Bering Sea Gold (2012–…): Season 9, Episode 5 - Cracked - full transcript
Kris' scheme to make a million on Shawn's Bluff find is sabotaged when Mr. Gold plots with a turncoat Kelly diver. Zeke may have found his mining future, but when the ice breaks up, he'll ...
Narrator:
Now on "Bering Sea Gold"...
Kris: My plants worked great.
This is the best season
that we've ever had.
And there's no one
that's gonna stop me.
Man: Ho! Look at all
the gold right there!
It's getting better
and better, dude!
- Awesome!
- Whoo!
Shawn: Well, the Kellys --
I don't like them,
and I don't want them
anywhere around me.
I've been wondering how I could
take them out of the game.
I have a little trick
up my sleeve.
Shawn: There's 9 grand.
I own it!
I own this [Bleep]!
You don't have a deal with me!
Zeke: I started out the season
following an instinct,
chasing the mother lode,
mega treasure.
But it's not an adventure
if you plan it out perfectly.
There's a big, greasy crack
just opening up right there!
We might be floating away
as we speak.
Kris: Andy is literally
risking his life.
He's pulling on the umbilical.
Shawn: Might have found
our next 1,000 ounces.
It's a dandy!
I'm not going down at all.
- I'm being petty?!
- Yeah.
You [Bleep] move on me?!
Zeke: We're gonna get
the hell out of here!
Feeling great now! Oh!
Narrator: Nome, Alaska.
The winter mining season
has reached the midpoint.
Miners are still far
from their goals,
and the clock is ticking.
To uncover their fortunes,
the fleet will have to evolve
and be prepared to
throw out the rule book.
♫
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff.
Kris:
We're just gonna adapt.
Whatever problems
come ahead of us,
we're just gonna keep changing
until everything starts
to work like a clock.
Narrator: Captain Kris Kelly
is about to get under the ice.
You got to be good
at keeping it going.
And the fightin' Irish are
in desperate need of a payday
just to keep
the operation running.
Kris: We put everything
into this mining season.
Literally, everything.
I have nowhere to go if I fail.
I'm gonna be homeless.
I mean, seriously homeless.
Narrator:
So far this season...
Brad:
This is the furthest you've
ever taken us out of Nome.
This is the biggest gold
we're going after!
Narrator: ...Kris set out
with a grand plan.
Did you guys come find this?!
- No.
- Did you find it?!
Follow Mr. Gold...
I found 1,000 flakes.
...to the gold.
- 9.3.
- 9.3 ounces.
That is the best gold cleanup
we've ever had in our lives.
In our lives!
Narrator:
But after a hot start...
Kris! The air!
...busted equipment...
Sent them back to Nome
for parts.
We're shutting
this [Bleep] down.
Undaunted...
...Kris brought on
a night crew...
Kris:
My equipment's thrashed.
Narrator: ...That destroyed
his equipment...
Dude, where's the night crew?
Where are they?
...then skipped town...
I've got to go back to town
and get a water pump.
...hitting the Irish
with déjà vu,
as they were forced
back to Nome yet again.
Now...
We're only gonna stop when
the box gets so full of gold,
we have to clean it out,
and that's when we're
gonna stop, and that's it.
...the young captain
is ready to get
his plan to become a millionaire
back on track.
Kris: Okay.
I'm gonna go get my suit.
All he has to do
is get back on the gold.
Kris:
There could be 100 ounces
five feet in any direction
where you are constantly.
You have to keep moving,
keep working, keep moving.
♫
Kris:
Holy. It's kind of chilly.
Narrator:
In winter, the Bering Sea
drops to 29 degrees.
Without hot water
pumped into Kris' wet suit,
hypothermia would set in
within minutes.
Okay, well,
you got to start somewhere.
The rocks are a lot harder
to move over here.
Gonna need the crowbar
to get these things out.
I've got
the little crowbar here.
Do you want me to throw it down?
- Yeah.
- Okay. Stand by.
We're gonna drop it
to the ladder, okay?
It's away.
Okay. I found it.
Got to get in a system
right now.
Well, I see a bit of gold.
But I think I can do better.
Just keep going.
Hey, how's the water
look down there?
Is it murky, fluffy?
What?
Uh, you know what?
The water's beautiful
until you touch something,
and then it goes to [Bleep]
so fast.
♫
I want to see, like, a lot.
I want to make this worth
having, you know,
all these problems.
I owe so much money right now.
Narrator: 80 miles west...
In Nome...
♫
We got a lot of support
of the community. We live here.
We're here year-round.
Those Kellys -- they come,
take our gold and leave.
Narrator:
...Mr. Gold, Shawn Pomrenke,
is on a mission to remove
a season-long Thorn in his side.
Oh, they come out
and just screwed with us,
jumped right on us,
thinking that
it's okay to do that.
Well, you know,
I've been sitting
and wondering how I could
take them out of the game.
And I have a little trick
up my sleeve.
Narrator:
So far this season...
...Shawn has been hunting
for a boulder at the Bluff...
Shawn:
Son of a bitch.
...that he believes marks
a multimillion-dollar
pay streak...
Hoping for gold that will fund
his $6-million mega dredge
and lead the family
into a golden future.
The next time you come over,
my brother's
gonna [Bleep] you up!
But then the Kellys
crashed the party,
becoming an
unrelenting distraction.
We are...
Blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah!
Narrator: Now...
They want to play dirty?
Well, we're playing dirty.
I feel like it's a personal
attack against me.
I mean, I did all
the hard work to find it.
And then the whole Kelly crew
was nothing but a bunch
of thieves, crooks.
Who wants a bunch of thieves
and crooks next to you?
Narrator: Shawn's plan
to deal with the Kellys?
Shawn:
Ran into Boston Dave.
He decided that
he didn't want to be
any part of the Kellys anymore,
so he's gonna come over,
and we're gonna have a little
chat and see what we can do.
Narrator:
Trying to strike a deal
with a disgruntled
ex-Kelly crew member
that could shut down the Irish
for good.
- How's it going, Dave?
- Have a seat.
- You want a cup of coffee?
- I'm good. Just had one.
Ahh.
Uh, you know,
I'm down there with the Kellys,
and I know you're
not happy about it.
I heard a lot of that gear
down there is yours.
I mean, what's
all yours down there?
Pumps, foot valves,
air compressor, jet log.
Narrator: In their haste
to cobble together
a working operation,
it turns out the Kellys
are still using
key pieces of equipment
on loan from none other than
their former night-crew diver,
Boston Dave.
Have you got any money
out those guys
for your equipment or anything?
Nothing yet, man. It's kind of
a circus show, dude.
It's just a waste
of [Bleep] time.
Then they'll wear out
your stuff,
and then you'll end up with a
bunch of worn-out stuff, so...
How much you got in all
your gear down there?
It was about 9 grand worth of
stuff there, minus shipping.
If you'd be willing to
sell that gear to me,
we'd be willing to buy it.
Yeah?
So, you'll give me full price
on that equipment
so I can go get
new stuff, really?
Absolutely.
We'll help you out by --
'cause you know you ain't gonna
get any money out of those guys.
So...
Here we go.
Here's 9 grand.
Let's write up a bill of sale.
♫
- There we go.
- The equipment's yours.
Let's do -- write up a bill of
sale and make it official,
and you take the cash
and we'll go take the pumps
and their equipment.
Chess game. I'm just gonna
put the Kellys in check.
Narrator:
With the deal done...
