Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 7, Episode 18 - Miners vs. Beavers - full transcript
Todd: The materials stack up!
Shut it down!
Narrator: On this "gold
rush"...
Creek's completely
dried up now.
Without any freshwater,
we're screwed.
Let's get the son of a gun
unplugged.
Forget about it, freddy!
Freddy!
-Aah!
-Freddy?
She's finally here!
We can get some dredging goin'.
There's no millimeters.
There's no thousandths
of an inch off.
It's gotta be dead center.
Are you kidding me?
Bit off more than I can chew.
Well, I think this plant's
about ready to move.
Let's try to get this done
as quick as we can.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
For [bleep] sakes.
Blew my [bleep]
track in half.
Shut it off!
I don't have a plan.
So stop [bleep] asking me.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
hey, can you ask brennan
to grab another pipe?
Roger that.
Lookin' good, brohammer.
Narrator:
It's 6 a.M. At scribner,
and parker's crew
is already hard at work.
[ snaps loudly ]
our strap just broke, so we'll
have to grab another one.
We need another chain.
We're moving sluicifer today,
which is never easy,
but hopefully we won't have
as much of an issue.
In theory, it should go
a lot better than long time.
Just throw this chain on.
We'll get goin'.
Narrator: Parker is still
almost
2,000 ounces short
of his 4,000-ounce season goal.
In an attempt
to get back on track,
he's come up
with a bold plan.
Parker: That creek diversion,
hopefully there's still a lot
of good pay left in there.
We need it.
So we'll try to make it work.
Narrator: Parker's abandoned
the boundary cut extension.
Now, he needs to move
sluicifer 2,000 feet
to a new pad beside
the creek cut,
where he is pinning
all his hopes
for a $4.8 million season goal.
We got a lot to do
this morning.
Uh, we definitely
weren't planning
on moving sluicifer
again this year,
but just what we have to do.
All right.
Well, I think this plant's
about ready to move, isn't it?
Yeah, looks like it.
Let's try to get this done
as quick as we can.
-Yeah, all right.
-Back to sluicing.
I agree.
Narrator:
Parker is losing $2,500
every hour he spends
moving sluicifer
to the new pad.
When you're pullin' this
thing, just nice and easy.
Okay. Got this yard
on it? [ laughs ]
-good luck, champ.
-Thanks, buddy.
Narrator:
It's brennan's first time
moving the $600,000 wash plant.
I was gonna drag it.
But I'll let brennan do it
and see what he can break.
[ laughs ]
drop the bucket down!
Everybody's definitely feelin'
the pressure today.
Uh, you know, we're tryin'
to get this plant moved
as fast as we can
and get everything set up
because, uh, we don't wanna
lose
any time sluicing.
-Come on, baby.
-You're good, bud.
[ grinding ]
parker: I'm a little nervous.
So hopefully this baby makes it
over there in one piece.
Sounds like it's
rising up from hell.
Pretty [bleep]
impressive, really.
[ grinding continues ]
very cool.
Hey, brennan,
I'd put that thing in low gear.
-It is!
-Okay.
That's low gear?
Seemed a little fast.
Easy, buddy.
[ rattles ]
nice and easy, buddy.
-Whoa!
-Careful here.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[ scraping, thud ]
easy, easy, easy!
Aww!
Parker: Shut it off!
Just blew a hose, guys.
Why do I smell
hydraulic oil?
Yeah, it looks like
it's makin' oil to me.
I can't feel it, though,
on the lines
but hydraulic oil everywhere.
Try hittin' that switch
just real quick.
I don't usually like doin' this
with the oil hot.
Narrator: To find the leak,
parker needs to run the
machine.
Don't get it in my face.
[ engine starts ]
all right!
It's this one, yep.
There's a fan.
It's a real nice spot.
-Bad timing.
-All right, mitch.
Looks like we've had
a hose blow that
goes to our cooling fan.
Now we got some room,
we can see what
we're workin' on.
Okay, why don't you go ahead
and pull that out, parker?
I'm fairly certain
that's the one.
Well, that doesn't look good.
I don't know.
I don't have a plan,
so stop [bleep] asking me.
We're done.
We gotta get this machine
back up and running.
Otherwise, we're not gonna
have sluicifer moved over.
And I don't think this is
the right one for that,
but it's the only thing
that had the right --
even close to
the right fittings.
Well, this is the one
I was hopin' we had, premade.
-Looks a little longer, but...
-No, that's fine.
They're gonna have to wait.
They're gonna have to learn
some [bleep] patience.
Ugh. It's just in
a real tight spot here.
Do you see the end there?
Tell me --
little bit more,
push, push, push.
-Yeah, I'm tryin'.
-Yeah, I got it.
-Okay.
-Hardly see it,
barely reach it,
not really fit in here.
There's a lot of hoses
that could've blown
that would've been
a lot more accessible.
But, of course,
it had to be a bad one.
[ click ]
almost there.
Oh, yeah.
That's what we wanted.
Go ahead and fire it up.
[ engine starts ]
everything looks really good.
All the lines are tight.
Nothing's leakin'.
See if we can't
get sluicifer moved.
-Start draggin' it over.
-We ready to roll?
-Don't break this one.
-That fell apart on me.
-[ laughs ]
-it's your [bleep] fault
for that stupid name
you give that plant.
[ laughs ]
it's named sluicifer,
cursed, buddy.
[ engine revs ]
[ thud ]
[ scraping ]
lookin' good, buddy!
Keep trackin' like that,
you'll be okay.
-Beautiful!
-Lookin' good!
Send her home, buddy!
Almost there!
Shouldn't get excited so fast.
-Yep, that's it.
-Ho!
We'll need to spin it this way.
We too far this way?
You pull it this way
a little bit.
You can just climb
up the bank and,
uh, pull this thing forward.
Tryin' to get that
bucket underneath here.
-I -- I can't lift anymore.
-Swing her this a bit.
It might reach right now.
Pull it forward
about 8 feet.
I know.
[ rustling ]
that's good!
You the man, sloth!
Whoo! We did it, son!
[ laughter ]
good job, guys!
-Hell yeah!
-Well, got her in place.
Looks like
a wash plant to me.
-Big cat! Nice work, buddy.
-Whoo!
You've got a gold star.
[ laughing ]
yay!
That mean I get
the day off tomorrow?
[ laughter ]
-no.
No.
So we need a de-watering pump.
We need water up here.
-Yep.
-And we need power up here.
Yeah.
Dave!
I'm gonna crank up the dirt.
Narrator: Todd hoffman is
running two operations --
fairplay...
Sure lookin' good
this morning, huh, fred?
It's a nice site, trey.
Narrator:
...And sacramento.
-How's that, dave?
-Sweet!
