Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Bad Blood - full transcript
After a hundred days in Porcupine Creek, the miners have dug themselves into a deep financial hole. The claim's owner wants to be paid and brings in a veteran outsider to turn the operation around, leading to high tension around t...
For 100 straight days, six down on their luck
men from the lower 48 states have struggled
to find gold in the Alaskan wilderness.
So far they've pulled a pitiful amount
of gold out of the ground.
We got gold. That's a start.
Winter is fast approaching, and there
are only a few weeks left to mine.
I've already put everything I have into this.
Whether the crew likes it or not, a gold mining
veteran lights a fire under the operation.
It's not a vacation.
The gold starts to flow.
We got our first real nugget.
But as the days get shorter, the pressure
to strike it rich reaches a boiling point.
-Hey damn.
-Oh no.
Sitting there beating at the thread.
Don't argue with me.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
It's early September in Porcupine Creek Alaska. And
Jack Hoffman is digging deep for gold rich pay dirt.
Well over here he's hitting the big boulders.
That's what we want to see. Underneath
the boulders is where we gotta go.
And I mean, it's gonna be tough. We'll run
into some we probably can't even move.
That means I'm down at the bottom.
That's a good sign.
Get underneath those big boulders.
We might have hundreds of dollars per yard.
We'll find out.
For over 3 months the Hoffman crew has
been digging themselves deep in to debt.
I'm just blowing my gold
right friggen down the creek.
Correct.
Their search for gold has cost
them nearly $275,000 dollars.
This isn't an exact science.
This is tough.
And they've only found 2.7 ounces,
worth just $3200 dollars.
For me it's a real letdown.
Adding pressure is
claim owner Earl Foster.
I might ask them to leave. It depends on
what gets done the rest of this season.
Earl is due 20 percent of any gold they find.
To guarantee a healthy cut, Earl has
sent in his best man, Dakota Fred.
I want to do what's right for the owner, Earl.
Fred, a veteran miner, has found gold
everywhere, from the Nevada
desert to the arctic circle.
He's on the claim to find gold at any cost.
You can't just show up
and now you're the boss.
Before the brutal Alaskan
winter shuts them down.
They're gonna have to listen to somebody
that's been there and done that.
Mid morning, and the Porcupine
mine site is fully operational.
Jack digs gold rich dirt and boulders from
the glory hole. Chris Doumitt scoops
up the haul with the loader.
And transfers it to Greg Remsburg
in the 270 excavator.
Finally it gets loaded into the wash plant.
The wash plant is designed to separate
gold from dirt and rocks.
The grizzly bars allow only 4 inch rocks
and under to enter the shaker.
Material smaller than an inch washes through
the vibrating punch plate and out to a trough.
Here slanted steel bars called
riffles trap gold nuggets.
Next, the trommel spins the material and
anything smaller than half an inch
passes out through mesh.
Below, a sluice box and a pair of jigs
trap the smallest particles of gold.
That's a big boy coming down there.
But there's a problem.
What the hell you got going on?
Big boulders are piling up on the
grizzly bars, slowing the operation down.
Harness and Fred move
in to take a closer look.
They sticking up there a little bit.
Yeah.
Get up on there.
We got a rock that's in there wrong.
It just will not come out of there.
With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.
Shut it down.
With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.
Todd decides to shut off the
wash plant and break for lunch.
I'm gonna go eat something.
Okay.
Fred skips lunch to keep at it.
He has a plan for the shaker.
There's no reason we can't eliminate
about half of these grizzly bars in here.
That thing is only accepting 4 inch rocks.
And we need it to accept
up to about 8 inch rocks.
So we got to open up this grizzly.
It will speed up the feeding process, and
the whole process, by more than double.
The grizzly bars screen out large boulders
and protect the shaker from damage.
Fred wants to remove two of the bars to allow
more gold bearing material into the shaker.
But Fred would be making these major changes,
without asking crew mechanic James Harness.
What the hell's going on here?
What are you doing?
Well sir
We plugging up up here.
That machine will handle..
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle..
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle
at least 12 inch rocks.
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle
at least 12 inch rocks.
Fred, you can't do that.
Why not? You got those great
big old bars down there.
What about the strength? What are you gonna do
when it starts twisting when you get this machine
all over it and it's all screwed up then?
What's gonna twist.
I don't see anything gonna twist?
But now, you've destroyed this thing.
What's gonna twist.
I don't see anything gonna twist?
But now, you've destroyed this thing.
I, totally, absolutely, disagree.
We are doing nothing but plugging this
thing up on both sides, uh, even in
the middle it's plugging up.
I appreciate your opinion, but we need to
all sit down and talk about this kind
of stuff before we do it.
Yeah, but it takes a long
time to make a decision.
No it doesn't.
Not around here.
Fred. Cut those two out. That'll be a happy
medium. And let's get to work. Come on.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go.
Alright.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go.
Alright.
I like that.
He just did it.
Sorry man.
He's just gotta go through the protocol.
You just can't go running doing your own thing.
We've had that before and that doesn't work.
You gotta work as a team.
I knew this was going to create a problem.
They can chew my ass all they want.
Go ahead and chew.
Rule number one. Is you don't chop
anything out without talking to me first.
(Clang)
Rule number two, is you don't argue
with me, otherwise it pisses me off.
Clear.
(Clang)
Clear.
(Clang)
Gonna help out a great deal
on the feed situation up here.
But not everyone shares Fred's optimism.
Now we're gonna throw a bunch of weight
on it and see if it holds together or not.
If it beats itself to death,
I'm gonna say I told you so.
We have to keep mining, you know.
It's not a question of wanting to.
We have to.
The crew powers up the shaker.
Then prepares to test the
grizzly bar modifications.
But as soon as they start to move dirt
(Bang)
Todd hits the grizzly bars with 2000 pounds
of force from the excavator's bucket.
I'm not really sure what happened.
Need to get a chain.
I accidentally hooked it.
The impact has ripped the grizzly
bars loose from their support poles.
The crew scrambles to stop the 1600 pound grizzlies from collapsing.
Get something under that.
Probably under one of those bars.
Hook that under that bar right there.
To hold up the bars, Todd applies tension
to the chain, while Fred and Greg move
in to secure the first support.
Hurry up. Let's go.
Get going.
And Greg gets the second.
Finally, Todd inches the
grizzly bars back into place.
Hiss. Thud.
Badoom.
Alright. Much much better.
He he he he he. A little operations error.
You know, If that thing fell on
our shaker we'd be done.
Done.
So..critical.
A critical job.
By preventing the grizzly bars from crushing their
precious shaker, the crew has avoided disaster.
Let's wash some rocks, man.
Let's wash some rocks.
Put material in there.
Finally, It's time to test Fred's
modifications to the grizzly bars.
Somebody put material in there.
Let's get it washed and see how it goes.
How's it look Fred?
That's much better. Much better.
Ho ho ho. There.
-Come on now.
-That's a big mother.
Put it in there.
Yeah. That's awesome. It's clear.
Fred's modifications are working, and the
wash plant is processing material twice as fast.
Lots of boulders down in that shaker.
If the crew can maintain this pace, they
stand a chance of hitting the mother lode.
The next morning, with mining back on track,
Todd takes the time to prepare a surprise
for his dad's birthday.
No.
Frick.
Decorating a cake. What more
of a way to say I love you Dad.
I was gonna knit him something, but I'm..
(Wheezy laugh)
Ha ha ha ha.