Got a deal done.
Thanks, Dave.
That helps me out.
...Shawn may have finally
rid himself of the Kellys.
Shawn: I'd rather be down on
the bottom, sucking up gold.
I don't like being
pushed to that point,
but dealing with a bunch
of morons coming out there
and trying to jump on me,
that pisses me off.
All loaded up!
Feel like the repo man today.
Repoing the reaper. Ha!
[ Whistles ]
Repo. Repo.
The repo man.
[ Engine starts ]
Time to go for a little ride.
♫
Narrator: Coming up...
Shawn: You got
my property right now.
- You're a [Bleep] liar!
- I own it!
I own this [Bleep]!
You ain't leasing [Bleep]!
We'll cook her up,
see what we got.
- It's breakfast time.
- Ho!
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
...at the Bluff...
Where are you working at
from our hole?
...Captain Kris Kelly
is desperate
to get operation millionaire
back on track.
Kris:
Oh, this is not good.
♫
♫
Just say, "God, I'm on
the best gold ever!"
Narrator:
But four hours into his dive...
Right now, I'm on
3 ounces an hour. Whoo!
Man: All right, Jay!
Way to go.
...all he can do is pretend
to be on the gold.
Shawn: I got the bill of sale
for my mining equipment
the Kellys have in
their possession right now.
They shouldn't [Bleep] with me.
♫
Got something for you, Andy.
Either you guys could give
the stuff up peacefully,
or I'll bring the
troopers out and grab it.
You got my property right now.
I come to get it back.
The pump, the diffusers,
the foot valves.
It's all listed there.
That's a bill of sale.
Brad: Shawn came over
with a bill of sale
saying that he bought
all this stuff from Dave.
I don't know what
he's talking about.
Kris: What the [Bleep]?
I'm coming up
to see what's going on.
Brad: That equipment
has no serial numbers.
- We've got five sets of those.
- No. That's my equipment.
I'll bring the --
You're gonna have to
bring them out here.
There's not one serial
number on there, bro.
Which stuff?
The air compressor, the [Bleep]
We've got four
of those motors, bro.
- ...pump valves, pumps.
- Which ones?
Shawn: It's mine.
I purchased it.
- I have a binding deal with --
- Where?
Where? Where is it?
Where is your piece of paper?
- I have a deal --
- I own it.
I own that [Bleep]
I don't give a [Bleep]
- You don't have a deal with me!
- Stop talking.
- I purchased them. They're mine.
- He already leased it to me.
They're mine. No.
They're not yours anymore.
- How are we stealing anything?
- I'm being petty?!
You [Bleep] move on me,
and I'm super petty?
You are super petty.
Very petty.
You're a [Bleep] little
weasel-ass [Bleep]
Man, you're
a [Bleep] punk bitch, man.
I know my rights.
Show me your receipt.
That's a piece of paper.
That means nothing.
- I'll bring the troopers out.
- That's not even Dave's Sig--
- I'll bring the troopers out.
- Bring them out.
Bring them out. You've said
your piece. Go. Thanks.
Don't come over here
anymore, please.
Shawn thinks that he's
gonna try to get rid of me,
and he's gonna knock me down,
he's gonna buy my equipment
out from underneath me.
He's gonna do everything he can
to stop me.
It just shows you
how petty he is.
- Okay. Let's go back to work.
- [Bleep] Shawn.
Better not come
around here no more.
We don't want him
over here no more.
Brad: Shawn didn't bring
a proper bill of sale.
We couldn't read
any of the signatures.
There was no identification
numbers on any of the motors,
no serial numbers.
How could I even
match this equipment up?
I got motors all over the place.
Kris: We gonna
give him his equipment,
or are we just
gonna keep mining?
Dave lent it to us.
Until Dave tells us otherwise,
what's his piece of paper mean?
Nothing to me.
Well, let's just go and see what
it goes like the next few days.
Let's see how much gold
we can put in the box.
Let's use this [Bleep] up
while we can use it.
I'm not even worried
about these guys, man.
The Bluffs is my
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We can feel there's gold.
You can feel it!
I see Shawn over there.
He turns into a freak and tries
breaking up my operation,
taking half of my equipment.
Shaw's just
a super-petty person.
I've just got to
try to plow through this,
work as hard as I can,
and hope to god
I get a lot of gold.
All that matters is
by the time we get these
motors back to Shawn,
we'll have made
$20,000 with them.
Narrator:
When the Kellys go low...
Can't argue with
ignorance or stupidity.
Narrator:
...Shawn goes high...
I'm a thief, and I'm trying
to justify being a thief
and a lowlife piece of crap.
...or not.
Shawn:
I mean, are they a threat.
No, the Kellys aren't a threat.
He can keep trying to follow me,
keep trying to do what I do,
but he'll never be Mr. Gold.
♫
Dad taught me how to dowse
when I was a kid.
Narrator: As Mr. Gold
refocuses on the quest
for the pay-streak boulder...
Shawn: That works pretty good
for finding gold.
Narrator: ...He's turning
to the ancient art of dowsing.
It's magic. You can walk,
and when those rods cross,
you know there's either
a lot of heavies --
Iron, black sand.
That's kind of where
the gold runs with.
Ohh. Might be some gold
under the tailings.
"X" marks the spot.
Narrator: 80 miles west...
...at Zeke Tenhoff's compound...
Zeke: I'll be glad once we get
this generator out of here.
...Nome's mad scientist
and his brother, Sam,
have been working to secure
a mineral-rights claim
with the State of Alaska.
I mean, 12 kilowatts
of electricity,
you know, we don't have to be,
like, dealing with,
like, crappy, little generators
and doing the generator
shuffle all night,
all day, generator shuffle.
Now the brothers are shifting
their focus to mining.
Yeah, man.
They're reconfiguring
their rig...
It'll definitely do the trick.
...adding the upgraded wattage
they need to power a dredge.
I need to go back
out to Hastings.
I need a payday right now.
Last summer...
You see anything in there?
I'm definitely seeing a
little gold building up in here.
...Zeke discovered a
once-in-a-lifetime gold sign
at Hastings Creek...
Hastings Creek's spitting out
gold right directly that way.
This is where we need to be.
...and dedicated this ice season
to staking claim to the ground.
Zeke: Good [Bleep]
Narrator: After weeks
of gathering sample buckets,
Zeke and Sam...
That's gold.
...finally found the pay dirt
they were looking for.
Zeke: There could be like
the rest of our working careers'
worth of money
just sitting out there,
and that's just been my dream.
Narrator: Now...
I'm definitely following
the treasure-hunting feeling.
I got a sample
from that beach ridge
that has damn good gold in it.
Narrator:
...With his samples collected
and half the season behind him,
Zeke is heading back out
to the ice,
hoping to suck up enough gold
to turn a profit this season.
Zeke: I want to find
a couple hundred ounces.
There's something about just
finding a little pocket of it
like that, you know?
It's got swag.
There's some swag
in finding that.
Narrator: But...
What?!
...in ice mining, the ice
always has the final say.
There's a big, greasy crack
just opening up right there!
And there might be
another crack opening up
between here and shore.
We might be [Bleep]
floating away as we speak.
- Narrator: Coming up...
- Dude, it's like 15 feet wide.
It could just
suddenly start going,
and I'm going to Russia
with all this [Bleep]
Shawn: There's gold
under every rock down here.
We might have found
another 1,000 ounces. Whoa!
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
10 miles east of Nome...
There's a big greasy crack
just opening up right there!