Narrator:
...To help todd get to his new
1,000-ounce season goal,
sacramento's double trouble
is hard at it.
How fast are we goin'
right now, you think?
Gotta be 330 yards an hour.
Narrator: So far this year,
todd has 561 ounces of gold,
worth $670,000,
just over halfway
to breaking even
and giving his crew a paycheck
to see them through the winter.
We're just haulin' ass.
I wanna help the team,
and I gotta get 1,000 ounces.
Let's see if we can
keep it goin'.
Hunter, stop!
Hunter, hold up! Hold up!
The dirt's pilin' up!
We got a jam-up!
The dirt is too dry.
It's clogging everything up.
The biggest stack-up of dirt...
It's not goin' down that chute.
There's not enough water
to push this rock
and dirt through the prewash!
Material's not goin'
down that chute.
It's just not enough water
pressure to push this through.
What do you think happened?
I need frickin' water
to keep this goin'.
Hey, todd!
Yeah, I got a copy.
We got a problem
at fairplay.
Tell me you're frickin'
kidding!
[ bleep ]
narrator: A mile southeast
at fairplay,
freddy dodge is having water
issues of his own.
[bleep] mud!
Hey, kevin! Shut it down!
All we're pumpin's
frickin' mud!
-Ten-four!
-Shut the pump down!
[ bleep ]
we don't have any freshwater.
Our [bleep] freshwater's off.
We're sluicin' out
of a mudhole.
-Hey!
-What's goin' on?
[bleep] water's off!
Look at my mud puddle.
Well, I see it.
Sacramento's down.
Fairplay's down.
We got no water, freddy.
Narrator: Water runoff
from the glaciers
of the rocky mountains
feeds a creek,
which supplies water
to both sacramento and
fairplay.
We're down. You're down.
Now we're both down.
So we better solve it.
That creek should be
about a foot deep right now.
And I have no water
comin' into the pond.
So the water's gettin' lost
somewhere up above us.
We gotta figure out
what the hell's goin' on.
Let's go!
Let's go figure it out.
-Start walkin' the ditch.
-Let's do it.
We're both dead
in the water right now.
If we don't figure it out
quick,
every day we're losin' $30,000.
Without water, we're not
gettin' any gold.
Trust me.
Narrator:
Tony beets has a problem.
His dredge hasn't
sluiced in 4 weeks
while he's been waiting
for a vital part
to be delivered.
What the [bleep]
is that all about?
Four weeks ago, the idler wheel
on the bucket line...
There's your problem.
...Chewed through its bushings
and the housing.
Yeah.
Well, she's
finally [bleep] here!
Finally start makin'
some [bleep] money!
Narrator:
Forty thousand dollars later,
they have a completely
reconditioned idler wheel.
And they can at last
start the repair.
[ laughs ]
this is quite a set-up.
Tony has hired machinist
gavin hill
to begin the precision
installation
of the idler wheel.
Yeah, I haven't done
anything like this before.
Nope?
You don't always get
a nice shop to work in.
-Ah, man.
-It's slick.
I'm layin' on [bleep] cobble
and cardboard, right?
Yeah.
Narrator:
To hold the idler wheel,
gavin smoothes out two
rough semicircles at the end
of the bucket line arm.
I think we should just seat it
in how it sits right now.
No? We'll -- okay --
okay, no problem.
Okay. I can do that.
Narrator: Tony wants a smooth,
even surface,
and both sides
perfectly aligned.
His plan?
Insert a line-boring bar,
a precision drill
which will machine
the housing to
within a thousandth of an inch.
If the alignment
isn't perfect,
the 3-ton idler
wheel will rock
and destroy the new
bearings and its housing.
[ rumbles ]
[ clattering ]
need to go back more, mike.
That should be good there.
We can't [bleep] it up.
It's gotta be dead center.
Can't miss it.
This side is a little
lower than that side.
Gonna come up a quarter-inch.
Four and a half.
That's close
as it's gonna get.
Narrator: After lining up
the boring bar precisely,
gavin now needs to
secure the bearing
that holds it in position.
We just gotta get that
bearing welded up to here.
All right.
Sounds like a plan, then?
-It's your plan, not mine.
-[ laughs ]
if we were in a shop doin'
this,
we could custom make
special proper holding bars
and stuff like that,
would be a bit easier for sure.
Narrator: One hundred miles
from the nearest machine shop,
gavin has to macgyver
two support brackets.
Gavin: Starting to figure out
nothin's easy in the yukon.
A bit nerve-racking.
And tony's a hard-ass,
so the pressure is on.
Narrator: Once the bar is
centered and supported...
Yeah, so we're
in business, buddy.
...The crew can start boring.
Narrator: The cutting tool
shaves five-thousandths
of an inch off the rough
surface
every pass.
Yeah, it's workin',
one step at a time.
Round and round it goes.
[ whirring ]
[ clanks ]
[ bleep ]
[bleep] brakes.
[bleep] bit hard there.
Now, don't be
pullin' on it,
because the bit that's [bleep]
bound right up right now.
Narrator: The bit has dug
into the housing
and is stuck solid.
We hit a high spot
and bound everything up.
So now we're tryin'
to delicately
take it out to save it.
There it is.
-You got it?
-Yep.
I don't know if we've moved
somewhere here.
Let me do a quick measure.
Oh, that's a little
plus -- plus seven.
-Something's movin'.
-Yep.
Okay.
Back to square one.
Everything [bleep] up
and moved.
[ bleep ]
[bleep] leave it.
[bleep] love my job.
Parker: Cut the level
for that pump, for --
if we have any hope
of keepin' up.
Tyson: We could be
sluicing tonight.
I mean, there's no reason
why we can't be
unless there's some
sort of hiccup with the plant.
Narrator:
It's mid-afternoon at scribner,
and parker's entire crew
is busy moving the pumps,
pipes and feed system
for sluicifer.
What in the [bleep]
is he doin'?
That'd be a real easy
way to break up.
It's gotta be brennan.
Hey, brennan are you
tryin' to bury the --
like, what's goin' on?
He must be daydreamin' there.
[ chuckles ]
whew! That's a deep spot!
[ bleep ]
[ thud ]
for [bleep] sakes!
You gotta be [bleep]
me right now. [bleep]
just blew my [bleep]
track in half.
Always on a plant move,
it's a good day.
Oh, boy.
Now we've got
another [bleep] problem.
Narrator: At scribner creek,
parker's plant move
has hit a roadblock.
-Oh, that's nice.
-Track just broke in half.
Narrator: Brennan has broken
a track on an excavator
60 feet down
in the old cut.
[ laughs ]
we'll get it out of the pond.
I don't know.
Just [bleep] that --
you might [bleep]
that roller out is the problem.
We'll flock it out,
just have to be real careful
to keep this end up and not
snag
the roller and lose it.
