better
wheel.
And then sometimes
they invent what zeke
invented.
You have to be
making money every day.
We just have no time.
I mean, the government
shuts us down April 15th.
Narrator:
With the deadline looming
and the season so far a
let's -- let's lower this
chain
down just a hair.
...They need a quick solution
to salvage the time and money
they've put into the
operation.
I think
the angle's really wonky.
I just don't have
a lot of faith
in this box's ability
to recover gold.
Well, I don't agree
with any of that.
So let's just get it going
how it is right now.
I'm not sure that I can
fix the jet right now,
but I know that emily can't.
When it comes to a lot
of practical matters
involving machinery,
logistics,
she just doesn't really
have a practical mind
for that kind of thing.
Emily's just got to know
when to step aside
and let me do my thing.
Worst-case scenario,
we're gonna have to barter
for a new flare --
new flare and jets.
It makes no sense.
Emily: Finding a new jet
is the easiest thing to do
without wasting a bunch of
time.
Don't argue with me
about this.
Zeke thinks that he can
do everything by himself.
And he's a little
bit megalomaniacal
in zeke's universe,
when he's functioning
at 150%.
And he won't stop
to listen to sense.
Narrator:
After 36 hours on the ice,
there is no gold in the box
and no time for zeke
to redesign the jet...
He's a pretty talented miner,
but I do know my [bleep]
about running
a gold mining operation.
I think I'm better
at that than he is.
Narrator:
...And no solution in sight.
This jet's not gonna work,
and we have to get it fixed,
or we're not gonna get
an ounce of gold this season.
Narrator:
Less than a mile to the west,
in the heart of claim 38...
Kris: Go slow.
Hold on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Whoa!
There you go.
We got to push it back.
It is cold and miserable
today.
I'm not really too
worried about it.
We've just got to find out
where we're gonna go.
Narrator:
The notorious fightin' kellys
are looking to get in
on the action
at shawn pomrenke's
virgin ground.
Okay. This part that we're
on right now is all sand.
So far, shawn's claim
isn't looking too good for us.
Narrator: Though other miners
have already proven the claim
to be rich in gold,
the kellys,
against all odds,
have yet to find a thing.
Could be worse.
Could be worse.
It's always worse.
Kris:
I've heard a lot of great
rumors
that there's supposed to be
great gold
on this ground, you know?
So it sounds like
a great opportunity.
It sounds like all we have
to get down there
and put in a lot of work,
and we're gonna get
at least 100 ounces.
Narrator: Three years ago,
the kelly family,
father brad
and sons kris and andy,
arrived in nome with dreams
of striking it rich.
What keeps me going is I know
I'm gonna be rich here.
I know this is the best chance
that I have anywhere else
in america to get rich.
I know that.
Narrator:
In their dogged pursuit of
gold,
they've battled the elements,
the rest of the fleet...
Don't jump in my hole.
You want,
you can get on board
right now, man.
We can solve it.
Narrator: But mostly...
Come on, you fat [bleep]
[ indistinct talking ]
...Just each other.
[ both grunting ]
kris: I am the one that can
lead
my family to gold.
We're gonna get gold.
Even if I got to kill
everybody around me
to get to it,
we're gonna get gold.
We are, like, this close
to being successful doing
this.
What we're gonna do
is we're gonna start,
drill a hole right here.
I send the camera down
and see what's here.
If it looks good,
we're gonna start here.
Narrator:
For the kellys, close to
success is about
if it doesn't, then we'll move
another 30 feet closer to
vern.
...From where someone else
has already found the gold.
We can go get our own gold.
We are.
We're getting it next to vern.
He's not gonna give it to us.
We got to get under the water
and get it.
Don't you see
the logic behind this?
When I seen vernon had
this flag, "x" mark the spot,
I kind of knew that we had to
get into the "x".
You know what I mean?
Get in the zone.
We can't afford to keep
failing at this, you know?
If I can some gold-getter
getting it,
I'm gonna plunk right next to
him and start getting my
chunk.
We're gonna take more
and ask less.
We got to get away from
just trying to steal oth
well, why do you
keep using the word "steal"?
First, all we're doing is
using
a little bit of ingenuity
and moving
a little closer.
Okay?
That's called bold.
I love my dad and brother,
but they don't understand
that if we lose our good name
in the community,
that we're never
gonna get anywhere.
I'm the one that has to keep
my family honest
and moving forward.
I don't want to cause
any problems.
The only problem
is with us right now.
We need to get over there and
start getting our piece of it.
That's our problem.
Okay. But when he comes out
with a problem,
you're confronting him.
I'll deal with this.
It's all your plan.
I'll deal with this.
But if some [bleep]
goes down, get ready.
Narrator:
Despite kris' intentions t
whatever.
Let's just do this.
...As always, dishonesty
is brad's policy.
The boys stick with me
because they know
I'm on the right path
to gold and riches.
You can put it down wherever.
Rock and roll.
Okay.
Keep an eye on the screen.
Explorer one
is on its way down.
Explorer one, go.
Narrator:
A camera on the ocean floor w
when they've found their
neighbor's good ground.
Looking like water.
Looking like
a lot of water.
Wait till
we hit the bottom.
Oh, it's sand.
Turn it around.
Looks like sand.
That's not what
we're looking for, dude.
We're looking for rocks.
And with no sign
of gold here...
...It's a family move
30 feet closer
to where
vernon's already found it.
Turn it.
Feels like sand.
Andy: Yeah.
Okay.
This one doesn't
look so good.
We'll go try
one more hole.
Narrator:
With even more sand,
it's time to move
just a little bit closer.
Oh, right there. Stop.
Andy: Oh, yeah. Right there.
This is good, kris.
This is where to go.
Pull it up.
We're going here.
Let's get our shack
over here.
You guys are gonna hit
the mother lode here.
Kris: Whoo-hoo!
Okay!
That 30 feet took a lot longer
than I thought it was going
to.
Everything we do takes a lot
longer than we think it's
gonna.
Vernon: Hey. Hey!
Oh [bleep]
hey, that's your problem.
This is not gonna happen.
Narrator: On claim 38...
Vernon: Hey.
Hey!
Oh, [bleep]
hey, that's your problem.
This is not gonna happen.
Looking to a find
a hot spot,
the kellys have moved in
to where vernon adkison
already found one.
What is it?
This is my claim.
I pay royalty
on this claim.
By tradition, by law,
this is my claim.
Their neighbor's not
interested
in keeping his friends close
and his enemies closer.
You guys are not
gonna set down here.
Get this piece of [bleep]
out of here.
We're not moving it
at all, vern.
I don't give a [bleep]
about moving it.
We're capping right here.
We're on a family vacation.
This is my claim, brad.
We're leaving it
right where it is.
I told my dad
this was gonna happen.
Vern's pissed off.
He has right
to be pissed off.
You know, if my dad knows kind
of where your gold's gonna go,
he'll jump ahead of you.
