1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,200 [dramatic music playing] 2 00:00:05,166 --> 00:00:06,767 [Freddy] People often ask me 3 00:00:06,767 --> 00:00:08,500 why we do what we do. 4 00:00:09,367 --> 00:00:11,166 Is it for the love of gold? 5 00:00:11,166 --> 00:00:12,600 Sure. 6 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,000 [man] That looks real good. 7 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,500 [Freddy] Do I like helping people? 8 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:17,867 Let's get them some more gold. 9 00:00:17,867 --> 00:00:18,767 [Freddy] Definitely. 10 00:00:18,767 --> 00:00:20,767 [man 1] Woo! [laughs] 11 00:00:20,767 --> 00:00:21,900 [man 2] Yeah. 12 00:00:21,900 --> 00:00:24,600 [Freddy] But why I love rescuing struggling miners... 13 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,033 is to help them achieve their dreams. 14 00:00:27,467 --> 00:00:28,467 [man] Look at that. 15 00:00:28,467 --> 00:00:30,533 -[laughing] -[woman] I got to hug you again. 16 00:00:31,667 --> 00:00:33,266 [Freddy] And at the very core, 17 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:34,767 every miner we come across 18 00:00:34,767 --> 00:00:36,600 are doing it for their family. 19 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,100 [Juan] Family is everything. 20 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:42,600 It's why we go out and put it in the hard hours. 21 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,100 [man] First one, only about 6,000 more to go. 22 00:00:45,100 --> 00:00:47,333 [Juan] With the hope of making life better for them. 23 00:00:47,700 --> 00:00:50,900 [indistinct chatter] 24 00:00:51,767 --> 00:00:52,867 [Juan] At the end of the day, 25 00:00:52,867 --> 00:00:54,600 we all want one thing, 26 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,133 to leave a lasting legacy. 27 00:00:56,567 --> 00:00:58,400 This changes our life. 28 00:00:58,767 --> 00:00:59,734 Thank you. 29 00:01:00,967 --> 00:01:02,467 [car honking] 30 00:01:02,467 --> 00:01:03,467 [Juan] Freddy, what's going on, buddy? 31 00:01:03,467 --> 00:01:04,567 [Freddy] How's it going, bud? 32 00:01:04,567 --> 00:01:06,266 Good to see you. Come here. 33 00:01:06,266 --> 00:01:07,266 -Let's do it? -[Freddy] All righty. 34 00:01:07,266 --> 00:01:09,467 [narrator] On this episode... 35 00:01:09,467 --> 00:01:10,767 Hey, good to see you guys. 36 00:01:10,767 --> 00:01:12,367 [narrator] Freddy and Juan reflect 37 00:01:12,367 --> 00:01:15,133 on last year's most pivotal rescues. 38 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:16,867 I'm really excited 39 00:01:16,867 --> 00:01:19,300 and think we can have an amazing year. 40 00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:21,800 [narrator] As well as their biggest challenge yet. 41 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,467 They're the first ones that have beat us. 42 00:01:23,467 --> 00:01:26,400 [narrator] As they check in with the miners themselves. 43 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,266 Need to get quite a bit of gold is what we're asking. 44 00:01:28,266 --> 00:01:29,767 -Yeah. -[laughter] 45 00:01:29,767 --> 00:01:31,500 [narrator] To find out who is closer 46 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:34,200 to achieving their golden dream. 47 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,367 This is a 400% increase in gold. 48 00:01:36,367 --> 00:01:37,967 -[crowd cheering] -[man] Holy smokes. 49 00:01:37,967 --> 00:01:39,000 That's what I'm talking about. 50 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 [narrator] For themselves and their families. 51 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,266 [Juan] I'm proud of that, Freddy. 52 00:01:43,266 --> 00:01:44,367 -Right on, buddy. -Nice job, bud. 53 00:01:44,367 --> 00:01:45,533 Likewise. 54 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,367 You know, Freddy, over the years, 55 00:01:55,367 --> 00:01:56,500 we helped quite a few families, 56 00:01:56,500 --> 00:01:57,700 a lot of miners, and, uh... 57 00:01:57,700 --> 00:01:59,367 A lot of memories, good and bad. 58 00:01:59,367 --> 00:02:01,567 Well, you know, and for us, 59 00:02:01,567 --> 00:02:03,967 we've been working together for going on nine, ten years. 60 00:02:03,967 --> 00:02:05,100 -Yeah. -Almost a decade. 61 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:07,166 But right off the get-go, me and you kind of teamed up 62 00:02:07,166 --> 00:02:08,567 because we have the same mindset... 63 00:02:08,567 --> 00:02:09,667 -[Juan] Mmm-hmm. -you know? 64 00:02:09,667 --> 00:02:10,800 -Same mentality in a lot of things. -[Freddy] Yeah. 65 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:12,567 -A lot of skillsets that are the same. -Yeah. 66 00:02:12,567 --> 00:02:14,166 And our stupid humor's the same. 67 00:02:14,166 --> 00:02:14,867 -[laughs] -Uh-huh. 68 00:02:14,867 --> 00:02:16,467 -Couple of dumbasses. -Yeah. 69 00:02:16,467 --> 00:02:17,634 [laughter] 70 00:02:17,634 --> 00:02:20,266 But, you know, last year, there was a lot of challenges, 71 00:02:20,266 --> 00:02:22,567 you know, between roads that we were on 72 00:02:22,567 --> 00:02:25,367 and coming up with, uh, creative fixes on the fly. 73 00:02:25,367 --> 00:02:26,900 -We didn't give up, though. -[Juan] No. 74 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:28,900 There's no give up in you or me, Fred. 75 00:02:28,900 --> 00:02:31,000 -There was that big family that we helped, the Adams. -The Adams. 76 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:32,867 Yeah. They sold everything. 77 00:02:32,867 --> 00:02:33,800 That's gold. 78 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,867 -[Heidi] You betcha. -[Matt] There you go. 79 00:02:35,867 --> 00:02:37,367 [boy] It's gold. 80 00:02:37,367 --> 00:02:39,166 -I got gold. -My goodness. 81 00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:40,400 [Juan] They sold their businesses, 82 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:41,700 their homes, everything. 83 00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:43,166 They wanted to start this new life as a family. 84 00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:44,734 -[Freddy] Bought that property there. -[Juan] Yeah. 85 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:50,867 -Hey, guys. -[Rodger] Hey. 86 00:02:50,867 --> 00:02:52,266 -How you doing? -[Juan] Good. How you doing? 87 00:02:52,266 --> 00:02:54,200 -Juan, I'm Rodger. -Rodger? Nice to meet you, Rodger. 88 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:55,266 -You too. -Matt. 89 00:02:55,266 --> 00:02:56,400 [Juan] Matt. 90 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:57,467 [narrator] With a collective dream to leave the nine 91 00:02:57,467 --> 00:03:00,367 to five grind, mine gold, 92 00:03:00,367 --> 00:03:03,000 and live off the same remote land, 93 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,667 Rodger Adams and his 13-member family 94 00:03:05,667 --> 00:03:07,867 took their chance. 95 00:03:07,867 --> 00:03:11,066 I just decided to sell my business and go gold mining. 96 00:03:11,066 --> 00:03:13,567 Might be crazy, but that's what we're doing. 97 00:03:13,567 --> 00:03:16,500 A lot of us don't have jobs anymore 98 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:21,467 and we're banking on this entirely to be our future. 99 00:03:21,467 --> 00:03:23,266 Well, it's a pretty cute family. 100 00:03:23,266 --> 00:03:24,467 You know, getting there 101 00:03:24,467 --> 00:03:26,667 and houses are all half built, 102 00:03:26,667 --> 00:03:28,367 and they're still living in campers, you know? 103 00:03:28,367 --> 00:03:30,467 They wanted to pretty much live off the land. 104 00:03:30,467 --> 00:03:31,900 [country music playing] 105 00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:33,300 Well, this is just the little beginning 106 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:34,200 of our garden area. 107 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,166 It's gonna be about four times this size 108 00:03:36,166 --> 00:03:38,233 when we get it all ready here. 109 00:03:39,166 --> 00:03:43,100 But, for this year, this was a good start. 110 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:44,867 -[Juan] They wanted to have it all. -[Freddy] Mmm-hmm. 111 00:03:44,867 --> 00:03:46,066 And they'd never mined gold before. 112 00:03:46,066 --> 00:03:48,000 -[Juan] None of them. None of them. -[Freddy] Yup. 113 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,100 -[Juan] And, uh, I'd be scared, you know, to death... -[Freddy] Yeah. 114 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:51,166 -[Juan] about it. -[Freddy] Yup. 115 00:03:51,166 --> 00:03:52,500 You know, 'cause I know a lot of them had a bunch 116 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:53,700 of little kids as well. 117 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:55,200 It was a huge step. 118 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:56,800 [narrator] For the Greenhorn miners, 119 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,800 including sons, Keiran, Tristan, Taylor, 120 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,767 and Matt, success depends on keeping their plant 121 00:04:03,767 --> 00:04:06,400 running without breakdowns. 122 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,000 We picked up this conveyor 123 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,100 that's actually been a little bit of a fight for us 124 00:04:11,100 --> 00:04:13,800 and I'm sure you guys will hate it as much as we do. 125 00:04:14,867 --> 00:04:16,367 [Juan] I'd love to start a four-hour test run 126 00:04:16,367 --> 00:04:17,367 and we'll go from there. 127 00:04:17,367 --> 00:04:18,600 Let's do it. 128 00:04:20,767 --> 00:04:21,567 [Juan] First bucket. 129 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:25,767 You know, as we went in there, 130 00:04:25,767 --> 00:04:27,467 all the material favored the one side 131 00:04:27,467 --> 00:04:29,667 -of the sluice box, so it was running super heavy. -Yup. 132 00:04:29,667 --> 00:04:30,834 [Rodger] No bueno. 133 00:04:30,834 --> 00:04:33,467 We'll have to get away to get that material evened out. 134 00:04:33,467 --> 00:04:35,000 Remember all the material that conveyor 135 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,467 was throwing on the ground? 136 00:04:36,467 --> 00:04:38,500 -Yeah. Yeah. -You know, tons of material. 137 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,700 [Freddy] I don't like the look of that. 138 00:04:44,867 --> 00:04:46,967 When it's too wet, stuff sticks to it 139 00:04:46,967 --> 00:04:50,166 and then it, uh, it dribbles off as it comes back. 140 00:04:50,166 --> 00:04:53,567 And that's what caused our pile of stuff up there. 141 00:04:53,567 --> 00:04:55,166 Well, conveyors can either 142 00:04:55,166 --> 00:04:57,300 be a blessing or a curse. 