Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 6, Episode 19 - Frozen Pay - full transcript
A frozen cut forces Parker to divert a creek and mine the thawed pay gravel beneath. Tony faces disaster when he breaks his dredge buckets and Todd doubles down with a second monster washplant.
To find a mine right now
is really do or die for us.
Narrator:
On this "gold rush"...
Jack:
So, what's your gold look like?
You have got
to be kidding me.
Hey, guys, rattlesnake.
Dad,
I think I found something.
This could be the treasure hunt
of a lifetime.
New world out there now.
Watch out!
What the [bleep]
I think today we should
just move the plant.
-No. No. Whoa.
-Pick it up.
-Now pick it up.
-Pick it up.
It's gonna [bleep]
fall over.
Oh, for [bleep] sake.
If we take care of our [bleep]
[bleep] this wouldn't happen.
Just sick of it.
Where'd everybody [bleep] go?
¶
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
Todd: To find a mine right now
is really do or die for us.
We really don't have
a future left in mckinnon.
Narrator:
Todd hoffman is in oregon
On the hunt for a new mine
And a new home for his crew.
Last week, his claim owner
dropped a bombshell --
He's selling mckinnon creek
out from under todd.
I haven't quite let my guys know
how desperate the situation is.
If I don't find
another mine for next summer,
Then they're gonna be
out of a job.
Narrator: Todd has found a claim
With a reputation
for chunky nuggets.
And he's hoping
he can strike a deal.
Well, I think we're coming
right up to the mine.
This property just came up
for lease, but I tell you what,
I don't think I'm the only one
standing in line.
-Hey.
-Hey, todd.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey. How's it going?
-Doing good, man.
-Good.
-You jared?
-Yes, sir.
Me, I'm todd.
Narrator:
Jared and william worth's family
Own the high bar mine
On top of this 4,000-foot
mountain in eastern oregon.
So, what you're looking
at here is
200 acres
that are permitted to mine.
We barely scratched the surface
on what's up here, you know.
It's just too much ground
to do with two guys.
So,
what's your gold look like?
We got some
to show you guys.
You have got
to be kidding me.
-Big gold.
-Look at that one.
That's one of the best nuggets
I've ever seen.
That's jewelry-grade gold.
Dodge: How deep's
your pay gravels?
Sir, we've gone from a foot
all the way down to 15 feet.
And we've hit gold all the way
through pretty consistently.
Holy frick.
And there is no overburden
on this mine site.
-Wait a minute.
-So --
Come on.
There's got to be some, right?
There's zero overburden.
What you're standing
right here is gold-bearing.
You're in pay dirt
as you're standing in it.
You guys
drove up on gold.
That was under your tires
on the way up.
The potential up here
is explosive, todd.
Now, I don't want you guys
to get offended.
We have to test this ourself.
-Okay.
Hunter,
grab the metal detector,
Freddy, grab some pans,
And I say
we start looking around.
I think that's where we start.
Let's get to work.
All right.
Narrator: Todd's son, hunter,
begins the search for nuggets.
[ metal detector beeping ]
I don't know.
Oh, there's a old pop can,
it looks like.
[ beeping ]
Yep.
Just some trash.
Dodge:
I like the look of this up here.
In here, we're gonna take
a little bit from here
And a little bit
from right there.
Let's take this over
to that stock tank and pan it.
¶
Nothing.
Nope.
Dad,
I think I found something.
Is it a nail?
No.
-Here. Hey.
-Ooh, look.
Look at this.
-Let me see it.
[ beeps ]
It's freakin' gold.
Look at that.
You are freakin' kidding me.
[ laughs ]
-That's right.
-Beginner's luck, buddy.
Yeah.
-Nothing in that one, jack.
-Freddy, you can stop panning.
Show them what we got.
Todd: The gravel was exposed
kind of right there,
A little bit of dirt,
a little bit of sagebrush.
But boom, he had a hit.
-Yeah. It's nice.
See the gold wrapped around it?
Big.
Dodge: It's quartz with gold
in it, jack.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It wasn't even that far down.
Todd:
In my estimation, we're done.
You find a nugget
that close to the surface,
We're close to something big.
I say we go down there,
And we'd be stupid
not to sign the lease,
Go back north, finish up,
Start packing up and get
the hell back here, you know?
Don't get gold fever
on a nugget, todd.
I mean, that little bit of gold
in that rock doesn't mean crap.
You need to find out
if there's lots of those here,
Not that one.
We need to find out
if there's a lot of them.
I see it differently,
freddy.
I say we go here.
Stuff like this
isn't gonna last forever.
I mean, these guys
are marketing it.
-Mm-hmm. Okay.
-So...
And if there's
not enough gold here,
Let somebody else
lose their butt, not you.
I got one word for you --
guyana.
Narrator: Just two years ago,
Todd left the gold fields
of the klondike
To hunt big gold
in the jungles of guyana.
Todd: Look at that.
This is the best gold
we've seen.
But after
five soul-crushing months,
They found
just 2 ounces of gold...
I have to tell you,
I'm very disappointed.
...And todd lost everything.
Yeah. Nobody --
nobody's gonna forget guyana.
I want to get
a test plant in here.
I want to run some material
'cause that'll tell us
if it's real or if it's fake,
Not a little piece of gold
off the side of the hill.
Yeah.
You're right.
You're right.
If you think we ought to
test more, then let's do it.
We got to
find a home somewhere,
And this looks
like the best shot.
So let's do everything we can
to make it right.
Freddy won't support
a move south
Until he's certain
there is good gold
In the ground.
His plan --
bring in a test plant
To mine 100 yards
of high bar pay dirt.
Dodge: You find a nugget.
You get gold fever.
But in the grand scheme
of things,
If he moves down here
And there's not enough gold
here,
Everybody's lost their job.
1,500 miles north
in the klondike...
...Tony beets is in trouble.
With just three weeks
left in the season,
He has only half
of the $1 million in gold
He needs to recoup
his investment in the dredge.
He's found
a 20-year-old drill map
And come up with a new plan --
Find and then dredge
the best ground on his claim.
Looks like it's getting better
in there, huh?
All season,
tony has been dredging due west
Down the valley.
But the map
shows good drill holes
In the trees just 100 yards
north of the dredge.
Cheeseman:
How do you know what's there?
To get the dredge
to new gold-rich ground
Will require
a difficult 90-degree turn.
We haven't done that yet.
We got to learn how to do that.
Well, we'll turn that direction
and get dredging.
-Perfect. Let's do it.
-Okay.
The dredge crew
has never attempted
A complicated maneuver
like this before.
It's not gonna be
a perfect 90-degree corner.
It'll be a little bit
of an angle.
But we'll make it.
First, the crew
has to reposition
The two dozers that anchor
the front of the dredge,
Then raise the 9-ton steel spud
that anchors the rear.
Finally, they'll pull
On the cables
attached to the dozers
To turn the dredge 90 degrees
Until it's heading right
for the new drill holes.
Hard over.
Kick that way more.
Beaudry: Yeah, right now
we're just moving the dead man
To its final position.
And now
start turning this way.
Narrator:
With the dozers in place,
The crew begins to lift
the 9-ton spud.
The spud only really needs to
come up about 3 feet, you know.
It shouldn't be a major ordeal.
-Watch out!
-What?!
What the [bleep]
Cheeseman:
We're picking the spud up,
And the wire popped
out of the pulley.
Narrator:
Midway through a 90-degree turn,
Tony beets' crew
has destroyed one of the pulleys
On his dredge.
Put the wheel back in there
and tighten it down.
I'm gonna have him pick up
on the spud real easy
Till we get a load on it.
I want to see what it does.
Hey, montana!
We're gonna have
to lift the spud.
Narrator: To finish the turn,
They have to lift
the full weight
Of the 9-ton spud.
