Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 7, Episode 9 - Record Gold - full transcript

Sluicifer!

Narrator: On this mega episode
of "gold rush"...

Man: Look out!

Why don't you settle
the [bleep] down, tyson?

Rick!

Put this hoe
on the other side!

Somebody get me
a [bleep] radio.

There's no gold here.

There's no way
we're gonna run it

because I'm gonna run it
off this cliff.

Whoa!
What are you doing?



Get out of the way!

Man: Do you know how much time
we wasted

hauling this here, dave?

The only way we're gonna win
is if we stay together.

That's pretty amazing.

[ laughs ]

captions paid for by
discovery communications

plane.

That might be tony.

Oh, tony tends to get grouchy

if you don't go see him
right away.

Narrator: At eureka creek,

tony beets pulls his son,
kevin,
off his dredge.

Narrator: And flies him 40
miles
south to thistle creek



to work on his new project.

Tony is putting together
a fleet of dredges.

His new $1.5 million dredge

is 50% larger than dredge one.

But before he can put it
to work,

tony has to break it down

and tow it 100 miles upriver
to his claim

using his new tug and barge.

Nothing to do
but get to work.

All right.

Cheeseman: Oh, I don't--
it's--

never torn a dredge apart,

but it's just nuts and bolts.

Narrator:
Gene cheeseman,

tony's right-hand man,
heads up the wrecking crew.

Cheeseman:
Don't look at the big picture.

Look at the little things.

Break it down in small steps.

And just one thing at a time
--

pretty soon you'll be done.

Just get the tools we need
here

and get to work.

Try not to trip and die
on the way up there.

Narrator:
To reach the dredge's core,

tony plans to rip up
the old floorboards

and remove the tin skin...

Ooh!

That's a little hot
down the shirt, by the way.

...Then cut
the 500-ton dredge

into transportable pieces.

64

cheeseman: Step up on there.

Narrator:
This is the first time

kevin has seen
the new dredge.

I like this one
a lot better.

It was a lot less beaten
and abused.

And it was put together
a lot more smartly.

You just look at little things
and go, "yeah."

like, even the superstructure
in here was nicer.

And is -- it's solid.

After 10 hours,

tony's crew has stripped
as much as they can.

Spinks:
At this point in the season,

if we don't see gold soon,

I think everybody's morale--

you know, I think they're
gonna
start losing interest

in gold mining.

Narrator: In oregon,

todd hoffman set his crew

a massive 5,000-ounce,
$6 million goal.

But nearly halfway
through the season,

they've mined less than 3%
of that --

a disastrous 138 ounces,

worth just $165,000.

For three weeks,
they've been searching

for a gold-rich pay streak

at their buckland claim.

Todd:
We're deep in the hole.

Let's just hope
this pay streak is damn good.

It's gonna need to be.

Narrator: Last week, they
found
a potential pay streak

60 feet down.

So todd is running a test
through monster red.

Can't wait to see gold
in the sluice box.

Hopefully this 1,000-yard test

puts us in that direction.

Maybe right here
is the turning point.

Maybe what I got
in the bed of my truck

can kind of
boost the morale

and make everybody feel good
again about oregon.

Turin: I don't like
the way this looks.

I think they're too high.

Just doesn't look like pay.

Narrator:
After running 500 yards,

dave turin has yet to spot
gold
in the sluices.

See if there's
any gold in it.

The buckland is nothing like
what we thought.

Here we are,
digging 60 feet deep.

I just hope they know what
they're sending up here.

Are you serious?

There's no gold here.

What the frick
are they sending here?

Dave to todd.
Dave to todd.

Todd: Yes, dave?

Todd, where's this pay
coming from?

I just panned two pans.

I got absolutely no color
in this.

Todd: Just run it, dave,
if you can.

Just run it.

There ain't no gold
in this.

Todd: Andy found a little bit
of gold there.

It's got to have
something in it, dave.

Just freakin' run it.

Turin:
That's just a bunch of crap.

Can't run a mine like this.

Turin: There's no way
we're gonna run it

because I'm gonna run it
off this cliff.

Narrator:
Dave is dozing the pay pile

his crew is hoping
will turn their season around.

These guys are all working
for, uh, gold.

