1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,233 [Derek] Everything I've been saving 2 00:00:05,233 --> 00:00:07,533 for the last ten years is in this operation. 3 00:00:08,634 --> 00:00:11,166 So darn hard to separate it from your gold. 4 00:00:12,500 --> 00:00:14,533 [Juan] There's three families that are completely dependent 5 00:00:14,533 --> 00:00:16,333 on the gold that's going to come off this plant. 6 00:00:16,333 --> 00:00:18,967 This season is kind of a make or break. 7 00:00:18,967 --> 00:00:20,166 Oh, my gosh. 8 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:22,734 - Oh, man. - Such an idiot. 9 00:00:22,734 --> 00:00:24,333 [Freddy] You almost don't even need to pan 10 00:00:24,333 --> 00:00:25,734 that to know there is gold in it. 11 00:00:25,734 --> 00:00:28,166 - That's pay. That's pay right there. - That is pay. 12 00:00:28,166 --> 00:00:30,100 [Freddy] Don't move. 13 00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:32,634 Little nervous. No gold in this. 14 00:00:32,634 --> 00:00:34,100 [Juan] That's not good, Fred. 15 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:36,433 We really can't afford to have bad clean-ups. 16 00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:38,900 There's no guarantees in gold, buddy. 17 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:55,000 I've done some prospecting in this area of Idaho, 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,734 but I've not even been close to this spot back here. 19 00:00:57,734 --> 00:00:59,900 Well, real pretty country back here. 20 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:02,166 Looks like gold country to me. 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,266 [narrator] Freddy and Juan are in Western Idaho, 22 00:01:06,266 --> 00:01:10,000 seven miles from historic mining town Silver City, 23 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,533 en route to a trio of young guns 24 00:01:12,533 --> 00:01:16,066 who have called in a last ditch plea for mining help. 25 00:01:25,700 --> 00:01:28,266 So we're actually going to go see a buddy of mine, Chris. 26 00:01:28,266 --> 00:01:29,900 I met him about a year ago, Fred, 27 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:31,100 and worked with him a little bit. 28 00:01:31,100 --> 00:01:33,166 He and his buddy Derek and his brother Matt 29 00:01:33,166 --> 00:01:35,700 are out here trying to make a good go at it. 30 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:37,600 Last year they didn't do all that well. 31 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:38,734 Roger that. 32 00:01:38,734 --> 00:01:40,734 And really, all three of the guys and their families 33 00:01:40,734 --> 00:01:43,166 are dependent on the gold for their livelihood. 34 00:01:43,166 --> 00:01:45,233 If we can get them a little more gold in their pocket, 35 00:01:45,233 --> 00:01:47,166 it's going to be a big deal to them. 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:58,967 [Juan] Well, it's a nice little setup they got down here, Freddy. 37 00:01:58,967 --> 00:02:00,533 [Freddy] It is. 38 00:02:02,533 --> 00:02:03,800 Hey, guys. 39 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:05,166 - Hey, what's going, Juan? - [Juan] What's going on, Chris? 40 00:02:05,166 --> 00:02:06,900 - Good to see you, buddy. - Good to see you again. 41 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:08,233 - How you've been? - Doing excellent. 42 00:02:08,233 --> 00:02:09,533 - Freddy, Chris. Chris, Freddy. - Chris. 43 00:02:09,533 --> 00:02:11,100 - Nice to meet you, Freddy. - Nice to meet you. 44 00:02:11,100 --> 00:02:12,900 - This is my buddy Derek. - Derek, nice to meet you, Derek. 45 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:14,166 - And his brother, Matt. - Hey, Matt. 46 00:02:14,166 --> 00:02:15,367 How you doing, Matt? 47 00:02:15,367 --> 00:02:17,266 So, Chris, tell me a little bit about everybody's role. 48 00:02:17,266 --> 00:02:18,734 - This is Derek's claims. - Okay. 49 00:02:18,734 --> 00:02:20,533 You know, I worked with him a little bit last year. 50 00:02:20,533 --> 00:02:22,900 We've been mining together and we kind of drug Matt into this. 51 00:02:22,900 --> 00:02:24,333 He's never done it before. So... 52 00:02:24,333 --> 00:02:26,333 Yeah, flying blind. 53 00:02:27,266 --> 00:02:29,100 - [Freddy] Here we go. - [Chris] Yeah, here we go. 54 00:02:29,100 --> 00:02:31,100 And this is my first week ever mining. 55 00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:32,266 - So I'm green. - [Freddy] Oh, really? 56 00:02:32,266 --> 00:02:33,734 - I'm green. - That's all right. 57 00:02:33,734 --> 00:02:35,266 [Chris] Yeah. He's learning the ropes. 58 00:02:35,266 --> 00:02:36,700 Yeah. It's been interesting. 59 00:02:38,333 --> 00:02:40,367 [narrator] With a decade of experience, 60 00:02:40,367 --> 00:02:43,867 mine owner Derek True is all in after investing 61 00:02:43,867 --> 00:02:48,100 his life savings of $125,000 to buy 62 00:02:48,100 --> 00:02:51,800 and equip his own claim, named True Mine. 63 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,600 So to build up this operation, it's taken me about two years. 64 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,433 I built the trommel and then also added 65 00:02:58,433 --> 00:03:01,333 the feed hopper and the other conveyor last year. 66 00:03:01,333 --> 00:03:04,233 It's kind of been trial by error and the gold total 67 00:03:04,233 --> 00:03:08,166 for last season ended up being 27 ounces, not enough. 68 00:03:08,166 --> 00:03:10,467 We have to get 100 ounces this season. 69 00:03:10,467 --> 00:03:12,100 So kind of changed things around. 70 00:03:12,100 --> 00:03:15,734 So added Chris, added Matt, called them up and they wanted 71 00:03:15,734 --> 00:03:17,867 to give it a go and we decided it 72 00:03:17,867 --> 00:03:20,800 would be a good idea to call in Freddy and Juan. 73 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:22,734 My investment, everything I've been saving 74 00:03:22,734 --> 00:03:27,533 for the last ten years is in this operation and it needs to be successful. 75 00:03:30,266 --> 00:03:31,734 Yeah. 76 00:03:31,734 --> 00:03:33,500 I'm glad, Juan, you guys could come up, because the biggest challenge, 77 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:35,634 though, when it comes to like cleaning it up is there's like 78 00:03:35,634 --> 00:03:40,066 an amber sand or like a yellowish amber sand moissanite maybe. 79 00:03:40,066 --> 00:03:42,367 It's really hard to get those sands out. 80 00:03:42,367 --> 00:03:44,000 [Juan] Well, let's see what it is, huh, Fred? 81 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,533 [Freddy] Yeah. I'm curious to see. 82 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:48,734 You guys living out here when you're mining here? 83 00:03:48,734 --> 00:03:50,066 - Yeah. - Second home. 84 00:03:50,066 --> 00:03:51,800 - We got all our families up here, too. - [Juan] Oh, really? 85 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,100 - Yeah. - Yeah. 86 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:56,800 Last year, Derek was up here pretty much by himself, 87 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,266 and he's having a little hard time getting... 88 00:03:59,266 --> 00:04:01,367 getting things really dialed in. 89 00:04:01,367 --> 00:04:02,867 This year we're kind of coming together. 90 00:04:02,867 --> 00:04:04,734 So we're going to give it a shot and see 91 00:04:04,734 --> 00:04:06,166 if we can all work together as a team 92 00:04:06,166 --> 00:04:08,266 and if we could really get this dialed in, it could really work. 93 00:04:08,266 --> 00:04:11,333 - Yeah. Really, it's make or break. - [Matt] Absolutely. 94 00:04:11,333 --> 00:04:16,000 I lost my... my company a little bit ago, and this is my last chance. 95 00:04:17,967 --> 00:04:19,967 I'm so thankful for my brother taking me 96 00:04:19,967 --> 00:04:22,000 under his wing and giving me this opportunity. 97 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,166 I don't want to fail him, so it's going to be 98 00:04:24,166 --> 00:04:26,367 a challenge, but I accept the challenge. 99 00:04:26,367 --> 00:04:30,333 [narrator] The True crew have pulled in six ounces so far this season. 100 00:04:30,333 --> 00:04:33,166 With 12 weeks left, they must pull in at least 101 00:04:33,166 --> 00:04:38,600 another 95 ounces to turn a profit and keep their families' dreams alive. 102 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,467 Yeah, with the three of us being here, I mean, there is a lot on the line. 103 00:04:42,467 --> 00:04:45,634 It's just the added stress of having two more families, you know. 104 00:04:47,333 --> 00:04:48,367 [Juan] That's a cool looking plant, guys. 105 00:04:48,367 --> 00:04:50,266 How many yards an hour will it do? 106 00:04:50,266 --> 00:04:52,000 It's running about 23 right now. 107 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,433 [Juan] You need more yardage. 108 00:04:53,433 --> 00:04:55,533 - You got three families dependent... - Yeah. Three mouths to feed. 109 00:04:55,533 --> 00:04:56,734 Let's run a plan. 110 00:04:56,734 --> 00:04:59,166 Let's run a four-hour test to see how much gold you get. 111 00:04:59,166 --> 00:05:00,333 Sounds good. 112 00:05:00,333 --> 00:05:01,900 Make hay when the sun shines. 113 00:05:01,900 --> 00:05:03,066 Slinging dirt. 114 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:10,367 All right, let's fire it up. 115 00:05:14,967 --> 00:05:16,433 Send in the water. 116 00:05:16,433 --> 00:05:19,533 [narrator] The four-hour test will give Freddy and Juan 117 00:05:19,533 --> 00:05:22,333 the chance to assess how the wash plant runs 118 00:05:22,333 --> 00:05:25,233 and highlight any flaws in their setup. 119 00:05:25,233 --> 00:05:26,800 There we go. 120 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:34,734 First bucket. Here we go. 121 00:05:34,734 --> 00:05:38,266 We only got three hours and 59 minutes left to go, Juan. 122 00:05:38,266 --> 00:05:39,600 Nice. 123 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,367 [narrator] When pay dirt drops into the hopper, 124 00:05:44,367 --> 00:05:48,433 the conveyor belt feeds it into the small mobile eight-foot trommel 125 00:05:48,433 --> 00:05:53,266 where water jets wash the gold and fine material from the rocks. 