1 00:00:00,767 --> 00:00:02,233 [narrator] Gold mining prodigy... 2 00:00:02,233 --> 00:00:04,767 [Parker] And that's three million dollars right there on the table. 3 00:00:04,767 --> 00:00:08,533 ...Parker Schnabel is searching for his next big score... 4 00:00:09,300 --> 00:00:10,367 [Parker] This is wild. 5 00:00:10,367 --> 00:00:11,967 [bleep] yeah! 6 00:00:11,967 --> 00:00:14,367 [narrator] ...deep in the jungles of Brazil. 7 00:00:15,767 --> 00:00:18,900 There's a huge amount of conflict over mining. 8 00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:21,867 The only way to understand is to come here and see it. 9 00:00:21,867 --> 00:00:23,767 That is [bleep] cool. 10 00:00:23,767 --> 00:00:27,000 And if there is a opportunity for us to invest, 11 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:28,634 then I wanna look at those opportunities. 12 00:00:29,667 --> 00:00:31,700 Look, look, that's [bleep] gold. 13 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:33,266 [man] Look at these bad boys. 14 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:35,834 I did get fitted for a bulletproof vest though. 15 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:38,200 That's a first. 16 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:42,100 [narrator] Previously on Parker's Trail... 17 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:44,300 [Parker] Brazil's always been on my radar. 18 00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:46,567 It's a huge gold producing country. 19 00:00:46,567 --> 00:00:48,100 This is wild. 20 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:50,767 [narrator] ...Parker investigated illegal mining. 21 00:00:50,767 --> 00:00:52,266 [man 2 speaking other language] 22 00:00:52,266 --> 00:00:53,567 [Parker] Slingshot. 23 00:00:53,567 --> 00:00:54,567 -[slingshot fires] -[Parker] [bleep]. 24 00:00:54,567 --> 00:00:56,266 Oh, he's firing at us now. 25 00:00:56,266 --> 00:00:59,567 [narrator] ...uncovered billions of dollars of undiscovered gold 26 00:00:59,567 --> 00:01:01,066 deep in the Amazon... 27 00:01:01,066 --> 00:01:04,900 The lowest end of the estimate in my mind is, like, 600,000 ounces. 28 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:08,166 [narrator] ...and toured multimillion dollar hard rock mines. 29 00:01:08,166 --> 00:01:09,266 [Danny] Parker's in love. 30 00:01:09,266 --> 00:01:11,400 Fallen for the hard rock industry. 31 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:13,600 I would hate to guess what this place is worth. 32 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:14,900 [speaking other language] 33 00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:19,000 [narrator] Now, he's in the gold miner's paradise of Peixoto... 34 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,166 You could probably produce four tons of gold per year. 35 00:01:22,166 --> 00:01:23,567 They've produced more plaster gold 36 00:01:23,567 --> 00:01:25,400 than the entire Yukon. 37 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,900 [narrator] ...trying to get a piece of the action. 38 00:01:28,900 --> 00:01:30,400 We're always looking for ground. 39 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,000 [Larissa] For 50 hectares, six million yards. 40 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,066 Going all out here has the most chance of success. 41 00:01:37,066 --> 00:01:39,934 But the amount of risk that you take on is insane. 42 00:01:52,266 --> 00:01:55,266 I hate when the road is, like, [mimics bumping] like... 43 00:01:55,266 --> 00:01:56,567 -[Danny] Oh, yeah. -Washboard. 44 00:01:56,567 --> 00:01:58,166 -[Danny] Yeah. -Washboard? 45 00:01:58,166 --> 00:01:59,200 You know what a washboard is? 46 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:00,367 [Diego] What, for washing cloth? 47 00:02:00,367 --> 00:02:01,467 That's what the road is. 48 00:02:01,467 --> 00:02:03,300 If you go fast, It's quite aggressive. 49 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:04,300 If you go slow... 50 00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:06,400 -Also quite aggressive. -[both laugh] 51 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:07,333 [Diego] Yeah. 52 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:11,767 [narrator] At the end of a six-week prospect, 53 00:02:11,767 --> 00:02:15,500 Parker has just days to find an investment opportunity 54 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:17,066 in the Peixoto region. 55 00:02:19,166 --> 00:02:22,100 We made a very good decision to go to Peixoto. 56 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:25,767 They have a more organized, more robust co-op. 57 00:02:25,767 --> 00:02:29,000 Also you see land reclamation, 58 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,233 and I think Parker is interested in the area. 59 00:02:33,967 --> 00:02:39,200 Peixoto is probably one of the better areas we've ever been to. 60 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,867 Just, like, the sheer volume of gold being mined, 61 00:02:41,867 --> 00:02:43,567 the grades of the ground. 62 00:02:43,567 --> 00:02:44,700 Wow. 63 00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:46,300 But in the value of land around here, 64 00:02:46,300 --> 00:02:49,567 I think it might make the entry barrier a lot higher. 65 00:02:49,567 --> 00:02:53,166 And trying to get going mining might be difficult here. 66 00:02:53,900 --> 00:02:56,166 You know, what is the right approach? 67 00:02:56,166 --> 00:02:58,066 Do you come down here and just, like, 68 00:02:58,066 --> 00:03:01,000 try to team up with somebody that's already mining? 69 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,500 I don't do partners, 70 00:03:02,500 --> 00:03:05,166 but I might have to do partners for this. 71 00:03:06,367 --> 00:03:09,700 [narrator] After walking away from an expensive land deal, 72 00:03:09,700 --> 00:03:15,867 the local mining co-op gives Parker another lead 20 miles outside of town. 73 00:03:19,266 --> 00:03:21,367 What's the name of this dude we're gonna see today? 74 00:03:21,367 --> 00:03:23,000 -[Diego] Uh, Michael. -Martin? 75 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:23,934 Oh, Michael. 76 00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:26,900 [narrator] The São Mateus mine 77 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:30,767 sits in the heart of Peixoto's gold-rich river basin. 78 00:03:30,767 --> 00:03:32,100 [Diego] We're running out of time, 79 00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:33,667 we're coming to the end of the trail, 80 00:03:33,667 --> 00:03:36,567 and I can tell there's some anxiety in the team. 81 00:03:37,967 --> 00:03:41,100 I don't wanna have my expectations too high about that place, 82 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:42,567 because we haven't been there. 83 00:03:42,567 --> 00:03:45,000 But it's our last resource, 84 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,734 so hopefully it is the right place. 85 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:53,634 [Parker] Seems like we're here. 86 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:57,033 -I think you need a raincoat. -[Danny] Yep. 87 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,133 [Larissa speaking Portuguese] 88 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,400 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 89 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,066 -[Danny] Michael? -Michael. 90 00:04:09,066 --> 00:04:10,400 [Danny] Gilberto? 91 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:11,867 [Larissa in English] He's saying you're very welcome 92 00:04:11,867 --> 00:04:14,266 and you can feel yourself at home 93 00:04:14,266 --> 00:04:16,266 and pretty much do whatever you want. 94 00:04:16,266 --> 00:04:17,266 [Parker] Obrigado. 95 00:04:17,266 --> 00:04:19,433 [speaking Portuguese] 96 00:04:23,767 --> 00:04:25,166 [Larissa in English] Ah, he's saying that this is 97 00:04:25,166 --> 00:04:27,467 a small scale, family-run business. 98 00:04:27,467 --> 00:04:29,700 -So, he's the father, he's the son. -[Parker] Gotcha. 99 00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:30,900 How long have they been here? 100 00:04:30,900 --> 00:04:32,567 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 101 00:04:32,567 --> 00:04:35,100 [Larissa in English] His father came to Mato Grosso to be a miner. 