Nothing says I love you than
a homemade cake. Let's try one.
Pull him a nugget.
Mmm.
That's so, that's classy.
You guys block it so he can't go by ya.
-Don't let him go by ya.
-Yeah. Have him stop right in front of you.
-Hey Jack.
-Alright.
(Laughter)
Happy digging birthday dude J.
(Cheer)
Happy 65 man.
Yeah.
Ha ha ha ha
-Oh no.
Here, James.
I feel like 45, but you know.
I know I'm not so, yet a
-He looks like 70
-Ha ha ha ha.
Melt the cake.
A g'day. Come on. Hey ah.
(cheers, clapping)
You're in Alaska and they
have surprises and stuff and
They've uh, gone through a lot of uh,
a lot of effort to do this you know so.
Uh, it's not easy to cook a cake up here.
I'm also a diabetic and it's all pure
sugar but it's pretty good, you know.
For the crew, a few precious moments
of down time go a long way.
But the festive atmosphere doesn't last long.
Up ahead.
The wash plant is overwhelmed by tons of rock.
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
What's up?
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Up ahead.
You kidding me?
Up ahead.
Fred and James Harness face off
over yet another crucial repair.
You kidding me?
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
Fred and James Harness face off
over yet another crucial repair.
-Fred.
-Don't argue with me.
Up ahead.
And in the midst of the drama, the crew's
fortune takes a radical turn for the better.
Up ahead.
Those rows are friggen straight gold going
across there. Not just here an there.
Up ahead.
I mean Bam. Bam. Bam.
Up ahead.
I mean Bam. Bam. Bam.
Winter is closing in on the
gold fields of Porcupine Creek.
The crew has just weeks to make the
$275,000 dollars they need to turn a profit.
Veteran miner Fred Hurt has been
brought in to boost productivity.
He's pushing the equipment
and the crew to their limits.
The most important thing is to
feed material in that thing.
Keep it going. Keep it going.
And one more thing. Keep it going.
Fred takes control of the 270 excavator
to process as much dirt as possible.
Suddenly, the excavator starts
gushing hydraulic fluid.
Holy, aw frick.
The cylinder has come loose and snapped a hose.
Son of a b.
Need a bucket.
Todd.
The crew can't run any dirt until the 270 is repaired.
It broke off clean. But we have to take
that out of there with a chisel,
and fold it in then take it out.
Unscrew this.
Todd calls in chief mechanic
James Harness to inspect the damage.
Fred has sheared off the bolt connecting
the hose to the cylinder, and the threads
are now jammed with metal.
Let's put it up in there and
get the pin back in there.
We're gonna need bigger, bigger chocks man.
Still working on it.
The crew has to move fast, or they will
lose the rest of the day's mining.
Harness starts to chisel out
the damaged thread.
But it's not a quick fix. And Fred wants to
get up and running as soon as possible.
Whoa, whoa. Watch the threads.
You want to do this?
Yup. It came off.
Watch. Can you roll it. You got it started
real good right there. Can you roll that in?
I would have already if I could.
Stop your talking.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
Stop your talking.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
You're messing with me.
And you're about to get
a hammer in your ass.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
You're messing with me.
And you're about to get
a hammer in your ass.
Shit, oh sweet.
Fred steps in to speed up the repair.
Don't fuck it up Fred.
Well the threads are, you got the threads
so fucked up I can't do nothing.
That isn't the threads you dumb cunt.
You roll the pieces in...
-Get outta my way.
-Hey hey hey hey. Hey.
-Go ahead.
-You want this up your arse.
-Hey.
-James.
You've been in my way since I started.
Now just quit fucking arguing with me.
You're sitting there beating in the thread.
-Don't argue with me.
-Hey. Stop it.
-Yeah.
-Don't push him.
Don't push anybody.
I said, you're messing
the threads up.
Don't push anybody.
I said, you're messing
the threads up.
-Okay
-Cause your goddamn nose is in my way.
-Get out of the way.
-Hey hey hey. Let's walk.
-Let's take a walk.
-Just asked you to roll it in.
You know what? I'll roll something in.
No no no no no.
James stop. James, come here. Just..
Already had a walk off situation.
We don't need another one.
Everybody calm down.
Thurber's in charge of this situation.
Do you have any thread uh, thread dies.
Come with me.
-Do you have any thread..
-Fred. Follow me.
Do you have any thread dies?
We'll go talk about it over here.
Yeah. I always gotta be
In the middle of it.
There's not gonna be any more
punches thrown. I guarantee you that.
We just don't touch another guy.
And when someone gets
that beady look in their
Eyes and they're gonna go
at somebody, you better step in.
Cause it's just seconds away
from just..being really ugly.
We just don't go off on somebody just makes an
innocent little suggestion, based on experience.
Uh.
This territorial bullshit.
Don't need to be.
You know, he tries real hard and
everything and that's commendable, but
You know, he has to learn that
Sometimes you just gotta step back and
let things happen. You can't sit there
and micromanage people or
they're gonna get pissed off.
And when I'm trying to hurry up and fix
something and somebody's in my way.
It irritates me a little bit.
I'm gonna cool off by the fire.
Dakota Fred was inserted by Earl, the claim
owner, to turn the mining operation around.
The Hoffmans cannot get rid of Fred.
They have to find a way to deal with him.
He's a, he's just kinda a lone wolf, and he
needs to learn how to work as a team.
Yeah.
He thinks he's the best miner in the world
but he needs to just take it down a notch.
-Yeah.
-I'm afraid he's gonna
get into it with somebody, you know.
I would hope not, you know.
I hope not too.
I'm done with all that kinda stuff.
Yeah. Yup.
The next morning, Todd asks foreman
Greg Remsburg to act as peacemaker
between Fred and James Harness.
Everybody on this team has an issue with you
because of your argumentative attitude.
Hey. It is my job to question some of the
things you ought to doing anyway.
You all don't know this do you?
Why is it your job?
I've been told to do it.
Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure.
I mean this, is just part of it.
It's just part of it.
But a simple little suggestion, and it
was a question really, is all it was.
I tell you what. You have had
arguments with me since day one.
Since day one you've argued with me about
everything I've done. And I'm tired of it.
And I have no more patience for it.
-Alright. That's it.
-Okay.
-No more
Don't argue with me and we'll be fine.
Hey, that's fine.
There's no reason to you.
If you have a question about me or
whatever you can take it up with Todd.
There's no reason to you.
If you have a question about me or
whatever you can take it up with Todd.
I just don't want to argue with you about
what I'm doing. It's not your fucking
place and it's none of your business.
Well.
It isn't. It's my personal business. It's my job.
I've been here, I've been a mechanic for
almost as long as you've been alive.
So don't tell me I don't know what I'm doing
and don't come up and argue with me
about stuff, and we'll be fine.
I'm not going to accept it from anybody.
Instead of calming tempers,
the meeting has only inflamed them.
Let's get back to work,
I, obviously, rub him very much the
wrong way. Ever since I ever been here.
Everybody's always warned me about
James. Be careful with James. He's like...
you know, a little keg of
dynamite go off at any time.
Well, I,
I don't, you know
He doesn't intimidate me.
Up ahead.
Woo hoo.
Up ahead.
The crew finally finds big nuggets.
Up ahead.
Got our first real nugget.
Up ahead.
Fred keeps up the pressure.
Up ahead.
No. It's not the big rockS.
Up ahead.
