Narrator: Deep
in the Alaskan wilderness...
Good job, buddy.
Narrator:...six men risk it all
to find gold.
Turn it on!
But after 80 days...
[whistles]
...the rookie miners have found
nothing but failure...
[ crying ]
I'm just gonna pack my crap
and go home.
Narrator:...frustration...
[grunting ]
Narrator:...and tragedy.
She stopped breathing.
Narrator: Now their luck
may finally be changing.
That's the biggest nugget
so far.
Man: Look at that.
But is it too little,
too late?
We're broke.
Is there enough gold
to pay the bills...
I don't believe that
the Lord would bring us
this far for nothing.
...stop the arguments...
Three months! We don't
have any [bleep] money!
You'll learn to shut
your [bleep] mouth!
...or to keep Dorsey
from leaving the claim?
[ crying ] When my kids see
someone hitting my husband,
it's not okay.
Everything's
looking real nice.
Water's flowing good.
Are you ready?
Want to shake some dirt?
Think we'll turn on
the shaker.
Narrator: It's August
in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
The crew has been running
their gold-mining wash plant
for over a week now.
Starting to feel good,
like we're just starting
to finally -- finally
get it going, you know?
We're all excited.
We need to shake some dirt
and find some gold today.
Narrator:
So far, they've pulled out
weighing over 1,500 tons
from an area they call
the glory hole.
The glory hole
has the most gold in it.
After running this material
through their wash plant,
they've ended up
with 30 buckets of black sand
mixed with fine gold.
Getting this far
has been an epic struggle.
Three months ago,
the six-man crew
abandoned their lives
in the lower 48
to find their fortunes
in the Alaskan wilderness.
[g*nsh*t]
They built homes
for their families
on a claim that they think holds
$15 million worth of gold.
On this claim,
there's gold.
So far, Todd Hoffman
and his father, Jack,
have spent $250,000
on plant and running costs.
We're bleeding bad.
Maybe 1,000 bucks a day.
After 80 days
of breakdowns and delays,
the Hoffmans
are about to run out of money.
We got to turn this boat around.
Narrator:
But there's still hope.
The crew thinks there could be
$50,000 of gold
in the black sand,
and Mike Halstead's arrived
with a machine
to cash in on the gold.
- Hey, buddy. You made it!
- Hey!
You like this baby
right here?
- Dude, a wave table.
- Yeah.
Let's go. Hey.
This is drop-dead
perfect.
Wave tables are designed
to speed up the recovery
of gold from black sand.
Halstead: We'll see
after we get it running.
It'll have a line of gold,
just as beautiful as can be,
and then it all drops
right in that hole.
And if you get
gold and black sand,
then you run that one more time,
and then you get
almost pure gold.
So we could actually take all
the stuff coming out of the jig
and run it
right on here?
- Right through here.
- Cool.
Narrator:
The wave table vibrates
over 300 times per minute,
creating a series
of standing waves.
The turbulence of the water
washes the dirt down the table
towards the waste outlet.
The gold separates from the sand
as the table vibrates
and moves up towards the top,
where it forms into a band.
- Almost.
- Hang on.
Todd: All these years these
pioneers have mined out here,
they didn't have little gadgets,
little tricks, like this.
So, you know, I mean,
they'd get just tons and tons
of black sand,
and it was just so hard getting
the gold out of the black sand.
Probably 4 1/2 inches up.
Jack:
The other option that we had
was to sit there
and pan everything we have,
and I've done that before,
and let me tell you,
that is one time-consuming deal.
Narrator:
For the table to run right,
it must be set
at the correct angle.
Jack:
How's the level?
Yeah,
it looks perfect to me.
Realtor Jimmy Dorsey
has been reading up
on how to run
the wave table.
We're trying to dial this in
so we can actually see the black
sand separate from the rest.
Well,
we could try it steeper.
Try it steeper, yeah.
Let's go steeper,
see what happens.
Up!
