15x29 - Gold Rush: It's Good to be King

[bunniefuu]

[laughs]

[narrator] On this
Gold Rush...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...the King
of the Klondike,

Tony Beets,
takes on his longest day...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...as he battles
to run two operations...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...gets tough
with new recruits...

[narrator]
...and fights to save
a key piece of equipment...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...all
in pursuit of big gold.

[opening theme music playing]

[Tony speaking]

-[Minnie] Yeah.
-[Tony speaking]

[narrator] On Paradise Hill,

Tony Beets enjoys
the creature comforts of home.

[Minnie] This house,
it really, really feels good.

Well, the way that you look,
I have to look at it,

you're here six, seven months
out of the year, right?

So at least,
you should be comfortable.

[narrator] The King
of the Klondike

is running two
mining operations,

forcing him to split his time

between an Indian River
crash pad 40 miles away

and his home at Paradise
with wife, Minnie.

-Hey.
-[Minnie chuckles]

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie] That'd be nice
to pull some gold
out of the hill.

[narrator] Tony's day begins
at the 35-year-old,


Paradise Hill trommel...

[Mike] Shut it off!

[narrator] ...run
by youngest son, Mike.

[trommel stops]

[narrator] At the end
of the night shift,

Tony checks the sluices

to determine
if it's time for a cleanup.

[Mike] Looking pretty good.

It's yellow.

[Tony speaking]

-[Mike] Yeah?
-[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Oh, yeah.

[Tony speaking]

It's not gonna do a [bleep],
uh, two rows the whole way.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Yeah.

That's a nice one.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Yeah, I get
cranky if I don't eat.

[narrator]
While the crew gets to work
cleaning out the trommel...

Tony and Mike
head to breakfast.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Uh,
probably in a minute.

[radio static]

[Mike] Monica,
do you copy, Monica?

[Monica speaking over radio]

Do you wanna come
to the kitchen?

[Monica speaking]

[Mike] Good.

I've been having
them haul every day,

got nice big paintballs,
as you saw as you drive in.

[Tony speaking]

Yes.

-[Monica] Morning.
-[Tony] Hey.

[Minnie] Good morning.

-Morning.
-[Monica] Fine.

-How are you?
-[Minnie] I like your hair.

Thanks.

Got up early this morning?

No. I put it in at night.

[Minnie] Oh. It looks nice.

It lets you plan
on your day good.

Hmm.

Yeah. [chuckles]

-No "we" that statement.
-[Tony speaking]

[Monica] Unless
you're talking about you

-and your
multiple personalities.
-[Tony] Hmm.

[Minnie] Are you gonna head
out pretty soon?

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie] Has anyone
heard from Kevin?

[Tony speaking]

-No.
-[Tony speaking]

-[Monica] You know
what you gotta do?
-[Tony speaking]

[Monica]
Just rent a helicopter.
[bleep].

-[laughs] Instead of--
-[Mike] Oh, I see. [bleep].

-Like, we just sit there
above him and say...
-[laughs]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] This season,

eldest son, Kevin,
is running his own operation

near the Indian River.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] This is [bleep] great!

[laughs]

Oy!

[Tony speaking]

[Monica] Mm-hmm.

-[Tony speaking]
-[Monica speaking]

[groans]

[narrator]
With nearly 3,000 acres
of gold-rich claims...

the best way for Tony
to monitor his empire
is from the sky.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Yeah, I'm just looking
at all the ground over here

that I stripped.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator]
From the 1,300 acres
at Paradise Hill

managed by Mike...

it's a 40-mile flight south

to the 44 acres
Kevin has leased from Tony...

where he's working
a 3-acre section

of the Lynx Cut.

Yeah?

[Tony laughs]

[laughs]

[Tony and Minnie laughing]

I can, uh, I can already
see the glare from here.

-[Tony laughs]
-He actually looks
kind of mad.

[Tony chuckles]

[Mike] Looks like someone made
a little cut down here.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Next door
to Kevin's claim
on Scribner...

is Tony's 1,200-acre
Indian River claim...

where this season,
he's running two wash plants,
a fleet of iron...

and a 50-strong workforce
who've been on their own

since Tony left
for Paradise Hill
two days ago.

[Tony speaking]

[mouthing] No.

I just got slapped
and told, "No."

[Tony speaking]

[laughs]

I think both of them are done.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] I don't know why,
I'm having a blast.

It's kind of cool seeing
everything from up here.

[Tony speaking]

Oh!

[narrator] Back on his
Indian River claims

after 48 hours away...

