Hoffman Family Gold (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 10 - Gold's Last Frontier - full transcript
[narrator] After seven weeks
in remote Alaska...
[Todd] Let's get to work.
Been here done this.
[man 1] This stuff
is what dreams
are made of right here.
The Hot Mess
is running some dirt.
Here we go.
[narrator]
...it all comes down to this.
The Hoffman family...
Let's run it.
Go!
[narrator] ...need just
47 ounces of gold
to earn another season
in this rich claim.
But the wash plants
are on the brink.
[man 2] Flame on.
Shut it down.
[man 3]
The whole chain's off motor.
[man 2] Okay.
This is a big problem.
[Randy] I think she's toast.
[narrator]
And both rock trucks...
[Randy] Oh! Man.
[narrator]
...are out of condition.
[Todd] Okay, let's go!
[narrator] Todd Hoffman
is close to success.
[Todd]
I'm not going home a loser.
[narrator]
But has he learned enough...
[Todd] Go for it.
[narrator] ...to beat a mine
that is trying to break him?
[Todd] Come on, baby.
Million dollars.
[Jack] You know what?
No guts, no glory.
[Todd] Todd to Andy.
Todd to Andy.
Yeah, go ahead.
[Todd] We got a problem.
We need pay dirt
and we need it right away.
Always something around here.
[Todd] So it's 18 degrees,
once it gets below 13 degrees,
you can't mine.
The Z plant's down.
Right now we're only
running the Hot Mess
and then the Test trommel.
But we got a big storm
front coming in
and once that hits,
it's going to bring
too much weather.
And I know
it's going to shut us down.
But the problem right now
is that both our rock trucks
are down
and I'm starting
to run out of pay dirt.
[Randy] Oh, we didn't need this.
[Todd]
Randy couldn't fix the 350.
There's just no way
to expand this tire.
Not in this weather.
That leaves us only the 400.
And without that truck,
it's all over.
[Randy] So, I got a chance
to work on the 400
this morning,
and I got
all the broken pieces
out of it.
We had three broken hoses,
two U-joints,
and we have a pipe that's broken
and that pipe is possibly
two weeks away.
That ain't going to make it
in time.
Oh, come on, now.
The drive line
between the engine
and the transmission,
the bolts
sheared off of the yoke
and the drive line
started swinging.
The drive line hit
two of the hydraulic pumps
really, really hard.
We don't know
if they're cracked.
We can't start it,
until that drive line's back in.
We're trying to see
if we can make it work.
If not, it'll sit here
until next year,
because there's...
I can't get parts
to put it back together.
[Chuck]
Things must be going too good.
You're not cussing.
[Randy] Yet.
Key word there, yet.
[Chuck] Yet!
We've got some parts
that we're kind of like
having to rig
that are not perfect,
but we're going to try
to make them work
and we'll see if we can get
the 400 running right now.
Son of a... Damn it.
Ahh!
I hate this *bleep* truck.
[Todd] We're too close to quit.
We're only 47 ounces
to beat this mine.
We've been
to the playoffs before.
Holy brick.
[man 4]
We got gold in that pan.
Guys, our luck
just frickin' changed,
and we lost.
Any gold at all, Jack?
There's nothing.
[Todd] But we've learned
how to win.
And Andy found us
some of that super rich
paydirt that we knew was here.
This is the richest ground
we've ever mined.
[Jim] 54.
Oh, my gosh.
It's about 89,000.
Jeez, man.
[Todd] Now we just got
to get that rich pay dirt
to the plant.
Most guys would snap
under the pressure,
but not Randy.
[Randy] When you can't feel
your fingers
and you can't feel your toes.
[Chuck speaking]
Oh, that's a good one.
[Chuck]
The ball's in your court
right now.
Oh, okay.
Nose, hose.
[Chuck] Fingers,
toes, nose, water hose.
And this really blows.
[Randy] This is fun.
I got the drive line
and the yokes all aligned.
Now I just got to hold it up
with one hand
and start the bolts
with my numb fingers
with the other hand.
I'm going to go in
and see if I can get it.
Boy, this is really a pain
in the butt.
[Chuck] Is there any way
I could drop you down a rope
or something through there?
- [Randy] That would be nice.
- [Chuck] Oh!
[Randy] I'm gonna to reach
that down through there.
That looks like
good job, Andy... Randy.
- [Randy] Yeah.
- Andy... Randy.
[Randy]
I'm hoping that it'll hold.
[Chuck speaking]
[Randy] Are you kidding me?
[Randy grunting]
[Chuck] Is that a good oh or...
[Randy] Yeah,
it slid right into place.
[Chuck] No!
[Randy] Oh.
Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
That frickin' bolt went in.
[Chuck] I can hear threads
going into threads.
[Randy] Yeah.
Ooh!
We win.
Be careful, my friend.
- See that accumulator sticking up?
- I do.
That hose
is right underneath of it.
And if that hose goes,
it could catch on fire.
Okay, well, I'll keep
a fire extinguisher
right handy there.
Okay.
So why don't you hop
in this girl
and let's see
if we can get her started.
- All right.
- Good, sir.
We can get to rolling
and hauling some pay.
[Randy] Let's see
if this girl will key up.
We're having troubles
with the computer.
Come on, computer.
- [Chuck] I have contact.
- [Randy] Lights.
- We're good.
- Are you ready?
All right!
Take her easy.
Only way I know, buddy.
Andy's waiting
for you back there.
All right!
We will get this thing
turned around and go.
Hopefully,
everything works out
all right
and we don't have
any more issues.
[Chuck] Well, here we go!
Looks like everything works.
We get up there
and get Andy to break
this frozen load out of here,
because it's been sitting
in like 20 degrees.
[Andy speaking]
[Andy speaking]
[Andy speaking on radio]
[Chuck] Copy that!
Thank you, buddy.
[Todd] After a brutal 24 hours
without a rock truck.
We are back in business.
Now we got
to work twice as fast
to get that rich pay dirt
over to the two
remaining plants
that we got running.
And hopefully, we get it done
before the weather chases us
the hell out of here.
How's it going, Dakota?
How's everything looking?
Everything's looking
pretty good.
Everything's coming out clean.
Plant's doing good.
[Hunter] Right now
we're at the homestretch.
This is the hardest part
of the season.
And the most
crucial part of the season
is right now.
We got
a lot of yardage to cover,
so we've just got
to go like hell.
We are burning
the midnight oil tonight.
[wind gushing]
[Nick speaking]
[Dakota] All right!
It would be nice.
[Dakota] We need 47 ounces
to get to our 300 ounce goal.
So the pay has been good.
It's kind of the only thing
that's keeping us alive.
There's a super-rich
river channel right here.
Now we got everything
back up and running,
so this can be our big break
to get everything caught up.
[Nick] You know, we've all
been putting our blood,
sweat and tears into this.
If we fall short,
I know it's not going to be
a good feeling.
[loud clanking]
Holy *bleep*.
Did you hear that?
Nick, get over here.
[Nick]
What's going on, man?
Hit that conveyor.
What's going on?
The whole trommel just jumped.
[Dakota] The whole chain
is off the motor.
[Dakota] Hey,
this is a big problem.
I heard a big pop
and the whole thing
jumped forward.