I'll take it outta here.
It gets pretty [bleep]
deep in there.
Like, it looked like a boat
when he was comin' across here.
It was right up
to the car body.
Not ideal here,
so just gotta be real careful.
We hit our old ditch here
and drop this machine down,
you know, we're only
about a foot away
from gettin' into
our electronics.
And, uh, this machine'll
be dead in the water.
[ squeaking ]
narrator: Mitch needs to
maneuver the excavator
to the lowest part of the bank.
We could smooth
that spot out over there.
[ rumbling ]
all right, right now
brennan's gonna cut a road
in here, uh, with the cat,
and we're just gonna try
and limp outta the cut.
Narrator: Mitch's plan?
Use the bucket arm as a crutch
to keep the exposed rollers
off the rocks.
Just gonna try and crab walk
the machine over here.
Uh, just kinda, like,
limpin' along on one leg.
Normally you can use
your bucket to kinda
pull yourself along here.
But, uh, I've gotta
use the bucket
to hold up the side
that doesn't have the track.
So I can't use to help
pull myself along here.
[ whirring ]
this is ridiculous.
Why does all this [bleep]
happen on one day?
It's always plant move day.
Everything just goes to [bleep]
every [bleep] time.
Now, we're puttin' all
the strain on just one track.
So we gotta try
and get this machine
to walk up on top of all
this wet material here
and just wantin'
to dig in right now.
We really risk breakin'
another one tryin' to do this.
[ grinding ]
come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
There we go.
[ thuds ]
that's what we call
crab walkin', boy!
[ laughs ]
at least she's back
on dry land, man.
Nice job, buddy.
-Thanks for the road.
-Yeah, you bet.
Gonna name this
machine old lucky.
Felt like an old soldier
limpin' off the
battlefield, there.
-What's happening today?
-I don't know.
-I think sluicifer's cursed.
-It's 'cause we named...
It's your [bleep] fault, mitch.
I need some tranquilizers.
You guys got any, like,
horse tranquilizers or
anything?
I don't know if gonna puke or,
like, laugh hysterically
or what's gonna happen here.
Got the plant moved,
but right now,
we gotta get sluicing
and get gold back in the box,
you know?
Hey, rick, can you hear me?
Yep.
I'm thinking about tryin'
something else out.
Gotcha.
Narrator: Instead of using
his super stacker
to feed sluicifer...
Parker's come up
with a radical new plan.
To speed things up
and increase production,
he's going to use his new
$300,000 super conveyor.
Moving this conveyor
may be a pretty risky move,
but I think we have to do it.
We can't just keep losin'
money.
Where's the wiper?
Six inches back
from the top!
-Are you happy with that?
-Okay!
We got her in place, boys.
For the day we've had,
good job, guys.
-Let's get sluicin'.
-Yeah!
-Sounds good, boys.
-Ready?
It's time to add water and
dirt.
Let's fire it up!
-Oh, yeah!
-Yeah, buddy!
Mitch: Go ahead and throw
some dirt on it.
We're ready.
Let her rip!
See what she's got!
Time for the first
scoop of creek cut pay.
Here we go!
'bout to see the first
dirt go through it.
Look at that! Boom!
No more super stacker.
Parker: Movin' this conveyor in
was nice and quick.
This thing needs
to pick up the torch.
And it looks like it's been
a good decision so far.
It feeds that plant nice.
We've got pretty high hopes
for the creek cut.
You know, we need a lot of gold
in a short amount of time here.
Hey, todd.
Meet me a quarter-mile
west of double trouble.
I found the real problem.
Narrator: In colorado,
a lack of water
has forced todd hoffman
to shut down both
his operations.
Now freddy dodge thinks
he's found the cause.
Todd: What's goin' on here?
The reason
we're outta water --
frickin' beavers.
Got this culvert plugged up,
diverted the water.
-Really?
-It's plugged solid.
Todd: Now what do we do?
Got a backhoe here.
I'm gonna wade up it.
You feed me the chain.
Okay.
And that'll drag it out.
Narrator: To get water to
their wash plants,
freddy needs to take
drastic measures.
Todd: Feed it through there.
Narrator: His plan?
Take the grappling hook
through the culvert
to the beaver dam.
Then, use the excavator arm
to drag the branches,
mud and debris out
and release the water flow.
Kinda had the flu.
But kinda need water
to mine gold,
so let's get the son of a gun
unplugged.
You sure you wanna do this?
This is frickin' cold, boy!
Narrator: The glacier-fed
creek water
is only a couple
of degrees above freezing.
Freddy, you good?
Okay, the end.
I don't wanna go back
in that [bleep] again.
Give her hell, todd!
Everybody clear!
Go ahead and pull it through.
[ whirring, water bubbling ]
[ rustling ]
here!
[ bleep ]
jumped up over the top.
We'll have to do it again.
Gotta go back
in that cold [bleep].
So we're gonna get the [bleep]
out one way or the other.
Narrator: To make sure
the grappling hook holds,
freddy must find a way
to hook it firmly
in the center of the beaver
dam.
[ freddy gasping ]
todd: Freddy,
what are you doin'?
Tryin' to wedge
that hook in the logs.
I'm gonna have to go
underwater on this, todd.
Todd: Freddy!
[ splashing ]
freddy!
Todd: Freddy!
Narrator:
In colorado, freddy dodge
is in a fight with a beaver
dam.
You good?
-Aah!
-Freddy!
I'm okay! Have him pull!
Pull!
[ whirring ]
keep goin'!
Keep goin'!
Keep goin'!
[ creaking ]
keep pullin'! [bleep]
beaver ain't gonna beat me.
[bleep]
...My hand.
There's thick --
thick [bleep] logs and rocks!
Todd, is the water
comin' through?
Todd: Good job, freddy!
I win, beaver!
We'll have water now.
Us one, beaver zero.
Good job, freddy!
That's it. It's out.
You did it, buddy!
Look at all that!
So we got water.
Gonna be headin' down the
ditch.
Now we're gonna
go kick some ass!
Trommel's comin' on!
[ horn honks ]
[ whirring ]
[ buzzer ]
-plant's comin' hot.
-Everybody clear!
-Fire it up!
Let's make some gold!
Narrator: After a month down,
tony's dredge is close
to running again.
The reconditioned idler wheel
has finally arrived.
But machinist gavin's attempts
to rebore its mount have
failed.
Bit off more
than I can chew.
Mike: We're out in
the middle of nowhere.
[bleep] machinist
that got hired
doesn't even know
how to run this thing.
Mike beaudry has 15 years
experience as a bush mechanic.
Oh, we need to [bleep]
true this thing up
because these are
not adjustable.
[ buzzing ]
narrator: The previous supports
for the line boring machine
didn't hold it
accurately in place.
