11x13 - Got Your Six

[bunniefuu]

Roll it!

[narrator] on this
gold rush...

Whoa, shut down the plant.
Fred, shut it down, bud!

With the season more than
half way over...

Babe, we have a huge problem.

The lewis crew morale
takes a nose dive.

John, shut the [bleep] up!

Just face it
and shut your fat mouth.

Tony beets reaches the end
of his honey hole.

This is crunch hour.

I'm always nervous leaving.
It just seems like that's when
we have problems.

And rick ness
puts his crew in charge.

Karl, we got a big hole
in the conveyor here.

Stop. Stop! Whoa!

Hurry up back there. Let's go!

At elkhorn creek, rookie miner
fred lewis is fighting

To get his mining season
back on track.

The goal is to get as much
paydirt through the plant

And pull all that gold
out of the ground.

The crew is running pay dirt
from the liberation cut,

With best gold
he's had so far.

It's all
coming together finally.

Got to keep working hard
at this liberation cut.

Make sure we could
find as much pay as possible.

Fred sunk his last $20,000
into the elkhorn claim

With the hopes
of paying his team in gold.

[khara] babe,
we have a huge problem.

We're almost broke again.

But more than halfway
through the season,

He's banked
just 1.1 ounces of gold,

Worth only $2,100.

And he's running up
debts fast.

We need more gold
or we need more money.

If we had the money,
we can get more gold.

We have a laundry list
of debts to pay right now

And we we don't have enough

In the account
to cover the balance due.

Actually, I think the only way
we'll be able to do this

Is with an outside investor.

But we need to show gold
to get an investor

Or somebody
I know that trust me.

Got a buddy, karl.

If we can give him
a good enough deal,

Might be worth it.

Karl and I,
along with stefan,
have been through

One of the toughest times
in the military
I've been through.

A firefight in afghanistan,
lasted almost 48 hours.

Since he got out,
he's been investing
a lot in military drones.

That did really well,
so I know
he's good with money.

I'm kind of hoping
this could be
his next investment.

-Karl.
-Hey, what's up?

I know you're busy.
I know you got
a lot of stuff going on,

But I want to know
if you would maybe
be interested

In investing in my gold mine
in oregon.

Wow. Do you do that?
That's a big ask right there.

Dude, I think really
the only way I'm gonna be able

To actually show you
is to get you out here.

Yeah, I could
make it out there.

I definitely want to see
what you got going on.

Sweet. Glad you're interested.

I'll send you over
the information of
where to travel.

And then let's go
from there, bro.

That sounds great, man.

Well, karl's agreed
to come out to the claim,

Which is fantastic.

But if he doesn't like
what he sees

And doesn't agree to invest,
could be
the end of the elkhorn.

[narrator] in
the liberation cut,

Special forces master sergeant
stefan generally digs paydirt
with the 400 excavator.

And I know karl.
Known him for years.

We were on the same
a-team together.

And I can tell you,
he's going to want to see

A cohesive, well-oiled
machine of a team
before he agrees to invest.

I can't blame him.

[narrator] in the 225,
sergeant stuart mckenzie
feeds the plant.

The amount of problems
that we've had,

It is astronomical.

Fred has just talked
to an investor, which,
at this point in time,

In dire need.

We need more money up here,
and we need it quick.

[man over radio] hey, looks
like there's something wrong.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey, guys,
shut down the plant.

Fred, shut it down, bud!

Screen deck is out.

Holy [bleep].

We lost one, two, three, four,
five of these bolts.

[narrator] the lower
screen deck is secured
by 16 carriage bolts

Held in place by half-moon
washers and nuts.

The vibration of the deck
has rattled the bolts loose.

Without them,
the ancient wash plant
could shake itself apart.

These vibrations
are so violent

It's loosing itself,
and the bolts

And half-moon washers
are falling down
into the sluice

And going over
into our tailings,
so they're lost forever.

I clearly see
the problem here,
but what's our fix?

Our fix is to get
the correct carriage bolts,

-Nuts and washers.
-You're talking all of them
that are gone?

Yes, every single one of them.

These washers were fabricated
by freddie and juan.

We need to order them in.

It means more down time.

But we'll be able
to run longer
in the long term.

Ordering all those parts
gonna take two days.

It's getting to a point now
where if we don't run now,

There's no chance of this
season being salvaged.

This thing is bouncing rocks
all day.

We've got to fix it long-term.

No, I get it. But, you know,
the plant's never been 100%.

I feel like
we should be running.

Right now,
we go for that
long-term fix.

I love your enthusiasm,
but I just want to make sure

That we're doing things
as solid as we can.

Okay.

What I find so amazing

Is somebody so keen and happy
to shut down
all the [bleep] time.

