1 00:00:02,586 --> 00:00:03,620 Okay, you ready? 2 00:00:04,655 --> 00:00:05,551 Coming at you! 3 00:00:06,379 --> 00:00:07,758 [Matt] I love gold mining. 4 00:00:07,862 --> 00:00:10,000 It feels like you're just pulling dollar bills out of the ground. 5 00:00:10,689 --> 00:00:11,620 [Roger] I just decided 6 00:00:11,724 --> 00:00:13,586 to sell my business and go gold mining. 7 00:00:13,689 --> 00:00:15,724 It's tough to toss the rest of your life away 8 00:00:15,827 --> 00:00:19,275 and come out here and bank on gold being a success. 9 00:00:19,379 --> 00:00:21,172 [Juan] I love the fact that there's three generations here, 10 00:00:21,275 --> 00:00:23,344 grandfather, father and a grandkid. 11 00:00:24,482 --> 00:00:25,344 This is their dream. 12 00:00:25,448 --> 00:00:26,482 There's a lot of pressure on us, Freddy. 13 00:00:26,586 --> 00:00:27,758 - [rattling] - Hey! 14 00:00:27,862 --> 00:00:28,620 No way. 15 00:00:28,724 --> 00:00:30,103 Conveyor's shut off. 16 00:00:30,206 --> 00:00:31,482 - [Tristan] Whoa, whoa, shut it down! Shut it down! - [Fred] Hey! 17 00:00:32,448 --> 00:00:33,448 You look a little stressed, Roger. 18 00:00:33,551 --> 00:00:35,103 It's a struggle not to be able to continue 19 00:00:35,206 --> 00:00:36,000 running this thing. 20 00:00:38,482 --> 00:00:40,275 [Fred] We can't do anymore. 21 00:00:40,379 --> 00:00:41,379 Gonna have a third kid 22 00:00:41,482 --> 00:00:43,448 in two weeks and a trailer 23 00:00:43,551 --> 00:00:44,586 isn't gonna cut it. 24 00:00:44,689 --> 00:00:46,344 So, your house is depending on gold. 25 00:00:46,448 --> 00:00:47,620 [Juan] A little nervous about it, Freddy. 26 00:00:47,724 --> 00:00:48,931 - [light explosion] - [man] Ah! 27 00:00:49,034 --> 00:00:50,965 [Fred] But it can't run without us repairing this. 28 00:00:51,068 --> 00:00:52,103 Do you have gold fever? 29 00:00:52,206 --> 00:00:54,793 Something happens in me when I see it. [laughs] 30 00:00:54,896 --> 00:00:56,241 [Juan] It's an ethereal thing to take gold 31 00:00:56,344 --> 00:00:57,137 out of the ground. 32 00:00:57,241 --> 00:00:58,034 What is that? 33 00:00:58,379 --> 00:00:59,241 It's gold. 34 00:01:07,655 --> 00:01:08,655 [suspenseful music playing] 35 00:01:16,689 --> 00:01:17,482 [whirring] 36 00:01:18,413 --> 00:01:20,275 Juan, it's Freddy. 37 00:01:23,448 --> 00:01:25,724 - Aw, shoot! No, really? - [Fred] Yep. 38 00:01:29,344 --> 00:01:31,000 [Juan] That kind of puts us in a tough spot. 39 00:01:31,103 --> 00:01:33,103 Uh, how late are you gonna be, you think? 40 00:01:33,206 --> 00:01:34,241 [Fred speaking through the phone] 41 00:01:39,448 --> 00:01:42,103 All right, all right. Well, I was actually, uh, heading out there right now. 42 00:01:42,206 --> 00:01:43,241 I was expecting to see you, 43 00:01:43,344 --> 00:01:44,586 but it's gonna be kind of tough without you. 44 00:01:46,206 --> 00:01:48,896 I... I'm hoping he shows up as quick as he can 45 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,724 because, uh, right now, with the supply chain issues, 46 00:01:50,827 --> 00:01:52,275 who knows when he's gonna get his part. 47 00:01:52,379 --> 00:01:54,551 You know, it could still be two, or three days. 48 00:01:54,655 --> 00:01:56,517 You know, without Freddy, I kind of feel naked. 49 00:01:56,620 --> 00:01:58,275 I kind of feel I'm not wearing any underwear. 50 00:02:01,896 --> 00:02:05,448 [narrator] Freddy and Juan have received an urgent call from Ahbau Creek 51 00:02:05,551 --> 00:02:08,896 in Canada's legendary Cariboo gold fields 52 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,758 where the multigenerational Adams family are struggling to realize their dream 53 00:02:13,862 --> 00:02:16,655 of a family homestead and mining operation. 54 00:02:19,448 --> 00:02:21,793 [Juan] These guys got a lot on the line. They're out here, 55 00:02:21,896 --> 00:02:24,206 they wanna live of the... of the land that they got 56 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:25,931 and make, like, their own little homestead. 57 00:02:28,068 --> 00:02:31,862 [narrator] The family's 2,000-acre property lies on Ahbau Creek, 58 00:02:31,965 --> 00:02:33,379 named after a Chinese miner 59 00:02:33,482 --> 00:02:36,862 from the 1860s Cariboo gold rush 60 00:02:36,965 --> 00:02:41,068 who recovered over a million ounces before he died. 61 00:02:41,172 --> 00:02:44,827 If the family can pick up where Ahbau left off, 62 00:02:44,931 --> 00:02:46,275 they could be set for life. 63 00:02:48,413 --> 00:02:49,344 [Juan] Hey, guys. 64 00:02:49,448 --> 00:02:50,310 - [Roger] Hey. - Oh. 65 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:51,862 - How you doing? - Good. 66 00:02:51,965 --> 00:02:52,965 - How are you doing? - Juan, I'm Roger. 67 00:02:53,068 --> 00:02:54,310 - Roger? Nice to meet you, Roger. - You, too. 68 00:02:54,413 --> 00:02:55,517 - Matt. - Matt? 69 00:02:55,620 --> 00:02:56,931 - Tristan. - Tristan. 70 00:02:57,034 --> 00:02:58,551 - Taylor. - Taylor? There's a lot of you guys. 71 00:02:58,655 --> 00:02:59,689 - Holy smokes! Oh. - Yeah. 72 00:03:00,724 --> 00:03:02,448 - How are you. - How are you doing? [laughs] 73 00:03:02,551 --> 00:03:03,689 - And what's your name? - I'm Kieran. 74 00:03:03,793 --> 00:03:05,379 - [Juan] Kieran? - And I'm the old man. 75 00:03:05,482 --> 00:03:07,068 - [Juan] You're the old man? Nice to meet you, old man. - Wayne. 76 00:03:07,172 --> 00:03:08,068 - [Juan] What's... What... What? - Wayne. 77 00:03:08,172 --> 00:03:08,965 [Juan] Nice to meet you, Wayne. 78 00:03:09,068 --> 00:03:09,965 What's the dog's name? 79 00:03:10,068 --> 00:03:11,068 - Sam. - [Juan] Sam. 80 00:03:11,172 --> 00:03:12,689 - [Taylor] Samson. [laughs] - [Juan] Cute little guy. 81 00:03:13,758 --> 00:03:15,103 Well, the good news is, I'm here. 82 00:03:15,206 --> 00:03:17,137 The bad news is, uh, Freddy's not here yet. 83 00:03:17,827 --> 00:03:19,448 His, uh, truck broke down. 84 00:03:19,551 --> 00:03:22,275 I'm hoping, uh, he'll be back here up the next day. 85 00:03:22,379 --> 00:03:24,931 But I'm here at least, and, uh, we'll see what we can do for you guys. 86 00:03:25,034 --> 00:03:26,068 - Sounds awesome. - Awesome. 87 00:03:26,172 --> 00:03:27,551 So, what happened to your arm, Kieran? 88 00:03:27,655 --> 00:03:29,965 - It's the plant that claimed it. It's, uh-- - [Juan] Oh, yeah? 89 00:03:30,068 --> 00:03:30,862 I thought it was Wayne. 90 00:03:30,965 --> 00:03:32,655 - [laughs] - [Juan] Not Wayne, huh? 91 00:03:32,758 --> 00:03:34,344 That trommel had a break down here, 92 00:03:34,448 --> 00:03:36,965 but as I got it running, it just... just about 93 00:03:37,068 --> 00:03:38,517 karate chopped my hand in half and-- 94 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:39,862 Ah! 95 00:03:39,965 --> 00:03:41,655 So, how long have you guys been running here? 96 00:03:41,758 --> 00:03:43,000 Really, on this site, 97 00:03:43,103 --> 00:03:45,379 last year and just a few days this year. 98 00:03:45,482 --> 00:03:48,379 The last summer, we were probably here two months. 99 00:03:48,482 --> 00:03:51,103 - [Juan] Really? - But we only ran about a full week. 100 00:03:51,206 --> 00:03:52,827 - Really? - [Matt] It broke down and stuff. 101 00:03:52,931 --> 00:03:54,482 So, it was more troubleshooting 102 00:03:54,586 --> 00:03:55,620 - than running. - Okay. 103 00:03:57,517 --> 00:03:59,724 [narrator] In their first season last year, 104 00:03:59,827 --> 00:04:02,448 Roger and Matt came to mine alone. 105 00:04:03,344 --> 00:04:04,241 [Roger speaking] 106 00:04:10,137 --> 00:04:12,655 [narrator] This year, his other three sons 107 00:04:12,758 --> 00:04:14,103 and Dad have joined them. 108 00:04:14,206 --> 00:04:16,379 [Juan] So, you guys been running for about two days this year? 109 00:04:16,482 --> 00:04:19,482 Yeah, sort of two days, really, on the plant only two, three hours 110 00:04:19,586 --> 00:04:21,448 - is what we put in. That's it. - [Juan] Oh, really? 111 00:04:21,551 --> 00:04:23,137 Have they been a good two hours, though? 112 00:04:23,241 --> 00:04:25,137 - No, no, I wouldn't say so. - Not great. [laughs] 113 00:04:25,241 --> 00:04:26,482 The last half hour was good. 114 00:04:26,586 --> 00:04:27,827 - [both laugh] - [man] Yeah. 115 00:04:29,689 --> 00:04:31,413 [narrator] Despite the extra hands, 116 00:04:31,517 --> 00:04:34,344 the family faced constant shut downs this year. 117 00:04:35,586 --> 00:04:37,517 [Roger] Well, we picked up this conveyor, 118 00:04:37,620 --> 00:04:40,413 so that's actually been a little bit of a fight for us, 119 00:04:40,517 --> 00:04:43,344 and I'm sure you guys will hate it as much as we do. 120 00:04:43,448 --> 00:04:45,034 [laughs] 121 00:04:45,137 --> 00:04:48,862 [narrator] If the mine can't turn a profit in the remaining 12 weeks, 122 00:04:48,965 --> 00:04:52,310 the Adams clan will be forced to abandon their dream 123 00:04:52,413 --> 00:04:55,620 of mining and living off the land. 124 00:04:55,724 --> 00:04:57,551 - Have you guys seen any gold yet? - [Roger] We have. 125 00:04:57,655 --> 00:04:59,000 - [Juan] Really? - Uh, yeah, a little bit. 126 00:05:00,172 --> 00:05:02,551 [Matt] This is last, uh, year's. 127 00:05:02,655 --> 00:05:05,448 I don't know how much is there. Maybe 10 ounces? 128 00:05:06,482 --> 00:05:07,724 [Juan] All fairly course, really. 129 00:05:07,827 --> 00:05:09,241 You got some flour gold in there. 130 00:05:09,344 --> 00:05:11,344 So, what got you guys into mining? 131 00:05:11,448 --> 00:05:13,137 I grew up mining little bits 132 00:05:13,241 --> 00:05:15,275 - with my grandfather and my dad. - [Juan] Oh. 133 00:05:15,379 --> 00:05:17,931 [Roger] But never on a commercial type of a mine, 134 00:05:18,034 --> 00:05:20,068 always just hand panning and that kind of thing. 135 00:05:22,344 --> 00:05:24,275 And since then, it's been my dream 136 00:05:24,379 --> 00:05:25,896 to do this for real. 137 00:05:26,758 --> 00:05:29,068 When things got silly with COVID, 138 00:05:29,172 --> 00:05:31,379 it got me thinking again about how much fun 139 00:05:31,482 --> 00:05:33,482 I had with my dad and how much fun 140 00:05:33,586 --> 00:05:35,655 I could have with my own sons 141 00:05:35,758 --> 00:05:37,862 and how valuable it might be to them like it was to me. 142 00:05:40,206 --> 00:05:41,482 I had some gold claims 143 00:05:41,586 --> 00:05:44,655 and I just decided to sell my business and go gold mining. 144 00:05:44,758 --> 00:05:46,517 It might be crazy, but that's what we're doing. 145 00:05:47,724 --> 00:05:49,103 [narrator] Back home in Edmonton, 146 00:05:49,206 --> 00:05:52,206 Roger employed all four of his sons in the family 147 00:05:52,310 --> 00:05:56,965 guttering business, so his decision to sell changed everything. 148 00:05:57,068 --> 00:05:59,689 [Roger] We're not just here spending a little bit money on a gold mine, 149 00:05:59,793 --> 00:06:02,379 we actually moved to this area. 150 00:06:02,482 --> 00:06:05,965 We did buy property, 150 acres, not too far from here. 151 00:06:06,068 --> 00:06:07,758 We're intending to build houses there, 152 00:06:07,862 --> 00:06:10,206 but that's gotta be funded by something. 153 00:06:10,310 --> 00:06:11,413 [Taylor] So, this is, uh, 154 00:06:11,517 --> 00:06:13,896 what we're gonna call home for a little while, 155 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,344 while we build other things. 156 00:06:16,448 --> 00:06:18,241 [Roger] Boys are fully invested in this, 157 00:06:18,344 --> 00:06:21,379 but this is the only job they have until we put gold in the box. 158 00:06:21,482 --> 00:06:25,034 They're trusting me, and so I gotta come up for 'em, you know? 159 00:06:25,137 --> 00:06:27,000 Come up big, hopefully, for 'em. 160 00:06:27,103 --> 00:06:30,517 This is our future right here. It's gotta work. 161 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:34,517 [narrator] So far, Roger has invested over a million dollars 162 00:06:34,620 --> 00:06:37,862 with a hope that all 13 of his extended family 163 00:06:37,965 --> 00:06:40,827 can live together off this homestead mine. 164 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,931 [Juan] Wow, now I kind of see the picture. 165 00:06:46,034 --> 00:06:48,034 - So it's not just you guys, it's your families as well. - [Taylor] Yeah. 166 00:06:48,137 --> 00:06:51,000 [Matt] Yeah, we really laid it on the line a little bit, like, we... 167 00:06:51,103 --> 00:06:54,137 We're selling everything and moving out here and going gold mining, 168 00:06:54,241 --> 00:06:56,241 so it's all going into this. 169 00:06:56,344 --> 00:06:58,379 Well, what are you guys hoping to be able to recover this year? 170 00:06:58,482 --> 00:07:00,896 Well, we need at least 15 ounces a week. 171 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,034 So, that 15 ounces a... a week, it's not an option, 172 00:07:03,137 --> 00:07:04,655 - it's... it's a necessity, then? - Yes. 173 00:07:04,758 --> 00:07:06,344 - [Taylor] Yeah. - [Juan] Okay. 174 00:07:06,448 --> 00:07:08,862 Well, I'd love to start a four-hour test run and we'll go for there. 