1 00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:03,500 [suspenseful music playing] 2 00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:06,700 [bird cawing] 3 00:00:08,967 --> 00:00:11,000 [Vaughn Riches] I'm definitely a rookie miner, 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:12,567 learning from my mistakes 5 00:00:12,567 --> 00:00:16,400 and just trying to make a future with this. 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,266 I've got a great crew. 7 00:00:21,266 --> 00:00:23,367 He's been the best boss I've ever had. 8 00:00:23,367 --> 00:00:26,266 [Vaughn] And I've worked for a lot of different [bleep]. 9 00:00:26,266 --> 00:00:27,700 I promised him something 10 00:00:27,700 --> 00:00:30,166 and it's not happening. 11 00:00:30,166 --> 00:00:32,467 [suspenseful music playing] 12 00:00:32,467 --> 00:00:35,400 I'm thinking I'm losing a half an ounce of gold a day. 13 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,900 When you pan, it's super hot, 14 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:40,667 and then we just don't see it in the sluices. 15 00:00:40,667 --> 00:00:44,567 We're down to about $75,000 owing on the excavator. 16 00:00:44,567 --> 00:00:46,867 We probably have about $40,000 17 00:00:46,867 --> 00:00:49,000 owing on the trommel. 18 00:00:49,567 --> 00:00:51,867 I'm $700,000 in the hole. 19 00:00:51,867 --> 00:00:54,367 I borrowed money 20 00:00:54,367 --> 00:00:57,367 from family, from friends, 21 00:00:57,367 --> 00:00:59,200 leasing companies, 22 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,400 credit cards, on and on. 23 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,266 Yup. So it's, um... 24 00:01:05,266 --> 00:01:06,433 I'm in deep. 25 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,700 Freddy and Juan are my best hope, 26 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:13,200 my last hope, the only hope I have. 27 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,567 [bird cawing] 28 00:01:16,567 --> 00:01:17,867 [man] Let's make some gold, guys. 29 00:01:17,867 --> 00:01:19,567 [narrator] Freddy Dodge... 30 00:01:19,567 --> 00:01:22,367 There's no guarantees in gold, buddy. 31 00:01:22,367 --> 00:01:23,767 [narrator] ...and Juan Ibarra... 32 00:01:23,767 --> 00:01:25,200 All right. Well, let's do it, huh? 33 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,066 [narrator] ...have mastered the art 34 00:01:27,066 --> 00:01:29,066 of getting gold out of the ground... 35 00:01:29,066 --> 00:01:31,066 [Juan] Look at that. 36 00:01:31,066 --> 00:01:32,767 [narrator] In the most rugged places on earth. 37 00:01:32,767 --> 00:01:34,600 [Juan] I'm feeling a little sick, Freddy. 38 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,667 [narrator] Now, they rescue struggling miners... 39 00:01:37,667 --> 00:01:39,667 Ooh. That's not good. 40 00:01:39,667 --> 00:01:42,667 [narrator] Who've risked it all to be rich... 41 00:01:42,667 --> 00:01:44,300 Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shut it down! 42 00:01:44,300 --> 00:01:46,567 [narrator] ...but are about to lose everything. 43 00:01:46,567 --> 00:01:48,400 Eyeballs. 44 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,467 [narrator] To revive these failing mines, 45 00:01:50,467 --> 00:01:53,266 Freddy and Juan engineer the impossible... 46 00:01:53,266 --> 00:01:55,300 [man] Well, I've never heard of an under-sluice before. 47 00:01:55,300 --> 00:01:57,367 [narrator] ...deliver some hard truths... 48 00:01:57,367 --> 00:02:00,567 This material you're digging now is totally worthless. 49 00:02:00,567 --> 00:02:02,900 [narrator] ...and track down the gold. 50 00:02:02,900 --> 00:02:05,000 That's what dreams are made of right there. 51 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:06,800 [narrator] But if they don't at least double 52 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,667 the miner's gold recovery, 53 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:11,367 they won't take a dime in return. 54 00:02:11,367 --> 00:02:13,567 Put 10 times the amount of gold. 55 00:02:13,567 --> 00:02:15,433 -That's awesome. -[cheers and laughter] 56 00:02:20,467 --> 00:02:24,233 [dramatic music playing] 57 00:02:26,300 --> 00:02:28,166 [truck horn blows] 58 00:02:28,166 --> 00:02:30,367 So what do we know about these guys, Fred? 59 00:02:30,367 --> 00:02:32,367 We know they're fairly new miners. 60 00:02:32,367 --> 00:02:35,000 They've only been mining for around three years, so, 61 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,767 you know, they're just getting their feet on the ground. 62 00:02:36,767 --> 00:02:38,400 You know, I kind of take it, Juan, 63 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,200 that these guys are in pretty deep. 64 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:41,734 [Juan] Yeah. 10-4. 65 00:02:42,867 --> 00:02:46,266 [narrator] Freddy and Juan journey through British Columbia 66 00:02:46,266 --> 00:02:49,400 on their way to the Riches placer mine, 67 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,500 10 miles from the historic mining town of Barkerville. 68 00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:56,500 [Freddy] Some cool country, Juan. 69 00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:58,133 Mining country and logging, huh? 70 00:02:58,967 --> 00:03:00,567 [Freddy] Yeah, they pulled a lot of gold 71 00:03:00,567 --> 00:03:02,867 out of this country back in the day. 72 00:03:02,867 --> 00:03:05,767 [country music playing] 73 00:03:05,767 --> 00:03:09,066 [narrator] Gold strikes here in the early 1860s 74 00:03:09,066 --> 00:03:11,266 sparked the Cariboo Gold Rush. 75 00:03:11,266 --> 00:03:13,867 One of the thousands of prospectors, 76 00:03:13,867 --> 00:03:16,867 Englishman "Billy" Barker, struck it big, 77 00:03:16,867 --> 00:03:19,367 finding a huge gold nugget deposit, 78 00:03:19,367 --> 00:03:22,767 paving the way for a mass migration. 79 00:03:22,767 --> 00:03:26,300 The town of Barkerville sprang up almost overnight 80 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:29,166 as miners descended on the region. 81 00:03:29,166 --> 00:03:32,100 Over 38 million ounces of gold 82 00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:33,700 has been mined here, 83 00:03:33,700 --> 00:03:36,800 worth $72 billion 84 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,166 in today's money. 85 00:03:39,166 --> 00:03:40,867 -Hey, guys. -How's it going today? 86 00:03:40,867 --> 00:03:42,500 -I'm Vaughn. -Nice to meet you, Fred. 87 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:43,867 -Nice to meet you, Vaughn. -What's your name? 88 00:03:43,867 --> 00:03:44,967 -Rick. -Nice to meet you, Rick. 89 00:03:44,967 --> 00:03:47,000 -Yeah. -So how long have you guys 90 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,767 -been out here mining then? -We had half season here last year 91 00:03:49,767 --> 00:03:53,000 and now this is our second season. 92 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:54,667 So, basically it's your mine site? 93 00:03:54,667 --> 00:03:56,600 -That's right. -So what's your job out here? 94 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,867 I kind do a little bit of... A little bit of everything. 95 00:03:58,867 --> 00:04:01,367 Kind of jump around and, you know, weld and fix. 96 00:04:01,367 --> 00:04:02,467 [Juan] Wherever needed, huh? 97 00:04:02,467 --> 00:04:03,834 [Rick] Figure out most problems, if they're small. 98 00:04:03,834 --> 00:04:05,600 -[Juan] Okay. -Not too much we don't work our way through. 99 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,066 -[laughter] -[Freddy] All right. 100 00:04:07,066 --> 00:04:09,000 Yeah. So you have a lot invested in it? 101 00:04:09,567 --> 00:04:11,066 -Way too much. -Way too much? 102 00:04:11,066 --> 00:04:13,867 Yeah. And then it just keeps getting deeper and deeper. 103 00:04:13,867 --> 00:04:16,300 I've dumped everything, 104 00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:18,867 life savings is on this property. 105 00:04:18,867 --> 00:04:21,266 -[Juan] Really? Okay. -[Vaughn] Everything. 106 00:04:21,266 --> 00:04:22,767 [Rick] Vaughn holds everything 107 00:04:22,767 --> 00:04:24,634 as far as the financial pressure. 108 00:04:26,166 --> 00:04:27,567 There's payments every month. 109 00:04:27,567 --> 00:04:28,900 I'm not sure how much they are, 110 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:31,667 but I know they're between 10,000 and 14,000 a month. 111 00:04:31,667 --> 00:04:33,767 And every month, whether we're mining or not, 112 00:04:33,767 --> 00:04:35,567 whether we're bringing in gold or not, 113 00:04:35,567 --> 00:04:37,000 those payments come out. 114 00:04:38,100 --> 00:04:40,266 I worry about keeping the plant running, 115 00:04:40,266 --> 00:04:42,000 but compared to what he's worried about, 116 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,200 there's a... There's a big difference in worry. 117 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:45,734 Mine's easy. [chuckles] 118 00:04:46,467 --> 00:04:48,166 You have any gold we can look at? 119 00:04:48,166 --> 00:04:50,200 [Vaughn] Yeah, I do. I happen to have a vial here. 120 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,133 Pretty fine, flowery. 121 00:04:54,567 --> 00:04:55,967 Hard to catch. 122 00:04:55,967 --> 00:04:57,667 This is all I have at this moment. 123 00:04:57,667 --> 00:05:00,467 Every week I have to sell my gold to make bills. 124 00:05:00,467 --> 00:05:02,800 -Yup. That's-- -Understood. 125 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,166 I'm at my wits' end and need gold... 126 00:05:05,166 --> 00:05:06,567 -Need more gold. -...so bad. 127 00:05:06,567 --> 00:05:08,000 -So bad. -Yeah. 128 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,867 [Freddy] What's your goal for the season? 129 00:05:09,867 --> 00:05:12,567 200 ounces. 130 00:05:12,567 --> 00:05:15,266 I've got 30. I need another 170 ounces. 131 00:05:15,266 --> 00:05:16,867 -That's a big jump. -It's big gold. 132 00:05:16,867 --> 00:05:18,266 -[Juan] Yeah. -[Vaughn] It is. 133 00:05:18,266 --> 00:05:19,800 Three months left in the mining season, 134 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,266 every day counts. Every day. 135 00:05:22,266 --> 00:05:24,300 What have you been getting so far daily roughly? 