143 00:04:57,300 --> 00:04:59,300 You can't move material cheaper 144 00:04:59,300 --> 00:05:01,000 than the conveyor can. 145 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,667 But at the same time, conveyors can have issues 146 00:05:03,667 --> 00:05:06,467 and theirs was full of issues. 147 00:05:06,467 --> 00:05:08,100 [suspenseful music playing] 148 00:05:08,100 --> 00:05:09,066 [machine crashing] 149 00:05:09,066 --> 00:05:11,000 [man] Hey. 150 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:12,166 [Freddy] The conveyor shut off. 151 00:05:12,166 --> 00:05:13,600 [Juan] Shut down. 152 00:05:18,166 --> 00:05:20,166 [Freddy] Whoa, whoa, whoa. Shut it down. Shut it down. 153 00:05:20,166 --> 00:05:21,567 [Juan] Hey! 154 00:05:21,567 --> 00:05:24,400 Don't start the conveyor. It's bound up. 155 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,467 All this stuff that's coming down, 156 00:05:28,467 --> 00:05:30,066 built up under here. 157 00:05:30,066 --> 00:05:33,400 -We should've realized. -[man] It sent the belt off track and now it's jammed in. 158 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,066 If we keep on running, we run the risk 159 00:05:35,066 --> 00:05:36,533 of losing the $5,000 belt. 160 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:40,266 [narrator] To get this family back on the gold, 161 00:05:40,266 --> 00:05:42,166 Freddy and Juan moved the conveyor 162 00:05:42,166 --> 00:05:43,867 closer to the plant. 163 00:05:43,867 --> 00:05:46,300 Attach an innovative one of a kind wiper 164 00:05:46,300 --> 00:05:49,166 to the base of the belt to prevent pay 165 00:05:49,166 --> 00:05:51,166 from jamming underneath 166 00:05:51,166 --> 00:05:53,000 and install a V chute 167 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,200 to evenly disperse pay and increase their recovery. 168 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,066 We built that wiper out of parts that we had. 169 00:05:59,066 --> 00:06:00,166 -Double wiper... -Yeah. 170 00:06:00,166 --> 00:06:01,100 and a broom. And a broom. 171 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:04,166 -And springs off your RC car. -[laughing] 172 00:06:04,166 --> 00:06:06,500 The car weighs quite a bit. 173 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:09,000 -My baby, Freddy. -I know. 174 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,367 I still need springs, Freddy. 175 00:06:10,367 --> 00:06:11,567 You still haven't got me any springs yet. 176 00:06:11,567 --> 00:06:14,266 But you still have my RC car that you took. 177 00:06:14,266 --> 00:06:15,700 We'll just call it even then. 178 00:06:15,700 --> 00:06:16,967 -I'll get you springs. -[Juan] Okay. 179 00:06:16,967 --> 00:06:20,367 [laughter] 180 00:06:20,367 --> 00:06:22,467 Compress those springs up quite a ways 181 00:06:22,467 --> 00:06:24,900 -kind of like I've got it here. -Oh, yeah. Yeah. 182 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,367 [Freddy] Holy freak, holies. 183 00:06:28,367 --> 00:06:30,100 -What do you think? -[man] Looks good. 184 00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:31,266 [Matt] Yeah. This is great. 185 00:06:31,266 --> 00:06:32,500 [Juan] Well, let's start the test, huh? 186 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:33,400 -Let's do it. -Let's do it. 187 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:35,867 [narrator] With a modified sluice box 188 00:06:35,867 --> 00:06:37,967 and fixes to the conveyor complete... 189 00:06:37,967 --> 00:06:39,266 -[Juan] Yeah. Fire it up. -[Rodger] Yes, sir. 190 00:06:39,266 --> 00:06:40,667 All right. 191 00:06:40,667 --> 00:06:42,867 [narrator] Freddy and Juan run a final test 192 00:06:42,867 --> 00:06:44,667 to see if they've helped secure 193 00:06:44,667 --> 00:06:47,100 the family's homesteading dream. 194 00:06:48,667 --> 00:06:50,467 [Juan] That's working damn good up there, Freddy. 195 00:06:50,467 --> 00:06:52,600 [Freddy] Perfect. That's running good. 196 00:06:54,567 --> 00:06:55,800 I like the sound of that. 197 00:06:58,266 --> 00:06:59,033 [Freddy] That's four hours. 198 00:06:59,033 --> 00:07:00,934 That should be the last bucket. 199 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:03,767 [Juan] Now we run a full four hours. 200 00:07:03,767 --> 00:07:04,867 -Smooth. -[Juan] Flawless smooth. 201 00:07:04,867 --> 00:07:05,867 Yup. 202 00:07:05,867 --> 00:07:08,367 [upbeat music playing] 203 00:07:08,367 --> 00:07:10,567 [narrator] The four-hour test must deliver 204 00:07:10,567 --> 00:07:13,367 at least 1.25 ounces. 205 00:07:13,367 --> 00:07:15,800 [upbeat music playing] 206 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,400 [Freddy] Well, guys... 207 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:19,767 1.93. 208 00:07:19,767 --> 00:07:20,900 -[man] Hey. -[Matt] Great. That's better. 209 00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:21,967 -[Freddy] Almost two ounces. -All good. That's better. 210 00:07:21,967 --> 00:07:23,367 -[man 1] Yeah. -[man 2] [indistinct] Yeah. 211 00:07:23,367 --> 00:07:25,100 -Damn good. -[man 2] Nice. 212 00:07:27,066 --> 00:07:29,066 And I'm really hoping that they're still mining 213 00:07:29,066 --> 00:07:30,767 -and making money. -[Freddy] Yeah. 214 00:07:30,767 --> 00:07:31,700 Well, let's give them a shout. 215 00:07:31,700 --> 00:07:33,300 Yeah, let's give them a call. 216 00:07:34,166 --> 00:07:35,600 How you guys been? 217 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:37,667 It's been good. 218 00:07:37,667 --> 00:07:39,867 How did those fixes work out for you guys? 219 00:07:39,867 --> 00:07:42,467 Everything seems to be working real well. 220 00:07:42,467 --> 00:07:44,900 [Rodger] The V chute is just working fantastic. 221 00:07:44,900 --> 00:07:48,000 We have a nice even flow to the sluice box here. 222 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:49,500 On this side, we have the conveyor, 223 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:52,266 which we were having quite a struggle with previously. 224 00:07:52,266 --> 00:07:54,467 And this year, it's been way better. 225 00:07:54,467 --> 00:07:56,867 [Keiran] It's really helping us produce more. 226 00:07:56,867 --> 00:08:00,700 Here's some gold from the last couple weeks. 227 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,467 You guys were able to meet your, uh, your goal? 228 00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:07,767 Our goal was like a hundred ounces or whatever. 229 00:08:07,767 --> 00:08:10,667 -[Freddy] Yup. -And, uh, we ended up with 103. 230 00:08:10,667 --> 00:08:13,033 Yes. Whoa. 231 00:08:13,667 --> 00:08:15,567 [Keiran] Bowl full of gold. 232 00:08:15,567 --> 00:08:16,667 -[Rodger] We've done it. -[Tristan] That's awesome. 233 00:08:16,667 --> 00:08:17,867 I can't believe we did it. 234 00:08:17,867 --> 00:08:21,166 -For our first season, I think we did really good. -Yeah. 235 00:08:21,166 --> 00:08:23,400 We're really happy with all of that, so. 236 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,000 -Yeah. -Um, you know, the fixes that you did, 237 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:27,800 basically allowed us to do that. 238 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,066 -Yup. Well, that's good. That's what we're doing. -Yup. 239 00:08:30,066 --> 00:08:32,300 Trying to help more people. 240 00:08:32,300 --> 00:08:34,300 [Rodger] And we've got a second operation 241 00:08:34,300 --> 00:08:36,100 to the south. 242 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:38,800 We're excited to see what we can do this year. 243 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:40,700 How's the family... The rest of the family doing? 244 00:08:40,700 --> 00:08:42,166 More kids on the way? 245 00:08:42,166 --> 00:08:44,967 Well, yeah, there are more kids on the way for sure. 246 00:08:44,967 --> 00:08:45,800 -[laughter] -[Matt] Um, yeah. 247 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:47,066 -That's homestead life. -[Matt] Yeah. 248 00:08:47,066 --> 00:08:47,900 [Juan] That's awesome. 249 00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:49,066 [Rodger laughs] 250 00:08:49,066 --> 00:08:50,700 Well, that's exciting, guys. 251 00:08:50,700 --> 00:08:51,900 How's the homestead coming along? 252 00:08:51,900 --> 00:08:53,667 Are you guys just about complete with it? 253 00:08:53,667 --> 00:08:55,467 You know, it's coming along. 254 00:08:55,467 --> 00:08:57,166 So this is a new addition to the homestead. 255 00:08:57,166 --> 00:09:00,400 This is kind of our shop, uh, work area. 256 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,166 Gold cleaning room, storage, all of that kind 257 00:09:03,166 --> 00:09:04,467 of thing for now. 258 00:09:04,467 --> 00:09:05,800 Tristan here, I think he's working 259 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:07,100 on a little bit of a cleanup. 260 00:09:07,100 --> 00:09:08,667 We'll see how it's coming along. 261 00:09:08,667 --> 00:09:10,200 Any gold in there? 262 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,200 Great. I see a little bit of gold in there. 263 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:13,600 [Tristan] Right here. 264 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,667 We were fixing up the skid shack to, uh, 265 00:09:15,667 --> 00:09:19,166 to move into and a skid shack is just about done, 266 00:09:19,166 --> 00:09:21,367 so we can pull in there pretty soon. 267 00:09:21,367 --> 00:09:22,767 [Juan] Happy to hear that. 268 00:09:22,767 --> 00:09:25,300 You guys are great. You work your butts off, you know? 269 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:27,767 So I know it was a pleasure helping you guys out. 270 00:09:27,767 --> 00:09:28,567 Bye. Thanks for the help. 271 00:09:28,567 --> 00:09:29,467 -[Juan] Take care. -Thanks so much. 272 00:09:29,467 --> 00:09:30,734 Well, the homestead boys, Freddy, 273 00:09:30,734 --> 00:09:32,400 that's pretty dang good. There's a lot of mouths to feed. 274 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:33,433 A lot of families, new babies. 275 00:09:33,433 --> 00:09:34,367 -They're gonna need more gold... -[Juan] Yeah. 276 00:09:34,367 --> 00:09:36,166 the way the kids are flying in there. 277 00:09:36,166 --> 00:09:39,166 Those double sleeping bags are causing problems in there. 278 00:09:39,166 --> 00:09:40,700 [laughs] 279 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:42,767 [narrator] Coming up... 280 00:09:42,767 --> 00:09:44,767 [Juan] Once you kind of get the hang of how the controls 281 00:09:44,767 --> 00:09:45,867 in that excavator work, 282 00:09:45,867 --> 00:09:48,000 it's actually pretty simple to run. 283 00:09:48,567 --> 00:09:49,600 Okay. 284 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,800 [narrator] Juan checks if his teaching skills 285 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:53,000 made the grade. 286 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,667 I just wanted to check up on my student 287 00:09:54,667 --> 00:09:55,600 and see how she was doing. 