Keep going.
I'm watching it.
Jack: Start it up!
Hit the bumper.
Too hard. I think
that's working just great.
What the?
Something
is going wrong here.
Man: Yeah,
Jack put suds in it.
We have
got to get this going.
We got to get some gold
flowing through here.
It'd take the pressure off
big-time.
This looks like a kid's toy,
but it's not.
It's a very sophisticated
piece of machinery.
I've read the manual twice.
I think I kind of have an idea
of how it works.
I think we can get it going.
Narrator:
Besides what's in the buckets,
there should also be gold
trapped in the wash plant,
so Todd and Jack stop the plant
for a cleanout.
- Shut it off!
- Are you okay?
They have no money left
and have to cash in
all the gold they've pulled
from the glory hole.
Just to keep running
for the next week,
they need 4 ounces of gold,
worth $5,000.
This is when we find out
what gold we got
or if we have any gold.
You know, it's hard to believe,
but I'd like
to be doing cleanouts
where we have $60,000 in them.
First off, we got to clean out
Jack's nugget trap -- Thurber.
Step number two is we ought to
get the miner's moss
off of the big sluice.
You want to do that, Chris?
Dorsey's the only miner who
has read the wave-table manual.
You know,
I'm gonna have Dorsey do it.
He understands it.
You're my guy.
I'm depending on you.
Are you ready?
Let's go get our gold, man.
Let's do it.
All right.
Let's go.
Narrator: The crew
now depends on Dorsey,
a down-on-his-luck realtor,
to figure out the wave table,
extract the gold,
and save the mine.
Each ounce of gold that Dorsey
gets from the buckets
will fund the operation
for a day and a half.
The decision to go with Dorsey
is not a popular one.
Harness:
It's a little scary for me,
and I think everyone else
is concerned.
He's got a track record
of not really making things
work right.
Narrator: Dorsey has struggled
from day one.
There have been
numerous mistakes...
Go put it in yourself!
You took it out!
Bottom line -- no one
knows what they're doing.
Narrator:...arguments...
- Don't talk to me that way.
- Don't try and intimidate me.
...and he's even threatened
to walk out.
And if you keep
talking to me like that,
I'll be going home.
Jimmy:
I've been struggling up here
for two or three months,
trying to figure out,
what can I do?
What kind of skills
can I bring to the table?
And it's kind of funny.
The wave table.
I thought,
"Here's my opportunity.
I'm gonna read the manual,
you know, read books.
I'm gonna try to figure out
exactly how it works,
and I'm gonna keep us
from losing any money."
Narrator:
Dorsey starts by running tests
to calibrate the machine.
Jimmy:
I just want to start fresh.
I want to clean the thing off.
Oh, sh**t! There's stuff
coming on the ground.
- Gosh darn it!
- Careful! Careful!
- Let's use that line.
- Dude!
Stop, stop.
Dude, stop.
Holy crap, dude.
Look at this.
This is all gold.
This is all gold, Dad.
That is all freakin' gold.
Where did this come from?
There's over an ounce
right here.
Don't worry.
We're gonna capture it.
You don't have anything
underneath this.
Don't wash up here.
I saw at least an ounce,
maybe two.
We got to be careful.
Narrator: The price of gold
is at $1,300 an ounce --
an all-time high.
Only 4 ounces,
worth over $5,000,
would keep the mine afloat
for a week.
They simply can't afford
to let any gold wash away.
There's a lot of gold on
that wave table, it looks like.
I know
we got some gold, Greg.
I don't know how much,
but luckily we didn't get it
poured on the ground.
Good thing you walked in.
Only a little bit.
It's not a great start
for Dorsey.
But I didn't realize with the
test sands that we were using
that they had
that much gold in them.
Everyone's got to start
somewhere.
Narrator:
While Dorsey resets the table,
Todd goes over his plans
to recover gold
from the wash plant.
The first thing we're gonna do
is Jack's nugget trap.
