1
00:00:05,689 --> 00:00:07,172
This is
the biggest casino there is.
2
00:00:08,379 --> 00:00:11,689
You have no idea
if there's anything
beneath the surface or not.
3
00:00:11,689 --> 00:00:13,275
You're just hoping there is.
4
00:00:13,275 --> 00:00:15,310
I've watched
enough guys on TV
5
00:00:15,310 --> 00:00:19,241
cleaning enough rocks to go,
"I'll get this. I got this."
6
00:00:19,620 --> 00:00:21,172
Yeah, I was wrong.
7
00:00:21,172 --> 00:00:24,103
We're 400,000
US dollars into this,
8
00:00:24,103 --> 00:00:25,241
we need to see gold.
9
00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:29,586
I got more in my teeth
than we found last season.
10
00:00:29,586 --> 00:00:32,103
So you spend $1,000
in fuel digging hole,
11
00:00:33,413 --> 00:00:34,310
nothing in the hole.
12
00:00:34,310 --> 00:00:36,379
It was... it was so bad.
13
00:00:36,379 --> 00:00:40,068
Way tougher, way tougher
than any of us expected.
14
00:00:40,068 --> 00:00:42,827
You can't stay mining up here,
and, you know,
15
00:00:42,827 --> 00:00:45,793
pour money down
into the hole for nothing.
16
00:00:45,793 --> 00:00:48,000
We're new to this,
and we're rookies.
17
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,310
We're not quite getting it.
18
00:00:50,310 --> 00:00:52,413
If we don't get
100 ounces this year,
19
00:00:52,413 --> 00:00:54,724
that's it, it's over.
The dream ends.
20
00:00:57,586 --> 00:00:59,586
Let's make
some gold, guys!
21
00:00:59,586 --> 00:01:01,172
Freddy Dodge...
22
00:01:01,172 --> 00:01:03,310
There's no guarantees
in gold, buddy.
23
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,724
...and Juan Ibarra...
24
00:01:05,724 --> 00:01:07,379
All right. Well,
let's do it, huh?
25
00:01:07,379 --> 00:01:10,827
...have mastered
the art of getting gold
out of the ground...
26
00:01:10,827 --> 00:01:12,275
Look at that.
27
00:01:12,275 --> 00:01:14,586
...in the most
rugged places on earth.
28
00:01:14,586 --> 00:01:16,586
I'm feeling
a little sick, Freddy.
29
00:01:16,586 --> 00:01:19,275
Now they rescue
struggling miners...
30
00:01:19,275 --> 00:01:21,103
Ooh.
That's not good.
31
00:01:21,103 --> 00:01:23,448
...who've
risked it all to be rich...
32
00:01:24,413 --> 00:01:25,793
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Shut it down!
33
00:01:25,793 --> 00:01:28,103
...but are
about to lose everything.
34
00:01:28,379 --> 00:01:29,448
Eyeballs.
35
00:01:29,448 --> 00:01:31,896
To revive
these failing mines,
36
00:01:31,896 --> 00:01:34,689
Freddy and Juan
engineered the impossible.
37
00:01:34,689 --> 00:01:37,068
Well, I've never heard
of an under sluice before.
38
00:01:37,068 --> 00:01:39,206
Deliver some hard truths.
39
00:01:39,206 --> 00:01:42,275
This material
you're digging now
is totally worthless.
40
00:01:42,275 --> 00:01:44,517
And track down the gold.
41
00:01:44,517 --> 00:01:46,275
That's what dreams
are made of right there.
42
00:01:46,275 --> 00:01:50,482
But if they don't
at least double
the miners' gold recovery,
43
00:01:50,482 --> 00:01:52,931
they won't take a dime
in return.
44
00:01:52,931 --> 00:01:55,724
It's ten times the amount
of gold. That's awesome.
45
00:02:09,793 --> 00:02:13,172
Hey, Juan, I sure hope
this is the right road.
46
00:02:13,172 --> 00:02:15,482
Yeah,
he was saying it was down
the logging road, right?
47
00:02:15,482 --> 00:02:17,586
So I'm imagining this is it.
48
00:02:17,586 --> 00:02:20,482
Do they have much experience
mining, Freddy,
that you know of?
49
00:02:20,482 --> 00:02:23,310
I don't think they have much
experience mining at all.
50
00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:25,310
They started getting
set up last year,
51
00:02:25,310 --> 00:02:28,172
and, uh, they just started
to run a little bit.
52
00:02:28,172 --> 00:02:30,793
I think we may be
in a tough situation here.
53
00:02:30,793 --> 00:02:32,000
Dang it. Okay.
54
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:33,827
We'll learn more shortly.
55
00:02:38,482 --> 00:02:41,413
In the central
interior of British Columbia,
56
00:02:41,413 --> 00:02:47,068
Freddy and Juan
are answering a call for help
from the Naver Creek mine.
57
00:02:47,068 --> 00:02:50,413
Located in an area
with rich gold potential,
58
00:02:50,413 --> 00:02:54,000
during the Fraser River
Gold Rush of 1858,
59
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,103
around 30,000 gold miners
converged on the area.
60
00:02:58,103 --> 00:03:04,103
In only a nine-year period,
they produced gold
worth over $3 trillion
61
00:03:04,103 --> 00:03:05,620
in today's money.
62
00:03:09,482 --> 00:03:11,172
How we doing,
gentlemen?
How's it going?
63
00:03:11,172 --> 00:03:12,206
You're a familiar face.
64
00:03:12,206 --> 00:03:14,103
- Jay.
- Jay, nice to meet you.
65
00:03:14,103 --> 00:03:15,000
- Freddy.
- Trevor.
66
00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:15,896
Pleasure.
67
00:03:15,896 --> 00:03:16,931
- Trevor?
- Yes.
68
00:03:16,931 --> 00:03:17,896
Trevor and Jay.
69
00:03:17,896 --> 00:03:19,000
Hi, I'm Sacha.
70
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:20,724
- Nice to meet you, Sacha.
- Very nice to meet you.
71
00:03:20,724 --> 00:03:21,793
Hey, Sacha. Juan.
72
00:03:21,793 --> 00:03:23,172
- Hi, Freddy. I'm Mark.
- Mark.
73
00:03:23,172 --> 00:03:25,000
Mark, Sacha, Trevor.
74
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,103
Well, it's great you guys
are here. Welcome to Canada.
75
00:03:27,103 --> 00:03:29,103
We need you.
76
00:03:29,103 --> 00:03:30,275
Help.
77
00:03:30,275 --> 00:03:32,103
I'm not
a psychiatrist.
Just so you know.
78
00:03:32,103 --> 00:03:33,379
Damn, what we need.
79
00:03:34,965 --> 00:03:37,413
What did your season
look like last year,
as far as gold totals?
80
00:03:37,413 --> 00:03:38,896
Last year was a bust.
81
00:03:38,896 --> 00:03:40,206
Oh, really?
82
00:03:40,206 --> 00:03:42,379
It was a bad bust.
We found about
3/4 of an ounce.
83
00:03:42,379 --> 00:03:46,103
I mean, digging through
30 feet of clay
to try to get to bedrock.
84
00:03:46,103 --> 00:03:47,620
It was just... it was nasty.
85
00:03:47,620 --> 00:03:50,103
So last year
was bust, this year,
how are you doing so far?
86
00:03:50,103 --> 00:03:51,620
We just got set up here.
87
00:03:51,620 --> 00:03:53,275
We've been running
for about a week.
88
00:03:53,275 --> 00:03:54,275
Wow. Okay.
89
00:03:54,275 --> 00:03:55,758
This is what
we got out of there.
90
00:03:56,413 --> 00:03:57,379
Sixth of an ounce.
91
00:03:57,379 --> 00:03:58,551
Sixth of an ounce, yeah.
92
00:03:58,551 --> 00:04:00,172
And I'll guarantee you,
we lost half of it.
93
00:04:00,172 --> 00:04:01,068
Oh, yeah, guaranteed.
94
00:04:01,068 --> 00:04:02,517
That's it, huh?
95
00:04:02,517 --> 00:04:04,827
So, so far,
everything you've found
is about that size then?
96
00:04:04,827 --> 00:04:07,310
Yeah.
Not a lot
of finds in it, huh?
97
00:04:07,310 --> 00:04:10,068
As far as financially,
what do you guys have
tied up in this?
98
00:04:10,068 --> 00:04:12,620
From claims, machinery,
maintenance, odds and ends
99
00:04:12,620 --> 00:04:13,793
that we've had
to put together,
100
00:04:13,793 --> 00:04:15,724
total $400,000 US.
101
00:04:17,482 --> 00:04:20,137
And nobody's getting
a paycheck unless
we see some gold.
102
00:04:21,586 --> 00:04:24,551
I started gold mining
with a friend one summer,
103
00:04:25,379 --> 00:04:26,413
and I got the bug.
104
00:04:26,896 --> 00:04:28,275
You've seen it on TV.
105
00:04:28,275 --> 00:04:30,103
It looks adventurous.
106
00:04:30,103 --> 00:04:32,413
It looks fun.
It looks like it can be done.
107
00:04:33,172 --> 00:04:35,206
So you give it a shot.
108
00:04:35,206 --> 00:04:38,000
Last year we pulled together
a couple of good buddies.
109
00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,517
I asked Jay
and Trevor and we said,
"Let's do the adventure."
110
00:04:42,517 --> 00:04:44,931
We did not get
very much though,
not even an ounce.
111
00:04:45,482 --> 00:04:47,793
So it's a really tough year.
112
00:04:47,793 --> 00:04:50,896
I wanted to give it up.
I really wanted to give up.
113
00:04:50,896 --> 00:04:53,206
Last year,
Mark Skakun
114
00:04:53,206 --> 00:04:57,413
met local gold enthusiast
and claim owner, John Olsen.
115
00:04:57,413 --> 00:05:00,103
It's been a hobby of mine
for many years,
116
00:05:00,103 --> 00:05:03,689
and these claims took me
quite a while to acquire.
117
00:05:03,689 --> 00:05:07,000
I saw an opportunity
and I grabbed hold of it.
118
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:12,172
But it soon overtook me
and it became too big for me.
119
00:05:12,172 --> 00:05:16,000
I know there's better gold
on here because I've found
better gold here.
120
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:17,482
Some are fairly chunky.
121
00:05:17,482 --> 00:05:20,827
I had to make
a decision, so I got
the other folks involved
122
00:05:20,827 --> 00:05:23,931
and we're trying
to make this work
and make it worthwhile.
123
00:05:25,931 --> 00:05:28,793
Meeting with John,
being good friends with him,
124
00:05:28,793 --> 00:05:32,689
and then seeing his property
having a chance to help him,
125
00:05:32,689 --> 00:05:34,862
and we're all sharing
the gold, what we find.
126
00:05:35,931 --> 00:05:39,172
When John purchased
the claim five years ago,
127
00:05:39,172 --> 00:05:41,793
it came with several
mining relics
128
00:05:41,793 --> 00:05:44,172
and a broken wash plant.
129
00:05:44,172 --> 00:05:48,310
Located on 1,600 acres
of dense, wooded terrain,
130
00:05:48,310 --> 00:05:53,103
Mark recently moved
the operation to a more
accessible area.
131
00:05:53,103 --> 00:05:55,413
There's actually dirt
going through a trommel.
132
00:05:55,413 --> 00:05:56,620
It's being washed.
133
00:05:56,620 --> 00:05:58,620
We're actually seeing gold
in a pan.
134
00:05:58,620 --> 00:06:02,137
Like, this is light-years
ahead of last year.
135
00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:04,586
What's your
season goal this year?
136
00:06:04,586 --> 00:06:06,137
We'll have the goal
of 100 ounces.
137
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,103
This is the turning point
138
00:06:10,103 --> 00:06:12,482
whether we just tuck
our tail between our legs.
139
00:06:12,482 --> 00:06:14,172
We don't want that. You know?
140
00:06:14,172 --> 00:06:15,517
That's why we're here,
it's to help.
141
00:06:15,517 --> 00:06:17,827
Ah, and you know what,
we need it.
142
00:06:17,827 --> 00:06:19,689
There's only one way
to find out.
143
00:06:19,689 --> 00:06:20,896
Let's do a test run.
144
00:06:20,896 --> 00:06:21,896
Okay, let's do this.
145
00:06:24,793 --> 00:06:26,379
They're just
barely starting out,
146
00:06:26,379 --> 00:06:29,896
and they've got less than
half an ounce of gold
to a goal of 100 ounces.
147
00:06:29,896 --> 00:06:32,586
It's a lot.
It's a massive undertaking.
148
00:06:32,586 --> 00:06:35,517
To be honest, I just
don't know if that's
even possible right now.
149
00:06:36,103 --> 00:06:37,517
Fire it up.
Fire it up.
150
00:06:41,103 --> 00:06:43,482
Freddy and Juan
will conduct a test run
151
00:06:43,482 --> 00:06:45,310
to identify problems
152
00:06:45,310 --> 00:06:50,137
and measure how much gold
Mark's wash plant
can catch in four hours.
153
00:06:52,206 --> 00:06:54,000
There it is, Freddy,
first bucket.
154
00:06:59,827 --> 00:07:02,482
Let's get some paydirt
into there.
155
00:07:02,482 --> 00:07:07,448
Trevor and Mark
haul pay from a cut
600 yards from the wash plant.
156
00:07:09,103 --> 00:07:11,620
We'll take full loads here
because we're now
starting to move.
157
00:07:12,931 --> 00:07:15,586
The pay
is loaded into a hopper
158
00:07:15,586 --> 00:07:18,620
and drops into
an 8-foot rotating trommel.
159
00:07:19,517 --> 00:07:21,724
A spray bar blasts the dirt,
160
00:07:21,724 --> 00:07:24,310
washing the small material
and gold
161
00:07:24,310 --> 00:07:27,689
through the screen
and down into the sluice box,
162
00:07:27,689 --> 00:07:30,310
where gold should be
caught in the mess.
163
00:07:31,517 --> 00:07:32,827
I know there's a lot of people
164
00:07:32,827 --> 00:07:35,379
that only dream about
living their lives this way,
165
00:07:35,379 --> 00:07:38,862
and here we are,
playing the big sandbox.
166
00:07:39,896 --> 00:07:41,310
It's fantastic.
167
00:07:47,689 --> 00:07:50,000
We've got to get
the 100 ounces this year,
168
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,068
or we're not gonna have
another season.