288 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,700 [narrator] And Freddy and Juan revealed 289 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:01,367 what went wrong on their trickiest rescue yet. 290 00:10:01,367 --> 00:10:03,266 You're the first ones that have beat us. 291 00:10:03,266 --> 00:10:04,700 -Yeah. -Sorry about that. 292 00:10:04,700 --> 00:10:07,900 [dramatic music playing] 293 00:10:15,667 --> 00:10:16,900 [narrator] In Nevada... 294 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:18,467 You're the best guy on the computer. 295 00:10:18,467 --> 00:10:20,300 I don't know about that, Fred. 296 00:10:20,300 --> 00:10:21,867 [narrator] Freddy and Juan reconnect 297 00:10:21,867 --> 00:10:23,467 with last year's miners 298 00:10:23,467 --> 00:10:25,634 to see how their fixes have paid off. 299 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:28,100 You know, Freddy, I guess it strikes 300 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:29,567 a chord with me when it... 301 00:10:29,567 --> 00:10:30,667 The whole family aspect comes into it. 302 00:10:30,667 --> 00:10:33,100 You know, when you see a father out there struggling 303 00:10:33,100 --> 00:10:34,600 and working his tail off 304 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:35,967 to make a living for his family, 305 00:10:35,967 --> 00:10:36,900 -it hits home, you know, 'cause... -Mmm-hmm. 306 00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:38,166 -[Juan] that's what we both do. -Well... 307 00:10:38,166 --> 00:10:39,767 -[Juan] Yeah. -they're trying to feed their family. 308 00:10:39,767 --> 00:10:41,867 One that kind of stands out is Chad. 309 00:10:41,867 --> 00:10:43,100 -Chad Marmolejo. -[Freddy] Yeah. 310 00:10:44,467 --> 00:10:47,567 [dramatic music playing] 311 00:10:47,567 --> 00:10:49,767 As a father, you want to provide 312 00:10:49,767 --> 00:10:51,467 the best you can for your family. 313 00:10:51,467 --> 00:10:53,266 And it's been very difficult here. 314 00:10:53,266 --> 00:10:54,567 [narrator] Last year... 315 00:10:54,567 --> 00:10:56,200 -Morning, I'm Chad. -[Juan] Nice to meet you. 316 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:57,767 [narrator] Freddy and Juan answered a call 317 00:10:57,767 --> 00:11:00,266 from father of two, Chad Marmolejo. 318 00:11:00,266 --> 00:11:03,467 To be honest, last couple of years were horrible. 319 00:11:03,467 --> 00:11:05,367 -Okay. -Between breakdowns 320 00:11:05,367 --> 00:11:09,266 and the time that I could actually run, it was... 321 00:11:09,266 --> 00:11:10,867 It's very disheartening. 322 00:11:10,867 --> 00:11:15,634 This is absolutely the make it or break it year. 323 00:11:18,166 --> 00:11:22,100 2008, the housing crashed, forced my company to fail. 324 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:24,000 I was like, man, you know, what the heck 325 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,667 am I gonna do now? 326 00:11:25,667 --> 00:11:27,900 And I was like, you know, I grew up in gold country. 327 00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:30,000 I think I had to give that a whirl. 328 00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:33,000 [Juan] He was living on site. 329 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:33,800 [Freddy] In a tent. 330 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:35,166 He had a little wall tent out front. 331 00:11:35,166 --> 00:11:36,400 Eating hot dogs. 332 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:38,300 [Juan] You don't have any power out here, huh? 333 00:11:38,300 --> 00:11:41,400 My existence up here while I'm mining is definitely 334 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:42,767 very primitive 335 00:11:42,767 --> 00:11:46,266 and it's hard living in the tent. 336 00:11:46,266 --> 00:11:47,667 To me, if you've earned it 337 00:11:47,667 --> 00:11:48,800 and if you earned it hard that way, 338 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,000 -you appreciate it that much more. -[Freddy] Mmm-hmm. 339 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Like I lived in my car when I was 16 years old, 340 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,767 -so nobody gave me anything. -[Juan] Yeah. Yeah. 341 00:11:56,767 --> 00:11:58,467 [narrator] Making barely enough to keep 342 00:11:58,467 --> 00:11:59,700 the operation going, 343 00:11:59,700 --> 00:12:01,400 let alone live on, 344 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,700 Chad has turned to his best friend 345 00:12:03,700 --> 00:12:06,200 of 30 years, Terry Larimer, 346 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,100 for a financial lifeline. 347 00:12:08,100 --> 00:12:09,667 [Larimer] I'm just trying to decide 348 00:12:09,667 --> 00:12:11,300 how big of an investment do I... 349 00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:14,467 Do I wanna have in this at this point. 350 00:12:14,467 --> 00:12:17,066 So you know how things happen when a friend 351 00:12:17,066 --> 00:12:20,100 loans a friend money and then there's a lot of trust 352 00:12:20,100 --> 00:12:23,500 that can be broken or, you know, money to be made? 353 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:25,200 [Freddy] Do you have any gold we can look at? 354 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,000 Actually, Terry has it because I've had to sell it 355 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,000 -for fuel and parts and... -[Freddy] You bought his gold? 356 00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:33,266 He did. Yup. 357 00:12:33,266 --> 00:12:35,867 And retired looking for an investment, right? 358 00:12:35,867 --> 00:12:38,734 Yeah. One investment is not a glass jar. 359 00:12:40,367 --> 00:12:42,033 Let's fire up a plant. 360 00:12:43,667 --> 00:12:45,467 [narrator] During the first test... 361 00:12:45,467 --> 00:12:48,000 [Freddy] We'll start a timer. 362 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,767 [narrator] Freddy and Juan quickly realized 363 00:12:49,767 --> 00:12:51,734 the challenge ahead. 364 00:12:56,100 --> 00:12:58,700 Spray bar broke off 11 seconds in. 365 00:13:00,567 --> 00:13:01,900 It definitely seems like if 366 00:13:01,900 --> 00:13:03,900 it's not one thing, it's another. 367 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:08,333 You can see that material that's coming off the end 368 00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:10,667 of the trommel and it's still really dirty like that, 369 00:13:10,667 --> 00:13:12,000 we know we're losing gold. 370 00:13:15,367 --> 00:13:17,000 And he had a problem with clay, right? 371 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,367 He wasn't breaking it up. 372 00:13:18,367 --> 00:13:19,567 He was losing a lot of that gold 373 00:13:19,567 --> 00:13:20,900 -out the end of the trommel because... -[Freddy] Mmm-hmm. 374 00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:22,600 -it wasn't getting properly scrubbed. -Yup. 375 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,367 Remember that grain separator screen... 376 00:13:25,367 --> 00:13:28,567 -Oh, man. -shaker, whatever it was from the 1930s? 377 00:13:28,567 --> 00:13:30,867 Remember it's plugged with rocks and it was... 378 00:13:30,867 --> 00:13:32,166 It wasn't gonna last long. 379 00:13:32,166 --> 00:13:33,467 That thing was so dang loud. 380 00:13:33,467 --> 00:13:36,000 You could hear it on the dark side of the moon. 381 00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:38,567 [narrator] Freddy and Juan's fix, 382 00:13:38,567 --> 00:13:41,700 replaced the shaker deck with a rock scrubber 383 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:44,367 made from repurposed pipe, 384 00:13:44,367 --> 00:13:45,867 fitted with steel rods 385 00:13:45,867 --> 00:13:49,600 to break up the clay covered gold rich material. 386 00:13:50,667 --> 00:13:51,700 [Freddy] That scrubber. 387 00:13:51,700 --> 00:13:53,100 [Juan] I thought it was actually pretty decent. 388 00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:55,266 -I would've liked a bigger piece... -Oh, yeah. 389 00:13:55,266 --> 00:13:59,100 you know, but use what you got sometimes. 390 00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:01,300 [narrator] But Chad's greatest obstacle 391 00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:03,100 lies at his deep cut, 392 00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:05,967 two miles from his wash plant. 393 00:14:05,967 --> 00:14:08,100 Well, he was trucking material in 394 00:14:08,100 --> 00:14:10,867 from down the road quite a few miles, right? 395 00:14:10,867 --> 00:14:13,967 It's exciting stuff, but also it's a lot of work 396 00:14:13,967 --> 00:14:17,200 and the trucking, the overburden, uh, 397 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,900 you know, the reclamation side of it. 398 00:14:19,900 --> 00:14:23,467 But this is the spot that gold fever first bit me. 399 00:14:23,467 --> 00:14:25,600 [Freddy] So this is your deep cut, huh? 400 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:26,767 [Chad] Yeah. 401 00:14:26,767 --> 00:14:28,367 This is promising material. 402 00:14:28,367 --> 00:14:31,166 Sure it's pretty in the pan, but it costs you two dollars 403 00:14:31,166 --> 00:14:33,000 to get one dollars' worth of gold. 404 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,800 [narrator] Each week, Chad spends most of his time 405 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:37,266 stripping overburden 406 00:14:37,266 --> 00:14:39,600 and trucking pay to his plant, 407 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,300 leaving him just two days to run. 408 00:14:42,300 --> 00:14:45,867 Freddy's fix, search for pay in an old cut 409 00:14:45,867 --> 00:14:49,100 just a few hundred feet from Chad's plant. 410 00:14:52,367 --> 00:14:54,934 [device beeping] 411 00:14:57,467 --> 00:15:00,533 No human's ever seen this dirt before. 412 00:15:03,266 --> 00:15:05,266 [device beeps] 413 00:15:05,266 --> 00:15:07,500 [suspenseful music playing] 414 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,300 And I got something in the pan. 415 00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:13,100 Hopefully it's not a hunk of iron or something. 416 00:15:13,367 --> 00:15:14,767 Oh, there it is. 417 00:15:14,767 --> 00:15:15,800 That's a nice little nugget. 418 00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:17,734 Really nice actually. 419 00:15:18,266 --> 00:15:19,900 Hey, Chad, you got a second? 420 00:15:19,900 --> 00:15:21,767 [Chad] Yeah. 421 00:15:21,767 --> 00:15:24,266 [Freddy] I went up in your hole next to the plant... 