12x22 - Rally Valley Bonanza

[bunniefuu]

They're definitely glad
that I'm up here.

That I got away from Dawson.

I mean, ground is getting
harder and harder to find

by the minute.

And, uh, I think
I made my move

at just the right time.

[narrator] Now,
in his fourth year

running his own claim,

Rick Ness is making big moves.

He's bet his entire season
on a 190-foot-deep cut

that could hold
five million dollars in gold.

But so far,
it hasn't delivered.

[Rick] I am still worried

about hitting
our 2,000 ounce goal.

Because not only do I need
to send all my guys home

with, you know, plenty of gold
in their pockets,

I need it, too.

So, I can't survive off
of feeling proud

of a giant hole we dug.

[narrator] After digging
a million yards of overburden,

Rick is 800 ounces short
of his goal.

As winter approaches,
he still hasn't reached

the high-grade pay layer
he's banking on.

[Rick] The gold's good,

um, but I think the stuff
on the bottom is better.

But quite honestly,
we're not there yet.

And, uh, we need
to be sluicing

the best of the best
out of here

to be able to hit our goal
right at the end.

But if it doesn't pay off,

that's the*bleep* end of me.

[voice over walkie-talkie]
Hey, Rick. You got a copy?

Yeah, Go for Rick.

- [voice over walkie-talkie] Troy's here.
- Are you serious?

[narrator] Troy Taylor is
the owner

of the Duncan Creek claims
Rick is leasing.

So, were you
in the neighborhood?

Or is there
something important?

What's going on?

Doug and I have been getting
some inquiries

into our property.

Hate to put
the pressure on you,

but we're ready to sell.

We're hoping that you're...

confident enough
to buy us out.

Um...

I'm not sure
if I'm quite ready for that.

Um, yeah, let me, uh...

Let me run that through
my head for a bit here.

We have a number in mind.

Not sure if you're ready
for that or not.

[narrator] Rick won't reveal
the total asking price

of the mine on camera.

Troy is offering him
to pay it off over two years.

But he'll need a deposit.

What would you be looking for
for a down payment?

We're thinking 150 ounces.

[Rick] That's a lot.

- I know it sounds like a lot, but, uh...
- Yeah.

Er... It's what we need.

Yeah, that's a quarter
of a million dollars.

- Grounds getting harder to find.
- Yeah.

- And I think you'd be, uh, you'd be set for a long time.
- Yeah.

- Lot of years of mining left here.
- [Rick] Yeah.

Uh...

I mean, I'm going to have
to have

just a little bit of time
to think about it.

But I mean,

I appreciate you giving me
the first shot at it.

I'll think hard and I'll have
an answer for you very soon.

- Right on, Rick.
- [Rick] Good?

- [Troy] Sounds good.
- [Rick] All right.

- [Rick] Thanks again, buddy.
- [Troy] Talk to you soon.

[Rick] Yep, I'll be in touch.

Well, that's, uh...

That was a bit unexpected.

Um, it's
an amazing opportunity.

You know, I could own
my own ground.

That sounds exciting,
but also terrifying, so...

I got a lot to think about.

- [Rick] Oh, hey, Dad.
- [Big Rick] What's up, son?

[Rick] The landowner,
Troy Taylor,

he stopped by today,
said he needed to talk.

And, um, they're looking
to sell this place.

Wow, um...

It's, like, if I don't buy it,
he's got

plenty of other people
that want to buy it.

And that would mean
that I wouldn't have

anywhere to mine.

[suspenseful music playing]

- That's a tough one.
- [Rick] Yeah.

It's almost
a do or die situation.

Because, I mean, it could
totally ruin you financially.

But, I mean,
if you don't do it,

you got nothing.

[somber music playing]

Yeah.

So...

I think it's time for you
to make a really big decision.

Yeah, well. [exhales sharply]

I think I know the answer.

- All right. Thanks, Dad.
- Bye.

[narrator] For Rick,

the offer is coming
at a bad time.

He's already spent
over half a million

for new equipment this year.

And at this point,
he's barely breaking even.

