05x08 - Gold Blooded

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up in the gold fields
of the klondike...

Let's just
get the hell out of here.

Narrator: ...teenage mine boss
parker schnabel rolls the dice.

We're gonna try to move it
in 12 hours.

Narrator: he opens up a new cut
in record time...

Parker: stop!

Narrator: ...in his chase
for a 2,000-ounce season...

Smokin' job, man.

Narrator: ...a move
that pays off like never before

When he breaks
his season gold-weigh record.

Parker: holy crap!

Tony:
pretty cool, huh?

Tony beets' dream
of mining like the old-timers

In his 75-year-old dredge...

...is quickly
turning into a nightmare.

Man: [bleep]

Narrator: but when father
and daughter work together...

...their impossible dream...

...starts to become a reality.

[ Laughs ]

At mckinnon creek...

Man:
let's rock 'n' roll!

Narrator: ...the hoffmans
have defied the odds,

Landing one of the biggest
wash plants in the klondike.

Todd: monster red, the biggest
wash plant we've ever used.

Narrator:
for the first time this season,

They have a shot at big gold.

Turin: that's more gold
than we found all last year!

Todd:
[ laughing ] yeah!

Narrator:
but highs turn to lows

When heartbreaking news
reaches the miners.

I don't know the details
at this point,

But, uh,
he's no longer with us.

Remsburg: my hope is that
he's in a better place,

He's met his maker,
and he....

[ Voice breaking ]
he's pain-free.

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator:
at scribner creek,

19-Year-old parker schnabel
has set an ambitious goal

Of 2,000 ounces of gold,
worth $2.4 million.

But almost halfway through the
season, he has only 487 ounces.

Parker: should we take a look
at the sluices?

Man: yeah.

Narrator: for six weeks,

Parker mined the swamp cut,

But the gold cleanups
were disappointing.

Then, last week,
they unexpectedly hit a hot spot

That produced
an incredible 182 ounces,

Worth nearly $220,000.

Today they're running
more swamp cut pay dirt

To find out
if the hot spot was a fluke.

You see anything?

So hard to tell.

I'm finding a few little flakes
here and there.

Yeah, there's gold in here, but
it could sure be a lot better.

How many hours
do we have on this?

We got about 16 hours on it.

After this many hours,

I don't think it looks as good
as the last time.

It's just not good enough
for what we need this season.

All right,
now we're trying to decide

If we're gonna stay
in the swamp cut longer

Or move up to the far cut.

It's a tough decision.

I don't know what to do.

Narrator: last year, the far cut
produced $200,000 of gold

In just four days.

But abandoning the swamp cut

Could lose parker millions
in lost gold.

Should we get
the hell out of here?

I understand your concern,

But I'm not totally ready
to give up on it.

There's no guarantee
that far cut's

Any better
than this ground.

My thought on it, we're here,
we're set up, we're established.

I don't know.

I like the looks of that rainbow
up there.

Find the bottom
of it.

That's where your gold is,
right?

Well, to my eye,
that's landing

Right in the middle
of the far cut.

Gene, it's a sign.

Let's just scrape up
what's on the pad

And get the hell out of here,
and go up to the far cut.

Cheeseman: [bleep]
he's seeing rainbow brite.

The far cut's the answer,
the savior.

Bunch of [bleep] [bleep]

Narrator: before they can
even start mining,

Parker and his crew have to haul
their wash plant a mile,

Then reassemble it
piece by piece at the far cut.

The last time they took on
this painstaking task,

It took the crew
four backbreaking days.

And every day parker's
not mining, he's out $15,000.

So as you guys know, we're
trying to move this thing today.

We're gonna try to move it
in one shift -- 12 hours.

We're never
gonna make it in 12 hours.

Last one,
it took four days.

We're not gonna be doing
that kind of [bleep] anymore.

Doumitt, when you get back
in 12 hours,

We'll have this thing
up and going up there.

All right, you guys.
It's all yours.

Good luck
on the move.

All right,
let's get to it.

Narrator: parker's deadline
gives his crew almost no time

Before chris doumitt returns
at 8:00 p.m.