422 00:15:24,266 --> 00:15:25,233 Yeah. 423 00:15:25,233 --> 00:15:27,133 [Freddy] with a metal detector, there's one. 424 00:15:27,467 --> 00:15:29,133 I'd run all this. 425 00:15:30,066 --> 00:15:31,567 Okay. Sounds good. 426 00:15:31,567 --> 00:15:34,800 But we found him material on the property 427 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,767 that wasn't as good a pay, 428 00:15:36,767 --> 00:15:39,300 but it paid more because you didn't have to truck it. 429 00:15:39,867 --> 00:15:41,800 First bucket, here we go. 430 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:43,667 [narrator] Fix is complete. 431 00:15:43,667 --> 00:15:46,066 Moment of truth, Juano. 432 00:15:46,066 --> 00:15:49,300 [narrator] Chad's future rests on the final gold wave. 433 00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:52,700 They're running a lot more material 434 00:15:52,700 --> 00:15:54,166 and it's a lot cleaner than it's ever been. 435 00:15:54,166 --> 00:15:56,200 We're smoking it. 436 00:16:00,066 --> 00:16:02,667 -[Juan] Hey, guys, last bucket. -[Freddy] Last bucket. 437 00:16:02,667 --> 00:16:05,700 [machine whirring] 438 00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:12,300 [suspenseful music playing] 439 00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:16,033 Well, you guys ready to, uh, see what you got? 440 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:19,867 [narrator] For Chad to secure best friend Terry's 441 00:16:19,867 --> 00:16:21,500 vital investment, 442 00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:24,166 the upgraded plant must produce no less 443 00:16:24,166 --> 00:16:26,834 than double the previous run. 444 00:16:28,367 --> 00:16:30,200 [Freddy] Well, there's over a half ounce. 445 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:35,800 We're over 0.86 from last time. 446 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,266 And, uh, 1.68. 447 00:16:41,266 --> 00:16:42,400 -[Larimer] Woo-hoo. -Oh, wow. 448 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:43,767 -[Juan] Double, I told you. -Hey. 449 00:16:43,767 --> 00:16:44,967 -[man] Double. -Yeah. 450 00:16:44,967 --> 00:16:46,166 -[Juan] Double. Double. -[man] That's awesome. 451 00:16:46,166 --> 00:16:47,900 -[man] I know we want more than double. -Congrats, guys. 452 00:16:49,567 --> 00:16:50,333 [Chad] I'm all in. 453 00:16:50,333 --> 00:16:51,500 I mean, if you'll still have me 454 00:16:51,500 --> 00:16:53,266 -as a partner on this deal... -[Larimer] Thank you. 455 00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:55,400 [Chad] I'm all in. I'm ready to do this. 456 00:16:57,767 --> 00:16:58,700 I'm really hoping that they're still 457 00:16:58,700 --> 00:17:00,600 working together and they're making gold... 458 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:01,567 -Yeah. -making some money. 459 00:17:01,567 --> 00:17:03,033 Yeah, me too. 460 00:17:03,867 --> 00:17:05,400 How's it going, guys? 461 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:06,533 What's going on? 462 00:17:06,533 --> 00:17:08,166 Chad, you got the whole Santa Claus thing going on. 463 00:17:08,166 --> 00:17:09,266 It's looking good. 464 00:17:09,266 --> 00:17:11,000 Thanks, man. 465 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,133 [Freddy] Yeah. 466 00:17:12,133 --> 00:17:13,767 [Juan] Are you guys still at it and still partnered up? 467 00:17:13,767 --> 00:17:14,767 Oh, yeah. 468 00:17:14,767 --> 00:17:17,100 I'm still helping him get running this spring. 469 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:18,100 [Juan] That's great. 470 00:17:18,100 --> 00:17:20,467 How'd your operation go after we left last year? 471 00:17:20,467 --> 00:17:22,300 Pretty darn good actually. 472 00:17:22,300 --> 00:17:23,600 We increased production. 473 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,700 I'd say we were right around eight ounces. 474 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:27,567 What did you do the year before? 475 00:17:27,567 --> 00:17:29,100 -What did you do the year before? -Yeah. 476 00:17:29,100 --> 00:17:32,166 Oh, gosh. Uh, maybe two? 477 00:17:32,166 --> 00:17:33,266 -Nice. -Wow. 478 00:17:33,266 --> 00:17:34,767 Awesome. Good for you. 479 00:17:34,767 --> 00:17:37,367 The stuff that you guys did really helped the production 480 00:17:37,367 --> 00:17:39,967 of the plant and definitely the recovery. 481 00:17:39,967 --> 00:17:41,133 [Chad] Oh, yeah. 482 00:17:41,133 --> 00:17:44,867 I'm really excited and think we can have an amazing year, 483 00:17:44,867 --> 00:17:47,467 you know, and it's all right there next to the plant. 484 00:17:47,467 --> 00:17:50,000 I'm just really wanting to make this work 485 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,667 for being able to provide for my family. 486 00:17:52,667 --> 00:17:54,300 -Well, guys... -[Juan] Yeah, very cool. 487 00:17:54,300 --> 00:17:55,600 it's been a pleasure. 488 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,500 I enjoyed working with you. 489 00:17:57,500 --> 00:17:58,400 -All right. Thanks, guys. -You got it. 490 00:17:58,400 --> 00:17:59,967 -Bye for now guys. -See you later, Chad. 491 00:17:59,967 --> 00:18:01,367 To tell you what, that ground there 492 00:18:01,367 --> 00:18:03,000 -testing around in there... -It's dang good. 493 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,800 -Yeah. I'd mine there. -Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. 494 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,567 Gold is money and money is gold. 495 00:18:06,567 --> 00:18:07,800 Absolutely. 496 00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:19,333 [wind howling] 497 00:18:19,333 --> 00:18:21,467 [Juan] There's always something to learn, right? 498 00:18:21,467 --> 00:18:22,700 We worked hard last year. 499 00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:23,967 -You know, it's good... -Yeah. 500 00:18:23,967 --> 00:18:25,233 -to see all the miners and how they've done and... -Mmm-hmm. 501 00:18:25,233 --> 00:18:27,900 Well, what was your favorite part of last season, Juan? 502 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:29,066 Your favorite moment? 503 00:18:29,066 --> 00:18:30,867 It's hard to really pick just one, 504 00:18:30,867 --> 00:18:33,600 but I think the one that stands out right now 505 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,867 in my mind was Terry and Stephanie in British Columbia. 506 00:18:35,867 --> 00:18:37,867 -Yeah. Mmm-hmm. -They're a really nice couple. 507 00:18:37,867 --> 00:18:39,867 -And it was just Terry there in the beginning. -I know. 508 00:18:39,867 --> 00:18:41,166 You know, they were small operation, 509 00:18:41,166 --> 00:18:42,900 but I think honestly with what we did there, 510 00:18:42,900 --> 00:18:44,500 it probably had one of the bigger impacts 511 00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:45,700 -between a family, right? -Yeah. 512 00:18:49,900 --> 00:18:51,200 -[Juan] Nice to meet you. Juan. -Juan, nice to meet you. 513 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:52,967 -Nice to meet you, Terry. -Freddy. 514 00:18:52,967 --> 00:18:56,100 [narrator] On their 247 acre claim, 515 00:18:56,100 --> 00:18:58,000 Terry Lind and wife Stephanie 516 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,200 watched their retirement evaporate 517 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,500 with all work and no pay. 518 00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:04,867 I wanna know where the big guy 519 00:19:04,867 --> 00:19:07,700 hit his jewelry box and I wanna dig it up. 520 00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:09,967 [narrator] But so far, he was struggling 521 00:19:09,967 --> 00:19:12,467 to run the mine on his own. 522 00:19:12,467 --> 00:19:14,166 Took me all summer to go through, 523 00:19:14,166 --> 00:19:17,066 I would say about 40, 50 yards of material. 524 00:19:17,066 --> 00:19:17,967 -[Juan] That's all you've ran? -See... 525 00:19:17,967 --> 00:19:19,967 That's all I've ran through this plant. 526 00:19:19,967 --> 00:19:21,800 [Freddy] You're doing all this all by yourself, huh? 527 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,100 Yes, I am. 528 00:19:23,900 --> 00:19:26,100 Remember him out there with pry bars and shovels? 529 00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:27,367 -Oh, blisters everywhere. -Yeah. Yeah. 530 00:19:27,367 --> 00:19:29,166 -Yeah. Bleeding. -Ah, he was bleeding too. 531 00:19:29,166 --> 00:19:30,667 Yup. Yup. 532 00:19:30,667 --> 00:19:31,600 [Lind] Now I gotta bang the side, 533 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,233 you know, just to keep the material moving. 534 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,000 [Freddy] How's it going, Terry? 535 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000 [Lind] Terrible. 536 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,133 I'm working like a dog. 537 00:19:42,133 --> 00:19:43,700 -Yeah, we try. -But this is what I do on a daily base 538 00:19:43,700 --> 00:19:45,400 when I am out here. 539 00:19:46,100 --> 00:19:47,967 Remember their material was so clumped 540 00:19:47,967 --> 00:19:49,467 and so mudded up 541 00:19:49,467 --> 00:19:50,700 that it wouldn't run through the hopper? 542 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:51,700 It was just a sticky mess. 543 00:19:51,700 --> 00:19:54,367 It just gets stuck right on the sides there. 544 00:19:54,367 --> 00:19:56,000 [Freddy] Pretty wet material, eh, Juano? 545 00:19:58,166 --> 00:20:00,166 The only option we had in the time period 546 00:20:00,166 --> 00:20:01,900 that we were there was to wind road 547 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:05,567 in that material and let the sun hit more of it, right? 548 00:20:05,567 --> 00:20:07,000 And dry it out. 549 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,400 [Juan] Sometimes those simple fixes 550 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,467 are some of the most, uh, ingenious fixes 551 00:20:10,467 --> 00:20:11,667 -that actually help a lot, right? -Yeah. 552 00:20:11,667 --> 00:20:14,100 And it's free, the sun did it. 553 00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:16,967 [narrator] Freddy and Juan also attached two vibrators 554 00:20:16,967 --> 00:20:20,233 to the hopper to prevent it from clogging... 555 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:22,800 and add a heavier counterweight 556 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,367 to the pre-wash 557 00:20:24,367 --> 00:20:27,567 to help get rid of any remaining pay. 558 00:20:27,567 --> 00:20:29,467 Freddy, well, you and I both saw it, right, 559 00:20:29,467 --> 00:20:30,967 -right when we got there. -Mmm-hmm. 560 00:20:30,967 --> 00:20:32,667 The only way that operation was gonna be functional 561 00:20:32,667 --> 00:20:34,266 if there was several people on the ground 562 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:35,567 -to actually work. -Yeah, at least two. 563 00:20:35,567 --> 00:20:36,500 [Juan] Yeah. 564 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:37,867 [Freddy] Probably the... 565 00:20:37,867 --> 00:20:38,967 -[Lind] Biggest. -biggest fix. 566 00:20:38,967 --> 00:20:42,000 We'd like to get your wife introduced into being able 567 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,367 to help a little bit more. 568 00:20:43,367 --> 00:20:44,900 You know, she loved going out there 569 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:47,800 and mining when it was just a pick and shovel operation, 570 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:49,767 but once he brought the Track-O in 571 00:20:49,767 --> 00:20:51,166 and a little bit bigger plant 572 00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:54,066 -and so forth and so on, she was intimidated. -Yeah. 573 00:20:54,066 --> 00:20:56,000 Anything can go wrong. 