[narrator] ...Tony must
make sure progress

stripping a new section
of the comeback cut
is on track...

[narrator] ...overseen
by foreman, Cousin Mike.

-[Cousin Mike] What's that?
-[Tony speaking]

No, but we wanted
to drag it over here.

Yeah.

[Cousin Mike] ...yeah.

[horn honks]

I like working
for, uh, Tony.

You know what you get,
you know what you have.

Tony is still not
slowing down,

but running up and down
between two mines,

that's, uh, very hard.

The goal this year
is big for Tony,

but it's also big for me.

This is the first year
I'm in this position.

And I always like
to do a good job,

but especially now
because it's a... a big thing.

[Tony speaking]

Huh?

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] After 48 hours
at Paradise Hill,

Tony Beets has returned
to his Indian River claim.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator]
In the Comeback Cut,

a rookie driver
has tipped a rock truck
on the waste pile

and becomes stuck,
slowing down production.

[Tony speaking]

Oh, yeah, when I was
going up to the dump,

but, uh, it just
started feeling

like I was sinking in,
you know?

So, I... I gave it
a little more gas,

but I got stuck,

and then I was trying
to empty the box to go out,

but then I just--
It just flipped,
like, randomly,

right, by itself.

[narrator] To right
the 34-ton rock truck

and get production
back on track,

Tony takes control
of the 750 excavator.

[engine starts]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] The rock truck
is dangerously close
to the edge of the pile,

where the dirt
is less compacted

and could collapse
at any moment.

[clanking]

[Tony speaking]

[clanking]

[engine revs]

[engine revs]

[narrator]
The universal joint,

essential for handling
the uneven terrain,

is broken...

taking the truck out of action
until it can be replaced.

[Tony speaking]

[Darien]
Tony was pretty pissed off
about the whole ordeal,

but, um, I'm going
back to working.

Uh, he said that things
like that happen, you know?

So, I just gotta do
what I gotta do

and keep on going.

[Tony speaking]

[snickers]

[laughs]

[chuckles]

[exclaims]

[horn honking]

[Tony speaking]

[horns honking]

[laughs]

[narrator] After spying
on Kevin's operation
from the sky,

now Tony is heading
to Scribner
for a closer look.

Hey, Tony.

How you going, Ton'?

[Tony speaking]

[Kevin] Hey, I'd say
this is a surprise,

but yeah,
I'm not surprised.

[narrator] As landlord,

Tony receives
a 10% royalty

on everything Kevin mines.

Already working
the Lynx Cut,

now Kevin is looking
for his next spot.

[Tony speaking]

-[Brennan] Gold.
-[Kevin] Uh, answers, mostly.

[Tony speaking]

-Very helpful.
-[Brennan laughs]

We just wanna know
what next bit of ground
we should test.

[Tony speaking]

-[Kevin] I know.
-[Tony speaking]

-[Kevin] Okay.
-[Tony speaking]

[Brennan] So, 30 years ago,

was it still pretty much
dozer-mining back then?

[Tony speaking]

[Brennan] How much
did they miss back then

doing just dozering
off the floor,
like all the pay?

[Brennan] Yeah. [laughing]
Is that right?
[continues laughing]

-[Brennan] Yeah.
-[Tony speaking]

[Brennan] Yeah.

I've been eyeing
that up the whole time.

[Tony speaking]

Perfect.

You don't happen to know
where that test plant
out here?

[Kevin] All right.

[Kevin] Go look for it.
No, no, no.

Just the test plant.

[Tony speaking]

-Pickup truck, perfect.
-[Tony speaking]

[Brennan] Okay, thanks, Tony.

-[Tony speaking]
-[Kevin] Oh, no.

-[Brennan laughing] What?
-[Kevin groans]

-[Tony speaking]
-[Brennan] See ya.

[laughs]

[bleeps and laughs]

He's just
a big [bleep] kid, eh?

Oh, yeah, this is probably
the highlight of his
[bleep] day, honestly.

But that... that does answer
a few questions.

[Brennan] Oh, yeah, for sure.

And we can mine
that far piece over
to our border

-as we're sluicing.
-Walking in, yeah.

He almost certainly
left some stuff,

so I'll see about getting
that test plant over.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Coming up...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] After checking in
on the cuts,
Tony heads to his office.

