Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 9, Episode 22 - Fire and Ice - full transcript
Rick desperately tries to get the last 27 ounces he needs to hit his target. Meanwhile, Tony finds out his dredge is short 30 buckets.
Captions paid for by
Discovery Communications
♪
This has been
the toughest year of my life.
Hit the bypass!
What the [Bleep]!
I set a goal of 1,000 ounces.
Now winter has hit,
and we've come up short.
We could all go home,
forget those last 27 ounces,
but I made a promise to my guys:
We're going to pull our
first million from right here.
And one way or another,
I am going to deliver.
♪
♪
♪
♪
At the start of the season,
Tony beets completely shut us
down from mining our own ground.
Tony, what you're telling me
right now
is to end my mining season.
But now, we're back.
Despite everything
that went wrong,
we still smashed
our 6,000 ounce target.
Good job, kiddo!
Now we're going for a record
of 7,000 ounces.
It's finally time for us
to mine our own ground,
pay nobody royalties
and do things how we want.
♪
NARRATOR: On This, The Season
Finale Of "Gold Rush."
MAN: We're going to get
over this 1,000 ounces.
We don't have enough time
left to do much,
but we got to get it.
I'm beating up this dirt
like it owes me money.
Well, [Bleep], it does.
So we had 27 ounces to get.
I think it's time to find out.
♪
They should be across the creek.
Think I got something here.
♪
It's getting pretty cold out.
Hopefully there's enough gold in
there to get us to 7,000 ounces.
Holy [Bleep], look at that!
[Bleep]
Plant is on fire!
♪
♪
♪
♪
NARRATOR: October...
7 degrees below freezing.
Winter has come to
the klondike.
Things are on the up and up,
but we're running out of time.
NARRATOR: Parker Schnabel
has already pulled.
A massive 6,500 ounces of gold
out of the last cut.
PARKER: We aren't leaving this
piece of ground.
Until we've got
all the gold out of it.
NARRATOR:
NOW, HE'S IN THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
To hit his new 7,000 ounce,
$8.4 million goal before
the big freeze ends his season.
What... what... what is this?
This thing's frozen up solid.
It's kind of a disaster
isn't it?
Yeah.
NARRATOR: BUT, LAST NIGHT,
sluicifer clogged up
with frozen tailings...
Whoa!
And she's been down
for 6 hours.
We've been shoveling
since 4:30 in the morning.
This and the tailings
conveyor froze up.
Conveyor stopped and just
[Bleep] everything.
♪
Why don't we just try
bumping the belt
and seeing
if this thing will go or not.
Okay, fire it up!
♪
Whoa, whoa!
That does not sound healthy.
Oh for [Bleep] sake!
Belt is frozen to the rollers,
so we're going to have
to get some heat on it
and warm it up, break it free,
go grab some propane.
Hopefully nothing s
broken inside
with all this extra weight
and ice on the machine.
PARKER: TRY IT AGAIN, Tyson.
[ Grinding ]
NARRATOR:
THE TAIL DRUMS STILL WON'T TURN.
Nope.
Dean climbs the conveyor to try
and turn the frozen head roller.
Have you been trying to bump it?
It looks like it should move.
Sounds like you need some lube
or somebody with some muscles
that ain't old like mine.
Send me up!
We're just trying to get things
to break free right now.
It's all frozen up.
So you got muscles Ty here...
It's slippery.
Downward with it.
We got it wiggling,
up here anyway.
Go one more time,
and that'll get the pulley
around the backside.
♪
Oh, lovely!
Hey, we moved the belt
like 6 inches.
All of that was 6 inches.
Pull the breaker!
[ Engine starting ]
Whoa, there she goes!
Yep!
Looks good.
Good work everybody!
NARRATOR: It's taken the crew
nearly 8 hours.
To get the conveyor
running again.
We got to do something about it.
We got to... it cost us
just about a whole shift.
Yeah, a little scary.
It's always this belt
that gets us when it ices up.
It wouldn't be hard to plumb
one of those cleanup hoses
into a propane hot water heater,
but then, where do you put it?
Hot water in cold weather
freezes faster.
The other thing I've seen
is a propane manifold
on the head drum.
Yeah, we've done that too.
Well, not a manifold, but we've
run a torch right on.
But do you think that
will keep everything going?
You'll have to leave it
in all night long.
Go get one of the big old tanks
and plumb it in here
and keep her hot as we can.
It's worth a try.
NARRATOR: A tiger torch
heating the head drum.
Should stop it
from freezing up again
and keep the tailings belt
moving in the subzero
temperatures.
PARKER: Keep as much heat in
there as we can.
Good job, guys! Let's go ahead
and fire this thing up.
Can we hit the seeker?
♪
NARRATOR: The race is on to
sluice another 500 ounces.
Before the big freeze
shuts them down.
The first shot over the bow
for the winter here,
but, I mean,
we've got to keep sluicing
so hopefully a little heat
will delay the end
for us a little bit.
♪
♪
Yeah, it's getting colder
and colder every morning.
I can't even see out
the windshield anymore,
there's so much frost.
We're so close to our target.
I just don't know
what to do anymore.
I mean, we've exhausted
all the thawed ground.
NARRATOR: Rick ness is within
striking distance.
Of his 1,000 ounce season goal.
♪
He's just 27 ounces short,
but he's all out
of thawed ground
and he's come too far
to fail now.
RICK: We ain't giving up.
I know we can run the plant.
We just need the dirt.
I got somebody flying in today
to help me out.
♪
♪
♪
Hey!
[Bleep] Arriving in style!
Yeah, well you know.
How you doing, dad?
Good to see you man.
You, too.
I'm here to help.
That's awesome!
Well, you came at a hell
of a time.
You're here
until the end now right?
I am.
I want to see what's going on.
That's why I came, so...
Well, I'll bring you
right out there.
All right.
Let's do it.
NARRATOR: Construction boss
big Rick is back to help his son.
Achieve his rookie season goal.
RICK:
We're short 27 ounces.
BIG RICK: You've exhausted
every single resource?
RICK Jr: I've had Terry scraping
every last little bit he can,
but there's just nothing left.
Holy cow!
This place has changed
a little bit.
We've got everything
out of here, all through here,
that side, upstream,
downstream, middle.
It's all [Bleep] mined out,
right?
If we've got no ground, it means
we've got to strip some ground.
No matter where we go right now,
it's gonna be frozen.
It's going to be
almost impossible to run.
[Bleep] Damn it, you've got
to get that
[Bleep] Thousand ounces!
I know!
So if we're going to do it
we might as well go
for the best ground
that we have.
Well, perhaps a second look
at your drill charts there
and see where those...
See where your best veins are.
Maybe you got some more left
that you can quickly access.
There is. There's a channel that
goes right through the...
Everything that we've done,
front to [Bleep] back.
NARRATOR: This season, Rick has
mined three cuts.
Running through them is an old
river channel rich in gold.
♪
Where that pile of
overburden is,
that's where
the bedrock came up,
and that's where all
the best drill holes were,
and it is where
we did our best gold.
You're up against time
so I guess...
Yeah.
What's the best option
for what we got left in time?
This is probably it.
Yeah. [Sighs]
Yeah, [Bleep] It.
Let's do it.
We've got 30 ounces to get.
I think this is going to be
the easiest way to get it.
I'll jump on that d9
and give it my best shot.
All right. Let's [Bleep] do it!
Yep.
It's not going to be
a very big cut,
but hopefully
if we're following that channel,
it'll have what we need in it.
NARRATOR: Big Rick will open
a small extension.
To the upstream cut following
the old river channel.
This will allow Rick to access
the best pay dirt
left on his claim.
I've run a lot of equipment
over the years,
and I guess that's where
my expertise comes in.
We don't have enough time
left here to do much,
but we got to get it.
Rick promised he was going
to do the thousand ounces.
Like I've said in the past,
I've always had my doubts
with some of the schemes
that he comes up with.
But, I am just happy that's he
included me to help him out,
you know,
for the push to the end here.
It's great having my dad here.
Kind of like reversing
the roles,
this is what he used to do to me
when I was growing up.
One thousand ounces.
NARRATOR: Up ahead...
We're still not at our goal
so I don't give a [Bleep].
We're still running.
♪
[ Cheering ]
Yeah!
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
♪
Big red is off Tony's ground,
and we're going to run this cut
that we just opened up,
the bank cut.
We're on our own claim at last.
You know, there's no Tony beets
and no royalties here.
Hopefully it's a good one.
NARRATOR:
Parker's second wash plant.
Is at the bank cut.
He's realizing
a lifetime ambition:
He's finally running
his own pay dirt on his own
klondike claim.
PARKER:
This isn't a big cut so anything.
Over 80 ounces
is going to be a killer.
That's basically
testing for our future.
NARRATOR: Parker bought this
claim for.
Half a million dollars,
but the ground is unproven.
Whatever gold he gets before
winter will determine his future
as a klondike claim owner.
MAN: Parker paid a lot of money
for this ground.
So we need to be able
to turn a profit on it.
If we only pull 10 ounces out
of this, I'm going back logging.
You'll never see me again.
NARRATOR: Brennan Digs Pay
from the bank.
BRENNAN: We still got a lot of
gold to find,
and there's just not much
time left to do it
before everything freezes up.
NARRATOR: Tyson removes
the coarse tailings.
