Gold Rush: Parker's Trail (2017–2019): Season 5, Episode 2 - Double the Trommel - full transcript
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
On this episode
of Parker's Trail.
We're trying to
expand into Alaska.
It's good timing
to make this trip.
New Zealand's awesome,
so I'm looking forward
to actually, like,
digging into the country
and checking it out.
Checking out the mining
that's going on.
Check out the gold
they're finding.
It looks like you got
a bit of ground here.
- That's really nice.
- Yeah.
I really like this plant.
There is some gold in there.
Yup.
That is wicked.
They're mining
super-efficient.
They're all getting
*bleep* rich.
Oh, yeah.
That's awesome. Look at that.
Awesome.
Hope this is the right way.
Tyler,
this is not a road.
Yeah.
This is an old dirt track.
Parker Schnabel
and his crew,
Danny Etheridge, Tyler Mahoney
and new recruit,
wash plant engineer,
Jeff Turnell
are on the search for a plant
in the home
of mining innovation,
New Zealand.
To get it back to the States
in time for the season,
Parker has just seven weeks
to find a needle
in a haystack.
So,
this is a shortcut.
Who's there?
He's a local miner
and he's got
a wash plant for sale.
The team begin
their search
on the south island's
gold rich west coast.
For their first stop,
they're heading
204 miles south
to a claim near
the historic mining town
of Hokitika.
So, Iain has given me
a pin for his location.
I think we're gonna
have to pass through
some old tunnels to get there.
Like, train tunnels?
No, like, tunnels
from the old gold miners.
Guys.
- This is clearly the wrong way.
- Yeah.
- Relax... Guys.
- What do you mean relax?
Parker just tasked me
with finding the contacts.
But yeah, it's proven
hard in New Zealand,
people are secretive,
you know.
It's the gold game.
Everyone likes to keep
their cards close to them.
I also did not have much time
to set this trip up.
It was very rushed.
Left or right?
Go straight through there.
- Straight through here.
- Yeah.
Oh, my *bleep*
That's it, there.
Oh, my *bleep*
We're going in there?
Wait, wait! Hang on a minute.
Whoa, whoa. Jeff, Jeff.
Stop!
It's like a *bleep* river.
*bleep* It looks deep
on this right hand side.
We should check it.
Tyler has boots on.
Go on, Ty.
Holy *bleep*
- I don't know.
- It's dark on the right there.
So, what's
the conclusion?
We're actually
going through that?
I think so.
And just stay to the left, yeah.
Okay, we're gonna
get stuck in here.
Okay, okay, okay.
You need to be the one
that's confident, Jeff.
All right. Are we ready?
- No.
- Stay left, Jeff.
Holy *bleep*
That's too deep.
Oh, my *bleep* Oh, my!
Shh... Oh.
Oh, my *bleep*
This is like Indiana Jones.
- Wow!
- That is cool.
So, this is all
handmade, right?
Yeah.
By the old timers in 1870s.
Built in 1878,
miners hand dug the tunnels
to divert the original creek
and expose gold-rich ground.
This area has produced
750,000 ounces of gold,
worth today
over a billion dollars.
Oh, yeah!
Good idea, Jeff.
Yeah.
Look at the layers.
Yeah.
See, that would be like a,
it looks like a sand layer.
Look at that.
This is like,
the prettiest place
I've ever seen.
Yeah. Yeah.
I'm just waiting
for the dinosaurs.
I feel like
I'm in Jurassic Park.
Oh, we have to go up there.
- Oh, absolutely not.
- What?
That's *bleep* steep.
Like, I can't even stop, like,
once we set spinning
out on this.
I believe in you, Jeff.
Ban the hatches, Dan.
Easy, boy.
- Wow!
- Oh, my *bleep*
*bleep*
Nearly, eh?
Oh, so close.
- Very close.
- We're definitely in a hole now.
- Where's the winch control.
- I don't know. I'm trying to find it.
I reckon
it's in that back drawer.
Is it in there?
No, this is a tool box.
Do you need help?
Ah, *bleep* Tyler.
This is why you
always test your equipment
before you go.
He's right.
The only other place
we haven't looked
is in that little
side compartment on this side.
Let's try that.
Here we go.
There it is!
Yeah! Come on!
Hey, this literally feels
like Jurassic Park now.
Get ready to fire up.
Oh, yeah! Go on!
Get it!
Go on!
- Come on!
- Get it!
Go, Jeff!
Oh, yes!
- Woo-hoo!
- Get in there.
Nice!
Well done, Jeff.
That was awesome.
Some shortcut.
There's probably
about another eight of these.
Maybe we should keep
this somewhere we know
where it is now.
Yeah, I would.
Woo!
After a four
and a half hour journey,
the team finally
hit the gold fields
of Hokitika.
So, the guy who
we're about to see,
Iain Whyte.
He has lots of cool technology
here that is concentrating
on finding fine gold.
And separating it
from the blacks
and it refines.
He hasn't told me a lot,
to be honest.
But from what I can gather
he knows what he's doing.
Good stuff.
Founded
on gold mining in 1864,
Hokitika was at the heart
of the west coast gold rush.
By 1866,
it was one of New Zealand's
most populous areas.
And home to some
of the country's
most successful gold fields.
In total,
the west coast has produced
almost nine million ounces
in gold.
Beautiful place
to work.
- Oh, there he is.
- Oh.
Now,
almost an 160 years later,
miners like Iain Whyte...
How's it going?
...are still
finding the gold
with state-of-the-art
equipment.
It looks like you got
a bit of ground here.
Right.
But yeah, thanks for agreeing
to meet with us.
- Yeah.
- We're looking at buying a wash plant.
Yeah.
Yeah, that'd be great.
With over
45 years' experience
spanning three continents,
Iain is one of the most
successful miners
in New Zealand.
They're big.
He's been
working this 44 acre plain
since 2019.
Yeah,
that'd be great.
How long
have you been in this spot?
The ground here
from what I know,
it's fairly similar in Alaska.
In that, like,
the ground that's left,
- a lot of it is deeper ground.
- Yeah.
And then you'll take
probably not even
anytime soon,
but you'll take a strip off
that whole side then, huh?
Right.
- Right. Should we go check out the plant?
- Yeah.
Right.
- 'Cause these have hydraulics on them, huh?
- Yeah.
Iain is offering up
a pair of five-foot trommels
that runs side-by-side
and can churn through
a 160 yards of gold rich pay
per hour.
And have a price tag
of $200,000.
So, why run two plants
side-by-side
instead of one big one?
Right.
Right.
A saving
of 30 minutes
every 12 hours,
could amount to extra
$500,000 a season
for Parker in Alaska.
All right.
Well, mind if I have a go?
Sweet.
And what kind of, like,
a bucket per minute or?
Okay.
All right.
First bucket.
This is
a cool operation.