And that's a [bleep] move.
But my dad is an [bleep]
get that [bleep] thing
off my claim!
We're here.
We're parked in here.
So it's just, like,
"[bleep] you, vernon.
We're doing it."
you know?
I don't want to
use those words.
Beginning of the year,
we don't even need to do this.
We'll get our own gold.
Honestly, I don't believe
dad could help it.
Andy:
This is normal to him.
Vern was gonna fall down
and have a heart attack.
Yeah.
Poor vern, man.
Already told you.
I had --
I paid to have this plowed.
This is mine.
Everything that's plowed here
is mine, okay?
I'll go talk to shawn about it
if I have to.
Well, it seems like
a lot of ground.
Yeah.
Out there -- there's a lot
of ground out there.
This is my ground, here.
Vern has every right
to come out and yell at us.
It's okay to work, like,
around a person
but not --
it's not okay to work, like,
right next to a person,
that close.
I'm gonna go
talk to shawn.
Narrator: Just 50 yards
away...
Yeah.
I want some gold.
...Shawn pomrenke is packing
up
to head back to town.
Hey, shawn.
But it looks like
it's going to be a long
morning.
What's going on?
I got a kelly problem.
I look out my window,
and I could damn near
spit on their rig.
I don't know if they're
looking
for me to bird dog the gold
or they're just
natural-born [bleep]
they can't help it.
But we're on some gold,
and you guys are
gonna get your cut.
If the kellys did that to me
and come and tried
to jump on me like that,
I would have went over there
and kicked their ass.
But in -- on a larger
operation,
you can't micromanage
everybody
and every little thing
that happens.
Deal is these guys got to go
or I got to go.
We'll get them out of there.
You don't have to
go nowhere, vern.
We got your back.
That's what I wanted to hear.
And that's what I told them.
I said, "you guys
need to get out of here,
or I'm gonna tell shawn
about it
and have your ass
moved out of here."
we'll do something
about it.
Vern's doing good.
I don't need these guys
jumping on top of him
and [bleep] up his operation.
I don't trust them
as far as I can throw you.
And that ain't very far.
Yeah. Isn't that something?
Yeah, I hear you, man.
I don't trust 'em
even that far.
Well, we'll go have
a talk with them.
Yeah.
We'll get 'em out of there.
Don't worry about it.
All right. Thanks a lot, man.
I mean,
it doesn't make any sense
to have a dredge right next
to another one prospecting
because that doesn't
do me a bit of good.
[ crows cawing ]
narrator:
Just 100 yards away,
emily riedel's on a mission
to get her partnership
with zeke back on track.
I need a new jet,
and the only person around
here
who just has this insane
surplus
of spare dredging parts
is vernon adkison.
Narrator:
With no gold in the box
and no faith in zeke's
malfunctioning jet design,
emily's made
the executive decision
to solve the problem
herself...
Emily: Vernon.
Vernon: Come on in.
Hey, emily.
...By visiting
one of the fleet's
most notorious pack rats.
Well, I'm just curious
about your kitchen amenities.
You got a coffee maker
or anything?
No, we don't.
I'm sorry.
We're not --
we don't do lattes and...
Gold's not --
not good enough out here.
You know, skinny mocha frappe,
whatever. No.
All right.
Well, that's cool.
To what do we owe the honor
of this visit?
Um, I --
we're having a bit
of a problem,
and I was wondering if you
have
a spare jet flare lying
around.
I don't have a spare one.
I have one,
but it's not a spare.
I mean, I was intending
to use it.
Look, obviously,
we're out on the ice.
Every resource
is precious.
I'm willing to offer you up
some gold for it.
I'd let it go
for three ounces.
Three ounces?
Narrator: Three ounces of gold
is nearly 4 grand
for a part that normally
wouldn't cost a third of that.
He has a jet.
I have no jet.
Vernon can basically name
any price that he wants,
and I'll have to pay it.
If you had a part
that you needed from me,
I'd help you out.
I wouldn't...
I will help you out.
I wouldn't take advantage of
it.
I mean, like I said,
I was kind of holding that
in reserve
in case this thing
totally blows out on me.
I'll give you an ounce
for it.
Ounce?
Yeah.
That's a pretty damn
good deal.
I tell you what. I'll let you
have it for two ounces.
I'm not coming down
any more.
Um...
Yeah. Absolutely.
All right.
All right. Appreciate it,
vernon.
Want me to have somebody
load it up for you?
Actually, yeah.
It's pretty heavy. Thanks.
Hey. Hey, jenny.
How about loading up
this flare jet for her?
Sure.
Emily: Two ounces of gold
for that jet
is, like,
a disrespectful price.
But it's vernon.
And we are desperate.
He drives a pretty hard
bargain, your boss.
Eh. I'll get him
one of these days.
You got it?
Narrator: Back at the clark,
zeke is still struggling
to get their jet
in working order.
Oh, my god.
I had to offer vernon
two ounces to get that.
Two ounces?
Yeah. [bleep]
zeke:
Dude, I think that's on
the very, very, very, very
high end.
Well, I mean, it's --
look it, it's on the high end
plus, like,
an ounce of gold.
Zeke: What you got to get
away from, in mining,
is solving problems
with money.
If at all possible,
solve problems
with the tools
that you have on hand.
Spend money at a last resort,
because if you go down
that road,
you'll spend all the money.
Narrator: With their other jet
still out of commission,
emily's $3,000 replacement
is the only option
they've got...
I mean, basically,
we're gonna --
where this is gonna be giving
us
a lot of ounces of gold.
...If it works.
The jet emily bought
from vernon
is hugely expensive,
way overpriced.
So if it works, it'll
definitely
help us out a lot.
It'll be a lifesaver.
But if it doesn't work,
it'll just be a huge
financial setback.
We'll have to
get it hooked up
and see if it increases
our production.
[ bird calling ]
narrator:
Ten miles from nome...
We finally got a new jet.
Narrator:
...Zeke has got the clark
zeke:
We got one from vernie.
Really charged an arm and a
leg
for it.
It was not a good deal.
Narrator:
...After emily made the call
at a cost of thousands
of dollars in gold.
Zeke: Just want to get
out of the red.
I just want to go dredge
some gold, dude.
I feel like emily
oversteps her bounds a lot.
Emily promised vern
two ounces of gold for this
jet,
which is kind of
hideously expensive.
And so if it doesn't work,
I can't keep going unless I
have
some more operating capital.
I'm spent, and I'm broke.
It's hard because I don't
think
that zeke fully respects me
as a -- as a partner
in the gold-mining business.
But if I don't pay the price
that vernon wants,
we have no jet
and we have no gold.
This is the only solution
that I can see.
Narrator: Now, the next dive
will prove
whether emily
saved the operation
or sunk the partnership.
Go make us
some money already.
This is about timing
on the water.