To cover his expenses,
pay out his crew,

and buy the ground,
he needs a lot more gold.

I want to keep this ground
to myself.

And that means they want

a quarter million dollar
down payment right now.

You know, 150 ounces of gold,
but, you know,

I don't know
what choice I have.

[narrator] Rick's money-maker
is Monster Red,

but it's already maxed out,

sluicing 300 yards an hour.

We have to figure out a way
to up our production fast.

So, I think we're gonna have
to get creative.

I've got a crazy idea,
but I'm really gonna need

one of my guys to step it up
to make it work.

[narrator] Former Yukon
ironworker Kyle Lawson

is working his second season
on Rick's crew.

I'm an ironworker
back in White Horse, uh, so.

I have no experience here,
but it's been a few months.

So far and it's going good.

- [Rick] Morning, Kyle.
- [Kyle] What's going on?

- The landowner, Troy Taylor.
- Yeah.

[Rick] He's trying
to sell this place

and he wants 150 ounces
as a down payment.

And, uh, I had
a bit of an idea

to kind of up our production.

Oh, yeah?
What do you got in store?

My thought is
that we can try to run

both wash plants for a while.

Uh, I know you know Rocky.

You were on that, you know,
this spring.

And you're running that
and I kind of need

you to run it by yourself.

[suspenseful music playing]

You think you're up
for something like that?

No.

I know it's gonna be
a pain in the a*s

and I hate
to ask you to do it.

But, you know,
that's what I need you to do

if you're up for it.

- I'm up for it.
- [Rick] All right.

- All right, take that loader down there and get her going.
- [Kyle] Right on.

[narrator] Rick
shut down Rocky

when he fired up Monster Red
four weeks ago.

I'm down here just going
to fire up Rocky.

[narrator] But this old wash
plant is

still capable of sluicing
a hundred yards an hour.

Chronically shorthanded,
Rick is relying on Kyle

to bring in the extra


all on his own.

I'm a little nervous

being the first time running
the plant by myself.

It's, uh, quite a big job,

but he's showing
a lot of trust in me.

I hope I don't*bleep*
this up.

Oh, *bleep*. Yep, failing.

It's not a good thing to have
the tailings back up.

If it caused a blockage here,

I'd have
to shut the place down.

And that's downtime
that we don't want.

It, uh, it gets
a little tiring

jumping back and forth
from the loader to the hull.

But it, uh, feels like
an accomplishment for me.

Hopefully, there's gonna be
some gold in the box.

[Tony Beets on walkie-talkie]

Yes.

Okay!

[narrator] A hundred miles
west at Paradise Hill,

King of the Klondike
Tony Beets is

over a thousand ounces short
of his 4500 ounce season goal.

With no water license
for the Indian River claims,

and a ground w*r raging
in the Klondike,

Tony's looking to branch out.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] To save
his kingdom,

Tony's looking
beyond the Klondike

and following the road
to Rick Ness' landlord.

[Tony speaking]

[laughs in disbelief]
Holy *bleep*.

[narrator] Three years ago...

[Rick] So, now that you've got
my interest,

[narrator] Rick was lured here
by the promise of big gold.

Finding that in a sluice box,
it's like,

that'll drive a guy nuts.

[both laughing]

[narrator] Now, Tony wants
in on the action.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] A hundred
and fifty thousand years ago,

at the top of Mount Hinton,
a glacier was formed.

When it reached
the quartz vein

containing the mother lode,
it plucked the nuggets.

They travelled
down the mountain

and were deposited
in sporadic pockets.

Troy is offering Tony


along the slope
of Mount Hinton.

Just five miles northeast
of Rick's claims.

[Troy] Tony, good to see you.

I got about, uh,


[Troy] Yeah, this is
the only drill hole here.

It's, uh...

It shows some gold
at about 80 feet,

so, I'm hoping the benches
will be a bit shallower.

Twenty feet or so.

[Tony speaking]

I like right in there
where it's fairly level.

- It'll probably be easiest.
- [Tony speaking]

[narrator] Tony's plan.
Prospect along
a shallow bench.