136 00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:26,667 -Well, an ounce and a half. -[Juan] Yeah. 137 00:05:26,667 --> 00:05:28,500 Yup. And that's running 12 hours. 138 00:05:28,500 --> 00:05:32,200 If I don't get the 200 ounces this year, it's bankruptcy. 139 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:34,467 Then what do you need to get... 140 00:05:34,467 --> 00:05:36,367 To get through the season and make bills? 141 00:05:36,367 --> 00:05:38,567 [Vaughn] Yup. Two ounces a day would just... 142 00:05:38,567 --> 00:05:41,000 -2 ounces? -...do it. 143 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:42,700 That's where you guys come in. 144 00:05:44,467 --> 00:05:46,567 [narrator] Half an ounce more gold a day 145 00:05:46,567 --> 00:05:50,300 would get them an extra $88,000 needed 146 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:52,100 to pay investors and crew 147 00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:54,100 through to the end of the season. 148 00:05:54,100 --> 00:05:56,000 Without it, they will be forced 149 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,667 to shut the mine down. 150 00:05:58,667 --> 00:06:00,266 [Vaughn] It's easy mining. 151 00:06:00,266 --> 00:06:02,667 -Infrastructure is all here. -Yeah. 152 00:06:02,667 --> 00:06:04,467 We just need recovery 153 00:06:04,467 --> 00:06:06,567 and it's not happening. There's something... 154 00:06:06,567 --> 00:06:09,266 There's something wrong and we need you guys. 155 00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:11,767 -Well, let's watch you run. -Yup. 156 00:06:11,767 --> 00:06:13,600 -Sounds great to me. -[Juan] Let's do it. 157 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,233 [Freddy] Let's fire it up. 158 00:06:17,767 --> 00:06:20,834 [machine whirring] 159 00:06:26,367 --> 00:06:28,100 Vaughn, you know... You know, he's got 160 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:30,133 his entire life savings invested into it. 161 00:06:30,667 --> 00:06:32,000 It's a serious situation here. 162 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,300 You know, we're gonna have to be able to get them 163 00:06:33,300 --> 00:06:35,066 up to 2 ounces a day in order to be able 164 00:06:35,066 --> 00:06:37,100 to make this operation profitable for him. 165 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:38,767 [Vaughn] First bucket, Juan. 166 00:06:38,767 --> 00:06:42,100 Step back. Start feeding the plant. 167 00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:43,567 Right on. 168 00:06:43,567 --> 00:06:45,600 [narrator] Juan's operator, Stephan, 169 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,300 feeds gold bearing pay dirt into the hopper, 170 00:06:48,300 --> 00:06:50,900 which then travels up a conveyor 171 00:06:50,900 --> 00:06:54,900 before dropping into a 21-foot rotating trommel. 172 00:06:54,900 --> 00:06:57,367 A spray bar blasts the dirt, 173 00:06:57,367 --> 00:07:00,867 washing small material and gold through the screen 174 00:07:00,867 --> 00:07:04,000 and down into the 24-foot sluices 175 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,700 where gold is caught in the mats. 176 00:07:07,467 --> 00:07:09,667 Once the system's up and running, 177 00:07:09,667 --> 00:07:12,166 Rick will be feeding me in the rock truck 178 00:07:12,166 --> 00:07:16,266 and I'll haul pay to that site and Steph will run it 179 00:07:16,266 --> 00:07:19,367 into the grizzlies and we're rolling. 180 00:07:19,367 --> 00:07:21,066 [narrator] Operator Stephan Gervais 181 00:07:21,066 --> 00:07:23,600 has been working with Vaughn since day one. 182 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:25,266 [Stephan] This is my happy place here. 183 00:07:25,266 --> 00:07:27,467 It's so peaceful. 184 00:07:27,467 --> 00:07:30,600 A little noisy, but peaceful. [chuckles] 185 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,467 [narrator] Rick's buddy, Lenny, completes the crew. 186 00:07:34,467 --> 00:07:35,667 Looks good. We're running. 187 00:07:35,667 --> 00:07:37,233 Everything's turning. 188 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,333 Feeding it pay. 189 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,367 He said their best gold is right on the surface. 190 00:07:42,367 --> 00:07:44,300 Right there, huh? 191 00:07:44,300 --> 00:07:45,600 Lightly concentrated. 192 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:46,867 -[Freddy] Yeah. -Very lightly. 193 00:07:46,867 --> 00:07:48,100 Yeah. 194 00:07:48,100 --> 00:07:50,166 [narrator] With lightly concentrated gold 195 00:07:50,166 --> 00:07:51,900 throughout Vaughn's claim, 196 00:07:51,900 --> 00:07:54,367 it was left untouched by the old timers. 197 00:07:54,367 --> 00:07:56,200 But with modern machinery, 198 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,800 the ground can still be profitable. 199 00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:02,233 [Rick] I know there's lots of gold in this ground. 200 00:08:03,467 --> 00:08:06,266 The roots and everything go between the boulders, 201 00:08:06,266 --> 00:08:08,734 so it becomes really hard to separate. 202 00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:14,300 Look at the organics sticking in the screen, huh, Juan? 203 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:16,166 [Juan] That's definitely gonna be an issue. 204 00:08:16,166 --> 00:08:18,567 With all the organics that are stuck to the screen, 205 00:08:18,567 --> 00:08:19,867 there's a real good chance 206 00:08:19,867 --> 00:08:22,767 that we're losing material that should be sluiced. 207 00:08:22,767 --> 00:08:24,900 [narrator] Roots and sticks from the shallow ground 208 00:08:24,900 --> 00:08:28,100 called organics clog the screens, 209 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:30,000 meaning gold-rich material may be lost 210 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,467 out the end of the trommel. 211 00:08:32,467 --> 00:08:33,400 I got a pan full, 212 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,233 I'm gonna get water in there, wash it up. 213 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,100 Well... 214 00:08:40,100 --> 00:08:41,967 if you look here, 215 00:08:41,967 --> 00:08:44,066 there's a few pieces of gold that should have made it down 216 00:08:44,066 --> 00:08:46,567 to the sluice box that never had a chance to get recovered. 217 00:08:46,567 --> 00:08:48,800 You work hard, you get all the material to the plant, 218 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,767 you wash it, and for you just to spit it out, 219 00:08:51,767 --> 00:08:53,567 that's never a good way to do business, 220 00:08:53,567 --> 00:08:56,000 so that's something we need to work on. 221 00:08:59,166 --> 00:09:01,033 Holy [bleep]. 222 00:09:02,567 --> 00:09:04,300 Pretty violent, Juan. 223 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,000 Too violent. 224 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,000 A little excessive. 225 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:11,567 [narrator] The water at the top 226 00:09:11,567 --> 00:09:14,367 of the sluice box is running too fast. 227 00:09:14,367 --> 00:09:16,100 They're actually running light. 228 00:09:16,100 --> 00:09:17,500 [narrator] And there is not enough pay dirt 229 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:20,100 running through the sluice box. 230 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:23,500 Right now, I think they're running about 40 to 45 yards 231 00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:25,166 an hour counting buckets 232 00:09:25,166 --> 00:09:28,000 and the sluices from what I feel right now 233 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,100 can handle, you know, double that. 234 00:09:31,100 --> 00:09:33,700 [narrator] If the sluices run light on material, 235 00:09:33,700 --> 00:09:35,467 finer gold may be washed 236 00:09:35,467 --> 00:09:38,233 out of the mats and into the tailings below. 237 00:09:39,567 --> 00:09:43,400 How come you aren't running more material per hour? 238 00:09:44,166 --> 00:09:46,600 We've tried and it just seems to pack 239 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:48,600 our sluices right away. 240 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:50,667 Your sluices aren't packed though. 241 00:09:50,667 --> 00:09:53,467 When we were down there earlier, we were kind of feeling around 242 00:09:53,467 --> 00:09:55,500 and honestly they're running a little light. 243 00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:57,266 They're a little lean? Yeah, they're running lean. 244 00:09:57,266 --> 00:09:59,467 We just found that when we shut down, 245 00:09:59,467 --> 00:10:03,100 the sluice box is... Was so full, 246 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:05,367 and that's why we tried to dial it back a bit. 247 00:10:05,367 --> 00:10:08,700 You can never judge a sluice box when you shut it down. 248 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:10,367 You always have to judge a sluice box 249 00:10:10,367 --> 00:10:12,400 while it's running because it's a whole 250 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,367 different environment when you shut down. 251 00:10:14,367 --> 00:10:16,100 -Yeah. -You're actually lean on material... 252 00:10:16,100 --> 00:10:17,400 -It's lean. -...on the sluice. 253 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:19,066 Yeah. 254 00:10:19,066 --> 00:10:21,000 [water flowing] 255 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,900 [machine whirring] 256 00:10:22,900 --> 00:10:25,200 One of the biggest problems I think we're seeing here, 257 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:26,800 Juan, we could have twice the amount 258 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:28,100 of material going down those sluice. 