[Parker] We are going
to Alaska
and we are setting up
a new operation.
As we ran out of ground
in the Yukon,
you gotta keep your mind
on the future, right?
What the [bleep]?
We're in the absolute
[bleep] now.
It's [bleep] chaos.
[Parker] Lighting damn
money on fire.
I'm gonna call it
"A Disaster in Alaska."
We need this place
to help pay for that
whole cluster[bleep].
This is the best cut
we have ever run.
I don't wanna leave that chunk
of ground here unmined.
[Tyson] Yeah, go, go!
[bleep] generator
looks like it's on fire.
Slucifer is officially gonna
be done for the season now.
Bad time for Slucifer
to go down.
[Tony speaking]
Follow me.
Beautiful.
[Mike] A lot
of pay there, right?
[Tony speaking]
Shut down the plant.
Get out of my face
and leave this. Leave.
- Yes.
- [Tony speaking]
[man] Tony has always
been somewhat
of a control freak.
[Ruby] Hey, Tony. You got
a copy, Tony?
[Tony speaking]
[Brady] My brother and I wanna
help out with the family debt.
We wanna get that paid off.
Right here,
this is Golden Acres.
[Brandon] This is do or die
for not even our season
but for our family.
[expl*si*n]
We got to go big or go home.
[Brandon] We need to reach
our 200-ounce season goal,
and we've got to crush Fred.
[Fred] I started this all
to help veterans,
my band of brothers.
What the [bleep] is that?
I've got everything
on the line. We have
to make this work.
We're going to Freedom Cut.
It's alive!
This dozer's an absolute
game-changer.
Oh, [bleep]!
Problem right now,
the equipment we have
is not up for the task.
[engine sputtering]
Well, that's a [bleep] up.
[Fred] I'm just
at the end of my rope, man.
Honestly, this doesn't pay
the fuel we ran last week.
No one's going to come back
if they're not getting gold.
With winter setting
in here, we're, you know,
scrambling to get
the last bit of pay.
What gold we don't find
this season stays
in the ground
as far as we're concerned.
[narrator] After ten years
mining in the Klondike,
Parker Schnabel
is at the end of an era.
The permits for his ground
on the Indian River
run out in a few months,
and his future
is unclear.
[Parker] I gotta figure out
what to do for next year.
We have to figure out
where we're gonna be
and what we're gonna do.
We've been mining this
ground for ten years,
so it's definitely a weird
feeling to be
closing this chapter out.
- [grandpa chuckling]
- Bye, Grandpa.
I'll come and see you.
[narrator] A decade ago,
went to the Yukon
to find his fortune.
[Parker] If I wanna play
with the big boys,
I gotta get up here
where the big boys play.
[narrator] Since he set foot
on the ground,
he's mined more than
on this claim,
today worth $95 million.
[exclaiming]
Good [bleep] job, man.
[narrator] In an attempt
to secure gold-rich
ground for next year,
he opened an operation
in Alaska.
But he abandoned it,
$250,000 in the hole.
I'm gonna call it
"A Disaster in Alaska."
We need this place to help pay
for that whole cluster[bleep].
It would be a real shame
to leave anything behind
at this point.
[narrator] To make up
for his losses,
Parker needs to come up
with a plan
to haul in as much gold
as possible
before winter hits.
You know, it's truly a shame
that we have to abandon
the Panama canal cut.
That's probably some
of the best ground
- we have ever mined.
- Right.
Not a good time
for a wash plant
to decide to pile up.
[Chris] No. No, not now.
So you have Big Red turned
right up right now, don't you?
Yeah, right now, Big Red's
wide open.
- [Parker] All right.
- Fastest we've ever run it.
What do you think
our chances are if we
truck that stuff over?
[Mitch] I mean,
if you're thinking about
taking that material
from the Panama
down to Big Red, I mean,
I think we're gonna be
damn lucky to keep
the plant running.
But it's not gonna
come easy.
That's gonna be
the big struggle here.
Right.
That stuff is going,
- what, 50 ounces a shift.
- [Chris] Yeah.
So if there's
four shifts there,
there's 200 ounces.
You know,
that's a lot of gold.
It is definitely good ground.
- Right.
- [Chris] It'd be painful
- to leave it behind.
- Yeah.
[Parker] We don't take on
things that we don't finish.
Fit it in.
Right on.
- We'll make it work.
- [Mitch] Yep.
Gotta see how much
this weather's gonna hold out,
- that's the biggest part.
- [Parker] Yep.
All right.
- Sounds good, man.
- Good.
- Thanks, guys.
- Let's do it.
Let me get to trucking.
[Chris] Good call,
fellas, good call.
Hopefully, we'll get all this
gold out of the ground,
and not leave anything
behind, you know?
Now that we're having
to truck the Panama Canal cut
to the runway,
it's taking up a lot of time,
a lot of resources,
and a lot more pay Big Red
has to get through.
[narrator] Parker's
crew are limping
to the finish line.
Last week, wash plant Slucifer
died in the Panama Canal cut
leaving only Big Red to run
all the remaining pay dirt.
It's all hands on deck.
[narrator] Back from Alaska,
Tyler Mahoney trucks
the extra Panama Canal pay
to Big Red.
It's a pretty big hole,
it's like two miles,
but it's gotta be done.
This is the best cut
they've had all year,
so it's really important
we get this dirt out
before we get frozen out.
We have a lot of ground
still to go through
and the clock is ticking.
Every grain of dirt
right now counts.
We do only have
the next few days
so, uh, it's gotta
get done, girl.
It's so nice to hear your
voice on the radio.
Over in Fairbanks,
I was the only girl
out in the field.
Oh, [bleep], there's a jam
in the hopper, [bleep].
Tyler, Tyler,
I need you here right now.
[Tyler on radio] Yeah,
all right, I'm on my way.
There's a jam
in the hopper there.
I'll need you
to help me shovel.
What a nightmare. All right.
[Tatiana] With all the,
uh, frozen pay,
we might have this
problem quite often.
- Yeah, if you give me
a hand here.
- [Tyler] Yeah.
[narrator] Frozen pay dirt
is binding together
blocking the feed chute
to the conveyor.
Certainly not what
we wanted to see
with Big Red this morning.
And it's just
real critical here
that we're back up
and running.
You can see what
we're fighting here
down at the runway.
Lots of ice, it's giving
grief with the conveyors,
it's building up
in the hopper feeder.
You know, right now
that is not looking good.
[Tyler] Is that good to go?
[Tatiana] Yeah, yeah,
it's good to go.
I'll, uh, I'll get it started.
Luckily, I had Tyler here
to give me a hand.
Otherwise, it would have taken
me so much longer. But, yeah,
uh, now it's time to go
and get this thing done.
Every little problem you have
is just one more setback.
We've gotta keep this dirt
going through the wash plant
if we got any shot
at getting it all done.
All right, let's hit
Freedom, guys.
[shouting] Freedom!
[narrator] One hundred miles
from Indian River,
high up in the Yukon wilderness...
[Fred] We've had a lot
of problems this season.
The bills are stacking up.
I've spent 80,000 more
on fuel this season
than last season already.
To come back next season,
we gotta finish strong.
You know, right now
it's do or die.