Minds like Iain's are why
I came to New Zealand.
Cheating?
Really glad that Iain let us
come here because
this is a cool operation.
In the gold fields
of Hokitika, New Zealand,
Parker is testing out
a double trommel setup.
We're definitely gonna be able
to get some really
good ideas here.
I think that all
New Zealanders that are miners
really put a lot of effort
into thinking about
what they're doing
and why they're doing it.
And Iain's obviously
a thinker.
Um, yeah. I mean,
this seems like
a pretty good setup,
But running two small plants,
isn't something
I'd really consider
for my current operation.
I get the reasoning behind it.
Having two smaller plants,
it's really no different
than having one big plant.
Except...
the odds of having both plants
break down are pretty slim,
so you'll always be
able to keep running. Right?
It's definitely making me
think about
the two wash plant things.
And the yardage
for these two plants
is about the kind of yardage
that we're aiming for,
so the yardage works.
Parker needs to run
at least 150 yards an hour
at his Alaska operation.
If he can maintain that pace
or beat it,
he could mine out the claim
and bank the $11 million
estimated to be in the ground.
They're very short
loose boxes, Jeff.
Yes, they are.
The only way you can do that
is by having
hydraulic riffles.
- So, if you reach in here...
- Yeah.
And you can feel that
the material is loose?
Oh, yeah.
So, now come down
to the Hungarian riffles.
Feel, it's harder.
So, that's the difference
between Hungarian
and hydraulic riffle.
In Hungarian riffles,
the iron angles in the sluice
create a swirling vortex
that agitates the dirt
and catches the heavier gold.
Whereas, hydraulic riffles
stir the material
with water injection.
On this
particular plant,
80 percent
of its recovery is here.
And additional
ten percent here.
Anywhere from
four to six months,
he'll clean the end.
And he's cleaning up here
every day or two,
depending on how much
material he's running
and how long he's running.
That's key because,
you know, over the course
of a mining season,
you know, that's down time.
And it's key to have the most
you put through your plants
in a mining season.
Hydraulic riffles
also allows
for shorter sluice runs
which could mean
faster cleanups.
Perfect for Parker's
Alaska operation.
Oh, it's really good seeing
a miner like Iain,
you know, he's really
just shaving seconds
off of each hour.
And at the end of the year
that adds up to be
a lot of time.
Having Jeff
here is great.
It kinda takes
the pressure off my back
'cause wash plants
aren't my thing.
The fact he's here
and he's all over
that side of things,
it's one less thing
that I have to worry about.
So now I can concentrate
on finding new contacts.
Hey, how are you?
Yeah, I'm good. Good.
Thank you for getting
back to me.
I was just hoping that maybe
you wouldn't mind
if we headed up to your site
and put some
wash plants and...
Hello?
H... Hello?
Yes, sorry.
I can just hear you.
You're just breaking up
a little bit.
Yeah, I don't think tailings
for these plants
would be a full time job.
Tyler's doing
tailings right now.
But it's probably
something where
the loader operator
also helping
get the material close enough
to the plants more.
Sweet. Okay, thank you.
Oh *bleep*
Oh
*bleep* that was
so stupid.
Parker has 100 percent
noticed that.
Hurry up, Tyler.
I've got a box walk free.
Yeah. Roger.
That's like, number one rule
when you're in the loaders,
don't let the *bleep* tailings
back up.
I hope Iain hasn't seen that.
But the phone call
was actually a positive.
I've been trying to get a hold
of Ben for literally days now.
Ben's got a wash plant
for sale.
That's a positive
if I can make it happen.
How're you going, up there?
Yeah, just peachy.
I figured
if it was really bad,
somebody would have
said something.
Yeah, fair enough.
What are your
thoughts on the two
wash plants?
I don't know.
Lot of moving parts.
I think probably
the only thing
I really don't like
about this is the...
the feed.
Feeding two plants,
you pretty much have to
excavator feed them.
Excavator feeding
makes things easy.
But I just... I like to take
the human element
out of the consistency
of the feed to a plant.
And our big line of
conveyors and feeders do that.
You can conveyor feed
into two separate plants,
but it takes this
big splitter bin
to split the material from
one conveyor belt going in
into two separate feeds
and the two separate plants.
I've never seen
one of those work,
like I've seen them not work.
Hey, Danny.
I'm noticing, there's another
plant being fed.
Oh, yeah.
Across the claim,
Jeff and Danny
find the real reason
Iain is selling
his double trommel.
That one looks fresh.
I'm liking
what I'm seeing here.
- Oh, nice!
- Yeah!
She's beautiful. Brand new.
It's got a base hopper.
Six-foot trommel. Check.
And this is
pretty unique here.
It's got a bit of a primary
catch tray
that can lower down
with hydraulics here.
I'd like to see what this
looks like once it shuts down.
And I can see
hydraulic riffle,
so this is what
we're looking for.
Right here.
We should
go find Parker.
Iain's just
turned off the pump.
Parker's about to park up.
I think we're wrapping up
for the day.
Is there
any gold in it?
Your plant operator
is probably throwing
all the gold away.
Yeah.
I'm totally with you
on hydraulics. I love 'em.
Parker is used to using
Hungarian riffles.
And on this plant,
there's hydraulic riffles
and that's something I'd like
to kind of move him towards.
I know it's gonna
take a little convincing.
But if it's ran properly
and it's done properly,
it can be a big time saver
for cleanups sort of season.
Um, that is just
finicky, you know.
Like, too much water pressure
blows everything out of 'em.
Not enough, they're packing up
super tight.
Myself and Jeff were having
a little look round.
We spotted a nice
kinda new looking
six-foot trommel.
Yeah. Parker,
it's wicked, I really like it.
I think there's gonna be some
good stuff on here
for you to see.
Mind if I
check it out?
Let's get over there.
It's quiet.
- Really quiet.
- Yeah.
Iain's compact
six-foot super trommel
can run 235 yards
of dirt per hour
and is custom built
for fine gold recovery.
A one of a kind
hydraulic powered
catch tray drops down.
Allowing for up to 70 percent
of Iain's gold to be
cleaned up
in a quick
ten minute shutdown.
An innovation,
which can save Parker days
in downtime across the season.
- That's really nice. I really like this plan.
- Yeah.
He likes it.
- That's really nice. I really like this plan.
- Yeah.
He likes it.
So does Jeff.
But
Iain Whyte's claim.
Parker is decoding Iain's new,
six foot super trommel.
- Again, this is the primary path trail.
- Yeah.
No, I don't wanna shut
your plant down.
We shut her down,
so we can take a look
in the primary.
The primary catch tray is,
it's a small sluice run
underneath the belly
of the trommel
and Iain's catching around
70 percent
of his gold in that.
So, he does a quick cleanup
of that each day.
- There's some gold in there.
- Yup.
- Nice system, innit?
- Oh, yeah!