That's the stupidest
[bleep] thing in the world
not to run for it.

Hey, fred.

Kendall doesn't care.

It doesn't feel like he cares
if you fail or not.

Or if you pay back your debt.
I do [bleep] care.

There's plenty of other
broken-down pieces
of equipment around here.

We'll go find them.

-Maybe at least come look.
-I'll look at them.

[narrator] if stuart
can salvage the right washers
from the bone yard,

They can get the plant
back up and running.

We got these ones right here
and then on the other side,

I saw some, too.

Just take a stack of those.

Maybe even go
look over around here.

But there is [bleep] here
that we can use.

-I like this.
-Okay.

Worth a shot while
we're sitting around.

I know. That's exactly
what I'm saying.

I like your way of thinking.

Right now,
we're few washers short.

The easy solution
is to call somebody
to have him make them,

And wait two days
to have it be made.

Stuart was right, we don't
have time for that [bleep]

If we're going to try to prove
ourselves to an investor,

We really have to be running.

I'm gonna put
these washers on and try
and bend it into place.

[grunting]

Push.

Just a kind of brute strength
and turn it into
a shape we need.

[narrator] stewart bends
the salvaged flat washers
into a half moon.

We needed a half moon,
so made a half moon.

-You bet those washer
is in there?
-Yeah

We still get all fired up,
to solve problems,
so right now,

It's looking like
he may have done it.

We have so many down days,
and so many days
where something breaks.

If we have water,
we have a capability
of a running plant.

We have gas in the excavator,
we should be running.

All right, so we're ready
to test this bad boy out?

Johnny, you ready?

[narrator] now to find out
if stewart's bush fix
has worked.

All right, fire it up.

It's fantastic.

It's gone on [bleep] okay,
basically taking the bolt.

You know,
when it comes down to the part

If no one else wants to do it,
then I guess I got to
fix it my [bleep] self.

I don't think
that's a permanent fix.

I don't, but it's working.

It's working well right now,
so I'm not gonna want
to [bleep] with it.

Now, I let kendell as the one
to make decisions,

But if somebody comes to me
with a better one,

We're going to go with that.
Good call by stewart.

I'm pretty happy with the way
things are going right now.

The plant is styled in,
everything's running nice
and smooth.

Unfortunately, just like
every other season, though,

There's been some major
[bleep] bumps along the way.

And that's caused a gaping
hole in my pocket right now.

[narrator] more than halfway
through the season,

Rick ness has banked
over 500 ounces.

He needs around 70 ounces
a week to hit his
$1,000 season goal,

But now he needs to pay
an overdue fuel bill
to carry on mining.

I gotta go and sell some gold
so I could pay these bills.

I'm always nervous leaving.

It seems like that's
when we have problems.

There he is.

-Ricky.
-Well, uh, I just want
you guys to know

That I got to go
sell some gold
to keep fuel truck coming in.

So it's gonna be up to karl
to keep things moving
while I'm away.

Yeah, you better, yeah.

Like when he's asking you
to do a certain thing,

He has that authority,
you listen to karl.

-Perfect.
-And that being said,

We're over 1,800 bucks
an ounce.

Where that's really going
to add up is when
you guys get bonus, right?

The more gold we get,
the more gold you guys get.

Hopefully I can get back
before any real
[bleep] happen.

-Okay.
-Yeah?

-I'll get up there.
-Let's do this.

-Okay, man.
-You good?

All right. Yeah.

I'm always
a little apprehensive of
leaving the mine.

I don't really have a choice.

I've got a lot of big bills
right now.

Pretty sure karl's
got it handled.

[narrator] while rick's away,
it's mechanic karl rosk's job

To keep wash plant rocky
running a hundred yards
of creek cut every hour.

I take care of things for rick
when he's not around,

And he trusts me, right?

So I try to do the best job
as I can.

We want to see lots of gold
in the box.

So just keeping everybody
keeping their eye
on the prize, right?

[narrator] with less than
two months before the yukon
winter shuts them down,

Every yard counts.

Trees are changing.
We never even got summertime.

Every day that goes by
is one day closer
to get frozen.

Karl is actually
the perfect guy
to leave in charge here

When rick's not around.
He really, really gets it.

I think he is a natural boss.
[laughing]

I mean, he's kind of bossy.

He certainly has a temper,

But he's got
the most experience.

[narrator] karl met rick...

When he joined
parker's crew in 2015.

He started mining
with his late grandfather
when he was 12 years old.

[mark] karl's got big shoes
to fill here.

Let's face it. No one's got
a work ethic like him.

I got to work every day
for 90 days straight,

And not bat an eyelash.

[narrator] karl's high school
buddy, mark doverspike
feeds the plant.

