15x22 - Vegas Valley Verdict

[bunniefuu]

[sighing]

[Parker] Here we are
at the end of the season.

At this point, we're, like,

not even anywhere
near 1,000 oz,

so that's a little bit
disappointing.

And gold-wise
across the board, obviously,

we're way below
where we wanted to be.

[narrator] Thirty year old
Parker Schnabel

is struggling to end
the season on a high note.

After starting
with lofty aspirations

and a 10,000 oz target,

a series of bad calls
has banked him

just half that

and left him with just
one running wash plant.

[Parker] Big Red's doing
half an ounce an hour,

you know,
the last few cleanups
were kind of bad.

So... We're still
very short on gold

and very short on time.

[narrator] With only
a few weeks left

before winter shuts him down,

Parker is back where he was
at the start of the season,

flush with ground
but none of it thawed.

Or ready to sluice.

[Parker] I'm in the Elbow Cut.

This little corner where
we first started last year.

This pit is the most
logical one to take out next,

because it would be
the first one

that would need to
come out next year.

But right now,
it's an added cost.

You know, it's not ready
to be sluiced.

But we can make it ready
with a bit of ripping.

We normally don't rip gravel.

It's very hard on the 11s,
but we need gold coming in.

This was a very
avoidable situation.

I should have got this
ready months ago

so that it would have
been fine to sluice it.

So that was a major [bleep]
on my part.

[narrator] Adding to
Parker's problems,

his crew is already
stretched thin.

At the Bridge Cut,

they're sluicing red gravels
with Big Red.

A mile north,

alongside
the mined out Long Cut,

ten of his crew
are also opening up

a new cut for next season.

One thousand feet to the south

on the corner of last season's
mega rich money pit,

Parker is stripping

a three-acre area
called the Elbow Cut.

This is where he
wants to sluice next.

But he still has to remove
two feet of overburden.

Then, rip the frozen
pay layer in just days.

To move the dirt quickly,

Parker's breaking out
another massive D11 dozer.

Yeah. They've come up
with this [bleep] stupid plan

with the most expensive
thing they can find.

Money-burning D-11.

Briefcases of money burning.

It's got a new Ripper,

a new undercarriage,
new edges.

It's ready to go wreck itself
in the [bleep] piggy bank.

[narrator] Foreman
Mitch Blaschke

hops in the second D-11

to join Parker
moving the overburden.

[Mitch] Right now,
Parker and I

are in the Elbow Cut,

and when you think about it,
It's very expensive.

You're running a multi-million
dollar dozer

that consumes
a lot of fuel.

But it's the only way
we're gonna get this gold

out of the ground
this season.

Right now,
with gold prices being high,

Parker said,
"Let's get some more of it."

So, he's throwing everything
we can at it here.

[narrator] To haul out the mud
as fast as possible.

Parker has also called
in his 750 excavator
and biggest rock trucks,

We got to keep our load counts
high for the day.

I just gotta send it through
these mud ruts like
they're not even here.

Just keep moving.

Personally, for me,

I love going
as fast as you can.

Driving these things
is like...

I feel like a giant kid
in the sandbox,

just driving
my big rock truck.

It's a lot of fun to go fast.

[narrator] Greenhorn operator
James Kurtz

runs one of the trucks.

[truck whirring]

[James] Holy [bleep].

I might be stuck.

Oh, [bleep].

Yeah, this thing is stuck.

[bleep].

I'm a bit stuck here.

You might need to
come up and pull me out.

[James over radio]
I kind of buried
in the mud a little bit.

Why am I not surprised?

[Mitch] You know,
when the edge gets soft there,

it's a long ways down
for these trucks.

So you don't want the truck
tumbling off

the back side of it here.

And we're gonna have
a little look here.

Oh, yeah, he's stuck.

Hey, you can't park there!

[narrator]
To rescue the truck,

Mitch pulls rookie excavator
operator Jack Frischkorn
out of the cut,

to travel 600ft
to the waste pile.

[Jack] James, man,
what'd you do?

[both chuckling]

[James] Yeah,
she's a bit soft.

[Mitch] So, right now,

we've got Jack
up here with the 750,

and this is his first time
pulling something out
like this.

But no better time
to learn than the present.

All right, Jack,
bring her in.

Let's see if you can't reach
in the box there

and get this thing
tugged out.

You just gotta watch

that you don't slide
the bucket out

and end up coming down
and clipping the cab.