They need the gold,

and this isn't gonna get it.

So it's just gonna go away.

What the hell?
Are you kidding me?

Todd: Whoa! Stop!

Whoa!

What are you doing?

Get out of the way!

Hold up.

It's not worth it, todd.

We need to just
get rid of it.

I panned gold in it.

It wasn't much,

but I had some gold
in it, dave.

You know we wouldn't run this
in the yukon.

Why would we
run it here?

156

we told these guys
we were gonna pay 'em.

And we can't pay 'em
with this stuff.

Narrator: The hoffman crew
is at war over a pay pile

they think could turn their
disastrous season around.

But dave turin
thinks it's garbage.

Man: Do you know
how much time we wasted

hauling this here, dave?

If you don't like this,
you should have told us that.

I'm with dave on this.
This isn't even considered
pay.

I took a bunch of pans
out of it,

didn't find crap.

Really?
Yeah, it's dead.

No kidding.
So you should've had me

send it
over the overburden.

Dave: Why didn't you call me
and ask me?

The only way we're gonna win
is if we stay together.

Turin: Let's not keep making
the same mistake.

It seems like every year,

we start before
we're onto good gold

and then we waste time.

It's my fault.
I sent this pay up here.

I'll take the blame.

Well, I think
we ought to go ahead

and take that long stick,

switch out the bucket.

Even if we gotta dig down
to 100 feet,

until we actually get one
damn good gold pan.

And then we at least can prove

there's the ore.

Dave, I'd like you
to come in here, man,

and let's try to get
refocused here.

Turin: Sorry I went nuts
pushing this pay off.

Dear lord, we just, uh--

we give this group of guys
to you,

and just make us better
friends
and better men

and better, uh, brothers
and brothers in arms.

Amen.
All: Amen.

Todd: All right, let's go.

I've never seen dave
that pissed.

We're having a hard year,

we're getting our ass kicked.

I'm gonna go down in that cut
and find that damn gold.

I don't see the move
taking that long.

No.

As long as
we have spots

for everything to go.

Yeah.

Narrator:
At scribner creek,

parker schnabel is on the
move.

His boundary cut has produced
980 ounces of gold this
season,

worth over $1.1 million.

But it's mined out,

so today he's moving
his wash plant

to the new boundary cut
extension.

He's going to
have to make the move

without his main mechanic.

Blaschke:
You know, made commitments.

I got all my flights arranged.

I got to, uh--

got to head home and, uh,

get things finished up
and ready for my wedding.

Ruautt: You know, mitch is
their main man around here.

He's been with parker
for a few years.

He knows every nut and bolt
and every piece of iron,

and, uh, you know,
I'm a little worried

without him being here.

You're the new
master mechanic.

That's scary.

Narrator: With no mitch,

foreman rick ness is in charge
of moving sluicifer.

I, uh, kind of knew

it was gonna be a bit
of a struggle without mitch,

but I didn't put a whole lot
of thought into it

until I showed up
this morning

and kind of went "oh, [bleep],
where do I start?"

narrator: Rick and brennan
have
built a new 60-foot high

mega wash plant pad

from around a million tons
of overburden.

Their new pad is 500 yards
north

and will divide
their boundary cut

from the new extension.

First, rick will move
the super stacker

and hopper feeder
through a gap in the berm.

Then haul wash plant sluicifer

around the edge of the old cut

to its new home.

Ness: It generally goes
pretty smooth

until, uh,

parker shows up
and starts freaking out.

Parker: Without mitch here,
I don't think

we're gonna be breaking
any world speed records here,

but we're gonna move it
in one shift -- 12 hours.

Plant should move
really easy.

You've got a nice road
up there, so...

That feeder might be
a [bleep] to move.

Yeah, that'll be fun.
Yeah.

I'll let you do that one.

Great.

You're getting 2 ounces an
hour
while you're running.

There's a tremendous amount
of pressure to be running,

so every minute that we take
--
every hour that we take

moving this thing is gold
loss.

But everybody's just got to
keep
a cool head.

Narrator:
With a 12-hour deadline,

rick gets straight into moving

the 10-ton hopper feeder.

Usually mitch is the one
that hooks up to these

with our semi
and pulls 'em out of here.