Dude,
this cannot not be happening
right now.
Hey, Randy, you got a copy?
[Randy on radio] Yeah.
Go for Randy.
I really hate to say it,
but we need you up here
at this test trommel.
Things are bad.
[Randy on radio] All right.
I'm on my way.
I'll be right there.
With the Z plant
already being broke down,
you know,
we moved everything up here.
Every second down,
there's less and less gold
going through the sluice.
Only a few days left
in the season.
So we got to make every day
count right now.
[Randy] Hey, what's going on?
- [Dakota] Whole trommel hopped forward.
- [Randy] What?
[Nick] It threw
that chain off the motor.
And we think it,
maybe even hurt
the motor a little bit.
[Randy] Dude,
look at that gearbox.
Holy!
It's not even
in the right location.
It's busted off
the bottom mount.
I'm not sure
if the trommel caused
the damage
or if it was the gear drive
busting off the floor
that caused the trommel
to move forward.
But the mount
that was welded to the deck
has completely been
ripped off the deck.
That motor is done.
There's no way you can fix it?
[Randy] That's the equivalent
of 20,000 pounds of
sheer force.
There's quite a bit of metal
that has been just
ripped off the deck.
I don't think
we're going to be
able to fix that.
[Todd] Oh, oh. What?
I got some bad news.
Dude,
when you come in like that,
it's always bad news.
Like how bad?
The test trommel...
- [Todd] Yeah.
- ...imploded.
What?
So the gear drive
on the bottom that drives
the trommel,
it broke up off the deck
and the trommel
has slid forward
an inch-and-a-half.
[Todd] Can we fix it?
It looks pretty nasty
over there.
I don't think we can fix it.
You telling me it's over?
I think it's done.
So, now that we don't have
the little trommel,
we don't have the Z,
the only thing we got
left is the big... big plant.
Well, all hands on deck,
then on the big trommel.
And let's just keep it
running till the end.
Dang it.
I really would like to have
seen that little guy make it
all the way through.
The big trommel runs
the most amount of dirt.
But the problem
with the big trommel
is that a lot of things
can go wrong.
That's what worries me,
because if one thing goes wrong,
it's a domino effect
and all these other issues
are going to pile on
and then we're done.
Hey, next time you come in here,
can you make it good news?
I'll try not to break anything.
- All right?
- [Randy] But I'm just the fixer.
- Well. Thank you.
- [Randy] All right!
For all your work.
Appreciate it.
- I got work to do.
- [Andy] Thanks, Randy.
We are down to one plant.
We got to run
the wheels off that thing.
[Andy] Yeah.
[Matthew]
Little frozen up in here.
Not too bad.
It's coming out.
Well, this is the last
pull of the season.
Test plant broke down.
Putting a nail in it.
[narrator] This is the last time
the test plant will be used
for the next year.
So it's crucial they remove
every last bit of
potentially gold bearing dirt.
Even one scoop can make
the difference
in the Hoffman team
hitting their goal
of 600 ounces of gold
this season.
[Luke] It's kind of heavy.
[Matthew] All right,
let's get up to Thurber.
You ready?
That's good enough.
Hey, guys.
[Matthew] Hey, Jack.
Thurber.
That's it?
That's not much.
[Matthew] Not in that one.
That was the last one.
- Oh!
- This is our scrape off.
[Jack] Well,
you guys got a lot of carpet.
I wonder how much gold's
still in it.
You know,
it's a good thing you had
that little test plant.
I think it outperformed
everything else
on your claim here.
[Matthew] Oh, I know it.
[Jim] But worked her too hard.
- [Jack] The little test plant that could.
- Well, now it can't.
[Hunter] Right now,
everybody's beaten down,
worn out.
We've been battling problems
since the day we got here.
Everybody's put
in a lot of work,
and I'm just hoping
we make it to our goal.
Because it's either
going to be a big loss
or a big win.
Chuck, you got a copy?
[Chuck on radio]
Yeah, I got a copy.
All right, bring her in, man.
Chuck's bringing
the last couple of loads.
So, we're good to go to run
through the night.
Dump her right there.
[Chuck on radio]
Copy that, buddy.
[Hunter] Yeah.
You're all good.
Peel out of there.
Thank you, Chuck.
[Chuck speaking on radio]
[Hunter] You too, buddy,
get some sleep.
We got another
long day tomorrow.
[Chuck on radio] Copy that.
We'll see ya later.
[narrator] With enough
paydirt to last through
the night...
[Hunter] Good,
we got the B-team here.
[narrator] ...the Hoffman
crew's ace miners are ready
for their night shift.
A team is here,
we're ready to take over.
Holy crap!
Andy and I got brought in
to run night shift.
We used to do night shifts
together for years.
We got the Chorus Creek Boys
down here.
The money's
going to be made here
at night with these guys.
Everybody knows we...
we're kind of the backbone
of the operation.
We're going to get
more dirt through this plant
than anybody else,
probably in the world.
I'm really excited
to have you guys here
for your actual
first real night shift
you've ever done.
It's not our first night shift.
So we're on the final push.
Todd and I are
going to come out here
tonight and help.
It's not the first time
I've done this.
These young guys think
that they know
what they're doing.
We're going to show them
a few tricks.
[Dakota] She's warmed up
and ready for you.
- Is she ready?
- She's good to go.
Ready to go.
We're about ready
to put on a clinic.
Me and your old man.
[Hunter] I'm ready to see it.
We used to run night shift
for a long time
when you were in diapers.
[Dakota] So I heard.
You know,
all the plants were shut down
except for the trommel.
We don't have
a lot of time left.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Hopefully I don't
screw stuff up too bad.
Dude, I forgot.
I forgot how to drive
a loader in the dark.
I wish we had the Hitachi.
This thing is running
on about four
out of six cylinders.
[Andy] Everything is tired,
the equipment's tired.
Guys are tired.
All we got to do is keep
the sucker running
and keep dirt going through it.
[Todd] She ain't pretty.
She's losing dirt.
Oh, you want that
paydirt a little closer.
Okay.
I don't know about Andy
and my dad running
night shift.
- It's been a while.
- It's in their hands.
It's in their hands now.
Let's get to bed, dude.
Let's go.
Todd to Andy, how are you doing?
[Andy on radio] Good.
[Andy speaking]
[Todd]
We're back at square one.
These guys
are superior miners, man.
These young guys have turned
into damn good miners.
There's a future
of all this stuff,
but it's us guys here
that can open that door.
And part of that is just
running a night shift
and being part of the team.
And there's a lot of guys
at home right now
that would love to be
running dirt,
sluicing with their sons
right now.
I'm just so thankful.
I'm grateful to God
that I'm running dirt.
I'm with my best buddy, Andy,
best miner out there.
If we never got to do
this again,
if we didn't get to do
this day over again,
it'll be okay.
This day here goes
in the record books for me.
[narrator] Todd and Andy
do their part to give
the young guns
time to get
a few hours of sleep.
[Hunter] Had a good one
in the books, man.
Number 5 cell.
This is us.
[Hunter] Yeah.
You have a good day today?
[Nick] Nope. Do you?
[Hunter] No.
[Nick]
Sort of went pretty normal.
[Hunter] As long as
we're both suffering,
I guess it's not that bad.
