1
00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:06,200
I didn't came here
for camping.
2
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,367
I came here to do a job.
3
00:00:09,967 --> 00:00:11,000
[water splashing]
4
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:12,867
For us,
it's been like a curse.
5
00:00:14,066 --> 00:00:15,266
[eagle screeching]
6
00:00:15,266 --> 00:00:16,467
We're in a hot mess.
7
00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:20,967
Fred and Juan
might just run away.
8
00:00:20,967 --> 00:00:23,300
I think every aspect
is a problem.
9
00:00:23,300 --> 00:00:24,667
-[thuds]
-[bleep]
10
00:00:24,667 --> 00:00:25,867
We genuinely might be screwed.
11
00:00:25,867 --> 00:00:27,467
[thumping]
12
00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,000
[Raul] Everything
is on the line.
13
00:00:30,867 --> 00:00:33,166
I have to sell an excavator
to eat.
14
00:00:34,467 --> 00:00:38,100
We've never been mining
this area
as far as I know.
15
00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,100
Right? We've got tailings,
tailings.
16
00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:42,000
This is tailings.
17
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,467
[Raul]
One of the biggest nuggets
in the Cariboo
18
00:00:44,467 --> 00:00:45,767
was found on this property,
19
00:00:45,767 --> 00:00:47,667
specifically where
we're gonna be digging.
20
00:00:48,667 --> 00:00:50,600
[Freddy] It had a lot of gold
at one time.
21
00:00:53,066 --> 00:00:55,000
But somebody else
has that gold now.
22
00:00:56,767 --> 00:00:58,567
You know,
as the old saying goes,
23
00:00:58,567 --> 00:01:00,100
a gold mine for sale,
24
00:01:00,100 --> 00:01:02,600
there's a hole in the ground
with a liar standing above it.
25
00:01:07,567 --> 00:01:08,467
[narrator] Freddy Dodge...
26
00:01:08,467 --> 00:01:09,967
I would rather have gold
in the bank
27
00:01:09,967 --> 00:01:10,867
than gold in the mountain.
28
00:01:10,867 --> 00:01:12,667
[narrator]
...and Juan Ibarra...
29
00:01:12,667 --> 00:01:13,867
[Juan] Not bad
for built in the field.
30
00:01:13,867 --> 00:01:16,000
[narrator] ...want to make you
rich.
31
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,400
It turns your dream out here
into a reality.
32
00:01:19,066 --> 00:01:20,166
[all laughing]
33
00:01:20,166 --> 00:01:21,767
[narrator]
In the past five years,
34
00:01:21,767 --> 00:01:23,867
the value of gold has doubled.
35
00:01:23,867 --> 00:01:26,867
-There's a $3,000 nugget
right there.
-Whoo!
36
00:01:26,867 --> 00:01:32,100
[narrator] But rookie miners
find it more elusive
than ever.
37
00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:33,700
If we don't recover more gold,
38
00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:35,000
then we could lose everything.
39
00:01:35,767 --> 00:01:37,400
[narrator]
But there is hope...
40
00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:39,467
Miracles, they do happen.
41
00:01:39,467 --> 00:01:42,667
[narrator]
...to turn desperation
into fortune.
42
00:01:42,667 --> 00:01:45,066
[narrator] Freddy and Juan
have one week...
43
00:01:45,066 --> 00:01:46,567
What you just did is genius.
44
00:01:46,567 --> 00:01:49,200
[narrator] ...to deliver
a golden payday.
45
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,567
They have a future
and they know
what they need to do.
46
00:01:57,100 --> 00:01:59,000
[exhilarating music playing]
47
00:02:02,900 --> 00:02:05,100
Well, Freddy,
Raul and Helen are the people
we're gonna go help.
48
00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:06,066
And, uh, Raul...
49
00:02:06,066 --> 00:02:08,367
he's originally
from El Salvador.
50
00:02:08,367 --> 00:02:10,100
Roger that.
I'm glad we...
51
00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:12,600
worked on my Spanish
a little bit
before we got here.
52
00:02:13,567 --> 00:02:15,166
I know lots of cuss words.
53
00:02:15,166 --> 00:02:17,300
You've taught me
a few of 'em.
54
00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:18,967
The good ones,
I taught you.
55
00:02:19,867 --> 00:02:21,700
Just don't tell my mom that.
She'll be upset.
56
00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:24,300
[both laughing]
57
00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:27,767
[narrator] Early summer
in the foothills
of the Cariboo Mountains
58
00:02:27,767 --> 00:02:29,300
in British Columbia,
59
00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:32,967
and Freddy and Juan
are responding
to a "Hail Mary" call
60
00:02:32,967 --> 00:02:37,066
from a husband and wife team
with a struggling
mining operation,
61
00:02:37,066 --> 00:02:41,000
who have invested
over $400,000 so far
62
00:02:41,467 --> 00:02:42,767
with no return.
63
00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:49,500
Raul reached out
a little while ago
and...
64
00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:51,767
was telling me
that he sunk every dollar
that he had
65
00:02:51,767 --> 00:02:53,066
into the operation.
66
00:02:53,066 --> 00:02:55,266
He's right at Quesnelle Forks.
67
00:02:55,266 --> 00:02:59,066
So, historically, there's been
150 years of mining
in that area.
68
00:03:03,567 --> 00:03:06,367
[narrator] A half mile
from the Paredes Mine,
69
00:03:06,367 --> 00:03:09,266
where the Quesnel
and Cariboo rivers meet,
70
00:03:09,266 --> 00:03:11,000
is Quesnelle Forks,
71
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,166
the Cariboo region's
first great gold rush town.
72
00:03:15,166 --> 00:03:20,166
It's here
that European and Asian miners
discovered a gold rich valley
73
00:03:20,166 --> 00:03:22,900
in the summer of 1859.
74
00:03:22,900 --> 00:03:26,967
It produced
over 120,000 oz of gold,
75
00:03:26,967 --> 00:03:31,300
almost $280 million
in today's money.
76
00:03:37,166 --> 00:03:38,300
[Freddy] Hello.
77
00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:39,867
[Juan] Hello.
How's it going?
78
00:03:39,867 --> 00:03:40,867
[Helen] Oh, my goodness.
79
00:03:40,867 --> 00:03:42,567
Much better
that we see you guys.
80
00:03:42,567 --> 00:03:44,200
-Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.
81
00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,767
-Juan.
-Raul. Mucho gusto.
82
00:03:45,767 --> 00:03:47,333
-I'm Helen.
-Hi, Helen.
83
00:03:47,333 --> 00:03:48,967
-[Raul] Nice to meet you guys.
-[Juan] Well, it wasn't hard
to find you at all.
84
00:03:48,967 --> 00:03:50,166
Right off the side
of the road.
85
00:03:50,166 --> 00:03:51,767
Very nice.
86
00:03:51,767 --> 00:03:53,000
How long you guys
been out here?
87
00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:54,800
-[Raul] We came last year.
-[Juan] Mmm-hmm.
88
00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:56,867
And this year,
we came on board,
I mean, again.
89
00:03:56,867 --> 00:03:58,266
Give it another shot.
90
00:03:58,266 --> 00:04:00,767
You know, we try, we try,
we try, and...
91
00:04:00,767 --> 00:04:02,100
didn't happen.
92
00:04:02,100 --> 00:04:04,767
So last year
was your first year out here
and just the two of you.
93
00:04:04,767 --> 00:04:07,166
That's correct.
David is our kid.
He's involved,
94
00:04:07,166 --> 00:04:11,600
but he only came
only two to three weeks
in his time off.
95
00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,767
It's good to have you guys,
your expertise on board here.
96
00:04:14,767 --> 00:04:16,867
We can learn lots
off you guys.
97
00:04:16,867 --> 00:04:19,200
-Well, we'll do the best
we can.
-[David] Yeah.
98
00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:20,667
[Juan] Are you guys mining
full time, then?
99
00:04:20,667 --> 00:04:24,266
Yeah, we're here every day.
I mean, from 7:00 to 6:00.
100
00:04:24,266 --> 00:04:27,467
Prior to us,
there was somebody else
mining this property
101
00:04:27,467 --> 00:04:29,000
-three years ago...
-[Freddy] Mmm-hmm.
102
00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,667
[Juan]...and he was getting
at least an ounce-and-a-half
to two ounces a day.
103
00:04:32,667 --> 00:04:34,967
He mentioned to me
that it was...
104
00:04:34,967 --> 00:04:37,200
the gold was really good
over here.
105
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:38,867
-[Freddy] Hmmm.
-Really, really good.
106
00:04:41,967 --> 00:04:42,900
Mining is...
107
00:04:42,900 --> 00:04:46,567
[sighs] It's my passion.
It's my love.
108
00:04:46,567 --> 00:04:50,867
My dream for this mine
is we can make it
as a family business.
109
00:04:50,867 --> 00:04:52,100
Now we've got water.
110
00:04:53,667 --> 00:04:56,166
I'm originally
from El Salvador.
111
00:04:56,166 --> 00:04:58,000
It's in Central America.
112
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:03,367
Coming to Canada
was a second opportunity
to start a life.
113
00:05:03,367 --> 00:05:07,166
[narrator] Two years ago,
Raul Paredes and his wife,
Helen,
114
00:05:07,166 --> 00:05:11,767
staked a 700-acre claim
in historic gold country.
115
00:05:11,767 --> 00:05:13,700
Do you have the red
pipe wrench?
116
00:05:14,367 --> 00:05:15,800
[Raul] I came to Likely
117
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,166
because there's still
a lot of good gold here.
118
00:05:18,166 --> 00:05:19,767
We got our own ground
119
00:05:19,767 --> 00:05:23,500
because people before me
has been getting gold.
120
00:05:24,667 --> 00:05:26,800
Since I came here,
I've been trying my best.
121
00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,300
It's been testing me
to the limits.
122
00:05:29,300 --> 00:05:32,066
[Helen] Hey, Raul,
I think we need more pressure.
123
00:05:32,066 --> 00:05:34,800
[Raul] Helen has been with me
since the beginning.
124
00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,266
She's the one
that look after the plan,
and...
125
00:05:37,266 --> 00:05:39,767
I couldn't do what I do
without her.
126
00:05:39,767 --> 00:05:42,767
The dream of getting into
gold mining, actually,
is both of ours.
127
00:05:42,767 --> 00:05:45,266
We started with smaller
wash plants
128
00:05:45,266 --> 00:05:48,500
and really, really enjoyed
the process.
129
00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:50,667
But, actually, having
a big wash plant,
130
00:05:50,667 --> 00:05:51,967
I'm struggling.
131
00:05:51,967 --> 00:05:54,800
We called the wash plant
"The Octopus."
132
00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,000
That's the first thing
I thought about
when I saw this big monster.
133
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,500
All these tubes
going all over the place.
134
00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:03,667
I'm probably in
way over my head
135
00:06:03,667 --> 00:06:05,867
and we're having
constant breakdowns
136
00:06:05,867 --> 00:06:09,867
that, um, we haven't been able
to really financially support
137
00:06:09,867 --> 00:06:11,467
to get things
on the right track.
138
00:06:11,467 --> 00:06:15,100
[Raul] My situation
at this moment
is terrible.
139
00:06:15,100 --> 00:06:17,700
Barely make it to pay my rent
this month.
140
00:06:17,700 --> 00:06:21,900
If I don't see
something that can change
or something like a hope,
141
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,467
it's not gonna happen.
142
00:06:26,166 --> 00:06:28,266
[Freddy] How much gold
did you do last year?
143
00:06:28,266 --> 00:06:30,567
I'll say probably
an ounce-and-a-half.
144
00:06:32,066 --> 00:06:35,467
We washed probably
500 or 600 yards.
145
00:06:35,467 --> 00:06:36,900
[exclaiming in grief]
That's not good.
146
00:06:36,900 --> 00:06:39,166
What about this year?
How much have you ran so far?
147
00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:42,266
This year, probably,
we've been running 200 yards.
148
00:06:42,266 --> 00:06:44,867
And how much gold
have we got out of 200 yards?
149
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:47,166
Eh...
150
00:06:47,166 --> 00:06:48,400
Probably eight grams.
151
00:06:51,667 --> 00:06:52,867
[Freddy] Yeah, that's...
152
00:06:52,867 --> 00:06:54,367
-[Juan] That's not good.
-[Freddy] No.
153
00:06:55,300 --> 00:06:56,667
[Raul] Well, the old timer,
154
00:06:56,667 --> 00:07:00,967
he mentioned to me
that it was really, really,
really good, he say.
155
00:07:00,967 --> 00:07:03,066
[Raul] Well, you know,
you hope people have
the best of intentions,
156
00:07:03,066 --> 00:07:04,867
but sometimes
they're just trying
to drop it on you
157
00:07:04,867 --> 00:07:07,066
-and get
their investment back.
-[Freddy] Yeah.
158
00:07:07,066 --> 00:07:08,600
What's your gold look like?
159
00:07:09,166 --> 00:07:10,467
[Raul] There it is.
160
00:07:12,166 --> 00:07:13,900
-[Freddy] Pretty chunky, huh?
-[Juan] Yeah.
161
00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:15,467
Nothing real substantial,
though.
162
00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,400
[Freddy] How much gold
do you need
per day?
163
00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,767
To make a living ourselves,
we'll be happy
164
00:07:20,767 --> 00:07:23,166
with an ounce of gold a day.
165
00:07:23,166 --> 00:07:25,400
If things don't work out here,
166
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:27,100
this is it, I'm done.
167
00:07:27,100 --> 00:07:29,667
[somber music playing]
168
00:07:29,667 --> 00:07:31,567
What do you have invested
in this?
169
00:07:31,567 --> 00:07:34,266
Time and blood
and sweat and tears
invested in this.
170
00:07:34,266 --> 00:07:35,867
-Yeah.
-[David] Yeah.
171
00:07:35,867 --> 00:07:40,500
-It's very emotional
because we love what we do.
-[Freddy] Mmm-hmm.
172
00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:42,000
And, uh...
173
00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:44,767
[voice shaking] Oh, my God!
174
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,367
[Juan] The best thing
for us to do
is what we like to do.
175
00:07:48,367 --> 00:07:50,200
We come in,
we wanna watch your operation,
176
00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:51,967
watch it...
watch a test run.
177
00:07:51,967 --> 00:07:54,700
And then, after that,
we'll come up
with a game plan.
178
00:07:54,700 --> 00:07:56,033
[Raul] Thank you very much.
179
00:07:56,033 --> 00:07:57,700
-[Juan] All right.
-[Freddy] Let's have a look
around your plant.
180
00:07:57,700 --> 00:07:59,166
-[Juan] Let's do it.
-I'm excited.
181
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:02,133
[Juan] Meeting Raul and Helen,
182
00:08:02,133 --> 00:08:05,767
immediately you can tell
that they're just
really sincere, humble people.
183
00:08:05,767 --> 00:08:08,000
But his love and his desire
to wanna be a miner,
184
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,767
has gotten to the point
where it's now detrimental
to his finances.
185
00:08:10,767 --> 00:08:14,166
They're looking at us
as their Hail Mary
to help them,
186
00:08:14,166 --> 00:08:16,400
you know, kind of,
pull their mine
out of bankruptcy.
187
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,000
If we don't do
what we need to do here,
188
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,367
essentially,
Raul and Helen's mining career
is over.
189
00:08:22,367 --> 00:08:23,700
[Freddy] It's your plant, huh?
190
00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:25,867
[Helen] This is "The Octopus."
191
00:08:25,867 --> 00:08:27,367
[Freddy and Juan] The Octopus?
192
00:08:27,367 --> 00:08:29,867
-[Freddy] 'Cause of all these
green hoses.
-[Helen laughing] Yeah.
193
00:08:29,867 --> 00:08:30,967
[Juan] Last year
when you were running,
194
00:08:30,967 --> 00:08:32,166
were you running this plant?
195
00:08:32,166 --> 00:08:33,567
[Raul] That's correct.
196
00:08:33,567 --> 00:08:35,567
I look at the long term,
you know,
197
00:08:35,567 --> 00:08:37,567
hoping that things
we're going to get better,
198
00:08:37,567 --> 00:08:38,767
recovering some gold.