Basically, we're just trying
to keep this working.

We've had some long days,
but that's called life.

Ultimately, if rick succeeds,
we all succeed with him.

Yeah.

[bleep]

Karl doesn't like it.

Hey, karl.
Can I get a copy, bud?

-[karl on radio] go ahead.
-This hopper feeder's plugged.

All right, buddy.
I'll be right down.

-What happened?
-It's plugged.

This first couple loads
were more or less mud,

And the upper feeder's now
jam-packed with clay.

[narrator] clay is a gold
miner's worst nightmare.

-[bleep] man.
-Never ends.

I think it's plugged
solid, man.

I have never seen a hopper
this bad in years.

You got clay
and rock together?

Yeah, the rock is
like the support,
and the lay binds it.

It's like building materials.

It's kind of a pain
in the butt.

You know, rick's been gone
for not even half a day.

And we already miss him.

[narrator] every hour
the plant is down,

Makes it harder for karl
to hit rick's 70 ounce
weekly target.

You want to try to hit
the bucket in there
and I'll be your eyes?

That would help, I hate.

[narrator] faced with
hours of digging,

Karl comes up
with a risky solution.

So we're just going to try
to get the bucket in here,
the bucket is bigger.

But we're gonna try
to move this dirt around
just like that

Because it's hard
as a rock in here.

Try to do it the easy way,
but with all racking.

It's kind of dangerous later.

Huh. What do you do?

Karl's gambling on the 11-foot
three-ton loader bucket
fitting in to the hopper.

There. Slow down, slow down,
slow down, slow down.

Okay, you're getting close.

Nice and easy, buddy.
Nice and easy.

Keep going. Keep going.
Keep going.

Yeah, that's about it.
Now, give it a curl up.

Stop.

Stop.

Woah!

Stop.

Stop.

Woah! [bleep]

You all right?

I wasn't ready for that.
I was like... [grunting]

Just a little nerve-racking
up there.

Three.

We got a hole.

[narrator] at dunkin creek,
karl rosk is running rick's
operation while he's gone.

But a clogged hopper feeder
has shut the plant down.

We cut that hole
in the top now.

Hopefully, we can get it
to sloughing on itself.

Just using the lid there.
There's a little bit
of weight on it,

Trying to get it shaked up.

The hopper is clean, right?

Coming out of it, eh?

Little by little.

-Nasty [bleep]
-[karl] look at that.

We're moving now, buddy.

Rick would definitely be
fuming right now

Because the plant's been
off for a while, eh.

It's been
an expensive morning.

[narrator] the shutdown has
cost two hours of down time,

And nearly $4,000
in lost gold.

We gotta get
this thing fired up,

Get thrown in the air,
get some loosing.

Hold it, keep this running for
the rest of the day.

I got the power running right,

But we lost some gold
but hopefully the rest
of my day is easy.

[narrator] with record-high
gold prices,

King of the klondike,
tony beets,

Is all in for a
3,000-ounce season goal.

[narrator] mike's trommel

Is chowing through
the 18-acre mega cut,

And the shaker
is running 50,000 yards

Of old-timer tailings,

Which have already produced
200 ounces of gold

Worth over $360,000.

This is the cheapest way of
gold mining I have ever seen.

It's just me and terrence out
here running the whole show.

[narrator] three weeks
into the tailings,

The two-man operation

Is down to the last
12,000 yards.

Ruby mahoney feeds the plant

While mechanic
and rookie operator,

Terrence swanson,
runs the loader.

Hey, terrence.

Hey, you know what?
Hey, you can show me

How to be a mechanic.

I work better alone with god.

[chuckles]

[ruby] today is a little bit
more interesting than others.

I have a different
loader operator.

So right now we have terrence.

And that's my boyfriend.

So right now,
I just get to sit up here

And judge all of
his operating skills.

[laughs]

I'm gonna hop down

And just show you a little
trick with the edge, okay?

[terrence] okay.

[narrator] it's boyfriend
terrence's first day

In a loader.

So you're making
quite a burn for yourself.

A really good thing to do is,
every time you go and dump,

When your bucket
is tilted like this,

You can put it down

-And scrape this part back.
-All right.

So that you're k*lling
two jobs at once.

Okay.

Sounds good.

-Thank you.
-Good luck.

[ruby] we've been given
very different roles here.

He's not an operator.

He's a heavy-duty mechanic.

I run the machines.

He fixes them
when I break them.

So the fact that he can even
run them a little bit, like,

If roles were reversed,

I'd be like, I don't know,
I know how to put in oil.

[laughs] like...

Yeah, it's been great
working with ruby.

She's taught me a lot already.

I didn't realize there was
so much to operating.