He's been driving the truck
for a lot of years

and he ain't here, so

tyson's got a bit of
experience
running truck,

so I'm gonna have him
do it for us today,

and, uh, hopefully
things go as smoothly

as when mitch is here.
We'll see.

I miss driving truck.

I drove truck in vancouver
for 2 1/2 years,

so it'll be good to get back
in
the seat for a little bit.

Uh, so we're gonna have to
swing
this out of the way

to clear all this material out
from underneath of our feeder

and then back the semi in
and hook her up

and hopefully it'll go
smoothly
from there.

Narrator: Last season

tyson lee was a scribner
rookie.

Now he's a senior member
of the crew.

[ horn honks ]

ness:
Just got to level it out a bit

so we get our --
get our truck in here

and get hooked up.

Lee:
I was just thinking,

maybe smoothing this off
a bit more.

You're good.
Back her in.

[bleep].
All righty.

I don't like it.

[laughs]
tyson worries too much

about everything.

[bleep] seconds leveling it.
He wouldn't let me spend five

this ground
is too [bleep]

ness: Walk him in.

Lee: Just hit her
with some speed.

Ness: You're gonna have to
hit her hard, though.

Lee: Want to put your hoe
bucket
on this side?

For what?
Well, it's leaning this way.

It's not gonna tip over.

[bleep]

I don't need everybody
to think

that they ain't [bleep]
calling the shots.

We're not on pavement here,

and I don't know,
everyone's already in a rush

so things are getting passed
up
that shouldn't be.

Narrator: If the $20,000
hopper feeder tips over,

it will put parker's wash
plant
out of action for weeks

and cost him hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

"hit it a little faster,"
they say.

Whoa.
Whoa!

Look out!

See? What'd I say?

It's gonna [bleep]
slide on us.

Is it wet?
Nope.

Slid right off.

Lee: It slid over,
as anticipated.

Why don't you lift it up
this side.

I'll back out.
You can lower it down.

Then we'll [bleep] level it
out

with the loader
so it's an even lift.

Ness: Why don't you settle
the [bleep] down, tyson?

Well, I knew
this was gonna happen.

Well, I don't give a [bleep],
all right?

Let's get the truck
out of there.

Narrator:
To stabilize the hopper,

rick places wooden blocks
under the adjustable legs.

It's not like a truck
on concrete, right.

We're on dirt.
It's all uneven.

It's just trial and error.
It's taking time.

Ness: Whoa.

Lee: Good?

Well, step one down,
finally.

[bleep] feeder hooked up
to the truck.

That's what happens
when you rush.

Take the extra five minutes,
stuff'll go a lot smoother.

And then I get
yelled at when

I tell them
that was gonna happen.

Not the right way
to treat people.

Let him get in the [bleep]
truck and drive it.

Tyson's pouty [bleep] attitude
is not helping things out.

It's just pissing me off
is all it's doing.

I don't know what happened
to him this year.

Last year,
he was up for anything,

and this year, all he wants
to do is [bleep] bitch

and complain about everything.

I don't need that.
Just [bleep] do the job.

Narrator: Tony beets has
started
to dismantle his second
dredge.

But he's done all he can
without a crane,

so it's sitting idle
in thistle creek.

He's counting on his tug,
kid commando,

to tow the equipment he needs

100 miles up the yukon river.

But before he can set sail...

...Kid commando needs to prove
it's seaworthy.

Oh, we're just setting up
to do the stability test

on the kid commando here

and see how it goes.

Six months ago,

tony spent $50,000
on this rusting hulk.

Gene warned tony
the tug looked unstable

and had a history.

Makes me a little leery
about it.

Especially when you hear
the broadside in it

and laid it over on its side
is what the story is.

Narrator: Even though
it had already capsized,

tony spent $100,000 more

hauling kid commando
the 500 miles to dawson

and renovating it.

Minnie: It's floatin'!

Whoo!

I'll take the equilibrium
measurement.

And then we'll, uh, move
one of the weights back aft.

Okay.

Across.
Yep.

And then see
how things go.

Okay.

Narrator: Now tony's hired
marine surveyor darren hass

to carry out the stability
test.

A government inspector
will deliver the verdict.