574 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,400 I really don't feel I have a place down there 575 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,266 because I really don't know what to do. 576 00:21:00,266 --> 00:21:02,100 And Terry, he was like, "Well, if you could do it," 577 00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:03,100 he's, "I'm all for it 578 00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:04,233 because I've been asking her to do it for years 579 00:21:04,233 --> 00:21:06,066 and she really was kind of reluctant to do it." 580 00:21:06,066 --> 00:21:07,967 -Until you talked to her. -[Juan] Yeah. I know. It was-- 581 00:21:07,967 --> 00:21:11,300 You gave her just enough confidence to help. 582 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:12,266 [Juan] Once you kind of get the hang 583 00:21:12,266 --> 00:21:14,667 of how the controls in that excavator work, 584 00:21:14,667 --> 00:21:16,834 it's actually pretty simple to run. 585 00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:19,166 Okay. I can try. 586 00:21:19,166 --> 00:21:20,767 I'm not gonna promise anything but-- 587 00:21:20,767 --> 00:21:22,867 Well, that's all we can ask for. 588 00:21:22,867 --> 00:21:24,867 I'm happy we were able to, at least, get her... 589 00:21:24,867 --> 00:21:26,166 You know, get that little seed planted 590 00:21:26,166 --> 00:21:28,367 -where she wanted to try to do it. -Yeah. 591 00:21:28,367 --> 00:21:29,400 Okay. Ignition. 592 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,100 [Juan] Pull that throttle back just a little bit. 593 00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:33,266 All right. Right there. 594 00:21:33,266 --> 00:21:34,300 And trust me, I was nervous 'cause I'm like, man, 595 00:21:34,300 --> 00:21:36,166 -she can go over there and smash... -Smash it. 596 00:21:36,166 --> 00:21:39,166 that hopper in a matter of seconds, it' d be done, right? 597 00:21:39,166 --> 00:21:40,500 -All right. -Okay. 598 00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:42,300 [Juan] We'll just grab a bucket of dirt right there 599 00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:43,500 out of that pile. 600 00:21:47,667 --> 00:21:49,000 Other way. 601 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:50,834 You're fine. 602 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,567 It was definitely a gamble, Freddy, 603 00:21:53,567 --> 00:21:55,066 you know, trying to get her involved. 604 00:21:55,066 --> 00:21:58,100 [Stephanie] Straight back with the left hand. 605 00:21:58,100 --> 00:21:59,400 Oh, big rocks. 606 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:00,734 Little nerve-racking still. 607 00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:09,100 -That's pretty dang good. -Not bad. Not bad. 608 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:11,867 And it was really great to see her confidence start building. 609 00:22:11,867 --> 00:22:13,800 -I mean, she did well. -[Freddy] Yup. She did well. 610 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,667 First bucket, Stephanie! 611 00:22:16,667 --> 00:22:20,133 [dramatic music playing] 612 00:22:30,066 --> 00:22:31,600 [Juan] You could see it, the material that's coming 613 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,100 -out the end of it, just clean. -[Freddy] Clean. 614 00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:34,467 [Juan] And we're running three times 615 00:22:34,467 --> 00:22:36,800 -as much material now too. -Yeah. 616 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:38,767 [Lind] I am so ecstatic. 617 00:22:38,767 --> 00:22:40,166 Stephanie is actually feeding the plant 618 00:22:40,166 --> 00:22:42,100 for the very first time. 619 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:44,000 This is absolutely unreal. 620 00:22:44,467 --> 00:22:46,000 [Freddy] Hey, Stephanie. 621 00:22:46,300 --> 00:22:47,700 Last bucket. 622 00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:49,533 [Stephanie] Okay. 623 00:22:49,967 --> 00:22:53,200 [dramatic music playing] 624 00:22:57,066 --> 00:22:58,967 [Lind] My goodness. You were in the excavator. 625 00:22:58,967 --> 00:23:00,700 -Yup. -[Lind] How you doing? You-- 626 00:23:00,700 --> 00:23:02,400 -I did it. -Yes. 627 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,266 Sure. Nervous, but I did it. 628 00:23:04,266 --> 00:23:05,767 [Lind] Well, high five. 629 00:23:05,767 --> 00:23:07,467 Great, hon. I'm so proud of you. 630 00:23:07,467 --> 00:23:08,667 Juan's a great teacher. 631 00:23:08,667 --> 00:23:10,300 He was very easy to follow. 632 00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:11,967 No crazy commands. 633 00:23:11,967 --> 00:23:13,967 That's good. So better him than me? 634 00:23:13,967 --> 00:23:15,266 [Stephanie] Probably. 635 00:23:15,266 --> 00:23:17,100 [laughs] 636 00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:18,767 -[Stephanie] Yeah. -Yeah. 637 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,367 Well, there's definitely more gold there than there was the first time. 638 00:23:26,367 --> 00:23:28,266 [Juan] A lot more fine gold too. 639 00:23:28,266 --> 00:23:29,567 [narrator] For Terry and Stephanie, 640 00:23:29,567 --> 00:23:30,767 to stand a chance 641 00:23:30,767 --> 00:23:32,467 at recouping their investment, 642 00:23:32,467 --> 00:23:34,867 they need to double their previous run. 643 00:23:34,867 --> 00:23:36,200 Well... 644 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:37,667 -[Juan] Look at that. -[Freddy] 0.2 ounce. 645 00:23:37,667 --> 00:23:39,767 -Awesome. -[Freddy] That's pretty good. 646 00:23:39,767 --> 00:23:42,166 But I remember it was around 200% increase. 647 00:23:42,166 --> 00:23:43,467 [Juan] That's a pretty dang good increase. 648 00:23:43,467 --> 00:23:44,667 -That gamble paid off. -Yeah. 649 00:23:44,667 --> 00:23:46,266 We're able to get in there, help her, 650 00:23:46,266 --> 00:23:47,767 get her that confidence she needed. 651 00:23:47,767 --> 00:23:50,400 Yeah. And we made it from a one-man operation back 652 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,266 -to a family operation. -Yeah. 653 00:23:52,266 --> 00:23:54,233 Fingers crossed that they did well. 654 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,300 Well, hello, Terry. 655 00:23:57,300 --> 00:23:58,867 [Juan] Hey, buddy. Good to see you, Terry. 656 00:23:58,867 --> 00:24:01,266 You too, Juan. Good to see you too, Freddy. 657 00:24:01,266 --> 00:24:02,767 I just wanted to check up on my student 658 00:24:02,767 --> 00:24:04,967 and see how she was doing. [chuckles] 659 00:24:04,967 --> 00:24:07,066 [Lind] She's been actually doing really well. 660 00:24:07,066 --> 00:24:10,500 You know, her confidence level is slowly gaining. 661 00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:11,900 Well, really? It's kind of nice to know 662 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:13,467 that Stephanie kind of stuck with it 663 00:24:13,467 --> 00:24:15,500 and you're no longer a one-man band. 664 00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:16,700 That is so true. 665 00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:18,867 How did everything go after when we worked on your plant? 666 00:24:18,867 --> 00:24:20,667 -Go okay? I was really happy 667 00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:23,700 because it ran flawlessly, guys, you know? 668 00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:25,367 It was really nice to sit there 669 00:24:25,367 --> 00:24:26,700 and run material 670 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:28,767 and didn't have to worry about nothing binding up... 671 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:30,900 -Nice. -[Lind] and just a nice flow. 672 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,166 It's like a whole new plant, Freddy. 673 00:24:33,166 --> 00:24:34,166 How'd you end up? Do you... 674 00:24:34,166 --> 00:24:35,700 Were you able to put a little bit of gold away? 675 00:24:35,700 --> 00:24:38,500 [Lind] Yeah. We did actually not too bad. 676 00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:42,000 We were doing roughly two ounces of gold 677 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,700 out of 150 yards. 678 00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:44,634 That's pretty good. 679 00:24:44,634 --> 00:24:48,567 I'm really hoping to well exceed 200 yards 680 00:24:48,567 --> 00:24:50,567 of pay dirt this year 681 00:24:50,567 --> 00:24:52,467 and see what I pull out. 682 00:24:52,467 --> 00:24:53,767 Well, you were... 683 00:24:53,767 --> 00:24:55,867 You were great to work with. You and your wife. 684 00:24:55,867 --> 00:24:57,300 -Yeah. -We had a lot of laughs. 685 00:24:57,300 --> 00:24:59,367 -Oh, that we did. I really enjoyed working 686 00:24:59,367 --> 00:25:01,066 with you, Freddy and Juan, you know? 687 00:25:01,066 --> 00:25:02,000 It was awesome. 688 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,967 Terry, it was great to catch up with you. 689 00:25:03,967 --> 00:25:05,867 We wish you the best of luck in this next season, 690 00:25:05,867 --> 00:25:07,667 and, hopefully, you kill it out there. 691 00:25:07,667 --> 00:25:09,000 Yup. Tear it up. 692 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,166 Get that gold. 693 00:25:10,166 --> 00:25:11,166 I will do that, guys. 694 00:25:11,166 --> 00:25:12,667 And you guys have a great season. 695 00:25:12,667 --> 00:25:14,800 And go help a bunch of other miners how 696 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,266 to succeed their dreams as well. 697 00:25:17,266 --> 00:25:18,600 -Well, thanks. -Appreciate it. 698 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:19,667 [Freddy] Thank you. Bye for now. 699 00:25:19,667 --> 00:25:21,500 Awesome. Thanks, guys. 700 00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:23,000 I'm proud of that, Freddy. And, hopefully, this year, 701 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,367 he gets out there and just kills it. 702 00:25:24,367 --> 00:25:25,667 -Yup. -Right on, buddy. 703 00:25:25,667 --> 00:25:27,734 -Nice job, bud. -Likewise. 704 00:25:31,166 --> 00:25:33,500 [narrator] This season, one of Mine Rescue's 705 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,467 biggest gold hauls. 