1 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,760 It's been a struggle since we started. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:09,240 Monsoon season is here. 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,240 We're getting shut down every day, just about, right now. 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:13,960 There is not a time in monsoon season 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,960 when we're not shut down because of lightning. 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,880 [George] Last year, the rivers were about flowing. 7 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:19,840 Everything was gone. 8 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,000 Oh, [bleep]. 9 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:23,840 It was catastrophic for us, 10 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:25,240 completely had to start over. 11 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,520 It's dangerous out here and it's not adding up. 12 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,080 [George] Not running enough yardage, not catching the gold. 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,480 Our investors want at least 20 ounces 14 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,920 to show them this was not a complete failure. 15 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:38,600 We're on a ticking time clock. 16 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:43,880 [Freddy] Let's make some gold, guys. 17 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,360 [narrator] Freddy Dodge... 18 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,520 There's no guarantees in gold, buddy. 19 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:50,000 ...and Juan Ibarra... 20 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:51,400 All right, well, let's do it, huh? 21 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:55,200 ...have mastered the art of getting gold out of the ground... 22 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:56,640 Look at that. 23 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,160 ...in the most rugged places on Earth. 24 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,040 [Freddy on radio] I'm feeling a little sick, buddy. 25 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,680 [narrator] Now they rescue struggling miners... 26 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:05,600 Ooh, that's not good. 27 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,680 ...who risked it all to be rich... 28 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:10,240 Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shut it down! 29 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:12,720 ...but are about to lose everything. 30 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:13,840 [man] Eyeballs. 31 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,200 [narrator] To revive these failing mines, 32 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,080 Freddy and Juan engineer the impossible... 33 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,360 [man] I've never heard of an under-sluice before. 34 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,640 ...deliver some hard truths... 35 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,720 This material you're digging now is totally worthless. 36 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,640 ...and track down the gold. 37 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,039 That's what dreams are made of right there. 38 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,840 [narrator] But if they don't at least double the miners' gold recovery, 39 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,400 they won't take a dime in return. 40 00:01:37,479 --> 00:01:40,640 That's ten times the amount of gold. That's awesome. 41 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,360 [Freddy] That's pretty cool-looking, huh? 42 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:56,920 [Juan] Definitely neat old building. 43 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:58,800 [Freddy] I heard it was the oldest town in Arizona, 44 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:00,400 back when it was part of Mexico. 45 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,240 Imagine all the early explorers coming out here 46 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:03,960 and there was nothing here whatsoever. 47 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,160 People traveled all over looking for gold. 48 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,440 They left their homes, left everything they love, 49 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:11,080 to help their families out and do what they could 50 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,200 to try to make a living. 51 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:13,720 Kind of like the miners we help. 52 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,920 [narrator] Freddy and Juan are 11 miles from the Mexican border 53 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,079 on route to the Kennedy Mine. 54 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:25,040 With investment drying up, 55 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,680 the mine needs to turn a profit this year 56 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,360 or face a shutdown. 57 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,520 We've been in Arizona before in the past, Fred, 58 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,920 and it's always a tough go here with the heat, 59 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,600 lack of water, and everything else. 60 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,079 But, you know, there was good gold here at one time. 61 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,240 [Freddy on radio] Yeah, there's probably more good gold down here 62 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:41,560 than other places. 63 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,480 [narrator] Gold was first discovered here 200 years ago 64 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,320 when Spanish settlers staked claim to the land 65 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,520 during the Pima Revolt. 66 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,360 But the hostile desert heat 67 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,120 followed by months of monsoon rains 68 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,280 meant only he heartiest of miners 69 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,440 braved these harsh conditions. 70 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:03,200 [Freddy on radio] This is it, Juan. 71 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,120 -We're here, huh, Fred? -We're here. 72 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:11,360 -[Freddy] Howdy. -[George] How's it goin'? 73 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:12,520 -Nice to meet you. -George. 74 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,040 -Robert. -Nice to meet you, Robert. 75 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,040 -Matt. -Matt. Nice meeting you, Matt. 76 00:03:16,079 --> 00:03:17,160 -George. -George. Nice to meet you, George. 77 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,000 [George] We are so happy you guys came out. 78 00:03:19,079 --> 00:03:20,360 Man. 79 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,520 [narrator] Texan George Kennedy, a gas and oil worker by trade, 80 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,440 starting mining part-time in the desert four years ago 81 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,960 when his business fell on hard times. 82 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:32,800 We were in business for about five years 83 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,240 and, uh... 84 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,800 the natural gas process fell really bad. 85 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,600 Gold's pretty much been my hobby. 86 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,000 I sold my oil and gas company, started looking online, 87 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,520 trying to find a good piece of property to build a mine. 88 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,079 We looked down here in south Arizona 89 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:49,480 and we did a lot of prospecting, 90 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,480 and this property here, uh, tested pretty good, 91 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,480 as high as 0.800 of a gram per yard 92 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,440 and it had a lot more material. 93 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,640 It's got a lot of good potential. 94 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,480 Once we bought our equipment, got the ponds in place, 95 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,240 we're out of money. 96 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:07,360 We're mining, but it's just not enough 97 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,360 to even pay the bills. 98 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:10,560 [Juan] What kind of yardage are you guys running? 99 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:11,840 About ten yards an hour or so? 100 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:13,600 Oof, we're seven right now. 101 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,120 -Okay. -Well, do you have any of the gold 102 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:16,240 that you recovered? 103 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,560 Yeah. It's pretty fine. 104 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:20,680 No real nuggets to speak of. 105 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,920 [Juan] How are you guys doing for the season so far? 106 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,360 Uh, about seven, so far. 107 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,080 How much do you guys have invested in your gold mine here? 108 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,840 With us and small friend investors and stuff, 109 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,760 I would say probably, uh, 800 grand. 110 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,440 Ooh. That's not a bank you borrowed from, then. 111 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:38,560 It's friends. 112 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,200 Yeah. And we all have not made any money. 113 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:42,880 What's the sense of urgency now? 114 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:44,200 [Freddy] Why'd you call us now? 115 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:46,880 Uh, we need 13 ounces. 116 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,200 We have four weeks to pay back ten investors 117 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,880 before we have to shut down. 118 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,920 It's gets to a point where you got so much money and time 119 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,480 and blood and sweat and tears involved in it 120 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,480 that, you know, we're in. 121 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,320 We gotta go till we can't go anymore. 