175 00:07:08,965 --> 00:07:10,241 - [Matt] Let's do it. - [Roger] All right. 176 00:07:10,344 --> 00:07:11,068 [suspenseful music playing] 177 00:07:14,103 --> 00:07:15,206 Let's get this going. 178 00:07:15,758 --> 00:07:16,862 [engine starting] 179 00:07:19,862 --> 00:07:21,172 - [Roger] Oh, great. - [Matt] Press the button. 180 00:07:21,275 --> 00:07:23,034 [engine stalling] 181 00:07:24,241 --> 00:07:25,137 Hold the button. 182 00:07:25,241 --> 00:07:26,241 [engine starting] 183 00:07:27,827 --> 00:07:29,000 [suspenseful music playing] 184 00:07:34,482 --> 00:07:36,413 Well, hey, it all started. That's the best part. 185 00:07:36,517 --> 00:07:38,241 Let's do it. 186 00:07:38,344 --> 00:07:41,344 [narrator] Matt loads pay into the 15-yard feeder. 187 00:07:42,896 --> 00:07:43,758 The first bucket. 188 00:07:45,448 --> 00:07:50,310 [narrator] The 60-foot conveyor provides an even flow of dirt up to the hopper, 189 00:07:50,413 --> 00:07:53,344 where a series of spray bars pre-wash the material 190 00:07:53,448 --> 00:07:57,379 before it's sent into a 20-foot by 4-four trommel... 191 00:07:58,448 --> 00:08:01,517 and then into 22-foot sluice runs 192 00:08:01,620 --> 00:08:04,448 that should trap the gold. 193 00:08:04,551 --> 00:08:06,413 [Taylor] Are you nervous that Freddy's not here? 194 00:08:06,517 --> 00:08:09,724 Are we gonna get gold or are we gonna lose all our money 195 00:08:09,827 --> 00:08:12,655 and have to live in the bush? 196 00:08:14,448 --> 00:08:16,275 [narrator] Under the gun and solo, 197 00:08:16,379 --> 00:08:19,793 Juan has just four hours to assess holes in their operation 198 00:08:19,896 --> 00:08:21,827 and recommend fixes. 199 00:08:26,241 --> 00:08:27,655 [Juan] Already I spotted a few things. 200 00:08:27,758 --> 00:08:30,206 The wheels were running too much material through that box. 201 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:31,275 You know, if Freddy doesn't get here, 202 00:08:31,379 --> 00:08:33,482 I'm gonna be limited to what... what I can do. 203 00:08:33,586 --> 00:08:36,655 You know, I can fabricate, I can weld, I can fix anything. 204 00:08:37,275 --> 00:08:38,517 But when it comes down 205 00:08:38,620 --> 00:08:39,931 to really kind of reading the washplant, 206 00:08:40,034 --> 00:08:42,413 you know, that's where Freddy really shines. 207 00:08:42,517 --> 00:08:45,517 I just want 'em to run. We'll watch it, observe 208 00:08:45,620 --> 00:08:47,137 and then figure it out, and we'll go from there. 209 00:08:50,172 --> 00:08:51,448 [Juan] Look at this little guy. 210 00:08:51,551 --> 00:08:52,482 - [Fred] Juan! - [Juan] Freddy! 211 00:08:52,586 --> 00:08:53,655 [Juan] How are you doing, buddy? 212 00:08:53,758 --> 00:08:54,931 - [Fred] Sorry, I'm late, man. - [Juan] No worries. 213 00:08:55,034 --> 00:08:57,344 - Good to see you. - You, too. 214 00:08:57,448 --> 00:08:59,620 Well, I'd have liked to have got here before the plant fired up, 215 00:08:59,724 --> 00:09:02,206 but I'm here, so let's watch it run 216 00:09:02,310 --> 00:09:03,896 and see how we can help these guys. 217 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,965 Roger, Freddy made it. 218 00:09:07,068 --> 00:09:08,172 - How's it going, Freddy? - Hi. 219 00:09:08,275 --> 00:09:09,310 I thought you might be later. 220 00:09:10,965 --> 00:09:11,758 [Juan speaking] 221 00:09:16,793 --> 00:09:18,896 - Huge difference. - Yeah. 222 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,655 [Fred] You're right. This side's bulked over 223 00:09:20,758 --> 00:09:22,103 and that side's starving. 224 00:09:25,827 --> 00:09:27,379 [narrator] 70% of the material 225 00:09:27,482 --> 00:09:30,137 rushes down one side of the sluice. 226 00:09:30,241 --> 00:09:32,517 With those riffles already packed, 227 00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:35,068 they're losing gold off the end. 228 00:09:35,172 --> 00:09:38,448 The way those materials spin, you need to slow this down. 229 00:09:38,551 --> 00:09:41,344 We usually watch it run and don't say anything, but it sounds like 230 00:09:41,448 --> 00:09:42,758 you guys need every bit of gold 231 00:09:42,862 --> 00:09:43,931 you can get your hands on. 232 00:09:46,379 --> 00:09:48,137 Our sluice box was packing up a little bit. 233 00:09:49,068 --> 00:09:51,068 So we slowed it down significantly. 234 00:09:55,551 --> 00:09:56,517 They had an electric motor. 235 00:09:56,620 --> 00:09:58,586 They took it off, put a gas motor. 236 00:09:58,689 --> 00:10:01,137 Because originally they were gonna run a generator. 237 00:10:01,241 --> 00:10:03,068 But the kid, one of the brothers just broke his arm 238 00:10:03,172 --> 00:10:04,448 starting the motor up. 239 00:10:17,862 --> 00:10:18,827 [motor revving] 240 00:10:20,068 --> 00:10:20,931 [man] What happened? 241 00:10:21,034 --> 00:10:21,793 No way. 242 00:10:21,896 --> 00:10:23,413 [Wayne] The motor just died on us. 243 00:10:23,517 --> 00:10:24,965 Turn the plant off. Stop it. 244 00:10:26,586 --> 00:10:27,862 [Fred] The motor, quick! 245 00:10:27,965 --> 00:10:29,206 [narrator] With the motor dead, 246 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:31,689 the plan needs to cut off immediately 247 00:10:31,793 --> 00:10:34,137 or the trommel will clog with material. 248 00:10:34,241 --> 00:10:35,137 [Fred] Shut her down. 249 00:10:38,620 --> 00:10:39,413 [motor stops] 250 00:10:48,896 --> 00:10:50,034 [Juan] Why don't you blow it from the top in? 251 00:10:51,344 --> 00:10:52,206 [blowing] 252 00:10:53,068 --> 00:10:54,793 [Roger] Here, do it again. 253 00:10:54,896 --> 00:10:57,379 You gotta somehow block your face off on there 254 00:10:57,482 --> 00:10:59,172 so it can't... No air can pass your cheeks. 255 00:10:59,275 --> 00:11:01,103 Yeah, I know. It's impossible on this stupid thing. 256 00:11:01,206 --> 00:11:02,000 [Roger] Yeah? 257 00:11:03,379 --> 00:11:04,344 [blowing] 258 00:11:05,241 --> 00:11:06,172 [Fred] Oh, there we go. 259 00:11:08,965 --> 00:11:10,689 - [Taylor] Ready? - [Tristan] Yeah. [laughs] 260 00:11:10,793 --> 00:11:11,689 [Roger] Don't break your arm. 261 00:11:12,896 --> 00:11:13,758 [motor starting] 262 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:22,965 Oh, yeah. 263 00:11:23,068 --> 00:11:24,931 Oh, yeah. Way, way older. 264 00:11:25,034 --> 00:11:27,241 - [laughs] - [Tristan] My dad is probably 265 00:11:27,344 --> 00:11:29,965 the ultimate, uh, optimist, 266 00:11:30,068 --> 00:11:31,896 just blocking out the negatives. 267 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,482 [all laugh] 268 00:11:33,586 --> 00:11:35,103 I would say I'm nervous about it. 269 00:11:35,206 --> 00:11:37,275 You know, I quit my job out in the city, 270 00:11:37,379 --> 00:11:41,862 and, you know, this is kind of a last resort for me right now. 271 00:11:41,965 --> 00:11:44,448 You know, my wife's still back home working 272 00:11:44,551 --> 00:11:46,310 and I... 273 00:11:46,413 --> 00:11:48,862 We don't like to be away from each other at all. 274 00:11:48,965 --> 00:11:51,206 But once we can bring some gold in, 275 00:11:51,310 --> 00:11:53,275 we can, you know, start a home out here. 276 00:11:55,310 --> 00:11:56,448 [Fred] I don't like the look of that. 277 00:12:02,172 --> 00:12:03,689 They've probably got 278 00:12:03,793 --> 00:12:06,448 maybe 12 tons, 15 tons of dirt 279 00:12:06,551 --> 00:12:08,655 just right here. 280 00:12:08,758 --> 00:12:13,344 [narrator] Almost one-tenth of this runs gold-rich pay 281 00:12:13,448 --> 00:12:14,827 has not even gone to the plant. 282 00:12:18,241 --> 00:12:19,103 [rattling] 283 00:12:19,206 --> 00:12:20,000 [Fred] Hey! 284 00:12:21,310 --> 00:12:23,379 - The conveyor's shut off. - [Juan] Shut down. 285 00:12:23,482 --> 00:12:25,931 [narrator] With two full hours left in the test, 286 00:12:26,034 --> 00:12:28,551 the conveyor stops dead. 287 00:12:28,655 --> 00:12:30,689 - [Tristan] Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shut it down, shut it down! - [Fred] Hey! 288 00:12:32,034 --> 00:12:33,379 Don't... Don't start the conveyor. 289 00:12:33,482 --> 00:12:34,275 It's wound up. 290 00:12:48,103 --> 00:12:49,275 [Fred] What happened? 291 00:12:49,379 --> 00:12:50,655 Is there rock in it? 292 00:12:50,758 --> 00:12:52,310 [Taylor] All this stuff that's coming down 293 00:12:52,413 --> 00:12:54,241 and built up under here. 294 00:12:54,344 --> 00:12:56,620 - Yeah, we should've realized-- - [man] The belt's off track, 295 00:12:56,724 --> 00:12:58,862 and now it's jammed in. 296 00:12:58,965 --> 00:13:01,793 [narrator] Forced to shut down after only two hours, 297 00:13:01,896 --> 00:13:05,827 the Adams need to get the conveyor belt back on track to finish 298 00:13:05,931 --> 00:13:07,000 the test run. 299 00:13:07,103 --> 00:13:08,413 I'm thinking loosen it off. 300 00:13:08,517 --> 00:13:09,310 [thudding] 301 00:13:12,517 --> 00:13:13,448 [Fred] Don't pull to hard there, 302 00:13:13,551 --> 00:13:15,206 you're right near the rip. 303 00:13:15,310 --> 00:13:16,724 Where the rip down there guys? 304 00:13:17,275 --> 00:13:18,103 [Taylor] Right here. 305 00:13:19,620 --> 00:13:21,827 [Fred] Now, before we run it anymore, oughta fix that one up. 306 00:13:21,931 --> 00:13:22,965 - [Taylor] It'll catch. - [Fred] Yep. 307 00:13:24,379 --> 00:13:25,344 [Juan] In the condition 308 00:13:25,448 --> 00:13:26,827 that the belt is, we already got a hole in it. 309 00:13:26,931 --> 00:13:28,379 If we keep on running, we run the risk 310 00:13:28,482 --> 00:13:30,172 of losing the $5,000 belt. 311 00:13:30,275 --> 00:13:31,586 So, I honestly think, my opinion, 312 00:13:31,689 --> 00:13:33,068 and I think Freddy agrees with me, 313 00:13:33,172 --> 00:13:35,068 - I think we ought to shut down for the day. - [Fred] Yep. 314 00:13:35,172 --> 00:13:37,482 I wouldn't run it anymore. 315 00:13:37,586 --> 00:13:41,517 [narrator] But the conveyor belt isn't the only issue on the plant. 316 00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:44,241 [Fred] That's not a proper return pulley. 317 00:13:44,344 --> 00:13:46,965 A true tail wheel is a wing pulley. 318 00:13:47,068 --> 00:13:48,965 - [Juan] They call 'em self-cleaning tail pulley. - [Taylor and Fred] Yeah. 319 00:13:49,068 --> 00:13:50,241 If you would've had wing pulley, 320 00:13:50,344 --> 00:13:52,172 it actually would've ejected the material out. 321 00:13:52,275 --> 00:13:55,482 Yep. Like, right now, if you get a rock that falls off, 322 00:13:55,586 --> 00:13:57,000 bounces off the belt 323 00:13:57,103 --> 00:13:58,000 - and they're going to. - [Juan] Which... It happens all the time. 324 00:13:58,103 --> 00:13:59,241 It's gonna go underneath there 325 00:13:59,344 --> 00:14:01,206 and it's gonna get inside of there, 326 00:14:01,310 --> 00:14:03,896 and it's gonna blow holes in the belt all the time. 327 00:14:05,586 --> 00:14:07,206 From watching your plant, 328 00:14:07,310 --> 00:14:08,931 this is gonna be your biggest, uh, 329 00:14:09,034 --> 00:14:10,620 - bottleneck right now. - Yeah. 330 00:14:10,724 --> 00:14:13,620 [Fred] And it's gonna cost you the most amount of money and the most down time. 331 00:14:14,965 --> 00:14:16,620 And it doesn't matter how much gold's in your ground 332 00:14:16,724 --> 00:14:17,931 if your planet's not running. 333 00:14:19,482 --> 00:14:20,758 Well, you look at little stressed, Roger. 334 00:14:22,344 --> 00:14:24,448 Yeah, I'm stressed. Yeah, it's... 335 00:14:24,551 --> 00:14:26,896 It's a struggle not to be able to continue running this thing. 336 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,931 I mean, it's gotta... We gotta prove this everyday. 337 00:14:29,034 --> 00:14:30,551 - [Juan] Yeah. - Right? We gotta get the hours in, 338 00:14:30,655 --> 00:14:33,103 and the only way to make money is to put through the yardage, 339 00:14:33,206 --> 00:14:34,103 - so-- - You're absolutely right. 340 00:14:35,068 --> 00:14:36,034 Well... 341 00:14:36,137 --> 00:14:37,172 Well, let's take a look at the box. 342 00:14:37,275 --> 00:14:38,034 Let's do that. 343 00:14:39,586 --> 00:14:42,068 [Kieran] Obviously, two hours is nothing to be happy about. 344 00:14:42,862 --> 00:14:43,862 Supposed to work eight hours a day 345 00:14:43,965 --> 00:14:45,724 and supposed to be gold mining, 346 00:14:45,827 --> 00:14:46,862 not fixing problems. 347 00:14:47,310 --> 00:14:48,793 Well, we spent... 348 00:14:48,896 --> 00:14:51,068 spent weeks, if not months, building this plant. 