We're going to give her
all we got here
at the final stretch
of the season.
Winter is coming.
NARRATOR: And because
the hopper feeder is down.
And there's no time
to fix it,
Parker is forced to load
pay directly into the conveyor
with no grizzly bars
to keep the boulders out.
PARKER: We're running without
grizzly bars.
So we're feeding extra slow.
The problem with feeding
with the conveyor
is it's just a lot more wear
and tear on the wash plant,
on the screens, on the welds,
pretty much on everything.
It's not ideal,
but it's our a last resort.
♪
I think that's a big one.
Big rock!
Oh yeah, that's a monster!
Boo, pre-wash buster.
♪
Ooh, here is a big chunk
of broken bedrock.
Hmm.
NARRATOR:
A boulder this size could put.
The plant out of action
for the rest of the season.
Hey! Tyson!
Yo!
Get the [Bleep]
out the loader!
Let's go!
Come on, the plant is running!
I'm coming, [Bleep]!
[Bleep] [Bleep]
Tyson, you're so slow!
I think the two of us should be
able to pick this thing up.
The scrawniest guys
in the Klondike.
Well, you know, the other
[Bleep]
Problem is where
the [Bleep] is everybody?
Brennan, are you going
to [Bleep]
Move or what?
I'm coming, man!
♪
Come on!
Slippery.
[Bleep]
Drive around in your truck.
[Bleep] Walk over here.
[Bleep] This job!
We just got to keep
the plant running.
This is the ground
we're coming to mine, right?
So may not be a big pile
of gold we get,
but really got to know
if this cut is worth mining.
♪
♪
♪
NARRATOR: Tony Beets has shut
down all his wash plants.
And abandoned his goal
of mining 6,000 ounces
in a last-ditch effort
to get his second dredge
mining gold this season.
His entire crew, including kids
Kevin, Monica, and Mike,
are hard at work getting
the last pieces
of the puzzle in place.
First up, the bucket ladder,
the heaviest part of the dredge.
So what we're going to do is,
we're going to have
Mike lift up one side.
I'm lifting up the other.
We're using an excavator
that will twist it
into position.
We're going to suck it up tight,
bolt it all together
and call it a [Bleep] day.
NARRATOR:
Monica needs to line up.
The two sections along with Mike
so the crew can bolt them
back together.
Yo!
Sounds good.
NARRATOR: To wrap around
the bucket ladder,
Tony needs a chain
of 90750-pound buckets.
Yep, yep.
Piece of cake.
I just chained up
the first string.
Let's see how this goes.
There we go!
Whee!
That went way better
than expected!
[Bleep], I'm good some days!
Easy, easy, easy, easy.
♪
Ah.
♪
What you thinking Tony?
Everything on site is here.
NARRATOR:
To move his second dredge,
Tony had to break it down
into over 1,000 pieces,
but he lost track of 30 buckets,
and without a full bucket line,
his dredge is useless.
♪
NARRATOR: Tony Beets has nearly
rebuilt his 72-year-old dredge,
but he's 30 buckets short.
And without a complete
bucket line,
he's dead in the water.
It's been 2 years since Tony
dragged the first buckets
out of thistle creek.
He's been transporting them
in sections
over multiple shipments
ever since.
Tony needs to know
if the missing buckets
are still at thistle creek,
and his best chance of finding
out is to ask a local.
Tony, hey!
Good, how are you?
Oh, yeah, how's that going?
Yeah.
I have seen them...
In the past, yeah,
like 20-some years ago.
They should be directly
across the creek.
But on the other side of
the creek. Yeah.
You got a map?
Yeah.
It'll be just on this side,
about 15 feet from the creek.
I do remember seeing
the tail-end of them
sticking out of the bank.
And there could be 30 to 40
in that strip.
It'll be right on this way.
They're still there.
You're just going to have
to dig for them.
I've got a hoe out there
if you need it.
Yep, you bet you.
Good luck!
NARRATOR: Two months ago,
Tony was glad to leave.
Thistle creek forever.
But now he's flying back to hunt
for his missing buckets...
♪
With his son Mike
and a metal detector.
Ah!
Tony found parts of the bucket
line all over the dredge site,
but somehow he missed
a massive section of 30 buckets.
Merrit remembers seeing them
on the opposite bank
20 years ago.
Every time the creek flooded it
left a layer of mud behind,
which could've
hidden the buckets.
If they're still there,
Tony will find them
in the strip of land
between the creek bed
and virgin forest.
♪
Not a peep.
[ Detector whines ]
Oh, seem to have gotten
something here.
Yeah, right there, see?
[ Detector whining ]
♪
♪
♪
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Found something?
♪
It's always fun to come up here
and work with the kid,
frustrating at times,
but fun.
It beats sitting in the office.
Look like some tough ripping,
but he's getting her done.
We got to get
that thousand ounces.
NARRATOR: Rick Ness is still
27 ounces
short of the 1,000 ounces
he promised his crew
he'd mine this year.
On the edge of the upstream cut,
his dad is digging down
to the pay layer
attempting to hit a gold-rich
vein in an ancient riverbed.
But with no dirt ready to run,
the wash plant is sitting idle.
BIG RICK: Everything s going to
have to go really well for him.
To hit
that goal that he's looking for,
but you got to try.
We just want to gain this one
little extra section of pay dirt
that we can run
before it gets too cold out.
Oh...
That ain't good.
The temperature just
fricking went off the map.
It's overheating really bad.
Radiator has got a hole
in it somewhere.
[Bleep].
Is it bad or what?
You see where it pissed it out
on the blade right there?
Yeah.
I doubt that's a repairable
radiator.
I think you're going to end up
having to replace it.
You just don't have time to even
remotely start repairing
this thing.
Well, it's had a hard year.
What I was thinking was is,
you know, I don't know...
I mean, we use sheamus' 475
for the small area
we're trying to get here,
I think that machine
would do it.
I don't really want to pay
$6,000 for that 475,
but if we keep running this d9
and blow that motor up,
it's going to end up
costing me over 100.
We got to make a decision,
I guess.
I mean, that's up to you
what you want to do, but...
Yeah.
You know what, [Bleep] It!
I'm sure sheamus will be
happy to take my money.
Let's just go get
the [Bleep] thing.
Let's give her!
You got to spend money
to make money.
♪
NARRATOR: Twice the horsepower,
three times the weight.
And over six times
the pushing capacity of the d9,
sheamus christie's 475
is a massive step up.
Whoa, it's really obvious
the difference!
Just the sheer power.
I'm going to lay down
some rips here.
It's going to take me probably
about an hour
to get this thing ripped up.
Then I'll push it
all off again.
♪
NARRATOR: The crew is ready to
truck the first pay.
From big Rick's
cut to the wash plant.
Yeah, I've got two trucks
waiting, and I don't like it.
Frustrating for me.
I know that they're bored.
How many bars are you going to
hit up when you get home, zee?
I don't even go out
to the bars anymore.
Thinking about getting
some good Chinese food,
lighting some candles,
laying out some roses
and then sending my wife
somewhere for the night.
♪
Hey, Big Rick.
How's it going?
So hey, we're down
to gravel here.
We are getting down to gravel.
We're going to need to get this
pay out of here pretty quick.
Terry, you want to get yourself
and the trucks down here?
All right, buddy.
NARRATOR: Now, the crew is in
a race to run all.
Big Rick's pay before
winter freezes them out.
Any day now it will be too cold
to sluice
so the crew is going
all out to run
big Rick's pay
as fast as they can.
This is it, guys.
This is our roll of the dice.
I'll go until this bucket
can't scoop anything anymore,
and we're going to get it.
All right.
Big Rick, cross your fingers,
Tthis is the first of the last.
Roger that.
I'm just happy to be here
to help you guys out, man.
Let's fire up Durt Reynolds.
I want to make sure we get all
the dirt run through the plant.
This pay dirt is still frozen
and full of chunks,
But I don't even
give a [Bleep].
We're going to run it anyways.
♪
Hopefully this puts us
over the top.
Damn it, you got to get
that thousand ounces.
♪
♪
[ Bleep ]
[ Bleep ]
NARRATOR:
Tony and Mike Beets.
Are at the end
of a long day back
at thistle creek hunting for
their missing dredge buckets.
NARRATOR: He's still 26 short,
and the dredge won't work
without a complete bucket line.
♪
NARRATOR: Tony was told they
would be.
On the bank opposite the dredge,
but he's searched every inch
of it and only found four.
That's kind of a [Bleep]
[Bleep] show, ain't it?
♪
♪
♪
Hey, guys.
How did it go?
♪
Not what we wanted.
No, not at all.
Yeah.
♪
♪
No more buckets?
Did you dig around?
There's no way around it?
Minnie: PROBABLY NEXT SPRING
WHEN WE GET THEM.
What do you want us to do?
NARRATOR: Tony's dredge is
on hold until they can cast.
A set
of replacement buckets.
He's failed to reach
his gold target,
failed to beat Parker,
and failed to finish
his second dredge.
MINNIE: Time to go home.
♪
♪
PARKER: We got Big Red running
right now,
and we got sluicifer
running right now
so we're pretty short
on people.
Everybody's doing everything
they can,
but I think a lot of guys are
close to their breaking point.
It's been a bit tough.