Just hold for a second.
I'm gonna look.
You got to start the winch.
Narrator: With the spud raised,
The dredge can finally complete
the 90-degree turn.
Now the crew can start dredging
towards the ground
That could save tony's season.
New world out there now.
¶
Hey, rick.
Can I have a chat with you guys?
Yeah.
Narrator: Parker schnabel
has mined all the dirt
From the original boundary cut
And is ready to move
his mining operation north.
So, as you guys know,
the pay is further away now.
There's nothing really
left out here to run.
So I think today
we should just move the plant.
We've worked our asses off
To get this far,
and we need to finish strong.
And I guarantee you
we stop fighting,
We get our asses
handed to us by somebody
That none of us
want to get beat by.
Yeah.
That ain't happening.
We can't end on that note.
-No, we can't.
Narrator: Last week's
poor cleanup left parker
With 2,202 ounces,
A full 174 ounces
Behind his rival,
todd hoffman.
Parker:
We need to try to do something.
And that, unfortunately,
means moving the plant.
We're gonna make it happen,
try and beat the hoffmans.
We better
make it happen quick.
If we throw down on it,
I think we can do it in a day.
Don't you?
We moved big red
last year in 12 hours.
I don't see why we can
do it with this.
They're plan on sluicing
tonight, night crew.
So I think we can have it up
and running for them.
-One-shift move.
-12 [bleep] hours.
Let's do it.
-All right.
Narrator: Parker has extended
the boundary cut 250 yards north
And constructed a new pad
For his wash plant, goldzilla.
Now he has to move
the three pieces
That make up his wash plant
400 yards across the cut
To their new home.
8:00 a.M. -- For parker
to catch todd hoffman,
He needs goldzilla set up
and ready to sluice...
-Keep going.
-...By the time
The night shift arrives.
Goldzilla's gonna go from
right here to that pad.
And it's gonna happen
in 12 hours.
Quickest we've ever done it.
So we just got to make it work.
Narrator: The wash plant
is designed to be moved easily.
The stacker is on wheels.
The hopper
can be hitched a truck.
-That'll probably do 'er.
-And goldzilla
Is on skids
so that it can be dragged.
Yeah. I mean, this plant
Was designed to be
nice and portable.
So hopefully it stays that way.
Narrator:
Parker leaves his crew...
Let's roll, boys.
...To move the 120-foot-long,
17-ton superstacker
And get it set up
in the new cut.
Bingo.
So we'll just move on
to the next step,
And that's the hopper feeder.
-10:00 a.M.
-All right, tyson.
Nice and easy.
-The next piece
To be moved is the mouth
Of the wash plant,
the hopper feeder.
We have to get it lifted up
and hopefully back
Our semi truck underneath it
and pull it out of here.
Just got to be patient here
and do it right once.
Don't want to
tip this thing over.
All right, tyson.
Take it up.
Let's go.
A little bit more, tyson.
Narrator: They prop the hopper
up on blocks...
-Ready?
-Yeah.
Okay.
Let's go, gently.
...High enough for the truck
to back under and hook up.
Oh, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Nope. Nope.
Ooh, pick it up.
Pick it up.
Pick it up.
Have him pick it up!
-Okay, well, I can't hear you.
-Pick it up!
It's gonna [bleep] fall over.
-Settle the [bleep] down!
Drive forward a little bit,
tyson, as you're coming down.
There you go. Let her down.
You're clear.
Blaschke:
What we're gonna do now is
Bring the truck down here,
hook it up to the front-end.
Probably the fastest way
to get it out of here
And the safest way.
Just guide me back in here.
I'm just not sure
If we're gonna have enough
clearance right here.
Whoa.
Still have to
fix the door.
Parker's been talking for a long
time about buying a good semi,
And he's been borrowing
this one from a guy,
And
it's an old grocery getter.
It's not meant
to be out here pulling
This big stuff around,
so...
Boys ready?
Yep.
Narrator: At noon,
4 hours into their 12-hour move,
The hopper finally
starts its 400-yard trip
Across the cut.
Ness: Mitch, stop!
[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
One of the guards on
the hopper feeder just fell off.
Hey, I'll back up
a little ways, rick.
All right.
[ chuckles ]
[bleep] kidding me.
What's going on?
-Tranny just locked up.
-Are you serious?
-Mm-hmm.
-[ bleep ]
The linkage or something
fell apart on it.
What the [bleep]
Narrator: Just 100 yards
from the hopper's new home...
Oh [bleep]
...The semi's transmission
has seized.
How the [bleep]
do we lift this thing off here?
Um,
can you jump in behind it,
Just pull it?
Blaschke: Right now we're just
gonna use the 700,
Try and pull this feeder
into position.
Good.
Come on, you [bleep] roll.
All right.
Cut her hard, mitch.
We got to make this corner.
Narrator: With a crippled truck
and just six hours left,
Rick resorts
to desperate measures.
Ness:
It seems kind of sketchy.
Blaschke: Might need to
come over a little bit more.
One more of them.
Oh!
Does it look pretty good
in line?
-Looks good.
-So just call it.
We're good where it's at.
-Yeah.
Narrator:
At 4:00 p.M., the hopper feeder
is finally in position.
Ho!
That'll work.
But it's taken six hours
To make a move
that should've taken three.
Yeah. Things ain't exactly
going the smoothest.
Narrator: Parker needs to fire
up the plant in just four hours.
Do you want to go
grab goldzilla?
Yeah.
Let's do it.
But the crew still has to
move the 24-foot,
25-ton shaker deck and sluices.
"just move the wash plant,"
they say,
"it'll be easy."
Todd:
Whoo, look at that baby.
-In eastern oregon...
-Mini red!
Narrator: ...The hoffman crew
is prospecting a new claim.
Just look at that thing.
-Mining legend freddy dodge...
-There's our test plant.
...Arrives with his wash plant,
mini red.
Dodge: This plant's got
nugget traps, fine-gold sluices.
So if it's here,
we'll find it.
Perfect.
What do you say?
-Let's get a plant put up.
-Let's freaking do it.
-All righty.
-Let's go.
Dodge: Until you see what's
in the ground, it's all [bleep]
Need to run
some flipping material
And see if it's there.
Don't bend this, andy!
Yep. Up.
Easy, andy.
Ho!
-Perfect.
You know what?
We've dug our test holes.
We've got
100 yards of pay here.
This could be the treasure hunt
of a lifetime.
Got anything else
we're missing?
Nope.
Start running this material
And find out what the heck
lives in it, todd.
Okay. Let's do it.
This might just work.
Guys,
we got a rattlesnake.
Everybody back.
How far can they go?
-Not this far.
-Freddy?
Dodge: About half the length
of their body they can strike.
I'd move him out of
the mine site here.
Narrator: The only
poisonous snake in oregon
Is the western rattlesnake.
I mean, I'll get him.
A bite can kill
in just four hours.
-Push him out, hunter.
-Push him out this side.
And he may be able to go right
beside that pipe, too, hunter.
There he is.
-Whoa.
Todd: He is pissed.
-Okay, keep pushing him, hunter.
-Dad, don't. Don't.
Jack: I'm just gonna help him.
-Keep pushing him, hunter.
-That's it.
No, no.
-No, no, no.
-No, don't bang it.
-Want me to hold this side?
-Hold on, jack.
-No, no, no.
-[ bleep ]
-Dad, get over here.
-No, I'm fine.
-Here. Here.
-Hunter.
-Yeah?
Try to pull that pipe
back your way
And then push it back
through again.
-Okay, push it.
-Okay.
-Dad.
-Push it through, hunter.
Push him some more, hunter.
Try to push him some more.
Keep pushing.
-It's all right.
Okay, let me have it, jack.
Let me have it.
Two people's one too many.
-Dad, back up.
-I am.
Freddy! Look out!