If he doesn't like what he
sees,

tony's dream of running
a second dredge is over.

We have to do a series
of weight movements --

eight in total,

and with that,
we can calculate what the--

essentially, the center
gravity
of the vessel is.

Narrator: First, darren
will install a plumb line.

Then, moving four 500-pound
drums from side to side,

he will test how far
the tug moves off the
vertical.

If kid commando tilts too far

it'll fail the test

because it will be liable
to capsize again.

Cheeseman:
Yeah, hopefully.

We've done some preliminary
calculations.

I kind of have an idea of what
the deflection should be.

With the--with the test here,

we'll kind of know
definitively what the --

what the stability is.

Okay, get the starting point
correct.

I have a pretty good idea
where
the center of the swing is.

Cheeseman:
The suspense.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, we'll move this one

over to this --
this point here.

Watch your feet.

Where do you want it?
In the back or in the front?

No, back
in the corner there.

[ laughter ]

yep, next --
next weight shift.

[ metal creaking ]

narrator:
After an hour's testing,

it's time for
the inspector's verdict.

Kid commando
has failed the test.

It tilted so far,
it's at risk of capsizing.

Yeah, it sucks
it didn't pass.

So now I guess we have to
figure
out what we're gonna do now.

I don't -- I was kind of
worried
about it to begin with.

Andy, dig down right in here
and see where that goes.

Narrator: Dave turin bulldozed
their pay pile,

so todd orders andy to dig
for the elusive pay streak

using the long stick
excavator.

I'm gonna go down there
and find dave

some real frickin' pay dirt.

Part of the problems
that we're having is that

in the history books, it says
we got to go 100 feet deep

and I'm gonna try to hit --
see if I can hit bottom today.

Narrator:
At 70 feet,

andy hits rock.

He needs a bucket with teeth
to dig deeper.

Poulson:
There we go.

That's rounder rock, todd.

It is.

Look at that.

It's looking a lot better.

Narrator:
Smooth round rocks indicate

the root of an old riverbed,

which could contain gold.

The only way that you're ever
gonna be successful

at gold mining
is you got to keep going.

Narrator: At 80 feet,
andy pans the dirt.

Oh, yeah.

Look at this.
Yeah.

One pan.

Todd: I've seen better pans,
but damn,

this sure looks good
right now.

[ laughs ]

let's send this stuff
to old dave turin.

Fire it up, juan!

Screens coming on!

This whole season's just been
an absolute nightmare.

First bucket, guys.

I feel like we're finally
turning the corner.

Hopefully there's enough gold
in there to really just

put a lot of gold
in these guys' pockets.

[ thunder booms ]

parker: Uh, yeah,
today's a pretty big day for
us.

Try not to break stuff.

Try not to lose
too much running time.

Let's see if we can break
some cables.

Narrator:
At scribner creek,

parker is moving his wash
plant

to the new boundary cut
extension.

Ness: I think
naming this thing sluicifer

was the best idea.

Both time--
first time we set it up,

it started pouring rain,

and now
we're trying to move it

and it's thunder
and lightning.

Something ain't
lining up here.

Parker's $600,000 plant,
sluicifer,

is designed to be
completely mobile.

You're clear.

But if the plant
tips in the rain,

parker's season will be over.

So the young mine boss
has taken the hot seat.

Seems to be pulling along
just fine.

Good?

So far, so good.
She's rolling.

Kind of looks like
an angel right now.

It's got the angel wings.

This plant's really wide, so
we're just trying to get
around

the corners here without,
uh, hitting anything.

That's probably
pretty damn close.

It pulls fine straight,
just turning it --

turning it around is difficult
with these machines.

Narrator:
To complete the move,

parker must spin his wash
plant

so the sluices
and tailings conveyor

hang over the 60-foot drop.

Ness: He's right on the edge.

Ahh!

That's [bleep]
bang close there.

Parker: That good?

Ness: I'm happy with that.

Parker: [bleep] yeah.
Boo-yah.

Sluicifer!

Narrator: They've succeeded
in moving the plant

in just nine hours.

The three hours they've saved

could earn parker
another $7,500,

but firing up
during a thunderstorm

could be fatal.