169
00:07:52,068 --> 00:07:54,724
I don't want to come back
empty-handed. Not this time.
170
00:08:00,482 --> 00:08:02,896
From a distance,
I don't like the look
of the material
171
00:08:02,896 --> 00:08:04,275
they're running
out of that pit.
172
00:08:04,275 --> 00:08:05,724
It's kind of a glacial till.
173
00:08:07,068 --> 00:08:08,413
Not much gold in it.
174
00:08:10,689 --> 00:08:13,206
This little plant
is not made for what
they want to do.
175
00:08:13,206 --> 00:08:17,172
No, this is to drag around
behind to pick up
the test ground left.
176
00:08:17,172 --> 00:08:20,137
Not to mine. Not to try
to make a living off of.
177
00:08:21,689 --> 00:08:24,172
The bucket is
bigger than the plant, Juan.
178
00:08:24,172 --> 00:08:25,241
Yeah.
179
00:08:26,310 --> 00:08:28,000
It's, kind of, missing.
180
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,275
Look at all that fine material
that's getting spit out
on the ground.
181
00:08:33,275 --> 00:08:36,344
They're rookies
to mining. You can tell
there's a lot of inexperience.
182
00:08:39,586 --> 00:08:41,793
That sluice's
running like crap.
183
00:08:41,793 --> 00:08:43,689
Not near enough water.
Not enough water.
184
00:08:43,689 --> 00:08:45,206
Crooked.
Yep.
185
00:08:45,206 --> 00:08:48,482
That's why
we weren't seeing
much fine gold in that jar.
186
00:08:48,482 --> 00:08:49,827
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
187
00:08:49,827 --> 00:08:52,724
The poorly-configured
sluice box is uneven
188
00:08:52,724 --> 00:08:56,275
and doesn't have enough water
to properly wash the rocks,
189
00:08:56,275 --> 00:08:59,275
causing material
to build up on one side.
190
00:08:59,275 --> 00:09:01,379
Piling up at the top.
191
00:09:01,379 --> 00:09:05,206
Both of which
will cause gold to be lost.
192
00:09:08,896 --> 00:09:10,103
It's a mess, Juan.
193
00:09:10,103 --> 00:09:11,689
Yeah. I don't even know
where to start, Fred.
194
00:09:11,689 --> 00:09:13,310
There's just so much
going on here.
195
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,517
The plant has quite
a few problems.
196
00:09:18,517 --> 00:09:20,137
These guys,
they lack experience.
197
00:09:21,517 --> 00:09:22,724
Is that their pump?
198
00:09:22,724 --> 00:09:24,103
Small pump, huh?
Yeah.
199
00:09:24,103 --> 00:09:26,310
Lot of... and a lot of line
200
00:09:26,310 --> 00:09:27,931
going down through there.
201
00:09:27,931 --> 00:09:31,034
And half their water
is going on the ground,
not down the sluice box.
202
00:09:32,103 --> 00:09:34,379
They've hardly got
any material through it.
203
00:09:34,379 --> 00:09:36,586
They're probably doing
five yards an hour.
204
00:09:36,586 --> 00:09:39,206
It's like watching
paint dry right now, though.
205
00:09:41,482 --> 00:09:42,620
Juan...
206
00:09:43,275 --> 00:09:45,000
- Yeah.
- We're just here
over four hours.
207
00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:46,724
- Yeah, call it, Freddy.
- Yeah.
208
00:09:47,827 --> 00:09:49,206
Last bucket!
209
00:09:51,482 --> 00:09:52,344
Copy that.
210
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:55,655
That's it,
shut it down.
211
00:10:06,068 --> 00:10:07,793
There's
some gold in it.
212
00:10:07,793 --> 00:10:09,793
Let's pull the mats
and see what's in them.
213
00:10:09,793 --> 00:10:11,758
Let's pull the mats.
Let's do it.
214
00:10:13,379 --> 00:10:15,896
You know, the plant
in itself is an issue.
215
00:10:15,896 --> 00:10:17,310
You know?
Everything.
216
00:10:17,310 --> 00:10:20,206
In order to make
this plant viable,
217
00:10:20,206 --> 00:10:21,655
we're gonna have to
take it all apart.
218
00:10:21,655 --> 00:10:23,827
- Everything.
- It's still not going
to do the amount of yardage
219
00:10:23,827 --> 00:10:24,862
- they'd need though.
- No.
220
00:10:24,862 --> 00:10:26,103
Well, that's not
a production plant.
221
00:10:26,103 --> 00:10:27,689
This is definitely
a test plant.
222
00:10:27,689 --> 00:10:30,103
Yeah.
- Ten yards an hour max.
223
00:10:30,103 --> 00:10:31,517
And that's not where
they need to be.
224
00:10:31,517 --> 00:10:33,241
Exactly, Juan.
225
00:10:33,896 --> 00:10:37,172
These are probably the most
inexperienced miners
we've ever helped.
226
00:10:37,172 --> 00:10:40,310
Their goal of 100 ounces
is unobtainable...
227
00:10:41,103 --> 00:10:42,137
the way they're running now.
228
00:11:00,793 --> 00:11:03,172
Well,
it didn't look like
very much gold, did it?
229
00:11:03,172 --> 00:11:04,793
It didn't, Freddy.
230
00:11:04,793 --> 00:11:06,275
Well, we're gonna see
what it is.
231
00:11:08,275 --> 00:11:11,275
At the Naver Creek mine
in British Columbia...
232
00:11:11,275 --> 00:11:13,172
This is my son, Dustin.
233
00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:14,241
Dustin?
Nice to meet you, Dustin.
234
00:11:14,241 --> 00:11:15,517
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, Dustin.
235
00:11:15,517 --> 00:11:16,793
Nice to meet you, too.
236
00:11:16,793 --> 00:11:18,344
John. Fred.
237
00:11:18,344 --> 00:11:22,482
Sacha's son,
Dustin, and claim owner,
John joined the crew
238
00:11:22,482 --> 00:11:25,586
to see the results
from the four-hour test.
239
00:11:25,586 --> 00:11:28,000
Well, I guess there's only
one thing to do now
240
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,103
at the moment,
is weigh it up, huh?
241
00:11:30,103 --> 00:11:31,551
Let's see what
we came up with.
242
00:11:32,689 --> 00:11:34,172
Every speck counts.
243
00:11:34,172 --> 00:11:37,689
With approximately 100 days
in the mining season...
244
00:11:37,689 --> 00:11:39,103
In this situation,
it really does.
245
00:11:39,103 --> 00:11:40,034
Yep.
246
00:11:41,379 --> 00:11:42,931
...this four-hour test
247
00:11:42,931 --> 00:11:45,586
must deliver
at least 0.4 ounces
248
00:11:45,586 --> 00:11:48,931
to hit their one ounce
a day goal.
249
00:11:51,172 --> 00:11:53,551
0.02. Not good, guys.
250
00:11:54,689 --> 00:11:56,517
No.
Not good at all.
251
00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,103
It's painful.
252
00:11:59,103 --> 00:12:02,000
That doesn't even pay
for the fuel that you used
on your plant.
253
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,206
You said your goal
was 100 ounces this year?
- Yeah.
254
00:12:04,206 --> 00:12:06,241
Yeah.
So that means
you gotta get an ounce a day.
255
00:12:06,896 --> 00:12:08,103
That's nowhere near it.
256
00:12:08,103 --> 00:12:09,482
No.
257
00:12:09,482 --> 00:12:13,206
0.02 was
extremely disappointing.
258
00:12:13,206 --> 00:12:18,103
A lot of hard work
and effort went into that,
and it's a reality check.
259
00:12:18,103 --> 00:12:20,103
What we're going to do
is we're going to come up
with a game plan.
260
00:12:20,103 --> 00:12:21,172
Hmm.
261
00:12:21,172 --> 00:12:22,172
What's that about?
262
00:12:22,172 --> 00:12:24,275
Do you have another plant
in here then?
263
00:12:24,275 --> 00:12:26,793
I have no idea
whether this thing works.
264
00:12:26,793 --> 00:12:28,379
None of us have
ever seen it run.
265
00:12:28,379 --> 00:12:30,034
It's pretty rough.
266
00:12:31,310 --> 00:12:33,793
Well, let's go chat about it
and see what we can
come up with, Fred.
267
00:12:33,793 --> 00:12:35,586
Okay. We'll see you guys
after a bit.
268
00:12:35,586 --> 00:12:36,793
All right. Thank you.
269
00:12:36,793 --> 00:12:38,000
Thanks, guys.
270
00:12:39,896 --> 00:12:41,620
Well, that wasn't
very impressive.
271
00:12:42,103 --> 00:12:43,689
- 0.02.
- Yeah.
272
00:12:43,689 --> 00:12:46,000
We could fix that small plant,
but it's not like
putting lipstick
273
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000
on a pig for your eyes
because they can't run
enough material.
274
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,068
- It's way undermatched.
- That's right.
275
00:12:51,068 --> 00:12:53,000
We're only here so many days.
276
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,413
Do we have the time
to fix this bigger plant?
277
00:13:00,758 --> 00:13:02,000
There's no discharge chute.
278
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,103
But the hopper,
the feed hopper, that's...
279
00:13:04,103 --> 00:13:05,137
The grizzlies are missing.
280
00:13:07,586 --> 00:13:09,000
You know, ideally,
if we could see it run
281
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000
for, you know, a day
or for just a couple of hours
282
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,482
to figure out what
the problems are--
283
00:13:12,482 --> 00:13:14,103
There's no saying
it'd run. It's in pieces.
284
00:13:14,103 --> 00:13:15,758
It's completely unknown.
285
00:13:15,758 --> 00:13:18,689
You know, it might have
a bad gearbox,
may have bad rollers.
286
00:13:18,689 --> 00:13:20,862
We don't know
until we actually
get in there and run it.
287
00:13:20,862 --> 00:13:22,620
You know,
it's a gamble, Freddy.
288
00:13:24,172 --> 00:13:27,068
What we've got here
is a puzzle that might not
have all the pieces.
289
00:13:27,068 --> 00:13:28,482
Yeah.
290
00:13:29,275 --> 00:13:31,551
- Without it, they don't
have a chance.
- No, they don't.
291
00:13:32,793 --> 00:13:34,586
We're gonna
have to help them out
with that bigger plant
292
00:13:34,586 --> 00:13:37,931
because, honestly,
there's just no other way.
293
00:13:37,931 --> 00:13:40,068
You know, running six, seven,
eight yards an hour
294
00:13:40,068 --> 00:13:42,482
is not going to cut it
for these guys at all.
295
00:13:42,482 --> 00:13:44,862
Let's go put some
rough numbers together, huh?
296
00:13:44,862 --> 00:13:46,206
Let's do it.
297
00:13:47,103 --> 00:13:49,482
For the first time ever,
Freddy and Juan
298
00:13:49,482 --> 00:13:54,103
will completely refurbish
a plant that hasn't run
in years.
299
00:13:54,103 --> 00:13:58,724
Their aim, quadruple
the amount of pay
that can be processed.
300
00:13:59,517 --> 00:14:00,758
To feed the plant,
301
00:14:00,758 --> 00:14:05,206
they will attach the hopper,
install new grizzly bars
302
00:14:05,206 --> 00:14:08,103
and plumb in
a pre-wash system.
303
00:14:08,103 --> 00:14:09,689
To power the trommel,
304
00:14:09,689 --> 00:14:11,896
they will replace
the old electric motor
305
00:14:11,896 --> 00:14:14,896
with an entirely new
gas-powered engine.
306
00:14:17,172 --> 00:14:22,103
Finally, the old sluice box
will be modified
with higher sides
307
00:14:22,103 --> 00:14:26,620
and given a new riffle
and carpet set up
to catch both course
308
00:14:26,620 --> 00:14:28,689
and fine gold.
309
00:14:28,689 --> 00:14:34,137
The goal, 100 ounces
in the remaining
three months of the season.
310
00:14:39,896 --> 00:14:41,620
Well, that's a lot
of money, Juan.
311
00:14:41,620 --> 00:14:42,862
Well,
let's see what they say.
312
00:14:42,862 --> 00:14:44,172
How we doing?
313
00:14:44,172 --> 00:14:45,310
Good!
- Doing good.
314
00:14:45,310 --> 00:14:46,586
Yeah? Okay.
315
00:14:46,586 --> 00:14:48,000
Getting organized?
316
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,379
Well, we, kind of, came up
with some numbers.
317
00:14:50,379 --> 00:14:51,965
We wanted to see
what you guys think.
318
00:14:51,965 --> 00:14:56,000
If you guys have any chance
of being able to get
the ounce-a-day goal,
319
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,068
you're going to have to go
to that bigger plant.
Yeah.
320
00:14:58,068 --> 00:15:01,758
But in order for that
to happen, there's quite
a bit we've got to do.
321
00:15:01,758 --> 00:15:03,137
A lot of cost involved in it.
322
00:15:03,379 --> 00:15:05,758
With motors,
323
00:15:05,758 --> 00:15:08,586
pumps, the steel,
324
00:15:08,586 --> 00:15:10,000
you know, we've got
a rough estimate
325
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,000
of about $14,000,
just in material.
326
00:15:14,172 --> 00:15:16,310
Wow, that's a bunch.
327
00:15:16,310 --> 00:15:20,172
But reality is, without
that bigger plant running,
328
00:15:20,172 --> 00:15:22,931
you have no chance
of being able to reach
your goal.
329
00:15:22,931 --> 00:15:25,586
Well, on top of that, guys,
we're going to have to bring
330
00:15:25,586 --> 00:15:28,103
other people in
on this one to help us
because there's no way
331
00:15:28,103 --> 00:15:30,172
we can get it done
in the amount of time.
332
00:15:30,172 --> 00:15:34,517
So on top of the 14,000
in materials,
six ounces of gold
333
00:15:34,517 --> 00:15:36,241
at the end of the season
you pass.
334
00:15:36,758 --> 00:15:38,137
Wow.
335
00:15:38,137 --> 00:15:40,275
Because right now,
you need an ounce
a day to survive, right?
336
00:15:40,275 --> 00:15:43,103
And you think this mine
can produce that?
337
00:15:43,103 --> 00:15:45,068
Gold's got to be
in the ground, of course,
338
00:15:45,068 --> 00:15:47,482
but I'll find
some better ground to run.