126 00:05:53,266 --> 00:05:56,233 Derek's extra long 16-foot sluices 127 00:05:56,233 --> 00:06:00,166 help separate the gold from the heavy mysterious sands, 128 00:06:00,166 --> 00:06:02,600 the main nemesis to the operation. 129 00:06:10,333 --> 00:06:11,467 [Juan] That's weird. 130 00:06:11,467 --> 00:06:12,533 What's that? 131 00:06:12,533 --> 00:06:14,867 They got water going to the bottom of that belt. 132 00:06:14,867 --> 00:06:17,800 [Freddy] Conveyors aren't designed to run wet. 133 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,467 I see what they're trying to do, 134 00:06:20,467 --> 00:06:23,734 trying to use it to clean that belt off, 135 00:06:23,734 --> 00:06:28,967 but at the same time it may be making him lose gold. 136 00:06:28,967 --> 00:06:32,000 [Juan] Look at all this material that's already come down. 137 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,700 [Freddy] A river runs through it, Juan. 138 00:06:33,700 --> 00:06:36,333 Yeah, I guess we get a pan and take a look at it, 139 00:06:36,333 --> 00:06:39,000 but there's a lot of stuff in there that should be going through that screen. 140 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:40,634 - Yeah, I'll go grab a pan. - Okay. 141 00:06:44,266 --> 00:06:45,533 See what's in her, huh, Juan? 142 00:06:45,533 --> 00:06:46,900 Yeah. 143 00:06:48,166 --> 00:06:49,600 [Freddy] Let's hope nothing. 144 00:06:52,233 --> 00:06:54,000 - Do you see any gold in it? - Yep. 145 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,100 One, two, three, four. 146 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:57,900 Oh, there is a nice piece right there. 147 00:06:57,900 --> 00:06:59,266 [Juan] A lot of heavy in there. 148 00:06:59,266 --> 00:07:00,900 [Freddy] Yeah. 149 00:07:00,900 --> 00:07:02,800 I don't know what the amber sands are. 150 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,066 So darn hard to separate it from the gold. 151 00:07:06,066 --> 00:07:07,900 [Juan] Yeah, it's pretty bad, Fred. 152 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,166 [narrator] This is the first time in nearly 50 years 153 00:07:13,166 --> 00:07:18,367 of panning gold that Freddy has encountered sand this heavy. 154 00:07:18,367 --> 00:07:23,500 Gold is 19 times heavier than water and sinks to the bottom of the pan. 155 00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:28,000 The lighter material is washed away first, then the heavier black sands. 156 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,500 But the amber sands have a weight much closer to gold, 157 00:07:31,500 --> 00:07:34,066 making it extremely difficult to separate. 158 00:07:44,867 --> 00:07:46,266 [Chris] Being in a gold mine isn't easy, 159 00:07:46,266 --> 00:07:49,533 but anything worth having doesn't always come easy. 160 00:07:50,734 --> 00:07:52,100 Derek has done a lot of hard work 161 00:07:52,100 --> 00:07:55,634 on building this wash plant and getting this equipment going. 162 00:07:55,634 --> 00:07:58,233 And he has a lot of passion in mining like I do, 163 00:07:58,233 --> 00:08:00,500 and it's really been great to see us 164 00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:03,867 pull this together and make it work with Freddy and Juan's help. 165 00:08:03,867 --> 00:08:07,533 Go over to your right a little more, Matt. 166 00:08:07,533 --> 00:08:08,634 I'm not going to lie. 167 00:08:08,634 --> 00:08:11,233 I'm not multitasking very well today. 168 00:08:15,900 --> 00:08:18,233 [Derek] Yeah, last year was not the best. 169 00:08:18,233 --> 00:08:20,967 It started with a bunch of equipment problems 170 00:08:20,967 --> 00:08:24,066 and keeping the wash plant going with one guy. 171 00:08:24,066 --> 00:08:29,800 Twenty-seven ounces just was not enough gold for the effort put in. 172 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,100 Coming into the start of this new season 173 00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:36,967 with the three of us guys depending on making money, 174 00:08:36,967 --> 00:08:39,266 it has to be better than last year 175 00:08:39,266 --> 00:08:43,333 or else next year, there might not be a next year. 176 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,734 There's three families that are completely dependent 177 00:08:46,734 --> 00:08:48,533 on the gold that's going to come off of this plant. 178 00:08:48,533 --> 00:08:52,166 Yep. Whatever gold's in the sluice box is feeding these guys. 179 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:56,433 [Matt] Oh! 180 00:08:57,367 --> 00:08:58,734 Oh, my gosh. 181 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:02,333 Oh, man. 182 00:09:03,533 --> 00:09:04,900 [Matt] Such an idiot. 183 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:18,166 It's going to be okay. 184 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:20,867 That's not good, Fred. 185 00:09:20,867 --> 00:09:23,367 [Matt] I forgot to open the rear hatch 186 00:09:23,367 --> 00:09:26,800 and then all of a sudden I'm looking up at the sky. 187 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,266 Hopefully this will work. 188 00:09:29,266 --> 00:09:31,367 So should I pull the PTO and everything out? 189 00:09:31,367 --> 00:09:32,800 Just don't touch anything right now. 190 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:34,734 - Okay. - That's probably the best thing. 191 00:09:34,734 --> 00:09:37,634 My brother is probably going to kick me off the site. 192 00:09:37,634 --> 00:09:40,333 Hopefully, nothing's permanently damaged. 193 00:09:41,266 --> 00:09:43,266 I forgot to pull the handle. 194 00:09:43,266 --> 00:09:44,367 101, lift the gate. 195 00:09:44,367 --> 00:09:46,900 Well, and then, I pushed... I pushed it to disengage 196 00:09:46,900 --> 00:09:48,500 when it was like and then it was... just too late. 197 00:09:48,500 --> 00:09:49,634 I was straight up. 198 00:09:49,634 --> 00:09:51,333 Gravity took its effect. 199 00:09:51,333 --> 00:09:53,700 [Derek] Did you put the brake on? 200 00:09:53,700 --> 00:09:55,600 No, I didn't do anything. 201 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:56,634 [Derek] Just bailed? 202 00:09:56,634 --> 00:09:59,066 I feel like a flippin' idiot. 203 00:09:59,066 --> 00:10:00,233 [Juan] What happened? 204 00:10:00,233 --> 00:10:01,634 [Freddy] Pulling wheelies? 205 00:10:01,634 --> 00:10:03,734 That's kind of an interesting way to, you know, dump the truck. 206 00:10:03,734 --> 00:10:05,734 It's not the best first impression for... 207 00:10:05,734 --> 00:10:07,467 - [Juan] It's all right. - ...first week on the mine for sure. 208 00:10:07,467 --> 00:10:08,533 - [Juan] Hey, that's all right. - [Matt] For sure. 209 00:10:08,533 --> 00:10:09,800 Just seeing the look on his face. 210 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:11,066 [Juan] Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure. 211 00:10:11,066 --> 00:10:13,000 - You probably won't do it again. - [Matt] Absolutely not. 212 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,266 - I'll let you get back at it. - Thanks, guys. 213 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,266 [Derek] Gentle! 214 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:24,867 - [Matt] Oh... - [Derek] You're all right. 215 00:10:27,333 --> 00:10:29,166 [Matt] Oh, my gosh... 216 00:10:29,166 --> 00:10:30,800 [Chris] Whoo! Thank you, Jesus. 217 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,433 [Chris] Matt is as green as they get. 218 00:10:40,433 --> 00:10:42,467 I could see Derek get frustrated with Matt, 219 00:10:42,467 --> 00:10:44,867 but he knows that Matt's been through some tough times, 220 00:10:44,867 --> 00:10:48,233 and that's why he's got him up here trying to help him make a future for himself. 221 00:10:52,433 --> 00:10:55,166 [narrator] With the rock truck back in action, the test run 222 00:10:55,166 --> 00:10:57,900 has just two more hours remaining. 223 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:00,100 [Matt] Oh, my God. 224 00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:03,233 Actually started off in my younger years 225 00:11:03,233 --> 00:11:05,000 as a commercial helicopter pilot. 226 00:11:06,233 --> 00:11:07,800 I lived a pretty wild life. 227 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,433 I liked to play on the weekends and I went on my quad 228 00:11:11,433 --> 00:11:13,634 and was riding around having fun. 229 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,734 And I fly off a cliff, hit the rocks, 230 00:11:18,734 --> 00:11:21,000 and I was in a coma for three days 231 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,166 and full body cast for three months. 232 00:11:24,734 --> 00:11:26,867 And you know, I had a traumatic brain injury. 233 00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:30,333 My brother said, hey, you're in a tight spot. 234 00:11:30,333 --> 00:11:31,800 You love being in the mountains. 235 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:33,266 Let's give this a try. 236 00:11:33,266 --> 00:11:36,867 I am not back 100%, but I just want to overcome it. 237 00:11:36,867 --> 00:11:39,166 I don't want to let it hold me back. 238 00:11:39,166 --> 00:11:40,967 Matt, you're good to go. 239 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:52,967 [Juan] Right now, as you can see, 240 00:11:52,967 --> 00:11:55,433 we've got quite a bit of material coming down here that 241 00:11:55,433 --> 00:11:57,634 never even has a chance to get washed. 242 00:11:57,634 --> 00:11:59,634 [Freddy] Yeah, they're losing gold here. 243 00:11:59,634 --> 00:12:01,367 [Juan] Look at that right there, Freddy. 