There's been a bunch of
[bleep]
[bleep] keeps breaking down,
dealing with [bleep] vernon.
Really ready to make
some money here.
I don't really care
about anything else.
Just make me some [bleep] gold
after all the [bleep]
zeke: Frustrating predicament,
to be honest.
Can you guys crank up
the the pump motor?
Narrator:
With zeke in position,
it's time for
the moment of truth.
Emily, you want to crank up
the pump motor for him?
[ engine stars ]
the new jet is running,
but it's too early
to celebrate.
They still need to get
their gold count up
from 0.0 ounces.
Zeke will need a marathon dive
to make up for lost time
and try to recover the gold
he should've already banked.
The jet worked,
but I'll never really
get credit for it
unless, by some miracle,
we have an awesome cleanup.
We have to find the gold.
Otherwise, this season's
gonna fail.
Narrator:
Half a mile west...
Kris: Aw, [bleep]
here comes shawn.
...The kellys are getting
a visit from the boss.
Man, this isn't
gonna be good.
Brad: Hey, mr. Gold.
What's going on?
What the hell's
going on, boys?
First-class operation
right here, man.
I hope you don't plan
on cutting a dive hole here.
Brad: Exactly right here.
You can't be this close
to these guys.
Well, I know.
I told vern to move,
but he won't [bleep] go.
Vern's up and running.
He's making money.
Man, I don't see why
we can't stay here.
If vern's on gold, we're gonna
get on the same gold.
You're gonna get more gold
in your pocket.
Oh, no. You'll just end up
getting in each other's way,
pissing each other off.
Yeah.
We're all gentlemen out here.
That's the biggest problem.
First of all,
we're not gentlemen.
Well, you're gonna be
gentlemen
on my claim.
Vern's threatening to pull
his [bleep] off the claim.
And I need him out here,
so...
You got two options --
either you move
or you get off the claim.
And good luck finding a permit
in two weeks.
Okay, okay.
Let's just move.
Like, let's stop
causing a problem here.
Okay.
We'll get out of here.
There you go.
Enough of this.
Narrator: Before they've even
cut their first hole...
Cody: There's plenty
of good spots.
We got good spots
we could show ya.
...The kellys are on the move
once again...
Oh, we'll help you guys out
a little bit,
give you
some gps coordinates.
...But not before extracting
a red-hot lead
from the landlord.
Let's just get our [bleep]
packed up and get out of here.
Okay. We'll get out of here.
Enough of this.
All right. See ya, guys.
Thanks, shawn.
Thanks, cody.
It's not easy
being the manager.
It's like managing
a barrel of monkeys.
Do you know what?
Vern -- he pisses me off.
You know, he had to go to
shawn
and bring in the big gun.
We're gonna do what shawn
says,
'cause obviously,
this is his world.
We're just players
in shawn's world.
This was the whole plan.
Pull up close to somebody
and keep aggravating them.
Then pomrenke comes out,
"I got you coordinates."
[ laughs ]
dad, sometimes,
is smarter than he looks.
Yeah, okay. He didn't have
any of this planned.
It just paid off good.
Yeah.
Once in awhile,
it's nice to see it pays off.
Narrator: Ten miles east,
with the kellys under control,
shawn has left the squabbling
tenants of claim 38 behind
to make sure
the inland operation
is ready to start up
in a few short weeks.
Oh, no.
We've lost all of our water.
Narrator: But at the mine,
there is more trouble
for mr. Gold.
Shawn: We got to figure out
where that [bleep] hole is.
Otherwise, we're not gonna
get any gold this summer.
It's a couple hundred
thousand gallons.
Narrator: Water is the
lifeblood
that moves material
through the sluice box.
Without it, even the richest
ground is just a pile of dirt.
But what should be
a 20-foot pond of frozen water
is just a dry hole
in the ground.
Shawn:
I just pulled up, dad.
All the water's
running out of the pond.
It's leaking out somewhere.
Steve:
Oh, that's not funny, shawn.
You're just [bleep] with me
now,
aren't you?
No, dad.
It looks like it dropped --
dropped 4 or 5 feet already.
We lost 100,000,
200,000 gallons of water.
You better get your ass
up there...
I got it.
I'll get it done.
Now it's time
to find the hole.
Hopefully, I can
find that thing.
Narrator: Shawn's plan --
dig through
what little frozen water
remains
and try to find the hole
where thousands of gallons
of water
have been leaking
out of the pond.
The ice up there when you
walk,
it's all "whoo."
I think it [bleep]
drained it all.
I -- I hope not.
Cody:
Shawn's trying to break holes
if we could find
the water table,
then right above
where we could find water
is where it's draining from.
But as you can see,
that's just all ice.
There's no water in there.
That's not a good sign.
Shawn: We lose our water,
the inland mine gets shut
down.
Without water, we're screwed.
That's not good.
We got to find this hole.
We got to find it now.
Kris:
Let's do the bonfire, andy.
Okay.
Let's do the bonfire, okay?
Well, do it.
Hey, and it's already
going a little bit,
so make sure you don't
pour gas on it.
Yeah. Don't worry.
There you go.
Hey, I'm not joking
when I say
"don't pour gas on it"
you [bleep]
don't worry,
my brother.
[ laughs ]
can you not?
Can you not?
Hey, your arm, dude!
Melt your suit
right to your arm.
I told you,
"don't put it on the flame."
lit, isn't it?
Whatever [bleep]
narrator:
At the inland mine...
Shawn: That's not good.
We got to find this hole.
We got to find it now.
If we don't plug this hole,
we're gonna be screwed.
...Shawn pomrenke
is on a desperate mission
to find the source
of a water leak
that's threatening to leave
his whole operation
inoperable.
There's definitely
a leak somewhere.
We've done sucked
all the water out.
If you can't find the leak
and all the water is gone,
there will be
no mining this summer.
All that water's
draining right to your tracks.
Yeah, right there.
Look at the air
coming up right there.
Air bubbles reveal
the leaky spot
in the pond's basin.
We found the leak.
The leak's right here.
And fortunately, there's still
some water left at the bottom.
What I need to do
is peel all this sand,
all this ice back,
get the ice out of here,
and then clear the ice
off of that,
dig some...
And throw 'em up here.
Narrator: Locating the leak
in time was the hard part.
To fix it, he'll run
some dense soil
into the hole
to plug up the bedrock
and keep the pond from
leaking.
Living in nome, you have
a limited amount of resources.
So you have to be
johnny-on-the-spot,
mr. Macgyver.
Get it done,
get it done now,
and be innovative
and think fast on your feet.
Kill that thing, cody.
It's starting to work.
It's draining back that way.
We got the water
running the direction we want.
I think it's time
to call it quits here.
Cody: Innd mining.
Nice job, dude.
Nasty up here,
but we got to get to work.
Yep. No, it's time.
Dad's gonna be happy.
Narrator: With a crisis
at the inland mine averted...