339
00:15:47,482 --> 00:15:49,758
- You can't keep running
that stuff.
- No. Clearly.
340
00:15:49,758 --> 00:15:51,000
Without you guys, we're stuck.
341
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,310
Hold on a second.
342
00:15:52,310 --> 00:15:54,551
I really need you
to back up for a second.
Okay.
343
00:15:57,482 --> 00:15:59,827
So let me see
if I got this understanding.
344
00:16:00,758 --> 00:16:02,896
There's... Right from
the from the front,
345
00:16:02,896 --> 00:16:05,275
right from the grizzly
right to the back end,
346
00:16:05,275 --> 00:16:06,896
there's a whole rework
that has to be done.
347
00:16:06,896 --> 00:16:08,137
- A lot of stuff.
- Yeah.
348
00:16:08,689 --> 00:16:12,379
14,000,
plus six ounces of gold.
349
00:16:12,379 --> 00:16:16,620
I'll tell you what,
we usually want to
double the amount of gold,
350
00:16:16,620 --> 00:16:20,379
but in this situation,
double of very little
is still very little.
351
00:16:20,379 --> 00:16:22,586
If we don't get you 20 times
the amount of gold
352
00:16:22,586 --> 00:16:25,482
in that first cleanup,
which was not a lot, right?
353
00:16:25,482 --> 00:16:29,068
Yep.
- Then you don't
pay us for labor.
354
00:16:29,068 --> 00:16:30,620
Still pay for the material.
355
00:16:30,620 --> 00:16:33,000
So 20 times more gold
from what we had
356
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,931
on our first test run,
that's nearly half an ounce.
357
00:16:34,931 --> 00:16:37,206
Yep.
- So it will get you to that
half an ounce in four hours.
358
00:16:37,206 --> 00:16:39,000
So that gets you--
In 10-hour day,
359
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,689
you're roughly doing
an ounce of gold a day.
360
00:16:40,689 --> 00:16:41,758
Yeah.
Right.
361
00:16:45,862 --> 00:16:47,413
- I'm good with that.
- Okay.
362
00:16:47,413 --> 00:16:49,000
- All right, deal.
- All right.
363
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:50,103
Awesome.
Yep.
364
00:16:50,103 --> 00:16:52,103
- Thank you.
- It means everything.
Thank you.
365
00:16:52,103 --> 00:16:53,482
So we're gonna call
in some workers of ours
366
00:16:53,482 --> 00:16:54,551
to come and give us a hand.
367
00:16:54,551 --> 00:16:55,965
But we're still gonna need
your guys to help.
368
00:16:55,965 --> 00:16:58,482
You tell us what
we need to do,
and we'll be getting it done.
369
00:16:58,482 --> 00:16:59,655
We'll go start planning stuff.
370
00:16:59,655 --> 00:17:01,689
Yeah, we gotta make
some phone calls. Let's do it.
371
00:17:01,689 --> 00:17:03,413
All right. Sounds good, guys.
See you in a bit.
372
00:17:03,413 --> 00:17:04,862
Thank you.
- All right.
373
00:17:06,586 --> 00:17:10,482
If we can get
to that 20 times
of what our cleanup was,
374
00:17:10,482 --> 00:17:12,793
this will actually
start to pay for itself.
375
00:17:12,793 --> 00:17:15,379
But that's a great deal.
It's a fantastic deal.
376
00:17:15,379 --> 00:17:17,275
The issue is the time
constraint that we have.
377
00:17:17,275 --> 00:17:19,206
You know, we're gonna have
to do a lot of work here,
378
00:17:19,206 --> 00:17:22,172
so we need to get
on the phone right away
and call Travis and Alex.
379
00:17:22,172 --> 00:17:23,620
Have them start
heading this way.
380
00:17:32,793 --> 00:17:35,000
Whoa!
381
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,620
The first step
for Freddy and Juan's
complete mine makeover...
382
00:17:39,379 --> 00:17:41,620
It's a pretty
heavy steel, Juan.
383
00:17:41,620 --> 00:17:43,793
...unload
the 30-foot trommel
384
00:17:43,793 --> 00:17:46,275
so that they can
assess the work ahead.
385
00:17:46,275 --> 00:17:47,413
This plant's been sitting
in the field
386
00:17:47,413 --> 00:17:50,517
for the last 20, 30 years,
so no one's seen it run.
387
00:17:50,517 --> 00:17:52,275
Well, we're going
to try to revive it.
388
00:17:52,275 --> 00:17:53,689
We're going to get it
on the ground.
389
00:17:53,689 --> 00:17:55,482
Start getting all
the measurements
and figure out what exactly
390
00:17:55,482 --> 00:17:56,931
we need to make
this thing run.
391
00:17:57,689 --> 00:17:58,827
Come closer this way.
392
00:18:01,931 --> 00:18:02,862
That's good right there!
393
00:18:02,862 --> 00:18:04,000
Right there, Trevor.
394
00:18:10,103 --> 00:18:11,655
He's gonna pull out!
395
00:18:17,275 --> 00:18:19,896
Great to see
that thing on the ground,
I tell you.
396
00:18:20,517 --> 00:18:22,551
One step closer.
It's exciting.
397
00:18:33,689 --> 00:18:36,172
Hey, Trevor,
let's have a look
in your pit here.
398
00:18:36,172 --> 00:18:40,000
While prep
continues on the trommel,
Freddy wants to get eyes
399
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:41,896
on the paydirt
they've been running.
400
00:18:41,896 --> 00:18:46,793
I mean, the amount of gold
that was in that cleanup
for four hours was miserable.
401
00:18:46,793 --> 00:18:49,000
I mean,
we're trying to get down
to bedrock in here.
402
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,275
Well, there's just something
in here that doesn't
look good to me.
403
00:18:51,275 --> 00:18:53,931
The rocks aren't really
shingled really well, right?
404
00:18:56,758 --> 00:18:59,586
Shingled rocks
are smooth and round
405
00:18:59,586 --> 00:19:03,793
as a result of being
constantly rolled
in running water.
406
00:19:03,793 --> 00:19:08,103
Their presence
indicates the location
of ancient riverbeds,
407
00:19:08,103 --> 00:19:12,448
where they act like riffles
in a sluice box,
collecting gold.
408
00:19:15,758 --> 00:19:17,758
This hasn't had
any erosion on it.
409
00:19:17,758 --> 00:19:20,103
It never gets re-sluiced
by nature, right?
410
00:19:20,103 --> 00:19:23,275
This is just an exercise
in futility, really.
411
00:19:23,275 --> 00:19:25,172
I wouldn't play
with this anymore.
412
00:19:25,172 --> 00:19:27,482
Let's leave this alone
and let's find you
some better gold.
413
00:19:27,482 --> 00:19:28,758
Let's do it.
414
00:19:29,482 --> 00:19:31,000
I don't like
the look of the material
415
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:32,310
they're running
out of that pit.
416
00:19:32,310 --> 00:19:33,482
No matter what we do
to their plant,
417
00:19:33,482 --> 00:19:35,724
if there's not enough gold,
there's not enough gold.
418
00:19:49,137 --> 00:19:50,241
Mark,
how you doing, buddy?
419
00:19:50,241 --> 00:19:51,620
Pretty good. Pretty good.
420
00:19:51,620 --> 00:19:54,655
At the Naver Creek mine
in British Columbia...
421
00:19:54,655 --> 00:19:56,241
Give you a hand on anything?
422
00:19:56,241 --> 00:19:59,793
...Juan's first challenge
on the wash plant renovation,
423
00:20:00,275 --> 00:20:02,586
install the new engine.
424
00:20:02,586 --> 00:20:04,482
- We pulled off
that electric motor.
- Yep.
425
00:20:04,482 --> 00:20:07,275
We're gonna go
with the gas 20 hp
V-twin motor.
426
00:20:07,275 --> 00:20:09,482
So it's gonna be
a little different design
than what you guys had before.
427
00:20:09,482 --> 00:20:12,034
It's gonna be hopefully,
a little more reliable.
428
00:20:12,034 --> 00:20:13,793
The new
gas-powered engine
429
00:20:13,793 --> 00:20:15,689
will be connected
to the gearbox
430
00:20:15,689 --> 00:20:17,137
by an adjustable belt.
431
00:20:17,137 --> 00:20:21,379
Juan must build
a custom mounting plate
to hold it in place.
432
00:20:21,379 --> 00:20:23,344
So what I'm going to do
is I'm actually gonna
put the motor
433
00:20:23,344 --> 00:20:25,068
- right where the old motor
used to be.
- Okay.
434
00:20:25,068 --> 00:20:26,896
It's kind of guarded
underneath that hopper.
435
00:20:26,896 --> 00:20:29,586
But what I'm doing is
I'm building a new base plate
for the motors.
436
00:20:29,586 --> 00:20:33,344
You're doing your own washers
and you're doing
your own shims.
437
00:20:33,344 --> 00:20:35,827
Yeah, that's everything.
Yeah, we'll send it over
to the table.
438
00:20:36,241 --> 00:20:37,137
And now let's cut it.
439
00:20:37,137 --> 00:20:38,586
We'll just hit start
on the machine.
440
00:20:39,689 --> 00:20:40,862
Nice.
441
00:20:40,862 --> 00:20:41,896
So there we are.
442
00:20:42,482 --> 00:20:43,965
Part number one.
443
00:20:43,965 --> 00:20:46,482
Juan's computer-aided
design table
444
00:20:46,482 --> 00:20:51,586
precisely cuts
the 10 base plate components
in under six minutes,
445
00:20:51,586 --> 00:20:54,896
saving hours of manual labor.
446
00:20:54,896 --> 00:20:56,413
Well, that's it.
447
00:20:56,413 --> 00:20:58,000
We'll pull them all out
and I'll have you help me
get them cleaned up.
448
00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:59,689
Sure.
I'll start
putting it together.
449
00:21:14,275 --> 00:21:16,034
Seems like everyone's got
a little bit of money into it,
450
00:21:16,034 --> 00:21:19,137
but it sounds like
you've got a little bit more
than everyone else, huh?
451
00:21:19,137 --> 00:21:22,586
Everything from all
the machinery, the fuel,
452
00:21:22,586 --> 00:21:24,137
any repairs,
453
00:21:24,137 --> 00:21:26,482
- everything came out
of my wallet.
- Oh, really?
454
00:21:26,482 --> 00:21:29,000
So this is your money
on the line, huh?
455
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,517
Yeah, it is.
456
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,896
There's no extra check
coming in,
457
00:21:33,896 --> 00:21:35,689
but we've put
a little bit away,
458
00:21:35,689 --> 00:21:39,172
so we'll survive
while we're out here
and cover costs.
459
00:21:39,172 --> 00:21:41,137
We need to see gold.
460
00:21:41,137 --> 00:21:45,482
The new wash plant
could run up to four times
the amount of pay,
461
00:21:45,482 --> 00:21:49,862
giving Mark a fighting chance
at making his money back.
462
00:21:49,862 --> 00:21:52,586
It's got great bones,
you know,
she's a little older.
463
00:21:52,586 --> 00:21:55,862
But I think
with what we've got,
it's a good start.
464
00:21:55,862 --> 00:21:59,000
Oh, yeah, if you want
to get that going,
I'll keep on plugging along.
465
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,586
- We've got a lot to do, so.
- Not a problem.
466
00:22:00,586 --> 00:22:02,655
Thanks for your help, Mark.
467
00:22:02,655 --> 00:22:06,827
Mark has $400,000
invested into this operation,
and that's a lot of money.
468
00:22:07,655 --> 00:22:09,655
I'm hoping that we can
get their plants set up,
469
00:22:09,655 --> 00:22:10,758
get them
on some better material,
470
00:22:10,758 --> 00:22:12,344
so that way
they can turn that around.
471
00:22:12,344 --> 00:22:15,724
And this can be
a viable operation,
not just a dream.
472
00:22:21,068 --> 00:22:23,758
Well, let's have a look
at your maps, John.
473
00:22:23,758 --> 00:22:27,172
The material we ran
the first test run,
it's no good.
474
00:22:27,172 --> 00:22:29,000
So now the pressure is on me.
475
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,068
Hopefully, I can find
some better material.
476
00:22:32,068 --> 00:22:33,448
Where are we at
right now, John?
477
00:22:33,448 --> 00:22:36,689
This is the whole area
that we're in
478
00:22:36,689 --> 00:22:40,793
and where we are mining
is just down in here.
479
00:22:40,793 --> 00:22:42,896
On the hunt for better ground,
480
00:22:42,896 --> 00:22:47,793
Freddy looks over old maps
of the area
with claim owner John Olsen.
481
00:22:47,793 --> 00:22:50,896
- So that's the stuff
they ran right here.
- Right there.
482
00:22:50,896 --> 00:22:51,793
- Right here?
- Yeah.
483
00:22:51,793 --> 00:22:52,827
Okay.
484
00:22:53,275 --> 00:22:54,758
That's no good.
485
00:22:54,758 --> 00:22:56,689
Is this a creek here?
Yes, it is.
486
00:22:56,689 --> 00:22:58,172
- That's a little neighbor.
- Okay.
487
00:22:58,172 --> 00:23:00,482
Where the plants are set up.
Where the plants are set up.
488
00:23:00,482 --> 00:23:04,758
The old creek bed
for a little neighbor creek
489
00:23:04,758 --> 00:23:08,172
comes along and meanders
down through this valley.
490
00:23:08,172 --> 00:23:12,344
I've panned all the way
down into the creek here.
491
00:23:12,344 --> 00:23:16,379
There was gold found there,
and some of it can be,
you know, fairly chunky.
492
00:23:16,379 --> 00:23:18,448
You know, looking at the map,
there should be
better gold there.
493
00:23:18,448 --> 00:23:19,931
Oh, yes.
494
00:23:19,931 --> 00:23:22,103
So I'd like to go down here
because it's more
of a creek bottom.
495
00:23:22,793 --> 00:23:24,103
But there's only one way
to find out.
496
00:23:24,103 --> 00:23:25,344
- That's right.
- Let's dig a hole in it.
497
00:23:25,344 --> 00:23:28,103
- I think that's a good plan.
- Thank you very much, sir.
498
00:23:28,103 --> 00:23:29,482
Thank you, Fred.
499
00:23:30,551 --> 00:23:32,689
So once the river was here
and now the river is here.