[narrator] Third year
mine boss, Fred Lewis,
is in the fight of his life.
Deep in debt, he needs
his mining career.
But with time running out,
he's 62 ounces short.
[Fred] That 200
is looking very bleak.
Uh, we would have to have
our best cleanout
this... this week
in order to even come
close to it. But, um,
it ain't over
till the fat lady sings.
We're gonna fight to the end.
We're going for it.
[narrator] Fred's
Hail Mary plan,
open up a new corner
of the Freedom Cut
on a last-ditch hunt
for the elusive gold-rich
quartz vein
running through his claim.
[Fred] The gold
isn't consistent here.
You have to chase
that treasure map.
If we can't get to this pay,
there's no freaking way
we're gonna hit
our 200-ounce goal.
It has to come out
of the Freedom Cut.
All their lives
are impacted by this.
Every miner I have here
is relying on this to work.
'Cause I've put a lot
of people at risk,
and myself
and my family included.
This has to work.
And we're just gonna fight
every step all the way.
If we can't pull it off,
we're done.
[Buzz] Push, push, push.
Keep this [bleep] show going.
I could care less about
the mud, the cold,
and everything goes
along with it.
I don't quit
whatever it takes.
[Stuart] Everyone
wants to go home,
wants to see their loved ones,
but also understands that
if, uh, we don't do
what we came here to do,
there isn't a next time.
[Fred] The whole thing
is trying to get
financial freedom
and to be able to set it up
for your family,
to be able to go
and give 'em a life
that they deserve.
Hey, Christopher,
how's that dozer going?
Moving smooth.
[Fred on radio] All right,
keep it up, bud.
There is no other option.
[narrator] Fred gives stepson,
Chris, the critical job
of stripping overburden
in the 53-ton Komatsu dozer.
It's pretty new. Buzz
is right there beside him.
He's been training him.
Right now, I'm seeing
good control.
I'm seeing he's pushing
the blade at the right depth.
He's not going too deep.
I'm freaking stoked
'cause my son is stepping up.
We have a [bleep]
ton of muck
that we gotta move before
we can get down to pay.
Things are starting to freeze
because of how wet it is.
It is either sloppy
or it's ice.
And, uh, this dozer,
even though it's got
big a*s tracks
and is heavy as [bleep],
it, uh, it's causing me
to slip a little bit
here and there.
[creaking]
[bleeping]
[clanking]
[bleeping]
[whirring]
Buzz, I need you
to come [bleep] rescue me
like, time [bleep] now,
dude, I got myself stuck.
How the hell
did you do that?
I'm literally backing up
to [bleep] push it
[bleep] forward
and then I just
stopped moving.
Okay. I will come and try
to pull you with the 460.
Hopefully, it'll work.
Try not to break the [bleep]
swing gear again.
[chuckles]
Are you stuck, Christopher?
Yes.
Obviously.
All right, okay,
just listen to Buzz
and hopefully, you guys
can get it out pretty quick.
All right, what do you
want me doing here?
Okay, try to... try forward.
[engine revs]
[narrator] The 315
horsepower 460
is Fred's most
powerful excavator.
[creaking]
[whirring]
Yeah, Buzz,
we still going nowhere.
Hey, guys, you been making
some progress over there
or is it completely stuck?
[Fred] Without that dozer,
we can't rip.
We can't push up
this overburden
if that dozer's stuck.
We're completely [bleep].
What's the deal?
Still trying.
[engine revving]
[bleeping] It is [bleep]
smoking, bro.
[bleep] Man, shut it down,
shut it down.
[Christopher coughs]
[Fred] Christopher, what
the [bleep] is going on?
[Christopher coughs] [bleep]
- You okay?
- [Buzz] You okay?
- [Christopher] Yeah.
- [Fred] What happened?
[Christopher] [bleep]
started smoking.
[narrator] On a desperate hunt
for a gold-rich hotspot
in the Freedom Cut,
Fred's dozer has
gone up in smoke.
Well, Buzz,
what do you think
it is, dude?
Obviously, it's nothing good.
[sighs] [bleep], man.
[bleep] great.
[narrator] Over-revving
the engine has blown
a pressurized oil line
spraying oil
on the red hot engine.
Lay it on me.
[Buzz] [bleep]
Wait, what does [bleep] mean?
How [bleep]?
[Buzz] We're gonna freaking
have to get some
oil and go find some parts.
[Fred] This late in the game,
there's no way we're gonna
get parts in time, there's
no way we're gonna get fixed.
[bleep]
[sighs]
[bleeping]
[sighing grimly]
[bleep] tired, [bleep]
everything is breaking,
That dozer's done.
[bleep] fini.
[screams]
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] King
of the Klondike, Tony Beets,
is in the end game...
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] ...fighting
to keep his family's
mining empire afloat.
This season, Tony's dug deeper
into Paradise Hill
than ever before
gunning for a record
But he still needs
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] After
eldest son, Kevin,
completed crucial
maintenance last week,
Mike's trommel is back
sluicing at full speed
for the final push.
[yawning]
[Megan] It's been
a long season,
pretty exhausted.
Just trying to make our goal
and get through
and have a good end
of the season.
Whoo!
This is gonna be
a [bleep] nightmare
cleaning this place off.
[narrator] To hit their goal,
son, Mike, wants to clean out
the 80 Pup cut which has
delivered some of their
biggest gold hauls
of the year.
[Tony speaking]
[bleep] sakes. That's just
pure bedrock right there.
Uh, there's not as much
pay here than I thought.
[Tony speaking on radio]
[Tony speaking]
[Mike speaking
indistinctly on radio]
[narrator] Glory holes
were formed
thousands of years ago
by ancient waterfalls
carrying gold.
Erosion caused
by the crashing water
created a huge plunge pool,
where the heavy gold
sank and settled.
Leaving a concentrated
gold deposit.
When the river dried up,
the gold was covered
by rock-hard clay
that can look like bedrock.
If Tony's hunch is right,
then this buried treasure
could be some
of the richest ground
he has ever mined.
[Tony] Oh, [bleep] yeah.
Uh-huh.
I'm not just full
of [bleep] now, am I?
I got a couple
of good ideas in there too.
[laughing]
Go ahead.
[Tony speaking]
[Ruby] This is a wicked find,
isn't it?
It's really[bleep] deep.
At this point,
Mother Nature is definitely
fighting against us.
It's, uh, it's pretty damn
[bleep] cold in the mornings
and we really don't have
a whole lot of time left.
All of our machinery,
uh, you know,
working overtime,
trying to get, cuts open
and everything sluiced.
We want to go out
with a bang.
Yeah, let's get them in here
and let's get this pay
out of here.
[Eric speaking]
[laughing]
[Eric speaking]
[Ruby] Yeah. We better, uh,
get it to the plant quicker.
We only got so much time.
[narrator] Greenhorn Eric
is coming to the end
of his first season,
trucking dirt for the Beets.
[Eric speaking]
[horn honking]
[bleeping]
[bleep]
[Eric speaking]
[bleep]
[narrator] Tony Beets
is banking
on a newly-found glory hole
to hit his 5,000-ounce goal.
But his first
fully-loaded rock truck
can't make it up
the steep access ramp,
blocking the only way
in or out.