NARRATOR:
Ten degrees below freezing,
Parker and Tyson
are battling the cold
in a final push to get to
7,000 ounces before winter.
This is Parker's last year
mining Tony beets' land,
so any pay he leaves behind
will be there for Tony
to scoop up in the spring.
PARKER: THIS PAY IS STARTING
TO GET QUITE CHUNKY.
It's freezing up on us a bit.
Have to break up a lot
of these chunks,
but they usually
break up pretty good.
Oh, [Bleep]!
♪
[Bleep] There's no [Bleep]
dirt on the belt!
♪
♪
What's going on?
Got a jam in the hopper!
- I'll get the plant.
- I'll go grab a sledge.
♪
Just...
Oh, [Bleep].
We're ruined.
So the top of the pay starting
to freeze from how cold it is,
and there must be a chunk
in the feeder.
[Bleep]
That's not good, man.
No!
She's a slabby one.
Yep!
Well, we better hurry
because the plant is going
to freeze up if we don't.
♪
Big [Bleep] chunk of [Bleep]
in here!
NARRATOR: Parker and Tyson
attack the block.
Of frozen pay
from both ends.
We're lucky it didn't
cut our belt in half!
I haven't swung a hammer
in a long time.
♪
I was hoping that we could
just break it in half,
but it's quite solid.
♪
Oh, boy!
You better get in here
and swap me out.
Okay.
I'm running out of steam.
Take a breather.
Right there.
[Bleep]
♪
There you go!
Oh, yeah!
Yeah, buddy!
Think it'll go through now?
Give her a try.
So we'll click it up to the top
and then roll it off.
Sounds good.
Holy [Bleep], look at that!
Oh [Bleep]!
♪
[Bleep]
[Bleep]
♪
Plant is on fire!
♪
Holy [Bleep]!
Plant is on fire!
NARRATOR:
Parker shut down sluicifer.
To break up a chunk
of frozen pay dirt.
♪
But he left a tiger torch
heating the tailings conveyor,
and when everything stopped,
it set fire to the rubber belt.
We'll need another one!
Go get another one!
That's the only we got.
Should I turn on the water?
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
♪
No, no!
Oh [Bleep]! We're going to need
something else!
Okay, I'm going to turn
on the water!
♪
[ Coughing ]
♪
[Bleep] [Bleep]
Torch was right on that roller.
When it's turning with
water on it, it's fine, but...
It all happened so fast, man.
Did you get a look
at any damage?
Well, it's all rubber in there.
There's a lot of that
[Bleep], I'm sure.
We just need to make sure
it's out
and come back
in the morning and assess.
I mean, our 7,000 ounce goal
may have just gone up in flames,
but might be in the box.
Big red might get it.
Who knows?
But, honestly right
now I'm tired.
♪
NARRATOR: At first light, Parker
brings Dean and mechanic Mitch.
To Gauge the damage.
♪
Man, the belt is smoked.
Now it's got 4 inches of ice
on top of it.
Oh my [Bleep]!
Look at those spray marks.
- I think she's fried, Dean.
- DEAN: Pretty much.
PARKER: Fire and ice.
But we're not leaving
much behind, are we?
Man, that has to be
the biggest single cut
that we've ever done
in one shot.
How many yards you think
we moved this year?
Oh, [Bleep], probably 2.2,
2.3 million yards over.
That's a lot of dirt.
I must say, good job, guys.
Thank you.
Dean, that was a hell
of a challenge in here.
Yep.
NARRATOR: Parker has mined
Tony Beet' land.
Ever since he came
to the klondike.
Over the last 6 years,
he's dug up over $29 million
worth of gold,
but his time as
Tony's tenant is over.
Hopefully there was enough gold
in there
to get us to 7,000 ounces.
It's been a hell of a season.
♪
There's definitely a point
where you got to call it quits
and say enough is enough,
but we're not [Bleep] there yet.
I set a goal of 1,000 ounces.
NARRATOR: In a desperate bid to
hit his season goal,
Rick ness is running frozen pay
from the new cut his dad
just opened.
Yeah, there's big old frozen
chunks of pay dirt right there,
but at this point of the year,
we're running what we have left.
We're still not at our goal,
so I don't give a [Bleep].
We're still running.
Ben, do you like your pay Dirt
Crispy or Extra Crispy?
Extra crispy.
Extra
Crispy coming right up.
There you go,
one bucket of extra crispy.
Hey, do you think you can put
some bigger chunks in there?
I mean, they look pretty big.
MAN: Ah, well, we don't have
a lot of time...
This is the absolute end
of it right here.
NARRATOR: As temperatures
continue to fall,
the entire crew pushes on
into the night.
We can't shut down.
We got to get it
all through tonight
because at this point
we shut down, we're frozen out.
We're into the minuses.
Everything has got to keep
moving, even us.
♪
Rick, you got a copy?
Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
Looks like we're not feeding
right,
think you can give me a hand?
What the [Bleep] happened?
I'm guessing that chunky [Bleep]
Got stuck in there and froze up
and we're not feeding the plant.
[ Metallic screeching ]
NARRATOR: In the hopper,
frozen chunks of pay.
Have formed a solid mass.
This lump is pressing down
on the interior belt
and preventing any dirt
reaching the wash plant.
Man: Both belts on?
RICK: Yeah, we're just going
to have to see.
If we can get it
to break loose.
Okay, both belts coming hot.
Yep!
NARRATOR: Rick's high risk plan:
Run both conveyors in the hope
that they will dislodge
the blockage.
We just hit it full speed.
We'll know if it's going
to come loose.
Because if it ain't [Bleep]
freed up,
it's going to tear that belt,
and our season is done.
Ben, bump the [Bleep]!
[ Whirring, grinding ]
That don't sound good.
Oh, you're [Bleep] kidding me.
♪
♪
I'm hoping there ain't
too much weight on it.
I mean, we shut it out...
We shut it down as
practically a full hopper.
It ain't good for it.
NARRATOR: Rick is running
the last of his Frozen Pay Dirt.
In the hope of
hitting his 1,000 ounce,
$1.2 million season goal...
Ben, both belts now!
But his hopper feeder is
jammed with a massive ice ball.
Nothing!
Nothing.
[ Bleep ]
No way.
One more time!
There she goes!
There she goes!
Holy [Bleep] look at
those big [Bleep] chunks!
I think those were the two
that were really blocking it.
Keep it going.
Yep, let her go!
Let it go!
Yeah, it's [Bleep] clear now.
Whew!
NARRATOR: Now, Rick needs to run
every yard ofFfrozen Pay Dirt,
and he can't afford
another ice blockage.
♪
I'm doing my best to hammer up
some of these chunks.
If you can't get them
crushed up,
there's no use running them
through the plant.
Man, that dirt looks
so much better.
You know what, frozen dirt?
Too [Bleep] bad,
I'm going to smash you to
[Bleep], run you through
the wash plant anyway.
I'm beating up this dirt
like it owes me money.
Well, [Bleep], it does!
Woo!
Too dumb to quit.
♪
That pile keeps getting smaller.
♪
Hey, Ryan, how we
looking up there, buddy?
This is it, Rick.
This is the last bucket
of Pay Dirt for the year.
All right. Shove her on through,
and we'll shut it down.
Copy that.
♪
Man, it's almost surreal
going over there.
♪
This is always a special
moment of the season,
but none of the other ones
have ever matched this one.
This is the end of my season,
my first [Bleep] season.
Man, the fight is over, and we
fought it until the very end.
When I think back on how hard
we fought for everything
and just like that,
it's over.
It's over.
We're done.
What do you say, give that sun
a little bit to come up
and let's pull the mats.
And the gold that we're looking
for may
or may not be
in that little sluice box,
that's the [Bleep]
industry we're in man.
We don't know.
But I'm excited to find out.
All right.
You guys are the best.
Awesome.
Good deal.
♪
♪
PARKER:
IT'S GETTING PRETTY COLD OUT.
With sluicifer being down,
big red is the only thing
getting us any more gold.
It's been a real struggle
to get here,
but it feels good to finally
be mining our own ground
and not be paying royalties.
NARRATOR: Parker is pushing
big red to the limit,
sluicing royalty-free gold
on land that he owns.
Most miners have already
called it quits.
Parker needs to know this land
will pay out
if he's going to mine
it all next season.
Holy [Bleep], look at the plant!
What the [Bleep]?
What happened to night shift?
They had some jam-ups
last night,
and they said
that they tried everything
they could do
to keep running,
and I think
this is the end result.
I think it might be time
just to put her to bed.
There's still a bit of ground
in that cut,
and we need every ounce
we can get right now.
So there's a good possibility
you're going
to create
more damage and less work.
I mean the water
is still running.
Let's just try to start it.
All right.
♪
♪
See if it'll start!
♪
♪
Bump it again!
♪
Man, is it turning over?
I mean, it's powered up.
You can hear it drawing...
It's making some weird noises.
Hey we're going to end up
burning that motor out!
We're calling it a [Bleep]
season!
♪
NARRATOR:
WITH ONE WASH PLANT ICED UP.
And the other burned out,
Parker is done mining
for the year.
PARKER:
Is there any gold in here?
Yeah, there is, actually.
We didn't end things
on the terms we wanted,
but good job, guys.
NARRATOR: Next year, Parker is
betting the farm.
On the ground he's bought.