What do you think about
using these bolt-holes?
We can weld something
directly to that.
And then we can
build spacers out.
So I'm thinking
with the 2-inch tube,
and weld that solid to the
bolt.
That'll get us
out far enough.
And then you can just
do an adjustment,
so we can fine-tune it.
Narrator: Mike's plan?
Use the four existing bolts
to weld on
a rigid frame structure.
Inside the frame,
he will fit eight
new bolts attached
to a mount for the boring bar.
By tightening the nuts,
they'll be able
to maneuver the bar
till it's perfectly aligned.
Fully.
Gonna get that boring bar
right in the center.
Yeah.
Okay, so all we gotta do
is weld those onto these.
First step, weld the mounting
points for the bracket.
You know, we're out
in the middle of nowhere.
We don't have
fancy [bleep] out here.
This is what we
get to work with.
You want the hex
right to the end?
Yeah, I think that would be
best
to get a better weld on it.
That hex right to here.
That'll work.
So these bolts
are gonna allow us
to place the boring shaft
dead center in the hole.
That's gonna give us
an accurate bore.
And that's gonna make
our holes perfect and true.
Nuts and bolts and welding rods
make it happen.
And we do a [bleep]
good job at it. [ laughs ]
boring shaft is in.
Now we're just gonna
make sure we're true.
Move it towards me, len.
-It's not much.
-An eighth of a turn, maybe?
How's that for
an adjustable bracket, eh?
It's [bleep] slick.
-It's very slick.
-I like that.
It's a good idea, beaudry.
So we're within a thou.
Narrator:
The boring bar is aligned.
Well, that's as good
as it's gonna get.
But it needs to hold
perfectly in place
when they start reboring
the idler wheel mount.
[ whirring ]
looking good.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, we're through.
[ whirring stops ]
that's good.
There we go.
Narrator: Tony swings the 3-ton
idler wheel into place
at the end of the bucket
ladder arm.
Bingo!
If the mount is misaligned...
...As the 24-ton
bucket line rotates...
...The idler wheel will grind
and destroy the new
set of bushings,
losing tony another month
and $40,000.
[ clanging ]
bada-boom! We got life!
Narrator: After 4 weeks
and $700,000 in lost gold,
tony's moneymaker
is finally back in business.
Yeah, I don't hear
no squealin'.
Oh, look at this, chris.
Yay!
We don't get this size
nuggets at indian river.
Narrator: Parker schnabel is
making a rare appearance
at an indian river cleanup.
Parker:
I don't like this at all.
Carrying a shovel full of dirt
is not the best way
of doin' that.
Could you bring a bucket out
of the gold room for me please?
Well, we got a bucket
on its way.
Well, normally we don't
throw [bleep] all over
where we're walkin' through.
-Well, where --
-that what you're sayin'?
-Where should we put it?
-We usually put 'em up on top.
-Now, we're back to havin' fun.
-Yeah!
I have absolutely no idea
why parker's so grumpy today.
Chris: He's upset that we
carry it across the sluice
and dump it into the tank,
like we're gonna spill some.
I think he's just under
a lot of stress right now,
and he's just --
any little thing,
and then he blows it
out of proportion.
Tell you the honest truth,
this has been
just the toughest week
we've been --
since we've been
in colorado.
Narrator:
Jack hoffman is finishing
the week's cleanup for todd's
fairplay and sacramento claims.
There's fairplay.
That's for the whole week?
That's it.
Narrator:
They've only run for 3 days
after a beaver dam shut down
both operations.
How much?
Narrator: To be on track
for his 1,000-ounce,
$1.2 million season goal,
todd needs his two claims
to produce around
100 ounces of gold every week.
20.75, fairplay.
Ugh.
-That's not good.
-No, that's not a good week.
No water, no gold.
Yep.
What's sacramento?
Here goes.
Twenty-five, 30, 35...
40...
48.7.
It's almost 70
ounces between us.
Narrator:
Worth over $80,000,
but 30 ounces short
of their weekly target.
Well, we know why it's low.
We ran outta water.
Next week's not gonna
be the same.
-Go get some more.
-All right.
Let's do this.
Todd: You know what?
It's a disappointing week.
We didn't have water, you know.
I don't want this
to get out of control.
But that's the beauty
of havin' two plants.
When we have a bad week,
we still got 70 ounces of gold.
And you know what?
It's better than nothin'.
Well, how's it lookin'?
Uh, chris is just
finishin' her up.
Narrator: Parker and his crew
began the week
just over halfway
to their 4,000 ounce goal.
-That's indian river.
-Rick, get in here.
Narrator:
To keep parker on track,
rick's indian river operation
needs to contribute
110 ounces a week.
Ten, 25...
60,
75, 90...
We're over 100.
Keep it goin', rick.
Keep it goin'.
Oh, baby.
Come on, baby, get in there.
129.1.
Parker: All right.
Narrator: Worth $155,000.
Let's see what old sluicifer's
gonna put out.
Narrator:
After weeks of poor results
from the boundary cut
extension,
to get back on target,
parker needs the first
four days of creek cut running
to deliver
at least 250 ounces.
[ chuckling ]
there's 50, 70...
...80, 120, 140,
150, 160, 180, 200.
-Oh, yeah.
-No way!
230, 250...
273.4.
[ laughter ]
-whoa!
-[ bleep ]
narrator:
In its first week of running,
the creek cut has paid out
nearly a third of $1 million.
-Man, that's good stuff.
-That's a lot of [bleep] gold.
That's a lot of gold.
I'm glad we're back
to whoopin' ass.
[ laughter ]
hell yeah.
So what's that put us
at for the week?
[ laughter ]
402 ounces.
That's awesome!
Yeah, that's definitely
the best cleanup
of the season right there.
So what's that bring us
to for the season?
-2,419.
-Awesome!
Looks like leavin'
the boundary cut extension
was probably
the right thing to do.
All right. Thanks, guys.
Yeah!
Sounds good.
Parker:
It's a hell of a result.
The really good news
is creek cut's picked up.
Four thousand ounces
is still a long ways off.
We've got 1,500
still to do.
But it's definitely manageable.
So I think we'll get there.
I think we'll get there.
It's time to go shut 'em down.
Narrator:
On the next "gold rush"...
Wanna play a little bit
of a [bleep] game here.
You're on the dredge.
You are on
the conventional plant.
Start comparing cost per yard.
When you [bleep] up
you don't do small, do ya?
Monica: Never gonna beat kevin
with [bleep] like that.
Todd: We've never seen
nuggets like that.
You really think
we can mine up there?
Those are bigger than
anything we've ever gotten.
We need a third mine.
You've still got
a long ways to go.
-Holy [bleep].
-No fixin' that one.
Do I look like
a [bleep] belt fairy?