259 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:29,867 Yeah. You know, realistically, 260 00:10:29,867 --> 00:10:32,000 we ought to be able to turn up the feed on this plant 261 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:33,667 -by double. -Double it. 262 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:35,667 Their hydraulic oil getting hot. 263 00:10:35,667 --> 00:10:36,767 It will slow them down. 264 00:10:36,767 --> 00:10:38,000 [Juan] That's an issue. 265 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,000 It's quite intimidating having experts 266 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,700 such as Juan and Freddy here looking at everything. 267 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:45,266 We know there's issues, 268 00:10:45,266 --> 00:10:48,266 but we'll see what the pros think. [chuckles] 269 00:10:48,266 --> 00:10:50,967 [Freddy] See, that's four hours right there. 270 00:10:50,967 --> 00:10:52,400 You wanna call it? 271 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,166 [Stephan] Yes, sir. We'll do it. 272 00:10:54,166 --> 00:10:55,967 -Yup. -This is the last bucket 273 00:10:55,967 --> 00:10:57,233 of the day, boys. 274 00:10:59,467 --> 00:11:00,900 Thank you, sir. 275 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:03,800 [machine whirring] 276 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,467 The good news is, we did notice a few things 277 00:11:12,467 --> 00:11:13,767 that we can definitely improve on, 278 00:11:13,767 --> 00:11:15,900 -so that's the problem. -We knew that was coming. 279 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:17,967 -[Juan] Yeah. -Let's pull the box 280 00:11:17,967 --> 00:11:19,367 -and let's get it cleaned up. -Yeah. 281 00:11:19,367 --> 00:11:20,800 And we'll see you in the morning. 282 00:11:22,166 --> 00:11:24,200 Vaughn has everything on the line, 283 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,166 and he's got a lot of guys here that are depending on him 284 00:11:27,166 --> 00:11:29,567 being profitable so they can get a paycheck. 285 00:11:29,567 --> 00:11:31,967 His season goal is 200 ounces for the season. 286 00:11:31,967 --> 00:11:34,867 Right now, he's barely got 30 ounces in. 287 00:11:34,867 --> 00:11:36,300 We got our work cut out for us. 288 00:11:42,100 --> 00:11:43,567 [dramatic music playing] 289 00:11:43,567 --> 00:11:46,300 -[wind howling] -[bird cawing] 290 00:11:47,266 --> 00:11:49,266 Here's our gold, guys. 291 00:11:49,266 --> 00:11:51,166 [Len] It's good stuff. 292 00:11:51,166 --> 00:11:53,100 -Just need more. [laughs] -Yeah. 293 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:54,767 [Rick] Just need more of that. 294 00:11:54,767 --> 00:11:56,266 [narrator] On the Riches claim 295 00:11:56,266 --> 00:11:58,000 in British Columbia... 296 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,367 -Good morning, guys. -Morning. 297 00:11:59,367 --> 00:12:00,767 Hello, hello. 298 00:12:00,767 --> 00:12:02,767 [narrator] Freddy and Juan arrive 299 00:12:02,767 --> 00:12:05,667 for the results of the four-hour test run. 300 00:12:05,667 --> 00:12:07,266 [Vaughn] Well, moment of truth, huh? 301 00:12:07,266 --> 00:12:09,066 -Ready for this? -Yup. 302 00:12:09,066 --> 00:12:10,667 Well, she's zeroed out. 303 00:12:10,667 --> 00:12:12,066 You want me to pour it, Juano? 304 00:12:12,066 --> 00:12:13,200 [Juan] Pour it, Fred. 305 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:14,600 See where we're at. 306 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,200 [suspenseful music playing] 307 00:12:22,066 --> 00:12:23,500 -[man] Yeah. -0.47, 308 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:25,367 -close to half ounce. -[man] Yeah. 309 00:12:25,367 --> 00:12:27,200 [Freddy] It's not good. 310 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:28,800 It's pretty standard for what we're doing here. 311 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:30,266 -It's just-- -Well, that's exact... 312 00:12:30,266 --> 00:12:31,767 It's the numbers with what you said too. 313 00:12:31,767 --> 00:12:32,533 -[Juan] Yeah. -[Vaughn] It is. 314 00:12:32,533 --> 00:12:34,000 So for four hours, half an ounce. 315 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,500 -Yeah. -So you said you're doing 316 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:36,967 an ounce and a half and 12 hours, right? 317 00:12:36,967 --> 00:12:39,200 Yeah. It's rare we get any big gold 318 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,800 as well, so it's all fine like that. 319 00:12:42,367 --> 00:12:43,567 [Juan] And what were you saying? 320 00:12:43,567 --> 00:12:44,600 You got to get 2 ounces a day 321 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,066 to be able to make this work, huh? 322 00:12:46,066 --> 00:12:48,000 Yeah, one and a half isn't cutting it. 323 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,667 -More will be better. -We're always hoping for more, but... 324 00:12:49,667 --> 00:12:51,467 -Yeah. -...it's just always been around this, 325 00:12:51,467 --> 00:12:53,100 you know, five grams plus or minus. 326 00:12:53,100 --> 00:12:55,467 -[Freddy] Out of this... Out of this cut? -Yup. 327 00:12:55,467 --> 00:12:57,166 -Got a lot of it too, right? -We do. 328 00:12:57,166 --> 00:12:58,767 Yeah. We've got 1,000 acres 329 00:12:58,767 --> 00:13:01,000 of this material right there, so... 330 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:02,767 [Freddy] It's easy, at least. I mean... 331 00:13:02,767 --> 00:13:04,867 -[Vaughn] It is. -you aren't taking... having to take 332 00:13:04,867 --> 00:13:08,967 10 feet of over-burden off of it, it's the great thing about it. 333 00:13:08,967 --> 00:13:10,667 I think what we need to do next is let Freddy and I 334 00:13:10,667 --> 00:13:12,767 go back to the truck and kind of figure out a plan for you guys. 335 00:13:12,767 --> 00:13:14,367 -Okay. -[Juan] And then we'll come back 336 00:13:14,367 --> 00:13:15,367 and talk to you, see what you guys think. 337 00:13:15,367 --> 00:13:17,100 -Here's your gold. -Thank you, sir. 338 00:13:17,100 --> 00:13:18,567 [Freddy] Thank you. 339 00:13:18,567 --> 00:13:20,800 -[Juan] Don't spend it all. -[laughter] 340 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,200 -It's already spent. -[laughter] 341 00:13:24,166 --> 00:13:26,600 [suspenseful music playing] 342 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,233 [bird cawing] 343 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:34,600 Well, what do you think on the plant, 344 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,066 -Juan? -The plant that they have, 345 00:13:36,066 --> 00:13:38,867 Freddy, is completely 100% driven by hydraulic. 346 00:13:38,867 --> 00:13:40,900 The reason why they're not... They're not increasing 347 00:13:40,900 --> 00:13:42,967 their production, they can't run it any faster 348 00:13:42,967 --> 00:13:44,967 than it is because the hydraulics are heating up. 349 00:13:44,967 --> 00:13:45,967 [Freddy] Yup. 350 00:13:45,967 --> 00:13:48,667 If we put a liquid cooler or heat exchanger... 351 00:13:48,667 --> 00:13:50,367 -Yup. -...it allows us to actually be able to run 352 00:13:50,367 --> 00:13:51,400 that plant a little... A little harder. 353 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:52,967 -Yup. 'Cause it'll cool that... -[Juan] Yeah. 354 00:13:52,967 --> 00:13:55,700 cool that hydraulic fluid down a lot more than it is now. 355 00:13:55,700 --> 00:13:59,266 So, by cooling that hydraulic fluid, we actually 356 00:13:59,266 --> 00:14:01,667 can run more material through it and get more gold. 357 00:14:01,667 --> 00:14:04,867 Well, you know, you see how those organics are plugging up, 358 00:14:04,867 --> 00:14:07,667 -you know, the screen part of their trommel, right? -[Juan] Yeah. 359 00:14:07,667 --> 00:14:09,300 On the tailings on the trommel, Fred, 360 00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:10,667 -I did find some gold. -Should have went through. 361 00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:13,266 -Yeah. -You think about like a street sweeper brush. 362 00:14:13,266 --> 00:14:15,667 -Okay. -So we mount it on the side, 363 00:14:15,667 --> 00:14:16,900 the weight of it goes down 364 00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:18,266 and while the trommel's turning, 365 00:14:18,266 --> 00:14:19,667 it's free energy that'll help 366 00:14:19,667 --> 00:14:21,667 pull those organics out of there. 367 00:14:21,667 --> 00:14:23,867 -Yeah. -It may or may not work. 368 00:14:23,867 --> 00:14:27,166 It's worth a shot because right now, it's absolutely clogged up. 369 00:14:27,166 --> 00:14:28,867 And if we tried spraying water, 370 00:14:28,867 --> 00:14:30,166 my worry is we'd make a mess. 371 00:14:30,166 --> 00:14:31,700 -So we get the production up... -[Juan] Yeah. 372 00:14:31,700 --> 00:14:33,166 ...and get the sluices where they can handle 373 00:14:33,166 --> 00:14:34,800 -the upped production. -Yeah. Yup. Yeah. 374 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:36,266 One doesn't go without the other. 375 00:14:36,266 --> 00:14:38,100 So all those things together 376 00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:40,500 means more gold in their pockets. 377 00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:42,900 [narrator] The hydraulic system that powers the plant 378 00:14:42,900 --> 00:14:46,367 overheat, restricting its speed. 379 00:14:46,367 --> 00:14:49,467 Freddy and Juan will fix a heat exchanger 380 00:14:49,467 --> 00:14:53,767 to keep the fluid cool and double the process speed. 381 00:14:53,767 --> 00:14:57,266 Roots and vegetation clog the trommel screens, 382 00:14:57,266 --> 00:15:00,367 reducing the ability to catch gold. 383 00:15:00,367 --> 00:15:02,867 In a first for Mine Rescue , 384 00:15:02,867 --> 00:15:06,266 Juan will construct a line of brushes to sit on top 385 00:15:06,266 --> 00:15:09,000 of the rotating drum, 386 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,300 freeing the screens 387 00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:11,667 and allowing more gold 388 00:15:11,667 --> 00:15:14,166 to wash into the sluice. 