[bleep] sluicifer.

It's all sluicifer's fault.

We're all gonna
get struck by lightning

at the same time, probably.

Ness: [bleep] me.

Look at dozer.

Yeah, he looks
just miserable.

Dozer.

[ laugh ]

narrator: Parker's new pan

is built of loose overburden

that could be weakened
by a severe soaking.

We'll know god's done his work
when the plant's down there.

Yeah, that'll be
absolution there.

Until then,
they're just coincidences.

[ laughs ]

narrator: 15 minutes after
the last lightning strike,

parker risks his first startup
in the new cut.

All right, let's get
everything
rolling and shaking.

Okay.
Gonna get everything moving.

[ machines whirring ]

tyson, you got a copy?

Balion: I got it.

All right,
parker's turning on the pump,

so as soon as you see water
up here,

or me give you the sign,
just go ahead and dump her in.

10-4.
Thank you.

Is that water?

Hey!

Balion:
First scoop into sluicifer

from the second set
of the boundary cut.

Sluicifer's hungry,
and this cut's big,

so it's all up to us
to keep her fed.

It's about as good as we could
ask for with this chute.

Parker:
For [bleep] sake.

Rick!

Put this hoe
on the other side!

Narrator:
The lethal combination

of a rain-soaked berm
and 33,000 gallons a minute

pumping through sluicifer

is washing away the pad.

Ness: Get the [bleep]
out of the way, fellas.

Parker: Well, rick's trying to
save our [bleep] berm here.

Look down there.

Narrator: If rick can't stop
the water destroying the
pad...

Whoo.

That's kinda straight down,
ain't it?

Narrator:
The $600,000 wash plant

could crash
into the 60-foot abyss.

[bleep] this.

Send tyson to get
a couple more tires,

throw 'em right
at the bottom of this.

Yeah.

Special delivery
for richard.

Rick attempts to break
the force of water

pummeling the berm.

Somebody get me
a [bleep] radio.

Shut down.

Don't put the [bleep] scoop
in.
Just shut down.

Ness: We got to shut it down
and reevaluate.

We're about to lose
everything here.

We have two
simultaneous problems --

the pissing [bleep] rain
doesn't help,

and, uh, our berm's
washing away.

Fun day.

Ness: Once the path starts
washing away like that,

only thing it's gonna do
is it's gonna work itself

back underneath the plant

and the plant's gonna
take a dive off the path.

So we can't -- obviously,
we can't have that happen.

Balion: Yeah, you know,
every hour we're down,

we're losing 2 1/2 ounces.

Lot of money we're losing.

Parker: Hey, rick,
can you hear me?

Ness: Roger.

I got this [inaudible]

and you can shove that up
around the front part.

Narrator: Parker comes up
with a new plan

to try and save his berm.

Pulling both tailings
this way

is probably the best bet
we can --

in a few hours, we'll be able
to build a pad up in front.

The loader is gonna dump
some tailings over the edge.

Parker's gonna pack it up
against the plant.

And then we'll just keep on
doing that

until it decides to stay.

Let's fire back up!

Ness: Yay.

Second time's a charm.

All right.

Just add water.

It ain't looking too bad.

Some of this is gonna wash
away -- I knew that --

but if we can get the bigger
rock to hold up,

we're gonna be all right.

Parker: Yeah, I think
they're good for the night.

Hey, we're sluicing,
we're making money.

There you go.
Good job, man.

Yeah.

Narrator: In oregon, parker's
mechanic, mitch blaschke,

is on honeymoon.

Instead of taking new wife,
haley, to hawaii,

he's brought her to...

A gold mine.

Hey, guys.
Hey, todd. How you doing?

The-the blaschkes.
Yes. My wife, haley.

Wow.
Congratulations, guys.

You got married.
Thank you.

Was it weird going
from mining

to standing there
in a suit?

Yeah, that was a big change,
but man,

it's just nice
to be home.

How long you guys
been married?

Four days?
Four days.

Three days.
Yeah.

You guys are always welcome
to come back and mine with us.

I appreciate that, todd.
Yeah.

You've got something special,
you need to protect it.

Don't let mining

get in the way
of your relationship.

Yeah.