349 00:14:52,034 --> 00:14:53,310 Not exactly ideal 350 00:14:53,413 --> 00:14:55,206 that it's breaking down every hour. 351 00:14:55,310 --> 00:14:56,103 So... 352 00:14:57,482 --> 00:14:59,034 You know, we... we put a lot into it. 353 00:14:59,137 --> 00:15:00,310 We really wanna make sure 354 00:15:00,413 --> 00:15:01,655 it's gonna pay off for us. 355 00:15:03,482 --> 00:15:05,310 [Fred] What'd you think, Juan? 356 00:15:05,413 --> 00:15:06,965 [Juan] You know, he's got a lot of problems already, Freddy. 357 00:15:07,068 --> 00:15:09,413 - That... is gonna be probably his biggest downfall. - Yeah. 358 00:15:09,517 --> 00:15:10,379 You know, I love the fact 359 00:15:10,482 --> 00:15:11,758 that there's three generations here. 360 00:15:11,862 --> 00:15:13,655 Grandfather, father, and the grand kids. 361 00:15:13,758 --> 00:15:14,689 - [Fred] Yep. - They're all here. 362 00:15:14,793 --> 00:15:16,034 [Fred] Four generations, there's a little one 363 00:15:16,137 --> 00:15:17,241 - around here too. - [Juan] Oh, yeah. I mean, think about that. 364 00:15:17,344 --> 00:15:19,482 - You know, and this is their dream. - Exactly. Well, 365 00:15:19,586 --> 00:15:20,689 if it doesn't work 366 00:15:20,793 --> 00:15:22,137 - then they're all gonna have to separate. - Mm-hmm. 367 00:15:22,241 --> 00:15:23,862 There's lot of people that are dependent on this. 368 00:15:23,965 --> 00:15:26,034 - Yup. - Lot of pressure on us, Freddy. 369 00:15:26,137 --> 00:15:27,379 Well, we'll do the best we can. 370 00:15:27,482 --> 00:15:28,344 - We always do. - Let's do it. 371 00:15:40,655 --> 00:15:41,551 Look at this little guy mining. 372 00:15:42,586 --> 00:15:44,344 - Right in here. - Put it in there? 373 00:15:45,551 --> 00:15:47,344 - [Fred] Hey, guys. How's it going? - [Roger] Hey. 374 00:15:47,448 --> 00:15:49,758 - Doing great. - Good morning. Good morning. 375 00:15:49,862 --> 00:15:51,482 [narrator] 40 miles from the mine, 376 00:15:51,586 --> 00:15:53,931 on the banks of the mighty Fraser River, 377 00:15:54,034 --> 00:15:58,310 lies the 150 acre Adams Family Homestead. 378 00:15:58,413 --> 00:16:00,620 - [Fred] Beautiful country in here. - [Roger] It is. 379 00:16:00,724 --> 00:16:03,034 So, what's you game plan for the property here? 380 00:16:03,137 --> 00:16:05,827 We're gonna be homesteading in a way. 381 00:16:05,931 --> 00:16:07,896 - Growing a lot of our own food. - [Fred] Yeah. 382 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,275 [Roger] We're kind of on a delta here 383 00:16:09,379 --> 00:16:10,586 - from the river... - [Fred] Yeah. 384 00:16:10,689 --> 00:16:11,793 - [Roger] ...so the soils are pretty decent. - [Fred] Yeah. 385 00:16:11,896 --> 00:16:14,310 And, uh, little eco-climate kind of thing in here. 386 00:16:14,413 --> 00:16:16,862 You can raise chickens, you can raise cows. 387 00:16:16,965 --> 00:16:18,137 So, you know, a lot of your life 388 00:16:18,241 --> 00:16:19,793 could be self-sufficient right here. 389 00:16:19,896 --> 00:16:20,965 [Roger] Yeah, you bet. 390 00:16:21,068 --> 00:16:23,000 Matt's building his house out here 391 00:16:23,103 --> 00:16:24,379 and hopefully the rest of them 392 00:16:24,482 --> 00:16:26,896 can build on this property too. 393 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,862 Gold mining, hopefully, can fund all of what we're doing here. 394 00:16:29,965 --> 00:16:32,620 I mean, the fact that we can, basically, live off the land, 395 00:16:32,724 --> 00:16:34,000 I think it's an ethereal thing 396 00:16:34,103 --> 00:16:35,379 to take gold out of the ground. 397 00:16:37,103 --> 00:16:38,413 [narrator] But to turn this dream 398 00:16:38,517 --> 00:16:39,689 into a concrete reality, 399 00:16:40,517 --> 00:16:41,827 the family needs to clean up 400 00:16:41,931 --> 00:16:44,896 at least 15 ounces of gold a week. 401 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:46,793 [Fred] How's it going, guys? 402 00:16:47,793 --> 00:16:49,344 - Good morning. - You panning the oversize? 403 00:16:49,448 --> 00:16:51,068 Yeah, you bet. 404 00:16:51,172 --> 00:16:52,172 [narrator] With chunky material 405 00:16:52,275 --> 00:16:54,172 from the two hour run, 406 00:16:54,275 --> 00:16:56,517 Freddy and Juan get a mini masterclass 407 00:16:56,620 --> 00:16:58,172 - in gold panning... - [child] What's that? 408 00:16:58,275 --> 00:16:59,758 It's a gold pan. 409 00:16:59,862 --> 00:17:00,965 [Juan] Show us how to pan, bud. 410 00:17:01,068 --> 00:17:03,758 [narrator] ...from Curen's two year old son Declan. 411 00:17:05,275 --> 00:17:07,137 [Roger] We have four generations of gold miners here. 412 00:17:07,241 --> 00:17:09,448 And my grandfather was a gold miner as well, 413 00:17:09,551 --> 00:17:10,344 so that makes five. 414 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:11,793 [Juan] Here we go, buddy. 415 00:17:12,724 --> 00:17:13,931 [Fred] Okay, we're gonna swirl it around 416 00:17:14,034 --> 00:17:15,620 and we're gonna get that gold on the bottom. 417 00:17:18,137 --> 00:17:19,000 Hey, now we're gonna sweep. 418 00:17:19,586 --> 00:17:20,862 Sweep. Sweep. 419 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,620 [Declan] Hmm, I'm gonna get it out. 420 00:17:24,724 --> 00:17:25,620 [Juan] You're gonna get it out? 421 00:17:25,724 --> 00:17:26,896 [Fred] You could tell you got little kids 422 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,344 - 'cause you can understand them. - [Juan] I did. 423 00:17:28,448 --> 00:17:29,724 You know, I speak their language, Freddy. 424 00:17:29,827 --> 00:17:31,413 [Fred] Yup, you speak munchkin. 425 00:17:31,517 --> 00:17:33,758 - [Juan laughing] - [Fred] Okay, now let's bring it back. 426 00:17:34,827 --> 00:17:36,000 Let's look. 427 00:17:36,103 --> 00:17:37,793 Is that a piece of gold right there, buddy? 428 00:17:37,896 --> 00:17:38,965 - Right there, Juan? - It's a rock. 429 00:17:39,068 --> 00:17:40,310 - [Fred] It's a rock. - [man] It's a rock. 430 00:17:40,413 --> 00:17:41,689 Wish I had a little nugget 431 00:17:41,793 --> 00:17:42,862 - or something to throw in there. - [Juan] I know. [chuckles] 432 00:17:43,689 --> 00:17:44,448 Hold on, Freddy. [chuckles] 433 00:17:45,758 --> 00:17:46,689 [Fred] Hang on one second. 434 00:17:46,793 --> 00:17:49,275 - It's not a money. - [Fred] Mm-hmm. Let... 435 00:17:49,379 --> 00:17:50,517 Okay, let's swirl that around. 436 00:17:52,137 --> 00:17:53,068 - Whoa! - [Juan] Is that... 437 00:17:53,172 --> 00:17:54,689 - Whoa, look at that! - [Fred] Look at that. 438 00:17:54,793 --> 00:17:55,586 What is that? 439 00:17:56,655 --> 00:17:57,620 [Declan] That's gold! 440 00:17:57,724 --> 00:17:58,413 - [Fred] You betcha. - [Juan] There you go. 441 00:17:59,172 --> 00:18:00,551 Look at that. 442 00:18:00,655 --> 00:18:01,931 [Fred] Go take it to your dad. 443 00:18:02,034 --> 00:18:02,827 - [Fred chuckling] - It's... 444 00:18:03,379 --> 00:18:04,586 It's gold. 445 00:18:04,689 --> 00:18:07,137 - My goodness. - I found gold. 446 00:18:07,241 --> 00:18:09,517 This right here is why this mine is important to us. 447 00:18:10,206 --> 00:18:11,000 Boo! 448 00:18:12,793 --> 00:18:14,344 Declan, obviously, he's special 449 00:18:14,448 --> 00:18:16,448 and very special to me. 450 00:18:16,551 --> 00:18:19,482 Have to be able to support Declan and my fiancee. 451 00:18:19,586 --> 00:18:21,448 We're banking on this entirely... to... 452 00:18:22,172 --> 00:18:23,000 to be our future. 453 00:18:27,413 --> 00:18:29,689 We ran just about two hours, 454 00:18:30,482 --> 00:18:31,586 so, I would hope we should get 455 00:18:31,689 --> 00:18:32,827 about an ounce out of this. 456 00:18:41,344 --> 00:18:43,482 Doesn't look like enough I would say. 457 00:18:43,586 --> 00:18:44,517 Doesn't look like what we're... 458 00:18:45,310 --> 00:18:46,620 hoping to get. 459 00:18:46,724 --> 00:18:48,862 I think we're gonna come off a bit short here, we'll see, but... 460 00:18:48,965 --> 00:18:50,724 Looks like we're out more than a bit. 461 00:18:50,827 --> 00:18:52,965 Well, I guess, dry her up so we can weight it, huh? 462 00:19:01,655 --> 00:19:03,517 - [Roger] Got a little bit. - [Fred] Yeah. 463 00:19:03,620 --> 00:19:04,448 [Fred] Don't wanna spill it, but... 464 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,448 - That looks grim. - It's horrible. 465 00:19:11,137 --> 00:19:12,206 0.57. 466 00:19:14,310 --> 00:19:15,655 - It's a little over half ounce. - Yeah. 467 00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:19,758 [narrator] The family need to run 468 00:19:19,862 --> 00:19:21,448 ten straight hours a day 469 00:19:21,551 --> 00:19:23,103 to hit their weekly goal. 470 00:19:23,206 --> 00:19:25,896 So far they've barely managed two. 471 00:19:30,758 --> 00:19:32,172 The most important thing, is, uh... 472 00:19:32,275 --> 00:19:33,586 - [Juan] Runtime. - Getting that conveyor 473 00:19:33,689 --> 00:19:35,482 where you aren't shutting down. 474 00:19:35,586 --> 00:19:37,310 It's getting the yards per hour through the plant. 475 00:19:37,413 --> 00:19:38,758 - [Juan] Yes, it's a yardage game. - Yup. 476 00:19:40,827 --> 00:19:42,931 I was hoping we'd see a lot more. 477 00:19:43,034 --> 00:19:45,034 I think this summer is a big make or break type, 478 00:19:45,137 --> 00:19:46,310 uh... 479 00:19:46,413 --> 00:19:47,931 moment 'cause we gotta get gold. 480 00:19:49,758 --> 00:19:51,827 I've been away from my kids, from my family. 481 00:19:51,931 --> 00:19:53,413 I feel like I've missed the whole year 482 00:19:53,517 --> 00:19:54,724 of my daughter's life almost. 483 00:19:55,965 --> 00:19:58,586 I have a house that's half constructed. 484 00:19:59,827 --> 00:20:01,724 Getting electricity here and all that stuff too, 485 00:20:01,827 --> 00:20:04,620 that's... a serious challenge, very expensive. 486 00:20:04,724 --> 00:20:06,482 But, I wanna be able to get it to the point 487 00:20:06,586 --> 00:20:08,862 where I can live in it for this... this winter. 488 00:20:08,965 --> 00:20:11,034 So, they can come join me out here. 489 00:20:11,137 --> 00:20:12,448 - [dog barking] - [Fred] If you can make it happen 490 00:20:12,551 --> 00:20:13,965 - you got something special here. - [Juan] Oh, yeah. 491 00:20:14,068 --> 00:20:15,793 - Just mine up the road, uh, you can't beat that. - Yeah. 492 00:20:15,896 --> 00:20:17,482 You know, you guys are here as a family. 493 00:20:17,586 --> 00:20:18,896 - [Fred] Yeah. - So that's even better. 494 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,103 - [Fred] Mm-hmm. - A family that gets along, so... 495 00:20:21,862 --> 00:20:23,586 Okay? [chuckles] 496 00:20:23,689 --> 00:20:24,931 We've helped a few that didn't get along, 497 00:20:25,034 --> 00:20:27,655 - so well. Fist fights. - [all laughing] 498 00:20:27,758 --> 00:20:29,482 - [Juan] Nice change of pace for us. - [all laughing] 499 00:20:31,655 --> 00:20:32,655 We do really appreciate you guys 500 00:20:32,758 --> 00:20:34,586 coming out to help us, so... 501 00:20:34,689 --> 00:20:35,965 You know, we're not miracle workers, 502 00:20:36,068 --> 00:20:37,000 but, uh... 503 00:20:37,103 --> 00:20:38,413 - But we'll see what we can do. - [Juan] Yeah. 504 00:20:38,517 --> 00:20:39,655 Sounds great. 505 00:20:39,758 --> 00:20:41,068 - Thanks, guys. - Thank you. 506 00:20:43,241 --> 00:20:44,137 [Roger] This is not just me. 507 00:20:44,241 --> 00:20:45,517 This is my family. 508 00:20:45,620 --> 00:20:47,551 This is us creating a life together 509 00:20:47,655 --> 00:20:48,896 as partners and friends 510 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,965 and... and, uh, if it doesn't work, 511 00:20:52,068 --> 00:20:54,137 I don't know where that's gonna leave all of us. 512 00:20:54,241 --> 00:20:56,068 So, I... I really want this to work. 513 00:21:10,275 --> 00:21:12,034 [Fred] Well Juan, that wasn't a very good cleanup. 514 00:21:12,137 --> 00:21:13,689 - They only ran two hours before they broke. - Yeah, I know. 515 00:21:13,793 --> 00:21:15,965 - 0.57 is not enough. - No. 516 00:21:16,068 --> 00:21:17,862 I... I think we need to get in here, Freddy 517 00:21:17,965 --> 00:21:19,620 and really make up a plan for these guys, 518 00:21:19,724 --> 00:21:21,034 because the truth is... 519 00:21:21,137 --> 00:21:23,034 - you know, if anyone needs it, these guys need it. - Yeah. 520 00:21:26,172 --> 00:21:28,103 [narrator] Freddy and Juan have less than five days 521 00:21:28,206 --> 00:21:29,931 to get the Adams Family plant 522 00:21:30,034 --> 00:21:33,206 producing at least 15 ounces of gold a week 523 00:21:33,310 --> 00:21:37,241 to keep their gold-steading dream alive. 524 00:21:37,344 --> 00:21:39,413 [Fred] What do you think? You wanna go to this ice-cream shop 525 00:21:39,517 --> 00:21:41,448 - and we can talk about it? - [Juan] Let's do it. 526 00:21:43,724 --> 00:21:45,000 [bell dings] 527 00:21:45,103 --> 00:21:46,482 - [woman] Hey, how are you? - [Fred] Doin' all right. 