Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 7, Episode 3 - Frankenstein Machinery - full transcript

Hoffman:
What are you going for?

-3,000.
-You're 21 years old, man.

I thought you would go
for like 10,000 ounces.

I'm a real underachieving
21-year-old.

That's for sure, todd.

Narrator:
On this "gold rush"...

Just know now
that we're gonna do 3,000
ounces

and not an ounce more.

Blaschke:
Can you build a bigger one?

I'd love to bump our goal
up to 4,000 ounces.

[bleep] it.
Let's do it, man.



What do you say?

Why not?

Dodge: Right now, we're
standing
on a big-ass sail.

Can feel the wind
pullin' this thing.

-Whoa!
-Broke loose!

Not here to ruffle
any feathers or anything.

Kevin: Are you gonna let me
run the dredge a bit more?

captions paid for by
discovery communications

narrator: Six months ago,

the hoffman crew
left mckinnon creek

and the klondike for good.

Just go for it.

But now they're back...

Comin' up, sheamus.



...To dismantle monster red

and take it 2,000 miles south,

to oregon.

-Clear one?
-Yeah, clear.

Let her down.

Their first oregon operation

has so far produced

a disappointing 50 ounces.

I don't know why
the high bar isn't producing.

We tested it.

Something's going on.
I don't know what.

Narrator:
So they've opened up

a second mine, the buckland.

And they need a wash plant.

Dodge: Didn't think we were
gonna need monster red.

But it looks like we're gonna.

So we'll get it,
break it apart,

get it down there,
see what happens.

I got to get
this plant to oregon.

We got to get sluicing.

We're running out of time.

So we still got
a couple big pieces

that we got to get out of
here.

We got that screen deck.
That's gonna be a huge piece.

Dodge: Sheamus,
when we go to pick this,

I want to tighten
these cables up.

I want to double-check
and look at every pick point.

Roger that. That sounds like
a good idea, fred.

Narrator: Todd has drafted

klondike mine boss
sheamus christie and his crane

to take apart
the 100,000-pound plant.

This wind's
getting worse and worse.

Yeah, the wind is bad.
I'm nervous.

But, uh, let's
get hooked up,

try it, and put
some weight on it.

Freddy, you ready?
Let's go.

Right now, we're standing
on a big-ass sail.

You know, it's
20-some feet long,

6, 7 feet high.

You know, put a sail
that big out,

see how much wind it catches.

Let's give it heck, sheamus.

Does it even move, fred?

All we've done so far
is take a little cushion

out of the springs.

Yeah.
It's coming off over here!

We're moving.
It's coming up.

I can feel the wind
pulling this thing.

Come on, baby.
Come on.

-Easy.
-Freddy, how's it look?

When he clears the stand,
we ought to have him come
down.

Looking good, todd,
looking good.

Nearly there!

Yeah!

Narrator: The screen deck
is safely stowed.

All that's left is
to remove the shaker stand.

For the past 2 years,
there's been over $5 million

worth of gold washed

right under where my feet are
and end up in those sluices.

This is why we came here.

This is the most
important part.

We can't screw this up.

Hoffman: This whole trip
is about this part here.

It's pretty much priceless.

And -- and it's custom,
can't just go out

and buy something
like this in short order.

How much do you think
this thing weighs, fred?

Dodge: With all those chutes
and the catwalks

and stuff on it,
probably 25, 30.

Let's do it!

6,000. 7,000.

8,000.

We're at 10,500.

15. 16.

17. 20.

23.

25.

Has it even budged?

Hasn't even
moved an inch.

Keep hitting it.

I'm at 36,000.

I don't know, todd. I don't
think it should be this heavy.

Narrator: The crane is pulling
at least 6,000 pounds more

than the weight
of the shaker stand.

Still, it won't budge.

What do you want
to do, sheamus?

[bleep]

holy frick.

Ugh.