389 00:15:14,166 --> 00:15:18,100 Finally, Freddy will modify Vaughn's sluice boxes, 390 00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:20,467 recycling the existing riffle 391 00:15:20,467 --> 00:15:22,500 and narrowing the bottom sluice 392 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,433 to recover more fine gold. 393 00:15:26,667 --> 00:15:30,000 -[dramatic music playing] -[dog barking] 394 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,233 [engine revs] 395 00:15:35,767 --> 00:15:37,467 -How's it going, guys? -Good. 396 00:15:37,467 --> 00:15:38,700 -How are you, guys? -Jeez. Good guys. 397 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:40,600 -[Juan] Good. -Doing all right. 398 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,500 So, watching the plant run, we actually saw that, 399 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:45,500 you know, you can actually run quite a bit more material. 400 00:15:45,500 --> 00:15:47,367 Feeling the sluice boxes, Freddy was able to determine... 401 00:15:47,367 --> 00:15:48,867 -[Freddy] Yeah. -...you know, the boxes, 402 00:15:48,867 --> 00:15:50,300 they're starving for material. 403 00:15:51,367 --> 00:15:53,266 You know, we're hoping we can get you up 404 00:15:53,266 --> 00:15:55,133 by 50% more production. 405 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,300 What we wanna do is now that we're gonna be running more material, 406 00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:01,000 it's gonna be... That means more organics. 407 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,166 You're gonna be going through the trommel drum. 408 00:16:02,166 --> 00:16:03,667 -That's right. -So what we wanna do is build a scrubber 409 00:16:03,667 --> 00:16:04,800 for the outside of the trommel 410 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:06,567 to be able to drag some of that out of it. 411 00:16:06,567 --> 00:16:08,767 So, it's gonna allow more of your pay 412 00:16:08,767 --> 00:16:10,667 with the gold in it to get to your sluice box 413 00:16:10,667 --> 00:16:12,667 instead of puking gold out the end. 414 00:16:12,667 --> 00:16:14,367 I went down on the end of the trommel, 415 00:16:14,367 --> 00:16:16,000 -grabbed a pan of material... -Yes. 416 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,700 ...and I did find a couple pieces of gold in it. 417 00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:20,166 -Is that right? -No, off the trommel end. 418 00:16:20,166 --> 00:16:22,100 Right now, it's an issue. 419 00:16:22,100 --> 00:16:23,567 Once we start running more material, 420 00:16:23,567 --> 00:16:24,867 -it's gonna be a real big issue. -[Vaughn] Mmm-hmm. 421 00:16:24,867 --> 00:16:26,567 In order to be able to run more material, 422 00:16:26,567 --> 00:16:28,200 we're gonna put a little more strain 423 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:29,700 on your hydraulic system. 424 00:16:29,700 --> 00:16:31,700 -Yup. -And put a heat exchanger in there. 425 00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:32,734 -[Juan] Yeah. -[Vaughn] Oh, okay. 426 00:16:32,734 --> 00:16:35,367 And by putting that cooler in on the hydraulics, 427 00:16:35,367 --> 00:16:37,000 you're gonna be able to run more material per hour. 428 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,967 -Yeah. -Without your system overheating. 429 00:16:38,967 --> 00:16:40,667 Next to your ground, you know, your cut... 430 00:16:40,667 --> 00:16:42,667 -[Vaughn] Yeah. -...the most valuable real estate is that sluice box. 431 00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:44,166 -Yeah. -'Cause that's where all... 432 00:16:44,166 --> 00:16:45,867 You know, all the recovery takes place. 433 00:16:45,867 --> 00:16:47,967 By fixing the sluices, we're gonna catch probably 434 00:16:47,967 --> 00:16:50,300 10% more gold in your sluices. 435 00:16:50,300 --> 00:16:52,266 And then get the production of your plant up, 436 00:16:52,266 --> 00:16:55,000 you know, 50%, you know, it could be more than 50%. 437 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,567 -Yeah. -It's gonna take about $6,000 438 00:16:57,567 --> 00:16:59,700 in material to do it. 439 00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:01,400 What we'd like to see is 4 ounces, 440 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,367 2 ounces a piece at the end of the season. 441 00:17:03,367 --> 00:17:05,367 -Yep. -But if we don't double your recovery, 442 00:17:05,367 --> 00:17:08,000 we won't take a cut, so double or nothing. 443 00:17:09,100 --> 00:17:10,667 -So what are your guys' thoughts? -[exhales] 444 00:17:10,667 --> 00:17:13,100 You feel, uh, feel good about that? 445 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:15,500 We... We're not in a position to say no and we... 446 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:17,000 -Okay. -...trust you guys 100%. 447 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,166 Yeah. 448 00:17:19,166 --> 00:17:21,700 -Well, it just sounds great to me. You Rick? -Yeah. Yeah. 449 00:17:21,700 --> 00:17:23,700 -No, I like it. I like it. -[Freddy] Well, deal then. 450 00:17:23,700 --> 00:17:25,367 -[Vaughn] Whoa. -[Rick] Yeah. 451 00:17:25,367 --> 00:17:27,100 Well, we better start making some phone lcalls, get al 452 00:17:27,100 --> 00:17:28,367 -the material we need. -Thank you very much, gentlemen. 453 00:17:28,367 --> 00:17:29,300 -Yup. -Thank you. 454 00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:31,300 Sounds good. 455 00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:33,266 [Vaughn] We have to trust them. We're trying our hardest, 456 00:17:33,266 --> 00:17:34,767 but we're not the professionals. 457 00:17:34,767 --> 00:17:37,100 I'm super stoked to run some more material 458 00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:39,867 through the plant and the ground is consistent. 459 00:17:39,867 --> 00:17:41,467 We're gonna get the gold. 460 00:17:41,467 --> 00:17:45,100 [intense music playing] 461 00:17:49,066 --> 00:17:51,467 It's a 48 by 35 and a half. 462 00:17:51,467 --> 00:17:53,300 That's that. 463 00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:55,600 We'll get rid of these riffles. 464 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,567 [narrator] Freddy and Rick begin by tackling the sluices. 465 00:17:59,567 --> 00:18:01,166 You want me to cut these or you're gonna-- 466 00:18:01,166 --> 00:18:02,500 [Freddy] Oh, yeah, if you want to 467 00:18:02,500 --> 00:18:03,567 and then, I'll cut other things. 468 00:18:03,567 --> 00:18:05,433 [saw whirring] 469 00:18:09,066 --> 00:18:11,667 [Freddy] Rick's over there. We're repurposing riffles. 470 00:18:11,667 --> 00:18:14,100 While he's doing that, I'll get all these angle clips cut. 471 00:18:14,767 --> 00:18:16,700 Talking to Rick, he's a mechanic. 472 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:18,700 He's welded. So, you know, 473 00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:21,500 he's the perfect type of guy to help on a job like this. 474 00:18:23,967 --> 00:18:26,000 So what I'm trying to do, Rick, we're gonna flatten 475 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,667 this one out, right, your top sluice. 476 00:18:27,667 --> 00:18:28,800 [Rick] Yup. 477 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,900 And change the riffle system in it a little bit, right? 478 00:18:31,900 --> 00:18:34,166 -[Rick] Yup. -[Freddy] This top box was way too violent. 479 00:18:34,166 --> 00:18:35,867 That's 'cause of the pitch on it. 480 00:18:35,867 --> 00:18:37,367 You know, for your gold, you aren't catching 481 00:18:37,367 --> 00:18:38,433 1-ounce nuggets out here. 482 00:18:38,433 --> 00:18:41,166 You're catching 20 mesh gold. It brings the chance 483 00:18:41,166 --> 00:18:44,166 -of catching that fine gold way up. -[Rick] Yeah. 484 00:18:44,166 --> 00:18:47,266 [Freddy] Well, the bottom sluice was plugging up. 485 00:18:47,266 --> 00:18:49,367 So we didn't have enough water in that box 486 00:18:49,367 --> 00:18:50,967 when we ran that test run. 487 00:18:50,967 --> 00:18:52,667 It was starved for water, so I'm gonna put 488 00:18:52,667 --> 00:18:54,266 new sides inside of it here. 489 00:18:54,266 --> 00:18:56,967 We're gonna narrow it up by a couple feet. 490 00:18:56,967 --> 00:18:57,967 It'll run better. 491 00:18:59,266 --> 00:19:01,166 [narrator] Narrowing the bottom sluice run 492 00:19:01,166 --> 00:19:03,467 should even out the flow of water. 493 00:19:03,467 --> 00:19:04,600 -[dog whimpers] -[Freddy] Eyeballs. 494 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,233 [welding sparks] 495 00:19:11,500 --> 00:19:13,000 What got you into gold mining? 496 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,000 Did a bunch of prospecting trips 497 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,700 and found some gold and got a... 498 00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:20,066 -Got hooked? -[Rick] Yeah. 499 00:19:20,066 --> 00:19:22,367 The thing I enjoy the most about being out here 500 00:19:22,367 --> 00:19:25,367 is being in the mountains and just being away. 501 00:19:25,367 --> 00:19:27,166 We're at the end of the road out here. 502 00:19:27,166 --> 00:19:28,367 There's nobody around. 503 00:19:28,367 --> 00:19:30,000 I was a tradesman 504 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,300 living in the city for a lot of years. 505 00:19:33,100 --> 00:19:34,867 It's always been a dream to live out in the... 506 00:19:34,867 --> 00:19:38,467 Out in the mountains and live out away from the rat race. 507 00:19:38,467 --> 00:19:40,600 Gold mining is definitely one of the last ways 508 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:42,900 of being a pioneer in this day and age. 509 00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:44,567 There's... You know, there's not many things you can do 510 00:19:44,567 --> 00:19:48,367 where you can be off by yourself doing your thing 511 00:19:48,367 --> 00:19:50,967 and be, you know, sustaining an income. 512 00:19:50,967 --> 00:19:53,500 And that's exactly why I love it. 513 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:56,133 You got kids? 514 00:19:56,133 --> 00:19:58,300 Just the one, four-and-a-half-months-old. 515 00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:00,867 -[Freddy] That's pretty young. -[Rick] 21 pounds. 