The gold in this sluice box
will be his first sign
of how next season will pan out.
It's basically testing
for our future.
Look at that!
Oh, that's a nice nugget!
This is my eighth year
running a mine site,
and this year was like
the last
7 all thrown into one,
just so much
[Bleep] Going on.
Luckily, everybody
stayed focused.
I'm the scatterbrain.
Come on!
Dozer!
♪
NARRATOR: Mining is over
at scribner creek.
Parker gathers his entire crew
to find out
if they've hit
his 7,000 ounce goal,
the highest he's ever set.
♪
So the last gold total
was 6,472.5 ounces,
which is better then we did
last year by about 200 ounces.
There's a lot of gold
there on the table.
But what means the most to me
is the smallest pan out here,
which is what big red
did down there
on the ground that we bought.
All right.
So big red produced 95 ounces.
Wow!
Cheers to that!
Woo!
Those 95 ounces came from like,
30 or 35 hours of sluicing.
When we started,
I said we needed
80 ounces for it to be good,
so I think that's
a damn good result.
Got to cheers to that, man!
It's our own ground
and I'm excited about it.
Me, too!
It's something that
when I came up here 6 years ago,
like, that was the dream.
NARRATOR: Big Red's gold brings
the total to 6,567 ounces,
but Parker is still more than
400 ounces short of his goal.
We've been running
for about 2 weeks.
Sluicifer produced 859.8 ounces.
NARRATOR:
Worth over $1 million...
Figure that out!
NARRATOR: The biggest cleanup
Parker's ever had.
Unreal!
Our season total, because
our goal is 7,000 ounces,
7,427.25 ounces.
[ Laughter, cheers ]
NARRATOR:
Despite the disastrous start,
Parker's crew has mined nearly
$9 million worth of gold,
a new record for "gold rush."
This season started out
as one of the worst seasons
we've ever had
and ended up the absolute best,
and every one of you guys
had something to do with that.
And I thank you all to that.
Cheers to that!
You got a smoking crew.
There's no doubt about that.
Next year, we're on our own
ground, play by our own rules.
And we are heading into
the unknown,
but the future is ours.
Cheers!
Thank you all!
♪
♪
Oh.
Oh, yeah!
About time, Rick!
NARRATOR:
Rick Ness has completed.
His rookie mining season...
Can you believe
it's been 6 months?
NARRATOR: BUT HE'S YET TO FIND
OUT IF HE'S HIT.
His 1,000 ounce,
$1.2 million goal.
So Karla, where did we end up
with on the last gold weigh?
We were at 973.
So we had 27 ounces to get.
Might be in that jar.
I think it's time to find out.
♪
That's 20.
- Looking good.
- Yeah!
There's our 27 ounces.
[ Cheering ]
Yeah!
There's another [Bleep]!
Whoa!
Yeah!
Whoa!
The final gold weighed
132.49 ounces.
[Bleep] Yeah!
NARRATOR:
Worth well over $150,000.
You know what that means?
We're over 1,100.
Nice.
Eleven oh five... blew by it!
NARRATOR: IN HIS FIRST YEAR
AS A MINE BOSS,
Rick ness has dug up over
$1.3 million in gold.
RICK: Are you glad
we stuck around now?
NARRATOR:
He's kept his word his crew.
They'll go home with money
for their families.
A father to a son, I am,
you know, so proud of you.
And I appreciate all you guys
sticking it out with this guy.
That is fricking amazing
to me, so...
Yeah, dad, I mean as far as,
you know,
the beginning of the year,
you know, I told these guys
that you said
I was going to go broke
and come home with no friends.
You know, in this case, kind of
throwing it in your face here.
Made it work and I got
all my friends!
[ Laughing ]
Thanks, dad.
I love you, man!
I love you too, man!
I guess I should stop
doubting you.
Yeah.
And I appreciate you guys,
you know, believing in me
because I couldn't had done it
without you guys, every one.
That being said,
I got something for you guys.
Got a little bucket here,
it's got 6 jars in it.
♪
And there's one of those here
for each of you guys.
♪
A little over 50 ounces
in every one of those jars.
NARRATOR:
THEIR FINAL 2-WEEK PUSH.
Allows Rick to hand out
over $360,000.
Thank you, guys!
NARRATOR: Each crew member will
go home.
With over $60,000 in gold.
MAN: Six months ago Rick,
We were sitting in Milwaukee,
and you pulled out
some of your gold,
and we showed it to my kids
and everything to see,
you know, what dad was going
to go up and try to chase.
I'm going to bring
that home to them.
They're going to be
the first people to see it.
This really helps, man.
Yeah, buddy.
Appreciate it.
You guys earned it.
I just want to point out
to you guys
that my first year up here
mining with Parker,
we stayed to the very bitter end
and we hit 1,029 ounces.
And us, no experience,
no nothing,
we [Bleep] beat that
by a mile.
Yeah, Rick!
[ Cheers and applause ]
NARRATOR: Six months after
arriving in the Klondike.
With four greenhorns
and no wash plant,
Rick ness has become the most
successful rookie mine boss
in "gold rush" history.
You guys are lunatics!
BIG RICK: The season, i mean,
you couldn't put more on..
Somebody's plate, and he has
come out successful.
It's one of the greatest ends
to one of the worst
years of my life.
My mom's death
has been really tough.
I had to put that out of my mind
to make this work this summer.
I love my mom, and I miss her,
and I know she'd be proud
so I'm happy with that.
♪
♪
I have one big regret
this season and that is, like,
Mitch getting hurt.
Hey, man.
What's up, buddy?
Here's the X-ray.
Oh, my [Bleep]!
NARRATOR: Parker crashed his
jet boat mid-season.
And broke Mitch's arm
in two places.
Parker: The stuff going through
my head.
Was you with a stump being,
"Parker, this is
all your fault!"
And me knowing that's true,
and it really
brought home to me,
like how close everything
is to like life and death.
Like, we both could
have died in that
[Bleep] Easy!
Oh, yeah, we weren't
planning on crashing!
It just happened.
I appreciate everything you did
to help, like, get it fixed.
You're welcome.
♪
PARKER: There it is.
It's a little bittersweet
having this
kind of
a record-breaking season
but also record-breaking
royalty payments.
NARRATOR: Parker may have mined.
Close to $9 million
worth of gold,
but even after
millions in expenses,
he still has
one final, massive bill.
We're paying more royalties
this season
than we found
our first season up here.
Don't spill it!
Ah, my table is leaning.
Thanks, Chris.
I'm here to help you, Parker.
NARRATOR: Each 100-ounce bar
is worth $120,000.
Oh, jeez!
PARKER:
I'll sit home alone at night.
And cry and clean gold bars.
Gold bars, yeah.
What a horrible thing
for you to do.
Sit home alone on
a Friday night
polishing your bars, huh?
And crying!
Don't forget the crying.
♪
Before I leave the Yukon
this fall,
I've got one big piece of
unfinished business with Tony.
We've had our ups,
and we've had our downs,
but Tony has never tried
to rip me off
in any way that wasn't
in a contract
right in front of you.
At the age I was, coming up here
looking for a piece of ground,
most people would have
laughed me out of the room.
NARRATOR: Parker was just 17.
When Tony first welcomed him
to the klondike.
Good to meet you.
NARRATOR: Tony offered to lease
him good ground.
This could be mine.
It scares me, but if I want
to play with the big boys,
I've got to get up here
where the big boys play.
NARRATOR: And in six seasons
playing with the big boys,
Parker has mined
25,000 ounces of gold,
worth over $29 million.
We're probably one of the top
three or four producers
in the Yukon.
That wouldn't have happened
without Tony's support.
NARRATOR: The deal has worked
out well for Tony, too.
So far, Parker has paid him
$4 million in royalties.
How's it going?
Not too bad.
So how's your season gone?
He had just under 4,400 ounces
so did about 700
more than last year.
Yeah, it's been good.
Yeah, we ended up having
a pretty nice piece
of ground up there.
Our season ended here
just shy of 7,300 ounces.
Good for you!
Good for all of us.
That's why I brought
you guys something.
♪
No wonder he was crooked
when he walked in.
NARRATOR: This final payment
means that over the 6 years.
He's mined in the klondike,
Parker has given Tony
over $5.2 million in royalties.
PARKER:
There it is, 1,000 ounces.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: This payment also
marks the end of an era.
Yeah. We're going to that
piece of ground
that we bought here
next to you.
I'm genuinely nervous
about going over there.
It's a bit scary.
I hope we can all get
along down here.
You got to play nice.
Be a good neighbor.
We've had our ups and downs
over the last 6 years,
but I just wanted to thank
you for the opportunity.
There's nobody in the Yukon
that would have given me
the opportunity.
I'm happy for you.
Well, have a good winter.
Don't spend it all in one place.
Last time [Bleep] doing that.
I'm free!
♪
NARRATOR: UP NEXT,
unseen footage
and explosive revelations.
I made a lot of mistakes
this year.
Go home!
We knew Jack [Bleep]
About gold mining.
PARKER: THE PROBLEM THAT I've
GOT WITH Tony IS,
he isn't honest.
Sucks to be you.
Oh, you wanted to get away
from Tony beets?
There you go.
Parker and i's friendship has
always been a little volatile.
I brought you a check.
It's not what I expected.
I'm the bad guy for
giving somebody $50,000.