199
00:08:38,767 --> 00:08:40,567
Well, let's fire it up
and run it.
200
00:08:40,567 --> 00:08:41,867
[Juan] Okay, let's do it.
201
00:08:41,867 --> 00:08:43,867
[exhilarating music playing]
202
00:08:45,467 --> 00:08:46,867
[motor whirs]
203
00:08:47,967 --> 00:08:49,467
[water splashing]
204
00:08:49,467 --> 00:08:51,200
One thing's for sure.
They're in a tight spot.
205
00:08:51,767 --> 00:08:52,867
I think they're about broke.
206
00:08:52,867 --> 00:08:54,900
Hopefully, we can help 'em.
207
00:08:54,900 --> 00:08:56,567
[Juan] But, you know,
the plant in itself
208
00:08:56,567 --> 00:08:58,367
-is an issue, you know?
-Everything.
209
00:09:00,467 --> 00:09:02,500
[engine starts]
210
00:09:04,967 --> 00:09:07,066
[Freddy] Holy [bleep]
That's loud!
211
00:09:07,066 --> 00:09:09,900
I can hear that screen
on the dark side of the moon.
212
00:09:09,900 --> 00:09:11,100
Holy cow!
213
00:09:13,567 --> 00:09:15,900
Okay, we're rolling.
214
00:09:16,967 --> 00:09:18,166
[Freddy] First bucket.
215
00:09:20,367 --> 00:09:22,066
Start a timer, huh, Juan?
216
00:09:22,066 --> 00:09:23,667
Yeah. Let's get it going.
217
00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:30,367
[narrator] First,
Raul feeds paydirt
into a 10-by-6-foot hopper,
218
00:09:30,367 --> 00:09:34,467
a vibrating punch plate
screens out the large material
219
00:09:34,467 --> 00:09:39,867
before the gold bearing pay
falls into Raul's
four 10-foot-long sluices.
220
00:09:41,667 --> 00:09:43,867
I'm nervous, stressed.
221
00:09:43,867 --> 00:09:45,900
I want everything to run well,
222
00:09:45,900 --> 00:09:50,200
but I want it to be realistic
to what's happening
in our daily lives.
223
00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,200
It's not running well,
and they need to see that.
224
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,800
So they're gonna see
why we need a lot of help.
225
00:10:00,767 --> 00:10:02,300
[Freddy]
226
00:10:10,500 --> 00:10:13,066
Probably,
the most ineffective screen
I've ever seen.
227
00:10:14,166 --> 00:10:16,567
The material is being screened
too big.
228
00:10:16,567 --> 00:10:18,400
And right now,
they're not classifying
their material.
229
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,800
Can't have
proper concentration
without proper classification.
230
00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,200
[narrator] Classification
is when a screen
or punch plate
231
00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,467
divides out large rocks,
232
00:10:28,467 --> 00:10:31,000
allowing the smaller
gold-bearing dirt
233
00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,266
to run into
the plant's sluices.
234
00:10:34,266 --> 00:10:35,867
[Juan]
235
00:10:44,467 --> 00:10:47,700
The sluice boxes
are absolutely just...
236
00:10:47,700 --> 00:10:49,266
in rough shape.
237
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:54,867
[somber music playing]
238
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,500
[Freddy] There we go.
239
00:10:58,467 --> 00:11:00,867
[Juan] In order to be able
to get this operation
into a position
240
00:11:00,867 --> 00:11:02,767
where they could be
cash positive,
241
00:11:02,767 --> 00:11:05,500
every aspect of this process
needs to be worked on.
242
00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:09,967
[Raul] David!
243
00:11:10,500 --> 00:11:11,467
David!
244
00:11:12,367 --> 00:11:13,367
Up!
245
00:11:14,700 --> 00:11:16,567
[Freddy and Juan]
We just lost water.
246
00:11:16,567 --> 00:11:17,667
[Freddy] That's not good.
247
00:11:18,700 --> 00:11:20,467
[Raul] We've got an issue
with the pump.
248
00:11:20,467 --> 00:11:22,266
[Freddy] Shut her down.
249
00:11:22,266 --> 00:11:24,867
-It's coming out of the cap.
-[Juan] Oh!
It looks like a crack.
250
00:11:26,867 --> 00:11:29,467
[Raul] Every day
something happens.
251
00:11:29,467 --> 00:11:31,166
It's been like a curse.
252
00:11:35,567 --> 00:11:37,266
[Juan] I wish
we could have done
the four hours, but...
253
00:11:37,266 --> 00:11:39,000
that's what we got.
254
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,467
-[Raul] Well,
let's pull the mats, huh?
-[Freddy] Yep.
255
00:11:42,867 --> 00:11:45,400
[narrator] Pump cap
out of action.
256
00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,900
After just one hour,
Raul and Helen are forced
to shut down
257
00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:51,400
and pull the mats.
258
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,166
You know, it's disappointment
259
00:11:55,166 --> 00:11:56,934
'cause I put my heart and soul
in this.
260
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,367
[Freddy] I just wanted to look
at this material
you're running.
261
00:12:01,367 --> 00:12:02,667
It just doesn't look good.
262
00:12:04,166 --> 00:12:06,200
I'm gonna tap
a couple of pounds of it
and see, uh...
263
00:12:07,100 --> 00:12:08,567
what we see in it.
264
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,100
This is right out
of the pay pile,
265
00:12:15,100 --> 00:12:16,800
the stuff
that are running through
the plant.
266
00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:21,500
Are you guys testing at all
as you're mining?
267
00:12:21,500 --> 00:12:22,667
Like, panning much, or...
268
00:12:22,667 --> 00:12:24,567
If I've had more time
over here, I would...
269
00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,467
-pan more.
-[Freddy] Yeah.
270
00:12:27,467 --> 00:12:28,900
That's the most
important thing, though.
271
00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:32,266
I know.
We've kept you too busy
fixing stuff.
272
00:12:32,266 --> 00:12:33,700
-[Freddy] Yeah.
-[laughs]
273
00:12:33,700 --> 00:12:35,066
[David] What are you
looking for?
274
00:12:35,066 --> 00:12:36,667
[Freddy] I'd like to see
20 colors.
275
00:12:36,667 --> 00:12:38,300
Twenty colors. Yeah.
276
00:12:40,300 --> 00:12:41,767
[Freddy] Nothing. No gold.
277
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:43,600
Not a color.
278
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:44,700
That's not good.
279
00:12:44,700 --> 00:12:46,100
Sorry, guys.
280
00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:47,800
[Helen] No.
That's good to know.
281
00:12:50,667 --> 00:12:52,133
[Raul] I had a guy
282
00:12:52,133 --> 00:12:56,500
that came up to me and he say,
"You wanna make
a quick dollar right away,
283
00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:58,166
right away?
284
00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:01,467
In a week, you'll have
five grands, ten grands
whatever, you know."
285
00:13:01,467 --> 00:13:04,100
He said to me,
"Come down here."
286
00:13:04,100 --> 00:13:05,867
And...
287
00:13:05,867 --> 00:13:07,900
I even ask him.
288
00:13:07,900 --> 00:13:09,100
I say, "Are you for sure?
289
00:13:10,300 --> 00:13:11,867
Anyway, it is what it is.
290
00:13:11,867 --> 00:13:13,567
I guess sometimes
it is my fault,
291
00:13:13,567 --> 00:13:16,667
because nobody put a gun
in my head
and told me to do it, right?
292
00:13:16,667 --> 00:13:18,300
I did it. I took the risk.
293
00:13:19,066 --> 00:13:20,100
[Helen] That's dead...
294
00:13:21,166 --> 00:13:22,700
for gold.
295
00:13:25,166 --> 00:13:28,300
Raul's got a big heart,
and he wears it on his sleeve.
296
00:13:28,300 --> 00:13:29,900
You know, he's the good guy.
297
00:13:29,900 --> 00:13:33,000
So... you hate
giving people news
298
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,100
they don't wanna hear, right?
299
00:13:37,467 --> 00:13:39,266
[Juan] The difficult part
about this rescue
300
00:13:39,266 --> 00:13:40,867
is we're starting
from scratch.
301
00:13:40,867 --> 00:13:42,767
You know,
the ground that they have,
we know has no gold.
302
00:13:42,767 --> 00:13:44,767
The plant
has to be re-engineered.
303
00:13:44,767 --> 00:13:47,467
I'm a little nervous
about being able
to get it done in time,
304
00:13:47,467 --> 00:13:50,266
and more nervous
about trying to find
better ground.
305
00:13:52,266 --> 00:13:53,767
[Raul]
306
00:13:58,567 --> 00:14:00,300
[theme music playing]
307
00:14:07,867 --> 00:14:09,867
[Juan] Getting out here
and meeting Raul and Helen,
308
00:14:09,867 --> 00:14:12,400
you can tell
right from the beginning
they're great people.
309
00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,700
-They are great people.
-[Juan] You know,
the way that Raul speaks
310
00:14:14,700 --> 00:14:17,867
and he's very compassionate,
and very emotional.
311
00:14:17,867 --> 00:14:20,400
-You can tell
he's a real caring person.
-Yeah.
312
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,567
But I think his desire
and his motivation to mine
313
00:14:22,567 --> 00:14:25,767
kind of trumped
going out there
and actually...
314
00:14:25,767 --> 00:14:27,600
-Testing.
-...testing and figuring out
what was there
315
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,367
before he committed.
316
00:14:29,367 --> 00:14:31,200
You know, that's the problem
with listening to hearsay.
317
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,066
You know, everyone has a story
about how the ground
is so great.
318
00:14:34,066 --> 00:14:38,867
Grab a gold pan,
grab a test plant,
grab a high banker, whatever.
319
00:14:38,867 --> 00:14:40,900
-You know...
-You test it yourself.
320
00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:43,700
I'm... I'm really hoping
that we can deliver
on this one, Freddy.
321
00:14:50,567 --> 00:14:51,500
[Juan] Moment of truth.
322
00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:53,166
-Good morning.
- [Freddy] Buenos dias.
323
00:14:53,166 --> 00:14:54,400
-[Helen] Good morning.
-How are you doing?
324
00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:55,967
[narrator]
In British Columbia,
325
00:14:55,967 --> 00:15:00,066
after a cracked pump cap
shortened their test run
to an hour,
326
00:15:00,066 --> 00:15:02,767
Raul Paredes
and his wife, Helen,
327
00:15:02,767 --> 00:15:05,667
have the gold
they cleaned
from their mats.
328
00:15:05,667 --> 00:15:08,567
When we need that,
you know it's not going to be
a good thing.
329
00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:11,300
[Freddy] Holy cow.
330
00:15:13,266 --> 00:15:15,066
Very sad.
331
00:15:15,066 --> 00:15:16,767
-[Juan] Well,
it's not weighable.
-[Freddy] Yep.
332
00:15:16,767 --> 00:15:19,100
You can't buy
a can of soup with that.
333
00:15:19,100 --> 00:15:22,266
[narrator] Raul and Helen
need to make
an ounce of gold a day
334
00:15:22,266 --> 00:15:26,300
to run their plant
and pay back their investors.
335
00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:28,800
[Freddy] He had
a thousand-dollars' worth
of expenses
336
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,467
for fifty-cents worth of gold.
337
00:15:30,467 --> 00:15:33,900
If you were getting, you know,
a quarter ounce for,
you know, for the day,
338
00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:35,467
that... that's still a death,
339
00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:36,600
but that's a really quick
death.
340
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:37,967
-Yes.
-[Juan]
That doesn't even cover
341
00:15:37,967 --> 00:15:40,200
the fuel that it costs
to start the equipment.
342
00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,066
So where do we go from here?
343
00:15:42,066 --> 00:15:43,600
[Freddy]
We can fix your plant,
344
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,200
but we need to go look
at your ground.
345
00:15:46,066 --> 00:15:47,467
We need more understanding
and more...
346
00:15:47,467 --> 00:15:48,667
[both] More information.
347
00:15:48,667 --> 00:15:50,367
...more information
about the ground.
348
00:15:50,367 --> 00:15:52,367
-[Freddy] All righty.
-[Helen] Sounds like a plan.
349
00:15:52,367 --> 00:15:53,233
[Raul] Thanks, Freddy.
350
00:15:53,233 --> 00:15:55,000
-[Helen] Thank you.
-Thank you, Juan.
351
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,467
[Juan] That's probably
one of the worst gold weighs
we've ever had.
352
00:15:57,467 --> 00:16:00,367
There's no way
they're ever gonna be able
to pay back their investment
353
00:16:00,367 --> 00:16:03,400
or, uh, their investors
mining like that.
354
00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,000
Unfortunately, Freddy and I,
we're not miracle workers.
355
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,900
The gold that's in the ground
is in the ground.
356
00:16:07,900 --> 00:16:10,567
So it puts a lot more stress
on Freddy and myself
357
00:16:10,567 --> 00:16:11,867
to be able to go out
and perform
358
00:16:11,867 --> 00:16:13,166
and do something good
for these people.
359
00:16:13,166 --> 00:16:15,166
[exhilarating music playing]
360
00:16:16,166 --> 00:16:18,467
[Helen] Hey, Raul.
What's going on?
361
00:16:19,667 --> 00:16:21,467
Let's not waste any more time
down here,
362
00:16:21,467 --> 00:16:26,000
and I think it's...
actually I think
it's a really good lesson.
363
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,266
You've got to do that testing
before we set up
these elaborate... setups
364
00:16:33,266 --> 00:16:34,867
and then find there's no gold.
365
00:16:36,667 --> 00:16:38,200
[Raul] We believe
a few people.
366
00:16:38,767 --> 00:16:40,900
Maybe it was not true.
367
00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:42,700
I always listen
to other people.
368
00:16:43,900 --> 00:16:46,467
Maybe I'm doing
something wrong.
369
00:16:46,467 --> 00:16:50,100
[Helen] And I think
that imagination
runs a little bit too wild.
370
00:16:50,100 --> 00:16:53,266
We've got to get wiser
at how we mine
371
00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:55,166
to get these debts cleared up
372
00:16:55,166 --> 00:16:58,800
because we're getting too old
to play this game this way.
373
00:17:03,066 --> 00:17:04,934
-All good.
-[Helen] We'll figure it out.
374
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,500
Raul is a very determined
person.
375
00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:13,100
He's met challenges
in his life
376
00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:15,567
most human beings
shouldn't have to go through.
377
00:17:15,567 --> 00:17:19,500
He came to Canada
to escape the situation
378
00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:21,767
that was happening
in El Salvador.
379
00:17:23,700 --> 00:17:27,200
[Raul] I came
as a political refugee
in 1991.
380
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,900
By that time in El Salvador,
there was no democracy.
381
00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:32,700
[indistinct shouting]
382
00:17:33,567 --> 00:17:35,166
[explosion]
383
00:17:35,166 --> 00:17:41,000
[narrator] In 1979,
El Salvador plunged into
a 12-year civil war
384
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,800
that saw
over 75,000 people die.
385
00:17:46,166 --> 00:17:49,767
At the time,
Raul worked
at a Jesuit university.
386
00:17:53,166 --> 00:17:54,667
One fateful day,
387
00:17:54,667 --> 00:17:58,767
the Salvadoran army
raided the building
he worked in.
388
00:17:58,767 --> 00:18:01,166
[Raul] I took 10 minutes early
for lunch,
389
00:18:01,166 --> 00:18:03,266
and that's when
the incident happened.
390
00:18:04,667 --> 00:18:07,266
[narrator] They murdered
six Jesuit priests
391
00:18:07,266 --> 00:18:10,166
their housekeeper
and her daughter.
392
00:18:10,166 --> 00:18:15,300
Everybody that was
at that moment in the building
was murdered.
393
00:18:15,867 --> 00:18:17,000
They didn't get me.
394
00:18:19,467 --> 00:18:21,767
[narrator]
Known as the Jesuit Massacre,
395
00:18:21,767 --> 00:18:25,100
it's one of the most
high profile religious crimes
396
00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:28,367
in modern
Latin American history.
397
00:18:28,367 --> 00:18:31,367
[Raul] My dad
came up to me one day
and he said, "You know what?
