Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - Digging In - full transcript
Claudia and Robin try to impress their new business partners but the first days at their new claim, Bullion Creek, are frustrating.
(door slamming)
- Oh boy, oh boy.
Laundry day.
Wolverine laundry room, yep.
- [Narrator] In the alpine
of Northern British Columbia,
Claudia Bunce is settling in
to her jade mining camp, Wolverine.
- Well normal people do
laundry inside a building,
we do laundry outside.
I'll do some of mine, some of Robin's.
- [Robin] Thank you!
(laughing)
- Okay, back to business.
- [Robin] Yep.
- [Narrator] Claudia and Robin
are expecting visitors today.
Overseers from their
new partner's company.
- [Radio] Those folks just
arrived in Provencher.
- See, so they just came in.
- [Robin] Mm-hm.
- [Narrator] Claudia will
have to break the news
to them that mining is on hold
until her crew can get
their excavator to camp.
- We're missing an excavator.
It's not how I want things to go.
I need that excavator on site.
- [Narrator] Just hours
into the 120 kilometer
trip to Wolverine.
- She caught on fire.
Blew the end right off
the hose, caused the fire.
- [Narrator] They had
to leave the excavator
near the trail head for two days
and replace the burnt hydraulic lines.
- We need it here.
- [Claudia] Yeah.
- [Narrator] Now their new
operator is driving it to camp.
- It's a day and a half with the excavator
from the turniken to here.
- Yeah, it's (beep) up
every which way for us.
I don't know if us not
being ready for the partners
to come and take a look is a great way
to start the partnership, but it's the way
that our partnership is starting.
(tools hitting rocks)
- Oh my god!
(rock style music)
- This is gonna be the
million dollar rock.
- Yee-hoo!
- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.
(helicopter rotors whirring)
- Hello.
(laughing)
(dog barking)
- Shh, none of that.
Hi, how are you?
- Good.
- Good.
- [Narrator] Christina and
William are supervisors
from Claudia's new partner company, NEK.
A month ago, Christina's boss Peter
became Claudia's new mining partner.
Now Peter wants his staff
to check in on things.
- Welcome to camp.
- This is the camp?
- Yeah, this is the camp.
This is their first time out
here, so this is really rural.
- [Narrator] Christina is from Vancouver,
while William is from the Beijing office.
- Okay, you ready?
- Yes.
(laughing)
- What's ready?
- [Claudia] This is your home.
- [Christina] This is my new home.
- There's a heater for
when you get cold, William.
I'm not gonna nurture these guys at all,
I'm gonna let them have
the full experience,
'cause they need to know
what we have to go through.
This is how we wash,
this is the little plastic house.
We're leading a miners life.
No unicorns, and very few rainbows.
The toilet is over here,
right there.
- [Christina] Hm, okay.
- She asked me, "How do the
girls go to the bathroom
out in the bush?", and, "Do
the mosquitoes bite our bums?".
(squeals)
Oh, lots of bugs. You
get used to the bugs.
(laughing)
So, everything is ready
to go, but we've had
lots of problems with you guys' equipment.
- [Christina] Oh yeah, which one?
- The excavator.
- [Narrator] Claudia
blames their late start
for mining on NEK's machines.
- Like what?
- It almost burned down on the way here.
- It burned by itself?
- The hydraulic hose and
it sprayed and it caused it
to short out on the battery.
- So we were really lucky that
they got the fire out right
away and that they fixed it.
Only six hoses had to be fixed.
Not the first impression I want to make
with this new partnership.
It's their equipment that's breaking down,
but I still don't want them to think
that this is what the
season's gonna be like.
I need that excavator on site.
(dramatic music)
(machinery operating)
- [Gary] On the road again.
- [Narrator] 50 kilometers away,
the new excavator operator,
Gary, is grinding his way to Wolverine.
- Well, unfortunately
I'm on the road again.
It's rough as hell.
The old body takes more of a
beating than the equipment.
- Well, the new employee coming in,
they're gonna get the dirtiest job.
- Mother (beep).
- (laughs)
- Track hoes aren't designed to walk
120 kilometers in one shot.
That's when stuff comes
loose, like pad bolts,
and all kinds of stuff can happen.
That's why we're taking our time.
Probably a 30 hour walk.
Yeah, Claudia and Robin both
are really relying on me
getting this hoe in there.
We got some mining to do.
- [Narrator] A few kilometers behind Gary.
- [Josh] Whoa, coming up
to a muddy section here.
Yee-hoo!
(engine noises)
- (beep)
That sucked.
- [Narrator] Claudia's youngest son, Josh,
is also heading towards Wolverine.
- First ride out of the season,
I was just taking my Level Three Medical,
and I'm first aid attendant
on site this year,
so watch out everybody.
I'm also gonna be running
all the equipment in and out
as usual, and doing
whatever I can in camp,
cleaning, cooking, digging jade,
prospecting and everything.
- [Narrator] Josh is driving
in the fuel truck that was
left behind for Gary and the excavator.
(beeping horn)
- [Josh] Hey buddy.
- I'll find a wide spot
and creep over here.