122 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,720 How about you, Matthew? What brought you out here? 123 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,760 Friendship. You know, knowing George, 124 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:09,320 working together in the oil field. 125 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,160 And I ran my big mouth one day, 126 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:13,880 I said, "Hey, you're gonna need a hand." 127 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:15,840 [Juan] If it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense. 128 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,280 -[George] That's it. -Well, look where you're at though. 129 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:18,320 It's beautiful out here. 130 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,600 Not quite. This weather's so unpredictable. 131 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,240 Uh, weather's been shutting us down 132 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:25,920 just almost daily. 133 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,440 [Robert] Monsoon season kind of rolls in. 134 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,680 All the pay's wet. It's hard to work with. 135 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,120 Rain, the material's thick. 136 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,680 It's like-- it just really slows our process down. 137 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:36,400 -[Freddy] Yeah. -First two years we were here, 138 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,200 it didn't hardly rain at all. 139 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:41,040 It was super-dry. And then the third or fourth monsoon season, 140 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:42,040 it was pretty bad. 141 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:43,640 Wiped our ponds completely out. 142 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:44,800 Had to start over. 143 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,760 It was really kind of catastrophic for us. 144 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,080 [narrator] Arizona's monsoon season typically lasts four months, 145 00:05:53,159 --> 00:05:54,400 beginning in June. 146 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,040 Moist tropical air collides with dry desert heat, 147 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,440 causing sudden heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning, 148 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:02,840 and flash floods. 149 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,160 [George] Oh, no! 150 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:05,760 [Robert] Bro, we might have a problem. 151 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,080 [narrator] This sudden intense rainfall 152 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,160 is unable to absorb quickly into the ground. 153 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,600 Rivers move with enough force to rework topsoil and rocks, 154 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:17,760 creating gully washers. 155 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,040 Gold previously lodged in hard-to-get places 156 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,480 moves downstream to create new deposits. 157 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,520 [Robert] If we really start getting a lot of monsoon and rain, 158 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,080 then that could be the call for the season. 159 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:32,480 -[George] Yeah. -Kind of what you're saying 160 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,320 is if you don't get it turned around now, 161 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:36,600 you guys are done mining here. 162 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,400 -Exactly. Yeah. -This is your last season. 163 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,200 [Freddy] There's only one way to get started. 164 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:43,200 Let's do a 4-hour test run and see how much gold we get. 165 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,520 [narrator] With the threat of monsoon season looming over them, 166 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,240 Freddy and Juan set a 4-hour test run 167 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,640 to replicate half a working day 168 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,680 and determine how much gold they recover. 169 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:02,920 Wanna start your timer? 170 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:04,040 First bucket. 171 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:05,240 There it is. 172 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:07,280 [narrator] Using a backhoe, 173 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,840 Robert feeds paydirt through grizzly bars 174 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:11,680 to remove large rocks. 175 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,080 Next, a conveyor transports the pay to a vibrating screen 176 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,720 where water-jets free the gold-bearing material. 177 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,240 Finally, a rotating trommel releases the finds 178 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:27,720 and a 14-foot-long sluice box traps gold in the riffles. 179 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,280 What are your thoughts on that grizzly, Fred? 180 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:31,720 It's gonna wipe out the radiator 181 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,320 and other things on that backhoe. 182 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:35,600 [Juan] After about four or five buckets, 183 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:37,760 that's gonna have quite the mountain. 184 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:40,960 [narrator] A rock pile in front of the hopper 185 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,360 prevents the backhoe loading the plant. 186 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,520 Matt needs to clear them by hand 187 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,560 before they can continue. 188 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,360 There's problems there, that's for sure. 189 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,520 Definitely good to have Freddy and Juan here 190 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,520 to see how we do things. 191 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:56,000 Surely could be better. 192 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,240 [narrator] Cousin Robert joined forces with George in 2019. 193 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:03,080 We both watch Gold Rush 194 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:04,560 and basically fell in love with it. 195 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,640 It's all fun and games until you see the first gold. 196 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,680 And then it starts getting real, you know? 197 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:11,440 You always want more. 198 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:12,720 Grizzlies are loaded. 199 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:14,640 I'm about to take another scoop. 200 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 [Juan] You know, over here on that screen, Fred... 201 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:20,280 Yep. 202 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:21,920 ...it seems like it's got a little bit of choke point, huh? 203 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,400 Yeah, there are some problems inside of there. 204 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,320 [narrator] Jammed rocks prevent the screen from clearing 205 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,440 and precious gold from reaching the trommel. 206 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:33,200 Periodically, you gotta give it the hoe. 207 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:37,760 Juan. 208 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,600 [Juan] The rocks are sharp. 209 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,320 [Freddy] It's not smooth. 210 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,120 That hasn't been reworked much at all. 211 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:45,320 [Juan] Doesn't look good at all. 212 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,000 [Freddy] We don't know how much gold's in the ground. 213 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,400 I think they probably have more fine gold 214 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,240 than what they think they have. 215 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:56,000 You know, different kinds of gold 216 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:57,760 like different situations. 217 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,200 To me, for the gold that they showed me, 218 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:02,280 we might have an issue here. 219 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:05,320 -We'll have a look, eh, Juan? -Yup. 220 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:16,200 [Juan] Yeah, there's some fine in there. 221 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:17,080 [Freddy] Yeah. 222 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:18,760 That was only a quarter of a pan. 223 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,560 There's definitely an issue there. 224 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,760 [thunderclap] 225 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,200 [Matthew] Looks like that storm pushed out a little bit north 226 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,880 but still got some weather to the southwest. 227 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,040 Yeah, I'm steady keeping an eye on it. 228 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,920 We're just gonna have to watch it. 229 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,240 Keep an eye out for lightning, George. 230 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,880 [George] We haven't paid any money back to the investors since day one. 231 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,320 They're ready to start seeing some kind of money back. 232 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,200 Everything's on the line right now. 233 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,520 -Last bucket? -Last bucket. 234 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:06,920 [narrator] Test run complete. 235 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,400 [Freddy] Exactly four hours. 236 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,480 [narrator] George and his crew power down, 237 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:13,520 ready to clean up the gold. 238 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:15,760 [Juan] There's a little bit of color up there. 239 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:17,600 A lot of fine stuff, you know. 240 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,920 -Yeah. -Well, you guys get 'er cleaned up 241 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:21,840 -and we'll go think about it... -Okay. 242 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:23,520 ...and we'll get back with you. 243 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:24,520 That'll work, man. 244 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:25,560 -[Robert] Sounds great. -That'll be awesome. 