1 00:00:00,896 --> 00:00:03,000 [birds chirping] 2 00:00:10,068 --> 00:00:12,379 [machine whirring] 3 00:00:12,379 --> 00:00:14,517 [Dick] I have 50 years of mining. 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,758 But business is tough. 5 00:00:19,896 --> 00:00:22,241 Now, I'm 76-years-old and... 6 00:00:23,103 --> 00:00:24,827 I don't wanna go broke. 7 00:00:25,896 --> 00:00:28,103 I've tried not to my whole life. 8 00:00:28,103 --> 00:00:30,103 But you got a big gas bill, 9 00:00:30,103 --> 00:00:31,965 you got a big maintenance bill. 10 00:00:33,482 --> 00:00:37,000 If we don't do something, we're gonna lose 50 years of blood, sweat and tears 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,034 that Dad has invested in the goldmine. 12 00:00:40,103 --> 00:00:41,862 We can lose it all this summer. 13 00:00:43,172 --> 00:00:44,896 If we ended up losing everything, 14 00:00:44,896 --> 00:00:46,310 I think it would break his heart. 15 00:00:46,310 --> 00:00:48,275 You just smell that river water. 16 00:00:48,275 --> 00:00:50,068 -[Eric] Yeah. -Yeah. 17 00:00:50,068 --> 00:00:52,413 [Eric] I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that the mine is successful. 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,206 I'm putting a lot of faith in Freddy and Juan. 19 00:00:57,689 --> 00:00:59,275 We need a miracle. 20 00:00:59,275 --> 00:01:02,310 [dramatic music swells] 21 00:01:06,793 --> 00:01:08,689 [Freddy] Let's dig some gold, guys. 22 00:01:08,689 --> 00:01:10,172 [narrator] Freddy Dodge... 23 00:01:10,172 --> 00:01:12,310 There's no guarantees in gold, buddy. 24 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:14,827 [narrator] ...and Juan Ibarra... 25 00:01:14,827 --> 00:01:16,482 All right, well, let's do it, huh? 26 00:01:16,482 --> 00:01:19,827 [narrator] ...have mastered the art of getting gold out of the ground... 27 00:01:19,827 --> 00:01:21,000 [Juan] Look at that. 28 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,827 [narrator] ...in the most rugged places on earth. 29 00:01:23,827 --> 00:01:25,517 [Juan on radio] I'm feeling a little sick, Freddy. 30 00:01:25,517 --> 00:01:28,413 [narrator] Now, they rescue struggling miners... 31 00:01:28,413 --> 00:01:30,275 Ooh, that's not good. 32 00:01:30,275 --> 00:01:32,310 [narrator] ...who risked it all to be rich... 33 00:01:32,310 --> 00:01:33,586 [objects clattering] 34 00:01:33,586 --> 00:01:35,000 Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shut it down. 35 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,275 [narrator] ...but are about to lose everything. 36 00:01:37,275 --> 00:01:38,689 Eyeballs! 37 00:01:38,689 --> 00:01:41,000 [narrator] To revive these failing mines, 38 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,689 Freddy and Juan engineer the impossible... 39 00:01:43,689 --> 00:01:46,103 [Juan] Well, I've never heard of under sluice before. 40 00:01:46,103 --> 00:01:48,103 [narrator] ...deliver some hard truths... 41 00:01:48,103 --> 00:01:51,310 This material you're digging now is totally worthless. 42 00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:53,413 [narrator] ...and track down the gold. 43 00:01:53,413 --> 00:01:55,413 That's what dreams are made of right there. 44 00:01:55,413 --> 00:01:59,482 [narrator] But if they don't at least double the miners' gold recovery, 45 00:01:59,482 --> 00:02:02,000 they won't take a dime in return. 46 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,206 -It was ten times the amount of gold. -[whoops] 47 00:02:04,206 --> 00:02:05,965 -[Juan] That's awesome. -[all laughing, exclaiming] 48 00:02:11,689 --> 00:02:13,724 [birds chirping] 49 00:02:15,896 --> 00:02:19,310 [guitar music playing] 50 00:02:20,413 --> 00:02:22,620 [brakes screech] 51 00:02:26,379 --> 00:02:27,413 [Juan] This way, Fred. 52 00:02:30,827 --> 00:02:32,000 Good looking plane. 53 00:02:32,689 --> 00:02:34,413 [Freddy] It's a beautiful plane. 54 00:02:34,413 --> 00:02:36,275 [Juan] We've had a lot of pilots take us to gold mines, 55 00:02:36,275 --> 00:02:39,620 but we've never actually helped miners that are pilots as well. 56 00:02:41,103 --> 00:02:42,172 I've always wanted to fly. 57 00:02:43,586 --> 00:02:45,034 I wonder if they're mining out here, Freddy. 58 00:02:47,206 --> 00:02:48,448 [Freddy] Let's go try to find to find 'em. 59 00:02:51,275 --> 00:02:54,517 [narrator] Freddy and Juan are in western Montana, 60 00:02:54,517 --> 00:02:56,793 in the valley of Bear Gulch, 61 00:02:56,793 --> 00:02:59,379 summoned by a father and son team 62 00:02:59,379 --> 00:03:02,620 making their last stand at their mountain mine. 63 00:03:04,379 --> 00:03:08,275 Gold was first discovered here in 1865. 64 00:03:08,275 --> 00:03:11,689 The site was mined hard by the first prospectors 65 00:03:11,689 --> 00:03:15,724 who left Montana with over $30 million of gold. 66 00:03:18,275 --> 00:03:20,103 Seventy-five years later, 67 00:03:20,103 --> 00:03:22,793 miners use the bucket line dredge 68 00:03:22,793 --> 00:03:27,068 to recover nearly 14,000 ounces of gold nuggets 69 00:03:27,068 --> 00:03:31,000 worth over $25 million in today's money. 70 00:03:37,793 --> 00:03:39,067 [Juan] Hey, guys. 71 00:03:39,067 --> 00:03:40,103 -Hey, good morning. -[Dick] How's it going? 72 00:03:40,103 --> 00:03:40,965 [Juan] Good. 73 00:03:40,965 --> 00:03:42,620 -[Eric] Welcome. -[Juan] Thank you. 74 00:03:42,620 --> 00:03:43,930 Eric. Nice to meet you. 75 00:03:43,930 --> 00:03:45,275 -[Freddy] Nice to meet you, Eric. -[Kelly] Kelly. 76 00:03:45,275 --> 00:03:46,620 -Nice to meet you, Kelly. -[Freddy] Nice to meet you, Kelly. 77 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:47,930 [Dick] Hi, Juan. 78 00:03:47,930 --> 00:03:49,724 -You're looking great. -[Freddy] Nice to meet you, sir. 79 00:03:50,827 --> 00:03:53,067 [narrator] Mine owners, Dick Komberec 80 00:03:53,067 --> 00:03:54,275 and his son, Eric, 81 00:03:54,275 --> 00:03:57,448 spent the last decade mining a five acre claim. 82 00:03:58,517 --> 00:04:01,206 They were joined in 2019 83 00:04:01,206 --> 00:04:04,275 by wash plant operator, Kelly Brown. 84 00:04:04,275 --> 00:04:08,275 Over the last several years, we've built up a pretty large scale mine. 85 00:04:08,275 --> 00:04:12,827 But right now, we've got some pretty tremendous expenses in heavy equipment. 86 00:04:12,827 --> 00:04:14,310 -[Freddy] Yeah. -Diesel fuel is expensive. 87 00:04:14,310 --> 00:04:16,172 Trucking costs are high. 88 00:04:16,172 --> 00:04:19,896 [narrator] Without significant increase in gold production this season, 89 00:04:19,896 --> 00:04:22,620 the Komberec mine that Dick built 90 00:04:22,620 --> 00:04:24,689 is on the brink of collapse. 91 00:04:24,689 --> 00:04:27,551 A possibility that would devastate Eric. 92 00:04:29,896 --> 00:04:32,000 [Eric] All through my childhood, essentially, 93 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,206 I was always dad's sidekick. 94 00:04:34,206 --> 00:04:36,586 He's not only my dad, but he's my best friend. 95 00:04:36,586 --> 00:04:37,793 Even more so now, 96 00:04:37,793 --> 00:04:40,517 seeing that I've got an interest in continuing to... 97 00:04:40,517 --> 00:04:41,793 to run everything, essentially, 98 00:04:41,793 --> 00:04:44,379 he's spent the last 50 years to build. 99 00:04:44,379 --> 00:04:45,379 I don't want to let him down 100 00:04:45,379 --> 00:04:47,000 and I want to keep this for my family 101 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,724 and my grandkids, 102 00:04:48,724 --> 00:04:50,931 and hopefully, generations after that. 103 00:04:54,379 --> 00:04:57,103 [narrator] With a full time career as a commercial pilot 104 00:04:57,103 --> 00:04:58,793 until 2008, 105 00:04:58,793 --> 00:05:01,379 Dick would mine as often as he could. 106 00:05:01,379 --> 00:05:04,379 [Dick] Well, I would say I got gold fever. 107 00:05:04,379 --> 00:05:07,413 I'd be flying, gone around the world 108 00:05:07,413 --> 00:05:10,241 and I'd come home more interested in the gold. 109 00:05:10,827 --> 00:05:13,827 And Eric would go with me. 110 00:05:13,827 --> 00:05:17,689 Eric started mining with me when he was two-years-old. 111 00:05:17,689 --> 00:05:19,931 And, you know, when he was eight-years-old, 112 00:05:19,931 --> 00:05:24,172 he was running D&A tractors and excavators by himself. 113 00:05:24,172 --> 00:05:27,827 [narrator] But the Komberec struggles run deeper than the mine. 114 00:05:28,586 --> 00:05:30,827 Following in his father's footsteps, 115 00:05:30,827 --> 00:05:33,586 Eric established an aviation charter company 116 00:05:33,586 --> 00:05:36,137 that is struggling in the troubled economy. 