244 00:12:01,367 --> 00:12:03,066 No, as he's dumping material, 245 00:12:03,066 --> 00:12:06,000 all that fine material is just going off the top of it. 246 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,000 [Freddy] You almost don't even need to pan that to know there's gold in it. 247 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,000 - That's pay. That's pay right there. - That is pay. 248 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,800 All that should be going down the sluice box. 249 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,367 Just going out on the ground there. 250 00:12:15,367 --> 00:12:17,734 I'm going to say 5% of their material, huh? 251 00:12:17,734 --> 00:12:19,600 [Juan] Yeah, at least 5%. 252 00:12:22,100 --> 00:12:23,634 Take her away, Matt. 253 00:12:32,533 --> 00:12:33,867 [Derek] Oh, no. 254 00:12:33,867 --> 00:12:36,900 Matt, the hopper is jammed up. 255 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,867 Oh, boy. 256 00:12:41,867 --> 00:12:43,333 Hurry up. 257 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,800 [Derek] Matt, the hopper is not feeding material. 258 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,100 [narrator] With 30 minutes to go in the first test run... 259 00:13:03,100 --> 00:13:06,166 Yeah. If you want to hurry up, you've got to push dirt down. 260 00:13:06,166 --> 00:13:08,100 [Matt over radio] I will. 261 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,500 [narrator] A clogged hopper has shut them down. 262 00:13:12,734 --> 00:13:14,367 They plugged up, Juan? 263 00:13:14,367 --> 00:13:15,734 [Juan] Yeah, he's plugged up. 264 00:13:15,734 --> 00:13:17,266 That's not good, Fred. 265 00:13:17,266 --> 00:13:19,000 Matt, material is stacking up. 266 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,333 You're gonna have to push it down. 267 00:13:21,333 --> 00:13:23,266 The thing is dry again. 268 00:13:25,700 --> 00:13:26,700 [Matt] Argh! 269 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:29,266 That's not good. 270 00:13:30,433 --> 00:13:33,800 Hopper's getting plugged up when the material gets wet. 271 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,100 You see the bars down there. 272 00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:38,233 Sometimes they'll get built up on that and it can't... 273 00:13:38,233 --> 00:13:40,166 it won't slide past them. 274 00:13:40,166 --> 00:13:45,066 And we have to do this at least, I don't know, every hour. 275 00:13:45,066 --> 00:13:48,266 I mean, we're up here for five, ten minutes at a time, 276 00:13:48,266 --> 00:13:50,900 and it takes away from us digging pay out of the cut. 277 00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:54,367 [narrator] The clogged hopper costs the operation a total 278 00:13:54,367 --> 00:13:58,100 of five to ten hours per week of critical mining time. 279 00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:00,533 I've been fighting it and fighting it. 280 00:14:02,266 --> 00:14:06,000 I hope these guys can find a solution to fix that thing. 281 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,000 The hopper is slowing them down by a lot. 282 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,634 Yeah, that's the most important thing here is that hopper. 283 00:14:10,634 --> 00:14:13,333 This plugging up, which is costing them time. 284 00:14:13,333 --> 00:14:15,600 [Juan] You know, and at the end of the day, time is money. 285 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,433 Less time running is less gold in the box. 286 00:14:17,433 --> 00:14:19,100 - That's all. - That's exactly right. 287 00:14:19,100 --> 00:14:20,900 [Chris] There we go. 288 00:14:20,900 --> 00:14:23,900 All right, Derek, we've got you all fixed up. 289 00:14:23,900 --> 00:14:26,467 I'm going to head back down and keep your pay coming. 290 00:14:30,734 --> 00:14:33,100 We're four hours now. 291 00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:34,900 All right, I'll call the boys. 292 00:14:34,900 --> 00:14:36,734 - I'm going to shut her down. - Sounds good. 293 00:14:39,367 --> 00:14:42,166 [Freddy] Well, curious to see how much gold they end up with. 294 00:14:42,166 --> 00:14:44,800 See what we got in the box and then go from there. 295 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:46,333 Yeah. 296 00:14:55,900 --> 00:14:57,500 Get the hammer over there. 297 00:15:01,533 --> 00:15:02,700 Seeing some gold. 298 00:15:02,700 --> 00:15:03,800 All right. 299 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,900 [narrator] The gold from these mats will determine 300 00:15:05,900 --> 00:15:10,000 the total that Freddy and Juan want to beat in the final test run. 301 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,900 What do you guys need a day? 302 00:15:11,900 --> 00:15:13,100 Full running day. 303 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:15,634 You got three guys and three families out here, right? 304 00:15:15,634 --> 00:15:18,467 Yeah, three guys, three families, about $3,200. 305 00:15:18,467 --> 00:15:21,734 [narrator] Roughly 1.75 ounces. 306 00:15:21,734 --> 00:15:23,000 $3,200 a day. 307 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,066 And that covers fuel costs, labor, everything. 308 00:15:26,066 --> 00:15:27,600 Have you been able to make that so far? 309 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,533 No. So far it's been about ounce a day. 310 00:15:30,533 --> 00:15:32,700 - [Juan] That's not enough. - [Freddy] And that's for a ten-hour day? 311 00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:34,333 That's for a ten-hour day, yeah. 312 00:15:34,333 --> 00:15:35,900 [Freddy] Okay. 313 00:15:38,233 --> 00:15:39,734 If it doesn't turn around this season, 314 00:15:39,734 --> 00:15:42,166 I think, you know, we're going to have 315 00:15:42,166 --> 00:15:44,266 to look at doing something else. 316 00:15:44,266 --> 00:15:46,333 Now that, Fred, families are out here, 317 00:15:46,333 --> 00:15:48,166 you know, it kind of makes you realize that, you know, 318 00:15:48,166 --> 00:15:49,800 there's a lot of people that are riding on this. 319 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,900 Yeah, well, you know, you got a lot of mines 320 00:15:52,900 --> 00:15:54,367 with families out there, 321 00:15:54,367 --> 00:15:57,066 you forget that they've got a whole bunch of mouths to feed at home, 322 00:15:57,066 --> 00:15:59,066 not just the people at the mine here. 323 00:15:59,066 --> 00:16:00,800 There's... there's kids all over the place. 324 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,100 So it kind of kind of shows you, 325 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:04,600 you know, how many mouths are dependent 326 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,900 on gold coming out of that sluice box. 327 00:16:08,634 --> 00:16:11,266 There you go. Last of it. 328 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:33,734 [Freddy] Amber is heavy, isn't it? 329 00:16:33,734 --> 00:16:34,900 [Derek] Very heavy. 330 00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:37,166 [Freddy] It's a real pain in the ass to clean up. 331 00:16:37,166 --> 00:16:39,900 So darn hard to separate it from your gold. 332 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:43,734 [narrator] On top of the five to ten hours a week lost to the hopper, 333 00:16:43,734 --> 00:16:48,266 the young miners lose one full day a week on their clean-up process. 334 00:16:48,266 --> 00:16:49,867 See, that's our problem. It just hangs up 335 00:16:49,867 --> 00:16:53,266 on those ambers, man, we just can't get it out. 336 00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:55,266 [Freddy] I don't know what the amber sand is. 337 00:16:55,266 --> 00:16:57,467 [Chris] Yeah, that's really the biggest challenge here. 338 00:16:57,467 --> 00:16:59,367 [Freddy] How are you getting that out of that sand? 339 00:16:59,367 --> 00:17:01,800 [Derek] Well, we usually get all the visible we can get 340 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,100 the bigger stuff that we can separate, 341 00:17:04,100 --> 00:17:07,166 and then we will plop some mercury in. 342 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,367 Using mercury. 343 00:17:13,367 --> 00:17:18,500 Yeah, that's been the only way we've been able to really capture most of it. 344 00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:20,634 So you're getting what you can like that? 345 00:17:20,634 --> 00:17:21,867 [Derek] Yep. 346 00:17:21,867 --> 00:17:23,867 [Freddy] And then the rest of it, you're amalgamating. 347 00:17:23,867 --> 00:17:26,467 We spend hours panning trying to get that 348 00:17:26,467 --> 00:17:27,900 fine stuff out of those sands. 349 00:17:27,900 --> 00:17:30,700 - [Juan] And you never get it all. - You never get it all. 350 00:17:30,700 --> 00:17:32,734 [Freddy] I hate to see you using mercury. 351 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,100 [narrator] Mercury, an element used in gold recovery 352 00:17:38,100 --> 00:17:41,467 for nearly 3,000 years, absorbs gold, 353 00:17:41,467 --> 00:17:43,900 leaving behind other materials. 354 00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:45,367 [Freddy] That mercury's eating it up. 355 00:17:45,367 --> 00:17:48,900 [narrator] The mercury is then vaporized to extract the gold, 356 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:51,333 a dangerous process as the fumes 357 00:17:51,333 --> 00:17:54,333 can cause severe poisoning and brain damage. 358 00:17:54,333 --> 00:17:59,000 I had one friend that got pretty ill from using it, using it wrong. 359 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,800 These guys are using it right, but they're still using it. 360 00:18:05,166 --> 00:18:08,700 If there's any way we can get them to not use it, 361 00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:12,000 get them into the 21st century, that'll be good. 362 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,800 [Matt] It's crazy. 363 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,900 This is how a lot of the old timers used to clean up their gold. 364 00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:20,600 And people still do in a lot of countries around the world. 