Super easy cleanup.
Oh, yeah.
That is awesome, look at that.
That is wicked.
So quick!
That was on, like, 15 minutes
and we probably
slowed you down.
Catch tray cleanups
on Iain's new Super Trommel
can be performed by one person
in ten minutes,
whereas cleanups on
Parker's Slucifer Plant
can take at least three crew
members over an hour.
What's, uh, what're your
thoughts here, like?
It's going through
a hydraulic riffle,
something you would
think about?
Yeah, I think the only change
I'd want, is expand the metal.
For his entire
mining career,
Parker has preferred to use
long sluice runs
with a combination
of Hungarian riffles
and expanded metal
giving him more areas
to catch gold.
In contrast,
the Kiwi miner's
secret to success
is short sluice runs
with hydraulic riffles.
These short little
runs that these guys
use are just,
I'm not used to it.
- They're very short.
- We usually have like,
three different
types of riffles.
I mean, you could
convert this one
to have a longer...
- ...runs. And a lot of variation.
- Yeah.
This could work
for you up north.
Yeah.
It's a nice plan.
Yeah, simple.
I think we should
get out of here,
they're talking price here.
- Is he asking him now?
- All right. Bye, bye.
This trip
could be over.
A nice setup.
- That's definitely a very quick cleanup.
- Yeah.
Would you change anything?
Um...
You wanna sell me your plant?
So, Parker's
asking for a price.
He's asking him
right now and I mean,
in all honesty,
if the price is right
and shipping was to work out,
he could have this
plant for the beginning
of the season, no problem.
What's something like that
worth, Jeff?
- I've gotta say it's probably around six, seven.
- Right.
At $700,000,
it would be within Parker's
$1,000,000 budget.
So, I guess
it's all gonna
come down to uh--
Yeah, the big dollar!
All right.
What do you reckon?
Um...
I mean, he had that twinkle
in his eye when I asked him
if he'd sell it.
Of like...
probably could.
But...
it's his baby.
- And it's pretty new.
- Like, he's just not gonna do it.
We started talking money
a little bit,
but by the time I pry it
out of his hands,
cut it up and get it
in containers,
ship it to Burbank's
and put it back together,
a million dollars would be
long, long gone.
Yeah.
This sets a very high standard
for what we're looking for.
I like those words.
I like those words.
The pressure's on,
but I like 'em.
Well, thank you for showing
us around and sharing all your
tricks and wisdom.
- Really appreciated.
- Thanks, buddy.
That new trommel
that he's got
is very close to perfect.
I wish he would've sold it.
But Iain obviously
runs a very good mine site,
that is super well-organized
and I'm coming away from here
with a lot of good ideas.
I thought you were
gonna buy a wash plant
at one point.
Yeah, so did I!
True.
For a minute there.
Would've been nice
to have gotten it.
- An early win.
- Mmm.
Yeah.
You know how quiet
that thing was?
- So quiet.
- It was very quiet.
I mean, since he
wouldn't sell that thing,
it makes me think, okay,
what we could change.
- Mmm-hmm.
- The only major thing is,
hydraulics, they're
super finicky.
I do like having longer
sluice runs
that have a bunch of different
variations in them.
With a few little changes,
that plant would have been
super usable for us.
- Good.
- It was a very nice trommel.
We have to go see someone
who actually has a wash plant
for sale tomorrow
which is really exciting.
- Let's call it a night. I'm shattered.
- Bed.
- Yeah.
- Night, guys.
Nighty night.
- This is beautiful.
- It is. It's gorgeous.
Oh, my *bleep*
Look at that.
After striking out
at Iain Whyte's claim,
Parker's search
for the perfect
wash plant continues.
I did really like
that trommel at Iain's.
It's good, though.
Good feeling
for moving forwards.
- Mmm.
- Right?
Yeah, we are in
the right spot, on the trail.
So, we're going
to see a guy called
Ben Ferguson.
Who's that?
He's a local miner and farmer
and he's got
a wash plant for sale.
Parker and his team
travel 62 miles north
to Ben Ferguson's farm
in the heart of New Zealand's
agricultural district
to tour a flat.
- What kind of plant?
- Um, I don't actually know a lot about it.
But, you wanted to see
the wash plants
that were for sale
in the area.
We are on the west coast,
this one's for sale.
So, I thought
while we're in the area
we might as well
pop by and see it.
- Ben.
- Hi, guys.
Hello, mate. How are you?
- How you doing?
- I'm good, buddy.
- It's all right. Here we go. How you do?
- Good, good to see you.
Nice to meet you, Ben.
It's Jeff.
- Hi, Jeff. How are you?
- Hi, Ben.
- How are you doing, mate?
- Oh, I've been good. I've been good.
- You guys?
- Good.
- Hi, lovely.
- Who's that? Are you shy? You wanna say hello?
There he is.
Ben Ferguson is a sheep
and cattle farmer
who prospects his 415 acres
of land for gold
on his days off.
Hear you got
a wash plant for sale, eh?
Everything's for sale for the right price, so.
So, this is the gold screen.
So, this actually
was a cross section plant
but I'm gonna get something
that can wash gravel
and might as well
- do the whole lot, you know?
- Yeah.
All those tables,
they just fold up.
- There's hand winches.
- Gotcha.
Ben's
15-year-old plant
chugs through 30 yards
of gold rich pay an hour.
Its fold-up sluices make
it quick to move.
At $50,000,
it's way under Parker's
$1,000,000 budget.
I'm guessing we're not
buying this.
- Why would say that?
- Um, just a hunch.
I mean, we're here.
We may as well see it run.
We could go
resurrect that thing.
I'll go get some tools.
You get started?
- Do you like that truck? It's for sale, too.
- I like that, yeah.
- Is it?
- Yeah, you can... Two for one.
Yeah, why not?
Okay, coming down.
Yeah, she'd be good.
Some water.
What do you think?
- Yeah, some water, eh?
- See what happens.
Moment of truth.
Here she comes.
- Yeah! Hah!
- Holy *bleep*
- We got a hole.
- Yeah, it's just a little one.
Shut her down.
There's a couple of holes.
Holy moly.
- There is leakage.
- Leaking everywhere.
Um, gaffer tape?
I mean, even if you got
this for free,
you'd have to get it
to Alaska.
I mean, not to *bleep*
on someone's wash plant,
but it's just not what
we're looking for.
Jeff, so...
I mean, is there anything that
you can see for us to
not waste our time?
Why don't we see
if we can, uh,
do a bit of a riffle test?
We can disconnect
one of the hydraulic riffles
on one of the sides
and run one side
with hydraulics
and the other side
with Hungarian
and maybe we can
prove to Parker that
hydraulic riffles
work a lot better.
That's a great idea.
There's been a lot of chat
about yay or nay
to hydraulic riffles.
Yeah, he's not convinced,
but if I can sell him on this,
then I can sell him on
hydraulic riffles.