Cheeseman: I'm just headed
back,
get started for the year,

helping tony move
this other dredge.

Narrator: Gene cheeseman is
back

for his second season

as tony beets' foreman.

Cheeseman: It'll be good to do
a challenging project,

something new,
something different.

Not too many people
get to do that.

Narrator: His mission --

take apart tony's 500-ton
second dredge,

transport it 150 miles,

and bring the ancient
gold machine back to life.

Cheeseman: We got to barge it
down the yukon river.

So that's another challenge.

There's gonna be some
learning curve with that.

Looking forward to getting
started on the project.

That's why I'm here.

[ chuckles ] huh?

Minnie: He hasn't been
around here much, has he?

Well, he hasn't changed.
Let's put it that way.

Yeah.

Good, tony. Yeah.

-Hi, gene.
-Hi, minnie.

Well, I had to
bring something.

Well, next time
bring something better.

Yeah.

Should be fun, I guess.

You being here,
it will hurry things along.

-Well, yeah.
-No, I'm ready to get going.

-Oh, I knew you'd be ready.
-Awesome.

So what're you both
sitting here talking?

I want to move that dredge
is what I want to do.

Yeah.

Narrator: In the offseason,

tony beets bought
two old tugboats

to haul the dredge
down the yukon river.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're gonna have to take
that all apart anyways.

So I don't know.
I guess --

yeah.

Narrator: Instead of starting
on the second dredge,

gene has to turn
a pile of scrap

into a fleet of working tugs.

You know, we got wiring,
fuel tanks.

None of the cooling lines
are hooked up.

I need to go, uh, make
a few phone calls here

about some of the controls
and stuff.

It's kind of endless, you
know?
You look at the huge,

big picture of things,
it looks overwhelming.

-Okay.
-I'm gonna go work.

[bleep] go to hell.

Go ahead and fire up
that, uh, 800

and bring it over and tap it.

Narrator: The hoffman crew is
taking its $360,000 wash plant

south to their new
operation in oregon.

It's stuck right now.
It's not lifting it.

Narrator: But the shaker stand
is stuck fast

in the frozen klondike dirt.

Freddy dodge has a plan...

They're gonna grab that 800
and try to get it out of
there.

Narrator: ...Try to nudge
loose
one corner of the stand

to give sheamus
a better shot at lifting it.

Push out!
Push out on the arm!

There you go.
Whoa!

Talk to me!

Dig in
and roll it this way.

Roger.

See if you can
get a better angle.

Yeah.

It's broke loose.

Okay. Let's see if we can
lift the old girl.

We're gonna try to get
the bucket underneath there,

jiggle it a little bit
while sheamus is pulling.

28. 29.

30,000 pounds.

There.
It's starting to move.

-Perfect.
-Yeah!

Good job, sheamus!

Yeah, looks like
30,000's the number.

I hate permafrost.

Just a little reminder
why I went to oregon.

Now one problem --

I got to find
the frickin' gold.

Ruault:
We're making awesome progress.

A little bit smaller crew,
but we're motoring right
along.

I just hope we can keep this
up
for the rest of this season.

Narrator: At scribner creek,

parker schnabel is on the
gold.

His new wash plant, sluicifer,

has produced
a healthy 126 ounces

after just 4 days running.

Doumitt: It was surprising
to see that much gold.

If this cut keeps going,

like this little indication
shows right now,

we'll -- we'll hit our 3,000.

Narrator: But parker's capping
his target at 3,000 ounces,

the same as last year.

We're, um, at a bit of a limit

because tony's royalties are
--

start to really kick in
and hit pretty hard.

Over 3,000 ounces,

we have to pay
25% royalty.

We need to make money this
year.

We might be able to do
as much gold as we did with,

you know, 12 or 14 people
last year

with only 6 or 7 this season

because we're mining good
and cheap and efficient.

You know, if I was doing it,
I'd definitely have,

some more hands on deck there.

