12x21 - Whatever It Takes

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music playing]

You know, this season
we put a lot of our eggs

in the Mud Mountain basket

and it's really not paying
off like we expected.

[narrator] Less than a month

before winter
freezes him out,

Parker Schnabel's season
is in the balance.

I don't even know if we're
gonna break even in it

which is a real bummer,

spent a lot of money in there

and everybody
k*lled themselves

trying to make it happen.

[narrator] Parker has spent
four months

and four and a half
million dollars

getting to pay dirt
at Mud Mountain

searching for a hotspot

that could hold


The piece that's left though
is the center of the cuts

where the best drilling was
that Liam did

and so hopefully at eight,
ten ounces an hour,

it doesn't take long
to have a really good cleanup,

so there's still hope.

[narrator]
If last week's scale

busting 600 ounces
is any indication,

they may have hit
a massive honey hole.

[Mitch] We had an awesome week
with Big Red last week.

We will just try and keep
that momentum going but,

you know, we don't know
what exactly we're gonna find

as we keep going
through Mud Mountain.

Was that, you know,
just one really good spot

or is the rest of it gonna run
that way, we don't know.

[narrator] While Mitch
works through Mud Mountain,

Parker is relying
on Tyson Lee

to get through
the Promised Land pay dirt

before winter shuts him down.

We just started the ugly cut

and the first week
is what decides

how things are gonna go.

You know,
this is the last place

this wash plant's gonna be
this season,

so I wanna make it a good one
and make it count.

Are you driving?

Go on, move your bum.

Move your...

I didn't say lie down,
I said move.

You know,
there's not much time

to get through this ground.

The pressure is on,
the heat is on,

we have to get this pay
down in here.

[narrator] Sluicing
an eight-acre cut like this

normally takes six weeks

but winter will likely hit
in less than four.

[Tyson] You know, so far,
we've been sluicing

in the ugly cut.

The wash plant pad
is looking pretty good,

the biggest wash plant pad
we've built this year

and, you know,
I'm definitely liking it.

First couple of days
was a little sketchy but,

you know,
we're almost at the point

where the wash plant's
not gonna go anywhere.

[dramatic music playing]

Whoa, whoa, Jerry,
shut her down.

Shut her down.

[dramatic music playing]

Oh, my *bleep*

[dramatic music playing]

Well, the belt stopped.

And now
it's all backed up here

and we have to shovel to see

if we can get the conveyer
to work again.

- Watch yourself, Tat.
- Okay.

Junk.

- No?
- [Tyson] No.

[Tatiana] Okay.

The belt's just loading up
and not spinning so...

but this is a normal amount
of dirt

for this thing to have on it.

Hey, Tat, I'm gonna try it
again here.

[Tatiana] Okay.

There's no way
this much material

should be holding
this thing up.

This is a problem
we've had happen

many times in the past

with these conveyers and...

But why it does not wanna go?

I do not know.

[dramatic music playing]

Hey, Mitch,
you got a copy, Mitch?

[Mitch] Yeah, go ahead.

[dramatic music playing]

Yeah, you can see here,

this is one
of the ball bearings

that should be inside
that bearing.

Uh, there's a whole pile
of them right there.

We're gonna need
to throw some bearings

and we're gonna lose probably
the rest of the dayshift today

but hopefully we can have it
running by nightshift.

- Hopefully.
- [Mitch] Yeah.

Alec just ran back to the yard
to grab the bearings.

So what we're gonna do
right now is to start

breaking everything down.

As soon as we get this apart,

we're gonna throw
those new parts in there

and get it back together.

[narrator] Last time
they replaced the bearing

on the conveyer,
it took four hours.

Precious time
they can't afford

this late in the season.

Well, it's really important
we get this conveyer fixed,

we get Slucifer fired back
up here before nightshift,

we can get through this dirt.

This is gonna need
to be like a pit stop.

What do you think, Alec?

Does it look like
we have the right ones?

- Oh, yeah.
- [Mitch] Perfect.

The biggest thing here
is just time.

Alec, if you wanna start
busting things apart.

- [Alec] Yes.
- All right.

- I'll see you in a few.
- [Alec] See ya.

[narrator] First up,

Alec and Tyson must remove
the drive motor

to access the bearing unit.

[Tyson] Oh, yeah.

I wonder if we can just
man-bear-pig this thing,

it's not that heavy.

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

Bend those knees. [laughs]

[rock music playing]

[narrator] Tyson takes
the weight of the driveshaft

so Alec can remove
the bearings.

That will do there.