So, just try and get him
some pull there

and just try
and inch it back.

And let's see
what happens here.

[engine whirring]

[Jack] Pulling on
the driver's side
there didn't work.

[Mitch] Hey, man,
you might want to get
around the other side there.

Yeah, you'll have
a better angle there.

A little bit more.

Try and give a little
throttle there.

Yep. Work with him,
work with him.

Keep going.

You got it. Nice job, guys.

Whoo!

[bleep] out, baby.

[James] Right on.
We got her out safe
and sound.

That's how it's done.

Dude, we got her.

[Jack] Yeah, we'll keep her
off the edge.

-[all laughing]
-[Mitch] All right. Thanks.

[Jack] It definitely
has been a while

since I got a truck stuck.

So I'm just glad the boys
are here to pull me out.

When you're stuck
on the side of a mud dump

looking down
the side of the hill,

it's never fun.

[Mitch] You know,
we got that truck
back up and rolling.

It definitely cost us
a little bit of time,

but we're back
moving dirt now

and, hopefully,
it doesn't happen again.

[narrator] The truck rescued,

Mitch rejoins Parker
in the cut

to get the last
of the mud out

before ripping
the frozen pay

so that they can sluice
by the end of the week.

It's definitely expensive.

It's difficult.

But Parker said,

"Man, we've got to get more
gold in this season."

So that's left us
with no other option

than getting in there
with the dozer

and ripping that ground.

We're just hoping
there's enough gold in here

to make all this worthwhile.

Hey, Parker, you got a copy?

What do you think, man?
How's your side looking?

Yeah, we've got
all the mud out.

[Parker over radio]
It's crazy how good
progress we're making.

[Mitch] I can't believe
we got it done.

That's just pay dirt.

[Parker] Now we've got to get
this bunch of pay ripped out.

Get Roxanne down here.

And keep some
decent gold coming in.

We've got to get
this [bleep] done.

[Kyle] We're running dirt.

This is the end push!

Let's go, go, go!

If Rick's right about
this Vegas Valley,

we're all excited to see
what kind of gold
we got in the sluice runs.

[narrator] Rick Ness
is on a make-or-break
treasure hunt.

After hitting it big

earlier this season
at Rally Valley,

He struggled to find
another hot spot

before deciding to
gamble on Vegas Valley.

Now, after burning six weeks
and one million dollars,

he's finally sluicing
the 160-foot deep cut

and is just days away

from finding out
if his big gamble

will deliver a bonanza

or a bust.

To put it lightly,

it's got to be [bleep]
good ground to make it work.

To make this gamble worth it.

So, you know,
that's why we're in
the business we are.

This is a volatile business.

[narrator] With Rick's
water license about to expire,

it could be his
last ever season

mining at Duncan Creek.

And with winter
on the horizon,

tensions are running high.

[Rick] Everybody's nervous
about it because

we don't necessarily
have all the time
in the world.

But I'm betting
on it paying off.

The bottom line is,
you got to put gold
in these guy's pockets.

I mean, at the end of the day,
that's what they're here for.

They got bills to pay.

[Chris] Bailey,
quit [bleep] off.

Did you know
if you can't turn right,

a lot of times,
you can turn left?

I don't tell everyone
what I'm doing.

[Chris] How about I just
dump it down here

and we'll be just fine?

There's a solution
for every problem.

[shouting] There's always
a solution.

We'll get through this day,
I promise.

You know, everybody
lives together
and long hours and all that.

[bleep] you know,
it can be toxic for a crew,

and when that happens,
you kind of lose control.

My buddy Zee
is on his way in right now.

Actually,
I'm shorthanded as usual.

It's always good
when he comes here,
makes everybody laugh.

And at the end of
the season like this,

we can all use a little bit
of that, that's for sure.

[narrator]
To help the final push,

Rick has called in
best buddy
"Zee" Zaremba.

Look at the smile on his face.

Danny!

-What's up, buddy?
-What's up?

What's going on?

-Good to see you, buddy.
-Good to see you.

[Rick] You're coming
into something,

it's gonna look a hell of
a lot different than
it did this spring.

So we're done
with the Rally Valley?

Yeah, we've dubbed
this new spot in Vegas Valley

because it's kind
of the same.

-Okay.
-It's just as deep.

[Zee] How much stripping?

It was all at 200 ft again.
Yeah.

So we haven't seen any gold
in a couple months here.

And everyone's
probably happy about that.

Yeah, yeah, very happy.