But I know parker
doesn't want to have, uh,

any expenses,

just wants to have the profit.

Hey.
Do you have about an hour?

There's something
I want to go show you.

Okay.

Give me a second here.

Narrator:
With fewer operators,

parker's looking at ways
of moving dirt more
efficiently.

So where are we going?

Well, I met this guy

that mines
down here on dominion.

He's custom built
and designed these conveyors

that he uses, actually.

To move all his dirt?

Yeah, everything -- mud,
overburden, gravel, all of it.

You know, he just runs
a three-man operation.

Wow.

So, those
are what he uses.

What the hell?

That's one frankenstein
machine right there.

Yeah, they're pretty sweet.

You're moving everything
120 feet away from you.

I'd have to see one
running.

Narrator: This machine
is the brainchild

of klondike innovator
adrian hollis.

Hi, parker,
how you doing, buddy?

-Good. How are you?
-Good.

-Good to see you.
-Yeah, the same.

-This is rick.
-Hi, rick.

-How you doing, buddy?
-He's our foreman.

Hollis: Okay.
Well, this is what we do.

This is how
we move dirt here.

This thing puts up about 400,
500 yards an hour.

It's a cheap way
to move dirt.

So this whole cut,
nothing but this conveyor.

-Nothing but this conveyor.
-Wow.

In fact, this cut is actually,
uh, 4,000 feet long.

Narrator:
The 130-foot mobile conveyor

sits on top
of an old excavator.

A single operator loads
overburden into the hopper.

The conveyor
then shifts it 120 feet up

and out of the cut.

As soon as he finishes
in one area,

the operator simply moves
the whole machine

and starts the process again.

You don't have
any other crew

other than one guy
feeding this thing?

No, just one guy.

He just runs around,
and he feeds this.

He just comes down here.

We just send him off
with some pork and beans.

And he gets at it.

Narrator: And the conveyor
uses

a fraction of the fuel

burnt by a fleet
of rock trucks.

So what's
this thing cost to run?

We generally
looking about, like,

between $1,000
and $1,200 a day.

And you're moving
4,000 yards a day?

Sometimes more.

Generally calculate
all that costs

on about 30 cents a yard.

That's 1/3
of what we're at.

You can be
on marginal ground.

And it doesn't have
to have much gold in it.

And you're looking pretty
sweet
at the end of the season.

Pretty impressive.

Would you be willing
to help build us one?

If you can supply
the guys and the material,

then I'll look after it.

And we'll see
if we can make one work.

So, what -- I guess
I need an excavator

-to put this thing on, huh?
-You certainly will.

Depends how big
you want to make it.

Do you want to make a big one
or a little one?

Can you build
a bigger one?

Well, if you got
an old 700 sitting around,

I would say you wouldn't have
a problem with 150 feet.

Thanks, adrian.
Thanks for your time.

-No problem, son.
-I appreciate it.

-Thanks a lot.
-Yeah.

-It was great meeting you.
-Yeah.

Narrator: All parker needs

to start building
his own super conveyor

is an excavator.

Yeah. I think it could really
change our operation.

It could change
a lot of things at our site.

I think it could make us
a lot more efficient.

He's the mastermind
behind this.

So if he's willing to help,

then I want
to get one built.

We appear to be
good and going.

Narrator:
Kevin beets is at the helm

of his father's old dredge.

We are a-dredging.

Eh, that's not too bad.

Narrator: In just the first
3 weeks of the season,

kevin has produced
536 ounces of gold,

worth well over $600,000.

Gonna drop my bucket
right down to a belt level.

And off we go.

That's nice bedrock.

There's been tons
of bucket line slippage today

'cause it's worn
right the [bleep] out.

Now I am not moving at all.

Narrator: Even though the
dredge
is producing good gold,

a slipping bucket line
has been slowing it down.

Uh, it's been
an ongoing issue for --

since we started.

Oh, oh, oh.