706 00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:36,600 We started running that stuff 707 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,367 that Freddy and I tested, 708 00:25:38,367 --> 00:25:40,533 and it's better than anything we could have hoped for. 709 00:25:40,867 --> 00:25:42,300 Holy. 710 00:25:43,867 --> 00:25:45,333 That's unbelievable. 711 00:25:48,767 --> 00:25:52,000 [upbeat music playing] 712 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,467 Of all the mines we helped last year, 713 00:25:57,467 --> 00:26:00,166 which one do you think was the most emotional? 714 00:26:01,667 --> 00:26:03,800 Well, you know, we had Rich and Kevin, 715 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:05,567 -the Montana boys, that we helped out. -[Freddy] The Montana. 716 00:26:05,567 --> 00:26:07,367 Rich had sold everything 717 00:26:07,367 --> 00:26:09,467 and he thrown every bit of his spaghetti 718 00:26:09,467 --> 00:26:11,066 -at the wall that he had. -[Juan chuckles] 719 00:26:11,066 --> 00:26:13,500 For Kevin and Rich, Freddy, it wasn't just about the gold. 720 00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:15,300 It was about a brotherly relationship. 721 00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:16,767 Yup. 722 00:26:16,767 --> 00:26:20,266 [dramatic music playing] 723 00:26:20,266 --> 00:26:21,700 This is the only thing I've got. 724 00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:24,166 I've put everything into this. 725 00:26:24,166 --> 00:26:26,867 I have $75,000 in cash invested. 726 00:26:26,867 --> 00:26:30,266 Rich probably has three, four times that. 727 00:26:30,266 --> 00:26:32,600 [narrator] Recently reconciled brothers, 728 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:33,867 Kevin and Rich Dietz, 729 00:26:33,867 --> 00:26:35,967 sold everything they had 730 00:26:35,967 --> 00:26:38,166 in a bid to rekindle their relationship 731 00:26:38,166 --> 00:26:39,367 through mining. 732 00:26:39,367 --> 00:26:41,567 How much gold did you produced last year? 733 00:26:41,567 --> 00:26:43,000 We produced 5 ounces 734 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,200 and moved about 500 yards of dirt. 735 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,767 This year, we've moved about 700 yards of dirt 736 00:26:47,767 --> 00:26:50,400 -and we've got about 3 ounces. -[Juan] Oh. 737 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,867 So you're not making money is what you're saying. 738 00:26:51,867 --> 00:26:54,000 [Kevin] No. We're not even close. 739 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,800 We're in big trouble. 740 00:26:56,266 --> 00:26:57,967 Right. 741 00:26:57,967 --> 00:27:00,066 Well, remember, when we first got there, we... 742 00:27:00,066 --> 00:27:02,166 Me and you both looked at the material they were running 743 00:27:02,166 --> 00:27:04,266 and they only had some pay in it. 744 00:27:04,266 --> 00:27:06,367 [Juan] Oh, it was... Yeah. It was bad material. 745 00:27:06,367 --> 00:27:08,100 There's nothing to speak of. 746 00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:09,567 [narrator] And this pressure only added 747 00:27:09,567 --> 00:27:11,967 to their strained relationship. 748 00:27:11,967 --> 00:27:12,867 From, what, the sounds of it, 749 00:27:12,867 --> 00:27:16,000 they really hadn't gone long for a while. 750 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,867 Acquaintance, maybe a better word than brothers. 751 00:27:19,867 --> 00:27:21,767 After I left home, it was roughly four decades 752 00:27:21,767 --> 00:27:24,367 before Rich and I reconnected, 753 00:27:24,367 --> 00:27:27,400 and we reconnected through gold. 754 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:28,900 Jerry. Jerry, you got a copy? 755 00:27:28,900 --> 00:27:31,033 Kevin, we don't care about that. 756 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,400 [Kevin] That ain't gonna cut it, Rich. 757 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,100 It's a lot easier just to fast pan the stuff 758 00:27:37,100 --> 00:27:39,066 and get all the refines into one. 759 00:27:39,066 --> 00:27:41,266 And you'd be saving a whole lot of time. 760 00:27:41,266 --> 00:27:43,467 [Rich] We're both stubborn and pretty pigheaded. 761 00:27:43,467 --> 00:27:44,900 I don't know if it's gonna work out. 762 00:27:44,900 --> 00:27:47,300 If the gold fails, I think-- 763 00:27:47,300 --> 00:27:48,700 Puts a lot of stress on relationship. 764 00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:50,200 To keep them from spending more money... 765 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,200 -We shut them down. -we shut them down. We had to. 766 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,967 [narrator] The first test lasted just 40 minutes. 767 00:27:55,967 --> 00:27:57,634 [man] We gotta shut them down. 768 00:28:00,166 --> 00:28:01,567 [Rich] This might be the shortest run 769 00:28:01,567 --> 00:28:03,100 of our history. 770 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:06,867 So this is what you're digging? 771 00:28:06,867 --> 00:28:08,800 Yeah. This is the material right here. 772 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,166 I'm sure there's a tremendous amount of gold around here, 773 00:28:12,166 --> 00:28:14,266 but this whole pit right here, 774 00:28:14,266 --> 00:28:16,433 in my eyes, is played out. 775 00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:19,667 So this is the retirement plan then? 776 00:28:19,667 --> 00:28:20,934 I'm all in. 777 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,367 Ooh. 778 00:28:24,367 --> 00:28:25,700 [chuckles] 779 00:28:27,667 --> 00:28:29,300 Really, the big fix was that ground. 780 00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:31,667 Oh, and I searched all over for gold, 781 00:28:31,667 --> 00:28:34,233 trying to find stuff that the old-timers missed. 782 00:28:35,166 --> 00:28:36,467 [narrator] For three days, 783 00:28:36,467 --> 00:28:39,467 Freddy scours the claim looking for signs 784 00:28:39,467 --> 00:28:41,600 of untouched pay dirt. 785 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,000 [Freddy] Now, let's see what's in it, huh? 786 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:44,400 [Rich] Yeah. 787 00:28:44,900 --> 00:28:46,600 [Freddy] Tan colors. 788 00:28:47,367 --> 00:28:48,700 That's not good. 789 00:28:49,066 --> 00:28:50,600 [bleep]. 790 00:28:51,467 --> 00:28:53,767 -But it was a pain in the butt... -It was. 791 00:28:53,767 --> 00:28:56,266 'cause I'm out prospecting all over, not finding much, 792 00:28:56,266 --> 00:28:58,000 and I'm like, "We're running out of time here. 793 00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,166 I'll tell you that." 794 00:29:02,967 --> 00:29:06,767 But then we found that stuff that the old-timers missed. 795 00:29:06,767 --> 00:29:09,767 This layer, from right here, looks promising. 796 00:29:09,767 --> 00:29:11,400 You guys wanna start getting pay down 797 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,967 -so we can run a second test here. [man] Yeah? 798 00:29:13,967 --> 00:29:15,467 -And it was good. -It was dang good. 799 00:29:15,467 --> 00:29:17,900 -Yeah. Better than expected. -[Juan] Yeah. 800 00:29:20,266 --> 00:29:22,567 [narrator] Gold-rich pay sourced, 801 00:29:22,567 --> 00:29:25,333 Freddy and Juan run a final test. 802 00:29:33,867 --> 00:29:36,000 [Kevin] I like that flow much better. 803 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,266 We got a chance. 804 00:29:37,266 --> 00:29:39,000 Yup. 805 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,000 [Kevin] That looks very good dirt. 806 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,934 Way different than the stuff we've been running. 807 00:29:45,266 --> 00:29:46,567 Shut it down, guys. 808 00:29:46,567 --> 00:29:48,200 Shutting it down. 809 00:29:55,900 --> 00:29:57,734 Pour it out, Juan-O. 810 00:29:58,867 --> 00:30:00,266 [narrator] The test must deliver, 811 00:30:00,266 --> 00:30:03,100 at least, $600 worth of gold. 812 00:30:07,967 --> 00:30:09,100 -[Freddy] 0.44. -[Juan] 0.44. 813 00:30:09,100 --> 00:30:11,767 [Freddy] Right there is almost $900 worth of gold. 814 00:30:11,767 --> 00:30:13,700 -Dude. Hey. -[chuckles] 815 00:30:13,700 --> 00:30:15,567 -That's amazing, ain't it? -There you go. 816 00:30:15,567 --> 00:30:18,000 [narrator] An increase of over 500% 817 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:19,367 from the first test. 818 00:30:19,367 --> 00:30:20,467 I love you. I believed you. 819 00:30:20,467 --> 00:30:21,567 I'm hoping they're still at it 820 00:30:21,567 --> 00:30:22,533 and I'm hoping they're making gold 821 00:30:22,533 --> 00:30:25,166 to be able to keep that relationship strong. 822 00:30:25,166 --> 00:30:26,800 I hope so too. 823 00:30:28,300 --> 00:30:30,000 [Juan] Hey, good to see you, guys. 824 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,000 Great seeing you, guys. 825 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:31,934 -Nice to see you, guys. -Nice to see you, guys. 826 00:30:31,934 --> 00:30:34,166 Hey, uh, so how'd it go after we left? 827 00:30:34,166 --> 00:30:35,166 Did you get... 828 00:30:35,166 --> 00:30:37,500 Did you run some decent gold through the plant? 829 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:39,467 We ran about 95 yards 830 00:30:39,467 --> 00:30:41,467 and we got almost 2 ounces of gold. 831 00:30:41,467 --> 00:30:42,800 -Oh, 2 ounces, a hundred. -[Juan] Wow. 832 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:44,266 [Freddy] Over 2 ounces, a hundred. 833 00:30:44,266 --> 00:30:45,800 Congratulations, guys. That's sweet. 834 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,667 We got a lot there waiting to go still. 835 00:30:47,667 --> 00:30:48,767 Well, that's good news. 836 00:30:48,767 --> 00:30:49,767 Well, and it's gotta be exciting 837 00:30:49,767 --> 00:30:50,867 that you know you got a property 838 00:30:50,867 --> 00:30:52,667 that has gold on it now, right? 839 00:30:52,667 --> 00:30:54,900 I'm excited about the gold that's there. 840 00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:56,300 I mean, there's a lot of gold there, 841 00:30:56,300 --> 00:30:58,467 so I thank you very much for that. 842 00:30:58,467 --> 00:30:59,667 Now, don't get me wrong, 843 00:30:59,667 --> 00:31:01,100 I'm really excited that you guys were able 844 00:31:01,100 --> 00:31:03,467 to get a couple ounces out of a hundred yards, 845 00:31:03,467 --> 00:31:06,066 but I really wanna know how is your guys' relationship? 846 00:31:06,066 --> 00:31:09,066 Our relationship is on the right track. 847 00:31:09,066 --> 00:31:10,667 -Oh, good. -We've been talking 848 00:31:10,667 --> 00:31:12,066 -and everything's good. -[Freddy] Good. 849 00:31:12,066 --> 00:31:13,667 And it's my plan this year 850 00:31:13,667 --> 00:31:15,300 is to do some prospecting 851 00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:18,166 while Rich runs that mine and go from there. 