There's a bunch of things
you'd never think of,

Just to be a little bit
more efficient.

Whoo! You guys are really
making me work here,

Talking and operating
at the same time, jeez.

I love you.

What the [bleep]!

[rumbling]

[rumbling continues]

-[sighs] holy!
-[terrence] what happened?

I don't know.
I think the plant is jammed.

Kevin, we have a major problem
here at the shaker deck.

-[tony speaking]
-yeah.

[tony speaking]

[narrator] welder
and wash plant specialist,

Cody hunter, steps in.

When a belt has been loose,
and not gripping,

The pulley spins
inside the belt

Instead of gripping
to the pulley.

So that makes the inside
of the pulley shiny, almost.

When that happens,
it's called a glazed belt.

So you're losing traction,
basically.

So what is happening
when you lose traction

Is this shaker is not shaking.

So it's not separating
all the material

The way that it should.

So we're gonna
change this pulley

And put a new belt on.

Ten, 15 minutes,
we'll be rolling.

Oh, wait a minute,
need the bigger one.

Uh, terrence just brought
the new pulley.

So all we gotta do now
is just slide it on.

Beautiful.

[whirring]

Oh.

[bleep]

So we're trying to change
this pulley here,

And the way that
these go together,

It's just a shaft
coming out of the motor.

And then there's
a taper lock that holds

This pulley on to the shaft.

And the taper lock has now
come apart in pieces.

So it's, uh...

They're usually quite simple,
but, uh, this taper lock

Has seen better days.

[narrator]
on tony's shaker deck,

A taper lock secures
the pulley to the shaft.

Kevin has removed
the grub screws,

But the taper has cracked
and jammed inside the pulley.

If [bleep] wasn't broke,

We'd have that [bleep] pulley
off already.

However, the taper lock
that's in there,

Well, it's in pieces.

This thing is
gonna be miserable [bleep]...

-The whole [bleep] way.
-Yeah.

It's kind of a shame
how it's just one thing after
another with this [bleep].

[both] she's out.

This is what it's
supposed to be in there.

This is what
holds the pulley
tight to the shaft.

So when you go
to take this apart,

You use the bolts
that are in it

To push this lock away
from the pulley.

This is what was in that one.

When it broke in half,
all the bits and pieces
come out

And we had no threads
for the bolts to push it away.

So it just required
some tender love.

[kevin] yeah,
and now we gotta
put it all back together.

[machine whirring]

[kevin] okay.

Got a new belt on,
new pulley on.

Hopefully it works.

[tony speaking]

Everything's together,
about to fire her up.

[tony speaking]

[tony speaking]

[narrator] the beets
are back on the gold.

I'm just hoping
that it was just a hiccup,
'cause this is crunch hour.

We need to get through
this material as fast
as we possibly can.

[narrator] rick ness
is in dawson city

Selling gold
to pay his fuel bill

And keep
his operation running.

-Hey, rick.
-Darren.

-How's it going?
Good to see you, man.
-[rick] you too.

[darren] all right,
let's see what you got.

All right.

Not bad for a cleanup.
That's pretty good.

So what is the
gold price at today?

-Uh, we're just at just
over $1,900.
-Right on.

So, you're at duncan creek,
right?

Yeah. Duncan creek,
obviously well known
for its silver.

Yeah. So you're gonna have
other medals in the
gold there.

And silver made a huge jump
this year.

Yeah, that all helps, right?

-Prices are up across the
board.
-Yeah, I know.

Price of silver's up.
Price of gold's up.

-It's a good year!
-It's a good year to
be in the business.

-Doesn't make it easier to
find it though, does it?
-No, it does not.

-[aaron laughing] thanks
very much.
-Yeah.

[aaron] I'll pop it in
the safe.

We'll, uh, send it down
and give you some
money tomorrow.

-[rick] awesome.
-Good luck for the rest of
the season.

-We'll see you soon.
-Yeah, thanks man.

[aaron] all right.

Having a small crew's awesome,
but sure makes

For a lot more work for
everybody, right?

[narrator] back at duncan
creek, mechanic carl runs
the operation.

After losing half a day to
a clogged topper,

Carl is doubling up his
mechanic and loader operator
to keep the plant on pay.

If there's no [bleep]
leadership or direction,
we'd be [bleep].

I try to do even better
when rick's gone.

You can't ride anybody else
if you're gonna be lazy.

So, I'm moving the fines
right now.

Get him away from the plant.

We... We have to deal with it.

So I'd work my a*s off, right?

[narrator] in the creek cut,
rock truck driver chris
kruse is hauling pay.

[chris] the good thing is,
rick's got people here you
can trust.

Carl stepped up. He's
taking the reins here

In rick's absence.