[bleep]

okay. You stop.
You guys stop.

Well, I've shut it off
because it was about

a minute of the bucket line
not moving at all.

It was like it was stuck.

So it kept turning up on top.

But the buckets
weren't moving.

That was grinding
the absolute [bleep]

out of the sprockets.

I can't dig that section.
It was pretty clear.

So no point in
beating the [bleep]

out of the poor dredge

trying to get the ground
when I can't dig it.

Narrator: The bucket line
works like a bicycle chain

which is driven by a drive
cog.

Wear plates on the wheel

act as teeth that engage
the bucket line.

Over time, the wear plates
have worn down,

which means the bucket line

is losing it's grip and
slipping

whenever it has
to dig the harder bedrock.

We know there's
some gold in this bedrock.

So we're missing out.

Narrator: Every time
the dredge hits bedrock,

kevin repositions it to mine
shallower, softer ground.

Shut down for 5 minutes,

swing to where you need
to go, and go from there.

Here comes tony.

Eh, it could be better.
Watch out.

-Sprockets on the bucket
line...
-Yeah?

The wear plates,
those things are [bleep]

they're supposed to be square
to catch the bottom [bleep]

they're all worn down.

Instead of being this thick,
they're this thick.

That's causing
the bucket line to slip.

-Oh, yeah.
-Because of that,

we can't [bleep] dig
worth a [bleep]

I want to pull these ones off,
get the new ones we had made,

bolt them in,
weld them in, done.

Yeah, we don't
need gene for that.

I can direct welders, too.

It's basically my job here,
too,
'cause part of the people --

-it's three bolts.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

There's no [bleep]
rocket science there.

Well, yeah.
But I can do that, too.

All right.

What can you do?

It'd be really nice
to get that fixed

so we can actually dig again.

Narrator: Because he can't dig
the gold-rich bedrock,

kevin has to settle
for lower-grade material.

Kevin: Tony wants to wait
for gene to show up

before we can fix those.

I mean, he is the big boss.

So he gets to make
the big calls.

I know I'm supposed to be
running the dredge.

Doesn't mean I get to.

[bleep]

okay.

Hoffman: Just drop 'em.

-Heads!
-Heads!

Narrator: Monster red
is finally loaded up.

Dodge: Good job, jack.

-You bet. Good job, fred.
-Thanks, man.

-Right on, guys.
-Thanks for helping us.

Narrator: And the hoffman
crew can start

the 2,000-mile journey home

and try to salvage their
season.

Away we go, back to oregon,

right into the buckland.

I'll be damned.

-Parker, how you doing, man?
-Not too bad.

-How are you?
-All right, man. Tired.

How's your summer going?

[ sighing ]
ah...

Well...

I don't know. It hasn't
started off real great,

if you want
to know the truth.

Just here getting
the plant. That's it.

Trying to liquidate
what I have.

I got a hell of a yard sale
going on.

You needing anything?

What do you want
for that excavator?

Well, make me an offer.

Let me have mitch
take a look at it.

And we'll just
put a value on it

and go back and forth
from there.

But we do need
a bigger hoe like that

for a project
we're working on.

It's all yours, buddy.

I heard you're
going for 5,000 ounces.

-Yeah, I am.
-That's a lot of gold.

Yeah.
What are you going for?

3,000.
Just doesn't make sense

with our royalty rates,
you know?

You're 21 years old, man.

I thought you would go
for like 10,000 ounces.

I'm a real underachieving
21-year-old.

-That's for sure, todd.
-Well, there you go.

What do you think?
You've achieved everything

'cause you get a little gold
in your pocket?

-Did I say that?
-Sounded like it.

No.

You tell me, man.

I'm only 47 years old.
What would I know?

I just got finished
burying my grandpa.

[bleep] ke that.
You don't need to litell me

I don't know.

You know,
I don't need that [bleep]

come on!

See you.

See you later.

Let's get out of here.