We're gonna scoop that out,
and I'll show you where that is.
The heavier gold is actually
coming down this chute like this
and then hitting
Jack's nugget trap right here.
We'll dig this out
and put it in a bucket.
Simple.
This is the second step,
is taking
this expanded metal out.
And underneath there,
there's, like,
a carpet material,
and it's called miner's moss.
We're gonna take that carpet,
roll it up,
and wash it out real good.
Step number three is the jig.
And we're gonna vacuum out
the top of the jig.
Narrator: Everyone's future
at Porcupine Creek
rests on a successful cleanout.
People looking at me like,
"Whoa, what the heck did you
just get us into?"
So, we'll find out.
Narrator:
At Porcupine Creek,
Todd Hoffman needs to cash in
gold to save the mine.
Okay. This is when we find out
what gold we got
or if we have any gold.
Let's go get our gold, man.
All right.
Let's go.
Narrator:
The Hoffmans' $100,000
operating budget has run out.
This is where the rubber
hits the road -- right here.
Narrator: To keep mining,
they need to cash
in at least 4 ounces of gold,
worth over $5,000.
Their hope lies in 30 buckets
of gold-bearing black sand
that could be worth
up to $50,000.
Dorsey's volunteered to extract
the gold on the wave table.
Yeah, I'm looking forward
to putting gold into the table.
Narrator: The rest of the crew
is cleaning out
gold-bearing material
from the wash plant
to take to Dorsey.
This is the duplex jig,
and this is
where the ball bearings
and the gravels are --
up in this section right here.
Carpenter Chris Doumit
is helping out.
I'm pulling out the moss,
miner's moss,
down here and up above.
Narrator:
For the last three weeks,
Chris has helped Greg Remsburg
build his house on the claim.
Now, with the future of the mine
at stake,
he's been recruited
for the cleanout.
We're gonna take this
to a tray we have up here
with soapy water in it
to help release all the gold.
They call it miner's moss,
the rug, the carpet.
I think it's kind of like
the magic carpet.
I think with what
this thing holds,
it could take you for a ride,
you know?
A nice ride.
What they'll do now is they'll
run this across the table
and separate it out
instead of panning it
because we have so much to do.
Narrator:
The crew plans to process all
the material from the cleanout
on the wave table.
Dorsey adjusts the height
to get it just right.
Jimmy: There's a lot riding
on me and this wave table today.
I'll take the blame
if it doesn't run right
'Cause I'm supposed to be
the guy who knows about it.
Narrator: With buckets
of material piling up...
This thing weighs a ton.
Must be full of gold.
Narrator:...Jack checks to make
sure Dorsey is doing his job.
All right. Go ahead.
Crank her up.
Can we turn this down
just a little bit?
All right.
Through this table
right now.
Everything that we've ran
is going through.
We're gonna go ahead
and get our gold.
It's claiming nice.
It's looking good.
We got a nice black-sand layer
coming right here.
To properly extract gold
from the dirt,
the angle of the table
needs to be perfect.
If it's too flat,
the mix won't separate.
If it's too steep,
precious gold will be
flushed away with the waste.
Get the angle just right,
and a line of gold appears
at the top of the table.
Those waves
look pretty good.
- Oh, yeah.
- See that?
But Jack spots a problem.
It ain't working.
There goes a piece
right there.
See it?
Look at it.
It's floating.
That's a big piece.
Dorsey could be flushing
the thousands of dollars
they desperately need
down the drain.
Jack: You won't believe
where this came from.
It's one of
our bigger pieces.
Dorsey was scooping stuff
off the wave table
and hucking it
on the floor in here.
And I hate blaming somebody,
but that's who did it, you know?
It's a nice piece of gold.
Narrator: As the first day
of the cleanout ends,
they have no gold.
The crew now faces
some gut-wrenching cuts.
It costs the Hoffmans
$100 a day
to feed the families
at the claim.