That would be,
uh, pretty cool.
Mate, let's, um I think
we should put that up the...
up the, what's the word?
The what up there?
You know when you put the idea
up there to the boss.
Oh, um...
What is that?
I'm just trying to think
of that, too.
Let's put it to the boss.
So...
feel like if this is gonna be
a waste of a day or not?
Well, to make it not
a complete waste of the day,
- Parker...
- Mmm-hmm.
what about we do a bit
of a test
and we run one side
with hydraulics and one side,
just the standard
Hungarian style
to prove that
hydraulic riffles
work a lot better?
That's not a bad idea.
Jeff's plan.
Swap out one side with hydraulic riffles
and to do a test to see
which one is better.
And this wash plant
is probably not worth
shipping over to North America
from here.
But, Jeff had a good idea,
it is worth
testing out these
hydraulic riffles.
For me, they've always been
a bit finicky.
They plug up, but everybody in
New Zealand's using them
and so,
it's a kind of a good chance
for us to
just try 'em out.
Did you find some lead shot
or something?
- Lead shot?
- Yeah.
So, Ben, we were
just wondering,
I'm guessing that your plant
might not be like,
mega gold rich.
- No.
- Jeff was just suggesting,
- maybe if we could get some lead shot?
- Yeah.
- to run through it, so we run a bit of a test.
- Sure.
- Is that cool?
- That's good, man. Yeah, I could get some.
This is something
that we do quite often
to try and test plants.
And we do choose lead pallets.
Lead is cheap
and significantly heavier
than black sand and gravel
making it the ideal substitute
for gold
when running tests.
- Any ideas where we'd get it from?
- Uh...
hardware store
or anything like that.
- We could go get the lead pallets.
- Okay.
So, should we put like
a wager on which side's
gonna work better?
You have that side.
I'm gonna be on this side.
My bet that we get
the lead shot in,
within these first
two riffles on this side.
The winner will be
determined by who
has the most lead
at the top of the sluice box.
- So, you gonna fix this hose?
- Yeah.
Ahh!
It is coming
down now.
Yeah, it is.
Danny and Tyler
arrive in Reefton
in search of lead shot
for the riffles test.
What the *bleep*
What the *bleep* is that!
It's a flood or something?
Earthquake?
- Hello!
- Hi, guys.
We're a little bit
worried about
the air raid sirens going off.
No,
that's not an air raid,
that's a fire alarm.
- Bit eerie, isn't it?
- It is, it is quite an eerie sound.
You're probably gonna
be able to help us,
I'm after some,
like, lead pellets
or something like that.
Sure, I think we might have
something out--
So, you got a couple
of bits of people to go out
prospecting and--
Yes, yes we have.
Look at that!
- Dan, that'll work perfect.
- Boom!
- I'm happy with that.
- Winner!
- Oh, wow! Should we get a coffee?
- Yeah.
Coffee it is.
At part time
gold miner,
Ben Ferguson's farm,
Jeff is setting up
a comparison
test between hydraulic
and Hungarian riffles.
Maybe we can prove
to Parker that hydraulic
riffles work a lot better.
If I can sell him on this,
then I can sell him on
hydraulic riffles.
Oh, look at that!
That's good.
Oh they don't look too wet.
- Okay.
- Oh, no, Jeff does look wet, look he's drenched.
- Oh, my *bleep*
- He's drenched.
Did you find something?
- We managed just.
- Mate, did we?
- You wanna check it out?
- Yeah.
- Wow!
- You got a milk container.
With lead shot!
So, can we pound some
of this out 'cause
it's a lot of round gold.
Why do we need to pound it?
- 'Cause gold's not round, Dan.
- Gold's not round.
Parker, I'll let you count
them out.
I'm gonna do
groups of five.
I bet you we'd dig
some lead up
out of the ground, too.
Is that
the old timers?
So, what used to happen,
the old fellas away
for a flood
and then, they'd get
the lead shot
and they'd literally
toss it in the river.
And then they go pan,
once the water go down
pan it into a river bag
until they found
the lead shot.
When the found the lead shot,
that's obviously where
the flood goes
and they start digging down.
- Ahh!
- No way!
Yeah, I have not
mined anywhere,
I have not found lead.
Here, Tyler.
You can keep these.
That's what
we're gonna use.
So, what's the plan, team?
So, the test
that we're doing,
on the right hand side of
the sluice run, we're gonna be
running Hungarian riffles
and on the left hand side,
we're gonna be running
the hydraulic riffles.
We're gonna
put some on one side
and some on the other?
Yeah, exactly.
More sluice in.
How many pieces have
you got each?
- I have 20.
- I've got 20.
- Okay.
- Let's go.
Do it!
So now, he's gonna run
for a little while
and make sure
they stay in there.
Giving a chance for the lad
to sink down
and see how far down
it makes it down each side.
I'm hoping that
the hydraulic riffles,
the lead shot makes it into
the first or second riffle.
And on this side,
it travels down
a little bit further.
After ten minutes,
the crew shut down.
Cleanup time!
The crew pan
each riffle separately
to determine exactly where
each piece of lead was caught.
- Anything, Jeff?
- Yeah, I got, I got two.
Gonna put 'em over here.
I've got four.
Any more, Ty?
Not quite yet.
If Jeff can prove
that Kiwi-preferred
hydraulic riffles are better,
it'll open up more options
for potential plants
for Parker.
So, Jeff,
you've got the last pan, mate.
Yeah, these came out
of the fourth riffle here.
So, this one loses,
doesn't it?
'Cause they all come
too far down.
Well, it caught them all, but,
the hydraulic riffles side
caught 'em within
the first four.
I'm gonna call this a win.
So, does this prove
Jeff's theory on hydraulics
are better?
Seems to.
I think that was
a hard proud out
yes there, I think.
They're just finicky, you know?
Keeping 'em clean, you're just
like, every time you do a big cleanup,
you tip 'em all upside down.
It's like an oil change,
you just gotta...
- do it, yeah.
- Just gotta do it.
Being able to do
a hydraulic
versus Hungarian riffle test,
turned out awesome
and I'm feeling pretty
confident that Parker's
on board a little bit.
I'm used to running big
sluice boxes that have
a bunch of variations in them,
but if you can recover
the same amount of gold
in a shorter sluice box
or a narrower sluice box then,
it's worth looking
into hydraulic riffles, right?
So, um, I don't quite
think that we'll
be interested in buying
and shipping this to Alaska.
Couldn't imagine why,
but sure.
Thanks for having us though, Ben.
This has been good.
That's all right, guys.
I, of course,
am not interested
in that wash plant, like,
not only is it old and small,
but you just can't
move something like that
to Alaska.
I'm just happy
that we're still
getting access and people
are being super friendly
and open and um,
and having those
conversations with us.
So, yeah, overall,
it's a win still.