365 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,367 Most people are shifting away from it. 366 00:18:22,367 --> 00:18:24,066 You know, in the modern era now, you know, 367 00:18:24,066 --> 00:18:25,500 we don't have to use mercury anymore. 368 00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:27,000 There's better ways to do it. 369 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,800 That's all we've been able to find so far with our budget, at least. 370 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,000 [Freddy] And we understand that you need every speck 371 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,266 of gold out of there to pay bills. 372 00:18:35,266 --> 00:18:37,433 - So... - [Derek] Yeah, every speck counts. 373 00:18:37,433 --> 00:18:40,867 [Freddy] Well, I guess finish doing your process on it 374 00:18:40,867 --> 00:18:44,634 and when it's done, we'll grab a scale and see what's there. 375 00:18:44,634 --> 00:18:45,900 Weigh her up. 376 00:18:55,066 --> 00:18:56,734 Ryan, it's Freddy. 377 00:18:56,734 --> 00:18:59,100 [narrator] To determine a safer clean-up method, 378 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:04,266 Freddy reaches out to a local friend for intel on the mysterious sands. 379 00:19:04,266 --> 00:19:08,266 We're helping some guys in your... in your home area actually. 380 00:19:08,266 --> 00:19:10,734 There's a weird yellowish mineral here 381 00:19:10,734 --> 00:19:14,000 that's really hard to separate the gold from. 382 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,867 Yep. I'll look into that. 383 00:19:15,867 --> 00:19:18,266 I'll see if I can get that geology report. 384 00:19:18,266 --> 00:19:20,800 Thank you very much, Ryan. Bye. 385 00:19:42,734 --> 00:19:44,066 [Juan] Hey, guys. 386 00:19:44,066 --> 00:19:45,900 - How's it going? - Pretty good. 387 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:47,533 [narrator] Clean-up complete... 388 00:19:47,533 --> 00:19:50,467 [Freddy] Got a scale and a pan here. 389 00:19:50,467 --> 00:19:53,100 ...Freddy and Juan weigh up the gold. 390 00:19:54,533 --> 00:19:57,734 So this is the stuff you were able to clean up without amalgamating it? 391 00:19:57,734 --> 00:20:01,333 That stuff you had to clean up with mercury in that fine stuff? 392 00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:03,233 Taking care of the mercury. Yep. 393 00:20:03,233 --> 00:20:04,367 [Freddy] Makes it a real bugger. 394 00:20:04,367 --> 00:20:05,700 Makes your gold brittle, right? 395 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:07,066 - You could take your gold... - [Derek] Yeah. 396 00:20:07,066 --> 00:20:09,166 - ...and break it right... See? Break it right in half. - Jeez! 397 00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:11,166 Yeah. 398 00:20:11,166 --> 00:20:14,000 - [Juan] Let's weigh it up. - Well, let's weigh it up, huh, Juan? 399 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:15,734 - [Juan] Yeah. - There you go. 400 00:20:15,734 --> 00:20:17,467 [narrator] For this mine to be viable, 401 00:20:17,467 --> 00:20:22,266 the crew need at least 0.7 of an ounce from their four-hour run. 402 00:20:24,634 --> 00:20:26,100 [Freddy] 0.61. 403 00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:28,433 [Juan] 0.61, huh? 404 00:20:28,433 --> 00:20:30,533 - It's not great, guys. - No. 405 00:20:30,533 --> 00:20:33,333 It's not horrible, but it's not spectacular. How's that? 406 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,367 So a third of their gold, they're having to use mercury on, Juan. 407 00:20:37,367 --> 00:20:38,700 [Juan] Yeah. 408 00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:41,266 That figure is not a... not a good clean-out. 409 00:20:41,266 --> 00:20:43,734 We really can't afford to have bad clean-outs. 410 00:20:43,734 --> 00:20:45,700 [Freddy] If it was one guy and one, you know, 411 00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:48,266 one family to feed, it would be all right. 412 00:20:48,266 --> 00:20:50,000 But it's taken three of you to get it, right? 413 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,166 - Yeah. - Yeah. 414 00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:52,734 And that's what we want to make work is 415 00:20:52,734 --> 00:20:54,367 all three of us working together on this. 416 00:20:54,367 --> 00:20:57,000 Yeah. This is definitely not enough to feed our families. 417 00:21:00,367 --> 00:21:01,900 Can you help us? 418 00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:03,467 Yeah, there's ways we can help you. 419 00:21:03,467 --> 00:21:05,367 We just need to go talk about it. 420 00:21:05,367 --> 00:21:08,166 - [Chris] All right. - We'll figure out a game plan. 421 00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:13,367 With three of us here, we need every speck of gold that comes out of that box. 422 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,500 What do you think, Juano? 423 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:36,233 Well, I think we need to start with the... with the feeder first, Fred. 424 00:21:36,233 --> 00:21:39,000 [narrator] After a clean-up of just 0.61 ounces, 425 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,967 Freddy and Juan game plan radical solutions for the struggling True Mine. 426 00:21:43,967 --> 00:21:45,367 Grizzly bars on it. 427 00:21:45,367 --> 00:21:48,000 You noticed right off they weren't set quite steep enough, right? 428 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,367 Yeah, they're not steep enough. 429 00:21:49,367 --> 00:21:51,467 He's dropping material on there. It's getting seized up there. 430 00:21:51,467 --> 00:21:52,900 And then he's actually losing quite a bit. 431 00:21:52,900 --> 00:21:56,233 He's out there with a stick and a fencepost. 432 00:21:56,233 --> 00:21:58,800 I think the quickest and easiest thing we can do is steeping them. 433 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:00,333 Let's cut some new brackets out 434 00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:02,600 and we'll use his existing arms and just move them over. 435 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,066 Right. Just put some new ears on it. 436 00:22:04,066 --> 00:22:06,500 Yeah. What's your plan on the on the hopper itself? 437 00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:08,233 I'm thinking of cutting these cross members 438 00:22:08,233 --> 00:22:12,500 out that are in there, going that way and we'll put one in lengthways. 439 00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:15,467 It's going to hold the center of that material up 440 00:22:15,467 --> 00:22:18,000 and it's going to relieve the pressure inside of there. 441 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,367 Makes sense. 442 00:22:19,367 --> 00:22:21,800 The next thing is, you know, coming off of that hopper. Right now, 443 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,433 he's got that conveyer set up. 444 00:22:23,433 --> 00:22:26,500 He's got a sprayer spraying the bottom. 445 00:22:26,500 --> 00:22:28,100 It's counterproductive because he's trying to get 446 00:22:28,100 --> 00:22:31,433 that gold-bearing material to wash off into the hopper of the trommel. 447 00:22:31,433 --> 00:22:33,367 But it's not, it's washing it downstream. 448 00:22:33,367 --> 00:22:35,600 Now, let's do something we've never done before, Juano. 449 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,333 Build a wiper system in there and it's gonna constantly touch that belt. 450 00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:41,367 [Juan] Yeah. 451 00:22:41,367 --> 00:22:46,467 What do you think about... I'm 100% good with us giving our labor on this one. 452 00:22:46,467 --> 00:22:48,700 You know, the truth of the matter is there's three families. 453 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:50,000 It's not just three guys. 454 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,266 It's three complete families that are dependent on this gold. 455 00:22:53,266 --> 00:22:55,367 I don't have enough fingers to count all the kids. 456 00:22:55,367 --> 00:22:57,266 Now, there's a whole herd of kids out here. 457 00:22:57,266 --> 00:22:58,967 I'd have to use fingers and toes. 458 00:22:58,967 --> 00:23:01,233 I think there's a whack of them out here. 459 00:23:01,233 --> 00:23:05,000 One of my biggest deals here is to get them to stop using mercury. 460 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,467 Just to get them away from doing that. 461 00:23:06,467 --> 00:23:07,800 I'm 100% with you. 462 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,000 - Yeah. - Okay. 463 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,233 - I'm good with it. - Done. 464 00:23:10,233 --> 00:23:12,000 - Let's do it. - Yeah, let's go talk to them. 465 00:23:15,333 --> 00:23:19,734 [narrator] Freddy and Juan identified three problems with Derek's plan. 466 00:23:19,734 --> 00:23:24,100 First, rocks jam the grizzlies forcing pay over the side. 467 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:28,867 To fix, they'll increase the pitch to steer away 468 00:23:28,867 --> 00:23:32,800 the rocks allowing pay to pass into the hopper. 469 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:37,734 Second, the hopper clogs, causing lengthy shutdowns. 470 00:23:37,734 --> 00:23:40,467 So they'll remove the crossbars and replace them 471 00:23:40,467 --> 00:23:43,533 with a single beam for more even distribution. 472 00:23:45,266 --> 00:23:50,634 Third, water sprayed onto the conveyor washes away gold-rich material. 473 00:23:50,634 --> 00:23:53,367 Juan will install an innovative spring-loaded 474 00:23:53,367 --> 00:23:57,333 rubber wiper to scrape valuable paydirt into the trommel. 475 00:23:59,634 --> 00:24:02,634 But first, Freddy has a surprise to correct 476 00:24:02,634 --> 00:24:04,867 an issue near and dear to his heart. 477 00:24:04,867 --> 00:24:06,900 - Hey, what's going on? - [Juan] Working on it again, huh? 478 00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:08,367 Oh, yeah. 479 00:24:08,367 --> 00:24:12,900 Now, the big one is, you know, you guys are using mercury to clean up 480 00:24:12,900 --> 00:24:14,433 a percentage of your gold, right? 