Todd and Jack call a meeting
to deliver even more bad news.
Todd:
Guys, we're out of money.
I feel like
I've kind of let everybody down,
but I put everything I got
into this, me and Jack.
And we need about
And after that, we may have to
send the families home.
I won't be able to afford
to take care of everybody.
Narrator: The miners now need
to find 8 ounces of gold,
worth approximately $10,000,
in the next day
or the families will be
forced to go home to Oregon.
I don't see
how sending these guys home
would make
a bit of difference.
Basically, we're broke.
We don't have the money
to get home.
I mean,
we have to make this work.
It's just a sad state
of affairs,
but, listen,
we got to get that gold.
We're prepared to do
whatever it takes
to stay here
and make this thing go.
We don't have anything
to go back to, either.
Dad, do you want to say
a prayer?
Jack:
Heavenly Father, I just ask
that you would be with us
this evening
and, Lord, that you would just
richly bless us with gold.
And we pray this in your name.
Amen.
Amen.
Narrator: It's taken a quarter
of a million dollars
and months of hardship
to get to this point.
It'd be absolutely horrible
if my family had to leave.
I can't even imagine it.
Narrator: Now everything
depends on Dorsey
getting a shot glass full
of gold from the wave table.
I'm willing to do whatever
I can, whatever it takes.
Oh, my gosh!
Narrator: 6:00 a.m. on
the second day of the cleanout.
I'm gonna suck up
this material.
Then I can throw it
on a wave table.
Narrator: Todd and his crew
need to find 8 ounces of gold,
worth $10,000, before sunset
or the miners' families will
have to head home to Oregon.
I have to stay strong.
It's a moment-by-moment process
for me. That's for sure.
Todd's working the duplex jig,
where he hopes gold is trapped
among the ball bearings.
Okay. I'm starting to get
to the ball bearings.
You can see them
laying down in here.
I don't see any gold yet.
Oh!
That's like 80 pounds!
Narrator: Mike and Chris wash
the 200 pounds of ball bearings
from the jig to remove any gold.
Now we have to clean
all the ball bearings
and then separate them.
If there's any gold
in this,
it's gonna fall
right down to the bottom.
At the wave table,
bucket after bucket arrive
to have the gold extracted.
But before they run them,
Jack wants to make
some modifications.
I've been...
I've been not so happy
with this wave table.
Finally figured out
what's going on.
It's just a pain in the butt,
and the angle's wrong.
Jack's asked the crew's
mechanic, James Harness,
to come up with an easy way
to change the table's angle.
I'm building a frame
to go under the concrete,
we're gonna use a floor jack
to make it
go up and down quickly
so we don't have to undo
any nuts and bolts,
and it'll be
the best possible scenario.
Okay, so, all we
have to do now
is just put a little piece
underneath here.
Turn it on.
Watch your fingers.
See, that's doing pretty good,
I think.
I'm happy with that.
Narrator:
Jack leaves the table running
to test out the modification.
If they've set the angle
correctly,
a line of gold should form
at the top of the table.
Dorsey arrives to run the table
and immediately notices
the changes.
See what happened
when they raised it up?
How is it supposed to work
when they raise it up like this?
It's just setting it up
for failure.
Why don't we lower it down
by the jack?
They're setting me up
for failure every day,
and that's
what I [bleep] about, man.
Yeah. So, why don't
you lower it some?
Huh?
They don't -- lower it?
Lower the jack.
You said they got it up
too high?
What do you mean?
No, I need it
up higher.
Well, then
jack the damn thing up.
When I say
it needs to be 6 inches,
I mean it needs to be 6 inches.
I'm confident in that.
Narrator:
Harness comes back
to discover
Dorsey's changed the angle.
With no gold showing,
they shut down the table.
You're at an extreme angle
right now.
Explain to me how this angle
is gonna benefit you
and how much gold
is actually gonna go out.