Narrator: It will take
the convoy 2 1/2 weeks

to make its way
to the new claim.

Hoffman: We need to get
monster red down to the
buckland

and start making some gold.

I'm gonna miss this place.

But my future isn't
in the klondike.

Parker can have it.

Kevin: Hey, gene.

-Kevin.
-You made it in.

Yeah. How's it going?

[bleep] breaks.
Uh, you know,

yeah.

Narrator:
Gene cheeseman has been sent

to oversee a repair

on the dredge's bucket line.

So I'm guessing
you're here for the --

yeah. I got to look
at the tumbler here

-and see, uh, what's --
-what's up?

What's up with that,
just figure out a plan.

We noticed it began
to slip about a month ago.

I've been trying to get
on tony's case

to let us replace them.

But he really wanted to wait
for gene, for some reason.

Gene isn't needed here.
He's got better [bleep] to do.

He should be on dredge
number two today.

Narrator:
For weeks, kevin and jason

have been wanting
to make the fix themselves.

You guys are all big boys.

I don't think you need me
out here, but --

we kind of knew what was gonna
have to be done there, so...

Not here to ruffle any
feathers
or anything, so...

I don't think
we need a babysitter, so...

No. And I'm not
trying to do that.

So I don't want you
to feel that way.

Yeah, we'll be good.
Yeah.

-Okay.
-All right.

We could have fixed this
problem
on our own with the bucket
line.

We have the welders here.
We have the wear plates.

Everything was
available to go,

and we were just waiting
for the go-ahead from tony.

And he insisted
on waiting for gene.

Yep. We're just looking
at the sprockets.

He can get started
on the sprocket today, right?

Now he's in a rush.

Okay.

Phil's working on the bucket.

Jason and bob just
finishing cleaning out

the hydraulic riffles
for under the trommel.

Uh, jason finished up
greasing the bucket line.

I can do that, yep.

Gotcha.

It's no different
than your bicycle chain.

If your teeth are screwed up
on your bicycle chain,

your chain skips.

That's all this is,
is a chain.

And it's skipping 'cause
the sprockets wore out.

Now you got to
change those out.

These guys look like
they got it figured out

and doing a good job.

You know,
I want to go move dredge two.

That's what I want to do.

It's what I'm interested in.

Narrator: While gene
supervises the repair,

dredge master kevin
pulls the mats

to take home to tony as
ordered.

Kevin: Tony's always
gonna micro-manage.

Doesn't matter if the cleanups
are good, bad, or great.

That's how he operates.

So you just learn to work
with it like a natural
disaster.

You don't just yell
at the hurricane.

You wait for it to pass,
then you pick up the pieces.

I'll take this off to paradise

so he can jig it, clean it.

Then we can see what we got.

I did a pan.

Narrator: Kevin has been
summoned home by his father,

while gene cheeseman oversees
a repair on the dredge.

-Uh, not too bad.
-Yeah?

There's a lot
of material.

So there should be hopefully
a lot of gold in that.

Yeah, yeah.

-So if this turns out good...
-Uh-huh.

Are you gonna let me
run the dredge a bit more?

No, that's not
what I'm meaning.

I'm talking about, like,
letting me manage it.

Well, like
with the sprockets

-on the bull gear.
-Yeah?

'cause gene's plan
is the exact same plan

-I told you a month ago.
-Yes.

Are you gonna give me
more responsibility

and let me
make the call --

that when I say,
"I want to fix this now."

we can fix
the [bleep] thing.

[ chuckles ]

okay.
But when I say, "is it time?"

will you listen?

-Huh?
-Yippee.

Okay.
Finish this [bleep] up.

He should know he can trust me
to keep [bleep] running,

that I don't need
someone to hold my hand

every time I decide
to go left or right.

That's what he should
trust me with.

Schnabel: I'm getting
pissed off with this.

Todd hoffman really
irritated me the other day

by saying we're, like,
some sort of slackers

only going for 3,000 ounces.