481 00:24:14,433 --> 00:24:17,100 When we did that gold wave, a third of your gold 482 00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:19,233 that you recovered, you had to use mercury to get it 483 00:24:19,233 --> 00:24:22,266 'cause you can't, because of the heavy material in this creek. 484 00:24:22,266 --> 00:24:27,000 So we've got a table, a used finishing table 485 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,800 to clean your gold up and then you won't have to use mercury anymore. 486 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:31,000 [Chris] Dang! 487 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:32,533 [Matt] Thank you guys so much. 488 00:24:32,533 --> 00:24:34,333 And, you know, really, it comes down 489 00:24:34,333 --> 00:24:36,533 to Freddy really wanted to see you guys get off of mercury. 490 00:24:36,533 --> 00:24:38,800 The truth of the matter is, you guys, you know, 491 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,367 you guys got your entire families here. 492 00:24:40,367 --> 00:24:43,100 Even though you're doing it safe there's a better way to do it. 493 00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:45,266 So it's just been out of our budget, kind of. 494 00:24:45,266 --> 00:24:46,700 That's awesome. 495 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:47,900 That's... Yeah. 496 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:49,533 [Juan] That's why we're willing to do it. 497 00:24:49,533 --> 00:24:51,100 If you guys pay for the material-- 498 00:24:51,100 --> 00:24:52,600 [Freddy] It's $1,000 for the material. 499 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,266 [Juan] We're willing to throw in our labor. 500 00:24:54,266 --> 00:24:55,433 So... 501 00:24:55,433 --> 00:24:56,800 [Freddy] But you guys have to help. 502 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,066 [Chris] Put us to work. 503 00:24:58,066 --> 00:24:59,500 [Juan] All right, well, let's get to work, then. 504 00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:01,233 - Sounds good, guys. - Thanks, good sir. 505 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:02,634 - [Derek] All right. Thank you. - [Freddy] You're welcome. 506 00:25:02,634 --> 00:25:03,734 - [Chris] Appreciate it. - [Juan] No problem. 507 00:25:03,734 --> 00:25:04,734 [Chris] Thank you so much. 508 00:25:04,734 --> 00:25:07,333 - All right, let's do it. - Let's do it. 509 00:25:07,333 --> 00:25:09,634 [Derek] So a finishing table should totally speed up 510 00:25:09,634 --> 00:25:12,333 our clean-ups that we're having to use the mercury for. 511 00:25:12,333 --> 00:25:15,634 So if we can totally eliminate that process and the table 512 00:25:15,634 --> 00:25:19,800 will capture more than we've been able to, it's a win-win. 513 00:25:30,734 --> 00:25:32,634 - Hey, Matt. - Hey, good sir. 514 00:25:32,634 --> 00:25:34,533 - How are you doing? - Good, buddy. How are you doing? 515 00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:35,800 It's a good day to be alive. 516 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:37,800 - Hey, you want to give me a hand with this? - Let's do this. 517 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:38,900 [Juan] All right. 518 00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:40,467 Yeah, we're going to put that wiper together, 519 00:25:40,467 --> 00:25:42,166 but I'd like for you to know how it goes together, 520 00:25:42,166 --> 00:25:43,600 so that way, when you got to adjust it... 521 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:45,600 - And everything else, you can do it. - All right. Teach us. 522 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:46,867 - Teach me. - [Juan] Yeah. 523 00:25:46,867 --> 00:25:49,100 [narrator] Only two days left in the rescue, 524 00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:52,734 Juan and greenhorn Matt begin assembling the wiper, 525 00:25:52,734 --> 00:25:58,233 which will stop gold-rich pay getting lost off the end of the conveyor belt. 526 00:25:58,233 --> 00:25:59,900 - Okay, hold it like this. - Okay. 527 00:25:59,900 --> 00:26:01,233 - You hold this. - [Matt] All right. 528 00:26:01,233 --> 00:26:03,367 Then what I'll have you do is turn... turn it on for me. 529 00:26:03,367 --> 00:26:04,900 All right. Hold on, where's the... 530 00:26:09,433 --> 00:26:12,600 It's actually crazy because we learned that gold 531 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,533 is being thrown away in the whole process as well as water. 532 00:26:15,533 --> 00:26:18,533 So it's going to help us quite a bit with this new addition. 533 00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:21,634 I see it immediately. You're down here. 534 00:26:21,634 --> 00:26:23,600 You want to learn as much as you can, as quick 535 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,367 as you can and that's the right mindset to have. 536 00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:30,900 To be honest, after my accident and a couple year recovery, 537 00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:35,233 I got back into the swing of life and I actually started 538 00:26:35,233 --> 00:26:37,533 my own trucking company and transportation brokerage 539 00:26:37,533 --> 00:26:40,634 and ran that fine for ten-ish years. 540 00:26:40,634 --> 00:26:42,600 And then two of our biggest customers, 541 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,367 they took us for nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. 542 00:26:45,367 --> 00:26:47,734 So we had to file personal bankruptcy 543 00:26:47,734 --> 00:26:50,100 and had to start over completely. 544 00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:52,433 So my brother saw it and he was like, "Dude, I want to help you." 545 00:26:52,433 --> 00:26:53,900 So I'm here kind of trying it out. 546 00:26:53,900 --> 00:26:56,066 That's pretty wild, man. Whew... 547 00:26:56,066 --> 00:26:57,166 It's been a hell of a ride. 548 00:26:57,166 --> 00:26:58,634 - For sure. Yeah. - That's unreal. 549 00:26:58,634 --> 00:27:00,800 You got a new opportunity, a new chance to rebuild. 550 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,166 Exactly. 551 00:27:02,166 --> 00:27:04,166 You know, you're here with your brother, you know, your loved ones. 552 00:27:04,166 --> 00:27:06,166 - Chris is a great guy. You know, great team. - Super awesome team. 553 00:27:06,166 --> 00:27:07,500 I want to shake your hand, man. 554 00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:08,734 Oh, yeah. I appreciate it, dude. 555 00:27:08,734 --> 00:27:10,800 You know, good on you. 556 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,533 I wouldn't be where I was at now 557 00:27:12,533 --> 00:27:14,367 if I didn't experience what I experienced. 558 00:27:14,367 --> 00:27:17,734 And it was a rough ride for many years, to say the least. 559 00:27:17,734 --> 00:27:20,367 [Chris] You know, it's been great seeing Matt's drive and 560 00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:24,333 ambition to learn about mining and have... take passion and pride in it. 561 00:27:24,333 --> 00:27:26,266 He's done some, you know, little mistakes like 562 00:27:26,266 --> 00:27:28,533 any rookie guy would do, but that's understandable. 563 00:27:28,533 --> 00:27:30,900 And the fact that he owns up to them and keeps 564 00:27:30,900 --> 00:27:32,367 pushing on forward, I think that's awesome. 565 00:27:32,367 --> 00:27:36,100 And I'm enjoying teaching him how to be a true miner. 566 00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:38,066 And we're going to put an arm with a spring, 567 00:27:38,066 --> 00:27:40,367 but as this belt turns, what that's going to do 568 00:27:40,367 --> 00:27:42,467 is going to... this edge is going to clean the belt. 569 00:27:42,467 --> 00:27:44,734 So that way we're not losing material and water down 570 00:27:44,734 --> 00:27:46,700 the back of this conveyor. 571 00:27:46,900 --> 00:27:48,100 Awesome. 572 00:27:48,100 --> 00:27:50,000 You got that last bolt? 573 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,900 [Matt] Last bolt. 574 00:27:51,900 --> 00:27:53,700 - There we go. - Thank you, sir. 575 00:27:55,266 --> 00:27:56,734 [Matt] Look at this masterpiece. 576 00:27:56,734 --> 00:27:58,867 It's starting to look good. 577 00:27:58,867 --> 00:28:00,900 [Juan] I don't know about masterpiece, it's something. 578 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:02,800 [Matt] Well, it's going to catch our gold 579 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,500 that's running away. 580 00:28:06,333 --> 00:28:07,734 Looks good, Matt. I'm happy with it. 581 00:28:07,734 --> 00:28:09,166 I appreciate your help. 582 00:28:09,166 --> 00:28:10,734 - Do I need to catch you? - Yeah. Please. 583 00:28:10,734 --> 00:28:12,500 Could you? 584 00:28:14,333 --> 00:28:15,600 Right on, buddy. Thanks. 585 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:16,967 [Matt] Thank you. 586 00:28:29,266 --> 00:28:31,533 [Freddy] After we were doing that clean-up the other day, 587 00:28:31,533 --> 00:28:34,367 talked to a geologist friend of mine that's local. 588 00:28:34,367 --> 00:28:37,000 [narrator] With news in on the amber sands, 589 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,600 Freddy analyzes the report with Chris. 590 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,066 So here's why the dang stuff is so heavy. 591 00:28:42,066 --> 00:28:46,233 It's showing 43.86% lead, 592 00:28:46,233 --> 00:28:51,867 7.40% silver, 1.55% copper. 593 00:28:51,867 --> 00:28:53,333 So there's your weight right there. 594 00:28:53,333 --> 00:28:55,800 You know how heavy lead is, you know how heavy silver is 595 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,634 and then copper is no lightweight little piece of metal. 