117 00:05:38,586 --> 00:05:40,103 [Eric] COVID has kind of changed the dynamics 118 00:05:40,103 --> 00:05:43,724 of the tourism industry and what people are out doing, 119 00:05:43,724 --> 00:05:45,586 so we're in a tight spot 120 00:05:45,586 --> 00:05:47,000 between pilots and mechanics, 121 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:48,586 and we've got about ten employees. 122 00:05:48,586 --> 00:05:50,793 and we've got about five aircraft. 123 00:05:50,793 --> 00:05:53,310 Obviously, the whole world is in shambles. 124 00:05:53,310 --> 00:05:55,793 I mean, everything is twice as much money nowadays. 125 00:05:55,793 --> 00:05:57,793 [Dick] That's why I'd like to get more gold, huh? 126 00:05:57,793 --> 00:06:00,620 [Eric] We need some help figuring out how to capture more. 127 00:06:00,620 --> 00:06:03,724 So, what did your season look like last year? 128 00:06:03,724 --> 00:06:05,172 I think at the end of the year, last year, 129 00:06:05,172 --> 00:06:07,965 we were able to get about 60 ounces, is all. 130 00:06:08,379 --> 00:06:09,482 All right. 131 00:06:10,413 --> 00:06:13,379 That's taken, you know, a lot of work. 132 00:06:13,379 --> 00:06:14,517 Yeah. 133 00:06:14,517 --> 00:06:16,379 [Eric] Sixty ounces just really isn't gonna cut it. 134 00:06:16,379 --> 00:06:20,517 [narrator] Running their mine and keeping their aviation business afloat, 135 00:06:20,517 --> 00:06:25,689 costs the Komberecs close to $200,000 a year. 136 00:06:25,689 --> 00:06:29,000 What do you need then to get profitable this year? 137 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,206 At least 100 ounces to be able to cover expenses 138 00:06:32,206 --> 00:06:33,689 and increase the profits. 139 00:06:33,689 --> 00:06:35,206 [Freddy] Couple $100,000 worth of gold? 140 00:06:35,206 --> 00:06:36,517 -[Eric] Yeah, at least. -Gold. 141 00:06:36,517 --> 00:06:37,586 -[Eric] Yeah. -Yeah. 142 00:06:37,586 --> 00:06:39,517 [Eric] Kelly and Dad, what do you guys think? 143 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,206 Yeah, that'd be great. 144 00:06:41,931 --> 00:06:43,068 Hundred ounces. 145 00:06:43,068 --> 00:06:44,517 [Freddy] You have any of the gold? 146 00:06:44,517 --> 00:06:47,896 [Dick] Yeah, this is some of the gold that Eric got last summer. 147 00:06:47,896 --> 00:06:49,379 -Oh, look at that. -[Freddy] That's some big flakes, huh? 148 00:06:49,379 --> 00:06:51,172 -There's some fines in it. -[Juan] Yeah. 149 00:06:51,172 --> 00:06:53,379 And those fines that are in there, that real fine stuff, 150 00:06:53,379 --> 00:06:54,931 that's where we'll help you the most. 151 00:06:54,931 --> 00:06:58,068 Unfortunately, this is one of the wettest springs that I ever remember 152 00:06:58,068 --> 00:07:00,724 and we're already a month behind schedule in mining. 153 00:07:00,724 --> 00:07:02,137 We've got a really short window, 154 00:07:02,137 --> 00:07:05,172 we've got about, we figured 50 days to get that 100 ounces, 155 00:07:05,172 --> 00:07:06,482 so we need to get going. 156 00:07:06,482 --> 00:07:07,931 Well, where's your plant at? 157 00:07:07,931 --> 00:07:09,620 [Eric] Well, it's just a few miles up the road. 158 00:07:09,620 --> 00:07:11,000 -[Freddy] Let's go have a look at it. -[Eric] All right. 159 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,000 -[Eric] Sounds good. -[Juan] All right. 160 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:13,551 Thank you for coming. 161 00:07:14,896 --> 00:07:17,482 [Freddy] These guys, they're trying to run two businesses. 162 00:07:17,482 --> 00:07:19,000 Sometimes, the gold makes money, 163 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:20,793 and sometimes, the aviation makes money. 164 00:07:20,793 --> 00:07:23,275 But right now, it's up to me and Juan, 165 00:07:23,275 --> 00:07:25,793 we're gonna try to make it where the gold is making money all the time 166 00:07:25,793 --> 00:07:27,413 and more money than it is now. 167 00:07:32,103 --> 00:07:33,793 [Juan] This is your baby, huh? 168 00:07:33,793 --> 00:07:37,310 Well, guys, I built this almost 50 years ago. 169 00:07:37,310 --> 00:07:38,206 [Freddy] Really? 170 00:07:38,206 --> 00:07:39,931 It's been moved several times. 171 00:07:40,275 --> 00:07:41,275 And it's always run, 172 00:07:41,275 --> 00:07:44,172 but without Kelly in the last few years, 173 00:07:44,172 --> 00:07:45,931 it wouldn't be what it is. 174 00:07:45,931 --> 00:07:49,689 [Kelly] Hopefully, when you guys watch this test run and everything, 175 00:07:49,689 --> 00:07:52,275 you can tell me more whether I'm messing up. 176 00:07:52,275 --> 00:07:54,586 I'm kind of proud of the way that it works. 177 00:07:54,586 --> 00:07:56,000 -[Juan] Looks pretty stout. -[Freddy] Yeah. 178 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:57,896 [Juan] It's well built for sure. 179 00:07:57,896 --> 00:07:59,517 -Let's do a four hour run. -[Kelly] Yes, sir. 180 00:07:59,517 --> 00:08:01,103 -Let's fire it up. -[Dick] Let's do it. 181 00:08:03,586 --> 00:08:07,379 [engine spluttering, starts] 182 00:08:07,379 --> 00:08:11,000 [narrator] After a season delayed by torrential spring storms, 183 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 the Komberecs have just 50 days to make 100 ounces. 184 00:08:16,310 --> 00:08:19,689 With both their mining and air charter businesses at stake, 185 00:08:19,689 --> 00:08:22,758 they need every flake of gold they can capture. 186 00:08:23,413 --> 00:08:25,068 [Juan] There goes, first bucket. Ready? 187 00:08:25,068 --> 00:08:26,379 First bucket. 188 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,482 [narrator] Eric feeds paydirt into the hopper... 189 00:08:31,482 --> 00:08:33,413 [water splashing] 190 00:08:33,413 --> 00:08:37,309 [narrator] ...which travels through Dick's 50-year-old hand-built trommel. 191 00:08:38,482 --> 00:08:41,000 The fine gold is washed from the rocks 192 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,517 before passing into three eight-foot long sluices. 193 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:51,655 [Juan] Let's take a look inside the drum. 194 00:08:56,275 --> 00:08:58,965 We're losing a lot of water pressure up front. 195 00:08:59,793 --> 00:09:01,586 There's no sense in having sprayers up there 196 00:09:01,586 --> 00:09:04,000 'cause most of the dirt is submerged. 197 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,413 [narrator] A common problem on struggling mines, 198 00:09:06,413 --> 00:09:09,482 the spray bar in the trommel is too weak, 199 00:09:09,482 --> 00:09:13,172 so fine gold isn't being washed off the rocks 200 00:09:13,172 --> 00:09:15,724 and ends up in the discarded tailings. 201 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,448 They got water going where they don't need water. 202 00:09:21,517 --> 00:09:24,793 Kinda like you wash your hair in the shower, 203 00:09:24,793 --> 00:09:26,379 but all the water is hitting your feet. 204 00:09:26,379 --> 00:09:27,482 Yeah, exactly. 205 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,275 Those riffles are all the same and too narrow. 206 00:09:36,275 --> 00:09:39,724 [narrator] Freddy spots another common and costly problem 207 00:09:39,724 --> 00:09:41,379 with the sluice runs. 208 00:09:41,379 --> 00:09:42,793 [Juan] Well, feel 'em, they're packed. 209 00:09:42,793 --> 00:09:43,827 [Freddy] I can see it. 210 00:09:44,724 --> 00:09:46,275 Right now, the problem is, 211 00:09:46,275 --> 00:09:48,896 all that material, the heavy stuff, the gold, 212 00:09:48,896 --> 00:09:50,793 most of it is going down in one run. 213 00:09:50,793 --> 00:09:52,896 -[Juan] Yeah. -[Freddy] That's wasting that. 214 00:09:52,896 --> 00:09:55,620 [Juan] Yeah, we'll start pushing gold out because it's overloaded. 215 00:09:55,620 --> 00:09:57,620 So, basically, we have two runs here 216 00:09:57,620 --> 00:10:00,137 -that are just getting material, no gold. -Right. 217 00:10:00,689 --> 00:10:02,275 Less and less. 218 00:10:02,275 --> 00:10:03,793 [narrator] Gold bearing material 219 00:10:03,793 --> 00:10:06,965 flows unevenly down the plant's three sluices. 220 00:10:07,586 --> 00:10:09,068 The riffles pack up 221 00:10:09,068 --> 00:10:11,344 and wash fine gold off the end. 222 00:10:12,586 --> 00:10:14,000 We both know, Freddy, 223 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,000 if the gold gets out here, what does it want to do? 224 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,586 It wants to go back to the center of the earth. 225 00:10:17,586 --> 00:10:20,206 And it's our job to stop the gold from getting there. 226 00:10:23,896 --> 00:10:26,034 [Juan] Here we go. Another load! 227 00:10:29,517 --> 00:10:30,793 [narrator] Dick Komberec 228 00:10:30,793 --> 00:10:35,000 passed down more than his love for mining to his son. 229 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,931 Eric has also found a purpose and passion... 