On to the next place.
- Yup.
- On to the next.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
On this episode
of Parker's Trail.
We're trying to
expand into Alaska.
It's good timing
to make this trip.
New Zealand's awesome,
so I'm looking forward
to actually, like,
digging into the country
and checking it out.
Checking out the mining
that's going on.
Check out the gold
they're finding.
It looks like you got
a bit of ground here.
- That's really nice.
- Yeah.
I really like this plant.
There is some gold in there.
Yup.
That is wicked.
They're mining
super-efficient.
They're all getting
*bleep* rich.
Oh, yeah.
That's awesome. Look at that.
Awesome.
Hope this is the right way.
Tyler,
this is not a road.
Yeah.
This is an old dirt track.
Parker Schnabel
and his crew,
Danny Etheridge, Tyler Mahoney
and new recruit,
wash plant engineer,
Jeff Turnell
are on the search for a plant
in the home
of mining innovation,
New Zealand.
To get it back to the States
in time for the season,
Parker has just seven weeks
to find a needle
in a haystack.
So,
this is a shortcut.
Who's there?
He's a local miner
and he's got
a wash plant for sale.
The team begin
their search
on the south island's
gold rich west coast.
For their first stop,
they're heading
204 miles south
to a claim near
the historic mining town
of Hokitika.
So, Iain has given me
a pin for his location.
I think we're gonna
have to pass through
some old tunnels to get there.
Like, train tunnels?
No, like, tunnels
from the old gold miners.
Guys.
- This is clearly the wrong way.
- Yeah.
- Relax... Guys.
- What do you mean relax?
Parker just tasked me
with finding the contacts.
But yeah, it's proven
hard in New Zealand,
people are secretive,
you know.
It's the gold game.
Everyone likes to keep
their cards close to them.
I also did not have much time
to set this trip up.
It was very rushed.
Left or right?
Go straight through there.
- Straight through here.
- Yeah.
Oh, my *bleep*
That's it, there.
Oh, my *bleep*
We're going in there?
Wait, wait! Hang on a minute.
Whoa, whoa. Jeff, Jeff.
Stop!
It's like a *bleep* river.
*bleep* It looks deep
on this right hand side.
We should check it.
Tyler has boots on.
Go on, Ty.
Holy *bleep*
- I don't know.
- It's dark on the right there.
So, what's
the conclusion?
We're actually
going through that?
I think so.
And just stay to the left, yeah.
Okay, we're gonna
get stuck in here.
Okay, okay, okay.
You need to be the one
that's confident, Jeff.
All right. Are we ready?
- No.
- Stay left, Jeff.
Holy *bleep*
That's too deep.
Oh, my *bleep* Oh, my!
Shh... Oh.
Oh, my *bleep*
This is like Indiana Jones.
- Wow!
- That is cool.
So, this is all
handmade, right?
Yeah.
By the old timers in 1870s.
Built in 1878,
miners hand dug the tunnels
to divert the original creek
and expose gold-rich ground.
This area has produced
750,000 ounces of gold,
worth today
over a billion dollars.
Oh, yeah!
Good idea, Jeff.
Yeah.
Look at the layers.
Yeah.
See, that would be like a,
it looks like a sand layer.
Look at that.
This is like,
the prettiest place
I've ever seen.
Yeah. Yeah.
I'm just waiting
for the dinosaurs.
I feel like
I'm in Jurassic Park.
Oh, we have to go up there.
- Oh, absolutely not.
- What?
That's *bleep* steep.
Like, I can't even stop, like,
once we set spinning
out on this.
I believe in you, Jeff.
Ban the hatches, Dan.
Easy, boy.
- Wow!
- Oh, my *bleep*
*bleep*
Nearly, eh?
Oh, so close.
- Very close.
- We're definitely in a hole now.
- Where's the winch control.
- I don't know. I'm trying to find it.
I reckon
it's in that back drawer.
Is it in there?
No, this is a tool box.
Do you need help?
Ah, *bleep* Tyler.
This is why you
always test your equipment
before you go.
He's right.
The only other place
we haven't looked
is in that little
side compartment on this side.
Let's try that.
Here we go.
There it is!
Yeah! Come on!
Hey, this literally feels
like Jurassic Park now.
Get ready to fire up.
Oh, yeah! Go on!
Get it!
Go on!
- Come on!
- Get it!
Go, Jeff!
Oh, yes!
- Woo-hoo!
- Get in there.
Nice!
Well done, Jeff.
That was awesome.
Some shortcut.
There's probably
about another eight of these.
Maybe we should keep
this somewhere we know
where it is now.
Yeah, I would.
Woo!
After a four
and a half hour journey,
the team finally
hit the gold fields
of Hokitika.
So, the guy who
we're about to see,
Iain Whyte.
He has lots of cool technology
here that is concentrating
on finding fine gold.
And separating it
from the blacks
and it refines.
He hasn't told me a lot,
to be honest.
But from what I can gather
he knows what he's doing.
Good stuff.
Founded
on gold mining in 1864,
Hokitika was at the heart
of the west coast gold rush.
By 1866,
it was one of New Zealand's
most populous areas.
And home to some
of the country's
most successful gold fields.
In total,
the west coast has produced
almost nine million ounces
in gold.
Beautiful place
to work.
- Oh, there he is.
- Oh.
Now,
almost an 160 years later,
miners like Iain Whyte...
How's it going?
...are still
finding the gold
with state-of-the-art
equipment.
It looks like you got
a bit of ground here.
Right.
But yeah, thanks for agreeing
to meet with us.
- Yeah.
- We're looking at buying a wash plant.
Yeah.
Yeah, that'd be great.
With over
45 years' experience
spanning three continents,
Iain is one of the most
successful miners
in New Zealand.
They're big.
He's been
working this 44 acre plain
since 2019.
Yeah,
that'd be great.
How long
have you been in this spot?
The ground here
from what I know,
it's fairly similar in Alaska.
In that, like,
the ground that's left,
- a lot of it is deeper ground.
- Yeah.
And then you'll take
probably not even
anytime soon,
but you'll take a strip off
that whole side then, huh?
Right.
- Right. Should we go check out the plant?
- Yeah.
Right.
- 'Cause these have hydraulics on them, huh?
- Yeah.
Iain is offering up
a pair of five-foot trommels
that runs side-by-side
and can churn through
a 160 yards of gold rich pay
per hour.
And have a price tag
of $200,000.
So, why run two plants
side-by-side
instead of one big one?
Right.
Right.
A saving
of 30 minutes
every 12 hours,
could amount to extra
$500,000 a season
for Parker in Alaska.
All right.
Well, mind if I have a go?
Sweet.
And what kind of, like,
a bucket per minute or?
Okay.
All right.
First bucket.
This is
a cool operation.
Minds like Iain's are why
I came to New Zealand.
Cheating?