596 00:28:58,634 --> 00:29:00,166 - So there's your weight. - That explains a lot. 597 00:29:00,166 --> 00:29:03,533 That's why it's so darn hard to separate it from your gold. 598 00:29:03,533 --> 00:29:05,467 I think we found the culprit that's made it 599 00:29:05,467 --> 00:29:07,433 where you can't clean your gold up. 600 00:29:07,433 --> 00:29:09,500 Nice. No, I really appreciate it. 601 00:29:09,500 --> 00:29:10,800 That's awesome. 602 00:29:13,467 --> 00:29:16,066 [Freddy] Now that we know how heavy that material is, 603 00:29:16,066 --> 00:29:19,100 that gold table is a good option to get your gold cleaned. 604 00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:20,467 [Chris] Sounds good. 605 00:29:32,734 --> 00:29:33,867 [Freddy] Your table's here. 606 00:29:33,867 --> 00:29:35,100 - [Matt] Yes! - [Derek] All right. 607 00:29:36,533 --> 00:29:38,333 Looking forward to running it. 608 00:29:38,333 --> 00:29:40,533 - [Juan] There it is, Fred. - [Freddy] There's the table. 609 00:29:41,166 --> 00:29:43,734 - Dang! - Look at that. 610 00:29:43,734 --> 00:29:46,000 [Matt] That is legit. 611 00:29:47,634 --> 00:29:49,634 [narrator] To eliminate the use of mercury 612 00:29:49,634 --> 00:29:52,867 and help separate the amber sands more effectively, 613 00:29:52,867 --> 00:29:56,000 Freddy supplies the crew with a gold table. 614 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000 - [Freddy] What do you think, guys? - Yeah! 615 00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,166 [Chris] Awesome. 616 00:29:59,166 --> 00:30:02,367 - Oh, my goodness gracious. - Beautiful. 617 00:30:02,367 --> 00:30:04,000 That's a beautiful machine. 618 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,000 Doesn't that thing look cool? Look at that. Look at that. 619 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:08,100 Ho! 620 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,266 Hot shottin' it, guys. 621 00:30:18,266 --> 00:30:20,367 [Chris] There's not a scratch on it. 622 00:30:20,367 --> 00:30:22,166 - [Freddy] About there. - [Juan] Yeah. 623 00:30:24,100 --> 00:30:26,100 - There it is, guys. - [Derek] Thank you, guys, so much. 624 00:30:27,233 --> 00:30:29,233 - That is beautiful. - [Chris] Look at that. 625 00:30:29,233 --> 00:30:32,867 That is just going to be a game changer for us on clean-ups, man. 626 00:30:32,867 --> 00:30:34,000 - Yeah. - You were saying 627 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,367 well, we're down to 300 mesh gold. 628 00:30:35,367 --> 00:30:37,433 She'll do smaller than 300 mesh. Yeah. 629 00:30:37,433 --> 00:30:39,500 So, like, there completely goes our mercury, man. 630 00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:43,266 We'll actually be capturing what we haven't been able to. 631 00:30:43,266 --> 00:30:45,467 [Freddy] That's the whole reason for this table. 632 00:30:45,467 --> 00:30:47,800 - Now you're in the 21st century. - Awesome. 633 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,734 - Time to step up. - Thank you so much. 634 00:30:49,734 --> 00:30:51,600 This is going to be an absolute game changer. 635 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,266 Well, hopefully it helps you catch more gold to help you feed your family. 636 00:30:54,266 --> 00:30:56,266 With the knowledge you have, it's a guarantee. 637 00:30:56,266 --> 00:30:58,066 There's no guarantees in gold, buddy. 638 00:30:59,467 --> 00:31:02,066 This season's kind of a make or break for next season. 639 00:31:02,066 --> 00:31:05,433 And I think Freddy and Juan might just be the key to our success. 640 00:31:05,433 --> 00:31:06,800 - All right. - Let's get back to work. 641 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:07,734 [Chris] Let's get to it. 642 00:31:26,533 --> 00:31:28,000 We're running out of time here. 643 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,367 We've got a lot to get done and not a lot of time to get it done in. 644 00:31:32,467 --> 00:31:35,166 [narrator] Only one day until the final test run. 645 00:31:35,166 --> 00:31:40,166 Freddy still needs to fix the crew's biggest bottleneck, the clogging in hopper. 646 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,867 What we're going to do, we're going to put this square tube lengthways 647 00:31:44,867 --> 00:31:47,800 in his hopper and keep it from clogging up on 'em. 648 00:31:58,533 --> 00:31:59,900 Nice, clean cut. 649 00:32:06,066 --> 00:32:08,500 You can see here, I'm putting a bevel on this 650 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:12,100 with the grinder. That's going to allow my weld to penetrate. 651 00:32:12,100 --> 00:32:13,900 We'll get a full penetration weld here 652 00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:16,367 and then we'll put a fillet weld on the outside. 653 00:32:25,166 --> 00:32:27,266 Coming at you. 654 00:32:27,266 --> 00:32:28,967 That'll do. 655 00:32:28,967 --> 00:32:30,900 - Got it. - Got it. 656 00:32:30,900 --> 00:32:32,166 [Freddy] Coming down. 657 00:32:34,100 --> 00:32:36,266 I'll get the crane out of the way. 658 00:32:36,266 --> 00:32:38,266 Then I'll come in there and help you. 659 00:32:38,266 --> 00:32:40,166 We'll get her centered up and tacked in. 660 00:32:40,166 --> 00:32:41,700 All right. Sounds good. 661 00:32:41,700 --> 00:32:44,900 [Juan] Freddy, you're looking good today, sir. 662 00:32:44,900 --> 00:32:48,166 Thank you. You too. 663 00:32:48,166 --> 00:32:50,100 Well, you know, and I've been using a new conditioner, 664 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:51,333 so I actually, I think I'm-- 665 00:32:51,333 --> 00:32:52,600 [Freddy] You're not shining as much. 666 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,166 - You can see there's a difference, right? - [Freddy] Yeah. 667 00:32:54,166 --> 00:32:55,900 - That new conditioner is really working out. - Yeah. 668 00:32:55,900 --> 00:32:58,000 I don't even have to have my sunglasses on this time. 669 00:33:04,166 --> 00:33:06,867 We're not running now, but you can't put a price 670 00:33:06,867 --> 00:33:09,900 on these guys coming here with all their knowledge 671 00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:11,367 to fix everything and dial it in. 672 00:33:11,367 --> 00:33:13,000 So it's priceless. 673 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Whatever it takes will make us more efficient in the end, once we get running. 674 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,333 [Freddy] Then I'm going along. 675 00:33:18,333 --> 00:33:20,634 You'll see a little hole behind it where I'm filling it. 676 00:33:20,634 --> 00:33:24,367 So I'm burning all the way through there and filling it in. 677 00:33:24,367 --> 00:33:25,500 There's our route pass. 678 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:26,967 So it's burnt all the way through. 679 00:33:26,967 --> 00:33:28,800 [Derek] Beautiful. 680 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,266 Got to watch the master. 681 00:33:30,266 --> 00:33:32,233 Soak in some tips, man. 682 00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:40,600 We put this cross tube in lengthways inside here. 683 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,333 And what this is going to do, it's going to help 684 00:33:43,333 --> 00:33:47,800 hold some of that weight off the belt and keep that belt from plugging up. 685 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,266 We're putting these supports in just for download 686 00:33:50,266 --> 00:33:53,100 on this so this tube doesn't try to bend in the middle. 687 00:33:55,266 --> 00:33:56,800 - Clear! - [Juan] Clear. 688 00:33:57,100 --> 00:33:58,367 It's hot. 689 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,166 The last one done. 690 00:34:04,166 --> 00:34:05,500 What do you think, Derek? 691 00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:07,634 That looks good, man. It looks like it should really just work. 692 00:34:07,634 --> 00:34:09,734 Thanks, man. 693 00:34:09,734 --> 00:34:11,367 Freddy fixing that. That's just awesome, man. 694 00:34:11,367 --> 00:34:13,000 I can't wait to see it run. 695 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,333 I mean, seeing his design come to action, I don't see how it can't work. 696 00:34:17,333 --> 00:34:19,000 So it should save us tons of time. 697 00:34:24,100 --> 00:34:26,333 [narrator] Just four hours left before the final 698 00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:29,867 test run, Freddy races to finish the fixes. 699 00:34:32,266 --> 00:34:33,467 - [Derek] There we go. - [Freddy] Oh, yeah. 700 00:34:33,467 --> 00:34:35,500 - [Derek] Beautiful. - [Freddy] Oh, yeah. 701 00:34:38,333 --> 00:34:40,700 [narrator] To stop rocks blocking the grizzlies, 702 00:34:40,700 --> 00:34:43,367 Freddy and Derek used the new steel ears, 703 00:34:43,367 --> 00:34:47,266 which will allow the bars to raise an extra five degrees. 704 00:34:47,266 --> 00:34:48,867 [Freddy] If you put it on crooked, it's your fault. 705 00:34:48,867 --> 00:34:50,233 [Derek] I know. Right, man? 706 00:34:50,233 --> 00:34:51,967 [Freddy] Looks pretty good right there, huh? 707 00:34:51,967 --> 00:34:53,266 [Derek] Looks good. 708 00:34:53,266 --> 00:34:54,734 [Freddy] Don't move. 709 00:35:00,533 --> 00:35:03,367 What do your kids think of the gold mining? 710 00:35:03,367 --> 00:35:04,500 Oh, they love it. 711 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:06,166 - They love it. - They do really. 712 00:35:06,166 --> 00:35:08,500 They loved it. You know, a boy and a shovel, right? 713 00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:09,867 - Yeah. - Even the girl, man. 714 00:35:09,867 --> 00:35:11,900 - Pile of dirt. Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. 715 00:35:15,734 --> 00:35:17,100 [Freddy] Think it'll hold? 716 00:35:18,634 --> 00:35:20,433 [Derek] I think that is beautiful. 717 00:35:21,433 --> 00:35:22,533 [Chris] How's it coming, Derek? 