- [Narrator] Gary's all ready
fueled-up, so he pulls over
to let the faster vehicle get by.
- [Gary] Can you give me push?
- [Josh] Next time.
(laughs)
- [Gary] See you at camp.
- Okay.
- It's been a long winter,
we're just biting at the bit
to get mining.
- [Robin] Let's go find some jade.
- [Narrator] Up at Wolverine,
the Bunce's are taking
Christina and William on a
tour of their new jade claim,
Bullion Creek.
- Ready, Freddy?
- Yeah.
- Let's go find some big jade!
- Let's roll, sis.
- [Claudia] I can't wait to see Bullion.
I'm excited to see what's
there, and if it's as good
as what everybody says it is.
- [Narrator] The new Bullion
Creek plain is 8 kilometers
from Wolverine.
The terrain is rougher and swampier
than anywhere they've mined before.
- [Robin] It's okay for quads,
but if it starts to rain
we're not getting a vehicle up.
- You can do this.
What kind of ground is this?
- [Claudia] Swamp, but this
must of been a big lake
before, or something.
When we dig a hole, it
becomes like a pool,
very difficult to mine in.
But, if you find jade in this
it's usually in much better condition.
- [Christina] Yeah this is our land?
- [Claudia] Yep, you're on your land now.
- Ahhhh yes.
- To the valley.
- Oh (squeals).
- [Narrator] The new
mine site is also teeming
with mosquitoes.
- [Claudia] Did you eat a bug?
They're delicious, protein!
- It's very entertaining,
watching new blood
show up into a mosquito field.
Sometimes they fly right in your mouth.
- [Claudia] Oh yeah those are really good.
- Juicy.
They like new blood.
So all of the new people, get bit.
There you go.
- Will this help?
- [Robin] Yep!
- (camera clicking) Oh.
- So we're standing there.
- [Claudia] Mm-hm.
- This is all the area we have to mine in,
and then we take the other road down,
and this area we have two spots down here.
- [Narrator] Robin wants
to get the lay of the land
before picking the first area to mine.
- It's exciting to mine new ground.
New sites, there is new potential.
There's some interesting
prospects in that low area, Guy.
- [Narrator] They're
looking for surface rocks
left by glaciers.
A hint of exposed green,
plus a metallic ping sound
when hit with a hammer, can mean jade.
- [Robin] But we don't
want to go into an area
that there is no jade.
We've gotta walk it and make sure.
- [Guy] No good.
- [Claudia] No?
- [Robin] Christine and
William would like to see
grade A boulders, but
they're new in the game,
and they don't understand what it takes.
- Yeah this one I think's
got a bit of quartz in it.
- [Robin] It just takes time.
- [Guy] This is new ground,
so we're trying to, you know,
see where the most chances are.
You know, once you find one then you start
finding two, three.
- Hey, Robin!
(sound of tool hitting rock)
You hear that?
There's jade.
All of a sudden, boom.
- [Christina] Is that jade?
- [Guy] Yeah.
- It's green, and transparent.
Not such a bad beginning, right?
- [Claudia] (laughing) No, not
such a bad beginning at all.
- [Narrator] They may have
found a good area to mine,
but they'll need to wait
until Gary gets the excavator to camp.
- Yeah, there's jade here,
we've just gotta find
the big ones.
- It's really important that
the bullion claim pays off,
because this is the beginning
of a long-term relationship.
If it doesn't go well
in the very beginning,
there's no long-term relationship.
- It's a little bit different
than what I imagined.
We trust this family, and yeah.
Counting on her (laughs).
- And I'm counting on them! (laughs)
I think that we do all share
their enthusiasm for bullion,
but we have to prove to our new partners
that we know what we're doing.
So, once we find that first
piece, that'll be great.
Okay, back to Wolverine.
- [Josh] So here we are.
(horn beeping)
Wahoo!
- [Narrator] It's midnight at Wolverine,
and Claudia and Robin's son Josh
is finally joining the crew.
- Joshua's first time in the camp.
(dog barking and whining)
Look how excited he is!
He goes, "Let me see Josh!"
- How you doin'?
It's always a breath of fresh
air getting out to Wolverine,
I'm really keen and I'm really
excited to get out here.
- How you doing buddy?
Great.
- [Narrator] While Josh
settles in for his first night
at camp ...
- [Gary] Out in the middle of nowhere!
- [Narrator] Gary's night has just begun.
- [Gary] Trying to walk this
busted-ass hoe out of here.
- [Narrator] Gary's slow walk to Wolverine
has become even slower as
he's been forced to stop
again and again and to
tighten loose bolts and pins.
- So I've just been watching,
especially this last stretch.
- [Narrator] Parts of
the excavator's track
are barely holding on.
- Freestyle!
Hit the yellow brick road again.
It's gonna be a really long night.
I'm losing my positivity.
(dramatic music)
- [Guy] Try it out this way.
- (grunts with effort)
- Great and that hook right there?
- Yeah.
The other siter hook.
- [Josh] Yeah. No problem.
- [Narrator] At Wolverine,
Guy is helping Josh
with his first job at camp.
- Bam.