For his night shift.

The $50,000 screen deck
is first up.

The fastest way to move it

Is to hook it up
to the front of the loader

And drag it a mile
to the far cut.

Parker: you know, I don't like
moving things like that.

There's a lot that can go wrong.
There's a lot of risk.

But that's what we have to do
if we want to find the gold.

New roads, new pads.

It's, uh -- it's always
a little nerve-racking.

Come on.

[ Metal thudding ]

[ Engine revving ]

Whoa!

Man: stop!

[Bleep] [bleep]

Our cable's too long
and I can't pick it up,

So I'm digging in.

I need to lift it,
you know?

Can unhook this
and take this out.

Narrator: the screen deck's
skids are digging into the dirt.

By shortening the cable,

Parker should be able to lift
the deck and keep it moving.

Man: there.
You got about a foot.

That's good.

Parker: [bleep]

[ Laughs ]

I wasn't sure if we were
gonna make that one or not.

Narrator: west,
at mckinnon creek...

The hoffman crew's
new wash plant just arrived...

Todd: take it over.
Take it over.

There you go.

Narrator:
...and it's a monster.

Monster red, the biggest
wash plant we've ever used.

One of the fastest,

Most efficient plants
in the klondike.

This thing's a beast, man.
It's big.

Narrator: monster red
is a 50-ton wash plant

With a giant
38-foot-long sluice.

Okay, kev.
Give me a little bit, kev.

Narrator: it can process almost
300 yards of pay dirt an hour,

Three times more than
their old plant, little red.

Todd: this plant
needs a lot of dirt.

She needs to be fed.

Well done, boys.

First hurdle
was accomplished.

Narrator: todd's new
50-50 partner, dave turin,

Is now in charge
of mining operations.

His first order of business --

Raise the massive
9 1/2-ton shaker onto its stand.

Turin:
we don't have a crane.

We don't have
the right equipment,

But we're just making do.

The worst thing that could
happen is we drop the screen.

This screen is the most valuable
piece of equipment we own.

That sucker's big.

Narrator:
with no crane on site,

They have to attempt the lift

With their
700 and 460 excavators.

Our plant's bigger
than our equipment.

I hope that's not
a foreshadowing.

Turin:
this is not gonna be easy.

So, what I got to do is,

You got two excavators lifting,
one on each side.

So they got to come up level,

And then I got to
get that stand positioned

Precisely underneath them.

And then we set it down on top
of eight different springs.

So this is a complicated pick.

One of the most complicated
we've done.

Hiatt: hey, dave.

Okay, I just want to
run this by you

Before we pick it
and get it in the air.

What we could do
is take all four straps

And run them back
like this.

That way there's no chance it
could slide through the shackle.

I think
we're all right.

Narrator: each side
of the 9 1/2-ton shaker

Is supported by a single lifting
strap attached at two points.

Each strap runs through a metal
ring on one of the excavators,

But there is nothing to stop the
strap sliding from side to side.

If either strap slips
during the lift,

The shaker
will crash to the ground.

Okay, boom out.

Okay, now up.

I'm not gonna talk to you guys
right now.

I'll answer all your questions
you want when we're done,

But right now
I'm not talking to you guys.

Hiatt:
hey, dave.

I don't like this.

You're all right.

It's no different up in the air
than it is on the ground.

Dave,
is it secure right now?

Why would it not be?
Is it secure?

Yes.

Then come here.

This is where kev,
he thinks too much.

And he talks.
Just lift it, get it done.

Dude, I am genuinely nervous
about this rig.

Well, then, get out.
I'll lift it.

I know,
but even if you're in it --

Get out.
I'll lift it.

Here's what I'm saying.
Could you just hear me? Okay?

I'm listening.

If one of us tweaks it
a little bit

And pulls on it the wrong way,
that sling is just --

Needs to slide
just a little bit.

Would you lift it up, and let me
see if I got the height?

But I just --
okay.

You got to boom out
a little, kev.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
[Bleep]

Narrator:
at mckinnon creek...

Easy.

...the hoffmans' new 9 1/2-ton
shaker hangs 12 feet in the air.