[Nick] What's on my brain
right now is that big trommel
and the spray bar up top.
[Hunter] Yeah.
[Nick] What if it bursts?
[Hunter] Probably.
It's probably going to,
if we're being honest.
[Nick] Sometimes,
I just sit here and dream
about the Z and wonder if...
[Hunter] I know,
I hear Nick sometimes,
in the sleep.
"Turn off the water.
We need more pay."
I calm him down, rub his head.
"Nick, it's just a dream."
Get your three hours of sleep.
Got to get up.
Good night.
[Nick] Good night, dude.
See you in the a.m.
[Hunter] Well, dude.
Leaving me hanging, dude.
[Nick] My eyes were closed, man.
[Randy] We're running out
of fuel fast.
The fuel truck was supposed
to come out today,
but was called off due
to the fact that the pass
was iced over.
They are unable
to bring us any more fuel.
This is our fuel storage.
This front tank
is completely full,
but it is the smaller
of the two tanks.
And as you can see,
that one's full.
But this one here...
bone empty.
We've only got the front tank,
which is probably about,
oh, 6... 700 gallons here,
plus whatever's in
the white fuel truck,
which is probably
about 1,200 gallons.
The only problem with that is
if you run all of your
fuel out,
it's an 80-mile drive back
to town.
So we need to save
at least enough fuel
to get out of here,
because I really
want to go home.
[Jim] Right now,
we're washing the ancient
river channel concentrate.
This will be the final
mat hole from the test plant
this season.
Those guys have been
busting their butt,
working hard outside.
We're inside. It's heated,
but Jack and I will be
running nonstop.
Got a coffee pot
over there plugged in.
We'll just
keep drinking coffee
and working.
[Jack] The season
is getting to the end,
freezing, it's coming
and has hit several times.
Once our water freezes up,
I'm done with the cleanup room.
[narrator]
As the temperature drops,
Jack and Jim perform
their final cleanup
from the test plant.
They're hoping for nearly
20 of the 47 ounces needed
to reach the 600 ounce goal.
Get this stuff washed and dried.
We'll weigh it
and see what we got.
But crucial that we do well.
It has to be good.
As they say,
come hell or high water,
you know?
When gold looks like this...
kind of get your heart going.
[Jack] Only 7.3 ounces.
[Jim] It's not good.
It's not good at all.
[Todd] This is it. Last run.
Winter's coming.
A lot of our future here
is on the line here,
if we get this gold or not,
but we're in God's hands
on this whole thing.
Can we pull it off?
I don't know,
we're going to have
to find out.
[Jason]
I get a lot of invested
in this mine.
A lot of people invested
in us with family memories.
I believe in Todd and his crew.
I believe in the Hoffmans.
I think that he's going
to pull it off.
[Hunter] I mean,
everybody on this entire mine
put their heart
and soul into this operation.
And I think,
now that we're coming
to the end,
I think everybody
is super happy and excited
about what we've done here.
Fingers crossed
nothing breaks on it,
because if it shuts down,
it's going to freeze solid.
[Todd] He's going to come down
on the RPMs a little bit.
This is where the problem happens.
We're starting to fill up
the slurry line.
Hey, Hunter.
How's it going into the trommel?
[Hunter] I like it.
It's our last chance.
We got to make this thing work.
It's our last line of defense
against the winter.
We don't have much time left.
So, we are 47 ounces short.
We got a cold front
that's already moving in.
It's only 15 degrees.
Of course,
we're almost out of fuel.
But you know what?
I just feel like
we're going to win.
I smell victory on this one.
I think, we're going to kick
this mine's ass.
[Hunter] What do you think?
[Todd] I'd love to get
another day out of her.
[Hunter]
I talk to Matt and Luke.
They were just struggling
with it all night,
so I think they ended up
shutting it down,
because the water
was just so cold
and it was moving
so slow that the trommel
just wasn't even working right.
If we're not catching gold,
I don't think
there's any point
in running it.
We're just circulating mud.
[Todd] It's been a pain,
but it did catch gold.
Where are we at on gold?
Do we have enough?
That's the question.
You know,
it's not going to run
in this weather.
I say we just pull the mats,
clean it out.
[Andy] Hope for the best.
[Todd] How do you break up
with something like this?
This is a hot mess.
Yeah.
It's a cold mess now.
[Todd] The Hot Mess is done.
I feel like it needs
some kind of a ceremony.
Let's give a little fake drink.
Raise our glasses.
To Hot Mess.
For the last time,
let's yell it out there.
[in unison] Shut her down.
[Todd] And you know what?
Let's not talk
about this plant ever again.
[Andy] Agreed.
[narrator]
With all three wash plants
down for the season,
the Hoffmans future
relies on the last
big trommel mat pull.
[Matthew]
I don't know about you,
but I'm actually
really, really happy
that we never have to touch
these mats again.
We should celebrate.
[Luke] Was all this
shoveled already?
[Matthew]
Let me do this bucket.
[Luke] That is 20 buckets
settled in.
Still definitely
one of the hardest job
to do for sure.
Definitely
why nobody's volunteering
for it.
That's why we're in here,
grinding them out.
[Matthew] Let's do it.
[Sparky] Special delivery.
It's four in the morning.
It's your 4 a.m. pay day.
[Jim] Geez, it's cold, man.
[Sparky] This is the last
pull of the season.
And I got to do it
with my boys back over here
at the big trommel.
And now we get to hand
this over to Jack
and Thurbs
and we get to see
the huge gold reveal.
And I know,
we're going to make our goal.
We worked too hard
this season for not.
[Jim] Wow.
That is a bunch of dirt.
[Dakota] It's a big load.
[Jim] God,
how are we going to do this?
[Jack] Put it straight on,
you guys
just pull it straight on.
[Jim] Wow.
So, this is the whole...
[Dakota] Everything.
[Jim] Everything.
I've actually never
pulled this whole box before.
We've only ran enough
yardage to pull the top mat,
so it's kind of a lot
to deal with.
- [Nick] Oh, dude.
- [Sparky] Good job, boys.
- [Nick] Look at that.
- [Jim] You guys are crazy.
- [Nick] Nice work.
- [Sparky] Good job, boys.
- Good job, boys. Good job, boys.
- Nice work.
[Todd] After only getting
seven ounces
from the test plant,
I'm actually getting
pretty worried
that we're not
going to make our goal.
It's all coming down
to the big trommel clean up,
the Hot Mess.
That's the plant
that we've been battling
all season.
What I don't want to do
is fail my team.
This has happened before.
It can't happen again.
We got to get this gold.
[Jim] I'll get started.
Get this thing running.
You can see all the buckets,
the bins,
the carpets
that got to be cleaned.
It's all from the big trommel.
And that's what we need.
We needed that machine running.
As soon as the water freezes,
we're done.
But Jack
and I will be running nonstop.
That's what we do.
[narrator]
With just seven ounces of gold
from the test plant,
the Hoffmans,
now need the big trommel
to bring in 40 more ounces.
So this is good.
This is what we need.
So kind of excited to see
what we have,
when we get done.
Right now, when you get
this amount of gold
right here,
a band of about 3 to 4 inches,
that's awesome.
And that's the way
it should be
all the time.
It's imperative
that we get the amount
of gold that we're after.