And there might be
another crack opening up
between here and shore.
...Zeke Tenhoff's
return to Hastings Creek
has turned into
a rescue operation.
We might be [Bleep]
floating away as we speak.
Oh [Bleep] dude!
It's like 15 feet wide!
It's been opening,
probably about, I don't know,
at least 6 inches
every 10 minutes.
It could just suddenly --
Suddenly [Bleep] start going.
'Cause what happens
is when that ice
[bleep] Disconnects
from this ice,
and then it could destabilize it
from where it froze
to the bottom over there.
Everything could go out,
and I'm going to Russia
with all this [Bleep]
And I don't love
this [Bleep] enough
to want to go to Russia with it,
by any means.
Narrator: When a crack
forms in the ice sheet,
a domino effect occurs.
As the ice separates
and heads to sea,
the shore-side ice
is destabilized,
causing more cracks to form.
If Zeke fails to get
his operation off the ice
fast enough,
he'll be stranded on an iceberg,
headed for Siberia.
♫
There's an old eskimo phrase
for this kind of situation
when you're out on the ice.
It's called "no bueno."
God, I hope this rig will pull
both these shacks
at the same time,
'cause I don't think
I have enough [Bleep] time
to make two trips.
Come on!
Yeah, I don't know.
It's a lot of weight.
I don't know if it's gonna be
able to get everything going.
♫
I know, deep down,
that if I ever go on
any kind of ice-dredging mission
anywhere
that things aren't
gonna go as planned.
After all of the struggle
that I've already put forward
at Hastings,
to be capped off by the ice
going out completely
at an irrational
and illogical time...
We can do it.
We can do it.
♫
That's what I'm talking about.
The ice, it has gone out
on our Hastings dream.
But if plan "A"
doesn't work out,
an exciting plan "B" will arise.
Narrator: 70 miles east...
At the Bluff...
New hole.
Hopefully it pays off.
Hopefully there's
a bunch of gold down here.
Narrator:
...On the hunt for a pay streak
he believes will fund
his $6-million mega dredge,
Mr. Gold is firmly refocused
on what he does best.
♫
♫
♫
♫
Man: How's your visibility
down there?
Shawn:
Actually turning good.
Just going to grab
the nozzle here.
All righty, Shawn, suck those
piles of gold up here
before the gold rush hits.
Yeah. don't know.
Trying to figure out
what's going on down here.
♫
Where's that big one?
So, what are you seeing
down there, buddy?
How's it looking
on this new hole?
Well, uh, I don't know.
It's not looking the greatest.
But lots of structure,
lots of big rocks.
Roger that.
Can you do a little walkabout
to see what's around?
I just want to see gold.
♫
There's lots of places
for gold to hide.
Kind of working my way back
over to where I thought it was.
Not looking good so far.
He's only been down 10 minutes,
so you can't really judge a hole
until you put some
hours on it and...
But it's not
looking good so far.
You're in light materials,
you're not gonna find gold.
Gold's heavy.
Sounds like you kind of
got the lay of the land
a little bit down there, eh?
Yeah, kind of.
I mean, it's right
around here somewhere.
Go ahead and throttle
that pump up.
Roger.
♫
All right.
Let's find some gold here.
♫
♫
Seeing a few pieces.
I see a piece there.
♫
Oh, there's a big nugget.
Guess what, big daddy.
There's multiples.
Yeah! Ooh!
It's a dandy.
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughs ]
I knew there was
some nuggets here.
- Hell, yeah.
- A dandy just went up the hose.
- Oh, boy.
- Ah!
There's gold under
every rock down here.
Oh, boy.
We might've found our next hole
to make our next
1,000 ounces out of.
Haha!
I'm doing the gold dance.
Whoo!
Narrator: Coming up...
[ Beep ]
Can you hear me now?
Kris: He's pulling
on the umbilical!
There should be about
20 ounces in there.
Doesn't look too bad.
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff...
Kris:
We're not gonna be terrorized
and pushed out of here.
Narrator:
...After weeks of no gold
and under the specter
of having his dive equipment
bought out from under him
by Shawn Pomrenke...
But no matter what,
we're gonna spend today,
we're gonna grind out,
we're gonna make our
money to keep going.
...Captain Kris Kelly is
struggling to keep his dream
of becoming a millionaire alive.
Concentrate. Gold, gold,
gold, gold, gold.
If the Irish don't get
on the gold, and fast,
their season will be over.
I'm not a happy
Kris Kelly right now.
I've spent a [Bleep] load of my
money. I've risked everything,
and everybody's looking
for ways to tear me down.
But you know what?
[Bleep] Shawn!
I need this Bluff.
I need a place that we can go
that there is a lot of gold.
And I'm not going away easy.
Narrator: Kris is looking
to turn the corner
by sending down
little brother Andy
to get them back on the gold.
Kris: Okay.
Let's rock 'n' roll.
♫
♫
♫
How are you doing?
Andy: I'm good, man.
Gonna take me a minute
for my ears to open,
but I'm good.
And it's pretty down here.
♫
Hey.
I'm just walking over,
grabbing the nozzle real fast.
We need to make every
[Bleep] second count.
There's no [Bleep] way
we're losing gold today.
♫
What's up?
Don't leave that pump on.
I'm not.
I'm standing right here.
I feel something going
through the regulators
like every 10 or so breaths.
- Purge your line.
- What?
Purge your air line!
♫
Narrator:
Ice will form in an air hose
when it hasn't been properly
stored or thawed before use,
a serious problem
that could end Andy's dive
just as it's starting.
Well, [Bleep]. I'm not leaving.
I'm gonna sit right here.
We need this money
right now, so bad.
Okay.
Andy feels chunks of ice
going through the regulator.
What that means is there's
chunks of ice in the air line,
and he can feel them hitting
his throat when he's breathing.
What happens there is
that it can plug up the air
and he will have
no air instantly.
Right now Andy is
literally risking his life.
And to be honest with you,
I'm letting him do it.
In mining, you have to
be willing to go all-in.
Andy's a good diver.
I expect great things from him.
I expect Andy and I to be
able to take on the world.
I have to make gold,
or we're done for the season.
♫
The area I'm getting into
is looking pretty promising.
I got all the way to the bottom.
The clay's yellow.
There's about a half a foot
of all black material.
It looks good.
How's the gold down there?
Well, right now, the gold's
a little [Bleep] where I am.
I'm just seeing
what it goes into.
I just moved this okay-sized
rock to get underneath that.
Ah.
- Hey, Jay!
- Yeah?
The ground's looking good.
That's what I want to hear!
Dad!
And as the overburden
keeps sucking up my nozzle,
it's looking better
in this wall.
All right, man!
It's flowing out of the [Bleep]
damn wall in front of me!
Sweet.
Oh [Bleep] me. Look at all
the [Bleep] gold right there.
And I just took out maybe
a 1/4 inch of material.
This wall's getting better
and better, dude.
Awesome!
You just keep working hard
and get as much gold as we can.
You know what? We're Irish,
so the luck's finally
coming through again.
We're always lucky.
Hey, what are you
seeing for gold?
- What's up?
- How's the gold?!
I need a dollar figure.
I can barely hear you now.
It sounds like
you're whispering.
[ Beep ]
Can you hear me now?
The comm line's busted.
♫
Oh, my [Bleep]
Hey, is everything okay?
♫
Lookit. If we --
Should I pull him in?
No.
Can you hear me now, a?