245 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:26,640 Sounds good. See you guys in a bit. 246 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:27,520 [George] I appreciate it, man. 247 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,320 [Robert] It almost looks sad. 248 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,400 There's a bunch of things on every side of that plant 249 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,440 that are causing it to lose some gold. 250 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,800 So if we can get most of those fixed 251 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:40,920 in the time that we're here, 252 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:42,600 we're gonna get 'em a lot more gold. 253 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:46,360 [thunder rumbling] 254 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,360 We need to go. We need to go. 255 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,640 [Robert] Thank God it's right at the end of our test. 256 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:55,760 We just gotta beat that wash. 257 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,200 When it starts flowing, we won't be able to get out of here. 258 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,160 [narrator] A flash flood in the wash 259 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:02,840 will cut off the only exit from the mine. 260 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:05,800 If the crew don't leave now, 261 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:07,320 they'll be stranded. 262 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:09,480 [George] Let's go. 263 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:15,520 Hopefully when we come back tomorrow, 264 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:16,560 the ponds ain't washed out. 265 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:34,960 [Freddy] Well, let's see what it is. 266 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:36,040 [Juan] Moment of truth. 267 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:39,680 Hey, guys. 268 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:40,600 [George] How's it goin'? 269 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:42,440 [Freddy] You got the gold all cleaned up? 270 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:43,600 We got a little bit. 271 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:44,560 [Juan] Yeah? 272 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:46,840 Ooh. 273 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,040 -Not a whole lot, huh? -[George] No. 274 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,320 [narrator] 11 miles from the Mexican border 275 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,560 in the southern Arizona desert, 276 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,080 mine boss George Kennedy and his Texan crew 277 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:58,760 gather for the gold weigh. 278 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,320 Well, let's see what it did. 279 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,240 [George] All right. 280 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,840 [narrator] George must recover half an ounce a day in four weeks 281 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,400 to pay investors before they could pull the plug. 282 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,200 0.14. 283 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,080 [narrator] 0.14 ounces, 284 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,760 half of what they need in each 4-hour run 285 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,240 to reach their goal. 286 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,040 -Is that normal? -Like, for four hours? 287 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,280 Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty much what we've been getting. 288 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:29,720 [Freddy] How many yards you think you ran? 289 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,760 Right there at seven yards an hour. 290 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,120 [narrator] At this rate in the remaining four weeks, 291 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,160 the part-time crew would still be more than 6 ounces short 292 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:41,960 of their 20-ounce target. 293 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:45,840 The good news is there's gold there, so. 294 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:47,880 Every speck counts. 295 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,040 Well, and the other thing too, while we watched you guys run, 296 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:51,680 you know, we did notice quite a few things 297 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:53,200 that we can do to help you guys improve 298 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:54,480 with the material going through the plant 299 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,360 -and then also on the recovery as well. -[Freddy] Mmm-hmm. 300 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:58,280 [Juan] There's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. 301 00:12:58,360 --> 00:12:59,920 Well, if we could double that. 302 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,280 -Oh, man, that would be... -That'd be awesome. 303 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:02,320 That would be amazing. 304 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:03,960 I'm not saying we can. 305 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:05,720 Well, we're sure gonna try. 306 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,920 -[Freddy] Yeah. -Some situations, it's not possible. 307 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,120 -Right. Right. -Right. 308 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:10,920 Let me and Juan put our heads together 309 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,360 and we'll go from there. 310 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:13,360 -[Juan] Yup. -[George] All right. 311 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:14,200 -[Juan] Thanks, guys. -All right. 312 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,280 -Thanks, Juan. -Cheers. 313 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:16,680 -Let's go talk about stuff, huh? -Let's do it. 314 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:20,600 [Matthew] I wanna help George and Robert. 315 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:22,000 They're a good group of guys. 316 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,760 But I feel like I'm obligated to have to come out here 317 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:26,520 right now. 318 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,520 Now, here we are two and a half years 319 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,040 going on three, 320 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,000 and it's like there's not gonna be a three. 321 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:34,560 For me. 322 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,680 It's hard to see a big future, you know, 323 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:40,960 with a small gold weigh like that. 324 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,040 We've been throwing money at it left and right. 325 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,000 And I'm quite a bit concerned about how much it's gonna cost 326 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,280 to fix the issues that they suggest. 327 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,640 It's very, very, uh... very nerve-racking. 328 00:13:58,600 --> 00:13:59,800 [Freddy] Well, what do you think? 329 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:01,680 [Juan] The biggest problem we're gonna run into is ground. 330 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:03,360 It just was not good. 331 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,680 [Freddy] Let's hope we can do some things for 'em. 332 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,320 You know, we can't put gold in the ground. 333 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,160 I think one of the big things is that feeder, right? 334 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,360 And all those rocks goin' back. 335 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:19,840 They're gonna take that radiator out on that backhoe. 336 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,840 [Freddy] So I think we put a chute on there 337 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:23,560 and get those rocks off to the side. 338 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,880 -Yeah. -And, you know, if we can fix some of the stuff 339 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:27,400 -in the sluices... -Yeah. 340 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,920 ...we could get that screen where they're not losing material and gold, 341 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,240 then it's all gonna add up. 342 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:33,280 What I wanna do is get that eccentric working properly. 343 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,160 -Put some more weight on it. -Yup. Yup. 344 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:36,960 [Freddy] What if we weld some chains on there, 345 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:38,120 -going down... -Yeah. 346 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,080 ...and then they're gonna pop up in the air 347 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:41,480 and they're gonna go side to side, right? 348 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,400 -Hopefully try to clear some of that material. -And clear-- 349 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:46,200 [Freddy] I don't know if we'll get it to where they can get 20 ounces, 350 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,200 but I guarantee we can get 'em more gold. 351 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:49,120 Here you go, guys. 352 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:50,320 Oh, awesome. Thank you! 353 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:51,400 -Thank you very much. -Thanks so much. See you next time. 354 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:52,320 Thank you! 355 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:53,360 -Let's get out of here. -Yeah. 356 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,080 -[Freddy] What did you order me? -Oh, you'll be surprised. 357 00:14:58,160 --> 00:14:59,880 How come you always get to pick the food? 358 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:01,040 [Juan laughing] You're gonna love it. 359 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,240 [narrator] Freddy and Juan have found three main problems 360 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:07,960 with the Kennedy plant. 361 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,240 First, the backhoe which loads the pay 362 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,680 is under fire from falling rocks, 363 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,320 risking costly stop downs for the operation. 