Really glad that Iain let us
come here because
this is a cool operation.
In the gold fields
of Hokitika, New Zealand,
Parker is testing out
a double trommel setup.
We're definitely gonna be able
to get some really
good ideas here.
I think that all
New Zealanders that are miners
really put a lot of effort
into thinking about
what they're doing
and why they're doing it.
And Iain's obviously
a thinker.
Um, yeah. I mean,
this seems like
a pretty good setup,
But running two small plants,
isn't something
I'd really consider
for my current operation.
I get the reasoning behind it.
Having two smaller plants,
it's really no different
than having one big plant.
Except...
the odds of having both plants
break down are pretty slim,
so you'll always be
able to keep running. Right?
It's definitely making me
think about
the two wash plant things.
And the yardage
for these two plants
is about the kind of yardage
that we're aiming for,
so the yardage works.
Parker needs to run
at least 150 yards an hour
at his Alaska operation.
If he can maintain that pace
or beat it,
he could mine out the claim
and bank the $11 million
estimated to be in the ground.
They're very short
loose boxes, Jeff.
Yes, they are.
The only way you can do that
is by having
hydraulic riffles.
- So, if you reach in here...
- Yeah.
And you can feel that
the material is loose?
Oh, yeah.
So, now come down
to the Hungarian riffles.
Feel, it's harder.
So, that's the difference
between Hungarian
and hydraulic riffle.
In Hungarian riffles,
the iron angles in the sluice
create a swirling vortex
that agitates the dirt
and catches the heavier gold.
Whereas, hydraulic riffles
stir the material
with water injection.
On this
particular plant,
80 percent
of its recovery is here.
And additional
ten percent here.
Anywhere from
four to six months,
he'll clean the end.
And he's cleaning up here
every day or two,
depending on how much
material he's running
and how long he's running.
That's key because,
you know, over the course
of a mining season,
you know, that's down time.
And it's key to have the most
you put through your plants
in a mining season.
Hydraulic riffles
also allows
for shorter sluice runs
which could mean
faster cleanups.
Perfect for Parker's
Alaska operation.
Oh, it's really good seeing
a miner like Iain,
you know, he's really
just shaving seconds
off of each hour.
And at the end of the year
that adds up to be
a lot of time.
Having Jeff
here is great.
It kinda takes
the pressure off my back
'cause wash plants
aren't my thing.
The fact he's here
and he's all over
that side of things,
it's one less thing
that I have to worry about.
So now I can concentrate
on finding new contacts.
Hey, how are you?
Yeah, I'm good. Good.
Thank you for getting
back to me.
I was just hoping that maybe
you wouldn't mind
if we headed up to your site
and put some
wash plants and...
Hello?
H... Hello?
Yes, sorry.
I can just hear you.
You're just breaking up
a little bit.
Yeah, I don't think tailings
for these plants
would be a full time job.
Tyler's doing
tailings right now.
But it's probably
something where
the loader operator
also helping
get the material close enough
to the plants more.
Sweet. Okay, thank you.
Oh *bleep*
Oh
*bleep* that was
so stupid.
Parker has 100 percent
noticed that.
Hurry up, Tyler.
I've got a box walk free.
Yeah. Roger.
That's like, number one rule
when you're in the loaders,
don't let the *bleep* tailings
back up.
I hope Iain hasn't seen that.
But the phone call
was actually a positive.
I've been trying to get a hold
of Ben for literally days now.
Ben's got a wash plant
for sale.
That's a positive
if I can make it happen.
How're you going, up there?
Yeah, just peachy.
I figured
if it was really bad,
somebody would have
said something.
Yeah, fair enough.
What are your
thoughts on the two
wash plants?
I don't know.
Lot of moving parts.
I think probably
the only thing
I really don't like
about this is the...
the feed.
Feeding two plants,
you pretty much have to
excavator feed them.
Excavator feeding
makes things easy.
But I just... I like to take
the human element
out of the consistency
of the feed to a plant.
And our big line of
conveyors and feeders do that.
You can conveyor feed
into two separate plants,
but it takes this
big splitter bin
to split the material from
one conveyor belt going in
into two separate feeds
and the two separate plants.
I've never seen
one of those work,
like I've seen them not work.
Hey, Danny.
I'm noticing, there's another
plant being fed.
Oh, yeah.
Across the claim,
Jeff and Danny
find the real reason
Iain is selling
his double trommel.
That one looks fresh.
I'm liking
what I'm seeing here.
- Oh, nice!
- Yeah!
She's beautiful. Brand new.
It's got a base hopper.
Six-foot trommel. Check.
And this is
pretty unique here.
It's got a bit of a primary
catch tray
that can lower down
with hydraulics here.
I'd like to see what this
looks like once it shuts down.
And I can see
hydraulic riffle,
so this is what
we're looking for.
Right here.
We should
go find Parker.
Iain's just
turned off the pump.
Parker's about to park up.
I think we're wrapping up
for the day.
Is there
any gold in it?
Your plant operator
is probably throwing
all the gold away.
Yeah.
I'm totally with you
on hydraulics. I love 'em.
Parker is used to using
Hungarian riffles.
And on this plant,
there's hydraulic riffles
and that's something I'd like
to kind of move him towards.
I know it's gonna
take a little convincing.
But if it's ran properly
and it's done properly,
it can be a big time saver
for cleanups sort of season.
Um, that is just
finicky, you know.
Like, too much water pressure
blows everything out of 'em.
Not enough, they're packing up
super tight.
Myself and Jeff were having
a little look round.
We spotted a nice
kinda new looking
six-foot trommel.
Yeah. Parker,
it's wicked, I really like it.
I think there's gonna be some
good stuff on here
for you to see.
Mind if I
check it out?
Let's get over there.
It's quiet.
- Really quiet.
- Yeah.
Iain's compact
six-foot super trommel
can run 235 yards
of dirt per hour
and is custom built
for fine gold recovery.
A one of a kind
hydraulic powered
catch tray drops down.
Allowing for up to 70 percent
of Iain's gold to be
cleaned up
in a quick
ten minute shutdown.
An innovation,
which can save Parker days
in downtime across the season.
- That's really nice. I really like this plan.
- Yeah.
He likes it.
- That's really nice. I really like this plan.
- Yeah.
He likes it.
So does Jeff.
But
Iain Whyte's claim.
Parker is decoding Iain's new,
six foot super trommel.
- Again, this is the primary path trail.
- Yeah.
No, I don't wanna shut
your plant down.
We shut her down,
so we can take a look
in the primary.
The primary catch tray is,
it's a small sluice run
underneath the belly
of the trommel
and Iain's catching around
70 percent
of his gold in that.
So, he does a quick cleanup
of that each day.
- There's some gold in there.
- Yup.
- Nice system, innit?
- Oh, yeah!
Super easy cleanup.
Oh, yeah.
That is awesome, look at that.