Well, because it's Alaskan
black sand and it's very heavy,
no matter what, it needs to be
at least 6 inches high
to be able to separate gold
from black sand.
I know Dorsey knows more
about this than I do.
I don't give a crap, you know?
I don't care.
That doesn't
mean anything to me, you know?
My goal is to get the gold.
Narrator:
With less than half a day to
come up with $10,000 in gold,
Jack and Harness
take over the table
and re-adjust the angle.
Dorsey has lost his job again.
You know what?
I didn't come up here
and spend all this time
for having somebody else
tell me what to do.
When it comes to this stuff,
I'm the boss.
Narrator: Jimmy Dorsey
is at his wit's end.
Jimmy:
Mr. Hoffman wants to be able
to control the height of it.
Right now, it's like
if Dorsey touches it --
and, I mean,
I work hard on stuff.
I put things together,
and then they want to tear it
apart and do it their way.
I'm like, "Why am I doing this?"
Well, they can do what they want
with the stupid thing.
I hate that [bleep] table,
anyway.
Narrator: Nearby, Jim Thurber
cleans out the duplex jig.
Hey, Jim,
what are you doing?
Thurber: Emptying
all this rock out of here.
- What are you doing?
- Nothing.
Well, I know.
There's a lot to do,
a lot of cleanup to do.
There's all kinds of stuff
to do.
Is there a lot to do?
I was supposed to run
the table today.
Dig in and do something.
That's the problem.
I want to clean out and see
if we actually make any money.
Is there a reason
for us to be here?
We have a wave table.
What do you want to do?
I don't know what you're talking
about, but, you know...
What I'm talking about
is I'm trying to make
you understand, everyone.
Let's just work on what we got,
and let's get it going.
And who's working on it
right now?
Watch me work faster
than anyone else.
Yeah,
totally a*s-backwards.
Dude,
you're [bleep] psychotic.
I am!
'Cause I've been here
for three months!
We don't have
any [bleep] money!
Dude, you want to go?
We'll [bleep] go.
You and I,
you want to do it?
We'll [bleep] do it,
and then you'll learn
to shut your [bleep] mouth
and make some sense
come out of it!
I'm not gonna put up with it.
These guys are.
Just stop it.
You're gonna drive yourself
[bleep] nuts.
I am going nuts!
- Okay. Stop.
- Hey!
Come on.
Let's go for a drive.
No, dude, I don't want to go
for a drive.
Let's go.
You and me.
We're supposed to be doing
a cleanout this morning.
- Come on.
- What's your dad doing?
Why is he messing
with the platform?
It's, like,
what are we doing?
Obviously --
here's the deal.
I need you
to calm down, okay?
Can you re-engage?
Yep.
Hey. Hey.
- You need a hug?
- No, I don't need a hug.
Come here.
I don't need a hug.
Thanks, bud.
Dude.
Oh, he doesn't know
how close he was
to someone finally
coming to a head
and letting him have it,
which, you know...
That first punch
is the only one that feels good.
You know?
I broke a lot of knuckles
with my face.
Not a tough guy, but it's ugly.
But right there. That's --
this is what's causing
all the problem right here.
This stuff right here --
the gold.
Everyone that's ever worked
here for this stuff right here,
this flake...
In Porcupine, they ended up
just going absolutely nuts.
What are you seeing,
Todd?
- I'm seeing pyrite.
- Really?
Narrator: Todd and his crew
are halfway through a cleanout
to recover 8 ounces of gold
from their mine.
They need $10,000 in gold
by the end of the day,
or the miners' families
will have to leave.
- Holy crap!
- Look at that.
That's the biggest one
we got yet.
[laughing ]
Yeah.
That's a gold nugget,
buddy.
That's the biggest nugget
so far.
Jim Thurber
is also finding gold.
Thurber:
A little piece of gold
just sitting right there
on the sluice.
If it's all like this,
it'll be good.
Narrator: These nuggets
are worth around $20 each.