We're losing time
and time is money

and, well, the cold weather
is only coming.

[Mitch] Howdy, howdy.

We'll get her cleaned up
and get it swapped out.

We'd have lots of grease
in there but...

- Sometimes it's just time.
- We're out.

That is what's left of that.

[Tyson]
It's, uh, seen better days.

It's the old, uh, tool truck
rebuild here.

Get it thrown back together.
I like that.

Oh, yeah, that's what
we're looking for right there.

I think we're good.

Come on.

- Oh, man.
- [Alec] Whoa.

- Nice job.
- [Alec] Yeah.

Let's get sluicing.

[narrator] Alec and Tyson
attach the drive motor.

Can't forget this part.

[narrator]
Slucifer's been down

over two hours longer

than last time
they replaced the bearing

and has cost Parker
nearly $30,000 in lost gold.

[Tyson] Here we go.

[narrator] But they're ready
to fire back up.

[Tyson] Moment of truth.

So that was six
and a half hours of downtime

that took from the time
we shut down

to the time we fired up
and just in time,

nightshift's gonna be here
any minute.

All right. Here we go
with the first scoop,

it's back up and running

and we just got to keep her
that way.

[dramatic music playing]

[Rick] This season
has been a grind, man.

There's only a couple weeks
left in the season,

and we need to keep going
full throttle

to hit our 2,000 ounce gold.

[narrator] In the mountains
above Keno City,

mine boss Rick Ness

is risking his future
as a gold miner

on a colossal


But after two months
mining Rally Valley,

Rick is still 30 feet
from the best pay,

which has two times
more gold per 100 yards

than the rest of the cut.

So we hit this gravel layer
that's, uh,

quite away above me right now.

I'm in a big panic
to get down here

to that real good
bottom layer of pay

which we're hoping
for about 30 to 40 feet up

before bedrock.

That is one piece
of the puzzle

we really need to get us


[Rick] In order to get
to the finish line,

I called somebody up,
he's always been there for me.

He's actually showing up today

and I'm hoping he brings
the energy

that we're gonna need.

[Rick Sr.]
Time's running out for Rick.

You know,
in this gold mining business,

it's make it
or break it stuff

because it can ruin you.

I mean, it can totally
ruin you financially.

Being his dad, I mean,
I always kind of knew,

you know, he was
a little bit adventurous,

but I never I guess
would have guessed that

he would have been
this much of a gambler.

This business,

it's a gamble
no matter what they say.

I mean,
that's my biggest worry,

uh, with him doing this.

Rick went out on his own

and it's actually scary,
to be honest.

But he's got
the experience now,

he knows what he's doing,

and the end result
hopefully, you know,

will be a good pay out.

I know he's a little behind
in his goal that he's got set

and, uh, maybe I can help
give him that extra push

and try to meet his goal.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] At Rally Valley,

Monster Red is chewing
through 300 yards an hour

of gold rich pay dirt
with just a skeleton crew.

[Rick] I've been struggling
to find people all year

and so it's great
because I get to see my dad,

but also he gets
to put in the work

and that's something
I desperately need right now.

You know,
he runs all this equipment,

he can fix stuff.
So it's just...

he's a good guy to have here
at the end of the season,

especially when we, uh,
we need a little fresh energy

for, uh,
end of the season push.

[Rick Sr.] Oh, look at that.

[dramatic music playing]

- Good to see you, Dad.
- Good to see you, son.

- You made it.
- Oh, my *bleep*

- Man.
- Holy, I am impressed.

This is one hell
of an operation.

- Holy *bleep*
- [Rick] Yeah.

It got a little bigger
this year.

[Rick Sr.] No kidding. Wow.

I, uh, I don't even know
what to say.

It's unreal.

We got a long ways to go.

But we've been, you know,

sure you see the big hole
on the way in,

we've been going very,
very deep and, you know,

trying to hit this good pay
at the bottom.

You know,
stuff that drilled out at...

three ounces
per hundred yards.

We have to get because
with the time we have left,

we have to be running
that stuff

to be able to hit 2000 ounces.

[Rick Sr.] Wow. That's crazy.

How many people you got
working right now?

Uh, eight.

Holy *bleep* I can't believe
what you have gotten done

with just eight people?

Yeah, we just been...

Whoever I can find
to fill in where needed.

Everybody's doing
two or three jobs,

that's just how it's gone.

So, uh, well, I came up here
to give you a hand, man.

And, uh, I mean, whatever
you need me to do, right?

I'm here to help you,
whatever you want.

[Rick] Well, yeah,
there's plenty for you to do.