Make it [bleep] work.
Shut it down!
Narrator: On this "gold
rush"...
Creek's completely
dried up now.
Without any freshwater,
we're screwed.
Let's get the son of a gun
unplugged.
Forget about it, freddy!
Freddy!
-Aah!
-Freddy?
She's finally here!
We can get some dredging goin'.
There's no millimeters.
There's no thousandths
of an inch off.
It's gotta be dead center.
Are you kidding me?
Bit off more than I can chew.
Well, I think this plant's
about ready to move.
Let's try to get this done
as quick as we can.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
For [bleep] sakes.
Blew my [bleep]
track in half.
Shut it off!
I don't have a plan.
So stop [bleep] asking me.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
hey, can you ask brennan
to grab another pipe?
Roger that.
Lookin' good, brohammer.
Narrator:
It's 6 a.M. At scribner,
and parker's crew
is already hard at work.
[ snaps loudly ]
our strap just broke, so we'll
have to grab another one.
We need another chain.
We're moving sluicifer today,
which is never easy,
but hopefully we won't have
as much of an issue.
In theory, it should go
a lot better than long time.
Just throw this chain on.
We'll get goin'.
Narrator: Parker is still
almost
2,000 ounces short
of his 4,000-ounce season goal.
In an attempt
to get back on track,
he's come up
with a bold plan.
Parker: That creek diversion,
hopefully there's still a lot
of good pay left in there.
We need it.
So we'll try to make it work.
Narrator: Parker's abandoned
the boundary cut extension.
Now, he needs to move
sluicifer 2,000 feet
to a new pad beside
the creek cut,
where he is pinning
all his hopes
for a $4.8 million season goal.
We got a lot to do
this morning.
Uh, we definitely
weren't planning
on moving sluicifer
again this year,
but just what we have to do.
All right.
Well, I think this plant's
about ready to move, isn't it?
Yeah, looks like it.
Let's try to get this done
as quick as we can.
-Yeah, all right.
-Back to sluicing.
I agree.
Narrator:
Parker is losing $2,500
every hour he spends
moving sluicifer
to the new pad.
When you're pullin' this
thing, just nice and easy.
Okay. Got this yard
on it? [ laughs ]
-good luck, champ.
-Thanks, buddy.
Narrator:
It's brennan's first time
moving the $600,000 wash plant.
I was gonna drag it.
But I'll let brennan do it
and see what he can break.
[ laughs ]
drop the bucket down!
Everybody's definitely feelin'
the pressure today.
Uh, you know, we're tryin'
to get this plant moved
as fast as we can
and get everything set up
because, uh, we don't wanna
lose
any time sluicing.
-Come on, baby.
-You're good, bud.
[ grinding ]
parker: I'm a little nervous.
So hopefully this baby makes it
over there in one piece.
Sounds like it's
rising up from hell.
Pretty [bleep]
impressive, really.
[ grinding continues ]
very cool.
Hey, brennan,
I'd put that thing in low gear.
-It is!
-Okay.
That's low gear?
Seemed a little fast.
Easy, buddy.
[ rattles ]
nice and easy, buddy.
-Whoa!
-Careful here.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[ scraping, thud ]
easy, easy, easy!
Aww!
Parker: Shut it off!
Just blew a hose, guys.
Why do I smell
hydraulic oil?
Yeah, it looks like
it's makin' oil to me.
I can't feel it, though,
on the lines
but hydraulic oil everywhere.
Try hittin' that switch
just real quick.
I don't usually like doin' this
with the oil hot.
Narrator: To find the leak,
parker needs to run the
machine.
Don't get it in my face.
[ engine starts ]
all right!
It's this one, yep.
There's a fan.
It's a real nice spot.
-Bad timing.
-All right, mitch.
Looks like we've had
a hose blow that
goes to our cooling fan.
Now we got some room,
we can see what
we're workin' on.
Okay, why don't you go ahead
and pull that out, parker?
I'm fairly certain
that's the one.
Well, that doesn't look good.
I don't know.
I don't have a plan,
so stop [bleep] asking me.
We're done.
We gotta get this machine
back up and running.
Otherwise, we're not gonna
have sluicifer moved over.
And I don't think this is
the right one for that,
but it's the only thing
that had the right --
even close to
the right fittings.
Well, this is the one
I was hopin' we had, premade.
-Looks a little longer, but...
-No, that's fine.
They're gonna have to wait.
They're gonna have to learn
some [bleep] patience.
Ugh. It's just in
a real tight spot here.
Do you see the end there?
Tell me --
little bit more,
push, push, push.
-Yeah, I'm tryin'.
-Yeah, I got it.
-Okay.
-Hardly see it,
barely reach it,
not really fit in here.
There's a lot of hoses
that could've blown
that would've been
a lot more accessible.
But, of course,
it had to be a bad one.
[ click ]
almost there.
Oh, yeah.
That's what we wanted.
Go ahead and fire it up.
[ engine starts ]
everything looks really good.
All the lines are tight.
Nothing's leakin'.
See if we can't
get sluicifer moved.
-Start draggin' it over.
-We ready to roll?
-Don't break this one.
-That fell apart on me.
-[ laughs ]
-it's your [bleep] fault
for that stupid name
you give that plant.
[ laughs ]
it's named sluicifer,
cursed, buddy.
[ engine revs ]
[ thud ]
[ scraping ]
lookin' good, buddy!
Keep trackin' like that,
you'll be okay.
-Beautiful!
-Lookin' good!
Send her home, buddy!
Almost there!
Shouldn't get excited so fast.
-Yep, that's it.
-Ho!
We'll need to spin it this way.
We too far this way?
You pull it this way
a little bit.
You can just climb
up the bank and,
uh, pull this thing forward.
Tryin' to get that
bucket underneath here.
-I -- I can't lift anymore.
-Swing her this a bit.
It might reach right now.
Pull it forward
about 8 feet.
I know.
[ rustling ]
that's good!
You the man, sloth!
Whoo! We did it, son!
[ laughter ]
good job, guys!
-Hell yeah!
-Well, got her in place.
Looks like
a wash plant to me.
-Big cat! Nice work, buddy.
-Whoo!
You've got a gold star.
[ laughing ]
yay!
That mean I get
the day off tomorrow?
[ laughter ]
-no.
No.
So we need a de-watering pump.
We need water up here.
-Yep.
-And we need power up here.
Yeah.
Dave!
I'm gonna crank up the dirt.
Narrator: Todd hoffman is
running two operations --
fairplay...
Sure lookin' good
this morning, huh, fred?
It's a nice site, trey.
Narrator:
...And sacramento.
-How's that, dave?
-Sweet!
Narrator:
...To help todd get to his new
1,000-ounce season goal,
sacramento's double trouble
is hard at it.