Everybody's finding a way
to get on everybody
else's last nerve.

It's just it's such a mess.

Great, just great.

How's Chelsea doing?
I mean, I know that that

can't be fun at all
for either of you guys...

What is... Like anything.

-I mean, we have good days
and bad days, so...
-Yeah.

[narrator] Earlier
in the season...

How's things, man?
How's things back home?

[narrator] Zee's wife Chelsea
received devastating news.

She ended up getting
diagnosed with two forms
of cancer actually.

Shut the [bleep] up.

-Chelsea?
-Yeah, 33.

So... [clears throat]

-Yeah.
-[bleep] man, I'm sorry.

She was the one that pushed
for me to come up.

Well, God bless her
for letting you
take-off like this.

-I mean, that's...
-You know how much
she cares about you, too.

I do. Yeah.

That's incredibly
generous of her,
to let you come up here.

-Yeah.
-Like, I really appreciate it.

It's not lost on me,
that's for sure.

No, whatever you need.

Like I said before,
whenever you need help,
I'm here.

[Rick] Let's go see the guys.

[Zee] Let's go see 'em.

[narrator] Rick puts Zee
straight to work

trucking pay out
of Vegas Valley

to Monster Red's pay pile.

[Zee] I know kind of how

all these guys
are feeling right now.

I mean, hopefully,
me coming up here

will spark
a little bit of life

and give 'em
a good boost in morale.

It's good to tackle
another huge project
and get all that payout.

Hold on a sec here.

-[wheels grating]
-She's spinning.

-[Zee] Hey, Bailey.
-Oh, I see, I'm coming.

[Rick] You see
that truck's stuck.

It ain't going nowhere.

[Bailey] It is funny,
you know,
when Zee shows up,

someone always
tosses him in the truck

that's not working properly.

[bleep]

[Zee] Thanks, Bailey.

[Bailey laughing]

[swears and laughs]

[bleep] you, Bailey.
Bailey is just [bleep]
laughing at me.

[Rick] There's all that
bickering
I was missing.

I'm glad we're all
on the same page.

[Zee] Me too.
Hopefully, we can all
move forward from this

and work together good.

[Rick] As of right now,
the monster rip
is a two machine job,

so I'm just taking care
of the tailing.

Kyle's feeding it.

Oh, [bleep].

The feeder's smoking!
Hey! The feeder's smoking.

[bleep] Not good.
Not good. Not good.

Shut it down.

[bleep]

Oh, [bleep].

Oh, [bleep].

[bleep] That does
not look good.

[narrator] At Duncan Creek,

Monster Red's feed conveyor
has gone up in smoke.

[Rick] [bleep] was that?

If that [bleep] belt smoked,
I don't have another one.

We got no way
of feeding this plant.

[Rick] Do you see anything?

There's one nick right here.

Well, something stopped it
from turning.

Usually, when that happens,
it's 'cause it's trying to
rip itself apart.

If this belt's torn
and we can't [bleep] fix it,
then that's it.

I mean, we don't have
another feeder
to feed this plant.

If we're waiting on a belt,
we might as well pack it up.

These things go 30-40 grand,
so I can't afford
to have a spare.

Everything on the site.

We're [bleep],
we're so [bleep].

I found a rock!

That is a big [bleep] rock
in here.

It's stuck.

I'm assuming that had
come through this side

and actually rolled down
into this cog pulley
right here,

so it's not allowing
this pulley
to spin anymore.

But up front,
we have a motor up there
that spins the drive.

That up there was spinning,
back here was not spinning.

-Hey, Rick.
-Yeah?

It's wedged in
pretty [bleep] good.

-Is it?
-Yeah.

There's no tears
or nothing that,
you can see...

No, everything
down here is solid.

It looks like
it just got in there.

[Rick] Holy [bleep].

Well, then,
if that's the case,

let's just let
some tension off

and try to pry that
[bleep] out of there.

All right, Kyle,
can you reach the tension?

[Kyle] Yep, you're good.

All right. Tensions off.

[bleep].

Oh, wow...

Holy [bleep]. That's big.
[laughing]

There she is.

-Nice.
-Did you get it?

You got it out.

[bleep] grooved her.

We got lucky there.

Yeah, we live to fight
another day

s what I'm hearing.

What... [bleep].

Rick probably having
a heart attack.

Yeah, well, we got
really lucky on that one.

You know, I don't
have a spare belt.