- We are just resetting the straps,
so we can bring our decks
up and put our tent camp
up for this season.
- [Narrator] The wall tents
will serve as shelter and
a first aid station on the
new Bullion Creek claim.
- The old permit is tent camp only.
We can't put any cabin up.
- But right now we're
gonna put up some tents?
- We're gonna put a tent up.
- Okay, perfect.
- [Narrator] Christina is
heading back to NEK's office
in Vancouver, but she's
leaving William behind
to monitor progress at Bullion Creek.
- [Claudia] So William, he's just er,
seeing what we're doing, watching us,
reporting back to the owner of NEK.
Its okay, we can live with that.
We're jade miners, we
know what we're doing.
(helicopter blades whirring)
- [Guy] Josh, what're you doing?
- It's all good.
- [Guy] I don't think that's gonna work.
- No worries.
(sound of landing heavily)
- [Josh] Oof (beep) that hurt.
- [Guy] (laughing)
- [Josh] That was a big drop.
- Told you to trust me.
- [Josh] Yep.
- Well, I'll just bring the
excavator in and we'll lift it.
- [Narrator] The excavator
at Wolverine belongs to
Claudia's other mining partner, Alan Chow.
They can use it at camp,
but not at their new claim.
- Each mine site has its own equipment.
Different owners, different equipment.
- Probably about twice as
much work to do this as
hand bombing them like my dad said,
but at least I don't
have to hand bomb them.
- [Robin] It doesn't have to be pretty,
it's just gotta work.
- [Josh] Yeah.
(horn beeping)
- William is staying in
camp with us, watching.
He knows nothing about mining,
but he's to report what we're
doing, how we're doing it.
- Up! Up!
- Yeah I can straighten it after.
- Roll it, Josh.
- That way.
- Lift it up!
(crunching noise)
- Hold on - what? (beep)
Where do I hear screaming from?
Dad?
- You just (beep) busted the bottom floor!
- Where the (beep) are you?
What are you screaming for, I can't hear--
- Just (beep) destroyed the bottom floor.
- Man! No he hasn't,
and it's my fault,
'cause I'm guiding him, so I
destroyed the bottom floor.
- The two by six is busted.
- Put another two by six beside
it, put some screws in it.
It distracts me when you're screaming,
and I'm (beep) working around this (beep).
- [Robin] It's never nice having someone
look over your shoulder.
- [Josh] So, that's good enough.
- Gotta go over it'll fall down.
Having an argument about anything,
it makes it for them to think that
you don't know what you're talking about,
or you don't know what you're doing.
You got to tip it right down.
We're always on edge, because
what is this guy reporting back?
Keep going! Good!
Right there.
But there's nothing we can do.
Part of the deal we had to make with them.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers
away, Gary is hobbling
towards Wolverine with
the much-needed excavator.
- Well, I feel like I'm just drunk.
I've only had two hours
sleep in the last two days.
- [Narrator] He's driven
through the night,
taking it extra slow, trying
to keep the track bolts
and pins intact, and the
excavator on the road.
- This road's up man,
especially in one of these
as everything bounces.
The track is loose a little bit.
(loud banging sound)
- Son of a bitch!
(sighs)
(melancholy guitar music)
- [Narrator] But instead of a loose bolt,
Gary discovers something much worse.
- Oh (beep).
A broken rail, right here.
We're done.
This sucks.
A broken rail.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers away from camp,
Gary's drive in has hit a snag.
A cracked rail on the excavator track.
- This side's not broke yet. Yet. (laughs)
If that breaks (makes breaking sound).
Track's laying on the ground.
No more move.
I checked it this morning
and everything was good.
I think it was that last
creek I crossed that did that.
That's a really bad thing.
Big job.
A very big job.
If we had a welder I could
probably weld it together,
but we don't have a welder either, so.
- [Narrator] The tools Gary
needs to fix it himself
are just hours away, at camp.
(engine starting)
- I'm gonna keep going
with the broken rail.
I'm hoping I can limp it in.
Don't know if it's gonna make it or not.
Crossed fingers.
(person whistling to dog)
- [Robin] Come on, Duke!
(dog barking)
- [Narrator] Meanwhile, the
jade city crew is arriving
at the Bullion Creek claim.
- Woo!
- That's our road.
- [Josh] Gonna take the
platforms for the tents so that
we can get the camp set up up there.
- [Robin] You're gonna have
to drop it there, right?
- [Josh] Hopefully me and my
dad can pull this together
and not argue too much.
- [Robin] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!
- [Josh] Mind your back.
I can't see him, he has to
come to where I can see him.
I need him right here.
- Straighten out.
A little more.
- Whoa right there.
Good, just leave it right there.
- [Narrator] There's still no excavator,
so the heavy platforms will
have to be unloaded by hand.
- Yeah, me no likey.
- [Josh] Yeah I know, this
is gonna be stupid dangerous.
- Hang on, make a plan.
It's not an easy process
without the excavator,
to unload anything.
- [Robin] Just gotta push it
to where it's gonna teeter
and then it'll slide down.
- [Josh] Hold it back (voice
drowned out by Claudia).
- [Claudia] So, you jump
down Josh and Guy'll hold it.