398
00:18:31,367 --> 00:18:33,900
I don't wanna live
with my conscience
399
00:18:33,900 --> 00:18:37,800
that tomorrow
they found you on the road
dead."
400
00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,100
The next day at 7:30
in the morning,
I was in a plane.
401
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,400
And that was... That was it.
402
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,667
That's the last time
I ever see my family.
403
00:18:47,567 --> 00:18:50,667
It was tough for me
to leave my country.
404
00:18:50,667 --> 00:18:54,066
I came to this country
with $7 in my pocket.
405
00:18:54,066 --> 00:18:56,467
Didn't know
how to speak English.
406
00:18:56,467 --> 00:19:00,500
Coming to Canada
was the second opportunity
to start a life.
407
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,200
It's been tough on me.
408
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:04,066
I have to find the gold.
409
00:19:04,700 --> 00:19:06,800
[somber music playing]
410
00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:09,867
[exhilarating music playing]
411
00:19:15,266 --> 00:19:17,467
[Freddy] What are you thinking
on the plant, buddy?
412
00:19:17,467 --> 00:19:20,300
Well, the plant itself, Fred,
you know,
we have a lot of issues.
413
00:19:20,300 --> 00:19:22,600
-I can see why
they named it "The Octopus."
-[Freddy] Yeah.
414
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,367
-[Juan] We call this
the screen, right?
-[Juan] Yeah.
415
00:19:24,367 --> 00:19:27,266
[Juan] The screen,
here's the hopper feeder
that they have.
416
00:19:27,266 --> 00:19:28,867
-[Freddy] Yep.
-[Juan] First and foremost,
417
00:19:28,867 --> 00:19:30,300
most of the racket
that we're hearing
418
00:19:30,300 --> 00:19:31,867
is that punch plate
that they have.
419
00:19:31,867 --> 00:19:33,500
That's
one of the loudest screens
I've ever heard.
420
00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:34,900
It's not installed properly.
421
00:19:34,900 --> 00:19:36,467
But more important than that,
422
00:19:36,467 --> 00:19:38,000
-the punch plate's too big.
-Too big.
423
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,600
-Way too big.
-We've got two-inch rocks
going down the sluice box.
424
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,967
[Juan] So I think
what we may have to do
is build new punch plates.
425
00:19:43,967 --> 00:19:47,166
Okay.
What about the sluices, Juan?
426
00:19:47,166 --> 00:19:48,667
[Juan] Right now,
there's no room for gold.
427
00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:50,900
The material,
it's blowing it
out of the box.
428
00:19:50,900 --> 00:19:52,266
I'm gonna pull everything out,
Fred,
429
00:19:52,266 --> 00:19:54,567
getting rid of those
three or four runs
that he has
430
00:19:54,567 --> 00:19:56,000
-and just make two runs.
-[Freddy] Yeah.
431
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,500
[Juan] And then,
what I'd like to do
432
00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,667
is put
one of our distribution boxes
in there.
433
00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:02,967
Our standard chute,
where it comes out,
has a splitter,
434
00:20:02,967 --> 00:20:05,767
and then it perfectly divides
that material
between the two runs.
435
00:20:05,767 --> 00:20:07,867
-[Freddy] Yeah.
-Those are the three
big key things
436
00:20:07,867 --> 00:20:09,667
that I need to get done
on that plant.
437
00:20:09,667 --> 00:20:11,400
But more important
than the plant,
438
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,000
if you don't have gold
to put to the plant,
439
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:14,667
it means nothing, right?
440
00:20:14,667 --> 00:20:16,266
[Freddy] Yeah. Well,
I'm gonna go prospecting.
441
00:20:16,266 --> 00:20:18,200
[Juan] Honestly, I think, uh,
we could use a little help.
442
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,567
What if we bring
Alex and Travi in?
443
00:20:20,567 --> 00:20:22,000
Yeah. I think
that would be better.
444
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,667
-All right. Let's go do it.
-Let's do it.
445
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,900
[narrator] On Raul's plant,
nicknamed "The Octopus",
446
00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:33,266
oversized rocks
jammed the system
and packed the sluices.
447
00:20:33,266 --> 00:20:35,000
Juan will fabricate...
448
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,567
[narrator] Juan will fabricate
two tear-drop holed
punch plates
449
00:20:37,567 --> 00:20:41,000
to screen out oversized pay.
450
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:46,166
Then, to give the plant
a chance to collect
every speck of fine gold,
451
00:20:46,166 --> 00:20:49,567
Juan will reduce the sluices
from four to two,
452
00:20:49,567 --> 00:20:51,567
to better control
the water flow.
453
00:20:53,667 --> 00:20:57,367
And design a two-way
V-chute distribution box
454
00:20:57,367 --> 00:21:02,100
to spread the pay between them
to allow the sluices
to flow evenly.
455
00:21:03,567 --> 00:21:09,266
Freddy's main mission
will be to decode
150 years of old timer mining,
456
00:21:09,266 --> 00:21:11,567
to track down
a pocket of gold
457
00:21:11,567 --> 00:21:14,200
that will save Raul
and Helen's operation.
458
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:17,967
-[Raul] Hello.
-[David] How's it going, guys?
459
00:21:17,967 --> 00:21:20,066
[Helen] We're a bit nervous.
460
00:21:20,066 --> 00:21:22,066
[Juan] We did a little bit
of, uh, figuring out.
461
00:21:22,066 --> 00:21:24,467
-While you were running,
we saw a lot of issues.
-[Freddy] A lot.
462
00:21:24,467 --> 00:21:26,667
-[Juan] One of them is
that you're screening too big.
-Right.
463
00:21:26,667 --> 00:21:29,900
[Juan] So we're gonna pull
what you have out,
build a whole new top deck,
464
00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:31,266
and then we're gonna
build a new system
465
00:21:31,266 --> 00:21:34,367
to go on the site
to actually tension
the screens into the screen.
466
00:21:34,767 --> 00:21:35,600
Nice.
467
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,100
Your sluices are not good.
468
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:41,166
Yeah, it's just... it's too...
too messy.
469
00:21:41,166 --> 00:21:44,000
What we're gonna do,
we're gonna do two
traditional sluice boxes.
470
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,467
But before the sluice boxes,
we're gonna actually put
a distribution box in.
471
00:21:47,467 --> 00:21:50,667
So both runs are gonna get
equal amount of material
and water.
472
00:21:50,667 --> 00:21:53,266
-And we'll fix that
pump cap for you.
-[Helen] Right.
473
00:21:53,266 --> 00:21:55,867
-Essentially, we're gonna
rebuild the whole wash plant.
-[Helen] Wow.
474
00:21:55,867 --> 00:21:58,967
So it's no longer
gonna be an octopus.
We're gonna have to rename it.
475
00:21:58,967 --> 00:22:00,600
[Juan] Um, and then
Freddy is gonna try to
476
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:02,767
dedicate most of his time
to prospecting
477
00:22:02,767 --> 00:22:05,300
because you're gonna be
out there, you know,
pounding the pavement,
478
00:22:05,300 --> 00:22:07,000
trying to find
some decent ground.
479
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,567
[Freddy] Well, you've got
a lot of property here,
480
00:22:08,567 --> 00:22:10,900
but there's been a lot
of people on it before you.
481
00:22:10,900 --> 00:22:12,767
-Everything I see is tailings.
-[Helen] Right.
482
00:22:12,767 --> 00:22:15,000
So we've got
multiple things going on here
483
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,667
that are fighting against us
right now.
484
00:22:16,667 --> 00:22:20,100
-So we need to go
punch a bunch of holes.
-Okay.
485
00:22:20,100 --> 00:22:21,400
[Juan] Yeah,
it's a lot of work.
486
00:22:22,367 --> 00:22:24,066
We talked as well.
487
00:22:24,066 --> 00:22:26,400
-So we aren't gonna
charge you anything.
-[Juan] Yeah.
488
00:22:28,300 --> 00:22:30,867
You know, considering
where you guys are at and
everything you got going on,
489
00:22:30,867 --> 00:22:32,867
we understand your guys'
financial situation,
490
00:22:32,867 --> 00:22:34,867
and both Freddy and I
have been very blessed,
491
00:22:34,867 --> 00:22:38,066
so, um, we're happy
to do it for nothing.
492
00:22:38,066 --> 00:22:40,967
You know, material and labor.
We're just gonna pick up
the tab on it.
493
00:22:40,967 --> 00:22:42,967
Oh, wow, that's amazing,
you guys.
494
00:22:42,967 --> 00:22:44,567
-We can't thank you enough.
-Thank you very much.
495
00:22:44,567 --> 00:22:46,367
-[Juan] Yeah, no worries.
-Hopefully down the road
we can...
496
00:22:46,367 --> 00:22:49,500
-That's fine. If not,
not the end of the world.
-...do something different.
497
00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:53,467
I, uh, appreciate very much
the help from you guys,
you know.
498
00:22:53,467 --> 00:22:56,166
I mean, this is...
this is our life.
499
00:22:56,166 --> 00:22:58,166
There is hope for us to...
500
00:22:58,166 --> 00:23:00,100
to continue
what we love to do, eh?
501
00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:01,166
-Deal, then.
-[Juan] Yeah.
502
00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:04,000
[speaking in other language]
503
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,266
[Raul, in English]
I'm blessed to have Freddy,
I'm blessed to have Juan,
504
00:23:07,266 --> 00:23:09,767
but they can see
that we're struggling
505
00:23:09,767 --> 00:23:13,000
and hopefully he can find
good material for us.
It's not over yet.
506
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,767
-So, we're gonna
have a new plant.
-Yes, I know.
507
00:23:15,767 --> 00:23:19,600
And maybe... and maybe
some gold to put in it.
508
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,467
[Freddy] These guys
are in a pickle,
for lack of better words.
509
00:23:22,467 --> 00:23:24,800
So hopefully, fingers crossed,
510
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,400
we can find them some gold
for their future.
511
00:23:30,867 --> 00:23:32,500
-[narrator] Coming up...
-There was a lot of gold
right here.
512
00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:34,400
It's now in somebody else's
bank account.
513
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,166
You can tell by
the [bleep] look right here.
514
00:23:36,166 --> 00:23:37,266
The whole thing is built off.
515
00:23:37,266 --> 00:23:38,600
We're gonna run out
of time on this one.
516
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,100
You know,
this has really turned into
a [bleep] show.
517
00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:43,166
No, not that far. Raul!
518
00:23:54,367 --> 00:23:56,066
What we're trying to do here
is learn.
519
00:23:57,300 --> 00:24:01,000
[narrator] Before Freddy
attempts to find Raul
new ground,
520
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,166
he must seek advice
from a local expert.
521
00:24:04,166 --> 00:24:09,867
I kind of consider myself
a redneck geologist,
but I don't know this area,
522
00:24:09,867 --> 00:24:11,400
so the more knowledge
I can get
523
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,200
from somebody
that's grown up here,
that's mined here,
524
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,800
that's worked here,
that knows the geology
of the area,
525
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,600
is gonna be of great benefit
for Juan and myself.
526
00:24:22,967 --> 00:24:23,867
How's it going?
527
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,166
Not too bad.
528
00:24:26,166 --> 00:24:27,500
-[Freddy] Alf, right?
-Right.
529
00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:28,700
-[Freddy] Nice to
meet you, Alf.
-Freddy.
530
00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:30,567
-It is.
-[Freddy] This is pretty cool.
531
00:24:30,567 --> 00:24:32,100
Old steam shovel.
532
00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:35,266
I've never seen
one of these in real life.
533
00:24:35,266 --> 00:24:37,867
I've seen them, you know,
in pictures and in books.
534
00:24:37,867 --> 00:24:39,767
[Alf] Took a whole crew
to run this one.
535
00:24:39,767 --> 00:24:42,567
Gold fever has been here
since the 1800s.
536
00:24:44,266 --> 00:24:48,166
Question for you. Over Earls,
across the valley,
537
00:24:48,166 --> 00:24:49,867
is most of this gold
in the surface?
538
00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:52,166
They said it was
a mile deep here.
539
00:24:52,166 --> 00:24:54,867
-[Freddy] Oh, I imagine, yeah.
-So, it's unbelievable.
540
00:24:54,867 --> 00:24:56,600
So when did you start
mining here?
541
00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,066
-1980.
-Nice.
When gold spiked.
542
00:25:00,066 --> 00:25:02,000
-Gold spiked and
we all got the fever...
-Yeah.
543
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,567
...and we all come
running out here.
544
00:25:04,266 --> 00:25:06,767
I didn't move here until '96.
545
00:25:06,767 --> 00:25:08,467
-And then...
-[Freddy] So 44 years, huh?
546
00:25:08,467 --> 00:25:10,066
Yeah, off and on.
547
00:25:10,066 --> 00:25:12,600
Now, this is one of
better nuggets I got.
548
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,467
-That's my souvenir
from gold mining.
-Oh, it's beautiful.
549
00:25:15,467 --> 00:25:17,467
-Yeah, so...
-Absolutely beautiful.
550
00:25:17,467 --> 00:25:21,300
That's one of
the prettiest nuggets
I've ever seen...
551
00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:23,867
-[Alf] Yeah.
-...with the quartz like that.
552
00:25:23,867 --> 00:25:27,567
So over the decades
you mined here,
you know, was it up and down?
553
00:25:27,567 --> 00:25:31,000
Very. And a lot more down
than up, actually.
554
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:32,266
[Freddy laughs] Yeah.
555
00:25:32,266 --> 00:25:35,266
Do you think the gold's
the same over Earls?
556
00:25:35,266 --> 00:25:36,600
[Alf] It's a crazy place
to mine.
557
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,500
You just think
you're on a nice...
558
00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:40,100
-on a channel...
-[Freddy] Yeah.
559
00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:42,200
...cuts right off.
The gold's here
and then it's...
560
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:43,734
-shifts over here...
-[Freddy] Yeah.
561
00:25:43,734 --> 00:25:47,000
-...The river is coming up and
down and moving around and...
-[Freddy] Yeah.
562
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,700
[Alf] But here we've had
two glaciation periods.
563
00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:52,500
-And move it around again.
-Yeah. And glaciation screw
everything up.
564
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:55,567
-They're the
world's biggest bulldozer.
-That's for sure.
565
00:25:56,567 --> 00:25:59,867
The ground's very erratic.
566
00:25:59,867 --> 00:26:03,367
You'll hit good but you'll be
a lot of poor in between.
567
00:26:03,367 --> 00:26:06,767
There's still gold
around here to be found.
I'm sure about that.
568
00:26:06,767 --> 00:26:10,367
You've got to get through
all the lean dirt to get to
the good dirt.
569
00:26:10,367 --> 00:26:12,867
[Freddy] You know,
you put it in my head,
that it's spotty, right?
570
00:26:12,867 --> 00:26:14,266
[Alf] Yes, that's right.
571
00:26:14,266 --> 00:26:16,000
[Freddy] Bulk testing
is the way to do it?
572
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,100
-That's what I recommended.
-Yeah.
573
00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:19,600
I really appreciate your help.
574
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,600
-See you later, sir.
Thank you.
-Yeah, have a good one.
575
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,066
[Freddy] Gold mining,
essentially, it's a
treasure hunt.
576
00:26:26,066 --> 00:26:30,300
The guys that were here
before us, they took
most of the treasure.
577
00:26:30,300 --> 00:26:33,300
But there's got to be
some gold left here.
578
00:26:41,266 --> 00:26:43,400
[Helen] So this is where
the magic happens.
579
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:44,867
[Juan chuckles]
580
00:26:44,867 --> 00:26:46,867
[narrator] Back at the
Paredes mine,
581
00:26:46,867 --> 00:26:50,367
Juan begins to fix
the wash plant's
cracked pump cap
582
00:26:50,367 --> 00:26:53,100
that brought the first
test run to a standstill.
583
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,266
[Raul] We've got an issue
with the pump.
584
00:26:56,266 --> 00:26:59,000
[narrator] Over time,
pressure changes in the pump
585
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,767
creates weakness
in the metal known as
fatigue cracks,
586
00:27:02,767 --> 00:27:05,200
which eventually
buckle the cap.
587
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:06,767
[Juan] Oh,
looks like it's cracked.
588
00:27:10,667 --> 00:27:13,166
[Helen] So how long
does it take to build
something like this?