MAN: Parker believed they were close friends.
I just don't think Rick felt
the same way.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
Discovery Communications
♪
This has been
the toughest year of my life.
Hit the bypass!
What the [Bleep]!
I set a goal of 1,000 ounces.
Now winter has hit,
and we've come up short.
We could all go home,
forget those last 27 ounces,
but I made a promise to my guys:
We're going to pull our
first million from right here.
And one way or another,
I am going to deliver.
♪
♪
♪
♪
At the start of the season,
Tony beets completely shut us
down from mining our own ground.
Tony, what you're telling me
right now
is to end my mining season.
But now, we're back.
Despite everything
that went wrong,
we still smashed
our 6,000 ounce target.
Good job, kiddo!
Now we're going for a record
of 7,000 ounces.
It's finally time for us
to mine our own ground,
pay nobody royalties
and do things how we want.
♪
NARRATOR: On This, The Season
Finale Of "Gold Rush."
MAN: We're going to get
over this 1,000 ounces.
We don't have enough time
left to do much,
but we got to get it.
I'm beating up this dirt
like it owes me money.
Well, [Bleep], it does.
So we had 27 ounces to get.
I think it's time to find out.
♪
They should be across the creek.
Think I got something here.
♪
It's getting pretty cold out.
Hopefully there's enough gold in
there to get us to 7,000 ounces.
Holy [Bleep], look at that!
[Bleep]
Plant is on fire!
♪
♪
♪
♪
NARRATOR: October...
7 degrees below freezing.
Winter has come to
the klondike.
Things are on the up and up,
but we're running out of time.
NARRATOR: Parker Schnabel
has already pulled.
A massive 6,500 ounces of gold
out of the last cut.
PARKER: We aren't leaving this
piece of ground.
Until we've got
all the gold out of it.
NARRATOR:
NOW, HE'S IN THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
To hit his new 7,000 ounce,
$8.4 million goal before
the big freeze ends his season.
What... what... what is this?
This thing's frozen up solid.
It's kind of a disaster
isn't it?
Yeah.
NARRATOR: BUT, LAST NIGHT,
sluicifer clogged up
with frozen tailings...
Whoa!
And she's been down
for 6 hours.
We've been shoveling
since 4:30 in the morning.
This and the tailings
conveyor froze up.
Conveyor stopped and just
[Bleep] everything.
♪
Why don't we just try
bumping the belt
and seeing
if this thing will go or not.
Okay, fire it up!
♪
Whoa, whoa!
That does not sound healthy.
Oh for [Bleep] sake!
Belt is frozen to the rollers,
so we're going to have
to get some heat on it
and warm it up, break it free,
go grab some propane.
Hopefully nothing s
broken inside
with all this extra weight
and ice on the machine.
PARKER: TRY IT AGAIN, Tyson.
[ Grinding ]
NARRATOR:
THE TAIL DRUMS STILL WON'T TURN.
Nope.
Dean climbs the conveyor to try
and turn the frozen head roller.
Have you been trying to bump it?
It looks like it should move.
Sounds like you need some lube
or somebody with some muscles
that ain't old like mine.
Send me up!
We're just trying to get things
to break free right now.
It's all frozen up.
So you got muscles Ty here...
It's slippery.
Downward with it.
We got it wiggling,
up here anyway.
Go one more time,
and that'll get the pulley
around the backside.
♪
Oh, lovely!
Hey, we moved the belt
like 6 inches.
All of that was 6 inches.
Pull the breaker!
[ Engine starting ]
Whoa, there she goes!
Yep!
Looks good.
Good work everybody!
NARRATOR: It's taken the crew
nearly 8 hours.
To get the conveyor
running again.
We got to do something about it.
We got to... it cost us
just about a whole shift.
Yeah, a little scary.
It's always this belt
that gets us when it ices up.
It wouldn't be hard to plumb
one of those cleanup hoses
into a propane hot water heater,
but then, where do you put it?
Hot water in cold weather
freezes faster.
The other thing I've seen
is a propane manifold
on the head drum.
Yeah, we've done that too.
Well, not a manifold, but we've
run a torch right on.
But do you think that
will keep everything going?
You'll have to leave it
in all night long.
Go get one of the big old tanks
and plumb it in here
and keep her hot as we can.
It's worth a try.
NARRATOR: A tiger torch
heating the head drum.
Should stop it
from freezing up again
and keep the tailings belt
moving in the subzero
temperatures.
PARKER: Keep as much heat in
there as we can.
Good job, guys! Let's go ahead
and fire this thing up.
Can we hit the seeker?
♪
NARRATOR: The race is on to
sluice another 500 ounces.
Before the big freeze
shuts them down.
The first shot over the bow
for the winter here,
but, I mean,
we've got to keep sluicing
so hopefully a little heat
will delay the end
for us a little bit.
♪
♪
Yeah, it's getting colder
and colder every morning.
I can't even see out
the windshield anymore,
there's so much frost.
We're so close to our target.
I just don't know
what to do anymore.
I mean, we've exhausted
all the thawed ground.
NARRATOR: Rick ness is within
striking distance.
Of his 1,000 ounce season goal.
♪
He's just 27 ounces short,
but he's all out
of thawed ground
and he's come too far
to fail now.
RICK: We ain't giving up.
I know we can run the plant.
We just need the dirt.
I got somebody flying in today
to help me out.
♪
♪
♪
Hey!
[Bleep] Arriving in style!
Yeah, well you know.
How you doing, dad?
Good to see you man.
You, too.
I'm here to help.
That's awesome!
Well, you came at a hell
of a time.
You're here
until the end now right?
I am.
I want to see what's going on.
That's why I came, so...
Well, I'll bring you
right out there.
All right.
Let's do it.
NARRATOR: Construction boss
big Rick is back to help his son.
Achieve his rookie season goal.
RICK:
We're short 27 ounces.
BIG RICK: You've exhausted
every single resource?
RICK Jr: I've had Terry scraping
every last little bit he can,
but there's just nothing left.
Holy cow!
This place has changed
a little bit.
We've got everything
out of here, all through here,
that side, upstream,
downstream, middle.
It's all [Bleep] mined out,
right?
If we've got no ground, it means
we've got to strip some ground.
No matter where we go right now,
it's gonna be frozen.
It's going to be
almost impossible to run.
[Bleep] Damn it, you've got
to get that
[Bleep] Thousand ounces!
I know!
So if we're going to do it
we might as well go
for the best ground
that we have.
Well, perhaps a second look
at your drill charts there
and see where those...
See where your best veins are.
Maybe you got some more left
that you can quickly access.
There is. There's a channel that
goes right through the...
Everything that we've done,
front to [Bleep] back.
NARRATOR: This season, Rick has
mined three cuts.
Running through them is an old
river channel rich in gold.
♪
Where that pile of
overburden is,
that's where
the bedrock came up,
and that's where all
the best drill holes were,
and it is where
we did our best gold.
You're up against time
so I guess...
Yeah.
What's the best option
for what we got left in time?
This is probably it.
Yeah. [Sighs]
Yeah, [Bleep] It.
Let's do it.
We've got 30 ounces to get.
I think this is going to be
the easiest way to get it.
I'll jump on that d9
and give it my best shot.
All right. Let's [Bleep] do it!
Yep.
It's not going to be
a very big cut,
but hopefully
if we're following that channel,
it'll have what we need in it.
NARRATOR: Big Rick will open
a small extension.
To the upstream cut following
the old river channel.
This will allow Rick to access
the best pay dirt
left on his claim.
I've run a lot of equipment
over the years,
and I guess that's where
my expertise comes in.
We don't have enough time
left here to do much,
but we got to get it.
Rick promised he was going
to do the thousand ounces.
Like I've said in the past,
I've always had my doubts
with some of the schemes
that he comes up with.
But, I am just happy that's he
included me to help him out,
you know,
for the push to the end here.
It's great having my dad here.
Kind of like reversing
the roles,
this is what he used to do to me
when I was growing up.
One thousand ounces.
NARRATOR: Up ahead...
We're still not at our goal
so I don't give a [Bleep].
We're still running.
♪
[ Cheering ]
Yeah!
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
♪
Big red is off Tony's ground,
and we're going to run this cut
that we just opened up,
the bank cut.
We're on our own claim at last.
You know, there's no Tony beets
and no royalties here.
Hopefully it's a good one.
NARRATOR:
Parker's second wash plant.
Is at the bank cut.
He's realizing
a lifetime ambition:
He's finally running
his own pay dirt on his own
klondike claim.
PARKER:
This isn't a big cut so anything.
Over 80 ounces
is going to be a killer.
That's basically
testing for our future.
NARRATOR: Parker bought this
claim for.
Half a million dollars,
but the ground is unproven.
Whatever gold he gets before
winter will determine his future
as a klondike claim owner.
MAN: Parker paid a lot of money
for this ground.
So we need to be able
to turn a profit on it.
If we only pull 10 ounces out
of this, I'm going back logging.
You'll never see me again.
NARRATOR: Brennan Digs Pay
from the bank.
BRENNAN: We still got a lot of
gold to find,
and there's just not much
time left to do it
before everything freezes up.
NARRATOR: Tyson removes
the coarse tailings.
We're going to give her
all we got here
at the final stretch
of the season.
Winter is coming.