Narrator: Parker is on his way
to see tony

in a last-ditch attempt
to improve his royalty deal.

Schnabel: Truth of the matter
is
after 3,000 ounces,

we just -- we can't afford
to pay a 25% royalty.

At the end of the day,
this is a business.

We're stuck at 3,000 ounces

as long as we're
leasing from tony.

And as long as he keeps
taking the same position he
is.

Narrator:
For the last two seasons,

parker has repeatedly tried
and failed

to renegotiate the deal
with his claim owner.

Schnabel: Well, let's, uh,
give this a shot.

-Knock, knock.
-Hey, parker.

-Hi.
-Hey.

-Haven't seen you yet this
year.
-I know.

Sorry to hear
about your granddad.

Oh, thanks.

Hi, tony.
How you guys doing?

We're good.

As good as can be, anyway.

You bringing us goodies?

I am.
100 ounces for you.

Well, we just did 126

out of our first cleanup,
first 4 days.

-So that's good.
-That pretty good.

And, uh, I figure
I'd get you out of my hair

and just give you the minimum
royalty up front here.

Yeah, not bad.

Off the back of that,
you know,

that's our minimum
royalty payment.

Yeah.

We're really stuck on
our maximum of 3,000 ounces

with these royalty rates
the way they are.

I mean, all I'm asking for

is to cap the royalties
at 20%.

We can go for 4,000
or 5,000 ounces,

which would put --
you know, 20% --

that'd put 200 to 400
more ounces in your pocket.

That way, we can just
keep on chugging.

And it makes it
worthwhile for me to do.

And you guys keep getting
more gold out of the ground.

At then end of the day,
something needs to change,

'cause I'm really
not up here

to just every year
do 3,000 ounces or less.

Well, if that's the way
it's gonna be,

just know now that
we're gonna do 3,000 ounces

and not an ounce more.

Are we really
gonna stick to that?

I think we should
talk about it.

Well, you got to do something,
'cause he wants to work.

How many people this day
and age want to work?

I don't want you to do that.

I mean, there should
be options, right?

Let him bring the gold.

Schnabel: What's up?

Yeah, we have our one
from last year still,

-big red.
-Good.

Narrator: Tony's offer
allows parker to mine

another 3,000 ounces
at the lower rate

as long as it's on
a second claim.

Yeah.
I mean, I wasn't planning

on having two operations
going this summer.

But I appreciate
the compromise.

Right?

Maybe you're not
such a bad guy, tony.

Thanks, tony.

That's a bit unexpected.

I really wasn't, uh, thinking
that was gonna happen.

This is pretty late
to start a project like that.

Like, running a second
operation
in a second plant is, uh --

it takes a lot
of infrastructure, right?

Do you have generators
and pumps

and feeders and loaders?

And a lot of stuff
that goes into it.

Hollis: It looks as though
you've brought me

-a machine, mate.
-Yeah.

Narrator: Parker has made
a deal on todd's 700
excavator.

He can now have adrian build
him

a brand-new super conveyor.

-Looks good.
-It's a little beat up.

It came from the hoffmans.

Well, it looks
as though it's nothing

that can't be repaired.

No, I'm really
lookin' forward to it.

Five weeks
should just about do it.

And you're in business.

Geez.
That's a lot of work.

Kevin: You come have a look.
You tell me.

Narrator:
The beets family assembles

for the third gold weigh
of the season.

Faulty wear plates
on the dredge have meant kevin

has struggled
to dig high-quality pay.

Now, they will find out
how much it's cost them.

-There she is.
-30.

40. 50. 60.

70. 80.

90.

110. 130.

140. 160.

170.

No.

Right?

Narrator: Despite the
slipping bucket line,

kevin has brought in $260,000
in
a single week.

-[bleep]
-yeah, it's hot.

-It's hot.
-No touchy.