Todd: Get back!
Freddy!
Dodge: Yeah, I am [bleep]
Narrator: A venomous rattlesnake
has delayed the hoffman crew
From testing this
nugget-rich claim in oregon.
Nobody messes with me.
Hunter, back up
and jack, back up.
Stop.
-Nobody messes with me.
-All right.
Okay, we're gonna take him
away from the mine site
And let him go.
-He don't look happy.
He's not happy.
He's pissed off.
Ready? Shut it.
Okay.
There's no use killing them.
They're part of nature.
Looks about as good
a spot as any, huh, hunter?
-Yeah.
-Set it down.
We're gonna open the latch.
Okay, don't get your fingers
in there
'cause if they're in there,
he can get them.
Right?
And he is pissed off right now.
Where is he?
He's over on my side.
-He's right there, yeah.
-Okay.
So I'm gonna get him
to the bottom.
Stand back, hunter, so I don't
have to worry about you.
Okay?
Stinking lip
on the tote.
What the heck?
Come on, snake!
There he is.
Hunter: Oh, dang.
There he goes.
That's one mad snake,
hunter.
Oh, yeah.
A free snake
is a happy snake.
Let's go fire
up a wash plant, huh?
Okay.
Todd,
ready to run some dirt?
I think that
looks pretty awesome.
I think
we ought to go for it.
Ready?
-Yes, sir.
-Fire it up!
-Moment of truth.
Looks like
we're in business.
We're running about 75,000 pans
an hour right now.
So beat that
with a gold pan, huh?
Narrator: For high bar
to be worth mining,
Todd needs at least 1 ounce of
gold in this 100-yard test.
Basically, our future
could be resting in the hands
Of this little, teeny red plant.
-How's it going?
-[ bleep ]
Narrator:
6:00 p.M. At scribner creek --
Parker's crew has been
moving their wash plant
To its new pad for 10 hours.
Oh, we're way behind.
We don't have the plant
even moved an inch,
And we've got, I don't know,
two hours left.
Narrator: To catch the hoffmans,
Parker needs the night shift
To be running pay dirt
in just two hours.
But goldzilla is still 400 yards
from their new cut,
And its base is buried deep
in the dirt.
Parker: We should probably just
get the 10 in here
And pick the front of it up.
And the 700 can pick up
the back of it
And just get it up
out of the mud.
Yeah.
Let's do it.
Narrator:
To make up for lost time,
Parker decides not to dig
the plant out of the mud first.
Oh, this is gonna be fun.
Parker: Let's go.
Narrator: Instead, he lifts
with the 700 excavator...
-Come on.
-...As brennan
Pulls with the d10 dozer.
Oh, for [bleep] sake.
That's why you dig stuff
out first
Before you start pulling on it.
-What happened?
-Cable broke.
-Do we have another?
-No.
[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
[ bleep ]
If we took care of our [bleep]
this wouldn't happen. Right?
We had so many they didn't fit
all on the boom truck before.
-I didn't [bleep] lose any.
-[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
[ bleep ] [bleep]
damn it.
[bleep]
Blaschke:
Hard saying he hasn't
been out here all day. We have.
Sat around all day, didn't lift
a [bleep] finger to help us.
And then he wants to come
and scream at us
As we're moving the last piece.
[bleep] him.
So he shows up, we're still in
the middle of moving the plant.
Well, he should have
been here all day.
Just sick of it.
Where'd everybody [bleep] go?
Narrator:
7:00 p.M. -- 1 hour before
parker's 12-hour deadline.
Goldzilla is still
400 yards from its pad.
Rick returns
with one more cable.
[bleep] is that long.
Hey, rick.
I'm gonna try to hook
two hoes up to them.
Yeah.
We can always try it.
Narrator: Parker's new plan,
Use two cables
and two excavators
To split the weight
of the 25-ton wash plant.
Okay.
You ready for this buddy?
Yep.
This is our last chance.
Let's do it.
Nice and free.
Brennan and mitch drag goldzilla
across the claim.
Easy, buddy.
It's like synchronized swimming
with excavators.
Yeah, no [bleep]
The biggest challenge
will be getting goldzilla
Up the 50-foot slope
onto its pad.
We just got to get it
up the hill.
That's gonna be the hard part.
Probably not wide enough for
these two machines,
So the one's gonna be right on
the edge of the bank.
Who's got the cliff side?
How much room we got,
parker?
You've got
a good 5 feet over here.
Mitch, spin the tracks
that way a bit.
Okay.
Let me slide over a little.
How we looking?
Hang on a second.
You got parker right there.
You need to be,
you need to be where --
Halfway where mitch is.
Yeah. I know.
I just got to reset here.
Narrator: 8:00 p.M. --
Parker's 12-hour deadline is up.
-What do you reckon?
-Well, everybody's pretty beat.
If we do it
when we're not tired,
It will take less time.
And we'll do it right.
It's not like me,
but I'm half tempted
To just call it a night
for now.
It ain't worth
somebody getting hurt.
No.
It's really not.
All right, guys.
We're gonna call it a night.
-Oh, okay.
-Go ahead and shut her down,
Then.
-Okay. Cool.
Good effort.
Parker: As much as I like
working all night
And pushing through stuff,
Somebody's gonna
get hurt out here.
So we'll start fresh tomorrow.
This is new-and-improved parker.
Narrator: 7:00 a.M. --
The first snow of the season
has blanketed scribner creek.
Ruautt: Oh, come on.
This is [bleep]
-yeah.
Narrator: Parker
planned to have his plant
Up and running 11 hours ago.
But after a series of delays,
The night crew
was unable to run.
They've lost over $20,000
in unsluiced gold.
Snowed over night
and just [bleep] us, man.
Much like yesterday,
parker's not gonna be here
To help us,
I don't think.
So we'll just have
to get on this
And get it done ourselves.
Right?
-Well, if everything goes good,
Man: Maybe we can have the plant
all set up before parker
Wakes up
and gets out here.
Yeah.
That'd be perfect.
-Sounds good.
-All right.
Start yarding
that baby in place.
Yep.
Every minute this thing's down
is a minute we're losing gold,
So we're gonna put
every guy we got on it,
Which ain't many right now,
And hopefully get back
to sluicing this afternoon.
Narrator:
Goldzilla is on its new pad,
But the crew still needs to
drag it a few more yards
To line it up
with their superstacker.
-Clear.
-Let 'er rip.
Man:
This thing pulls like butter.
That snow is really helping it.
It's gonna be a tough ask
for that thing to swing it.
We didn't have the proper amount
time to finish this pad off,
So space is definitely
a big issue over here.
Narrator: The new pad
is just 50 feet wide,
And it's surrounded
by a 50-foot drop-off.
You're getting close
to the edge.
Whoa, brennan! Stop!
Stop!
What's going on?
Hanging a couple feet off
the edge of the bank.
[ bleep ]
One slip and brennan
And the 70-ton excavator
will slide down 50 feet.
Have to reposition.
You're gonna have
to watch out over there.
Okay.
Whoa, easy over there!
Brennan slowly gets
the 700 excavator back
Onto solid ground.
-Should be good now, right?
Yeah.
You look good right now.
Next stage in this program
Is we got to start
twisting the plant,
Line it up
with our superstacker.
It's definitely probably
the trickiest part
Of the whole move is getting
everything lined up here.
Keep 'er coming.
-Pretty good.
-It's real close now,
So we'll just get mitch
to run that conveyor
The rest of the way up,
see if it'll clear the prewash.
Have him keep coming.
-That's as high as it goes.
Oh, it's so close.
Another foot.
-There we go. There we go.
-Good.
Perfect.
I think that's it.
I could live with that.
[bleep] great.
Narrator: By 3:00 p.M....
Booyah!
...19 hours
after parker's deadline,
Goldzilla
is finally ready to run.