500
00:23:32,689 --> 00:23:36,068
So if that's the case,
if that's the case,
501
00:23:36,068 --> 00:23:39,275
then there could be
a virgin layer
of gold-bearing material
502
00:23:39,275 --> 00:23:40,206
left there.
503
00:23:40,206 --> 00:23:42,275
It may be 10 feet thick,
maybe a foot.
504
00:23:42,275 --> 00:23:45,000
The only way to find out
is to go down there
and dig a hole.
505
00:23:52,586 --> 00:23:55,379
- The creek would have been
up here, right?
- Yep.
506
00:23:55,379 --> 00:23:57,896
With the information
from John's map,
507
00:23:57,896 --> 00:23:59,482
Freddy recruits Trevor
508
00:23:59,482 --> 00:24:04,241
on a hunt
for the ancient creek channel
near the small wash plant.
509
00:24:04,241 --> 00:24:07,172
I can see right now
this has got
a really rounded rock in it,
510
00:24:07,172 --> 00:24:08,689
so that's a good sign.
511
00:24:08,689 --> 00:24:12,103
So through erosion,
they get rounded out,
and glaciers.
512
00:24:12,103 --> 00:24:16,586
Rounded rocks could
indicate an old stream
once flowed here,
513
00:24:16,586 --> 00:24:21,344
leaving behind gold
concentrated in the gravel.
514
00:24:21,344 --> 00:24:23,482
Let's punch a hole here
and just see
what it looks like.
515
00:24:23,482 --> 00:24:26,000
All right,
let's get in the machine.
Let's get this done.
516
00:24:38,896 --> 00:24:41,482
Trevor, take one more
scoop there.
517
00:24:41,482 --> 00:24:43,379
One more? Okay.
518
00:24:45,586 --> 00:24:49,344
One of the biggest things
we can do here,
besides working on the plant,
519
00:24:49,344 --> 00:24:51,275
is to teach these guys
how to prospect,
520
00:24:51,275 --> 00:24:54,000
what material to look for
in the future.
521
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,517
Without doing that,
then they're never gonna
make their 100 ounce gold.
522
00:24:59,275 --> 00:25:02,103
Trever, you want to hop out
with me
and let's have a look at this.
523
00:25:02,103 --> 00:25:04,344
Yeah, you betcha.
524
00:25:04,344 --> 00:25:08,000
Well, that's not that far down
the bedrock, Freddy.
That's kind of exciting.
525
00:25:10,689 --> 00:25:14,655
My hope here is it's
an ancient old bench channel
up here
526
00:25:14,655 --> 00:25:17,379
- or an old river bench
creek bench.
- Yeah.
527
00:25:17,379 --> 00:25:20,310
And then it would have
concentrated the gold.
528
00:25:21,482 --> 00:25:23,689
I think
it's an old stream bed.
529
00:25:23,689 --> 00:25:26,000
You know, the stream's
cut its way to where it's at
now, right?
530
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,034
Yeah.
531
00:25:27,034 --> 00:25:30,068
But at one time,
the stream bed was up here.
532
00:25:30,068 --> 00:25:33,172
And then erosion happens.
Picture the Grand Canyon.
533
00:25:33,172 --> 00:25:35,862
- Yeah.
- Right? We're eroded
a mile deep now.
534
00:25:35,862 --> 00:25:37,172
Well, same with these canyons.
535
00:25:37,172 --> 00:25:40,793
So, as that erodes down,
it can leave
those upper benches.
536
00:25:40,793 --> 00:25:44,517
And you may have
some other benches this way
to some old ones.
537
00:25:46,482 --> 00:25:51,034
A bench deposit
forms when gold settles
in a river bank.
538
00:25:51,034 --> 00:25:57,689
As the creek cuts a new path,
it leaves behind
an area of concentrated gold.
539
00:25:57,689 --> 00:26:00,448
How important is it
to make this mine operational?
540
00:26:00,448 --> 00:26:03,896
I mean,
it's about making money.
It's about a lifestyle.
541
00:26:03,896 --> 00:26:05,379
You know, even going back
right now
542
00:26:05,379 --> 00:26:08,448
wouldn't really make much
of a difference
if I was back in the city.
543
00:26:08,448 --> 00:26:10,896
It's no work there anyway, so.
544
00:26:12,379 --> 00:26:16,000
I work in the film industry
in the Transport Division.
545
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,586
I haven't worked this year.
546
00:26:17,586 --> 00:26:20,965
Due to the writer's strike
going on,
the whole industry is down.
547
00:26:20,965 --> 00:26:23,103
Ninety percent of the people
are laid off right now.
548
00:26:23,103 --> 00:26:27,896
It's bad, you know.
That kinda
screws up your life.
549
00:26:27,896 --> 00:26:30,034
I don't want
any of that ever again.
550
00:26:30,034 --> 00:26:32,655
Gold mining. It's hard.
551
00:26:32,655 --> 00:26:36,482
It is hard on the body.
552
00:26:37,275 --> 00:26:39,724
But it is so easy on the mind.
553
00:26:40,172 --> 00:26:41,827
For me, this is paradise.
554
00:26:45,482 --> 00:26:47,241
- That's a neat way of life.
- It is.
555
00:26:47,241 --> 00:26:48,793
- It's incredible.
- You can't keep
throwing money at something,
556
00:26:48,793 --> 00:26:49,758
if it's not making money,
557
00:26:53,689 --> 00:26:57,068
- Look at that. That guy.
- Look at that.
558
00:26:57,068 --> 00:26:58,448
- That guy.
- Yeah?
559
00:26:58,448 --> 00:27:02,000
That guy.
Well, there's gold there.
That's for dang sure.
560
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:03,172
That's some good gold there.
561
00:27:03,172 --> 00:27:04,689
- I like it.
- Yeah. I like it, too.
562
00:27:04,689 --> 00:27:07,379
My thoughts are
we dig our pond there
for the bigger plant.
563
00:27:07,379 --> 00:27:08,689
- So you have more water.
- Yep.
564
00:27:08,689 --> 00:27:13,379
Then we sluice up.
We're killing two birds
with one stone.
565
00:27:13,379 --> 00:27:17,896
The gold bearing
bench is next
to the old wash plant pond.
566
00:27:17,896 --> 00:27:22,103
Freddy's plan, dig out the pay
and stockpiling,
567
00:27:22,103 --> 00:27:24,482
then fill up the cut
with water
568
00:27:24,482 --> 00:27:26,758
to create
a settling pond system
569
00:27:26,758 --> 00:27:29,931
to provide clean water
for the larger wash plant.
570
00:27:31,379 --> 00:27:33,896
I'm learning a lot from him.
571
00:27:33,896 --> 00:27:35,586
He's an amazing teacher.
572
00:27:35,586 --> 00:27:37,758
His wealth of knowledge
is incredible.
573
00:27:37,758 --> 00:27:39,482
You can tell he's been
doing this a long time.
574
00:27:39,482 --> 00:27:44,000
These guys are only here
for a few more days.
It's go time.
575
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:45,482
And we've got
to make it happen now.
576
00:27:59,689 --> 00:28:01,862
This morning,
over 400 wildfires
577
00:28:01,862 --> 00:28:04,172
are raging
across British Columbia.
578
00:28:04,172 --> 00:28:07,275
Huge areas to the north
of the province
have been evacuated.
579
00:28:07,275 --> 00:28:08,862
In parts
of the central interior,
580
00:28:08,862 --> 00:28:10,896
residents are being advised
to stay indoors
581
00:28:10,896 --> 00:28:12,965
as thick smoke
has caused the air quality
582
00:28:12,965 --> 00:28:14,620
to reach
its highest level of alert.
583
00:28:25,206 --> 00:28:27,379
Looks like
we're made today.
Yeah.
584
00:28:27,379 --> 00:28:30,068
30 miles south of the fires...
585
00:28:30,068 --> 00:28:31,482
This must be it.
586
00:28:32,689 --> 00:28:34,689
...Freddy and
Juan's reinforcements,
587
00:28:34,689 --> 00:28:39,068
Alex and Travis arrived,
with much needed supplies.
588
00:28:41,448 --> 00:28:43,482
Well,
we got a bunch of work
ahead of us, guys.
589
00:28:43,482 --> 00:28:45,689
We're going to have
to bust ass on this one.
590
00:28:45,689 --> 00:28:47,586
We've got
a complete drive system
we've got to build.
591
00:28:47,586 --> 00:28:49,896
We've got
to rebuild the hopper,
the grizzlies on that.
592
00:28:49,896 --> 00:28:52,034
Freddy is rebuilding
the sluices right now.
593
00:28:52,034 --> 00:28:55,655
And then on top of that,
we've got to get it in place,
get water around to it.
594
00:28:55,655 --> 00:28:56,689
We've got to dig out ponds.
595
00:28:56,689 --> 00:28:58,241
- It sounds good.
- All right.
596
00:28:58,241 --> 00:28:59,793
So let's get all that steel
and everything unloaded.
597
00:28:59,793 --> 00:29:01,275
- Yeah.
- Copy that.
All right, guys. Thanks.
598
00:29:01,275 --> 00:29:02,275
All right.
599
00:29:02,275 --> 00:29:04,000
We're gonna put him
right to work.
600
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,448
Hopefully, with our help,
we'll be able to get
everything we need done.
601
00:29:06,448 --> 00:29:08,379
No strangers to a mine site,
602
00:29:08,379 --> 00:29:12,448
Travis Stockman
and Alex Voight
have helped out before.
603
00:29:12,448 --> 00:29:14,379
When they give us a call,
you know they're far behind.
604
00:29:14,379 --> 00:29:17,034
Travis and I
are always willing
to help these guys.
605
00:29:17,034 --> 00:29:21,689
In 2022,
when Freddy left a rescue
for a medical emergency,
606
00:29:21,689 --> 00:29:24,551
the guy stepped in
to help military veterans Mark
607
00:29:24,551 --> 00:29:31,000
and Rick
increase their gold recovery
by a huge 1300 percent.
608
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,620
Back a little.
We'll just set it sideways.
609
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,413
Better work here on now.
610
00:29:43,275 --> 00:29:44,931
Hey, Freddy.
611
00:29:46,034 --> 00:29:46,896
How's it going?
612
00:29:46,896 --> 00:29:48,413
Behind the trommel,
613
00:29:48,413 --> 00:29:52,379
Freddy prepares the sides
of the old sluice
for an upgrade.
614
00:29:52,379 --> 00:29:55,689
Just getting started grinding
these old bankers down.
615
00:29:55,689 --> 00:29:58,379
So I'm going to put
higher sides on it.
616
00:29:58,379 --> 00:30:00,965
And then we'll put
a different wedge system
in it.
617
00:30:00,965 --> 00:30:03,551
- Okay.
- I'm gonna remodify
everything on here.
618
00:30:04,965 --> 00:30:08,068
- Man, it's smoky.
- Yeah, we've got
forest fires burning nearby.
619
00:30:08,068 --> 00:30:09,448
Coughing all the time.
620
00:30:09,448 --> 00:30:11,379
Yeah, we've got one far away,
but a new one's
just popped up,
621
00:30:11,379 --> 00:30:12,965
- so we'll keep our eye on it.
- Okay.
622
00:30:12,965 --> 00:30:15,034
- We've got all our heads
on a swivel.
- Yeah.
623
00:30:15,034 --> 00:30:16,310
Anything you need me to do?
624
00:30:16,310 --> 00:30:19,000
Just keep an eye out
so I don't catch
something on fire.
625
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:20,275
Copy that.
626
00:30:20,275 --> 00:30:22,000
And then I'll probably have
your help put the plates on.
627
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,827
- You got it.
- Thanks, sir.
628
00:30:26,793 --> 00:30:29,103
All right.
It's really tinder dry
right now.
629
00:30:29,103 --> 00:30:30,551
There's a lot of fires
in the area,
630
00:30:30,551 --> 00:30:33,068
and there's a lot
of particulates in the air,
631
00:30:33,068 --> 00:30:35,448
so it's a little hard
on the lungs.
632
00:30:35,448 --> 00:30:37,344
Just hold it for me
and I'll mark it.
633
00:30:37,344 --> 00:30:39,586
Okay. I got it.
Perfect.
634
00:30:39,586 --> 00:30:41,586
Eyeballs.
635
00:30:41,586 --> 00:30:46,689
Alex and Jay help
Freddy weld high steel sides
onto the sluice box
636
00:30:46,689 --> 00:30:48,517
so they can run more material.
637
00:30:51,068 --> 00:30:52,241
We've got to clean
the inside of this
638
00:30:52,241 --> 00:30:54,172
because this is gonna slide
inside there.
639
00:30:54,172 --> 00:30:57,344
So once we mount the motor
onto this plate,
we can adjust it.
640
00:30:57,344 --> 00:31:01,310
At the plant, Juan and Travis
installed the new motive.
641
00:31:03,379 --> 00:31:08,551
The 20 hp V twin gas engine
has the torque capability
642
00:31:08,551 --> 00:31:14,586
to turn the drum fully loaded
with rocks
at 20 revolutions per minute.
643
00:31:14,586 --> 00:31:17,793
Get it here, get it in place,
line it up and weld it.
644
00:31:17,793 --> 00:31:19,068
Yeah.
645
00:31:19,068 --> 00:31:20,413
Hopefully I'll get it running
before the end of the day.
646
00:31:30,379 --> 00:31:33,137
I'm very happy
looking at some monster motor.
647
00:31:33,862 --> 00:31:35,000
This is gonna be beautiful.
648
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:35,965
Just weld it.
649
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:42,379
I'm really happy
the way it's coming together.
650
00:31:42,379 --> 00:31:44,000
We got it in.
651
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,586
It's lined up properly
and we've got the mount
that we designed installed,
652
00:31:46,586 --> 00:31:49,724
so that way we can adjust it
and it should be good.
653
00:31:57,103 --> 00:32:00,758
So the carpet is catching
all the fines, right?
654
00:32:00,758 --> 00:32:02,586
Sluice welds complete,
655
00:32:02,586 --> 00:32:08,586
Freddy shows mine operator Jay
how to assemble the box
for maximum gold recovery.
656
00:32:08,586 --> 00:32:10,965
We're using this carpet
to trap the gold,
657
00:32:10,965 --> 00:32:14,172
but we're also using
different mannerisms
658
00:32:14,172 --> 00:32:16,241
in how we put
this box together.
659
00:32:16,241 --> 00:32:17,965
You want to grab
one of those riffles?