And Harness's wash plant..
cracks under the strain.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Trouble is brewing in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
While Jack digs dirt from deep
down in the glory hole.
Hey Chris.
Give me some material to put in the hopper.
The material that they hope holds the gold
is not getting up to the wash plant
fast enough for Dakota Fred.
That big old lumbering machine
out there, is too slow.
In three and a half months, the Hoffmans have
sunk $275,000 dollars into Porcupine Creek.
And pulled out just $3200 dollars worth of gold.
Fred is dead set on speeding up production.
Material's going through just fine.
Apparently everything down there's going fine.
But, uh, We're out of material. It's taking a
long time to haul, uh, material over here.
They need to stockpile a lot of material,
and dozer pushing it up here constantly.
Ha ha. Ha ha. Fred.
He jumps on the excavator and expects
everything to be done for him.
I do what I do.
As Fred ups the pace, the water supply runs low.
And the waste rocks, known as tailings,
pile up at the back of the shaker.
Where the hell is everybody?
Fucking slackers.
Where the hell's the other operator?
Well I don't know. Just me,you,
and Thurber here. Nobody turned
the water pump on, man.
We been running the whole time with just
what's in the pond. And it's running low.
Alright.
Yeah. Jack's gone.
Something's happening to this. All the rocks
are all stacked up at the back end, back there.
Well, do you want me to move
the rocks, or run out of water?
-There you go.
-Pick one.
See what the hell's going on in there.
Fred's grizzly bar modifications now allow the
wash plant to process material so fast
that Chris can't keep up.
The loader has been so busy, overworked
trying to pick up fines, bring me
material, pick up the big rocks.
They come over here to unload this,
and it's completely built up with rocks.
The weight of the boulders builds and eventually,
the ramp cracks under the pressure.
What's up?
The ramp's collapsed.
The crew desperately needs to run dirt
every hour of every day to get every
flake of gold they can.
But once again, Harness has
to shut down the wash plant.
Well.
Lookit these boards. What?
Three nails on there holding this board up.
But to hold it. You know.
Give me a break.
Fred's modifications to the grizzly bars
enable the wash plant to process a lot
more material, and bigger rocks.
But when washed rocks aren't cleared
away fast enough, they pile up and
overwhelm the shaker supports.
Let the, they let the uh..
hopper completely fill up with rocks.
In Fred's experience, heavy boulders
are often packed with gold bearing dirt.
But Harness is convinced that these larger
rocks are too much for their setup to handle.
over the end of it.
Yeah. Well. The big rocks took this.
Oh. It's not the big rocks.
Well, the little ones didn't do it.
It's a combination of all of them.
I told ya.
We're gonna have trouble.
Cause this isn't set up for that.
The thing would work fine if you just
had, that box cleared out completely.
It never should ever stay in that thing.
You think I don't know that?
Yes Sir.
He he he he.
I told him it wouldn't take it
and now it hasn't so..
Not really anything else to talk about.
You don't need to have all that weight
going through there beating everything up.
That's not what this was designed for.
We have fine little tiny gold. Why put hundred
pound rocks through there. It's stupid.
Well, that's his opinion.
His opinion. Only.
And I'm sure it would be in a minority.
Now we have to go through and modify
the rest of the system to take the weight.
Which I didn't want to have to do.
We don't have the damn time.
Do you want me to unbolt this.
Get rid of the wood.
Steel, steel, and use that.
Why don't we do that.
Get rid of all this.
It's not fair for him to gamble with
the outcome of what we're doing.
We have no time left. I never would
have cut those out of there because
it's gonna add more weight,
more room for error, more problems just
like this. And I don't want to deal with it.
We don't have the time.
It's not fair to these guys who been
working their butts off for months.
You know, it just pisses me off,
because this didn't have to be this way.
So bowed in the middle.
It looks like some women I've known.
The breakdown is costing them
precious gold they can't afford to lose.
They need to come up with
a fix as soon as possible.
All fucked up.
We got to pull out this mess.
I think that'll get us running.
And if the whole crew stays here tomorrow,
we can come up with a, a fix,
that we're back running.
Desperate to run, they use an extra lag bolt,
a 2 x 6 timber, and more reinforcement to
take the strain off the splintered support.
Some day this will all
just be a big nightmare.
The makeshift repair is enough to
keep the mine running, for now.
It's a new day in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
Safety officer Jim Thurber
is up early and on watch.
He's spotted a problem.
Oh fuck.
He's spotted a problem.
Oh fuck.
Overnight, water has started leaking from
the holding pond into the glory hole.
Aw. Great.
It's our supply is now leaking back through
and I'm afraid that at any second
this is just gonna all go.
And uh, probably should get off here
because this bank will probably just take off.
Great.
Water pours through,
weakening the critical dam.
The entire mining operation depends on
three small pumps that will have to work
non stop to keep the glory hole from
flooding with 30 feet of water.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know if
your gold's on the side of a rock and you're
dragging it through water it's gonna drop
off because it's 19 times heavier than water.
So if you drop all your gold off in the pond
you don't wind up with it in your
sluice box. That's kinda stupid.
But the pumps are seizing up.
Big one's not pumping.
It was going. It
It quit.
Chris Doumitt identifies the problem.
See how thick the mud is.
Thick mud at the bottom of the glory
hole is clogging the pump intakes.
It's a big trash pump. Always picking up
mud and dirt and crud off the bottom.
Plugging up the suction.
Not getting any pumping.
The race is on to fix the pumps before
the hole fills up, and the precious gold
is washed off the rocks.
Chris comes up with a brilliant solution.
Just floated the suction lines. You put a
bucket towards the end of it. That keeps
it up off the bottom so it floats around
and it can just pump water instead of mud.
That is really a good idea. You know Chris
is inventive, you know, and I appreciate Chris.
I'm more confident right now that
we're on the gold. I know we are.
I've seen it. I know exactly that we're here.
All I gotta do is get it, you know. I'm trying to
get it dry, but it's not, you know, so I
got to take it any way I can get it.
While they wait for the glory hole to drain,
the crew get a visit from a gold mining legend.
You got too much gold and you wanted
to bring some over here to have us
haul it down. Is that right?
That's how it is.
-And you?
-I'm fine.
Haven't seen you in a while.
I know. I've just got lots of things
to do like everybody else.
Yeah.
John Schnabel has been mining
across the creek for 25 years.
At his big nugget mine, he recovers up
to $30,000 dollars worth of gold per day.
The seasoned miner is encouraged
by the crew's progress.
Looking at this big hole that they're now
digging, I have the feeling that they're
going to find something worthwhile.
For the 25 years I've been here, digging
on this creek, when I hit large boulders
I always come across gold.
So, they have lots of big boulders and
hopefully all are hiding nuggets. Ha ha ha.
As the water recedes, Jack spots
the boulders that Schnabel is talking about.
I know it weighs probably more than
two Cadillacs but that is a big rock.
So right around those big boulders is
where you find your big gold.
That's what we're counting on.
I want to dig this out.
I'm pumping it.
I'm just about down to where the point
where I can keep up with what water is coming in.
So I can pull some of this stuff out.
It'll be a little mucky but it'll have the
gold still stuck to it. That's my goal.
The crew begins making up for lost time.
Greg Remsburg starts by collecting a test pan.
I know it's here.
This is the glory hole.
We're not even down to the bottom yet.
Have to go get our panning expert.
Yeah. I said it's there. Uh, and I
I wanted to believe myself you know.