364 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,360 Juan will attach a chute in front of the hopper 365 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:21,920 to catch falling debris 366 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,160 and safely divert them away to the side. 367 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,680 Next, the shaker screen isn't vibrating enough, 368 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,040 so rocks build up and jam. 369 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,600 Freddy will add weight to the existing eccentric below 370 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,200 to make it vibrate harder, 371 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,280 and in a rescue first, 372 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,760 install chains above to pound the jammed rocks 373 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,680 free of the gold-bearing material. 374 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,000 Finally, Freddy and Juan will extend the sluice to 18 feet, 375 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,320 replace the mats, and install their signature riffles 376 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,480 to catch more fine gold. 377 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,720 But if Freddy can't find better ground to run, 378 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,200 all of the fixes will be for nothing. 379 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:04,840 How are you doing, guys? 380 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:06,680 -Hey, Juan. -Hey. 381 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:08,680 [Juan] Yeah, you know, when we watched you guys run, 382 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,320 we noticed a few things that we can definitely help you guys improve on. 383 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,880 One of 'em, that screen is getting jammed up. 384 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,160 It's actually kind of limiting how much material you can run to the plant. 385 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,240 So, if we can get that to clear properly, 386 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,560 do it on its own without you having to be out there babysitting it. 387 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:23,240 That would be wonderful. Golly. 388 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,440 And then, situation you're in, you can't afford a radiator for your backhoe, right? 389 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:27,320 Not quite. 390 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:28,720 So we're watching you yesterday, 391 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:30,160 you have to get up there and throw those rocks 392 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,040 -out of the way, right? -[George] It's a real problem. Yup. 393 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,160 So if we put a chute on the front of that feeder, 394 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:35,840 the rocks are gonna shoot out there 395 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:37,560 and you'll be able to just pick 'em up with the backhoe. 396 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:39,160 -Oh, man. Yeah. -Nice! 397 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:40,280 [Juan] Then, on top of that, 398 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,400 what we wanna do is actually extend your sluice box 399 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,200 and reconfigure your riffles in it as well. 400 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,640 Exactly. Put some fine gold riffling in there 401 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,040 and carpet set up for fine gold in there. 402 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,640 -Yeah. -And the pay we ran that first test, 403 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:53,880 it's not good enough. Maybe we can find something better. 404 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,120 -Yeah. -That'd be interesting to do. 405 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,080 We understand your guys' financial situation, 406 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,120 and both Freddy and I have been very blessed in a lot of different ways, 407 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:04,319 so what we wanna do is we wanna do our labor for free. 408 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,319 -Yeah. -If we don't double the amount of gold you get, 409 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,200 -we'll throw in the material as well. -[Juan] Yeah. 410 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:11,040 [Freddy] We're looking at about $1,500. 411 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:12,480 It's all on your little plant. 412 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,280 You guys good with that? 413 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:16,200 -Man, that is awesome. -Absolutely, man. 414 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,240 You guys being out here on our side 415 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,480 and the experience that y'all bring, 416 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:22,240 uh, is invaluable to us. 417 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:24,440 100%. Really appreciate y'all. 418 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:26,079 -[Juan] Right on. -All right, thank y'all so much. 419 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:27,119 -Deal. -Deal. 420 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:28,280 -Thank you, brother. -All right. 421 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:29,360 -Thank you. -All right. 422 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:32,360 [George] The deal that Freddy and Juan came up with 423 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:33,960 couldn't have come at a better time. 424 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,320 You know, we have a lot of investors to pay back. 425 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:37,880 They could possibly save us. 426 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,960 [narrator] With just five days to increase the Kennedy's gold haul, 427 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,320 and under the constant threat of a storm shutdown, 428 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,120 Freddy and Juan dive in. 429 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,840 Well, let's start on this chute, huh, Juan? 430 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,600 [Juan] 8 foot right here to the edge. 431 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,640 So that's gonna take up a lot of steel. 432 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:56,520 Yeah. 433 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:00,960 [George] Freddy got me to clean off the shaker deck for him. 434 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,160 That pluggin' all, 435 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,400 this could really help it run more material. 436 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,640 Well, we've still got a lot of work to do to the plant. 437 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,560 During the first test run, this was their main choke point. 438 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:12,320 That screen fills up with rocks 439 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,160 and it's not allowing that gold-bearing material 440 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,560 to get down into the trommel to get washed. 441 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:18,160 It slowed 'em way down. 442 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,200 The solution, find a way to keep the screen clear 443 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,960 and increase their production and gold recovery. 444 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,080 -Here you go, sir. -Oh, yeah. 445 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:27,520 -Thank you. -You're welcome. 446 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,480 I'm gonna weld these chains in that top shaker deck 447 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,600 to try to help knock rocks out of the screen. 448 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,480 'Cause in theory, they should bounce up and down 449 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,920 and go back and forth on there. 450 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,240 So we'll try it and see what it does. 451 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:44,560 [narrator] When the hopper vibrates, 452 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,400 Freddy's innovative chain fix will unblock the screen 453 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,560 by pounding the rocks, moving them into the tailings pile below, 454 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,560 a first for Mine Rescue. 455 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:56,320 [bleep] 456 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:03,760 -Thank you, sir. -Yes, sir. 457 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,480 [Freddy] Well, I've welded two chains on the screen, 458 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,880 so as it vibrates, they'll do a dance 459 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,720 and keep that material moving down or through 460 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,720 and knock those rocks out of there. 461 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:17,200 It improves efficiency 462 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,960 and takes away a person standing there with a rake 463 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,680 having to rake those holes out. 464 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,200 That person could be doing something else, 465 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,160 digging pay or whatever around the mine. 466 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,480 -Hey, guys. You got a second? -Hey, guys. 467 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,360 [Freddy] It looks like we probably have a rainstorm coming 468 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:44,520 this afternoon. 469 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:46,120 [narrator] In southern Arizona, 470 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,240 Freddy and Juan are in a race against the elements 471 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,360 to complete their rescue mission. 472 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:52,760 [Juan] I gotta start cutting that chute. 473 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,800 -Yeah. -You guys can help us down at the plant. 474 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,200 -Heck yeah. -We'll go down and pull that eccentric out. 475 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,880 They were doin' seven yards an hour the first test, 476 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,200 so if they could get it turned up some more 477 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,520 and get the eccentric shaking harder 478 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,360 and fix their fine gold sluice, 479 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,040 every little thing adds up. 480 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:10,480 [narrator] In the cut trailer, 481 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,960 Juan designs a tailing chute to protect the backhoe. 