589
00:27:13,166 --> 00:27:15,300
[Juan] We should be able
to get it done in about
a half an hour.
590
00:27:15,867 --> 00:27:17,800
That's fast. Oh!
591
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:22,266
Wasn't expecting that.
592
00:27:22,266 --> 00:27:26,667
[narrator] In minutes,
Juan's 25,000-degree laser
593
00:27:26,667 --> 00:27:31,867
cuts the pump cap pieces
out of a 3 gauge steel sheet.
594
00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:38,200
Well, that was
absolutely amazing. I've never
seen anything like it.
595
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,400
-[Juan] That worked out
good, huh?
-[Helen] Yeah, it did.
596
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,066
-[Juan] Well, let's put it
together real quick.
-[Helen] All righty.
597
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:48,100
I can see how amazing it is
to have the proper tools
on site
598
00:27:48,100 --> 00:27:51,100
because if we're not running,
we're not making money.
599
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,100
[Juan] What's it like
working with Raul?
600
00:27:57,100 --> 00:27:58,767
He doesn't give up easy?
601
00:27:58,767 --> 00:28:01,467
Most days,
we just have a blast.
602
00:28:01,467 --> 00:28:03,066
But it does have
its challenges
603
00:28:03,066 --> 00:28:06,367
when you're with your partner
24/7, that, um,
604
00:28:07,166 --> 00:28:10,266
uh, you can have
disagreements, but, uh,
605
00:28:10,266 --> 00:28:13,667
we believe in a more
positive outcome in mining
606
00:28:13,667 --> 00:28:15,900
-than what we've
been experiencing.
-Yeah.
607
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:21,100
[Helen] Raul and I
met each other
608
00:28:21,100 --> 00:28:25,100
about 13 years ago
on a dating application.
609
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,367
Well, he just kind of had it.
He was cute.
610
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,667
Long black hair,
the sexy accent,
611
00:28:31,667 --> 00:28:34,100
and I thought,
"Okay, I'll bite."
612
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:41,300
Raul was first offered a job
in the Yukon gold mining.
He fell in love.
613
00:28:41,300 --> 00:28:43,900
And then,
a couple years later,
614
00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:45,600
I also helped on that journey,
615
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,767
and I thought,
"Okay, this is it.
This is our lifestyle."
616
00:28:50,967 --> 00:28:53,867
After 13 years,
we have our tiffs,
617
00:28:53,867 --> 00:28:58,066
but most of the time
it's a beautiful journey
together.
618
00:28:58,066 --> 00:29:02,166
Raul has my back
at every step.
Um, I love him.
619
00:29:04,567 --> 00:29:07,867
-Hola.
-[Juan] We got it done, Fred.
Let's see if it fits.
620
00:29:07,867 --> 00:29:09,600
[Raul and Juan speaking
in other language]
621
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,000
[Raul, in English]
The seal looks pretty good.
622
00:29:13,967 --> 00:29:17,100
-We can try it.
-[Juan] There it is. Perfect.
623
00:29:17,100 --> 00:29:18,900
[Helen] With this cap,
we don't have to be
too worried
624
00:29:18,900 --> 00:29:20,800
about the pressure
we put on that.
625
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,000
[machine starts]
626
00:29:30,767 --> 00:29:32,400
[Juan] I'm proud of
what we did there.
627
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,767
It seems
like it's working out.
628
00:29:34,767 --> 00:29:39,000
[Raul] Only somebody like Juan
could make it that fast
for us.
629
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,700
So we're... we're good.
I'm happy.
630
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:46,500
[machine turns off]
631
00:29:51,066 --> 00:29:53,000
[Freddy] These are the maps
of Raul's claims.
632
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,667
And he's got roughly
700 acres here.
633
00:29:56,667 --> 00:29:59,867
[narrator] With five days
to put Raul on the gold,
634
00:29:59,867 --> 00:30:02,967
Freddy plots out
his prospecting plan.
635
00:30:02,967 --> 00:30:05,700
It helps to have an
aerial view sometimes, right?
636
00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:08,567
You can definitely tell,
you know, this lower area
637
00:30:08,567 --> 00:30:11,200
where we're at right now
has been hit hard.
638
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,667
That meant there was quite
a bit of gold here, right?
639
00:30:13,667 --> 00:30:16,600
But I can see on here,
and I could see visually
on the ground
640
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,600
that river used to be there
and before that,
it was up there, right.
641
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,700
So I don't know
if it's been mined,
642
00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:25,200
but that's where
we need to start.
643
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,000
[narrator] Freddy aims
to follow what looks like
an old river channel
644
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,000
and has identified
three promising locations,
with the first in the North.
645
00:30:36,166 --> 00:30:39,867
[Freddy] One thing
Raul didn't do here
is prospect his property.
646
00:30:39,867 --> 00:30:44,166
So he's kind of up the river
without a really good paddle
right now.
647
00:30:44,166 --> 00:30:46,900
But that doesn't mean
there's not a hope left here.
648
00:30:46,900 --> 00:30:49,767
This area has produced
a tremendous amount of gold.
649
00:30:49,767 --> 00:30:52,166
The easy stuff's
probably gone,
650
00:30:52,166 --> 00:30:55,967
But there's still
a lot of gold around here.
We just gotta find it.
651
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,500
[narrator] In the next valley
to Raul and Helen's property,
652
00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:05,266
the famous Bullion Pit Mine
is a lasting legacy
653
00:31:05,266 --> 00:31:07,700
to the incredible richness
of the ground.
654
00:31:08,967 --> 00:31:14,367
From 1892,
this placer mine
was operational for 50 years
655
00:31:14,367 --> 00:31:19,100
and pulled out over
175,000 ounces of gold
656
00:31:19,100 --> 00:31:22,767
worth $400 million
in today's money.
657
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,900
[Freddy] But right now
these guys are in
a desperate spot.
658
00:31:33,900 --> 00:31:36,266
Every ounce of gold,
every speck of gold
659
00:31:36,266 --> 00:31:39,100
we can help them get
means everything to them.
660
00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:43,600
So basically,
the pressure is on me now.
661
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,567
We've got to find
mineable ground
that's fairly easy to get to,
662
00:31:47,567 --> 00:31:52,066
to put money in his pocket
or they won't be mining
very long.
663
00:31:53,066 --> 00:31:55,967
You said you had to sell
your house to keep mining?
664
00:31:55,967 --> 00:31:59,266
Yes, at one point,
we decided to sell
our own house.
665
00:31:59,266 --> 00:32:01,166
And we always knew
that was a gamble.
666
00:32:02,266 --> 00:32:05,166
You haven't paid any bills.
Just going in debts
667
00:32:05,166 --> 00:32:07,100
every year and more
and more and more.
668
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:13,700
[Freddy] One big deal is, uh,
you need to do some testing
on your own.
669
00:32:13,700 --> 00:32:16,500
Let's say you want to buy
this piece of property
670
00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:21,667
and the owner's got all this
paperwork from years past,
671
00:32:21,667 --> 00:32:25,867
sometimes that doesn't matter
in gold mining, though,
if the gold's not there.
672
00:32:25,867 --> 00:32:28,800
Don't trust what they've got
wrote down most of the time
673
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:30,667
unless you really know
the people.
674
00:32:30,667 --> 00:32:32,867
You know, trust what
your own eyes tell you.
675
00:32:32,867 --> 00:32:34,367
Get in there
and do some sampling.
676
00:32:34,367 --> 00:32:35,867
That's right.
677
00:32:35,867 --> 00:32:41,000
You can work your hands
to bloody nimbles and, uh,
still not make any money.
678
00:32:51,166 --> 00:32:53,200
Trying to figure out what's
going on with the creek.
679
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,300
-Is that the same creek
that goes into your mine now?
-Yes.
680
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,667
[narrator] Freddy has
identified a section of ground
681
00:33:05,667 --> 00:33:08,667
he believes was once part
of the Quesnel River,
682
00:33:08,667 --> 00:33:12,767
a major tributary
for the famous gold rush
Fraser River
683
00:33:12,767 --> 00:33:14,166
of the Cariboo district.
684
00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:18,200
[Freddy] See now,
this is truly a bench.
685
00:33:20,500 --> 00:33:22,900
Seeing this is too steep
to hold gravels here.
686
00:33:24,567 --> 00:33:27,767
So here's the bench,
but I don't know how much
of it's been hit.
687
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,767
[narrator] Over millions
of years, a bench is formed
688
00:33:31,767 --> 00:33:35,166
when an ancient river carves
its way down a mountain.
689
00:33:35,166 --> 00:33:40,300
As it changes course,
it leaves gravels
that could be rich in gold.
690
00:33:45,066 --> 00:33:50,800
Freddy hopes that this area,
if not hit, might give Raul
some high grade pay.
691
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,700
[Freddy] So they've knocked
all the trees down.
692
00:33:52,700 --> 00:33:56,600
All these trees are, you know,
a couple of decades old.
693
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,900
It's just hard to tell
what's been played with.
694
00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:04,300
So let's get an excavator
up here and punch some holes
and see what we see.
695
00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:06,667
-Okay.
-See what's tailings
and what's not 'cause
696
00:34:06,667 --> 00:34:08,867
with everything growing on it,
where we're standing,
697
00:34:08,867 --> 00:34:11,967
did they mine this and then
backfill it or, you know...
698
00:34:11,967 --> 00:34:13,867
Yeah. Okay, we'll do that.
699
00:34:14,867 --> 00:34:16,667
You know, there's hope.
700
00:34:16,667 --> 00:34:19,567
He's throwing me a life jacket
so I won't drown.
701
00:34:20,300 --> 00:34:21,967
Hopefully,
it can change my life.
702
00:34:23,767 --> 00:34:25,800
The old timers hit it hard.
703
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:27,500
It looks like, you know,
they hit it hard,
704
00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:30,166
probably in the '30s and
in the '80s and in the '90s.
705
00:34:30,166 --> 00:34:34,100
So there's a lot on the line
for these guys. A lot.
706
00:34:49,867 --> 00:34:51,000
How's it going, guys?
707
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:52,000
-How we doing?
-[man 1] Good.
708
00:34:52,900 --> 00:34:54,500
[narrator]
In British Columbia,
709
00:34:54,500 --> 00:34:59,467
Alex and Travis arrive
at the Paredes mine site
to provide some extra muscle.
710
00:35:00,367 --> 00:35:01,600
[Freddy] Bring your gloves?
711
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:03,166
Gloves and
a third welding truck.
712
00:35:03,166 --> 00:35:06,467
It's kind of scary
when you two say you need
a third welding truck.
713
00:35:06,467 --> 00:35:08,266
-[Juan] All right, guys,
let's get to work.
-[Alex] Let's get it.
714
00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:17,066
-Guide me for my tips.
-[Travis] Down a little bit.
715
00:35:17,066 --> 00:35:19,867
[narrator] With Freddy focused
on the prospecting mission,
716
00:35:19,867 --> 00:35:24,233
Alex and Travis help Juan
with Raul's new sluices.
717
00:35:26,700 --> 00:35:28,300
[Juan] So this sluice box
looks really wide,
718
00:35:28,300 --> 00:35:30,567
but it's actually
two sluice boxes in one.
719
00:35:30,567 --> 00:35:32,066
We're gonna put
a center divider in it,
720
00:35:32,066 --> 00:35:35,500
and then we're gonna have
two runs that are two-and-a-
half feet wide each.
721
00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:39,266
For that plant
to run efficiently, it has
to have a five-foot box.
722
00:35:39,266 --> 00:35:41,900
We'll build one box
and split it down the middle.
723
00:35:41,900 --> 00:35:43,667
You know,
if we ran just one big box,
724
00:35:43,667 --> 00:35:46,200
there is no guarantee
that you'd get an even flow.
725
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,800
But by being able to put it
down to two and a half foot
each stream
726
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,367
we're able to concentrate it
a little better
727
00:35:51,367 --> 00:35:55,066
and actually get better
recovery with a smaller box.
728
00:35:55,066 --> 00:35:59,600
[narrator] Juan will remove
the overcomplicated
octopus hose feed system
729
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:04,900
and install two custom-made
10-feet sluice boxes
to better capture gold.
730
00:36:13,467 --> 00:36:14,367
[bleep] hot.
731
00:36:15,567 --> 00:36:16,834
[Juan] This is perfect
welding weather.
732
00:36:16,834 --> 00:36:19,767
You know,
when it's over 100 degrees
it's perfect to weld in.
733
00:36:19,767 --> 00:36:23,166
Uh, it really
makes it enjoyable. [chuckles]
734
00:36:23,166 --> 00:36:26,367
I'm really hoping that
Freddy going up there
and taking a look at the cut
735
00:36:26,367 --> 00:36:29,066
might kind of open up
some options
for Raul and Helen.
736
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,367
That's a lot.
We just got to keep our nose
to the grindstone
737
00:36:32,367 --> 00:36:33,367
and keep on working right now.
738
00:36:33,700 --> 00:36:34,767
Let's go!
739
00:36:43,700 --> 00:36:45,467
[Freddy] Here's the bench.
740
00:36:45,467 --> 00:36:47,367
You want to punch one
over here.
741
00:36:47,367 --> 00:36:49,667
-[Raul] You want
to try one here?
-[Freddy] Yeah.
742
00:36:50,867 --> 00:36:53,100
[narrator] To the north
of Raul's claim,
743
00:36:53,100 --> 00:36:56,700
Freddy digs deeper
into the first location
he's identified.
744
00:36:58,367 --> 00:37:01,200
[Freddy] This would have been
a gold bearing bench
in this area.
745
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,567
But looking at it,
I can't tell
746
00:37:03,567 --> 00:37:05,266
if what we're standing on
has been mined already.
747
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:07,967
We're just gonna
have to look around here
748
00:37:07,967 --> 00:37:11,767
and, uh, start punching
some holes and see what
the material looks like.
749
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:20,567
Thank you.
750
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:29,000
It's tailings.
751
00:37:31,166 --> 00:37:32,700
It's tailings.
752
00:37:34,367 --> 00:37:38,700
[Raul] This is, uh,
this is, well, the old timer
you mentioned to me that
753
00:37:39,567 --> 00:37:41,667
he did two yards
of a bucket over there
754
00:37:41,667 --> 00:37:44,166
and it was really, really,
really good, he said.
755
00:37:44,166 --> 00:37:46,667
I don't know if I believe
whoever he bought
this place from.
756
00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:49,166
Everything's tailing.
757
00:37:49,166 --> 00:37:51,667
-[Raul] There is no point to--
-Every rock here
has been washed.
758
00:37:51,667 --> 00:37:52,967
There was a lot of gold
right here.
759
00:37:52,967 --> 00:37:54,867
It's now in somebody
else's bank account.
760
00:37:56,266 --> 00:37:58,667
But if there is a
10-foot-square area here,
761
00:37:58,667 --> 00:38:01,767
well, number one,
it's not going to be enough
to mine,
762
00:38:01,767 --> 00:38:03,667
and number two, finding it...
763
00:38:03,667 --> 00:38:05,700
That's like finding
a needle in the haystack.
764
00:38:05,700 --> 00:38:09,867
Wear your track out
trying to find a little
sliver of something.
765
00:38:09,867 --> 00:38:12,634
The more time goes by,
the more worried I become.
766
00:38:15,100 --> 00:38:16,500
[Raul] Well, that is reality.
767
00:38:18,967 --> 00:38:22,467
Just right now,
I don't have the answer,
where.
768
00:38:39,467 --> 00:38:40,900
So cutting this punch plate's
gonna probably
769
00:38:40,900 --> 00:38:43,100
take a little over an hour
and a half each plate.
770
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,266
[narrator] Back at
Juan's build site,
771
00:38:46,266 --> 00:38:50,166
as the rescue crew
continues to work
on the sluices,
772
00:38:50,166 --> 00:38:54,367
Juan and David kick off
the wash plant's punch plates.
773
00:38:54,367 --> 00:38:57,500
So the design that
we're doing on this
is a teardrop design.
774
00:38:57,500 --> 00:38:59,567
It's something that Freddy
and I have used in the past.
775
00:38:59,567 --> 00:39:01,500
That way, the material,
when it goes over the top
of the screen,
776
00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:03,266
has a chance
to relieve itself.