NARRATOR: And because
the hopper feeder is down.
And there's no time
to fix it,
Parker is forced to load
pay directly into the conveyor
with no grizzly bars
to keep the boulders out.
PARKER: We're running without
grizzly bars.
So we're feeding extra slow.
The problem with feeding
with the conveyor
is it's just a lot more wear
and tear on the wash plant,
on the screens, on the welds,
pretty much on everything.
It's not ideal,
but it's our a last resort.
♪
I think that's a big one.
Big rock!
Oh yeah, that's a monster!
Boo, pre-wash buster.
♪
Ooh, here is a big chunk
of broken bedrock.
Hmm.
NARRATOR:
A boulder this size could put.
The plant out of action
for the rest of the season.
Hey! Tyson!
Yo!
Get the [Bleep]
out the loader!
Let's go!
Come on, the plant is running!
I'm coming, [Bleep]!
[Bleep] [Bleep]
Tyson, you're so slow!
I think the two of us should be
able to pick this thing up.
The scrawniest guys
in the Klondike.
Well, you know, the other
[Bleep]
Problem is where
the [Bleep] is everybody?
Brennan, are you going
to [Bleep]
Move or what?
I'm coming, man!
♪
Come on!
Slippery.
[Bleep]
Drive around in your truck.
[Bleep] Walk over here.
[Bleep] This job!
We just got to keep
the plant running.
This is the ground
we're coming to mine, right?
So may not be a big pile
of gold we get,
but really got to know
if this cut is worth mining.
♪
♪
♪
NARRATOR: Tony Beets has shut
down all his wash plants.
And abandoned his goal
of mining 6,000 ounces
in a last-ditch effort
to get his second dredge
mining gold this season.
His entire crew, including kids
Kevin, Monica, and Mike,
are hard at work getting
the last pieces
of the puzzle in place.
First up, the bucket ladder,
the heaviest part of the dredge.
So what we're going to do is,
we're going to have
Mike lift up one side.
I'm lifting up the other.
We're using an excavator
that will twist it
into position.
We're going to suck it up tight,
bolt it all together
and call it a [Bleep] day.
NARRATOR:
Monica needs to line up.
The two sections along with Mike
so the crew can bolt them
back together.
Yo!
Sounds good.
NARRATOR: To wrap around
the bucket ladder,
Tony needs a chain
of 90750-pound buckets.
Yep, yep.
Piece of cake.
I just chained up
the first string.
Let's see how this goes.
There we go!
Whee!
That went way better
than expected!
[Bleep], I'm good some days!
Easy, easy, easy, easy.
♪
Ah.
♪
What you thinking Tony?
Everything on site is here.
NARRATOR:
To move his second dredge,
Tony had to break it down
into over 1,000 pieces,
but he lost track of 30 buckets,
and without a full bucket line,
his dredge is useless.
♪
NARRATOR: Tony Beets has nearly
rebuilt his 72-year-old dredge,
but he's 30 buckets short.
And without a complete
bucket line,
he's dead in the water.
It's been 2 years since Tony
dragged the first buckets
out of thistle creek.
He's been transporting them
in sections
over multiple shipments
ever since.
Tony needs to know
if the missing buckets
are still at thistle creek,
and his best chance of finding
out is to ask a local.
Tony, hey!
Good, how are you?
Oh, yeah, how's that going?
Yeah.
I have seen them...
In the past, yeah,
like 20-some years ago.
They should be directly
across the creek.
But on the other side of
the creek. Yeah.
You got a map?
Yeah.
It'll be just on this side,
about 15 feet from the creek.
I do remember seeing
the tail-end of them
sticking out of the bank.
And there could be 30 to 40
in that strip.
It'll be right on this way.
They're still there.
You're just going to have
to dig for them.
I've got a hoe out there
if you need it.
Yep, you bet you.
Good luck!
NARRATOR: Two months ago,
Tony was glad to leave.
Thistle creek forever.
But now he's flying back to hunt
for his missing buckets...
♪
With his son Mike
and a metal detector.
Ah!
Tony found parts of the bucket
line all over the dredge site,
but somehow he missed
a massive section of 30 buckets.
Merrit remembers seeing them
on the opposite bank
20 years ago.
Every time the creek flooded it
left a layer of mud behind,
which could've
hidden the buckets.
If they're still there,
Tony will find them
in the strip of land
between the creek bed
and virgin forest.
♪
Not a peep.
[ Detector whines ]
Oh, seem to have gotten
something here.
Yeah, right there, see?
[ Detector whining ]
♪
♪
♪
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Found something?
♪
It's always fun to come up here
and work with the kid,
frustrating at times,
but fun.
It beats sitting in the office.
Look like some tough ripping,
but he's getting her done.
We got to get
that thousand ounces.
NARRATOR: Rick Ness is still
27 ounces
short of the 1,000 ounces
he promised his crew
he'd mine this year.
On the edge of the upstream cut,
his dad is digging down
to the pay layer
attempting to hit a gold-rich
vein in an ancient riverbed.
But with no dirt ready to run,
the wash plant is sitting idle.
BIG RICK: Everything s going to
have to go really well for him.
To hit
that goal that he's looking for,
but you got to try.
We just want to gain this one
little extra section of pay dirt
that we can run
before it gets too cold out.
Oh...
That ain't good.
The temperature just
fricking went off the map.
It's overheating really bad.
Radiator has got a hole
in it somewhere.
[Bleep].
Is it bad or what?
You see where it pissed it out
on the blade right there?
Yeah.
I doubt that's a repairable
radiator.
I think you're going to end up
having to replace it.
You just don't have time to even
remotely start repairing
this thing.
Well, it's had a hard year.
What I was thinking was is,
you know, I don't know...
I mean, we use sheamus' 475
for the small area
we're trying to get here,
I think that machine
would do it.
I don't really want to pay
$6,000 for that 475,
but if we keep running this d9
and blow that motor up,
it's going to end up
costing me over 100.
We got to make a decision,
I guess.
I mean, that's up to you
what you want to do, but...
Yeah.
You know what, [Bleep] It!
I'm sure sheamus will be
happy to take my money.
Let's just go get
the [Bleep] thing.
Let's give her!
You got to spend money
to make money.
♪
NARRATOR: Twice the horsepower,
three times the weight.
And over six times
the pushing capacity of the d9,
sheamus christie's 475
is a massive step up.
Whoa, it's really obvious
the difference!
Just the sheer power.
I'm going to lay down
some rips here.
It's going to take me probably
about an hour
to get this thing ripped up.
Then I'll push it
all off again.
♪
NARRATOR: The crew is ready to
truck the first pay.
From big Rick's
cut to the wash plant.
Yeah, I've got two trucks
waiting, and I don't like it.
Frustrating for me.
I know that they're bored.
How many bars are you going to
hit up when you get home, zee?
I don't even go out
to the bars anymore.
Thinking about getting
some good Chinese food,
lighting some candles,
laying out some roses
and then sending my wife
somewhere for the night.
♪
Hey, Big Rick.
How's it going?
So hey, we're down
to gravel here.
We are getting down to gravel.
We're going to need to get this
pay out of here pretty quick.
Terry, you want to get yourself
and the trucks down here?
All right, buddy.
NARRATOR: Now, the crew is in
a race to run all.
Big Rick's pay before
winter freezes them out.
Any day now it will be too cold
to sluice
so the crew is going
all out to run
big Rick's pay
as fast as they can.
This is it, guys.
This is our roll of the dice.
I'll go until this bucket
can't scoop anything anymore,
and we're going to get it.
All right.
Big Rick, cross your fingers,
Tthis is the first of the last.
Roger that.
I'm just happy to be here
to help you guys out, man.
Let's fire up Durt Reynolds.
I want to make sure we get all
the dirt run through the plant.
This pay dirt is still frozen
and full of chunks,
But I don't even
give a [Bleep].
We're going to run it anyways.
♪
Hopefully this puts us
over the top.
Damn it, you got to get
that thousand ounces.
♪
♪
[ Bleep ]
[ Bleep ]
NARRATOR:
Tony and Mike Beets.
Are at the end
of a long day back
at thistle creek hunting for
their missing dredge buckets.
NARRATOR: He's still 26 short,
and the dredge won't work
without a complete bucket line.
♪
NARRATOR: Tony was told they
would be.
On the bank opposite the dredge,
but he's searched every inch
of it and only found four.
That's kind of a [Bleep]
[Bleep] show, ain't it?
♪
♪
♪
Hey, guys.
How did it go?
♪
Not what we wanted.
No, not at all.
Yeah.
♪
♪
No more buckets?
Did you dig around?
There's no way around it?
Minnie: PROBABLY NEXT SPRING
WHEN WE GET THEM.
What do you want us to do?
NARRATOR: Tony's dredge is
on hold until they can cast.
A set
of replacement buckets.
He's failed to reach
his gold target,
failed to beat Parker,
and failed to finish
his second dredge.
MINNIE: Time to go home.
♪
♪
PARKER: We got Big Red running
right now,
and we got sluicifer
running right now
so we're pretty short
on people.
Everybody's doing everything
they can,
but I think a lot of guys are
close to their breaking point.
It's been a bit tough.
NARRATOR:
Ten degrees below freezing,
Parker and Tyson
are battling the cold
in a final push to get to
7,000 ounces before winter.