...On the eastern edge
of claim 38...
Emily: Hey, zeke.
What?
Yeah, dude. I'm definitely
ready
to do a cleanup.
Okay.
Zeke's finishing up
a marathon dive,
trying to reclaim their lost
gold with a new jet.
Well, you know what?
It's a lot better
than it was yesterday.
The scale will
be the judge.
After 14 hours,
it's time to find out
whether the expensive jet
got the partnership
back on track...
I'm good.
I'm good.
...Or put them
further in the hole.
Zeke: The fact that emily's
not a diver,
the fact that emily doesn't
do a lot of things herself,
there is kind of an issue
with emily
where she expects more respect
than she's earned.
And so emily will
have impressed me
once I see it working.
Narrator:
They'll need at least six
ounces to cover
pay for the new jet,
and keep them
out of the red.
It's nice to be
cleaning some gold.
We got off to a really
rough start there.
Okay. This should be dry
enough.
Sweet.
One ounce...
Two...
Three.
Oh, yeah.
7.1.
Emily: Yay!
7.1 ounces
from zeke's 14-hour dive
gets the clark
over $9,000.
Nice. Almost 7.2.
Not so bad.
It's a nice start.
Now that we've got a jet
that works,
if we keep half-ounce an hour,
we'll be good to go.
Man: I'm just glad
we have a system that works.
Emily: I feel like I
definitely
proved something to zeke
and his brothers
when the jet worked.
But if and when zeke is wrong,
he never admits it.
Narrator: Thanks to emily,
the clark is back in the race.
And mr. Gold takes his cut.
Everything right now
is perfect.
I'm just waiting
for a problem.
How'd you do that?
Ice ain't that thick.
Vernon: Sometimes you got to
cut
a deal with the devil.
What the [bleep]
[ laughs ]
welcome to gold town, mom.
Man:
That puts a smile on my face.
[ laughs ]
there's a lot of bros
down there.
[bleep] [bleep] disgusted
right now.
[ steam hissing ]
Work never seems to end.
Got a lot of moving parts.
And they all need to hit
for me to build this empire.
You could lose
a whole season of mining
from one stupid mistake.
All the water's
running out of the pond.
It's leaking out somewhere.
If we don't plug this hole,
we're gonna be screwed.
Zeke: I haven't really
found my stride.
Team unity is the most
important thing out there.
If we can't work together
and live together,
everything
is gonna fall apart.
Whoa!
Freakin' beautiful.
Emily: Holy [bleep]
the sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
Do not argue with me
about this.
Kris: I've been in constant
competition with my father
about how he thinks
I know nothing.
Four years of my life spent
on this journey to get here.
I need to see this was
all worth it in the end.
I need to be a success.
Brad: If it looks good,
we're gonna start here.
If it doesn't, then we'll move
another 30 feet closer to
vern.
Hey!
Oh, [bleep]
this is my crane, brad.
We're not moving it
at all, vern.
I don't give a [bleep]
shawn: Easy days?
No easy days in my life.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
narrator: Nome, alaska,
center of
the gold-mining universe
for over a century.
But something new is brewing
in the heart of gold country,
a once-in-a-lifetime chance
for ice miners
to strike it rich
on untapped ground,
as mr. Gold, shawn pomrenke,
opens his own 160-acre virgin
claim to the ice-mining fleet.
Well, what are all
these gps marks here?
Today, shawn has brought
his father, steve,
out for a company board
meeting.
I don't actually hear no
diving going on right now.
Shawn: We're looking at
the biggest year of our lives.
That's what dad's worked
his whole life for.
It's what I've worked
so hard for.
This coming season's gonna
be our biggest season yet.
I want to see what the hell's
going on around here.
Let's see who's working,
who's not working,
what's going on.
Narrator: While most miners
would be content
with one successful project...
Shawn:
Whoever gets out there first
...Shawn's trying to build
an empire in western alaska.
Perfect, perfect for us.
All right, baby.
With so much on my plate,
I decided to let
all these other guys
do my prospecting
for me on 38.
I mean, you think about it.
The more people
you put out there,
the more chance you have
of finding that mother lode.
We're gonna be able
to figure out
where to bring the new barge
and go mining right off the
bat
without having to do
any prospecting.
Man: Thing is massive.
Narrator:
And setting in motion plans
to build a mega-dredge
that will eventually mine
the 160-acre claim.
This is the one tool
that I see
that we would need to get
that gold out of that ground.
He's also in charge of getting
the family's lucrative
inland mine ready
for the summer season...
It's been a lot of work to get
this thing up and running
and getting it
to where it needs to be.
This is the biggest pile
of gold I've ever seen.
Narrator:
...While making sure nothing
shawn: Chaos is good,
for the most part.
Sometimes I do get spread
a little thin,
but I'm doing what I have to
do
to keep things moving forward.
Steve: I don't understand
what I'm looking at here.
Well, this is us,
right here.
You got the reapers there,
wild rangers right there,
and the clark.
We're just marking
their gps points
to kind of put them on
a generic map here.
And then we get
prospecting point of view
for the big dredge when the
big dredge gets put together.
Yeah. Instead of coming out
and looking for it,
we'll be outright
on top of it.
There ain't no damn way
they're gonna get
the whole damn 160 acres
checked out this season,
are they?
Steve: Shawn takes on a lot
of projects all the time.
He thinks he can make it work.
And maybe he can.
But more chance of failure,
I think, the bigger you go.
Yeah. We're just not doing
any of the manual labor.
I guess.
So long as something
actually gets done.
I've been mining
with my father
since I been 13, 14 years old.
He's taught me a lot --
a lot of what to do
and a lot of what not to do.
He just wants to keep it
small and simple,
where I want to get large.
And we would actually
like these guys to make us
a little bit of money
on this.
Oh, yeah.
We're waiting for some
cleanups,
and we'll start
tallying it up.
The wild ranger is right here.
They've been on.
They're hitting
three-quarter ounce an hour.
What are we charging 'em?
20%.
Be nice
if they made something,
be a little extra money
in our pocket.
We got a little bit
of information so far,
but, I mean, in order to get
this whole play mapped out,
then we better get some --
see some more action here.
It's in our best interest to
keep everybody moving out
here,
so let's go get 'em moving.
Narrator:
Less than a mile away,
on the far eastern edge
of the claim...
Morning, guys.
Oh, we got bacon going?
...Miners zeke tenhoff
and emily riedel
have already done
the impossible...
Well, we didn't
float away last night.
That's good.
Man: I feel good about that.
I'm feeling pretty good
about that.
We're still in
the exact same spot.
Narrator:
...Surviving 24 hours of
working
and living with each other
on the ice.
I thought I heard icebergs
grinding together,
but it was just emily
practicing her singing.
Zeke: The opportunity to work
on claim 38 this winter is
huge.
So I need to take on
the partnership of emily
to get everything under way.
Working with emily in the past
has caused problems.