660
00:32:17,965 --> 00:32:19,896
- Can do.
- Yep.
661
00:32:19,896 --> 00:32:22,034
I've made these,
so they'll tip in.
662
00:32:22,034 --> 00:32:24,172
- So see how they tip in now?
- Okay.
663
00:32:24,172 --> 00:32:25,758
- For speed, right?
- Yeah.
664
00:32:25,758 --> 00:32:29,413
So now we'll take
our short boards there
and get some wedges.
665
00:32:30,586 --> 00:32:33,482
We've got
six different changes
in this sluice box.
666
00:32:33,482 --> 00:32:34,896
Every piece of gold
is different, right?
667
00:32:34,896 --> 00:32:36,241
Yeah.
- So you're a piece of gold,
668
00:32:36,241 --> 00:32:39,172
it doesn't like this situation
for some reason.
669
00:32:39,172 --> 00:32:41,896
- You may not like
that little first change.
- Right.
670
00:32:41,896 --> 00:32:43,551
You may keep skipping
down the box
671
00:32:43,551 --> 00:32:46,068
and find that
this is the change,
get hung up in there.
672
00:32:46,068 --> 00:32:48,965
- It's always
something different.
- Oh, that totally makes sense.
673
00:32:48,965 --> 00:32:51,172
Did you grow up
in a Cornell area or?
674
00:32:51,172 --> 00:32:53,241
No, it's a city.
I'm strictly a city guy.
675
00:32:53,241 --> 00:32:56,689
My brother,
he introduced me to this area.
676
00:32:56,689 --> 00:32:58,689
When I was impressionable.
12 years old.
677
00:32:58,689 --> 00:33:01,896
- Yeah, it was good times
as a kid.
- Yeah.
678
00:33:01,896 --> 00:33:03,551
Did he do
a lot of prospecting?
679
00:33:03,551 --> 00:33:05,172
Yeah, he did. He did
a lot of panning up here.
680
00:33:05,172 --> 00:33:08,172
So you and your brother
still go out gold panning?
681
00:33:08,172 --> 00:33:11,103
I lost my brother
a few years ago,
682
00:33:11,103 --> 00:33:15,000
but ever since that time,
I've always wondered
about gold.
683
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,137
I'm sorry to hear
about your brother.
684
00:33:17,137 --> 00:33:20,000
Yeah, it just sort of
stays with it.
You just move on, right?
685
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,068
Yeah.
686
00:33:21,068 --> 00:33:22,551
He's a good man.
687
00:33:26,172 --> 00:33:28,793
I took after him
in a lot of ways.
I looked up to him.
688
00:33:28,793 --> 00:33:33,000
He was 10 years older than me,
so he was like a father
and brother.
689
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,172
When this opportunity came up,
it was just
after my brother's death
690
00:33:36,172 --> 00:33:39,482
and I jumped on it
because it just felt right.
691
00:33:39,482 --> 00:33:42,344
When I'm here,
I feel him everywhere.
692
00:33:42,344 --> 00:33:45,068
I know he would just be
in his element here,
693
00:33:45,068 --> 00:33:46,931
and I know
he'd be proud of me.
694
00:33:50,137 --> 00:33:52,793
Let's get all the stuff in.
It looks like
a nice sluice box, huh?
695
00:33:52,793 --> 00:33:54,034
You betcha.
696
00:33:54,034 --> 00:33:56,137
Well, if you wanna knock
the wedges in,
697
00:33:56,137 --> 00:33:58,379
I'm gonna go get busy
fabricating stuff.
698
00:33:58,379 --> 00:33:59,379
Okay, Fred. Got it.
699
00:33:59,379 --> 00:34:00,931
See you in a bit.
You bet.
700
00:34:04,551 --> 00:34:06,896
Every mine you go on,
people are people, right?
701
00:34:06,896 --> 00:34:11,000
You're gonna find out
a lot more about a person
by working with them.
702
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,000
He got into prospect
as a kid with his brother.
703
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,689
He's out here, you know,
living his dream
and his brother's dream.
704
00:34:31,172 --> 00:34:34,172
This plant, to my knowledge,
hasn't been ran
in a lot of years.
705
00:34:34,172 --> 00:34:36,034
So, you know,
it's kind of a mystery
706
00:34:36,034 --> 00:34:37,896
whether that gearbox
is good or not.
707
00:34:37,896 --> 00:34:39,517
So we're going to find out.
708
00:34:39,517 --> 00:34:43,586
The gearbox reduces
the revolutions per minute
of the motor
709
00:34:43,586 --> 00:34:46,482
and rotates the trommel
at the correct speed.
710
00:34:46,482 --> 00:34:50,172
If seized,
the trommel won't turn.
711
00:34:50,172 --> 00:34:53,000
If that gearbox is bad,
we've got to start
from scratch again.
712
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,379
We'll have to get
a new gearbox,
713
00:34:54,379 --> 00:34:56,620
and I don't know
if we can source one in time.
714
00:35:01,793 --> 00:35:04,793
Well, Freddy, moment of truth.
I'm gonna start it up,
see what it does.
715
00:35:06,172 --> 00:35:07,172
Fire it up, Juan.
716
00:35:11,137 --> 00:35:12,689
Uh-oh.
717
00:35:18,896 --> 00:35:20,379
Impressive.
718
00:35:25,068 --> 00:35:26,068
This is great.
719
00:35:26,068 --> 00:35:28,103
Oh, isn't that pretty?
720
00:35:31,103 --> 00:35:33,551
That's it. It runs.
721
00:35:33,551 --> 00:35:35,896
Beautiful. Beautiful.
722
00:35:35,896 --> 00:35:39,482
I can't believe it did run.
This is excellent.
This is really nice.
723
00:35:39,482 --> 00:35:41,586
It's been sitting
in the field
for 20-plus years.
724
00:35:41,586 --> 00:35:43,000
No, it's fantastic.
725
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,241
It actually can run.
726
00:35:44,241 --> 00:35:46,000
Well, I'm gonna get on
to other things.
727
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,034
Yeah, me too. Thanks, Freddy.
728
00:35:48,034 --> 00:35:50,379
I didn't know
what kind of conditions
the gearbox was in.
729
00:35:50,379 --> 00:35:52,689
But now that
we've actually seen it run,
730
00:35:52,689 --> 00:35:56,172
its spinning on its own power,
the RPMs are proper,
that's half the battle.
731
00:35:56,172 --> 00:35:59,103
Now, we kind of see
a little bit of light
at the end of the tunnel.
732
00:36:15,137 --> 00:36:18,344
Smoke warnings here
on the indexes,
it goes one to ten.
733
00:36:18,344 --> 00:36:23,206
It's over a ten
in terms of smoke in the air
and it being unhealthy.
734
00:36:26,344 --> 00:36:27,344
Dang, Freddy.
735
00:36:27,344 --> 00:36:28,965
Well, this morning
we got out to the trucks
736
00:36:28,965 --> 00:36:30,689
and they were just
all full of ash.
737
00:36:30,689 --> 00:36:35,344
With just 48 hours remaining
at the Naver Creek mine...
738
00:36:35,344 --> 00:36:39,482
Smoke's worse here.
- Yeah, it is, way worse.
739
00:36:39,482 --> 00:36:42,862
...a change in wind direction
brings the air quality index
740
00:36:42,862 --> 00:36:44,862
to dangerous levels.
741
00:36:44,862 --> 00:36:47,275
- This is kind of rough
breathing this in all day.
- Yeah.
742
00:36:47,275 --> 00:36:51,517
If conditions worsen,
it could shut down the rescue.
743
00:36:56,551 --> 00:36:57,793
I'm tipping it forward.
744
00:36:57,793 --> 00:36:59,103
First task of the morning...
745
00:36:59,103 --> 00:37:01,000
Yeah.
- I'm trying to put
all the gold.
746
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:02,758
There's no corner
in a round pan,
747
00:37:02,758 --> 00:37:03,965
but I'm going to call it
the corner.
748
00:37:03,965 --> 00:37:05,034
- Okay.
- That's the corner.
749
00:37:05,034 --> 00:37:06,965
Yeah.
...class is in session
750
00:37:06,965 --> 00:37:11,379
as Freddy gives
greenhorn Sacha a lesson
in panning for gold.
751
00:37:11,379 --> 00:37:13,482
I want that gold
right in the corner
of the pan.
752
00:37:13,482 --> 00:37:14,827
- Right there.
- Right.
753
00:37:14,827 --> 00:37:17,172
- So in your mind, picture it
dropping right there...
- Okay.
754
00:37:17,172 --> 00:37:18,586
...with the angle of your pan
and stuff.
755
00:37:18,586 --> 00:37:21,586
- Bigger ones like that,
get rid of him.
- Yeah.
756
00:37:21,586 --> 00:37:24,862
- Wow. That's quite a bit, eh?
- Really...
757
00:37:24,862 --> 00:37:28,241
Well, there's a lot of pie
right there, too,
that you're seeing.
758
00:37:28,241 --> 00:37:31,000
So how are you
to tell the difference?
759
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,896
- Gold never sparkles.
It's always a dull yellow.
- Right. Okay. Got it.
760
00:37:34,896 --> 00:37:38,000
- Yeah. Look at your rings
and your jewelry. Right?
- Right.
761
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,793
- This guy here
is a piece of gold.
- Right.
762
00:37:39,793 --> 00:37:42,034
Well, those
are a piece of gold.
All this is pyrite.
763
00:37:42,034 --> 00:37:43,482
Okay.
764
00:37:43,482 --> 00:37:46,862
It's not fantastic,
but we'll know more
when we run it, I guess.
765
00:37:46,862 --> 00:37:49,758
- Yeah.
- But yeah, we wanted
to test different layers.
766
00:37:49,758 --> 00:37:51,448
- Okay.
- Like the stuff
right on bedrock,
767
00:37:51,448 --> 00:37:53,896
the stuff
in the decomposed bedrock
that far down
768
00:37:53,896 --> 00:37:55,137
and some like that far down.
769
00:37:55,137 --> 00:37:56,689
- Okay.
- This is what we want
to do there.
770
00:37:56,689 --> 00:37:57,689
Right?
771
00:37:57,689 --> 00:37:59,689
So what got you
into gold mining out here?
772
00:37:59,689 --> 00:38:03,448
I came up last year
with my kids just to get away.
773
00:38:03,448 --> 00:38:05,275
Is that right?
774
00:38:05,275 --> 00:38:09,586
The first time I saw gold,
those little specks,
those little beautiful specks,
775
00:38:09,586 --> 00:38:11,689
I was hooked.
776
00:38:11,689 --> 00:38:14,965
Trevor and I are dating,
and he suggested
I come up here
777
00:38:14,965 --> 00:38:18,068
and just be part of the crew.
778
00:38:18,068 --> 00:38:23,586
I've just struggled
for so long with two children,
raising them,
779
00:38:23,586 --> 00:38:26,379
trying to support them
as best I could.
780
00:38:26,379 --> 00:38:31,172
So to prosper in gold
financially would be amazing.
781
00:38:31,172 --> 00:38:35,551
This year,
Sacha's 22-year-old son,
Dustin, has joined her
782
00:38:35,551 --> 00:38:37,068
in the gold fields.
783
00:38:37,068 --> 00:38:39,482
Dustin is working
on the machines.
784
00:38:39,482 --> 00:38:44,586
He's doing
whatever needs to be done.
He just loves to be useful.
785
00:38:45,448 --> 00:38:47,793
I don't have
a retirement plan,
786
00:38:47,793 --> 00:38:52,000
and if this is successful,
787
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,379
it'll be a game changer.
788
00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,275
I'm circling, but I'm also
taking material out of the pan
at the same time.
789
00:39:00,275 --> 00:39:01,551
- You see those
rocks going out?
- Okay.
790
00:39:01,551 --> 00:39:05,689
Yeah. I think I'm too timid
with how I've been panning.
791
00:39:05,689 --> 00:39:06,862
Yeah.
792
00:39:06,862 --> 00:39:09,482
- You see me?
I don't mess around.
- No, you don't.
793
00:39:09,482 --> 00:39:11,000
You get the job done.
794
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,344
Here we go.
That's looking better.
795
00:39:13,344 --> 00:39:14,793
Oh, good.
796
00:39:14,793 --> 00:39:17,241
- These guys. That's
a good-sized piece there,
- Nice.
797
00:39:17,241 --> 00:39:18,896
another piece there
798
00:39:18,896 --> 00:39:21,586
and a whole bunch
of little guys
out through here.
799
00:39:21,586 --> 00:39:24,103
Oh, beautiful. I love it.
800
00:39:24,103 --> 00:39:27,689
Well, there's one good sign
right there.
I'm gonna get back to welding.
801
00:39:27,689 --> 00:39:30,137
- See you in a bit.
- Thank you, Freddy.
802
00:39:30,137 --> 00:39:32,379
By giving these guys
little tricks, you know,
803
00:39:32,379 --> 00:39:35,103
after we leave,
they'll still have
those tricks.
804
00:39:35,103 --> 00:39:36,758
And they can, you know,
do it on their own
805
00:39:36,758 --> 00:39:39,689
without having to worry
about Juan or myself
helping them out.
806
00:39:41,379 --> 00:39:44,551
Dang, Freddy.
It's really bad down here.
807
00:39:44,551 --> 00:39:47,172
As the rest of the crew
begin their day,
808
00:39:47,172 --> 00:39:49,862
concerns about
the smoke worsen.
809
00:39:49,862 --> 00:39:51,896
One thing
that we've got to take
into consideration, too,
810
00:39:51,896 --> 00:39:54,689
it's not just us, you know,
we've got an entire crew
with us, too.
811
00:39:54,689 --> 00:39:59,241
The rescue takes
place in what is now
the worst wildfire season
812
00:39:59,241 --> 00:40:01,000
in Canada's history.
813
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:05,551
Over 10,000 square miles
of forest burns
in British Columbia,
814
00:40:05,551 --> 00:40:09,275
with one blaze
less than 20 miles
from the claim.
815
00:40:09,275 --> 00:40:10,551
There's the man.
816
00:40:10,551 --> 00:40:11,689
What's your call?
817
00:40:11,689 --> 00:40:15,793
The air quality index
is ten out of ten.
818
00:40:15,793 --> 00:40:17,172
You can see right now,
it looks like it's snowing
819
00:40:17,172 --> 00:40:18,586
and it's just ash
coming down on us.