♫
He's pulling on the umbilical!
♫
♫
Are you okay?
I saw you pulling
on the umbilical!
Because I'm trying to
get more umbilical!
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm hollering to you guys
to give me more umbilical.
I'm sorry. I panicked,
and I didn't know what to do.
Oh, my [Bleep]
Okay.
Let me tell you.
If there's no com box,
there's no point doing this,
'cause this [Bleep] --
I can't have that, Kris.
That hurt my ears.
Narrator: With comms down
and ice in the air line,
for the Irish...
Take everything off
and I'll fix the comm box.
Don't go down there
with a dangerous situation.
...it's déjà vu all over again,
as captain Kris calls the day,
and the operation is once again
shut down and off the gold.
I don't have time to stop,
but I need to stop,
make sure that we can be safe,
make sure things are dialed in,
make sure I'm not
gonna hurt my brother.
It's definitely
not worth sacrificing
my brother's life for gold.
I felt my [Bleep] ears,
the pressure going on my ears
the whole time I was coming up.
And I was [Bleep] yanking it.
Well, I didn't know
what else to do.
I don't know what else to do,
other than pull you up
when I think
there's an emergency.
Kris: No matter
what I seem to do lately,
everything turns to [Bleep]
and falls through my fingers.
♫
Narrator: Coming up...
Kris: I made a deal with you
to lease this equipment.
I'm not going down at all.
Shawn: I'm gonna cook her up,
see what we got.
It's breakfast time.
Zeke: I didn't go to school,
literally, at all.
So my knowledge of how geology
works is pretty limited,
but I like to make a point
to try to pronounce the words
that other people
just don't bother,
'cause I think it's kind of fun
to talk like that.
'Cause there's a lot of
really fun words in geology,
like "arsenopyrite."
That's an awesome word.
I don't really even know
what it means,
but it's something
to do with pyrite.
Pyrite's that shiny one.
And arseno --
I don't know what that means,
but I say "arsenopyrite" a lot,
and I think that
I can identify it.
I might be faking it.
[ Laughs ]
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff...
Kris: Hey, Dave, is half of
what's true's going on?
Yeah.
Shawn:
Looks like Dave showed up
to collect all my stuff
I bought off of him.
Narrator:
...Much to Mr. Gold's delight...
And the man paid for it.
They're taking it.
I made a deal with you
to lease this equipment.
You know I did.
...it's repo time.
They'll get -- okay.
They'll get honesty.
Leave for two days,
at least until tomorrow,
and then come back.
- Two days.
- Tomorrow.
- Two days.
- Tomorrow.
Shawn thinks he stopped us.
Shawn thinks he ruined my season
and shut me down.
I have other options.
I have more friends.
I can borrow their stuff.
I'm not gonna let Shawn stop us,
no matter what.
Okay, fine.
Tomorrow at 7:00.
I don't care. I don't care.
I'm a fighter.
I'm not going down at all.
Brad:
You're not a successful miner
if you're not in the water
getting gold.
And this has to be run
like an operation.
Like, it has to be run
like a motor, like a machine.
Under captain Kris' captaincy,
it's pretty rough.
I got to take over
the captain's seat again,
put Kris back down to diver.
Diver/owner.
You know what I mean?
We worked out fine under my
tutelage. You know what I mean?
Shawn: What'd they say?
You'll have
your [Bleep] tomorrow.
All right?
I'm done with the Bluff.
I don't want anything
to do out here.
I want to be home
at night with my kid.
All right, thanks, buddy.
I appreciate you coming out.
All right, bro.
Shawn: The Kellys definitely
messed with the wrong guy.
But you know what?
Gold mining is gold mining.
It's all here today, and it
all could be gone tomorrow.
[ Chuckles ]
Narrator: 70 miles west...
At Hastings Creek...
Yeah, I mean, basically,
the place where our shack
was at, it's gone.
I'm really glad we got
everything pulled off the ice.
Otherwise,
it would have been, uh...
No bueno.
...after spending all season
collecting samples
to stake a mineral-rights claim,
Zeke Tenhoff
and his brother, Sam,
have yet to put gold in the box.
At this point,
the ice-mining season
is more than halfway over.
What are we gonna do?
We spent all this money and
a priceless amount of energy,
and most of our ice season,
on something that just got
blown out with the north wind.
That ice is [Bleep]
Narrator:
The ice sheet they were working
broke off
and drifted out to sea.
So they need to figure out
a new place to mine.
We need to get some
[Bleep] dredging done,
- and we need to get some gold.
- We got to go to Bluff.
I mean, we got plenty of reports
back there's gold there.
All right. I haven't --
Like, it's kind of been
against my principles to just
follow the crowd, you know?
It has been.
Unless the crowd's making
20-, 30-ounce cleanup.
Zeke: I don't want to
follow Shawn anywhere.
I don't want to
follow Shawn anywhere.
But at this point, it's like...
We got to make some money.
Well, the thing is, it's, like,
crowds going down there.
It's gonna end up
being combat dredging
with a whole bunch
of chumps probably.
I don't think, at this point,
we have any choice.
Zeke: You get down to the wire,
you got to kind of,
just put your humility
back at the doorstep
and realize, like, "okay,
at the very base of this,
we came up here
to get some gold."
We're headed to bluff.
Narrator: 65 miles east...
At Mr. Gold's cabin...
Shawn: We're definitely
in some nice gold.
Narrator: ...After arranging
for his new equipment
to be delivered...
Shawn: We're trying to keep
on it, keep following it.
Narrator: ...Shawn's
ready to weigh some metal.
Shawn: Hopefully,
we can keep piling it up.
If we can keep piling it up,
it'll be a good season.
If get rid of the Kellys,
it'd be an amazing season.
Narrator:
With just weeks left to mine
and the future of the
mega dredge in the balance,
every ounce counts.
Shawn: 20 ounces. This should be
about 20 ounces in this.
Doesn't look too bad.
Cook her up.
Let's see what we got.
It's breakfast time.
I get a lot of enjoyment
out of supporting
all my friends and family.
I mean, it puts food
on their tables,
keeps a roof over our head.
I mean, it's definitely a great
feeling to be able to do that
for the people
that you care about.
♫
♫
♫
Looks like it's gonna be
close to 30, a little more.
♫
31.46.
Narrator: 31.46 ounces
is worth over $40,000.
Shawn:
I say that's a success.
Narrator: For Shawn,
the single-day cleanout
is the light
at the end of the tunnel.
Shawn: Pretty nice cleanup.
Narrator: Now all he needs to do
is bring in 40 grand
every day
for the rest of the season,
and the Pomrenke family
future will be golden.
Don't worry.
Mr. Gold's got a plan.
And his plan is
starting to come together.
We've been buying
and purchasing things
for the mega dredge
for the last three years,
and I'm getting excited,
'cause I'm gonna make
huge piles of gold.
♫
Narrator: As Shawn dreams
of the mega dredge,
the Bluff is about
to get more crowded.
And the Kellys, once again,
heading back to Nome.
♫
Kris:
I'm so far down the hole,
the only way to get out
is to go deeper.
This isn't the craziest thing
somebody's ever done for gold,
but it's pretty close.
Dad, you can't
break up the team!
Psychological warfare.
Mind games.
Whoa! Shut it off!
Off! Off!
Watch out. Watch.
Get out of there.
Zeke: Hahaha!
It looks like gold is in two
layers, at the very least.
Oh, man. There's gold all
over the bottom right here.