Yardage is the name of the game
and we're putting through
as much as we possibly can.
All right.
Shut her down, man.
[Jim] Okay.
[Jim] This is my favorite
sound right here.
Oh, you almost pass out.
[Jack] That's not bad.
[Jim] It's pretty good.
But look at here.
[Jim] Oh, my word.
- What is that?
- [Jim] That's baby powder.
What it means for me
is we're definitely catching everything
that the land has in it.
I'd rather
have a jar of fine gold
than a jar of nuggets,
it'll weigh 10 times as much.
God, look at how fine that is.
[Jack]
Can't capture this fine gold
unless you do it our way.
I was thinking
maybe after a couple of weeks,
we could switch bunks.
I go up top, you hit the bottom.
I mean, it's only fair.
It's hard to sleep
with the mice running
around on your feet.
Yeah, that's what I was
going to get to. You know?
I came in here the other day
to get my hard hat,
and I saw a mouse
jump out of the Nick's
sleeping bag.
Little ratatouille likes
to climb in my bag.
And now,
in the middle of the night,
I always think
that there's mice climbing
around my feet,
and then I can't really
sleep that well.
He checks his bag.
Gets in.
About an hour later,
check it again.
Yeah. Maybe if I put
in 140 hours a week,
I can get that top bunk status.
- You only worked 120 this week, so...
- Dude?
You're close to
the top bunk status, but...
I'm going to work
my way up there, man.
You watch.
Hey, guys.
[man 5] We made it.
We're here.
Oh, my God!
[indistinct chatter]
Hey, here is Jack.
Here's the crew.
[Todd]
I've been waiting for this.
So for three years
we haven't mined.
We always had this feeling
of unfinished business.
When I came here,
I didn't want to say, no.
I knew that this would be
our very last chance
of gold mining.
Hunter and I had
some repairing to do
with our relationship.
- Night, big daddy.
- Love ya, buddy.
[Todd] But my dad needed
to keep going on
his mining dream.
If you don't go,
you're going to be
wondering why you didn't.
- Let's do it.
- All right.
[Todd] When I heard
that we only needed 300 ounces
to set my friends
and family up for years
to come,
I thought, no problem.
Let me see that.
But everything was a problem.
Oh, my God.
This plant sucks.
We busted our ass, Todd.
That ground is *bleep*.
I'm done.
[Todd] We failed a lot
in the past at mining.
You are frickin' kidding me.
[Todd] But whether I hit
the goal or not...
We got water.
Big trommel in action.
That's it.
[Todd] ...for me personally...
I love it.
...this season was a win.
So, we're trying to get
300 ounces.
It's about
a half a million dollars.
Maybe we made it.
Maybe we didn't.
But I just
want to tell you guys,
I'm super thankful
for the opportunity.
I am thankful
that I got to mine
with my son and my dad.
Coming in together,
our team, and your team,
and you guys accepting us
in as brothers,
that meant
the world to everybody.
And I'm sure you guys
feel the same way.
So whether we mine
here next year,
I'm just thankful
for the time that we had.
Thurber, Jack,
where we're at, man?
[Jim] Well...
so far.
That is 253 ounces.
We need 47 more
to get to our goal.
Well, your final cleanup
is going to tell
you whether we really
made it and it's right here.
[Todd] Is it good?
Feel good?
Is that heavy one, Thurb?
Come on.
Thurber, you want to pour it?
- Okay.
- All right. Here we go.
Jack, call it out.
Let's pour some gold.
[Jack] There's 8, 9, 10,
12, 14, 15 and 20, 25,
27, 28, 30, 36,
37, 39, 40,
44.
Come on.
[Jack] 48, 49, 50,
52, 60.95.
[all cheering]
- [Todd] We did it.
- [Hunter] We did it, dude.
[Todd] You know what,
we didn't set any records,
but hey, you guys did it.
All you guys
out there did it, man.
You did it.
I'm proud of you guys.
314 ounces gets you
the money you need
for the investment.
Thank you, Todd.
I can't believe we made it.
It's been a fight.
I'm not a miner.
I'm an investor.
And I needed a team here
that would take the...
the operating mantle
and just kind of run
with it and man,
I'm impressed that you came
and you went over and above.
We talked about what would
happen if we hit our goal.
I want you guys back here.
Do you want to mine here?
Is this where your future is?
I want to mine here.
But we need
several million dollars
worth of equipment,
- I think, to do this right.
- Agreed.
Because I believe
that this ground deserves
that kind of an effort.
There's pay everywhere.
There's gold everywhere.
All this river channel.
When I found
that ancient riverbed,
I just couldn't believe it.
We get into the bottom of that.
That is going to be loaded
with gold.
[Todd] I came at a perfect time
because we were able
to make it a win.
And there's a lot more area,
just like this.
This is maybe
a once in a lifetime
opportunity on this ground.
Hey, Hunter,
do you want to tell
these guys
what you found at Atlas?
[Hunter] So,
I brought back some samples
when I went out in the Nodwell.
Supposed to be some legendary
ground out here.
And I don't think
anybody's laid foot
on this ground in a long time.
And no BS,
it's around 86 ounces a hundred.
[indistinct chatter]
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
And we did,
we did multiple pans
and they all look the same.
So, background's 86 ounces
a hundred.
There's something
crazy out there.
We just can't get out there yet.
But maybe we can figure out
a way next year.
It's going to be
a huge investment
if we decide to tackle
this thing.
So, I mean, I'm throwing
it back into your guys's lap.
I can't mine without you.
What do you say?
There's no way I'm going
to miss this. Right?
And you young guys have no idea
what we're going to experience.
So, we're in.
All right, well,
let's make this official.
I'm excited
about what this means
for next year,
having them come here
and then to find gold
everywhere they looked
and in areas
that I wouldn't even
have looked.
It's a great investment
property.
Now we have a great team
that wants to come mine it.
Let's do it.
[Hunter] There was times here,
where I was thinking,
this is going to be
our last year.
We need this running. Period.
I'll try that's all we could do.
[Hunter]
I'm just happy for everybody,
for the whole team.
It was a make or break moment
and we pulled it off.
I feel really
good about next season.
Sorry, God.
You got to wait.
I gotta mine this ground.
I'm personally investing.
I'm putting it all on the line.
A lot of people don't do that.
But, you know,
I've always said, no guts,
no glory.
And you know,
if I lose it, I lose it.
If I win, I win.
And I've got a funny feeling.
This is gonna be a winner.
Hey, Dad,
will you bless us real quick?
[Jack] You bet.
Lord, we thank you
for this opportunity.
[Todd] We thought
it was his last shot.
But you know what?
It looks like Jack's going to
get another season.
This period of time
that we've been
able to mine together,
for me, it's been priceless.
Both teams have worked
together to do your will
and we give you the thanks
and praise and the glory.
It's in your name we pray.
- Amen.
- Amen.
I've had wins
and I've had a lot of losses.
And at the end of the day,
my relationship
with my son is better.
We have a future here
on this mine.
My dad and Jim
are as happy as ever,
and Andy looks like
he wants to start mining
tomorrow.
But we've got
seven months to wait.
Ice is coming, guys.
Let's get out of here.
I love you, buddy.
This is God's country up here.