Hiatt: whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

Stop! Stop!

As kevin predicted,

With only two support straps,
it's slipping.

I'm nervous as [bleep]
right now.

Okay, kev.
We'll do it your way.

Feel better with that?

I do.
Okay.

Didn't like the way
it was rigged.

Kevin had a good idea.
We're gonna double up.

So, what we're gonna do
is put two on each side.

Narrator:
doubling up the straps

Should keep the shaker stable
on its way up.

Turin:
oh, it's a good idea.

Go that way a little bit.

I need
another 6 inches.

Okay.

That's enough.

Now, the way
that they've got it,

That sling won't slide through
that shackle.

Turin: I'm gonna try to push it,
to start with.

Todd: we're close.

Just hold that, guys.

We'll put the springs in
and set it down.

Narrator: dave and steve must
now direct the excavators

To drop the shaker onto four
pairs of heavy-duty springs.

There's no room for error.

So, what we're gonna do
is set it down

Exactly within half an inch
to get it on the springs.

So that's the difficult part.

Whoa, whoa.

I'm in.
Got two of the sides in.

Okay.
Now -- now, down.

Man: whoo!

Narrator: with the shaker deck
finally in position,

The hoffmans' massive new wash
plant is starting to take shape.

We got it.

Narrator:
if they keep pushing,

They could get gold
by the end of the week.

Hey, good job, you guys.
Final resting place.

Good teamwork, guys.

Man: whoo!

Narrator: meanwhile,
over at scribner creek...

Parker schnabel
isn't even halfway through

His wash-plant move.

Man: there we go.
Now she made it.

Narrator: after abandoning
the swamp cut,

Parker has finally dragged
his screen deck

A mile to the far cut,

Where he plans to operate
for the rest of the season.

Yeah, it made it.

Not quite the greatest way,
but it's upright

And close to the right spot.

But we're gonna have to

Get our asses in gear here
this afternoon

If we're gonna be
sluicing tonight.

Narrator: with the shaker
now in place...

You're all clear.

Narrator:
...gene has just five hours

To reassemble
the rest of the wash plant

Before parker's
12-hour deadline hits.

Parker: chris is gonna be here
in a couple hours.

How are we looking?

Cheeseman: I hope to be running
before he gets here.

Need to build a tailings pond
down there.

If you're not ready,
I'll turn the water on.

Lighten up, gene.

Before they can start mining
the far cut,

Parker needs to move
1,000 yards of dirt

To create a tailings pond.

What do you need me
to do?

Have him push up to you,
and you bale it up on the berm.

All right.

Gene's waiting on us.

Let's go!

Narrator:
up at the new wash-plant site,

Gene and mitch race
to install the sluice boxes...

Cheeseman: we need to get those
legs so they can drop down.

Narrator: ...while big mike
works on the tailings conveyor.

Little more up.
Good.

All right,
now we're just pulling

The back side
of the conveyor into place

So that we'll have it nice
and straight with the plant.

We're getting close

To one of the last major pieces
to come in.

Go ahead and fold it.

That looks good there.

There it is.

We're ready to run, basically.
Just ready to turn the water on.

Waiting for them to get done
down there.

Parker: oh, boy.

Yeah, chris is here,
and we ain't ready for him.

Narrator: chris doumitt arrives
for his night shift.

12 Hours ago, parker told him

They'd have the wash plant
ready to run.

Holy moses.
Smokin' job, man.

I really thought I was gonna
get an evening off.

I really did.
[ Laughs ]

So where's parker?

I'm waiting for parker
to get done down there

So we can turn it on.

Without a tailings pond,

Waste from the wash plant
would flood the cut.

They can't mine
until it's finished.

That's all
parker's been doing,

Is giving me a place
for small tailings?

Come on, parker.
I'm burning hours, you know?

Cheeseman: parker,
we're all done up here.

How much longer
are you gonna be?

Parker:
we're ready when we're ready.

It'll be more than 12 hours,
but whatever.

[Bleep]

That's just what
I [bleep] need right now.

Ness: gene just got parker
a little stressed out

Because he's not quite ready
down here with this --

With what he's got
to do, so...

