Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 4, Episode 8 - Failing Grade - full transcript

As the crew races to make a fourth cut on the Pit 3 lens, an important jade buyer, Henry, arrives in Jade City. To everyone's disappointment, the jade quality fails to impress Henry. ...

(upbeat bouncy music)

- Okay, warm her up.

- Give her, Guy.

(engine turning over)

Get this party started.

- Yeah, get the day going here.

- [Narrator] At the Dynasty Jade Mine

in Northern British Columbia,

Guy and Gary are trying to
get a jade lens cut in half

before the arrival of
an important visitor.

- I'm sure we're halfway plus.



- Yeah, and we're down
to the skinny half, so.

We will see this thing cut.

- [Gary] You ready?

- Okay.

- Fire in the hole.

- [Guy] Oh!

Whoops!

- Well, that jammed up, didn't it?

(laughs)

That had barely touched that some bitch.

- Nothing's running smooth on this cut day

and, yeah, just another day of mining.

Gotta do what you gotta do.

Little more.



Right there.

We gotta try and get everything done

for when Henry shows up.

- [Narrator] Today a jade
broker from China, Henry Lee,

is coming to the site

and he's interested in the 100 ton rock.

- Henry knows everything about jade.

His uncle owns a factory, carves jade,

so he's gonna come look at everything

and tell us whether it's good jade or not.

Okay, let's give her another shot.

(generator humming)

- Oh, now we're good.

We can cut through a while longer.

- Yup, fingers crossed.

- [Narrator] Two days ago a heavy downpour

jeopardized the crews safety on pit three.

- [Gary] I'm not liking
how that dirt's moving in.

All our mud is starting to slide here.

- [Narrator] So they shut down mining.

- You guys, the rain's
kicking us out, let's go.

- [Narrator] Now the wet weather is gone,

the site is dried up

and Guy and Gary can get
back to cutting the lens.

- Sounds like it's cutting good.

It's all that and a bag of chips.

Gonna probably retire at pit three.

(machine beeps)

- Oh, that's not cool.

- [Guy] Shut the front door.

- (grunts)

- Ah, and you gotta be (beep) kidding me.

Blew a hole in the generator.

Rad hose.

It's getting hot, you can smell it.

Thought I could smell something hot.

- Some bitch, hey?

- [Gary] Can't have one good day.

- Guess we're done.

- Oh, we're pretty much (beep).

I'll take it apart.

Yeah, we just get this all working

the way we want it to work and
then stuff like this happens.

Now we're down until
we get a new rad hose.

- That's a squirrel.

- Yup.

Wildlife.

- We have a little bit from a critter

that decided to chew on this,

so we're gonna go back to
JC, see if we can find parts.

- Beer o'clock.

- Hello Robin, got your ears on Robin?

- [Robin] Yup, yup.

- We're heading back to jade store here.

We'll see you in a couple of minutes.

- [Robin] Okay, you got issues?

- Yes we do.

- [Narrator] The crew has put in weeks

of hard work at pit three,

but the problems seem to be non-stop.

- So what'd you (beep) up?

(laughs)

- You like squirrels?

(gasp)

- Chewed up the rad hose on the generator.

- They do this?

I've never seen this.

- Antifreeze flavor on it.

That's sugar.

- [Gary] That's definitely squirrel.

It was going good this morning too.

- [Guy] Yeah, saw was
working good, everything.

- It's very aggravating to break down.

When you finally are so
close to proving the jade.

Is there time to fix it today?

- [Gary] We're gonna try.

- My opinion on pit three
hasn't really changed.

I know there's good jade there,

but we've had all kinds of problems.

Shutdowns, breakdowns, rained out.

I look at it as there's a reason for this.

Maybe we aren't supposed to be out there.

(hammers smashing)

(upbeat bouncy music)
- Oh my God!

- [Man] This is gonna be
the million dollar rock.

- (shouting)

- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.

(upbeat guitar music)

- [Henry] Okay, so where's Claudia?