820
00:40:18,586 --> 00:40:20,482
Yeah, I know you guys
got a lot of work to do,
821
00:40:20,482 --> 00:40:24,586
but for the safety
of everyone here and the crew,
We have to evacuate.
822
00:40:24,586 --> 00:40:26,103
- Yeah.
- Okay.
823
00:40:30,655 --> 00:40:32,137
We gotta go.
824
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:35,275
- You ready, Juan?
- All right, let's go.
825
00:40:35,275 --> 00:40:40,413
As smoke and ash
descend on the valley,
rescue shuts down for the day.
826
00:40:42,586 --> 00:40:45,103
Already on a really,
really tight timeline.
827
00:40:45,103 --> 00:40:46,793
We don't have enough time
to lose a day.
828
00:40:46,793 --> 00:40:49,896
No. We didn't have enough time
to lose half a day.
829
00:41:18,586 --> 00:41:20,896
Right now, the smoke's
cleared out quite a bit.
830
00:41:20,896 --> 00:41:25,000
You can actually see blue sky.
We've just got
to get this done.
831
00:41:27,655 --> 00:41:30,482
The rain overnight
has dampened down the smoke
832
00:41:30,482 --> 00:41:33,172
and the team is back on site.
833
00:41:33,172 --> 00:41:35,931
If we make it on time here,
it'll surprise me.
834
00:41:36,862 --> 00:41:39,137
Well, I'm getting
the settling pond,
835
00:41:39,137 --> 00:41:40,689
getting bed carved out,
836
00:41:40,689 --> 00:41:42,689
and then fill that thing up
with water.
837
00:41:42,689 --> 00:41:44,758
Everybody is racing today
838
00:41:44,758 --> 00:41:46,379
and for the next few days.
839
00:41:46,379 --> 00:41:48,896
So under the gun
is an understatement.
840
00:41:48,896 --> 00:41:50,655
We're way
behind schedule now.
841
00:41:50,655 --> 00:41:52,586
We're trying to make up
all that time we missed.
842
00:41:54,689 --> 00:41:57,172
So you need
some help on this, Juan?
843
00:41:57,172 --> 00:42:00,000
Twenty-four hours
remaining in the rescue,
844
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,793
the team must fix
and attach the hopper,
845
00:42:02,793 --> 00:42:04,379
fabricate a spray bar
846
00:42:04,379 --> 00:42:07,103
and complete
a new pond system.
847
00:42:07,103 --> 00:42:08,275
Yeah, if you wanna
help me, Freddy,
848
00:42:08,275 --> 00:42:10,034
you can start putting
those grizzly bars together.
849
00:42:10,034 --> 00:42:10,965
Weld the tops on them
850
00:42:10,965 --> 00:42:12,000
and I'll start
getting all this ready.
851
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,068
I'll build the bars.
852
00:42:13,068 --> 00:42:14,758
Okay.
- You build the support for it.
853
00:42:14,758 --> 00:42:15,896
Let's do it.
854
00:42:16,965 --> 00:42:18,310
How much gap
do you have there?
855
00:42:18,862 --> 00:42:20,413
Oh. Half inch.
856
00:42:21,896 --> 00:42:23,931
Work, work, work.
Weld, weld, weld.
857
00:42:25,103 --> 00:42:28,275
While Alex
helps Freddy fabricate
the grizzly bars,
858
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:29,896
Juan and Travis
859
00:42:29,896 --> 00:42:32,275
weld the supports
into the hopper.
860
00:42:33,241 --> 00:42:34,379
What we want to do
is make sure that
861
00:42:34,379 --> 00:42:36,172
the material that's
going through the grizzlies
862
00:42:36,172 --> 00:42:38,655
into the hopper
and into the trommel
863
00:42:38,655 --> 00:42:40,241
are under eight inches
864
00:42:40,241 --> 00:42:41,896
because we don't want
anything big getting in there
865
00:42:41,896 --> 00:42:42,931
and getting it clogged up.
866
00:42:46,793 --> 00:42:47,965
I got the frame ready to go.
867
00:42:47,965 --> 00:42:49,689
I'm gonna start getting
a line where they need to go
868
00:42:49,689 --> 00:42:50,724
and get them welded in.
869
00:42:51,586 --> 00:42:52,689
We're out of time.
870
00:42:52,689 --> 00:42:54,000
We've gotta get
this done today.
871
00:43:03,034 --> 00:43:05,379
Travis, let's clean
that up real quick.
872
00:43:05,379 --> 00:43:07,034
This is the last
grizzly bars we've got to do.
873
00:43:07,034 --> 00:43:08,517
We're gonna get them
welded in place.
874
00:43:09,379 --> 00:43:10,586
Okay.
Where we at? On yours?
875
00:43:10,586 --> 00:43:11,586
Right there.
876
00:43:12,172 --> 00:43:13,310
Perfect.
877
00:43:19,689 --> 00:43:21,172
We got the grizzly
all welded up.
878
00:43:21,172 --> 00:43:22,275
We're gonna
lift it up right now.
879
00:43:22,275 --> 00:43:23,379
We're gonna get it in place.
880
00:43:24,586 --> 00:43:25,586
It's kinda
the moment of truth.
881
00:43:25,586 --> 00:43:26,724
Hopefully it fits right.
882
00:43:27,172 --> 00:43:28,310
Yeah. That's good.
883
00:43:29,448 --> 00:43:30,586
Watch yourself, Travis.
884
00:43:40,655 --> 00:43:42,413
- Watch your hands, Alex.
- Yeah.
885
00:43:44,034 --> 00:43:45,517
Watch your fingers.
Coming down.
886
00:43:50,137 --> 00:43:51,103
Get out of there.
887
00:43:52,034 --> 00:43:53,620
Hold on. Hold on.
888
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:04,896
We're going
to strung that guy.
889
00:44:04,896 --> 00:44:06,586
Go around out front, Alex.
890
00:44:06,896 --> 00:44:07,931
There you go.
891
00:44:07,931 --> 00:44:09,448
All here on the front.
892
00:44:09,448 --> 00:44:10,931
Did the chain just go?
893
00:44:10,931 --> 00:44:12,034
Our hook came loose.
894
00:44:12,862 --> 00:44:14,413
At the Naver Creek mine,
895
00:44:14,413 --> 00:44:15,931
one of the four chains
896
00:44:15,931 --> 00:44:18,379
lifting the 2000 pound hopper
897
00:44:18,379 --> 00:44:19,931
has become unhooked.
898
00:44:21,862 --> 00:44:23,379
Right now, I don't
need any distractions
899
00:44:23,379 --> 00:44:24,482
is what I'm thinking.
900
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,068
Okay. We're gonna
have to get back up there
901
00:44:28,068 --> 00:44:29,068
and hook that back up.
902
00:44:33,310 --> 00:44:34,379
Okay. Coming back up, guys.
903
00:44:34,379 --> 00:44:35,551
Watch out.
Okay.
904
00:44:38,551 --> 00:44:39,448
How's it look
on that side?
905
00:44:39,448 --> 00:44:41,172
It's so above
over there.
906
00:44:41,172 --> 00:44:42,827
Travis, that's good.
- He's got it on this side.
907
00:44:42,827 --> 00:44:44,413
You got it?
908
00:44:44,413 --> 00:44:46,413
For the hopper
to feed correctly,
909
00:44:46,413 --> 00:44:49,000
the square pillars
must insert vertically
910
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:51,241
into matching pockets
on the frame.
911
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:54,965
Is it there?
912
00:44:54,965 --> 00:44:56,724
It's real close.
913
00:44:57,172 --> 00:44:58,310
Come on down a little.
914
00:45:00,620 --> 00:45:02,000
This side's in.
There you go.
915
00:45:08,448 --> 00:45:10,551
It's in. Perfect.
916
00:45:10,551 --> 00:45:12,172
And it's tied up
against the trommel.
917
00:45:12,172 --> 00:45:13,655
Nice.
918
00:45:14,310 --> 00:45:17,241
That's a big relief right now,
and we've got the hopper on.
919
00:45:17,241 --> 00:45:18,551
And that's a major part
of the trommel.
920
00:45:18,551 --> 00:45:19,689
Still got a lot
of plumbing to do,
921
00:45:19,689 --> 00:45:20,620
but we're that much closer
922
00:45:20,620 --> 00:45:21,965
to being able to get this down
923
00:45:21,965 --> 00:45:23,655
to the site
and getting it hooked up.
924
00:45:30,137 --> 00:45:32,103
These guys are pretty green.
925
00:45:32,103 --> 00:45:35,793
So, you know, it's always good
to put an eye on stuff
926
00:45:35,793 --> 00:45:37,758
before it gets
too out of hand.
927
00:45:37,758 --> 00:45:39,379
With the clock ticking,
928
00:45:39,379 --> 00:45:41,000
the miners have been tasked
929
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:42,551
to dig out pay
930
00:45:42,551 --> 00:45:44,655
and create a new pond.
931
00:45:44,655 --> 00:45:46,034
It looks like
we're almost ready
932
00:45:46,034 --> 00:45:47,620
to start putting water
into this thing.
933
00:45:49,103 --> 00:45:51,103
Hey, Trev,
we're gonna be coming in.
934
00:45:51,931 --> 00:45:52,862
Freddy is with us.
935
00:45:53,758 --> 00:45:55,655
Yeah, I'm just down
in the hole here.
936
00:45:57,965 --> 00:46:00,482
Freddy checks in
on the progress of the dig.
937
00:46:02,103 --> 00:46:03,965
You're gonna
need more pay than that.
938
00:46:03,965 --> 00:46:05,793
We've got to get
all that pay out of there.
939
00:46:05,793 --> 00:46:07,034
I thought you
already had it done
940
00:46:07,034 --> 00:46:08,724
or I'd have been
out here yesterday.
941
00:46:08,724 --> 00:46:09,931
Try it deeper in bedrock.
942
00:46:09,931 --> 00:46:12,275
Let's say go six inches
into that bedrock.
943
00:46:12,275 --> 00:46:13,724
- All right?
- Okay.
944
00:46:13,724 --> 00:46:15,310
Sounds good.
945
00:46:15,310 --> 00:46:17,344
More pay
must be dug out.
946
00:46:17,896 --> 00:46:19,206
Freddy's plan,
947
00:46:19,206 --> 00:46:22,413
once the pay has been
removed and stockpiled,
948
00:46:22,413 --> 00:46:25,000
use the new cut
as a settling pond.
949
00:46:26,068 --> 00:46:27,000
Get it all ready
950
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:28,586
so we can start
filling it with water.
951
00:46:28,586 --> 00:46:29,862
All right,
let's get her done.
952
00:46:29,862 --> 00:46:31,413
Let's get to it.
I'm gonna
get the welding.
953
00:46:31,413 --> 00:46:32,724
All right, man. Thank you.
954
00:46:36,620 --> 00:46:38,241
Well,
one thing's for sure.
955
00:46:38,241 --> 00:46:40,034
Without water, we won't run.
956
00:46:40,034 --> 00:46:41,551
So we've got to dig
those ponds out,
957
00:46:41,551 --> 00:46:42,482
get water in there.
958
00:46:42,482 --> 00:46:43,896
We've just got to get it done.
959
00:46:44,482 --> 00:46:46,344
This has got me
really stressed out.
960
00:46:46,344 --> 00:46:48,862
Those guys gotta be
out of here real soon,
961
00:46:48,862 --> 00:46:51,275
and we're still
digging a pond.
962
00:46:59,517 --> 00:47:00,931
We don't have a new piece
of four inch pipe,
963
00:47:00,931 --> 00:47:02,413
so I'm gonna reuse
what they had.
964
00:47:02,413 --> 00:47:04,034
I had to cut all the
little different plugs
965
00:47:04,034 --> 00:47:06,103
that they had on there
and all the adapters.
966
00:47:06,103 --> 00:47:07,448
We're going to turn this
into the spray bar
967
00:47:07,448 --> 00:47:08,655
in the hopper.
968
00:47:08,655 --> 00:47:10,137
We're actually gonna
put a jet on the back
969
00:47:10,137 --> 00:47:11,310
of the hopper itself.
970
00:47:11,310 --> 00:47:13,172
What that's gonna do
is push that material down
971
00:47:13,172 --> 00:47:14,344
into the trommel.
972
00:47:14,344 --> 00:47:15,965
We're gonna call it
the pipe with many patches
973
00:47:15,965 --> 00:47:17,310
that my grandpa gave to me.
974
00:47:18,448 --> 00:47:19,482
It's all cobbled together.
975
00:47:19,482 --> 00:47:21,068
I had to put a bunch
of patches on it.
976
00:47:21,068 --> 00:47:22,586
But it will work.
977
00:47:22,586 --> 00:47:23,827
It's a sexy piece
of pipe, huh?
978
00:47:23,827 --> 00:47:24,655
It's a sexy one.
979
00:47:24,655 --> 00:47:25,862
Oh, yeah.
- It's sexy.
980
00:47:27,379 --> 00:47:29,172
All right, let me get up there
and see if I can weld it in.
981
00:47:32,620 --> 00:47:34,103
That's it. Done.
982
00:47:39,068 --> 00:47:41,896
Yeah, but I think we can start
filling this thing with water.
983
00:47:41,896 --> 00:47:44,482
I mean, it's as deep
as I can make it.
984
00:47:44,965 --> 00:47:46,965
Okay. So, Sacha, Dustin,
985
00:47:46,965 --> 00:47:49,034
if you guys can get
the pump fired up.
986
00:47:49,034 --> 00:47:50,068
Copy that.
987
00:47:53,034 --> 00:47:54,413
Everybody is racing.
988
00:47:54,413 --> 00:47:56,034
All of us are moving.
989
00:47:56,034 --> 00:47:57,793
Well, Freddy, Juan,
990
00:47:57,793 --> 00:47:59,448
our team doing our part.
991
00:47:59,448 --> 00:48:01,620
Working the pressure
go up the line.
992
00:48:01,620 --> 00:48:03,275
Okay. One second.
993
00:48:04,172 --> 00:48:06,068
Okay. We're good.
We've got water.
994
00:48:06,413 --> 00:48:07,551
Good job, guys.
995
00:48:07,551 --> 00:48:08,724
Thank you.
996
00:48:18,206 --> 00:48:19,275
That's
a good angle right there.
997
00:48:19,275 --> 00:48:20,586
Yeah, I know, it works.