Well, it didn't happen
in 12 hours,
But we got our feeder in line.
We got our superstacker
in place,
Right in line
with the wash plant.
We're all ready to go.
-Yeah.
All we need now
is the boss
To come up here
so we can start this thing.
We can all go back to bed,
I guess, till he gets up.
Man: There you go.
Go back to bed.
Good job, fella.
Looking good.
Blaschke: Yeah. I think it all
came together well.
It's all in line.
It's all lined up.
The water's all hooked up.
That ought to work.
Good job, guys.
All right.
Well, we ready to fire up?
-Let's do it.
I guess so. Let's do it.
That's a good sign.
It's a matter of putting
some dirt through now.
You ready, mitch?
We're ready.
Let 'er rip.
Yeah, so got the plant moved,
And this is
the first scoop of pay.
Narrator:
Three shifts without sluicing
Has cost parker
$70,000 in lost gold.
Parker: We lost a bunch of time.
It's been a battle.
But everybody really put
everything they had into it
And did a good job
of getting her here.
And hopefully here
we're back on the gold.
Narrator:
With winter fast approaching,
Tony beets has made
the radical decision
To turn his dredge north
To run what he hopes
Is the best ground
on his claim.
Hey, gene.
All right.
How's it going?
Oh, so-so.
Narrator: Tony only has
three cleanups left this season.
To pay off his dredge,
He needs each of them
to hit 130 ounces.
Oh, boy.
16, 17, 18, 25,
30, 35,
43.
43.76.
43 ounces
is just worth $47,000.
Tony's drill holes
failed to deliver.
Yeah.
That's kind of piss-poor.
It's almost pathetic.
It is.
We turned away from where
the streak was, obviously.
I mean, if it's not in the
ground, it's not in the ground.
No.
So now what?
Well, I mean,
I don't know what to say.
I'm disappointed.
I just don't know
what the hell to do.
Narrator:
Tony's plan to resurrect
dredging is on the rocks.
Narrator: Prospecting
the high bar mine in oregon,
Freddy dodge
has spotted a problem.
Dodge:
Our spray bars are plugging up,
So now I'm gonna have to pull
these plugs out.
Let's see what the heck
comes out of here.
See all that?
Looks like seeds.
-Rat poop.
-Is it rat [bleep]?
-Yep.
-It is.
Narrator:
To get the rat poop out,
The plant needs a good flush.
Give us some more water.
Todd:
So rat poop, rattlesnake,
I think we're out of
animal stuff here.
Animals
are messing us up so far.
Hopefully an elephant
doesn't come through.
Yeah. No kidding.
Parker:
Every week around here is tough,
But this one was especially bad.
Narrator:
At the beginning of the week,
Parker moved goldzilla
400 yards north
To a new section
of his boundary cut.
Parker:
You know, the plant move kind of
kicked our ass a little bit.
We broke some stuff.
It was --
It was a rough one.
I lost my cool a little,
Which I'm trying
to keep from happening.
But it all ended up all right.
And there's a pile of gold here
as a result.
So I think this gold'll more
than make up for the battle
That we've been
through the last week.
Hey, chris.
-Hey.
Narrator:
With just three cleanups left
To hit
his 3,000-ounce season gold,
Parker needs the new section
of the boundary cut
To produce
a healthy 266 ounces per week.
-How's it going?
-Oh, good.
Parker: Good.
I just weighed this stuff up.
Sweet.
Before we get to that,
I just want to say
good job moving the plant.
I know that I got
a little short-tempered there,
And I apologize for that.
But you guys did a good job
and we got 'er done.
So that's behind us.
And not only is it behind us,
But it was well worth it already
'cause right here is, uh...
388.24 ounces.
-Nice.
-Geez.
-There you go.
-Look at that.
-Look at that monster.
-Back on track.
Yeah!
Narrator: 388 ounces
is worth over $425,000.
Parker's second-best cleanup
of the season
Gives him a total
of 2,591 ounces,
Worth over $2.8 million.
His 3,000-ounce goal
is within reach.
-Finally, man.
-All right.
-Back on track.
-That's awesome.
At least the boundary's
still holding up for us.
Yeah.
So plant move's behind us.
And it's hopefully
blue skies from here.
The gold's in front of us.
-Yeah.
-Just think, parker,
That's enough
we can buy some new cables.
[ laughter ]
Here comes dave, look.
Narrator:
1,500 miles south, in oregon,
Todd hoffman and a skeleton crew
are prospecting a new claim,
High bar.
-Hey, what's going on?
-Hey, dave.
Dave turin,
todd's business partner,
Isn't about to let any big
decisions be made without him.
-How's it going, man?
-Doing all right.
-Getting any gold?
-We don't know.
I want to see
what's in that sluice box.
We cannot afford to
make another guyana mistake.
Show me an ounce a hundred
and I'll be happy.
When we're done
with this 100 yards,
We're gonna clean it up
and see what it looks like.
-All right.
-We're just about done.
Last bucket, andy!
Narrator:
Todd has to prove to his crew
Without a shadow of a doubt
That this ground
is a worthy replacement...
-Let's shut it down.
-...For mckinnon creek.
There's no fibbing now.
What's in the sluice box
is in the sluice box.
Just let 'er finish running
out here and start cleaning up.
-Hey, dave?
-Yeah, fred?
Look at this.
Turin: Show me.
Oh, my goodness.
-Look at that, dave.
-[ whistles ]
-There's a big one.
-Holy smokes.
That's impressive.
Very nice.
That's the biggest nugget
I think I've ever seen.
Todd: Never see something
like that on indian river.
Oh, my gosh.
Not a chance.
Dodge:
No. It's beautiful.
-It's a good start, freddy.
-It's a very good start.
Awesome.
Narrator: Without a jig,
They have to pan
the concentrate by hand.
Holy mackerel.
Is this everything we ran,
every little thing?
That's all we ran.
It's probably
about 25% chunks.
Listen.
-I love the sound of that.
-That is awesome.
Narrator: In the klondike,
the hoffman crew
Gets 1 ounce of gold
every 100 yards.
Let's weigh it up, guys.
Moment of truth.
For this ground
to be viable,
Todd needs this 100 yards
or oregon pay dirt...
-Come on, baby.
-...To produce at least 1 ounce.
There's an ounce.
Turin: Nice.
-1.7 ounces.
-Per hundred yards.
-Yeah.
-Oh, man.
Whoo.
That is great.
Look at that.
-That's pretty dang good, todd.
Narrator:
After just a day of sluicing,
The hoffman crew
has mined 1.7 ounces of gold,
Worth $1,870.
You're looking at
$12, $13 a yard.
You know what? That's double
what we're doing in the yukon.
Imagine what we could do
running 300 yards an hour.
300 yards an hour.
Never thought I'd see that.
Narrator: High bar
is rich in nuggety gold.
The hoffman crew just may
have a future in oregon.
But we still got some gold
to get out of the klondike.
We got a crew waiting for us
that's counting on us.
We got to finish
what we started.
-I agree.
-Yep. I agree.
Hey, but I tell you what,
we at least have an option now.
Yeah. We do.
I'm really hoping I can
negotiate a lease on this place.
Let me tell you,
This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity right here.
-Yeah!
-Let's go.
Our time in the yukon
is coming to an end.
It really is.
We got some very,
very big decisions to make.
But I think we'd be stupid
not to come here.
I really do.
Let's pull some levers
and let's make it happening.
Narrator:
On the next "gold rush"...
Let's see if
we can find some gold.
So how you planning
on doing it, gene?
-[bleep] buffoon.
-Hold up, gene.
Wow.
What's [bleep] going on?
Parker: Gravel that's frozen...
We'll be lucky
if we run another week.
I don't know if
that's gonna beat todd.
Might be goldzilla's last shake.