[glass clinks]
Ohh, that just sounds so good.
Narrator: But the team needs
another 500 of these today
to keep the families
from being sent home.
We're anxious. We
know that tonight's a
special night for sure,
and our family doesn't have
the cash to get home.
Narrator: If the miners and
their families have any chance
of hitting their $10,000 goal,
it will be because they have
the wave table up and running.
Harness took over the job
from Dorsey,
but now Dorsey
wants his job back.
Hi, Jack.
Well, I'm aware that
I've annoyed you this morning.
I'm sorry. I'm just trying to
figure out what to do.
You know, I've --
I've invested a lot of money,
a lot of time,
and I know you have, too.
But your attitude --
you've got to quit,
you know,
this roller-coaster attitude.
It just --
it needs to settle down,
you know, and it won't
take much, you know?
You're a good guy.
I know you are, you know?
I know you.
- So, you know...
- It's just hard.
We've been here
for three months,
and I haven't made
any money.
And I -- you know, I want to see
that cleanout, you know?
I know that that table
is kind of your baby,
you know,
and that's fine and dandy,
but that table is gonna run
the way that I like it to run.
I'm just trying to prove myself
to be worthy of...
You don't have to prove yourself
to anybody.
I want you to be a team player.
That's all.
Are you gonna be
a team player?
Yeah.
I hope so, you know,
'cause this is --
this is drop-dead time,
you know?
We either make it or break it
in our cleanout.
I need you there.
Dorsey returns to work
at the wave table with James,
but Jack's got an ultimatum.
Here's the deal.
Put it to the angle
that you'd like.
Feed it
some more material.
I'll pan under here.
If there's any more gold,
this sucker goes bye-bye.
Jack will get rid
of the wave table
unless Dorsey can get it
to separate their gold
from the black Alaskan sand.
You set it up however you want.
I'll help you.
This is Dorsey's
last chance
to prove that he's a valuable
member of the crew.
The pressure
is getting to him.
You cannot
pull it off of here.
I know.
It's in production mode.
You cannot do this and pull.
I can't talk to you
if you're gonna talk.
If you want to hear what I have
to say, I'll talk to you.
Do you want to hear it
or not?
If you don't lose your negative
attitude, I'm leaving.
Well, let's -- let's let it
go now, 'cause I guarantee you
we're not gonna get it working
the way it is.
I just guarantee it.
I'd put a couple thousand
dollars --
I'd put a million bucks
on it.
You're not
gonna get it right.
Time is up for Dorsey.
Jack samples the sand that
the wave table is discarding.
Jack: I'm gonna take
all this stuff and pan it.
If there's any gold
in Jack's pan,
the wave table
will be deemed worthless.
It's --
it's not a good deal.
This is what the machine
is supposed to be catching.
This is what
it's not catching.
That's --
that's some serious gold.
It's worth about
$400 or $500 right there.
That's serious stuff.
This is not funny.
I think the guy
is gonna get it back.
Looked pretty,
it's yellow and blue,
you know, and all that,
but it doesn't freakin' work.
That thing
is getting taken out here
and ran over
with the dozer.
Look at this.
Oh, sh**t.
I'm gonna look
at the bottom.
I told you this thing is just --
it ain't worth it.
We're losing.
It's just not working.
It is just not worth the powder
to blow it to hell.
Narrator: At the Hoffmans' claim
in remote Alaska,
Jack has abandoned
the wave table.
I'm just totally discouraged
with that wave table.
"Irritated" is a kind word
for what I really think
about it.
Narrator: The crew
has six hours left
to find $10,000 worth of gold.
If they fail,
they will not be able to afford
to keep the families
at the claim.
I'll get our gold
one way or the other.
This isn't exactly
the way we planned it out.
Narrator: Jack comes up
with a radical new plan.
We have to pan it.
There is no ifs, ands,
or buts about it.
We have to pan.
Wave table
is the biggest piece of crap
I've ever encountered.