230 00:10:39,482 --> 00:10:41,000 in flying. 231 00:10:44,310 --> 00:10:47,827 [Eric] My primary job is I'm a large airtanker Captain. 232 00:10:49,586 --> 00:10:52,517 Essentially, we take really large, big heavy airplanes 233 00:10:52,517 --> 00:10:54,379 and fly 'em really low and slow. 234 00:10:54,379 --> 00:10:57,000 We respond to wildfire devastations, 235 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:58,793 so it's a really demanding type of flying. 236 00:10:58,793 --> 00:11:01,965 A lot of times we're flying right into amongst the mega fires. 237 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:09,896 This is paramount that we succeed here. 238 00:11:09,896 --> 00:11:11,068 I hate to say it, but we're putting 239 00:11:11,068 --> 00:11:13,137 all of our eggs in this wash plant. 240 00:11:14,931 --> 00:11:17,000 Well, Freddy, there it is, buddy. 241 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,000 Last bucket. 242 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:19,344 Last bucket! 243 00:11:32,896 --> 00:11:34,827 [narrator] Four-hour test complete, 244 00:11:34,827 --> 00:11:38,275 the crew pulls the mats to look for gold. 245 00:11:38,275 --> 00:11:39,620 [Eric] No big shiny pieces. 246 00:11:40,482 --> 00:11:41,689 [Juan] Couple little pieces in there. 247 00:11:41,689 --> 00:11:42,896 [Freddy] Yeah, I've seen a few. 248 00:11:42,896 --> 00:11:45,000 We got a lot of, a lot of things to think about 249 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,275 as far as your plant goes. 250 00:11:46,275 --> 00:11:48,275 You guys clean it up and we'll be back in the morning. 251 00:11:48,275 --> 00:11:49,689 -[Juan] Sounds great. -[Eric] Appreciate you being here. 252 00:11:49,689 --> 00:11:51,241 -[Juan] Awesome. -[Freddy] See you later, guys. 253 00:11:52,310 --> 00:11:55,482 I'm excited to hear what Freddy and Juan have to come up with. 254 00:11:55,482 --> 00:11:57,689 I'm excited to see what's in the box. 255 00:11:57,689 --> 00:12:00,310 I'm gonna do something to feed my family 256 00:12:00,310 --> 00:12:03,000 and praying for a successful summer. 257 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:04,482 [Dick] We're very anxious. 258 00:12:04,482 --> 00:12:06,793 I really don't know what to expect. 259 00:12:06,793 --> 00:12:08,620 And we just want to be successful. 260 00:12:08,620 --> 00:12:12,103 Freddy and Juan will certainly come up with a plan to help. 261 00:12:13,896 --> 00:12:17,310 [Freddy] The goal here is to get as much gold as we possibly can. 262 00:12:18,482 --> 00:12:21,724 And when Dick turns it over to Eric, 263 00:12:21,724 --> 00:12:24,172 Eric will have the skills that he learned from us while we're here, 264 00:12:24,172 --> 00:12:25,724 plus his dad. 265 00:12:25,724 --> 00:12:29,000 Because, you know, he's got a family he's raising. 266 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,413 And when times are slow with his flying business, 267 00:12:31,413 --> 00:12:33,379 he's got an ATM in the ground here 268 00:12:33,379 --> 00:12:36,206 that he can rely on to give him some money. 269 00:12:38,103 --> 00:12:41,241 [crow cawing] 270 00:12:55,413 --> 00:12:56,586 [Dick] Look at that. 271 00:12:56,586 --> 00:12:59,103 Now, there's one with quartz and it's got gold in it. 272 00:12:59,103 --> 00:13:00,000 See it, right there. 273 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,172 [narrator] In Bear Gulch, Montana 274 00:13:02,172 --> 00:13:06,862 the Komberecs have cleaned up the gold from the first four hour test run, 275 00:13:06,862 --> 00:13:08,448 ready for a gold weigh. 276 00:13:10,103 --> 00:13:11,379 Picking through rocks? 277 00:13:11,379 --> 00:13:13,275 [Eric] Picking off a few nuggets. 278 00:13:13,275 --> 00:13:14,689 -[Freddy] There you go. -[Juan] Good to see you this morning. 279 00:13:14,689 --> 00:13:16,034 Good morning. 280 00:13:16,034 --> 00:13:18,689 -[Freddy] See how much gold is here, guys. -[Eric] Okay. 281 00:13:18,689 --> 00:13:21,689 [narrator] The Komberecs want to see an ounce of gold 282 00:13:21,689 --> 00:13:25,103 to be on track for their 100 ounce season target. 283 00:13:25,517 --> 00:13:26,724 [Freddy] Some pretty gold. 284 00:13:33,896 --> 00:13:35,000 Point-six-O. 285 00:13:36,103 --> 00:13:37,620 So, six-tenths of an ounce. 286 00:13:38,103 --> 00:13:41,000 [narrator] Worth $1,140, 287 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,689 just over a quarter of the gold they need per day. 288 00:13:44,689 --> 00:13:47,034 -[Eric] Disappointing. -[Juan] Absolutely. 289 00:13:47,896 --> 00:13:49,379 Yeah. 290 00:13:49,379 --> 00:13:51,000 [Juan] You guys did a hell of a job building the plant. 291 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,551 I know you said it's 50-years-old, 292 00:13:52,551 --> 00:13:54,758 but I think there's a few things that we can do to help you guys out. 293 00:13:54,758 --> 00:13:57,896 [Freddy] Well, I guess we'll go put some numbers together 294 00:13:57,896 --> 00:14:00,896 and we'll come back to you guys and see what you think. 295 00:14:00,896 --> 00:14:02,000 -[Juan] Yeah. -Okay. 296 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:03,379 Sounds like a plan. Let's do it. 297 00:14:03,379 --> 00:14:04,586 -All right? -[Freddy] Yeah. 298 00:14:04,586 --> 00:14:06,137 [Dick] Okay. Thanks, guys. 299 00:14:08,689 --> 00:14:10,586 [Eric] In order to pay some of these bills 300 00:14:10,586 --> 00:14:11,862 throughout the rest of the summer 301 00:14:11,862 --> 00:14:12,862 and get through the winter, 302 00:14:12,862 --> 00:14:14,413 we're gonna need a lot more gold than that. 303 00:14:15,586 --> 00:14:17,379 [Kelly] We messed around quite a while 304 00:14:17,379 --> 00:14:19,793 not getting as much gold as we wanted. 305 00:14:19,793 --> 00:14:22,103 And I get a percentage of the gold. 306 00:14:22,103 --> 00:14:24,379 So, whatever they wanna do, we're gonna try it. 307 00:14:24,379 --> 00:14:27,689 They're the men that are supposed to know, that's what they're here for. 308 00:14:27,689 --> 00:14:30,068 [Juan] Dick built that plant about 50-years-ago 309 00:14:30,068 --> 00:14:31,862 and that's just kind of a testament that 310 00:14:31,862 --> 00:14:33,448 you know what, Dick knows what he's doing. 311 00:14:33,448 --> 00:14:37,517 But we did find a few things that we can fix in the time that we do have. 312 00:14:37,517 --> 00:14:38,896 Where they need the most help here 313 00:14:38,896 --> 00:14:40,379 is in fine gold recovery, 314 00:14:40,379 --> 00:14:41,931 which we happen to know really well. 315 00:14:45,586 --> 00:14:47,724 [birds screeching, chirping] 316 00:14:48,620 --> 00:14:50,482 [Freddy] What do you think, Juan? 317 00:14:50,482 --> 00:14:53,000 [narrator] Freddy and Juan face uncharted waters 318 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,586 in their task to retrofit an aging wash plant 319 00:14:56,586 --> 00:14:59,586 to capture the finer gold. 320 00:14:59,586 --> 00:15:05,689 But it must succeed for the Komberecs to reach their ambitious gold goal. 321 00:15:05,689 --> 00:15:07,517 You know, the sluice box, the way it's set up right now... 322 00:15:07,517 --> 00:15:08,586 [Freddy] Yep. 323 00:15:08,586 --> 00:15:09,620 [Juan] ...it's three runs. 324 00:15:09,620 --> 00:15:11,586 [Freddy] All the material with gold in it 325 00:15:11,586 --> 00:15:13,275 is running down one side of it. 326 00:15:13,275 --> 00:15:15,275 [Juan] We can definitely do a three way splitter. 327 00:15:15,275 --> 00:15:17,793 Yep, we've never done it before, but let's try it. 328 00:15:17,793 --> 00:15:19,793 It's gonna increase the recoveries for sure. 329 00:15:19,793 --> 00:15:22,620 What do you think about that sprayer inside the trommel? 330 00:15:22,620 --> 00:15:24,517 [Freddy] All the pressure is here and then when it gets down there, 331 00:15:24,517 --> 00:15:26,379 -where we really need it-- -[Juan] It's barely dribbling out. 332 00:15:26,379 --> 00:15:28,586 -[Freddy] So, we plug some of those off... -[Juan] Mm-hmm. 333 00:15:28,586 --> 00:15:30,862 -[Freddy] ...and get more pressure down here. -[Juan] Okay. 334 00:15:30,862 --> 00:15:32,413 Did you see those Hungarian riffles? 335 00:15:32,413 --> 00:15:33,689 They're too tight together. 336 00:15:33,689 --> 00:15:34,655 That's packing up. 337 00:15:34,655 --> 00:15:36,793 So, if we take this and we do a system 338 00:15:36,793 --> 00:15:39,103 where we got a bunch of different changes in here... 339 00:15:39,103 --> 00:15:41,068 -Mm-hmm. -[Freddy] ...I think it's gonna help. 340 00:15:41,068 --> 00:15:42,310 What do you think as far as cost? 341 00:15:42,310 --> 00:15:43,758 You know, these guys, obviously, you know, 342 00:15:43,758 --> 00:15:46,172 their business is not doing the greatest. 