718 00:35:22,533 --> 00:35:24,266 [Derek] Good, man. 719 00:35:24,266 --> 00:35:25,800 Freddy is doing all the work. 720 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:26,867 Yeah. 721 00:35:30,066 --> 00:35:31,734 [Freddy] Well, fit her up, guys. 722 00:35:35,867 --> 00:35:37,634 - [Chris] That works. - [Derek] It looks good. 723 00:35:37,634 --> 00:35:40,634 You know, hopefully this saves you from poking all those dumb rocks out. 724 00:35:40,634 --> 00:35:44,066 - I can already hear my back thanking you. - I know. 725 00:35:45,066 --> 00:35:47,100 You know, I think it's awesome how Freddy and Juan 726 00:35:47,100 --> 00:35:50,166 travel around helping other miners like... small guys like us. 727 00:35:50,166 --> 00:35:51,700 You know, we don't have a ton of money. 728 00:35:51,700 --> 00:35:54,166 We do a lot of this all on our own, just hard work. 729 00:35:54,166 --> 00:35:57,066 I think it's going to actually be awesome if it actually works. 730 00:36:05,467 --> 00:36:07,900 Have I told you how good you look in those new sunglasses? 731 00:36:07,900 --> 00:36:10,333 - Thank you, Freddy. - You're welcome. 732 00:36:10,333 --> 00:36:11,734 I appreciate that, bud. 733 00:36:11,734 --> 00:36:13,266 You know I try really hard to look good for you. 734 00:36:13,266 --> 00:36:14,533 And that's what I do, Fred. 735 00:36:14,533 --> 00:36:16,433 - You know, I wake up in the morning-- - Take pride in it. 736 00:36:16,433 --> 00:36:20,100 I take pride in my looks, and I want to look good. 737 00:36:20,100 --> 00:36:22,166 You know, really, they hired me because I'm eye candy. 738 00:36:22,166 --> 00:36:24,634 - You are eye candy. - You know, I can't weld. 739 00:36:24,634 --> 00:36:27,000 - Mediocre plumber. - Yeah, at best. 740 00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:29,600 You are eye candy. 741 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,900 Yeah, but you know what, I'm chubby. 742 00:36:31,900 --> 00:36:33,367 I got it all going on, Fred. 743 00:36:33,367 --> 00:36:35,433 You know, dad bods. 744 00:36:35,433 --> 00:36:36,800 [both laughing] 745 00:36:56,734 --> 00:36:58,800 [narrator] To prevent the hopper from clogging, 746 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:03,634 Freddy and Juan have installed a crossbar to improve feed distribution, 747 00:37:03,634 --> 00:37:06,166 raised the angle of the grizzlies to stop rocks 748 00:37:06,166 --> 00:37:09,900 jamming and gold-rich pay falling off the side. 749 00:37:09,900 --> 00:37:12,000 Added a wiper to the conveyor belt 750 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,467 to help scrub gold into the trommel 751 00:37:14,467 --> 00:37:17,266 and to prevent using mercury in their clean-ups, 752 00:37:17,266 --> 00:37:20,634 Freddy and Juan have gifted the crew a gold table. 753 00:37:20,634 --> 00:37:23,266 Now it will all be put to the test. 754 00:37:35,533 --> 00:37:36,800 Let's run four hours. 755 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:38,233 - All right. - All right. 756 00:37:39,533 --> 00:37:41,500 All right, let's fire it up. 757 00:37:43,233 --> 00:37:44,166 Yeah. 758 00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:54,433 All right, D, we're fired up. 759 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,500 [narrator] The second test run must prove the fixes 760 00:37:58,500 --> 00:38:02,533 will deliver at least 1.75 ounces per day 761 00:38:02,533 --> 00:38:04,967 to make the True Mine profitable. 762 00:38:06,433 --> 00:38:09,100 Do not have a backup plan going into this. 763 00:38:09,100 --> 00:38:11,233 I mean, everything, my investment, 764 00:38:11,233 --> 00:38:12,967 everything I've been saving for the last ten years 765 00:38:12,967 --> 00:38:16,734 is in this operation and it needs to be successful. 766 00:38:17,734 --> 00:38:19,166 [Juan] Here's the moment of truth, Freddy. 767 00:38:19,166 --> 00:38:20,900 - First bucket, Juan. - There it is. 768 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:26,266 That grizzly bar is working better already, Freddy. 769 00:38:26,266 --> 00:38:27,734 [Freddy] It is. 770 00:38:29,900 --> 00:38:31,867 [Juan] When we did our initial test run several times, 771 00:38:31,867 --> 00:38:33,867 he had to go out there and actually poke the hopper. 772 00:38:33,867 --> 00:38:35,367 [Freddy] The way it's designed too, 773 00:38:35,367 --> 00:38:39,900 we've gone from 30 degrees to 35 degrees. It's looking good. 774 00:38:39,900 --> 00:38:42,867 It's doing exactly what I'd hoped it would do. 775 00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:46,266 It's keeping the weight off that belt. 776 00:38:46,266 --> 00:38:47,533 It's not plugging. 777 00:38:47,533 --> 00:38:50,100 Then it's a constant feed forward. 778 00:38:50,100 --> 00:38:51,967 [Juan] Before right there is where that other bar 779 00:38:51,967 --> 00:38:54,100 was, Fred, that would already be getting caught. 780 00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:56,333 [Freddy] During that four-hour initial test 781 00:38:56,333 --> 00:38:58,800 probably lost 20 minutes of downtime 782 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,467 because of this feeder plugging up. 783 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:03,867 I'm happy with that, Fred. Good job. 784 00:39:03,867 --> 00:39:05,533 - Looks good. - Thanks, Juan. 785 00:39:05,533 --> 00:39:08,967 So far we have not had to stop once for the feeder. 786 00:39:08,967 --> 00:39:12,500 I mean, she is just feeding beautiful. 787 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:14,700 We're just saving tons of time. 788 00:39:14,700 --> 00:39:17,100 Grizzly bars are working good. 789 00:39:17,100 --> 00:39:20,066 It feels good when everything's running smooth, man. 790 00:39:22,734 --> 00:39:26,233 - [Freddy] Wiper is doing its job, Juan. - It's working, Freddy. 791 00:39:26,233 --> 00:39:27,700 We don't have a stream running anymore. 792 00:39:27,700 --> 00:39:28,967 [Juan] No, no. 793 00:39:28,967 --> 00:39:30,433 You know, we're saving all that water 794 00:39:30,433 --> 00:39:33,166 and then we're scraping all that material off the bottom of the belt 795 00:39:33,166 --> 00:39:35,000 - and in the sluice. - [Freddy] Yep. 796 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:38,900 You know, for a... for a cheap little home built scraper, it's working all right. 797 00:39:38,900 --> 00:39:41,700 - Yeah. Good job, Juano. - Yep. Thanks, bud. 798 00:39:48,734 --> 00:39:50,900 [Matt] Oh, this is make or break. 799 00:39:50,900 --> 00:39:53,367 Already struck out in a couple endeavors 800 00:39:53,367 --> 00:39:57,734 in life and this is pretty much my... 801 00:39:57,734 --> 00:40:03,533 my last chance to be able to provide and keep my family fed. 802 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,000 [Chris] Mining is one of the things 803 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,634 I've always been really passionate about. 804 00:40:09,634 --> 00:40:14,500 Freddy and Juan could make it to where we could do this for full-time jobs, 805 00:40:14,500 --> 00:40:16,533 I mean, it'd be like a dream come true. 806 00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:20,533 - Here we are, Freddy. - [Freddy] Last bucket? 807 00:40:20,533 --> 00:40:21,800 Last bucket, man. 808 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:23,533 - Last bucket, Derek. - Last bucket. 809 00:40:23,533 --> 00:40:25,100 All right. Sounds good. 810 00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:28,000 Shut her down, guys. 811 00:40:37,634 --> 00:40:38,734 That was a good run. 812 00:40:38,734 --> 00:40:40,634 Four hours, right on the nose. 813 00:40:40,634 --> 00:40:42,600 [Juan] I'm excited to see this clean-up, Freddy. 814 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:43,800 I am too. 815 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,533 Well, fingers crossed, Juano. 816 00:40:45,533 --> 00:40:46,900 Yeah. 817 00:40:57,367 --> 00:40:58,533 Yeah. 818 00:40:58,533 --> 00:41:00,433 What happened to all the water, Matt? 819 00:41:02,333 --> 00:41:03,467 [Juan] Is there some gold there? 820 00:41:03,467 --> 00:41:06,900 [Chris] Oh, yeah, nice little picker right there. 821 00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:08,233 [Matt] Oh, wow. 822 00:41:08,233 --> 00:41:09,266 [Freddy] What do you see, Juan? 823 00:41:09,266 --> 00:41:10,734 [Juan] That's pretty good, Freddy. All in here. 824 00:41:10,734 --> 00:41:12,433 All throughout here. Look at that. 825 00:41:12,433 --> 00:41:14,000 [Freddy] Yeah, that's a good pile there. 826 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:15,367 Across here, fine gold. 827 00:41:15,367 --> 00:41:17,233 Damn. It looks good, boys. 828 00:41:17,233 --> 00:41:18,500 I'm excited about it. 829 00:41:18,500 --> 00:41:20,333 You know, what I'm learning is just tweaking 830 00:41:20,333 --> 00:41:23,800 finite details is kind of changing quite a bit. 831 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:24,900 [Freddy] Yeah. 832 00:41:24,900 --> 00:41:26,700 Turn you into a semi-pro yet, Matt. 833 00:41:26,700 --> 00:41:28,100 [Matt] I wouldn't even go that far. 834 00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:29,634 [Chris] Still a greenhorn. 835 00:41:31,166 --> 00:41:32,800 [Freddy] Well, clean her up, guys. 836 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:34,266 [Derek] All right. 837 00:41:38,367 --> 00:41:40,066 [Chris] I'm excited to see if this is going to weigh out. 838 00:41:40,066 --> 00:41:42,367 Yeah, hopefully it's turned around and gotten a little better. 839 00:41:42,367 --> 00:41:44,800 So time will tell. Right? 840 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:46,100 [Chris] Yeah. 841 00:41:58,634 --> 00:41:59,734 [Freddy] Ready, Juano? 842 00:41:59,734 --> 00:42:01,734 [Juan] Yeah, let's get it fired up, Freddy. 843 00:42:05,100 --> 00:42:06,800 [narrator] As the gold table vibrates, 844 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,634 material is separated using water flow. 845 00:42:09,634 --> 00:42:13,634 The heavier gold collects in the central tapered grooves, 846 00:42:13,634 --> 00:42:16,533 which feed into collection cups at the end, 847 00:42:16,533 --> 00:42:19,600 while the lighter material is pushed from one riffle 848 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,433 to the next until it falls off the side. 849 00:42:25,533 --> 00:42:28,800 Well, moment of truth, guys. 850 00:42:29,166 --> 00:42:30,000 Here we go. 851 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,000 [Matt] Fingers crossed. 