And it could cause problems
again.
But right now,
her financial assistance
is what I need to get
the operation afloat.
I want to just really pound
out
some diving today.
Yeah, dude.
Put some gold in the box.
That would be nice.
Emily:
I have hopes for a prosperous
I mean, I'm supplying
half of the funds
to implement the project.
But I'm also -- I'm cautious.
I'm hesitant.
There is a lot
of emotional angst.
There's a lot of anger.
There's a lot of --
there's a lot
of problems, still.
All right.
All right.
Narrator:
For the two former friends
turned reluctant
business partners...
I think maybe I should
drive the bigger snow machine.
That's cool. If you get it
stuck, it'll be your fault.
And I -- I'll enjoy that.
...Old wounds run deep.
Oh, yeah. Look at that
little pile of gold.
Yeah!
Whoo!
Narrator: But nothing eases
the pain quite like gold.
High-five.
Yeah!
Narrator: With one good dive
on the books
and gold in the box,
the partners are off
to a hot start.
Zeke: Dive number two.
Emily: Dude, you're gonna,
like, pop down there
and just start seeing
gold immediately.
Immediately.
That's what I'm planning on.
Immediately.
Now, one more dive
should clear this hole
so they can start the search
for the next hot spot.
I pretty much put everything
into this.
Really banking --
really banking
on making a bunch of money.
I really gambled
on myself this year,
basically spent
the last of my money
going to the red.
I mean, it's a lot of pressure
to put myself under
because if it doesn't work,
nobody's gonna make enough
money
to make it worth it.
Hey, comm check.
Yeah, I got ya.
Ready to go.
Coming in.
Oh, that's so cold
on the forehead.
Good god.
I'm way over to the left
of the hole right now.
Man: What's it looking
like over there?
There's basically
just sand to the south
and a little hillside,
big boulders
right where the sand meets
that little hillside.
I was seeing gold yesterday.
Really need to get
some floats for this tether.
Fire up the pump.
Yes, sir.
You want it
all the way up?
Full throttle.
Okay.
Hey, emily.
Crank up the pump motor.
Hey, what are we
gonna name this spot?
Oh, you guys will have to
think about that.
I'll let you name it.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Whoa!
Little cluster.
Freakin' beautiful.
Awesome.
It's just delicious-looking.
Whoo!
Yeah!
Emily: Zeke and I have
been through a lot.
We've fought a lot
of battles together.
And then we've fought a lot
of battles against each other.
Sometimes he pisses me off
and I want to kill him.
But dude does make some gold.
Hey, zeke, this spot's gonna
be
feeding me for a while,
so we figured
we'd name it "the larder."
"the larder?"
yeah.
It's our little gold larder.
I'd eat that for breakfast.
Narrator: The gold is flowing,
and everything
is running smoothly...
Hey, tell him
his hot water's at 160.
...Until...
Holy [bleep]
...It's not.
The sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
This is basically
spraying gold out.
Narrator:
Ten miles west of nome,
on the eastern edge
of claim 38...
Hey, zeke, this spot's gonna
be
feeding me for a while,
so we figured
we'd name it "the larder."
"the larder?"
yeah.
It's our little gold larder.
I'd eat that for breakfast.
Hey, tell him
his hot water's at 160.
Narrator:
Zeke and emily are looking
of the season
with one more good dive.
Holy [bleep]
the sluice box
is a [bleep] mess.
This is basically
spraying gold out.
Hey, zeke, I think you should
probably come up.
What?
Better come up.
Not quite yet.
I want to get as much out
of the site as possible.
All right. Yeah.
Pull my tether up.
Roger that.
This is, like,
the biggest [bleep] nightmare
you could possibly have.
What you want is the water
to have enough time
to sort of come up
and flatten out.
And so when it brings
the gold into the sluice box,
it deposits the gold
and pushes it down
into the carpets for recovery.
Narrator:
The malfunctioning jet
is sending every flake
of gold zeke's collected
right back down to the bottom
of the bering sea.
Zeke:
That whole dive, I was
probably
losing most of the gold
that I was seeing.
Apparently, I made
my jets wrong.
It's just not working
right now.
Zeke came up with this
brand-new jet design.
It was basically just meant
to optimize water pressure.
So the box probably
isn't recovering anything.
But the water flow in
the sluice box is just a
spray.
I mean, you could pour,
like, a 10-ounce bar
into that sluice box
and it wouldn't recover it
with the way
that it's functioning.
This is pitched
a little bit too steep.
I think we can
raise it up a little bit
so the water comes out
at a more leisurely angle.
Yeah. I mean,
that should help a little bit.
But I'm not
overly optimistic.
What might work
is to dramatically
adjust the angle
of the sluice box
so the water
at least moves through
at a different rate of speed.
Then maybe we'll be
catching some of the material
that we get.
Is that in all the way?
Did it go all the way in
there?
Yeah. It is.
Okay.
Miners are constantly wanting
to reinvent the wheel.
And sometimes they do,
they invent a much better
wheel.
And then sometimes
they invent what zeke
invented.
You have to be
making money every day.
We just have no time.
I mean, the government
shuts us down April 15th.
Narrator:
With the deadline looming
and the season so far a
let's -- let's lower this
chain
down just a hair.
...They need a quick solution
to salvage the time and money
they've put into the
operation.
I think
the angle's really wonky.
I just don't have
a lot of faith
in this box's ability
to recover gold.
Well, I don't agree
with any of that.
So let's just get it going
how it is right now.
I'm not sure that I can
fix the jet right now,
but I know that emily can't.
When it comes to a lot
of practical matters
involving machinery,
logistics,
she just doesn't really
have a practical mind
for that kind of thing.
Emily's just got to know
when to step aside
and let me do my thing.
Worst-case scenario,
we're gonna have to barter
for a new flare --
new flare and jets.
It makes no sense.
Emily: Finding a new jet
is the easiest thing to do
without wasting a bunch of
time.
Don't argue with me
about this.
Zeke thinks that he can
do everything by himself.
And he's a little
bit megalomaniacal
in zeke's universe,
when he's functioning
at 150%.
And he won't stop
to listen to sense.
Narrator:
After 36 hours on the ice,
there is no gold in the box
and no time for zeke
to redesign the jet...
He's a pretty talented miner,
but I do know my [bleep]
about running
a gold mining operation.
I think I'm better
at that than he is.
Narrator:
...And no solution in sight.
This jet's not gonna work,
and we have to get it fixed,
or we're not gonna get
an ounce of gold this season.
Narrator:
Less than a mile to the west,
in the heart of claim 38...
Kris: Go slow.
Hold on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Whoa!
There you go.
We got to push it back.
It is cold and miserable
today.
I'm not really too
worried about it.
We've just got to find out
where we're gonna go.
Narrator:
The notorious fightin' kellys
are looking to get in
on the action
at shawn pomrenke's
virgin ground.