Eighty acres of virgin ground

that should be
just 20 feet deep.

And dig a series of test holes
a hundred yards apart.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Tony Beets is
on the hunt for new ground.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] After two hours
of digging...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Tony finishes
his final test hole.

[Tony speaking]

[Troy] Yeah, that's what
I like to see. Those guys.

- It's always better gold when we get into the bigger rocks.
- [Tony speaking]

[Troy] Hopefully, there's
some gold in there.

[Troy] Sounds good to me.

- [Tony speaking]
- Yeah.

It's my homemade Long Tom.

Miniature sluice box.

- [Tony speaking]
- [Troy chuckles]

[narrator] Long Tom's are
portable and simple sluices...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...consisting
of narrow, sloping troughs...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...with a strainer
at the end

feeding into riffles.

- [Tony speaking]
- [Troy] Yeah.

- [Tony speaking]
- [Troy] There we go.

- [Tony speaking]
- [Troy]

[engine revving]

- [Tony speaking]
- Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

[Troy] Take her out? Okay.

[narrator] After sluicing
all the buckets,

everything now hangs
on panning the concentrate.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] To invest
in the property,

Tony needs to see big gold.

[Tony speaking]

One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven.

Right on.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony laughs]

That's not bad.

[Tony speaking]

[Troy chuckles]

[narrator] After seeing
the promise of Troy's ground,

The King of the Klondike
may have found

the plan B
he's been looking for.

[Troy] I hope you give
her some thought.

[Tony speaking]

[Troy] Sounds good to me.

[Tony speaking]

You know, we still got
in the back of our minds
that 100-ounce goal.

That's keeping us fueled.

That's keeping us
moving forward.

We gotta keep that going
for the final push.

[narrator] Special Forces
medic Fred Lewis

is on a mission to send
his team home

with gold in their pockets
for the first time,

and his 100-ounce
season target is
firmly in his sights.

[Fred] We made this deal
with the Claytons.

We need them to keep
their wash plant running.

We need to keep pulling pay

and keep pulling in gold.

[narrator] Two weeks ago...

[Fred] Maybe there's a way
we can work together.

- [Brandon] Like a partnership.
- Yeah.

[narrator] ...Fred joined
forces with neighbor
Brandon Clayton.

Run your plant and we'll
pull from your area

- and, um, we can just split the gold 50/50.
- I think we got a deal.

[narrator] Despite some
teething problems...

[man 1] Oh, *bleep*!

[man 2] This mountainside
never ceases to, uh, amaze me
when it comes to breakdowns.

[narrator] ...both crews
doubled their production.

- Pretty good for you as well, right?
- Yeah, I'm happy with that.

[narrator] Now...

...just 13 ounces
short of their goal,

former Special Forces
sergeant Rick Douglas

is back in the trenches
digging pay.

Brandon's plant been
running so much more pay.

We could not have
processed the amount of pay
that we've already processed,

so with the, uh...
The collaboration
with Brandon,

we are accomplishing
the mission.

[narrator] Recon sn*per
Stuart McKenzie

then hauls the paydirt
half a mile to Brandon's
mine site.

[Stuart] We haven't really
been working with Brandon
that very long,

but Brandon's crew,
they're very talented,
*bleep* awesome people.

You know, he's
pretty experienced.

Man, I'll tell you
what, he, uh...

Every single day,
that kid amazes me.

It's crunch time.
You know, we're trying
to get everything,

as much as we can,
in these last months,

but I couldn't be happier
with the way it's working,

so we're ready to wash.

Okay, well, let's fire her up.

[narrator] Clayton crew
operator Warren Binnie
feeds Misfits paydirt

through Brandon's
custom-built trommel,
the Dirt Devil.

[Warren] Yeah, uh,
the Misfits are, uh,

keeping us stockpiled
pretty good here.

Um, everybody works
really well together,

and, uh, I'm feeling really
good about the collaboration.

*bleep*

Sheldon, hit the bypass!

Look at all the *bleep*
we got in here!

- Dude, there's something wrong here.
- [Sheldon] Yeah.