Well, find me a machine
or something, man.

I'll go ahead
and jump right into her.

All right, let's do it.

[dramatic music playing]

It's great my dad's here,

you know, he can do
a bit of everything.

He's gonna be a massive help
to us getting 2,000 ounces.

And now I get to share it
not only just

with my small crew,
but with my dad as well.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Rick puts his dad
straight to work

feeding Monster Red
with the low grade pay.

The amount of time
and effort and money

that they put in
to stripping this overburden

to get to that pay layer
is just astronomical.

It's always my goal
to make sure that

Rick succeeds,

and I'll do what I have to
to, uh, help him.

I just hope it pays off
for him.

[narrator]
A hundred and twenty feet

down in the cut,

Foreman Brennan Ruault
digs the pay.

Rick's old man showed up
there today and, uh,

you know, sure nice to have
an extra set of hands here

if we need all the help
we can get right now.

And, you know,
he's a super positive guy.

Hey, Dad, how's that loader
working in that pile there

kind of...kind of
some big rock, eh?

Yeah, this stuff is,
uh, brutal.

I'm trying not to spin
the tires

and go easy on the machine.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, we need to take care
of that thing.

It's getting kind of late now
on the season, eh?

Yeah, I'm nervous about it.

We've got a lot of gold to get

before we can leave.

So what you're saying is
if it snowed and it's cold,

I'm still gonna be here?

[laughs]

I believe, you got...
you got better things to do?

[laughs]

It's just a pleasure
to be here

and see your operation

and be able to say
I can help you.

I love it.

[dramatic music playing]

What the *bleep* hell...

*bleep*

*bleep* wrong with this thing.

*bleep*

[groans]

[dramatic music playing]

[groans]

What in the...
I don't know what's going on

with this *bleep* thing
but the *bleep* damn thing

decided to...
It don't wanna lift,

the thing got no power
or something here.

[narrator]
Deep in the Rally Valley,

Brennan Ruault's


has lost its lifting power.

[Brennan] *bleep* damn it.

Got a copy there, Rick?

Yeah, go for Rick.

Hey, buddy, I don't know
what's going on

in the 700 here.

This *bleep* thing seems like

it doesn't have any power
anymore to dig.

I don't know, like,

it's losing pressure
or something.

I have no idea
what it might be here.

*bleep*

This is getting painful.

I can barely get
through the ground.

Uh, okay. Yeah.

Um, give me a second.

Uh, hey, Dad,
are you on the radio?

Yep, I'm here. Go ahead.

Dad, 700 is coming out
of the cut.

Um, do you think you could go
take a look at it?

Uh, see if you could fix it,
see what's wrong with it.

We really *bleep* need
that machine.

[Rick Sr.] Yeah, roger that.
I'll, uh,

I'll take a run over there
and get a good look at it.

[narrator]
Rick Sr. spent 40 years

in the family
construction business,

running, managing,

and fixing heavy equipment.

If my dad can't get
that 700 fixed,

there's no way we're gonna hit
our 2,000 ounce goal.

[suspenseful music playing]

So, the main boom cylinder
on the 700 here

is fed by...

those hydraulic tubes
to those hydraulic hoses.

Well, one of them tubes
has a T on it

and, uh, it's been...

Appears to be fixed
from before

but the welds have cracked

and now we're chasing
those cracks with more weld.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator]
The boom arm is operated

by four hydraulic cylinders,

powered by pressurized fluid

fed to the cylinders
through hoses

connected with a T-joint.

The T-joint is cracked,

causing the 700
to lose power.

To get it back in action,

Rick Sr. will patch
the cracks with welds.

This is just a quick fix
to get it back to work.

But if there's any oil
in that crack at all,

it ain't gonna seal up,
you know,

without draining
the whole system.

Just kind of keep an eye on it
when I weld on it

because there's so much grease
and oil in there,

I'm worried about fire.

[sparks flying]

Big Rick has joined us,
clearly perfect timing.

The guy can run anything here.

I think our chances
are improving again

to 2,000 ounces.

I mean, it certainly
can't hurt.

[sparks flying]

[Rick Sr.] Oh *bleep*

[sparks flying]

[Rick Sr.] Come on.

The material is so light,
I blew a hole in it,

now it's worse.

Before, it was such
a hairline crack,

so I thought
if I could chase it real quick

with a weld and seal it up,

but it popped out and...

started blowing oil.

Now, I got a hole
bigger than I had before.

And so we're probably
looking at...

another day away from...

being able to use it.