343 00:15:46,172 --> 00:15:49,103 I don't wanna kill 'em with what we need to charge. 344 00:15:49,103 --> 00:15:53,103 What do you think, 3,000 material and three ounces of gold? 345 00:15:53,103 --> 00:15:54,344 If we increase more. 346 00:15:54,344 --> 00:15:56,000 I'm willing to put our money where our mouth is, Fred. 347 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,379 If we don't double their recovery... Free. 348 00:15:58,379 --> 00:15:59,896 They pay the material and that's it. 349 00:15:59,896 --> 00:16:01,965 -I'm good with it. -All right, let's do it. 350 00:16:03,896 --> 00:16:08,379 [narrator] Freddy and Juan have identified three problems with the Komberec's plant 351 00:16:08,379 --> 00:16:11,517 that is stopping them from capturing the finer gold. 352 00:16:13,103 --> 00:16:15,517 First, the trommel spray bar 353 00:16:15,517 --> 00:16:19,000 isn't washing the pay off the rocks powerfully enough 354 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,344 throughout the drum. 355 00:16:22,103 --> 00:16:24,586 They will block off half of the nozzles 356 00:16:24,586 --> 00:16:27,241 to increase water pressure where it's needed. 357 00:16:29,931 --> 00:16:33,172 Next, uneven water flow out of the trommel 358 00:16:33,172 --> 00:16:36,310 is packing up the sluice box on one side. 359 00:16:36,896 --> 00:16:38,758 In a first for Juan, 360 00:16:38,758 --> 00:16:42,068 he will fabricate a three way distribution box 361 00:16:42,068 --> 00:16:45,241 to evenly spread the pay between the sluices. 362 00:16:46,862 --> 00:16:50,517 Finally, the mats in Eric and Dick's sluice box 363 00:16:50,517 --> 00:16:53,275 are getting blocked up with material. 364 00:16:53,275 --> 00:16:55,103 Freddy will replace the mats 365 00:16:55,103 --> 00:16:57,689 and install his signature riffles 366 00:16:57,689 --> 00:17:00,206 to allow fine gold to settle. 367 00:17:02,517 --> 00:17:04,896 -[Freddy] How's it going, guys? -[Eric] Hey, guys. 368 00:17:04,896 --> 00:17:06,586 [Juan] So, we got a few ideas. 369 00:17:06,586 --> 00:17:09,103 One of the things that we did see is that your material is not feeding properly. 370 00:17:09,103 --> 00:17:11,689 What do you suggest for cure of that? 371 00:17:11,689 --> 00:17:13,896 [Juan] We're gonna actually have to build a new design 372 00:17:13,896 --> 00:17:15,275 for the three sluice run. 373 00:17:15,275 --> 00:17:17,931 Your riffles are too close together. 374 00:17:17,931 --> 00:17:20,689 The fine gold is gonna get thrown out. 375 00:17:20,689 --> 00:17:23,792 So, what we talked about is build new trays, 376 00:17:23,792 --> 00:17:26,172 different spacings and different riffles in there. 377 00:17:26,172 --> 00:17:27,896 Yeah, that makes sense to me. 378 00:17:27,896 --> 00:17:30,482 [Juan] There's one more thing that we wanna do inside the trommel. 379 00:17:30,482 --> 00:17:32,379 We wanna make sure that we concentrate that water flow 380 00:17:32,379 --> 00:17:33,931 that we do have on the material, 381 00:17:33,931 --> 00:17:35,724 so it actually washes a little bit better. 382 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:36,896 Sounds expensive. 383 00:17:36,896 --> 00:17:38,379 Are we gonna be able to afford this? 384 00:17:38,379 --> 00:17:40,275 Probably looking at about 12,000, 385 00:17:40,275 --> 00:17:42,413 paying Juan and myself and materials. 386 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:44,448 Wow. 387 00:17:47,068 --> 00:17:50,000 l liked the idea that it's gonna last for years to come 388 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,241 and increase the production. 389 00:17:51,241 --> 00:17:54,482 And if we've got the labor and they're willing to do it, 390 00:17:54,482 --> 00:17:57,000 we can be mining here in a few days. 391 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,379 [Freddy] Yeah. 392 00:17:58,379 --> 00:18:00,379 [Juan] I'm from Nevada, so double or nothing-- 393 00:18:00,379 --> 00:18:01,655 [Freddy] If we don't double it, 394 00:18:02,172 --> 00:18:03,689 you don't pay us for our labor, 395 00:18:03,689 --> 00:18:04,758 just the materials. 396 00:18:05,689 --> 00:18:06,793 [Juan] So, during our first run, 397 00:18:06,793 --> 00:18:09,172 it was six tenths of an ounce of gold, right? 398 00:18:09,172 --> 00:18:12,103 It's gonna have to be 1.2 ounces of gold 399 00:18:12,103 --> 00:18:13,620 for us to be able to get paid. 400 00:18:14,758 --> 00:18:16,000 [Eric] What do you think? 401 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,482 You started out as a babe with this 402 00:18:19,482 --> 00:18:23,724 and I appreciate your advice and willingness, you know? 403 00:18:24,482 --> 00:18:26,310 Yeah, let's do it. 404 00:18:26,310 --> 00:18:27,379 [Eric] Let's do it. 405 00:18:27,379 --> 00:18:30,310 Well, I'd hate to out guess you, but game on. 406 00:18:30,310 --> 00:18:31,344 [Juan] Let's do it. 407 00:18:32,310 --> 00:18:34,103 All right, I'm happy with that. 408 00:18:34,103 --> 00:18:35,931 -[Freddy] All right. -[Juan] We'll get to work, then. 409 00:18:37,793 --> 00:18:39,862 [Eric] I'm all for it. I know, it's a lot of money, 410 00:18:39,862 --> 00:18:41,931 but we'll make it back. 411 00:18:41,931 --> 00:18:44,862 [Juan] I'm really happy that Dick, Eric and Kelly went for the deal. 412 00:18:44,862 --> 00:18:46,068 I know what we're gonna do for 'em 413 00:18:46,068 --> 00:18:47,310 is gonna help 'em out tremendously. 414 00:18:52,413 --> 00:18:54,793 [narrator] Juan's first job, 415 00:18:54,793 --> 00:18:58,241 tackle the water pressure in the trommel spray bar. 416 00:19:00,172 --> 00:19:03,172 -[Eric] Do you just have some caps for these? -[Juan] I do. 417 00:19:03,172 --> 00:19:04,724 The spray bar inside the trommel, 418 00:19:04,724 --> 00:19:07,620 it's working, but it's not working as efficiently as it can be. 419 00:19:08,689 --> 00:19:10,172 We're gonna go and we're gonna eliminate 420 00:19:10,172 --> 00:19:12,517 half of the spray nozzles that they have in there, 421 00:19:12,517 --> 00:19:15,103 and then open up the other nozzles that they have. 422 00:19:15,103 --> 00:19:18,482 We wanna concentrate all that extra water pressure on the rocks 423 00:19:18,482 --> 00:19:20,586 where they can actually get washed and screened 424 00:19:20,586 --> 00:19:22,068 and drop into the box. 425 00:19:22,068 --> 00:19:23,517 We're gonna cap all these. 426 00:19:23,517 --> 00:19:24,896 No kidding. Well-- 427 00:19:24,896 --> 00:19:26,862 [Juan] Yeah, the issue that we're running into is, you know, 428 00:19:26,862 --> 00:19:28,103 this material is underwater. 429 00:19:28,103 --> 00:19:29,862 [Eric] Yeah, okay. 430 00:19:29,862 --> 00:19:32,689 [narrator] By capping off half of the jet holes at the front of the trommel, 431 00:19:32,689 --> 00:19:35,931 Juan increases the pressure where it's needed. 432 00:19:36,896 --> 00:19:39,068 -Well, the nozzle is here. -All right. 433 00:19:39,068 --> 00:19:40,793 Your dad didn't mess around when he built this. 434 00:19:40,793 --> 00:19:42,000 [Eric laughs] 435 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:42,965 [Juan] So, look at you, you know, your dad, 436 00:19:42,965 --> 00:19:44,586 he's the one that sparked that interest 437 00:19:44,586 --> 00:19:45,896 for you to be here at the mine site. 438 00:19:45,896 --> 00:19:49,586 Yeah, yeah, I was fortunate enough to grow up around here. 439 00:19:49,586 --> 00:19:51,000 Right around with him in this. 440 00:19:51,862 --> 00:19:53,931 With heavy equipment, trucks. 441 00:19:53,931 --> 00:19:55,448 So, what are your feelings? 442 00:19:55,448 --> 00:19:58,000 You think when your dad says, "Hey, I'm ready to give up the reins." 443 00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,310 Are you ready to take this over? 444 00:20:00,275 --> 00:20:01,793 [Eric] You just gotta step up to the plate 445 00:20:01,793 --> 00:20:04,275 and I can be here at the ranch and in the mine 446 00:20:04,275 --> 00:20:06,310 -and keep this operation going. -[Juan] Yeah. 447 00:20:06,310 --> 00:20:08,758 Where do you think you need to focus on? 448 00:20:08,758 --> 00:20:10,103 [Eric] Beginning at the right spot 449 00:20:10,103 --> 00:20:12,931 where you're out running the right type of material. 450 00:20:12,931 --> 00:20:14,793 It doesn't matter how great your wash plant is. 451 00:20:14,793 --> 00:20:16,896 If you're not finding the gold or-- 452 00:20:16,896 --> 00:20:18,551 [Juan] Yeah, that's exactly right. 453 00:20:18,551 --> 00:20:23,000 [Eric] What makes me nervous is I don't have 50 years of experience to rely on. 454 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,000 That's the hardest part of mining. 