[Warren]
Why the *bleep* did it...

Oh, *bleep*!

There's a hole in the belt.

[narrator] A flat piece
of bedrock has slipped
through the grizzly bars

and ripped a hole
in the conveyor belt,

allowing smaller rocks
to fall through and jam
the tail pulley...

...causing the hopper
feeder to clog.

If we would've let it go
and just kept running it,

it would've, uh, ripped
this thing right in half,

but, uh, it's a big gouge,
so we cut a piece out,

and we're gonna put
in the new square
back in there.

Um, it's gonna take
at least...

Least two or three
hours to do.

[narrator] Every hour
the Dirt Devil is down

costs the Lewis alliance
$2,000 in lost gold.

- [Warren] Can you get a drill in?
- [Sheldon] Yeah.

[narrator] It's up to Warren
and team member
Sheldon Monteith

to get the hopper
back up and running.

[Stuart] Brandon's
plant's shut down.

I'm actually gonna go
figure out what's going on.

Hey, Sheldon!

- [Sheldon] Hey!
- [Stuart] What the *bleep* going on, dude?

[Sheldon] Not much.

- [Stuart] Is it down?
- [Sheldon] Well, we're not running.

- [Stuart] Well, what's wrong?
- [Warren] We're fixing the belt, buddy.

*bleep*

So, how long do you think
this is gonna keep us down?

[Warren] We're got probably,
I don't know, at least
another hour yet.

[Stuart sighs]
I don't know, man.

[Fred] Way too long, dude.

We need to get this fixed
as soon as possible.

[Sheldon] I don't know.
Like, *bleep*, what do
you want us to do?

- We can't run without it.
- I know. I get it.

[Sheldon]
Keep bringing the pay,
and then once we get rolling,

- we'll jam her through, I guess, right?
- True.

[narrator] Last week,
the Misfits shut down
their own wash plant...

[Stuart] Oh, *bleep*
with this, man!

[narrator] ...so they
are totally reliant
on the Claytons' trommel

to keep sluicing.

[Fred] We took a big risk
on... On combining
our operations together,

and when things like this
happen to them,

it now happens to us.

We kinda put all our eggs
into one basket, so...

You know, this one basket's
looking kinda *bleep* weak
at the moment.

- [Sheldon] Warren?
- [Warren] What's up?

[Sheldon] You ready
for another clip?

[Warren] Uh, yeah. Yep.

[Sheldon] Whoa!

- [Sheldon] Warren?
- [Warren] What's up?

[Sheldon] You ready
for another clip?

[Warren] Uh, yeah.

[narrator]
At California Creek,

the Lewis crew is
shut down with a torn belt
in their hopper feeder.

- [Warren] Holy!
- You all right?

[Sheldon] Warren?

[Warren] Oh, yeah,
I'm all fine. It's just
a bunch of dirt.

*bleep*. Yeah.

Oh, *bleep*!

You've gotta be kidding me.

[laughs]

Everything is covered, dude.

All our tools and everything,
so *bleep*! [laughs]

Holy *bleep*! [laughs]

We had a little bit
of buildup on the wall,

and, uh, you know, we probably
should have cleaned that out,

but, um, we thought
it would hold,

but, uh, she gave out on us,

so, yeah, we got a bunch
of *bleep* to shovel now.

[narrator] The decision not
to fully dig out the hopper

has now cost the Lewis team
more lost sluice time.

This thing is taking
way too long, dude.

I... I got you, man.

I don't know, dude.
I don't know.

And my biggest concern
right now is it was supposed
to be a quick fix,

and it doesn't seem like
it's a quick fix to me, dude.

[Warren] Hey, uh, Sheldon,
we're almost done.

Let's, uh, get
our tools out...

...and, uh, power
the plant back up.

- [Sheldon] Ready?
- [Warren] Yep.

[narrator] The four-hour delay
has cost the two crews
over $8,000 in lost gold.

[Warren] We're out, uh,
quite a bit of time here,

so, you know, uh,
there's a lot of pressure
on us right now

to kick some a*s. We gotta...