And you know what?
For the Hoffman family today,
that was a good day.
in remote Alaska...
[Todd] Let's get to work.
Been here done this.
[man 1] This stuff
is what dreams
are made of right here.
The Hot Mess
is running some dirt.
Here we go.
[narrator]
...it all comes down to this.
The Hoffman family...
Let's run it.
Go!
[narrator] ...need just
47 ounces of gold
to earn another season
in this rich claim.
But the wash plants
are on the brink.
[man 2] Flame on.
Shut it down.
[man 3]
The whole chain's off motor.
[man 2] Okay.
This is a big problem.
[Randy] I think she's toast.
[narrator]
And both rock trucks...
[Randy] Oh! Man.
[narrator]
...are out of condition.
[Todd] Okay, let's go!
[narrator] Todd Hoffman
is close to success.
[Todd]
I'm not going home a loser.
[narrator]
But has he learned enough...
[Todd] Go for it.
[narrator] ...to beat a mine
that is trying to break him?
[Todd] Come on, baby.
Million dollars.
[Jack] You know what?
No guts, no glory.
[Todd] Todd to Andy.
Todd to Andy.
Yeah, go ahead.
[Todd] We got a problem.
We need pay dirt
and we need it right away.
Always something around here.
[Todd] So it's 18 degrees,
once it gets below 13 degrees,
you can't mine.
The Z plant's down.
Right now we're only
running the Hot Mess
and then the Test trommel.
But we got a big storm
front coming in
and once that hits,
it's going to bring
too much weather.
And I know
it's going to shut us down.
But the problem right now
is that both our rock trucks
are down
and I'm starting
to run out of pay dirt.
[Randy] Oh, we didn't need this.
[Todd]
Randy couldn't fix the 350.
There's just no way
to expand this tire.
Not in this weather.
That leaves us only the 400.
And without that truck,
it's all over.
[Randy] So, I got a chance
to work on the 400
this morning,
and I got
all the broken pieces
out of it.
We had three broken hoses,
two U-joints,
and we have a pipe that's broken
and that pipe is possibly
two weeks away.
That ain't going to make it
in time.
Oh, come on, now.
The drive line
between the engine
and the transmission,
the bolts
sheared off of the yoke
and the drive line
started swinging.
The drive line hit
two of the hydraulic pumps
really, really hard.
We don't know
if they're cracked.
We can't start it,
until that drive line's back in.
We're trying to see
if we can make it work.
If not, it'll sit here
until next year,
because there's...
I can't get parts
to put it back together.
[Chuck]
Things must be going too good.
You're not cussing.
[Randy] Yet.
Key word there, yet.
[Chuck] Yet!
We've got some parts
that we're kind of like
having to rig
that are not perfect,
but we're going to try
to make them work
and we'll see if we can get
the 400 running right now.
Son of a... Damn it.
Ahh!
I hate this *bleep* truck.
[Todd] We're too close to quit.
We're only 47 ounces
to beat this mine.
We've been
to the playoffs before.
Holy brick.
[man 4]
We got gold in that pan.
Guys, our luck
just frickin' changed,
and we lost.
Any gold at all, Jack?
There's nothing.
[Todd] But we've learned
how to win.
And Andy found us
some of that super rich
paydirt that we knew was here.
This is the richest ground
we've ever mined.
[Jim] 54.
Oh, my gosh.
It's about 89,000.
Jeez, man.
[Todd] Now we just got
to get that rich pay dirt
to the plant.
Most guys would snap
under the pressure,
but not Randy.
[Randy] When you can't feel
your fingers
and you can't feel your toes.
[Chuck speaking]
Oh, that's a good one.
[Chuck]
The ball's in your court
right now.
Oh, okay.
Nose, hose.
[Chuck] Fingers,
toes, nose, water hose.
And this really blows.
[Randy] This is fun.
I got the drive line
and the yokes all aligned.
Now I just got to hold it up
with one hand
and start the bolts
with my numb fingers
with the other hand.
I'm going to go in
and see if I can get it.
Boy, this is really a pain
in the butt.
[Chuck] Is there any way
I could drop you down a rope
or something through there?
- [Randy] That would be nice.
- [Chuck] Oh!
[Randy] I'm gonna to reach
that down through there.
That looks like
good job, Andy... Randy.
- [Randy] Yeah.
- Andy... Randy.
[Randy]
I'm hoping that it'll hold.
[Chuck speaking]
[Randy] Are you kidding me?
[Randy grunting]
[Chuck] Is that a good oh or...
[Randy] Yeah,
it slid right into place.
[Chuck] No!
[Randy] Oh.
Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
That frickin' bolt went in.
[Chuck] I can hear threads
going into threads.
[Randy] Yeah.
Ooh!
We win.
Be careful, my friend.
- See that accumulator sticking up?
- I do.
That hose
is right underneath of it.
And if that hose goes,
it could catch on fire.
Okay, well, I'll keep
a fire extinguisher
right handy there.
Okay.
So why don't you hop
in this girl
and let's see
if we can get her started.
- All right.
- Good, sir.
We can get to rolling
and hauling some pay.
[Randy] Let's see
if this girl will key up.
We're having troubles
with the computer.
Come on, computer.
- [Chuck] I have contact.
- [Randy] Lights.
- We're good.
- Are you ready?
All right!
Take her easy.
Only way I know, buddy.
Andy's waiting
for you back there.
All right!
We will get this thing
turned around and go.
Hopefully,
everything works out
all right
and we don't have
any more issues.
[Chuck] Well, here we go!
Looks like everything works.
We get up there
and get Andy to break
this frozen load out of here,
because it's been sitting
in like 20 degrees.
[Andy speaking]
[Andy speaking]
[Andy speaking on radio]
[Chuck] Copy that!
Thank you, buddy.
[Todd] After a brutal 24 hours
without a rock truck.
We are back in business.
Now we got
to work twice as fast
to get that rich pay dirt
over to the two
remaining plants
that we got running.
And hopefully, we get it done
before the weather chases us
the hell out of here.
How's it going, Dakota?
How's everything looking?
Everything's looking
pretty good.
Everything's coming out clean.
Plant's doing good.
[Hunter] Right now
we're at the homestretch.
This is the hardest part
of the season.
And the most
crucial part of the season
is right now.
We got
a lot of yardage to cover,
so we've just got
to go like hell.
We are burning
the midnight oil tonight.
[wind gushing]
[Nick speaking]
[Dakota] All right!
It would be nice.
[Dakota] We need 47 ounces
to get to our 300 ounce goal.
So the pay has been good.
It's kind of the only thing
that's keeping us alive.
There's a super-rich
river channel right here.
Now we got everything
back up and running,
so this can be our big break
to get everything caught up.
[Nick] You know, we've all
been putting our blood,
sweat and tears into this.
If we fall short,
I know it's not going to be
a good feeling.
[loud clanking]
Holy *bleep*.
Did you hear that?
Nick, get over here.
[Nick]
What's going on, man?
Hit that conveyor.
What's going on?
The whole trommel just jumped.
[Dakota] The whole chain
is off the motor.
[Dakota] Hey,
this is a big problem.
I heard a big pop
and the whole thing
jumped forward.
Dude,
this cannot not be happening
right now.
Hey, Randy, you got a copy?