482 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:16,920 [Juan] Right now, that when the material falls off the grizzly, 483 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,160 it's comin' forward, hitting the front of the backhoe. 484 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,120 By putting this little chute in front, 485 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:22,520 it'll catch that material. 486 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,800 It won't hit the backhoe, and it'll actually slide off to the side, 487 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,520 so we don't have issues with it later on down the road. 488 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,880 [narrator] A 25,000-degree beam of plasma 489 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,480 makes easy work, slicing through the quarter-inch steel. 490 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:45,720 -[George] What's goin' on? -Hey, buddy. How you doin'? 491 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,440 -[Juan] Are you married? -Yes, sir. I sure am. 492 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:55,440 What's your wife think about you being out here? 493 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,560 Uh, she's trying. Hopefully it works out 494 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,680 and it's worth all the time being gone away from the family 495 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:00,880 -and stuff, you know? -Yeah. 496 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,000 You got a couple little ones? 497 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:03,120 -I got three. -Yeah? 498 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:04,200 What ages? 499 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,200 Uh, nine, ten, and eleven. 500 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,240 That's always a killer, man. 501 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:08,960 Time away from home and the kids. 502 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:12,680 [George] I work full-time 503 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:16,920 to make sure I got enough money to pay for my kids' school 504 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,360 and, uh, take care of the bills at the house 505 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,720 and also support this. 506 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,720 We've already spent money we didn't have 507 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,240 for, you know... 508 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,720 college for the kids. 509 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,400 Um, definitely no retirement plan 510 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:31,960 or anything like that. 511 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:33,760 There's a lot of sleepless nights. 512 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,320 [narrator] Wife Tosha and their three sons 513 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,400 live 1,000 miles away in Texas. 514 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,440 George is trying to provide something-- 515 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,480 some kind of future for our family that's sustainable. 516 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,840 We wanna set up our children 517 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:49,840 to be able to take care of themselves 518 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,120 further in the future. 519 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:52,920 If the gold mine doesn't work out, 520 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,440 I-- I just... 521 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,560 I don't even wanna think about that happening 522 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,520 'cause it would be absolutely heartbreaking. 523 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:03,440 It really sounds like you got everything into this. 524 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,560 Everything I got. Yeah, I do. 525 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:06,480 You gotta make it work. 526 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,280 Yup. I just know, uh... 527 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:09,680 I got no way out other than fixing it 528 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:11,280 and gettin' it goin' right now. 529 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,800 Well, I guess we could start workin' on these. 530 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,200 [narrator] At the wash plant, 531 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,960 Freddy revamps the eccentric vibrator 532 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,760 to help clear the screen from debris. 533 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:31,400 Right now, the way it's running, 534 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,320 it's plugging itself up, which slows them down. 535 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,000 Essentially, the counterweight makes a spinning shaft uneven. 536 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,360 So you've got all the weight on one side, 537 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:41,600 so when it comes up, 538 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,760 it makes the screen throw up 'cause the weight's goin' up. 539 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:45,720 And when it's goin' down, it pulls it down. 540 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:47,960 So that causes the vibration in the screen. 541 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:51,240 Add some more weight to it 542 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,240 and that's gonna add some more instability. 543 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,120 The goal is to get more production through that plant. 544 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:00,000 We want it out of balance, 545 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,120 but we want these welds in balance. 546 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,240 There you go. 547 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,040 Did you do any gold stuff before comin' out here? 548 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:13,120 -No, sir. -No? 549 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,800 This is my very first experience with any of it. 550 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:17,040 Grew up in a machine shop, 551 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,480 worked in an oil field for 25 years, 552 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,120 um... 553 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,040 never any experience whatsoever. 554 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:25,840 The first pan I did for the first time, 555 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,480 me and George came out here prospecting. 556 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,120 -Oh, is that right? -Yup. Yup. 557 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:31,480 And there was gold in it. 558 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:33,000 That's-- Uh-oh. 559 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,400 [laughing] The very first pan I ever did, 560 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:36,480 it had some gold in it. 561 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,000 -So it was on from there. -Yeah. 562 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,400 My first trip down here while we're prospecting, 563 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,360 I'm like, "Hey, there's fricking gold here. 564 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,000 This is the real deal." 565 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,000 I'm like, "Okay. Yeah, I'm on board. 566 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:48,040 Let's make a go at it. 567 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:49,800 Let's do this." 568 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:52,520 And, uh... yeah. And it takes money. 569 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,240 Especially at startup, with equipment and the claims 570 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:56,480 and all of that. 571 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,280 Pitch in a couple thousand here... 572 00:23:58,360 --> 00:23:59,880 It just got to the point where, 573 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:01,440 okay, I'm part of it. 574 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,080 Any extra money that I had, 575 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:04,800 this became where it went. 576 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,080 By now, in the 100 grand range. 577 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:09,320 That's me, personally. 578 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,520 You don't wanna walk away from that kind of money. 579 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:15,800 Watch your fingers. 580 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,680 You got a wife and kids back in Texas? 581 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:21,480 Yes, sir. I got a wife. 582 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,280 We've been married 25 years. 583 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,480 How many kids you have? 584 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,920 One, a daughter. She's 22. 585 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,440 I have a daughter that's 22, too. 586 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,480 [Robert] We all work at our garden center every day. 587 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,960 -Okay. -So, when I'm out, 588 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,360 they have to pretty much tug the load, you know? 589 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,560 -[Freddy laughing] -And I leave the haul away. 590 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,600 [Robert] She's behind me 100%. 591 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,840 But the emotional strain of me and my wife being apart 592 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,200 for extended amounts of time is real. 593 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:48,560 Money's not everything. 594 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,360 But, you know, we started something we wanna finish. 595 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,160 Just can't see anything in there. 596 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:01,280 Let's see if it clears. 597 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:02,920 Okay, it's hittin' on this side. 598 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:14,680 -Let's fire it up. -Okay. 599 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:16,040 -Ready? -Yup. 600 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:18,840 [Robert] Oh, yeah. 601 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,120 [Freddy] We got it shaking harder now. 602 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,040 It wasn't as easy as it should have been. 603 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:25,240 It's one of those 15-minute jobs to install 604 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:26,880 that took an hour and a half. 605 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,400 We don't have any extra time here. 606 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,000 You know, we're here to help these guys the best we can, 607 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,200 and then we've got other miners to help. 608 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,040 [thunder rumbling] 609 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:42,960 -Hey, Juan-o. -Gettin' there, Fred. 610 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:44,280 The counterweights are done, 611 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,160 but that lightning's getting pretty close. 