How fast are we goin'
right now, you think?
Gotta be 330 yards an hour.
Narrator: So far this year,
todd has 561 ounces of gold,
worth $670,000,
just over halfway
to breaking even
and giving his crew a paycheck
to see them through the winter.
We're just haulin' ass.
I wanna help the team,
and I gotta get 1,000 ounces.
Let's see if we can
keep it goin'.
Hunter, stop!
Hunter, hold up! Hold up!
The dirt's pilin' up!
We got a jam-up!
The dirt is too dry.
It's clogging everything up.
The biggest stack-up of dirt...
It's not goin' down that chute.
There's not enough water
to push this rock
and dirt through the prewash!
Material's not goin'
down that chute.
It's just not enough water
pressure to push this through.
What do you think happened?
I need frickin' water
to keep this goin'.
Hey, todd!
Yeah, I got a copy.
We got a problem
at fairplay.
Tell me you're frickin'
kidding!
[ bleep ]
narrator: A mile southeast
at fairplay,
freddy dodge is having water
issues of his own.
[bleep] mud!
Hey, kevin! Shut it down!
All we're pumpin's
frickin' mud!
-Ten-four!
-Shut the pump down!
[ bleep ]
we don't have any freshwater.
Our [bleep] freshwater's off.
We're sluicin' out
of a mudhole.
-Hey!
-What's goin' on?
[bleep] water's off!
Look at my mud puddle.
Well, I see it.
Sacramento's down.
Fairplay's down.
We got no water, freddy.
Narrator: Water runoff
from the glaciers
of the rocky mountains
feeds a creek,
which supplies water
to both sacramento and
fairplay.
We're down. You're down.
Now we're both down.
So we better solve it.
That creek should be
about a foot deep right now.
And I have no water
comin' into the pond.
So the water's gettin' lost
somewhere up above us.
We gotta figure out
what the hell's goin' on.
Let's go!
Let's go figure it out.
-Start walkin' the ditch.
-Let's do it.
We're both dead
in the water right now.
If we don't figure it out
quick,
every day we're losin' $30,000.
Without water, we're not
gettin' any gold.
Trust me.
Narrator:
Tony beets has a problem.
His dredge hasn't
sluiced in 4 weeks
while he's been waiting
for a vital part
to be delivered.
What the [bleep]
is that all about?
Four weeks ago, the idler wheel
on the bucket line...
There's your problem.
...Chewed through its bushings
and the housing.
Yeah.
Well, she's
finally [bleep] here!
Finally start makin'
some [bleep] money!
Narrator:
Forty thousand dollars later,
they have a completely
reconditioned idler wheel.
And they can at last
start the repair.
[ laughs ]
this is quite a set-up.
Tony has hired machinist
gavin hill
to begin the precision
installation
of the idler wheel.
Yeah, I haven't done
anything like this before.
Nope?
You don't always get
a nice shop to work in.
-Ah, man.
-It's slick.
I'm layin' on [bleep] cobble
and cardboard, right?
Yeah.
Narrator:
To hold the idler wheel,
gavin smoothes out two
rough semicircles at the end
of the bucket line arm.
I think we should just seat it
in how it sits right now.
No? We'll -- okay --
okay, no problem.
Okay. I can do that.
Narrator: Tony wants a smooth,
even surface,
and both sides
perfectly aligned.
His plan?
Insert a line-boring bar,
a precision drill
which will machine
the housing to
within a thousandth of an inch.
If the alignment
isn't perfect,
the 3-ton idler
wheel will rock
and destroy the new
bearings and its housing.
[ rumbles ]
[ clattering ]
need to go back more, mike.
That should be good there.
We can't [bleep] it up.
It's gotta be dead center.
Can't miss it.
This side is a little
lower than that side.
Gonna come up a quarter-inch.
Four and a half.
That's close
as it's gonna get.
Narrator: After lining up
the boring bar precisely,
gavin now needs to
secure the bearing
that holds it in position.
We just gotta get that
bearing welded up to here.
All right.
Sounds like a plan, then?
-It's your plan, not mine.
-[ laughs ]
if we were in a shop doin'
this,
we could custom make
special proper holding bars
and stuff like that,
would be a bit easier for sure.
Narrator: One hundred miles
from the nearest machine shop,
gavin has to macgyver
two support brackets.
Gavin: Starting to figure out
nothin's easy in the yukon.
A bit nerve-racking.
And tony's a hard-ass,
so the pressure is on.
Narrator: Once the bar is
centered and supported...
Yeah, so we're
in business, buddy.
...The crew can start boring.
Narrator: The cutting tool
shaves five-thousandths
of an inch off the rough
surface
every pass.
Yeah, it's workin',
one step at a time.
Round and round it goes.
[ whirring ]
[ clanks ]
[ bleep ]
[bleep] brakes.
[bleep] bit hard there.
Now, don't be
pullin' on it,
because the bit that's [bleep]
bound right up right now.
Narrator: The bit has dug
into the housing
and is stuck solid.
We hit a high spot
and bound everything up.
So now we're tryin'
to delicately
take it out to save it.
There it is.
-You got it?
-Yep.
I don't know if we've moved
somewhere here.
Let me do a quick measure.
Oh, that's a little
plus -- plus seven.
-Something's movin'.
-Yep.
Okay.
Back to square one.
Everything [bleep] up
and moved.
[ bleep ]
[bleep] leave it.
[bleep] love my job.
Parker: Cut the level
for that pump, for --
if we have any hope
of keepin' up.
Tyson: We could be
sluicing tonight.
I mean, there's no reason
why we can't be
unless there's some
sort of hiccup with the plant.
Narrator:
It's mid-afternoon at scribner,
and parker's entire crew
is busy moving the pumps,
pipes and feed system
for sluicifer.
What in the [bleep]
is he doin'?
That'd be a real easy
way to break up.
It's gotta be brennan.
Hey, brennan are you
tryin' to bury the --
like, what's goin' on?
He must be daydreamin' there.
[ chuckles ]
whew! That's a deep spot!
[ bleep ]
[ thud ]
for [bleep] sakes!
You gotta be [bleep]
me right now. [bleep]
just blew my [bleep]
track in half.
Always on a plant move,
it's a good day.
Oh, boy.
Now we've got
another [bleep] problem.
Narrator: At scribner creek,
parker's plant move
has hit a roadblock.
-Oh, that's nice.
-Track just broke in half.
Narrator: Brennan has broken
a track on an excavator
60 feet down
in the old cut.
[ laughs ]
we'll get it out of the pond.
I don't know.
Just [bleep] that --
you might [bleep]
that roller out is the problem.
We'll flock it out,
just have to be real careful
to keep this end up and not
snag
the roller and lose it.
I'll take it outta here.