I hate that thing
with a passion now.
It's wasted so much time,
caused so much bitterness,
you know,
between Dorsey and us.
Narrator:
Jack calls everyone together.
Jack:
I need your help.
We're so far behind.
That wave table let us down.
We've got to pan
all of this stuff,
and watch what I do.
Gold is 18 times heavier
than water, okay,
so it will settle,
but you got to get it
loosened up.
Sandy: But, Jack,
is there a certain rhythm?
Is there a certain motion?
Is it shaking?
Is it sloshing?
You could be doing
like this.
It doesn't matter, you know?
That's a nice action.
I am so glad that you guys
are gonna help us, you know?
It's just unbelievable,
the amount
that we have to do.
Narrator:
They've got 30 buckets to pan.
Even with the whole camp
joining in, it's a tall order.
I want a great big pan
full of nuggets.
We got to do what we got to do,
and we're gonna do it together.
Narrator:
To get to $10,000,
each person has to
come up with over
I am daunted by this
because I'm having a hard time
getting the right rhythm.
And this is, like,
really important,
'cause, well, our hands and pans
are all we have right now.
If we don't
get the cleanout we need
and my family's
got to go home early,
it's gonna be real tough.
Narrator:
As the day draws to a close,
Todd's deadline approaches.
If they don't end up with
the families
will have to pack up.
A lot of people have sacrificed
to get to this point --
hey, me included.
If I don't get gold, I'm going
back home with nothing.
It's always gonna be nice
if we have
an excellent turnout here
and have something
to show for it.
Todd:
So, what do you think, man?
Did we get gold or not?
Man: I think we did pretty good.
It's hard to say.
We'll just have to
find out.
Narrator:
Jimmy Dorsey skips the meeting
and heads back to his cabin.
We're not living up
to our potential.
The potential here
is all of us could make
a good living gold-mining,
have a great summer,
and go home with piles of cash
in our pocket.
I am totally going...
I'm coming apart up here.
Narrator:
Alone in the wave-table tent,
Jack makes the final count.
Todd: Here we go.
We're gonna find out right now.
I can tell by the way
he's walking this ain't good.
I can see.
That's the total take
right here.
If you stop and think about it,
we've worked three months,
and it's a little disheartening.
I know that everybody's
in a desperate situation.
To me,
it's a real letdown.
Narrator: The 2.7 ounces of gold
they found in the cleanout
is worth only $3,500 --
over $6,000 short
of what Todd needs
to keep the families
at the claim.
[voice breaking ]
I don't believe that the Lord
would bring us this far
and provide every provision
for us to get here
to this very day for nothing.
The families
must leave Porcupine Creek.
I know down deep
it's hurtful
and that a lot of questions
and stuff are bubbling up.
We all had high hopes
for this -- for this cleanout,
and so [sighs] you know,
with high expectations
come disappointment.
But we can't go backwards,
so we move forward
and we go for the --
we go for the deep goal.
Todd: My part of this
is to keep the --
keep the wheels turning,
and that's a lot
of responsibility.
But I'm not gonna let us
get this close and not continue.
Narrator:
The next morning,
Greg Remsburg's family
heads home to Oregon.
- Love you so much.
- I love you, too.
I'm so proud of you.
[ crying ]
Go get on the boat.
You know, I have an incredible
wife and incredible kids,
[sniffles]
and, you know, I just loaded
my gold on this ship,
And I've got to do
what I've got to do here.
I've got to dive in
and kick some butt.
[ horn blares]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[sniffles]
Narrator: With tension on
the claim at an all-time high,
chaos has broken out.
Greg:
There's a psycho on the loose.
I'm going to the police station.
Narrator:
Speeding down the dirt road
right behind Greg Remsburg
are Jimmy Dorsey
and his family.
He hit him first, and we're
going to the police first.
Greg: Dorsey and I
have had a disagreement.
It's time
for the drama to stop.
I was mad.