(laughs)

Hey guys!

How you doing?
- You're early.

- [Narrator] Robin and Claudia

are in Whitehorse in the Yukon

picking up Henry Lee,

one of the biggest jade buyers
and brokers in the world.

- Good to see you!

- Henry is still pretty young,
he's only in his forties,

but he's got a lot of experience.

He is a jade buyer for Canadian product

and for products all over the world.

How are you doing?

- I'm good.
- How was your trip?

- It was good.

- Well we have something
we want to show you.

- Yeah.

You ready to see some cool stuff?

Henry's family has been friends
of ours for a long time.

The whole family, they're
in the jade industry.

My dad started with his uncle,
his uncles are all in it.

They mine, they design, they manufacture.

They do a lot.

- [Narrator] Henry is interested

in seeing the jade mined at Dynasty.

- So we're gonna take you for a drive.

- Drive?

- After we get to Jade City.

- [Narrator] For Claudia and Robin

it's a chance to get some
advice on their new pit

and maybe even make the
first sale of the year

if Henry likes what he sees.

- We take his opinion seriously
and make decisions from it.

- Shall we go get lunch first, or what?

- No, we are not hanging
around here for too long.

- Why not?

- Because it's six hours of drive home.

- I thought it was like four hour drive.

- No!

I don't know who you drive
with, but not for us.

So Henry, I want to just
take you over to pit three

and just get your opinion.

Not that I think that
you're gonna be right,

but just to get your opinion.

- [Robin] And then you're gonna tell us

how much jade you wanna pre buy for fun.

- [Claudia] Yeah this is a
pre order opportunity Henry,

a pre order opportunity.

- Does that mean I'm there now,

so I should have like a 20% discount

before you guys mining it?

- Well maybe a 10% Henry,
let's not go crazy, 10% maybe.

(laughing)

- [Robin] Well, I see
you're heavy at work.

- Welcome to P3.

- Welcome to P3.

Where's the sign?
(laughing)

How you doing buddy?
- Good, how're you doing man?

- [Claudia] Look at this craziness.

- We tipped it over.

- No (beep).

- See this line right here?

- This piece here?
- That's how they break off.

- Was joined right there.

- This piece is not bad, solid.

- You look confused.

- No I'm not confused.

I'm just trying to figure
out what it looks like.

Imagine that I'm the glacier, okay?

That's how they move, how they goes.

You kinda have to feel with them.

You know, if I'm the guy driving the hoes

then I would know

exactly what I should
do on the next steps.

It's kinda idea like that.

- He's visualizing jade
formation (laughs).

- Sort of like a lot of Europeans,

they talk with their hands.

He looks with his hands (laughs).

- That's interesting.

I'm just trying to figure out

where the hell the good jades are.

- Well so are we.

(laughs)

If you could tell us that
would help us out a lot.

- I know.

- Henry actually has way more experience

in mining the hard rock than we have.

He is way more experienced
on the structure of the jade,

how it flows, how it's formed.

So, we wanna get his opinion on it.

Come take a look at this Henry.

Does this mean anything to you

when you see the talc like that?

Is there any indication with the jade?

- You got a four pound hammer?

- [Narrator] Jade is the toughest gem

and is incredibly hard to break.

It also has a distinctive
ring to it when hit.

- This is kinda dull
like dong, dong, dong.

See that's the sound of jade.

Most solid part.
- And that's in line

with our core that was really good.

- See, no matter how hard
you hit, it (beep) rings!

- Ones that ring like this,

yeah you probably wanna cut it.

To be honest,

if you're looking for
something to sell in the market

to make carvings or jewelry,

this is not qualified.

I don't think so.

- Henry thinks the lens is worthless.

Does it make me happy?

No.

- What I can say is,

probably nothing more over here.

- My season is 100 days if I am lucky.

You start digging and there's nothing,

you're in trouble!

- There's nothing behind it, right?

- Nothing behind it.

This is probably the
best you get right now.

(guitar strums)

- This was the end.