102 00:04:35,100 --> 00:04:37,867 And then that's why they're here today. 103 00:04:37,867 --> 00:04:39,867 Three generation businesses, yeah. 104 00:04:39,867 --> 00:04:40,934 Gotcha. 105 00:04:42,767 --> 00:04:43,967 [narrator] In 1980, 106 00:04:43,967 --> 00:04:46,667 Gilberto's father was one of the first miners 107 00:04:46,667 --> 00:04:48,767 to break ground in the region. 108 00:04:48,767 --> 00:04:50,467 At the age of 15, 109 00:04:50,467 --> 00:04:54,100 Gilberto joined his dad and raised his three children, 110 00:04:54,100 --> 00:04:57,767 including his son Michael, on the property. 111 00:04:57,767 --> 00:04:59,667 Building it from the ground up, 112 00:04:59,667 --> 00:05:05,533 now the mine brings in nearly six million dollars in gold a year. 113 00:05:07,700 --> 00:05:08,734 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 114 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,667 [speaking Portuguese] 115 00:05:33,467 --> 00:05:35,066 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 116 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,567 [Parker in English] It's the first day we've been in the rain really. 117 00:05:38,567 --> 00:05:41,734 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 118 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:44,767 [Parker in English] They seem like nice guys. 119 00:05:44,767 --> 00:05:47,300 -[Danny] Yeah, they do. -[Larissa] Yeah, they do. Both of them. 120 00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:49,767 -Very big area. -Yeah. 121 00:05:50,467 --> 00:05:51,567 [Diego] It's big. 122 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:54,834 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 123 00:05:54,834 --> 00:05:57,066 [Parker in English] What's the size of the area they have here to mine on? 124 00:05:57,066 --> 00:05:59,300 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 125 00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:00,700 [Parker in English] Oh, wow. 126 00:06:00,700 --> 00:06:03,767 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 127 00:06:03,767 --> 00:06:06,000 [Larissa in English] That's an area they're working right now, 128 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,367 and this is alluvial gold. 129 00:06:08,367 --> 00:06:10,500 [Parker] When they're doing alluvial mining, 130 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:12,100 do they hit hard rock veins? 131 00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:15,200 Sometimes they find the hard rocks. 132 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,934 That's probably where the vein of the gold is. 133 00:06:19,066 --> 00:06:20,133 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 134 00:06:21,767 --> 00:06:23,867 [narrator] The D'Souzas have the equivalent 135 00:06:23,867 --> 00:06:27,166 of 380 football fields left to mine 136 00:06:27,166 --> 00:06:32,634 in an area that has a mixture of both hard rock and plaster deposits. 137 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:35,767 Billions of years ago, 138 00:06:35,767 --> 00:06:41,100 volcanic eruptions left hardened gold-rich veins in the Earth here. 139 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:43,900 Some of these were eroded by waterways, 140 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:48,266 carrying tiny fragments of gold across the landscape. 141 00:06:48,266 --> 00:06:53,266 But some hard rock veins laden with gold remain below. 142 00:06:55,467 --> 00:07:00,567 An opportunity Gilberto and Michael are just beginning to explore. 143 00:07:00,567 --> 00:07:02,867 [Larissa] So, they're doing the, their own drilling. 144 00:07:02,867 --> 00:07:06,166 There, they have all the area up there to get the hard rocks. 145 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,367 The interesting thing here is just the amount of ground. 146 00:07:12,367 --> 00:07:15,300 I'm just amazed by the size of the areas 147 00:07:15,300 --> 00:07:17,367 that we've seen that are being mined. 148 00:07:17,367 --> 00:07:20,000 Normally, gold follows a bit of a pay streak. 149 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,867 And it's generally not thousands of feet wide, 150 00:07:23,867 --> 00:07:25,634 which piques my interest. 151 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,333 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 152 00:07:34,467 --> 00:07:37,734 [Parker in English] You can tell it's, like, got a lot of iron and stuff in it. 153 00:07:39,100 --> 00:07:41,100 [narrator] To get a read on the ground, 154 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:44,166 Parker takes a test pan from the heart of the pay layer. 155 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,100 [Parker] Oh, yeah. 156 00:07:48,100 --> 00:07:49,266 [speaking Portuguese] 157 00:07:49,967 --> 00:07:52,867 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 158 00:07:52,867 --> 00:07:54,834 [speaking English] 159 00:07:57,967 --> 00:07:59,567 [Parker] I have 50 color pan. 160 00:07:59,567 --> 00:08:02,867 -[Danny] Seriously? -Yeah. I'm just amazed. 161 00:08:02,867 --> 00:08:05,867 It seems like there's a lot of gold in this area. 162 00:08:05,867 --> 00:08:07,867 [narrator] For ground to be good, 163 00:08:07,867 --> 00:08:11,100 Parker wants to see at least ten gold flakes. 164 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:14,767 This pan has five times that amount. 165 00:08:14,767 --> 00:08:16,600 You want reliability in scale, right? 166 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,000 Those are the two things you want. 167 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,166 Any business wants those two things, right? 168 00:08:20,166 --> 00:08:22,166 Seems like they've got that here. 169 00:08:22,166 --> 00:08:24,634 At least what I can... My first impression is that. 170 00:08:29,967 --> 00:08:32,567 That stuff has a lot of clay in it, right? 171 00:08:32,567 --> 00:08:33,867 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 172 00:08:33,867 --> 00:08:35,700 [Larissa in English] They... They have clay all over it. 173 00:08:35,700 --> 00:08:37,100 [Parker] It's a [bleep] mess, I bet. 174 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:39,266 It's 'cause the ground conditions are so bad. 175 00:08:39,266 --> 00:08:42,667 Is there normally a lot of gold in the clay? 176 00:08:42,667 --> 00:08:45,934 [Michael speaking Portuguese] 177 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,233 [narrator] When heavy gold settles into a clay layer, 178 00:08:52,266 --> 00:08:55,066 the sticky material traps the gold, 179 00:08:55,066 --> 00:08:59,066 making it nearly impossible to break free. 180 00:08:59,066 --> 00:09:03,266 All the material goes to the sluice box over there on top, 181 00:09:03,266 --> 00:09:06,166 and he's inviting us to check the sluice box there. 182 00:09:06,166 --> 00:09:07,634 [Danny] Yeah, I think we should go and have a look. 183 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,000 [narrator] Gilberto and Michael 184 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,667 use a traditional hydraulic system, 185 00:09:13,667 --> 00:09:17,266 using high pressure water to break down the thick pay dirt 186 00:09:17,266 --> 00:09:19,233 into a gold-rich slurry. 187 00:09:20,166 --> 00:09:22,166 Then pumping it up to sluices 188 00:09:22,166 --> 00:09:24,734 where the gold falls into the box. 189 00:09:32,166 --> 00:09:33,433 [Parker] The bigger problem is 190 00:09:33,433 --> 00:09:36,367 -that this stuff's still not getting broke up, right? -[Diego] No. 191 00:09:36,367 --> 00:09:38,600 [Larissa] Yeah, the-- the-- When there is a lot of clay, 192 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,667 the recovery rate is not that good. 193 00:09:40,667 --> 00:09:43,266 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 194 00:09:43,266 --> 00:09:45,400 [narrator] Because the gold-rich clay 195 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,266 runs right off the boxes into the waste pile, 196 00:09:48,266 --> 00:09:52,467 it could be losing the D'Souzas up to 15% of their yield 197 00:09:52,467 --> 00:09:54,967 and millions of dollars a year. 198 00:09:56,166 --> 00:09:58,467 That's a nightmare for any wash plant. 