We've had a ton of rain,
it's really frozen.
You can see
that these back tires
on this rock truck here are...
are pretty worn-out.
They've, uh,
served a long season
and it just can't climb out.
[Mike] Yeah?
[bleep]
[narrator] Mike brings in
the 850-horsepower D11 Dozer.
The most powerful machine
on the hill.
[Tony speaking]
[Mike] Yeah.
Well, I'm gonna
drag that [bleep] truck
whether he likes it or not.
[upbeat sweeping music]
[sighs in relief]
[Brady] The gold mine
is [bleep] hard.
It's getting cold,
we're running out of ground.
Season's short, so you don't
have time
to sit around [bleep]
moping and groaning
about [bleep].
[narrator]
At California Creek,
brothers Brandon
and Brady Clayton
are fighting to pull their
family out of crippling debt.
Our parents, really,
they taught us
to never give up
no matter how hard
[bleep] can be.
They're always there for us
and we're trying to do
the same for them.
[narrator] Golden Acres,
virgin ground they've
banked the season on
has failed to deliver
the big gold they hoped for,
leaving them 61 ounces short
of their 200-ounce target.
The entire family's coming up.
Our goal is 200 ounces,
but we're not quite there.
I'm just worried what Dad's
gonna say about that.
[Janae] Well, there they are.
- Hello.
- [Caroline] Well, hello!
[narrator] Mom, Caroline,
dad, Glenn
and sister, Janae,
arrive from Alberta
for the final push.
Hi, Dad, thanks for coming.
Yeah. Hi.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi. Nice to see you.
- Mmm, missed ya.
- Missed you too.
Uh, we're ready
to go down the hill
- and show you what
we got goin' on.
- Okay.
So obviously,
you guys know the numbers.
The first two holes
of Golden Acres are...
have basically been dead
for us.
That's for sure.
We're pretty short on gold.
- [Brandon] Right.
- [Caroline] Mmm-hmm.
[Caroline]
It's not been the year that
we wanted or anticipated
and we're behind.
Makes it pretty tough
to keep going.
We have to try
and salvage this season
so we have a next season.
Boss, cleanup-wise,
what... what do we need
to convince you?
Honestly, I think we need
about a minimum of 25.
[Brady] Twenty-five ounces?
Twenty-five is
the biggest gold weight
that we've weighed up
all season.
We don't have
a whole whack of money
so we need it, kid.
We gotta figure
that out today.
We had some thought going
on the upper bench.
- It's stripped.
- [Brady] Yeah.
If we're gonna get that 25,
- that's probably where
we're gonna get it from.
- Right.
That's the place
we're picking?
- [Brandon] Yeah.
- [Brady] Yeah.
Obviously, we don't have gold
in the bottom.
We're hoping it's up
on the upper bench.
[Glenn] A lot rides on
the next few days here.
So let's fire this [bleep] up
and get out there.
[Brady] Yeah. Sounds good.
- [Glenn] Well,
let's get at her.
- [boys] Yeah.
[Brandon] If we don't
get our ultimatum,
and Mom and Dad don't think
we can help pay bills,
then that's basically
the end of our mining career,
so let's hope we can do it.
Let's get this first load
of upper bench pay
down to the plant, kiddo.
Copy.
[Glenn] We'll get down
into the bedrock
'cause we gotta make sure
we get a few feet of that
for sure.
The pay down here
at Golden Acres
on the bottom
wasn't really ideal,
It... It was...
It was all right.
But nothing at all
that we hoped for.
But we figure...
the water wasn't
violent enough in this area
to wash the gold down
from the benches,
to settle in the bottom.
So we're thinking,
the majority of the gold
will be higher up
in the benches.
So that's why
we're going to move up.
We won't know how good it is
till we put it
through the plant.
[narrator] The Claytons think
there's gold
in the upper bench,
a strip of higher ground
on the edge of Golden Acres,
just 200 feet
from their plant.
There goes the first load...
of the upper bench.
First load of many.
I really hope it pays off.
[narrator] In the loader,
operator Warren Binnie
feeds Blackjack with 90 yards
of upper-bench pay an hour.
[Warren] To not be able
to come back next year,
man, it would be, uh,
absolutely heartbreaking.
[Brandon] All hands
are on deck.
Right now,
it's basically clockwork,
it's working good.
[Glenn] As a family,
it's hard,
you know, it's everything
right now to pay bills.
There is no second chance.
No, what the [bleep]!
k*ll it!
[plant powers down]
[Brady] I see what's goin' on.
There's a rock stuck
in the bottom.
[Brandon] Holy [bleep].
[Brady] Yeah,
it's just perfectly
wedged in there.
She stopped the belt
in its tracks.
Broke off one
of the grizzly bars.
- Well, we know what
the problem is.
- Yeah.
[narrator] Jagged bedrock
has broken off
one of the protective
grizzly bars,
causing a rock to fall through
and jam in the feeder.
That's exactly why we
have grizzly bars on there
is to prevent this
from happening, right?
[Brady] I'm hoping it didn't
rip the belt.
[Glenn] There's a [bleep].
You know how much time
and money this means?
We can't be shutting down
all the time
just to, to, uh,
shovel this thing out.
[narrator] Every hour
of downtime,
the Claytons' chance of
hitting their 25-ounce minimum
slips further away.
[Brady] When in doubt,
hammer it out.
Is that a new saying now?
[bleep] yeah, buddy.
Right on.
All right, let's throw
that [bleep] out of here.
[Brady] We can
get the grizzly bar in.
Just got to cut
this old one off
and then put the new one in.
Ideally, I'd like
a new feeder.
I'll put that on my [bleep]
Christmas list.
It's in. We're back
to running pay,
that's what we're here to do.
Good as gold, we're back up
and running, simple.
Simple problems, simple fix.
Dad's asking for our biggest
cleanout we'll have
this season.
So, can we do it?
I'm a little nervous.
How are you looking
over there?
[Mitch] About everything I'm
working on here is froze up.
[narrator] At Indian River,
the Schnabel crew
is scrambling
to mine out 100 acres.
Right now, not only are
we trying to finish
the Runway Cut,
but the trucks
are coming in
at a fast pace
from the Panama Canal.
So a lot on Big Red's
shoulders here
to finish out this season.
Got a real good chance
of blowing the thing up too.
[Tyler] The winter hit
so hard and fast.
And it's just putting
such a pressure
on everyone to get
everything done in time.
With the license expiring,
and so much permitting issues
for ground right now,
I don't know
what the best option is.
But we're running out
of ground.
We've gotta know
where we're going next.
[narrator]
While the crew battle
to finish off the Runway Cut,
Tyler Mahoney is called in
for a word with the boss.
- [Parker] Tyler.
- Hello.
[Parker] No,
I'll come in there.
Cool, sounds good.
How are you?
- Good, how are you?
- Good.
In the Yukon right now,
there's a whole bunch
of permitting issues
that have the next few years
not looking too good,
so I'm planning...
another trip...
out into the wild world
of South America.
- South America?
- I was wondering
if you wanted to come.
Um, what are you thinking?
Um...
- Probably Peru. There's just--
- Oh, wow.
There's a huge mountain lining
going on down there.
- Is there?
- Yeah.