I don't think we got time
to run this pay.
Two plants, we got double-barrel
shotgun coming at parker.
Whoa!
is really do or die for us.
Narrator:
On this "gold rush"...
Jack:
So, what's your gold look like?
You have got
to be kidding me.
Hey, guys, rattlesnake.
Dad,
I think I found something.
This could be the treasure hunt
of a lifetime.
New world out there now.
Watch out!
What the [bleep]
I think today we should
just move the plant.
-No. No. Whoa.
-Pick it up.
-Now pick it up.
-Pick it up.
It's gonna [bleep]
fall over.
Oh, for [bleep] sake.
If we take care of our [bleep]
[bleep] this wouldn't happen.
Just sick of it.
Where'd everybody [bleep] go?
¶
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
Todd: To find a mine right now
is really do or die for us.
We really don't have
a future left in mckinnon.
Narrator:
Todd hoffman is in oregon
On the hunt for a new mine
And a new home for his crew.
Last week, his claim owner
dropped a bombshell --
He's selling mckinnon creek
out from under todd.
I haven't quite let my guys know
how desperate the situation is.
If I don't find
another mine for next summer,
Then they're gonna be
out of a job.
Narrator: Todd has found a claim
With a reputation
for chunky nuggets.
And he's hoping
he can strike a deal.
Well, I think we're coming
right up to the mine.
This property just came up
for lease, but I tell you what,
I don't think I'm the only one
standing in line.
-Hey.
-Hey, todd.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey. How's it going?
-Doing good, man.
-Good.
-You jared?
-Yes, sir.
Me, I'm todd.
Narrator:
Jared and william worth's family
Own the high bar mine
On top of this 4,000-foot
mountain in eastern oregon.
So, what you're looking
at here is
200 acres
that are permitted to mine.
We barely scratched the surface
on what's up here, you know.
It's just too much ground
to do with two guys.
So,
what's your gold look like?
We got some
to show you guys.
You have got
to be kidding me.
-Big gold.
-Look at that one.
That's one of the best nuggets
I've ever seen.
That's jewelry-grade gold.
Dodge: How deep's
your pay gravels?
Sir, we've gone from a foot
all the way down to 15 feet.
And we've hit gold all the way
through pretty consistently.
Holy frick.
And there is no overburden
on this mine site.
-Wait a minute.
-So --
Come on.
There's got to be some, right?
There's zero overburden.
What you're standing
right here is gold-bearing.
You're in pay dirt
as you're standing in it.
You guys
drove up on gold.
That was under your tires
on the way up.
The potential up here
is explosive, todd.
Now, I don't want you guys
to get offended.
We have to test this ourself.
-Okay.
Hunter,
grab the metal detector,
Freddy, grab some pans,
And I say
we start looking around.
I think that's where we start.
Let's get to work.
All right.
Narrator: Todd's son, hunter,
begins the search for nuggets.
[ metal detector beeping ]
I don't know.
Oh, there's a old pop can,
it looks like.
[ beeping ]
Yep.
Just some trash.
Dodge:
I like the look of this up here.
In here, we're gonna take
a little bit from here
And a little bit
from right there.
Let's take this over
to that stock tank and pan it.
¶
Nothing.
Nope.
Dad,
I think I found something.
Is it a nail?
No.
-Here. Hey.
-Ooh, look.
Look at this.
-Let me see it.
[ beeps ]
It's freakin' gold.
Look at that.
You are freakin' kidding me.
[ laughs ]
-That's right.
-Beginner's luck, buddy.
Yeah.
-Nothing in that one, jack.
-Freddy, you can stop panning.
Show them what we got.
Todd: The gravel was exposed
kind of right there,
A little bit of dirt,
a little bit of sagebrush.
But boom, he had a hit.
-Yeah. It's nice.
See the gold wrapped around it?
Big.
Dodge: It's quartz with gold
in it, jack.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It wasn't even that far down.
Todd:
In my estimation, we're done.
You find a nugget
that close to the surface,
We're close to something big.
I say we go down there,
And we'd be stupid
not to sign the lease,
Go back north, finish up,
Start packing up and get
the hell back here, you know?
Don't get gold fever
on a nugget, todd.
I mean, that little bit of gold
in that rock doesn't mean crap.
You need to find out
if there's lots of those here,
Not that one.
We need to find out
if there's a lot of them.
I see it differently,
freddy.
I say we go here.
Stuff like this
isn't gonna last forever.
I mean, these guys
are marketing it.
-Mm-hmm. Okay.
-So...
And if there's
not enough gold here,
Let somebody else
lose their butt, not you.
I got one word for you --
guyana.
Narrator: Just two years ago,
Todd left the gold fields
of the klondike
To hunt big gold
in the jungles of guyana.
Todd: Look at that.
This is the best gold
we've seen.
But after
five soul-crushing months,
They found
just 2 ounces of gold...
I have to tell you,
I'm very disappointed.
...And todd lost everything.
Yeah. Nobody --
nobody's gonna forget guyana.
I want to get
a test plant in here.
I want to run some material
'cause that'll tell us
if it's real or if it's fake,
Not a little piece of gold
off the side of the hill.
Yeah.
You're right.
You're right.
If you think we ought to
test more, then let's do it.
We got to
find a home somewhere,
And this looks
like the best shot.
So let's do everything we can
to make it right.
Freddy won't support
a move south
Until he's certain
there is good gold
In the ground.
His plan --
bring in a test plant
To mine 100 yards
of high bar pay dirt.
Dodge: You find a nugget.
You get gold fever.
But in the grand scheme
of things,
If he moves down here
And there's not enough gold
here,
Everybody's lost their job.
1,500 miles north
in the klondike...
...Tony beets is in trouble.
With just three weeks
left in the season,
He has only half
of the $1 million in gold
He needs to recoup
his investment in the dredge.
He's found
a 20-year-old drill map
And come up with a new plan --
Find and then dredge
the best ground on his claim.
Looks like it's getting better
in there, huh?
All season,
tony has been dredging due west
Down the valley.
But the map
shows good drill holes
In the trees just 100 yards
north of the dredge.
Cheeseman:
How do you know what's there?
To get the dredge
to new gold-rich ground
Will require
a difficult 90-degree turn.
We haven't done that yet.
We got to learn how to do that.
Well, we'll turn that direction
and get dredging.
-Perfect. Let's do it.
-Okay.
The dredge crew
has never attempted
A complicated maneuver
like this before.
It's not gonna be
a perfect 90-degree corner.
It'll be a little bit
of an angle.
But we'll make it.
First, the crew
has to reposition
The two dozers that anchor
the front of the dredge,
Then raise the 9-ton steel spud
that anchors the rear.
Finally, they'll pull
On the cables
attached to the dozers
To turn the dredge 90 degrees
Until it's heading right
for the new drill holes.
Hard over.
Kick that way more.
Beaudry: Yeah, right now
we're just moving the dead man
To its final position.
And now
start turning this way.
Narrator:
With the dozers in place,
The crew begins to lift
the 9-ton spud.
The spud only really needs to
come up about 3 feet, you know.
It shouldn't be a major ordeal.
-Watch out!
-What?!
What the [bleep]
Cheeseman:
We're picking the spud up,
And the wire popped
out of the pulley.
Narrator:
Midway through a 90-degree turn,
Tony beets' crew
has destroyed one of the pulleys
On his dredge.
Put the wheel back in there
and tighten it down.
I'm gonna have him pick up
on the spud real easy
Till we get a load on it.
I want to see what it does.
Hey, montana!
We're gonna have
to lift the spud.
Narrator: To finish the turn,
They have to lift
the full weight
Of the 9-ton spud.
Just hold for a second.
I'm gonna look.
You got to start the winch.
Narrator: With the spud raised,
The dredge can finally complete
the 90-degree turn.