516 00:20:00,867 --> 00:20:02,600 [laughs] He's a... He's a big boy. 517 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:03,667 -[Freddy] Yeah. -[Rick] Yeah. 518 00:20:03,667 --> 00:20:05,467 [Freddy] Yeah. 519 00:20:05,467 --> 00:20:07,600 So, you got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders? 520 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:08,767 It has to work. 521 00:20:08,767 --> 00:20:10,133 -Yeah. -[Rick] It has to. 522 00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:13,867 [suspenseful music playing] 523 00:20:13,867 --> 00:20:16,100 [Rick] That sluice is warped. 524 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:18,266 -[Freddy] What a mess, huh? -[Rick] Yeah. 525 00:20:18,266 --> 00:20:21,100 [Freddy] We'd have to start over, build a whole new sluice box. 526 00:20:21,967 --> 00:20:24,100 -We don't have time for that. -Yeah. 527 00:20:24,100 --> 00:20:26,500 [narrator] The bottom sluice box is bent. 528 00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:30,000 Meaning the new sides of the box won't sit flush. 529 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,667 The gap must be filled. 530 00:20:32,667 --> 00:20:34,900 I mean, it's still gonna catch gold, 531 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:37,433 but it's gonna take twice as long to fix. 532 00:20:38,867 --> 00:20:40,700 [whimpers] 533 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,233 [country music playing] 534 00:20:55,166 --> 00:20:57,100 [Leanne] I have a little list here of all our bills 535 00:20:57,100 --> 00:20:59,467 and our monthly payments we make. 536 00:20:59,467 --> 00:21:01,900 [narrator] On the Riches claim in British Columbia... 537 00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:03,200 How we looking here? 538 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,000 We owe 25,000 to 30,000 a month with everything. 539 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:08,567 Well, our bills are adding up again. 540 00:21:08,567 --> 00:21:12,200 We're looking at fuel is 10 grand. 541 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,367 We've got parts for five grand. 542 00:21:15,367 --> 00:21:17,400 They're coming in like no tomorrow. 543 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:20,066 The guys are behind on their wages. 544 00:21:20,066 --> 00:21:22,467 So, they're gonna be wanting some cash soon. 545 00:21:22,467 --> 00:21:24,233 -They're gonna be screaming, yep. -Yup. 546 00:21:26,166 --> 00:21:28,467 This is his dream out here. 547 00:21:28,467 --> 00:21:30,500 He will make it successful. It will be... 548 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:32,100 It will be full of gold. 549 00:21:32,100 --> 00:21:34,100 We don't like to have any down moments 550 00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:37,266 because it does bring the whole operation down. 551 00:21:37,266 --> 00:21:38,767 It's good to have good spirits 552 00:21:38,767 --> 00:21:41,000 and just stay positive and it'll work. 553 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,467 It's gonna work. 554 00:21:42,467 --> 00:21:43,500 And we'll have a good life. 555 00:21:43,500 --> 00:21:46,500 We'll have a bright future is what we always say. 556 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:48,233 This is for our future. 557 00:21:48,667 --> 00:21:50,767 [machine whirring] 558 00:21:50,767 --> 00:21:53,200 If it doesn't work this season, it's done. 559 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:54,300 It's done. 560 00:21:54,300 --> 00:21:56,200 The dream is over. 561 00:21:59,700 --> 00:22:02,900 [upbeat music playing] 562 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,000 You wanna mark that and get that drill down. 563 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:10,867 Take measurements. 564 00:22:10,867 --> 00:22:13,000 [narrator] Juan and Vaughn begin surgery 565 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,467 on the hydraulic system. 566 00:22:14,467 --> 00:22:15,600 [Juan] Perfect. Thank you. 567 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,166 [narrator] The goal, increase the wash plant's ability 568 00:22:18,166 --> 00:22:19,867 to run pay quicker. 569 00:22:19,867 --> 00:22:22,000 So this is the heat exchanger and what it has, 570 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:23,667 has the inlet and outlet. 571 00:22:23,667 --> 00:22:25,367 The hydraulic oil's gonna come in here, 572 00:22:25,367 --> 00:22:27,266 get cooled off by the water that's flowing 573 00:22:27,266 --> 00:22:28,767 inside this canister. 574 00:22:28,767 --> 00:22:30,900 And what it does is it actually cools down that hydraulic oil 575 00:22:30,900 --> 00:22:32,400 when it comes out on the outlet, 576 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:33,533 it should be cooler. 577 00:22:33,533 --> 00:22:35,100 What that's gonna do is gonna allow them to be able 578 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:37,166 to run this a little higher and a little harder 579 00:22:37,166 --> 00:22:39,300 and get more through the plant. 580 00:22:39,667 --> 00:22:42,800 [upbeat music playing] 581 00:22:49,900 --> 00:22:51,667 We could actually run fresh water to this 582 00:22:51,667 --> 00:22:54,567 and have nice hot water coming up for a shower. 583 00:22:54,567 --> 00:22:56,867 -Hey. -See? 584 00:22:56,867 --> 00:22:58,967 -Gotta think about everything. -[chuckles] That's right. 585 00:22:58,967 --> 00:23:00,100 There we are. 586 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:02,300 Good. Perfect. 587 00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:04,100 All right. Well, let's put these hydraulic lines on. 588 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:05,767 Sounds good. 589 00:23:05,767 --> 00:23:08,934 [machine whirring] 590 00:23:14,166 --> 00:23:15,900 [Vaughn] The plumbing skills coming in, eh? 591 00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:17,834 [Juan] Revert back to my roots. 592 00:23:20,567 --> 00:23:22,100 -[Vaughn] There it is. -Yeah. 593 00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:23,867 All we gotta do is put it up on top, 594 00:23:23,867 --> 00:23:25,867 zip tie it up to that hose and call it good. 595 00:23:25,867 --> 00:23:27,767 Pretty simple fix. Looks good. 596 00:23:27,767 --> 00:23:31,000 [narrator] The heat exchanger will cool the hydraulics 597 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,900 that power Vaughn's wash plant. 598 00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:37,266 Now we'll be able to run the trommel faster, 599 00:23:37,266 --> 00:23:40,166 put more material through without heating up. 600 00:23:40,166 --> 00:23:42,000 It's, uh, it's perfect. 601 00:23:42,767 --> 00:23:44,934 "High ho. High ho..." 602 00:23:45,867 --> 00:23:48,500 Well, this angle should fill these gaps in. 603 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:52,367 [narrator] In the cut to plug the gaps caused by the warped base, 604 00:23:52,367 --> 00:23:55,100 lengths of flexible angle iron will be welded 605 00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:56,600 to the bottom of the sluice. 606 00:23:57,767 --> 00:23:59,166 This'll work. We didn't have time 607 00:23:59,166 --> 00:24:00,834 to build a whole new sluice. 608 00:24:07,367 --> 00:24:08,967 The welds look good. 609 00:24:08,967 --> 00:24:10,100 [Rick] Are they all right? 610 00:24:10,100 --> 00:24:11,667 [Freddy] Yeah, they look good. 611 00:24:11,667 --> 00:24:12,867 Weld it for strength 612 00:24:12,867 --> 00:24:14,367 and then seal it with silicone. 613 00:24:14,367 --> 00:24:15,900 [Rick] Yeah. That sounds good, Freddy. 614 00:24:15,900 --> 00:24:19,367 [narrator] The silicone makes the box water-tight, 615 00:24:19,367 --> 00:24:22,867 and the new sides have narrowed the sluice to 5 feet 616 00:24:22,867 --> 00:24:25,700 to keep a consistent flow of water. 617 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:27,133 [Freddy] One down. 618 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:32,533 [narrator] Next job, adjust the angle of the top sluice. 619 00:24:33,266 --> 00:24:35,600 This box was just way too steep 620 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,000 -and too violent before. -[Rick] Yeah. 621 00:24:39,300 --> 00:24:40,700 [Rick] More. 622 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:42,667 I think we'll try her there. 623 00:24:42,667 --> 00:24:43,967 [Rick] Yeah. 624 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:50,367 So basically, what we got left here on the sluice 625 00:24:50,367 --> 00:24:54,367 is, uh, get 'em cleaned out first 626 00:24:54,367 --> 00:24:56,667 and then start putting our carpets and riffles in. 627 00:24:56,667 --> 00:24:58,200 We'll get her done. 628 00:24:58,867 --> 00:25:01,300 [Rick] I'm just throwing the knots in here. 629 00:25:04,767 --> 00:25:06,433 -[Freddy] Good. -[Rick] Yup. 630 00:25:08,667 --> 00:25:10,467 Hand over a hair a bit. 631 00:25:10,467 --> 00:25:11,700 [Rick] Bit by bit. 632 00:25:14,367 --> 00:25:16,166 [Freddy] I'll always put a different gap. 633 00:25:16,166 --> 00:25:18,467 Like, I'll leave a, say an inch and a half on one, 634 00:25:18,467 --> 00:25:20,166 then a 2-inch gap between my riffles. 635 00:25:20,166 --> 00:25:21,667 It's a change. 636 00:25:21,667 --> 00:25:23,467 If you look where you have those changes, 637 00:25:23,467 --> 00:25:25,767 there's always some gold that likes that change. 638 00:25:25,767 --> 00:25:27,500 Yeah. Yeah. 639 00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:29,400 So we've got a 3-foot wide sluice box, 640 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:30,700 a 4-foot wide, 641 00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:33,567 -and over 5 feet here. -[Rick] Yup. 642 00:25:33,567 --> 00:25:36,100 So, hopefully, 643 00:25:36,100 --> 00:25:37,600 when we get running here, 644 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,767 hopefully it kicks ass. 645 00:25:39,767 --> 00:25:41,266 I'm sure it will, Freddy. 646 00:25:41,266 --> 00:25:42,700 [chuckles] 647 00:25:46,066 --> 00:25:49,233 [country music playing] 648 00:25:53,467 --> 00:25:54,767 [Juan] We'll do 160. 