If it would've been damaged,
we'd have no feeder
to run this plant,

and pretty much could've just
packed it up for the season.

But imagine...
Ease the tension off it.

Pull it out, re-tension it.

Put this little guy back
in the wild where she belongs.

That could have cost us
the a major [bleep] up
this season.

Fire it up.

[narrator] With
Monster Red running,

Rick is back on track
for his first Vegas Valley
Gold Way.

[Rick] Let's go!

[dramatic music playing]

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] After a mid-season
lull in gold production,

Klondike legend Tony Beets
is gaining momentum.

And in striking distance
of his final 5,000 oz
season goal.

To hit it,
he's running two wash plants.

The trommel at Paradise Hill
and his prized dredge,
on the Indian River.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Tony fired up
the ancient dredge last week

to cash in on
the record-high gold price.

But it's already raced
through its one-acre cut

and will soon run out of pay.

[narrator] For over
two months,

Tony's two other
Indian River wash plants
have sat idle,

waiting for
frozen ground to melt.

Now, with just
a few weeks left,

he finally has thawed pay dirt

close to his 30-year-old
Shaker deck

and wants rising star
Cousin Mike to run it.

Hi.

It is old,

so that requires a lot
more maintenance
and a lot more fixing.

So, Sluice-a-lot.

It's pretty reliable.

It's easy to move.

Well, we'll have a look
in the back and we'll have
to move the plant.

Yes, for sure.

All right.

[narrator] Eight weeks ago,

Tony started to open up
a three-acre extension
to the comeback cut,

exposing the frozen
pay dirt to melt.

The now thawed pay gravels,

are just 500ft away
from his old Shaker Deck
wash plant,

But Cousin Mike wants
to use the newer,
more reliable Sluice-a-lot

located over a mile away

at the still
frozen Corner cut.

To get sluicing,
Mike must drag
the 45-ton wash plant

past the camp,
around a broken bridge

all the way through
the mined out
cut to a new pad

and fire it up
by the end of the day,

[Ruby] Get out of here.
You're not the boss.

Just 'cause your
last name is Beets.

-[bleep].
-What?

-You want to fight?
-Yeah.

Let's go, run you over
with your own dozer.

[narrator] To help
with the move,

Cousin Mike's brought
in partner Ruby Mahoney,

Watch your fingers.

[Ruby] You're not gonna
shorten the cables?

Are you not concerned?

-Nope.
-Nope.

-Okay.
-Yeah.

[Mike] This is a brand new
D-10 that Tony just bought.

We haven't used it much.

It's a very nice machine.

All right.

First plan.
Move it with this dozer.

Let's see what it does.

[machinery straining]

And we already are struggling,
getting uphill

and barely moving
through these spinning tracks.

For [bleep] sakes.

[Ruby] The longer the cable,
the less control.

I was surprised he didn't
want to shorten it,
but he's stubborn.

[straining]

You're just digging
yourself a hole.

Yeah, I know.

[Ruby] Why don't
we shorten the cable?

Ruby came up with a good idea.

We'll shorten this cable.
Give it another shot.

Hopefully, I will
have more traction that way.

[Ruby] Perfect.
Give it a pull.

[Mike over radio]
Okay. There she goes.

[Ruby] We'll see if she goes.

[metallic creaking]

Perfect. Well, let's get
this thing moving
before it starts snowing.

[narrator] Next up,
Mike must maneuver
past the broken bridge.

It's narrow
and a deep drop
on each side.

Just keep on walking.

[Mike] You've got to stay away
from the edges.

You never know how strong
these edges are.

[Mike over radio]
How does it look, Ruby?

Yeah, you're good.

[Mike] I'm getting
very close here
to our final spot.

It could have soft material
underneath the path.

Oh, [bleep].

The ground below me
is very soft.

Coming to a hole there.

[narrator] Mike wants to
pull the plant
to the edge of the pad

to allow enough room
for tailings to fall safely.

We just need big rocks here.

Where is the 260 loader?

We've got to bring in
a couple of buckets of rocks.

[narrator] The pad reinforced.

Mike drives the 63-ton dozer
right on the edge

to pull the plant
into its final position.

[Mike] It won't take much
for this thing
to flip off the edge.

Well, then it will be [bleep].

Let's see how far
I can go here.

[man] Your right side's
getting pretty far
off that edge.

[Mike] Yeah, I'm getting
pretty close to the edge.

But we don't want to risk
sliding into the cut.