[Randy on radio] Yeah.
Go for Randy.
I really hate to say it,
but we need you up here
at this test trommel.
Things are bad.
[Randy on radio] All right.
I'm on my way.
I'll be right there.
With the Z plant
already being broke down,
you know,
we moved everything up here.
Every second down,
there's less and less gold
going through the sluice.
Only a few days left
in the season.
So we got to make every day
count right now.
[Randy] Hey, what's going on?
- [Dakota] Whole trommel hopped forward.
- [Randy] What?
[Nick] It threw
that chain off the motor.
And we think it,
maybe even hurt
the motor a little bit.
[Randy] Dude,
look at that gearbox.
Holy!
It's not even
in the right location.
It's busted off
the bottom mount.
I'm not sure
if the trommel caused
the damage
or if it was the gear drive
busting off the floor
that caused the trommel
to move forward.
But the mount
that was welded to the deck
has completely been
ripped off the deck.
That motor is done.
There's no way you can fix it?
[Randy] That's the equivalent
of 20,000 pounds of
sheer force.
There's quite a bit of metal
that has been just
ripped off the deck.
I don't think
we're going to be
able to fix that.
[Todd] Oh, oh. What?
I got some bad news.
Dude,
when you come in like that,
it's always bad news.
Like how bad?
The test trommel...
- [Todd] Yeah.
- ...imploded.
What?
So the gear drive
on the bottom that drives
the trommel,
it broke up off the deck
and the trommel
has slid forward
an inch-and-a-half.
[Todd] Can we fix it?
It looks pretty nasty
over there.
I don't think we can fix it.
You telling me it's over?
I think it's done.
So, now that we don't have
the little trommel,
we don't have the Z,
the only thing we got
left is the big... big plant.
Well, all hands on deck,
then on the big trommel.
And let's just keep it
running till the end.
Dang it.
I really would like to have
seen that little guy make it
all the way through.
The big trommel runs
the most amount of dirt.
But the problem
with the big trommel
is that a lot of things
can go wrong.
That's what worries me,
because if one thing goes wrong,
it's a domino effect
and all these other issues
are going to pile on
and then we're done.
Hey, next time you come in here,
can you make it good news?
I'll try not to break anything.
- All right?
- [Randy] But I'm just the fixer.
- Well. Thank you.
- [Randy] All right!
For all your work.
Appreciate it.
- I got work to do.
- [Andy] Thanks, Randy.
We are down to one plant.
We got to run
the wheels off that thing.
[Andy] Yeah.
[Matthew]
Little frozen up in here.
Not too bad.
It's coming out.
Well, this is the last
pull of the season.
Test plant broke down.
Putting a nail in it.
[narrator] This is the last time
the test plant will be used
for the next year.
So it's crucial they remove
every last bit of
potentially gold bearing dirt.
Even one scoop can make
the difference
in the Hoffman team
hitting their goal
of 600 ounces of gold
this season.
[Luke] It's kind of heavy.
[Matthew] All right,
let's get up to Thurber.
You ready?
That's good enough.
Hey, guys.
[Matthew] Hey, Jack.
Thurber.
That's it?
That's not much.
[Matthew] Not in that one.
That was the last one.
- Oh!
- This is our scrape off.
[Jack] Well,
you guys got a lot of carpet.
I wonder how much gold's
still in it.
You know,
it's a good thing you had
that little test plant.
I think it outperformed
everything else
on your claim here.
[Matthew] Oh, I know it.
[Jim] But worked her too hard.
- [Jack] The little test plant that could.
- Well, now it can't.
[Hunter] Right now,
everybody's beaten down,
worn out.
We've been battling problems
since the day we got here.
Everybody's put
in a lot of work,
and I'm just hoping
we make it to our goal.
Because it's either
going to be a big loss
or a big win.
Chuck, you got a copy?
[Chuck on radio]
Yeah, I got a copy.
All right, bring her in, man.
Chuck's bringing
the last couple of loads.
So, we're good to go to run
through the night.
Dump her right there.
[Chuck on radio]
Copy that, buddy.
[Hunter] Yeah.
You're all good.
Peel out of there.
Thank you, Chuck.
[Chuck speaking on radio]
[Hunter] You too, buddy,
get some sleep.
We got another
long day tomorrow.
[Chuck on radio] Copy that.
We'll see ya later.
[narrator] With enough
paydirt to last through
the night...
[Hunter] Good,
we got the B-team here.
[narrator] ...the Hoffman
crew's ace miners are ready
for their night shift.
A team is here,
we're ready to take over.
Holy crap!
Andy and I got brought in
to run night shift.
We used to do night shifts
together for years.
We got the Chorus Creek Boys
down here.
The money's
going to be made here
at night with these guys.
Everybody knows we...
we're kind of the backbone
of the operation.
We're going to get
more dirt through this plant
than anybody else,
probably in the world.
I'm really excited
to have you guys here
for your actual
first real night shift
you've ever done.
It's not our first night shift.
So we're on the final push.
Todd and I are
going to come out here
tonight and help.
It's not the first time
I've done this.
These young guys think
that they know
what they're doing.
We're going to show them
a few tricks.
[Dakota] She's warmed up
and ready for you.
- Is she ready?
- She's good to go.
Ready to go.
We're about ready
to put on a clinic.
Me and your old man.
[Hunter] I'm ready to see it.
We used to run night shift
for a long time
when you were in diapers.
[Dakota] So I heard.
You know,
all the plants were shut down
except for the trommel.
We don't have
a lot of time left.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Hopefully I don't
screw stuff up too bad.
Dude, I forgot.
I forgot how to drive
a loader in the dark.
I wish we had the Hitachi.
This thing is running
on about four
out of six cylinders.
[Andy] Everything is tired,
the equipment's tired.
Guys are tired.
All we got to do is keep
the sucker running
and keep dirt going through it.
[Todd] She ain't pretty.
She's losing dirt.
Oh, you want that
paydirt a little closer.
Okay.
I don't know about Andy
and my dad running
night shift.
- It's been a while.
- It's in their hands.
It's in their hands now.
Let's get to bed, dude.
Let's go.
Todd to Andy, how are you doing?
[Andy on radio] Good.
[Andy speaking]
[Todd]
We're back at square one.
These guys
are superior miners, man.
These young guys have turned
into damn good miners.
There's a future
of all this stuff,
but it's us guys here
that can open that door.
And part of that is just
running a night shift
and being part of the team.
And there's a lot of guys
at home right now
that would love to be
running dirt,
sluicing with their sons
right now.
I'm just so thankful.
I'm grateful to God
that I'm running dirt.
I'm with my best buddy, Andy,
best miner out there.
If we never got to do
this again,
if we didn't get to do
this day over again,
it'll be okay.
This day here goes
in the record books for me.
[narrator] Todd and Andy
do their part to give
the young guns
time to get
a few hours of sleep.
[Hunter] Had a good one
in the books, man.
Number 5 cell.
This is us.
[Hunter] Yeah.
You have a good day today?
[Nick] Nope. Do you?
[Hunter] No.
[Nick]
Sort of went pretty normal.
[Hunter] As long as
we're both suffering,
I guess it's not that bad.
[Nick] What's on my brain
right now is that big trommel
and the spray bar up top.