I can't believe I'm seeing
what I'm seeing.
Holy mother of [Bleep]
there's more!
Dude, that's so beautiful!
Now on "Bering Sea Gold"...
Kris: My plants worked great.
This is the best season
that we've ever had.
And there's no one
that's gonna stop me.
Man: Ho! Look at all
the gold right there!
It's getting better
and better, dude!
- Awesome!
- Whoo!
Shawn: Well, the Kellys --
I don't like them,
and I don't want them
anywhere around me.
I've been wondering how I could
take them out of the game.
I have a little trick
up my sleeve.
Shawn: There's 9 grand.
I own it!
I own this [Bleep]!
You don't have a deal with me!
Zeke: I started out the season
following an instinct,
chasing the mother lode,
mega treasure.
But it's not an adventure
if you plan it out perfectly.
There's a big, greasy crack
just opening up right there!
We might be floating away
as we speak.
Kris: Andy is literally
risking his life.
He's pulling on the umbilical.
Shawn: Might have found
our next 1,000 ounces.
It's a dandy!
I'm not going down at all.
- I'm being petty?!
- Yeah.
You [Bleep] move on me?!
Zeke: We're gonna get
the hell out of here!
Feeling great now! Oh!
Narrator: Nome, Alaska.
The winter mining season
has reached the midpoint.
Miners are still far
from their goals,
and the clock is ticking.
To uncover their fortunes,
the fleet will have to evolve
and be prepared to
throw out the rule book.
♫
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff.
Kris:
We're just gonna adapt.
Whatever problems
come ahead of us,
we're just gonna keep changing
until everything starts
to work like a clock.
Narrator: Captain Kris Kelly
is about to get under the ice.
You got to be good
at keeping it going.
And the fightin' Irish are
in desperate need of a payday
just to keep
the operation running.
Kris: We put everything
into this mining season.
Literally, everything.
I have nowhere to go if I fail.
I'm gonna be homeless.
I mean, seriously homeless.
Narrator:
So far this season...
Brad:
This is the furthest you've
ever taken us out of Nome.
This is the biggest gold
we're going after!
Narrator: ...Kris set out
with a grand plan.
Did you guys come find this?!
- No.
- Did you find it?!
Follow Mr. Gold...
I found 1,000 flakes.
...to the gold.
- 9.3.
- 9.3 ounces.
That is the best gold cleanup
we've ever had in our lives.
In our lives!
Narrator:
But after a hot start...
Kris! The air!
...busted equipment...
Sent them back to Nome
for parts.
We're shutting
this [Bleep] down.
Undaunted...
...Kris brought on
a night crew...
Kris:
My equipment's thrashed.
Narrator: ...That destroyed
his equipment...
Dude, where's the night crew?
Where are they?
...then skipped town...
I've got to go back to town
and get a water pump.
...hitting the Irish
with déjà vu,
as they were forced
back to Nome yet again.
Now...
We're only gonna stop when
the box gets so full of gold,
we have to clean it out,
and that's when we're
gonna stop, and that's it.
...the young captain
is ready to get
his plan to become a millionaire
back on track.
Kris: Okay.
I'm gonna go get my suit.
All he has to do
is get back on the gold.
Kris:
There could be 100 ounces
five feet in any direction
where you are constantly.
You have to keep moving,
keep working, keep moving.
♫
Kris:
Holy. It's kind of chilly.
Narrator:
In winter, the Bering Sea
drops to 29 degrees.
Without hot water
pumped into Kris' wet suit,
hypothermia would set in
within minutes.
Okay, well,
you got to start somewhere.
The rocks are a lot harder
to move over here.
Gonna need the crowbar
to get these things out.
I've got
the little crowbar here.
Do you want me to throw it down?
- Yeah.
- Okay. Stand by.
We're gonna drop it
to the ladder, okay?
It's away.
Okay. I found it.
Got to get in a system
right now.
Well, I see a bit of gold.
But I think I can do better.
Just keep going.
Hey, how's the water
look down there?
Is it murky, fluffy?
What?
Uh, you know what?
The water's beautiful
until you touch something,
and then it goes to [Bleep]
so fast.
♫
I want to see, like, a lot.
I want to make this worth
having, you know,
all these problems.
I owe so much money right now.
Narrator: 80 miles west...
In Nome...
♫
We got a lot of support
of the community. We live here.
We're here year-round.
Those Kellys -- they come,
take our gold and leave.
Narrator:
...Mr. Gold, Shawn Pomrenke,
is on a mission to remove
a season-long Thorn in his side.
Oh, they come out
and just screwed with us,
jumped right on us,
thinking that
it's okay to do that.
Well, you know,
I've been sitting
and wondering how I could
take them out of the game.
And I have a little trick
up my sleeve.
Narrator:
So far this season...
...Shawn has been hunting
for a boulder at the Bluff...
Shawn:
Son of a bitch.
...that he believes marks
a multimillion-dollar
pay streak...
Hoping for gold that will fund
his $6-million mega dredge
and lead the family
into a golden future.
The next time you come over,
my brother's
gonna [Bleep] you up!
But then the Kellys
crashed the party,
becoming an
unrelenting distraction.
We are...
Blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah!
Narrator: Now...
They want to play dirty?
Well, we're playing dirty.
I feel like it's a personal
attack against me.
I mean, I did all
the hard work to find it.
And then the whole Kelly crew
was nothing but a bunch
of thieves, crooks.
Who wants a bunch of thieves
and crooks next to you?
Narrator: Shawn's plan
to deal with the Kellys?
Shawn:
Ran into Boston Dave.
He decided that
he didn't want to be
any part of the Kellys anymore,
so he's gonna come over,
and we're gonna have a little
chat and see what we can do.
Narrator:
Trying to strike a deal
with a disgruntled
ex-Kelly crew member
that could shut down the Irish
for good.
- How's it going, Dave?
- Have a seat.
- You want a cup of coffee?
- I'm good. Just had one.
Ahh.
Uh, you know,
I'm down there with the Kellys,
and I know you're
not happy about it.
I heard a lot of that gear
down there is yours.
I mean, what's
all yours down there?
Pumps, foot valves,
air compressor, jet log.
Narrator: In their haste
to cobble together
a working operation,
it turns out the Kellys
are still using
key pieces of equipment
on loan from none other than
their former night-crew diver,
Boston Dave.
Have you got any money
out those guys
for your equipment or anything?
Nothing yet, man. It's kind of
a circus show, dude.
It's just a waste
of [Bleep] time.
Then they'll wear out
your stuff,
and then you'll end up with a
bunch of worn-out stuff, so...
How much you got in all
your gear down there?
It was about 9 grand worth of
stuff there, minus shipping.
If you'd be willing to
sell that gear to me,
we'd be willing to buy it.
Yeah?
So, you'll give me full price
on that equipment
so I can go get
new stuff, really?
Absolutely.
We'll help you out by --
'cause you know you ain't gonna
get any money out of those guys.
So...
Here we go.
Here's 9 grand.
Let's write up a bill of sale.
♫
- There we go.
- The equipment's yours.
Let's do -- write up a bill of
sale and make it official,
and you take the cash
and we'll go take the pumps
and their equipment.
Chess game. I'm just gonna
put the Kellys in check.
Narrator:
With the deal done...
Got a deal done.
Thanks, Dave.
That helps me out.
...Shawn may have finally
rid himself of the Kellys.
Shawn: I'd rather be down on
the bottom, sucking up gold.