455 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,379 If you don't know how to read the ground or where to go 456 00:20:27,379 --> 00:20:28,586 -or how to do it... -[Eric] Right. 457 00:20:28,586 --> 00:20:29,896 ...it means absolutely nothing. 458 00:20:29,896 --> 00:20:31,379 Yeah, I wish I had paid more attention 459 00:20:31,379 --> 00:20:32,793 to geology class in high school... 460 00:20:32,793 --> 00:20:34,689 -[laughs] -...than chasing girls. 461 00:20:34,689 --> 00:20:36,413 I can't wait to see it run. 462 00:20:37,517 --> 00:20:39,689 He's learned a lot of the gold business from his dad. 463 00:20:39,689 --> 00:20:42,103 He really wants to make his dad proud. 464 00:20:42,103 --> 00:20:44,413 Well, that's it man. I think we got it done. 465 00:20:44,413 --> 00:20:46,379 That was real simple. We just had to put those caps in. 466 00:20:46,379 --> 00:20:47,689 Right on, buddy. 467 00:20:47,689 --> 00:20:48,896 It will be a good change. 468 00:20:48,896 --> 00:20:50,517 -Let's get out of here. -Let's get out of here, yeah. 469 00:20:50,517 --> 00:20:52,551 -[Juan] Kind of a tight spot in here. -[Eric] Yeah. 470 00:20:53,275 --> 00:20:54,482 You know, I'm not gonna lie to you, 471 00:20:54,482 --> 00:20:56,586 there's a lot of pressure to being a mine boss. 472 00:20:56,586 --> 00:20:59,379 I'm sure it comes with a lot of unknowns. 473 00:20:59,379 --> 00:21:01,413 Assuming Freddy and Juan's fixes work, 474 00:21:01,413 --> 00:21:03,172 that's gonna give me the leg up 475 00:21:03,172 --> 00:21:05,000 to be a great gold miner 476 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:06,793 and grow the operation 477 00:21:06,793 --> 00:21:08,517 and the expansion of the gold mine. 478 00:21:17,551 --> 00:21:19,379 [birds chirping] 479 00:21:20,862 --> 00:21:21,965 [Juan] All right, let's do it. 480 00:21:21,965 --> 00:21:23,275 [narrator] In Montana... 481 00:21:23,275 --> 00:21:24,896 [Juan] We kind of have something new that we're building. 482 00:21:24,896 --> 00:21:27,034 [narrator] ...at the Komberec mine, 483 00:21:27,034 --> 00:21:30,379 Juan builds his first ever three-way splitter 484 00:21:31,344 --> 00:21:33,551 to even paydirt distribution 485 00:21:33,551 --> 00:21:36,241 across the wash plant's three sluice runs. 486 00:21:38,758 --> 00:21:40,586 [Juan] A lot of the splitters that we've built over the years, 487 00:21:40,586 --> 00:21:41,827 they're really, really simple. 488 00:21:42,448 --> 00:21:44,655 Basically, you build a funnel, 489 00:21:44,655 --> 00:21:46,793 you funnel the material into an area to get concentrated, 490 00:21:46,793 --> 00:21:48,379 then you actually fan it out 491 00:21:48,379 --> 00:21:50,034 to be able to split it off two ways. 492 00:21:50,034 --> 00:21:51,862 This splitter is gonna be a little different, 493 00:21:51,862 --> 00:21:53,758 because we're gonna have to go three ways. 494 00:21:53,758 --> 00:21:56,137 If this works, this is definitely gonna be a game changer. 495 00:21:58,137 --> 00:22:00,827 All right, Kelly, you got it. Right there. 496 00:22:02,068 --> 00:22:04,103 The great thing is Kelly is very experienced, 497 00:22:04,103 --> 00:22:05,793 so he'll be able to help me out on this. 498 00:22:05,793 --> 00:22:08,551 Ah, look at you. There you go. 499 00:22:08,551 --> 00:22:11,068 [Kelly] I've fabricated most all my life 500 00:22:11,068 --> 00:22:12,862 and Juan is real good at it. 501 00:22:12,862 --> 00:22:14,448 He's a perfectionist. 502 00:22:14,448 --> 00:22:17,310 I'm hopeful that it can up their percentage. 503 00:22:18,137 --> 00:22:19,137 [Juan] Perfect. 504 00:22:22,379 --> 00:22:24,275 [Kelly] I'm a machinist and a millwright 505 00:22:24,275 --> 00:22:25,724 and welder. 506 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,793 My grandfather was a hardrock miner. 507 00:22:29,793 --> 00:22:32,931 And they taught me a little bit about all kinds of mining. 508 00:22:33,448 --> 00:22:35,793 Dick and Eric came to my shop, 509 00:22:35,793 --> 00:22:38,344 needed some work done on one of his airplanes. 510 00:22:38,344 --> 00:22:41,551 So, I made all the pieces for that old airplane and put them on. 511 00:22:41,551 --> 00:22:43,896 And then, they asked me if I wanted to work 512 00:22:43,896 --> 00:22:46,551 in a gold mine with them, so I started there. 513 00:22:46,551 --> 00:22:48,172 I've always been interested in gold 514 00:22:48,172 --> 00:22:50,000 and the machinery it takes to dig it 515 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,000 and wash it and separate it. 516 00:22:53,862 --> 00:22:58,172 I just turned 75-years-old here about a month ago. 517 00:22:58,172 --> 00:23:01,586 And I'm kind of afraid if I quit, I'll just die. 518 00:23:01,586 --> 00:23:04,000 Something to get me out of bed every morning and get me going. 519 00:23:07,137 --> 00:23:08,896 You know, the whole point of what we're building here 520 00:23:08,896 --> 00:23:11,000 is to try to split the material equally. 521 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,758 That's the whole point of having this distribution box. 522 00:23:13,758 --> 00:23:16,344 We wanna make sure that the flow that goes into each chamber 523 00:23:16,344 --> 00:23:19,413 that goes to the sluice boxes is as equal as possible. 524 00:23:20,275 --> 00:23:21,379 Isn't that right, Kelly? 525 00:23:22,034 --> 00:23:23,068 Whatever you say. 526 00:23:23,586 --> 00:23:25,275 [both laugh] 527 00:23:26,241 --> 00:23:27,827 It's always a really tough thing 528 00:23:27,827 --> 00:23:30,482 when we come in and we build something new that we've never done before. 529 00:23:30,482 --> 00:23:32,068 -[motor whirring] -[Juan] We may not be right on our measurements, 530 00:23:32,068 --> 00:23:33,793 we may not be right on our angles. 531 00:23:33,793 --> 00:23:35,655 I'm hoping that once we get it in there, 532 00:23:35,655 --> 00:23:37,310 it's really gonna help the production. 533 00:23:37,310 --> 00:23:40,206 But ultimately, we don't know until we actually put it in place and try it out. 534 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,689 [Freddy] Hey, Dick, you wanna give me a hand cutting some parts? 535 00:23:47,689 --> 00:23:49,517 Yeah, Fred, where are you starting? 536 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,551 [narrator] Across the claim, 537 00:23:51,551 --> 00:23:55,413 Freddy devises a more efficient gold catching riffle system. 538 00:23:55,896 --> 00:23:57,862 [metal clanks] 539 00:23:57,862 --> 00:24:00,724 [narrator] First, measuring and cutting the steel. 540 00:24:03,103 --> 00:24:07,241 Oh, we're gonna build a new set of riffles for the sluice box. 541 00:24:07,241 --> 00:24:10,068 I think they're missing quite a bit of their fine gold. 542 00:24:10,068 --> 00:24:13,000 The big gold is easy to catch, it's that fine gold. 543 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,379 Every speck counts. 544 00:24:16,379 --> 00:24:18,655 So, your riffles before were too tight. 545 00:24:18,655 --> 00:24:22,137 Your nugget riffles, too close together and all the same. 546 00:24:22,137 --> 00:24:23,068 So, what we're gonna do here, 547 00:24:23,068 --> 00:24:24,689 we're gonna open 'em up a little bit, 548 00:24:24,689 --> 00:24:27,000 so we get a better vortex behind 'em. 549 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,000 And do multiple changes in there. 550 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,275 Different wets and a few different style riffles in it. 551 00:24:33,275 --> 00:24:35,413 Boy, Fred, that makes so much sense. 552 00:24:39,103 --> 00:24:41,689 [narrator] Next, Freddy welds steel bars 553 00:24:41,689 --> 00:24:43,931 at differing angles and spacing. 554 00:24:44,758 --> 00:24:46,862 Known as Hungarian riffles. 555 00:24:46,862 --> 00:24:48,689 They slow the water current 556 00:24:48,689 --> 00:24:52,137 and allow the gold to fall and settle. 557 00:24:52,137 --> 00:24:55,241 [Freddy] What we'll do is we'll start with our top riffle here. 558 00:24:55,241 --> 00:24:57,586 I want that corner touching there 559 00:24:57,586 --> 00:24:59,862 and this corner touching here. 560 00:24:59,862 --> 00:25:01,689 That gives me the angle that I want. 561 00:25:01,689 --> 00:25:03,068 So, if you'll hold her. 562 00:25:03,068 --> 00:25:05,275 -Okay. -[Dick] Yeah. Eyeballs! 563 00:25:11,586 --> 00:25:13,793 [Freddy] You can see the different changes here, right? 564 00:25:13,793 --> 00:25:15,482 -[Dick] Definitely. -[Freddy] Change is good. 565 00:25:15,482 --> 00:25:18,241 'Cause that piece of gold that doesn't like this situation 566 00:25:18,241 --> 00:25:19,586 may really like this one. 567 00:25:19,586 --> 00:25:22,655 The more little subtle changes you can do, 568 00:25:22,655 --> 00:25:24,379 it's like Goldilocks, right? 