777
00:39:03,266 --> 00:39:04,667
And also we leave it
a little bit bigger.
778
00:39:04,667 --> 00:39:07,200
That way, if there is
the odd chance
of that bigger nugget,
779
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:08,967
it still has a chance
to be able to make it through.
780
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:13,266
[narrator] Fixed onto
the hopper's screen deck,
781
00:39:13,266 --> 00:39:17,767
the plates will allow
gold bearing material
through into the sluices.
782
00:39:21,767 --> 00:39:22,700
[Juan] Be careful.
783
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,100
That looks good, David.
That's probably plenty.
784
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,767
You know, as, uh, as,
when we put that in,
785
00:39:33,767 --> 00:39:36,166
as the material
goes over the top of it,
it will wear it out...
786
00:39:36,166 --> 00:39:37,967
-[David] Okay.
-...so it will push
all that out.
787
00:39:37,967 --> 00:39:39,100
It's not a big deal.
788
00:39:39,100 --> 00:39:41,066
How come the teardrop design
789
00:39:41,066 --> 00:39:43,767
-you have going on here...
-It's a design we've kind of
done over the years.
790
00:39:43,767 --> 00:39:46,467
It starts out about
a quarter of an inch
and goes to half an inch.
791
00:39:46,467 --> 00:39:49,667
-It's pretty effective
for when you screen material.
-[David] Oh, awesome.
792
00:39:49,667 --> 00:39:52,100
So quick question for you.
How did you get involved
in all this?
793
00:39:52,100 --> 00:39:56,066
My parents come out
and, uh, mine every year,
794
00:39:56,066 --> 00:40:00,867
so I just, I come out
and help whenever I can.
I... I really enjoy it.
795
00:40:02,567 --> 00:40:05,867
I love the prospecting
of gold mining.
796
00:40:05,867 --> 00:40:09,000
Sticking the shovel
in the ground
and into the pan
797
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,200
and seeing what...
what's gonna come up.
798
00:40:12,700 --> 00:40:16,467
[narrator] David spends
his time between his role
as a firefighter
799
00:40:16,467 --> 00:40:18,967
and his passion for mining,
800
00:40:18,967 --> 00:40:23,767
and has become
a key asset to Raul,
and mom Helen's operation.
801
00:40:23,767 --> 00:40:28,000
[David] I am a very
hands-on type of person.
802
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,166
If you give me a book,
I'm horrible at the book.
803
00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:33,667
But, like, give me
a piece of equipment
and I can run that all day.
804
00:40:33,667 --> 00:40:36,033
I also bring energy
to the team.
805
00:40:38,467 --> 00:40:43,467
Bills have gotta be paid,
and the job I have
is very secured.
806
00:40:43,467 --> 00:40:48,066
But if the gold was stable
and consistent,
807
00:40:48,066 --> 00:40:51,800
I'd come out here and help Mom
and Raul because they
absolutely deserve it.
808
00:40:55,066 --> 00:40:57,166
[Juan] Hold on.
Watch your fingers.
809
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:01,800
[Travis] I thought
it'd be lighter with all those
holes in it,
810
00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:03,600
but it's still pretty heavy.
811
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:05,100
[Juan] They're not light,
are they?
812
00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:07,100
You want to get these guys
set up with a slag hammer
813
00:41:07,100 --> 00:41:08,500
and then start poking
all those out.
814
00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:10,100
[David] Okay.
Yeah, I can do that.
815
00:41:15,100 --> 00:41:16,066
[Juan] Very good.
816
00:41:25,900 --> 00:41:27,800
-This your property?
-That's correct.
817
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,500
Now this property almost go up
to the Cariboo River.
818
00:41:31,500 --> 00:41:33,467
[narrator] Back out
on the hunt for gold,
819
00:41:33,467 --> 00:41:35,767
and after one failed prospect,
820
00:41:35,767 --> 00:41:38,367
Freddy moves on
to his next location,
821
00:41:38,367 --> 00:41:40,567
in the middle
of the bench formation.
822
00:41:42,066 --> 00:41:43,867
[Raul] People that we bought
the property...
823
00:41:43,867 --> 00:41:46,667
-[Freddy] Yeah.
-...find a few colors
in there.
824
00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:50,066
He said to me, "Well,
you can start from there."
825
00:41:51,300 --> 00:41:52,800
I mean, we run some.
826
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:55,900
Yeah, we find colors,
but nothing...
827
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,767
nothing to make us super rich.
828
00:41:59,767 --> 00:42:02,300
[Freddy] None of this
looks good to me.
829
00:42:02,300 --> 00:42:05,467
This is just what they dug out
when they made the pond.
830
00:42:05,467 --> 00:42:07,100
When they dig
a pile out like that,
831
00:42:07,100 --> 00:42:08,400
and then they don't sluice it,
832
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:10,300
when they have a plant
set up in here,
833
00:42:10,300 --> 00:42:12,367
that tells you a story, right?
834
00:42:14,467 --> 00:42:17,367
Looks like
they were going broke.
835
00:42:18,667 --> 00:42:22,000
And they took
the "quit going broke" way
and got out.
836
00:42:24,467 --> 00:42:26,800
It was our own
life savings money.
837
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,667
Maybe it was my fault
to listen to other people.
838
00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:34,000
The lesson that I learned,
839
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,300
you know,
is do your own testing,
840
00:42:37,300 --> 00:42:41,000
because it's very tough
to learn it this way.
841
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,367
[Freddy] You can see
that the old timers
haven't done much.
842
00:42:44,367 --> 00:42:46,900
The modern people
haven't done much,
and there's a reason,
843
00:42:46,900 --> 00:42:49,867
because from what I see
so far,
844
00:42:49,867 --> 00:42:52,667
there's not much gold
in the ground up here.
845
00:42:52,667 --> 00:42:55,266
Like the old saying goes,
"A gold mine for sale
846
00:42:55,266 --> 00:42:57,800
is a hole in the ground with
a wire standing above it."
847
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:15,767
[Helen] This is a real
horrible part of the day.
848
00:43:15,767 --> 00:43:19,567
[narrator]
In British Columbia,
facing an uncertain future,
849
00:43:19,567 --> 00:43:21,667
Helen struggles to pay bills.
850
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,767
[Helen] It's overwhelming,
like we've got people
851
00:43:26,767 --> 00:43:28,667
that we need to pay back.
852
00:43:28,667 --> 00:43:30,100
Then we've got
our regular bills,
853
00:43:30,100 --> 00:43:34,300
like our rent and all our fuel
for the equipment.
854
00:43:34,300 --> 00:43:37,567
The reality is we need
to get into that gold.
855
00:43:37,567 --> 00:43:42,800
Like yesterday,
we've made autonomous days,
856
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:46,000
definitely identifying
the ground.
857
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,800
You've got to be on the gold.
858
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,767
And then that wash plant
is too much.
859
00:43:50,767 --> 00:43:53,166
It's too complicated.
860
00:43:53,166 --> 00:43:56,300
I wish I had been armed
with the information
861
00:43:56,300 --> 00:43:58,700
that Freddy and Juan gave us.
862
00:43:59,767 --> 00:44:04,767
Before I started this journey,
I would be way wiser
863
00:44:04,767 --> 00:44:07,667
and probably still have a lot
more money in my pocket.
864
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,266
Lead the way, Raul.
Let's go look
at this up there.
865
00:44:17,266 --> 00:44:18,567
[Raul] Okay.
866
00:44:18,567 --> 00:44:21,567
[narrator]
After drawing a bust
at the first two locations,
867
00:44:21,567 --> 00:44:23,900
Freddy is down
to his last option,
868
00:44:23,900 --> 00:44:27,400
a patch of ground
to the south of Raul's claim,
869
00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:29,667
Fifty yards from his main cut.
870
00:44:29,667 --> 00:44:31,467
We're just going to have
to look around here
871
00:44:31,467 --> 00:44:35,400
and see if there's any ground
that's still mineable.
872
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:37,266
The old-timers hit it hard.
873
00:44:37,266 --> 00:44:41,066
So trying to read this,
I can't see into the ground.
874
00:44:41,867 --> 00:44:44,467
But I know
one thing's for sure.
875
00:44:44,467 --> 00:44:46,300
We're running out
of options fast.
876
00:44:48,767 --> 00:44:50,367
Let's keep looking
around, huh?
877
00:44:50,367 --> 00:44:51,400
[Raul] Yes, sir.
878
00:44:57,800 --> 00:44:58,967
[Freddy] This is tailings.
879
00:45:01,100 --> 00:45:04,467
See the tailings here,
tailings there.
880
00:45:08,867 --> 00:45:09,800
Hang on one second.
881
00:45:14,367 --> 00:45:16,200
I like the look of this stuff.
882
00:45:18,667 --> 00:45:19,634
[Raul] You like this stuff?
883
00:45:19,634 --> 00:45:20,900
[Freddy] Yeah, it's better
than anything else
884
00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:22,367
I've seen that isn't tailings.
885
00:45:22,767 --> 00:45:23,800
[Raul] Okay.
886
00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:25,367
[Freddy] See how the rocks
are shingled in there?
887
00:45:25,367 --> 00:45:26,433
[Raul] Uh-huh.
888
00:45:26,433 --> 00:45:28,300
[Freddy] See the difference
in the material looks
889
00:45:28,300 --> 00:45:30,266
-compared to what
you were digging, right?
-[Raul] Yeah.
890
00:45:30,266 --> 00:45:32,200
[Freddy] I don't know how much
of it's here, though.
891
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:34,266
We need to find out
what's under here.
892
00:45:34,266 --> 00:45:35,867
-Under here?
-Yeah.
893
00:45:35,867 --> 00:45:37,266
Let's see what we got.
894
00:45:37,266 --> 00:45:39,266
This may be our last chance.
895
00:45:39,266 --> 00:45:42,500
Freddy, I'm going to get
on the excavator, okay?
896
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:44,367
I'm very excited!
897
00:45:44,367 --> 00:45:46,800
[narrator] Freddy's discovered
what he believes to be
898
00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:49,567
virgin ground
surrounded by tailings.
899
00:45:51,166 --> 00:45:53,867
[Raul]
Kind of a little excited
to know that maybe there is
900
00:45:53,867 --> 00:45:56,467
a pocket of gold over there
and change my life.
901
00:46:00,300 --> 00:46:01,900
[Freddy]
Hang on one second, Raul.
902
00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:05,000
No, you don't have to go
that far.
903
00:46:05,667 --> 00:46:07,066
Not that far.
904
00:46:07,066 --> 00:46:08,700
No, just scrape the face.
905
00:46:10,367 --> 00:46:11,400
Raul!
906
00:46:12,467 --> 00:46:13,867
Just...
907
00:46:16,266 --> 00:46:19,867
Just scrape the face
from right there down.
908
00:46:19,867 --> 00:46:20,967
[Raul] Okay.
909
00:46:20,967 --> 00:46:22,467
You'll have to back up.
910
00:46:26,266 --> 00:46:28,367
Okay, now reach out
and scrape it.
911
00:46:29,300 --> 00:46:31,000
Don't take
the whole hill down.
912
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,400
That may be the only
virgin material we got.
913
00:46:41,900 --> 00:46:43,567
[Raul]
What did you see, Freddy?
914
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:52,033
[Freddy] You know what?
It looks good.
915
00:46:54,500 --> 00:46:55,800
Take a snapshot in your brain
916
00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:57,967
of how this material
in the bank looks, right?
917
00:46:57,967 --> 00:46:59,667
I want to show you something
in this hole.
918
00:47:00,667 --> 00:47:03,100
You can tell
it's virgin material
919
00:47:03,100 --> 00:47:07,266
because just the way
it's laying in there.
920
00:47:07,266 --> 00:47:11,600
In nature,
that rock right there, right,
when it's in a stream system,
921
00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:13,467
isn't going to stand up
like that, is it?
922
00:47:13,467 --> 00:47:16,367
Water's going to hit it.
It's going to fall over.
923
00:47:16,367 --> 00:47:19,867
So that tells us
once upon a time,
water flowed through here
924
00:47:19,867 --> 00:47:22,800
and, uh,
helped concentrate the gold.
925
00:47:24,467 --> 00:47:27,500
So in the future,
you know, look for this
926
00:47:27,500 --> 00:47:29,767
and look for
your shingled rocks.
927
00:47:29,767 --> 00:47:31,467
[Raul] I will.
928
00:47:31,467 --> 00:47:33,500
I want you to keep
punching a hole down.
929
00:47:33,500 --> 00:47:35,567
Hopefully it gets you enough
gold in your pocket
930
00:47:35,567 --> 00:47:37,734
where you can keep going.
931
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:43,166
Well, the past two days
have been kind of
932
00:47:43,166 --> 00:47:47,100
a real pain in the butt,
for lack of better words.
933
00:47:47,100 --> 00:47:50,100
You know, look here, you know,
it doesn't look good.
934
00:47:50,100 --> 00:47:52,200
Look there,
it's all been mined,
all tailings.
935
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,000
But there's
a little glimmer of hope
because we just found
936
00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:56,667
some virgin material
over here,
937
00:47:56,667 --> 00:47:58,066
and it looks good to me.
938
00:47:59,367 --> 00:48:01,000
Just leave it
right there, Raul.
939
00:48:06,367 --> 00:48:08,333
[Raul] What's your opinion?
940
00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:14,166
[Freddy] So there's
definitely a division
on what's going on here.
941
00:48:14,166 --> 00:48:16,767
We've got two types
of material in there.
942
00:48:16,767 --> 00:48:18,400
It could be spotty ground.
943
00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:21,667
We've got tailings
and virgin ground.
944
00:48:21,667 --> 00:48:24,300
We're in a situation,
do you go broke fast
945
00:48:24,300 --> 00:48:26,266
or do you go broke slow?
946
00:48:26,266 --> 00:48:28,667
So we need
to test that material
947
00:48:28,667 --> 00:48:31,100
and see
if it's worth digging it up.
948
00:48:31,100 --> 00:48:32,367
Yeah. Yeah.
949
00:48:32,367 --> 00:48:34,967
[Freddy]
Bulk test is way better
than a gold pan.
950
00:48:34,967 --> 00:48:39,266
Instead of doing,
you know, 10 gold pans,
let's do 10,000 gold pans
951
00:48:39,266 --> 00:48:40,967
and see what lives in it.
952
00:48:40,967 --> 00:48:42,567
Let's get this thing
knocked out.
953
00:48:42,567 --> 00:48:43,667
We're running out of time.
954
00:48:49,567 --> 00:48:51,867
[Raul] Last season,
one of the guys,
955
00:48:51,867 --> 00:48:53,867
he left the trommel over here.
956
00:48:53,867 --> 00:48:55,400
The chain broke down.
957
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:57,567
[narrator]
To bulk test the new material,
958
00:48:57,567 --> 00:49:00,567
Freddy eyes up
a broken down test trommel
959
00:49:00,567 --> 00:49:02,400
he's seen in Raul's bone yard.
960
00:49:03,066 --> 00:49:04,367
[Freddy] What do you think?
961
00:49:04,367 --> 00:49:06,367
[Juan] I like it, Fred.
I like the idea.
962
00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:08,467
This is the test trommel, huh?
963
00:49:08,467 --> 00:49:10,000
[Raul] This is a trommel.
964
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:11,166
[Freddy] Have you used it?
965
00:49:11,166 --> 00:49:14,767
We washed two yards,
then since once our...
966
00:49:14,767 --> 00:49:17,367
-The master link, it broke.
-[Juan] Mmm-hmm.
967
00:49:18,367 --> 00:49:20,166
[Raul] Another issue that had,
968
00:49:20,166 --> 00:49:22,467
it doesn't have a spray bar
in the trommel.
969
00:49:23,266 --> 00:49:24,166
[Juan] The motor run?
970
00:49:24,166 --> 00:49:25,567
[Raul] Yes, it does.
971
00:49:25,567 --> 00:49:27,767
We had it to start
just with a rope here.
972
00:49:27,767 --> 00:49:28,700
-[Freddy] Yeah.
-[Juan] Okay.
973
00:49:28,700 --> 00:49:30,166
[Raul] But yeah, it runs.