That looks good.
998
00:48:20,586 --> 00:48:22,758
With both ponds
now full of water...
999
00:48:22,758 --> 00:48:24,931
Let's just backfill it
from here.
1000
00:48:24,931 --> 00:48:27,137
We've got a pipe now
going from our tailings pond
1001
00:48:27,137 --> 00:48:28,068
over to our settling ponds.
1002
00:48:28,068 --> 00:48:30,413
What it does is
recirculates the water.
1003
00:48:30,413 --> 00:48:32,172
We don't have to keep
pulling in fresh water.
1004
00:48:33,103 --> 00:48:34,862
The new
settling pond system
1005
00:48:34,862 --> 00:48:36,000
is in place.
1006
00:48:37,551 --> 00:48:39,620
The dirty water
will exit the trommel
1007
00:48:39,620 --> 00:48:42,034
with the tailings
into the first pond.
1008
00:48:42,965 --> 00:48:45,482
As it slows and the heavy silt
1009
00:48:45,482 --> 00:48:47,172
sinks to the bottom,
1010
00:48:47,172 --> 00:48:49,344
clean water flows downstream
1011
00:48:49,344 --> 00:48:51,862
through the culvert
into the second pond.
1012
00:48:52,344 --> 00:48:54,310
From here, the clean water
1013
00:48:54,310 --> 00:48:57,379
can be recirculated
back into the plant.
1014
00:49:02,827 --> 00:49:04,724
They're definitely bigger
than our other pumps.
1015
00:49:04,724 --> 00:49:06,896
Yeah, no doubt.
1016
00:49:06,896 --> 00:49:08,724
A new
four inch pump
1017
00:49:08,724 --> 00:49:09,758
will move almost
1018
00:49:09,758 --> 00:49:12,241
five hundred gallons
of water a minute
1019
00:49:12,241 --> 00:49:13,862
to the trommel.
1020
00:49:13,862 --> 00:49:16,862
It's a bit of a push
to get it all set up
1021
00:49:16,862 --> 00:49:18,655
but I think we can do it.
1022
00:49:18,655 --> 00:49:20,482
We're all working really hard.
1023
00:49:20,482 --> 00:49:22,965
Yeah, so what we'll do
is we'll unwrap this.
1024
00:49:22,965 --> 00:49:24,620
This one goes into the pond.
Okay.
1025
00:49:25,655 --> 00:49:27,413
There you go there.
Nice. Don't fall in.
1026
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,379
There you go.
1027
00:49:30,379 --> 00:49:33,793
I was up at, I think, 6:30
to turn on the little pump
1028
00:49:33,793 --> 00:49:35,931
and from there,
1029
00:49:35,931 --> 00:49:38,137
it's just been nonstop
go, go, go!
1030
00:49:38,137 --> 00:49:40,000
I can't believe this huge pump
1031
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:41,655
is gonna make
a huge difference.
1032
00:49:41,655 --> 00:49:42,862
Way bigger than the ones
1033
00:49:42,862 --> 00:49:44,413
we've got already.
Oh, my God.
1034
00:49:45,724 --> 00:49:47,448
Hey, Trevor, just across here?
1035
00:49:47,448 --> 00:49:49,275
Yeah, buddy. Yeah.
That's great. Thank you.
1036
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:52,206
We got her.
It's done.
1037
00:49:52,206 --> 00:49:53,206
Nice.
1038
00:49:53,931 --> 00:49:55,068
Okay. What do you think?
1039
00:49:55,068 --> 00:49:56,931
Literally, the trommel
is the next thing in place.
1040
00:49:56,931 --> 00:49:58,068
Other than that,
everything's done.
1041
00:49:58,068 --> 00:49:59,517
I think we're there.
I love it.
1042
00:49:59,517 --> 00:50:00,655
Perfect.
- Good job.
1043
00:50:00,655 --> 00:50:02,068
Thanks guys.
Yay!
1044
00:50:03,137 --> 00:50:04,137
And all
of a sudden you're
1045
00:50:04,137 --> 00:50:05,689
starting to think
more like a miner
1046
00:50:05,689 --> 00:50:08,000
and feeling more successful
in what we're doing.
1047
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:08,965
We're gonna do this.
1048
00:50:08,965 --> 00:50:09,965
We're gonna make it work.
1049
00:50:23,586 --> 00:50:25,551
Okay, Juan,
you done on your end?
1050
00:50:25,551 --> 00:50:26,655
With a few hours
1051
00:50:26,655 --> 00:50:28,965
remaining on the Naver Creek
mine rescue...
1052
00:50:28,965 --> 00:50:30,620
I'm all done, Fred.
We're ready to go.
1053
00:50:30,620 --> 00:50:34,000
...the team must maneuver
the newly tricked out trommel
1054
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,551
to its position on the pad
600 yards away.
1055
00:50:37,551 --> 00:50:39,724
I can go grab Mark
and get his big loader,
1056
00:50:39,724 --> 00:50:41,275
- get him in it.
- Let's do it.
1057
00:50:46,379 --> 00:50:48,000
Okay, Juan, if you can
let me know how close
1058
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:49,758
they get when I back up.
1059
00:50:49,758 --> 00:50:51,379
We don't have any time
for any mess ups.
1060
00:50:51,379 --> 00:50:53,344
I'm just hoping we can get it
down there in one piece.
1061
00:50:56,655 --> 00:50:58,379
You can probably
get over this way
1062
00:50:58,379 --> 00:50:59,482
quite a bit, Mark.
1063
00:51:02,482 --> 00:51:03,689
Let's go.
1064
00:51:05,724 --> 00:51:08,241
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
1065
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:10,896
The 10,000
pound machine
1066
00:51:10,896 --> 00:51:12,758
is too big for the road.
1067
00:51:12,758 --> 00:51:14,344
Trev, you
got that chainsaw?
1068
00:51:14,344 --> 00:51:16,344
Let's knock
that one down, huh.
1069
00:51:16,344 --> 00:51:18,344
Well, we're about
to get into a tree here.
1070
00:51:20,034 --> 00:51:22,103
The last thing we want to do
is work this hard on something
1071
00:51:22,103 --> 00:51:24,103
and bend it up
putting it in place.
1072
00:51:26,931 --> 00:51:29,034
You ready, Mark?
- Ready to go.
1073
00:51:29,034 --> 00:51:30,379
Slow and easy.
1074
00:51:35,172 --> 00:51:36,689
Okay. We're getting
into a pinch point here.
1075
00:51:36,689 --> 00:51:38,000
It's gonna be a little tight.
1076
00:51:45,724 --> 00:51:47,310
That's good there, Mark.
That's good. Right there.
1077
00:51:47,310 --> 00:51:48,620
Stop there. Stop there.
1078
00:51:50,620 --> 00:51:52,137
Now we gotta
hook up all the plumbing,
1079
00:51:52,137 --> 00:51:53,827
get the pumps
hooked up, sluices.
1080
00:51:53,827 --> 00:51:55,448
Let's do it.
Sounds good.
1081
00:51:59,586 --> 00:52:01,034
These are
the final measurements
1082
00:52:01,034 --> 00:52:03,379
that he's doing
that really decides
1083
00:52:03,379 --> 00:52:06,172
whether you catch gold
in the sluice box or not.
1084
00:52:11,827 --> 00:52:15,103
Come up
a little more. Easy.
1085
00:52:15,103 --> 00:52:17,758
It's amazing how
it's all come together.
1086
00:52:18,724 --> 00:52:20,689
We're gonna be
running dirt tomorrow.
1087
00:52:20,689 --> 00:52:22,655
This is the dream
that's coming together.
1088
00:52:23,310 --> 00:52:24,448
The sluice is in.
1089
00:52:24,448 --> 00:52:26,793
We're just ready to hook up
that last water line
1090
00:52:26,793 --> 00:52:27,758
and we're ready to go.
1091
00:52:27,758 --> 00:52:28,896
Okay.
1092
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:32,413
Completion is another step
1093
00:52:32,413 --> 00:52:34,137
towards where we gotta go.
1094
00:52:34,137 --> 00:52:36,034
I mean, look at this thing.
It's a behemoth.
1095
00:52:37,137 --> 00:52:38,137
We haven't
even got to see
1096
00:52:38,137 --> 00:52:39,379
this trommel run yet.
1097
00:52:39,379 --> 00:52:41,862
You know,
we've put a hell of a lot
of work into it.
1098
00:52:41,862 --> 00:52:43,827
Tomorrow morning
is the moment of truth.
1099
00:53:00,724 --> 00:53:02,000
Well,
it's a big day, Freddy.
1100
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:03,655
Yep.
Get that plant running.
1101
00:53:03,655 --> 00:53:04,827
You know, I'm a little
nervous about it, though.
1102
00:53:04,827 --> 00:53:06,931
You know, these guys are
gonna have to hustle more...
1103
00:53:06,931 --> 00:53:07,965
- Yeah.
- ...with this plant
1104
00:53:07,965 --> 00:53:09,275
and the smaller trommel.
1105
00:53:09,275 --> 00:53:10,586
Yeah, right now,
it's going to be
1106
00:53:10,586 --> 00:53:12,379
more important than ever
for them to be organized
1107
00:53:12,379 --> 00:53:13,655
in what they do.
1108
00:53:14,482 --> 00:53:17,137
Previously,
the mobile wash plant
1109
00:53:17,137 --> 00:53:19,275
maxed out
at 10 yards per hour.
1110
00:53:20,931 --> 00:53:24,965
Now, Freddy and Juan
have reignited a mining relic,
1111
00:53:24,965 --> 00:53:27,965
a giant 40 yard
per hour wash plant,
1112
00:53:27,965 --> 00:53:29,724
complete with new ponds
1113
00:53:29,724 --> 00:53:31,068
and water system.
1114
00:53:32,034 --> 00:53:34,068
Well, Juan,
show them around, huh?
1115
00:53:34,068 --> 00:53:35,965
Yeah, let's do it.
1116
00:53:35,965 --> 00:53:38,000
You guys saw
what we were doing
with the grizzlies.
1117
00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:39,931
We actually put some
bigger grizzlies on there.
1118
00:53:39,931 --> 00:53:41,379
Properly spaced.
1119
00:53:41,379 --> 00:53:42,793
We put
an electric start motor,
1120
00:53:42,793 --> 00:53:44,379
so that way
you're not in there
1121
00:53:44,379 --> 00:53:45,862
trying to pull a pull cord.
1122
00:53:45,862 --> 00:53:47,172
The big thing, too, is now
1123
00:53:47,172 --> 00:53:49,517
we've got a four-inch
water line coming
to your plant.
1124
00:53:49,517 --> 00:53:51,482
We redid all this.
It doesn't look that sexy,
1125
00:53:51,482 --> 00:53:52,724
but it's gonna work.
Yeah.
1126
00:53:52,724 --> 00:53:54,103
I got to say,
this thing looks strong.
1127
00:53:54,103 --> 00:53:56,068
Well, you can see
the sluice box, guys.
1128
00:53:56,689 --> 00:53:58,379
We reconfigured one of yours.
1129
00:53:58,379 --> 00:54:00,137
Yep.
- Different sides,
1130
00:54:00,137 --> 00:54:02,103
completely different
lockdown systems.
1131
00:54:02,103 --> 00:54:04,551
So, it's set up
to catch fine gold
1132
00:54:04,551 --> 00:54:05,724
or coarser gold as well.
1133
00:54:05,724 --> 00:54:07,517
Yeah, you'll be
surprised how much more gold
1134
00:54:07,517 --> 00:54:08,551
you'll actually see
1135
00:54:08,551 --> 00:54:09,448
in different riffles,
you know.
1136
00:54:09,448 --> 00:54:10,758
Wow.
1137
00:54:10,758 --> 00:54:12,241
Well,
let's fire it up, guys.
1138
00:54:12,241 --> 00:54:13,344
Yeah.
1139
00:54:16,413 --> 00:54:17,758
The trommel's
ready to go.
1140
00:54:17,758 --> 00:54:19,206
I think we're ready to go.
1141
00:54:19,206 --> 00:54:21,137
We can't wait to start it up.
1142
00:54:21,137 --> 00:54:23,793
I'm pretty nervous
about the four hour test.
1143
00:54:23,793 --> 00:54:27,310
This is definitely
a pivotal moment
for us miners.
1144
00:54:27,310 --> 00:54:30,068
Okay, ladies and gentlemen,
fire in the hole.
1145
00:54:30,068 --> 00:54:31,586
Golden sluice.
1146
00:54:31,586 --> 00:54:33,034
You know, Freddy,
it's really hard because,
1147
00:54:33,034 --> 00:54:34,965
you know, we watched
a little plant run.
1148
00:54:34,965 --> 00:54:36,206
We didn't get to watch
this one run,
1149
00:54:36,206 --> 00:54:38,068
so we really didn't know
what it was gonna need.
1150
00:54:40,689 --> 00:54:42,482
You ready, Jay? First bucket.
1151
00:54:42,482 --> 00:54:44,344
All set for the first bucket.
1152
00:54:46,655 --> 00:54:47,931
It's a huge
difference in there
1153
00:54:47,931 --> 00:54:50,275
compared to the first test.
Different plant.
1154
00:54:50,275 --> 00:54:51,793
The guys have
more knowledge now,
1155
00:54:51,793 --> 00:54:54,827
a better recovery system,
so we'll see what happens.
1156
00:54:59,551 --> 00:55:02,310
And we are moving
so much more material.
1157
00:55:02,310 --> 00:55:03,931
Two hours
into the test,
1158
00:55:03,931 --> 00:55:07,137
the team have churned through
80 yards of dirt,
1159
00:55:07,137 --> 00:55:10,724
four times the amount of pay
from the previous run.
1160
00:55:12,827 --> 00:55:14,517
Honestly,
for a shot in the dark,
1161
00:55:14,517 --> 00:55:15,379
I think we did all right.
1162
00:55:15,379 --> 00:55:16,413
Yeah, I think so, too.
1163
00:55:16,413 --> 00:55:17,758
The sluice is running good.
1164
00:55:17,758 --> 00:55:19,655
Yeah.
- The water system's
running good.
1165
00:55:19,655 --> 00:55:20,793
The grizzlies
are working good.
1166
00:55:21,551 --> 00:55:23,103
I mean, what a difference.
1167
00:55:23,103 --> 00:55:24,758
This is really
moving material.