I still want you
to come along
because you're a huge asset
on... on those trips.
Stop smiling,
and I'm not gonna
[bleep] compliment you again.
[chuckles]
But, no, I really enjoyed
New Zealand and Australia.
- Yeah.
- Um...
I think we need
to get back into the...
danger zone.
Okay. Well, um...
All right. I'd love to come.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- Let's do it.
We're leaving in...
- A month.
- Oh, [bleep].
Yeah, so you don't have
a whole lot of time.
You have to get back
to Australia, and there...
There'll be some work visas
and stuff that you
have to get.
Yeah. I can start doing
some research
and start, like,
looking into the gold
and what's going on,
and getting my head
around it all.
All right,
have a safe trip home.
Yeah, I'll talk to you soon.
Thanks for everything
this summer.
[Parker] We're definitely
struggling to find ground.
Our future depends on it.
And... yeah.
Off to...
the jungle.
[narrator] With only a month
until the hunt for ground
in Peru begins,
Tyler heads back home
to prepare for the trip.
So I'm super pumped
but I have so much work to do.
And I also have a flight
to catch to get back home
so I've got to go.
[narrator] A rock-truck
driver down,
Parker's crew race
to mine out the Runway Cut.
And truck
the Panama Canal pay
almost two miles to Big Red.
Things are a little bit
more difficult.
Tyler had to head home,
so, you know, it just makes
that much more work
to do for everybody else.
[Robert] We got six trucks
bringing pay
from different places.
That's a lot of traffic
for around the feeder.
So everybody's gonna have
to put their A game.
Hey, whoa, whoa!
Whoever's in that rock truck,
man, you need
to slow her down there.
So who's the new kid?
Hey, man,
whoever's driving that truck
like a rental, why don't
you slow her down there
unless you wanna be
buying the parts to fix it.
Sorry, boss.
Although I do buy the parts
to fix it, that's me.
[laughing]
Hey, you drive that thing
however you like, man.
Didn't know you were trucking.
So I figured I should come
give you guys a hand.
Drive safe, my friend.
[narrator] Parker joins
the effort
to deliver pay
from the Runway Cut
to the pay pile at Big Red.
Since Tyler went home,
I just hopped in a truck
and am helping them
get the last
of this pay hauled out.
We're almost done, aren't we?
Looks like it to me.
[Tyson] Yeah,
we are pretty close.
Hopefully, it was worthwhile.
[Mitch] Hey, Parker,
that right there
is the last
of the Runway Cut.
Hopefully, the weather
in Big Red will hold up here
and we can get the last
of this dirt through
this wash plant.
Sweet. I'm getting
this one in the plant,
and, uh, see you in a bit.
Parker, doing a little
quality control out here,
just making sure we haven't
left nothing behind.
Oh, that water's cold.
I'm just panning
some of the bedrock
out of the runway here,
just to double-check
that we've got it all out.
There's nothing in this pan.
Everything looks good.
Covered a lot of area.
Found a lot of gold.
Not enough,
but it's never enough.
[narrator] To hit his goal,
Parker's crew
must now sluice all the pay
from the Runway Cut
and the pay pile
from the Panama Canal.
[Mitch] We're a long ways
from being done.
So much ground
that we're asking
this wash plant to...
to get through
without, uh,
breaking it in half.
Now this is cold, huh?
[bleep] freezing, bro.
[narrator] High in
the Yukon Mountains,
winter has hit hard.
[Stuart] Oh, I guarantee you
this thing is frozen solid.
[Fred] I hope not.
- Aw...
- Yeah, [bleep].
[grunts] How did it get
so cold so fast?
[Stuart] That's [bleep].
That is...
That's solid.
We're [bleep]. Yeah, this
mat's completely frozen here.
[Fred] This is
really bad, guys.
[narrator] Fred still
has stockpiled pay
and needs to sluice it all
to stand any chance
of covering his bills
and sending his crew home
with gold in their pockets.
- This flap--
- Yeah.
- You can't even
get this flap up?
- [Stuart] Uh-uh.
We need something
that will keep
this part of the sluice warm
because that will gradually
feed down to the rest.
What if we actually,
the exhaust
from the generator,
if we're able to pipe it in,
and kind of just put it
underneath or at least, like,
have it attached to.
So what do I gotta buy
a bunch of mufflers
and weld them together?
No, no. Uh,
we have the exhaust pipe
from when we tried to,
when we fixed the 250,
there is extra of that.
- [Fred] The flexible one?
- Yeah.
- I mean, we run
the generator anyways.
- [Stuart] Yeah.
At least we give it a shot.
It's better than going
home early.
- All right, guys.
Let's go do it.
- All right.
[narrator] Stuart's plan,
use spare exhaust pipe
to channel the generator's
under the frozen sluice run.
A little bit of heat, right?
- It makes a world
of difference.
- Yeah.
[narrator] Next, they create
a hotbox with a tarp
to try and trap the heat
and speed up the thaw.
All right. Cool.
Now we wait.
Yep. Hurry up
and wait, man.
You know, right now,
I'm sweating b*ll*ts.
At the end of the season,
the name of the game
is sluice as much
as we possibly can.
We really need
to get it up and running
as soon as possible.
It couldn't have happened
at a worse time than this.
[Buzz] Having to wait
for stuff and[bleep]
like that,
a guy gets frustrated.
I don't know
what we're gonna get.
You are setting yourself up
for heartbreaking disaster.
[narrator] An hour later...
[Fred] So right now,
it looks like it's defrosted.
- [Johnny] Yeah.
- But I think this
solution's gonna work.
- [Johnny] I do too.
- I think I'll have you guys
watch the sluice.
If you see ice
or anything coming out,
we'll stop it right away.
I'll go run the bypass,
you run the wash pant,
and let's just
get them feeding,
and see if it works.
All right.
You ready, Johnny?
Ready!
Yeah, hold on.
[machine starting]
- Firing it up!
- [Stuart] Turning it.
All right.
[Stuart] Good!
[Fred] We fixed the problem,
now we're back and running.
Time to finish strong.
[narrator]
Fred's operation
lives to mine another day.
We're all fighting for
our lives out here and, uh...
sure as hell a freaking
icy sluice box
is not gonna be the reason
why we're going home.
We're gonna fight
to the end now
with all the energy
that we've just
created for ourselves.
And, uh, there's gonna be
more gold in the sluice
because of it.
This is the final
freaking push.
[narrator]
On the other side
of the creek...
[Brandon] I'm definitely
worried about hitting
that ultimatum, but...
we just gotta pull it out.
We got make sure
the plant runs.
We gotta wash
a lot of yards.
[narrator]
The Claytons
are battling to hit
a 25-ounce goal
set by their dad.
[Glenn] We don't have
a bank account with
a million dollars in to...
to just keep
throwing at stuff.
We've gotta run it
as a business.
[narrator] The brothers'
mining future is on the line.
They need the virgin ground
on a river bench,
above Golden Acres
to deliver their biggest
gold weigh of the year.
[Glenn speaking]
Come to my bucket, Janae.
Line it up.
[Janae] Everything's
kinda on the line, like...
not being able to
come back here next year
would be
a huge disappointment.
It's gonna be tough.