I don't like being
pushed to that point,
but dealing with a bunch
of morons coming out there
and trying to jump on me,
that pisses me off.
All loaded up!
Feel like the repo man today.
Repoing the reaper. Ha!
[ Whistles ]
Repo. Repo.
The repo man.
[ Engine starts ]
Time to go for a little ride.
♫
Narrator: Coming up...
Shawn: You got
my property right now.
- You're a [Bleep] liar!
- I own it!
I own this [Bleep]!
You ain't leasing [Bleep]!
We'll cook her up,
see what we got.
- It's breakfast time.
- Ho!
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
...at the Bluff...
Where are you working at
from our hole?
...Captain Kris Kelly
is desperate
to get operation millionaire
back on track.
Kris:
Oh, this is not good.
♫
♫
Just say, "God, I'm on
the best gold ever!"
Narrator:
But four hours into his dive...
Right now, I'm on
3 ounces an hour. Whoo!
Man: All right, Jay!
Way to go.
...all he can do is pretend
to be on the gold.
Shawn: I got the bill of sale
for my mining equipment
the Kellys have in
their possession right now.
They shouldn't [Bleep] with me.
♫
Got something for you, Andy.
Either you guys could give
the stuff up peacefully,
or I'll bring the
troopers out and grab it.
You got my property right now.
I come to get it back.
The pump, the diffusers,
the foot valves.
It's all listed there.
That's a bill of sale.
Brad: Shawn came over
with a bill of sale
saying that he bought
all this stuff from Dave.
I don't know what
he's talking about.
Kris: What the [Bleep]?
I'm coming up
to see what's going on.
Brad: That equipment
has no serial numbers.
- We've got five sets of those.
- No. That's my equipment.
I'll bring the --
You're gonna have to
bring them out here.
There's not one serial
number on there, bro.
Which stuff?
The air compressor, the [Bleep]
We've got four
of those motors, bro.
- ...pump valves, pumps.
- Which ones?
Shawn: It's mine.
I purchased it.
- I have a binding deal with --
- Where?
Where? Where is it?
Where is your piece of paper?
- I have a deal --
- I own it.
I own that [Bleep]
I don't give a [Bleep]
- You don't have a deal with me!
- Stop talking.
- I purchased them. They're mine.
- He already leased it to me.
They're mine. No.
They're not yours anymore.
- How are we stealing anything?
- I'm being petty?!
You [Bleep] move on me,
and I'm super petty?
You are super petty.
Very petty.
You're a [Bleep] little
weasel-ass [Bleep]
Man, you're
a [Bleep] punk bitch, man.
I know my rights.
Show me your receipt.
That's a piece of paper.
That means nothing.
- I'll bring the troopers out.
- That's not even Dave's Sig--
- I'll bring the troopers out.
- Bring them out.
Bring them out. You've said
your piece. Go. Thanks.
Don't come over here
anymore, please.
Shawn thinks that he's
gonna try to get rid of me,
and he's gonna knock me down,
he's gonna buy my equipment
out from underneath me.
He's gonna do everything he can
to stop me.
It just shows you
how petty he is.
- Okay. Let's go back to work.
- [Bleep] Shawn.
Better not come
around here no more.
We don't want him
over here no more.
Brad: Shawn didn't bring
a proper bill of sale.
We couldn't read
any of the signatures.
There was no identification
numbers on any of the motors,
no serial numbers.
How could I even
match this equipment up?
I got motors all over the place.
Kris: We gonna
give him his equipment,
or are we just
gonna keep mining?
Dave lent it to us.
Until Dave tells us otherwise,
what's his piece of paper mean?
Nothing to me.
Well, let's just go and see what
it goes like the next few days.
Let's see how much gold
we can put in the box.
Let's use this [Bleep] up
while we can use it.
I'm not even worried
about these guys, man.
The Bluffs is my
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We can feel there's gold.
You can feel it!
I see Shawn over there.
He turns into a freak and tries
breaking up my operation,
taking half of my equipment.
Shaw's just
a super-petty person.
I've just got to
try to plow through this,
work as hard as I can,
and hope to god
I get a lot of gold.
All that matters is
by the time we get these
motors back to Shawn,
we'll have made
$20,000 with them.
Narrator:
When the Kellys go low...
Can't argue with
ignorance or stupidity.
Narrator:
...Shawn goes high...
I'm a thief, and I'm trying
to justify being a thief
and a lowlife piece of crap.
...or not.
Shawn:
I mean, are they a threat.
No, the Kellys aren't a threat.
He can keep trying to follow me,
keep trying to do what I do,
but he'll never be Mr. Gold.
♫
Dad taught me how to dowse
when I was a kid.
Narrator: As Mr. Gold
refocuses on the quest
for the pay-streak boulder...
Shawn: That works pretty good
for finding gold.
Narrator: ...He's turning
to the ancient art of dowsing.
It's magic. You can walk,
and when those rods cross,
you know there's either
a lot of heavies --
Iron, black sand.
That's kind of where
the gold runs with.
Ohh. Might be some gold
under the tailings.
"X" marks the spot.
Narrator: 80 miles west...
...at Zeke Tenhoff's compound...
Zeke: I'll be glad once we get
this generator out of here.
...Nome's mad scientist
and his brother, Sam,
have been working to secure
a mineral-rights claim
with the State of Alaska.
I mean, 12 kilowatts
of electricity,
you know, we don't have to be,
like, dealing with,
like, crappy, little generators
and doing the generator
shuffle all night,
all day, generator shuffle.
Now the brothers are shifting
their focus to mining.
Yeah, man.
They're reconfiguring
their rig...
It'll definitely do the trick.
...adding the upgraded wattage
they need to power a dredge.
I need to go back
out to Hastings.
I need a payday right now.
Last summer...
You see anything in there?
I'm definitely seeing a
little gold building up in here.
...Zeke discovered a
once-in-a-lifetime gold sign
at Hastings Creek...
Hastings Creek's spitting out
gold right directly that way.
This is where we need to be.
...and dedicated this ice season
to staking claim to the ground.
Zeke: Good [Bleep]
Narrator: After weeks
of gathering sample buckets,
Zeke and Sam...
That's gold.
...finally found the pay dirt
they were looking for.
Zeke: There could be like
the rest of our working careers'
worth of money
just sitting out there,
and that's just been my dream.
Narrator: Now...
I'm definitely following
the treasure-hunting feeling.
I got a sample
from that beach ridge
that has damn good gold in it.
Narrator:
...With his samples collected
and half the season behind him,
Zeke is heading back out
to the ice,
hoping to suck up enough gold
to turn a profit this season.
Zeke: I want to find
a couple hundred ounces.
There's something about just
finding a little pocket of it
like that, you know?
It's got swag.
There's some swag
in finding that.
Narrator: But...
What?!
...in ice mining, the ice
always has the final say.
There's a big, greasy crack
just opening up right there!
And there might be
another crack opening up
between here and shore.
We might be [Bleep]
floating away as we speak.
- Narrator: Coming up...
- Dude, it's like 15 feet wide.
It could just
suddenly start going,
and I'm going to Russia
with all this [Bleep]
Shawn: There's gold
under every rock down here.
We might have found
another 1,000 ounces. Whoa!
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
10 miles east of Nome...
There's a big greasy crack
just opening up right there!
And there might be
another crack opening up
between here and shore.
...Zeke Tenhoff's
return to Hastings Creek
has turned into
a rescue operation.
We might be [Bleep]
floating away as we speak.