It gets pretty [bleep]
deep in there.
Like, it looked like a boat
when he was comin' across here.
It was right up
to the car body.
Not ideal here,
so just gotta be real careful.
We hit our old ditch here
and drop this machine down,
you know, we're only
about a foot away
from gettin' into
our electronics.
And, uh, this machine'll
be dead in the water.
[ squeaking ]
narrator: Mitch needs to
maneuver the excavator
to the lowest part of the bank.
We could smooth
that spot out over there.
[ rumbling ]
all right, right now
brennan's gonna cut a road
in here, uh, with the cat,
and we're just gonna try
and limp outta the cut.
Narrator: Mitch's plan?
Use the bucket arm as a crutch
to keep the exposed rollers
off the rocks.
Just gonna try and crab walk
the machine over here.
Uh, just kinda, like,
limpin' along on one leg.
Normally you can use
your bucket to kinda
pull yourself along here.
But, uh, I've gotta
use the bucket
to hold up the side
that doesn't have the track.
So I can't use to help
pull myself along here.
[ whirring ]
this is ridiculous.
Why does all this [bleep]
happen on one day?
It's always plant move day.
Everything just goes to [bleep]
every [bleep] time.
Now, we're puttin' all
the strain on just one track.
So we gotta try
and get this machine
to walk up on top of all
this wet material here
and just wantin'
to dig in right now.
We really risk breakin'
another one tryin' to do this.
[ grinding ]
come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
There we go.
[ thuds ]
that's what we call
crab walkin', boy!
[ laughs ]
at least she's back
on dry land, man.
Nice job, buddy.
-Thanks for the road.
-Yeah, you bet.
Gonna name this
machine old lucky.
Felt like an old soldier
limpin' off the
battlefield, there.
-What's happening today?
-I don't know.
-I think sluicifer's cursed.
-It's 'cause we named...
It's your [bleep] fault, mitch.
I need some tranquilizers.
You guys got any, like,
horse tranquilizers or
anything?
I don't know if gonna puke or,
like, laugh hysterically
or what's gonna happen here.
Got the plant moved,
but right now,
we gotta get sluicing
and get gold back in the box,
you know?
Hey, rick, can you hear me?
Yep.
I'm thinking about tryin'
something else out.
Gotcha.
Narrator: Instead of using
his super stacker
to feed sluicifer...
Parker's come up
with a radical new plan.
To speed things up
and increase production,
he's going to use his new
$300,000 super conveyor.
Moving this conveyor
may be a pretty risky move,
but I think we have to do it.
We can't just keep losin'
money.
Where's the wiper?
Six inches back
from the top!
-Are you happy with that?
-Okay!
We got her in place, boys.
For the day we've had,
good job, guys.
-Let's get sluicin'.
-Yeah!
-Sounds good, boys.
-Ready?
It's time to add water and
dirt.
Let's fire it up!
-Oh, yeah!
-Yeah, buddy!
Mitch: Go ahead and throw
some dirt on it.
We're ready.
Let her rip!
See what she's got!
Time for the first
scoop of creek cut pay.
Here we go!
'bout to see the first
dirt go through it.
Look at that! Boom!
No more super stacker.
Parker: Movin' this conveyor in
was nice and quick.
This thing needs
to pick up the torch.
And it looks like it's been
a good decision so far.
It feeds that plant nice.
We've got pretty high hopes
for the creek cut.
You know, we need a lot of gold
in a short amount of time here.
Hey, todd.
Meet me a quarter-mile
west of double trouble.
I found the real problem.
Narrator: In colorado,
a lack of water
has forced todd hoffman
to shut down both
his operations.
Now freddy dodge thinks
he's found the cause.
Todd: What's goin' on here?
The reason
we're outta water --
frickin' beavers.
Got this culvert plugged up,
diverted the water.
-Really?
-It's plugged solid.
Todd: Now what do we do?
Got a backhoe here.
I'm gonna wade up it.
You feed me the chain.
Okay.
And that'll drag it out.
Narrator: To get water to
their wash plants,
freddy needs to take
drastic measures.
Todd: Feed it through there.
Narrator: His plan?
Take the grappling hook
through the culvert
to the beaver dam.
Then, use the excavator arm
to drag the branches,
mud and debris out
and release the water flow.
Kinda had the flu.
But kinda need water
to mine gold,
so let's get the son of a gun
unplugged.
You sure you wanna do this?
This is frickin' cold, boy!
Narrator: The glacier-fed
creek water
is only a couple
of degrees above freezing.
Freddy, you good?
Okay, the end.
I don't wanna go back
in that [bleep] again.
Give her hell, todd!
Everybody clear!
Go ahead and pull it through.
[ whirring, water bubbling ]
[ rustling ]
here!
[ bleep ]
jumped up over the top.
We'll have to do it again.
Gotta go back
in that cold [bleep].
So we're gonna get the [bleep]
out one way or the other.
Narrator: To make sure
the grappling hook holds,
freddy must find a way
to hook it firmly
in the center of the beaver
dam.
[ freddy gasping ]
todd: Freddy,
what are you doin'?
Tryin' to wedge
that hook in the logs.
I'm gonna have to go
underwater on this, todd.
Todd: Freddy!
[ splashing ]
freddy!
Todd: Freddy!
Narrator:
In colorado, freddy dodge
is in a fight with a beaver
dam.
You good?
-Aah!
-Freddy!
I'm okay! Have him pull!
Pull!
[ whirring ]
keep goin'!
Keep goin'!
Keep goin'!
[ creaking ]
keep pullin'! [bleep]
beaver ain't gonna beat me.
[bleep]
...My hand.
There's thick --
thick [bleep] logs and rocks!
Todd, is the water
comin' through?
Todd: Good job, freddy!
I win, beaver!
We'll have water now.
Us one, beaver zero.
Good job, freddy!
That's it. It's out.
You did it, buddy!
Look at all that!
So we got water.
Gonna be headin' down the
ditch.
Now we're gonna
go kick some ass!
Trommel's comin' on!
[ horn honks ]
[ whirring ]
[ buzzer ]
-plant's comin' hot.
-Everybody clear!
-Fire it up!
Let's make some gold!
Narrator: After a month down,
tony's dredge is close
to running again.
The reconditioned idler wheel
has finally arrived.
But machinist gavin's attempts
to rebore its mount have
failed.
Bit off more
than I can chew.
Mike: We're out in
the middle of nowhere.
[bleep] machinist
that got hired
doesn't even know
how to run this thing.
Mike beaudry has 15 years
experience as a bush mechanic.
Oh, we need to [bleep]
true this thing up
because these are
not adjustable.
[ buzzing ]
narrator: The previous supports
for the line boring machine
didn't hold it
accurately in place.
What do you think about
using these bolt-holes?