[Hunter] Yeah.
[Nick] What if it bursts?
[Hunter] Probably.
It's probably going to,
if we're being honest.
[Nick] Sometimes,
I just sit here and dream
about the Z and wonder if...
[Hunter] I know,
I hear Nick sometimes,
in the sleep.
"Turn off the water.
We need more pay."
I calm him down, rub his head.
"Nick, it's just a dream."
Get your three hours of sleep.
Got to get up.
Good night.
[Nick] Good night, dude.
See you in the a.m.
[Hunter] Well, dude.
Leaving me hanging, dude.
[Nick] My eyes were closed, man.
[Randy] We're running out
of fuel fast.
The fuel truck was supposed
to come out today,
but was called off due
to the fact that the pass
was iced over.
They are unable
to bring us any more fuel.
This is our fuel storage.
This front tank
is completely full,
but it is the smaller
of the two tanks.
And as you can see,
that one's full.
But this one here...
bone empty.
We've only got the front tank,
which is probably about,
oh, 6... 700 gallons here,
plus whatever's in
the white fuel truck,
which is probably
about 1,200 gallons.
The only problem with that is
if you run all of your
fuel out,
it's an 80-mile drive back
to town.
So we need to save
at least enough fuel
to get out of here,
because I really
want to go home.
[Jim] Right now,
we're washing the ancient
river channel concentrate.
This will be the final
mat hole from the test plant
this season.
Those guys have been
busting their butt,
working hard outside.
We're inside. It's heated,
but Jack and I will be
running nonstop.
Got a coffee pot
over there plugged in.
We'll just
keep drinking coffee
and working.
[Jack] The season
is getting to the end,
freezing, it's coming
and has hit several times.
Once our water freezes up,
I'm done with the cleanup room.
[narrator]
As the temperature drops,
Jack and Jim perform
their final cleanup
from the test plant.
They're hoping for nearly
20 of the 47 ounces needed
to reach the 600 ounce goal.
Get this stuff washed and dried.
We'll weigh it
and see what we got.
But crucial that we do well.
It has to be good.
As they say,
come hell or high water,
you know?
When gold looks like this...
kind of get your heart going.
[Jack] Only 7.3 ounces.
[Jim] It's not good.
It's not good at all.
[Todd] This is it. Last run.
Winter's coming.
A lot of our future here
is on the line here,
if we get this gold or not,
but we're in God's hands
on this whole thing.
Can we pull it off?
I don't know,
we're going to have
to find out.
[Jason]
I get a lot of invested
in this mine.
A lot of people invested
in us with family memories.
I believe in Todd and his crew.
I believe in the Hoffmans.
I think that he's going
to pull it off.
[Hunter] I mean,
everybody on this entire mine
put their heart
and soul into this operation.
And I think,
now that we're coming
to the end,
I think everybody
is super happy and excited
about what we've done here.
Fingers crossed
nothing breaks on it,
because if it shuts down,
it's going to freeze solid.
[Todd] He's going to come down
on the RPMs a little bit.
This is where the problem happens.
We're starting to fill up
the slurry line.
Hey, Hunter.
How's it going into the trommel?
[Hunter] I like it.
It's our last chance.
We got to make this thing work.
It's our last line of defense
against the winter.
We don't have much time left.
So, we are 47 ounces short.
We got a cold front
that's already moving in.
It's only 15 degrees.
Of course,
we're almost out of fuel.
But you know what?
I just feel like
we're going to win.
I smell victory on this one.
I think, we're going to kick
this mine's ass.
[Hunter] What do you think?
[Todd] I'd love to get
another day out of her.
[Hunter]
I talk to Matt and Luke.
They were just struggling
with it all night,
so I think they ended up
shutting it down,
because the water
was just so cold
and it was moving
so slow that the trommel
just wasn't even working right.
If we're not catching gold,
I don't think
there's any point
in running it.
We're just circulating mud.
[Todd] It's been a pain,
but it did catch gold.
Where are we at on gold?
Do we have enough?
That's the question.
You know,
it's not going to run
in this weather.
I say we just pull the mats,
clean it out.
[Andy] Hope for the best.
[Todd] How do you break up
with something like this?
This is a hot mess.
Yeah.
It's a cold mess now.
[Todd] The Hot Mess is done.
I feel like it needs
some kind of a ceremony.
Let's give a little fake drink.
Raise our glasses.
To Hot Mess.
For the last time,
let's yell it out there.
[in unison] Shut her down.
[Todd] And you know what?
Let's not talk
about this plant ever again.
[Andy] Agreed.
[narrator]
With all three wash plants
down for the season,
the Hoffmans future
relies on the last
big trommel mat pull.
[Matthew]
I don't know about you,
but I'm actually
really, really happy
that we never have to touch
these mats again.
We should celebrate.
[Luke] Was all this
shoveled already?
[Matthew]
Let me do this bucket.
[Luke] That is 20 buckets
settled in.
Still definitely
one of the hardest job
to do for sure.
Definitely
why nobody's volunteering
for it.
That's why we're in here,
grinding them out.
[Matthew] Let's do it.
[Sparky] Special delivery.
It's four in the morning.
It's your 4 a.m. pay day.
[Jim] Geez, it's cold, man.
[Sparky] This is the last
pull of the season.
And I got to do it
with my boys back over here
at the big trommel.
And now we get to hand
this over to Jack
and Thurbs
and we get to see
the huge gold reveal.
And I know,
we're going to make our goal.
We worked too hard
this season for not.
[Jim] Wow.
That is a bunch of dirt.
[Dakota] It's a big load.
[Jim] God,
how are we going to do this?
[Jack] Put it straight on,
you guys
just pull it straight on.
[Jim] Wow.
So, this is the whole...
[Dakota] Everything.
[Jim] Everything.
I've actually never
pulled this whole box before.
We've only ran enough
yardage to pull the top mat,
so it's kind of a lot
to deal with.
- [Nick] Oh, dude.
- [Sparky] Good job, boys.
- [Nick] Look at that.
- [Jim] You guys are crazy.
- [Nick] Nice work.
- [Sparky] Good job, boys.
- Good job, boys. Good job, boys.
- Nice work.
[Todd] After only getting
seven ounces
from the test plant,
I'm actually getting
pretty worried
that we're not
going to make our goal.
It's all coming down
to the big trommel clean up,
the Hot Mess.
That's the plant
that we've been battling
all season.
What I don't want to do
is fail my team.
This has happened before.
It can't happen again.
We got to get this gold.
[Jim] I'll get started.
Get this thing running.
You can see all the buckets,
the bins,
the carpets
that got to be cleaned.
It's all from the big trommel.
And that's what we need.
We needed that machine running.
As soon as the water freezes,
we're done.
But Jack
and I will be running nonstop.
That's what we do.
[narrator]
With just seven ounces of gold
from the test plant,
the Hoffmans,
now need the big trommel
to bring in 40 more ounces.
So this is good.
This is what we need.
So kind of excited to see
what we have,
when we get done.
Right now, when you get
this amount of gold
right here,
a band of about 3 to 4 inches,
that's awesome.
And that's the way
it should be
all the time.
It's imperative
that we get the amount
of gold that we're after.
Yardage is the name of the game
and we're putting through
as much as we possibly can.