199 00:09:58,467 --> 00:10:02,166 It just clogs them up and makes 'em very inefficient 200 00:10:02,166 --> 00:10:04,066 because the gold gets stuck to all of the clay 201 00:10:04,066 --> 00:10:05,767 and then the clay goes all the way through the plant 202 00:10:05,767 --> 00:10:07,533 and the gold ends up out the other end of it. 203 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:11,266 [Parker] Dealing with that clay is pretty difficult. 204 00:10:11,266 --> 00:10:12,634 So, I don't know how you deal with that. 205 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:22,533 [Parker] That clay is terrible, huh? 206 00:10:23,667 --> 00:10:24,867 [narrator] In Peixoto, 207 00:10:24,867 --> 00:10:28,100 Parker is checking out the São Mateus mine, 208 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:31,166 but has run into a problem. 209 00:10:31,166 --> 00:10:34,166 Some of the nastiest material I've seen at a mine site. 210 00:10:34,166 --> 00:10:35,800 -[Larissa] Really? -Yeah. 211 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,567 [narrator] Up to 15% of their yield may be lost to clay, 212 00:10:39,567 --> 00:10:43,266 a notorious gold thief that traps small flakes, 213 00:10:43,266 --> 00:10:45,800 making recovery almost impossible. 214 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,767 [Parker] Everywhere has its drawback. 215 00:10:47,767 --> 00:10:50,300 You don't have the permafrost to deal with, which is a positive. 216 00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:52,166 And so, yeah, you get a year-round business, 217 00:10:52,166 --> 00:10:54,166 but you probably don't really, 218 00:10:54,166 --> 00:10:56,800 because days where it just, like, rains day after day after day, 219 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,467 and probably they shut down. 220 00:11:00,266 --> 00:11:02,634 [speaking Portuguese] 221 00:11:06,300 --> 00:11:10,266 [narrator] But miners Michael and Gilberto have a solution. 222 00:11:10,266 --> 00:11:13,300 Ah, they have a wash plant. It's over there. 223 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:17,967 [speaking Portuguese] 224 00:11:17,967 --> 00:11:18,867 [in English] Which we're going to see. 225 00:11:18,867 --> 00:11:20,400 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 226 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,767 [Larissa in English] He's inviting us to check the wash plant. 227 00:11:22,767 --> 00:11:23,800 [Danny] Oh, cool. 228 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:24,834 Yeah, let's have a look. 229 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:27,767 [Parker] This ground is good, 230 00:11:27,767 --> 00:11:30,333 but the material has a pile of clay in it. 231 00:11:31,100 --> 00:11:32,734 Let's go check this wash plant out. 232 00:11:39,767 --> 00:11:43,533 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 233 00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:49,300 [Danny] [bleep]. 234 00:11:49,300 --> 00:11:51,266 Oh, my [bleep], that's massive. 235 00:11:51,266 --> 00:11:53,233 [Parker] Yeah, this is [bleep] huge. 236 00:11:56,166 --> 00:11:57,867 [narrator] At just a year old, 237 00:11:57,867 --> 00:12:03,934 this is the D'Souzas' gigantic, hand built, 25-ton wash plant. 238 00:12:07,667 --> 00:12:11,000 -[Danny] It's got a trommel and a shaker deck. -[Parker] Looks like it. 239 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,600 What's the name in Portuguese? 240 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:14,600 [Larissa speaking Portuguese] 241 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,467 [narrator] The first and biggest of its kind in the region, 242 00:12:17,467 --> 00:12:21,900 the Blue Dragon can process 130 yards of dirt an hour 243 00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:24,700 and recovers 25% more gold 244 00:12:24,700 --> 00:12:27,433 than traditional sluice methods. 245 00:12:28,166 --> 00:12:30,467 [Danny] That is ridiculous. 246 00:12:30,467 --> 00:12:32,967 [Parker] Is it all right if I have a look around it? 247 00:12:32,967 --> 00:12:34,367 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 248 00:12:34,367 --> 00:12:35,934 [Larissa in English] Do your thing. 249 00:12:39,967 --> 00:12:43,967 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 250 00:12:43,967 --> 00:12:45,667 [Parker in English] It's like an agitator? Is that what he's saying? 251 00:12:45,667 --> 00:12:48,200 -[Larissa] Uh, it's, uh, it's a crusher for clay. -[Parker] Or is it a crusher? 252 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:50,233 -So they can catch the gold. -[Parker] Gotcha. 253 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:52,066 But effectively they're, like, 254 00:12:52,066 --> 00:12:55,066 crushing the material before it goes to the trommel. 255 00:12:57,900 --> 00:13:00,133 [narrator] To release the gold from the clay layer, 256 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:03,667 the Blue Dragon has an unusual setup. 257 00:13:05,567 --> 00:13:08,166 First, the shaker deck and spray bars 258 00:13:08,166 --> 00:13:10,200 begin to break down the clay. 259 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,867 Then, it is pushed into a one-of-a-kind crusher 260 00:13:13,867 --> 00:13:16,867 where six swinging 70-pound hammers 261 00:13:16,867 --> 00:13:19,767 break up larger chunks into a paste. 262 00:13:19,767 --> 00:13:22,667 This paste travels into a trommel, 263 00:13:22,667 --> 00:13:25,767 where it is washed and broken down further. 264 00:13:25,767 --> 00:13:30,266 Finally, a gold-rich slurry is run across the sluices 265 00:13:30,266 --> 00:13:32,266 where the heavy gold is trapped 266 00:13:32,266 --> 00:13:34,734 as the clay is washed out the back. 267 00:13:36,700 --> 00:13:37,934 [Danny] Who built it? 268 00:13:37,934 --> 00:13:40,300 -[Larissa] They built themselves, yeah. Yeah. -[Danny] No way. 269 00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:42,834 [Danny] I cannot believe that they've made this all themselves. 270 00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:46,767 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 271 00:13:46,767 --> 00:13:49,166 [Larissa in English] He watched the, the show 272 00:13:49,166 --> 00:13:51,000 and Parker's Trail in New Zealand. 273 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,867 -[Danny chuckles] Oh, yeah? -[Larissa] And he got inspired by it. 274 00:13:52,867 --> 00:13:54,467 -[Danny] Really? -Yeah, really. 275 00:13:54,467 --> 00:13:56,467 [Danny] Who would've thought that? That's mental. 276 00:13:57,266 --> 00:13:58,567 Don't fall off. 277 00:13:58,567 --> 00:14:01,634 -You know what happened in Canada. [laughs] -[Diego] Yeah. 278 00:14:02,867 --> 00:14:04,567 -[Danny] Parker? -[Parker] Yeah. 279 00:14:04,567 --> 00:14:06,266 They saw the New Zealand show 280 00:14:06,266 --> 00:14:07,800 and got inspired to build this. 281 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:09,667 -[Parker] Oh, yeah? -[Danny] Isn't that mad? 282 00:14:09,667 --> 00:14:10,800 [Parker] Yeah. 283 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,166 It's definitely pretty unique. 284 00:14:13,166 --> 00:14:14,467 Never seen a plant with, like, 285 00:14:14,467 --> 00:14:17,367 a crusher in line and then a sluice box 286 00:14:17,367 --> 00:14:18,834 with a trommel in between. 287 00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:26,000 What's your thoughts? 288 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,867 What's your initial thoughts of it? 289 00:14:27,867 --> 00:14:29,734 It's just an expensive piece of kit. 290 00:14:31,667 --> 00:14:33,400 I mean, I understand what they're trying to do, 291 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,533 but I'm just trying to figure out if this is the best way to do it. 292 00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:40,266 But without seeing it run and seeing the material, 293 00:14:40,266 --> 00:14:41,333 it's very difficult. 294 00:14:42,367 --> 00:14:43,700 I'd like to see it run. 295 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:45,467 Do they have some of the material that has, 296 00:14:45,467 --> 00:14:46,900 like, clay in it here to run? 297 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:47,967 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 298 00:14:53,266 --> 00:14:54,867 [Parker] Perfecto. 