But I know we can
do it, so...
we're just gonna
keep pushing.
I can't see anything
making him more proud than...
one, getting a good,
big a*s clean out
at the end of the season.
And two, beating Fred
and drinking that
[bleep] whiskey
with the parents.
And time's definitely
running out.
Come on, gold.
Bring it on.
Oh, [bleep].
What the [bleep].
Brady, Warren,
come the conveyor,
we got issues again.
Well, [bleep].
Well, what happened?
She just stopped on you?
[Dale speaking]
[Warren] All righty.
I'll be right there.
Holy [bleep].
Not what we need right now.
- Holy [bleep].
- [bleep], we got
a rip in the belt there.
It's plumb full of [bleep]
dirt by the tail pulley,
and it's tracked
way over that way.
Every time we take
two steps forward
we get [bleep]
knocked back ten steps.
As of right now,
we're shut down
until we figure out
how the [bleep] to fix this.
It's just a [bleep]
write-off at this point.
The belt looks pretty
[bleep] tracked, eh, Dale?
[Dale] Oh.
She's way over, man.
There's a rip there
full of dirt down there.
That belt is [bleep]
right off.
So, there must be
something else.
I'm thinking that bearing
probably broke.
[narrator] Inside
the hopper feeder,
the tail pulley's
steel cylinder
rotates the conveyor belt.
But it's broken free,
and shifted forward.
Causing the belt
to track sideways,
pay dirt to
build up behind it,
then ripped the belt.
To fix it, the Claytons must
dig out the buried feeder,
weld a nut to hold
the tail pulley in position,
and finally,
staple the belt back together.
[Brady] Not an easy fix.
Not a...
click-clack [bleep] hooray.
We're probably gonna
be done all day doing this.
Well, let's [bleep]
start shoveling, I guess.
It's pretty much full.
It'll probably take us
about five hours.
When it rains,
it [bleep] pours.
I can't [bleep] believe
this [bleep] conveyor.
Piece of [bleep],
causing us grief again.
It basically
stopped our operation.
We don't have
many days left.
[narrator]
While the rest of
the crew dig out the feeder,
Glenn and daughter Janae,
return to stockpiling
upper bench pay.
It's just stressful right now
trying to finish the...
finish this season.
I don't know...
how we're gonna
get it done.
Put your back into it!
[Glenn] We have to...
keep looking
and keep poking,
keep prodding,
that's the only option
we got right now.
[narrator]
After four hours shoveling,
Brady can access
the tail pulley to fix it.
[Brady] So, we
got this dug out.
We cleaned out
behind the tail pulley,
so we got it
to move back.
So, I'm just gonna
weld a piece in there
to hold that
tail pulley back,
and then, uh...
it should be good.
One step down,
one more step and we should
be back up and running.
Not the prettiest thing, but--
[Warren]
It doesn't need to win
a [bleep] beauty contest.
[Brady] No, no, no.
- As long as it works.
- [Brandon] How you guys
making out?
[Brady] It should
spin now and it should
slowly track itself
back over so it's...
right dead-center
on the conveyor, so...
We got all that fixed,
it's just a matter of
patching that hole now.
Where's the rip?
[Brady] I'm gonna start it up.
[belt rumbling]
[Warren] Okay.
I'd probably stop it there.
Yeah, that's good, Brady.
Well, we fixed a lot
of belts this year,
I'll tell you that, for free.
We'll just have to
make sure when we
get it up and running
that we're going hard.
[drill whirring]
- [Brandon] Are we good, guys?
- [Brady] Yeah, I think
we're pretty well ready.
[Brandon] You just
wanna try it then?
[Brady] Yeah. If you wanna
go start up the skid,
- we'll watch the bearing,
make sure it's all right.
- [Brandon] Okay.
I'll get at her.
Here goes the start up.
[engine starting]
We got it all fired up.
It seems to be
spinning pretty straight.
So we should be ready
to keep washing
rocks out again.
And we'll go from there.
[Brady] Yeah, the plant's
running good now.
We got the conveyor
straightened out,
the belt looks perfect,
we got it patched up.
Just gotta run
the last of the pay pile
that we have here.
[Brandon] You know,
try to finish the upper bench,
we'll wrap through
all that dirt and...
hopefully make our goal.
[narrator] Twenty-five
feet down,
in his new
favorite glory hole,
Tony Beets is
racing to stockpile
- and sluice it all.
- [horn honking]
[Tony speaking]
[Elizabeth]
Feeling good right now.
Nearing the end
of the season,
and just gotta get...
get this last bit in
and hopefully we'll
be at our goal.
So, Tony's sending
quite a lot of trucks
from the 80 Pup.
And so, I'm starting
to get a little swamped
up here with pay.
So, Tony has sent
Mikey over,
Mikey Beets, to help me...
keep it under control.
[Mike speaking on radio]
Okay. That sounds good.
Uh, it looks like
really good pay,
but it's also kinda of
a [bleep], um,
there's lots of rocks.
I've had to pull out
tons of massive rocks.
Holy [bleep]. Well,
I'm definitely glad
I found this rock 'cause
this is, like, the size
of rocks I'm getting today.
[trommel creaking]
Holy [bleep], Tony.
Can you get over here, please?
The trommel is [bleep].
The trommel is [bleep].
[Tony speaking]
[rocks crashing]
[Tony speaking]
[narrator]
Battling to hit a record
disaster has struck
the Beets' only moneymaker.
- There's one of them there.
- [Tony speaking]
Right there.
There's two down here
in the grease,
but I ain't touching those.
[narrator] All season,
Tony's relied on
chief mechanic,
son, Kevin,
to keep his iron fleet
and trommel running.
So, there's all
these wedges out.
That means it
must have been
doing this for a little bit.
[Tony speaking]
[trommel starting]
[narrator] The trommel
separates gold-rich dirt
from rocks, using
a 40-foot long barrel,
which is rotated by
two running rings,
held in place
by metal wedges.
Wear and tear from
years of hard sluicing,
has broken some of
the wedge's welds.
As they came loose,
the monster barrel dropped,
cracking one of
the crucial running rings.
Well, I don't think we
should run it like this.
[Kevin] Why don't
we have a look?
Maybe we can
make it work for a week.
We could have a look.
Might as well.
[Mike] Yup.
[narrator]
To access the damage,
Tony's crew must take
the trommel apart.
[machine cranking]
[narrator] First,
they lift the conveyor
out of the way.
[machinery crashing]
[Tony speaking]
[narrator] Next,
the giant, 40-ton barrel.
[Tony] Whoa!
[Tony speaking]
Now this is a lot of
effort to get everything
out of here and moved.
Hopefully, when it's
on the ground we can
have a better look.
Maybe see if that crack
is fixable, but...
Right now let's just focus
on getting that [bleep] out.
[narrator] The barrel
has not been moved
for over ten years.
[Tony speaking]
[Tony speaking]
[Kevin grunts]
Now it's on the ground,
we can have a better look.
- Make a plan.
- [Mike] Holy [bleep].
[Kevin] Yeah.
These two are about ready
to [bleep] fall out.
Like 80% of the wedges,
all the welds are cracked.
There's the one crack that's
all the way through
the [bleep] thing.
Tony's not gonna be
too happy.