We gotta pile drive
this, uh, this material
through the plant,

and, uh, try to, uh,
catch up on our lost time.

[Rick] Now we're
getting somewhere!

We got it. You know...

...we finally got
down to that good pay
we're chasing,

and, uh, now we've
got a lot of it to run
through the plant,

and, uh, I'm pumped.

[narrator] At Rally Valley,

Rick Ness is mining
the deepest cut
of his career,

and he's finally down
to the highest grade pay.

I could tell we finally
hit that good, good pay

when I looked over
and see him flexing
and grinding his teeth,

pulling on them sticks
like they owe him money.

Finally, some good news.

This is the *bleep* we've been
digging, since we started
Rally Valley, to get to,

and, uh, we're finally here,

and it's going to the plant.

I can't wait to see
what the runs look like

when we do the next mat pull.

[narrator] To raise
the 150-ounce deposit

he needs to buy
his claim from Troy,

Rick has fired up
his second plant, Rocky.

[Kyle] First time ever
having two plants going.

Pretty big accomplishment,
I think, for Rick.

[narrator] Loader operator
Kyle Lawson runs the plant.

Get Rick some more gold!

[narrator] Trucking the pay
is new hire Dan Motser.

Holy, *bleep*! I can't
see anything back there
with the sun in my eyes.

[Kyle] What the *bleep*
is this idiot doing?

Way too close to that edge.

Dan, stop!

[Dan shouts]

Oh, for *bleep* sakes!

Kyle, are you gonna copy?
I'm gonna need some
*bleep* help over here.

Okay.

*bleep* Exactly what I
didn't need to happen.

[narrator] Kyle has no choice
but to shut down.

*bleep*

Dan?

I'll get adjusted
so I'm holding...
I'm holding your box.

[Dan] I'm on a bank
right there, too.

- [Kyle] Yeah. Yeah.
- [Dan] Slowly.

[Kyle] Nice and easy, Dan.

Nice and easy.

[Dan] It's all okay?

[Kyle over radio] Yeah,
just hold on there, Dan.

Your tailgate's, uh, stuck up.
I'm just gonna push in.

[Kyle] Liftoff!

Right on, buddy. Thanks.

I'll try not to do it again.

Yeah, that's right.

[Dan] Kyle came in
and saved the day,

and now I can go
haul pay again.

Be right back, Kyle!

[Kyle] Now that all
that's good,

I can get back up
in that excavator

and keep running
some pay through her

so we can find some gold.

[Rick] I heard the commotion
on the radio. I realized that,

you know, the rock truck had
been rolled on the pay pile,

and that's normally
my cue to, you know,

haul a*s down there to...
And rectify the situation,

but I made the decision
to just kinda

hold back and, uh, you know,

see if Kyle could
take the initiative
and handle it himself,

and, uh,

he sure as hell did.

[Sheldon] We're eating away
at that pay pile pretty good,

and, uh, I'm just waiting
for Warren to dump a load
into the feeder there,

and I'm gonna
have a quick look
at the belt here,

see how our repair's doing.

[narrator]
The Lewis alliance continues
their do-or-die mission

to pull 100 ounces
out of the ground
before winter.

[Sheldon] Here's
our repair, but...

...holy *bleep*!

[Sheldon] Here's
our repair, but...

...holy *bleep*!

I know this isn't good.

[narrator] The Claytons'
belt repair has failed

after just one day of running.

[Warren] Hey, bud.

Yeah, it looks like we're
pretty *bleep* right now.

We repaired the belt but, uh,
she ripped on us again.

- [Brandon] Already?
- [Warren] Yeah.

[Brandon] I'll have
a look, I guess.

[Warren] Yeah, dude.
Look at this.

See that?

The shale rock ripped
the *bleep* out of that belt.

[Brandon] Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it's *bleep*.

Like, you can see
it's all *bleep* in there.

[Warren] Yeah, I'm
not happy about it.

*bleep*

[Warren] Shutting it down.

[Warren] Yeah, but, uh...

...we're gonna have
to deal with what we got.