[Ruby] Well,
he's just too close.

[metallic creaking]

[Tony speaking]

Okay.

[Tony speaking]

[machinery whirring]

[Tony speaking]

What do you think, Ruby?

That went really well.

Well, I have my wife here,

so she always
brings me good advice.

-Yes, I do.
-Right?

Is that what
you wanted to hear?

That is what I wanted to hear.

[machinery starting up]

[Parker] Ripping pay like
we're doing in the Elbow Cut

is not an ideal situation.

It's expensive.

[narrator] In a frantic move
to save his season

and bank more gold,

Parker has blown
$250,000, opening up
the new Elbow Cut,

We need to get
the rest of this rip out
and sluiced and get the gold.

[narrator] While Parker
finishes up in the cut,

the rock trucks start hauling
the ripped pay to be sluiced
through wash plant Roxanne,

[man] We're gonna try
and get this wash plant
moved as fast as possible.

Parker's down there
in the Elbow Cut right now.

The trucks are hauling
the pay out of there.

He wants to keep
that going on all day.

So we're gonna
have traffic on the road.

We're just gonna have
to watch out with those guys.

Hopefully, we can
get this done today
and get it back running.

Shall we get this plant moved
and get after it?

If Parker's down there,

he's not gonna be
too impressed
with us sitting here.

All right, let's get after it.

-It's good.
-Let's go, guys.

[narrator] Roxanne is
currently located at the far
end of the Long Cut.

Mitch and his crew
must convoy the custom-built
million-dollar plant

and all its parts
a mile down
a narrow ridge road.

Safely avoiding rock trucks
hauling pay to its new pad,


from the Elbow Cut.

[Tyson] We're just doing
a quick and dirty move
to get this thing down.

Get that Elbow Cut,
[bleep] sluiced,
and then we're all going home.

Hopefully. rich.

[man] We got the shaker deck,
sluice runs, pump,
pipeline, conveyors.

We can get it all down there.

All right, Let's move
the wash plant.

Right now. I'm hauling
the radio stacker

over to Roxanne's new pad,
and this road is tight.

We have haul trucks on it,
but we have no time to waste.

Holy [bleep].

That was close.

These truckers are nuts, man.

We had a close call
with the rock truck.

These guys pulled out
with the wash plant on,
might be a different story.

[narrator] Tyson must now drag
the 40-ton wash plant
up the 30-foot path.

[Tyson] The big concern
is that narrow spot.

You've got to really
focus on how you
set yourself up here.

This is a steep
and narrow ramp.

We're dragging rocks in
and up the 480 here.

I don't know how much
it's going to like
pulling it up this slope.

If this thing
gets off to an edge,

it's going to
topple right over.

Come on, keep it going!

[Tyson] It doesn't want
to pull it, if it's just
climbing up on an angle.

Whoa, whoa,

Well, you can see
when Tyson's got the angle
all wrong there on the bucket,

It will never work like that.

[Tyson over radio]
Mitch, I know how
to pull a wash plant.

So get your panties
out of your butt.

[Mitch] Yeah.
It's called work smarter,
not harder, right?

[Parker over radio]
You guys doing
all right over there?

Oh, yeah, one day at a time.

Keep it going!

Here we go.
She's back to the top.

We're getting close
to the sluice runs.

[Tyson] How are we looking?

[Mitch] Keep it going.

This is the tricky bit.

The wash plant's got to
come in with a couple of
engines and the sluice runs.

Are you maxed out
on your pull there?

[Tyson] No,
I can pull a little more.

Man, that's sketchy.

-I don't like this angle.
-Yeah, just a little bit
further, man.

Hang on a second. Whoa!

[Mitch] You're still
good here.
You're still good.

Hold it there. Hold it there.

I think that's done it.

[Tyson] Well, good.

Shall we get her
disconnected and get me
the hell out of here?

[Mitch] Yeah, let's do that.

[bleep] That's close. Tyson.

Yeah, right, anymore,
and I think she'd flip.

[Mitch] Hang on, Tyson.
Keep your machine steady.

We're working on it.

Clear.

[Tyson] Okay, I'm gonna try
walking her down.

[Mitch] Okay,
keep her careful.

Now, we just
got to get Tyson
off the hill here.

Well, here we go.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[bleep]

That was a little
close for comfort.

Holy [bleep],
got Roxanne up there,

managed to get the excavator
back down in one piece.

But that definitely
was one of the
scariest experiences

I've had in an excavator.