852 00:31:18,166 --> 00:31:20,400 You find what the old-timers missed, 853 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,767 you could, you know, put bank in your wallet, 854 00:31:22,767 --> 00:31:24,100 get all the gold you can. 855 00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:26,300 Well, perfect. We're excited for it. 856 00:31:26,300 --> 00:31:27,867 -Yeah. -You guys really changed 857 00:31:27,867 --> 00:31:31,000 our whole gold mining trajectory, 858 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,867 because we would have been digging to China 859 00:31:33,867 --> 00:31:35,767 and wondering where all the gold went. 860 00:31:35,767 --> 00:31:37,500 Well, the sky's the limit for you guys 861 00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:38,700 in that canyon, I think. 862 00:31:38,700 --> 00:31:39,700 Take care, guys. 863 00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:41,667 Talk to you later. Bye. 864 00:31:41,667 --> 00:31:42,700 Pretty cool, huh? 865 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:43,900 Yeah. That's really good, Freddy. 866 00:31:43,900 --> 00:31:46,300 -You see a smile on his face now. -[Juan] Yeah, yeah, yeah. 867 00:31:46,300 --> 00:31:48,266 Well, that's definitely better than expected. 868 00:31:48,266 --> 00:31:50,367 [Juan] Yeah. You know, over the last year, Fred, 869 00:31:50,367 --> 00:31:51,767 there was a lot of challenges, 870 00:31:51,767 --> 00:31:53,900 but, honestly, it really tested us. 871 00:31:53,900 --> 00:31:55,867 What do you think the most challenging mine 872 00:31:55,867 --> 00:31:57,467 that we helped was last year? 873 00:31:57,467 --> 00:31:59,767 Well, with the Waits, we did quite a bit there, 874 00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:00,667 -Freddy. -We did. 875 00:32:00,667 --> 00:32:02,567 But, you know, at the end of the day, 876 00:32:02,567 --> 00:32:04,000 a nugget screwed us. 877 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,867 [dramatic music playing] 878 00:32:07,867 --> 00:32:09,500 -Freddy, nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you. 879 00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:10,500 I'm Heidi. 880 00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:13,266 [narrator] Lured by Montana's nugget country, 881 00:32:13,266 --> 00:32:16,500 husband and wife team, Bryce and Heidi Waits, 882 00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:17,967 turned their hobby mine 883 00:32:17,967 --> 00:32:20,300 into a fulltime family business. 884 00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:23,166 This is the American dream. 885 00:32:23,166 --> 00:32:25,066 You know, if you want a good life, 886 00:32:25,066 --> 00:32:27,000 you have to get it yourself, build it yourself. 887 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:28,600 A lot of people doubted us 888 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:30,166 when we're like, "We're buying a gold mine." 889 00:32:30,166 --> 00:32:31,400 "Oh, I can't believe it." 890 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,166 And, you know, we'd love to prove them all wrong 891 00:32:33,166 --> 00:32:35,200 and say, well, we made a life out of this. 892 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,266 They had issues from day one, especially with how spotty 893 00:32:38,266 --> 00:32:39,800 -that ground was. -Mmm-hmm. 894 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,100 Of the last 30 pans I've done up here, 895 00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:44,667 I haven't found one single speck of gold. 896 00:32:44,667 --> 00:32:47,200 [narrator] With over 30 acres to work, 897 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,367 the claim's ground was hard to read. 898 00:32:50,367 --> 00:32:51,500 [Freddy] What are you pulling out of here 899 00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:52,467 for a two-day run, roughly? 900 00:32:52,467 --> 00:32:55,200 [Bryce] It depends, because of the nuggets. 901 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,166 You know, we've had as low as five bucks a yard 902 00:32:58,166 --> 00:33:00,100 all the way up to 50 bucks a yard. 903 00:33:00,100 --> 00:33:01,367 And then on top of that, Fred, 904 00:33:01,367 --> 00:33:03,567 you know, they had an issue with the excavator. 905 00:33:03,567 --> 00:33:05,500 My little excavator that I run with now, 906 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,867 it is literally like digging with a teaspoon. 907 00:33:07,867 --> 00:33:09,600 That's a huge limiting factor. 908 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:12,266 All right. Let's get some gold. 909 00:33:12,266 --> 00:33:14,166 They really couldn't feed that plant consistently. 910 00:33:14,166 --> 00:33:15,533 Oh, hey! 911 00:33:16,266 --> 00:33:17,400 Get it. 912 00:33:20,166 --> 00:33:22,433 We're all plugged up up here now. 913 00:33:27,367 --> 00:33:29,400 That was it. Last bucket. 914 00:33:35,567 --> 00:33:36,667 [Freddy] Well, let's weigh it up. 915 00:33:36,667 --> 00:33:38,000 There's that big nugget. 916 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,100 But, remember, seeing that nugget 917 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:41,900 -in the first test run at the Waits? -Oh, I know. 918 00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:43,600 Especially when he said, "This is the biggest piece 919 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:44,667 -of gold we've ever seen..." -[Juan] Yeah, I know. 920 00:33:44,667 --> 00:33:45,800 "on the property." 921 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,567 So then it really threw off the scales. 922 00:33:47,567 --> 00:33:48,667 That's exactly right. 923 00:33:48,667 --> 00:33:49,934 Here we go. 924 00:33:56,166 --> 00:33:57,867 0.62. 925 00:33:57,867 --> 00:33:59,300 [narrator] Six-tenths of an ounce 926 00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:01,400 worth over $1,100. 927 00:34:02,166 --> 00:34:03,400 -It's a good run. -[Freddy] Yeah. 928 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:04,767 -That's not bad. -[Juan] That's a good run. A dang good run. 929 00:34:04,767 --> 00:34:06,066 [narrator] A quarter-ounce nugget 930 00:34:06,066 --> 00:34:08,266 is a welcome site for the Waits, 931 00:34:08,266 --> 00:34:11,367 but rare and sets an unreliable bar 932 00:34:11,367 --> 00:34:13,467 for the first test. 933 00:34:13,467 --> 00:34:14,767 -Me and you were like, -"Uh-oh." 934 00:34:14,767 --> 00:34:16,000 -Uh-oh. -Uh-oh. 935 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,066 [laughs] 936 00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:19,266 -My heart sunk a little bit. -Yeah. 937 00:34:19,266 --> 00:34:20,266 I was super pumped for them, 938 00:34:20,266 --> 00:34:22,800 but I'm like that's gonna really throw us off. 939 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,000 [narrator] Coming up... 940 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,166 Freddy and Juan's fears come true. 941 00:34:29,166 --> 00:34:30,867 -Not good, Fred. -Yeah. 942 00:34:30,867 --> 00:34:32,300 [narrator] But they finally learned 943 00:34:32,300 --> 00:34:35,900 if their fixes have turned fail to fortune. 944 00:34:35,900 --> 00:34:37,934 Did you get quite a bit of gold is what we're asking. 945 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:43,533 [dramatic music playing] 946 00:34:43,533 --> 00:34:45,333 Hey, Fred, come check this out real quick. 947 00:34:46,467 --> 00:34:47,767 Got my new family wagon. 948 00:34:47,767 --> 00:34:49,266 Well, that's nice, Juan. 949 00:34:49,266 --> 00:34:50,767 Yeah. Dan and I can take the little kids out. 950 00:34:50,767 --> 00:34:51,700 -[Freddy] Yeah. -They love to go riding 951 00:34:51,700 --> 00:34:52,767 -all the time. -Yeah. 952 00:34:52,767 --> 00:34:54,367 But don't feel left out, Freddy. 953 00:34:54,367 --> 00:34:56,100 I got something special for you too. 954 00:34:56,100 --> 00:34:57,600 -Come check this out. -Oh, great. 955 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,367 -[laughs] -[Juan] I know it's a little big right now 956 00:34:59,367 --> 00:35:00,767 but you'll grow into it, all right? 957 00:35:00,767 --> 00:35:02,166 -Yeah. -[laughs] 958 00:35:02,166 --> 00:35:03,367 I don't know if I can get my feet 959 00:35:03,367 --> 00:35:04,500 to the ground, Juan. 960 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:05,667 Is that for a little Freddy? 961 00:35:05,667 --> 00:35:08,100 -Yeah. It's little Freddy's. -Smartass. 962 00:35:08,100 --> 00:35:10,066 Short jokes never end, do they, Juan-O? 963 00:35:10,066 --> 00:35:11,467 -No, they don't. -[laughs] 964 00:35:11,467 --> 00:35:13,300 Let's go make some phone calls. 965 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,567 [narrator] In Reno, Freddy and Juan catch up 966 00:35:23,567 --> 00:35:26,567 with the families who they helped last year. 967 00:35:26,567 --> 00:35:28,367 You know, the Waits, when they said 968 00:35:28,367 --> 00:35:30,100 it's the biggest nugget they've ever found 969 00:35:30,100 --> 00:35:31,567 on that first test run-- 970 00:35:31,567 --> 00:35:33,567 We knew we had our work cut out for us. 971 00:35:33,567 --> 00:35:36,500 [narrator] With the first weigh skewed by a nugget, 972 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:38,967 Freddy and Juan faced an uphill battle 973 00:35:38,967 --> 00:35:41,300 to improve the Wait's recovery. 974 00:35:42,567 --> 00:35:44,867 One of the big things we gave them 975 00:35:44,867 --> 00:35:47,600 is the knowledge, how to prospect 976 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,767 -and investigate. -Yeah. 977 00:35:49,767 --> 00:35:52,567 [narrator] To improve the odds on their spotty ground, 978 00:35:52,567 --> 00:35:54,300 the Waits get a master class 979 00:35:54,300 --> 00:35:57,300 in hunting for gold-rich pockets. 980 00:35:57,300 --> 00:35:58,867 Okay. Let me show you guys. 981 00:35:58,867 --> 00:36:00,467 This has been reworked. 982 00:36:00,467 --> 00:36:01,667 [narrator] And Freddy builds them 983 00:36:01,667 --> 00:36:04,066 a smaller prospector sluice 984 00:36:04,066 --> 00:36:06,200 that can be easily moved around the site 985 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:07,567 to test pay dirt. 986 00:36:07,567 --> 00:36:09,667 You're not miners anymore, right? 987 00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:10,867 You're prospector miners 988 00:36:10,867 --> 00:36:12,000 -on this property. -Yeah. 989 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,667 We did a lot of repairs. 990 00:36:13,667 --> 00:36:15,166 And then we do the second test. 991 00:36:15,166 --> 00:36:17,400 I'm like, "This is it. This is the one." 992 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,000 -Ooh. -Yeah. 993 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:22,233 Well, this is what we got, guys. 994 00:36:31,700 --> 00:36:33,133 0.31. 