I think he's grumpy.

I think he's mad at gene
for being too efficient.

Narrator: 10:00 p.m.

Two hours after
his own 12-hour deadline,

Parker is finally ready to run
the first far cut pay dirt.

Parker: so what?
It took 14 hours. Whatever.

At least
we'll be running tonight.

Fire it up!

Narrator: the schnabel crew's
14-hour marathon ends

As chris begins his first
night shift at the far cut.

No rest for the wicked,
that's for sure.

Parker: pretty impressive,
really.

You've done a good job
laying things out here.

Thank you.
Yep.

Narrator:
up in the klondike,

Tony beets arrives
back at clear creek

To remove the heart of his
75-year-old gold-mining dredge,

The trommel.

Man: she's a little
tight-fitting

In between these beams, but I
think it'll come out of there.

Narrator:
the 25-foot trommel

Is the core mechanism
of tony's dredge.

It filters gold-bearing material
into the sluices

And discards worthless tailings.

Tony's trommel was installed
before world w*r ii.

It was operational
for 22 years,

And it caught over $55 million
worth of gold.

Man: okay.

Narrator: if they can't get
the antique trommel

Out in one piece,
there's no easy replacement.

17,000 Pounds.

Narrator: the back end
of the trommel

Is caught
on a single metal bracket.

I don't think we can because
right now we're tight here.

How 'bout we torch the corner
of those ears off?

They hold the little...

Tony made me do it.

Tony: [ laughs ]
no, he did not!

Uh, so far.
So far?

Easy, easy.

Keep her going,
keep her going.

Up, up, up.

I like it.

Right there.

Right there.

I was just
following instructions.

[ Laughs ]

Ahh, geez.

Rhodes: it does.

One more big chunk
on the ground.

This might be the only gold
you see out of this.

[ Laughs ]

There's a little rubber
up along the back there,

And there was a crack there,
and it was just stuck into that.

Well, I was gonna split it
three ways.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: at mckinnon creek,
wash plant expert freddy dodge

Has driven 300 miles north
from carmacks

To help the hoffman crew with
their final monster red setup.

How's it going, todd?

Dude, I'm all right.

Little overwhelmed.
[ Laughs ] me too, todd.

Glad you're here, man.
I need help on this plant.

The hoffman crew has
the 9 1/2-ton shaker in place.

Now it's time
to turn it into a wash plant.

First they attach
the giant sluice box,

Then connect
the 12 1/2-ton hopper feeder,

And finally install the
45-foot-long tailings conveyor.

You know, you got pieces
scattered everywhere.

You start assembling it,
it's like a giant erector set.

It's pretty fun.

Man: yeah.

Ho, dave!

It'll be a sluicing,
gold-catching machine

When we're done here.

Looks good!

Turin:
hey, good job.

Let's finish it up.

Narrator: after four days
of backbreaking work,

The hoffmans' supersized
wash plant, monster red,

Is ready to run pay dirt.

How's it look, dave?

Turin: looking good.

Let's fire it up!

Feed conveyor on!

Todd:
hit the screen, freddy.

Firing the screen,
dave!

Feel that big old screen moving?
It's like a frigging train.

Let's get some water!

Let's rock 'n' roll!
Give it some dirt!

Todd:
we're sluicing, boys.

First gold in the box!

All right!

[Bleep]

That conveyor's not on!

Dave, shut it down!

Shut the feeder off.

Turn it off.

Get the truck.
Move that truck back now, quick.

Well, that's not
supposed to happen.

Forgot to tighten
the stinking drive belt.

Something that stupid.

The tailing conveyor
started slipping,

So all the tailings
backed up here.

Dodge: without tightening
the drive belts,

The conveyor belt itself
doesn't work.

Without the conveyor belt
working, rocks can't leave,

Plant shuts down.

You know, something stupid
like me overlooking this

Has created an issue.

Now I got four guys
down there with shovels

Cleaning something out.

So it's those little things.

You able to get her
tight now?

They're tight now,
but I'm -- I'm sorry, guys.

You guys want to
try it again?