Lease up on theirs.

[Brandon speaking]

[Sheldon] Sounds good.

[Brandon speaking]

Hey, Fred, you got a minute?

[Fred] Yeah, what's up?

So, that... That patch
we fixed in the belt ripped.

- *bleep*
- [Brandon] Yeah.

The bedrock that we're...

We're into right now,
it's sharp and jagged,

and the gap
in that grizzly bar
is too big...

- Okay.
- ...and, uh, I think it's just taken a toll on that belt,

so what I want to do,

if you're okay with it,

- I think I gotta shut the plant down for a day.
- Ooh.

I know. I know, but I wanted
to find some old spray bars
off another trommel...

- Okay.
- ...cut it apart,

- we'll put 'em in on top of that feeder...
- Ah.

...and weld 'em,
and that big, chunky
bedrock won't go through.

[narrator] The Claytons'
custom-built wash plant

is designed to sluice
fine gravels,

but the blocky Lewis paydirt

is destroying
their conveyor belt.

Brandon's plan,

remove the angled
grizzly bars.

Then, weld lengths
of 4-inch pipe
over the hopper feeder

to block the jagged rocks

while allowing gold-bearing
dirt to fall through.

Are you sure this
is the best bet?

Yeah, man. I just can't see
any other solution...

- Okay.
- ...and I think this is the only way we can fix it.

All right.

[narrator] While the Misfits
continue to stockpile pay...

...the Clayton team field
strips the hopper feeder.

That feeder splits
in two pieces.

We're taking the top off.

[Stuart] What are they doing?

They're removing
the entire grizzly.

- [Sheldon] Warren? Hey!
- Yep?

[narrator] Their first step...

- [Sheldon] Pick it up.
- [Warren] Okay.

[narrator] ...remove
the angled grizzly bars

that are currently
clogged with boulders.

- [Sheldon] Go up, Warren.
- Okay.

[Sheldon] Yeah.

Come down a bit!

Good!

[exhales] There she is!

- [man] Yeah.
- [Sheldon] On the ground.

Out with this piece
of *bleep*...

...and, uh, in with the new.

[narrator] Already
down five hours,

the two crews
combine forces to fabricate
the new grizzly bars

and repair the torn
feeder belt
as quickly as possible.

[Warren] Uh, right now,
I got my crew
workin' on the belt.

It's lined up
perfect right now.

These guys here, Klint and JB,
they're cuttin' some old spray
bars off of another trommel.

And we're gonna use that
as our new grizzly bars,

so they're just cuttin' 'em
apart and then I'm gonna
weld 'em in place there.

It's all hands on deck,
everybody's doin' somethin'.

Yep, we're in.

I'm starting to, you know,
wonder if this is the right
decision to make.

- Yeah, right there, Sheldon.
- Yeah.

- Our pay had more jagged bedrock in it.
- Yeah.

So that's why
they're making
this extra grizzly.

- So it's a good call, it makes sense but--
- I don't know, well--

[chuckles] It's only
a good call
when it's successful.

It is their plant's now but,
you know, since the merger
it become our plant too.

You know, so
that kinda
pisses me off.

The time is precious right now
and us being down means
that we're not getting gold.

Gold is the ultimate goal.

You know what I mean, spending
time away from our families,
which does suck.

Now watching my daughter
grow up through FaceTime
is unbelievable.

And, you know, I missed
the first day of school,

I missed their getting
their ears pierced, I missed
the precious moments,

and I just want
to get this over with

so I can get back
to my family.

[narrator] After ten
hours of downtime

Brandon's new grizzly bar
modification is complete.

[Fred] You know,
this took way longer
than we wanted it to,

but you know what,
we've got this wash plant
and hopper set up now,

so hopefully
we don't have
to shut it down again.

[narrator] Before firing up,

Brandon clears
the discarded boulders piled
around the hopper feeder.

[Brandon] Sheldon! Look out!
Whoa!

Holy *bleep*!

- [Brandon] Are you okay?
- [Sheldon] Yeah.

Aw! *bleep*!