Yeah, I was yelling at him.
I was like,
"Dude, who are you
to try and talk to me
like that?!"
I said, "You know what?
I'm not taking crap
from you anymore."
Then he started putting
his finger in, and he goes --
He says, "Do you want
to fight? Do you want to
fight?" and Jimmy says, "No."
He put his hands on me,
and it went from there.
[ crying ] When my kids see
someone hitting my husband,
it's not okay.
We'll not put up with it,
and we are definitely
not ever coming back here
besides to come back
and get our stuff.
Greg:
I don't like it.
I don't like
what I have to do right now.
Narrator: Greg gets
to the police station first
to report the incident.
That's his car
right there.
The Dorsey
aren't far behind.
- Come on, guys.
- Don't worry about it.
Girl: Mama!
- We're going inside.
Come on, sweetie.
I bet Greg's here.
Narrator: At the claim,
Todd was working
on the excavator
when the fight broke out.
I saw Greg standing there
with his hands in his pocket.
And then I see Jimmy
just screaming,
with his arms like this,
right in Greg's face.
You know, "rrarrr!"
you know, and I'm like...
So I started getting off
the excavator
to try to go over there
and see what's up.
Then they walked behind
the dump truck,
and then, obviously, a scuffle,
so I broke them up,
broke them up.
The situation --
it's just not good.
Greg: Not a whole lot
that they can do.
Jimmy's just giving
his statement,
or his side of the story,
right now.
When we got here,
Greg was in there,
doing his part.
Are you all right,
honey?
I'm heading back
to the mine.
Jimmy: It's just hard
to breathe still.
My finger is all swollen.
He grabbed my finger,
twisted it around like that.
Man: That's where
he hit you, isn't it?
Yeah.
He's just bruised up.
Luckily there's nothing broken,
so that's good news.
Narrator:
Back at the claim,
Todd uses the satellite phone
to call Dorsey.
Hello?
Dude,
are you all right?
I'm bruised up, man.
Hurts to breathe.
Well...
I need to figure out how to get
your stuff to you tonight.
I need to get
your permission to, you know...
I don't think it'd be good
for you to come back.
I'm not coming back.
What do you think, dude?
Look, I'm going back
to get my stuff.
But, no, I'm not giving you
permission to get my stuff.
I'm gonna come up and get it,
and it's not a big deal.
So, I'll see you
up there.
Bye.
He's coming to get
his stuff.
[sighs]
I've given Todd Hoffman
five months of my life,
and he's let me down
in every way.
There's no gold, there's
no promise, there's no...
There's nothing.
He hasn't given me anything.
Narrator: Dorsey and family
head back to the mine
to pick up their stuff.
Todd:
I want the best for him,
but...
I'm not gonna take
any major abuse, either.
I mean, if he touches me,
it's not gonna be good.
Narrator:
With just 2.7 ounces of gold
for nearly three months' work,
the families gone,
and fights breaking out,
the miners are prepared
for anything.
Apparently,
Dorsey is gonna come back
and get a bunch of stuff.
I don't want
the wrong stuff to leave.
Don't really trust the guy
if he's not thinking right.
You never know what they'll do.
Jack: How you doing?
How you feeling?
He got up in my face,
and today I didn't back down.
I wasn't letting him
intimidate me today.
You know, he put his finger
in my chest,
and I put my finger
right back in his chest
and was like,
"Dude, back off."
Hmm.
Hey...
My truck's empty,
so if you need more space
and stuff like that...
- I just need some time.
- Huh?
I just need some time
to put it all together.
Okay,
well, it's there.
Narrator: The Dorseys
sank everything they had
into their dream
of striking it rich in Alaska.
Now they leave Porcupine Creek
with no gold
and no home to go back to.
Todd: He did his best,
you know?
Harness:
I don't think so.
I think he did less
than what he could've.
Well...
Either way, he's gone.
He lost it, yeah.
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01x06 - Gold Fever
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Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.