Let's try it again.

Todd: everybody clear?

Green deck, clear!

Fire in the hole, guys!

Todd: come on!

Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah!

Whoo!
Look at that pile.

Man: I like the speed
of that.

Holy catfish.

Turin: that's more than
our other screen ran, ever.

Dodge: hey, dave.
Turin: yeah.

We kicked butt putting this
together, my friend.

Nice job, buddy.

I don't think I could have
done it without you.

If it keeps running
the way it's running,

You're gonna have
one heck of a season.

I think so, freddy.

It's exciting...
Yeah.

...to see this thing
finally come to life.

You know, I think
we've created a monster.

Now we've got to feed it.

Yeah.

Dodge: this is the nicest plant
I've ever put together.

It's gonna kick butt,
jack.

Yeah.
This is a nice plant.

Man: I can see the gold
from here.

Turin: it's nice.
Running good.

Todd: I think the sluice
is set right, guys.

I think this is gonna work.

Spinks:
check that out, guys.

Turin:
andy already found gold!

That's more gold than we found
all last year!

Todd:
[ laughing ] yeah!

Whoo!

Narrator: at clear creek,

Tony beets and paradise hill
operator joe macintyre

Prep to move the next critical
piece of tony's gold dredge.

Like a massive bicycle chain,

The 72 cast-iron
gold-catching buckets

Are connected to each other
by single 3-inch steel pins.

For 22 years, the buckets tore
through the klondike ground

At over 2 yards a minute,

Carrying pay dirt
60 feet up to the trommel

In the belly of the dredge.

Measuring 130 feet,

The bucket line is too long to
fit on the back of one lowboy.

The buckets have not moved
for 30 years.

Decades of subzero yukon winters
have rusted the pins in place.

All tony has to free them is
a sledgehammer and brute force.

If we can pick it up a little
bit and then lower it...

Tony's daughter, monica,
brings in the loader.

Tony hopes that by lifting
the bucket line

Just a couple of feet, he might
be able to loosen the pin.

Okay.

Hold it.
Right there.

Oh!

No.

Huh? [ Laughs ]

Hey, joe.

See?

I got it all loosened up
for him, so...

[ Laughs ]

You got to do something to make
the old guy look good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[ Laughs ]

Yeah, whatever. We'll see.
[ Laughs ]

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

Aah!

We got it.

That's it.

Narrator:
at scribner creek,

Parker has made
the controversial decision

To abandon the swamp cut

Despite finding good gold there
last week.

He's moved his mining operation
a mile upstream, to the far cut.

Shut it down.

After six days
of running far cut dirt,

Parker's about to find out
if his bold move has paid off.

Parker: the swamp cut's
been hot and cold all season.

We finally pulled the plug and
decided to go up to the far cut.

That's where we had the best
gold all last season, and...

I hope it's the right move.

There's a lot riding
on this cleanout.

Narrator: tony arrives
from clear creek

For the first weigh-in
from the far cut.

Hey, tony.
Hey.

Good.
How are you?

Yeah,
we just moved our plant.

This is our first cleanup
from the far cut.

Shall we weigh it up
and see what's there?

Yeah.

Last week, parker got the best
gold cleanup of the season,

An astonishing 182 ounces
of swamp cut gold

Worth almost $220,000.

Now he's praying the far cut
ground pays out even better.

Holy crap!

191.25.

Pretty cool, huh?

Yeah, for sure.

191.25 ounces,
worth $230,000.

For the second week in a row,
parker's set a new season best.

This time, it's almost
a quarter of a million dollars

In just one week of mining.

That's a relief 'cause we had
a hell of a lot of money

Into stripping up there.

Right.
Hopefully, this keeps up.

Yep.

All right.
So your cut is 28.68.

Good.
So I'll weigh that up for.

Yeah.

A thousand a day? Where are
you going in retirement?

[ Laughs ]

I'll see you next week,
hopefully with more.

Thanks, tony.

Will do.
Okay.

Don't forget that.

[ Laughs ]

Parker:
I'm pretty happy with that.

It's a great cleanout.

I'm really glad
that the gamble paid off.