This is absolutely
the worst thing
that could happen.

It pretty much cripples
our operation

and we can't handle havin' it
down for more than a day

and I know this problem's
gonna take a long time
to fix so, freakin' pissed!

[Tony speaking]

And this is the top one,
I believe.

[narrator] While Tony
hunted for new ground
for next season,

his family carried on
sluicing at Paradise Hill.

[Tony] I can see *bleep*
*bleep* loads a gold already.

Being down on my own
is one thing,

but being down
and spending Fred's money

is also another thing
and I feel *bleep* awfully
guilty for it, you know?

I told him we'd be down a day
and now we're gonna be down
a day and a half.

[narrator] Next morning...

Yeah, come forward
a little more.

[narrator] Twenty-two year-old
Brandon races to rebuild
the wash plant pad.

Hopefully, we're runnin'
by four, all fingers crossed.

But fixin' this *bleep* up
is probably gonna take us
most of the day.

- Fred?
- Man, we are gettin' hammered, bud.

- I know.
- It's just frustrating, right?

- Yeah.
- And it's frustrating on my end too,

- so it's pretty rough but we can't make mistakes.
- Yep, I know.

But no reason to cry
over spilt milk, definitely
we're in this together.

- I agree. Okay.
- I feel the stress but we got it!

The support units
for the hopper

are pretty much
the most important part
to keepin' this thing upright.

So at this point
we're gonna have
to rebuild the platform.

Block one is in
and in place, all level.

Just gonna flip
this other block over
we'll chain 'er up

and start liftin'
the second block
in place.

- Hey!
- Yeah.

Pick it up.

Hey, Warren,
I'm gonna smack 'ya
if you don't move.

There's no base left,
so right now
we're just gonna rebuild it

and try and get
a strong base again.

Getting level, w*r?

[Warren] Down!

Very good, we just got
our blocks levelled out here

and we're gonna pick
our feeder up and try
to get her spotted in here,

so that she can
sit nice and level
and roll some dirt again.

Okay, we're goin' up!

[narrator] The 250 Excavator
has a maximum lifting capacity
of 22,000 pounds.

With the added steel,
the Clayton's hopper feeder
now weighs 24,000 pounds.

You know,
it's taken everything
this 250's got.

*bleep*

I hope these chains
are gonna hold.

If that thing falls now,
we're pretty *bleep*.

You know, I'm dangling
a pretty heavy
suspended load mid-air

and I got three bodies
workin' around me,
it's a little scary.

- [Warren] Down.
- [Brandon] Okay.

- Can I keep comin' down?
- Yep.

Yep.

Yeah, you can keep
coming down.

[Brandon] How are we
on those cinder blocks
though, pretty good?

[Warren] You're
lookin' really good.

- [Brandon] [exhales] Phew!
- [Warren] There she is.

- Yeah.
- [Brandon] On the ground?

I think she's good.

Yeah!

[narrator] Now all that's left
is levelling the hopper.

Hey!

[Warren] Thank *bleep*
this is done.

'Cause now we
can start runnin' again.

It's only three o'clock.

Let's fire 'er up!

We got all new
grizzly bars in.

We're gonna hopefully
run smooth for the rest
of the season, man.

[narrator] It's time
to put their new four to five
grizzly bars to the test.

- There it goes!
- There we go.

See if all
this hard work
paid off.

[Warren] All right,
here we go!
Right on!

- Come on, *bleep*!
- Yeah!

[narrator] Fred's coalition
of forces is back on the gold.

[Fred] We're up
and running again

but, you know,
we did not sluice enough
to even pull mats,

we don't have a go away
but I'm seeing my team

and Brandon's team
work in cohesion,

now it's time
to get some
more gold.

Every time Tony
goes away, things seem
to run a little smoother.

[chuckles] And maybe
they should go away
more often.

[narrator] At Paradise Hill,
the family gathers
for their favorite past time.

Weighing out their gold.

- [Minnie] You gonna bring us some goodies?
- A couple.

So how was Kena?

Mike, how did the plant do?

Ah, it did well, didn't have
any breakdowns this week.