[narrator] Stretched thin,
Tony Beets is hiring new crew,

but you need more
than a good resume

to impress
the King of the Klondike.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] No matter
how strong their handshake,

for Tony to reach his goal
of running two plants,
twenty-four-seven,

he needs to make sure
the new recruits
are holding their own.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony groans]

[narrator] Earlier in
the season,

the Greenhorn strip 20 feet
of worthless overburden

to reach the gold-rich
gravel layer, which was
processed through the plant.

But Tony believes some of the
gravels were left behind,

potentially worth hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

[Tony speaking]

[Geoff] And that was
just right on the top.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Tony's suspicion
confirmed,

it's down to rookie miner, DJ,
to take out the remaining pay.

[Tony speaking]

[DJ] Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony and DJ speaking
in other language]

[Tony speaking in English]

[both laugh]

-[Tony speaking]
-[DJ] I know.

[Tony speaking]

I'm Dickjan Postema.

Uh, saying in my own language
for now.

But most other guys,
they call me DJ

because it's easier
to pronounce

and, yeah,
I'm coming from Holland.

I'm almost at the same place
as where Tony came from,
from Friesland.

Yeah, it's pretty difficult
because the, yeah,
the conditioning,

and you see the water
and, uh, the different colors
in the dirt

and the the gravel
and that kind of stuff, so.

I'm getting used to it now.

I personally
have quite a hard time
telling the difference

between, like pay
and hard rock

or just overburden
and stuff like that.

There's such
high expectations,

um, and such a specific way
that Tony likes things done.

It's an
intimidating atmosphere.

There's still frozen dirt here
underneath my pocket here.

Maybe you can
take it out for me.

[Tony speaking]

No, I'm just asking you
for a favor. [chuckles]

[Tony speaking]

[DJ speaking on radio]

[narrator] Now that Tony's
happy DJ is getting
all the remaining pay,

the trucks roll in and
start hauling it to the plant.

[Tony speaking]

[DJ] Tony is a pretty good
person to talk with,

and especially when I'm
talking in my own language.

I'm... I'm learning a lot
from Tony, yeah.

[man 1 on radio]

[Tony speaking]

[man 1 on radio]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] At Indian River,
mine boss Tony Beets
is having a day.

He's been driving his claim
since 6:30 a.m.

And now the road
connecting camp to the rest
of the mine has collapsed,

leaving an old bridge
as the only access point.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] The bridge
is unsuitable for
the heavy equipment,

so Tony must rebuild the road

or risk his biggest iron
becoming stranded in the cut.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] All that's left
is for Tony to test his work.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Still on the clock,
Tony grabs a quick dinner,

before heading
to the gold room...

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] ...and he knows
exactly what he wants.

[Tony speaking]

That's the new combo.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] In 2016,
Tony paid one million dollars
for a second dredge,

originally built in 1946.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] After two years,
he sunk another
million dollars

in moving and rebuilding it,
but never finished the job.

And it's been derelict
since 2018.

[Tony speaking]

[Tony speaking]

-[producer] Why is that?
-[Tony speaking]

[Monica] Oh, not too much.
You?

-[Tony speaking]
-[Monica] Never-ending.

[narrator] Tony Beets has been
run ragged

but still needs to make
his last check of the day.

The gold room and
the latest news on his
Indian River gold count.

Well, it's slow and steady,
you know.

[Tony speaking]

-Well, you don't really want
everybody in here, either.
-[Tony speaking]

You sure about it?

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] To separate
the gold from the fine,
worthless dirt,

Monica runs it
through a gold table

where water and vibrations
sort the heavier gold
into the grooves

and deposit it
in a bucket below.

It's then dried out,
ready to be weighed.

-[Tony speaking]
-[Monica] All right.

[Tony speaking]

-Take it and run!
-[Tony speaking]

Put it in a jar?

-[Tony speaking]
-Save it for a rainy day?

[Tony speaking]

Don't go away mad,
as they say.

[Tony speaking]

-[Monica] Yeah.
-[Tony speaking]

With Tony, every part
of my life he has been,

you know, my father, my boss
and everything else

for the last, well,
almost 20 years of my life,

um, and so...

there is no one part of him
separate from the other.

Now, he's an old man,
he can be a little bit
more relaxed.

Anytime my kids
are around this guy is like...

[bleep] melted butter
in our hands.

[narrator] After a long day
on the mine site,

Tony heads to his
Indian River crash pad.

[Tony speaking]

But I don't even think
I'm gonna paint them and
just leave him as is, so.

End of the day,
I'm gonna crawl
in the hot tub,

so I'm gonna get naked.
So I think that's it.

[all laughing]

[Tony] Ladies and gentlemen,
I got [bleep] to do.