[dramatic music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

[water gushing]

[dramatic music playing]

[Fred] We're looking
at a challenge right now

that many people would
probably turn away from.

These guys are trained
in combat

and we're not gonna stop
until we're on gold.

[narrator] Fred Lewis
has mined 71 ounces

towards his 100-ounce
season goal.

So we're teamed up
with the Claytons

to save both of our seasons.

You know, it's thinking
outside the box

and it's solving the problem.

[narrator]
Fred has joined forces

with neighboring miners
Brandon and Brady Clayton.

[Fred] We're putting
all of our money

on their good pay.

With this team-up
with the Claytons,

we've really stepped up
our game.

[narrator] Fred has shut down
his small wash plant,

gambling on combining
manpower and equipment

to run pay
at 90 yards an hour

through the Clayton's trommel


splitting the gold 50-50.

You know, the collaboration,
I like it.

I can tell
that everybody is trying

not to be the weakest link.

There's no time for slack,
that's for sure.

[John] All of us
are former military guys,

but gold mining is all new.

This is the chance
of a lifetime, and fun,

and challenging, and all that.

But finding enough gold
to be able to go home with

and have it worth being here.

[dramatic music playing]

Oh, this is probably
the worst weather we've had

since we got here.
I filled my rain barrel,

it's 55 gallons,

and I filled it in one night
on my RV,

so it rained a lot.

[Brandon]
Freddy, you got a copy?

This is Fred.

[Brandon] Hey, Fred,
we need you down our cut

as soon as possible,
we got an issue down here.

Roger that,
I'll be right there.

[dramatic music playing]

[Fred] That doesn't look good.

That's a lot of water.

Oh, no.

What the hell are we gonna do
about that?

[narrator] Overnight,
rain has burst a berm,

and Brandon now has a river
running through his cut.

I don't know, man.

I don't think we can pull
pay out on my side.

I think we gotta resort
to your side.

Pulling from over there until
this is accessible again?

Yeah. Throw everything we got
at your side.

What we've got over there
is only averaging 0.6, 0.7,

so we're gonna have to pull
a hell of a lot more dirt

to pick up for this two ounce
a hundred...

- [Brandon] Yeah.
- stuff.

[narrator]
The pay in Brandon's cut

delivers three times
as much gold as Fred's.

We ain't pulling *bleep*
from here.

- [Brandon] No.
- So we go to my side.

I'll get my guys focused,
you get your guys focused.

we'll get it...we'll get it...
we'll get it done.

We need a little more yards
now though.

Oh, sure. See you later, Fred.

- [Fred] Yeah.
- See you, mate.

You know,
this really sucks bad.

Right now,
the high-quality pay

is underwater,

so the big gamble we played
to come out here

put us right back
on our ground.

And this really *bleep* sucks.

[narrator]
To maintain production,

Fred will have to deliver
three times as much pay,

so he needs
to radically speed up

how fast he hauls it
from his claim,

half a mile
to the Clayton's wash plant,

Dirt Devil.

At this point, I'm gonna have
to look at my operation

and see if there's ways
I can speed up my feed.

I don't think
there's anything we can do

with the equipment we have.

So I'm going to have
to figure something out here,

and I don't really know
what to do,

but something has to be done.

Gonna have to think
outside the box here.

All right. We're gonna move
our wash plant out,

- we're gonna pull it.
- Okay.

- [Fred] Pull it completely.
- Why?

Pull more pay
and run more pay,

we're gonna make this
road-efficient.

We can pull a lot more pay
out of here

with this method, I think.

No more backing
the rock trucks up?

Exactly. So we've gotta pull
our plant

- to get access to our pay.
- [man] Yeah.

And we'll just drag it
to the pad

that we've created over there
for the turnaround spots,

and we'll just park it there.

So that's the call,

hopefully, we won't regret it.

- All right.
- You guys good?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- All right.
- Mmm-hmm.

[Stuart] I'm golden.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator]
There's a single track

from Fred's cut
to the Clayton's wash plant.

To create a loop
between the pay

and the wash plant,

Fred needs to haul
his wash plant

out of the way,

then build a second
half-mile road

so that the rock trucks
can circulate freely

and deliver enough pay
to the plant.

All right, guys.
This is probably the most

dangerous part we have,
moving this wash plant.

We'll have two guys
ground-guiding up,

making sure nothing's going
on with the plant,

we'll watch the conveyor,

so you can just worry
about moving it.

All right. Let's do it.

- All right.
- We're doing it.

[narrator] Buzz will drag
Fred's wash plant



up a steep bank,

to clear the route
to the pay.