- [Josh] Are you guys lifting it?
- Just hang on a little bit.
You guys get ready to move.
- [Robin] Let it come down.
- What the--
- [Robin] Let it come down,
Josh, we're guiding it.
It's sliding.
Stand back!
- [Claudia] Move your head.
- Okay.
- [Robin] Perfect.
- [Josh] Done.
- Wahoo!
- And that's how you don't unload floors.
- [Robin] Well, that's how we do.
This is where we're
standing, is right here.
Over there we can come back,
so we're close to these trees.
- We're going to take
a look at the terrain,
and see the boulders and what
we can actually surface-see.
It's all prospecting, and finding out
where your biggest potential is,
and the spot that you
really wanna focus on.
- [Narrator] Once they locate
an area rich in boulders,
the hard work begins,
checking each boulder for a
ping sound and a sign of green.
- We literally have to dig with our hands,
until we find something that is a hint.
It's quite overwhelming.
- This is literally
eight feet of buck rush.
- [Josh] You lost?
- Nope. No sense taking the same trail,
might miss a piece of boulder.
- [Narrator] The small piece
of jade they found yesterday
was a good start, but they
want to see larger boulders
before committing to an area.
- [Guy] That broke too easy.
(sound of rock being struck)
- [Claudia] Serpentine?
- Yep!
- We got a little too soft.
I don't think there's very
much on the surface here.
- Nope.
- Last year they did
gold-mining on that claim
and they found traces of jade,
so we have the idea that there's a chance
of a rich jade deposit.
- A lotta hunting to find
the jade in this ground.
'cause there's nothing
sticking out, it's all buried.
So it's gonna be hard to find.
'cause there's nothing here.
Caka.
- [Claudia] Caka.
- Serpentine.
- You know we got lots
that are wrong rocks.
- I think it's a waste of (beep) time.
If you have to hunt too
hard to find the rocks,
it's not a great dig.
(whistling)
- Hey Robin!
Come and look at this one.
Jing-a-ling!
- So is this the trillion-dollar boulder?
- Yep.
- Wow, Guy.
- [Narrator] At their new
mining site, Bullion Creek,
the jade city crew has stumbled upon
a potentially giant find,
hiding in the brush.
- This is jade, Guy, look what he's got.
- Well I'll listen.
The ringy-dingy that I like.
- [Robin] Yeah, look at this green.
This apple, light green.
- Sounds good, looks good.
Bam!
- That's the boulder I prayed for.
We're not just guessing and hoping,
there is jade here.
- [Guy] Oh wow!
- [Josh] And it's the right color.
- [Claudia] Does it look green?
- [Robin] Apple green.
- Holy (beep).
We found jade.
Big, beautiful jade boulder.
Oh my God,
oh dear Lord Jesus.
- [Narrator] A boulder
this size, could be worth
over $500,000,
if it contains grade A jade.
- If it's grade A jade,
that'll pay for our season right there.
And then some.
- Hurry up!
Run!
We found jade!
- Start the car!
- (laughing)
- First one of the year.
- [Claudia] Come over here, William.
- [Guy] Jing-a-ling.
- [Claudia] Look at it.
- [Guy] That's on the surface.
- [Claudia] Oh my God!
- You want me to take a
picture of you with it?
- It's just the beginning.
I hope it's a good beginning.
- 3, 2, 1 (click of camera).
Cool.
- [Claudia] Green.
- For William to see that,
it's good because then he knows
that we're capable of
finding the jade for them.
- Super, super, super stoked.
- First day on the
property, huge jade boulder,
I think this is gonna be good luck.
- [Robin] If there's one, there's two.
- [Claudia] If there's
two there's a hundred.
(laughter)
- [Narrator] Later at camp,
there's more good news.
- [Gary] As of right now,
39 hours of walking time
with that hoe in two and a half days.
- Woohoo!
- [Gary] I'm surprised it made it in.
- [Narrator] By crawling along
at two kilometers an hour,
Gary spared the excavator further damage.
- [Gary] It's put-put-put.
- [Robin] Been super-lucky.
- [Gary] Ish! (laughs)
- Why you every time this trip? (laughs)
- [Gary] Hey, but not
missing one pad bolt.
- That's a (beep) miracle in itself, yes.
- [Narrator] Gary can fix the
rail, with the tools in camp.
- Squeeze it back in a little
bit and then weld her solid.
Then I think we can make
her last the season.
- At least the equipment's here.
Now it's just about
getting the equipment ready
and let's go mining.
- We found one jade boulder,
but it's just a start.
We know where to start digging,
now we've gotta find some more.
- [Narrator] Next time, on Jade Fever.
- [Josh] Woo chi mumma!
That's gotta be eight tons.
Woo! I'm stoked!
(tapping of equipment on rocks)
- Ohh, I got goosebumps again.
- I like it but you don't
know 'til you cut it open.
(helicopter rotors whir)
- Good to be back.
It's been a long winter.
- So I'm gonna head where
the equipment hasn't.
That one's totally different. Art.
- [Robin] Josh!
- [Josh] Dad?
I'm (beep), I'm responsible.