Oh [Bleep] dude!
It's like 15 feet wide!
It's been opening,
probably about, I don't know,
at least 6 inches
every 10 minutes.
It could just suddenly --
Suddenly [Bleep] start going.
'Cause what happens
is when that ice
[bleep] Disconnects
from this ice,
and then it could destabilize it
from where it froze
to the bottom over there.
Everything could go out,
and I'm going to Russia
with all this [Bleep]
And I don't love
this [Bleep] enough
to want to go to Russia with it,
by any means.
Narrator: When a crack
forms in the ice sheet,
a domino effect occurs.
As the ice separates
and heads to sea,
the shore-side ice
is destabilized,
causing more cracks to form.
If Zeke fails to get
his operation off the ice
fast enough,
he'll be stranded on an iceberg,
headed for Siberia.
♫
There's an old eskimo phrase
for this kind of situation
when you're out on the ice.
It's called "no bueno."
God, I hope this rig will pull
both these shacks
at the same time,
'cause I don't think
I have enough [Bleep] time
to make two trips.
Come on!
Yeah, I don't know.
It's a lot of weight.
I don't know if it's gonna be
able to get everything going.
♫
I know, deep down,
that if I ever go on
any kind of ice-dredging mission
anywhere
that things aren't
gonna go as planned.
After all of the struggle
that I've already put forward
at Hastings,
to be capped off by the ice
going out completely
at an irrational
and illogical time...
We can do it.
We can do it.
♫
That's what I'm talking about.
The ice, it has gone out
on our Hastings dream.
But if plan "A"
doesn't work out,
an exciting plan "B" will arise.
Narrator: 70 miles east...
At the Bluff...
New hole.
Hopefully it pays off.
Hopefully there's
a bunch of gold down here.
Narrator:
...On the hunt for a pay streak
he believes will fund
his $6-million mega dredge,
Mr. Gold is firmly refocused
on what he does best.
♫
♫
♫
♫
Man: How's your visibility
down there?
Shawn:
Actually turning good.
Just going to grab
the nozzle here.
All righty, Shawn, suck those
piles of gold up here
before the gold rush hits.
Yeah. don't know.
Trying to figure out
what's going on down here.
♫
Where's that big one?
So, what are you seeing
down there, buddy?
How's it looking
on this new hole?
Well, uh, I don't know.
It's not looking the greatest.
But lots of structure,
lots of big rocks.
Roger that.
Can you do a little walkabout
to see what's around?
I just want to see gold.
♫
There's lots of places
for gold to hide.
Kind of working my way back
over to where I thought it was.
Not looking good so far.
He's only been down 10 minutes,
so you can't really judge a hole
until you put some
hours on it and...
But it's not
looking good so far.
You're in light materials,
you're not gonna find gold.
Gold's heavy.
Sounds like you kind of
got the lay of the land
a little bit down there, eh?
Yeah, kind of.
I mean, it's right
around here somewhere.
Go ahead and throttle
that pump up.
Roger.
♫
All right.
Let's find some gold here.
♫
♫
Seeing a few pieces.
I see a piece there.
♫
Oh, there's a big nugget.
Guess what, big daddy.
There's multiples.
Yeah! Ooh!
It's a dandy.
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughs ]
I knew there was
some nuggets here.
- Hell, yeah.
- A dandy just went up the hose.
- Oh, boy.
- Ah!
There's gold under
every rock down here.
Oh, boy.
We might've found our next hole
to make our next
1,000 ounces out of.
Haha!
I'm doing the gold dance.
Whoo!
Narrator: Coming up...
[ Beep ]
Can you hear me now?
Kris: He's pulling
on the umbilical!
There should be about
20 ounces in there.
Doesn't look too bad.
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff...
Kris:
We're not gonna be terrorized
and pushed out of here.
Narrator:
...After weeks of no gold
and under the specter
of having his dive equipment
bought out from under him
by Shawn Pomrenke...
But no matter what,
we're gonna spend today,
we're gonna grind out,
we're gonna make our
money to keep going.
...Captain Kris Kelly is
struggling to keep his dream
of becoming a millionaire alive.
Concentrate. Gold, gold,
gold, gold, gold.
If the Irish don't get
on the gold, and fast,
their season will be over.
I'm not a happy
Kris Kelly right now.
I've spent a [Bleep] load of my
money. I've risked everything,
and everybody's looking
for ways to tear me down.
But you know what?
[Bleep] Shawn!
I need this Bluff.
I need a place that we can go
that there is a lot of gold.
And I'm not going away easy.
Narrator: Kris is looking
to turn the corner
by sending down
little brother Andy
to get them back on the gold.
Kris: Okay.
Let's rock 'n' roll.
♫
♫
♫
How are you doing?
Andy: I'm good, man.
Gonna take me a minute
for my ears to open,
but I'm good.
And it's pretty down here.
♫
Hey.
I'm just walking over,
grabbing the nozzle real fast.
We need to make every
[Bleep] second count.
There's no [Bleep] way
we're losing gold today.
♫
What's up?
Don't leave that pump on.
I'm not.
I'm standing right here.
I feel something going
through the regulators
like every 10 or so breaths.
- Purge your line.
- What?
Purge your air line!
♫
Narrator:
Ice will form in an air hose
when it hasn't been properly
stored or thawed before use,
a serious problem
that could end Andy's dive
just as it's starting.
Well, [Bleep]. I'm not leaving.
I'm gonna sit right here.
We need this money
right now, so bad.
Okay.
Andy feels chunks of ice
going through the regulator.
What that means is there's
chunks of ice in the air line,
and he can feel them hitting
his throat when he's breathing.
What happens there is
that it can plug up the air
and he will have
no air instantly.
Right now Andy is
literally risking his life.
And to be honest with you,
I'm letting him do it.
In mining, you have to
be willing to go all-in.
Andy's a good diver.
I expect great things from him.
I expect Andy and I to be
able to take on the world.
I have to make gold,
or we're done for the season.
♫
The area I'm getting into
is looking pretty promising.
I got all the way to the bottom.
The clay's yellow.
There's about a half a foot
of all black material.
It looks good.
How's the gold down there?
Well, right now, the gold's
a little [Bleep] where I am.
I'm just seeing
what it goes into.
I just moved this okay-sized
rock to get underneath that.
Ah.
- Hey, Jay!
- Yeah?
The ground's looking good.
That's what I want to hear!
Dad!
And as the overburden
keeps sucking up my nozzle,
it's looking better
in this wall.
All right, man!
It's flowing out of the [Bleep]
damn wall in front of me!
Sweet.
Oh [Bleep] me. Look at all
the [Bleep] gold right there.
And I just took out maybe
a 1/4 inch of material.
This wall's getting better
and better, dude.
Awesome!
You just keep working hard
and get as much gold as we can.
You know what? We're Irish,
so the luck's finally
coming through again.
We're always lucky.
Hey, what are you
seeing for gold?
- What's up?
- How's the gold?!
I need a dollar figure.
I can barely hear you now.
It sounds like
you're whispering.
[ Beep ]
Can you hear me now?
The comm line's busted.
♫
Oh, my [Bleep]
Hey, is everything okay?
♫
Lookit. If we --
Should I pull him in?
No.
Can you hear me now, a?
♫
He's pulling on the umbilical!
♫
♫
Are you okay?
I saw you pulling
on the umbilical!
Because I'm trying to
get more umbilical!
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm hollering to you guys
to give me more umbilical.