So, it's really crucial that
we do this move correctly.

We've gotta watch our conveyor

to make sure
it's not bouncing a lot,

that can also cause damage
in the frame.

Because we don't own
this wash plant, it's leased,

so if we break it, we buy it.

[man] Gently.

[Fred] It's only 12 tons.

[man] I know, right?

[Fred] All right.
You're coming up on that hill,

you take it nice and easy,

and we'll walk with you, okay?

Whoa Buzz, you're right
on the edge over there.

Yeah, you're running out
of space on this side

and you're running out
of space on that side.

Yeah.
You're lined up nice now.

- [man] Yay!
- [Fred] All right.

That's it, Buzz. Good job.

[narrator] Wash plant moved,

Fred and his crew
will build a road

using old tailings
to create a loop

between the pay
and Brandon's plant.

The reason why
we're so frantically

trying to build this road

is it's gonna give us
better access.

So driving the rock truck now,

we have to do
three-point turnarounds,

there's a number of times

we have to back up
into places.

If we are able
to build this road,

then we would have
almost a race track.

So, the truck
would never have to back up,

it would constantly always
just be moving forward.

Because we know efficiency
is the key

and the name of the game
to gold mining.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] After six hours,

Fred and his crew
have built a loop road,

cutting the time it takes
to bring pay to the plant.

[Fred] We're done.
We are done.

We now have access

to all the pay
we need access to,

and we can get it over
to Brandon's side

really quickly now.

We'll be sending trucks
in one way,

get it filled up
with pay dirt

and coming out the other way.

And we can keep that up,

we'll hit those numbers
we're looking for

and this will be a good move.

[dramatic music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

There's just no way
I'm gonna be able to keep up

with tailings on this thing.

We can wave


that's for damn sure.

[narrator] At Duncan Creek,

Rick's vital 700 excavator
is down

with a cracked
hydraulic line.

He's come up
with a workaround,

but it's slowing him down.

Rick brought down the 754

and we threw the 330 up there
to do tailings.

As long as we can keep
this gold rolling up
to the plant,

that's the only thing
that matters.

The 700's got, you know,

the four and a half yards
bucket on it,

and, you know, this 330,

it's barely even
a yard-sized bucket so,

you know, four times
the amount of scoops.

[narrator]
To keep Monster Red running,

Rick needs to clear

over 400 tons of tailings
every hour.

*bleep* it's gonna take me


to fill a rock truck.

[narrator] Rick Sr. is racing

to get the 700 excavator
back into service.

[Rick Sr.] I'm getting too old
for this *bleep*

I thought my days
of playing mechanic

were over a long time ago,
but I guess not.

It's now that I'm up here
looking closer,

it got... It got freaking
welds on both sides of this T,

up and down, and the back,
it's a...

it's a *bleep* disaster.

It's weld on top of weld
on top of weld on top of weld.

[laughs]

[narrator] When Rick welded up
a T-joint on the 700,

he burned a hole through it.

Now, he must drain
the hydraulic fluid

before he can re-weld
the T-joint.

[Rick Sr.] Hopefully,
we can get the oil

out of the...
out of the system,

because oil will not
allow you to weld.

We're running 300 yards
an hour

and we're producing
a lot of tailings,

so if my dad can't get that


it's almost a guarantee
that we're gonna have

to turn down
to 200 yards an hour

for them to be able
to keep up.

[Rick Sr.] No oil.
[laughs] That's awesome.

Now that we have evacuated
the oil

over to that tube there,

we got a lot
better fighting chance

of sealing up with weld,

because we're not fighting
the oil.

This would be a miracle
if this freaking holds.

All right.
So now, I'm gonna fire it up.

[narrator]
After three hours of welding,

it's the moment of truth.

If the welds don't hold,

the 700 can't dig tailings

and Rick will have
to slow down the plant.

First things first, we'll just
watch for a leak as it idles,

and if it leaks when it idles,

then we're really *bleep*.

If it doesn't,
then we'll run it up,

we're gonna run the boom up
in the air

until it hits the stop,

and then I'll put
quite a bit of pressure on it

to see what it does then.

[engine starts]

[excavator whirring]

[laughs] Sweet.

Looking really good,
really good.

And I put full pressure
on her, wide open.

And we got
the 700 repaired here,

and we gotta get it back
in the cut

if we have any hope of meeting
that 2,000-ounce goal,

this thing's gotta be
in the cut.

[narrator]
After two days of work,

the 700 is back
up and running.

[Rick]
So nice that my dad was able

to get that 700 back
up and running.