You know, I'm working
for parker right now

and everything's
going great,

but this is four hours
from home.

Todd's a really good guy.

It's really nice that todd
gave me an offer, you know.

It's always nice to have
something in the back pocket.

Narrator:
Tony beets' $150,000 tug

is unseaworthy.

Without it, he has no way
of hauling equipment

to thistle creek,

no way of realizing his dream

of running two dredges.

Now he's heading to his fifth
gold weigh of the season.

Tell me.
Well, what do you think?

Whoa.

Narrator: While tony's been
expanding his fleet,

his son, kevin, has been
pulling
16-hour shifts

on the original dredge
to bring home the gold.

Damn [bleep] near,
actually.

No, I just like my money
in my [bleep] pocket,

not on the floor.

Narrator:
To stay on target

for tony's 2,000-ounce goal,

they need this cleanup to
deliver at least 100 ounces.

90, 100,

120, 200,

230, 240,

300...

[bleep] [bleep]

340,

370,

380, 390,

400,

420.

That's pretty amazing.

[bleep] still gold
in here, tony.

480.

Kevin:
Oh, I think we will.

Wow.
500. [bleep]

tony: Wow.

Need a bigger pan.
520.

[ laughing ]

532...

Point six.

[bleep] yeah.
That's okay.

Narrator:
Worth almost $640,000,

532 ounces is the largest gold
weigh-in

in "gold rush's"
seven-year history.

Hey. [bleep]

my best so far
was, what, 277?

Yeah.
That's the best --

damn [bleep] near doubled it.
Double it.

Don't count your chickens
before they hatch.

[ laughs ]
well, I have.

737

you know what?
Maybe our luck's turning.

Let's hope so.

'cause up to this point,

if I didn't have bad luck,
I wouldn't have any luck at
all.

Narrator:
Over the last two days,

the hoffman crew has run
5,000 yards of dirt

from a new pay streak
80 feet deep.

We got it.

Well, that's it.
All that's left to do

is check the sluice box
for gold.

Uh, holy crap, guys,
there's gold here.

Yeah!

That is a --
oh, look at that.

Nice!

Todd:
Guys, come on out.

Narrator: So far,
todd's crew has only mined

138 ounces of gold --

less than 3% of their
5,000-ounce season goal.

This week, man,
we chased some frickin' gold.

We chased some gold.
Dad, how much we got?

All right.
Here we go.

10, 20,

30, 40,

50!

Man: No way.

52.6.
Yeah!

[ cheers and applause ]

that's our first gold
at the buckland.

Love it!
Finally got some gold.

Narrator:
Worth over $63,000,

this cleanup could be
the game changer

that starts putting money
in their pockets.

If we can keep doing that
all season,

we'll be in good shape.

Now we're on
the pay streak, guys.

At least now we know
where the gold is.

That's a great cleanup.

If we get a few more cleanups
like that,

we're back on the road.

Get ready
for a lot of gold, man.

Whoo!

All right, guys.
Yeah!

Whoo!

Narrator:
In the second half

of the mining season...

This is gonna be crazy
to watch.

[ laughs ]

tony: From here on,
it can only get better.

Off to thistle we go.

Narrator:
Parker schnabel's season

is on the brink of collapse.

Parker: There's nothing
to even say about this

'cause of how big
of a [bleep] up it is.

If this keeps up, we're not
making it to no 3,000 ounces,

let alone 4,000.

Narrator:
Until foreman rick ness

digs deep
at his indian river cut.

I'm the guy with the key now.

Key to the gold.

There's literally a rainbow
ending in the cut.

That means there's lots of
gold
in this guy.

Parker: Congratulations.

Narrator:
Tony beets and his family...

Keep calm and mine on.

It's your project now,
your baby.

Narrator: ...Sail upriver
in a desperate attempt

to get their second dredge.

Tony: This is [bleep]

I'm really
not [bleep] impressed

with the progress
that you have made.

I hate to see the [bleep]
end like this.

Narrator: And when todd
hoffman
strikes out again...

Stop! Stop! Stop!

[bleep]

narrator:
...His whole operation
implodes.

If we're gonna go out,
let's go out swinging.

Dave!
Whoa.

Hey.
Trey!

I don't know
if we can work together again.