She [bleep].
I don't know. A lot of
your wedges are pretty worn.
The crack on the ring's
all the way through,
at least the big one.
There's two more that are
started about a quarter way.
- [Tony speaking]
- [Kevin] And we definitely
can't run like this.
This part here's about ready
to [bleep] snap off,
and that'll [bleep],
not only the ring,
[bleep] locked tight.
Just tear everything
the [bleep] apart.
If you had four or five
welders to throw at it.
I don't think it
will get done.
We don't have near enough
[bleep] people who can weld,
or air arch to do all this
before end of season.
I don't think we have
enough people and time
to make it work in
the timeframe we have left.
[Kevin] That's
a next year project.
[narrator] After a season,
fixing every
machine on the hill,
Kevin has finally
met his match.
The Beets' season is over.
Well, yeah.
[Mitch] It has been
quite the season.
The goal that Parker set,
get through all
this ground, I thought,
"No way we're gonna
get even close."
[narrator]
The Schnabel crew
are on the brink
of the impossible,
mining out
40 more than ever before.
After finishing
the Runway Cut,
they're now
sluicing the last
of the Panama Canal
pay pile,
through their
only wash plant, Big Red.
[Mitch] Right now,
I've got Big Red running
faster than it ever has
to try and get
through this ground.
But you run the risk
of, uh, that thing imploding.
We get through tonight,
this is gonna be it.
Just wanna see, uh,
that last scoop
go through that wash plant.
[Chris] Well, we're
getting ready to do
a cleanup on Big Red.
Both the Runway
and Panama's
been really
producing real well.
So, hopefully, we'll
get a good cleanup.
We got this plant hustling.
- [Chris] We got
it pumping, huh?
- Yeah.
The more you start revving it,
the faster it goes, but...
the chance of it
blowing up gets a lot better.
You know, we still got a...
fair bit of dirt to
get through down here.
Well, if we don't
get it this year,
- we don't get it period.
- [Mitch] No.
You know,
the best thing is...
we're out here, because
if something goes wrong
you wanna catch it quick
and get this thing
fired back up.
- Yeah, for sure.
- [Chris] Yeah.
[Mitch] You wanna pull
an all-nighter with me here?
Do you wanna feed
the plant, I'll do tailings.
We'll just keep it
running tonight.
Yeah, Let's do her.
That sounds like
a plan, Mitch.
[Tyson]
It's the end of the season,
we're almost there,
and we just gotta get the last
bit of ground sluiced out
before we get frozen out.
[narrator]
For the final push,
Mitch and Tyson
will run Big Red
through the freezing night.
To protect the sluices,
Chris Doumitt
insulates them with tarps.
[Chris] Hopefully, with
a couple turbo torches
underneath here
it will keep it from
freezing up on us.
We've had a sluice box
freeze on us before
and it's not pretty.
[Tyson] So,
Mitch and I just started
our night shift here,
trying to keep
Big Red going.
You know, worked all day,
now we're
gonna work all night.
We're just on
the final lap here.
Just gotta get the last
of these rocks
through Big Red.
Hey, Mitch, you got
a copy? Mitch.
Yeah, go ahead.
[Tyson on radio] Looks like
you might have a bit of
a jam up in the feeder here.
[Mitch on radio]
I'm not surprised.
She's probably just
freezing up down there now
with how wet
that material got.
This is not what we
wanna be doing right now.
Let's try and get it
out of the bottom,
and hopefully,
it'll all come down.
I was hoping to
have this thing done here
before the sun comes up.
Well, this ain't
looking good.
- [Tyson] Oh, landslide.
- [Mitch] There we go.
There we go.
Yeah, let me bump the belt.
That material's
freezing to the back wall.
Thing's like a big icebox.
Dumping that wet stuff,
just sticks right to it.
We just gotta
turn this back on,
get it cleared out.
Oh, this is gonna be
a long night.
How you looking?
- That's her!
- [Mitch] Good. Perfect.
This is part of
sluicing in the cold!
- You ready?
- [Tyson] Yeah!
- [machine starting]
- Back at it.
With the way it's looking,
we're probably gonna be
out of pay dirt, uh...
well, hopefully,
before the sun comes up.
[Tyson] You know,
it's been a really
long season this year.
- To think where
we started off is...
- [Mitch] What the hell?
- [crashing]
- Tyson! Tyson!
Shut it off! Something
just went loose!
k*ll the feed!
k*ll the feed!
Something is
letting loose on
this wash plant!
- [plant whirring loudly]
- [water splashing]
- [Mitch] Tyson!
- Yo!
[narrator]
The Schnabel crew's
only working wash plant
is shut down,
threatening to k*ll off
any hope
of mining out
the ground.
[Mitch] A spring just
let go!
- [Tyson] Seriously?
- Grab the 480, but...
Right, kick those
heaters on.
- It's going to
be a minute.
- Okay.
[machine whirring]
[narrator] To separate
gold from larger
waste material,
the shaker deck
vibrates on
eight springs.
- [metal breaking]
- [narrator] One
has broken,
putting Big Red
at risk
of shaking
itself apart.
The fix?
Lift the shaker deck
with the 480 excavator,
replace the
broken spring.
Then, lower it
back into place
and fire up,
all before the plant
freezes solid.
[Mitch] You ready
for this?
Oh, yeah.
[Mitch] This is
looking [bleep].
Be careful, man.
[Mitch] All right,
here we go.
Tyson, you just
got to lift it!
- [Tyson] You ready?
- Once you
pick it up,
- I'll put
the spring in!
- Okay.
Tyson, pick this
thing up,
nice and easy.
If this thing freezes,
we're going to be
done, man.
We ain't going to
have enough time
to get
this thing
thawed out here.
Good, good.
A little bit more.
That's it.
Hold it right there.
Hold it right there.
I'll slip the spring in
if it's got enough room.
I'll get back
to Tiger Torching.
How we looking,
Mitch? You want
me up there?
[Mitch] No.
Watch yourself.
- I need you to lift it up
a little bit more.
- [Tyson] Okay.
Just a little
bit more.
[machine whirring]
[Mitch] Good,
good, good.
There we go.
All right, she's in.
- Lower her down.
- [Tyson] Okay.
[Mitch] Good!
Go ahead!
Whoo!
[Tyson] You know,
the sun's coming up,
so we have to
get Big Red
back up and running
and try and
finish this off.
It's been off
for quite a while here,
and it's been
damn cold.
[plant engine starting]
[Mitch] See the
little shake?
Hit it!
[machine vibrating]
Come on, baby.
Yeah, let's get
some belts going!
You know,
it's good to have
Big Red
up and going again.
And it's even better
the runs didn't
freeze up.
But we're just
going to try
and finish off
the last bit
of this cut.
We're almost
done, buddy.
We're almost done.
[Tyson on radio]
There she goes, Mitch.
The last scoop
of the Indian River.
Yeah, yeah!
Nice job, buddy.
- Nice job.
- I can't believe
we did it.
[laughs] Neither can I.
We're currently
watching the last
of the upper bench
and the dirt
of the season
going through Blackjack.
Once that feeder
runs out,
that's it.
[narrator]
At California Creek,
time's up
on the Clayton season.