852 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,634 The three of us are practically feeding our families. 853 00:42:34,634 --> 00:42:36,734 I mean, really, we're eating out of the sluice box. 854 00:42:36,734 --> 00:42:40,734 So, I mean, every ounce we get, I mean, it counts. 855 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:44,634 Well, first scoop. 856 00:42:44,634 --> 00:42:46,266 Let's see how it does. 857 00:42:49,266 --> 00:42:54,634 [narrator] If successful, the table should separate the gold from the amber sands. 858 00:42:54,634 --> 00:42:57,634 [Freddy] A little nervous hopefully, because this stuff is heavy. 859 00:42:57,634 --> 00:42:59,166 [Juan] Yeah, I know. 860 00:42:59,166 --> 00:43:02,634 [narrator] But Freddy has never experienced this material before. 861 00:43:02,634 --> 00:43:04,700 See what it does? 862 00:43:04,700 --> 00:43:06,266 Watch this, guys. 863 00:43:06,266 --> 00:43:11,066 [narrator] And if it fails, so too will the last hope for the True Mine. 864 00:43:11,066 --> 00:43:13,166 [Freddy] I'm not seeing anything on this side. 865 00:43:13,166 --> 00:43:15,333 - You? - [Juan] No. 866 00:43:15,333 --> 00:43:16,734 [Freddy] No gold in this. 867 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,066 Well, it's way heavier than most sands. 868 00:43:20,066 --> 00:43:23,467 [Juan] You may have to adjust your sprayers just a little bit here. 869 00:43:23,467 --> 00:43:26,100 [Freddy] Let me make sure those hoses are in there. 870 00:43:30,867 --> 00:43:31,900 Here we go. 871 00:43:31,900 --> 00:43:33,100 Watch right there. 872 00:43:33,100 --> 00:43:34,467 Boom. 873 00:43:34,467 --> 00:43:36,333 It's what it is. 874 00:43:36,333 --> 00:43:37,900 It's splitting that all. 875 00:43:39,333 --> 00:43:41,100 It's pretty cool stuff. 876 00:43:41,100 --> 00:43:42,166 [Matt] It's crazy. 877 00:43:42,166 --> 00:43:45,066 I've never seen anything like this. 878 00:43:45,066 --> 00:43:47,333 We've got a nice line of gold, Freddy. Looks good. 879 00:43:47,333 --> 00:43:49,500 - [Freddy] That is a nice line of gold. - Wow. 880 00:43:49,500 --> 00:43:51,266 Oh, look at it. 881 00:43:51,266 --> 00:43:52,900 - It's so crazy. - [Freddy] More coming. 882 00:43:52,900 --> 00:43:55,266 - [Juan] Looking good. - [Freddy] Turn that water down up here. 883 00:43:56,734 --> 00:43:58,333 You know what's kind of cool about this, 884 00:43:58,333 --> 00:44:01,700 I'll be honest with you, as heavy as that stuff is, I was nervous about it. 885 00:44:01,700 --> 00:44:03,367 [Derek] Yeah, it's pretty heavy. 886 00:44:03,367 --> 00:44:05,900 I'd look like a fool if I couldn't clean it up, right? 887 00:44:05,900 --> 00:44:06,867 [Derek] Yeah. 888 00:44:07,634 --> 00:44:08,800 Pretty neat. 889 00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:10,166 - [Matt] It looks good. - Yeah. 890 00:44:10,166 --> 00:44:12,367 It's actually doing a really good job separating that stuff. 891 00:44:12,367 --> 00:44:15,533 So that beats a pan and mercury, huh? 892 00:44:15,533 --> 00:44:16,634 [Freddy] Oh, yeah. 893 00:44:16,634 --> 00:44:18,166 I think this would be faster, too. 894 00:44:18,166 --> 00:44:20,367 - [Freddy] Yeah, it will be faster. - [Derek] Yeah, totally. 895 00:44:20,367 --> 00:44:21,900 Process you have to go through 896 00:44:21,900 --> 00:44:23,333 with the mercury, this should be faster. 897 00:44:23,333 --> 00:44:24,367 [Derek] Yeah. Way faster. 898 00:44:24,367 --> 00:44:26,166 [Freddy] You're going to get more gold, too. 899 00:44:26,166 --> 00:44:27,734 Derek and I have talked about getting a table 900 00:44:27,734 --> 00:44:29,166 for a long time and it's really going 901 00:44:29,166 --> 00:44:31,000 to help us out and get away from mercury. 902 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,000 At the end of the day, it could be the game changer, you know. 903 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:38,533 So this goal is probably 10% cleaner than your gold. 904 00:44:38,533 --> 00:44:41,634 So a lot of the weight we did on that first test, it was dirt. 905 00:44:41,634 --> 00:44:42,734 Yeah. 906 00:44:42,734 --> 00:44:44,166 And some of that is heavy mineral. 907 00:44:44,166 --> 00:44:45,367 - Yeah. - Yeah. 908 00:44:45,367 --> 00:44:47,967 But this is all-- this is cleaner. 909 00:44:47,967 --> 00:44:49,066 And what do you think, guys? 910 00:44:49,066 --> 00:44:52,233 - Oh, yeah. That looks good. - Yeah. 911 00:44:55,367 --> 00:44:58,100 This should take a day off of what we were doing before. 912 00:44:58,100 --> 00:45:02,100 It just took so long with those concentrates and having to amalgamate 'em. 913 00:45:04,367 --> 00:45:08,000 You want to dry this up, Derek, and we'll get a weight on it. 914 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:09,467 - Sounds good. - All right. 915 00:45:09,467 --> 00:45:11,433 - Sounds like a plan. - Let you handle the treasure. I don't want-- 916 00:45:11,433 --> 00:45:12,800 Don't spill it. 917 00:45:15,333 --> 00:45:18,166 [Matt] If this doesn't work, I have no other options. 918 00:45:18,166 --> 00:45:20,266 I've exhausted everything else. 919 00:45:20,266 --> 00:45:21,700 It has to work. 920 00:45:28,634 --> 00:45:29,867 Here they come, Juan. 921 00:45:29,867 --> 00:45:31,333 Let's see what it is, Fred. 922 00:45:32,433 --> 00:45:34,166 - Yeah, moment of truth. - Moment of truth. 923 00:45:34,166 --> 00:45:35,700 Yeah, moment of truth. 924 00:45:37,433 --> 00:45:39,266 Well, it looks better. 925 00:45:48,433 --> 00:45:50,800 Right. There is 0.61 guys. 926 00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:54,000 That's how much gold you had the first four-hour run. 927 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:55,900 So we got a little left in here. 928 00:45:55,900 --> 00:45:57,266 Everything else from here on out, 929 00:45:57,266 --> 00:45:59,100 hitting the scales and increase. 930 00:45:59,100 --> 00:46:00,734 Here we go. 931 00:46:00,734 --> 00:46:02,900 [narrator] For this mine to turn a profit the results 932 00:46:02,900 --> 00:46:08,333 from the second test needs to deliver at least 0.7 ounces. 933 00:46:08,333 --> 00:46:13,266 0.63, 0.64, 0.67, 0.7, 0.71. 934 00:46:13,266 --> 00:46:15,100 0.71. That's pretty good. 935 00:46:15,100 --> 00:46:16,266 What is that, Freddy? 936 00:46:16,266 --> 00:46:18,367 - About 15% or so. - Yeah, 15%. 937 00:46:19,900 --> 00:46:21,700 - That's pretty damn good. - That's going to add up. 938 00:46:21,700 --> 00:46:22,967 - Yeah. - Yeah. 939 00:46:22,967 --> 00:46:24,734 There's going to be more than that because your runtime 940 00:46:24,734 --> 00:46:26,634 is going to go up exponentially because of the table. 941 00:46:26,634 --> 00:46:28,367 'Cause what we tabled that in probably 15 minutes? 942 00:46:28,367 --> 00:46:30,533 Yeah, right. 943 00:46:30,533 --> 00:46:34,600 [narrator] With Freddy and Juan's fixes and the new cleanup process, 944 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,533 a full day of running could net the crew over 945 00:46:37,533 --> 00:46:41,266 two ounces of gold worth $3,600, 946 00:46:41,266 --> 00:46:45,166 enough to support their families and turn a profit. 947 00:46:46,467 --> 00:46:47,900 And the truth of the matter is, 948 00:46:47,900 --> 00:46:49,600 none of that has mercury on it, right? 949 00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:51,000 So that's pretty damn good. 950 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:52,266 And it's even better. 951 00:46:52,266 --> 00:46:54,066 [Chris] So, you know, mining is a numbers game. 952 00:46:54,066 --> 00:46:55,900 The table, the way this all worked out, 953 00:46:55,900 --> 00:46:57,700 I think it's gonna give us what we need and I think 954 00:46:57,700 --> 00:46:59,233 it's going to make a huge difference. 955 00:46:59,233 --> 00:47:00,734 - Happy with this? - Yeah, really happy. 956 00:47:00,734 --> 00:47:03,800 We are happy with it. 957 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:05,000 I mean, so thankful. 958 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,100 It's awesome. 959 00:47:06,100 --> 00:47:07,800 - Well, take care of those guys. - Yeah. 960 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,433 - We will. - It's our new baby. 961 00:47:09,433 --> 00:47:11,233 You take care of this. It'll take care of you. 962 00:47:11,233 --> 00:47:13,166 Yeah, absolutely. 963 00:47:13,166 --> 00:47:14,734 - Here's your gold. - Awesome. 964 00:47:14,734 --> 00:47:16,533 I am done. Pleasure. 965 00:47:16,533 --> 00:47:18,533 - Yeah. - Right on. 966 00:47:18,533 --> 00:47:20,000 - Thank you. - Bye, guys. 967 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:21,533 See you later, guys. 968 00:47:23,367 --> 00:47:24,500 Well, Juan. 969 00:47:24,500 --> 00:47:25,734 I'm happy with that, Freddy. 970 00:47:25,734 --> 00:47:26,867 Yeah, I am, too. 971 00:47:26,867 --> 00:47:28,333 You know, at the end of the day, 972 00:47:28,333 --> 00:47:32,634 it was an increase and, you know, honestly, great family, great guys. 973 00:47:32,634 --> 00:47:33,867 I'm proud of what we did here. 974 00:47:33,867 --> 00:47:35,900 I am, too. 975 00:47:35,900 --> 00:47:37,634 - I'll follow you out. - Got it. 976 00:47:39,533 --> 00:47:41,800 No, this is-- you know, it's been a great experience. 977 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:44,000 I'm looking forward to see where this things takes us. 978 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:46,166 Keep making the teamwork, making the dream work. 979 00:47:46,166 --> 00:47:49,233 The future of Matt and Chris and I-- I mean, 980 00:47:49,233 --> 00:47:51,266 I think it's looking pretty good. 981 00:47:51,266 --> 00:47:52,367 It's looking up. 982 00:47:52,367 --> 00:47:54,467 [Matt] Really no option for failure now. 983 00:47:54,467 --> 00:47:57,900 I'm going to step it up and we're going to knock this one out of the park. 984 00:47:57,900 --> 00:47:59,967 I'm super excited for the future.