299 00:14:54,867 --> 00:14:58,900 [narrator] The clay pay dirt must be loaded into trucks from the pit 300 00:14:58,900 --> 00:15:01,567 and driven two miles to the plant. 301 00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:03,867 Which dirt do they want? 302 00:15:03,867 --> 00:15:05,867 -The stuff in the pile? -[Larissa] The stuff in the pile. 303 00:15:05,867 --> 00:15:07,934 -It's basically clay. -Okay. 304 00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:14,000 I like how he sits there, you know, like, 305 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,166 relaxing in the excavator. 306 00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:17,567 [Danny] The king on his throne. 307 00:15:17,567 --> 00:15:19,367 [truck beeping] 308 00:15:19,367 --> 00:15:20,533 [Danny] Here we go. 309 00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:28,734 [Parker] [bleep] rough material. 310 00:15:29,767 --> 00:15:31,900 Our wash plant would just plug up instantly. 311 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:34,166 It wouldn't even make it up out of the feeder. 312 00:15:38,967 --> 00:15:41,200 You can tell the conditions are really, really hard. 313 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,066 Operating heavy equipment here must be very, very difficult. 314 00:15:56,867 --> 00:15:58,634 [Diego] Yo, [bleep]. 315 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,967 The dump truck, it is stuck in the mud. 316 00:16:06,867 --> 00:16:08,066 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 317 00:16:09,567 --> 00:16:11,500 [narrator] As well as trapping gold, 318 00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:15,300 the sticky clay takes a heavy toll on equipment. 319 00:16:15,300 --> 00:16:18,166 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 320 00:16:18,166 --> 00:16:21,066 [Diego in English] Inside the bucket could be a solution. 321 00:16:30,567 --> 00:16:31,533 [Danny] Oh. 322 00:16:31,867 --> 00:16:33,166 [bleep] hell. 323 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,433 -Nice. -[Larissa] He's doing it. 324 00:16:38,467 --> 00:16:39,934 -He did it. -[Danny] Wicked. 325 00:16:43,967 --> 00:16:46,667 [Parker] Curious to see how the wash plant handles that stuff. 326 00:16:46,667 --> 00:16:49,000 It is really hard to believe 327 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,634 that they can run that kind of material at all. 328 00:17:03,867 --> 00:17:05,166 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 329 00:17:14,967 --> 00:17:15,967 [Danny in English] Here we go. 330 00:17:17,166 --> 00:17:18,100 Whoa! 331 00:17:18,100 --> 00:17:20,033 Holy [bleep]. 332 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:27,333 First bucket going in. 333 00:17:33,266 --> 00:17:36,367 -Absolute beast. -It is a blue monster. 334 00:17:45,367 --> 00:17:48,000 My first impressions are... 335 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,567 Like, I understand what the problem that they're dealing with. 336 00:17:50,567 --> 00:17:51,667 Like, they have a bunch of clay 337 00:17:51,667 --> 00:17:54,867 that they're trying to break up, um... 338 00:17:54,867 --> 00:18:00,066 Their approach to dealing with the clay with the big crusher. 339 00:18:00,066 --> 00:18:03,767 A lot of it just won't break up at all, and, um... 340 00:18:03,767 --> 00:18:06,934 And I guess putting it through one of those might do it, but... 341 00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:09,066 I don't know. 342 00:18:32,967 --> 00:18:36,166 The actual pay material that has the gold in it 343 00:18:36,166 --> 00:18:37,734 looks like it's pretty well-washed. 344 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,166 It's hard to get trommels to split cleanly. 345 00:18:46,066 --> 00:18:48,567 He was saying that 80% of the gold, 346 00:18:48,567 --> 00:18:50,000 -they cut it up there... -Right. 347 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,467 [Larissa] ...and here is, like, remaining 20%. 348 00:18:54,066 --> 00:18:55,667 [narrator] After an hour's running 349 00:18:55,667 --> 00:18:58,867 to see if the Blue Dragon lives up to its name, 350 00:18:58,867 --> 00:19:01,934 Parker and crew check the sluice mats for gold. 351 00:19:14,100 --> 00:19:15,634 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 352 00:19:18,467 --> 00:19:20,066 [in English] Super fine. 353 00:19:20,066 --> 00:19:22,266 [narrator] The very fine dust-like gold 354 00:19:22,266 --> 00:19:25,467 proves the Blue Dragon can catch tiny specks 355 00:19:25,467 --> 00:19:27,767 deeply embedded in the clay. 356 00:19:27,767 --> 00:19:31,533 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 357 00:19:34,967 --> 00:19:35,967 [Larissa in English] They, sometimes, 358 00:19:35,967 --> 00:19:39,567 they probably will get some 28, 30 grams per hour. 359 00:19:39,567 --> 00:19:44,467 [narrator] Thirty grams is around $2,000 worth of fine gold. 360 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,033 Got a piece of gold, Dan. 361 00:19:50,467 --> 00:19:51,400 There it is. 362 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,066 Wow. 363 00:19:53,066 --> 00:19:55,266 Really interesting, huh? 364 00:19:55,266 --> 00:19:57,867 I think the impressive thing about this wash plant 365 00:19:57,867 --> 00:20:00,200 is the fact that it can process material that's, like, 366 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,000 really, really claggy. 367 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,467 Like, really stuck together. 368 00:20:03,467 --> 00:20:06,767 So, it would appear that they've done a good job. 369 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,900 Seems to work pretty well. I'm really impressed. 370 00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:14,000 Especially considering you guys built it all from yourselves 371 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,100 and from, from scratch. 372 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:18,166 No, I'm-- I, I'm, I'm, I'm just impressed. 373 00:20:25,467 --> 00:20:27,567 [Parker] It being stationary, 374 00:20:27,567 --> 00:20:30,767 their material must come from a long ways away to get here. 375 00:20:30,767 --> 00:20:33,567 And that's a pretty big expense, right? 376 00:20:33,567 --> 00:20:36,500 [narrator] With just over 48 hours left 377 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:40,166 to make a deal in the placer mining mecca of Peixoto, Brazil, 378 00:20:40,166 --> 00:20:44,700 Parker is kicking the tires at the São Mateus mine 379 00:20:44,700 --> 00:20:48,667 with its $200,000 clay-beating wash plant. 380 00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:52,066 [speaking Portuguese] 381 00:20:54,066 --> 00:20:55,500 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 382 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:57,567 [in English] Yeah, they totally agree with you 383 00:20:57,567 --> 00:20:59,967 because they also see there's a problem. 384 00:21:02,266 --> 00:21:04,200 Obviously, Gilberto and Michael here 385 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,767 have a real desire to improve their recovery rate, 386 00:21:06,767 --> 00:21:09,400 improve their efficiency, and run a good operation. 387 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,767 And I love that. A lot of thought went into this plant. 388 00:21:12,767 --> 00:21:15,100 Well, it's a pretty ingenious solution, 389 00:21:15,100 --> 00:21:18,100 albeit big and cumbersome in terms of, like, 390 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:20,367 it pretty much has to be in a stationary setup, 391 00:21:20,367 --> 00:21:22,066 um, which I don't like. 392 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,500 [narrator] Despite working well to break down the clay, 393 00:21:26,500 --> 00:21:29,367 Gilberto and Michael must truck pay dirt 394 00:21:29,367 --> 00:21:32,166 over two miles to the stationary plant 395 00:21:32,166 --> 00:21:36,066 at a cost of around half-a-million dollars a year. 396 00:21:37,767 --> 00:21:39,066 The system that they're using, 397 00:21:39,066 --> 00:21:43,867 trucking stuff long distance is just a cost that seems unnecessary. 