612 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:50,320 Are we done? 613 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,960 [narrator] Lightning kills 24,000 people every year. 614 00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,360 But those who survive 615 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,240 usually face a lifetime or neurological damage. 616 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,480 With a striking distance of over two miles, 617 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,840 lightning can hit the claim at any moment. 618 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:11,160 We don't wanna be welding in that. 619 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:12,080 [Juan] No. 620 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:13,040 [Freddy] We don't like pulling out, 621 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:14,640 but I think this is one time we need to. 622 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:16,680 [Juan] I think you're right, Fred. I think we need to call it. 623 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,560 And it's getting close, close. 624 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:19,800 [Juan] It is. 625 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:21,160 [thunderclap] 626 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,000 Everything we're working on is all steel. 627 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,440 It's always an issue when we start running into weather like this. 628 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:30,560 It's gonna be hard to finish this build, Freddy, 629 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:31,560 because of lightning. 630 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:32,480 [Freddy] Yup. 631 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,200 [Juan] You know, it's a really simple chute we built. 632 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,600 [narrator] At the Kennedy Claim in Arizona, 633 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,080 Freddy and Juan are a day behind 634 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,400 after a lightning storm forced them to shut down. 635 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:10,520 This is gonna be able to get that material 636 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,400 off the end of the grizzly, off to the side, 637 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:13,480 so, that way, we're not worrying about it 638 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:14,880 hitting the front of the backhoe 639 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:17,040 or creating a pile of material here in front. 640 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,640 [narrator] While Juan finishes welding the chute... 641 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,280 [Freddy] Hey, George, time to go prospecting 642 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:25,320 and see what's out there. 643 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,840 ...Detective Dodge goes on a treasure hunt 644 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:29,760 to find high-grade pay. 645 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,960 The stuff you're running has never been reworked by nature. 646 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:35,280 [narrator] With no dump truck, 647 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:37,880 George uses the backhoe to dig pay 648 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,040 forty yards from the wash plant. 649 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,320 Over millions of years, one piece of gold at a time 650 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:43,600 gets into the stream system, 651 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,000 then they concentrate up. 652 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,640 And what we're running here, it's a lot of angular rock 653 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,040 that have never been reworked. 654 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,440 What we're looking for in a gold-bearing area 655 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:53,680 is rounded rocks that have been reworked, 656 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,200 'cause that concentrates the gold like a sluice box. 657 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,200 We just gotta find where it's got concentrated. 658 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,760 -So I like this better. -Yeah. 659 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,200 -[Freddy] The rocks are more rounded, right. -Yup. 660 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,720 -This will flood big-time. -Oh, I can see that. Yeah. 661 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:17,800 See, look at this guy. He's moved a long ways... 662 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,480 -Mmm-hmm. -...for this desert, right. 663 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:20,520 Right. Right. 664 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,280 So it's nice and smooth. 665 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,040 This one's fairly smooth with the rounded edges, right. 666 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:26,280 Right. 667 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:28,400 You know, you can't cut yourself on any corner of these. 668 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,560 -No, no. -A lot of those rocks where you're digging over there, 669 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,040 -you could shave with. -Yup. 670 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,520 This wash here, your best gold... 671 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,160 is most likely on bedrock. 672 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,360 -[George] Uh... -Right here, 'cause it's been reworked 673 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,360 down in the bottom. That's nature's sluice box. 674 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:45,760 I know the sides are virgin. 675 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:47,800 This could be really good right here. 676 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:48,720 Yeah. 677 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:51,200 [narrator] Freddy's hunch, 678 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,640 the best gold has been concentrated by monsoon rains 679 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:56,840 into this old creek gully. 680 00:28:57,920 --> 00:28:59,520 It's said if there's gold on the surface, 681 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:00,880 there's gonna be gold down deeper. 682 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,160 True. All right. 683 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:05,800 Let's go pan it, huh? 684 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:07,400 Yup, sounds good. 685 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:13,480 Well, let's see what's in it, George. 686 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,000 Holy [bleep]. 687 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:22,840 Look at that. Right on the surface. 688 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:24,280 -Look at those. -Oh, yeah. 689 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:25,720 There's some nice pieces, too. 690 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:27,240 -That's exciting. -I like it. 691 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,120 [Freddy] I say, for the next test, 692 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:30,880 if you can get a dump truck in here, 693 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,360 then, uh, we'll run it and see what comes out of it. 694 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:34,480 This may be your future. 695 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:36,080 Yup. 696 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:37,480 [Freddy] The gold was way better here, 697 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:39,640 but we gotta find a way to get it to the plant. 698 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:41,360 Hopefully, we could find a dump truck. 699 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,560 [narrator] After Freddy's successful hunt for better gold, 700 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,560 Juan doubles down on the wash plant fixes. 701 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,000 Right now, we're building a custom sluice box for 'em. 702 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,600 The old sluice was too short 703 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,200 and they're losing gold because of that. 704 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,200 I'm gonna build a 10-foot sluice box with new gold riffles, 705 00:29:58,240 --> 00:29:59,640 new mats and carpets. 706 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:01,480 That way, we can increase their gold recovery. 707 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:03,640 [Matthew] What do you say, Juan? 708 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:04,680 Hey, Matt. 709 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:06,280 [Juan] These riffles keep the bottom from warping. 710 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:07,520 If you got a swell on the bottom, 711 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,120 you're just gonna blow gold out. 712 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:10,600 Yeah. 713 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,120 Matt, he's been out here for the last few years, 714 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:13,360 helping 'em out for free. 715 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,760 But the lack of gold, the lack of success, 716 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:17,160 is putting a lot of strain on him. 717 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:18,840 I'm hoping this helps him out dramatically. 718 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,960 Uh, I know he has a big choice ahead of him, 719 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,960 whether he's gonna come back or not. 720 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,760 So how's your relationship with the guys? 721 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,320 Anytime you're involved in a project that's stressful 722 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:30,880 and you're around your friends and... 723 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:32,800 it can be... 724 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,280 it can be tense. 725 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,520 You know, nothing can ruin a friendship quicker than, you know, finances. 