Having someone like dad around
is just invaluable.

I wish I could afford my dad,

I'd have him work here fulltime,

but just to have him here
for a couple of weeks is...

Man, it's so *bleep* nice,

especially
at the end of the season.

Now, we don't have a lot
of time to be messing around,

so luckily,
we're back up and on target,

and hopefully,
that 2,000-ounce goal

is within reach.

If things don't pick up,

we're at pretty high risk
of not beating last season.

It's a good thing we've got
such good people out there.

We've got a great group
of mechanics,

we've got great managers

that are keeping things running

and doing a really good job.

Everybody's gonna step up.

There's a lot of people
stepping up.

And they certainly
don't need me

running around the mine site.

[narrator]
Parker Schnabel's streak
of successful seasons

depends on how much gold his
trusted lieutenants can mine

in the next four weeks.

All right. Now, I have Tatiana

feeding the plant,
Froggy digging pay,

and I'm doing coarse tailings.

[narrator] At the Ugly Cut,

Tyson's under pressure
to keep the gold coming in.

You know, we only have
a certain amount of days
of sluicing left

and every minute counts
right now.

[narrator] Loader operator,
Tatiana Costa,

feeds Slucifer 240 yards
of pay dirt an hour.

[Tatiana] We currently
only have one loader,

so we... I'm really trying
to do all I can

to be nice and easy
with this loader

to make sure
we do not break down

because that will be
catastrophic right now.

*bleep*

Hey, Tyson,
you got a copy, Tyson?

[Tyson] Go ahead, Tater tots.

Uh, there's something wrong
with the plant.

If you could come over here
and have a look.

[Tyson] I'm on my way.

*bleep*

Something's wrong
with our pump.

Hey, Alec,
you got a copy, Alec?

[Alec] Yeah, go ahead.

[engine shuts down]

[man] What's going on, Alec?

So we're not getting
as much water

out of the water pump
as we should be.

Because the fan
was not quite spinning

and the crankshaft
was basically

slipping on the belt

and then I noticed
that stall in here

and you can see like
it's been wearing all night.

Literally, the belt
just coming apart on us.

[narrator]
Slucifer's 10-inch water pump

is powered by a generator.

A fan cools the engine.

The belt driving
the fan has worn so thin,

it's no longer spinning
the fan.

The result,

an overheated engine.

[Alec] We actually don't have
a backup water pump

and it's pretty concerning

seeing as we got
a whole cut to sluice out.

[Parker] What's up?

So the plant pump
is giving us some grief,

wondering if you have
a different pump lying around

that we can steal
and put into play.

No, they just...

The motor is pretty much shot
on that other backup one.

It's the fan belt on it,

it's slipping and
kind of overheating on us

so we're gonna need a new belt
or a different pump or...

And you're gonna lose
four hours of sluicing

if we have to send someone
to town?

Yup.

[narrator] The four-hour
round trip to Dawson

for the new fan belt
is going to cost Parker

over $17,000 in downtime.

Okay. I'll get on this.

- [Tyson] Thanks, man.
- [Parker] Yeah.

Yeah.
I need to call in a favor.

When can you be here?

I can't afford for us

to drag on any longer
than it has to.

Right now, all I know is

we have a wash plant
that isn't running.

[narrator]
At the Promised Land,

wash plant Slucifer
is shut down

with a broken water pump.

[helicopter whirring]

[helicopter whirring]

[Tyson] What'd you do, Jordan?

[Jordan] Went to get belts as
quick as I could... [laughs]

No *bleep*.

I didn't expect you back
this fast.

Alec can now just
swap the belts out.

- [Alec] Sounds good.
- And put her back on line.

- Right on.
- [Jordan] Right on.

- Thanks, man.
- No worries.

Well, Jordan just flew in
in a helicopter

with the parts for the pump.

So, belt is $20,
delivery $2,000.

Part of it's on, eh?

[Jordan] Yeah. Just starting
to go into the grove there.

Might get a little tough
but yeah, there she's going.

There, how's that?

- We got her.
- Nice.

All clear and tight
on this side.

- You happy, Jordan?
- Yeah.

One side is all set and good.

[engine revs]

[Tyson] We'll be sluicing.

You're the man, Jordan.

[narrator] After two
and a half hours of downtime.

Give her *bleep* Tater tots.

[narrator] Wash plant Slucifer
is back up and running.

Got rocks.

- Oh, yeah.
- Right here.

Got lots of water.

[narrator]
Chartering the helicopter

cost Parker $2,000

but reducing his downtime
by three hours

has saved him over $10,000.