974
00:49:30,166 --> 00:49:31,867
What we might be able
to do here is,
975
00:49:31,867 --> 00:49:35,000
even if I do
another section of sprockets,
976
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:36,867
and then we'll put
a spray bar in it,
977
00:49:36,867 --> 00:49:39,867
get these two tied
into one manifold
so we have one pump
978
00:49:39,867 --> 00:49:42,100
feeding the whole system
instead of multiple pumps.
979
00:49:42,100 --> 00:49:43,867
[Freddy] Yeah.
980
00:49:43,867 --> 00:49:47,200
[narrator]
Five times cheaper to run
than the main wash plant,
981
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:49,700
Raul will be able
to use this trommel
982
00:49:49,700 --> 00:49:52,467
on every piece
of promising ground.
983
00:49:52,467 --> 00:49:54,200
[Juan] It's a big weight
on our shoulders.
984
00:49:54,200 --> 00:49:55,500
Freddy and I want to do
the most that we can here
985
00:49:55,500 --> 00:49:58,800
to help Raul and Helen,
and that looks like
it's going to be us
986
00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:00,200
having to work
on their test trommel
987
00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:01,567
and also on their main plant.
988
00:50:01,567 --> 00:50:03,867
So it's really
a two-in-one rescue,
989
00:50:03,867 --> 00:50:06,467
and that's a lot of work.
990
00:50:06,467 --> 00:50:10,600
[narrator] To provide Raul
a way to bulk test
his spotty ground,
991
00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:15,100
Juan will resurrect
the test trommel
with a new spray bar,
992
00:50:15,100 --> 00:50:17,567
then design a bespoke manifold
993
00:50:17,567 --> 00:50:21,100
to maintain
uniform water pressure
throughout the system.
994
00:50:23,066 --> 00:50:26,200
To keep gold-bearing pay
moving through the plant,
995
00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:29,567
they'll add a custom-made
sprocket and chain
996
00:50:29,567 --> 00:50:31,800
to efficiently rotate its drum
997
00:50:33,367 --> 00:50:36,600
and add Freddy's signature
riffles in the sluice
998
00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:38,567
to catch fine gold.
999
00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:42,667
These were something
that they added
onto the trommel
1000
00:50:42,667 --> 00:50:45,567
to be able to guide the chain,
but they didn't really work,
1001
00:50:45,567 --> 00:50:47,500
so we're going to pull
this complete assembly off
1002
00:50:47,500 --> 00:50:48,867
and build a whole new
assembly for it.
1003
00:50:55,767 --> 00:50:57,133
That was a better one.
1004
00:50:59,166 --> 00:51:00,900
The sprocket's
going to actually be
a two-piece sprocket
1005
00:51:00,900 --> 00:51:02,700
that we weld on the outside
of this drum.
1006
00:51:02,700 --> 00:51:04,467
That way it can actually
turn the trommel.
1007
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:12,166
Okay, Fred, I'm going to be
spinning this for a second.
1008
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:17,000
What I'm doing is
I'm just getting it lined up,
1009
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:19,100
and I'm about ready to start
welding it to the drum.
1010
00:51:19,100 --> 00:51:20,900
We want to make sure
that it's perfectly aligned
1011
00:51:20,900 --> 00:51:23,967
with this drive sprocket,
so that way when it runs,
it runs true.
1012
00:51:23,967 --> 00:51:26,300
The true,
we can get it right now
when we're setting it up,
1013
00:51:26,300 --> 00:51:28,400
the better it's going to run
in the long run.
1014
00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:30,967
Put the clamp on it,
then bring the piece
of chain over here,
1015
00:51:30,967 --> 00:51:32,166
and we'll do the same thing
over here.
1016
00:51:32,166 --> 00:51:33,266
Fun times, Freddy.
1017
00:51:33,266 --> 00:51:34,367
[Freddy] Fun, fun.
1018
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:43,000
[narrator] With the chain
connected to the trommel's
drive system...
1019
00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:45,100
[Juan] There you are.
You can let go of it.
1020
00:51:45,100 --> 00:51:47,300
...Juan takes the drum
for a spin.
1021
00:51:48,266 --> 00:51:49,300
[Freddy] Charge her up.
1022
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:57,166
[bleep]
1023
00:51:58,400 --> 00:51:59,667
[Juan]
How did that get far off?
1024
00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:01,567
I went right on my line.
1025
00:52:03,367 --> 00:52:04,266
See?
1026
00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:06,100
It's built off in this.
1027
00:52:06,100 --> 00:52:07,767
[Freddy] It is. It's crooked.
1028
00:52:07,767 --> 00:52:09,000
-[Juan] It's not built square.
-No.
1029
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,600
[narrator]
The base for the motor
that runs the trommel
1030
00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:14,166
is welded on out of line.
1031
00:52:14,166 --> 00:52:15,367
[Juan] I'm just going
to have to readjust.
1032
00:52:15,367 --> 00:52:17,500
This is going to slow me down.
The whole thing's built off.
1033
00:52:17,500 --> 00:52:18,767
Yeah.
1034
00:52:18,767 --> 00:52:21,100
And you can tell by
the [bleep] look right here.
1035
00:52:21,100 --> 00:52:23,367
-They've got a quarter-inch
difference from here to here.
-Yeah.
1036
00:52:23,367 --> 00:52:26,066
[Juan]
I'm going to cut the motor off
and shift the whole thing.
1037
00:52:26,066 --> 00:52:28,200
That's the only option.
1038
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:30,467
That's the only way
I can [bleep] get it close.
1039
00:52:30,467 --> 00:52:31,500
[Freddy] Yeah, it is.
1040
00:52:31,500 --> 00:52:32,900
We genuinely might be screwed,
1041
00:52:32,900 --> 00:52:35,700
so really
the pressure's on now.
1042
00:52:35,700 --> 00:52:38,500
We have a lot more work than
what we originally anticipated
1043
00:52:38,500 --> 00:52:40,867
because we're going to run
out of time on this one.
1044
00:52:50,667 --> 00:52:52,867
[Freddy]
It's always something, Juan.
1045
00:52:52,867 --> 00:52:56,600
[narrator] At the Paredes Mine
in British Columbia.
1046
00:52:56,600 --> 00:52:59,467
Whomever built this, you know,
they had great intentions,
1047
00:52:59,467 --> 00:53:01,000
but unfortunately
they didn't know
1048
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:02,467
how to read a measuring tape.
1049
00:53:02,467 --> 00:53:04,667
[narrator] After fixing up
the test trommel,
1050
00:53:04,667 --> 00:53:05,800
Freddy and Juan discover
1051
00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:08,800
the motor's mount
is off-center.
1052
00:53:08,800 --> 00:53:11,467
[Juan] I assumed
things were square
and straight.
1053
00:53:11,467 --> 00:53:13,767
You know, the gearbox,
the way they had it set up,
1054
00:53:13,767 --> 00:53:15,867
it wasn't perpendicular
to the drum,
1055
00:53:15,867 --> 00:53:17,767
which created
a lot of problems.
1056
00:53:17,767 --> 00:53:19,800
But that's how it goes.
1057
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:21,467
We're just going to have
to make it up somewhere.
1058
00:53:25,166 --> 00:53:27,667
Once you think you've got
something figured out,
1059
00:53:27,667 --> 00:53:28,867
something else pops out
1060
00:53:28,867 --> 00:53:29,900
and bites you
right in the ass.
1061
00:53:33,767 --> 00:53:36,066
So are we still square
on your sprocket down there?
1062
00:53:36,066 --> 00:53:37,200
[Juan] Yeah, pretty square.
1063
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:38,767
-Okay, that's good.
-Yeah.
1064
00:53:38,767 --> 00:53:39,867
[Juan] Let me weld it
right there.
1065
00:53:45,166 --> 00:53:46,100
We're good.
1066
00:53:50,300 --> 00:53:51,266
[Juan] I like it, Freddy.
1067
00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:53,700
Someone built that
in their garage.
1068
00:53:53,700 --> 00:53:54,967
They had
the best of intentions.
1069
00:53:54,967 --> 00:53:57,867
They tried hard,
but unfortunately
nothing was right.
1070
00:53:57,867 --> 00:53:59,867
Um, but I'm really happy
the way it turned out.
1071
00:54:14,100 --> 00:54:15,900
Okay,
we're going to lift this up.
1072
00:54:15,900 --> 00:54:17,767
[narrator]
With just two days to go,
1073
00:54:17,767 --> 00:54:20,467
Juan puts
the main wash plant on hold
1074
00:54:20,467 --> 00:54:23,367
to carry on with the work
on the test trommel.
1075
00:54:24,166 --> 00:54:26,100
[Juan]
That thing is hot, Travis.
1076
00:54:26,100 --> 00:54:30,066
[narrator] Next up,
fabricate its main spray bar.
1077
00:54:30,066 --> 00:54:32,166
This is going to be the end
of the trommel right here,
1078
00:54:32,166 --> 00:54:36,667
right around there.
It's going to turn this way
to the left.
1079
00:54:36,667 --> 00:54:38,266
It's going to be
a left-handing turn.
1080
00:54:38,266 --> 00:54:40,000
But what we're going to do is,
since the material is going
1081
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:42,100
to turn to the left,
it's going to be piled up
right here.
1082
00:54:42,100 --> 00:54:44,100
That's about
where the material
is going to start sliding,
1083
00:54:44,100 --> 00:54:45,467
actually right about here.
1084
00:54:45,467 --> 00:54:47,266
I want this coming out
at a 90 right here.
1085
00:54:47,266 --> 00:54:48,667
That way it can curl over.
1086
00:54:48,667 --> 00:54:51,767
So reality is, the spray bar
should be spraying
1087
00:54:51,767 --> 00:54:54,000
roughly right there.
1088
00:55:00,767 --> 00:55:02,500
Put some more lube
on there, Freddy?
1089
00:55:02,500 --> 00:55:04,200
[Freddy] Yeah,
we'll throw some on here.
1090
00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:05,567
Where's our soap?
1091
00:55:05,567 --> 00:55:08,567
[narrator]
After adding the drum's
brand-new spray bar,
1092
00:55:08,567 --> 00:55:12,467
Freddy uses bubble soap
to ease the hoses
onto the trommel.
1093
00:55:14,467 --> 00:55:16,400
[Travis] Good thing your
little bubbles worked, Freddy.
1094
00:55:16,400 --> 00:55:17,400
[Freddy] Yep.
1095
00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:18,900
-[Travis] Still--
-Tiny bubbles.
1096
00:55:18,900 --> 00:55:20,033
[Travis chuckles]
1097
00:55:20,033 --> 00:55:22,800
[Freddy] Okay, well,
let's move this
to its new home.
1098
00:55:24,266 --> 00:55:25,533
Coming up!
1099
00:55:26,367 --> 00:55:29,700
[narrator]
After 24 hours' work
on the test trommel,
1100
00:55:29,700 --> 00:55:32,266
it's finally ready
for the bulk test.
1101
00:55:34,567 --> 00:55:35,867
[Freddy] Doing good, Alex.
1102
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:37,900
Looking good.
1103
00:55:42,367 --> 00:55:43,667
There's your trommel.
1104
00:55:45,066 --> 00:55:47,367
[Alex] Unreal. Wow!
1105
00:55:48,867 --> 00:55:51,700
Well, thank you very much,
you know, I mean...
1106
00:55:51,700 --> 00:55:53,266
Well, we are here
to help you, buddy.
1107
00:55:53,266 --> 00:55:54,400
-Thank you very much.
-We're here to help you.
1108
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:55,567
-I really appreciate it.
-Okay.
1109
00:55:59,667 --> 00:56:02,100
Let's run the bulk test,
see what's in it.
1110
00:56:02,100 --> 00:56:03,600
Okay, we'll do that, Freddy.
1111
00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:04,600
[Freddy] Firing up!
1112
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:15,000
[narrator] Freddy's plan?
1113
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:18,066
Run 50 buckets of pay
through the trommel
1114
00:56:18,066 --> 00:56:20,367
to get
a dollar per yard result.
1115
00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:22,567
First bucket!
1116
00:56:31,266 --> 00:56:32,700
So far, so good.
1117
00:56:34,300 --> 00:56:35,367
It's clean.
1118
00:56:40,467 --> 00:56:41,500
Juan.
1119
00:56:41,500 --> 00:56:43,967
I'm going to turn the water up
a little bit more.
1120
00:56:43,967 --> 00:56:45,000
[Juan] Okay.
1121
00:56:47,100 --> 00:56:49,367
Right now, the bulk test
is going pretty good.
1122
00:56:49,367 --> 00:56:51,767
Between the sluice box,
the way it's running,
1123
00:56:51,767 --> 00:56:55,000
the trommel is doing
an excellent job of scrubbing
and washing the material.
1124
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:56,900
And the drive system
is doing great.
1125
00:56:57,600 --> 00:56:59,166
So, I couldn't be happier.
1126
00:57:00,100 --> 00:57:01,100
Hopefully,
there's going to be gold
1127
00:57:01,100 --> 00:57:02,567
in the sluice box
when we're done.
1128
00:57:06,567 --> 00:57:09,500
It's working
well enough for us
to do a bulk test, right?
1129
00:57:09,500 --> 00:57:11,900
We've got water flying
all over the place,
1130
00:57:11,900 --> 00:57:13,400
and it's not ideal.
1131
00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:15,767
But, I need a shower anyway.
1132
00:57:20,400 --> 00:57:22,567
[Juan] We've got
one plant done, Fred.
1133
00:57:22,567 --> 00:57:25,667
-The test plant,
one more to go, huh?
-[laughs]
1134
00:57:25,667 --> 00:57:27,600
I don't know
who built this plant,
1135
00:57:27,600 --> 00:57:30,367
but they shouldn't build
anything ever again.
1136
00:57:30,367 --> 00:57:32,667
[Juan]
The design and the concept
is pretty good.
1137
00:57:32,667 --> 00:57:34,400
Just their execution
wasn't great.
1138
00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:35,867
I'm going to get back
to welding.
1139
00:57:35,867 --> 00:57:37,000
-Okay.
-See you in a bit.
1140
00:57:41,066 --> 00:57:42,266
Last bucket!
1141
00:57:42,266 --> 00:57:43,367
[Raul] Okay, Freddy.
1142
00:57:52,567 --> 00:57:54,300
[Freddy] Well, let's see
what we got, eh?
1143
00:57:54,300 --> 00:57:56,266
Shut the trommel off, Raul.
1144
00:58:00,300 --> 00:58:02,800
[Raul] I'm excited to see
what is in there.
1145
00:58:02,800 --> 00:58:06,100
This is it. This means
everything to me, this test.
1146
00:58:06,100 --> 00:58:08,800
[narrator] After running
a 50-bucket bulk test...
1147
00:58:09,600 --> 00:58:10,867
[Freddy speaking Spanish]
1148
00:58:10,867 --> 00:58:11,800
[in English] Thank you, sir.
1149
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:13,967
[narrator]
...Freddy cleans up the mats.
1150
00:58:23,266 --> 00:58:25,867
[Freddy]
So, this is roughly five yards
of material, Raul.
1151
00:58:25,867 --> 00:58:26,867
[Raul] Yes.
1152
00:58:27,967 --> 00:58:30,200
[Freddy] There's gold in it.
That's for sure.
1153
00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:35,700
So, we've got one,
two, four...
1154
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:39,967
Sixteen, seventeen.
1155
00:58:39,967 --> 00:58:44,667
Well, there's well over
20 colors there, 21,
but there's a few more.
1156
00:58:44,667 --> 00:58:45,600
[Raul] Wow.
1157
00:58:47,200 --> 00:58:48,767
This is the most
I've ever seen,
1158
00:58:48,767 --> 00:58:50,667
you know, I mean,
since I've been here.
1159
00:58:50,667 --> 00:58:53,266
[Freddy]
We might not even weigh it.
We may just eyeball it.
1160
00:58:53,266 --> 00:58:54,266
Let's have a look at it.
1161
00:58:57,867 --> 00:58:59,500
It's $20 a yard.
1162
00:58:59,500 --> 00:59:01,567
[Raul] Wow. This is amazing.