- Josh!
- I know, but I need you to understand.
(door slams)
- Oh boy, oh boy.
Laundry day.
Wolverine laundry room, yep.
- [Narrator] In the alpine
of Northern British Columbia,
Claudia Bunce is settling in
to her jade mining camp, Wolverine.
- Well normal people do
laundry inside a building,
we do laundry outside.
I'll do some of mine, some of Robin's.
- [Robin] Thank you!
(laughing)
- Okay, back to business.
- [Robin] Yep.
- [Narrator] Claudia and Robin
are expecting visitors today.
Overseers from their
new partner's company.
- [Radio] Those folks just
arrived in Provencher.
- See, so they just came in.
- [Robin] Mm-hm.
- [Narrator] Claudia will
have to break the news
to them that mining is on hold
until her crew can get
their excavator to camp.
- We're missing an excavator.
It's not how I want things to go.
I need that excavator on site.
- [Narrator] Just hours
into the 120 kilometer
trip to Wolverine.
- She caught on fire.
Blew the end right off
the hose, caused the fire.
- [Narrator] They had
to leave the excavator
near the trail head for two days
and replace the burnt hydraulic lines.
- We need it here.
- [Claudia] Yeah.
- [Narrator] Now their new
operator is driving it to camp.
- It's a day and a half with the excavator
from the turniken to here.
- Yeah, it's (beep) up
every which way for us.
I don't know if us not
being ready for the partners
to come and take a look is a great way
to start the partnership, but it's the way
that our partnership is starting.
(tools hitting rocks)
- Oh my god!
(rock style music)
- This is gonna be the
million dollar rock.
- Yee-hoo!
- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.
(helicopter rotors whirring)
- Hello.
(laughing)
(dog barking)
- Shh, none of that.
Hi, how are you?
- Good.
- Good.
- [Narrator] Christina and
William are supervisors
from Claudia's new partner company, NEK.
A month ago, Christina's boss Peter
became Claudia's new mining partner.
Now Peter wants his staff
to check in on things.
- Welcome to camp.
- This is the camp?
- Yeah, this is the camp.
This is their first time out
here, so this is really rural.
- [Narrator] Christina is from Vancouver,
while William is from the Beijing office.
- Okay, you ready?
- Yes.
(laughing)
- What's ready?
- [Claudia] This is your home.
- [Christina] This is my new home.
- There's a heater for
when you get cold, William.
I'm not gonna nurture these guys at all,
I'm gonna let them have
the full experience,
'cause they need to know
what we have to go through.
This is how we wash,
this is the little plastic house.
We're leading a miners life.
No unicorns, and very few rainbows.
The toilet is over here,
right there.
- [Christina] Hm, okay.
- She asked me, "How do the
girls go to the bathroom
out in the bush?", and, "Do
the mosquitoes bite our bums?".
(squeals)
Oh, lots of bugs. You
get used to the bugs.
(laughing)
So, everything is ready
to go, but we've had
lots of problems with you guys' equipment.
- [Christina] Oh yeah, which one?
- The excavator.
- [Narrator] Claudia
blames their late start
for mining on NEK's machines.
- Like what?
- It almost burned down on the way here.
- It burned by itself?
- The hydraulic hose and
it sprayed and it caused it
to short out on the battery.
- So we were really lucky that
they got the fire out right
away and that they fixed it.
Only six hoses had to be fixed.
Not the first impression I want to make
with this new partnership.
It's their equipment that's breaking down,
but I still don't want them to think
that this is what the
season's gonna be like.
I need that excavator on site.
(dramatic music)
(machinery operating)
- [Gary] On the road again.
- [Narrator] 50 kilometers away,
the new excavator operator,
Gary, is grinding his way to Wolverine.
- Well, unfortunately
I'm on the road again.
It's rough as hell.
The old body takes more of a
beating than the equipment.
- Well, the new employee coming in,
they're gonna get the dirtiest job.
- Mother (beep).
- (laughs)
- Track hoes aren't designed to walk
120 kilometers in one shot.
That's when stuff comes
loose, like pad bolts,
and all kinds of stuff can happen.
That's why we're taking our time.
Probably a 30 hour walk.
Yeah, Claudia and Robin both
are really relying on me
getting this hoe in there.
We got some mining to do.
- [Narrator] A few kilometers behind Gary.
- [Josh] Whoa, coming up
to a muddy section here.
Yee-hoo!
(engine noises)
- (beep)
That sucked.
- [Narrator] Claudia's youngest son, Josh,
is also heading towards Wolverine.
- First ride out of the season,
I was just taking my Level Three Medical,
and I'm first aid attendant
on site this year,
so watch out everybody.
I'm also gonna be running
all the equipment in and out
as usual, and doing
whatever I can in camp,
cleaning, cooking, digging jade,
prospecting and everything.
- [Narrator] Josh is driving
in the fuel truck that was
left behind for Gary and the excavator.
(beeping horn)
- [Josh] Hey buddy.
- I'll find a wide spot
and creep over here.
- [Narrator] Gary's all ready
fueled-up, so he pulls over
to let the faster vehicle get by.