528 00:21:46,586 --> 00:21:48,241 Can I get a root beer float, please? 529 00:21:48,344 --> 00:21:50,827 I'll take a large banana milkshake, please. 530 00:21:50,931 --> 00:21:52,310 - [Fred] Thank you very much. - [Juan] Thank you. Appreciate it. 531 00:21:53,758 --> 00:21:55,448 [Fred] Kinda nice to be working at a mine 532 00:21:55,551 --> 00:21:58,724 - where we're only 15 minutes from an ice-cream shop. - [Juan] Yeah, no kidding, man. 533 00:21:58,827 --> 00:22:00,137 - So, Freddy. - What'd you think? 534 00:22:00,241 --> 00:22:02,482 Really there's... There's quite a bit to do here. 535 00:22:02,586 --> 00:22:04,034 And I wanna try to kinda figure out 536 00:22:04,137 --> 00:22:05,620 what our timeline's looking like. 537 00:22:05,724 --> 00:22:07,724 Conveyors, they're a blessing or a curse. 538 00:22:07,827 --> 00:22:09,931 And right now, I think that's their biggest bottleneck. 539 00:22:10,034 --> 00:22:11,655 So let's get the conveyor set up properly. 540 00:22:11,758 --> 00:22:13,344 And that's gonna be a big help, because, one... 541 00:22:14,310 --> 00:22:16,413 It increases production. And then two, 542 00:22:16,517 --> 00:22:18,620 - it's gonna keep their... their production up as well. - That's right. 543 00:22:18,724 --> 00:22:19,965 - Keeps them running. - Yeah. 544 00:22:20,068 --> 00:22:21,689 [Fred] Well, right now, that material 545 00:22:21,793 --> 00:22:23,689 isn't falling far enough in off that conveyor. 546 00:22:25,586 --> 00:22:28,413 So, I think we need to move 547 00:22:28,517 --> 00:22:29,655 the conveyor forward. 548 00:22:30,586 --> 00:22:31,482 If we do that, then we gotta move 549 00:22:31,586 --> 00:22:33,724 - the feeder as well, huh? - Yeah. 550 00:22:33,827 --> 00:22:35,931 [Fred] Well, and then that chute going out. 551 00:22:36,034 --> 00:22:38,103 [Juan] That one side's getting favored with all the material. 552 00:22:38,206 --> 00:22:39,379 [Fred] Yeah, we need to get a v-chute 553 00:22:39,482 --> 00:22:41,965 to go out before it hits the sluice runs. 554 00:22:42,068 --> 00:22:44,241 - So, on this conveyor, Fred, right here... - Mm-hmm. 555 00:22:44,344 --> 00:22:46,517 ...know that tail pulley, that's actually what shut us down. 556 00:22:46,620 --> 00:22:48,172 [Fred] Yeah, it's not a true tail pulley. 557 00:22:48,275 --> 00:22:49,413 - It's a head pulley. - No. 558 00:22:49,517 --> 00:22:51,448 So what I was thinking about is, uh, actually designing 559 00:22:51,551 --> 00:22:53,068 a new tail wheel for it. 560 00:22:53,172 --> 00:22:54,620 - Yup, yup. - I'll build it. 561 00:22:54,724 --> 00:22:56,448 - Boy, that would be time consuming. Wow. - It's a lot of work, but... 562 00:22:56,551 --> 00:22:58,517 But I think, really, with they got going on 563 00:22:58,620 --> 00:23:00,137 - that's really what they need. - Yeah. 564 00:23:03,034 --> 00:23:05,931 [narrator] The conveyor loses ten percent of their pay. 565 00:23:06,034 --> 00:23:09,724 Freddy and Juan's fix shift it further over the hopper 566 00:23:09,827 --> 00:23:12,034 and attach an innovative broom wiper 567 00:23:12,137 --> 00:23:13,034 to clean the belt. 568 00:23:15,413 --> 00:23:17,448 To prevent rocks jamming at the base, 569 00:23:17,551 --> 00:23:20,344 they'll switch out the problematic head pulley 570 00:23:20,448 --> 00:23:22,344 with a self-cleaning tail pulley. 571 00:23:23,517 --> 00:23:25,965 The sluices pack up on one side. 572 00:23:26,068 --> 00:23:28,551 Freddy and Juan will install a v-chute 573 00:23:28,655 --> 00:23:30,344 to evenly distribute pay 574 00:23:30,448 --> 00:23:32,206 and ensure they catch gold 575 00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:34,413 across the full width of the riffles. 576 00:23:36,862 --> 00:23:38,172 During their first run, 577 00:23:38,275 --> 00:23:39,620 you know, we ran two hours, so... 578 00:23:40,448 --> 00:23:42,172 With these repairs, 579 00:23:42,275 --> 00:23:44,137 - we oughta be able to have a full run. - Yeah. 580 00:23:44,241 --> 00:23:45,275 So, I like it. 581 00:23:45,379 --> 00:23:47,413 Well, let's finish our ice-cream, and uh... 582 00:23:47,517 --> 00:23:49,137 Let's do it. Sounds great. 583 00:23:49,241 --> 00:23:51,724 I've never really seen you get a banana milkshake, it's usually peanut butter. 584 00:23:51,827 --> 00:23:53,344 - They're out of peanut butter. - Out of peanut butter? Okay. 585 00:23:53,448 --> 00:23:54,793 I was... I was wondering why. 586 00:23:55,275 --> 00:23:56,034 [chuckles] 587 00:24:01,724 --> 00:24:02,793 [Fred] First line of business. 588 00:24:02,896 --> 00:24:04,206 We wanna move your conveyor up hill. 589 00:24:05,068 --> 00:24:06,724 You know there's gold in that pile. 590 00:24:06,827 --> 00:24:08,724 So, instead of that material landing on the ground, 591 00:24:08,827 --> 00:24:10,689 we can get it in the hopper, 592 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,068 so, let's shut the rain off 593 00:24:13,172 --> 00:24:15,724 and you guys have, like, a one acre umbrella. 594 00:24:15,827 --> 00:24:17,241 - Da, that's all we need. - [Fred] Yeah. [chuckles] 595 00:24:17,344 --> 00:24:18,310 - Well... - [Juan] Let's get to work. 596 00:24:18,413 --> 00:24:19,448 - Do it. - All righty. Thanks guys. 597 00:24:21,413 --> 00:24:23,068 [narrator] With a threat of bad weather 598 00:24:23,172 --> 00:24:25,827 Freddy and Juan push forward with their first fix, 599 00:24:26,517 --> 00:24:27,655 moving the conveyor. 600 00:24:28,689 --> 00:24:29,586 [Fred] Let's try that. 601 00:24:30,965 --> 00:24:32,379 - Coming out? - Yeah. 602 00:24:32,482 --> 00:24:34,241 [Juan] We just need to control that conveyor just a little bit. 603 00:24:34,344 --> 00:24:36,551 We're gonna lift it and we wanna scoot it over. 604 00:24:36,655 --> 00:24:38,344 But the problem is, the way they got it rigged, 605 00:24:38,448 --> 00:24:40,827 when they lift it up, it's gonna turn on 'em. 606 00:24:40,931 --> 00:24:44,137 - You want a strap to go around that? - [Fred] Yeah, I do. 607 00:24:44,241 --> 00:24:46,655 [Juan] We're gonna hook up the CFMOTO with the winch. 608 00:24:46,758 --> 00:24:47,965 As we lift, we'll pull it back, 609 00:24:48,068 --> 00:24:49,724 and get it into place where we need it. 610 00:24:49,827 --> 00:24:51,068 [Fred] Tighten her up a bit, Juan. 611 00:24:53,172 --> 00:24:55,103 So everybody watches me. 612 00:24:55,206 --> 00:24:56,862 [Juan] Everyone stay away from the cable, please. 613 00:24:56,965 --> 00:24:58,827 [Fred] The cables over a big friggin' rock. 614 00:25:00,896 --> 00:25:01,689 Okay, you ready? 615 00:25:03,310 --> 00:25:04,068 Me and you. 616 00:25:04,827 --> 00:25:05,896 Comin' up. 617 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,068 [engine buzzing] 618 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:10,793 [Fred] Okay, Juan. 619 00:25:11,586 --> 00:25:12,655 Let's pull it at one. 620 00:25:12,758 --> 00:25:13,827 [Juan] Keep... keep going. 621 00:25:13,931 --> 00:25:14,724 [Fred] Keep going. 622 00:25:15,862 --> 00:25:16,931 You're getting pretty snug, aren't ya? 623 00:25:17,034 --> 00:25:18,000 [Juan] Yup, we're pretty... pretty tight. 624 00:25:19,655 --> 00:25:21,344 [Fred] Well, that's a handy pile of dirt to have. 625 00:25:21,448 --> 00:25:22,551 - [laughs] - [Juan laughs] That's a good one. 626 00:25:22,655 --> 00:25:23,448 [Fred chuckles] 627 00:25:27,241 --> 00:25:28,000 [Fred] Oh, oh! 628 00:25:29,482 --> 00:25:30,275 Double check. 629 00:25:32,689 --> 00:25:33,724 Perfect. 630 00:25:33,827 --> 00:25:35,551 Done the lifting and moving, yes. 631 00:25:35,655 --> 00:25:38,206 We just have to pull this belt back now. 632 00:25:38,310 --> 00:25:39,586 When we shut down the back of the belt, 633 00:25:39,689 --> 00:25:40,896 scoot it all the way over 634 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,000 so we're gonna try to straighten it out a little bit. 635 00:25:42,793 --> 00:25:44,137 [Fred] Perfect, Juan. 636 00:25:44,241 --> 00:25:45,344 See what it does, my friend. 637 00:25:50,482 --> 00:25:51,827 - [Fred] That's coming. - [Roger] Yeah, it's coming. 638 00:25:54,137 --> 00:25:54,931 [Juan] Little more? 639 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,413 - That works. - [Fred] Beautiful. 640 00:25:58,310 --> 00:25:59,344 - [Fred] Beauty, eh? - Yup. 641 00:26:00,862 --> 00:26:02,172 [Juan] Good job, Wayne. 642 00:26:02,275 --> 00:26:04,034 Ah, the old guy does a little bit, yeah? 643 00:26:04,137 --> 00:26:05,137 [laughs] 644 00:26:06,586 --> 00:26:08,689 [Fred] He's not old. He's only 78. 645 00:26:08,793 --> 00:26:10,793 [Juan] My dad just turned, uh, 69 today. 646 00:26:11,965 --> 00:26:14,448 And my... my son's birthday is tomorrow. 647 00:26:14,551 --> 00:26:16,241 - [Fred] Okay, there you go. - [Juan] Yeah. [chuckles] 648 00:26:16,344 --> 00:26:17,103 [Fred] Awesome. 649 00:26:18,758 --> 00:26:20,517 [Roger] Must be tough to be away from home, eh? 650 00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:23,000 That's... It is. That's the hardest part about it. 651 00:26:23,413 --> 00:26:24,551 Yeah. 652 00:26:24,655 --> 00:26:26,620 I know when we were looking at going gold mining... 653 00:26:28,275 --> 00:26:30,000 You know, obviously the Yukon. 654 00:26:30,103 --> 00:26:32,310 We had an opportunity with some ground up there. 655 00:26:33,206 --> 00:26:34,965 We decided we just can't do it 656 00:26:35,068 --> 00:26:36,034 with our families like that. 657 00:26:36,137 --> 00:26:37,586 - It's just tough. It's too tough. - So... 658 00:26:37,689 --> 00:26:39,620 So that's when we decided to come this direction, 659 00:26:39,724 --> 00:26:40,965 and because it's here, 660 00:26:41,068 --> 00:26:42,000 we can actually live 661 00:26:42,103 --> 00:26:44,586 - and make this home year round. - Yeah. 662 00:26:44,689 --> 00:26:45,689 For sure. 663 00:26:45,793 --> 00:26:47,275 No, you definitely miss out on a lot, though. 664 00:26:51,103 --> 00:26:52,172 [Fred] How busy are you, Roger? 665 00:26:52,758 --> 00:26:54,275 What'd you need? 666 00:26:54,379 --> 00:26:56,034 [Fred] I might have you come up there with me 667 00:26:56,137 --> 00:26:57,965 and help get some measurements to build 668 00:26:58,068 --> 00:27:00,172 kind of a custom wiper for the conveyor. 669 00:27:00,862 --> 00:27:02,344 Pull the tape for me. 670 00:27:02,448 --> 00:27:05,000 [narrator] To keep the belt as clean as possible, 671 00:27:05,103 --> 00:27:07,896 Freddy's custom wiper must be made to measure. 672 00:27:08,689 --> 00:27:10,586 I'm pretty sure the belt's 36, 673 00:27:10,689 --> 00:27:11,862 unless it's in metric. 674 00:27:12,517 --> 00:27:13,275 Oh, you know what? 675 00:27:14,206 --> 00:27:16,000 We got a broken pillar block here. 676 00:27:16,103 --> 00:27:17,344 Oh, your bearings broke? 677 00:27:17,448 --> 00:27:18,793 Yup. That's not good. 678 00:27:20,482 --> 00:27:21,275 That's broke. 679 00:27:22,620 --> 00:27:23,482 Oh, shoot. 680 00:27:23,586 --> 00:27:24,551 This is now bent. 681 00:27:24,655 --> 00:27:26,517 That's what broke the bearing. 682 00:27:26,620 --> 00:27:28,413 [Fred] Yeah, she's freakin' bent good too. 683 00:27:32,931 --> 00:27:34,655 She's bent in three quarters of an inch. 684 00:27:36,896 --> 00:27:37,931 Yeah, that's a big one here. 685 00:27:39,448 --> 00:27:41,620 Right now we've got a broken bearing. 686 00:27:41,724 --> 00:27:44,137 And without that being fixed this conveyor can't run, 687 00:27:45,034 --> 00:27:46,206 'cause it'll tear itself apart. 688 00:27:47,758 --> 00:27:49,586 We need to find out if we can get this bearing. 689 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,275 And it's not gonna be easy. 690 00:27:53,448 --> 00:27:54,275 Easy to fix. 691 00:27:55,172 --> 00:27:56,724 We got a full day's work her at least. 692 00:27:57,793 --> 00:27:59,965 On this top end, for a couple of guys. 693 00:28:00,068 --> 00:28:02,482 - It can't run without us repairing this. - That's right. 694 00:28:02,586 --> 00:28:05,172 It... it can't. Your plant's down right now. 695 00:28:05,275 --> 00:28:06,862 - It's officially down. - Yup. 696 00:28:18,655 --> 00:28:19,655 [Fred] Hey, Juan. 697 00:28:19,758 --> 00:28:21,034 - Hey, Freddy. What's wrong? - Bad news, man. 698 00:28:21,758 --> 00:28:23,758 Bearing at the top has broke. 699 00:28:23,862 --> 00:28:25,551 The top of the conveyor's bent in. 700 00:28:25,655 --> 00:28:27,482 It's just destroyed. 701 00:28:27,586 --> 00:28:29,103 - There's a day and a half work to fix this. - Just that? 702 00:28:29,206 --> 00:28:30,413 That's not a ha-ha deal. 703 00:28:30,517 --> 00:28:32,034 But without that fixed, 704 00:28:32,137 --> 00:28:33,896 - everything else we're doing-- - Means nothing. 705 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,965 - Yeah. Means nothing. - Means nothing. 