569 00:25:24,379 --> 00:25:25,758 -Yeah. -This one's too soft, 570 00:25:25,758 --> 00:25:28,206 this one's too hard, this one's just right. 571 00:25:28,586 --> 00:25:29,586 [Dick] Perfect, Fred. 572 00:25:29,586 --> 00:25:32,103 What you're doing is replicating nature. 573 00:25:32,103 --> 00:25:32,896 [Freddy] Trying to. 574 00:25:32,896 --> 00:25:34,172 -When you're mining... -Yeah. 575 00:25:34,172 --> 00:25:36,655 ...certain parts of the bedrock held more gold, right? 576 00:25:36,655 --> 00:25:37,862 -Yeah. -You know? 577 00:25:37,862 --> 00:25:40,275 -Just the shape and the pit texture. -Yeah. 578 00:25:40,275 --> 00:25:41,655 You know, the fracturing in it 579 00:25:41,655 --> 00:25:44,965 holds more gold than that place over there did on the same. 580 00:25:44,965 --> 00:25:46,275 Oh, yeah. 581 00:25:47,862 --> 00:25:51,758 Things with Freddie and Juan are going excellent. 582 00:25:51,758 --> 00:25:56,000 I would have never come up with this in ten years. 583 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,172 You know, I thought about it, 584 00:25:57,172 --> 00:25:58,724 but they knew how to do it. 585 00:26:06,068 --> 00:26:07,241 [Juan] First off, I wanna get in there 586 00:26:07,241 --> 00:26:09,068 and we wanna cut that old sluice box off. 587 00:26:09,068 --> 00:26:10,275 [narrator] At the wash plant, 588 00:26:10,275 --> 00:26:13,034 Juan and Kelly remove the old sluice 589 00:26:13,034 --> 00:26:16,379 to make way for their new three-way upgrade. 590 00:26:16,379 --> 00:26:19,137 [Juan] We can figure out where we're gonna put that splitter chute. 591 00:26:19,689 --> 00:26:21,137 I'll get to two-two parts out, 592 00:26:21,137 --> 00:26:24,413 then we'll throw some lifting eyes on there. 593 00:26:26,586 --> 00:26:29,482 [narrator] Welding on tailor made lifting irons 594 00:26:29,482 --> 00:26:33,000 will make it easy to move the sluice away from the trommel 595 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,413 without damaging it. 596 00:26:35,344 --> 00:26:36,689 I've messed with the water 597 00:26:36,689 --> 00:26:38,758 trying to get it to do what I wanted to 598 00:26:38,758 --> 00:26:40,482 and not having very good results. 599 00:26:40,482 --> 00:26:42,896 And they got a good idea, so we're going for it. 600 00:26:43,379 --> 00:26:45,482 [machine whirring] 601 00:26:48,068 --> 00:26:49,448 [Juan] It's almost there. 602 00:26:49,448 --> 00:26:51,000 Careful, in case if it swings. 603 00:26:52,689 --> 00:26:54,137 [Kelly] I've been around a little bit, 604 00:26:54,137 --> 00:26:57,379 but I've learned a lot from Juan on fabrication. 605 00:26:57,379 --> 00:26:59,275 How the machine works. 606 00:26:59,275 --> 00:27:02,068 And I have complete faith in those guys. 607 00:27:04,586 --> 00:27:07,068 I can't wait for the run and see how it's gonna go. 608 00:27:07,068 --> 00:27:09,620 I think this device is gonna double our gold. 609 00:27:14,482 --> 00:27:15,482 [Juan] There you go. 610 00:27:18,068 --> 00:27:19,379 [narrator] Coming up... 611 00:27:19,379 --> 00:27:20,413 [Juan] That's not good. 612 00:27:20,413 --> 00:27:22,758 I originally was gonna build a top for this. 613 00:27:22,758 --> 00:27:24,172 We just didn't have enough time. 614 00:27:25,137 --> 00:27:26,896 It's not [bleep] working here. 615 00:27:28,241 --> 00:27:29,724 Just let us [bleep] work. 616 00:27:45,965 --> 00:27:48,068 [Dick] This is what we'll be hauling today. 617 00:27:48,068 --> 00:27:52,724 [narrator] There are 48 hours remaining on the Komberec's Montana rescue. 618 00:27:53,586 --> 00:27:56,448 [Dick] I'm anxious to see your opinion. 619 00:27:56,448 --> 00:27:59,758 [narrator] And with an ambitious gamble to double their recovery 620 00:27:59,758 --> 00:28:01,586 or they pay nothing, 621 00:28:01,586 --> 00:28:05,000 Freddy hedges his bet with a look at the family's cut. 622 00:28:05,896 --> 00:28:07,482 [Freddy] So, this is where you get your pay, huh? 623 00:28:07,482 --> 00:28:10,000 It's where we got our earlier stuff. 624 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,137 This area right here has produced a tremendous amount of gold. 625 00:28:13,137 --> 00:28:16,034 You know, the old timers got a lot of it, 626 00:28:16,034 --> 00:28:18,206 but there's a lot of it still to be had. 627 00:28:18,793 --> 00:28:20,034 Good old high bench. 628 00:28:20,034 --> 00:28:23,000 -What are we, probably, 75 feet above the creek? -Yep. 629 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,793 -Somewhere in there. -Yep. 630 00:28:24,793 --> 00:28:26,793 And just a couple miles from your plant down there. 631 00:28:26,793 --> 00:28:28,655 [Eric] Yeah, we're about three and a half miles 632 00:28:28,655 --> 00:28:31,896 and this is about 4,500 feet above sea level. 633 00:28:31,896 --> 00:28:32,758 [Freddy] Okay. 634 00:28:32,758 --> 00:28:34,689 [Dick] Yeah, and this is the bedrock. 635 00:28:39,655 --> 00:28:41,758 [Freddy] When the creek was up here, 636 00:28:41,758 --> 00:28:43,896 you know, who knows how many millions of years ago, 637 00:28:43,896 --> 00:28:46,379 but there's other stuff, slip rock. 638 00:28:46,379 --> 00:28:48,896 So, the stuff on top of it, you know, covered it. 639 00:28:48,896 --> 00:28:50,137 -[Dick] Yeah. -[Freddy] Covered it all. 640 00:28:50,137 --> 00:28:52,068 And then, the creek kept eroding its way down 641 00:28:52,068 --> 00:28:53,448 to where it's at now. 642 00:28:53,448 --> 00:28:54,931 -Yeah. -Down the bottom. 643 00:28:55,482 --> 00:28:57,896 -[Freddy] I mean, see these flat rocks? -[Dick] Uh-huh! 644 00:28:57,896 --> 00:28:59,172 -[Freddy] All right. -Yeah. 645 00:28:59,172 --> 00:29:02,862 [Freddy] So, you can read within some reason 646 00:29:02,862 --> 00:29:04,689 which direction a stream was flowing 647 00:29:04,689 --> 00:29:06,586 -when these rocks were laid there. -Uh-huh. 648 00:29:07,103 --> 00:29:08,586 -See that one? -[Dick] Yeah. 649 00:29:08,586 --> 00:29:11,793 Okay. The wide end is that way. 650 00:29:12,068 --> 00:29:13,137 So, this one, 651 00:29:13,137 --> 00:29:16,344 when it finally found its resting spot here, 652 00:29:16,344 --> 00:29:19,000 -the water flow was this direction. -[Dick] Wow. 653 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:20,206 [Freddy] It's called shingling. 654 00:29:20,206 --> 00:29:21,862 -[Eric] Let the rocks point the way. -[Dick] Yeah. 655 00:29:21,862 --> 00:29:24,344 [Freddy] So your skinniest part of the rock is downstream 656 00:29:24,344 --> 00:29:26,172 and it points you in the direction 657 00:29:26,172 --> 00:29:28,379 of the way that water was flowing at the time. 658 00:29:28,379 --> 00:29:30,172 It can kind of lead you in the direction 659 00:29:30,172 --> 00:29:32,862 that this channel is going to be going to follow it. 660 00:29:32,862 --> 00:29:35,379 This is your roadmap, your GPS. 661 00:29:35,379 --> 00:29:38,068 Follow those flat rocks and they'll lead you. 662 00:29:38,068 --> 00:29:40,655 -They will lead you the way that creek was. -Yeah. 663 00:29:40,655 --> 00:29:42,586 [narrator] Freddy's route map to gold 664 00:29:42,586 --> 00:29:47,379 means the Komberecs can run the most profitable pay through their plant. 665 00:29:47,379 --> 00:29:49,689 [Eric] Obviously, it's really exciting. 666 00:29:49,689 --> 00:29:51,448 It's great to learn new things. 667 00:29:51,448 --> 00:29:54,000 We're in the right place, we just need to fine tune it now 668 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,172 and which direction to dig. 669 00:29:56,172 --> 00:29:58,620 We just need to follow where the rocks tell us to go. 670 00:29:59,379 --> 00:30:01,172 [Freddy] We've dug a lot of ground here. 671 00:30:01,172 --> 00:30:03,793 And looking at the channel that I just looked at now, 672 00:30:03,793 --> 00:30:05,068 it looks very promising. 673 00:30:05,068 --> 00:30:06,965 They just need to stick here and mine. 674 00:30:06,965 --> 00:30:08,000 It looks pretty good. 675 00:30:09,482 --> 00:30:10,482 [honking] 676 00:30:15,793 --> 00:30:18,517 [metal clanks] 677 00:30:19,862 --> 00:30:20,827 There you are. 678 00:30:22,034 --> 00:30:23,275 Ready to go in. 679 00:30:23,275 --> 00:30:24,482 [narrator] At the plant... 680 00:30:24,482 --> 00:30:26,034 [Eric] Wow. 681 00:30:26,034 --> 00:30:28,068 Well, you guys worked your butt off. 682 00:30:28,068 --> 00:30:30,896 Oh, yeah, a thing of beauty. 683 00:30:30,896 --> 00:30:35,965 [narrator] ...Juan is installing his brand new three-way distribution chute 684 00:30:35,965 --> 00:30:39,931 designed to feed equal pay into the plants three sluices. 685 00:30:41,379 --> 00:30:42,586 [Juan] Well, I'm happy we're done with it. 686 00:30:42,586 --> 00:30:44,793 We're gonna get it all siliconed in and bolted up 687 00:30:44,793 --> 00:30:47,068 and we will keep on putting everything together. 