- This is the top right?

- That's the top, yup.

- [Claudia] And this is
the best one that I sank,

right here.

- [Narrator] In Jade City,

Claudia and Robin want
to get Henry's opinion

on their most promising core sample,

drilled from the middle of the big lens.

- Okay, your idea.

This core would indicate to
you as carbon quality, right?

- No.

- No?
- No.

- Well of course you want him to come here

and say that everything looks great

and that we're doing all the right things.

Below A B C.

- I would say F.

- But it's not what he said.

So if you drilled three
feet in a brand new site

and saw this it wouldn't
encourage you to go more?

- I think as deep as you go,

maybe this is the best you get.

- [Claudia] It's disappointing, you know,

spent tons of money to get here.

- [Narrator] The next
morning, Claudia and Robin

are on their way back to pit three

and trying to figure
out a potential plan B

for this mining season.

- Crazy.

Everything is coming apart
all at the same time.

But, we're not leaving
it the way that it is.

- Yeah, we have to cut that piece

then we'll know whether that boulder is--

- I'm not burying it until
we prove that it's (beep)

and we leave, or we're
gonna prove that it's good.

- [Robin] Yup.

- Hey guys, so were trying to figure out

what's the best way to move
forward with this mining season.

If we decide to walk away from this site,

I at least want to know for
your sake and for my sake

what we're gonna rebury.

- I really wanna know.

- So let's go cut that piece,

one more piece off of it.

In the meanwhile, Robin's going to

take a quick chopper ride out to Two Mile.

- Two Mile?

- [Narrator] Two Mile is
the site Claudia has had

in the family for years,

but she's never mined it.

- Two mile is a hard rock claim.

My dad started there 40 years
ago and wouldn't give it up.

It's the one claim he held
on to for the longest.

Dad never had the money though

to really do any incredible mining there

but we have the equipment now
and the potential is huge.

Okay, so, I think it's
worth going up to it

and taking a chance and seeing.

- [Guy] All right.

- So the plan is one more cut
and then we're outta here.

- [Gary] I cut the hose.

Trim our parts hose down to fit.

- [Guy] You got this big guy?

- I got this.

- [Guy] Cool.

- [Gary] I'm gonna McGarry it.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] Guy has
salvaged a radiator hose

from one of his old generators.

- [Gary] Thirsty.

(engine starting)

We're back in business.

- Looking good.

Okay.

- [Narrator] Guy hopes the middle cut

will reveal the same high
quality jade they found

in the core and convince Claudia

to stay at Dynasty and keep
mining the lens he found.

- I wanna stay here all year, I'm good.

I like this.

We just gotta cut, cut, cut.

We're gonna have a little battle here.

Right here the summer's paid for.

- Okay.

- [Guy] And then some.

(ominous nature sounds)

- [Robin] Want these in the front?

- [Henry] They can be in the cage.

- [Narrator] In Jade City,

Henry is heading out to
work at his own jade mine.

So Robin takes the opportunity

to chopper over the Two Mile claim

and get Henry's assessment of it.

- We're going over to Two Mile.

Get Henry's opinion on the lenses.

We're just going up there to have a look

and with his x-ray eyes
he'll pick out the jade.

- Gotta go.

- [Robin] Okay.

- Bye.

- You're trying to make the best decisions

and Two Mile is very similar to Dynasty,

so we really feel that
there is an opportunity

for finding great jade out there,

but there's no guarantee.

This is a treasure hunt,
this is why we do it.

We're gonna go there and prove it.

(chopper blades whirring)

- [Henry] Right there, eh?

- [Robin] Yeah.

- [Narrator] 50 kilometers from Jade City,

Robin and Henry Lee, a jade buyer,

are getting a bird's eye view of Two Mile,

one of Claudia's hard rock jade claims.

- Right there below us is
more where it's coming out.

- [Narrator] Robin spots what
looks like several jade lenses

visible from the air.

- There's one there.

There's another one over here.