[Brandon] Let's hope
for the best
because a lot rides
on this cleanout.
[Glenn] Well, that was
last bucket, is it?
[Brady] That's the end
of her, yeah.
[Warren] It's all
she wrote.
Whatsoever
in that tub box,
we're pretty
proud of you guys.
- [Brady] Thank you.
- With what you had
to work with
and the conditions
and the breakdowns.
You guys did
a good job.
[Brady] We had the
odds against us
for, probably,
most of the season.
But we fought
through it.
Kept ourselves running.
We kept
our heads up.
And I just hope
the gold in the box--
I understand
you guys really
want to come back.
At the end
of the day,
we need to
make money.
That's the most
important thing,
you know.
So, let's
pull that box,
see what we got,
- so we can
make a decision.
- [Glenn] Okay.
[Janae] I could smell
the money
from the boxes.
- [Brady] Oh, good.
- [Warren laughs]
[Glenn] Kick Fred's a*s
and grab the whiskey.
That would be
the win of the year.
[narrator] Across
California Creek,
Fred Lewis
is also down
to his last
scraps of pay.
This is our last bucket!
Pretty [bleep] close.
Maybe one more.
You know,
we're standing here
right now.
Actually, I...
I don't want it
to end.
We put a lot
of hard work
to get this running
so smooth.
It just feels...
feels a little depressing
to have to stop.
Final bucket.
Gold!
[Fred cheering]
The end, Chris, look!
- It's the end!
- Whoo-hoo!
Whoo-hoo!
Hey, bypass.
I'll go get
the water pump.
- [Stuart] Done!
- [Fred] Aw, man.
[Stuart] Time to cash in!
I, kind of, want
a moment here, like,
to think about
what we just did.
Think back
early in the season,
how much we've
had to fight to get
to this moment.
It's quite a bit.
And I could
just say,
iceberg comes
to mind.
[laughs] Massive amounts
of snow,
road bans, breakdowns.
Building a
wash plant.
[Fred] Building
a wash plant.
- Be proud.
- [Stuart] [bleep] yeah.
[Fred] All of you. Seriously.
- All right, guys.
- [Stuart] Let's do this.
One, two, three!
[all] Misfits!
[Fred] If we're
ever going to beat
the Claytons,
the gold's
in there right now.
[Buzz] Oi!
[Fred] Hey, hey, hey!
What's up, guys?
[narrator] After
six months
hard mining,
the Clayton crew
join Fred Lewis'
for their final
gold weigh.
This season,
Fred and Brandon
wagered a case
of whiskey
on who will
get the most gold.
They are
neck-and-neck,
with the Claytons
less than two
ounces ahead.
Good stuff.
All right. So, I think
what we do,
- we'll flip for
the first pour.
- [Brandon] Okay.
Whoever loses
the freaking toss
goes last.
- I'll call it
in the air.
- [Brandon] Okay.
Tails.
It's tails.
- [laughs]
- All right.
We go first.
All right,
we ready?
One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine,
Wow. It's going past...
[narrator] Bringing
Fred's final total
to 157 ounces,
worth $268,000.
[bleep]
[Brandon] Okay, ready?
- You want me to count?
- You can count, Brady.
[Brady] One,
two, three, four,
five, six,
seven, eight,
nine, ten.
- 16, 18...
- [bleep]
- 27...
- [Brandon] What?
- [Brady] Are you
kidding me?
- [bleep]
[Brady] 28.4...
[narrator] A season best
gold weigh
brings the Claytons
to 168 ounces,
worth $287,000,
hitting the 25-ounce
minimum
their dad set
to come back
next year
and beating Fred
by 11 ounces.
[bleep]
- We should drink
some whiskey.
- Yes, I agree.
[Brandon] You know,
I'll be all honest.
we had a
hell of a year.
A tough year,
our toughest one, yet.
[bleep] really
hasn't gone
- either of
our ways--
- [Brandon] I know.
...the whole season,
the whole season.
So, I mean,
it's a learning experience.
- Hell, yeah.
- And it was a close
[bleep] race, boys.
- [all] Yeah, it was.
- [Brady] Yeah,
it was close.
You guys pulled
it off on that last one.
You guys, eh?
You guys drove it home,
that's for sure.
I think, right now,
we're ready to
[bleep] go home.
- Yeah.
- [Fred] I think we
fought a hard season
and it's time
to pack up
and get out of here.
- Cheers, guys.
- [miners] Cheers!
Cheers to everybody's
hard work.
[exhales]
[man exhales]
[Brandon] Good job, Fred.
We got the 25 ounces
our parents wanted
to see,
and I think,
we've proved
to our parents
that it's worth
coming back.
We couldn't get
to Golden Acres
soon enough.
There's a lot of
ground down here.
There's going
to be lots of gold.
So, we're going
to come back
next season,
hit the floor running
and give it
our all.
[narrator] After another
disappointing gold weigh,
Fred's crew finish
of their
break-even goal.
That 200 was set
so that we could
come back next season.
And I've got
a lot of thinking
to do.
Just... I don't know
if I can pull it off.
I'm being
I have managed
to give you guys
the exact bonus
that you deserved
for the gold
that we're pulling in.
But, that makes
things pretty tight.
So, I'm just saying,
it's looking...
It's looking
pretty bleak.
My gold bonus,
you keep it.
That's my investment.
This is our future.
Let's keep it going.
Are you telling me
that you're going to
give back your bonus?
Yes.
I believe in us.
I believe in
our team.
I believe in you.
You had us
all this time.
I've got you, buddy.
Yeah, what kind
of best friend
would I be
if I didn't
give mine back?
I don't need
that [bleep] money.
You keep it.
[Stuart] Yeah. Especially,
you know,
the amount of [bleep]
that you've put forth, man.
I mean, you guys
have freaking
put everything
on the line.
You took really big
gamble on us.
The opportunity
to be out here
is worth way more
than the gold.
You know
you've got mine.
[Fred] I love you, brother.
You're the best, man.
[Christopher]
Thank you so much
for this opportunity.
- [Fred] Thanks.
- [Christopher]
Freaking amazing.
You have no idea
what that means
to me, guys.
You got mine,
too, man.
- Are you serious?
- Yeah, I'm [bleep] serious.
[bleep] because
I loved it up here.
I love you guys.
If we could beat
last season,
we pretty sure
we're going
to beat
this season
next season.
You're blowing
my mind right now.
I mean, I really
don't know what
to say, guys.
So, we couldn't
ask for anything more.
I mean, more gold.
[laughs] [bleep] guys.
We need
a group hug.
- [Stuart] Oh, yeah.
- I need a group hug.
- I love every
one of you.
- [Buzz] Yeah.
[Stuart] Ditto,
back at you.
- [Buzz] Oh, yes.
- [Stuart] Back at you.
We're going home
with no gold bonuses.
You know,
I definitely have
some explaining to do,
as far as, you know,
with my family
and my loved ones.
But it's worth
the gamble.
Especially since
Fred's put forth
so much.
That's what friends,
that's what brothers,
that's what we do.
[Fred] I mean,
that moment
was probably
one of the most
special moments
in my life.
I've really got
to go home
and think about everything.
Is California Creek
the best place
for us?
Probably not.
The gold isn't as good
as I want it to be.