So, don't want to do that
again anytime soon.

She's here.
It's up on the pad.

That's, I think,
probably the narrowest one
we've ever had,

that thing
trying to drag it up...

Yeah, nice work.

...that steep ramp
with that 480
was on its tiptoes.

You know, I'm just gonna
go to camp
and change my pants.

[all laughing]

Everybody's done
an awesome job.

We're gonna get this thing
fired back up and going.

-[man] All right.
-Sounds good.

-Nice job.
-Nice work.

-Hey!
-All righty.

[man] What do you think, Alec?

You ready to
fire this thing up?

[Alec] Yep. All good to go.

All right.
Let's get her shaking.

We got some dirt slung up
this thing.

[Alec] Sounds good.

Here we go.

[machinery starting up]

All right.
It's the first bucket
of pay dirt

from the Elbow Cut
going into Roxanne.

Here we go.
It's the first bucket
going through Roxanne.

She's not done
for the season yet.

It's the end of the season.

We're pulling prey
from Vegas Valley.

Hopefully, it's good
and the weather holds out.

Yeah, no, everyone's
definitely pumped
to have Zee back.

Zee's getting up
doing breakfast
in the morning.

Knows what needs to get done,

jump in and
help out where needed.

So it's going really good.

He's up here helping me out,

making sure that
the season ends
on a strong note.

[narrator] With Zee back,

Rick's crew
are at full strength.

But with just a few weeks
left in the season,

the clock is ticking
on Rick's crew,

chasing down
two million dollars
in gold.

[Rick] I just didn't realize
how much stress
I was carrying,

knowing that we weren't
getting any gold.

But we're up
and running right now.

We've got a shot at it
and it feels
really [bleep] good.

Holy [bleep].

Ryan, Ryan, Ryan,
hit the bypass.

[Rick swearing]

It's the water line, let go.

[groans]

[machinery powers down]

[bleep]. Hose blew off.

It just slid right off.

Well, at least
it's nothing major.

No.

[Rick] So I'm heading up top.

Ryan's gonna feed
that water line up to me,

and I'm just gonna
tighten the new clamp.

It should be easy.

Attach this water line.

Holy [bleep].

Holy [bleep].
Dude, we got problems.

Holy [bleep].

Holy [bleep].
Dude, we got problems.

We've got more than
a water line going on here.

We got [bleep] screen damage,
big time.

So that's the problem
right there.

We've got some
significant damage.

[narrator] At Duncan Creek,

in its first week
running Vegas Valley pay,

Monster Red
is once again shut down.

And it is [bleep] up
our universe, man.

That's a big [bleep] hole.

Looks like you've got one,
two, three, four, five,

you got at least six
of them down below

that are right in line
with this rock right here.

[Rick swearing]

[Ryan grunting]

-That's a big [bleep].
-Yeah.

[Rick] That's way too big
for these screens to handle.

A rock like that will
[bleep] destroy everything
in this plant quick.

The only rock that's supposed
to be going into this
lower screen deck

is rock that's big enough
to fit through here.

That's our first section,
the second section
of screen deck,

the rock that's supposed
to be coming through these

is only supposed
to be that big.

So that big rock right there
is going through,

and it's puncturing
the smaller screen decks.

And what that's doing
is causing bigger material

to build up in our
distribution box.

[narrator] Paydirt is fed into
Monster Red's hopper

and filters through
a top screen

and then a second deck below.

Before the gold-rich
slurry travels through
the sluice box.

Where the precious metal
is caught.

A large rock has smashed
through the top deck,

allowing more rocks
to fall through,

damaging the second
screen deck.

Ryan needs to replace

all of Monster Red's
broken screen deck panels

before any more
damage is done,

it should be a quick fix.

Given the wash plant's
unique plastic,

easy-to-insert replacements.

You know, this is gonna
put us down
a couple of hours.

It's unfortunate,
but we've got to
get it fixed now.

If we keep doing damage,
we're just wasting
gold and wasting time.

I mean, this is a bigger job
than we thought here,

so I'm thankful the hose blew.

We just caught a really
big [bleep] up here.

Yeah, and that would have
gotten worse quick.

When you think about it

would have been
several more hours
till the end of the day.

Yep, That's several hours
for that [bleep] middle deck
to get destroyed.

[Ryan] A little newer.

Now we're going
to fire back up.

I'll jump up there.
If you want to fire it up,

we'll make sure
all those screen decks

that we put in
aren't gonna bounce out.