Now the crew can start dredging
towards the ground
That could save tony's season.
New world out there now.
¶
Hey, rick.
Can I have a chat with you guys?
Yeah.
Narrator: Parker schnabel
has mined all the dirt
From the original boundary cut
And is ready to move
his mining operation north.
So, as you guys know,
the pay is further away now.
There's nothing really
left out here to run.
So I think today
we should just move the plant.
We've worked our asses off
To get this far,
and we need to finish strong.
And I guarantee you
we stop fighting,
We get our asses
handed to us by somebody
That none of us
want to get beat by.
Yeah.
That ain't happening.
We can't end on that note.
-No, we can't.
Narrator: Last week's
poor cleanup left parker
With 2,202 ounces,
A full 174 ounces
Behind his rival,
todd hoffman.
Parker:
We need to try to do something.
And that, unfortunately,
means moving the plant.
We're gonna make it happen,
try and beat the hoffmans.
We better
make it happen quick.
If we throw down on it,
I think we can do it in a day.
Don't you?
We moved big red
last year in 12 hours.
I don't see why we can
do it with this.
They're plan on sluicing
tonight, night crew.
So I think we can have it up
and running for them.
-One-shift move.
-12 [bleep] hours.
Let's do it.
-All right.
Narrator: Parker has extended
the boundary cut 250 yards north
And constructed a new pad
For his wash plant, goldzilla.
Now he has to move
the three pieces
That make up his wash plant
400 yards across the cut
To their new home.
8:00 a.M. -- For parker
to catch todd hoffman,
He needs goldzilla set up
and ready to sluice...
-Keep going.
-...By the time
The night shift arrives.
Goldzilla's gonna go from
right here to that pad.
And it's gonna happen
in 12 hours.
Quickest we've ever done it.
So we just got to make it work.
Narrator: The wash plant
is designed to be moved easily.
The stacker is on wheels.
The hopper
can be hitched a truck.
-That'll probably do 'er.
-And goldzilla
Is on skids
so that it can be dragged.
Yeah. I mean, this plant
Was designed to be
nice and portable.
So hopefully it stays that way.
Narrator:
Parker leaves his crew...
Let's roll, boys.
...To move the 120-foot-long,
17-ton superstacker
And get it set up
in the new cut.
Bingo.
So we'll just move on
to the next step,
And that's the hopper feeder.
-10:00 a.M.
-All right, tyson.
Nice and easy.
-The next piece
To be moved is the mouth
Of the wash plant,
the hopper feeder.
We have to get it lifted up
and hopefully back
Our semi truck underneath it
and pull it out of here.
Just got to be patient here
and do it right once.
Don't want to
tip this thing over.
All right, tyson.
Take it up.
Let's go.
A little bit more, tyson.
Narrator: They prop the hopper
up on blocks...
-Ready?
-Yeah.
Okay.
Let's go, gently.
...High enough for the truck
to back under and hook up.
Oh, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Nope. Nope.
Ooh, pick it up.
Pick it up.
Pick it up.
Have him pick it up!
-Okay, well, I can't hear you.
-Pick it up!
It's gonna [bleep] fall over.
-Settle the [bleep] down!
Drive forward a little bit,
tyson, as you're coming down.
There you go. Let her down.
You're clear.
Blaschke:
What we're gonna do now is
Bring the truck down here,
hook it up to the front-end.
Probably the fastest way
to get it out of here
And the safest way.
Just guide me back in here.
I'm just not sure
If we're gonna have enough
clearance right here.
Whoa.
Still have to
fix the door.
Parker's been talking for a long
time about buying a good semi,
And he's been borrowing
this one from a guy,
And
it's an old grocery getter.
It's not meant
to be out here pulling
This big stuff around,
so...
Boys ready?
Yep.
Narrator: At noon,
4 hours into their 12-hour move,
The hopper finally
starts its 400-yard trip
Across the cut.
Ness: Mitch, stop!
[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
One of the guards on
the hopper feeder just fell off.
Hey, I'll back up
a little ways, rick.
All right.
[ chuckles ]
[bleep] kidding me.
What's going on?
-Tranny just locked up.
-Are you serious?
-Mm-hmm.
-[ bleep ]
The linkage or something
fell apart on it.
What the [bleep]
Narrator: Just 100 yards
from the hopper's new home...
Oh [bleep]
...The semi's transmission
has seized.
How the [bleep]
do we lift this thing off here?
Um,
can you jump in behind it,
Just pull it?
Blaschke: Right now we're just
gonna use the 700,
Try and pull this feeder
into position.
Good.
Come on, you [bleep] roll.
All right.
Cut her hard, mitch.
We got to make this corner.
Narrator: With a crippled truck
and just six hours left,
Rick resorts
to desperate measures.
Ness:
It seems kind of sketchy.
Blaschke: Might need to
come over a little bit more.
One more of them.
Oh!
Does it look pretty good
in line?
-Looks good.
-So just call it.
We're good where it's at.
-Yeah.
Narrator:
At 4:00 p.M., the hopper feeder
is finally in position.
Ho!
That'll work.
But it's taken six hours
To make a move
that should've taken three.
Yeah. Things ain't exactly
going the smoothest.
Narrator: Parker needs to fire
up the plant in just four hours.
Do you want to go
grab goldzilla?
Yeah.
Let's do it.
But the crew still has to
move the 24-foot,
25-ton shaker deck and sluices.
"just move the wash plant,"
they say,
"it'll be easy."
Todd:
Whoo, look at that baby.
-In eastern oregon...
-Mini red!
Narrator: ...The hoffman crew
is prospecting a new claim.
Just look at that thing.
-Mining legend freddy dodge...
-There's our test plant.
...Arrives with his wash plant,
mini red.
Dodge: This plant's got
nugget traps, fine-gold sluices.
So if it's here,
we'll find it.
Perfect.
What do you say?
-Let's get a plant put up.
-Let's freaking do it.
-All righty.
-Let's go.
Dodge: Until you see what's
in the ground, it's all [bleep]
Need to run
some flipping material
And see if it's there.
Don't bend this, andy!
Yep. Up.
Easy, andy.
Ho!
-Perfect.
You know what?
We've dug our test holes.
We've got
100 yards of pay here.
This could be the treasure hunt
of a lifetime.
Got anything else
we're missing?
Nope.
Start running this material
And find out what the heck
lives in it, todd.
Okay. Let's do it.
This might just work.
Guys,
we got a rattlesnake.
Everybody back.
How far can they go?
-Not this far.
-Freddy?
Dodge: About half the length
of their body they can strike.
I'd move him out of
the mine site here.
Narrator: The only
poisonous snake in oregon
Is the western rattlesnake.
I mean, I'll get him.
A bite can kill
in just four hours.
-Push him out, hunter.
-Push him out this side.
And he may be able to go right
beside that pipe, too, hunter.
There he is.
-Whoa.
Todd: He is pissed.
-Okay, keep pushing him, hunter.
-Dad, don't. Don't.
Jack: I'm just gonna help him.
-Keep pushing him, hunter.
-That's it.
No, no.
-No, no, no.
-No, don't bang it.
-Want me to hold this side?
-Hold on, jack.
-No, no, no.
-[ bleep ]
-Dad, get over here.
-No, I'm fine.
-Here. Here.
-Hunter.
-Yeah?
Try to pull that pipe
back your way
And then push it back
through again.
-Okay, push it.
-Okay.
-Dad.
-Push it through, hunter.
Push him some more, hunter.
Try to push him some more.
Keep pushing.
-It's all right.
Okay, let me have it, jack.
Let me have it.
Two people's one too many.
-Dad, back up.
-I am.
Freddy! Look out!
Todd: Get back!
Freddy!
Dodge: Yeah, I am [bleep]
Narrator: A venomous rattlesnake
has delayed the hoffman crew
From testing this
nugget-rich claim in oregon.