398 00:21:43,867 --> 00:21:45,767 [speaking Portuguese] 399 00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:48,700 [in English] People are annoying, is that what he's saying? 400 00:21:48,700 --> 00:21:49,667 -[Diego] Yes. -[laughs] 401 00:21:49,667 --> 00:21:51,867 [speaking Portuguese] 402 00:21:51,867 --> 00:21:54,867 [in English] A lot of places use trommels 403 00:21:54,867 --> 00:21:56,567 that are floating on a barge 404 00:21:56,567 --> 00:22:00,266 and feed them with an excavator from the land. 405 00:22:00,266 --> 00:22:03,667 And so, they'll sit on the bank and dig the dirt out of the bank 406 00:22:03,667 --> 00:22:07,000 and put them in the trommel that's on a boat. 407 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,567 And then they just move the pond with them. 408 00:22:09,567 --> 00:22:13,100 Um, has he seen that kind of system before? 409 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:14,567 [narrator] Three years ago... 410 00:22:14,567 --> 00:22:15,934 Now, this is our floating plant. 411 00:22:18,266 --> 00:22:20,000 My [bleep], check that out. 412 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,367 [narrator] ...Parker went on a wash plant reconnaissance mission 413 00:22:23,367 --> 00:22:26,367 where he learned about the Kiwi floating trommel. 414 00:22:26,367 --> 00:22:29,266 These plants are the most efficient way of mining. 415 00:22:29,266 --> 00:22:31,066 Like a mining typewriter. 416 00:22:33,467 --> 00:22:35,900 [narrator] The trommel floats in the cut, 417 00:22:35,900 --> 00:22:38,767 moving itself as it chases the gold. 418 00:22:38,767 --> 00:22:40,467 [man] It's a two-person operation. 419 00:22:40,467 --> 00:22:43,200 -Two? -[man] Yeah, two just run it nicely. 420 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,767 [Parker] And no dump trucks? 421 00:22:45,900 --> 00:22:47,300 It's very cool to see. 422 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:52,000 [narrator] A system like this could save the family a fortune 423 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,400 in fuel and increase profits. 424 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,467 This ground seems really well-suited for that style of mining. 425 00:22:58,467 --> 00:23:01,266 And so it might be worth looking into that system. 426 00:23:01,266 --> 00:23:04,266 So that they can kind of get the efficiency of a system like this 427 00:23:04,266 --> 00:23:05,767 without having to move the material 428 00:23:05,767 --> 00:23:08,166 in dump trucks all the way over here, right? 429 00:23:08,166 --> 00:23:10,967 You basically have something like this, 430 00:23:10,967 --> 00:23:12,300 right in the cut. 431 00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:16,266 Most of them have only two people on them. 432 00:23:16,266 --> 00:23:17,233 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 433 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,867 [Parker in English] No dump trucks, no loaders, 434 00:23:22,867 --> 00:23:25,000 no tailings, no nothing. 435 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,667 [Larissa] Uh, he agrees with you. 436 00:23:26,667 --> 00:23:27,967 That could be a good system. 437 00:23:29,166 --> 00:23:30,600 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 438 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:31,967 [Larissa in English] Everybody has to go to the lab. 439 00:23:31,967 --> 00:23:33,433 Yeah. Let's go check it out. 440 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:35,867 They've got a massive wash plant. 441 00:23:35,867 --> 00:23:37,100 They're doing hard rock. 442 00:23:37,100 --> 00:23:39,000 They're doing placer mining. 443 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,100 Inevitably, Parker's gonna be impressed by all of that. 444 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:43,467 Let's go and see how much gold 445 00:23:43,467 --> 00:23:44,600 they're getting out of the ground. 446 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:45,734 [speaking Portuguese] 447 00:23:55,767 --> 00:23:57,266 [Parker in English] I could work here. 448 00:23:57,266 --> 00:23:58,266 [Danny] You could work here? 449 00:23:58,266 --> 00:23:59,266 Yeah, [bleep] yeah. 450 00:23:59,266 --> 00:24:00,834 -Really? -[Parker] Yeah. Why not? 451 00:24:02,266 --> 00:24:03,367 This is nice. 452 00:24:03,367 --> 00:24:04,900 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 453 00:24:04,900 --> 00:24:06,166 [Larissa in English] This is the gold room. 454 00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:08,567 [narrator] The family operation 455 00:24:08,567 --> 00:24:11,900 separates the fine gold by hand-panning 456 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:14,600 100 pounds of concentrate a day 457 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:16,367 in a homemade pool. 458 00:24:17,867 --> 00:24:18,967 [Parker] A lot of work. 459 00:24:18,967 --> 00:24:20,233 [Danny laughs] You could say that. 460 00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:23,200 Why does it look so nice? 461 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,266 They have so much gold that they're putting tile 462 00:24:25,266 --> 00:24:27,367 -around their settling pond. -[Larissa] Yeah, yeah, it's very nice. Yeah. 463 00:24:27,367 --> 00:24:28,567 [speaking Portuguese] 464 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,467 [in English] Gold is so special, 465 00:24:31,467 --> 00:24:35,066 so they need a special place to work with it. 466 00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:39,367 [speaking Portuguese] 467 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:41,834 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 468 00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:48,734 [in English] First, they don't have to deal with contamination. 469 00:24:49,900 --> 00:24:53,000 And second, because he saves money with that. 470 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,467 So, win-win situation. 471 00:24:55,467 --> 00:24:57,200 [narrator] It's a labor intensive, 472 00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,934 but environmentally friendly process. 473 00:25:01,867 --> 00:25:03,166 [Parker] How long has he been doing this? 474 00:25:03,166 --> 00:25:04,467 Looks like a while. 475 00:25:04,467 --> 00:25:05,467 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 476 00:25:06,467 --> 00:25:08,300 [in English] Yeah, I can tell. 477 00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:09,567 Pretty impressive. 478 00:25:09,567 --> 00:25:10,634 [speaking Portuguese] 479 00:25:12,867 --> 00:25:14,100 [in English] How'd he let his brother trick him 480 00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:15,367 into having this job? 481 00:25:15,367 --> 00:25:16,934 [speaking Portuguese] 482 00:25:20,166 --> 00:25:21,367 [all laughing] 483 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,166 [Larissa in English] How old were you when you started? 484 00:25:25,166 --> 00:25:26,266 Probably, like, nine. 485 00:25:26,266 --> 00:25:28,200 Nine? [chuckles] 486 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,100 Yeah, I grew up mining with my grandpa. 487 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:31,266 [Larissa speaking Portuguese] 488 00:25:36,367 --> 00:25:38,266 [Larissa in English] He knows you from the-- from the show. 489 00:25:38,266 --> 00:25:40,066 So he saw you with your grandpa. 490 00:25:40,066 --> 00:25:41,634 Yeah. He was a good old boy. 491 00:25:47,266 --> 00:25:48,667 [Danny] There it is. Look at that. 492 00:25:48,667 --> 00:25:50,133 A little globule of gold. 493 00:25:50,767 --> 00:25:52,066 So fine. 494 00:25:55,166 --> 00:25:57,867 A real opportunity to be able to see somebody 495 00:25:57,867 --> 00:25:59,500 who isn't using mercury, 496 00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:01,367 who's being successful down here 497 00:26:01,367 --> 00:26:04,300 in a way that Parker recognizes. 498 00:26:04,300 --> 00:26:06,934 He appreciates the way they're going about their business. 499 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,033 It's really exciting. 500 00:26:10,567 --> 00:26:13,200 The next step, you're gonna dry the material, 501 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:14,867 then they wait, 502 00:26:14,867 --> 00:26:16,567 and then they melt it. 503 00:26:16,567 --> 00:26:17,967 And then, it's done. 504 00:26:19,100 --> 00:26:21,166 -[Parker] Whoa. -[Danny] Oh, wow! 505 00:26:21,166 --> 00:26:22,467 Look at that. 506 00:26:22,467 --> 00:26:24,734 -[Parker] That's a lot of gold. -[Danny] Amazing. 