I think the last thing that
carl wants to do is let
him down. I know that.

This material that we're
digging in here

Is super saturated,
so if you don't
dig it correctly

And put it in a machine
properly, that [bleep]
shut down the plant

-For the day.
-[narrator] newest crew member
ben bellai feeds the plant.

There's no room for [bleep]
ups around here.

If you [bleep] up anything,
all the gold goes off,

So there's no point in being
here if that happens.

So carl runs a very,
very tight ship.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

[tense music]

[grunting]

Hello, carl?

Yeah, buddy, you better get
down here.

Ahhh, we got a big hole in
the conveyor here.

Not [bleep] good.

Yeah, dude that's huge.

You could fit your head
through there.

[carl] [bleep] me, man.
What I need is a new belt.

[ben] well, is there any
possibility to get a belt
right now?

[carl] with the time frame we
got, I won't get a belt

'til the season's over,
right?

[narrator] every hour the
wash plant is not running,

Carl is losing rick two
thousand dollars.

-[ben] what we'll do... Right.
-[chris] we're gonna cut
this out.

[narrator] running the belt
yesterday while the hopper
was jammed

With rocks, has worn a hole.

We're gonna cut that [bleep]
up section out. Put a new
section in. Found me a piece

Of rubber. There's not the
same thickness so it's a
little scabby. But it's

All we got, right? So, I'm
gonna roll the punches here
and get her up and running

And get back sluicing.

What, send it over the crane?

Hey, when you got time,
I... I'm ready.

Carl] yeah, I know. This
[bleep] crane is slow as
[bleep].

[dramatic music]
almost over top!

Yup! She's good to go.
Bring her up!

Right now, we're putting
some wood crosses to brace it.

So we have a nice flat
surface to work on.

-There you go.
-This is nice.

Just like we know
what we're doing.

Almost.

Um, I'm gonna cut that section
out.

I'm gonna put it on
here. Trace it out,

Put it back in there,

And bob's your uncle.

[bleep] yeah, it's gonna
be scabby as [bleep]

And I don't want my name
beside it but it is
what it is.

It's what you gotta do
in the yukon, man.

[heavy drumbeats]

[bleep] oh my god.

No, I'm gonna do one, two,
one, two. And then we can
put this in here.

[carl] since I've been with
rick, I've been his right hand
man.

You know, I just try to fill
his boots as best I can,
right,

When he's not around.
Try to do an even better job

When they're away, right?
Just as a peace of mind
for rick.

Might not be the best mechanic
out there

But I'm definitely a
hardworking one.

We've been down all of the
day. We've lost twenty
thousand dollars, easily.

In the big picture,

That's a lot of money, right?

Back to minin'!

Good job, buddy.

[narrator] carl's lost the
best part of a day, but he's
got them back on the gold.

[victorious music]
good job, yeah!

We're back sluicin' now, so
hopefully this thing'll
hold together.

[carl] we need to get gold in
those runs if we want to
get to our goal.

Really, our point right now
is to get our "a" game on
and to operate as smoothly

As we can so we can prove
to the investor we're worth
investing in.

[narrator] fifteen hundred
miles south, in oregon,

Rookie mine boss fred lewis
is out of cash

And needs investment
to keep his operation running.

We're kind of point where we
need to bring somebody
on board

To help pay the bills
if we're gonna make
this a success,

And I think karl's the
perfect person to do that.

Make sure that valve
by your knee is open.

Yeah, that one.

Just make sure it's open.

[narrator] fred's foreman,
kendell madden, is the only
member of the team

-With mining experience.
-[kendell] teaching
these guys... Something

I take a lot of pride in. And
with fred's friend talking
about investing,

I hope what he sees is enough
to keep him interested
so we could keep going.

I don't have to worry about
what another guy's doing.

I've got to worry about
this machine and that machine.

[narrator] marine staff
sergeant johnny stanz is in
charge of

-Getting water to the plant.
-When we're all new to mining,
we're really trying to

Figure it out. Instead of just
showing us what we should be
doing,

Kendell still tries to
give orders.

[kendell] johnny's job is to
be working our water.

He's working two pumps
and a couple hundred feet
of hose,

And I kinda gotta make sure
that he's doing everything
step by step.

You can tell johnny's
strugglin'. Don't wanna
have to baby him,

But there's quite a few tasks
where you gotta hold his hand

-[johnny] hey kendell.
-[kendell] go ahead.

[johnny] we got a hole that
sprang an awful lot.

So, can you come down
here and check it out?

[kendell] yeah, I'll come down
there and check it out.

Shut it down.

Looks like your topside dam
is having a whole bunch
of issues, too.