649 00:25:54,767 --> 00:25:56,600 -[Vaughn] Okay. -[Juan] Yeah. On the shaft. 650 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,100 [narrator] On the trommel, 651 00:25:58,100 --> 00:26:00,166 Juan's prototype brush fix 652 00:26:00,166 --> 00:26:04,500 to clear trapped vegetation from the screens is underway. 653 00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:06,667 -So it'll be one big roller. -Oh, okay. Yup. 654 00:26:06,667 --> 00:26:08,767 Arm that comes across here... 655 00:26:08,767 --> 00:26:10,800 -Yeah. -...and hold the brush assembly. 656 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,567 As the trommel turns, it's gonna use the brushes 657 00:26:13,567 --> 00:26:16,266 to be able to clean out the screens. 658 00:26:16,266 --> 00:26:17,767 Let me go down to the trailer. I'm gonna start getting 659 00:26:17,767 --> 00:26:19,266 everything figured out on the computer. 660 00:26:19,266 --> 00:26:20,266 We'll start cutting out all the pieces 661 00:26:20,266 --> 00:26:21,500 and if you wanna come down and give me a hand, 662 00:26:21,500 --> 00:26:22,667 we can start welding it together. 663 00:26:22,667 --> 00:26:23,433 -You good with that? -Awesome. 664 00:26:23,433 --> 00:26:25,600 -All right. -Sounds good, buddy. 665 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,500 The rotating brush assembly 666 00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:31,100 is something we've never done before, 667 00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:34,000 but what we're gonna do is we're gonna repurpose brushes, 668 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,166 rotary brushes for like a street sweeper. 669 00:26:36,166 --> 00:26:37,767 We're gonna build a new drum for it 670 00:26:37,767 --> 00:26:39,100 and put 'em on top of the trommel 671 00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:41,266 to be able to help it clean that organic material 672 00:26:41,266 --> 00:26:43,734 that's getting caught on the screens on the trommel. 673 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,200 So these are the pieces and the spacers 674 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:48,767 that we're gonna put on the shaft 675 00:26:48,767 --> 00:26:50,900 to be able to hold the brushes in center. 676 00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:54,133 [machine whirring] 677 00:26:59,767 --> 00:27:00,900 -[Juan] There it goes. -[Vaughn] Boom. 678 00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:02,567 [Juan] Let's see what this looks like real quick. 679 00:27:02,567 --> 00:27:04,500 -[Vaughn] There it is. -[Juan] Perfect. 680 00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:06,200 [Vaughn] Super happy with everything 681 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,100 that's happening here. 682 00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:09,667 Do some welding on some mounts 683 00:27:09,667 --> 00:27:11,834 and I'm looking forward to it. 684 00:27:17,867 --> 00:27:21,033 [soft music playing] 685 00:27:22,166 --> 00:27:23,300 [Candice clicking tongue] 686 00:27:23,300 --> 00:27:24,900 Right. I'll make some coffee. 687 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,467 [narrator] 10 miles from the mine site 688 00:27:27,467 --> 00:27:29,467 in British Columbia. 689 00:27:29,467 --> 00:27:31,400 Just trying to... Trying to make things work. 690 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,000 Oh, [bleep]. 691 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:34,367 could you grab me a cleaner? 692 00:27:34,367 --> 00:27:37,500 [Candice laughs] 693 00:27:37,500 --> 00:27:38,867 [Rick] Hmm. 694 00:27:38,867 --> 00:27:40,800 It's always been our dream to get away from the city. 695 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,400 We just didn't think we'd actually be able 696 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:44,166 to ever make it happen 697 00:27:44,166 --> 00:27:45,567 and, well, now we're here 698 00:27:45,567 --> 00:27:47,266 and now things are, 699 00:27:47,266 --> 00:27:49,500 you know, not really working 700 00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:50,967 as well as they need to be 701 00:27:50,967 --> 00:27:52,900 in order for us to stay here, so... 702 00:27:52,900 --> 00:27:54,300 We wanna stay in Wells. 703 00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:55,667 I want him to keep mining. 704 00:27:55,667 --> 00:27:57,300 That's what he loves to do. 705 00:27:57,700 --> 00:28:00,266 And, yeah, I don't know. 706 00:28:00,266 --> 00:28:01,300 [Rick] And I'm... And I'm glad 707 00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:02,667 that she puts enough faith in me. 708 00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:04,800 You know, there's also a breaking point 709 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,000 where, uh, it doesn't work anymore. 710 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 So it's, uh... 711 00:28:09,967 --> 00:28:13,266 It's pretty, uh, pretty anxious days here. 712 00:28:13,266 --> 00:28:16,033 I know they can do it. They just need a little bit of help. 713 00:28:21,467 --> 00:28:24,000 [dramatic music playing] 714 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:25,767 Good start to the morning. 715 00:28:25,767 --> 00:28:28,767 [narrator] At the Riches mine, the central core, 716 00:28:28,767 --> 00:28:31,166 which will hold the 24 mounted brushes, 717 00:28:31,166 --> 00:28:32,600 takes shape. 718 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,467 Oh, I'm just getting rid of the extra slag on these parts. 719 00:28:36,467 --> 00:28:38,367 My pay has a lot of organics, 720 00:28:38,367 --> 00:28:40,600 so these scrubber brushes 721 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:42,433 are gonna take care of it. 722 00:28:45,166 --> 00:28:47,700 So Vaughn, you told us in the beginning that there... 723 00:28:47,700 --> 00:28:49,967 You got quite a bit of money invested into this operation. 724 00:28:49,967 --> 00:28:52,166 You know, I came in with the basic equipment 725 00:28:52,166 --> 00:28:53,200 and just to get going 726 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,900 and as it progressed, 727 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:58,467 um, I just needed more, more money. 728 00:28:58,467 --> 00:29:00,166 So I kept borrowing and borrowing 729 00:29:00,166 --> 00:29:02,500 from family and friends 730 00:29:02,500 --> 00:29:04,000 just to keep this running. 731 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000 There has been no paying back of anybody. 732 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,834 It's all sitting in the ground here 733 00:29:11,100 --> 00:29:13,033 and I need it. 734 00:29:13,967 --> 00:29:17,900 I worked overseas for seven years in Africa, 735 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:20,967 built two gold mines there, hard rock, ended that career 736 00:29:20,967 --> 00:29:22,667 and went full force 737 00:29:22,667 --> 00:29:24,166 into placer mining when I got back. 738 00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:27,066 And I have to stop borrowing. 739 00:29:27,066 --> 00:29:28,333 I see the end. 740 00:29:29,300 --> 00:29:30,967 It's not pretty. 741 00:29:30,967 --> 00:29:32,800 Yeah, it's not pretty at all. 742 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,400 [Juan] Nice. 743 00:29:36,567 --> 00:29:39,266 We're sliding the bristles on right now. 744 00:29:39,266 --> 00:29:41,133 They're tight, which is good. 745 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:42,634 It's perfect. 746 00:29:42,634 --> 00:29:45,200 And, you know, these are just common street sweeper brushes, 747 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,000 so you'll be able to grab these 748 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:48,867 at any rental yard and put 'em back on. 749 00:29:48,867 --> 00:29:50,300 [Vaughn] Huh. Amazing. 750 00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:51,700 [Juan] Yeah. Yeah. 751 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,900 We're plugging away here and it's almost done. 752 00:29:56,900 --> 00:29:58,867 And, uh, yeah, we're... 753 00:29:58,867 --> 00:30:01,200 We can't wait to see that trommel fire up again, 754 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,867 start running some dirt through 755 00:30:02,867 --> 00:30:05,300 and, uh, make some money. 756 00:30:05,300 --> 00:30:07,100 [Juan] I'm just hoping that it works properly. 757 00:30:07,100 --> 00:30:08,500 We told him double or nothing, 758 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,500 so if we don't get that double mark, 759 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,400 you know, we don't get paid for our labor, 760 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,567 which I'm okay with, you know, either way. 761 00:30:14,567 --> 00:30:15,767 Honestly, I'm just happy to be here 762 00:30:15,767 --> 00:30:16,734 to help Vaughn and his crew 763 00:30:16,734 --> 00:30:19,500 because genuinely these guys need the help. 764 00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:28,100 [rock music playing] 765 00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:29,066 Let's get it up there and get it on, huh Juan? 766 00:30:29,066 --> 00:30:30,166 [Juan] Sounds good. I'll drive the truck up 767 00:30:30,166 --> 00:30:31,300 and if you wanna bring that up, 768 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:32,333 I'll pick it up off you. 769 00:30:32,333 --> 00:30:33,700 -[Freddy] Yup. See you in a second. -All right. 770 00:30:34,767 --> 00:30:36,266 [narrator] The innovative trommel brush 771 00:30:36,266 --> 00:30:38,266 that will clear the clogged screen 772 00:30:38,266 --> 00:30:41,934 is ready to install onto Vaughn's wash plant. 773 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,567 I'm really excited to put this brush assembly together, 774 00:30:45,567 --> 00:30:47,567 this is something new that we haven't done before. 775 00:30:47,567 --> 00:30:49,934 Um, if it works, this could be a game changer. 