507 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:32,233 Look at that. 508 00:26:32,667 --> 00:26:34,467 A golden omelet. 509 00:26:34,467 --> 00:26:37,767 [narrator] This pan is from three days' running. 510 00:26:37,767 --> 00:26:39,133 [both speaking Portuguese] 511 00:26:41,266 --> 00:26:42,667 [Larissa in English] There's some gold nuggets. 512 00:26:42,667 --> 00:26:45,333 [Danny] Oh, look at that. It's a beauty. 513 00:26:51,100 --> 00:26:52,533 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 514 00:26:52,533 --> 00:26:54,166 -[Larissa in English] You weigh it, yeah, you weigh it. -[Diego] Weigh it. 515 00:26:54,867 --> 00:26:56,333 [Parker] You want me to do it? 516 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,266 [Danny] 1.463. 517 00:27:08,266 --> 00:27:10,300 [Parker] What is that in ounces? Um... 518 00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:11,867 47 ounces? 519 00:27:11,867 --> 00:27:13,100 100 grand. 520 00:27:13,100 --> 00:27:15,600 [Danny] 100 grand? Wow. 521 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,066 [narrator] At over an ounce an hour, 522 00:27:17,066 --> 00:27:20,900 this ground is almost as good as Parker's in the Yukon, 523 00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:24,166 without the added costs of removing permafrost. 524 00:27:24,867 --> 00:27:26,834 Very cool. I love this. 525 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:34,934 Wow. 526 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:37,533 Mad, innit? 527 00:27:40,667 --> 00:27:42,166 Liquid gold, right? 528 00:27:44,967 --> 00:27:46,066 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 529 00:27:48,867 --> 00:27:50,166 [Danny in English] Look at that. 530 00:27:51,100 --> 00:27:53,834 Wow! It doesn't look real. 531 00:27:55,500 --> 00:27:56,734 [Diego] Whoa. 532 00:27:57,367 --> 00:27:58,667 [Parker] That's pretty impressive. 533 00:27:58,667 --> 00:27:59,867 Decent ground. 534 00:27:59,867 --> 00:28:02,066 Is it all right if we come back tomorrow? 535 00:28:02,066 --> 00:28:03,767 [Larissa] Yeah. If we come back tomorrow, 536 00:28:03,767 --> 00:28:06,600 he'll show us some samples of the hard rock exploration. 537 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:08,467 [Parker] Sweet. That'll be great. 538 00:28:10,467 --> 00:28:13,567 Today was one of my favorite days 539 00:28:13,567 --> 00:28:16,100 that I've had on a gold mine. 540 00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:18,734 Some of the friendliest gold miners I've ever met. 541 00:28:19,467 --> 00:28:21,667 They have a hard rock prospect 542 00:28:21,667 --> 00:28:24,367 and they have a diamond drill and they're drilling... 543 00:28:24,367 --> 00:28:25,400 hard rock. 544 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,266 Nobody in the Yukon does that. 545 00:28:27,266 --> 00:28:31,567 You know, hard rock is not something that placer miners dabble in. 546 00:28:31,567 --> 00:28:33,667 I'm just amazed at what they take on. 547 00:28:35,367 --> 00:28:37,367 I would actually love to come spend a few months 548 00:28:37,367 --> 00:28:39,233 here, um, with them. 549 00:28:49,266 --> 00:28:50,667 [Danny] Here he is. 550 00:28:50,667 --> 00:28:52,533 -[Larissa] Hey. -[Danny] Guten morgen. 551 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,533 -It's hot. -Insanely hot. 552 00:28:57,266 --> 00:29:00,567 [narrator] Parker has just 48 hours left in Brazil 553 00:29:00,567 --> 00:29:05,567 to decide whether he wants to strike a deal at the São Mateus mine, 554 00:29:05,567 --> 00:29:08,066 part of the Peixoto mining cooperative. 555 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:11,667 [Parker] One of the things that attracts me to this area 556 00:29:11,667 --> 00:29:14,266 is just that kind of level of organization. 557 00:29:14,266 --> 00:29:17,567 I do think that having a strong cooperative makes a big difference. 558 00:29:17,567 --> 00:29:19,166 Yeah, same. 559 00:29:19,166 --> 00:29:21,567 [Danny] Gilberto's mine, more than any other, 560 00:29:21,567 --> 00:29:24,734 has it made you think that it's possible to get something done out here? 561 00:29:25,567 --> 00:29:26,900 I'd like to. 562 00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:28,867 This place reminds me a lot of the Yukon, 563 00:29:28,867 --> 00:29:30,300 and the ground seems decent. 564 00:29:30,300 --> 00:29:32,100 See, there's no permafrost here. 565 00:29:32,100 --> 00:29:34,467 I mean, that costs you a few quid in the Yukon, doesn't it? 566 00:29:34,467 --> 00:29:36,233 Yeah, probably half our cost. 567 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:39,467 Wow. [chuckles] 568 00:29:39,467 --> 00:29:40,767 Well, we're going back there today. 569 00:29:40,767 --> 00:29:42,367 I might try today 570 00:29:42,367 --> 00:29:43,967 to see if something can work, 571 00:29:43,967 --> 00:29:46,200 and, uh, we'll take some angle at it. 572 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,867 [Danny] Well, maybe we should think about... 573 00:29:47,867 --> 00:29:49,667 Get ourselves together and hit the road, huh? 574 00:29:49,667 --> 00:29:51,734 -[Larissa] All right. -I'm down. 575 00:30:00,100 --> 00:30:03,400 [narrator] Before pitching Michael and Gilberto... 576 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,066 -[Parker speaks Portuguese] -[Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 577 00:30:07,667 --> 00:30:09,800 [narrator in English] ...Parker wants more detail 578 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,233 on another side of their operation, hard rock. 579 00:30:15,367 --> 00:30:19,567 I would love to find an avenue into hard rock mining. 580 00:30:19,567 --> 00:30:22,400 Gilberto does both placer and hard rock, 581 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,233 and I see a huge amount of opportunity here. 582 00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:28,333 [speaking Portuguese] 583 00:30:32,367 --> 00:30:33,800 [Larissa speaking Portuguese] 584 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:35,667 [Gilberto speaking] 585 00:30:35,667 --> 00:30:37,166 [Larissa in English] He'll show us some samples 586 00:30:37,166 --> 00:30:40,367 -of the hard rock exploration he's doing. -[Parker] Oh, nice. 587 00:30:45,467 --> 00:30:46,500 Oh, wow. 588 00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:47,934 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 589 00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:57,367 [in English] It's a sample of rocks 590 00:30:57,367 --> 00:30:59,800 that he drilled in a mining pit he has up there. 591 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:01,166 [Parker] Gotcha. 592 00:31:01,166 --> 00:31:03,567 Did he have this done himself? 593 00:31:03,567 --> 00:31:04,533 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 594 00:31:05,066 --> 00:31:07,100 [Parker in English] Oh, wow. 595 00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:09,400 [narrator] These preliminary core samples were taken 596 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:13,567 using a diamond drill from 500 feet below ground. 597 00:31:13,567 --> 00:31:16,700 Here, crystallized quartz and gold veins 598 00:31:16,700 --> 00:31:20,166 pushed from the Earth's center crisscross the claim. 599 00:31:20,166 --> 00:31:23,467 Each core shows a ratio of how much gold 600 00:31:23,467 --> 00:31:26,233 may be in the ground per ton of rock. 601 00:31:29,767 --> 00:31:30,867 [Parker] How were the results? 602 00:31:30,867 --> 00:31:32,867 [speaking Portuguese] 603 00:31:32,867 --> 00:31:34,767 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 604 00:31:34,767 --> 00:31:37,333 [Larissa in English] Great. They found three gold veins. 605 00:31:37,867 --> 00:31:41,967 Begins from 46 meters deep. 606 00:31:41,967 --> 00:31:43,767 [narrator] If the samples are accurate, 607 00:31:43,767 --> 00:31:46,567 there could be over $100 million 608 00:31:46,567 --> 00:31:51,100 worth of hard rock gold under the São Mateus mine. 609 00:31:51,100 --> 00:31:52,467 [Michael speaking Portuguese] 610 00:31:57,667 --> 00:32:00,800 [in English] They still have 15, 20 years of gold production... 