Yeah, I think
we could've done better,
though,

if you had let me
fix those wear plates

way the [bleep] back when.

-Wah, wah, wah.
-No, no, no.

-See --
-no wah, wah, wah.

We could've got a lot more.

-He's got a point.
-Oh, yeah.

I appreciate you

wanting me to, you know,
be involved in doin' it.

But I think kevin's
more capable of doin' it.

-Well, I'm [bleep] tryin' to
be.
-Okay.

7568.

That's more than
we had all last year.

Kevin: Oh, yes.

Kevin does have
a point though.

Tony has to let
go a little bit.

The less people
trying to make decisions,

the better.
It's like anything.

Work by committee
doesn't happen.

[bleep] work this year.
So here I am, gonna make it

man: Let's fry that up
and put it on the table, huh?

Narrator: 30 miles south,

parker schnabel
is also in his gold room,

ready for his second
boundary cut weigh in.

Schnabel: All right.
Let's see what this is.

Narrator: Their first weigh-in

of the season was 126 ounces.

Here's 20.

60.
120.

140.

145 on the button.

Ness: Whoo!

-Nice.
-Yeah.

145 ounces,
that's a good cleanup.

Narrator:
That's worth nearly $175,000

and takes his total
so far to 271 ounces,

well on target
for his season goal.

You know,
I keep bugging tony

-about our royalty rates.
-Mm-hmm.

And, um, this week,

he did make a bit
of a compromise

in that he said the only way
we're gonna get away --

around the royalty rates is,

we can run
a second wash plant.

And it will reset at
the original royalty rates.

Really?

It's got to be
a different plant,

a different plant
on a different cut,

and be independent
of the other operation.

So each plant
pays its own royalties?

-Yeah.
-Wow.

It starts
back at 15%, right,

and then
works up from there.

We've got that ground
on indian river from tony

that we got last year.

And we have yet
to touch 'em at all.

I mean, it's all still
trees and swamp.

Huh.

I'd love to bump our goal up
to 4,000 ounces

and try to do 1,000
ounces down there.

I mean, if you want this,
rick,
I'm putting it on you.

You've got to want to do it.
And you've got to take it on.

And it's not gonna be easy.

So it's on you.

[bleep] it. Let's do it, man.
What do you say?

Why not?

-Let's give it a try.
-Yeah. Hell yeah.

What are you thinking
for a wash plant?

Um, probably big red.

I know when we parked it,
it was pretty tore up.

Sounds like you got
yourself a project, mitch.

Yeah.

That's it, man.
We're goin' big.

Let's get after it.

Get a steady flow of gold
down to that room, eh?

-Going big, mitch.
-Yeah.

You know, we're gonna go
for 4,000 ounces.

This is our year to go big.

Uh, trying to get another
1,000 with big red,

probably not
the easiest way to get there.

But if that's what we got to
do,
that's what we're gonna go do.

Parker saying
it's all on me.

Well, it's kind of what I've
been thinking about, you know?

What it would be like.
And so I --

I'm pretty excited about that.

And I'm getting more excited
by the second now,

um, 'cause I didn't really
see it happening any time
soon.

But now it's -- it's pretty
much
being laid before me.

And I've got
a huge opportunity now.

Yeah. I guess we're starting
a second operation.

Not really what I had in mind.
But,

hey, gold price is good.

Fuel price is cheap.

So now's the time to be
pushing
for everything we can.

Man: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa!
Rick's going under!

Narrator: On the next
"gold rush"...

Gonna be the hardest
thing we've ever done.

You're losing
thousands of dollars a day.

We're not mining.
We're just wasting time.

Unless I see
something really screwed up...

-Whoo.
-...Rick's the boss.

You're kidding me.
It's just not gonna thaw.

Kevin,
you're in trouble!

Kevin: [bleep] supposed
to be mining gold.

You don't like it?
Too [bleep] bad.

Everybody has
a breaking point.