But, I wanted to see it first you know.
The test pan proves they
have hit rich pay dirt.
Yup. Big boulders coming out there.
Big boulders.
That's a very good sign.
There is gold in there. Oh absolutely.
There is gold in there.
It's time to start mining and cashing in on the gold.
The crew has never been so close.
The miners at Porcupine Creek are
running dirt faster than ever before.
To make a profit, they need to dig out $275,000
dollars worth of gold before winter sets in.
Chris Doumitt has to work two jobs.
Ferrying gold rich material to the wash
plant. and clearing discarded tailings.
But working at this relentless pace
is taking it's toll on the equipment.
And it isn't long before a hydraulic
line bursts on the loader.
Once again,Harness is left to pick up the pieces.
It's a huge hydraulic line.
Right down there in the middle there
that's attached to a rotating assembly.
It's the worst fucking piece of shit
that you could have to deal wiith.
Excuse my French.
You need any help around here it's ridiculous.
Takes an Act of Congress.
What?
Because of our timeline this has to be
done first, cause if we don't get the
hose made we aren't using this machine.
Okay.
So hold the other end there
that I've got the tool in.
Got it.
Cause I can't turn this. It keeps
turning. It's on a rotator.
Got it.
James says there's something sticking
out down there and it's wearing on the hose
and breaking it. I think I overloaded the machine.
Every work stoppage cuts into potential profits.
And they still need nearly 200 ounces of gold.
Anything else we need?
The nearest replacement hose is a
40 mile drive away down dirt roads
and the store closes in an hour.
Yeah. I gotta go to Bigfoot and get a hose.
Otherwise we don't run tomorrow.
There are only weeks left in southeast Alaska's
mining season. The Hoffman crew can't afford
to stop, just because they can't run dirt.
With the loader out of action, they switch
their attention to a clean-out of the wash plant.
They start by checking the riffles
to see if they've collected any gold.
Come here. Lookit this.
See that.
That's gold.
A piece of gold.
Right there and right there.
I know but look right here.
See that, through there.
See that pile right there.
Starting to clean out.
I see gold here.
Look at that pile.
And look at that pile.
Look at that right there.
Right there. See that one. You see
black sand and gold sitting at the
back of one of your riffles which is like..
That's pretty cool. That's a good feeling.
It's weird looking. Like a weird looking.
It's a rock okay. False alarm.
Despite the false alarm, there are promising
signs that the dirt they're washing through
the shaker is packed with gold.
I think that that last ten yards, Greg.
A lot of this gold's on the top.
That last 10 yards that you brought
from down there is friggen dynamite.
Jack is back, and wants to see
how the clean out is going.
Got a little, what you call
a clinker in there. Ah.
For Fred, this clean out will make
or break his reputation.
Could have acted like a ripple. That's why I say
just dig your, dig your stuff away from
the edge there real careful.
Start with your rocks always.
Just, just, push them away.
There's gold up here on top of this rock.
I'm talking about that away
over the wall from you.
Good lord, Christ. Holy fuck.
Oh ho.
There it is. There it is.
We got our first real nugget.
-Tee hee hee hee.
-Holy crap.
-Holy.
-Woo hoo.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
-Yeah. Isn't that a freak out.
-Believe it.
What's the size?
I don't know how much it's worth.
That'd look good on a necklace.
A pair of earrings.
Maybe a nose ring.
You see a little bit of gold. That's really good.
You see a lot of gold. That's even better.
Those rows are friggen straight gold
going across there. Not just here and there.
I mean, bam bam bam bam.
Muddy hands and all.
This is the beginning of
good times for this crew.
Uh, they've put in an awful lot of work. Months
of work. And they've been down a little bit.
But when they saw some of that gold.
When we started panning that stuff out.
Uh. I noticed a little spark in everybody.
Yee hah.
Yet another equipment failure has forced the
crew at Porcupine Creek to stop digging.
But it's also given them a chance to clean out
the wash plant for any gold they've
trapped in the last few days.
Look. You pull, when you pull these out
of here, rap them against the side real
hard and get all your material off
before you set them off to the side.
Most of their gold will be tiny specks,
smaller than a grain of sand.
So uh. We'll do it.
To get it out, they need to sift through the dirt
in the sluices. Caught in the layers of a
special carpet known as miner's moss.
Right now they're supposed to be full of gold.
But they're full of a lot of dirt,
and a, and a little bit of gold.
Pull the handle.
Pull like you mean it.
Oh okay. Well.
(pail separates)
See. There. See that? Sweet.
-You didn't drop any?
-Ha ha ha.
Those belongs outside.
You got gold on the bottom of that bucket?
The crew is making progress, but Fred is still
quick to point out their rookie mistakes.
-Oh, just get it out of our way.
-No no no no. Whoa.
It's coating his shoes with gold.
-Easy.
-I mean he is coating his shoes with gold.
I've gotta let you guys make some mistakes.
Well, we'd appreciate that.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Thurber. How do you feel about this?
I don't know, but somebody just shit
their pie hole. I'll tell you that.
Everyone's got their opinion, and we're
all entitled to his. So, that's good.
-Is that it for that?
-Got one more.
The whole crew joins in on the effort
to separate the tiny flecks of precious
gold from buckets of thick mud.
You know, the anticipation of
this clean out is just, crazy.
We ran some good dirt for about six hours,
so we'll see what happens with that.
I, I just..
always knew that we had
to get to where we're at.
And this is gonna prove it.
Every pan is just full of gold.
At least every pan I've done. Greg's still
working on the one he started this morning.
Should have it done sometime
tomorrow, so we'll see how he's doing.
The crew keeps at it well into the night.
It's painstaking work, but it's the only way to
find out whether Fred's changes have been
a success, or whether he's wasted their time.
There's too much gold in here for
two old guys who can't see.
-Get outta here.
- What I'm trying to tell ya.
-Get outta here.
We're gonna take everything that
looks like gold. even if it's pyrite.
Until Jack does a final count, the team won't
know whether they've found enough gold
to prove this claim can feed their
families and save their homes.
So what we're gonna do with this gold. Now I've
put it all together, and we're gonna weigh it,
and then we're gonna put it in a bottle, and
then we're gonna talk to the guys about it.
The last clean out delivered just 2.7 ounces
of gold, worth less than $3500 dollars.
To make a profit, and start paying the crew
for their backbreaking work , they need
more than 200 ounces.
But if he comes out with anything over
a couple ounces. I mean, I'm ecstatic.
Kinda starting to just taste a little bit of
victory in it. Just keeps you guys going.
Just waiting for old Jack to give us the count.
Number one is we got 3.4 ounces.
(crew laughs and cheers)
And that, I'll tell you what, that is clean stuff.
In just 4 days mining, the Hoffman crew
has got more gold than in the
previous three and a half months.
Okay. At today's price
it would be $7,775 dollars.
Fred, your ass is on fire.
A long time waiting for that.
Um, You know and I've said it all along I knew it
was there. You know, you just have that gut feel.
And the frustrations of not getting there,
and then relief at finally getting there.
And then what we anticipated is happening.
That's pretty cool.
They may finally be on the gold. But they
need another 20 clean outs like this one.
And they have no idea how much time they have
before the Alaskan winter shuts them down.
They finally got all that wet from behind their ears.
They got their feet wet a little bit.
They got dirty and nasty.
They finally earned the title of being miners.