995 00:36:34,767 --> 00:36:36,900 -Not good, Fred. -Yeah. 996 00:36:36,900 --> 00:36:40,000 [narrator] An unprecedented 50% decrease 997 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,367 from the initial gold weigh. 998 00:36:42,367 --> 00:36:44,367 Well, we knew we were gonna get beat 999 00:36:44,367 --> 00:36:46,000 -sooner or later. -And we got beat, 1000 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:47,400 -fair and square. -Exactly. Right. Yeah. 1001 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,400 Remember what the Waits' main goal was for this season? 1002 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,266 Yeah. Ultimately, they wanted to run more material 1003 00:36:52,266 --> 00:36:54,000 by having a bigger excavator, right? 1004 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,667 I don't know if they did or not, Freddy. 1005 00:36:55,667 --> 00:36:57,266 Why don't we give them a call and find out? 1006 00:36:57,266 --> 00:36:58,500 Let's find out. 1007 00:36:58,500 --> 00:37:00,367 Fingers crossed. 1008 00:37:00,367 --> 00:37:02,000 -Hi, strangers. -[Juan] How's it going? 1009 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,000 -It's good to see you guys. -Really good to see you guys, yeah. 1010 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,000 Anyway, we wanted talk about your season 1011 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,000 'cause you're the first ones that have beat us. 1012 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,166 Yeah. Yeah. 1013 00:37:09,166 --> 00:37:10,900 -[laughs] -Sorry about that. 1014 00:37:10,900 --> 00:37:13,000 Hope... Hopefully, the last ones too. 1015 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,200 -[Freddy] No, you won't be. -[Juan] Well, probably 1016 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:15,467 -won't be, no. -[Freddy] No. 1017 00:37:15,467 --> 00:37:16,333 How'd you guys do 1018 00:37:16,333 --> 00:37:17,533 towards the end of the season last year? 1019 00:37:17,533 --> 00:37:19,467 Did you get quite a bit of gold is what we're asking. 1020 00:37:19,467 --> 00:37:21,400 -Yeah. -[laughs] 1021 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:23,266 Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It got... 1022 00:37:23,266 --> 00:37:24,600 It only got better from there. 1023 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:26,567 If you had been there a couple more days, 1024 00:37:26,567 --> 00:37:28,166 you'd have seen the improvement. 1025 00:37:28,166 --> 00:37:29,300 -[Juan] I see. -That's all it would've taken. 1026 00:37:29,300 --> 00:37:30,600 For sure. 1027 00:37:32,367 --> 00:37:33,133 [Heidi] All right, guys. 1028 00:37:33,133 --> 00:37:34,767 Show us what we got in the box. 1029 00:37:34,767 --> 00:37:35,967 [Bryce] Here at the top, 1030 00:37:35,967 --> 00:37:39,600 we got a couple nice little pieces. 1031 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,967 Nice little nugget there. 1032 00:37:41,967 --> 00:37:44,700 Working down, there's a bunch here in the miners moss. 1033 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:48,700 Since your sluice box setup made it so much easier 1034 00:37:48,700 --> 00:37:50,266 -for sampling... -Yeah. 1035 00:37:50,266 --> 00:37:52,100 you know, we just kept working our way up, 1036 00:37:52,100 --> 00:37:53,467 doing little 10-yard samples 1037 00:37:53,467 --> 00:37:56,967 until we hit stuff that looked good. 1038 00:37:56,967 --> 00:37:58,467 And right towards the end of the season, 1039 00:37:58,467 --> 00:38:00,200 we were pretty consistently 1040 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,467 in $20 to $30-a-yard material. 1041 00:38:03,467 --> 00:38:05,100 -Nice. That's good to hear. -Yeah. 1042 00:38:05,100 --> 00:38:06,767 You know, I know last year you guys were talking 1043 00:38:06,767 --> 00:38:07,767 about one of your main goals 1044 00:38:07,767 --> 00:38:09,900 was to be able to get into a bigger excavator 1045 00:38:09,900 --> 00:38:11,367 to be able to run more material. 1046 00:38:11,367 --> 00:38:12,700 Were you guys able to do that? 1047 00:38:12,700 --> 00:38:15,500 [Bryce] We were. We did get a good deal 1048 00:38:15,500 --> 00:38:17,800 on a bigger excavator. 1049 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:19,567 Well, that's good news. 1050 00:38:19,567 --> 00:38:22,700 [Heidi] Here's our new machine that we got this year. 1051 00:38:22,700 --> 00:38:25,200 And this is where we've been digging. 1052 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,233 It's amazing 1053 00:38:27,867 --> 00:38:30,834 how much less time he spends digging 1054 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:33,400 with a much bigger bucket. 1055 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:35,467 Well, you guys are an absolute pleasure 1056 00:38:35,467 --> 00:38:36,967 -to work with. -[Heidi] Thank you. 1057 00:38:36,967 --> 00:38:38,867 If you guys are back in Montana, let us know. 1058 00:38:38,867 --> 00:38:40,767 We'll try and hook up. Have a beer. 1059 00:38:40,767 --> 00:38:43,000 -[laughs] Sounds great. -Take care, guys. 1060 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,166 You guys take care. Thank you. 1061 00:38:44,166 --> 00:38:45,900 -See you, guys. -Bye. 1062 00:38:45,900 --> 00:38:46,900 That was good news. 1063 00:38:46,900 --> 00:38:48,400 That nugget won that battle 1064 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,400 but it sounds like we won the war. 1065 00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:53,567 Well, Freddy, at the end of the day, 1066 00:38:53,567 --> 00:38:54,867 most of the people we helped last year, 1067 00:38:54,867 --> 00:38:56,367 they're continuing to, 1068 00:38:56,367 --> 00:38:57,433 you know, do what they wanna do and mine. 1069 00:38:57,433 --> 00:38:59,400 -Catching more gold. Yup. -[Juan] Catch more gold. 1070 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:01,867 Oh, what do we got going on here? 1071 00:39:01,867 --> 00:39:03,400 We got the bosses coming in, Freddy. 1072 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:04,600 Hello, girls. 1073 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,934 Aiden, Addie. 1074 00:39:08,100 --> 00:39:09,166 Hi, Little Freddy. 1075 00:39:09,166 --> 00:39:11,100 Oh, he's got a lot bigger 1076 00:39:11,100 --> 00:39:13,600 since the last time I've seen Little Freddy. 1077 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:15,000 [Juan] I just ordered his new welding shirt, Freddy, 1078 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,667 and they're the same size as yours. 1079 00:39:16,667 --> 00:39:18,166 Yeah. One size bigger probably. 1080 00:39:18,166 --> 00:39:19,266 [Juan laughs] 1081 00:39:19,266 --> 00:39:20,767 Freddy, you know, it's... 1082 00:39:20,767 --> 00:39:22,000 It's getting harder and harder 1083 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:23,400 to leave the house these days, 1084 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:25,266 -you know, with the little ones growing up. -Mmm-hmm. I can see why. 1085 00:39:25,266 --> 00:39:27,367 But, you know, I know what... A lot of these families 1086 00:39:27,367 --> 00:39:28,634 that we're helping out, 1087 00:39:28,634 --> 00:39:30,266 they're trying to make a living for them and their families, 1088 00:39:30,266 --> 00:39:32,000 and I can appreciate that. 1089 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,200 So it makes me wanna work a little harder 1090 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:34,800 and do a little better for them. 1091 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,000 -And I know you too as well. -Yeah. 1092 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,467 [Juan] All right, little ones. We better get back to work. 1093 00:39:39,467 --> 00:39:41,166 -[Freddy] Kid stampede. -Yeah. 1094 00:39:41,166 --> 00:39:42,166 Well, let's finish packing up... 1095 00:39:42,166 --> 00:39:43,600 -[Juan] Let's do it. -and get on the road, bud. 1096 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,467 [Juan] It's that time, Freddy. Let's get it. 1097 00:39:45,467 --> 00:39:47,667 [Freddy] You know, we learned quite a bit too, you know? 1098 00:39:47,667 --> 00:39:50,934 [upbeat music playing] 1099 00:39:59,900 --> 00:40:02,066 [dramatic music playing] 1100 00:40:02,066 --> 00:40:04,400 [Freddy] Let's roll some dice here. 1101 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:06,834 [Juan] I'm from Nevada. 1102 00:40:06,834 --> 00:40:08,400 We like to gamble a little bit. 1103 00:40:09,100 --> 00:40:10,100 [Freddy] You know how it is, 1104 00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:11,400 everything's a flip of a coin. 1105 00:40:13,100 --> 00:40:14,200 [Juan] I feel pretty confident right now. 1106 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:16,734 I'm willing to put our money where our mouth is. 1107 00:40:17,900 --> 00:40:20,400 [Freddy] Hey, Juan, let's do something we've never done before. 1108 00:40:22,100 --> 00:40:23,400 [Juan] Double or nothing. 1109 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:24,900 [Freddy] Double or nothing. 1110 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,200 [Juan] If we can't double the miner's gold, 1111 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,500 we won't charge him a dime. 1112 00:40:31,500 --> 00:40:33,767 Well, I hate to bet against you but game on. 1113 00:40:33,767 --> 00:40:36,500 -Let's do it. -[Freddy] Let's catch some gold. 1114 00:40:38,567 --> 00:40:40,266 [man] Everything is on the line. 1115 00:40:40,266 --> 00:40:41,567 Literally everything. 1116 00:40:41,567 --> 00:40:43,166 [man] This is the biggest casino there is. 1117 00:40:43,166 --> 00:40:45,000 You have no idea if there's anything 1118 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,567 beneath the surface. 1119 00:40:46,567 --> 00:40:48,900 I'm all in. It's a serious commitment. 1120 00:40:50,567 --> 00:40:52,300 [Freddy] Bringing a seismic crew in here. 1121 00:40:52,300 --> 00:40:53,500 [man] Holy cow. 1122 00:40:55,567 --> 00:40:56,433 [Juan] The rotating brush 1123 00:40:56,433 --> 00:40:58,266 is something we've never done before. 1124 00:40:58,266 --> 00:40:59,100 [Freddy] That's exciting. 1125 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:00,834 [Juan] Our first attempt at solar. 1126 00:41:02,066 --> 00:41:03,900 Holy crap. That's hot. 1127 00:41:05,066 --> 00:41:06,500 Underground, everything wants to kill you. 1128 00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:08,467 [man] Out, out, out. We gotta go. 1129 00:41:08,467 --> 00:41:09,867 [man] We got forest fires nearby. 1130 00:41:09,867 --> 00:41:12,767 If we don't get 100 ounces this year, it's over. 1131 00:41:12,767 --> 00:41:15,000 Freddy and Juan are my last hope. 1132 00:41:16,467 --> 00:41:18,700 That's 10 times the amount of gold. 1133 00:41:18,700 --> 00:41:20,300 -[man] Woo! -Hey! 1134 00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:22,967 It turns your dream out here into a reality. 1135 00:41:22,967 --> 00:41:24,500 Woo!