191 Ounces.
There's nothing wrong with that.

Looking forward to getting
more gold out of the ground

Up there in the far cut.

Narrator:
parker's gutsy decision

To move his mining operation
over to the far cut

Has brought his gold total
up to 678 ounces,

Worth over $800,000.

Well, we just had
a pretty good cleanup.

And hopefully we made the right
decision coming back up here.

Got a lot riding on it.

Our future kind of depends
on this far cut.

Narrator: if the far cut
continues to deliver,

He could still hit
his 2,000-ounce season goal

And bag $2.4 million.

Narrator: at mckinnon creek,
the crew is on a high

After assembling
their massive new wash plant...

Oh, no.

Narrator:
...when todd hoffman receives

A devastating phone call.

That's horrible.

All right.

Yeah.

It's bad news, but, hey,
thank you for calling up here.

I appreciate it.

Hey, guys,
I got some bad news.

I just got off the phone.

What's up?

Uh, james harness,
um, passed away yesterday.

Yeah.

What happened?

I don't know the details
at this point.

But, uh...i...

He's no longer with us.

He was a friend and, uh...

Our first mechanic.

Part of our original team
that went north.

You know,
the very first season,

We couldn't have done it
without him.

We needed his expertise.

He took
that old, crappy wash plant...

[ Chuckles ]

He took it serious,
and he worked on it hard.

Narrator: from day one,

James harness was the
hoffman crew's bush mechanic.

[ Laughs ]

This is crazy.

Jack:
you're all millionaires.

The only thing is, you got to
get it out of the ground.

[ Laughter ]

That's the whole key.

I gave birth to this baby.

And it hurt.

What happened
to your arm?

Third-degree burns
from molten metal.

I'm impressed.
It's not a bad little trommel.

And I had to make it
all out of scrap.

I mean, he had a lot of issues,
lot of physical issues, and...

You know, the one thing
I'll never forget

Is the day he worked himself to
where he couldn't even crawl.

Jack: easy.

Man: james has fallen!

Jack: are you okay?

Todd: he's just been
through the ringer.

And now he's got to crawl into
that fricking hole and weld.

And I know it's gonna hurt him.
But he does it.

Harness:
somewhere in the neighborhood

Of 600 welds I've got to make.

I've got lots of burns.
I caught on fire twice.

My hair started smoking
inside my helmet.

But I don't care how bad I hurt.
I'm glad to have this done.

Come on up. Let's help james
get out of here.

I think he's done.

He's done?

[ Groans ]

Dude, you are heavy metal, man.
You're straight rock.

I need you to go get the oil.
He needs a rubdown.

[ Laughter ]

He gave everything he had
to us.

I know that
he's out of pain now.

Maybe say a quick prayer
for him.

Thank you, lord, for harness.

He was a genius
in a lot of ways.

He was a friend, and I pray
that he's in a better place.

In jesus' name.

Amen.

Narrator: the next morning,
word of james' passing

Reaches ex-hoffman crew member
greg remsburg

Over at scribner creek.

Well, it's been actually
kind of a rough day.

I got some, uh -- got some...

[ Voice breaking ] got some
bad news.

My friend james harness
is gone.

Part of the reason
this is so tough

Is because I'm doing
what we started together.

Our first season
in gold mining.

My hope is that
he's in a better place,

He's met his maker,
and he....

He's pain-free.

Narrator:
on the next "gold rush"...

Let's go get some gold!

Narrator: they may be late
to the party,

But their new
monster wash plant...

Whoo!
Whoo! Whoo!

Narrator: ...gets the hoffman
crew right back in the game.

Good news is
there isn't any bad news.

Whoo!

Nice!
Yeah!

Lift the damn thing up.

Narrator: tony beets
kicks his operation

Into high gear.

His reckless style puts
his daughter in the firing line.

Monica!

Narrator:
but against the odds,

Tony gets the last pieces
of the dredge on the road.

Go, go, go, go,
go, go, go, go.

Narrator: and parker
makes "gold rush" history.

That's the biggest cleanout
we've ever had.

Now we're getting somewhere.