(Todd and crew laughing)
Subs by
Jack T
(Todd and crew laughing)
Subs by
Jack T
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
men from the lower 48 states have struggled
to find gold in the Alaskan wilderness.
So far they've pulled a pitiful amount
of gold out of the ground.
We got gold. That's a start.
Winter is fast approaching, and there
are only a few weeks left to mine.
I've already put everything I have into this.
Whether the crew likes it or not, a gold mining
veteran lights a fire under the operation.
It's not a vacation.
The gold starts to flow.
We got our first real nugget.
But as the days get shorter, the pressure
to strike it rich reaches a boiling point.
-Hey damn.
-Oh no.
Sitting there beating at the thread.
Don't argue with me.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
It's early September in Porcupine Creek Alaska. And
Jack Hoffman is digging deep for gold rich pay dirt.
Well over here he's hitting the big boulders.
That's what we want to see. Underneath
the boulders is where we gotta go.
And I mean, it's gonna be tough. We'll run
into some we probably can't even move.
That means I'm down at the bottom.
That's a good sign.
Get underneath those big boulders.
We might have hundreds of dollars per yard.
We'll find out.
For over 3 months the Hoffman crew has
been digging themselves deep in to debt.
I'm just blowing my gold
right friggen down the creek.
Correct.
Their search for gold has cost
them nearly $275,000 dollars.
This isn't an exact science.
This is tough.
And they've only found 2.7 ounces,
worth just $3200 dollars.
For me it's a real letdown.
Adding pressure is
claim owner Earl Foster.
I might ask them to leave. It depends on
what gets done the rest of this season.
Earl is due 20 percent of any gold they find.
To guarantee a healthy cut, Earl has
sent in his best man, Dakota Fred.
I want to do what's right for the owner, Earl.
Fred, a veteran miner, has found gold
everywhere, from the Nevada
desert to the arctic circle.
He's on the claim to find gold at any cost.
You can't just show up
and now you're the boss.
Before the brutal Alaskan
winter shuts them down.
They're gonna have to listen to somebody
that's been there and done that.
Mid morning, and the Porcupine
mine site is fully operational.
Jack digs gold rich dirt and boulders from
the glory hole. Chris Doumitt scoops
up the haul with the loader.
And transfers it to Greg Remsburg
in the 270 excavator.
Finally it gets loaded into the wash plant.
The wash plant is designed to separate
gold from dirt and rocks.
The grizzly bars allow only 4 inch rocks
and under to enter the shaker.
Material smaller than an inch washes through
the vibrating punch plate and out to a trough.
Here slanted steel bars called
riffles trap gold nuggets.
Next, the trommel spins the material and
anything smaller than half an inch
passes out through mesh.
Below, a sluice box and a pair of jigs
trap the smallest particles of gold.
That's a big boy coming down there.
But there's a problem.
What the hell you got going on?
Big boulders are piling up on the
grizzly bars, slowing the operation down.
Harness and Fred move
in to take a closer look.
They sticking up there a little bit.
Yeah.
Get up on there.
We got a rock that's in there wrong.
It just will not come out of there.
With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.
Shut it down.
With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.
Todd decides to shut off the
wash plant and break for lunch.
I'm gonna go eat something.
Okay.
Fred skips lunch to keep at it.
He has a plan for the shaker.
There's no reason we can't eliminate
about half of these grizzly bars in here.
That thing is only accepting 4 inch rocks.
And we need it to accept
up to about 8 inch rocks.
So we got to open up this grizzly.
It will speed up the feeding process, and
the whole process, by more than double.
The grizzly bars screen out large boulders
and protect the shaker from damage.
Fred wants to remove two of the bars to allow
more gold bearing material into the shaker.
But Fred would be making these major changes,
without asking crew mechanic James Harness.
What the hell's going on here?
What are you doing?
Well sir
We plugging up up here.
That machine will handle..
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle..
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle
at least 12 inch rocks.
You cut out grizzly bars?
That machine will handle
at least 12 inch rocks.
Fred, you can't do that.
Why not? You got those great
big old bars down there.
What about the strength? What are you gonna do
when it starts twisting when you get this machine
all over it and it's all screwed up then?
What's gonna twist.
I don't see anything gonna twist?
But now, you've destroyed this thing.
What's gonna twist.
I don't see anything gonna twist?
But now, you've destroyed this thing.
I, totally, absolutely, disagree.
We are doing nothing but plugging this
thing up on both sides, uh, even in
the middle it's plugging up.
I appreciate your opinion, but we need to
all sit down and talk about this kind
of stuff before we do it.
Yeah, but it takes a long
time to make a decision.
No it doesn't.
Not around here.
Fred. Cut those two out. That'll be a happy
medium. And let's get to work. Come on.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go.
Alright.
-Sounds good.
-Let's go.
Alright.
I like that.
He just did it.
Sorry man.
He's just gotta go through the protocol.
You just can't go running doing your own thing.
We've had that before and that doesn't work.
You gotta work as a team.
I knew this was going to create a problem.
They can chew my ass all they want.
Go ahead and chew.
Rule number one. Is you don't chop
anything out without talking to me first.
(Clang)
Rule number two, is you don't argue
with me, otherwise it pisses me off.
Clear.
(Clang)
Clear.
(Clang)
Gonna help out a great deal
on the feed situation up here.
But not everyone shares Fred's optimism.
Now we're gonna throw a bunch of weight
on it and see if it holds together or not.
If it beats itself to death,
I'm gonna say I told you so.
We have to keep mining, you know.
It's not a question of wanting to.
We have to.
The crew powers up the shaker.
Then prepares to test the
grizzly bar modifications.
But as soon as they start to move dirt
(Bang)
Todd hits the grizzly bars with 2000 pounds
of force from the excavator's bucket.
I'm not really sure what happened.
Need to get a chain.
I accidentally hooked it.
The impact has ripped the grizzly
bars loose from their support poles.
The crew scrambles to stop the 1600 pound grizzlies from collapsing.
Get something under that.
Probably under one of those bars.
Hook that under that bar right there.
To hold up the bars, Todd applies tension
to the chain, while Fred and Greg move
in to secure the first support.
Hurry up. Let's go.
Get going.
And Greg gets the second.
Finally, Todd inches the
grizzly bars back into place.
Hiss. Thud.
Badoom.
Alright. Much much better.
He he he he he. A little operations error.
You know, If that thing fell on
our shaker we'd be done.
Done.
So..critical.
A critical job.
By preventing the grizzly bars from crushing their
precious shaker, the crew has avoided disaster.
Let's wash some rocks, man.
Let's wash some rocks.
Put material in there.
Finally, It's time to test Fred's
modifications to the grizzly bars.
Somebody put material in there.
Let's get it washed and see how it goes.
How's it look Fred?
That's much better. Much better.
Ho ho ho. There.
-Come on now.
-That's a big mother.
Put it in there.
Yeah. That's awesome. It's clear.
Fred's modifications are working, and the
wash plant is processing material twice as fast.
Lots of boulders down in that shaker.
If the crew can maintain this pace, they
stand a chance of hitting the mother lode.
The next morning, with mining back on track,
Todd takes the time to prepare a surprise
for his dad's birthday.
No.
Frick.
Decorating a cake. What more
of a way to say I love you Dad.
I was gonna knit him something, but I'm..
(Wheezy laugh)
Ha ha ha ha.
Nothing says I love you than
a homemade cake. Let's try one.
Pull him a nugget.
Mmm.
That's so, that's classy.
You guys block it so he can't go by ya.