-[kendell] it's just gushin'
straight through.
-A freaking damn road,

Gosh dang it. I gotta
see what the heck's wrong
with that.

[narrator] silty water from
the sluices is flooding into
the feeder pond.

The screen broke on the...
On the upper dam

And there's a hole in the hose
down there, so now we
gotta fix 'em both.

Yeah.

So, johnny, dam is workin'
down there perfect.

What?

What the [bleep]?

Thought we had enough people.

Enough people?
This is your job!

Could we just tape it like
that one?

You like half assing your job?

[johnny] are you kidding me?
I'm up there
fixing the filter.

-Okay.
-Fix the friggin' thing.

John, shut the [bleep] up.
Are you gonna [bleep]
do anything right?

Or is everyone gonna have
to fix your [bleep] for you

All the [bleep]
damn time, huh?

Just fix the holes,
you [bleep].Idiot.

Then give me the wrench.

I'm sorry.
Who is in charge of who here?

Fred's in charge of me.
You ain't the boss.

Oh, I'm not
the [bleep] foreman!

How much [bleep] experience
do you have

In a [bleep] mine, huh?

None. What do you think
you're the [bleep] water boy?

Just fix it and shut
your fat mouth!

You're not doing
anything here anyway.

Go [bleep] sit on your a*s
like you normally do.

No paid pension. Like normal.

Just getting of everyone else
doing his [bleep] job for him.

When two problems
come up at once,

We got to call another person.

Who's the one guy who's always
not doing something?

Freaking canyon.

Ge ain't the box.
He's the freaking

Sit in the seats
by six douchebags.

[bleep] johnny.

I'm doing johnny's job
like every other [bleep] time

That something goes wrong
with his thing.
It's a constant thing.

It be one thing if it was like
a [bleep] learn from
your mistake.

But this stupid b*stard
just keeps [bleep] up.

[narrator] at elkhorn creek,
rookie mine boss fred lewis

Is out of cash. And his crew
is at a breaking point.

[man] there's an urgency
to the things that
we're trying to do here.

-Fred. Fred.
-What's up?

Freaking idiot.

-What? Kendall?
-Yes.

So you just missed "john,
what the friggin' heck..."

I'm like, "freaking idiot,
there's two of us.

There's two of us.
There's two problems.
One person per problem, right?

All right, so let's deal
with this as a group

'cause some things he does,
they're robbing other people

Wrong, too. Let's do it
like we do in the military.

Let's have
an after action review.
I know you're pissed off.

He's probably
got his story, too.

We'll hash it out,
and if he has a problem
with everybody's opinion,

He's gonna have to make
some adjustments.

I'll address it.

You know, with my investor car
coming in,

I really want to nip
all these problems in the bud,

So I'm gonna go ahead
and do an after action review.

Someone wise once told me
it's not how

You handle conflict,
it's how you resolve it.

Can I get everybody
to shut vehicles down

And come to
the colonel, please?

[vehicle engine powering down]

I kind of wanted to gather
everybody together

And do like a little
after action review.

We're all getting tired,
and annoyed
that we don't have gold yet.

It's wearing on us all.

But we've got to
come together as a team.

If we're not a team,
what this is for?

I want us all
to respect each other

Better than we're doing
right now.

On lines of respect,
you guys have to understand

That kendall's been doing this
a lot longer than all of us.

So his opinions are valid.

I was just upset about
how you presented the...

'cause we had two problems
going on, two of us.

I hopped on you
a little rough.

I... I agree.

And I'm sorry I did.

But, kendall, the problem is,
everybody feels
a little bit too managed.

The path that you're taking
is a little off.

Oh, I can't agree with that.

I think does...
Is everyone else...

[fred] that's why I'm here.

That's why I want
everybody else... Stuart.

I don't know. I just feel that
somebody does something,

Makes a call
and it doesn't work out.

Sometimes you get
a little bit hotheaded.

Agreed. Agreed.
I'm a little high head.

I guess that's why
I keep trying to jump in
is because I know

When things were gonna fail

And I can see it
from a mile away.

But there's only a few of us
on this mine site,

So we have to stay as a team.

And if that means
I got to swallow my pride

A little bit, I'm gonna
have to do it.

[kendall]
johnny, get over here.

Exactly. Let's get
a group hug.

-[johnny] I'm sorry.
-[man] it's all water
under the bridge.

[man 2] let's get
some work done.

[johnny] me and kendall
definitely had our scuffle.

But you've got to get over it.

You got to accomplish
the mission.

We've apologized,
we're friends again.

[engine revving]

[man] rpms are good.

Roll in.

[fred] everything's
looking good.

[fred] so I think the ara
did its purpose,

A lot of the tension
that we're having

Is because we aren't
pulling any gold.