Nobody messes with me.
Hunter, back up
and jack, back up.
Stop.
-Nobody messes with me.
-All right.
Okay, we're gonna take him
away from the mine site
And let him go.
-He don't look happy.
He's not happy.
He's pissed off.
Ready? Shut it.
Okay.
There's no use killing them.
They're part of nature.
Looks about as good
a spot as any, huh, hunter?
-Yeah.
-Set it down.
We're gonna open the latch.
Okay, don't get your fingers
in there
'cause if they're in there,
he can get them.
Right?
And he is pissed off right now.
Where is he?
He's over on my side.
-He's right there, yeah.
-Okay.
So I'm gonna get him
to the bottom.
Stand back, hunter, so I don't
have to worry about you.
Okay?
Stinking lip
on the tote.
What the heck?
Come on, snake!
There he is.
Hunter: Oh, dang.
There he goes.
That's one mad snake,
hunter.
Oh, yeah.
A free snake
is a happy snake.
Let's go fire
up a wash plant, huh?
Okay.
Todd,
ready to run some dirt?
I think that
looks pretty awesome.
I think
we ought to go for it.
Ready?
-Yes, sir.
-Fire it up!
-Moment of truth.
Looks like
we're in business.
We're running about 75,000 pans
an hour right now.
So beat that
with a gold pan, huh?
Narrator: For high bar
to be worth mining,
Todd needs at least 1 ounce of
gold in this 100-yard test.
Basically, our future
could be resting in the hands
Of this little, teeny red plant.
-How's it going?
-[ bleep ]
Narrator:
6:00 p.M. At scribner creek --
Parker's crew has been
moving their wash plant
To its new pad for 10 hours.
Oh, we're way behind.
We don't have the plant
even moved an inch,
And we've got, I don't know,
two hours left.
Narrator: To catch the hoffmans,
Parker needs the night shift
To be running pay dirt
in just two hours.
But goldzilla is still 400 yards
from their new cut,
And its base is buried deep
in the dirt.
Parker: We should probably just
get the 10 in here
And pick the front of it up.
And the 700 can pick up
the back of it
And just get it up
out of the mud.
Yeah.
Let's do it.
Narrator:
To make up for lost time,
Parker decides not to dig
the plant out of the mud first.
Oh, this is gonna be fun.
Parker: Let's go.
Narrator: Instead, he lifts
with the 700 excavator...
-Come on.
-...As brennan
Pulls with the d10 dozer.
Oh, for [bleep] sake.
That's why you dig stuff
out first
Before you start pulling on it.
-What happened?
-Cable broke.
-Do we have another?
-No.
[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
[ bleep ]
If we took care of our [bleep]
this wouldn't happen. Right?
We had so many they didn't fit
all on the boom truck before.
-I didn't [bleep] lose any.
-[ bleep ] [ bleep ]
[ bleep ] [bleep]
damn it.
[bleep]
Blaschke:
Hard saying he hasn't
been out here all day. We have.
Sat around all day, didn't lift
a [bleep] finger to help us.
And then he wants to come
and scream at us
As we're moving the last piece.
[bleep] him.
So he shows up, we're still in
the middle of moving the plant.
Well, he should have
been here all day.
Just sick of it.
Where'd everybody [bleep] go?
Narrator:
7:00 p.M. -- 1 hour before
parker's 12-hour deadline.
Goldzilla is still
400 yards from its pad.
Rick returns
with one more cable.
[bleep] is that long.
Hey, rick.
I'm gonna try to hook
two hoes up to them.
Yeah.
We can always try it.
Narrator: Parker's new plan,
Use two cables
and two excavators
To split the weight
of the 25-ton wash plant.
Okay.
You ready for this buddy?
Yep.
This is our last chance.
Let's do it.
Nice and free.
Brennan and mitch drag goldzilla
across the claim.
Easy, buddy.
It's like synchronized swimming
with excavators.
Yeah, no [bleep]
The biggest challenge
will be getting goldzilla
Up the 50-foot slope
onto its pad.
We just got to get it
up the hill.
That's gonna be the hard part.
Probably not wide enough for
these two machines,
So the one's gonna be right on
the edge of the bank.
Who's got the cliff side?
How much room we got,
parker?
You've got
a good 5 feet over here.
Mitch, spin the tracks
that way a bit.
Okay.
Let me slide over a little.
How we looking?
Hang on a second.
You got parker right there.
You need to be,
you need to be where --
Halfway where mitch is.
Yeah. I know.
I just got to reset here.
Narrator: 8:00 p.M. --
Parker's 12-hour deadline is up.
-What do you reckon?
-Well, everybody's pretty beat.
If we do it
when we're not tired,
It will take less time.
And we'll do it right.
It's not like me,
but I'm half tempted
To just call it a night
for now.
It ain't worth
somebody getting hurt.
No.
It's really not.
All right, guys.
We're gonna call it a night.
-Oh, okay.
-Go ahead and shut her down,
Then.
-Okay. Cool.
Good effort.
Parker: As much as I like
working all night
And pushing through stuff,
Somebody's gonna
get hurt out here.
So we'll start fresh tomorrow.
This is new-and-improved parker.
Narrator: 7:00 a.M. --
The first snow of the season
has blanketed scribner creek.
Ruautt: Oh, come on.
This is [bleep]
-yeah.
Narrator: Parker
planned to have his plant
Up and running 11 hours ago.
But after a series of delays,
The night crew
was unable to run.
They've lost over $20,000
in unsluiced gold.
Snowed over night
and just [bleep] us, man.
Much like yesterday,
parker's not gonna be here
To help us,
I don't think.
So we'll just have
to get on this
And get it done ourselves.
Right?
-Well, if everything goes good,
Man: Maybe we can have the plant
all set up before parker
Wakes up
and gets out here.
Yeah.
That'd be perfect.
-Sounds good.
-All right.
Start yarding
that baby in place.
Yep.
Every minute this thing's down
is a minute we're losing gold,
So we're gonna put
every guy we got on it,
Which ain't many right now,
And hopefully get back
to sluicing this afternoon.
Narrator:
Goldzilla is on its new pad,
But the crew still needs to
drag it a few more yards
To line it up
with their superstacker.
-Clear.
-Let 'er rip.
Man:
This thing pulls like butter.
That snow is really helping it.
It's gonna be a tough ask
for that thing to swing it.
We didn't have the proper amount
time to finish this pad off,
So space is definitely
a big issue over here.
Narrator: The new pad
is just 50 feet wide,
And it's surrounded
by a 50-foot drop-off.
You're getting close
to the edge.
Whoa, brennan! Stop!
Stop!
What's going on?
Hanging a couple feet off
the edge of the bank.
[ bleep ]
One slip and brennan
And the 70-ton excavator
will slide down 50 feet.
Have to reposition.
You're gonna have
to watch out over there.
Okay.
Whoa, easy over there!
Brennan slowly gets
the 700 excavator back
Onto solid ground.
-Should be good now, right?
Yeah.
You look good right now.
Next stage in this program
Is we got to start
twisting the plant,
Line it up
with our superstacker.
It's definitely probably
the trickiest part
Of the whole move is getting
everything lined up here.
Keep 'er coming.
-Pretty good.
-It's real close now,
So we'll just get mitch
to run that conveyor
The rest of the way up,
see if it'll clear the prewash.
Have him keep coming.
-That's as high as it goes.
Oh, it's so close.
Another foot.
-There we go. There we go.
-Good.
Perfect.
I think that's it.
I could live with that.
[bleep] great.
Narrator: By 3:00 p.M....
Booyah!
...19 hours
after parker's deadline,
Goldzilla
is finally ready to run.
Well, it didn't happen
in 12 hours,
But we got our feeder in line.