- Right on, boys.
- Yeah.

- We're sluicing.
- We're back sluicing.

[tense music playing]

Well, it's what we like
to be doing right now.

I'm out here pulling pay,

getting it sent out
to the wash plant,

going through the wash plant
and making us money.

[Buzz] The plant is hungry
when it's running,

so here to keep the beast fed.

[narrator]
At California Creek,

Fred is digging low grade pay
from his cut.

To stay on track
for his season goal,

his misfits crew

needs to get three truckloads
of pay an hour

to the Claytons' wash plant.

[Warren]
We have no other choice

but to simply just run
Fred's material right now,

it's a lower concentration
of gold.

[Mitch] For us to really do
really well this season,

it's important for us
to get back down

where the better gold is.

I'm just lucky that
I was paired with Fred

and we were able to actually
keep running.

I'm pretty much the best
rock truck driver here,

which is pretty sad
because the rock truck

is pretty *bleep* easy.

Recently, we joined up
with the Claytons.

It's kind of a risky move,

a lot of their vehicles
go down

and in all honesty,
I just don't see it

panning out the way
Fred wants it to.

With all the heavy rainfall
that we've been getting,

Brandon's cut flooded completely

so now we're only pulling pay
from our cut.

[truck revving]

[Christopher] Go, damn it, go.

Bucket won't lift up.

Sometimes you got to rev up
the *bleep* engine

to get it to start going

but right now
it's just not doing it.

Well, I don't think
this is gonna get resolved

anytime soon,

uh, you guys are just wasting
film at this point.

It's pretty *bleep*
frustrating. Yeah.

Hey, JB.

Can you take a look
at the rock truck?

[JB]
Sure. What's wrong with it?

[Christopher]
No matter how much I rev

the *bleep* engine,

the bucket wouldn't go up.

[narrator] Crew mechanic JB
fixed tanks in Iraq

in the first Gulf w*r.

[JB] Man, it looks like
some massive hydraulic leak

underneath the hood there
from somewhere.

It's so far underneath the cab

and so hard to get to that it,

uh, it's a pretty major fix.

This could be the season
for that rock truck.

Yeah, that's what
it could end up being,

uh, it pretty much
might be done.

[Fred]
Uh, he's gonna take it apart,

we're gonna get
the part number,

see if we can get
that part rushed,

not what we needed.

[man] Oh, yeah, you got her.

It's got a bad spot in it.

- Right there.
- [JB] Yeah.

We'll take this
to the auto parts store

and they'll make a line
just like that

and be done with it,
put it back in.

[narrator] JB heads to town

to get the part he needs

but it's a six-hour
round trip.

[dramatic music playing]

[engine revs]

[Warren]
We're down a rock truck

and the pay pile is, uh,
looking pretty damn small.

I probably have


before I run out.

Right now, I'm running
a little bit slower

to give them
a little more time.

They need to pick up
the pace because, um,

I don't wanna have
to shut this plant down.

[Brandon] Looks like
Fred's fleet is basically

falling apart on us.

We're behind right now.

Pay is not coming to the plant
as fast as we want it.

We're trying to keep
Dirt Devil fed

and it's just not working out.

[narrator] Eight hours after
Chris' rock truck broke down.

[Chris] I had to go to town
to get the hydraulic lines.

[narrator] JB is ready to test
the new hydraulic hose.

[engine revs]

[JB] We got smoke.

Where there's smoke,
there's fire...

[laughs]
It's been slowing us down.

We need every vehicle we can,

uh, so we got it up
and running,

big, big relief.

Big relief and, uh,

we're ready to go pull
some more pay.

[horn honking]

We are taking all of our pay.

Both rock trucks running,
full bore

and taking the pay over here
to the big plant.

Pretty exciting.

[man speaking]

You know, it looks like
we're stuck in the river.

[man] Ugh, you have gotta be
kidding me.

It just died.

[narrator] Kruse's route
across Duncan Creek

is blocked by the film crew.

[man]
Hey, sorry about this, guys.

[man speaking]

[engine revs]

[man] Here we go.

- Sorry about this, Kruse.
- [man] Sorry, Kruse.

Now we know
how the miners feel

having cameras in their faces.

[man laughs]

Sorry [indistinct] man.

- [man] Thank you very much.
- Yeah. Here's your strap.

[dramatic music playing]

What's up guys?

- What's up?
- Hey.

[narrator]
At California Creek,

Brandon's high grade cut
flooded out,

so the only gold
at this weigh in

comes from Fred's
low grade pay dirt.