- [Gary] Can you give me push?
- [Josh] Next time.
(laughs)
- [Gary] See you at camp.
- Okay.
- It's been a long winter,
we're just biting at the bit
to get mining.
- [Robin] Let's go find some jade.
- [Narrator] Up at Wolverine,
the Bunce's are taking
Christina and William on a
tour of their new jade claim,
Bullion Creek.
- Ready, Freddy?
- Yeah.
- Let's go find some big jade!
- Let's roll, sis.
- [Claudia] I can't wait to see Bullion.
I'm excited to see what's
there, and if it's as good
as what everybody says it is.
- [Narrator] The new Bullion
Creek plain is 8 kilometers
from Wolverine.
The terrain is rougher and swampier
than anywhere they've mined before.
- [Robin] It's okay for quads,
but if it starts to rain
we're not getting a vehicle up.
- You can do this.
What kind of ground is this?
- [Claudia] Swamp, but this
must of been a big lake
before, or something.
When we dig a hole, it
becomes like a pool,
very difficult to mine in.
But, if you find jade in this
it's usually in much better condition.
- [Christina] Yeah this is our land?
- [Claudia] Yep, you're on your land now.
- Ahhhh yes.
- To the valley.
- Oh (squeals).
- [Narrator] The new
mine site is also teeming
with mosquitoes.
- [Claudia] Did you eat a bug?
They're delicious, protein!
- It's very entertaining,
watching new blood
show up into a mosquito field.
Sometimes they fly right in your mouth.
- [Claudia] Oh yeah those are really good.
- Juicy.
They like new blood.
So all of the new people, get bit.
There you go.
- Will this help?
- [Robin] Yep!
- (camera clicking) Oh.
- So we're standing there.
- [Claudia] Mm-hm.
- This is all the area we have to mine in,
and then we take the other road down,
and this area we have two spots down here.
- [Narrator] Robin wants
to get the lay of the land
before picking the first area to mine.
- It's exciting to mine new ground.
New sites, there is new potential.
There's some interesting
prospects in that low area, Guy.
- [Narrator] They're
looking for surface rocks
left by glaciers.
A hint of exposed green,
plus a metallic ping sound
when hit with a hammer, can mean jade.
- [Robin] But we don't
want to go into an area
that there is no jade.
We've gotta walk it and make sure.
- [Guy] No good.
- [Claudia] No?
- [Robin] Christine and
William would like to see
grade A boulders, but
they're new in the game,
and they don't understand what it takes.
- Yeah this one I think's
got a bit of quartz in it.
- [Robin] It just takes time.
- [Guy] This is new ground,
so we're trying to, you know,
see where the most chances are.
You know, once you find one then you start
finding two, three.
- Hey, Robin!
(sound of tool hitting rock)
You hear that?
There's jade.
All of a sudden, boom.
- [Christina] Is that jade?
- [Guy] Yeah.
- It's green, and transparent.
Not such a bad beginning, right?
- [Claudia] (laughing) No, not
such a bad beginning at all.
- [Narrator] They may have
found a good area to mine,
but they'll need to wait
until Gary gets the excavator to camp.
- Yeah, there's jade here,
we've just gotta find
the big ones.
- It's really important that
the bullion claim pays off,
because this is the beginning
of a long-term relationship.
If it doesn't go well
in the very beginning,
there's no long-term relationship.
- It's a little bit different
than what I imagined.
We trust this family, and yeah.
Counting on her (laughs).
- And I'm counting on them! (laughs)
I think that we do all share
their enthusiasm for bullion,
but we have to prove to our new partners
that we know what we're doing.
So, once we find that first
piece, that'll be great.
Okay, back to Wolverine.
- [Josh] So here we are.
(horn beeping)
Wahoo!
- [Narrator] It's midnight at Wolverine,
and Claudia and Robin's son Josh
is finally joining the crew.
- Joshua's first time in the camp.
(dog barking and whining)
Look how excited he is!
He goes, "Let me see Josh!"
- How you doin'?
It's always a breath of fresh
air getting out to Wolverine,
I'm really keen and I'm really
excited to get out here.
- How you doing buddy?
Great.
- [Narrator] While Josh
settles in for his first night
at camp ...
- [Gary] Out in the middle of nowhere!
- [Narrator] Gary's night has just begun.
- [Gary] Trying to walk this
busted-ass hoe out of here.
- [Narrator] Gary's slow walk to Wolverine
has become even slower as
he's been forced to stop
again and again and to
tighten loose bolts and pins.
- So I've just been watching,
especially this last stretch.
- [Narrator] Parts of
the excavator's track
are barely holding on.
- Freestyle!
Hit the yellow brick road again.
It's gonna be a really long night.
I'm losing my positivity.
(dramatic music)
- [Guy] Try it out this way.
- (grunts with effort)
- Great and that hook right there?
- Yeah.
The other siter hook.
- [Josh] Yeah. No problem.
- [Narrator] At Wolverine,
Guy is helping Josh
with his first job at camp.
- Bam.
- We are just resetting the straps,
so we can bring our decks
up and put our tent camp
up for this season.