Right now we need
to move forward as a team

So we can prove
to the investor
we're worth investing in.

[woman] I'm very curious
to see what the mines

Are gonna look like
after all of these old timer

Tailings have been sluiced.

[narrator] at the shaker deck,

Operator ruby mahoney
is feeding the plant

With the last
of the old timer tailing.

One of tony's biggest gambles
of the season.

This year, with gold prices
being so high,

We were able to take risks
that I don't think tony
would have taken before.

But fuel prices being so low,
tony is going to get

A good payout
for a very minimal investment.

This is the last
scoop going in.

We can hold mats,
do its clean up.

And we will see
what these old timers
have left behind for us.

And just like that,
we're done. Good job.

No, no. No operation of reruns
completely smooth.

And I'm just really hoping
that all of the downtime

And headache that
these old timer tailings

Put me and this plant
through are worth it.

I guess we'll just
have to wait
and see what's in here.

[narrator] the rest
of the beets family

Joins ruby
for the final cleanup.

We had a bit of issues
with the plant,

But while I intend
to set up a plant again,

There's always
seething issues.

Hopefully, this time
we get another good payout.

And we get that much close
to the 2,000oz goal.

It's free money.
So excited to see what we got.

[man] that's the last
of the old timers tailings.

Shame there wasn't more,
but it was free,
so let's see what we get.

[narrator] at dunkin creek,
after a week of shifting dirt,

Gold room operator carla
finds a way to keep cool.

[carla] I've been eyeballing
duncan creek in months,

So I'm gonna give it a try.

[laughing]

Whoo! It's rushing.

That was awesome.

I would do that all day.

It's the only reason
I work hard is to play hard.

I'm gonna do it again.

I've invested every penny
I have into this, and I
don't have a lot left.

[narrator] at elkhorn creek,
rookie miner fred lewis needs
a cash injection

Fast to save him from
shutting down the mine.

So he's called on his
military buddy, carl smith,
to see if he wants to invest.

Carl is a really good friend,
but he's such a good friend

I know he's going
to be honest, and that's
a little nerve-wracking.

What's up, man?
It's good to see you, brother.

-How you been?
-What you got for me
up here, man?

This looks pretty awesome.
Beautiful area.
A little slice of america.

[fred lewis] ready
to check it out?
[carl smith] yeah.

All right, dude. Pretty much
right here.

You could see the whole thing.

-That's all we got, okay?
-So what's the gold like?

You know,
I'm not going to lie.

The gold coming out of the
ground is a lot harder than
I thought it was going to.

I know the guys are new.

It's not that. Eighty percent
of the time we're down
is because of equipment,

And it's just costing me
more money than I thought.

If we could just invest
a little bit more,

We got a
really good shot here.

-All right.
-You want to go see what
my staff is up to?

-Hell, yeah.
- Stefan, I got somebody here
wants to talk to you.

You got a minute?

[carl] what's it been, like,
eight years
since I seen stefan?

[fred] yeah.

[narrator] carl spent three
years in the military with
fred and stefan

Serving on the same special
forces team in northern
africa and afghanistan.

Oh, [bleep]...
What's up, man?

Not much, man.
It's great to see you.

[stefan] what do you think?

It's a lot. I'm impressed.

Let you get
back in the hole, man.

This is candle and stuart.

First impressions always
mean a lot.

And the first impression,
the team is real good.

You know, you want to see
a good operation,

But, you know,
from the business side,

We've got to sit down and talk
some numbers, so this is
nowhere near a done deal yet.

So what do you think, dude?

It looks good. I like the guys
absolutely. I mean, obviously

With stefan being out here,
that really adds to it.

So what's your estimate
right now,

What this claim can give
you? Will give us, right?

-Yeah, you're right.
- We're gonna partner on this.

You're right.
I think there's a possibility

To pull fifty ounces of gold
out of this one acre.

And that's pretty ambitious,
obviously, because
you're starting out.

What are the numbers here
to get you through
this season?

We have about eight to ten
weeks left, depending
on the weather.

We have lease costs,
fuel costs, and
maintenance costs.

On average, you could run
the mine for about
five grand a week.

And I'm confident that
if we had that capital,

We could mine till the end of
the season, no problem.

Compared to my
other investments, there's
a lot of risk here, fred.

Yeah, and I'm telling you
right now, carl,
it's a gamble.

But I feel like
the biggest investment

You could make is not
in the gold that we're
going to get this year.

But in the team.
We're going to pull

-Every ounce of paydirt
out of this claim that we can.
-Yep.

And if the gold's there
that's supposed to be there,
we're going to do really well.

But that's the risk you take
in gold mining.

From us being teammates, man,

I know that you can solve
most any problem put
in front of you.