How the hell
I'm going to
come up with
the money I need
to do this again?
And is it something
that my family
can even do?
And at this point
right now,
I don't have
an answer.
I just don't.
[Chris] Look at all
the ground
we've sluiced
in the last
ten years.
[Parker] You've cleaned
a lot of gold.
And these boys
have moved
a lot of dirt.
We washed a lot of rocks.
I can tell you that much.
Who would
have thought?
Like, this
has been our,
you know,
home base
and bread
and butter
for the whole time
we've been up here, decade.
It's weird to be
closing it out.
- But good job, guys.
- [Tyson] Thanks, man.
- Thank you.
- Job well done.
[Mitch] Thanks, man.
[Parker] All right.
Let's go weigh
the stuff up
and see where
we ended up.
- [Mitch] All right.
- [Chris] Sounds good.
[Chris] Feel like
the four musketeers
walking away.
[Tyson] Right?
[Mitch] I thought
there's only
three of them.
[Minnie Beets]
Hey, guys.
[Ruby laughs]
We're taking over
your gold weigh.
[narrator] After
six months
working alongside
the family,
Ruby and cousin Mike
join the Beets
for their final
gold weigh
of the season.
[Kevin] Why are
you guys here?
What's up?
- [Monica] So, Michael--
- [Mike] Yeah,
why are we here?
Michael, your
second year.
Ruby, your what...
seventh year?
- My sixth year.
- [Monica] Sixth year?
- Yeah.
- Forever year.
- How did it go?
- [Kevin] I can see
the greys.
- I... Hey.
- [laughs]
Um, I think
we had a relatively
good season.
[Monica] Did we do
good enough job
this year
to hire us back
next year? [laughs]
[all laughing]
You're stuck with
like, your new
favorite son, Michael.
- [Tony speaking]
- [Ruby laughs]
And your new
favorite daughter, Ruby.
[Tony speaking]
[Kevin] Bye.
[Tony speaking]
- [Monica] Yay!
- [Kevin] Whoo!
[Tony speaking]
[Mike] Yeah.
[narrator] Tony
gambled his final week
on a glory hole,
but the trommel died
before he could sluice
all its pay.
- All right, Kevin.
You ready?
- I'm not counting.
It's his turn
to count.
- No, we've all counted.
- This is how it works.
[Faith Teng]
So it's your turn.
- [Minnie] It's your
turn to count.
- Has Ruby counted yet?
[Minnie and Ruby] Yeah.
This isn't my
first gold weigh.
[Kevin] Ready?
- 100... [laughs]
- [narrator] Tony
needs 400 ounces
to hit a record
[Mike] 210, 220...
- 290, 300.
- [Monica laughs]
[Mike] 370,
- Slow down, Kevin.
- [Monica laughs]
Yeah [beep].
The guy can't
keep up with you, Kevin.
[Mike] 470, 480,
[Ruby] There is more!
[Mike] 680.
[narrator] Worth
$1.2 million.
[Kevin] Holy crap.
[narrator] The glory hole
delivered the best
gold of the season,
and brings their
final total
to 5,295 ounces,
smashing their
record gold target
and banking the Beets'
first $9 million season.
It's a lot of ounces
for a week.
Holy [bleep].
[chuckles] For a week?
Me too.
[Minnie] It is there.
No, no, no, no.
I don't like...
That's a piggy bank
for next year.
- [Monica] I can
take some.
- No.
[Kevin laughs]
[Minnie] Well,
I'm sure anybody
would--
[Faith] I can
spend some.
[Minnie] You know what,
I'm sure everybody
would take some.
But no.
[Ruby] But that nice,
big haul will help
with whatever repairs
are on the trommel
for next year.
[Kevin] Yep.
Sounds like a plan.
[Chris] Looking back
on these last
ten last years,
been involved
in recovering
over 50,000 ounces
of gold.
But I think
the greatest thrill
was watching
a boy grow up
to be a man.
And that was
quite an experience.
It was great.
[narrator] It's time
for Parker's final
gold weigh
of the season,
and the last ever from
his Indian River claim.
- What's up?
- Hey, Mitchell.
- T.
- How's it going,
Doumitt?
Good. How're you
doing, buddy?
[Tyson] Good.
Good to see you.
Good to see you,
too, man.
- [Parker] All right, Chris.
- [Chris] Yes, sir.
How'd things go?
[narrator] To beat
last year's
Yukon record-breaking
[i]Parker needs
his final week
of the season
to deliver 821 ounces
of gold.
[Chris] This is Panama.
And then Runway.
[Tyson] All righty,
here we go.
We got 20...
[narrator] First up,
the Runway Cut.
[Tyson] 100,
- We got 200, 220.
- [Parker] Go on.
- [Tyson] 260.
- Keep going.
- Come on.
- [Tyson] 360.
[narrator] Worth
over $660,000.
Almost 400 ounces.
That got us a lot
closer to where we
need to be.
[narrator] Next,
the final pay dirt
from the
Panama Canal,
which last week
delivered 572 ounces.
[Chris] You got to
remember, though,
we did not get
a full, four-day run.
It was a really
short run,
but for the hours
you guys ran--
Here we go.
[narrator] Worth
almost $410,000.
Probably the best
two days
- we've ever had
with one plant.
- [Mitch laughs] Yeah.
[Parker and Chris]
Ever.
So for the week,
we wound up with
What's our
season total?
[narrator] Almost
[i]of last year's
record haul.
But still,
nearly $14 million
in gold.
But I honestly believe
you guys got
all the gold
that was there.
We pretty well
aced everything
that we can control.
- Alaska, didn't go
very well.
- [Mitch] No?
[whispers] No.
[in normal voice]
[bleep] terrible.
Made me appreciate
you guys
- and this place
all that much more.
- [Chris] Right.
Big Red,
just on its own, ran
almost 2,400 hours.
[laughs] So much sluicing.
Everybody
did great,
and stepped up
and rose to
the challenge.
- Hell of a
season, guys.
- Awesome.
Go find us
some more
dirt, man.
I'm working
on it, yeah.
And no matter what,
there's going to be
a lot of uncertainty,
but, um,
we'll make it work.
I think we got
a bunch of people
waiting to
find out
how we did, Parker.
The first season here,
we probably did
a couple hundred thousand
square feet.
In this year,
we've mined
just about
four million
square feet.
It's a huge accomplishment,
you know.
And it took
everybody here.
I just really want
to thank you guys
for the effort
that you've put out.
I don't know what
the future holds
for us.
But, you know,
the one thing that
I'm dead set on is,
I love working
with you guys.
And I want to
keep that together.
And, so, I'm doing
everything I can to,
you know, keep
the ground ahead
of us
and keep
permits open
and keep the...
keep the music playing.
All right.
- Give me a cigar.
- [Chris] All righty, buddy.
- Thanks for everything.
- Thanks, guys.
- [man] Thank you.
- [woman] Yeah,
thank you.
[Parker] It definitely
makes me sad
that we're not
going to keep
mining this property.
I mean, like,
this is where
we started.
This is where
it all began.
But it means we have
time to go do
something else.
Go find
a new ground.
Make another fortune
or lose the one
we made.
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13x26 - Klondike cl*max
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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.