- [Narrator] The wall tents
will serve as shelter and
a first aid station on the
new Bullion Creek claim.
- The old permit is tent camp only.
We can't put any cabin up.
- But right now we're
gonna put up some tents?
- We're gonna put a tent up.
- Okay, perfect.
- [Narrator] Christina is
heading back to NEK's office
in Vancouver, but she's
leaving William behind
to monitor progress at Bullion Creek.
- [Claudia] So William, he's just er,
seeing what we're doing, watching us,
reporting back to the owner of NEK.
Its okay, we can live with that.
We're jade miners, we
know what we're doing.
(helicopter blades whirring)
- [Guy] Josh, what're you doing?
- It's all good.
- [Guy] I don't think that's gonna work.
- No worries.
(sound of landing heavily)
- [Josh] Oof (beep) that hurt.
- [Guy] (laughing)
- [Josh] That was a big drop.
- Told you to trust me.
- [Josh] Yep.
- Well, I'll just bring the
excavator in and we'll lift it.
- [Narrator] The excavator
at Wolverine belongs to
Claudia's other mining partner, Alan Chow.
They can use it at camp,
but not at their new claim.
- Each mine site has its own equipment.
Different owners, different equipment.
- Probably about twice as
much work to do this as
hand bombing them like my dad said,
but at least I don't
have to hand bomb them.
- [Robin] It doesn't have to be pretty,
it's just gotta work.
- [Josh] Yeah.
(horn beeping)
- William is staying in
camp with us, watching.
He knows nothing about mining,
but he's to report what we're
doing, how we're doing it.
- Up! Up!
- Yeah I can straighten it after.
- Roll it, Josh.
- That way.
- Lift it up!
(crunching noise)
- Hold on - what? (beep)
Where do I hear screaming from?
Dad?
- You just (beep) busted the bottom floor!
- Where the (beep) are you?
What are you screaming for, I can't hear--
- Just (beep) destroyed the bottom floor.
- Man! No he hasn't,
and it's my fault,
'cause I'm guiding him, so I
destroyed the bottom floor.
- The two by six is busted.
- Put another two by six beside
it, put some screws in it.
It distracts me when you're screaming,
and I'm (beep) working around this (beep).
- [Robin] It's never nice having someone
look over your shoulder.
- [Josh] So, that's good enough.
- Gotta go over it'll fall down.
Having an argument about anything,
it makes it for them to think that
you don't know what you're talking about,
or you don't know what you're doing.
You got to tip it right down.
We're always on edge, because
what is this guy reporting back?
Keep going! Good!
Right there.
But there's nothing we can do.
Part of the deal we had to make with them.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers
away, Gary is hobbling
towards Wolverine with
the much-needed excavator.
- Well, I feel like I'm just drunk.
I've only had two hours
sleep in the last two days.
- [Narrator] He's driven
through the night,
taking it extra slow, trying
to keep the track bolts
and pins intact, and the
excavator on the road.
- This road's up man,
especially in one of these
as everything bounces.
The track is loose a little bit.
(loud banging sound)
- Son of a bitch!
(sighs)
(melancholy guitar music)
- [Narrator] But instead of a loose bolt,
Gary discovers something much worse.
- Oh (beep).
A broken rail, right here.
We're done.
This sucks.
A broken rail.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers away from camp,
Gary's drive in has hit a snag.
A cracked rail on the excavator track.
- This side's not broke yet. Yet. (laughs)
If that breaks (makes breaking sound).
Track's laying on the ground.
No more move.
I checked it this morning
and everything was good.
I think it was that last
creek I crossed that did that.
That's a really bad thing.
Big job.
A very big job.
If we had a welder I could
probably weld it together,
but we don't have a welder either, so.
- [Narrator] The tools Gary
needs to fix it himself
are just hours away, at camp.
(engine starting)
- I'm gonna keep going
with the broken rail.
I'm hoping I can limp it in.
Don't know if it's gonna make it or not.
Crossed fingers.
(person whistling to dog)
- [Robin] Come on, Duke!
(dog barking)
- [Narrator] Meanwhile, the
jade city crew is arriving
at the Bullion Creek claim.
- Woo!
- That's our road.
- [Josh] Gonna take the
platforms for the tents so that
we can get the camp set up up there.
- [Robin] You're gonna have
to drop it there, right?
- [Josh] Hopefully me and my
dad can pull this together
and not argue too much.
- [Robin] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!
- [Josh] Mind your back.
I can't see him, he has to
come to where I can see him.
I need him right here.
- Straighten out.
A little more.
- Whoa right there.
Good, just leave it right there.
- [Narrator] There's still no excavator,
so the heavy platforms will
have to be unloaded by hand.
- Yeah, me no likey.
- [Josh] Yeah I know, this
is gonna be stupid dangerous.
- Hang on, make a plan.
It's not an easy process
without the excavator,
to unload anything.
- [Robin] Just gotta push it
to where it's gonna teeter
and then it'll slide down.
- [Josh] Hold it back (voice
drowned out by Claudia).
- [Claudia] So, you jump
down Josh and Guy'll hold it.
- [Josh] Are you guys lifting it?