There's a fair bit sticking
through the surface.

Good enough for you Henry?

- [Henry] Yup.

- Okay. It's all been on the surface,

nobody's ever touched it, so--

- [Henry] I think it's
good for you to just go

and expose everything.

- Yup.

- [Narrator] The site looks promising,

but moving camp in the
middle of a 100 day season

is a gamble rarely attempted.

- You don't want to do a move
in the middle of a season

because your season is short

and while you're moving
camp you're not mining.

- [Narrator] They arrive at Henry's camp.

Before Robin heads back to Jade City,

he gets a last piece of advice from Henry.

- So you're opinion up
there, it looks good?

- Yeah, there should be jade there.

Robin, the serpentine's here,

just don't touch it.

Try the other side.

- Where that white is,
go to the other side?

- Just go for it!

- Yup.

(drilling)

- I'll stay late if I have to.

This rock's getting finished today.

- [Narrator] Back at Dynasty, Guy and Gary

are almost through the
center of the giant lens.

- I'm almost to the point

I'd rather just bust her
up with the excavator.

Pit three is my baby, I
don't want to let it go.

(rock breaking)

- [Guy] Oh.

It broke.

- [Gary] Well that works.
(laughs)

- [Narrator] The lens broke off

before the saw completed the cut.

- Worked out good.

Yeah.

That's apple green, man.

[Gary] Yeah, this looks good, eh?

- Looking pretty good.

So we'll clean this
wire saw outta the way,

move everything, dig a little trench here

and she will be open for
when the bosses get here.

- [Claudia] What's going on?

- You can see where it broke.

- [Guy] It broke perfectly.

- [Claudia] Oh, right there.

- Man, your gonna have a sore back

backing that (beep) off of here.

(laughing)

- You're gonna grab it and pull it?

- [Guy] Yeah, try to pull it over.

- Okay.

- [Robin] Don't scratch it.

- Well, it's gonna get
scratched a little bit, Robin.

Okay, let's move this rock.

- [Claudia] You're the man.

- Okay, try that Guy.

(machinery moving)
(rocks breaking)

- I think that's good.

Get the hose.

- [Guy] Okay.

- Wow, that's a nice green ribbon.

- [Robin] Yeah, but the best
part of this is down here.

This part here, where
there's fractures in it.

- [Guy] This is stupid nice here.

- That is really nice.

Damn.

- [Narrator] It's the highest quality jade

they've seen in this rock.

- I wonder if it gets better?

- [Gary] It's been getting
better all the way as we go.

- [Narrator] But it's too
little, too late for Claudia.

- Yeah, well it's exciting

and I think that the further we go

the nicer we're finding it,

but the further that we go
is gonna have to be delayed.

Tomorrow morning we head in to Two Mile.

- Tomorrow morning?

- [Claudia] Six tomorrow morning.

- Holy (beep), okay.

(cymbals)

That's what went through my head.

We're on the jade, we're cutting the jade

and them bam, we gotta move

and I'm going, really?

- It really is a really tough decision,

but we just don't have a choice.

Right now we're six weeks to
the end of the mining season,

so I'm in a hurry and I have
no money and I have no choice.

No other good choice, that's for sure.

- [Guy] Okay, well, we'll
pack up tonight I guess.

- Well of course the guys
aren't happy when I say,

okay, it's time to pack up, we're going,

but it's not their choice in the end.

I need to make decisions
that are hard decisions

and then we need to move on.

- [Robin] Please fasten your seat belts,

we'll be going through turbulence.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] It's a new
day and a fresh start

for the Jade City crew over
halfway through their season.

They're trekking 60 kilometers

to their new mine site called Two Mile.

Claudia is taking a big chance
that she needs to pay off.

(bang)

(whimpers)

- Okay.

(beep).

It's not a funny bone.

- [Narrator] The final
push up to the claim

is a 15 kilometer dirt road

that climbs into the high Alpine.

- This is the first time in my life

that I've been on the Two Mile road.