Okay.

Holy [bleep]. That's slick.

All right,
go ahead and let 'er rip.

[engine starts]

You look good.

-Good.
-I say we're all right.

-All right. Cool.
-[bleep] run it.

-[Ryan cheers]
-[Rick whoops]

That's [bleep], boys.
That's what we're here for.

[narrator] Monster Red
back washing rocks.

Rick is a step closer
to seeing his first
Vegas Valley gold

and finding out
if his million-dollar gamble
will pay off.

We'll only have
a few weeks to sluice,

but, hopefully, that's all
we need to hit our goal.

[Michael] We're gonna try
to keep [bleep] sluicing
for as long as possible.

We're in it to sluice
to make the gold.

[narrator] The Beets family
are in full swing.

With son Mike running
the trommel at Paradise Hill.

[Michael] This is what
we got to do.

Keep on balling.

[narrator] And at
Indian River,

Cousin Mike finally has
Sluice-a-lot on the gold.

So it's very nice
to have Sluice-a-lot,

and we've got to keep
that thing going.

We will give it our 100%
to keep sluicing

and to keep finding
some more gold until the end.

[narrator] Tony's other
Indian River moneymaker

is his prized dredge

that has nearly finished
it's one-acre cut.

[Greg] We gotta
swing a little.

It's moving by itself.

Hey, Cooper, are we close?

That way.

How do we line it up?

I don't know if we're there.

[narrator] Dredge master
Greg Mason,

has been on a mission
to help smash the Beets'



[Greg] That's
the ultimate goal.

Getting the gold
out of the ground

and putting it into
Minnie's ATM.

We can't keep going.

We've just run out of ground.

So the dredge
is gonna shut down.

Time to put her to bed.

Pack her for the winter.

Yep. I lift my bucket line
as high as I can.

Use my back winches
to pull me forward

as close to ground as I can.

That's putting it to bed,
we call it.

It's been good running
this old vintage machine.

There's none other like it.

[Tony speaking]

[Greg] Who is it?

Well, you didn't give me
no more ground,
so that's it.

-[Tony speaking]
-Yep.

It did, I think.

[narrator] The dredge
has completed its mission,

finishing the one-acre cut
ahead of schedule.

I'm curious to see
the gold totals.
See what...

[Tony speaking]

I'm hoping we ran into
a couple of pillows,

you know, a little richer
and would be nice.

Okay.

[Tony speaking]

[Rick] How can we take this
bad beauty?

Oh, hey!
Got any grease to get me
in this thing or what?

[Rick laughing]

[narrator] At Duncan Creek,

Zee is eager to get a ride
in Rick's new beater.

[Zee] This thing is
[bleep] sweet.

How far do you think we can
jump this off the pay pile?

[Rick] Oh, [bleep].

-[engine accelerating]
-[both laughing]

[both laughing]

Like you always say,
might go half assed.

[Rick] Full a*s, baby.

-[groans]
-[Zee] Did you just shatter
the window?

[both chuckle]

Come on.

What up, guys?

[Minnie] How are you?

[Tony speaking]

We had a pretty good week.
We sluiced all week.

Well, it's really nice to see.

[Ruby] It looks beautiful.

Michael, let's start
with yours.

[narrator] To hit their


the Beets need their
three wash plants
to deliver 637 oz.

First up, Mike's
trommel from the Hill.

[Ruby] Okay, you ready? Go.

[Michael] Ten, 20, 30,







[Tony speaking]

[Ruby] That's a pretty good
amount of gold, Mike.

[Minne] It is.

So what happens
with Sluice-a-lot?

[narrator] Second to weigh in,

the gold from the extension
of Tony's comeback cut.

[Ruby] Ready, set, go.

Sixty, 70, 100, 110...

A hundred and twenty.



[Tony speaking]

[narrator] Finally,
the last gold from the dredge.

[Ruby] Ready? Steady. Go

[Minnie] Ten, 20, 30, 40,



[Ruby] So that's not bad.

-[Minnie] Fifty-eight ounces.
-[Ruby] Greg must be happy.

[Tony speaking]

Puts us just over 4800.

[narrator] Worth
$12.6 million,

just 200 oz short
of their season goal.

-Incoming!
-Hey.

Hey, buddy.

You got some new scenery now?

Yeah. Getting Roxanne
up on the flat pad there

was definitely...
We didn't have
a lot of real estate.