706 00:28:36,068 --> 00:28:37,827 Well, that changes everything. I... honestly think 707 00:28:37,931 --> 00:28:39,206 maybe the idea of maybe doing 708 00:28:39,310 --> 00:28:41,068 - a tail pulley is kinda out the window now. - It is now. 709 00:28:41,172 --> 00:28:42,931 We'll build some rock plows down lower. 710 00:28:43,034 --> 00:28:45,862 - We can do those. - To keep the rocks from getting into the tail wheel. 711 00:28:45,965 --> 00:28:47,931 Hopefully, Roger can find a bearing, but... 712 00:28:48,034 --> 00:28:49,137 - you know as well as I do... - Yeah. 713 00:28:49,241 --> 00:28:50,448 ...if we don't fix that, 714 00:28:50,551 --> 00:28:52,000 - nothing else happens. - We're dead in the water, then. 715 00:28:52,103 --> 00:28:52,896 - Yup. - All right, buddy. 716 00:28:57,310 --> 00:28:58,620 [Fred] How's it going? 717 00:28:58,724 --> 00:29:00,517 - Going good. - Any luck on that bearing? 718 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,655 No. No. I've... 719 00:29:02,758 --> 00:29:04,206 done some calling around, couldn't find anything. 720 00:29:04,310 --> 00:29:05,655 But something occurred to me. 721 00:29:05,758 --> 00:29:07,931 My neighbors just down the road... 722 00:29:08,034 --> 00:29:10,103 uh, been gold mining here for years 723 00:29:10,206 --> 00:29:13,103 and I know they got a sea can with a lotta stuff in it. And I... 724 00:29:13,206 --> 00:29:15,275 wonder if there's a chance maybe they would have something. 725 00:29:15,379 --> 00:29:16,137 Yeah, let's have a look. 726 00:29:18,655 --> 00:29:20,068 [narrator] Four days left. 727 00:29:20,172 --> 00:29:23,827 Freddy and Roger meet neighbor and old timer Stephen Keen. 728 00:29:28,827 --> 00:29:29,965 This is how I should be set up. 729 00:29:30,068 --> 00:29:31,551 [Fred] There you go, parts room. 730 00:29:31,655 --> 00:29:32,862 [Roger] You bet. 731 00:29:32,965 --> 00:29:34,689 - [sighs] - [narrator] But what they're looking for, 732 00:29:34,793 --> 00:29:36,724 is a needle in a haystack. 733 00:29:39,241 --> 00:29:40,793 - Nope. - [Roger] No? 734 00:29:40,896 --> 00:29:43,931 Nope. That one's three and 7/16ths. 735 00:29:44,034 --> 00:29:46,379 [Fred] We need 2 and 15. 736 00:29:47,137 --> 00:29:48,586 [Fred sighs in frustration] 737 00:29:50,206 --> 00:29:51,551 That one's two and 15. 738 00:29:52,689 --> 00:29:55,965 But, the kicker here is its's... 739 00:29:56,068 --> 00:30:00,310 That's probably one of the best bearings you can get, but it's not gonna fit. 740 00:30:00,413 --> 00:30:01,689 [Fred] That's just too wide. 741 00:30:01,793 --> 00:30:03,034 It's not gonna work, Roger. 742 00:30:03,137 --> 00:30:04,241 I guess we've gotta keep looking, 743 00:30:04,344 --> 00:30:05,758 but this was kind of a long shot. 744 00:30:05,862 --> 00:30:06,931 Thinking you might have it. I'm-- 745 00:30:07,034 --> 00:30:09,137 Well, I'm kind of sorry I don't. But... 746 00:30:09,241 --> 00:30:10,517 - [Stephen] Yeah. - [Fred] Well, you got it, 747 00:30:10,620 --> 00:30:12,517 - it's just too good a bearing. It won't fit. - [both laughing] 748 00:30:14,241 --> 00:30:15,724 - [Roger] Well, Stephen, thanks. - [Stephen] Well, yeah. 749 00:30:15,827 --> 00:30:19,206 - Well, you're going to Prince George, I guess. - [Roger] Yeah, I guess so. 750 00:30:19,310 --> 00:30:21,206 Well, before I head back over to the mine, 751 00:30:21,310 --> 00:30:22,310 what can you tell me about 752 00:30:22,413 --> 00:30:23,793 - the area here? - [bolt clanging] 753 00:30:23,896 --> 00:30:25,103 [Stephen] Well... [exhales] 754 00:30:25,206 --> 00:30:26,172 probably, uh... 755 00:30:26,275 --> 00:30:27,793 1860's, I think 756 00:30:28,482 --> 00:30:30,827 Ahbau started here, 757 00:30:30,931 --> 00:30:32,137 and there's a couple 758 00:30:32,241 --> 00:30:35,068 shafts, one's down here by the cabin. 759 00:30:35,172 --> 00:30:37,103 - [Fred] Okay. - And one is... 760 00:30:37,206 --> 00:30:38,379 over on 761 00:30:38,482 --> 00:30:39,310 Roger's land. 762 00:30:40,827 --> 00:30:41,620 [narrator] Ahbau Creek 763 00:30:41,724 --> 00:30:43,103 was mined heavily by the 764 00:30:43,206 --> 00:30:46,586 Chinese during the 1860's Gold Rush. 765 00:30:46,689 --> 00:30:48,448 Known for their efficiency, 766 00:30:48,551 --> 00:30:52,034 Chinese miners were more meticulous than others in the era. 767 00:30:54,344 --> 00:30:56,931 [Stephen] There was around 700 Chinese here. 768 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,482 And if I'm not mistaken, I think Ahbau 769 00:31:00,586 --> 00:31:02,137 - himself died here. - [Fred] Yeah? 770 00:31:03,379 --> 00:31:05,827 And rumor has it, that a lot of 771 00:31:05,931 --> 00:31:07,137 Chinese miners 772 00:31:07,241 --> 00:31:08,586 died in this area. 773 00:31:08,689 --> 00:31:10,586 [dramatic music playing] 774 00:31:10,689 --> 00:31:12,655 [narrator] Local superstition believes 775 00:31:12,758 --> 00:31:15,137 that the ghosts of those dead miners 776 00:31:15,241 --> 00:31:17,068 now haunt these claims 777 00:31:17,172 --> 00:31:20,551 and steal the gold, before the miners can dig it up. 778 00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:27,172 We thought we had what we needed there, but uh, 779 00:31:28,344 --> 00:31:30,103 these bearings are just too big. 780 00:31:30,206 --> 00:31:32,793 [Roger] It's kind of a too good to be true kind of a situation. 781 00:31:34,068 --> 00:31:35,551 I gotta go to town now and... 782 00:31:35,655 --> 00:31:37,206 start searching for the right ones. 783 00:31:48,586 --> 00:31:50,586 [clanging] 784 00:31:52,172 --> 00:31:53,000 [Tristan] Get her, guys. 785 00:31:54,241 --> 00:31:56,000 We got enough problems to fix already, 786 00:31:56,103 --> 00:31:57,655 and now we got this, uh, we got this 787 00:31:57,758 --> 00:32:00,310 broken bearing, so uh... 788 00:32:00,413 --> 00:32:02,344 You know, not ideal, you know, 789 00:32:02,448 --> 00:32:05,137 Freddy and Juan are going to be working round the clock. 790 00:32:05,241 --> 00:32:08,275 [Fred] Don't grab it when it hits the ground. It's hot. 791 00:32:08,379 --> 00:32:10,689 - [bearing thudding] - [Fred yelps] 792 00:32:10,793 --> 00:32:13,206 [Fred] Missed my steel toe by an inch and a half. 793 00:32:14,758 --> 00:32:16,206 [narrator] The fix is critical. 794 00:32:16,310 --> 00:32:18,965 If they run the conveyor with a bent frame, 795 00:32:19,068 --> 00:32:22,724 the $5000 belt will slide to one side, 796 00:32:22,827 --> 00:32:23,931 and shred itself. 797 00:32:25,517 --> 00:32:26,724 To correct it, 798 00:32:26,827 --> 00:32:29,206 Freddy must remove the cog and chain 799 00:32:29,310 --> 00:32:31,448 that attached the motor to the head pulley. 800 00:32:33,172 --> 00:32:35,689 Take off the broken bearing, 801 00:32:35,793 --> 00:32:37,827 - straighten the bent steel frame. - [metallic creaking] 802 00:32:37,931 --> 00:32:40,172 And finally, fit the new bearing. 803 00:32:42,068 --> 00:32:44,172 If Roger can find one. 804 00:32:44,275 --> 00:32:46,482 [Fred] State one down. Let's cut her. 805 00:32:46,586 --> 00:32:47,551 [Fred] Eyeballs! 806 00:32:47,655 --> 00:32:49,620 - [dramatic music playing] - [cutter buzzing] 807 00:32:54,344 --> 00:32:55,310 - [Fred] One piece to go. - [clangs] 808 00:32:56,620 --> 00:32:58,620 [cutter buzzing] 809 00:33:02,344 --> 00:33:04,103 I've seen guys take two days, 810 00:33:04,206 --> 00:33:07,137 to get a bearing off before fighting it, fighting it, fighting it. 811 00:33:09,551 --> 00:33:11,103 [man] Oh yeah, she's loose. 812 00:33:11,206 --> 00:33:12,689 [Fred] Ok. I'm gonna warm this up... 813 00:33:12,793 --> 00:33:15,344 - [man] Yeah. - We'll get some heavy gloves on and she'll come off. 814 00:33:15,448 --> 00:33:16,482 - [machine clanging] - [man] Good. 815 00:33:16,586 --> 00:33:17,379 [Fred] Okay. 816 00:33:19,137 --> 00:33:20,103 [clanging] 817 00:33:21,827 --> 00:33:22,620 [thuds] 818 00:33:22,724 --> 00:33:23,517 [Fred] It's coming. 819 00:33:24,034 --> 00:33:25,000 It's hot, boy. 820 00:33:25,103 --> 00:33:26,620 [thuds] 821 00:33:26,724 --> 00:33:27,586 - [Fred] Got her... - Yup. 822 00:33:27,689 --> 00:33:29,275 One part of the job's done. 823 00:33:31,793 --> 00:33:33,758 [Fred] So what do you think of this gold mining stuff? 824 00:33:34,482 --> 00:33:35,586 I... I... 825 00:33:35,689 --> 00:33:37,034 - [drilling] - ...find myself 826 00:33:37,137 --> 00:33:38,724 - um... - [brush scraping] 827 00:33:38,827 --> 00:33:41,689 ...at five o'clock at the end of the day wanting to stay longer. 828 00:33:41,793 --> 00:33:42,896 - So... [chuckling] - [Fred] There you go. 829 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,655 - That means something. - It's a good thing, yeah. 830 00:33:44,758 --> 00:33:45,827 [Fred] There are good days, and there's 831 00:33:45,931 --> 00:33:47,827 bad days, just like anything else. 832 00:33:47,931 --> 00:33:49,068 - Yup. Absolutely. - [Fred] Uh-huh. 833 00:33:49,172 --> 00:33:50,965 You can have a bad day at the job, when you're getting 834 00:33:51,068 --> 00:33:53,827 paid by the hour, and you still get a paycheck, right? 835 00:33:53,931 --> 00:33:55,862 - Yup. - When you have bad days out here, 836 00:33:55,965 --> 00:33:57,551 and your plant's not running, 837 00:33:57,655 --> 00:33:59,413 - you aren't getting a paycheck. - [Taylor] Yeah. 838 00:33:59,517 --> 00:34:00,758 Bad days are real bad, 839 00:34:00,862 --> 00:34:03,586 - but the good days are real good. - That's right. 840 00:34:03,689 --> 00:34:05,862 [narrator] For Taylor, gold means the chance to 841 00:34:05,965 --> 00:34:08,344 pursue his other passion. 842 00:34:08,448 --> 00:34:10,413 [rock music playing] 843 00:34:13,620 --> 00:34:16,758 ♪ It's a clear sky ♪ 844 00:34:16,862 --> 00:34:18,482 - [continues singing indistinctly] - [Taylor] I sing in the band, 845 00:34:18,586 --> 00:34:21,206 with my brothers. Matt writes all the music, 846 00:34:21,310 --> 00:34:23,931 I just get the pleasure of singing his lyrics. [chuckling] 847 00:34:24,034 --> 00:34:26,000 [rock music playing] 848 00:34:34,103 --> 00:34:36,275 Yeah, you might think gold mining's hard to make money, but it's 849 00:34:36,379 --> 00:34:39,103 real hard to make money being a musician too so... [chuckling] 850 00:34:41,103 --> 00:34:43,068 [Taylor] Trying to get up on our feet, so that we can do 851 00:34:43,172 --> 00:34:46,482 that stuff in the winter time, and gold mining in the summer time. 852 00:34:46,586 --> 00:34:50,482 Um, we haven't talked to too many people about us gold mining and stuff. 853 00:34:50,586 --> 00:34:52,689 - It's a big deal, I guess. So... - [sings] 854 00:34:52,793 --> 00:34:54,379 Yeah. A big change for all of us. 855 00:35:01,482 --> 00:35:04,034 - Are you ready to do more surgery? - Yes sir, let's do it! 856 00:35:04,137 --> 00:35:06,793 [thrilling music playing] 857 00:35:06,896 --> 00:35:09,172 [narrator] For a new bearing to fit correctly, 858 00:35:09,275 --> 00:35:10,448 Freddy and Taylor must 859 00:35:10,551 --> 00:35:14,172 first carefully heat the bent frame to straighten it. 860 00:35:15,206 --> 00:35:17,310 - Yep. Beautiful. - [whirring] 861 00:35:17,413 --> 00:35:18,379 [Fred] It's pretty straight, huh? 862 00:35:19,241 --> 00:35:20,034 Nice. 863 00:35:22,758 --> 00:35:23,724 [Fred] What'd you find? 864 00:35:23,827 --> 00:35:25,689 Got some good news. I think I got the exact 865 00:35:25,793 --> 00:35:27,344 - one this time. - Cool. 866 00:35:32,068 --> 00:35:32,931 [Fred] Oh... 867 00:35:34,103 --> 00:35:35,620 [Roger] Let me go up... 868 00:35:35,724 --> 00:35:36,655 [Fred] Yeah. 869 00:35:39,862 --> 00:35:41,827 [Taylor] Go. 870 00:35:41,931 --> 00:35:44,068 - [Fred] Hm. We're there. [grunting] There. Yes. - [Taylor] Yeah. 871 00:35:44,172 --> 00:35:45,448 [Fred] Hopefully it holds up. 872 00:35:45,551 --> 00:35:47,275 [Roger] Yup. Big improvement. 873 00:35:47,379 --> 00:35:49,275 [Fred] Done. 874 00:35:49,379 --> 00:35:53,241 That head wheel on that conveyor cost a day. 875 00:35:53,344 --> 00:35:56,344 [Fred] So, we're behind a day on the other stuff we wanted to get done. 876 00:35:57,965 --> 00:35:59,137 We'll hit her again in the morning. 877 00:36:07,241 --> 00:36:09,206 [dramatic music playing] 878 00:36:14,724 --> 00:36:17,344 [Fred] Well, Juan truly, we are running out of time here. 879 00:36:17,448 --> 00:36:18,793 You know, we were going to build that tail pulley. 880 00:36:18,896 --> 00:36:20,931 - [Juan] Well now, it's not even a possibility. - No, no. 881 00:36:21,034 --> 00:36:22,310 [Juan] We don't have the time to do it. 882 00:36:22,413 --> 00:36:24,586 [narrator] Just two days remaining, 883 00:36:24,689 --> 00:36:28,275 Freddy and Juan are forced to revise their plan. 884 00:36:28,379 --> 00:36:31,137 I got a full day today to get that distribution box done. 885 00:36:31,241 --> 00:36:33,344 Then I'll start working on the wipers and stuff, 886 00:36:33,448 --> 00:36:34,862 - the rock plows. - [Juan] Yeah. 887 00:36:34,965 --> 00:36:36,965 [thrilling instrumental music playing] 888 00:36:45,241 --> 00:36:48,241 [narrator] But before they can get going on the urgent work for the day... 889 00:36:48,689 --> 00:36:50,206 Hey, guys. 890 00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:53,517 [narrator] ...Freddy and Juan have a new proposition for the family. 