This is Parker's last year
mining Tony beets' land,
so any pay he leaves behind
will be there for Tony
to scoop up in the spring.
PARKER: THIS PAY IS STARTING
TO GET QUITE CHUNKY.
It's freezing up on us a bit.
Have to break up a lot
of these chunks,
but they usually
break up pretty good.
Oh, [Bleep]!
♪
[Bleep] There's no [Bleep]
dirt on the belt!
♪
♪
What's going on?
Got a jam in the hopper!
- I'll get the plant.
- I'll go grab a sledge.
♪
Just...
Oh, [Bleep].
We're ruined.
So the top of the pay starting
to freeze from how cold it is,
and there must be a chunk
in the feeder.
[Bleep]
That's not good, man.
No!
She's a slabby one.
Yep!
Well, we better hurry
because the plant is going
to freeze up if we don't.
♪
Big [Bleep] chunk of [Bleep]
in here!
NARRATOR: Parker and Tyson
attack the block.
Of frozen pay
from both ends.
We're lucky it didn't
cut our belt in half!
I haven't swung a hammer
in a long time.
♪
I was hoping that we could
just break it in half,
but it's quite solid.
♪
Oh, boy!
You better get in here
and swap me out.
Okay.
I'm running out of steam.
Take a breather.
Right there.
[Bleep]
♪
There you go!
Oh, yeah!
Yeah, buddy!
Think it'll go through now?
Give her a try.
So we'll click it up to the top
and then roll it off.
Sounds good.
Holy [Bleep], look at that!
Oh [Bleep]!
♪
[Bleep]
[Bleep]
♪
Plant is on fire!
♪
Holy [Bleep]!
Plant is on fire!
NARRATOR:
Parker shut down sluicifer.
To break up a chunk
of frozen pay dirt.
♪
But he left a tiger torch
heating the tailings conveyor,
and when everything stopped,
it set fire to the rubber belt.
We'll need another one!
Go get another one!
That's the only we got.
Should I turn on the water?
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
♪
No, no!
Oh [Bleep]! We're going to need
something else!
Okay, I'm going to turn
on the water!
♪
[ Coughing ]
♪
[Bleep] [Bleep]
Torch was right on that roller.
When it's turning with
water on it, it's fine, but...
It all happened so fast, man.
Did you get a look
at any damage?
Well, it's all rubber in there.
There's a lot of that
[Bleep], I'm sure.
We just need to make sure
it's out
and come back
in the morning and assess.
I mean, our 7,000 ounce goal
may have just gone up in flames,
but might be in the box.
Big red might get it.
Who knows?
But, honestly right
now I'm tired.
♪
NARRATOR: At first light, Parker
brings Dean and mechanic Mitch.
To Gauge the damage.
♪
Man, the belt is smoked.
Now it's got 4 inches of ice
on top of it.
Oh my [Bleep]!
Look at those spray marks.
- I think she's fried, Dean.
- DEAN: Pretty much.
PARKER: Fire and ice.
But we're not leaving
much behind, are we?
Man, that has to be
the biggest single cut
that we've ever done
in one shot.
How many yards you think
we moved this year?
Oh, [Bleep], probably 2.2,
2.3 million yards over.
That's a lot of dirt.
I must say, good job, guys.
Thank you.
Dean, that was a hell
of a challenge in here.
Yep.
NARRATOR: Parker has mined
Tony Beet' land.
Ever since he came
to the klondike.
Over the last 6 years,
he's dug up over $29 million
worth of gold,
but his time as
Tony's tenant is over.
Hopefully there was enough gold
in there
to get us to 7,000 ounces.
It's been a hell of a season.
♪
There's definitely a point
where you got to call it quits
and say enough is enough,
but we're not [Bleep] there yet.
I set a goal of 1,000 ounces.
NARRATOR: In a desperate bid to
hit his season goal,
Rick ness is running frozen pay
from the new cut his dad
just opened.
Yeah, there's big old frozen
chunks of pay dirt right there,
but at this point of the year,
we're running what we have left.
We're still not at our goal,
so I don't give a [Bleep].
We're still running.
Ben, do you like your pay Dirt
Crispy or Extra Crispy?
Extra crispy.
Extra
Crispy coming right up.
There you go,
one bucket of extra crispy.
Hey, do you think you can put
some bigger chunks in there?
I mean, they look pretty big.
MAN: Ah, well, we don't have
a lot of time...
This is the absolute end
of it right here.
NARRATOR: As temperatures
continue to fall,
the entire crew pushes on
into the night.
We can't shut down.
We got to get it
all through tonight
because at this point
we shut down, we're frozen out.
We're into the minuses.
Everything has got to keep
moving, even us.
♪
Rick, you got a copy?
Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
Looks like we're not feeding
right,
think you can give me a hand?
What the [Bleep] happened?
I'm guessing that chunky [Bleep]
Got stuck in there and froze up
and we're not feeding the plant.
[ Metallic screeching ]
NARRATOR: In the hopper,
frozen chunks of pay.
Have formed a solid mass.
This lump is pressing down
on the interior belt
and preventing any dirt
reaching the wash plant.
Man: Both belts on?
RICK: Yeah, we're just going
to have to see.
If we can get it
to break loose.
Okay, both belts coming hot.
Yep!
NARRATOR: Rick's high risk plan:
Run both conveyors in the hope
that they will dislodge
the blockage.
We just hit it full speed.
We'll know if it's going
to come loose.
Because if it ain't [Bleep]
freed up,
it's going to tear that belt,
and our season is done.
Ben, bump the [Bleep]!
[ Whirring, grinding ]
That don't sound good.
Oh, you're [Bleep] kidding me.
♪
♪
I'm hoping there ain't
too much weight on it.
I mean, we shut it out...
We shut it down as
practically a full hopper.
It ain't good for it.
NARRATOR: Rick is running
the last of his Frozen Pay Dirt.
In the hope of
hitting his 1,000 ounce,
$1.2 million season goal...
Ben, both belts now!
But his hopper feeder is
jammed with a massive ice ball.
Nothing!
Nothing.
[ Bleep ]
No way.
One more time!
There she goes!
There she goes!
Holy [Bleep] look at
those big [Bleep] chunks!
I think those were the two
that were really blocking it.
Keep it going.
Yep, let her go!
Let it go!
Yeah, it's [Bleep] clear now.
Whew!
NARRATOR: Now, Rick needs to run
every yard ofFfrozen Pay Dirt,
and he can't afford
another ice blockage.
♪
I'm doing my best to hammer up
some of these chunks.
If you can't get them
crushed up,
there's no use running them
through the plant.
Man, that dirt looks
so much better.
You know what, frozen dirt?
Too [Bleep] bad,
I'm going to smash you to
[Bleep], run you through
the wash plant anyway.
I'm beating up this dirt
like it owes me money.
Well, [Bleep], it does!
Woo!
Too dumb to quit.
♪
That pile keeps getting smaller.
♪
Hey, Ryan, how we
looking up there, buddy?
This is it, Rick.
This is the last bucket
of Pay Dirt for the year.
All right. Shove her on through,
and we'll shut it down.
Copy that.
♪
Man, it's almost surreal
going over there.
♪
This is always a special
moment of the season,
but none of the other ones
have ever matched this one.
This is the end of my season,
my first [Bleep] season.
Man, the fight is over, and we
fought it until the very end.
When I think back on how hard
we fought for everything
and just like that,
it's over.
It's over.
We're done.
What do you say, give that sun
a little bit to come up
and let's pull the mats.
And the gold that we're looking
for may
or may not be
in that little sluice box,
that's the [Bleep]
industry we're in man.
We don't know.
But I'm excited to find out.
All right.
You guys are the best.
Awesome.
Good deal.
♪
♪
PARKER:
IT'S GETTING PRETTY COLD OUT.
With sluicifer being down,
big red is the only thing
getting us any more gold.
It's been a real struggle
to get here,
but it feels good to finally
be mining our own ground
and not be paying royalties.
NARRATOR: Parker is pushing
big red to the limit,
sluicing royalty-free gold
on land that he owns.
Most miners have already
called it quits.
Parker needs to know this land
will pay out
if he's going to mine
it all next season.
Holy [Bleep], look at the plant!
What the [Bleep]?
What happened to night shift?
They had some jam-ups
last night,
and they said
that they tried everything
they could do
to keep running,
and I think
this is the end result.
I think it might be time
just to put her to bed.
There's still a bit of ground
in that cut,
and we need every ounce
we can get right now.
So there's a good possibility
you're going
to create
more damage and less work.
I mean the water
is still running.
Let's just try to start it.
All right.
♪
♪
See if it'll start!
♪
♪
Bump it again!
♪
Man, is it turning over?
I mean, it's powered up.
You can hear it drawing...
It's making some weird noises.
Hey we're going to end up
burning that motor out!
We're calling it a [Bleep]
season!
♪
NARRATOR:
WITH ONE WASH PLANT ICED UP.
And the other burned out,
Parker is done mining
for the year.
PARKER:
Is there any gold in here?
Yeah, there is, actually.
We didn't end things
on the terms we wanted,
but good job, guys.
NARRATOR: Next year, Parker is
betting the farm.
On the ground he's bought.
The gold in this sluice box
will be his first sign
of how next season will pan out.
It's basically testing
for our future.
Look at that!