I like the guys. They're vets,
you know, that gives me

A higher degree of confidence
that you guys could
make this happen.

Putting myself out there
quite a bit for you,

But that says a lot about
my faith in you.

But for that, I need
the repayment of the loan,

- Okay.
-And I'll cover your expenses
to get you through this season

You know, 10 percent's
quite a bit.

I've still got to get
the claim owners 15.

The guys still have to get
a cut, but you need to have
some skin in this.

I think that... I think
ten percent's pretty good.

All right, we got a deal.
Let's do it.

[narrator] with a deal secured
and investment until
the end of the season,

The team's hopes of
striking it
rich are still alive.

Hey, everybody,
carl is officially on board.

We have an investor.

Let's get that gold.

-Back in business.
-[bleep] yeah, man.

Getting carl on board,
getting that investor,
that's [bleep] awesome.

That's exactly what we needed.

That means we can keep going
the rest of the season

And hopefully can find
all that gold.

[carl] fred's done
a phenomenal job
selling me on the vision.

But at the end of the day,
this is business.

And I'm investing my money
and I expect to get
the full return.

[fred] it's not just my
money now, it's one of my
best friend's money.

So from here on, it's gonna be
a lot more focus on
what we're doing

And where we're
spending money and why.

But it gives us the financial
freedom to keep mining
and to keep that dream alive.

-Hi, guys.
-Hi, mike.

[narrator] at paradise hill,

The beets family assemble
for their weekly gold weigh.

-How did your trowel
go, mike?
-Slow, consistent.

But I would like them
trommels so much more than
[bleep] screen decks any day.

[minnie beets]
so how was the shaker deck?

So we cleaned up that last
bit of tailings, eh?

So should we weigh
some up, then?

[minnie] yeah, we should.
We should do
the shaker deck first.

[man] let's do this.

[narrator] the old timer
tailings have averaged
66 ounces a week.

[minnie] twenty 30, 40,
51.48.

- Not bad.
-Yeah, right?

[narrator] worth close to
$100,000.

Total for screen decks,


[narrator] tony's gamble
on the old timer tailings

Has delivered
half a million dollars.

-Yes.
-[narrator reading] mike's
trommel has been running

- Mega cut pay.
-[minnie] that's a nice jar.

[narrator] to hit their
3,000-ounce season goal,

The beets need to average
205 ounces a week,

So mike's trommel needs
to deliver
at least 154 ounces.

[mike] 180, 190, 200, 209.8.

[narrator] worth $400,000.

So that's an ounce
and a half an hour?

So what's our season total?

Our season total is 1,827.76.

[narrator] worth $3.3 million.

You guys should go on
to do some more.

Nice seeing you all.

I think you sure done well.

How you doing, man?
What's up, guys?

[narrator reading]
rick ness is back
at dunkin creek

To find out how well
mechanic carl

Ran the mine
while he was away.

[rick] that always
does give me anxiety.

It just never seems
like a good time.

Right?
It's like leaving
a bunch of teenagers

At the house
for the weekend, right?

[woman] yee-haw.

Thanks for stepping up, carl.

-I appreciate it.
-Pretty big boots
to fill, my friend.

-I don't know about that.
-You know, we had a struggle,

But, we still did
some sluicing, at least.

[rick] you guys did
what was right.

You know, you solved
the problem and you
got her going.

Well, should we weigh up
what we got?

Let's see, man.

[narrator] to his his
season-long goal
of 1,000 ounces

[rick] all right, here we go.

[narrator] rick needs
to hit seventy a week.

[rick] forty, 50, 60,
so over 70.

[man] that is impressive.

-[rick] 73.46.
-[narrator] worth over
$130,000.

Amen to that, guys.
That is... That's
the real deal there.

[narrator] and pushing
his total to 597 ounces,

More than he got
in the whole of last season.

-Better than last year.
-[rick] better
than last year.

Awesome, awesome.

Let's just put it this way.

I think we're at about
a quarter of the cost.

Gold price is way up
a third of the time,

We're ahead of where
we were last season.

That's worth [bleep]
cheers, right?

[man] yeah, man.

-Cheers, guys.
-Cheers.

Yeah.

[narrator]
on the next gold rush .

Come on, doyle.

[narrator] a new generation
joins the crew.

They're sluicing out of
a mud hole, an actual mudhole.

[narrator] fred needs a hero

[fred] let's see if we can
winter down.
[narrator] to save his season.

This is our best shot
right now.

Kendall, kendall, whoa.

That's the last scoop.

-Yeah.
-[narrator] and it's the end
of an era.

What a nice feeling.
[narrator] for parker
and his crew.

We got some pretty good
numbers of gold out of
this thing.

That's never enough.