891 00:36:55,931 --> 00:36:58,034 [Juan] You know a lot of what we want to do is dependent on the time we have, 892 00:36:58,137 --> 00:36:59,655 that tail pulley's, it's kind of... 893 00:36:59,758 --> 00:37:01,172 was kind of a booger, right? 894 00:37:01,275 --> 00:37:03,172 But now we're going to have to scrap the whole tail pulley idea. 895 00:37:03,275 --> 00:37:04,758 [Fred] We don't have time to build one. 896 00:37:06,344 --> 00:37:09,586 We'll put multiple rock plows in front of that tail pulley, 897 00:37:09,689 --> 00:37:13,482 so materials coming down that belt, it won't get in there as often. 898 00:37:13,586 --> 00:37:16,517 If we put some kind of wiper system at the top of it, 899 00:37:16,620 --> 00:37:18,896 that material's going to fall in that hopper, 900 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,620 instead of coming down that belt. 901 00:37:20,724 --> 00:37:23,034 Then a V-chute at the end, you guys had about 902 00:37:23,137 --> 00:37:26,862 70% of your material, and 70% of your gold, 903 00:37:26,965 --> 00:37:29,448 going down that left side of that sluice. 904 00:37:29,551 --> 00:37:31,517 We had to slow you guys down during your first run, 905 00:37:31,620 --> 00:37:34,275 but we're hoping that, by being able to distribute it properly, 906 00:37:34,379 --> 00:37:35,724 evenly down the sluice front, 907 00:37:35,827 --> 00:37:37,896 - you might be able to run a little more material. - Awesome. 908 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,965 - Yup. Yup. - [Fred] Probably get another 20 yards an hour out of it. 909 00:37:41,068 --> 00:37:43,517 [Juan] I know Kieran suffered an injury from that gas motor, what we'd like to 910 00:37:43,620 --> 00:37:46,103 do is put an electric motor in there, in place of that gas motor. 911 00:37:46,206 --> 00:37:49,068 - [man] Yeah. - [Juan] So, that being said, 912 00:37:49,172 --> 00:37:50,689 what we're thinking as far as 913 00:37:50,793 --> 00:37:53,448 for the material, we're looking at about $3000 in material. 914 00:37:55,275 --> 00:37:57,000 - [man] Yeah. - [Juan stammering] And then the hard part. 915 00:37:57,103 --> 00:37:59,793 You know, as far as our labor, we... we always hate doing it, but, 916 00:37:59,896 --> 00:38:02,551 we'd like to see an ounce and a half a gold a piece. 917 00:38:02,655 --> 00:38:04,517 Yeah, we really need your guys' help because, 918 00:38:04,620 --> 00:38:06,620 - we gotta get some gold this season. - [Taylor] Yup. 919 00:38:06,724 --> 00:38:08,758 It's gotta be able to make it so there is a next season, right? 920 00:38:08,862 --> 00:38:10,448 - So. - Yeah. 921 00:38:10,551 --> 00:38:11,931 [Juan] And with the wiper and everything, you know that's not really gonna 922 00:38:12,034 --> 00:38:13,448 increase your production, but it's actually gonna 923 00:38:13,551 --> 00:38:15,137 decrease your downtime, as well. 924 00:38:15,241 --> 00:38:17,551 - [Roger] All right. - So it's going to a win-win, all the way around. 925 00:38:17,655 --> 00:38:21,137 When you have a family our size, you know, all that stuff's... that's important. 926 00:38:21,241 --> 00:38:22,965 - Put food on the table. - [Roger] I mean-- That's right. 927 00:38:23,068 --> 00:38:24,862 - Yeah. - If you could eat mosquitoes in there, you guys would 928 00:38:24,965 --> 00:38:29,103 - all weigh 400 pounds. - [Adams laughing] Yeah. 929 00:38:29,206 --> 00:38:32,379 Uh, we trust you guys, we know you're good at what you do, and uh, 930 00:38:32,482 --> 00:38:34,206 - so yeah, we're good to go on that. - [man] That's great. 931 00:38:34,310 --> 00:38:36,689 Another-- Another thing you'll get is, you'll get 932 00:38:36,793 --> 00:38:38,724 you know, what you'll learn from us while we're here. 933 00:38:38,827 --> 00:38:40,931 - [man] Yeah. - And you'll be able to carry that on. 934 00:38:41,034 --> 00:38:42,896 - A bunch of bad jokes, too. - [Fred] Whether it's bad or good. 935 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,413 - [all laughing] - Keep all those. Those are all free. 936 00:38:44,517 --> 00:38:45,793 [all] Yeah. 937 00:38:45,896 --> 00:38:47,137 [Fred] Well, deal then guys. 938 00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:48,448 [Juan] Let's do it. 939 00:38:48,551 --> 00:38:50,068 - Yup. Thank you so much. - Sounds good. 940 00:38:50,172 --> 00:38:51,551 - No problem. - [man] Thank you. 941 00:38:52,448 --> 00:38:54,413 [thrilling instrumental music playing] 942 00:39:00,206 --> 00:39:01,137 [Juan] Perfect. 943 00:39:01,241 --> 00:39:03,413 [narrator] Less than 48 hours left, 944 00:39:03,517 --> 00:39:05,000 it's all hands on deck 945 00:39:05,103 --> 00:39:07,758 to complete essential fixes. 946 00:39:09,034 --> 00:39:11,793 Juan gets started on the critical V-chute. 947 00:39:13,344 --> 00:39:15,586 Freddy and I really don't have a lot of time to get all the repairs done, 948 00:39:15,689 --> 00:39:17,206 there's more here than what we thought. 949 00:39:17,310 --> 00:39:19,344 Even with all the machines that we have and all the equipment, 950 00:39:19,448 --> 00:39:20,655 it's still going to be really tight. 951 00:39:22,310 --> 00:39:25,551 [narrator] While Freddy turns to ingenuity. 952 00:39:25,655 --> 00:39:28,724 I'm going to try to use a broom on the top of that conveyor as a wiper. 953 00:39:29,620 --> 00:39:31,275 [Fred] So, we'll see what it does. 954 00:39:33,689 --> 00:39:35,724 So, here's what I wanna do guys. 955 00:39:35,827 --> 00:39:37,655 [Fred] I wanna drill, uh, 956 00:39:37,758 --> 00:39:40,379 - roughly quarter inch holes here. - Okay. 957 00:39:40,482 --> 00:39:42,413 That way we'll screw that broom in there, right? 958 00:39:42,517 --> 00:39:43,310 Sounds good. 959 00:39:43,586 --> 00:39:44,931 [clangs] 960 00:39:47,034 --> 00:39:50,724 I've got the tough job, 'cause my fingers don't work so good. 961 00:39:50,827 --> 00:39:52,000 [drilling] 962 00:39:53,827 --> 00:39:56,586 Yeah, he might look like he's doing all the work, but uh, 963 00:39:56,689 --> 00:39:57,965 I'm the brains around here. 964 00:39:58,517 --> 00:40:00,172 [chuckling] Yeah. 965 00:40:01,965 --> 00:40:04,379 I'm the older one between the two of us. 966 00:40:04,482 --> 00:40:06,379 - I think I got what, four years on you? - [drilling] 967 00:40:07,103 --> 00:40:08,413 [Kieran] Something like that. 968 00:40:08,517 --> 00:40:10,172 We definitely have a little bit of a competition, 969 00:40:10,275 --> 00:40:12,896 not too much, I mean, he knows who's the boss, so... 970 00:40:13,413 --> 00:40:14,655 [laughing] 971 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,517 [Juan] I got a few welds I gotta finish up, then I gotta put 972 00:40:27,620 --> 00:40:29,517 the slicer in the middle of the- t he V-chute. 973 00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:31,482 And we should be able to get down there and start putting everything together. 974 00:40:32,551 --> 00:40:34,931 [Fred growls] Ugh! 975 00:40:35,034 --> 00:40:36,793 - Ow! Ah! - [clangs] 976 00:40:40,482 --> 00:40:42,172 [Juan speaking] 977 00:40:42,275 --> 00:40:45,137 Got shocked and burned at the same time! 978 00:40:45,241 --> 00:40:47,068 Had some hot slag go down my pants. 979 00:40:49,344 --> 00:40:50,586 [machine clanging] 980 00:40:51,482 --> 00:40:52,965 You have gold fever? 981 00:40:53,068 --> 00:40:55,586 - Somethin' happens in me, when I see it. [chuckling] - [Taylor chuckling] 982 00:40:55,689 --> 00:40:56,620 Definitely. 983 00:40:56,724 --> 00:40:57,689 That's gold fever. 984 00:40:58,517 --> 00:41:00,586 That's gold fever for my own gold. 985 00:41:00,689 --> 00:41:04,034 Yeah. [groans] I'd much rather see gold in my own sluice box, 986 00:41:04,137 --> 00:41:05,413 then somebody else's. [chuckles] 987 00:41:06,275 --> 00:41:07,758 [drilling] 988 00:41:11,724 --> 00:41:14,586 - [machine whirring] - [Juan] Coming up and over. 989 00:41:14,689 --> 00:41:18,931 [narrator] Juan's V-chute, designed to get the family the gold they need, 990 00:41:19,034 --> 00:41:20,689 to fund their homestead, 991 00:41:20,793 --> 00:41:23,172 is ready to be installed. 992 00:41:23,275 --> 00:41:24,793 [Juan] When all the material comes down the chute 993 00:41:24,896 --> 00:41:27,793 on the trommel, it'll actually concentrate in the middle of that V-chute. 994 00:41:27,896 --> 00:41:29,862 Then it'll actually evenly get dispersed 995 00:41:29,965 --> 00:41:31,482 between the two sluice fronts. 996 00:41:31,586 --> 00:41:33,275 We will actually get better gold recovery that way. 997 00:41:38,758 --> 00:41:39,827 - Are we clear on that side? - [Taylor] Yup. 998 00:41:39,931 --> 00:41:41,689 - We're good here. - [Juan] Okay. 999 00:41:41,793 --> 00:41:43,344 [Juan] We're gonna go left, we're gonna go in. 1000 00:41:43,448 --> 00:41:45,586 Pull this ground off here. 1001 00:41:46,413 --> 00:41:47,344 [clanging] 1002 00:41:48,931 --> 00:41:50,068 [Juan] How're we looking over there, guys? 1003 00:41:50,172 --> 00:41:51,586 - [Roger] Just a little tight, yeah? - [Juan] Yeah. 1004 00:41:51,689 --> 00:41:53,206 [Taylor] If we go in flat, it might go. 1005 00:41:53,310 --> 00:41:55,000 - [Roger] Yeah, probably. - That's very close. No way. 1006 00:41:55,103 --> 00:41:55,965 [Juan] I don't think it will. 1007 00:41:56,068 --> 00:41:57,206 We-- We'll have to cut it. 1008 00:42:00,068 --> 00:42:01,931 [Roger] I guess it's just 'cause these are angled a little bit right here. 1009 00:42:02,034 --> 00:42:03,103 [Juan] No, that's the only reason it doesn't fit. 1010 00:42:03,206 --> 00:42:04,379 - It's on the top. Yeah. - [Juan] Yeah. 1011 00:42:05,206 --> 00:42:06,655 Hm. 1012 00:42:06,758 --> 00:42:08,896 [producer speaking] 1013 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:10,931 I'm-- I'm correcting my mistake right now. 1014 00:42:11,965 --> 00:42:12,724 No. 1015 00:42:12,827 --> 00:42:14,827 [all laughing] 1016 00:42:21,206 --> 00:42:23,172 [dramatic music playing] 1017 00:42:24,896 --> 00:42:26,758 - [Juan] Watch your eyes. - [Kieran] Yup. 1018 00:42:26,862 --> 00:42:28,344 [narrator] Final test looming... 1019 00:42:28,448 --> 00:42:29,862 [winces] 1020 00:42:29,965 --> 00:42:31,724 [Juan] Close. That's close. 1021 00:42:31,827 --> 00:42:34,000 - [drilling] - [narrator] ...Juan must make last-minute adjustments, 1022 00:42:34,103 --> 00:42:35,379 to the vital V-chute, 1023 00:42:35,482 --> 00:42:36,620 to get it to fit. 1024 00:42:37,344 --> 00:42:38,482 [Juan] We'll call that good. 1025 00:42:39,034 --> 00:42:39,862 [clangs] 1026 00:42:41,551 --> 00:42:42,448 [Juan] Lower down. 1027 00:42:43,655 --> 00:42:45,655 - [thudding] - [grunts] 1028 00:42:46,551 --> 00:42:47,620 [Juan] Ah, much better. 1029 00:42:47,724 --> 00:42:50,241 Looks good, but let's--let's hope it works good, huh. 1030 00:42:50,344 --> 00:42:52,172 Oh, I-- I'm sure it'll work. 1031 00:42:52,275 --> 00:42:54,034 - [Juan] I'm not so sure, and I built this thing. - Oh [laughs] 1032 00:42:54,137 --> 00:42:56,724 [all laughing] 1033 00:42:56,827 --> 00:42:59,689 I'm super excited to see this V-chute run, and... 1034 00:42:59,793 --> 00:43:02,586 [Tristan] This is huge, so is everything else that they've done. 1035 00:43:04,586 --> 00:43:06,620 [Roger] I know it's gonna work better. 1036 00:43:06,724 --> 00:43:09,275 Let's hope we can get three-four hours, and let's hope we can just 1037 00:43:09,379 --> 00:43:11,448 continue running after that like crazy. 1038 00:43:15,103 --> 00:43:16,000 [Fred] Hey, Juan-o. 1039 00:43:16,103 --> 00:43:17,206 Hey, Freddy, what's going on, buddy? 1040 00:43:17,310 --> 00:43:18,896 - Question for ya. - Yup. 1041 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,448 I need some springs, compression springs. 1042 00:43:21,551 --> 00:43:23,620 We can probably find some in town, but that's... 1043 00:43:23,724 --> 00:43:24,724 Three hour round trip. 1044 00:43:24,827 --> 00:43:26,827 [Juan] Hm. That's gonna take half the day away. 1045 00:43:29,827 --> 00:43:30,896 Let me think about this for a second. 1046 00:43:35,034 --> 00:43:36,137 You know, we can just probably... 1047 00:43:36,241 --> 00:43:37,965 take these full springs off my R/C car. 1048 00:43:38,068 --> 00:43:39,310 - Well, if they're strong enough. - [Juan] If they-- 1049 00:43:39,413 --> 00:43:41,241 I don't know if it's gonna be-- the car weighs quite a bit. 1050 00:43:42,448 --> 00:43:45,965 - My baby, Freddy. - [Fred laughs] I know. 1051 00:43:46,068 --> 00:43:47,793 You've got wheelie bars on this one, Juan. 1052 00:43:47,896 --> 00:43:49,241 - [Juan] I do. [laughing] - I never paid attention. 