776 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,900 -[Juan] Got her, Fred. -[Freddy] Got her. 777 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,767 [narrator] Once held in place, 778 00:30:56,767 --> 00:31:00,400 Juan will weld arms to the side of the trommel. 779 00:31:01,100 --> 00:31:02,900 Okay. I'll get up there. 780 00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:06,500 Thank you. 781 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:10,166 -That looks pretty good. -[Vaughn] Yeah, [bleep]. 782 00:31:10,166 --> 00:31:11,800 I like it. 783 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:13,867 It's definitely not the most convenient workspace, 784 00:31:13,867 --> 00:31:16,367 but we're so close right now, 785 00:31:16,367 --> 00:31:18,467 I just gotta deal with it and get it put together 786 00:31:18,467 --> 00:31:20,000 and get this on the trommel 787 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:21,934 so that way we can get going on our test run. 788 00:31:24,166 --> 00:31:26,567 [narrator] The arms are fabricated to hold the weight 789 00:31:26,567 --> 00:31:29,300 of the 400-pound brush assembly. 790 00:31:31,166 --> 00:31:33,200 These arms, they're on bearings, 791 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,000 and that way the weight of the brush 792 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,367 and gravity will do its thing 793 00:31:36,367 --> 00:31:38,867 and push down on the screens and clean 'em out. 794 00:31:38,867 --> 00:31:40,100 Are you ready for these or no? 795 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:42,100 [Juan] Yeah, let's do it. 796 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:45,000 [narrator] The arms are braced to strengthen the build. 797 00:31:46,100 --> 00:31:47,567 [Freddy] Almost there. 798 00:31:47,567 --> 00:31:49,600 Almost ready to run. 799 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:51,367 -Mucho grande. Way better, huh, Juan? -Mucho... 800 00:31:51,367 --> 00:31:52,867 [Juan] Way better. 801 00:31:52,867 --> 00:31:55,166 Can't wait to see some gold in the sluices. 802 00:31:55,166 --> 00:31:57,700 -Last weld, Juano? -Last one, Freddy. 803 00:31:57,967 --> 00:31:59,467 Done. 804 00:31:59,467 --> 00:32:01,000 Let's run a plant, catch some gold. 805 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,333 [Juan] Let's do it. 806 00:32:03,367 --> 00:32:04,900 Well, it looks good, Juan. 807 00:32:04,900 --> 00:32:07,367 [Juan] Hopefully it works as good as it looks. 808 00:32:07,367 --> 00:32:10,266 So we saw nearly half an ounce on the last test run. 809 00:32:10,266 --> 00:32:12,367 I'd like to see an ounce of gold this time. 810 00:32:12,367 --> 00:32:14,967 An ounce of gold would be fantastic. 811 00:32:14,967 --> 00:32:16,367 [Juan] There's only one way to find out. 812 00:32:16,367 --> 00:32:17,767 Let's run it. We gotta run. 813 00:32:17,767 --> 00:32:19,066 [Vaughn] All right. Let's do it. 814 00:32:19,066 --> 00:32:22,233 [dramatic music playing] 815 00:32:32,667 --> 00:32:35,000 I think all the improvements are where they should be 816 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,900 and, uh, we're gonna up the volume 817 00:32:36,900 --> 00:32:38,467 and rate, speed rate, 818 00:32:38,467 --> 00:32:41,867 so it's gonna be a... 819 00:32:41,867 --> 00:32:43,467 super amazing time. 820 00:32:43,467 --> 00:32:46,000 The next four hours is gonna be hectic, hectic. 821 00:32:46,967 --> 00:32:49,767 [narrator] To hit their double-or-nothing target, 822 00:32:49,767 --> 00:32:53,900 Juan's plant must recover over an ounce of gold. 823 00:32:53,900 --> 00:32:56,367 All in all, I'm really happy with what we were able to do. 824 00:32:56,367 --> 00:32:57,400 I'm just not 100% sure 825 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:58,967 that we're gonna be able to get as much material 826 00:32:58,967 --> 00:33:00,900 through the plant that we wanted, 827 00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:03,400 but really, yeah, tomorrow we'll find out. 828 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,133 We'll find out what we were able to accomplish here. 829 00:33:05,867 --> 00:33:08,000 -First bucket, Juan. -Perfect. 830 00:33:09,967 --> 00:33:12,500 [Freddy] Well, let's see how the hydraulics are doing. 831 00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:15,867 [Juan] Staying cool. 832 00:33:15,867 --> 00:33:17,367 Right now, that's extremely cool. 833 00:33:17,367 --> 00:33:18,867 [Freddy] It is. 834 00:33:18,867 --> 00:33:20,667 [narrator] Juan's heat exchanger 835 00:33:20,667 --> 00:33:24,367 keeps the hydraulic oil that powers the plant cool, 836 00:33:24,367 --> 00:33:27,233 allowing the wash plant to be dialed up. 837 00:33:29,166 --> 00:33:30,767 That's pretty neat, Freddy, you can actually see 838 00:33:30,767 --> 00:33:32,400 -the bristles come through. -Yeah. 839 00:33:33,467 --> 00:33:36,400 [narrator] The trommel brush is a game changer. 840 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,767 By keeping the screens free of debris, 841 00:33:38,767 --> 00:33:42,300 more gold can pass into the sluices. 842 00:33:42,300 --> 00:33:46,467 They're a lot cleaner than they were, a lot. 843 00:33:46,467 --> 00:33:47,800 And we're running more material. 844 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,000 -Yeah. -So we've got more organics coming through. 845 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,266 Exactly right. Nope, they're doing their job, bud. 846 00:33:52,266 --> 00:33:54,166 Yup. Good job, brother. 847 00:33:54,166 --> 00:33:56,600 -We did okay. -[Freddy] We did all right. 848 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,767 [Juan] Freddy and I have built a lot of things over the years. 849 00:33:58,767 --> 00:34:00,066 We had an idea this would work, 850 00:34:00,066 --> 00:34:00,967 but you really don't know 851 00:34:00,967 --> 00:34:03,166 until you actually put it in and run it. 852 00:34:03,166 --> 00:34:04,200 And right now it's doing great. 853 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,133 So I'm extremely happy with it. 854 00:34:07,567 --> 00:34:09,300 Juan's build with the brush, 855 00:34:09,967 --> 00:34:11,900 it's, uh, it's a work of art. 856 00:34:11,900 --> 00:34:14,333 It's working flawlessly. 857 00:34:17,967 --> 00:34:19,300 Definitely the pressure's on. 858 00:34:19,300 --> 00:34:21,900 We're sending a lot more material. 859 00:34:23,567 --> 00:34:25,200 Brand-new problem for us. 860 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:26,567 We're really having to rush the pay in 861 00:34:26,567 --> 00:34:29,467 and it's a good problem to have. 862 00:34:29,467 --> 00:34:31,500 It seems like it's moving in the right direction 863 00:34:31,500 --> 00:34:32,967 all of a sudden. 864 00:34:32,967 --> 00:34:34,900 Vaughn definitely looks a lot happier 865 00:34:34,900 --> 00:34:37,200 with the way that things are running now. 866 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,900 I mean, we're getting more yardage in 867 00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:42,700 and that in turn should mean more gold. 868 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,100 [horn honking] 869 00:34:51,900 --> 00:34:54,066 [Rick] First time out to the mine. 870 00:34:54,066 --> 00:34:56,166 Figure what a bit... Why not a better time 871 00:34:56,166 --> 00:34:58,000 than when Freddy and Juan are here. 872 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,200 [Candice] He's definitely interested in it, though. 873 00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:02,600 [Rick] Candice was out here helping me a bit, 874 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,800 but last year she's run rock truck a bit 875 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:06,066 on a few different sites and that. 876 00:35:06,066 --> 00:35:08,800 So, once he's old enough, 877 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,567 he'll probably run something like that, too. 878 00:35:12,567 --> 00:35:13,767 [Candice] A couple years or so. 879 00:35:13,767 --> 00:35:14,867 [laughs] Two or three more years. 880 00:35:14,867 --> 00:35:16,133 [Candice] Yeah. 881 00:35:18,900 --> 00:35:20,900 Hey, Stephan, you got a copy? 882 00:35:21,900 --> 00:35:23,233 [Stephan] Copy. 883 00:35:23,667 --> 00:35:24,634 [Freddy] Last bucket. 884 00:35:24,634 --> 00:35:26,400 [Stephan] Done, last bucket of the day. 885 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:33,900 [Vaughn] Oh, yeah. Holy. 886 00:35:33,900 --> 00:35:36,200 These are working way better. You can tell. 887 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,367 Well, we're seeing some gold anyway. 888 00:35:38,367 --> 00:35:40,266 -[Juan] That's promising. -[Freddy] Yeah. 889 00:35:40,266 --> 00:35:41,900 [Juan] Well, what do you guys say? You guys wanna clean it up 890 00:35:41,900 --> 00:35:44,066 and we'll come back in the morning and see what it is? 891 00:35:44,066 --> 00:35:45,467 [Rick] That sounds great. 892 00:35:45,467 --> 00:35:46,400 -That sounds great guys. -[Freddy] Great. 893 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:47,500 -Sounds good guys. -[Vaughn] Thanks a lot. 894 00:35:47,500 --> 00:35:48,800 Thank you. 895 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:51,867 These guys are gonna win 896 00:35:51,867 --> 00:35:54,000 because better production, 897 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,667 better running sluices, 898 00:35:55,667 --> 00:35:57,800 plants not plugged up with organics. 899 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,767 Uh, so all in all, it's a win for all of us, 900 00:36:01,767 --> 00:36:05,233 but pretty sure it's gonna be a really big win for them. 901 00:36:09,767 --> 00:36:11,166 [Juan] Want a drink, Fred? 902 00:36:11,166 --> 00:36:12,400 Yeah. 903 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:13,867 [Juan] Yeah. It's kind of nice, Freddy. 904 00:36:13,867 --> 00:36:15,166 Beautiful scenery. 905 00:36:15,166 --> 00:36:16,567 Pretty lucky, Fred. 906 00:36:16,567 --> 00:36:18,400 Pretty lucky. 907 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,166 [Freddy] Brought pocket oysters again, huh? 908 00:36:20,166 --> 00:36:22,200 [Juan] Yeah, these are pretty fancy, too. 909 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:23,834 Nice to relax for a minute. 