[Tyson] It was quick, fast,
in a hurry.

Yeah. Nice job
getting that up there.

-Thanks, man.
-That was a tight one.

Yeah, definitely.

Hopefully, there's some
gold in that stuff.

[narrator] Parker is
gunning for 8,000oz
this year.

To hit it,

he needs to deliver
nearly 1,000oz a week

for the rest
of the season.

How's our trusty
dirt washer Big Red?

Big old Big Red, right?

[narrator] First up,
Big Red in the bridge cut,

so far, averaging






There you go.

I had...

I think a little bit fell
out of his sleeves there.

You don't want to know
how much it cost me
to get that one over 100.

[all laughing]

We'll see what
the old Elbow Cut does.

[narrator] After
three days sluicing,

Parker is banking
on the Elbow Cut,

being as rich
as the money pit.

Which, last season,
averaged 380oz a week.

[Tyson] Here we go.





[narrator] Worth nearly
$740,000.

-Nice.
-Yeah.

-Nice.
-That's what we're
supposed to be doing.

There we go.

Yeah, back in it.

Now we're back to
where we should be.

What does that give us?

So for the week,
we have 382.4 oz.

Still a good week.
Season total...



[narrator] With gold at
over $2600 an ounce,

the season haul
is worth over $14 million
in gold.

We needed that pit
to come out this year.

It'll probably just refreeze
if it temps start dropping.

Because it's, like,
even colder now
than it was, right?

Mmm-hmm.

I hear it's supposed
to get below freezing
this weekend.

[Parker] That's probably
a bigger problem

than the cost
of ripping it, really.

Yeah.

All right, fellas,
I'm gonna bag this stuff up.

-Sounds good.
-All righty. Doom it.

[Parker] Good job, Mitch.

-Thank you.
-You too, Tyson.

[Chris] Yeah, you too, Tyson.

And it's so nice to come
into something
as nice as the Elbow Cut.

I really screwed up
by not stripping it
this summer.

That's what gives you
the sleepless nights.

-Oh, well.
-Yeah.

As long as you don't come
to that door one day and go,

"I just fired myself."

Oh, I think about it
all the time.

Don't do that.

Too many people
depend on you now.

All right, youngster.

-Thanks, Chris.
-We'll catch you later.

-Hey, man.
-Hey.

Finally, back to a gold there.

-It's been a while.
-Couple of months.

[narrator] Rick and his crew

gambled all their
seasons' profits,

one million dollars,
to dig down to
Vegas Valley's pay streak.

Now, it's time to see
if they've hit the jackpot.

You guys put
your gold bonuses
on the line for that.

A long-time stripping,
digging a deep [bleep] hole
and not knowing,

"You know,
if we get to the bottom,
what would be at the bottom?"

This is the start of it.

Yeah, it's definitely been
some challenge.

-starting that cut.
-Should we weight it up?

All right, so there's
a fair amount in here,
so let's count it out.

[narrator] Rick's old hotspot,

Rally Valley, averaged


He's hoping the first pay
from Vegas Valley

will deliver at least 200.

And...





And, cool.

I'll tell you right now,
there's 200 in this bottle.

[all cheering]

-[bleep] yeah!
-256.7 oz.

[woman] Yeah,
that's almost halfway.

-what we need.
-Halfway home.

[narrator] Worth over
$670,000.

[Rick] Take that all day.

That's what
we dug all that
[bleep] dirt for, boys.

That's over
half a million dollars
in one run.

If I don't say it, like...
I'm very thankful for you,
like, you guys...

You are incredible.
You keep this thing going,

like, we're having
a hell of a season.

I know you guys have
been pushing hard.

We're so [bleep] close
to the end.

All we need is
a couple more weeks.

You guys giving
it all you got.

We're all gonna leave here
with a bunch of gold
in our pockets, right?

And I hope you guys
see that, too.

Thanks. Feuds.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

Cheers.

You're the best.
Thank you. Good job, guys.

[narrator] With his
first haul,

Rick's made back over
half of what he wagered
on Vegas Valley.

Now, he needs to keep firing
on all cylinders

until winter shuts him down.

That was a hell of a gold way
to start off Vegas Valley,

something we
desperately needed.

Well, that's a long gap in
the middle of the season to
go without getting gold.

But we just got
a pile of gold.

We got a couple of weeks
to get another pile of gold.

It's going to get more
and more difficult
the deeper we go.

But it'll mean that there's
that much more gold there.