That is wicked.
So quick!
That was on, like, 15 minutes
and we probably
slowed you down.
Catch tray cleanups
on Iain's new Super Trommel
can be performed by one person
in ten minutes,
whereas cleanups on
Parker's Slucifer Plant
can take at least three crew
members over an hour.
What's, uh, what're your
thoughts here, like?
It's going through
a hydraulic riffle,
something you would
think about?
Yeah, I think the only change
I'd want, is expand the metal.
For his entire
mining career,
Parker has preferred to use
long sluice runs
with a combination
of Hungarian riffles
and expanded metal
giving him more areas
to catch gold.
In contrast,
the Kiwi miner's
secret to success
is short sluice runs
with hydraulic riffles.
These short little
runs that these guys
use are just,
I'm not used to it.
- They're very short.
- We usually have like,
three different
types of riffles.
I mean, you could
convert this one
to have a longer...
- ...runs. And a lot of variation.
- Yeah.
This could work
for you up north.
Yeah.
It's a nice plan.
Yeah, simple.
I think we should
get out of here,
they're talking price here.
- Is he asking him now?
- All right. Bye, bye.
This trip
could be over.
A nice setup.
- That's definitely a very quick cleanup.
- Yeah.
Would you change anything?
Um...
You wanna sell me your plant?
So, Parker's
asking for a price.
He's asking him
right now and I mean,
in all honesty,
if the price is right
and shipping was to work out,
he could have this
plant for the beginning
of the season, no problem.
What's something like that
worth, Jeff?
- I've gotta say it's probably around six, seven.
- Right.
At $700,000,
it would be within Parker's
$1,000,000 budget.
So, I guess
it's all gonna
come down to uh--
Yeah, the big dollar!
All right.
What do you reckon?
Um...
I mean, he had that twinkle
in his eye when I asked him
if he'd sell it.
Of like...
probably could.
But...
it's his baby.
- And it's pretty new.
- Like, he's just not gonna do it.
We started talking money
a little bit,
but by the time I pry it
out of his hands,
cut it up and get it
in containers,
ship it to Burbank's
and put it back together,
a million dollars would be
long, long gone.
Yeah.
This sets a very high standard
for what we're looking for.
I like those words.
I like those words.
The pressure's on,
but I like 'em.
Well, thank you for showing
us around and sharing all your
tricks and wisdom.
- Really appreciated.
- Thanks, buddy.
That new trommel
that he's got
is very close to perfect.
I wish he would've sold it.
But Iain obviously
runs a very good mine site,
that is super well-organized
and I'm coming away from here
with a lot of good ideas.
I thought you were
gonna buy a wash plant
at one point.
Yeah, so did I!
True.
For a minute there.
Would've been nice
to have gotten it.
- An early win.
- Mmm.
Yeah.
You know how quiet
that thing was?
- So quiet.
- It was very quiet.
I mean, since he
wouldn't sell that thing,
it makes me think, okay,
what we could change.
- Mmm-hmm.
- The only major thing is,
hydraulics, they're
super finicky.
I do like having longer
sluice runs
that have a bunch of different
variations in them.
With a few little changes,
that plant would have been
super usable for us.
- Good.
- It was a very nice trommel.
We have to go see someone
who actually has a wash plant
for sale tomorrow
which is really exciting.
- Let's call it a night. I'm shattered.
- Bed.
- Yeah.
- Night, guys.
Nighty night.
- This is beautiful.
- It is. It's gorgeous.
Oh, my *bleep*
Look at that.
After striking out
at Iain Whyte's claim,
Parker's search
for the perfect
wash plant continues.
I did really like
that trommel at Iain's.
It's good, though.
Good feeling
for moving forwards.
- Mmm.
- Right?
Yeah, we are in
the right spot, on the trail.
So, we're going
to see a guy called
Ben Ferguson.
Who's that?
He's a local miner and farmer
and he's got
a wash plant for sale.
Parker and his team
travel 62 miles north
to Ben Ferguson's farm
in the heart of New Zealand's
agricultural district
to tour a flat.
- What kind of plant?
- Um, I don't actually know a lot about it.
But, you wanted to see
the wash plants
that were for sale
in the area.
We are on the west coast,
this one's for sale.
So, I thought
while we're in the area
we might as well
pop by and see it.
- Ben.
- Hi, guys.
Hello, mate. How are you?
- How you doing?
- I'm good, buddy.
- It's all right. Here we go. How you do?
- Good, good to see you.
Nice to meet you, Ben.
It's Jeff.
- Hi, Jeff. How are you?
- Hi, Ben.
- How are you doing, mate?
- Oh, I've been good. I've been good.
- You guys?
- Good.
- Hi, lovely.
- Who's that? Are you shy? You wanna say hello?
There he is.
Ben Ferguson is a sheep
and cattle farmer
who prospects his 415 acres
of land for gold
on his days off.
Hear you got
a wash plant for sale, eh?
Everything's for sale for the right price, so.
So, this is the gold screen.
So, this actually
was a cross section plant
but I'm gonna get something
that can wash gravel
and might as well
- do the whole lot, you know?
- Yeah.
All those tables,
they just fold up.
- There's hand winches.
- Gotcha.
Ben's
15-year-old plant
chugs through 30 yards
of gold rich pay an hour.
Its fold-up sluices make
it quick to move.
At $50,000,
it's way under Parker's
$1,000,000 budget.
I'm guessing we're not
buying this.
- Why would say that?
- Um, just a hunch.
I mean, we're here.
We may as well see it run.
We could go
resurrect that thing.
I'll go get some tools.
You get started?
- Do you like that truck? It's for sale, too.
- I like that, yeah.
- Is it?
- Yeah, you can... Two for one.
Yeah, why not?
Okay, coming down.
Yeah, she'd be good.
Some water.
What do you think?
- Yeah, some water, eh?
- See what happens.
Moment of truth.
Here she comes.
- Yeah! Hah!
- Holy *bleep*
- We got a hole.
- Yeah, it's just a little one.
Shut her down.
There's a couple of holes.
Holy moly.
- There is leakage.
- Leaking everywhere.
Um, gaffer tape?
I mean, even if you got
this for free,
you'd have to get it
to Alaska.
I mean, not to *bleep*
on someone's wash plant,
but it's just not what
we're looking for.
Jeff, so...
I mean, is there anything that
you can see for us to
not waste our time?
Why don't we see
if we can, uh,
do a bit of a riffle test?
We can disconnect
one of the hydraulic riffles
on one of the sides
and run one side
with hydraulics
and the other side
with Hungarian
and maybe we can
prove to Parker that
hydraulic riffles
work a lot better.
That's a great idea.
There's been a lot of chat
about yay or nay
to hydraulic riffles.
Yeah, he's not convinced,
but if I can sell him on this,
then I can sell him on
hydraulic riffles.
That would be,
uh, pretty cool.