All right.
Shut her down, man.
[Jim] Okay.
[Jim] This is my favorite
sound right here.
Oh, you almost pass out.
[Jack] That's not bad.
[Jim] It's pretty good.
But look at here.
[Jim] Oh, my word.
- What is that?
- [Jim] That's baby powder.
What it means for me
is we're definitely catching everything
that the land has in it.
I'd rather
have a jar of fine gold
than a jar of nuggets,
it'll weigh 10 times as much.
God, look at how fine that is.
[Jack]
Can't capture this fine gold
unless you do it our way.
I was thinking
maybe after a couple of weeks,
we could switch bunks.
I go up top, you hit the bottom.
I mean, it's only fair.
It's hard to sleep
with the mice running
around on your feet.
Yeah, that's what I was
going to get to. You know?
I came in here the other day
to get my hard hat,
and I saw a mouse
jump out of the Nick's
sleeping bag.
Little ratatouille likes
to climb in my bag.
And now,
in the middle of the night,
I always think
that there's mice climbing
around my feet,
and then I can't really
sleep that well.
He checks his bag.
Gets in.
About an hour later,
check it again.
Yeah. Maybe if I put
in 140 hours a week,
I can get that top bunk status.
- You only worked 120 this week, so...
- Dude?
You're close to
the top bunk status, but...
I'm going to work
my way up there, man.
You watch.
Hey, guys.
[man 5] We made it.
We're here.
Oh, my God!
[indistinct chatter]
Hey, here is Jack.
Here's the crew.
[Todd]
I've been waiting for this.
So for three years
we haven't mined.
We always had this feeling
of unfinished business.
When I came here,
I didn't want to say, no.
I knew that this would be
our very last chance
of gold mining.
Hunter and I had
some repairing to do
with our relationship.
- Night, big daddy.
- Love ya, buddy.
[Todd] But my dad needed
to keep going on
his mining dream.
If you don't go,
you're going to be
wondering why you didn't.
- Let's do it.
- All right.
[Todd] When I heard
that we only needed 300 ounces
to set my friends
and family up for years
to come,
I thought, no problem.
Let me see that.
But everything was a problem.
Oh, my God.
This plant sucks.
We busted our ass, Todd.
That ground is *bleep*.
I'm done.
[Todd] We failed a lot
in the past at mining.
You are frickin' kidding me.
[Todd] But whether I hit
the goal or not...
We got water.
Big trommel in action.
That's it.
[Todd] ...for me personally...
I love it.
...this season was a win.
So, we're trying to get
300 ounces.
It's about
a half a million dollars.
Maybe we made it.
Maybe we didn't.
But I just
want to tell you guys,
I'm super thankful
for the opportunity.
I am thankful
that I got to mine
with my son and my dad.
Coming in together,
our team, and your team,
and you guys accepting us
in as brothers,
that meant
the world to everybody.
And I'm sure you guys
feel the same way.
So whether we mine
here next year,
I'm just thankful
for the time that we had.
Thurber, Jack,
where we're at, man?
[Jim] Well...
so far.
That is 253 ounces.
We need 47 more
to get to our goal.
Well, your final cleanup
is going to tell
you whether we really
made it and it's right here.
[Todd] Is it good?
Feel good?
Is that heavy one, Thurb?
Come on.
Thurber, you want to pour it?
- Okay.
- All right. Here we go.
Jack, call it out.
Let's pour some gold.
[Jack] There's 8, 9, 10,
12, 14, 15 and 20, 25,
27, 28, 30, 36,
37, 39, 40,
44.
Come on.
[Jack] 48, 49, 50,
52, 60.95.
[all cheering]
- [Todd] We did it.
- [Hunter] We did it, dude.
[Todd] You know what,
we didn't set any records,
but hey, you guys did it.
All you guys
out there did it, man.
You did it.
I'm proud of you guys.
314 ounces gets you
the money you need
for the investment.
Thank you, Todd.
I can't believe we made it.
It's been a fight.
I'm not a miner.
I'm an investor.
And I needed a team here
that would take the...
the operating mantle
and just kind of run
with it and man,
I'm impressed that you came
and you went over and above.
We talked about what would
happen if we hit our goal.
I want you guys back here.
Do you want to mine here?
Is this where your future is?
I want to mine here.
But we need
several million dollars
worth of equipment,
- I think, to do this right.
- Agreed.
Because I believe
that this ground deserves
that kind of an effort.
There's pay everywhere.
There's gold everywhere.
All this river channel.
When I found
that ancient riverbed,
I just couldn't believe it.
We get into the bottom of that.
That is going to be loaded
with gold.
[Todd] I came at a perfect time
because we were able
to make it a win.
And there's a lot more area,
just like this.
This is maybe
a once in a lifetime
opportunity on this ground.
Hey, Hunter,
do you want to tell
these guys
what you found at Atlas?
[Hunter] So,
I brought back some samples
when I went out in the Nodwell.
Supposed to be some legendary
ground out here.
And I don't think
anybody's laid foot
on this ground in a long time.
And no BS,
it's around 86 ounces a hundred.
[indistinct chatter]
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
And we did,
we did multiple pans
and they all look the same.
So, background's 86 ounces
a hundred.
There's something
crazy out there.
We just can't get out there yet.
But maybe we can figure out
a way next year.
It's going to be
a huge investment
if we decide to tackle
this thing.
So, I mean, I'm throwing
it back into your guys's lap.
I can't mine without you.
What do you say?
There's no way I'm going
to miss this. Right?
And you young guys have no idea
what we're going to experience.
So, we're in.
All right, well,
let's make this official.
I'm excited
about what this means
for next year,
having them come here
and then to find gold
everywhere they looked
and in areas
that I wouldn't even
have looked.
It's a great investment
property.
Now we have a great team
that wants to come mine it.
Let's do it.
[Hunter] There was times here,
where I was thinking,
this is going to be
our last year.
We need this running. Period.
I'll try that's all we could do.
[Hunter]
I'm just happy for everybody,
for the whole team.
It was a make or break moment
and we pulled it off.
I feel really
good about next season.
Sorry, God.
You got to wait.
I gotta mine this ground.
I'm personally investing.
I'm putting it all on the line.
A lot of people don't do that.
But, you know,
I've always said, no guts,
no glory.
And you know,
if I lose it, I lose it.
If I win, I win.
And I've got a funny feeling.
This is gonna be a winner.
Hey, Dad,
will you bless us real quick?
[Jack] You bet.
Lord, we thank you
for this opportunity.
[Todd] We thought
it was his last shot.
But you know what?
It looks like Jack's going to
get another season.
This period of time
that we've been
able to mine together,
for me, it's been priceless.
Both teams have worked
together to do your will
and we give you the thanks
and praise and the glory.
It's in your name we pray.
- Amen.
- Amen.
I've had wins
and I've had a lot of losses.
And at the end of the day,
my relationship
with my son is better.
We have a future here
on this mine.
My dad and Jim
are as happy as ever,
and Andy looks like
he wants to start mining
tomorrow.
But we've got
seven months to wait.
Ice is coming, guys.
Let's get out of here.
I love you, buddy.
This is God's country up here.
And you know what?
For the Hoffman family today,
that was a good day.