- Just hang on a little bit.
You guys get ready to move.
- [Robin] Let it come down.
- What the--
- [Robin] Let it come down,
Josh, we're guiding it.
It's sliding.
Stand back!
- [Claudia] Move your head.
- Okay.
- [Robin] Perfect.
- [Josh] Done.
- Wahoo!
- And that's how you don't unload floors.
- [Robin] Well, that's how we do.
This is where we're
standing, is right here.
Over there we can come back,
so we're close to these trees.
- We're going to take
a look at the terrain,
and see the boulders and what
we can actually surface-see.
It's all prospecting, and finding out
where your biggest potential is,
and the spot that you
really wanna focus on.
- [Narrator] Once they locate
an area rich in boulders,
the hard work begins,
checking each boulder for a
ping sound and a sign of green.
- We literally have to dig with our hands,
until we find something that is a hint.
It's quite overwhelming.
- This is literally
eight feet of buck rush.
- [Josh] You lost?
- Nope. No sense taking the same trail,
might miss a piece of boulder.
- [Narrator] The small piece
of jade they found yesterday
was a good start, but they
want to see larger boulders
before committing to an area.
- [Guy] That broke too easy.
(sound of rock being struck)
- [Claudia] Serpentine?
- Yep!
- We got a little too soft.
I don't think there's very
much on the surface here.
- Nope.
- Last year they did
gold-mining on that claim
and they found traces of jade,
so we have the idea that there's a chance
of a rich jade deposit.
- A lotta hunting to find
the jade in this ground.
'cause there's nothing
sticking out, it's all buried.
So it's gonna be hard to find.
'cause there's nothing here.
Caka.
- [Claudia] Caka.
- Serpentine.
- You know we got lots
that are wrong rocks.
- I think it's a waste of (beep) time.
If you have to hunt too
hard to find the rocks,
it's not a great dig.
(whistling)
- Hey Robin!
Come and look at this one.
Jing-a-ling!
- So is this the trillion-dollar boulder?
- Yep.
- Wow, Guy.
- [Narrator] At their new
mining site, Bullion Creek,
the jade city crew has stumbled upon
a potentially giant find,
hiding in the brush.
- This is jade, Guy, look what he's got.
- Well I'll listen.
The ringy-dingy that I like.
- [Robin] Yeah, look at this green.
This apple, light green.
- Sounds good, looks good.
Bam!
- That's the boulder I prayed for.
We're not just guessing and hoping,
there is jade here.
- [Guy] Oh wow!
- [Josh] And it's the right color.
- [Claudia] Does it look green?
- [Robin] Apple green.
- Holy (beep).
We found jade.
Big, beautiful jade boulder.
Oh my God,
oh dear Lord Jesus.
- [Narrator] A boulder
this size, could be worth
over $500,000,
if it contains grade A jade.
- If it's grade A jade,
that'll pay for our season right there.
And then some.
- Hurry up!
Run!
We found jade!
- Start the car!
- (laughing)
- First one of the year.
- [Claudia] Come over here, William.
- [Guy] Jing-a-ling.
- [Claudia] Look at it.
- [Guy] That's on the surface.
- [Claudia] Oh my God!
- You want me to take a
picture of you with it?
- It's just the beginning.
I hope it's a good beginning.
- 3, 2, 1 (click of camera).
Cool.
- [Claudia] Green.
- For William to see that,
it's good because then he knows
that we're capable of
finding the jade for them.
- Super, super, super stoked.
- First day on the
property, huge jade boulder,
I think this is gonna be good luck.
- [Robin] If there's one, there's two.
- [Claudia] If there's
two there's a hundred.
(laughter)
- [Narrator] Later at camp,
there's more good news.
- [Gary] As of right now,
39 hours of walking time
with that hoe in two and a half days.
- Woohoo!
- [Gary] I'm surprised it made it in.
- [Narrator] By crawling along
at two kilometers an hour,
Gary spared the excavator further damage.
- [Gary] It's put-put-put.
- [Robin] Been super-lucky.
- [Gary] Ish! (laughs)
- Why you every time this trip? (laughs)
- [Gary] Hey, but not
missing one pad bolt.
- That's a (beep) miracle in itself, yes.
- [Narrator] Gary can fix the
rail, with the tools in camp.
- Squeeze it back in a little
bit and then weld her solid.
Then I think we can make
her last the season.
- At least the equipment's here.
Now it's just about
getting the equipment ready
and let's go mining.
- We found one jade boulder,
but it's just a start.
We know where to start digging,
now we've gotta find some more.
- [Narrator] Next time, on Jade Fever.
- [Josh] Woo chi mumma!
That's gotta be eight tons.
Woo! I'm stoked!
(tapping of equipment on rocks)
- Ohh, I got goosebumps again.
- I like it but you don't
know 'til you cut it open.
(helicopter rotors whir)
- Good to be back.
It's been a long winter.
- So I'm gonna head where
the equipment hasn't.
That one's totally different. Art.
- [Robin] Josh!
- [Josh] Dad?
I'm (beep), I'm responsible.
- Josh!
- I know, but I need you to understand.
(door slams)