688 00:30:47,068 --> 00:30:48,241 That's good. Perfect. 689 00:30:49,034 --> 00:30:50,379 You ready? 690 00:30:50,379 --> 00:30:52,896 This is the first time Fred and Juan have ever built 691 00:30:52,896 --> 00:30:54,793 a three-way distribution sluice box, 692 00:30:54,793 --> 00:30:57,482 so it's a bit of an experiment what we're gonna find out. 693 00:30:57,482 --> 00:30:58,586 [Juan] Fingers crossed. 694 00:30:58,586 --> 00:30:59,758 There it is. 695 00:30:59,758 --> 00:31:01,275 Looks good, guys. 696 00:31:09,482 --> 00:31:11,275 [Freddy] Well, what do you think? Go run the plant? 697 00:31:11,275 --> 00:31:13,206 Yeah, let's go do it, Freddy. It's time. 698 00:31:14,448 --> 00:31:18,241 [narrator] It's the day of reckoning at the Komberec mine. 699 00:31:18,241 --> 00:31:19,586 [Juan] I'm excited to watch it run. 700 00:31:19,586 --> 00:31:20,517 [Freddy] Yeah, me, too. 701 00:31:20,517 --> 00:31:22,862 [narrator] A second four-hour test 702 00:31:22,862 --> 00:31:26,413 will determine if Freddy and Juan's fixes will pay off. 703 00:31:27,275 --> 00:31:28,896 -[Juan] Morning, gentlemen. -[Freddy] Morning. 704 00:31:28,896 --> 00:31:29,896 [Juan] How are we doing? 705 00:31:29,896 --> 00:31:31,793 -[Dick] Morning. -[Eric] Hey, guys. 706 00:31:31,793 --> 00:31:33,862 [Freddy] Do you have enough pay to run four hours? 707 00:31:33,862 --> 00:31:35,068 [Eric] We've got plenty. 708 00:31:35,068 --> 00:31:36,896 -Well, let's run a test run, huh? -[Juan] Let's do it. 709 00:31:36,896 --> 00:31:39,689 -[Freddy] See how much gold we get. -[Juan] All right, let's go. 710 00:31:39,689 --> 00:31:42,379 [dramatic music playing] 711 00:31:42,379 --> 00:31:44,137 We're praying for the gains today 712 00:31:44,137 --> 00:31:45,896 and we need them. 713 00:31:45,896 --> 00:31:48,689 We're putting all our eggs in this basket. 714 00:31:48,689 --> 00:31:51,586 We're gonna find out if Juan and Freddy's fixes 715 00:31:51,586 --> 00:31:54,103 are gonna either make or break us. 716 00:31:54,103 --> 00:31:56,931 I can't wait for a run to see how it's gonna go. 717 00:31:57,344 --> 00:31:59,034 First run is point six, 718 00:31:59,034 --> 00:32:02,068 six tenths of an ounce that we made on our own. 719 00:32:02,068 --> 00:32:05,275 And we need 1.2 to double it. 720 00:32:07,586 --> 00:32:09,000 Let's get to mining. 721 00:32:10,793 --> 00:32:12,482 [narrator] Over the last three days, 722 00:32:12,482 --> 00:32:16,344 Freddy and Juan modernize the 50-year-old plant... 723 00:32:16,344 --> 00:32:17,896 [Juan] We got water! 724 00:32:17,896 --> 00:32:21,241 [narrator] ...increasing water pressure in the trommel's spray bar 725 00:32:21,241 --> 00:32:23,655 to wash pay more efficiently. 726 00:32:23,655 --> 00:32:25,965 Added mats and Hungarian riffles 727 00:32:25,965 --> 00:32:27,827 to collect fine gold. 728 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,034 And designed a new three-way sluice distribution system. 729 00:32:33,034 --> 00:32:34,241 Here we go, Juan. 730 00:32:36,275 --> 00:32:38,275 [Eric] Here's the first bucket of paydirt. 731 00:32:39,551 --> 00:32:40,931 Let's see what she does. 732 00:32:41,482 --> 00:32:43,137 There it is, Freddy, first bucket. 733 00:32:43,586 --> 00:32:44,586 Start the timer now. 734 00:32:44,586 --> 00:32:46,793 [motor whirring] 735 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,689 Hey, Juan, the spray bar looks a lot better. 736 00:32:56,689 --> 00:32:59,000 It's washing really good now on this end. 737 00:33:01,448 --> 00:33:03,034 [Juan] Looks way better, Freddy. 738 00:33:03,034 --> 00:33:04,310 [Freddy] Yeah, and clean. 739 00:33:05,689 --> 00:33:07,758 -I like it. -Way cleaner than it was. 740 00:33:07,758 --> 00:33:08,896 [Juan] Yeah. 741 00:33:10,793 --> 00:33:12,172 [Freddy] Juan. 742 00:33:12,172 --> 00:33:14,827 [Juan] Oh, no! That's not good. 743 00:33:15,551 --> 00:33:17,551 [narrator] At the distribution chute, 744 00:33:17,551 --> 00:33:20,000 water from the trommel is overflowing, 745 00:33:20,448 --> 00:33:23,482 risking significant gold loss. 746 00:33:23,482 --> 00:33:25,000 [Juan] We gotta get a piece of wood over that. 747 00:33:25,965 --> 00:33:27,275 [Freddy] Hurry, hurry, hurry. 748 00:33:28,448 --> 00:33:29,862 [Juan] That's not good. 749 00:33:29,862 --> 00:33:31,275 -Look right here. -[Freddy] Holy! 750 00:33:31,275 --> 00:33:33,379 It's got a lot of water coming out the end here, 751 00:33:33,379 --> 00:33:35,655 so we're just trying to get it under control. 752 00:33:35,655 --> 00:33:39,172 I originally was gonna build a top for the top of this. 753 00:33:39,172 --> 00:33:40,758 We just didn't have enough time. 754 00:33:40,758 --> 00:33:42,172 [water splashing] 755 00:33:43,103 --> 00:33:45,000 [Freddy] It's not [bleep] working here. 756 00:33:48,379 --> 00:33:50,068 Just let us [bleep] work. 757 00:33:53,482 --> 00:33:55,379 [Juan] Can you give me that clamp right there? 758 00:33:57,379 --> 00:33:58,620 [Freddy] Are you [bleep] all right? 759 00:34:09,103 --> 00:34:10,688 This should seal it up, eh, Juan? 760 00:34:10,688 --> 00:34:12,551 [Juan] Yeah, it should be close. 761 00:34:12,551 --> 00:34:16,068 [narrator] A temporary cap stems the overflow 762 00:34:16,068 --> 00:34:19,688 and forces the water to run faster through the chute. 763 00:34:19,688 --> 00:34:21,068 That's better. 764 00:34:21,068 --> 00:34:22,585 -[Freddy] Yeah, it's a little more even now. -[Juan] Yeah. 765 00:34:23,688 --> 00:34:24,827 Here you go. 766 00:34:25,482 --> 00:34:27,310 You use what you got. 767 00:34:27,310 --> 00:34:30,655 There's never been a plant put together that they didn't have to change stuff. 768 00:34:30,655 --> 00:34:32,688 We're adapting on the fly. 769 00:34:35,275 --> 00:34:36,482 [Juan] We had a few hiccups, 770 00:34:36,482 --> 00:34:38,137 but all-in-all, it's running really well. 771 00:34:38,137 --> 00:34:39,931 So far, everything is looking really good. 772 00:34:40,482 --> 00:34:42,447 The new chute's working great. 773 00:34:42,447 --> 00:34:44,068 You can see our material coming down here, 774 00:34:44,068 --> 00:34:45,482 it levels out, evens out, 775 00:34:45,482 --> 00:34:48,241 and we got a perfect flow in all three sluice boxes. 776 00:34:55,275 --> 00:34:57,000 [Freddy] Well, are you ready to pour a bar? 777 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,206 Yeah, I am, Fred. 778 00:34:59,379 --> 00:35:00,413 [Freddy] Here we go. 779 00:35:00,413 --> 00:35:02,655 [narrator] At Bear Gulch, a mobile forge 780 00:35:02,655 --> 00:35:05,379 makes quick work of the Komberec's gold. 781 00:35:05,379 --> 00:35:07,103 What's it about, 2,000 degrees, Freddy? 782 00:35:07,103 --> 00:35:09,965 Yeah, right now, we're a little over 2,000, probably. 783 00:35:09,965 --> 00:35:12,103 Pure gold melts at 1,930. 784 00:35:14,241 --> 00:35:15,586 A few more seconds. 785 00:35:16,034 --> 00:35:17,827 Three, two, one. 786 00:35:18,482 --> 00:35:20,551 Look at that. That's a beautiful bar. 787 00:35:20,551 --> 00:35:22,103 [Juan] Yeah, it is. 788 00:35:22,103 --> 00:35:24,206 -Pretty, huh? -[Dick] It's pretty, Fred. 789 00:35:24,793 --> 00:35:26,310 [Juan] All right, starting now. 790 00:35:27,275 --> 00:35:29,586 Well, there it is, Dick. She's done. 791 00:35:29,586 --> 00:35:31,551 [Dick] My goodness, look at that. 792 00:35:31,551 --> 00:35:32,793 Unbelievable. 793 00:35:40,448 --> 00:35:42,172 [Eric] Awesome. Good news. 794 00:35:42,689 --> 00:35:44,275 Looks like it's working great. 795 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,793 [narrator] After a week of fixes, 796 00:35:47,379 --> 00:35:49,000 the Komberec's wash plant 797 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,793 now runs at 25 yards an hour. 798 00:35:51,793 --> 00:35:54,655 Twice the amount it did in the first test. 799 00:35:54,655 --> 00:35:57,000 [machine whirring] 800 00:35:59,620 --> 00:36:01,482 [Eric] The biggest surprises to all of us 801 00:36:01,482 --> 00:36:05,655 is the sheer volume of material running through the sluice box. 802 00:36:07,137 --> 00:36:08,275 I couldn't be happier. 803 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:11,551 [Freddy] These feel good, Juan. 804 00:36:11,551 --> 00:36:13,689 [Juan] Yeah, it feels better now. 805 00:36:13,689 --> 00:36:15,137 [Freddy] Look how even it is? 806 00:36:16,896 --> 00:36:18,206 Last bucket! 807 00:36:18,689 --> 00:36:20,000 [Eric] Last bucket! 