726 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:40,760 That's why we asked for your help. You know what I mean? 727 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,600 I got a little knowledge of gold mining, 728 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:45,960 family in the past. 729 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:47,760 So I said, "George, hit me up. 730 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:49,920 I can run heavy equipment, weld, do everything, 731 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,920 mechanic work if you wanna dig now." 732 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,600 And, uh, so that's how it started out. 733 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,360 And it was, uh... 734 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:58,640 a mistake. 735 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,240 I don't get paid at all. 736 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,040 It would be nice if this were my full-time deal 737 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:07,960 and still had the time that I want at home 738 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,200 with the family. 739 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,680 It's nice to see all these pieces coming together, you know. 740 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:15,920 Hopefully, with what we got goin' on, 741 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,000 we'll be able to get you guys at least to a point 742 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:19,240 where you're making a little bit of money. 743 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:20,880 I hope so, too, man. 744 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:35,600 Well, there's our dump truck. 745 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:36,680 Oh, nice. 746 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,200 [Freddy] Looks like George came through on that. 747 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,920 [narrator] After a crash course in prospecting, 748 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:46,520 George gambles $300 hiring the only dump truck in town. 749 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:48,560 If Freddy's right, 750 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,080 running pay from the new creek gully 751 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:52,760 could save their season. 752 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:53,960 How's it goin'? 753 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:55,320 We're out of time here 754 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,560 and we gotta get some material moved over there. 755 00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:58,720 Let's get him loaded. 756 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,080 [Freddy] Make sure it has gold in it. 757 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:01,960 [narrator] In one day, 758 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,080 the dump truck can haul 90 yards of material, 759 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,280 over three times what they will need 760 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:08,800 for the second test. 761 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:18,680 [George] That feels awesome 762 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,280 seeing a dump truck pull in here with our pay. 763 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,280 It's normally been one yard at a time. 764 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,520 It's gonna help us get a lot more material moved faster. 765 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:29,920 [Freddy] Well, we'll get this sluice loaded up 766 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,080 and get it down there. 767 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:33,840 [narrator] At the entrance to the claim, 768 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,360 Freddy transports the sluice. 769 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,080 [Freddy] Well, things are comin' together, 770 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:39,280 but we're still behind. 771 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:54,280 Can we spin it around now? 772 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:58,240 Perfect. 773 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:00,640 -New sluice. -No doubt. 774 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:10,880 [Freddy] We've been getting shut down by thunderstorms 775 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:12,920 when there's a monsoon every day. 776 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,240 And, uh, they're calling for more lightning this afternoon. 777 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,120 How's it goin', guys? 778 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:22,120 -Howdy. -Hey hey. 779 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:23,240 You get all the pay hauled? 780 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:24,160 -Yes, sir. -Yes, sir. 781 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:25,080 [Juan] Nice. 782 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:26,400 [Freddy] Let's fire it up, huh? 783 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:27,280 [George] Sounds like a plan. 784 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:28,160 [Robert] We're ready to rock. 785 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:33,840 [narrator] After five days, Freddy and Juan 786 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,360 have transformed the Kennedy wash plant, 787 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,360 adding chains and weight to the eccentric vibrator 788 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:41,560 to clear the prewash screen, 789 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,160 increased the sluice to 18 feet, 790 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,440 installed mats to catch fine gold... 791 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,600 Hey, George, I'm gonna start loadin' this box. 792 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,600 ...and, finally, built a tailing chute under the grizzly bars 793 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,560 to safely divert rocks away from the backhoe 794 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,120 and prevent delays in running pay. 795 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:01,360 Here's bucket one. 796 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:02,520 There it goes. 797 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:05,240 All right, he's started it. 798 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:08,880 Looks like the rock chute's workin' good. 799 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,840 -Good? -Yeah. Way better. 800 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,639 [Juan] The screen is vibrating perfectly. 801 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,280 [Freddy] Never watch you guys scrape it one time now. 802 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:26,480 -No. -Remember before? 803 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:27,840 You were over there with a rake. 804 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:28,719 [Robert] No need. 805 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:30,679 Here, check that out. 806 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:35,040 The material's comin' out clean. 807 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:39,560 The sluice feels really good. 808 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:41,040 You can kind of feel what those riffles are doing, 809 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:42,320 and every one of 'em feels great. 810 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,239 So, I'm happy with it. 811 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:46,960 What do you think of your new sluice? 812 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,239 Oh, awesome, man. 813 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,120 I've been watching y'all build this stuff for four years. 814 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:54,080 Finally. 815 00:34:58,600 --> 00:34:59,720 [Freddy] Well, that looks pretty good, Juan. 816 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,240 [Juan] Yeah, but if we can't push it a little harder, 817 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:02,960 we can't double their gold production. 818 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,240 Well, these guys are trying to scrape out a living here, right? 819 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:06,080 Yeah. 820 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,080 So we need to switch gears now, 821 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:09,920 and hopefully that pay works out. 822 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,000 Let's do it. 823 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,920 [narrator] Running seven yards an hour, 824 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,560 George won't make his 20-ounce target. 825 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:17,840 Turn it up a little more. 826 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,720 [George] All right. 827 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,560 [narrator] So Freddy wants to crank up the yardage 828 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:23,840 to nearly double. 829 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:26,480 [George] All right, we're rollin' now. 830 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:37,920 I can't get to my cooler to get my lunch. 831 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,400 It's drippin' water. There's a pack of bees. 832 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:42,120 If I don't stop the water from dripping, 833 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:43,960 the bees are never gonna leave. 834 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,120 I'm slightly allergic to bees, 835 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,800 but I'm also slightly allergic to not eating lunch. 836 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:52,040 If you see me holler and then haul ass, 837 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:53,400 you know I got stung. 838 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:55,520 Oh, [bleep]! 839 00:35:58,240 --> 00:35:59,600 They're gonna get me. 840 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:01,080 Hey! 841 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,600 Well, it looks like Juan's sharing his lunch. 842 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,840 This thing appears to be really just running smooth. 843 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:19,040 [Matthew] Yeah, this prop looks good. 844 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,240 It should save us a lot of time on cleanup and stuff. 845 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:26,880 [narrator] The Kennedy crew are near the end of their second test run. 846 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,520 We got our hopper feeder turned up to 12 yards an hour, 847 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:30,960 which is crazy. 848 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,120 We've never ran that much yardage per hour, 849 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,320 so this could be a big game changer here 850 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:37,960 just from the yardage alone. 