Okay. This part that we're
on right now is all sand.
So far, shawn's claim
isn't looking too good for us.
Narrator: Though other miners
have already proven the claim
to be rich in gold,
the kellys,
against all odds,
have yet to find a thing.
Could be worse.
Could be worse.
It's always worse.
Kris:
I've heard a lot of great
rumors
that there's supposed to be
great gold
on this ground, you know?
So it sounds like
a great opportunity.
It sounds like all we have
to get down there
and put in a lot of work,
and we're gonna get
at least 100 ounces.
Narrator: Three years ago,
the kelly family,
father brad
and sons kris and andy,
arrived in nome with dreams
of striking it rich.
What keeps me going is I know
I'm gonna be rich here.
I know this is the best chance
that I have anywhere else
in america to get rich.
I know that.
Narrator:
In their dogged pursuit of
gold,
they've battled the elements,
the rest of the fleet...
Don't jump in my hole.
You want,
you can get on board
right now, man.
We can solve it.
Narrator: But mostly...
Come on, you fat [bleep]
[ indistinct talking ]
...Just each other.
[ both grunting ]
kris: I am the one that can
lead
my family to gold.
We're gonna get gold.
Even if I got to kill
everybody around me
to get to it,
we're gonna get gold.
We are, like, this close
to being successful doing
this.
What we're gonna do
is we're gonna start,
drill a hole right here.
I send the camera down
and see what's here.
If it looks good,
we're gonna start here.
Narrator:
For the kellys, close to
success is about
if it doesn't, then we'll move
another 30 feet closer to
vern.
...From where someone else
has already found the gold.
We can go get our own gold.
We are.
We're getting it next to vern.
He's not gonna give it to us.
We got to get under the water
and get it.
Don't you see
the logic behind this?
When I seen vernon had
this flag, "x" mark the spot,
I kind of knew that we had to
get into the "x".
You know what I mean?
Get in the zone.
We can't afford to keep
failing at this, you know?
If I can some gold-getter
getting it,
I'm gonna plunk right next to
him and start getting my
chunk.
We're gonna take more
and ask less.
We got to get away from
just trying to steal oth
well, why do you
keep using the word "steal"?
First, all we're doing is
using
a little bit of ingenuity
and moving
a little closer.
Okay?
That's called bold.
I love my dad and brother,
but they don't understand
that if we lose our good name
in the community,
that we're never
gonna get anywhere.
I'm the one that has to keep
my family honest
and moving forward.
I don't want to cause
any problems.
The only problem
is with us right now.
We need to get over there and
start getting our piece of it.
That's our problem.
Okay. But when he comes out
with a problem,
you're confronting him.
I'll deal with this.
It's all your plan.
I'll deal with this.
But if some [bleep]
goes down, get ready.
Narrator:
Despite kris' intentions t
whatever.
Let's just do this.
...As always, dishonesty
is brad's policy.
The boys stick with me
because they know
I'm on the right path
to gold and riches.
You can put it down wherever.
Rock and roll.
Okay.
Keep an eye on the screen.
Explorer one
is on its way down.
Explorer one, go.
Narrator:
A camera on the ocean floor w
when they've found their
neighbor's good ground.
Looking like water.
Looking like
a lot of water.
Wait till
we hit the bottom.
Oh, it's sand.
Turn it around.
Looks like sand.
That's not what
we're looking for, dude.
We're looking for rocks.
And with no sign
of gold here...
...It's a family move
30 feet closer
to where
vernon's already found it.
Turn it.
Feels like sand.
Andy: Yeah.
Okay.
This one doesn't
look so good.
We'll go try
one more hole.
Narrator:
With even more sand,
it's time to move
just a little bit closer.
Oh, right there. Stop.
Andy: Oh, yeah. Right there.
This is good, kris.
This is where to go.
Pull it up.
We're going here.
Let's get our shack
over here.
You guys are gonna hit
the mother lode here.
Kris: Whoo-hoo!
Okay!
That 30 feet took a lot longer
than I thought it was going
to.
Everything we do takes a lot
longer than we think it's
gonna.
Vernon: Hey. Hey!
Oh [bleep]
hey, that's your problem.
This is not gonna happen.
Narrator: On claim 38...
Vernon: Hey.
Hey!
Oh, [bleep]
hey, that's your problem.
This is not gonna happen.
Looking to a find
a hot spot,
the kellys have moved in
to where vernon adkison
already found one.
What is it?
This is my claim.
I pay royalty
on this claim.
By tradition, by law,
this is my claim.
Their neighbor's not
interested
in keeping his friends close
and his enemies closer.
You guys are not
gonna set down here.
Get this piece of [bleep]
out of here.
We're not moving it
at all, vern.
I don't give a [bleep]
about moving it.
We're capping right here.
We're on a family vacation.
This is my claim, brad.
We're leaving it
right where it is.
I told my dad
this was gonna happen.
Vern's pissed off.
He has right
to be pissed off.
You know, if my dad knows kind
of where your gold's gonna go,
he'll jump ahead of you.
And that's a [bleep] move.
But my dad is an [bleep]
get that [bleep] thing
off my claim!
We're here.
We're parked in here.
So it's just, like,
"[bleep] you, vernon.
We're doing it."
you know?
I don't want to
use those words.
Beginning of the year,
we don't even need to do this.
We'll get our own gold.
Honestly, I don't believe
dad could help it.
Andy:
This is normal to him.
Vern was gonna fall down
and have a heart attack.
Yeah.
Poor vern, man.
Already told you.
I had --
I paid to have this plowed.
This is mine.
Everything that's plowed here
is mine, okay?
I'll go talk to shawn about it
if I have to.
Well, it seems like
a lot of ground.
Yeah.
Out there -- there's a lot
of ground out there.
This is my ground, here.
Vern has every right
to come out and yell at us.
It's okay to work, like,
around a person
but not --
it's not okay to work, like,
right next to a person,
that close.
I'm gonna go
talk to shawn.
Narrator: Just 50 yards
away...
Yeah.
I want some gold.
...Shawn pomrenke is packing
up
to head back to town.
Hey, shawn.
But it looks like
it's going to be a long
morning.
What's going on?
I got a kelly problem.
I look out my window,
and I could damn near
spit on their rig.
I don't know if they're
looking
for me to bird dog the gold
or they're just
natural-born [bleep]
they can't help it.
But we're on some gold,
and you guys are
gonna get your cut.
If the kellys did that to me
and come and tried
to jump on me like that,
I would have went over there
and kicked their ass.
But in -- on a larger
operation,
you can't micromanage
everybody
and every little thing
that happens.
Deal is these guys got to go
or I got to go.
We'll get them out of there.
You don't have to
go nowhere, vern.
We got your back.
That's what I wanted to hear.
And that's what I told them.
I said, "you guys
need to get out of here,
or I'm gonna tell shawn
about it
and have your ass
moved out of here."
we'll do something
about it.