We can weld something
directly to that.
And then we can
build spacers out.
So I'm thinking
with the 2-inch tube,
and weld that solid to the
bolt.
That'll get us
out far enough.
And then you can just
do an adjustment,
so we can fine-tune it.
Narrator: Mike's plan?
Use the four existing bolts
to weld on
a rigid frame structure.
Inside the frame,
he will fit eight
new bolts attached
to a mount for the boring bar.
By tightening the nuts,
they'll be able
to maneuver the bar
till it's perfectly aligned.
Fully.
Gonna get that boring bar
right in the center.
Yeah.
Okay, so all we gotta do
is weld those onto these.
First step, weld the mounting
points for the bracket.
You know, we're out
in the middle of nowhere.
We don't have
fancy [bleep] out here.
This is what we
get to work with.
You want the hex
right to the end?
Yeah, I think that would be
best
to get a better weld on it.
That hex right to here.
That'll work.
So these bolts
are gonna allow us
to place the boring shaft
dead center in the hole.
That's gonna give us
an accurate bore.
And that's gonna make
our holes perfect and true.
Nuts and bolts and welding rods
make it happen.
And we do a [bleep]
good job at it. [ laughs ]
boring shaft is in.
Now we're just gonna
make sure we're true.
Move it towards me, len.
-It's not much.
-An eighth of a turn, maybe?
How's that for
an adjustable bracket, eh?
It's [bleep] slick.
-It's very slick.
-I like that.
It's a good idea, beaudry.
So we're within a thou.
Narrator:
The boring bar is aligned.
Well, that's as good
as it's gonna get.
But it needs to hold
perfectly in place
when they start reboring
the idler wheel mount.
[ whirring ]
looking good.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, we're through.
[ whirring stops ]
that's good.
There we go.
Narrator: Tony swings the 3-ton
idler wheel into place
at the end of the bucket
ladder arm.
Bingo!
If the mount is misaligned...
...As the 24-ton
bucket line rotates...
...The idler wheel will grind
and destroy the new
set of bushings,
losing tony another month
and $40,000.
[ clanging ]
bada-boom! We got life!
Narrator: After 4 weeks
and $700,000 in lost gold,
tony's moneymaker
is finally back in business.
Yeah, I don't hear
no squealin'.
Oh, look at this, chris.
Yay!
We don't get this size
nuggets at indian river.
Narrator: Parker schnabel is
making a rare appearance
at an indian river cleanup.
Parker:
I don't like this at all.
Carrying a shovel full of dirt
is not the best way
of doin' that.
Could you bring a bucket out
of the gold room for me please?
Well, we got a bucket
on its way.
Well, normally we don't
throw [bleep] all over
where we're walkin' through.
-Well, where --
-that what you're sayin'?
-Where should we put it?
-We usually put 'em up on top.
-Now, we're back to havin' fun.
-Yeah!
I have absolutely no idea
why parker's so grumpy today.
Chris: He's upset that we
carry it across the sluice
and dump it into the tank,
like we're gonna spill some.
I think he's just under
a lot of stress right now,
and he's just --
any little thing,
and then he blows it
out of proportion.
Tell you the honest truth,
this has been
just the toughest week
we've been --
since we've been
in colorado.
Narrator:
Jack hoffman is finishing
the week's cleanup for todd's
fairplay and sacramento claims.
There's fairplay.
That's for the whole week?
That's it.
Narrator:
They've only run for 3 days
after a beaver dam shut down
both operations.
How much?
Narrator: To be on track
for his 1,000-ounce,
$1.2 million season goal,
todd needs his two claims
to produce around
100 ounces of gold every week.
20.75, fairplay.
Ugh.
-That's not good.
-No, that's not a good week.
No water, no gold.
Yep.
What's sacramento?
Here goes.
Twenty-five, 30, 35...
40...
48.7.
It's almost 70
ounces between us.
Narrator:
Worth over $80,000,
but 30 ounces short
of their weekly target.
Well, we know why it's low.
We ran outta water.
Next week's not gonna
be the same.
-Go get some more.
-All right.
Let's do this.
Todd: You know what?
It's a disappointing week.
We didn't have water, you know.
I don't want this
to get out of control.
But that's the beauty
of havin' two plants.
When we have a bad week,
we still got 70 ounces of gold.
And you know what?
It's better than nothin'.
Well, how's it lookin'?
Uh, chris is just
finishin' her up.
Narrator: Parker and his crew
began the week
just over halfway
to their 4,000 ounce goal.
-That's indian river.
-Rick, get in here.
Narrator:
To keep parker on track,
rick's indian river operation
needs to contribute
110 ounces a week.
Ten, 25...
60,
75, 90...
We're over 100.
Keep it goin', rick.
Keep it goin'.
Oh, baby.
Come on, baby, get in there.
129.1.
Parker: All right.
Narrator: Worth $155,000.
Let's see what old sluicifer's
gonna put out.
Narrator:
After weeks of poor results
from the boundary cut
extension,
to get back on target,
parker needs the first
four days of creek cut running
to deliver
at least 250 ounces.
[ chuckling ]
there's 50, 70...
...80, 120, 140,
150, 160, 180, 200.
-Oh, yeah.
-No way!
230, 250...
273.4.
[ laughter ]
-whoa!
-[ bleep ]
narrator:
In its first week of running,
the creek cut has paid out
nearly a third of $1 million.
-Man, that's good stuff.
-That's a lot of [bleep] gold.
That's a lot of gold.
I'm glad we're back
to whoopin' ass.
[ laughter ]
hell yeah.
So what's that put us
at for the week?
[ laughter ]
402 ounces.
That's awesome!
Yeah, that's definitely
the best cleanup
of the season right there.
So what's that bring us
to for the season?
-2,419.
-Awesome!
Looks like leavin'
the boundary cut extension
was probably
the right thing to do.
All right. Thanks, guys.
Yeah!
Sounds good.
Parker:
It's a hell of a result.
The really good news
is creek cut's picked up.
Four thousand ounces
is still a long ways off.
We've got 1,500
still to do.
But it's definitely manageable.
So I think we'll get there.
I think we'll get there.
It's time to go shut 'em down.
Narrator:
On the next "gold rush"...
Wanna play a little bit
of a [bleep] game here.
You're on the dredge.
You are on
the conventional plant.
Start comparing cost per yard.
When you [bleep] up
you don't do small, do ya?
Monica: Never gonna beat kevin
with [bleep] like that.
Todd: We've never seen
nuggets like that.
You really think
we can mine up there?
Those are bigger than
anything we've ever gotten.
We need a third mine.
You've still got
a long ways to go.
-Holy [bleep].
-No fixin' that one.
Do I look like
a [bleep] belt fairy?
Make it [bleep] work.