611 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,467 -Oh, wow. Right. -[Larissa] From the deposits that they count. 612 00:32:03,467 --> 00:32:04,667 That's impressive. 613 00:32:04,667 --> 00:32:06,033 They've got a lot going on. 614 00:32:06,867 --> 00:32:07,934 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 615 00:32:07,934 --> 00:32:09,300 -[Larissa in English] A lot of work -[Parker] Yeah. 616 00:32:09,300 --> 00:32:10,333 Yeah. [speaking Portuguese] 617 00:32:10,333 --> 00:32:11,667 [Parker in English] Keep-- keeps you out of trouble. 618 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:14,900 They're the only gold miners I've ever met 619 00:32:14,900 --> 00:32:17,767 that are gold mining, building their own-- 620 00:32:17,767 --> 00:32:18,867 all their own equipment 621 00:32:18,867 --> 00:32:21,066 and doing diamond drilling for hard rock. 622 00:32:22,467 --> 00:32:24,400 You know, I'd love to get involved 623 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,200 and want to have that conversation with him. 624 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:28,667 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 625 00:32:28,667 --> 00:32:30,467 [Larissa in English] He's saying we could go check the lab 626 00:32:30,467 --> 00:32:32,166 to talk business. 627 00:32:32,166 --> 00:32:34,767 This place is the complete package. 628 00:32:34,767 --> 00:32:36,600 They're doing placer mining, 629 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,367 and they're doing exploration all on their own land. 630 00:32:40,367 --> 00:32:43,767 And I think Parker really, really wants to be a part of that. 631 00:32:43,767 --> 00:32:46,767 Part of my job has to be looking at other areas, 632 00:32:46,767 --> 00:32:49,567 finding what the best opportunities are. 633 00:32:49,567 --> 00:32:51,000 We just bought Dominion. 634 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,867 It only bought us five years. 635 00:32:52,867 --> 00:32:54,433 And that will go by very fast. 636 00:32:58,500 --> 00:32:59,767 [speaking Portuguese] 637 00:33:04,300 --> 00:33:07,567 [in English] The truth is, showing up to a place like this 638 00:33:07,567 --> 00:33:09,867 with a bunch of money and trying to go big fast 639 00:33:09,867 --> 00:33:11,934 is the worst thing you could do. 640 00:33:13,266 --> 00:33:15,266 I think the way into this place 641 00:33:15,266 --> 00:33:19,867 is with a very small amount of money 642 00:33:19,867 --> 00:33:21,934 and a lot of sweat equity. 643 00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:25,066 There's some things that money doesn't buy. 644 00:33:26,767 --> 00:33:28,100 And I want their opinion on this. 645 00:33:28,100 --> 00:33:29,767 And I know I keep beating the drum on this, 646 00:33:29,767 --> 00:33:33,800 but, like, the most efficient system is a floating plant. 647 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,867 If we could bring that system 648 00:33:35,867 --> 00:33:37,400 and that kind of technology here, 649 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,000 I would be really interested in, like, building one. 650 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,433 [speaking Portuguese] 651 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:48,166 [Parker in English] The nicest thing about that system 652 00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:50,000 is it's only two people, 653 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,400 and that would require no dump trucks. 654 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:56,433 You'd be doing two ounces an hour, or 65 grams. 655 00:33:57,066 --> 00:33:58,567 [narrator] Parker's proposal 656 00:33:58,567 --> 00:34:01,266 is to build a custom floating wash plant 657 00:34:01,266 --> 00:34:04,867 at a cost of around $250,000. 658 00:34:04,867 --> 00:34:07,400 Then, test it on the mine site 659 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,100 for a cut of the gold profits. 660 00:34:10,100 --> 00:34:12,867 He believes the system would almost double 661 00:34:12,867 --> 00:34:15,667 Gilberto and Michael's gold production 662 00:34:15,667 --> 00:34:18,600 to around $4,000 an hour. 663 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,433 [Michael speaking Portuguese] 664 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:24,200 [in English] Do they have a piece of ground 665 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:26,634 that we can prove that it'll work on? 666 00:34:32,467 --> 00:34:34,066 [speaking Portuguese] 667 00:34:34,066 --> 00:34:35,767 [Larissa in English] Ah, you can sit and talk. 668 00:34:35,767 --> 00:34:37,166 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 669 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,600 -[Diego] He wants, but out of camera. -Ah. 670 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:42,166 Well, let's kick all them out. 671 00:34:42,166 --> 00:34:44,367 We're off. We're out of here. 672 00:34:44,367 --> 00:34:46,767 [Parker] I'm not scared of being told "no". 673 00:34:46,767 --> 00:34:47,867 That doesn't bother me. 674 00:34:47,867 --> 00:34:50,000 I hate the idea of, like, being old 675 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,567 and feel like I didn't take 676 00:34:52,567 --> 00:34:55,100 the most interesting opportunities, 677 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:57,266 and the most exciting route. 678 00:34:57,266 --> 00:34:59,000 [Danny] They don't want that filmed. 679 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,166 Is this thing going? 680 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:05,467 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 681 00:35:10,266 --> 00:35:12,200 [Larissa in English] Ah, They grow fish here. 682 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:13,567 [speaking Portuguese] 683 00:35:13,567 --> 00:35:15,033 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 684 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:19,700 [Danny] Go, Diego. 685 00:35:19,700 --> 00:35:21,667 -[man speaking Portuguese] -[Gilberto speaks] 686 00:35:21,667 --> 00:35:23,166 [Larissa in English] Oh, I love tambaqui. 687 00:35:23,166 --> 00:35:24,567 [Larissa gasps] 688 00:35:27,467 --> 00:35:28,367 [all laughing] 689 00:35:28,367 --> 00:35:29,667 [Larissa speaking Portuguese] 690 00:35:30,767 --> 00:35:32,100 [Gilberto speaking Portuguese] 691 00:35:32,100 --> 00:35:34,066 [Parker in English] I was just telling Chris Doumitt about this area. 692 00:35:34,066 --> 00:35:36,200 -[Danny] Oh, yeah. -Without me even talking about the fish, he's like, 693 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:37,300 "Yeah, but how's the fishing?" 694 00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:38,967 -[laughs] Really? -[Parker] I just sent him that video 695 00:35:38,967 --> 00:35:40,467 and he's like, "Sign me up." 696 00:35:40,467 --> 00:35:41,433 [laughs] 697 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:50,834 [Danny speaking] 698 00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:55,100 I'm not sure. I'm not sure what he's doing. 699 00:35:55,100 --> 00:35:57,467 [narrator] As the film crew wait outside... 700 00:35:57,467 --> 00:35:59,700 [Frederique] Parker's real interested in this ground, 701 00:35:59,700 --> 00:36:02,667 and I think he wants to maybe set up a deal with them. 702 00:36:02,667 --> 00:36:04,767 [narrator] Parker attempts to cut a deal 703 00:36:04,767 --> 00:36:08,300 to bring a floating wash plant to the D'Souza mine. 704 00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:10,000 The proposal that Parker just put 705 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,100 to Gilberto and Michael 706 00:36:12,100 --> 00:36:16,767 is our last opportunity to get something stamped on the table. 707 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:21,600 A two-man floating dredge would be perfect here, 708 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,934 but only if we can find the right piece of land. 709 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,400 Hopefully he'll say yes, 710 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,834 but, uh, that's what we're about to find out, I guess. 