-Don't let him go by ya.
-Yeah. Have him stop right in front of you.
-Hey Jack.
-Alright.
(Laughter)
Happy digging birthday dude J.
(Cheer)
Happy 65 man.
Yeah.
Ha ha ha ha
-Oh no.
Here, James.
I feel like 45, but you know.
I know I'm not so, yet a
-He looks like 70
-Ha ha ha ha.
Melt the cake.
A g'day. Come on. Hey ah.
(cheers, clapping)
You're in Alaska and they
have surprises and stuff and
They've uh, gone through a lot of uh,
a lot of effort to do this you know so.
Uh, it's not easy to cook a cake up here.
I'm also a diabetic and it's all pure
sugar but it's pretty good, you know.
For the crew, a few precious moments
of down time go a long way.
But the festive atmosphere doesn't last long.
Up ahead.
The wash plant is overwhelmed by tons of rock.
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
What's up?
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Up ahead.
You kidding me?
Up ahead.
Fred and James Harness face off
over yet another crucial repair.
You kidding me?
Up ahead.
Up ahead.
Fred and James Harness face off
over yet another crucial repair.
-Fred.
-Don't argue with me.
Up ahead.
And in the midst of the drama, the crew's
fortune takes a radical turn for the better.
Up ahead.
Those rows are friggen straight gold going
across there. Not just here an there.
Up ahead.
I mean Bam. Bam. Bam.
Up ahead.
I mean Bam. Bam. Bam.
Winter is closing in on the
gold fields of Porcupine Creek.
The crew has just weeks to make the
$275,000 dollars they need to turn a profit.
Veteran miner Fred Hurt has been
brought in to boost productivity.
He's pushing the equipment
and the crew to their limits.
The most important thing is to
feed material in that thing.
Keep it going. Keep it going.
And one more thing. Keep it going.
Fred takes control of the 270 excavator
to process as much dirt as possible.
Suddenly, the excavator starts
gushing hydraulic fluid.
Holy, aw frick.
The cylinder has come loose and snapped a hose.
Son of a b.
Need a bucket.
Todd.
The crew can't run any dirt until the 270 is repaired.
It broke off clean. But we have to take
that out of there with a chisel,
and fold it in then take it out.
Unscrew this.
Todd calls in chief mechanic
James Harness to inspect the damage.
Fred has sheared off the bolt connecting
the hose to the cylinder, and the threads
are now jammed with metal.
Let's put it up in there and
get the pin back in there.
We're gonna need bigger, bigger chocks man.
Still working on it.
The crew has to move fast, or they will
lose the rest of the day's mining.
Harness starts to chisel out
the damaged thread.
But it's not a quick fix. And Fred wants to
get up and running as soon as possible.
Whoa, whoa. Watch the threads.
You want to do this?
Yup. It came off.
Watch. Can you roll it. You got it started
real good right there. Can you roll that in?
I would have already if I could.
Stop your talking.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
Stop your talking.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
You're messing with me.
And you're about to get
a hammer in your ass.
You're messing with the threads
down there and you're gonna..
You're messing with me.
And you're about to get
a hammer in your ass.
Shit, oh sweet.
Fred steps in to speed up the repair.
Don't fuck it up Fred.
Well the threads are, you got the threads
so fucked up I can't do nothing.
That isn't the threads you dumb cunt.
You roll the pieces in...
-Get outta my way.
-Hey hey hey hey. Hey.
-Go ahead.
-You want this up your arse.
-Hey.
-James.
You've been in my way since I started.
Now just quit fucking arguing with me.
You're sitting there beating in the thread.
-Don't argue with me.
-Hey. Stop it.
-Yeah.
-Don't push him.
Don't push anybody.
I said, you're messing
the threads up.
Don't push anybody.
I said, you're messing
the threads up.
-Okay
-Cause your goddamn nose is in my way.
-Get out of the way.
-Hey hey hey. Let's walk.
-Let's take a walk.
-Just asked you to roll it in.
You know what? I'll roll something in.
No no no no no.
James stop. James, come here. Just..
Already had a walk off situation.
We don't need another one.
Everybody calm down.
Thurber's in charge of this situation.
Do you have any thread uh, thread dies.
Come with me.
-Do you have any thread..
-Fred. Follow me.
Do you have any thread dies?
We'll go talk about it over here.
Yeah. I always gotta be
In the middle of it.
There's not gonna be any more
punches thrown. I guarantee you that.
We just don't touch another guy.
And when someone gets
that beady look in their
Eyes and they're gonna go
at somebody, you better step in.
Cause it's just seconds away
from just..being really ugly.
We just don't go off on somebody just makes an
innocent little suggestion, based on experience.
Uh.
This territorial bullshit.
Don't need to be.
You know, he tries real hard and
everything and that's commendable, but
You know, he has to learn that
Sometimes you just gotta step back and
let things happen. You can't sit there
and micromanage people or
they're gonna get pissed off.
And when I'm trying to hurry up and fix
something and somebody's in my way.
It irritates me a little bit.
I'm gonna cool off by the fire.
Dakota Fred was inserted by Earl, the claim
owner, to turn the mining operation around.
The Hoffmans cannot get rid of Fred.
They have to find a way to deal with him.
He's a, he's just kinda a lone wolf, and he
needs to learn how to work as a team.
Yeah.
He thinks he's the best miner in the world
but he needs to just take it down a notch.
-Yeah.
-I'm afraid he's gonna
get into it with somebody, you know.
I would hope not, you know.
I hope not too.
I'm done with all that kinda stuff.
Yeah. Yup.
The next morning, Todd asks foreman
Greg Remsburg to act as peacemaker
between Fred and James Harness.
Everybody on this team has an issue with you
because of your argumentative attitude.
Hey. It is my job to question some of the
things you ought to doing anyway.
You all don't know this do you?
Why is it your job?
I've been told to do it.
Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure.
I mean this, is just part of it.
It's just part of it.
But a simple little suggestion, and it
was a question really, is all it was.
I tell you what. You have had
arguments with me since day one.
Since day one you've argued with me about
everything I've done. And I'm tired of it.
And I have no more patience for it.
-Alright. That's it.
-Okay.
-No more
Don't argue with me and we'll be fine.
Hey, that's fine.
There's no reason to you.
If you have a question about me or
whatever you can take it up with Todd.
There's no reason to you.
If you have a question about me or
whatever you can take it up with Todd.
I just don't want to argue with you about
what I'm doing. It's not your fucking
place and it's none of your business.
Well.
It isn't. It's my personal business. It's my job.
I've been here, I've been a mechanic for
almost as long as you've been alive.
So don't tell me I don't know what I'm doing
and don't come up and argue with me
about stuff, and we'll be fine.
I'm not going to accept it from anybody.
Instead of calming tempers,
the meeting has only inflamed them.
Let's get back to work,
I, obviously, rub him very much the
wrong way. Ever since I ever been here.
Everybody's always warned me about
James. Be careful with James. He's like...
you know, a little keg of
dynamite go off at any time.
Well, I,
I don't, you know
He doesn't intimidate me.
Up ahead.
Woo hoo.
Up ahead.
The crew finally finds big nuggets.
Up ahead.
Got our first real nugget.
Up ahead.
Fred keeps up the pressure.
Up ahead.
No. It's not the big rockS.
Up ahead.
And Harness's wash plant..
cracks under the strain.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Up ahead.
The ramp is collapsed.