1053 00:43:49,344 --> 00:43:51,689 - [Fred] You guys and your cars. - I know, I know. 1054 00:43:53,344 --> 00:43:54,586 [Fred] Yeah. 1055 00:43:54,689 --> 00:43:57,724 - I think that'd do it. - Well, let me take 'em off for ya. 1056 00:43:57,827 --> 00:44:00,551 You know, Freddy, this-- this little hobby of mine keeps me from drinking. 1057 00:44:00,655 --> 00:44:02,655 - So, you're gonna drive me to drinking, buddy. - [Fred] That's right. 1058 00:44:03,586 --> 00:44:04,517 Here you go. 1059 00:44:04,620 --> 00:44:05,793 [Juan] You think that'll work? 1060 00:44:05,896 --> 00:44:06,793 [Fred groans softly] 1061 00:44:06,896 --> 00:44:08,103 [Fred] That'll work, Juan. 1062 00:44:08,206 --> 00:44:09,206 Now Freddy owes me one. 1063 00:44:13,724 --> 00:44:15,724 [upbeat music playing] 1064 00:44:17,793 --> 00:44:20,620 [Fred] You ever notice how the young guys don't carry anything? 1065 00:44:20,724 --> 00:44:23,586 My pockets are full of stuff. 1066 00:44:23,689 --> 00:44:25,827 Rodger's got the heavy piece. 1067 00:44:28,551 --> 00:44:30,241 [narrator] Springs in place, 1068 00:44:30,344 --> 00:44:34,862 the wiper should keep a constant pressure on the conveyor belt when running. 1069 00:44:34,965 --> 00:44:36,068 [Roger] This looks like it's gonna fit. 1070 00:44:36,172 --> 00:44:37,206 [Fred] It ought to work good, right? 1071 00:44:37,310 --> 00:44:38,689 This is made for sweeping. 1072 00:44:38,793 --> 00:44:43,068 So we can get it off where it's falling in this chute, 1073 00:44:43,172 --> 00:44:44,551 it's going down your sluice. 1074 00:44:44,655 --> 00:44:47,000 [Roger] Holes are a little bit off on my end. 1075 00:44:48,034 --> 00:44:49,758 [Fred] Are they? 1076 00:44:49,862 --> 00:44:51,931 So whoever drilled those holes in the conveyor, 1077 00:44:52,034 --> 00:44:53,517 it's different side to side then. 1078 00:44:54,758 --> 00:44:55,758 - You know what I mean? - Could be, yeah. 1079 00:44:56,551 --> 00:44:57,448 Oh. 1080 00:44:57,931 --> 00:45:00,034 No. 1081 00:45:00,137 --> 00:45:02,172 - [Roger] You forgot to account for that plate. - That plate. Yeah. 1082 00:45:02,275 --> 00:45:04,724 'Cause I measured this before we put that. 1083 00:45:04,827 --> 00:45:06,931 Before we put that plate in there. 1084 00:45:07,034 --> 00:45:10,103 [Roger] Gotcha. Right. Frig. 1085 00:45:10,206 --> 00:45:12,172 [Fred] Well, we're gonna have to open these holes up. 1086 00:45:20,965 --> 00:45:22,275 Tip number-two. 1087 00:45:28,172 --> 00:45:29,689 Compress those springs up. 1088 00:45:29,793 --> 00:45:32,000 - quite a ways, kind of like I've got in here. - Oh, yeah, yeah. 1089 00:45:36,793 --> 00:45:38,310 [Fred] Holy frijoles! 1090 00:45:38,413 --> 00:45:40,310 - What do you think? - Looks good. 1091 00:45:40,413 --> 00:45:41,586 Yeah, this is great. 1092 00:45:56,103 --> 00:45:58,655 - [barking] - Hi, pet dog. 1093 00:45:58,758 --> 00:46:00,241 - Hey, Freddy. - How's it going? 1094 00:46:00,344 --> 00:46:02,482 - Good. How are you doing? - Doing all right. I got a few minutes. 1095 00:46:02,586 --> 00:46:04,517 I wanted to see your homestead. 1096 00:46:04,620 --> 00:46:06,551 [narrator] At the end of the fourth day, 1097 00:46:06,655 --> 00:46:09,793 Freddy wants to see what the gold will be paying for. 1098 00:46:10,965 --> 00:46:13,344 - I always loved stuff like this. - Yeah. 1099 00:46:14,413 --> 00:46:16,931 I live out of town. I'm kind of a prepper guy. 1100 00:46:17,034 --> 00:46:19,448 You know, make sure I have water and food. 1101 00:46:19,551 --> 00:46:21,896 - Yeah. - Back-up generators and stuff like that. 1102 00:46:24,586 --> 00:46:27,034 So you got like a 150 acres here you say? 1103 00:46:27,137 --> 00:46:30,137 [Roger] Yeah. Basically everything you can see is our property. 1104 00:46:31,620 --> 00:46:34,275 - How's it going? - Good, good. Hey, Freddy. 1105 00:46:34,379 --> 00:46:37,068 So this is home sweet home? It's a bit tight, huh? 1106 00:46:37,172 --> 00:46:39,689 Yeah, I can't complain. I got everything I need in this little thing. 1107 00:46:39,793 --> 00:46:41,379 Other than the shower. That'd be nice. 1108 00:46:41,482 --> 00:46:42,344 There you go. 1109 00:46:43,379 --> 00:46:44,551 Knock-knock. 1110 00:46:44,655 --> 00:46:46,724 - Hard on short legged guys. - Yeah. 1111 00:46:46,827 --> 00:46:47,965 Come on in. 1112 00:46:48,068 --> 00:46:49,275 Well, that's a nice skid shack. 1113 00:46:49,379 --> 00:46:52,034 Yeah, just, kind of, a temporary thing, you know. 1114 00:46:52,137 --> 00:46:55,482 Hopefully I can, you know, get out of here and build a real house 1115 00:46:55,586 --> 00:46:56,827 - for me and my wife. - Yeah. 1116 00:46:56,931 --> 00:47:00,241 It's tough to come out and toss the rest of your life away 1117 00:47:00,344 --> 00:47:04,000 and come out here and, you know, bank on gold, you know, being a success. 1118 00:47:05,034 --> 00:47:07,448 We're really hoping this helps us. 1119 00:47:07,551 --> 00:47:09,517 We need the money to survive. 1120 00:47:09,620 --> 00:47:11,724 So this is your accommodations. 1121 00:47:11,827 --> 00:47:16,689 Yeah. Me, my fiancee, my two-year old son are staying in here for now. 1122 00:47:16,793 --> 00:47:18,379 [Fred] Little tight for you but... 1123 00:47:18,482 --> 00:47:24,586 Definitely gonna be putting in some extra effort to upgrade out of the camper. 1124 00:47:24,689 --> 00:47:26,896 Did you pick the best spot first, Matt? 1125 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,724 I guess, I kind of did. 1126 00:47:31,793 --> 00:47:35,620 We can't do any more. Honestly, until we get some gold. 1127 00:47:35,724 --> 00:47:36,827 And that's just the truth. 1128 00:47:37,482 --> 00:47:39,172 Well, literally at pause. 1129 00:47:39,275 --> 00:47:42,034 - So the house is dependent on gold. - Totally. 1130 00:47:42,137 --> 00:47:47,310 Yeah. So my wife and myself, we're about to have a third kid in two weeks. 1131 00:47:47,413 --> 00:47:50,655 And the trailer isn't gonna cut it. 1132 00:47:50,758 --> 00:47:52,310 [Fred] I think it's a neat concept. 1133 00:47:52,413 --> 00:47:54,896 This is an absolute beautiful spot. 1134 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:57,310 Let's... let's help you get enough gold where you can keep it. 1135 00:47:57,413 --> 00:47:59,551 - Make your dreams come true. - Yeah. Sounds good. 1136 00:48:02,862 --> 00:48:08,068 Bringing the boys into this, it has been a, you know, just adding a little extra stress. 1137 00:48:09,758 --> 00:48:12,000 You just wanna be able to stay here and make a living. 1138 00:48:31,896 --> 00:48:34,965 - [Fred] There's probably five yards of material in there. - Yeah. 1139 00:48:35,068 --> 00:48:37,379 15,000 pounds of material. 1140 00:48:37,482 --> 00:48:40,344 [narrator] 24 hours before the final test, 1141 00:48:40,448 --> 00:48:42,793 with the conveyor closer to the hopper, 1142 00:48:42,896 --> 00:48:44,896 the feeder must now be moved. 1143 00:48:46,206 --> 00:48:48,827 [Fred] We need to go four foot I'd say. 1144 00:48:48,931 --> 00:48:52,827 [narrator] But it's jammed full of pay from the aborted first test. 1145 00:48:52,931 --> 00:48:54,000 [Juan] Well, right now Freddy, it's too heavy 1146 00:48:54,103 --> 00:48:56,172 - to be able to move it. - It is. 1147 00:48:56,275 --> 00:48:58,103 There's more material in there than the feeder weighs. 1148 00:48:58,206 --> 00:48:59,793 Probably three-fold. 1149 00:48:59,896 --> 00:49:01,137 So we probably have to get it all cleaned out, 1150 00:49:01,241 --> 00:49:03,206 so that we can move it forward and get it in place. 1151 00:49:03,310 --> 00:49:04,379 Yeah. Yeah. 1152 00:49:07,655 --> 00:49:09,172 [narrator] The risky solution. 1153 00:49:11,931 --> 00:49:17,103 Tristan and Taylor must cut the cylinders that attach the grizzly bars to the feeder. 1154 00:49:17,206 --> 00:49:20,724 So Matt can scoop out the dirt with the excavator. 1155 00:49:24,517 --> 00:49:26,310 Real slow. Real slow. 1156 00:49:30,034 --> 00:49:30,965 Little more power. 1157 00:49:35,068 --> 00:49:36,379 Yeah, that's it. 1158 00:49:36,482 --> 00:49:37,551 You're ready to lift it? 1159 00:49:38,379 --> 00:49:39,862 Let's go. 1160 00:49:44,206 --> 00:49:45,034 Yeah. 1161 00:49:50,586 --> 00:49:51,379 Whoo! 1162 00:49:52,827 --> 00:49:55,482 Somehow I gotta get my bucket in that feeder. 1163 00:49:55,586 --> 00:49:57,482 And I am a bit nervous about that. 1164 00:49:57,586 --> 00:50:00,034 Because I don't wanna wreck something up even more. 1165 00:50:01,310 --> 00:50:02,137 Okay, come. 1166 00:50:08,655 --> 00:50:12,241 That's a couple of thousand pounds out right there. 1167 00:50:12,344 --> 00:50:15,517 Our first test was real poor. So I hope Freddy can help us 1168 00:50:15,620 --> 00:50:17,137 get to see a lot more gold in the box. 1169 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:19,862 I am not playing games out here. 1170 00:50:21,206 --> 00:50:22,758 This has gotta work. 1171 00:50:25,724 --> 00:50:29,137 [narrator] The final fix on the conveyor, a rock plow. 1172 00:50:29,241 --> 00:50:33,862 Designed to protect the tail pulley and prevent it shutting down the plant. 1173 00:50:37,275 --> 00:50:39,137 For this eye I'm putting on there, 1174 00:50:39,241 --> 00:50:41,827 it's a place for us to tie our chains on. 1175 00:50:41,931 --> 00:50:44,275 'Cause this is gonna float on top of that belt. 1176 00:50:54,448 --> 00:50:56,275 Hey, Rodger. 1177 00:50:56,379 --> 00:50:57,965 Hey, look at that. 1178 00:51:01,689 --> 00:51:02,689 Single wrap there. 1179 00:51:04,310 --> 00:51:05,413 I like it. 1180 00:51:05,517 --> 00:51:07,448 It's an inexpensive fix. 1181 00:51:07,551 --> 00:51:11,379 You know, probably a couple of hundred bucks total in it with chain and everything. 1182 00:51:11,482 --> 00:51:12,793 Yeah, it's good. It's good. 1183 00:51:12,896 --> 00:51:16,896 But conveyors do move material cheaper than any other thing, 1184 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:19,034 right? But they have their drawbacks. 1185 00:51:19,137 --> 00:51:22,517 They need their maintenance. They need to be cleaned. 1186 00:51:22,620 --> 00:51:24,758 We have really wet material all the time. 1187 00:51:25,862 --> 00:51:28,689 It can be a battle. A non-stop battle. 1188 00:51:28,793 --> 00:51:32,137 [narrator] Conveyor complete, Freddy must repair the belt. 1189 00:51:32,241 --> 00:51:34,137 Any further damage could result 1190 00:51:34,241 --> 00:51:38,551 in a costly and catastrophic setback for the operation. 1191 00:51:38,655 --> 00:51:40,482 See how that's staying up like that? 1192 00:51:40,586 --> 00:51:43,896 It's just gonna hook and hook and hook and hook, you know. 1193 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:47,034 We got millions of pounds of material going up here. 1194 00:51:47,137 --> 00:51:49,586 Sooner or later, it's gonna tear itself apart. 1195 00:51:49,689 --> 00:51:51,896 We'll put a couple of band-aids on this. 1196 00:51:55,241 --> 00:51:56,827 - Got her? - Think so. 1197 00:52:09,517 --> 00:52:11,620 Like these up pieces like that, Rodger. 1198 00:52:11,724 --> 00:52:14,000 We're just gonna take it and trim it off. 1199 00:52:14,103 --> 00:52:16,517 Kinda like when you have a hang nail and you start hooking it on something. 1200 00:52:16,620 --> 00:52:18,896 You don't get it trimmed off, pretty soon you're bleeding. 1201 00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:20,862 It'll do the same thing to your belt. 1202 00:52:20,965 --> 00:52:21,793 [Roger] Good to know. 1203 00:52:30,172 --> 00:52:32,931 Looks like they're getting ready to move that thing. 1204 00:52:33,034 --> 00:52:35,758 Yeah it's kind of, a screwy situation we have 1205 00:52:35,862 --> 00:52:37,551 - 'cause you generator is on that side. - Yeah. 1206 00:52:37,655 --> 00:52:39,896 So what we're gonna do is, we're gonna actually push it with the excavator. 1207 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,586 Little nervous about it, Freddy. 1208 00:52:42,689 --> 00:52:46,172 - Keep me on that skid. - [Fred] Yup, we'll have to go side to side. 1209 00:52:48,103 --> 00:52:50,413 [narrator] As the most experienced operator, 1210 00:52:50,517 --> 00:52:54,655 Juan takes on the risky job of moving the feeder. 1211 00:52:55,586 --> 00:52:57,379 You guys ready? 1212 00:52:57,482 --> 00:53:00,275 - Yeah. I think we're good. - Everybody clear. Clear! 1213 00:53:00,379 --> 00:53:03,379 Okay. You're my eyes there, Taylor. 1214 00:53:03,482 --> 00:53:05,379 Okay. Coming at you. 1215 00:53:08,896 --> 00:53:10,172 Yup. 1216 00:53:13,068 --> 00:53:15,275 You know, we're kind of, in a tight spot here right now. 1217 00:53:22,724 --> 00:53:26,206 - [Fred] Are we sliding that way, though? - Yeah. 1218 00:53:26,310 --> 00:53:30,517 Hang on. Other side, Juan-o. 1219 00:53:30,620 --> 00:53:33,310 [Juan] This is definitely not the ideal situation right now. 1220 00:53:33,413 --> 00:53:35,931 He's got the electric control panel and the hydraulic pack right on the back. 1221 00:53:36,034 --> 00:53:37,931 So if I slip, I can take out the control panel 1222 00:53:38,034 --> 00:53:39,655 and then we're completely screwed. 