711 00:36:39,100 --> 00:36:40,634 [Frederique] We're good to go back in. 712 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,166 [Parker] Gilberto said no to a floating plant. 713 00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:52,934 I'm not really surprised. 714 00:36:53,867 --> 00:36:55,800 You know, we talked a little bit off camera 715 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,600 about the gold they're finding 716 00:36:57,600 --> 00:36:59,667 and their gold miners. 717 00:36:59,667 --> 00:37:01,800 If they have ground that has gold in it, 718 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,467 they're gonna mine it themselves. 719 00:37:03,467 --> 00:37:06,567 [narrator] But the door is still open to a future deal. 720 00:37:06,567 --> 00:37:08,166 And a big one. 721 00:37:08,166 --> 00:37:10,367 [speaking Portuguese] 722 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:19,767 [Larissa in English] 'Cause he's saying that, 723 00:37:19,767 --> 00:37:22,900 if he... He goes in business with you and do a project here, 724 00:37:22,900 --> 00:37:24,367 it'll be, like, a mega operation. 725 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:26,767 Hopefully, someday in the future, 726 00:37:26,767 --> 00:37:29,567 he calls me up and we have a project together. 727 00:37:29,567 --> 00:37:31,533 I'd... I'd come down here in a heartbeat. 728 00:37:32,967 --> 00:37:35,100 Well, at a minimum, I do want him to come up to the Yukon 729 00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:36,667 and bring some of his family 730 00:37:36,667 --> 00:37:38,100 so I can return the favor, 731 00:37:38,100 --> 00:37:39,667 'cause they've been the best hosts. 732 00:37:39,667 --> 00:37:41,133 [speaking Portuguese] 733 00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:44,200 [in English] I think that would be-- 734 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:45,467 it would be really fun. 735 00:37:46,467 --> 00:37:47,634 Obrigado. 736 00:38:00,567 --> 00:38:02,100 [Danny in English] Where have you brought us, Parker? 737 00:38:02,100 --> 00:38:03,600 It's gorgeous. 738 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,300 A little treat for our last night in the country. 739 00:38:06,300 --> 00:38:08,166 It looks lovely, though. It's beautiful. 740 00:38:08,166 --> 00:38:09,600 [Larissa] Mmm-hmm. 741 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,266 [Parker] In all the years that I've been, you know, 742 00:38:11,266 --> 00:38:13,700 traveling around the world, looking at ground, 743 00:38:13,700 --> 00:38:17,100 Peixoto is the most interesting one we're found. 744 00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:19,700 I do really feel coming to a place like this 745 00:38:19,700 --> 00:38:22,000 would be a really fun adventure. 746 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,266 I mean, for me, that's kind of what mining is all about. 747 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,734 Oh, look, a capybara. 748 00:38:34,300 --> 00:38:35,467 They're so cute. 749 00:38:35,467 --> 00:38:37,567 Look at him just sat there. 750 00:38:37,567 --> 00:38:39,967 [Larissa] They're just chilling. 751 00:38:39,967 --> 00:38:41,500 [Danny] Awesome. What should we do then? 752 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:42,767 Here by the pool? 753 00:38:42,767 --> 00:38:44,500 [Danny] Should we go to our rooms, get ourselves... 754 00:38:44,500 --> 00:38:46,166 -[Larissa] Yeah. -Spick and span 755 00:38:46,166 --> 00:38:48,500 -and then meet down here? -If you want. 756 00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:50,567 With Gilberto not doing a deal, I think, 757 00:38:50,567 --> 00:38:52,567 he doesn't need anything from us. 758 00:38:52,567 --> 00:38:54,567 What this means for me, I don't know. 759 00:38:54,567 --> 00:38:56,367 Setback's part of the process. 760 00:38:56,367 --> 00:38:58,467 But guaranteed way to fail is to not try. 761 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:05,000 Shall we have a beer? 762 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,433 -[Larissa and Diego] Yes. -Let's go. 763 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:11,567 [phone ringing] 764 00:39:11,567 --> 00:39:13,634 Oh, I just gotta take this real quick. 765 00:39:14,266 --> 00:39:15,266 Hello. 766 00:39:16,166 --> 00:39:17,667 How's it going? 767 00:39:17,667 --> 00:39:19,700 -[Larissa and Diego] Good. -It was nice to be in some normal clothes, isn't it? 768 00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:22,033 -[Larissa] Exactly, right? -Really nice. 769 00:39:23,367 --> 00:39:25,467 -He's on the phone. -Yeah, he's on the phone. 770 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,367 Coming to this trip, I had a goal 771 00:39:29,367 --> 00:39:32,166 that was, like, be more boots on the ground 772 00:39:32,166 --> 00:39:35,900 and understand the reality of the gold mining industry in Brazil. 773 00:39:35,900 --> 00:39:40,400 And I think it was 100% successful. 774 00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:42,400 This trip has been the most amazing experience 775 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,433 I had in my life. Really, for real. 776 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:51,233 [Danny] Cheers, mate. 777 00:39:52,467 --> 00:39:54,233 -[all cheers] -Whoa, I've got the fullest. 778 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,066 That was a trip and a half. 779 00:39:57,066 --> 00:39:58,667 One to remember forever. 780 00:39:58,667 --> 00:39:59,900 [Parker] No, it was a good trip. 781 00:39:59,900 --> 00:40:01,567 You all did well. 782 00:40:01,567 --> 00:40:02,667 [Danny] How about you, Diego? 783 00:40:02,667 --> 00:40:03,867 How was the trip for you? 784 00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:12,533 [Parker] It kinda sucks. 785 00:40:13,900 --> 00:40:16,266 But I'm still talking to the co-op. 786 00:40:16,266 --> 00:40:17,600 That's who I was just on the phone with. 787 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,100 -[Danny] Nice. -[Larissa] Really, Parker? 788 00:40:20,100 --> 00:40:21,567 [Danny] Mate, that is incredible. 789 00:40:21,567 --> 00:40:23,066 [Parker] You know, if there's an opportunity 790 00:40:23,066 --> 00:40:26,400 to make something happen down here, I will. 791 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,567 We might be building a mine site in Brazil next winter. 792 00:40:28,567 --> 00:40:30,367 -Who knows? -Who knows? 793 00:40:30,367 --> 00:40:32,467 Thank you guys, it's been-- Yeah, it's been great. 794 00:40:32,467 --> 00:40:34,233 -Really. Yeah, it's been amazing. -It's been amazing. 795 00:40:35,867 --> 00:40:37,967 [Danny] One of the major purposes of this trip 796 00:40:37,967 --> 00:40:40,300 was to see whether or not if there was any other opportunities 797 00:40:40,300 --> 00:40:44,133 for him to kind of expand his empire and... we found it. 798 00:40:44,667 --> 00:40:46,200 The reason for my call. 799 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,734 I'm trying to plan a trip back here. 800 00:40:49,367 --> 00:40:50,767 Overall, the trip was good. 801 00:40:50,767 --> 00:40:53,300 Got some leads on some exciting areas 802 00:40:53,300 --> 00:40:57,467 in Peixoto, which I'm really interested in. 803 00:40:57,467 --> 00:40:59,100 I'll probably come here in the next few months 804 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:01,634 with, you know, four or five people. 805 00:41:03,166 --> 00:41:04,800 Now, it's just a matter of seeing 806 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,700 if we wanna start another operation 807 00:41:06,700 --> 00:41:08,467 halfway around the world. 808 00:41:08,467 --> 00:41:11,300 But the only way to find out is to try. 809 00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:13,467 All right, well, I'll start putting a timeline together 810 00:41:13,467 --> 00:41:14,667 and keep you in the loop, 811 00:41:14,667 --> 00:41:16,567 and... and we'll make it happen. 812 00:41:16,567 --> 00:41:19,200 All right. Thanks, Tatiana. Bye. 813 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:20,367 For the people that want it, 814 00:41:20,367 --> 00:41:22,266 there's a huge amount of opportunity 815 00:41:22,266 --> 00:41:24,367 in gold mining here. 816 00:41:24,367 --> 00:41:27,200 I don't know what the odds are, but I like the challenge.