Vern's doing good.
I don't need these guys
jumping on top of him
and [bleep] up his operation.
I don't trust them
as far as I can throw you.
And that ain't very far.
Yeah. Isn't that something?
Yeah, I hear you, man.
I don't trust 'em
even that far.
Well, we'll go have
a talk with them.
Yeah.
We'll get 'em out of there.
Don't worry about it.
All right. Thanks a lot, man.
I mean,
it doesn't make any sense
to have a dredge right next
to another one prospecting
because that doesn't
do me a bit of good.
[ crows cawing ]
narrator:
Just 100 yards away,
emily riedel's on a mission
to get her partnership
with zeke back on track.
I need a new jet,
and the only person around
here
who just has this insane
surplus
of spare dredging parts
is vernon adkison.
Narrator:
With no gold in the box
and no faith in zeke's
malfunctioning jet design,
emily's made
the executive decision
to solve the problem
herself...
Emily: Vernon.
Vernon: Come on in.
Hey, emily.
...By visiting
one of the fleet's
most notorious pack rats.
Well, I'm just curious
about your kitchen amenities.
You got a coffee maker
or anything?
No, we don't.
I'm sorry.
We're not --
we don't do lattes and...
Gold's not --
not good enough out here.
You know, skinny mocha frappe,
whatever. No.
All right.
Well, that's cool.
To what do we owe the honor
of this visit?
Um, I --
we're having a bit
of a problem,
and I was wondering if you
have
a spare jet flare lying
around.
I don't have a spare one.
I have one,
but it's not a spare.
I mean, I was intending
to use it.
Look, obviously,
we're out on the ice.
Every resource
is precious.
I'm willing to offer you up
some gold for it.
I'd let it go
for three ounces.
Three ounces?
Narrator: Three ounces of gold
is nearly 4 grand
for a part that normally
wouldn't cost a third of that.
He has a jet.
I have no jet.
Vernon can basically name
any price that he wants,
and I'll have to pay it.
If you had a part
that you needed from me,
I'd help you out.
I wouldn't...
I will help you out.
I wouldn't take advantage of
it.
I mean, like I said,
I was kind of holding that
in reserve
in case this thing
totally blows out on me.
I'll give you an ounce
for it.
Ounce?
Yeah.
That's a pretty damn
good deal.
I tell you what. I'll let you
have it for two ounces.
I'm not coming down
any more.
Um...
Yeah. Absolutely.
All right.
All right. Appreciate it,
vernon.
Want me to have somebody
load it up for you?
Actually, yeah.
It's pretty heavy. Thanks.
Hey. Hey, jenny.
How about loading up
this flare jet for her?
Sure.
Emily: Two ounces of gold
for that jet
is, like,
a disrespectful price.
But it's vernon.
And we are desperate.
He drives a pretty hard
bargain, your boss.
Eh. I'll get him
one of these days.
You got it?
Narrator: Back at the clark,
zeke is still struggling
to get their jet
in working order.
Oh, my god.
I had to offer vernon
two ounces to get that.
Two ounces?
Yeah. [bleep]
zeke:
Dude, I think that's on
the very, very, very, very
high end.
Well, I mean, it's --
look it, it's on the high end
plus, like,
an ounce of gold.
Zeke: What you got to get
away from, in mining,
is solving problems
with money.
If at all possible,
solve problems
with the tools
that you have on hand.
Spend money at a last resort,
because if you go down
that road,
you'll spend all the money.
Narrator: With their other jet
still out of commission,
emily's $3,000 replacement
is the only option
they've got...
I mean, basically,
we're gonna --
where this is gonna be giving
us
a lot of ounces of gold.
...If it works.
The jet emily bought
from vernon
is hugely expensive,
way overpriced.
So if it works, it'll
definitely
help us out a lot.
It'll be a lifesaver.
But if it doesn't work,
it'll just be a huge
financial setback.
We'll have to
get it hooked up
and see if it increases
our production.
[ bird calling ]
narrator:
Ten miles from nome...
We finally got a new jet.
Narrator:
...Zeke has got the clark
zeke:
We got one from vernie.
Really charged an arm and a
leg
for it.
It was not a good deal.
Narrator:
...After emily made the call
at a cost of thousands
of dollars in gold.
Zeke: Just want to get
out of the red.
I just want to go dredge
some gold, dude.
I feel like emily
oversteps her bounds a lot.
Emily promised vern
two ounces of gold for this
jet,
which is kind of
hideously expensive.
And so if it doesn't work,
I can't keep going unless I
have
some more operating capital.
I'm spent, and I'm broke.
It's hard because I don't
think
that zeke fully respects me
as a -- as a partner
in the gold-mining business.
But if I don't pay the price
that vernon wants,
we have no jet
and we have no gold.
This is the only solution
that I can see.
Narrator: Now, the next dive
will prove
whether emily
saved the operation
or sunk the partnership.
Go make us
some money already.
This is about timing
on the water.
There's been a bunch of
[bleep]
[bleep] keeps breaking down,
dealing with [bleep] vernon.
Really ready to make
some money here.
I don't really care
about anything else.
Just make me some [bleep] gold
after all the [bleep]
zeke: Frustrating predicament,
to be honest.
Can you guys crank up
the the pump motor?
Narrator:
With zeke in position,
it's time for
the moment of truth.
Emily, you want to crank up
the pump motor for him?
[ engine stars ]
the new jet is running,
but it's too early
to celebrate.
They still need to get
their gold count up
from 0.0 ounces.
Zeke will need a marathon dive
to make up for lost time
and try to recover the gold
he should've already banked.
The jet worked,
but I'll never really
get credit for it
unless, by some miracle,
we have an awesome cleanup.
We have to find the gold.
Otherwise, this season's
gonna fail.
Narrator:
Half a mile west...
Kris: Aw, [bleep]
here comes shawn.
...The kellys are getting
a visit from the boss.
Man, this isn't
gonna be good.
Brad: Hey, mr. Gold.
What's going on?
What the hell's
going on, boys?
First-class operation
right here, man.
I hope you don't plan
on cutting a dive hole here.
Brad: Exactly right here.
You can't be this close
to these guys.
Well, I know.
I told vern to move,
but he won't [bleep] go.
Vern's up and running.
He's making money.
Man, I don't see why
we can't stay here.
If vern's on gold, we're gonna
get on the same gold.
You're gonna get more gold
in your pocket.
Oh, no. You'll just end up
getting in each other's way,
pissing each other off.
Yeah.
We're all gentlemen out here.
That's the biggest problem.
First of all,
we're not gentlemen.
Well, you're gonna be
gentlemen
on my claim.
Vern's threatening to pull
his [bleep] off the claim.
And I need him out here,
so...
You got two options --
either you move
or you get off the claim.
And good luck finding a permit
in two weeks.
Okay, okay.
Let's just move.
Like, let's stop
causing a problem here.
Okay.