851 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:40,400 Super-excited, I know that. 852 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:43,600 -Last bucket? -[George] Yeah. 853 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:45,040 Sound good, man. 854 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:46,600 Right at four hours. 855 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:50,840 Hey, Matt, this is the last bucket. 856 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:55,640 I'm excited to see what the weigh is. 857 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:02,560 [Freddy] Well, the box looks pretty decent. 858 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:05,440 But you never know till you weigh the gold, so. 859 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:07,320 If you guys wanna pull the mats and get it cleaned up, 860 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:08,720 we'll get it weighed up. 861 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:09,840 -Sounds good. -[Matthew] Thank, guys. 862 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:11,000 All right. Heck yeah. Thank y'all. 863 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,640 [Juan] Let's get it on, gentlemen. See ya in a bit. 864 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,320 It's been a lot of time and a lot of money spent 865 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:32,280 to get to this point. 866 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,400 And hopefully that all these changes 867 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:36,680 that Freddy and Juan have done 868 00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:38,920 will get us to where we need to be, 869 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,000 where this stuff will start paying off. 870 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,800 I'm excited to see if the changes that we've made, 871 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,040 um, are gonna be... 872 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,960 uh, what it takes to keep this thing movin'. 873 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:51,160 Morning. 874 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:52,160 -Good morning. -All right. 875 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:53,800 [Freddy] Got 'er all cleaned up, huh, guys? 876 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:55,480 Yep, sure did. 877 00:37:58,800 --> 00:37:59,840 Well, it looks pretty decent, guys. 878 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:01,000 [George] Mmm-hmm. 879 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:02,320 -Four hours. -For four hours, it looks really good. 880 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:03,720 Yeah. 881 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,200 -[Juan] What'd the first weigh, Fred? -0.14. 882 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:08,680 0.14, huh? 883 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,400 Well, there's 0.14 right there, guys. 884 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:13,400 And look how much gold's left in that pan. 885 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:14,720 [George] Wow! 886 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,600 [narrator] The Kennedy crew need 0.25 ounces 887 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:21,440 to have any chance of reaching their 20-ounce goal. 888 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,640 But if Freddy and Juan don't see at least 0.28 ounces, 889 00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:28,080 they lose their double-or-nothing wager. 890 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,200 -There's double right there. -Yeah. 891 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:40,920 -0.61. -0.61. 892 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,000 -Wow. -[Juan] That's awesome. 893 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:44,280 Right on, guys. 894 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:45,400 Heck yeah, man. 895 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,920 [narrator] Worth over $1,150. 896 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,040 The Kennedy crew quadrupled their gold recovery. 897 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:58,880 So a combination of the yardage, the fixes to the plant, 898 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:00,320 and much better ground. 899 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:02,480 That ground's a big step in the right direction, right? 900 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:04,080 -[George] Absolutely. -And you got miles of that. 901 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:05,880 We're hoping 10, 20, 30%. 902 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,200 I mean, look at us now. It's-- it's... 903 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:09,680 ridiculous. 904 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:10,720 I'm gonna have a smile on my face 905 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:12,200 for quite a few days after this one. 906 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,720 [narrator] Running eight hours a day over the next four weeks, 907 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,760 they could haul in over 29 ounces, 908 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:23,200 more than enough to keep their gold mining dream alive. 909 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:24,920 You guys wanna be able to pay back your investment, 910 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:26,880 actually be able to make a little bit of money out here, 911 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:28,360 instead of it just being a boys' trip... 912 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,480 -[George] Right. -...and that's gonna make it a possibility. 913 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,600 A heavy weight's been lifted off of my shoulders. 914 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,080 We may actually have a future in this now. 915 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,080 [Freddy] First, get a dump truck. 916 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:38,240 There's your down payment. 917 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:40,640 And if you get your yardage up even more, 918 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:43,040 you're pushing probably $3,000 a day. 919 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:44,640 $1,000 apiece. 920 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,200 Awesome! 921 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:47,800 [Juan] The guys were genuinely concerned about their ability 922 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,280 to stay out here and mine. 923 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:50,760 Now, going from what they had before 924 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:52,280 to what we were able to get 'em, 925 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,240 you know, this is more than just a possibility. 926 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:55,960 This could actually be their future. 927 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,560 [Freddy] Well, I couldn't be happier with that second test than I am right now. 928 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:00,400 They're happy. 929 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,280 I seen Matt smile finally. 930 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:03,880 So, uh... [chuckles] 931 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:05,600 So it must be good. 932 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,200 You got miles of creek. 933 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,600 So, with your small plant, you're gonna have to push it. 934 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:12,440 And when you get enough money saved up with your ground you've got, 935 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:13,440 get a bigger plant. 936 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:14,520 That would be a dream. 937 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,120 And, uh, yeah, if we keep doing this right here, 938 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,240 I could see that happening. 939 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,080 [Matthew] I can't thank you guys enough. 940 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:21,280 Well, you're welcome. 941 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:23,080 It's been a learning experience 942 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:25,120 and, uh, we all needed that. 943 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:26,480 Gentlemen, it was a pleasure. 944 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:27,600 [Freddy] Absolute pleasure. 945 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,720 -All right, thank y'all. -Good working with you guys. 946 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:31,920 [Matthew] Now that we've seen more gold, 947 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,760 I'd love to continue doing this. 948 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,600 Um, you know, it's an adventure. 949 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:38,760 Next season's on, for sure. 950 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:41,880 [George] This may free us up for a little bit more family time with the kids, 951 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:43,000 which is very important. 952 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,000 We've been waiting on this day for a long time. 953 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:46,520 We can actually produce some gold 954 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:48,960 and, you know, follow our dreams. 955 00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:57,080 Hey, Freddy and Juan. Thank you guys so much. 956 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,160 All the fixes y'all done up, the virgin ground that you found us, 957 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:01,320 it's holding up pretty good. 958 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:03,320 We've done some more prospecting for the north side 959 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,120 and the numbers are holding up. 960 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,280 We bought the dump truck. We're moving material seven times faster 961 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:09,680 than we were before. 962 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:12,000 We've done a little fine-tuning with the sluice box here and there. 963 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:13,800 But everything's working good. 964 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,720 [George] Our biggest cleanup so far is an ounce and a quarter. 965 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,920 It was crazy to see that much gold in the sluice box. 966 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:21,520 We've met our 20-ounce target for sure. 967 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:23,240 We're sending money back to our investors 968 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:24,920 and it definitely won't be very long 969 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,880 till Matt, myself, and Robert start actually making some money. 970 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,680 So we really appreciate all the help y'all did. 971 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:33,600 The sky's the limit.