Oh, that's okay, so that's
a full week in there.

[Mike] Who's countin'?

[Monica] I'll do it.

Ready?

Five, ten, fifteen, twenty,
thirty, forty, fifty, sixty...

[narrator] To hit
his 4500 ounce
season goal,

[Monica] 110, 120...

[narrator] Tony needs
over 400 ounces a week.







...330, 350,





[narrator] Worth
over $650,000,

it tops their best
gold weigh this season
by almost 60 ounces.

Hey, it's one of the biggest
ones we've had this year.

[Tony speaking]

[Monica] Thought it
was a crown of gold.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] If the wall cut
continues to deliver...

[all laughing]

[Minnie] We are at 3,628,

and we have a couple
of more weeks to go.

[narrator]
...Tony's 4,500-ounce goal

is still within
striking distance.

So, it is doable if we keep up
these kind of gold weighs.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Oh, yeah.

[Minnie] We should be
excited about that.

Oh, hey, guys.

- [Big Rick] Hello.
- Check this out.

[Big Rick] Ooh!

[narrator] Rick Ness has
been given an ultimatum,

put up a $250,000 deposit
and buy his claim,

or risk losing it to someone
with deeper pockets.

[Rick]
It's an amazing opportunity.
It's kinda scary, too, though.

Like, if I don't buy it,

we'll lose it.

[narrator] He's finally
on good gold,

but is it good enough?

[Rick] Yeah, Kyle, this...
Actually this jar right here,
that's, uh...

That's all you, buddy.

Maybe, uh, let's see
if we got 150 ounces
for that down payment.

What do you say, Kyle?
Want to count
these numbers out?

[Kyle] Oh, sure.

And...

...20, 30, 40,



...60...

...70, 80...

...95.4.

[narrator] Worth $170,000.

- [Rick] Holy *bleep* cow.
- [Big Rick] Nice!

- [Brannan] Yeah, buddy! Good job, man!
- [Rick] It's a beauty.

That's awesome.

[cheers]

[narrator] Next, the gold
from Monster Red.

Yeah, I already weighed
the first 100 ounces out
that Heather cleaned,

so that's in here,
and this feels pretty
heavy, too, so...

Oh, yeah.

We got





...70, 80...

...100.

Wow.

[Rick] 119.8!

So, yeah, that's 219.8 ounces
out of Monster Red.

- *bleep*
- [Rick] 95 ounces out of Rocky.

Yeah, that's 315 ounces
on the week.

[narrator] Worth
over $500,000.

- [Brannan laughs]
- [Big Rick] Now, that's gotta be a record.

[Brannan] *bleep*, yeah!

[Rick] That's our biggest
gold weigh ever.

- [Brannan] *bleep* yeah, boys!
- [Big Rick] Wow, that's awesome!

- Amazing.
- [Kyle] That's awesome.

[all laughing]

[narrator] With Rally Valley
delivering Rick his biggest
gold weigh ever...

...he heads off to meet
with landowner Troy Taylor.

- [Rick] How are you?
- [Troy] Hey, Rick. Good to see you.

Uh, this is nice-looking
gold there, Rick.

I guess you can probably see
what my decision was.

I'm ready to buy, I guess.

Yeah, that's great.
That's good news for us.

Yeah, I know.
That's... [stammers]

That's good news for me, too.

So, just to be clear,

- this is the down payment...
- [Rick] Yeah.

...and it's nonrefundable...

...and we'll keep
doing the royalty thing
next season...

- Yep.
- [Troy] ...and hopefully, by the end,

- you'll have it paid off.
- [Rick] Yeah.

I'm confident I can do it.

[laughs]

All right. Thanks again, Troy.

Appreciate everything.

[Troy] See you, Rick.

Good luck out there.

[Rick] Thank you.

[exhales] Big commitment.

I mean, it's scary,

um, 'cause it is
a big commitment,

but it's also exciting
because, you know,

I'm gonna own my own ground.

Um, the only way that's
gonna happen, though,

is if I finish
this season strong,

so I gotta get at it.