We'll get out of here.
There you go.
Enough of this.
Narrator: Before they've even
cut their first hole...
Cody: There's plenty
of good spots.
We got good spots
we could show ya.
...The kellys are on the move
once again...
Oh, we'll help you guys out
a little bit,
give you
some gps coordinates.
...But not before extracting
a red-hot lead
from the landlord.
Let's just get our [bleep]
packed up and get out of here.
Okay. We'll get out of here.
Enough of this.
All right. See ya, guys.
Thanks, shawn.
Thanks, cody.
It's not easy
being the manager.
It's like managing
a barrel of monkeys.
Do you know what?
Vern -- he pisses me off.
You know, he had to go to
shawn
and bring in the big gun.
We're gonna do what shawn
says,
'cause obviously,
this is his world.
We're just players
in shawn's world.
This was the whole plan.
Pull up close to somebody
and keep aggravating them.
Then pomrenke comes out,
"I got you coordinates."
[ laughs ]
dad, sometimes,
is smarter than he looks.
Yeah, okay. He didn't have
any of this planned.
It just paid off good.
Yeah.
Once in awhile,
it's nice to see it pays off.
Narrator: Ten miles east,
with the kellys under control,
shawn has left the squabbling
tenants of claim 38 behind
to make sure
the inland operation
is ready to start up
in a few short weeks.
Oh, no.
We've lost all of our water.
Narrator: But at the mine,
there is more trouble
for mr. Gold.
Shawn: We got to figure out
where that [bleep] hole is.
Otherwise, we're not gonna
get any gold this summer.
It's a couple hundred
thousand gallons.
Narrator: Water is the
lifeblood
that moves material
through the sluice box.
Without it, even the richest
ground is just a pile of dirt.
But what should be
a 20-foot pond of frozen water
is just a dry hole
in the ground.
Shawn:
I just pulled up, dad.
All the water's
running out of the pond.
It's leaking out somewhere.
Steve:
Oh, that's not funny, shawn.
You're just [bleep] with me
now,
aren't you?
No, dad.
It looks like it dropped --
dropped 4 or 5 feet already.
We lost 100,000,
200,000 gallons of water.
You better get your ass
up there...
I got it.
I'll get it done.
Now it's time
to find the hole.
Hopefully, I can
find that thing.
Narrator: Shawn's plan --
dig through
what little frozen water
remains
and try to find the hole
where thousands of gallons
of water
have been leaking
out of the pond.
The ice up there when you
walk,
it's all "whoo."
I think it [bleep]
drained it all.
I -- I hope not.
Cody:
Shawn's trying to break holes
if we could find
the water table,
then right above
where we could find water
is where it's draining from.
But as you can see,
that's just all ice.
There's no water in there.
That's not a good sign.
Shawn: We lose our water,
the inland mine gets shut
down.
Without water, we're screwed.
That's not good.
We got to find this hole.
We got to find it now.
Kris:
Let's do the bonfire, andy.
Okay.
Let's do the bonfire, okay?
Well, do it.
Hey, and it's already
going a little bit,
so make sure you don't
pour gas on it.
Yeah. Don't worry.
There you go.
Hey, I'm not joking
when I say
"don't pour gas on it"
you [bleep]
don't worry,
my brother.
[ laughs ]
can you not?
Can you not?
Hey, your arm, dude!
Melt your suit
right to your arm.
I told you,
"don't put it on the flame."
lit, isn't it?
Whatever [bleep]
narrator:
At the inland mine...
Shawn: That's not good.
We got to find this hole.
We got to find it now.
If we don't plug this hole,
we're gonna be screwed.
...Shawn pomrenke
is on a desperate mission
to find the source
of a water leak
that's threatening to leave
his whole operation
inoperable.
There's definitely
a leak somewhere.
We've done sucked
all the water out.
If you can't find the leak
and all the water is gone,
there will be
no mining this summer.
All that water's
draining right to your tracks.
Yeah, right there.
Look at the air
coming up right there.
Air bubbles reveal
the leaky spot
in the pond's basin.
We found the leak.
The leak's right here.
And fortunately, there's still
some water left at the bottom.
What I need to do
is peel all this sand,
all this ice back,
get the ice out of here,
and then clear the ice
off of that,
dig some...
And throw 'em up here.
Narrator: Locating the leak
in time was the hard part.
To fix it, he'll run
some dense soil
into the hole
to plug up the bedrock
and keep the pond from
leaking.
Living in nome, you have
a limited amount of resources.
So you have to be
johnny-on-the-spot,
mr. Macgyver.
Get it done,
get it done now,
and be innovative
and think fast on your feet.
Kill that thing, cody.
It's starting to work.
It's draining back that way.
We got the water
running the direction we want.
I think it's time
to call it quits here.
Cody: Innd mining.
Nice job, dude.
Nasty up here,
but we got to get to work.
Yep. No, it's time.
Dad's gonna be happy.
Narrator: With a crisis
at the inland mine averted...
...On the eastern edge
of claim 38...
Emily: Hey, zeke.
What?
Yeah, dude. I'm definitely
ready
to do a cleanup.
Okay.
Zeke's finishing up
a marathon dive,
trying to reclaim their lost
gold with a new jet.
Well, you know what?
It's a lot better
than it was yesterday.
The scale will
be the judge.
After 14 hours,
it's time to find out
whether the expensive jet
got the partnership
back on track...
I'm good.
I'm good.
...Or put them
further in the hole.
Zeke: The fact that emily's
not a diver,
the fact that emily doesn't
do a lot of things herself,
there is kind of an issue
with emily
where she expects more respect
than she's earned.
And so emily will
have impressed me
once I see it working.
Narrator:
They'll need at least six
ounces to cover
pay for the new jet,
and keep them
out of the red.
It's nice to be
cleaning some gold.
We got off to a really
rough start there.
Okay. This should be dry
enough.
Sweet.
One ounce...
Two...
Three.
Oh, yeah.
7.1.
Emily: Yay!
7.1 ounces
from zeke's 14-hour dive
gets the clark
over $9,000.
Nice. Almost 7.2.
Not so bad.
It's a nice start.
Now that we've got a jet
that works,
if we keep half-ounce an hour,
we'll be good to go.
Man: I'm just glad
we have a system that works.
Emily: I feel like I
definitely
proved something to zeke
and his brothers
when the jet worked.
But if and when zeke is wrong,
he never admits it.
Narrator: Thanks to emily,
the clark is back in the race.
And mr. Gold takes his cut.
Everything right now
is perfect.
I'm just waiting
for a problem.
How'd you do that?
Ice ain't that thick.
Vernon: Sometimes you got to
cut
a deal with the devil.
What the [bleep]
[ laughs ]
welcome to gold town, mom.
Man:
That puts a smile on my face.
[ laughs ]
there's a lot of bros
down there.
[bleep] [bleep] disgusted
right now.
[ steam hissing ]