We got our superstacker
in place,
Right in line
with the wash plant.
We're all ready to go.
-Yeah.
All we need now
is the boss
To come up here
so we can start this thing.
We can all go back to bed,
I guess, till he gets up.
Man: There you go.
Go back to bed.
Good job, fella.
Looking good.
Blaschke: Yeah. I think it all
came together well.
It's all in line.
It's all lined up.
The water's all hooked up.
That ought to work.
Good job, guys.
All right.
Well, we ready to fire up?
-Let's do it.
I guess so. Let's do it.
That's a good sign.
It's a matter of putting
some dirt through now.
You ready, mitch?
We're ready.
Let 'er rip.
Yeah, so got the plant moved,
And this is
the first scoop of pay.
Narrator:
Three shifts without sluicing
Has cost parker
$70,000 in lost gold.
Parker: We lost a bunch of time.
It's been a battle.
But everybody really put
everything they had into it
And did a good job
of getting her here.
And hopefully here
we're back on the gold.
Narrator:
With winter fast approaching,
Tony beets has made
the radical decision
To turn his dredge north
To run what he hopes
Is the best ground
on his claim.
Hey, gene.
All right.
How's it going?
Oh, so-so.
Narrator: Tony only has
three cleanups left this season.
To pay off his dredge,
He needs each of them
to hit 130 ounces.
Oh, boy.
16, 17, 18, 25,
30, 35,
43.
43.76.
43 ounces
is just worth $47,000.
Tony's drill holes
failed to deliver.
Yeah.
That's kind of piss-poor.
It's almost pathetic.
It is.
We turned away from where
the streak was, obviously.
I mean, if it's not in the
ground, it's not in the ground.
No.
So now what?
Well, I mean,
I don't know what to say.
I'm disappointed.
I just don't know
what the hell to do.
Narrator:
Tony's plan to resurrect
dredging is on the rocks.
Narrator: Prospecting
the high bar mine in oregon,
Freddy dodge
has spotted a problem.
Dodge:
Our spray bars are plugging up,
So now I'm gonna have to pull
these plugs out.
Let's see what the heck
comes out of here.
See all that?
Looks like seeds.
-Rat poop.
-Is it rat [bleep]?
-Yep.
-It is.
Narrator:
To get the rat poop out,
The plant needs a good flush.
Give us some more water.
Todd:
So rat poop, rattlesnake,
I think we're out of
animal stuff here.
Animals
are messing us up so far.
Hopefully an elephant
doesn't come through.
Yeah. No kidding.
Parker:
Every week around here is tough,
But this one was especially bad.
Narrator:
At the beginning of the week,
Parker moved goldzilla
400 yards north
To a new section
of his boundary cut.
Parker:
You know, the plant move kind of
kicked our ass a little bit.
We broke some stuff.
It was --
It was a rough one.
I lost my cool a little,
Which I'm trying
to keep from happening.
But it all ended up all right.
And there's a pile of gold here
as a result.
So I think this gold'll more
than make up for the battle
That we've been
through the last week.
Hey, chris.
-Hey.
Narrator:
With just three cleanups left
To hit
his 3,000-ounce season gold,
Parker needs the new section
of the boundary cut
To produce
a healthy 266 ounces per week.
-How's it going?
-Oh, good.
Parker: Good.
I just weighed this stuff up.
Sweet.
Before we get to that,
I just want to say
good job moving the plant.
I know that I got
a little short-tempered there,
And I apologize for that.
But you guys did a good job
and we got 'er done.
So that's behind us.
And not only is it behind us,
But it was well worth it already
'cause right here is, uh...
388.24 ounces.
-Nice.
-Geez.
-There you go.
-Look at that.
-Look at that monster.
-Back on track.
Yeah!
Narrator: 388 ounces
is worth over $425,000.
Parker's second-best cleanup
of the season
Gives him a total
of 2,591 ounces,
Worth over $2.8 million.
His 3,000-ounce goal
is within reach.
-Finally, man.
-All right.
-Back on track.
-That's awesome.
At least the boundary's
still holding up for us.
Yeah.
So plant move's behind us.
And it's hopefully
blue skies from here.
The gold's in front of us.
-Yeah.
-Just think, parker,
That's enough
we can buy some new cables.
[ laughter ]
Here comes dave, look.
Narrator:
1,500 miles south, in oregon,
Todd hoffman and a skeleton crew
are prospecting a new claim,
High bar.
-Hey, what's going on?
-Hey, dave.
Dave turin,
todd's business partner,
Isn't about to let any big
decisions be made without him.
-How's it going, man?
-Doing all right.
-Getting any gold?
-We don't know.
I want to see
what's in that sluice box.
We cannot afford to
make another guyana mistake.
Show me an ounce a hundred
and I'll be happy.
When we're done
with this 100 yards,
We're gonna clean it up
and see what it looks like.
-All right.
-We're just about done.
Last bucket, andy!
Narrator:
Todd has to prove to his crew
Without a shadow of a doubt
That this ground
is a worthy replacement...
-Let's shut it down.
-...For mckinnon creek.
There's no fibbing now.
What's in the sluice box
is in the sluice box.
Just let 'er finish running
out here and start cleaning up.
-Hey, dave?
-Yeah, fred?
Look at this.
Turin: Show me.
Oh, my goodness.
-Look at that, dave.
-[ whistles ]
-There's a big one.
-Holy smokes.
That's impressive.
Very nice.
That's the biggest nugget
I think I've ever seen.
Todd: Never see something
like that on indian river.
Oh, my gosh.
Not a chance.
Dodge:
No. It's beautiful.
-It's a good start, freddy.
-It's a very good start.
Awesome.
Narrator: Without a jig,
They have to pan
the concentrate by hand.
Holy mackerel.
Is this everything we ran,
every little thing?
That's all we ran.
It's probably
about 25% chunks.
Listen.
-I love the sound of that.
-That is awesome.
Narrator: In the klondike,
the hoffman crew
Gets 1 ounce of gold
every 100 yards.
Let's weigh it up, guys.
Moment of truth.
For this ground
to be viable,
Todd needs this 100 yards
or oregon pay dirt...
-Come on, baby.
-...To produce at least 1 ounce.
There's an ounce.
Turin: Nice.
-1.7 ounces.
-Per hundred yards.
-Yeah.
-Oh, man.
Whoo.
That is great.
Look at that.
-That's pretty dang good, todd.
Narrator:
After just a day of sluicing,
The hoffman crew
has mined 1.7 ounces of gold,
Worth $1,870.
You're looking at
$12, $13 a yard.
You know what? That's double
what we're doing in the yukon.
Imagine what we could do
running 300 yards an hour.
300 yards an hour.
Never thought I'd see that.
Narrator: High bar
is rich in nuggety gold.
The hoffman crew just may
have a future in oregon.
But we still got some gold
to get out of the klondike.
We got a crew waiting for us
that's counting on us.
We got to finish
what we started.
-I agree.
-Yep. I agree.
Hey, but I tell you what,
we at least have an option now.
Yeah. We do.
I'm really hoping I can
negotiate a lease on this place.
Let me tell you,
This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity right here.
-Yeah!
-Let's go.
Our time in the yukon
is coming to an end.
It really is.
We got some very,
very big decisions to make.
But I think we'd be stupid
not to come here.
I really do.
Let's pull some levers
and let's make it happening.
Narrator:
On the next "gold rush"...
Let's see if
we can find some gold.
So how you planning
on doing it, gene?
-[bleep] buffoon.
-Hold up, gene.
Wow.
What's [bleep] going on?
Parker: Gravel that's frozen...
We'll be lucky
if we run another week.
I don't know if
that's gonna beat todd.
Might be goldzilla's last shake.
I don't think we got time
to run this pay.
Two plants, we got double-barrel
shotgun coming at parker.
Whoa!