Trouble is brewing in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
While Jack digs dirt from deep
down in the glory hole.
Hey Chris.
Give me some material to put in the hopper.
The material that they hope holds the gold
is not getting up to the wash plant
fast enough for Dakota Fred.
That big old lumbering machine
out there, is too slow.
In three and a half months, the Hoffmans have
sunk $275,000 dollars into Porcupine Creek.
And pulled out just $3200 dollars worth of gold.
Fred is dead set on speeding up production.
Material's going through just fine.
Apparently everything down there's going fine.
But, uh, We're out of material. It's taking a
long time to haul, uh, material over here.
They need to stockpile a lot of material,
and dozer pushing it up here constantly.
Ha ha. Ha ha. Fred.
He jumps on the excavator and expects
everything to be done for him.
I do what I do.
As Fred ups the pace, the water supply runs low.
And the waste rocks, known as tailings,
pile up at the back of the shaker.
Where the hell is everybody?
Fucking slackers.
Where the hell's the other operator?
Well I don't know. Just me,you,
and Thurber here. Nobody turned
the water pump on, man.
We been running the whole time with just
what's in the pond. And it's running low.
Alright.
Yeah. Jack's gone.
Something's happening to this. All the rocks
are all stacked up at the back end, back there.
Well, do you want me to move
the rocks, or run out of water?
-There you go.
-Pick one.
See what the hell's going on in there.
Fred's grizzly bar modifications now allow the
wash plant to process material so fast
that Chris can't keep up.
The loader has been so busy, overworked
trying to pick up fines, bring me
material, pick up the big rocks.
They come over here to unload this,
and it's completely built up with rocks.
The weight of the boulders builds and eventually,
the ramp cracks under the pressure.
What's up?
The ramp's collapsed.
The crew desperately needs to run dirt
every hour of every day to get every
flake of gold they can.
But once again, Harness has
to shut down the wash plant.
Well.
Lookit these boards. What?
Three nails on there holding this board up.
But to hold it. You know.
Give me a break.
Fred's modifications to the grizzly bars
enable the wash plant to process a lot
more material, and bigger rocks.
But when washed rocks aren't cleared
away fast enough, they pile up and
overwhelm the shaker supports.
Let the, they let the uh..
hopper completely fill up with rocks.
In Fred's experience, heavy boulders
are often packed with gold bearing dirt.
But Harness is convinced that these larger
rocks are too much for their setup to handle.
over the end of it.
Yeah. Well. The big rocks took this.
Oh. It's not the big rocks.
Well, the little ones didn't do it.
It's a combination of all of them.
I told ya.
We're gonna have trouble.
Cause this isn't set up for that.
The thing would work fine if you just
had, that box cleared out completely.
It never should ever stay in that thing.
You think I don't know that?
Yes Sir.
He he he he.
I told him it wouldn't take it
and now it hasn't so..
Not really anything else to talk about.
You don't need to have all that weight
going through there beating everything up.
That's not what this was designed for.
We have fine little tiny gold. Why put hundred
pound rocks through there. It's stupid.
Well, that's his opinion.
His opinion. Only.
And I'm sure it would be in a minority.
Now we have to go through and modify
the rest of the system to take the weight.
Which I didn't want to have to do.
We don't have the damn time.
Do you want me to unbolt this.
Get rid of the wood.
Steel, steel, and use that.
Why don't we do that.
Get rid of all this.
It's not fair for him to gamble with
the outcome of what we're doing.
We have no time left. I never would
have cut those out of there because
it's gonna add more weight,
more room for error, more problems just
like this. And I don't want to deal with it.
We don't have the time.
It's not fair to these guys who been
working their butts off for months.
You know, it just pisses me off,
because this didn't have to be this way.
So bowed in the middle.
It looks like some women I've known.
The breakdown is costing them
precious gold they can't afford to lose.
They need to come up with
a fix as soon as possible.
All fucked up.
We got to pull out this mess.
I think that'll get us running.
And if the whole crew stays here tomorrow,
we can come up with a, a fix,
that we're back running.
Desperate to run, they use an extra lag bolt,
a 2 x 6 timber, and more reinforcement to
take the strain off the splintered support.
Some day this will all
just be a big nightmare.
The makeshift repair is enough to
keep the mine running, for now.
It's a new day in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
Safety officer Jim Thurber
is up early and on watch.
He's spotted a problem.
Oh fuck.
He's spotted a problem.
Oh fuck.
Overnight, water has started leaking from
the holding pond into the glory hole.
Aw. Great.
It's our supply is now leaking back through
and I'm afraid that at any second
this is just gonna all go.
And uh, probably should get off here
because this bank will probably just take off.
Great.
Water pours through,
weakening the critical dam.
The entire mining operation depends on
three small pumps that will have to work
non stop to keep the glory hole from
flooding with 30 feet of water.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know if
your gold's on the side of a rock and you're
dragging it through water it's gonna drop
off because it's 19 times heavier than water.
So if you drop all your gold off in the pond
you don't wind up with it in your
sluice box. That's kinda stupid.
But the pumps are seizing up.
Big one's not pumping.
It was going. It
It quit.
Chris Doumitt identifies the problem.
See how thick the mud is.
Thick mud at the bottom of the glory
hole is clogging the pump intakes.
It's a big trash pump. Always picking up
mud and dirt and crud off the bottom.
Plugging up the suction.
Not getting any pumping.
The race is on to fix the pumps before
the hole fills up, and the precious gold
is washed off the rocks.
Chris comes up with a brilliant solution.
Just floated the suction lines. You put a
bucket towards the end of it. That keeps
it up off the bottom so it floats around
and it can just pump water instead of mud.
That is really a good idea. You know Chris
is inventive, you know, and I appreciate Chris.
I'm more confident right now that
we're on the gold. I know we are.
I've seen it. I know exactly that we're here.
All I gotta do is get it, you know. I'm trying to
get it dry, but it's not, you know, so I
got to take it any way I can get it.
While they wait for the glory hole to drain,
the crew get a visit from a gold mining legend.
You got too much gold and you wanted
to bring some over here to have us
haul it down. Is that right?
That's how it is.
-And you?
-I'm fine.
Haven't seen you in a while.
I know. I've just got lots of things
to do like everybody else.
Yeah.
John Schnabel has been mining
across the creek for 25 years.
At his big nugget mine, he recovers up
to $30,000 dollars worth of gold per day.
The seasoned miner is encouraged
by the crew's progress.
Looking at this big hole that they're now
digging, I have the feeling that they're
going to find something worthwhile.
For the 25 years I've been here, digging
on this creek, when I hit large boulders
I always come across gold.
So, they have lots of big boulders and
hopefully all are hiding nuggets. Ha ha ha.
As the water recedes, Jack spots
the boulders that Schnabel is talking about.
I know it weighs probably more than
two Cadillacs but that is a big rock.
So right around those big boulders is
where you find your big gold.
That's what we're counting on.
I want to dig this out.
I'm pumping it.
I'm just about down to where the point
where I can keep up with what water is coming in.
So I can pull some of this stuff out.
It'll be a little mucky but it'll have the
gold still stuck to it. That's my goal.
The crew begins making up for lost time.
Greg Remsburg starts by collecting a test pan.
I know it's here.
This is the glory hole.
We're not even down to the bottom yet.
Have to go get our panning expert.
Yeah. I said it's there. Uh, and I
I wanted to believe myself you know.
But, I wanted to see it first you know.