Mate, let's, um I think
we should put that up the...
up the, what's the word?
The what up there?
You know when you put the idea
up there to the boss.
Oh, um...
What is that?
I'm just trying to think
of that, too.
Let's put it to the boss.
So...
feel like if this is gonna be
a waste of a day or not?
Well, to make it not
a complete waste of the day,
- Parker...
- Mmm-hmm.
what about we do a bit
of a test
and we run one side
with hydraulics and one side,
just the standard
Hungarian style
to prove that
hydraulic riffles
work a lot better?
That's not a bad idea.
Jeff's plan.
Swap out one side with hydraulic riffles
and to do a test to see
which one is better.
And this wash plant
is probably not worth
shipping over to North America
from here.
But, Jeff had a good idea,
it is worth
testing out these
hydraulic riffles.
For me, they've always been
a bit finicky.
They plug up, but everybody in
New Zealand's using them
and so,
it's a kind of a good chance
for us to
just try 'em out.
Did you find some lead shot
or something?
- Lead shot?
- Yeah.
So, Ben, we were
just wondering,
I'm guessing that your plant
might not be like,
mega gold rich.
- No.
- Jeff was just suggesting,
- maybe if we could get some lead shot?
- Yeah.
- to run through it, so we run a bit of a test.
- Sure.
- Is that cool?
- That's good, man. Yeah, I could get some.
This is something
that we do quite often
to try and test plants.
And we do choose lead pallets.
Lead is cheap
and significantly heavier
than black sand and gravel
making it the ideal substitute
for gold
when running tests.
- Any ideas where we'd get it from?
- Uh...
hardware store
or anything like that.
- We could go get the lead pallets.
- Okay.
So, should we put like
a wager on which side's
gonna work better?
You have that side.
I'm gonna be on this side.
My bet that we get
the lead shot in,
within these first
two riffles on this side.
The winner will be
determined by who
has the most lead
at the top of the sluice box.
- So, you gonna fix this hose?
- Yeah.
Ahh!
It is coming
down now.
Yeah, it is.
Danny and Tyler
arrive in Reefton
in search of lead shot
for the riffles test.
What the *bleep*
What the *bleep* is that!
It's a flood or something?
Earthquake?
- Hello!
- Hi, guys.
We're a little bit
worried about
the air raid sirens going off.
No,
that's not an air raid,
that's a fire alarm.
- Bit eerie, isn't it?
- It is, it is quite an eerie sound.
You're probably gonna
be able to help us,
I'm after some,
like, lead pellets
or something like that.
Sure, I think we might have
something out--
So, you got a couple
of bits of people to go out
prospecting and--
Yes, yes we have.
Look at that!
- Dan, that'll work perfect.
- Boom!
- I'm happy with that.
- Winner!
- Oh, wow! Should we get a coffee?
- Yeah.
Coffee it is.
At part time
gold miner,
Ben Ferguson's farm,
Jeff is setting up
a comparison
test between hydraulic
and Hungarian riffles.
Maybe we can prove
to Parker that hydraulic
riffles work a lot better.
If I can sell him on this,
then I can sell him on
hydraulic riffles.
Oh, look at that!
That's good.
Oh they don't look too wet.
- Okay.
- Oh, no, Jeff does look wet, look he's drenched.
- Oh, my *bleep*
- He's drenched.
Did you find something?
- We managed just.
- Mate, did we?
- You wanna check it out?
- Yeah.
- Wow!
- You got a milk container.
With lead shot!
So, can we pound some
of this out 'cause
it's a lot of round gold.
Why do we need to pound it?
- 'Cause gold's not round, Dan.
- Gold's not round.
Parker, I'll let you count
them out.
I'm gonna do
groups of five.
I bet you we'd dig
some lead up
out of the ground, too.
Is that
the old timers?
So, what used to happen,
the old fellas away
for a flood
and then, they'd get
the lead shot
and they'd literally
toss it in the river.
And then they go pan,
once the water go down
pan it into a river bag
until they found
the lead shot.
When the found the lead shot,
that's obviously where
the flood goes
and they start digging down.
- Ahh!
- No way!
Yeah, I have not
mined anywhere,
I have not found lead.
Here, Tyler.
You can keep these.
That's what
we're gonna use.
So, what's the plan, team?
So, the test
that we're doing,
on the right hand side of
the sluice run, we're gonna be
running Hungarian riffles
and on the left hand side,
we're gonna be running
the hydraulic riffles.
We're gonna
put some on one side
and some on the other?
Yeah, exactly.
More sluice in.
How many pieces have
you got each?
- I have 20.
- I've got 20.
- Okay.
- Let's go.
Do it!
So now, he's gonna run
for a little while
and make sure
they stay in there.
Giving a chance for the lad
to sink down
and see how far down
it makes it down each side.
I'm hoping that
the hydraulic riffles,
the lead shot makes it into
the first or second riffle.
And on this side,
it travels down
a little bit further.
After ten minutes,
the crew shut down.
Cleanup time!
The crew pan
each riffle separately
to determine exactly where
each piece of lead was caught.
- Anything, Jeff?
- Yeah, I got, I got two.
Gonna put 'em over here.
I've got four.
Any more, Ty?
Not quite yet.
If Jeff can prove
that Kiwi-preferred
hydraulic riffles are better,
it'll open up more options
for potential plants
for Parker.
So, Jeff,
you've got the last pan, mate.
Yeah, these came out
of the fourth riffle here.
So, this one loses,
doesn't it?
'Cause they all come
too far down.
Well, it caught them all, but,
the hydraulic riffles side
caught 'em within
the first four.
I'm gonna call this a win.
So, does this prove
Jeff's theory on hydraulics
are better?
Seems to.
I think that was
a hard proud out
yes there, I think.
They're just finicky, you know?
Keeping 'em clean, you're just
like, every time you do a big cleanup,
you tip 'em all upside down.
It's like an oil change,
you just gotta...
- do it, yeah.
- Just gotta do it.
Being able to do
a hydraulic
versus Hungarian riffle test,
turned out awesome
and I'm feeling pretty
confident that Parker's
on board a little bit.
I'm used to running big
sluice boxes that have
a bunch of variations in them,
but if you can recover
the same amount of gold
in a shorter sluice box
or a narrower sluice box then,
it's worth looking
into hydraulic riffles, right?
So, um, I don't quite
think that we'll
be interested in buying
and shipping this to Alaska.
Couldn't imagine why,
but sure.
Thanks for having us though, Ben.
This has been good.
That's all right, guys.
I, of course,
am not interested
in that wash plant, like,
not only is it old and small,
but you just can't
move something like that
to Alaska.
I'm just happy
that we're still
getting access and people
are being super friendly
and open and um,
and having those
conversations with us.
So, yeah, overall,
it's a win still.
On to the next place.
- Yup.
- On to the next.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.