1163
00:59:02,166 --> 00:59:03,667
Since I've been in this claim,
1164
00:59:03,667 --> 00:59:05,600
it's the most gold
I've ever seen
1165
00:59:05,600 --> 00:59:08,266
in only five yards
from that little piece.
1166
00:59:08,266 --> 00:59:10,500
Freddy was the one
that discovered that.
1167
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:14,300
[narrator]
In just one five-yard test,
1168
00:59:14,300 --> 00:59:16,867
Freddy recovers more than 10%
1169
00:59:16,867 --> 00:59:19,767
of what Raul has found
all season.
1170
00:59:20,867 --> 00:59:23,600
But I tell you what,
if it was gold was everywhere,
1171
00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:25,266
it wouldn't be worth much,
would it?
1172
00:59:25,266 --> 00:59:27,567
Well, right now
it's $2,300 an ounce,
1173
00:59:27,567 --> 00:59:29,367
so every one
of those specs count.
1174
00:59:29,367 --> 00:59:32,100
You just got to help catch
more of it at the plant.
1175
00:59:32,100 --> 00:59:33,400
I know. I'm very excited.
1176
00:59:33,400 --> 00:59:36,166
I'm very excited
to see gold, eh?
1177
00:59:36,166 --> 00:59:38,066
[Freddy] There's some material
to run right there.
1178
00:59:38,066 --> 00:59:41,266
$20, $25 a yard.
It looks good.
1179
00:59:41,266 --> 00:59:43,266
I mean,
that's pretty good pay.
1180
00:59:44,700 --> 00:59:45,600
Juan-o!
1181
00:59:46,667 --> 00:59:47,600
That's pretty good.
1182
00:59:47,600 --> 00:59:49,667
Out of five yards.
$20-some dollars a yard.
1183
00:59:49,667 --> 00:59:51,700
[Juan] That's a hell
of a whole lot better
than what we saw last time.
1184
00:59:51,700 --> 00:59:52,800
[Freddy] Three specks.
1185
00:59:52,800 --> 00:59:54,800
That's a huge improvement,
Fred, from not being able
1186
00:59:54,800 --> 00:59:57,500
to pay the gas bill
to start the water pump
1187
00:59:57,500 --> 01:00:00,867
to actually being able
to maybe make
some money there.
1188
01:00:00,867 --> 01:00:03,667
That's exciting, Freddy.
I'm actually excited
about that.
1189
01:00:03,667 --> 01:00:06,266
[Freddy]
So we're going to go run
those old-timer tailings,
1190
01:00:06,266 --> 01:00:07,800
see if it's worth running.
1191
01:00:07,800 --> 01:00:09,767
We'll do
a side-by-side comparison.
1192
01:00:09,767 --> 01:00:11,066
[Juan] Okay,
and see what that does.
1193
01:00:11,066 --> 01:00:13,700
-All right, buddy.
See you in a bit.
-See you in a bit, Juan-o.
1194
01:00:13,700 --> 01:00:17,300
[Juan]
Freddy's found some ground,
but the pressure's still on.
1195
01:00:17,300 --> 01:00:18,166
We've still got a lot to do.
1196
01:00:18,166 --> 01:00:19,266
We still have
to install everything
1197
01:00:19,266 --> 01:00:20,767
and, uh, do a test run.
1198
01:00:20,767 --> 01:00:23,100
So we're out of time.
Makes it tough.
1199
01:00:35,100 --> 01:00:36,300
[Raul] How's she going?
1200
01:00:36,300 --> 01:00:38,266
[Freddy] Go ahead
and shut the trommel off.
1201
01:00:38,266 --> 01:00:39,867
[narrator]
At the Paredes mine.
1202
01:00:40,867 --> 01:00:42,667
[Freddy] Time to have
a look at it, huh?
1203
01:00:42,667 --> 01:00:44,300
[narrator]
To make a comparison,
1204
01:00:44,300 --> 01:00:47,967
Freddy runs a second bulk test
on the old-timer tailings,
1205
01:00:47,967 --> 01:00:50,066
which surround
the pocket of pay.
1206
01:00:51,000 --> 01:00:52,667
[Freddy] The old-timers
didn't have pumps.
1207
01:00:52,667 --> 01:00:54,867
They didn't have
heavy equipment.
But you do now.
1208
01:00:56,467 --> 01:00:59,266
Let's see what gold,
if any, lives in this.
1209
01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:02,100
This is 50 buckets.
1210
01:01:02,100 --> 01:01:03,400
[Raul] Yeah.
1211
01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:05,166
So we're apples to apples.
1212
01:01:06,266 --> 01:01:07,166
[Raul] Helen!
1213
01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:10,600
What are you looking at now?
1214
01:01:11,767 --> 01:01:13,967
There's not nearly
as much black sand in it.
1215
01:01:13,967 --> 01:01:15,133
[Raul] It's no good.
1216
01:01:15,133 --> 01:01:18,867
[narrator] Black sand is
a highly mineralized material
1217
01:01:18,867 --> 01:01:21,400
and often an indicator
of gold.
1218
01:01:21,400 --> 01:01:22,567
[Freddy] That's a bad thing.
1219
01:01:23,500 --> 01:01:25,166
See, we got some gold there.
1220
01:01:25,166 --> 01:01:26,700
-[Raul] Yeah.
-But not much.
1221
01:01:26,700 --> 01:01:27,934
[Helen] How's it looking?
1222
01:01:27,934 --> 01:01:30,700
[Freddy]
Well, you can see the one
on the right here, Helen.
1223
01:01:30,700 --> 01:01:33,400
We're figuring that's
right around $20 a yard.
1224
01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:34,500
[Helen] Okay.
1225
01:01:34,500 --> 01:01:36,300
[Freddy] Okay, now here's
those old-timer tailings.
1226
01:01:36,300 --> 01:01:39,667
It's probably got 10%
the amount of gold, right?
1227
01:01:39,667 --> 01:01:42,166
You can run 20.
You can make money on 20.
1228
01:01:42,166 --> 01:01:43,266
Yeah.
1229
01:01:43,266 --> 01:01:44,767
Two, go broke.
1230
01:01:44,767 --> 01:01:48,400
[narrator]
The bulk test confirms
the old-timer tailings
1231
01:01:48,400 --> 01:01:50,166
are not worth running.
1232
01:01:50,166 --> 01:01:52,066
And in order to be profitable,
1233
01:01:52,066 --> 01:01:55,100
Raul must focus solely
on the virgin ground.
1234
01:01:56,166 --> 01:01:57,467
[Helen] Do you think
there is more?
1235
01:01:57,467 --> 01:01:59,767
-There's more of it
in the bank up there, right?
-[Raul] Yeah.
1236
01:01:59,767 --> 01:02:00,867
[Freddy]
But it's just hard to get to.
1237
01:02:00,867 --> 01:02:01,900
[Helen] Yeah.
1238
01:02:01,900 --> 01:02:04,367
So what I think we do
is get this pond drained.
1239
01:02:04,367 --> 01:02:06,567
-[Raul] Okay.
-We look at the walls
of this pond here
1240
01:02:06,567 --> 01:02:08,100
and we'll start there, right?
1241
01:02:08,100 --> 01:02:09,066
Thank you, Freddy.
1242
01:02:09,066 --> 01:02:10,767
[Freddy] Yeah,
let's make some stuff happen.
1243
01:02:10,767 --> 01:02:12,467
-That's a start.
-[Raul] Thank you.
1244
01:02:12,467 --> 01:02:14,000
[Helen] To have this
glimmer of hope,
1245
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:16,500
it's just super amazing.
1246
01:02:17,567 --> 01:02:20,166
And hopefully, we can start
paying our bills
1247
01:02:20,166 --> 01:02:23,166
and have a forward direction.
1248
01:02:26,567 --> 01:02:28,100
[narrator]
Raul drains the pond
1249
01:02:28,100 --> 01:02:30,100
by cutting away the berm wall
1250
01:02:30,100 --> 01:02:32,867
to see if the pay pocket
extends further.
1251
01:02:34,100 --> 01:02:35,233
[Raul] I'm very excited
1252
01:02:35,233 --> 01:02:39,166
that Freddy found us
this little piece of ground,
uh,
1253
01:02:39,166 --> 01:02:41,700
you know, what's hiding
from us in this corner.
1254
01:02:41,700 --> 01:02:44,066
I would like to see
what is in there and,
1255
01:02:44,066 --> 01:02:46,000
and go from there, right.
1256
01:03:03,867 --> 01:03:05,900
Travis, you wanna plug in
that other welder
1257
01:03:05,900 --> 01:03:07,266
and start welding
this other box out?
1258
01:03:07,867 --> 01:03:09,834
[Travis] Yeah. Sounds good.
1259
01:03:12,300 --> 01:03:14,000
[narrator]
With the ground found
1260
01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:17,600
and 24 hours to go
before the final test run,
1261
01:03:17,600 --> 01:03:20,767
Juan races to finish fixes
for the main plant.
1262
01:03:22,500 --> 01:03:24,367
[Juan] So, this is
the beginning of the V-chute.
1263
01:03:24,367 --> 01:03:25,767
You can see the outline of it.
1264
01:03:25,767 --> 01:03:27,800
The material is gonna get
funneled into the V-chute,
1265
01:03:27,800 --> 01:03:30,500
concentrated in the center
so it's even.
1266
01:03:30,500 --> 01:03:31,467
And then
what we're gonna do is
1267
01:03:31,467 --> 01:03:33,000
we're gonna have
a splitter right here.
1268
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:34,567
And then this one
will come over to this side,
1269
01:03:34,567 --> 01:03:36,367
drop in to the left hand
sluice box
1270
01:03:36,367 --> 01:03:37,867
and this will have
a down spout over here
1271
01:03:37,867 --> 01:03:39,266
for the right hand sluice box.
1272
01:03:39,266 --> 01:03:41,000
The reason we're doing this
is because
1273
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:42,400
right now,
the way he's running,
1274
01:03:42,400 --> 01:03:44,300
the boxes,
one's getting a lot
of material,
1275
01:03:44,300 --> 01:03:45,266
one's getting nothing.
1276
01:03:45,266 --> 01:03:48,400
And so,
it's not effective at all.
1277
01:03:48,400 --> 01:03:52,767
[narrator] The V-chute
will separate material
equally to the sluices,
1278
01:03:52,767 --> 01:03:55,166
allowing them
to capture fine gold.
1279
01:04:01,166 --> 01:04:02,767
14 by 14 right there.
1280
01:04:04,367 --> 01:04:08,467
Then I need the 47 by 14.
That one's perfect.
1281
01:04:09,567 --> 01:04:11,100
There's a tremendous amount
of calculations
1282
01:04:11,100 --> 01:04:13,667
figuring out
where it's gonna go,
how it's gonna sit.
1283
01:04:13,667 --> 01:04:15,000
We still got a tremendous
amount of work to do.
1284
01:04:15,000 --> 01:04:16,867
We're only halfway
through this.
1285
01:04:16,867 --> 01:04:18,767
We're gonna get this
all jigged up,
1286
01:04:18,767 --> 01:04:20,266
and then we'll finish
welding it out.
1287
01:04:20,266 --> 01:04:21,767
Fortunately, I have Travis
here with me,
1288
01:04:21,767 --> 01:04:23,266
so we're able to get
a lot more done,
1289
01:04:23,266 --> 01:04:24,300
uh, with the time we have,
1290
01:04:24,300 --> 01:04:26,000
but we better get back to it.
1291
01:04:29,000 --> 01:04:29,800
Thank you, Trav.
1292
01:04:35,900 --> 01:04:37,266
[Freddy] Hey, Raul.
1293
01:04:38,367 --> 01:04:40,266
[speaking Spanish]
1294
01:04:40,266 --> 01:04:43,467
[Raul]
I'll give you all the time
in the world for you, bud.
1295
01:04:43,467 --> 01:04:44,967
[narrator] Out on the claim,
1296
01:04:44,967 --> 01:04:48,367
Raul's drained the pond
next to the pocket of pay.
1297
01:05:00,066 --> 01:05:03,166
[Freddy] This is all good pay.
All this is good pay.
1298
01:05:03,767 --> 01:05:05,033
I had a feeling
1299
01:05:05,033 --> 01:05:07,767
-that that pay continued
through there, right?
-[Raul] Yeah.
1300
01:05:07,767 --> 01:05:09,800
[Freddy] You can't see
through muddy water.
1301
01:05:10,300 --> 01:05:11,600
[Raul] Wow.
1302
01:05:11,600 --> 01:05:13,467
[narrator] At $20 a yard,
1303
01:05:13,467 --> 01:05:17,600
Freddy's find could stop Raul
and Helen from going broke.
1304
01:05:18,667 --> 01:05:21,000
It looks like it's going
back into this hillside,
1305
01:05:21,000 --> 01:05:22,467
but it's just hard to get to.
1306
01:05:22,467 --> 01:05:24,367
-Once you get these
tailings off the top...
-[Raul chuckles] Wow.
1307
01:05:24,367 --> 01:05:26,200
...somebody made a mess
for you up there.
1308
01:05:26,200 --> 01:05:29,266
-[Raul] Yeah.
-So, it's gonna be
a bit of work to get to it.
1309
01:05:31,166 --> 01:05:32,266
Yeah.
1310
01:05:32,266 --> 01:05:35,000
-This is all good pay, Raul.
-[Raul] Yep.
1311
01:05:35,000 --> 01:05:38,000
[Freddy] Like, uh,
that's tailings there.
1312
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:40,000
-[Freddy] You don't wanna
take any of that.
-[Raul] Yeah.
1313
01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:42,166
[Freddy]
I'd follow it back first.
1314
01:05:42,166 --> 01:05:44,000
And then I'd plop
those tailings out of there,
1315
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:45,767
you know,
get it all cleaned up
this way,
1316
01:05:45,767 --> 01:05:47,166
away from the hill.
1317
01:05:47,166 --> 01:05:50,567
That way you can throw
those old timer tailings
over the top
1318
01:05:50,567 --> 01:05:52,000
without worrying about,
you know,
1319
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:54,166
-covering up good pay.
-[Raul] That's right.
1320
01:05:54,166 --> 01:05:55,800
[Freddy] But you can see
even here, right?
1321
01:05:55,800 --> 01:05:58,867
-We got pay in there.
-[Raul] Yep.
1322
01:05:59,767 --> 01:06:01,367
So, just look
for those shingled rocks.
1323
01:06:02,467 --> 01:06:04,200
[Raul] Thank you very much.
1324
01:06:04,200 --> 01:06:08,500
[narrator]
Old timer tailings are stacked
on top of virgin material
1325
01:06:08,500 --> 01:06:11,467
which will need to be dug out
with precision,
1326
01:06:11,467 --> 01:06:13,934
so that the pay
is not diluted.
1327
01:06:16,367 --> 01:06:19,000
[Freddy] Start digging
some of this material
over here
1328
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:20,467
and get it stockpiled to run.
1329
01:06:22,567 --> 01:06:23,367
Dig away.
1330
01:06:27,867 --> 01:06:29,400
[Raul] Well,
I've got good news.
1331
01:06:29,400 --> 01:06:31,900
Freddy found
a really nice spot over there.
1332
01:06:31,900 --> 01:06:35,667
-We're all gonna be--
-[Helen] I am so excited.
[laughs]
1333
01:06:35,667 --> 01:06:38,266
[Freddy]
It's the first smile I had
all day is when I seen that.
1334
01:06:39,467 --> 01:06:41,967
[Raul] I got something
to look forward in the future
1335
01:06:41,967 --> 01:06:44,467
that I can continue
my passion for gold mining.
1336
01:07:01,166 --> 01:07:04,567
[narrator]
At the Paredes' mine site,
with hours to go,
1337
01:07:04,567 --> 01:07:07,467
the rescue crew races
to complete the final fixes.
1338
01:07:08,767 --> 01:07:11,266
[Freddy] Basically,
we're out of time.
1339
01:07:11,266 --> 01:07:12,600
Everything we've had
to do here
1340
01:07:12,600 --> 01:07:14,867
from prospecting to, uh,
1341
01:07:14,867 --> 01:07:16,834
getting that
test trommel going,
1342
01:07:16,834 --> 01:07:18,967
it's gotta be all hands
on deck now,
1343
01:07:18,967 --> 01:07:20,133
'cause literally,
1344
01:07:20,133 --> 01:07:22,767
our hourglass is damn near
to empty.