The test pan proves they
have hit rich pay dirt.
Yup. Big boulders coming out there.
Big boulders.
That's a very good sign.
There is gold in there. Oh absolutely.
There is gold in there.
It's time to start mining and cashing in on the gold.
The crew has never been so close.
The miners at Porcupine Creek are
running dirt faster than ever before.
To make a profit, they need to dig out $275,000
dollars worth of gold before winter sets in.
Chris Doumitt has to work two jobs.
Ferrying gold rich material to the wash
plant. and clearing discarded tailings.
But working at this relentless pace
is taking it's toll on the equipment.
And it isn't long before a hydraulic
line bursts on the loader.
Once again,Harness is left to pick up the pieces.
It's a huge hydraulic line.
Right down there in the middle there
that's attached to a rotating assembly.
It's the worst fucking piece of shit
that you could have to deal wiith.
Excuse my French.
You need any help around here it's ridiculous.
Takes an Act of Congress.
What?
Because of our timeline this has to be
done first, cause if we don't get the
hose made we aren't using this machine.
Okay.
So hold the other end there
that I've got the tool in.
Got it.
Cause I can't turn this. It keeps
turning. It's on a rotator.
Got it.
James says there's something sticking
out down there and it's wearing on the hose
and breaking it. I think I overloaded the machine.
Every work stoppage cuts into potential profits.
And they still need nearly 200 ounces of gold.
Anything else we need?
The nearest replacement hose is a
40 mile drive away down dirt roads
and the store closes in an hour.
Yeah. I gotta go to Bigfoot and get a hose.
Otherwise we don't run tomorrow.
There are only weeks left in southeast Alaska's
mining season. The Hoffman crew can't afford
to stop, just because they can't run dirt.
With the loader out of action, they switch
their attention to a clean-out of the wash plant.
They start by checking the riffles
to see if they've collected any gold.
Come here. Lookit this.
See that.
That's gold.
A piece of gold.
Right there and right there.
I know but look right here.
See that, through there.
See that pile right there.
Starting to clean out.
I see gold here.
Look at that pile.
And look at that pile.
Look at that right there.
Right there. See that one. You see
black sand and gold sitting at the
back of one of your riffles which is like..
That's pretty cool. That's a good feeling.
It's weird looking. Like a weird looking.
It's a rock okay. False alarm.
Despite the false alarm, there are promising
signs that the dirt they're washing through
the shaker is packed with gold.
I think that that last ten yards, Greg.
A lot of this gold's on the top.
That last 10 yards that you brought
from down there is friggen dynamite.
Jack is back, and wants to see
how the clean out is going.
Got a little, what you call
a clinker in there. Ah.
For Fred, this clean out will make
or break his reputation.
Could have acted like a ripple. That's why I say
just dig your, dig your stuff away from
the edge there real careful.
Start with your rocks always.
Just, just, push them away.
There's gold up here on top of this rock.
I'm talking about that away
over the wall from you.
Good lord, Christ. Holy fuck.
Oh ho.
There it is. There it is.
We got our first real nugget.
-Tee hee hee hee.
-Holy crap.
-Holy.
-Woo hoo.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
-Yeah. Isn't that a freak out.
-Believe it.
What's the size?
I don't know how much it's worth.
That'd look good on a necklace.
A pair of earrings.
Maybe a nose ring.
You see a little bit of gold. That's really good.
You see a lot of gold. That's even better.
Those rows are friggen straight gold
going across there. Not just here and there.
I mean, bam bam bam bam.
Muddy hands and all.
This is the beginning of
good times for this crew.
Uh, they've put in an awful lot of work. Months
of work. And they've been down a little bit.
But when they saw some of that gold.
When we started panning that stuff out.
Uh. I noticed a little spark in everybody.
Yee hah.
Yet another equipment failure has forced the
crew at Porcupine Creek to stop digging.
But it's also given them a chance to clean out
the wash plant for any gold they've
trapped in the last few days.
Look. You pull, when you pull these out
of here, rap them against the side real
hard and get all your material off
before you set them off to the side.
Most of their gold will be tiny specks,
smaller than a grain of sand.
So uh. We'll do it.
To get it out, they need to sift through the dirt
in the sluices. Caught in the layers of a
special carpet known as miner's moss.
Right now they're supposed to be full of gold.
But they're full of a lot of dirt,
and a, and a little bit of gold.
Pull the handle.
Pull like you mean it.
Oh okay. Well.
(pail separates)
See. There. See that? Sweet.
-You didn't drop any?
-Ha ha ha.
Those belongs outside.
You got gold on the bottom of that bucket?
The crew is making progress, but Fred is still
quick to point out their rookie mistakes.
-Oh, just get it out of our way.
-No no no no. Whoa.
It's coating his shoes with gold.
-Easy.
-I mean he is coating his shoes with gold.
I've gotta let you guys make some mistakes.
Well, we'd appreciate that.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Thurber. How do you feel about this?
I don't know, but somebody just shit
their pie hole. I'll tell you that.
Everyone's got their opinion, and we're
all entitled to his. So, that's good.
-Is that it for that?
-Got one more.
The whole crew joins in on the effort
to separate the tiny flecks of precious
gold from buckets of thick mud.
You know, the anticipation of
this clean out is just, crazy.
We ran some good dirt for about six hours,
so we'll see what happens with that.
I, I just..
always knew that we had
to get to where we're at.
And this is gonna prove it.
Every pan is just full of gold.
At least every pan I've done. Greg's still
working on the one he started this morning.
Should have it done sometime
tomorrow, so we'll see how he's doing.
The crew keeps at it well into the night.
It's painstaking work, but it's the only way to
find out whether Fred's changes have been
a success, or whether he's wasted their time.
There's too much gold in here for
two old guys who can't see.
-Get outta here.
- What I'm trying to tell ya.
-Get outta here.
We're gonna take everything that
looks like gold. even if it's pyrite.
Until Jack does a final count, the team won't
know whether they've found enough gold
to prove this claim can feed their
families and save their homes.
So what we're gonna do with this gold. Now I've
put it all together, and we're gonna weigh it,
and then we're gonna put it in a bottle, and
then we're gonna talk to the guys about it.
The last clean out delivered just 2.7 ounces
of gold, worth less than $3500 dollars.
To make a profit, and start paying the crew
for their backbreaking work , they need
more than 200 ounces.
But if he comes out with anything over
a couple ounces. I mean, I'm ecstatic.
Kinda starting to just taste a little bit of
victory in it. Just keeps you guys going.
Just waiting for old Jack to give us the count.
Number one is we got 3.4 ounces.
(crew laughs and cheers)
And that, I'll tell you what, that is clean stuff.
In just 4 days mining, the Hoffman crew
has got more gold than in the
previous three and a half months.
Okay. At today's price
it would be $7,775 dollars.
Fred, your ass is on fire.
A long time waiting for that.
Um, You know and I've said it all along I knew it
was there. You know, you just have that gut feel.
And the frustrations of not getting there,
and then relief at finally getting there.
And then what we anticipated is happening.
That's pretty cool.
They may finally be on the gold. But they
need another 20 clean outs like this one.
And they have no idea how much time they have
before the Alaskan winter shuts them down.
They finally got all that wet from behind their ears.
They got their feet wet a little bit.
They got dirty and nasty.
They finally earned the title of being miners.
(Todd and crew laughing)
Subs by
Jack T
(Todd and crew laughing)
Subs by
Jack T
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.