I'm sorry. I panicked,
and I didn't know what to do.
Oh, my [Bleep]
Okay.
Let me tell you.
If there's no com box,
there's no point doing this,
'cause this [Bleep] --
I can't have that, Kris.
That hurt my ears.
Narrator: With comms down
and ice in the air line,
for the Irish...
Take everything off
and I'll fix the comm box.
Don't go down there
with a dangerous situation.
...it's déjà vu all over again,
as captain Kris calls the day,
and the operation is once again
shut down and off the gold.
I don't have time to stop,
but I need to stop,
make sure that we can be safe,
make sure things are dialed in,
make sure I'm not
gonna hurt my brother.
It's definitely
not worth sacrificing
my brother's life for gold.
I felt my [Bleep] ears,
the pressure going on my ears
the whole time I was coming up.
And I was [Bleep] yanking it.
Well, I didn't know
what else to do.
I don't know what else to do,
other than pull you up
when I think
there's an emergency.
Kris: No matter
what I seem to do lately,
everything turns to [Bleep]
and falls through my fingers.
♫
Narrator: Coming up...
Kris: I made a deal with you
to lease this equipment.
I'm not going down at all.
Shawn: I'm gonna cook her up,
see what we got.
It's breakfast time.
Zeke: I didn't go to school,
literally, at all.
So my knowledge of how geology
works is pretty limited,
but I like to make a point
to try to pronounce the words
that other people
just don't bother,
'cause I think it's kind of fun
to talk like that.
'Cause there's a lot of
really fun words in geology,
like "arsenopyrite."
That's an awesome word.
I don't really even know
what it means,
but it's something
to do with pyrite.
Pyrite's that shiny one.
And arseno --
I don't know what that means,
but I say "arsenopyrite" a lot,
and I think that
I can identify it.
I might be faking it.
[ Laughs ]
[ Wind howling ]
Narrator:
80 miles east of Nome...
At the Bluff...
Kris: Hey, Dave, is half of
what's true's going on?
Yeah.
Shawn:
Looks like Dave showed up
to collect all my stuff
I bought off of him.
Narrator:
...Much to Mr. Gold's delight...
And the man paid for it.
They're taking it.
I made a deal with you
to lease this equipment.
You know I did.
...it's repo time.
They'll get -- okay.
They'll get honesty.
Leave for two days,
at least until tomorrow,
and then come back.
- Two days.
- Tomorrow.
- Two days.
- Tomorrow.
Shawn thinks he stopped us.
Shawn thinks he ruined my season
and shut me down.
I have other options.
I have more friends.
I can borrow their stuff.
I'm not gonna let Shawn stop us,
no matter what.
Okay, fine.
Tomorrow at 7:00.
I don't care. I don't care.
I'm a fighter.
I'm not going down at all.
Brad:
You're not a successful miner
if you're not in the water
getting gold.
And this has to be run
like an operation.
Like, it has to be run
like a motor, like a machine.
Under captain Kris' captaincy,
it's pretty rough.
I got to take over
the captain's seat again,
put Kris back down to diver.
Diver/owner.
You know what I mean?
We worked out fine under my
tutelage. You know what I mean?
Shawn: What'd they say?
You'll have
your [Bleep] tomorrow.
All right?
I'm done with the Bluff.
I don't want anything
to do out here.
I want to be home
at night with my kid.
All right, thanks, buddy.
I appreciate you coming out.
All right, bro.
Shawn: The Kellys definitely
messed with the wrong guy.
But you know what?
Gold mining is gold mining.
It's all here today, and it
all could be gone tomorrow.
[ Chuckles ]
Narrator: 70 miles west...
At Hastings Creek...
Yeah, I mean, basically,
the place where our shack
was at, it's gone.
I'm really glad we got
everything pulled off the ice.
Otherwise,
it would have been, uh...
No bueno.
...after spending all season
collecting samples
to stake a mineral-rights claim,
Zeke Tenhoff
and his brother, Sam,
have yet to put gold in the box.
At this point,
the ice-mining season
is more than halfway over.
What are we gonna do?
We spent all this money and
a priceless amount of energy,
and most of our ice season,
on something that just got
blown out with the north wind.
That ice is [Bleep]
Narrator:
The ice sheet they were working
broke off
and drifted out to sea.
So they need to figure out
a new place to mine.
We need to get some
[Bleep] dredging done,
- and we need to get some gold.
- We got to go to Bluff.
I mean, we got plenty of reports
back there's gold there.
All right. I haven't --
Like, it's kind of been
against my principles to just
follow the crowd, you know?
It has been.
Unless the crowd's making
20-, 30-ounce cleanup.
Zeke: I don't want to
follow Shawn anywhere.
I don't want to
follow Shawn anywhere.
But at this point, it's like...
We got to make some money.
Well, the thing is, it's, like,
crowds going down there.
It's gonna end up
being combat dredging
with a whole bunch
of chumps probably.
I don't think, at this point,
we have any choice.
Zeke: You get down to the wire,
you got to kind of,
just put your humility
back at the doorstep
and realize, like, "okay,
at the very base of this,
we came up here
to get some gold."
We're headed to bluff.
Narrator: 65 miles east...
At Mr. Gold's cabin...
Shawn: We're definitely
in some nice gold.
Narrator: ...After arranging
for his new equipment
to be delivered...
Shawn: We're trying to keep
on it, keep following it.
Narrator: ...Shawn's
ready to weigh some metal.
Shawn: Hopefully,
we can keep piling it up.
If we can keep piling it up,
it'll be a good season.
If get rid of the Kellys,
it'd be an amazing season.
Narrator:
With just weeks left to mine
and the future of the
mega dredge in the balance,
every ounce counts.
Shawn: 20 ounces. This should be
about 20 ounces in this.
Doesn't look too bad.
Cook her up.
Let's see what we got.
It's breakfast time.
I get a lot of enjoyment
out of supporting
all my friends and family.
I mean, it puts food
on their tables,
keeps a roof over our head.
I mean, it's definitely a great
feeling to be able to do that
for the people
that you care about.
♫
♫
♫
Looks like it's gonna be
close to 30, a little more.
♫
31.46.
Narrator: 31.46 ounces
is worth over $40,000.
Shawn:
I say that's a success.
Narrator: For Shawn,
the single-day cleanout
is the light
at the end of the tunnel.
Shawn: Pretty nice cleanup.
Narrator: Now all he needs to do
is bring in 40 grand
every day
for the rest of the season,
and the Pomrenke family
future will be golden.
Don't worry.
Mr. Gold's got a plan.
And his plan is
starting to come together.
We've been buying
and purchasing things
for the mega dredge
for the last three years,
and I'm getting excited,
'cause I'm gonna make
huge piles of gold.
♫
Narrator: As Shawn dreams
of the mega dredge,
the Bluff is about
to get more crowded.
And the Kellys, once again,
heading back to Nome.
♫
Kris:
I'm so far down the hole,
the only way to get out
is to go deeper.
This isn't the craziest thing
somebody's ever done for gold,
but it's pretty close.
Dad, you can't
break up the team!
Psychological warfare.
Mind games.
Whoa! Shut it off!
Off! Off!
Watch out. Watch.
Get out of there.
Zeke: Hahaha!
It looks like gold is in two
layers, at the very least.
Oh, man. There's gold all
over the bottom right here.
I can't believe I'm seeing
what I'm seeing.
Holy mother of [Bleep]
there's more!
Dude, that's so beautiful!