(groans)

- [Guy] 1600 meters,
we're getting up there.

- [Claudia] Wow. I might go deaf.

- [Robin] Top of the world baby.

- [Claudia] Top of the world is right.

We made it, yes we made it.

Woo, mama.

Dynasty and Two Mile are really different.

We're way above the tree line on Two Mile

so we're a lot higher
up, a lot more rugged.

- [Robin] The eagle has landed.

Time to get to work.

- [Claudia] This is so
beautiful out here you guys.

- Okay, where we wanna be
is that ravine at the top.

We have to go up and over the ridge

to where we're gonna be mining.

We're hoping it's not gonna rain.

It's cool, but I hope it doesn't rain.

Probably over against
that bank is the line.

We're almost on the line of
the claim and the work permit.

- [Narrator] Today is the first time

Claudia's crew have walked the site.

They're prospecting, looking
for jade outcroppings

that they'll mark and eventually mine.

- [Guy] We're moving better in high gear.

Take her easy there, big guy.

- The face of this rock
is this end of the claim,

so you gotta go up this
ridge and around and up top.

(breathes out)

Before I pass out.

- [Guy] We're chasing treasures now.

- [Claudia] We're coming your way babe.

- Exercise is for stupid people.

Right now I'm done with being stupid.

- [Narrator] Two Mile is quickly showing

more signs of jade than
Dynasty and Wolverine combined.

- Hey, Guy, right there.

Take a look at that big
boulder right there.

- [Claudia] Wow, look at that.

- [Guy] Well, there's
definitely jade here.

[Gary] This is a really good sign.

- [Claudia] Ooh!

- It's pretty hard to miss.

- Right on.

- Listen.

(ringing jade)

- Look at that one, too.

- [Robin] Yup, right on Josh.

We need to GPS this one.

Part of the lens is right here,

which runs up to just
under the top of the knob.

But this is the visible
so this is where you start

but now it's find the other parts

on this bank that are jade.

Okay, perfect.

This one is a lens, right here.

This is one of the spots.

This here is a whole big lens, right here.

- [Claudia] Right here, too.

Right here.
- This whole thing.

- [Guy] Right here, too.

- Okay.

- We didn't find one piece of jade today.

We found hundreds of pieces of jade today.

It's been great, it's really exciting

and the potential is huge.

- This here is better than I'd figured

cause there's way more visible stuff here.

This is excellent.

- [Gary] It's a lens.

Some more of it right here.

- [Guy] We're just
tripping over this stuff.

- Can you come down, they're right here.

Sometimes you have to
take the time to move.

There's politics and business decisions

that I have no control over

but to me that was just a good
decision to go to Two Mile.

The view is gorgeous and
there is an abundance of jade.

- [Claudia] Did you GPS it?

- [Robin] Not yet.

- [Claudia] Okay, cause
we gotta get going.

- [Robin] Yup, heavy rain storm
coming in, you can see it.

Time to go.

- [Narrator] They've spotted
lots of potential hard rock

jade lenses on Two Mile and Claudia thinks

they may have finally
found their jade home.

- Let's go guys.
- Okay.

- [Claudia] Before it
gets any worse than this.

- We wanted to do more but
the storm's come in quick here

that's time to go.

- Two Mile is way more impressive

than any of us ever thought

and it's really exciting.

I think that this might be what we needed

to really push us through this season.

- [Guy] Robin, horrible
drive, but nice job.

(chuckles)

- [Narrator] Next time on Jade Fever.

- [Claudia] Everything
has to be torn down,

all the walls, all the roofs.

Very very hectic.

Very busy and very hot

and we got a forest fire down the way.

- Gotta lower it down Guy.

Down!

- That's enough!

Only one (beep) guy give directions.

I can't have you interfering all the time.

- Haven't heard from Scrappy.

- Got a air bag leaking.

Losing all my air.

I might be able to tighten
it up but I don't know.

- [Claudia] Oh, (beep)!

If we didn't have bad
luck we'd have no luck.