1168
00:55:26,241 --> 00:55:27,793
That worked,
hey Juano!
1169
00:55:27,793 --> 00:55:28,827
First time running,
1170
00:55:28,827 --> 00:55:30,655
- I'm happy with it.
- I am as well.
1171
00:55:31,620 --> 00:55:34,103
This wash plant
was a complete unknown.
1172
00:55:34,103 --> 00:55:36,310
We didn't know how
it was really going to run.
1173
00:55:36,310 --> 00:55:37,689
But it's going great.
1174
00:55:38,172 --> 00:55:39,275
Nothing's holding us up.
1175
00:55:40,620 --> 00:55:42,724
Now we've got
the flow of that water,
1176
00:55:42,724 --> 00:55:44,689
see it's moving
all the way across,
1177
00:55:44,689 --> 00:55:47,034
and now that water has
to make a long journey
1178
00:55:47,034 --> 00:55:48,758
before it gets
to your other pond,
1179
00:55:48,758 --> 00:55:50,206
it makes the silt drop out.
Yep.
1180
00:55:51,620 --> 00:55:52,862
They're running
a lot more material.
1181
00:55:52,862 --> 00:55:54,793
The material coming off
the end of the trommel.
1182
00:55:54,793 --> 00:55:55,793
Clean.
1183
00:55:56,827 --> 00:55:58,517
Very proud, very happy.
1184
00:55:59,103 --> 00:56:01,275
And excited to see
1185
00:56:01,275 --> 00:56:02,758
what's gonna happen
at the end of this.
1186
00:56:02,758 --> 00:56:04,000
That's what it's all about.
1187
00:56:04,896 --> 00:56:06,758
They're a lot smoother
as a crew now.
1188
00:56:07,655 --> 00:56:09,689
I wouldn't say
a well-oiled machine just yet,
1189
00:56:09,689 --> 00:56:11,241
but they're doing pretty good.
1190
00:56:11,241 --> 00:56:13,896
- Lightly oiled.
- Lightly oiled.
1191
00:56:13,896 --> 00:56:15,034
I think they're getting
the general gist
1192
00:56:15,034 --> 00:56:16,379
of how it's supposed
to go down.
1193
00:56:17,172 --> 00:56:18,413
They're doing good, though.
1194
00:56:20,206 --> 00:56:21,655
Looking good, buddy,
looking good.
1195
00:56:23,827 --> 00:56:24,965
Well, Juan...
1196
00:56:25,862 --> 00:56:26,620
Last bucket, huh?
1197
00:56:26,620 --> 00:56:28,793
- Four hours.
- That's the run.
1198
00:56:29,655 --> 00:56:30,689
Hey, Jay.
1199
00:56:31,137 --> 00:56:32,103
Last bucket.
1200
00:56:32,655 --> 00:56:34,379
Copy that. Last bucket.
1201
00:56:34,379 --> 00:56:36,517
To see how much gold's
in the sluice box.
1202
00:56:38,586 --> 00:56:40,241
That's it.
Shut her down.
1203
00:56:48,137 --> 00:56:49,241
Hopefully,
it's in the mats.
1204
00:56:49,241 --> 00:56:51,137
Mm-hmm.
Yep,
buried in there.
1205
00:56:51,827 --> 00:56:53,413
We'll let you guys
get it cleaned up.
1206
00:56:53,413 --> 00:56:55,000
All right.
1207
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:56,586
I always like
to see a lot of gold
1208
00:56:56,586 --> 00:56:58,586
when you shut down on the mat.
1209
00:56:58,586 --> 00:57:00,068
I didn't see a lot.
1210
00:57:00,068 --> 00:57:02,172
Sluice box didn't
look great at all.
1211
00:57:02,172 --> 00:57:04,827
So I don't know if we made
the right call going 20 times
1212
00:57:04,827 --> 00:57:06,482
from what we had
on our first test run.
1213
00:57:06,482 --> 00:57:08,000
Freddy said it,
so we gonna stick to it.
1214
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:10,206
But maybe that
was the wrong call.
1215
00:57:17,310 --> 00:57:18,965
You wanna see something cool?
What's up?
1216
00:57:18,965 --> 00:57:20,896
Well, somebody made
something for you
1217
00:57:20,896 --> 00:57:21,965
that I'm supposed to give you.
1218
00:57:22,310 --> 00:57:23,379
- Really?
- Come here.
1219
00:57:23,379 --> 00:57:25,000
I'll show you what it is.
1220
00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:28,103
Well, your wife already made
your bulldog a custom cape.
1221
00:57:28,103 --> 00:57:30,482
Yeah, it's pretty sweet.
I like it.
1222
00:57:30,482 --> 00:57:32,793
Another friend of yours
made you...
No kidding.
1223
00:57:32,793 --> 00:57:35,034
...a hat. Hat and cape.
That is awesome.
1224
00:57:35,034 --> 00:57:36,413
It even matches my hard hat.
1225
00:57:36,827 --> 00:57:37,758
Exactly. Look at that.
1226
00:57:37,758 --> 00:57:40,000
Probably, smells less.
1227
00:57:41,689 --> 00:57:42,724
Does it fit?
1228
00:57:42,724 --> 00:57:44,413
Oh. Fits perfect, too.
Oh, yeah.
1229
00:57:44,413 --> 00:57:46,551
I like that. He looks
more distinguished now.
1230
00:57:46,551 --> 00:57:47,862
That's pretty cool, Juan.
1231
00:57:47,862 --> 00:57:49,310
It's perfect, Fred.
1232
00:57:49,310 --> 00:57:50,379
Absolutely perfect.
1233
00:58:02,655 --> 00:58:05,275
It takes five minutes
just to fill up these
little pans.
1234
00:58:06,206 --> 00:58:08,034
At the
Naver Creek mine,
1235
00:58:08,034 --> 00:58:10,379
the crew begin their cleanup.
1236
00:58:10,379 --> 00:58:13,103
I'm sorry
about just jumping in.
No, no, no.
1237
00:58:13,103 --> 00:58:15,172
Thank goodness.
1238
00:58:16,448 --> 00:58:18,655
But the gold bearing
concentrate
1239
00:58:18,655 --> 00:58:21,241
is still filled
with other heavy minerals.
1240
00:58:22,103 --> 00:58:23,448
What are you doing, Freddy?
1241
00:58:23,448 --> 00:58:25,137
Right now, we're just
using this magnet
1242
00:58:25,137 --> 00:58:27,068
to get the magnetic
heavies out of it
1243
00:58:27,068 --> 00:58:28,310
so we don't have
to deal with them.
1244
00:58:28,310 --> 00:58:30,482
Right.
So we are
fighting our way
1245
00:58:30,482 --> 00:58:31,586
through them
to get to the gold.
1246
00:58:31,586 --> 00:58:32,724
Yep.
1247
00:58:32,724 --> 00:58:34,793
Here, I got
my contractor's license, Fred.
1248
00:58:35,448 --> 00:58:37,620
Oh,
so you can release.
1249
00:58:37,620 --> 00:58:39,241
Freddy's
mining hack,
1250
00:58:39,241 --> 00:58:41,862
use the magnet
through a piece of plastic
1251
00:58:41,862 --> 00:58:45,000
to quickly release
the worthless heavy metals.
1252
00:58:45,931 --> 00:58:49,275
Fantastic, you guys.
Thank you.
1253
00:58:49,275 --> 00:58:51,379
Even though
they're novice to mining,
1254
00:58:51,379 --> 00:58:53,034
they're not novice
to hard work.
1255
00:58:53,034 --> 00:58:54,517
If you have a crew
that you enjoy being with
1256
00:58:54,517 --> 00:58:56,275
and you can work with
and work hard with,
1257
00:58:56,275 --> 00:58:58,551
you know that's worth
its weight in gold.
1258
00:58:58,551 --> 00:59:02,344
I mean the University of Gold
by Freddy and Juan,
1259
00:59:02,344 --> 00:59:04,793
we've got our
two professors there
1260
00:59:04,793 --> 00:59:07,620
teaching us
what gold mining is.
1261
00:59:07,620 --> 00:59:09,241
Getting rid
of all this.
1262
00:59:09,586 --> 00:59:10,724
Wow.
1263
00:59:11,137 --> 00:59:12,482
In five minutes
1264
00:59:12,482 --> 00:59:14,000
I already learned so much.
1265
00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:15,620
With the magnet
1266
00:59:15,620 --> 00:59:17,620
that was a game changer.
1267
00:59:17,620 --> 00:59:21,172
We cut from nine hour
clean-up to one.
1268
00:59:22,310 --> 00:59:23,448
So that's huge.
1269
00:59:31,103 --> 00:59:32,931
Got it all cooked up.
1270
00:59:32,931 --> 00:59:34,586
When I looked
in that sluice box,
1271
00:59:34,586 --> 00:59:36,655
my heart sank.
Mine too.
1272
00:59:36,655 --> 00:59:37,724
Yeah.
Really?
1273
00:59:38,689 --> 00:59:41,482
To hit Freddy's
20 times gamble,
1274
00:59:41,482 --> 00:59:43,241
and put the miners on course
1275
00:59:43,241 --> 00:59:45,793
for their 100 ounce
season goal,
1276
00:59:45,793 --> 00:59:47,206
from this test,
1277
00:59:47,206 --> 00:59:50,551
they need at least 0.4 ounces.
1278
00:59:50,551 --> 00:59:53,000
- It looks better
than the first one.
- That's looks a lot better.
1279
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:54,103
Oh, yeah.
1280
00:59:56,310 --> 00:59:58,413
Okay. We just went past
your first run.
1281
01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:02,068
Wow.
1282
01:00:02,620 --> 01:00:03,551
Uh-oh.
1283
01:00:03,551 --> 01:00:06,896
Look at there.
There's 0.4 right there.
1284
01:00:06,896 --> 01:00:08,620
- There's 20 times.
- Twenty times.
1285
01:00:08,620 --> 01:00:10,517
There's 20 times.
Yeah.
1286
01:00:10,517 --> 01:00:12,482
There's a little more
of gold left.
1287
01:00:12,482 --> 01:00:13,586
0.49.
1288
01:00:15,724 --> 01:00:17,896
0.49.
1289
01:00:17,896 --> 01:00:19,172
Dang. Near to a half an ounce.
1290
01:00:19,172 --> 01:00:20,896
As far as I'm concerned,
that's a half ounce.
1291
01:00:20,896 --> 01:00:23,310
Half an ounce
in a four hour run.
- Thank you.
1292
01:00:23,310 --> 01:00:24,724
So realistically,
in a full day,
1293
01:00:24,724 --> 01:00:25,965
you can do an ounce.
1294
01:00:25,965 --> 01:00:27,000
Yeah.
Well, that
puts you on target
1295
01:00:27,000 --> 01:00:29,413
- for your 100 ounce
season, right?
- Yeah.
1296
01:00:29,413 --> 01:00:30,620
You know,
quite an ambitious goal
1297
01:00:30,620 --> 01:00:31,862
of a 100 ounce for the season.
1298
01:00:31,862 --> 01:00:33,896
With the gold weight
we just had right now,
1299
01:00:33,896 --> 01:00:35,137
that's a possibility.
1300
01:00:35,137 --> 01:00:37,551
But more than anything,
they have a future here.
1301
01:00:39,034 --> 01:00:40,827
Well, guys,
I couldn't be more happy.
1302
01:00:40,827 --> 01:00:42,000
I mean, look
at the difference.
1303
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:44,931
Your guidance has been huge.
Thank you.
1304
01:00:46,379 --> 01:00:47,517
You guys take care. Okay.
1305
01:00:47,517 --> 01:00:48,896
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
1306
01:00:48,896 --> 01:00:51,068
Thank you guys.
- It was a pleasure.
1307
01:00:52,103 --> 01:00:53,068
It means everything.
1308
01:00:53,068 --> 01:00:55,931
It means
I get to live the life
1309
01:00:56,827 --> 01:00:57,862
of a gold miner.
1310
01:00:59,931 --> 01:01:02,448
It proves my theories
about this claim.
1311
01:01:02,448 --> 01:01:04,413
I'm more than happy
with everything.
1312
01:01:05,241 --> 01:01:07,206
You question, "Am I gonna
get a return on this?"
1313
01:01:07,206 --> 01:01:08,344
Freddy gave us a good path.
1314
01:01:08,344 --> 01:01:10,517
Juan showed us a good path
and it's working.
1315
01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:13,034
We're getting our money back
1316
01:01:13,034 --> 01:01:14,965
out of what we put
our heart and soul into.
1317
01:01:29,517 --> 01:01:31,000
Hey, Freddy, Juan,
1318
01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:33,793
just want to give you guys
a little update here.
1319
01:01:33,793 --> 01:01:36,000
The first snowflakes
started to fall.
1320
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:36,965
But we've made it back,
1321
01:01:36,965 --> 01:01:38,655
and we do have some
good news for you.
1322
01:01:38,655 --> 01:01:40,793
Freddy, you showed me
how to prospect.
1323
01:01:40,793 --> 01:01:42,689
We managed to open up
some other cuts
1324
01:01:42,689 --> 01:01:45,344
and we really have some
great success with it.
1325
01:01:45,344 --> 01:01:47,724
But we can't believe
what you guys did for us.
1326
01:01:47,724 --> 01:01:49,896
I was really running there
at the end of the season.
1327
01:01:49,896 --> 01:01:52,482
The sluice box,
it's working amazing.
1328
01:01:52,482 --> 01:01:55,068
Now we're getting
all the gold at the top end.
1329
01:01:55,068 --> 01:01:56,517
You guys want to know
what our total was?
1330
01:01:57,137 --> 01:01:58,551
You guys, you nailed it.
1331
01:01:58,551 --> 01:01:59,724
You crushed it with us.
1332
01:01:59,724 --> 01:02:01,724
117.3 ounces
1333
01:02:01,724 --> 01:02:03,517
Freddy, Juan...
We love you.
1334
01:02:03,517 --> 01:02:05,000
We're coming back
next year.
1335
01:02:05,000 --> 01:02:06,655
That's the most important
thing there is.
1336
01:02:06,655 --> 01:02:09,310
Here's to next year.
We're coming next year.
1337
01:02:09,310 --> 01:02:11,758
We're coming
next season.
- Thanks, Freddy and Juan.
1338
01:02:11,758 --> 01:02:14,103
- Thanks guys.
- Thank you so much.