1223 00:53:39,758 --> 00:53:41,655 - [Fred] Talk to me. - [Roger] Yup, keep it going. 1224 00:53:42,689 --> 00:53:43,482 Looks good. 1225 00:53:45,206 --> 00:53:46,344 Keep going more. 1226 00:53:46,448 --> 00:53:48,172 Yeah, it's about to slip off, though. 1227 00:53:50,896 --> 00:53:51,965 Juan-o! 1228 00:53:52,068 --> 00:53:53,724 - Back there still. - Okay. 1229 00:53:56,137 --> 00:53:59,241 [narrator] A delicate move with a 100 ton machine. 1230 00:53:59,344 --> 00:54:03,068 The feeder must butt right up to the end of the conveyor. 1231 00:54:03,172 --> 00:54:05,758 - Going on the other side now? - Yeah. 1232 00:54:05,862 --> 00:54:09,344 [narrator] So that the pay lands directly on the belt. 1233 00:54:09,448 --> 00:54:10,655 - Slow. Yeah. - Stop. 1234 00:54:16,448 --> 00:54:19,068 Well, shoot, guys. 1235 00:54:19,172 --> 00:54:22,413 - I'm pleased with it so far. - Me too. One step closer to production. 1236 00:54:22,517 --> 00:54:24,206 - Yeah, thanks, Taylor. - It's great. 1237 00:54:25,137 --> 00:54:26,448 Got lucky on that one. 1238 00:54:26,551 --> 00:54:28,482 First time in our career, we've done that without breaking it. 1239 00:54:29,586 --> 00:54:31,172 Well, let's do the test tomorrow. 1240 00:54:31,275 --> 00:54:32,034 Let's do it. 1241 00:54:34,620 --> 00:54:37,517 [Fred] You know, we've done everything we can here to try to 1242 00:54:37,620 --> 00:54:40,517 fix the problems with that conveyor and their feed system. 1243 00:54:40,620 --> 00:54:44,724 But until the plant's running, you never know. 1244 00:54:52,827 --> 00:54:54,862 I know originally you didn't wanna have an electric motor on there. 1245 00:54:54,965 --> 00:54:57,000 You know, specially your son actually breaking his arm. 1246 00:54:57,103 --> 00:54:59,793 Really, from a safety standpoint, I think it'd better be with 1247 00:54:59,896 --> 00:55:02,000 - back to electric with it. - Absolutely. 1248 00:55:02,103 --> 00:55:06,241 [narrator] Electric motors are safer to operate and less likely to injure. 1249 00:55:06,344 --> 00:55:08,344 Rodger believes he's found one. 1250 00:55:08,448 --> 00:55:12,724 But first, Juan needs to be sure it can power the 20 foot trommel. 1251 00:55:12,827 --> 00:55:13,827 So yeah, here's the motor. 1252 00:55:14,965 --> 00:55:16,620 10 Horse Power, 180 volts. 1253 00:55:16,724 --> 00:55:18,517 Well, that should work for us. 1254 00:55:18,620 --> 00:55:20,241 How do you feel about this, Wayne? 1255 00:55:20,344 --> 00:55:21,793 You know, being the grandfather out here 1256 00:55:21,896 --> 00:55:24,413 with your son, your grand kid and your great-grand kid. 1257 00:55:24,517 --> 00:55:27,103 Your great grandson out here, as well. 1258 00:55:27,206 --> 00:55:32,344 - No 80-year old man can expect anything better. - Yeah, that's for sure. 1259 00:55:32,448 --> 00:55:36,241 This whole project is as much about family as it is about gold mining. 1260 00:55:37,379 --> 00:55:39,448 What you guys got going on here is a dream of mine. 1261 00:55:39,551 --> 00:55:42,275 You know, I'd love to be able to do something for my family as well, just like this. 1262 00:55:59,379 --> 00:56:02,000 Hey, guys. How's it going? 1263 00:56:02,103 --> 00:56:04,517 - Who's feeding the plant? - Matt is. 1264 00:56:04,620 --> 00:56:06,413 Make sure there's gold in the buckets. 1265 00:56:07,620 --> 00:56:09,241 There's no gold, we're gonna blame you, okay? 1266 00:56:11,241 --> 00:56:13,172 - Let's start the test. - Let's do it. 1267 00:56:13,275 --> 00:56:15,000 - Yup, fire it up. - Yes, sir. 1268 00:56:18,793 --> 00:56:20,655 [narrator] In just four hours... 1269 00:56:20,758 --> 00:56:22,275 Well, it's running. 1270 00:56:22,379 --> 00:56:25,482 [narrator] ...the Adams family will know if Freddy and Juan's fixes 1271 00:56:25,586 --> 00:56:30,103 have done enough to keep their homestead mining dream alive. 1272 00:56:31,965 --> 00:56:34,724 - [Fred] Well, first bucket on the second test, Juan. - Yeah. 1273 00:56:34,827 --> 00:56:37,758 You know, Freddy? We did a lot to this plant. I'm hoping it all runs right. 1274 00:56:37,862 --> 00:56:40,586 [Fred] Well, we got the conveyor moved, the feeder moved. 1275 00:56:40,689 --> 00:56:42,793 We got a rock plow on there. 1276 00:56:42,896 --> 00:56:44,206 [Juan] We got a wiper up front. 1277 00:56:44,310 --> 00:56:47,655 Wiper, rebuilt that bearing of assembly up top that blew up. 1278 00:56:47,758 --> 00:56:49,379 Those are real pain in the butt. 1279 00:56:49,482 --> 00:56:51,724 [Juan] And then we got your V-chute put in. So we should have a good even feed 1280 00:56:51,827 --> 00:56:53,241 on both sides of the sluice now. 1281 00:56:55,172 --> 00:56:58,827 [narrator] On the first test, Freddy and Juan had to slow the plant down 1282 00:56:58,931 --> 00:57:03,827 because the uneven sluice was sending so much material off the end of the run. 1283 00:57:03,931 --> 00:57:06,103 That's even. That's good job. 1284 00:57:06,206 --> 00:57:08,413 We're gonna almost go off a little more, Fred. Feel that. 1285 00:57:09,448 --> 00:57:11,827 - We can go up more. - Up more. 1286 00:57:13,448 --> 00:57:14,620 [Fred] Roger, hey! 1287 00:57:14,724 --> 00:57:16,965 Go to nine! 1288 00:57:17,068 --> 00:57:21,275 [narrator] Faster conveyor speed means more yards through the plant. 1289 00:57:23,103 --> 00:57:24,206 Freddy says widen it up! 1290 00:57:24,896 --> 00:57:26,310 I like the sound of that. 1291 00:57:26,413 --> 00:57:28,000 Means more gold in the box. 1292 00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:32,862 I love gold mining because it feels like you're just pulling 1293 00:57:32,965 --> 00:57:36,103 dollar bills out of the ground with your bare hands. 1294 00:57:37,310 --> 00:57:39,379 That's looking damn good up there, Freddy. 1295 00:57:39,482 --> 00:57:40,724 [Fred] Lots falling off. 1296 00:57:40,827 --> 00:57:42,310 [Juan] You can see it dropping off right there. 1297 00:57:42,413 --> 00:57:44,413 - [Fred] Yeah. - [Juan] Perfect. 1298 00:57:44,517 --> 00:57:47,793 [narrator] As part of the Freddy and Juan conveyor masterclass, 1299 00:57:47,896 --> 00:57:49,482 they moved it closer. 1300 00:57:49,586 --> 00:57:51,862 I'm gonna go look at the rock plow, too. 1301 00:57:51,965 --> 00:57:55,620 [narrator] And they protected its tail pulley from getting choked. 1302 00:57:55,724 --> 00:57:57,931 [Fred] Perfect. It's running good. 1303 00:57:58,034 --> 00:58:03,206 [narrator] To ensure that this time the plant runs for the full four hours. 1304 00:58:03,310 --> 00:58:06,275 That wiper, that broom assemble you built, it's a great idea. 1305 00:58:06,379 --> 00:58:09,000 [Fred] Check through. $10 broom. Done. 1306 00:58:11,758 --> 00:58:14,827 - That's four hours. - That's pretty close to time now. 1307 00:58:14,931 --> 00:58:17,413 This should be the last bucket. Let that feeder run out. 1308 00:58:18,413 --> 00:58:19,724 I'm proud of what we did here. 1309 00:58:19,827 --> 00:58:22,620 Before we did a two hour run, and we couldn't run anymore. 1310 00:58:22,724 --> 00:58:25,827 - Now we ran full four hours, flawlessly. - Smooth. 1311 00:58:28,620 --> 00:58:30,034 I'm excited. 1312 00:58:30,137 --> 00:58:32,551 I'm excited to see how that sluice box looks, Freddy. 1313 00:58:35,413 --> 00:58:36,655 Here's some nice... 1314 00:58:36,758 --> 00:58:38,551 There's some good chunks in there. 1315 00:58:39,344 --> 00:58:41,241 Yeah. It's gonna be good, guys. 1316 00:58:41,344 --> 00:58:42,620 Well, we'll see. 1317 00:58:43,551 --> 00:58:44,827 Whoa. Look right here. 1318 00:58:46,413 --> 00:58:51,379 This looks like it's, like, five times as much as last time. 1319 00:58:52,586 --> 00:58:54,482 You know, seeing gold on top, it looks great. 1320 00:58:54,586 --> 00:58:57,758 But that's really never an indicator. So we'll see once we clean it up. 1321 00:59:01,517 --> 00:59:05,896 [narrator] Five hours later, the family has cleaned the gold from the test run. 1322 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:07,758 [Juan] Well, let's weigh it up, Freddy. 1323 00:59:07,862 --> 00:59:10,689 - Well, guys, moment of truth, huh? - Yup. 1324 00:59:11,310 --> 00:59:13,275 Here it goes. 1325 00:59:13,379 --> 00:59:15,448 Yeah, I don't think there's two ounce there. 1326 00:59:15,551 --> 00:59:17,655 Yeah, it doesn't look quite as good as I thought it would be 1327 00:59:17,758 --> 00:59:19,000 after looking in the sluice box. 1328 00:59:20,862 --> 00:59:23,551 [Fred] Starts point seven. 1329 00:59:23,655 --> 00:59:27,310 [narrator] To hit the 15 ounces a week the Adams family need, 1330 00:59:27,413 --> 00:59:32,758 this four hour test must deliver at least 1.25 ounces. 1331 00:59:35,241 --> 00:59:36,827 Well, guys. 1332 00:59:37,655 --> 00:59:39,241 1.93. 1333 00:59:39,344 --> 00:59:42,586 - Almost two ounces. - That's better. 1334 00:59:42,689 --> 00:59:45,241 - Damn good. - Yeah. 1335 00:59:45,344 --> 00:59:49,068 Your first run, you ran two hours. So if you would've ran four hours, 1336 00:59:49,172 --> 00:59:53,586 you would've had 1.14. 1.14. 1337 00:59:53,689 --> 00:59:56,137 So this four hours, you got 1.93. 1338 00:59:56,241 --> 00:59:57,448 - All right. - That's awesome. 1339 00:59:57,551 --> 00:59:59,482 - Yeah. - That's really good. 1340 01:00:01,655 --> 01:00:05,517 [narrator] Nearly four times the amount of gold from their first test. 1341 01:00:07,448 --> 01:00:09,724 You guys need to be about two and a half ounces a day, right? 1342 01:00:09,827 --> 01:00:12,413 We nearly got two ounces in a four hour run. 1343 01:00:12,517 --> 01:00:15,000 So eight hours is four ounces. 1344 01:00:15,103 --> 01:00:16,758 [Juan] Call it four ounces in an eight hour run. 1345 01:00:16,862 --> 01:00:18,241 No kidding. 1346 01:00:18,344 --> 01:00:20,793 - I'm happy with that. - Heck, yeah. I'm pretty proud of that. 1347 01:00:21,931 --> 01:00:26,000 [narrator] Worth over $40,000 a week. 1348 01:00:26,103 --> 01:00:28,482 With 12 weeks of the season left, 1349 01:00:28,586 --> 01:00:32,103 the family could earn more than half a million dollars. 1350 01:00:33,965 --> 01:00:35,551 That's huge for us. 1351 01:00:35,655 --> 01:00:38,896 You know, my wife doesn't like me being away from home and get no gold. 1352 01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:42,137 So maybe, one day she'll be able to come out here with me. 1353 01:00:42,241 --> 01:00:45,379 There's no question that you improved the plant for us and that's great. 1354 01:00:45,482 --> 01:00:48,000 Well that'll go a long way to, kind of, get your homestead going, right? 1355 01:00:48,103 --> 01:00:50,448 There'll be chickens galore out here. 1356 01:00:52,482 --> 01:00:56,275 And to send you off, we wanna make you some home-made pizza and 1357 01:00:56,379 --> 01:00:58,724 - give you a little concert. - [Juan] Let's do it. Let's get some pizza. 1358 01:01:04,758 --> 01:01:06,758 ♪ Way down at the end of the road ♪ 1359 01:01:06,862 --> 01:01:09,620 ♪ There's a small dark trail Where stories unfold ♪ 1360 01:01:09,724 --> 01:01:11,724 [Roger] I kept telling the boys the ground was good enough, 1361 01:01:11,827 --> 01:01:14,379 and now they know it's good enough, you know, we can make it. 1362 01:01:15,241 --> 01:01:16,965 It's good news. 1363 01:01:17,068 --> 01:01:19,275 [Matt] With the help Freddy and Juan have brought us, 1364 01:01:19,379 --> 01:01:22,931 that means I can finish my house. We're just ecstatic. We're so happy. 1365 01:01:23,034 --> 01:01:25,689 ♪ You've got the fever 1366 01:01:25,793 --> 01:01:27,724 ♪ Gold, gold 1367 01:01:27,827 --> 01:01:32,620 Very happy about everything. And it means, maybe I can get a little bigger van one day. 1368 01:01:32,724 --> 01:01:34,482 Or some upgrades. 1369 01:01:34,586 --> 01:01:40,137 ♪ You see I'm in too deep I got a dream to chase and I can't sleep ♪ 1370 01:01:40,241 --> 01:01:42,137 [Roger] More than anything on this project, 1371 01:01:42,241 --> 01:01:46,310 it's been amazing to work with my boys. Amazing to work with my dad. 1372 01:01:46,413 --> 01:01:49,379 And I couldn't be prouder of my sons. 1373 01:01:49,482 --> 01:01:52,034 They've accomplished some amazing things in their lives. 1374 01:01:53,689 --> 01:01:58,862 And to have them here, working with me, is definitely a dream that I've had. 1375 01:01:58,965 --> 01:02:03,310 And that is the dream that's come true for me, today. It really is. 1376 01:02:04,793 --> 01:02:09,724 ♪ Don't go down to that river unless ♪ 1377 01:02:12,448 --> 01:02:15,206 ♪ You got gold fever 1378 01:02:17,827 --> 01:02:21,034 - Phenomenal. Phenomenal. - Awesome. 1379 01:02:21,655 --> 01:02:22,689 Damn good.