808 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,206 [upbeat instrumental rock music playing] 809 00:36:25,068 --> 00:36:26,310 Good run, Fred. 810 00:36:26,310 --> 00:36:27,689 You know, we had a couple of little issues, 811 00:36:27,689 --> 00:36:29,448 but really, it wasn't bad. 812 00:36:29,448 --> 00:36:31,137 And that box is sluicing really well. 813 00:36:31,137 --> 00:36:32,586 -That splitter. -[Freddy] Yeah, it's pretty good. 814 00:36:32,586 --> 00:36:34,000 First three-way, Juan. 815 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:35,827 [Juan] First three-way. [laughs] 816 00:36:38,413 --> 00:36:39,655 [Freddy] Shut her down! 817 00:36:44,896 --> 00:36:46,206 There, you see it all in there. 818 00:36:47,206 --> 00:36:48,344 In here, too. 819 00:36:49,068 --> 00:36:50,172 Come check this out, guys. 820 00:36:50,172 --> 00:36:51,482 It's like Christmas. 821 00:36:51,482 --> 00:36:53,206 You got gold in every box now. 822 00:36:54,379 --> 00:36:57,379 You got gold there, you got gold there, you got gold there. 823 00:36:57,689 --> 00:36:59,068 [Eric] Awesome. 824 00:36:59,068 --> 00:37:02,965 Honest to God, we'd never see gold down here like this. Ever. 825 00:37:02,965 --> 00:37:04,517 [Freddy] Well, let's clean it up, guys. 826 00:37:04,517 --> 00:37:05,724 [Eric] Let's find out. 827 00:37:06,275 --> 00:37:07,793 I was really impressed 828 00:37:07,793 --> 00:37:10,482 with the amount of production that we were able to put out. 829 00:37:10,482 --> 00:37:12,517 We were able to run longer, faster, 830 00:37:12,517 --> 00:37:15,275 so I'm thinking we're gonna have some pretty good recovery. 831 00:37:15,275 --> 00:37:17,655 I'm shooting for one ounce to be my target 832 00:37:17,655 --> 00:37:19,379 to meet our 100 ounce goal. 833 00:37:19,379 --> 00:37:20,862 [Freddy] We've seen gold in the box. 834 00:37:20,862 --> 00:37:22,896 That puts smiles on all of our faces. 835 00:37:22,896 --> 00:37:25,275 But you never know till you get it on the scale. 836 00:37:25,275 --> 00:37:27,448 Until we get it on the scale, I'm always nervous. 837 00:37:30,965 --> 00:37:33,379 [cricket chirping] 838 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,896 [birds chirping] 839 00:37:41,896 --> 00:37:43,482 -Hey, guys. -[Eric] Hey! 840 00:37:43,482 --> 00:37:45,689 -Brought you one last gift. -[Eric] All right. 841 00:37:45,689 --> 00:37:47,689 That splitter we built worked really good, 842 00:37:47,689 --> 00:37:49,310 but it did need a cap on top of it 843 00:37:49,310 --> 00:37:51,448 to cover that material from boiling over. 844 00:37:51,448 --> 00:37:53,965 -[Dick] Yeah, little bit splashed off it. -[Juan] Yeah. 845 00:37:53,965 --> 00:37:55,482 Just take this right on there and be done with it. 846 00:37:55,482 --> 00:37:57,413 -I'm sure we can handle it. -[Juan] Awesome. 847 00:37:57,413 --> 00:37:59,620 Did do you guys get the gold all cleaned up? 848 00:37:59,620 --> 00:38:00,517 [Eric] Yeah. 849 00:38:00,517 --> 00:38:01,896 [Juan] Well, let's weigh it up, huh? 850 00:38:01,896 --> 00:38:03,931 [Freddy] I'll grab my scale and something to dump it in. 851 00:38:05,689 --> 00:38:08,793 [narrator] To hit their 100 ounce season target, 852 00:38:08,793 --> 00:38:13,000 this gold weigh needs to produce at least one ounce of gold. 853 00:38:15,896 --> 00:38:17,172 [Freddy] Well, let's weigh it up. 854 00:38:17,172 --> 00:38:18,724 Well, let's do it. 855 00:38:18,724 --> 00:38:23,586 [narrator] But if Freddy and Juan don't see at least 1.2 ounces, 856 00:38:23,586 --> 00:38:26,172 they lose their double or nothing wager. 857 00:38:27,034 --> 00:38:29,758 [Freddy] Well, there's 0.6, guys. 858 00:38:29,758 --> 00:38:31,172 Yeah, that's what we got on our first run. 859 00:38:31,172 --> 00:38:32,517 [Freddy] That's what we got on the first run. 860 00:38:40,137 --> 00:38:41,586 [Eric] Keep going, keep going. 861 00:38:45,172 --> 00:38:46,344 [Freddy] 1.18. 862 00:38:46,344 --> 00:38:47,862 -[Dick] Elated. -[all laughing] 863 00:38:47,862 --> 00:38:48,896 [Juan] Awesome. 864 00:38:48,896 --> 00:38:51,310 [Dick] What a job, unbelievable. 865 00:38:51,310 --> 00:38:54,517 [narrator] Worth over $2,200. 866 00:38:54,517 --> 00:38:58,000 Almost twice the gold made in their first test run. 867 00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:59,172 -Ooh. -[Freddy] Oh, my God. 868 00:38:59,172 --> 00:39:00,689 -We're so close. -[all laughing] 869 00:39:00,689 --> 00:39:02,896 [narrator] But two tenths of an ounce short 870 00:39:02,896 --> 00:39:05,551 of Freddie and Juan winning their bet. 871 00:39:05,551 --> 00:39:08,413 No, no fricking way! 872 00:39:09,896 --> 00:39:11,482 Dang near doubled it. 873 00:39:11,482 --> 00:39:12,758 Missed it by... 874 00:39:12,758 --> 00:39:14,241 -Just a little bit. -...that much. 875 00:39:14,241 --> 00:39:16,620 But honestly, either way, I'm happy. 876 00:39:16,620 --> 00:39:19,275 Nearly doubling it, that's a big jump. 877 00:39:19,275 --> 00:39:21,068 [narrator] Over their 50-day season, 878 00:39:21,068 --> 00:39:24,000 Freddie and Juan's fixes could now net the Komberecs 879 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,137 20 ounces more than their 100 ounce target. 880 00:39:27,137 --> 00:39:30,965 In total, worth almost a quarter of a million dollars, 881 00:39:30,965 --> 00:39:33,206 enough to keep both the mining operation 882 00:39:33,206 --> 00:39:35,793 and the aviation company afloat 883 00:39:35,793 --> 00:39:39,172 and secure a legacy for Eric and his children. 884 00:39:39,172 --> 00:39:41,241 Fifty days of running, there's your 100 ounce goal, 885 00:39:41,241 --> 00:39:42,689 but I think you'll beat it. 886 00:39:42,689 --> 00:39:45,793 Your improvements definitely added the efficiency that we needed 887 00:39:45,793 --> 00:39:47,413 to make this profitable. 888 00:39:47,413 --> 00:39:49,793 Remarkable. I'm extremely thrilled. 889 00:39:49,793 --> 00:39:51,827 And those improvements are for life. 890 00:39:53,068 --> 00:39:55,000 It's been a great learning experience 891 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,793 and growing experience for all of us. 892 00:39:56,793 --> 00:39:59,137 I think we'll remember for the rest of our lives 893 00:39:59,137 --> 00:40:02,068 and we have Freddy and Juan to thank for it. 894 00:40:02,068 --> 00:40:06,310 I think they've honestly changed the outcome of the mine for the better. 895 00:40:06,310 --> 00:40:09,137 This is genius, what you just did, 896 00:40:09,137 --> 00:40:10,448 both of you. 897 00:40:10,448 --> 00:40:14,586 My legacy is gonna be continued with Eric 898 00:40:14,586 --> 00:40:16,413 and I'm very proud of him. 899 00:40:16,413 --> 00:40:19,965 In the future, it will be a great improvement 900 00:40:19,965 --> 00:40:21,827 thanks to Freddy and Juan. 901 00:40:23,241 --> 00:40:25,310 Well, we hate leaving you, 902 00:40:25,310 --> 00:40:26,965 but we gotta get on the road, guys. 903 00:40:26,965 --> 00:40:28,275 -Thanks, Fred. -Thank you, sir. 904 00:40:28,275 --> 00:40:29,172 What a pleasure. 905 00:40:29,172 --> 00:40:30,344 Great working with you, buddy. 906 00:40:30,344 --> 00:40:31,620 -Dick, thank you, sir. -Thank you, what a pleasure. 907 00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:32,482 Likewise. 908 00:40:32,482 --> 00:40:33,724 Go get there safe. 909 00:40:35,448 --> 00:40:37,034 We almost doubled it, right? 910 00:40:37,034 --> 00:40:38,862 Almost 100 percent increase. 911 00:40:38,862 --> 00:40:41,103 So, when you can walk away with that, 912 00:40:41,103 --> 00:40:43,172 you know you've done your job and you've done it well, 913 00:40:43,172 --> 00:40:45,000 and you've helped people's lives 914 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,655 and help put more money in their pockets, 915 00:40:47,655 --> 00:40:49,793 it's always a good day. 916 00:40:49,793 --> 00:40:53,206 They can catch more gold for today, tomorrow and the future. 917 00:40:53,206 --> 00:40:56,000 No matter what generation of this family is mining it. 918 00:40:57,379 --> 00:41:00,793 [upbeat music playing] 919 00:41:02,620 --> 00:41:05,689 [Eric] We worked hard at the mine for most of the summer. 920 00:41:05,689 --> 00:41:08,689 After Freddy and Juan fixes, we're able to run about 921 00:41:08,689 --> 00:41:11,034 three times the amount of material 922 00:41:11,034 --> 00:41:13,137 per hour that we were before. 923 00:41:13,758 --> 00:41:15,137 We're able to catch more gold, 924 00:41:15,137 --> 00:41:16,896 our cleanups are faster, 925 00:41:16,896 --> 00:41:21,000 so all-in-all, general productivity and gold recovery is up 926 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,172 by ten to 15 percent. 927 00:41:23,172 --> 00:41:25,689 We don't quite have a total gold count yet, 928 00:41:25,689 --> 00:41:29,482 but I think we're gonna be pleasantly surprised at the end of the season. 929 00:41:29,482 --> 00:41:32,241 The time I got to spend with Freddy and Juan was priceless. 930 00:41:32,241 --> 00:41:36,482 And I'm excited for what the future holds for my family in this goldmine.