910 00:36:25,867 --> 00:36:27,800 [horn honks] 911 00:36:29,500 --> 00:36:31,600 You know what that means, Juan? 912 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:33,367 Yup. Probably time to get back at it, huh? 913 00:36:33,367 --> 00:36:34,667 Time to get back to work. Yup. 914 00:36:34,667 --> 00:36:36,233 Lunch is over, Fred. 915 00:36:40,567 --> 00:36:42,133 [dramatic music playing] 916 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:50,266 -Morning. -[Leanne] Good morning. 917 00:36:50,266 --> 00:36:51,367 -[Freddy] Good morning. -Okay. 918 00:36:51,367 --> 00:36:53,000 -Ready to weight some gold up? -[Vaughn] You betcha. 919 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,867 [narrator] On the Riches mine in British Columbia... 920 00:36:55,867 --> 00:36:57,166 [Juan] We should probably do it inside, huh? 921 00:36:57,166 --> 00:36:59,066 [Freddy] Yeah, it's raining while we're out here. 922 00:36:59,066 --> 00:37:00,800 [narrator] Success or failure 923 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,667 after a week of resourceful upgrades 924 00:37:03,667 --> 00:37:06,900 all comes down to the final gold weigh. 925 00:37:08,266 --> 00:37:10,066 -[Juan] You got the gold? -[Vaughn] I do. 926 00:37:10,066 --> 00:37:11,700 -[Juan] Oh, shoot. -[man] Yeah. 927 00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:13,000 -Holy cow. -[Freddy] Really? 928 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,500 -[Vaughn] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. -[Freddy] Really? 929 00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:15,900 [Juan] Really? Yeah. [laughs] 930 00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:17,867 -[Freddy] Yeah. Yeah. -[Vaughn] Feeling good. 931 00:37:17,867 --> 00:37:19,767 -[Freddy] Yeah. Yeah. -[man] Mmm-hmm. 932 00:37:19,767 --> 00:37:21,300 -[Freddy] You guys ready? -[man] I think so. 933 00:37:21,300 --> 00:37:23,266 -[Freddy] Let's do this. -[man chuckles] 934 00:37:23,266 --> 00:37:25,500 [narrator] To prove the mine's viability, 935 00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:28,000 the result of the second test must deliver 936 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,333 at least 1 ounce of gold. 937 00:37:36,266 --> 00:37:38,367 -Well, there's 0.47, right? -[Vaughn] Oh, yeah. 938 00:37:38,367 --> 00:37:39,900 That was the first cleanup. 939 00:37:39,900 --> 00:37:41,100 [Juan] Look how much more is left. 940 00:37:41,100 --> 00:37:41,900 We're a third of the way 941 00:37:41,900 --> 00:37:43,100 through what's in that jar, right? 942 00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:45,367 -Yeah. -[laughing] 943 00:37:45,367 --> 00:37:47,066 [Juan] That's awesome. 944 00:37:47,066 --> 00:37:48,467 -There's an ounce. -[Juan] Yeah. 945 00:37:48,467 --> 00:37:50,567 -An even ounce right there. -[man] Oh. 946 00:37:50,567 --> 00:37:52,000 Holy [bleep]. 947 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,100 There's still gold in the jar, guys. 948 00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:55,667 -[man 1] Oh, that's awesome. -[man 2] That's awesome. 949 00:37:55,667 --> 00:37:57,033 No [bleep]. 950 00:37:57,800 --> 00:37:59,266 -What? -[laughter] 951 00:37:59,266 --> 00:38:02,700 1.58 for four freaking hours. 952 00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:04,700 -[cheering and laughing] -Hey! 953 00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:06,667 So that's four and a half ounces a day 954 00:38:06,667 --> 00:38:07,967 if it stays at that rate, right? 955 00:38:07,967 --> 00:38:10,100 -Nice! -It's a 12-hour day. 956 00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:11,166 [Juan] And that's the same exact pay 957 00:38:11,166 --> 00:38:12,166 you guys were running before, right? 958 00:38:12,166 --> 00:38:14,567 And that's... There's a huge improvement there. 959 00:38:14,567 --> 00:38:16,400 [narrator] Freddy and Juan's fixes 960 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:19,300 have tripled Vaughn's gold count. 961 00:38:19,300 --> 00:38:22,000 It turns your dream out here into a reality. 962 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:23,200 -It does. -[Juan] It really does. 963 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,800 It completes... It changes everything, right? 964 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:27,166 You know, from just barely scraping 965 00:38:27,166 --> 00:38:28,667 by having the money to be able to make, 966 00:38:28,667 --> 00:38:30,300 you know, repairs and everything else. 967 00:38:30,300 --> 00:38:32,567 Now that actually puts a little bit of cushion 968 00:38:32,567 --> 00:38:33,967 in, you know, in the bank. 969 00:38:33,967 --> 00:38:35,800 It certainly does, Juan. Yeah. 970 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:37,100 -Freddy, amazing. -[man chuckles] 971 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:38,467 Look at all the fines in there. 972 00:38:38,467 --> 00:38:39,533 There's a lot more fines in there 973 00:38:39,533 --> 00:38:41,300 -than we have before. -Oh, that's the difference. 974 00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,800 [Juan] Yeah, there's a lot more fines in there. 975 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:45,266 -I still don't believe that. -[Juan] That's huge. 976 00:38:45,266 --> 00:38:46,667 -That's awesome. -[laughter] 977 00:38:46,667 --> 00:38:49,266 [Rick] It's amazing. No, it's... 978 00:38:49,266 --> 00:38:50,767 We definitely knew we had losses, 979 00:38:50,767 --> 00:38:53,100 -but not like that. -Not like that. No. 980 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:55,100 You know, I haven't seen you smile this much. 981 00:38:55,100 --> 00:38:56,500 I know. 982 00:38:56,500 --> 00:38:58,367 Or Rick. 983 00:38:58,367 --> 00:39:00,667 -Especially me. -I know. Yeah. 984 00:39:00,667 --> 00:39:02,500 It's been a... It's been a struggle for a while 985 00:39:02,500 --> 00:39:05,200 and it, uh, it means a lot to Vaughn, 986 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:06,967 I know that for sure. 987 00:39:06,967 --> 00:39:09,166 And it means a lot to everybody. It's... 988 00:39:09,166 --> 00:39:11,767 It means everything. And I really, really, 989 00:39:11,767 --> 00:39:13,667 really wanna thank you, gentlemen, 990 00:39:13,667 --> 00:39:15,567 -like sincerely. -You're welcome. Yup. 991 00:39:15,567 --> 00:39:17,667 You're welcome. All you guys. 992 00:39:17,667 --> 00:39:19,367 Oh, you're not getting away with a handshake. 993 00:39:19,367 --> 00:39:21,033 [laughter] 994 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:24,600 -[Vaughn] Thanks, big man. -You're welcome, 995 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:26,100 very welcome, buddy. 996 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:28,900 -[Freddy] That's awesome. -Woo! 997 00:39:29,567 --> 00:39:32,100 Holy [bleep]. 998 00:39:32,100 --> 00:39:33,567 -Truly blessed. -[man] That's awesome. 999 00:39:33,567 --> 00:39:34,800 [Rick] Yeah. 1000 00:39:35,166 --> 00:39:36,400 Changes everything. 1001 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:38,166 Yup. Yup. 1002 00:39:38,166 --> 00:39:40,600 There's a huge relief off these shoulders 1003 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:44,333 and everybody that believed in me, 1004 00:39:45,066 --> 00:39:47,600 that feels nice. Yeah. 1005 00:39:48,100 --> 00:39:49,700 Ah, yeah. 1006 00:39:53,266 --> 00:39:54,900 Yeah, it's good. 1007 00:39:57,467 --> 00:40:00,233 Oh, jeez. Means, uh... 1008 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:04,667 the dream moves forward 1009 00:40:04,667 --> 00:40:07,166 and, uh, in a healthy way. 1010 00:40:07,166 --> 00:40:09,300 So, uh, I can... 1011 00:40:12,967 --> 00:40:14,500 move forward. 1012 00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:20,033 Sorry. 1013 00:40:21,066 --> 00:40:23,200 They have a real possibility with their dream. 1014 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,467 You know, before they were, you know, week to week 1015 00:40:25,467 --> 00:40:27,166 selling every bit of gold that they had 1016 00:40:27,166 --> 00:40:28,567 to try to pay bills, 1017 00:40:28,567 --> 00:40:30,100 uh, without really, you know, 1018 00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:31,800 any reassurance or any future out here. 1019 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:33,800 But now, they have a solid plan. 1020 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:35,900 They have a solid plan and a real future 1021 00:40:35,900 --> 00:40:38,100 to be able to make their dreams come true. 1022 00:40:38,100 --> 00:40:40,100 It's gonna be life changing for him. 1023 00:40:40,100 --> 00:40:41,700 We're leaving on a high. 1024 00:40:42,900 --> 00:40:45,900 [Rick] Juan and Freddy have truly, truly turned 1025 00:40:45,900 --> 00:40:47,166 everything around for us. 1026 00:40:47,166 --> 00:40:49,200 And so now, there is a future 1027 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,700 for my family and me and everybody else here. 1028 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:55,433 [horn honking] 1029 00:40:59,667 --> 00:41:02,066 Hi, Freddy. Hi, Juan. 1030 00:41:02,066 --> 00:41:04,467 Just a little update from our mine. 1031 00:41:04,467 --> 00:41:07,867 We've been doubling our gold tallies every day. 1032 00:41:07,867 --> 00:41:10,667 And I'm actually starting to pay off investors 1033 00:41:10,667 --> 00:41:12,300 and my family members 1034 00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:13,867 that have helped all the way through. 1035 00:41:13,867 --> 00:41:14,867 Woo! 1036 00:41:14,867 --> 00:41:16,500 The scrubber on the trommel 1037 00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:19,000 is still working amazing. 1038 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,100 The organics are not a problem anymore. 1039 00:41:22,100 --> 00:41:25,100 The sluice boxes are still catching everything. 1040 00:41:25,100 --> 00:41:27,767 It's looking good, so it's good times here still, 1041 00:41:27,767 --> 00:41:29,300 thanks to you guys.