Oh, that's a nice nugget!
This is my eighth year
running a mine site,
and this year was like
the last
7 all thrown into one,
just so much
[Bleep] Going on.
Luckily, everybody
stayed focused.
I'm the scatterbrain.
Come on!
Dozer!
♪
NARRATOR: Mining is over
at scribner creek.
Parker gathers his entire crew
to find out
if they've hit
his 7,000 ounce goal,
the highest he's ever set.
♪
So the last gold total
was 6,472.5 ounces,
which is better then we did
last year by about 200 ounces.
There's a lot of gold
there on the table.
But what means the most to me
is the smallest pan out here,
which is what big red
did down there
on the ground that we bought.
All right.
So big red produced 95 ounces.
Wow!
Cheers to that!
Woo!
Those 95 ounces came from like,
30 or 35 hours of sluicing.
When we started,
I said we needed
80 ounces for it to be good,
so I think that's
a damn good result.
Got to cheers to that, man!
It's our own ground
and I'm excited about it.
Me, too!
It's something that
when I came up here 6 years ago,
like, that was the dream.
NARRATOR: Big Red's gold brings
the total to 6,567 ounces,
but Parker is still more than
400 ounces short of his goal.
We've been running
for about 2 weeks.
Sluicifer produced 859.8 ounces.
NARRATOR:
Worth over $1 million...
Figure that out!
NARRATOR: The biggest cleanup
Parker's ever had.
Unreal!
Our season total, because
our goal is 7,000 ounces,
7,427.25 ounces.
[ Laughter, cheers ]
NARRATOR:
Despite the disastrous start,
Parker's crew has mined nearly
$9 million worth of gold,
a new record for "gold rush."
This season started out
as one of the worst seasons
we've ever had
and ended up the absolute best,
and every one of you guys
had something to do with that.
And I thank you all to that.
Cheers to that!
You got a smoking crew.
There's no doubt about that.
Next year, we're on our own
ground, play by our own rules.
And we are heading into
the unknown,
but the future is ours.
Cheers!
Thank you all!
♪
♪
Oh.
Oh, yeah!
About time, Rick!
NARRATOR:
Rick Ness has completed.
His rookie mining season...
Can you believe
it's been 6 months?
NARRATOR: BUT HE'S YET TO FIND
OUT IF HE'S HIT.
His 1,000 ounce,
$1.2 million goal.
So Karla, where did we end up
with on the last gold weigh?
We were at 973.
So we had 27 ounces to get.
Might be in that jar.
I think it's time to find out.
♪
That's 20.
- Looking good.
- Yeah!
There's our 27 ounces.
[ Cheering ]
Yeah!
There's another [Bleep]!
Whoa!
Yeah!
Whoa!
The final gold weighed
132.49 ounces.
[Bleep] Yeah!
NARRATOR:
Worth well over $150,000.
You know what that means?
We're over 1,100.
Nice.
Eleven oh five... blew by it!
NARRATOR: IN HIS FIRST YEAR
AS A MINE BOSS,
Rick ness has dug up over
$1.3 million in gold.
RICK: Are you glad
we stuck around now?
NARRATOR:
He's kept his word his crew.
They'll go home with money
for their families.
A father to a son, I am,
you know, so proud of you.
And I appreciate all you guys
sticking it out with this guy.
That is fricking amazing
to me, so...
Yeah, dad, I mean as far as,
you know,
the beginning of the year,
you know, I told these guys
that you said
I was going to go broke
and come home with no friends.
You know, in this case, kind of
throwing it in your face here.
Made it work and I got
all my friends!
[ Laughing ]
Thanks, dad.
I love you, man!
I love you too, man!
I guess I should stop
doubting you.
Yeah.
And I appreciate you guys,
you know, believing in me
because I couldn't had done it
without you guys, every one.
That being said,
I got something for you guys.
Got a little bucket here,
it's got 6 jars in it.
♪
And there's one of those here
for each of you guys.
♪
A little over 50 ounces
in every one of those jars.
NARRATOR:
THEIR FINAL 2-WEEK PUSH.
Allows Rick to hand out
over $360,000.
Thank you, guys!
NARRATOR: Each crew member will
go home.
With over $60,000 in gold.
MAN: Six months ago Rick,
We were sitting in Milwaukee,
and you pulled out
some of your gold,
and we showed it to my kids
and everything to see,
you know, what dad was going
to go up and try to chase.
I'm going to bring
that home to them.
They're going to be
the first people to see it.
This really helps, man.
Yeah, buddy.
Appreciate it.
You guys earned it.
I just want to point out
to you guys
that my first year up here
mining with Parker,
we stayed to the very bitter end
and we hit 1,029 ounces.
And us, no experience,
no nothing,
we [Bleep] beat that
by a mile.
Yeah, Rick!
[ Cheers and applause ]
NARRATOR: Six months after
arriving in the Klondike.
With four greenhorns
and no wash plant,
Rick ness has become the most
successful rookie mine boss
in "gold rush" history.
You guys are lunatics!
BIG RICK: The season, i mean,
you couldn't put more on..
Somebody's plate, and he has
come out successful.
It's one of the greatest ends
to one of the worst
years of my life.
My mom's death
has been really tough.
I had to put that out of my mind
to make this work this summer.
I love my mom, and I miss her,
and I know she'd be proud
so I'm happy with that.
♪
♪
I have one big regret
this season and that is, like,
Mitch getting hurt.
Hey, man.
What's up, buddy?
Here's the X-ray.
Oh, my [Bleep]!
NARRATOR: Parker crashed his
jet boat mid-season.
And broke Mitch's arm
in two places.
Parker: The stuff going through
my head.
Was you with a stump being,
"Parker, this is
all your fault!"
And me knowing that's true,
and it really
brought home to me,
like how close everything
is to like life and death.
Like, we both could
have died in that
[Bleep] Easy!
Oh, yeah, we weren't
planning on crashing!
It just happened.
I appreciate everything you did
to help, like, get it fixed.
You're welcome.
♪
PARKER: There it is.
It's a little bittersweet
having this
kind of
a record-breaking season
but also record-breaking
royalty payments.
NARRATOR: Parker may have mined.
Close to $9 million
worth of gold,
but even after
millions in expenses,
he still has
one final, massive bill.
We're paying more royalties
this season
than we found
our first season up here.
Don't spill it!
Ah, my table is leaning.
Thanks, Chris.
I'm here to help you, Parker.
NARRATOR: Each 100-ounce bar
is worth $120,000.
Oh, jeez!
PARKER:
I'll sit home alone at night.
And cry and clean gold bars.
Gold bars, yeah.
What a horrible thing
for you to do.
Sit home alone on
a Friday night
polishing your bars, huh?
And crying!
Don't forget the crying.
♪
Before I leave the Yukon
this fall,
I've got one big piece of
unfinished business with Tony.
We've had our ups,
and we've had our downs,
but Tony has never tried
to rip me off
in any way that wasn't
in a contract
right in front of you.
At the age I was, coming up here
looking for a piece of ground,
most people would have
laughed me out of the room.
NARRATOR: Parker was just 17.
When Tony first welcomed him
to the klondike.
Good to meet you.
NARRATOR: Tony offered to lease
him good ground.
This could be mine.
It scares me, but if I want
to play with the big boys,
I've got to get up here
where the big boys play.
NARRATOR: And in six seasons
playing with the big boys,
Parker has mined
25,000 ounces of gold,
worth over $29 million.
We're probably one of the top
three or four producers
in the Yukon.
That wouldn't have happened
without Tony's support.
NARRATOR: The deal has worked
out well for Tony, too.
So far, Parker has paid him
$4 million in royalties.
How's it going?
Not too bad.
So how's your season gone?
He had just under 4,400 ounces
so did about 700
more than last year.
Yeah, it's been good.
Yeah, we ended up having
a pretty nice piece
of ground up there.
Our season ended here
just shy of 7,300 ounces.
Good for you!
Good for all of us.
That's why I brought
you guys something.
♪
No wonder he was crooked
when he walked in.
NARRATOR: This final payment
means that over the 6 years.
He's mined in the klondike,
Parker has given Tony
over $5.2 million in royalties.
PARKER:
There it is, 1,000 ounces.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: This payment also
marks the end of an era.
Yeah. We're going to that
piece of ground
that we bought here
next to you.
I'm genuinely nervous
about going over there.
It's a bit scary.
I hope we can all get
along down here.
You got to play nice.
Be a good neighbor.
We've had our ups and downs
over the last 6 years,
but I just wanted to thank
you for the opportunity.
There's nobody in the Yukon
that would have given me
the opportunity.
I'm happy for you.
Well, have a good winter.
Don't spend it all in one place.
Last time [Bleep] doing that.
I'm free!
♪
NARRATOR: UP NEXT,
unseen footage
and explosive revelations.
I made a lot of mistakes
this year.
Go home!
We knew Jack [Bleep]
About gold mining.
PARKER: THE PROBLEM THAT I've
GOT WITH Tony IS,
he isn't honest.
Sucks to be you.
Oh, you wanted to get away
from Tony beets?
There you go.
Parker and i's friendship has
always been a little volatile.
I brought you a check.
It's not what I expected.
I'm the bad guy for
giving somebody $50,000.
MAN: Parker believed they were close friends.
I just don't think Rick felt
the same way.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.