We had a lot of problems
this last week,

but it's not stuff we really
could have prevented.

I mean, Brandon's creek overflowing.

- Yeah, that's right.
- [man] Yeah.

[Fred] What are we gonna do
about that?

The equipment, uh, problems,
that's mining,

so I feel like we're working
really well together.

[man] Yeah, I think so.

So I guess it's time
to see what it is, huh?

Fred's talking about it
too much.

Let's put it on there.

[man] Yeah.
Let's put it on the plate.

- Mmm-hmm. All right.
- All right, here we go.

[narrator] Fred and Brendan
will split the gold 50-50.

[man] One, two, three, four.

[narrator] To hit his


Fred needs at least


[man] 13, 14, 15, 16...





[man] Holy *bleep*

[narrator] Fred's share,


worth $28,000.

- Not bad, right?
- Not bad at all.

I'm happy as a goat with this.

I know it's less than
our last collaboration week

but I think
this is a bigger victory.

Because of all the *bleep*
we had to fight to get this.

I think we've already beat
the odds.

[Fred] Hell yeah, we have.

[narrator] Fred's total
stands at 87 ounces,




So we're knocking on that door
of our season...

our season goal.

We can get back out there

and start washing
and hauling and...

- Yeah.
- get us there.

I think he means
like right now, guys, so.

[laughs]

[man] Okay.

[dramatic music playing]

Richard.

Oh, hello, guys.

Brandon,
don't look so excited.

[laughs]

I'm tired,
it's been a long week.

Oh, I know.

We still got
a big jar of gold though.

It looks pretty hefty.

Wow, that's...
What the heck is in there?

Those are all your welding
rods from fixing that hole.

[laughs]

Yeah. I feel kind of bad.

You just get here, throw you
right in the hydraulic weld.

I break it down
and he gets to fix it.

[laughs]

So you're still happy
you came?

Uh, I did not expect
to be working

a 12-hour shift
the minute I got here.

[laughs]

But, uh, you know,
I mean, it is what it is.

- So...
- Yeah.

Well, I knew you could
handle it, Dad.

Well, I appreciate that, son.

[laughter]

Well, should we see what
this week weighed out to?

[narrator] To reach his


Rick must average


[Rick] All right.
What do we got here?

[man] We got 30, 40, 70, 80.

[man] Nice.

[man] Wow, 120.

Still coming...

*bleep*



[narrator] Worth $220,000,

less than half
of what Rick needs.

But the deeper into
the Rally Valley he goes,

the better the gold.

I know you guys
are getting tired

but we've got some weeks left

and I know you're all up
for it, right?

I just wanna get to the bottom
of that *bleep* now.

They're gonna be bigger
and bigger, man.

We're gonna need
two, three pans.

Let's go double
this *bleep* pan, boys.

- I love it.
- [Rick] *bleep* Yeah.

- Thanks a lot, guys.
- Yeah, you bet.

[dramatic music playing]

Hey there, youngster.

What's happening?

How was your day?

[man] Oh, not too bad.

I mean, I didn't have to
have a helicopter fly parts in

- for the water pump so...
- [laughs]

Don't get used to it, Tyson.

[laughs]

You wanna see your Ugly Cut?

You better take an ounce
out of there

because it's going
to the helicopter company.

[laughter]

First cleanup of the Ugly.

[narrator] The Promised Land's
other cuts,

the Good and the Bad,

averaged 200 ounces a week.

Forty, sixty,

eighty,

a hundred.



It's not bad
for a first cleanup.

[narrator]
Worth almost $195,000

but half the average
for the Promised Land.

So Mitch, he had a smoking
week last week, right?

[narrator]
Next up, Mud Mountain

and Big Red where last week,

Mitch hauled in
a season's best



Well, I got to know, Chris.
Did we beat it again?

[Chris]
Well, I'll tell you what,

you have another two-pan week.

Is that yummy-looking or what?

That looks very nice.

So there is your 400.

Okay.

And you got another big
thermos out

so I'm feeling pretty good.

You wanna count this one,
Mitch?

Here we go.

[Mitch] Let's see what we got.

Ten, thirty, forty.

Oh, is that all you got
in there?



Yeah.

You know, you can't break
records every week, man.

Well, I mean...

So 445.45.

[narrator]
Worth over $800,000.

Four hundred and fifty ounces
in a week, man.

- Yeah.
- You really can't complain.

Yeah, you can.

[man laughs]

So you guys, for the season,

it's 6657.85.

We're gaining on last season.

That's good.

All right.
Well, let's finish strong.

- Let's do it.
- Cheers.