1345
01:07:24,467 --> 01:07:26,433
[Helen] Are we taking out
all of the sluices?
1346
01:07:26,433 --> 01:07:28,367
[Raul] All of the sluicers,
we want them out.
1347
01:07:29,033 --> 01:07:30,567
But he said, I mean,
1348
01:07:30,567 --> 01:07:32,567
we're just preparing
the job for him.
1349
01:07:32,567 --> 01:07:35,166
[Helen] So, once we take
all these sluices out,
1350
01:07:35,166 --> 01:07:36,734
it's not going to be
an Octopus anymore, is it?
1351
01:07:36,734 --> 01:07:38,667
It's not gonna be an Octopus.
1352
01:07:38,667 --> 01:07:41,000
[Helen] We're gonna have to
come up with a different name,
you guys.
1353
01:07:41,000 --> 01:07:42,266
That's right. Maybe an oyster.
1354
01:07:42,266 --> 01:07:44,867
-Because oyster--
Oyster has pearls.
-[Helen laughs]
1355
01:07:44,867 --> 01:07:46,667
So they've got value.
[chuckles softly]
1356
01:07:46,667 --> 01:07:48,734
-Okay, let's do it.
-[Helen] Let's get at her.
1357
01:07:49,266 --> 01:07:50,734
[narrator] Raul's mission,
1358
01:07:50,734 --> 01:07:52,467
strip down the old plant
1359
01:07:52,467 --> 01:07:54,867
in preparation
for the new sluice runs
1360
01:07:54,867 --> 01:07:56,467
and distribution box.
1361
01:08:00,867 --> 01:08:03,166
Yeah, we don't wanna damage
any of these beams,
1362
01:08:03,166 --> 01:08:05,266
because we don't know
what, um,
1363
01:08:05,266 --> 01:08:06,867
Juan's gonna be using, right?
1364
01:08:06,867 --> 01:08:09,767
-Yeah. Okay.
-[Helen] So, let's not, um,
damage anything.
1365
01:08:11,000 --> 01:08:13,500
[Raul] I couldn't do
what I do without Helen.
1366
01:08:13,500 --> 01:08:15,233
She's the key
in this operation.
1367
01:08:15,867 --> 01:08:17,600
Without her, I couldn't do it.
1368
01:08:20,066 --> 01:08:22,333
She's the one that look
after the plan and...
1369
01:08:23,166 --> 01:08:24,767
We start this
adventure together
1370
01:08:24,767 --> 01:08:27,133
and we hopefully,
we end up together.
1371
01:08:27,133 --> 01:08:30,133
And hopefully,
we can be winners together.
1372
01:08:30,133 --> 01:08:33,000
Helen, you guys wanna move
out of there, please?
1373
01:08:33,000 --> 01:08:34,967
[Helen] Yeah, I guess
just stack 'em all over here.
1374
01:08:34,967 --> 01:08:36,066
This way.
1375
01:08:37,834 --> 01:08:40,734
[Helen] Yay,
we've got one down,
three to go.
1376
01:08:45,233 --> 01:08:46,767
[Raul] I gotta go
more that way.
1377
01:08:46,767 --> 01:08:49,333
So, when I lift it up,
I'm not pushing it this way.
1378
01:08:49,333 --> 01:08:51,100
You gotta let me know.
You're my eyes, buddy.
1379
01:08:51,100 --> 01:08:53,166
I can't really see
from here, okay?
1380
01:08:54,266 --> 01:08:57,266
[man] Nice and slow, Raul,
watch the chain.
1381
01:09:05,767 --> 01:09:07,567
All right,
let's unhook that chain.
1382
01:09:10,066 --> 01:09:11,433
Nice job, Raul.
1383
01:09:11,433 --> 01:09:12,400
[Raul] Oh. Good.
1384
01:09:14,867 --> 01:09:16,567
[Helen] Now, for the rebuild.
1385
01:09:19,934 --> 01:09:21,467
[man] Pull on that, Raul.
1386
01:09:21,467 --> 01:09:25,100
[narrator] The crew prepares
to weld in the V-chute box
1387
01:09:25,100 --> 01:09:27,567
into Raul and Helen's plant.
1388
01:09:27,567 --> 01:09:29,934
[Juan]
Today is gonna be a big day.
We're completely out of time.
1389
01:09:29,934 --> 01:09:31,266
Luckily, we have
enough help here.
1390
01:09:31,266 --> 01:09:33,166
Travis and Alex are here
to give us a hand.
1391
01:09:33,166 --> 01:09:35,333
Still got a lot to do,
but we're getting closer.
1392
01:09:37,166 --> 01:09:39,166
[narrator]
The custom made V-chute
1393
01:09:39,166 --> 01:09:41,734
needs to sit tightly
under the hopper.
1394
01:09:41,734 --> 01:09:42,734
[Freddy] Ouch.
1395
01:09:42,734 --> 01:09:44,867
[narrator] The only way
Freddy can weld it in
1396
01:09:44,867 --> 01:09:48,100
is from the inside
of the five foot long box.
1397
01:09:50,567 --> 01:09:52,166
[Freddy] This is really gonna
[bleep] suck.
1398
01:09:52,166 --> 01:09:53,333
[Alex]
I'll be right over here.
1399
01:09:53,333 --> 01:09:55,767
-[Freddy] Huh?
-I'll be right over here
if you need me.
1400
01:09:58,233 --> 01:09:59,667
[Freddy] Where's that grinder?
1401
01:10:01,066 --> 01:10:03,000
Alex? Alex?
1402
01:10:04,166 --> 01:10:05,500
I need you.
1403
01:10:05,500 --> 01:10:07,367
-[Alex] What's up, buddy?
Yeah.
-[Freddy] Alex!
1404
01:10:07,367 --> 01:10:08,834
Hand me that grinder,
would ya?
1405
01:10:09,333 --> 01:10:11,567
[laughs] Grinder.
1406
01:10:13,433 --> 01:10:14,767
[Freddy] Thank you.
1407
01:10:14,767 --> 01:10:16,333
I'm gonna get fried in here.
1408
01:10:24,567 --> 01:10:25,867
It's comfy in here.
1409
01:10:30,066 --> 01:10:32,266
[Juan] So, we'll slide it in
through the front here,
1410
01:10:32,266 --> 01:10:34,133
and then we'll,
we'll walk it over.
1411
01:10:34,133 --> 01:10:35,233
[Travis] All right.
1412
01:10:35,233 --> 01:10:37,767
[narrator] Right above Freddy
on the shaker deck,
1413
01:10:37,767 --> 01:10:41,033
Juan and Travis install
the new punch plates.
1414
01:10:42,266 --> 01:10:43,800
[Travis] Pardon me
a little bit.
1415
01:10:43,800 --> 01:10:45,834
[Juan] What we're gonna do
is we're gonna get the
punch plate lifted in place.
1416
01:10:45,834 --> 01:10:47,934
We're gonna have to get
one side tacked in,
1417
01:10:47,934 --> 01:10:49,467
then we'll have to push down
the other side
1418
01:10:49,467 --> 01:10:50,767
so we can get that bow in it
1419
01:10:50,767 --> 01:10:53,000
and be able
to tension the plates.
1420
01:10:53,000 --> 01:10:54,800
All right,
let's get to [bleep] work.
1421
01:10:57,266 --> 01:11:00,100
Push this side down hard.
Are we tight?
1422
01:11:00,100 --> 01:11:01,266
-[Travis] It's tight.
-[Juan] Uh-huh.
1423
01:11:08,500 --> 01:11:10,266
-Thank you, Travi.
-[Travis] No problem.
1424
01:11:10,266 --> 01:11:11,867
So, we thought we would have
to use a bottle jack
1425
01:11:11,867 --> 01:11:14,567
to add pressure
to push the plate down.
1426
01:11:14,567 --> 01:11:16,033
But after Juan and I
stood on it,
1427
01:11:16,033 --> 01:11:17,467
there was enough weight
between the two of us
1428
01:11:17,467 --> 01:11:19,600
-to be able
to pin her down, so.
-[Juan laughs]
1429
01:11:19,600 --> 01:11:20,767
Hold her good enough.
1430
01:11:22,266 --> 01:11:25,233
[narrator] Juan and Travis's
body weight bush fix
1431
01:11:25,233 --> 01:11:29,367
is enough to tension
and weld the punch plates
into place.
1432
01:11:29,367 --> 01:11:31,367
[Juan] I guess that means
we need to go on a diet.
1433
01:11:31,367 --> 01:11:32,867
[both laugh]
1434
01:11:36,066 --> 01:11:38,533
[Juan speaking Spanish]
1435
01:11:40,967 --> 01:11:43,567
[in English]
As the material comes down,
it can come over,
1436
01:11:43,567 --> 01:11:46,367
and it's not going
too far over
where it can't get screened.
1437
01:11:46,367 --> 01:11:48,567
So that way,
it'll still hit the,
the holes.
1438
01:11:48,567 --> 01:11:49,734
[Raul] It still hits
all the holes.
1439
01:11:49,734 --> 01:11:51,867
-Yeah, it's still got
the perforations.
-[Raul] Nice.
1440
01:11:51,867 --> 01:11:53,934
You've done
an amazing job here, Juan.
1441
01:11:53,934 --> 01:11:55,266
Wow.
1442
01:11:55,266 --> 01:11:56,667
I get pretty emotional.
1443
01:11:56,667 --> 01:11:58,033
This is means a lot to me.
1444
01:11:58,033 --> 01:12:00,133
I mean, this is,
this is my life.
1445
01:12:00,133 --> 01:12:03,600
I appreciate that
you're giving me the tools
that I can go and start,
1446
01:12:04,467 --> 01:12:05,967
start all over again.
1447
01:12:05,967 --> 01:12:07,166
[Juan] And honestly,
it's been a pleasure,
you know?
1448
01:12:07,166 --> 01:12:09,767
And you came to Canada
with nothing.
1449
01:12:09,767 --> 01:12:11,433
You know, you started a mine,
1450
01:12:11,433 --> 01:12:13,033
and you know, this is yours.
1451
01:12:13,033 --> 01:12:14,266
And to me, that's...
1452
01:12:15,500 --> 01:12:17,166
You know,
that's the sign of somebody
1453
01:12:17,166 --> 01:12:19,467
that's put a lot of effort
and a lot of time
1454
01:12:19,467 --> 01:12:21,667
and a lot of heart
into what they do.
1455
01:12:21,667 --> 01:12:23,100
You know?
Not everybody does that.
1456
01:12:23,967 --> 01:12:26,100
So, I totally understand
that that...
1457
01:12:27,266 --> 01:12:28,133
You know, the story,
1458
01:12:28,133 --> 01:12:30,500
because my family
has done it as well.
1459
01:12:30,500 --> 01:12:32,333
And you know,
they gave me the opportunities
1460
01:12:32,333 --> 01:12:34,033
to, to be the person I am now.
1461
01:12:34,033 --> 01:12:35,433
-It's our pleasure.
-[Raul speaking Spanish]
1462
01:12:35,433 --> 01:12:37,867
[speaking Spanish]
1463
01:13:05,367 --> 01:13:06,667
-[Freddy] Hey, Alex.
-[Alex] Yes, sir?
1464
01:13:06,667 --> 01:13:08,266
[Freddy] Can you hand me
my stinger?
1465
01:13:08,266 --> 01:13:10,266
-I have
no [bleep] idea where...
-[Alex laughs]
1466
01:13:10,266 --> 01:13:12,500
-I think you're laying
on it, buddy.
-Yeah.
1467
01:13:12,500 --> 01:13:14,734
I can't [bleep] turn
my own head around in here.
1468
01:13:16,500 --> 01:13:18,467
[narrator]
Beneath Juan and Raul,
1469
01:13:18,467 --> 01:13:21,667
Freddy finishes welding
in the five-foot V-chute.
1470
01:13:24,734 --> 01:13:25,667
[Alex] I'm not like Freddy.
1471
01:13:25,667 --> 01:13:28,033
Freddy can fit
into tight places.
1472
01:13:28,033 --> 01:13:32,567
Um, I don't think
I could've done that
when I was five.
1473
01:13:32,567 --> 01:13:35,100
-[Freddy] It's hot
[bleep] in here.
-[Alex] Oh, I bet.
1474
01:13:37,567 --> 01:13:39,166
[Freddy] It was already
100 degrees in here
1475
01:13:39,166 --> 01:13:41,233
before I started welding
on this plate.
1476
01:13:42,433 --> 01:13:45,266
Now the plate's
a couple hundred degrees.
1477
01:13:45,266 --> 01:13:47,033
How long was I
in that [bleep] thing?
1478
01:13:47,033 --> 01:13:49,567
[Alex] Uh, you were in there
for a solid hour?
1479
01:13:49,567 --> 01:13:53,166
Well,
it was a tight fit in there,
that's for sure. And hot.
1480
01:13:53,166 --> 01:13:55,467
And you know,
without something on the back
of your hood,
1481
01:13:55,467 --> 01:13:57,867
you get the reflection
off the steel that goes
in there.
1482
01:13:57,867 --> 01:14:00,066
The flash burns your eyes.
I can feel it right now.
1483
01:14:00,066 --> 01:14:01,767
They're, like, itchy.
1484
01:14:02,667 --> 01:14:03,900
[clears throat] So...
1485
01:14:04,767 --> 01:14:07,934
wasn't any fun,
but at the same time
it had to be done.
1486
01:14:11,667 --> 01:14:14,266
[Juan]
Good. You're doing good.
Keep coming.
1487
01:14:14,266 --> 01:14:16,567
[narrator] The last step
of the wash plant fix...
1488
01:14:16,567 --> 01:14:17,533
[Juan] Little more.
1489
01:14:17,533 --> 01:14:19,333
[narrator]
...install the 10-foot
sluices.
1490
01:14:19,333 --> 01:14:20,433
[Juan] Perfect.
1491
01:14:21,367 --> 01:14:22,767
-[Freddy] Here you go, buddy.
-[Juan] Thank you.
1492
01:14:26,467 --> 01:14:28,667
It was a tremendous,
uh, undertaking.
1493
01:14:28,667 --> 01:14:30,667
And I honestly didn't think
we were gonna get it all done.
1494
01:14:31,934 --> 01:14:34,100
I'm hoping that this plant
is gonna work properly
1495
01:14:34,100 --> 01:14:35,367
and we do the final test run,
1496
01:14:35,367 --> 01:14:36,767
because Raul and Helen,
1497
01:14:36,767 --> 01:14:38,834
they've put a lot of trust
and confidence in us...
1498
01:14:38,834 --> 01:14:39,767
[Freddy] There you go.
1499
01:14:39,767 --> 01:14:41,266
[Juan] ...and, yeah,
we wanna deliver.
1500
01:14:47,767 --> 01:14:48,800
[Juan] You've gotten
a little bit of, uh,
1501
01:14:48,800 --> 01:14:50,467
-time with your drone, Fred?
-[Freddy] Not much.
1502
01:14:50,467 --> 01:14:52,967
-Crashed it a couple of times.
-[laughs]
1503
01:14:52,967 --> 01:14:55,967
[narrator] One mile
from Helen and Raul's claim
1504
01:14:55,967 --> 01:14:57,967
is the Bullion Pit Mine
1505
01:14:57,967 --> 01:15:00,600
which was hydraulic
in the 1870s,
1506
01:15:00,600 --> 01:15:02,433
using huge water cannons.
1507
01:15:03,266 --> 01:15:04,367
[Freddy] Well,
one time at home,
1508
01:15:04,367 --> 01:15:05,667
I, uh, piled up a drone
1509
01:15:05,667 --> 01:15:08,767
-into a pile of black sand
from cleanup.
-[Juan laughs]
1510
01:15:08,767 --> 01:15:10,166
-[Freddy] It got in the motors
and everything...
-[Juan] Yeah.
1511
01:15:10,166 --> 01:15:11,567
[Freddy]...just completely
destroyed it.
1512
01:15:11,567 --> 01:15:13,233
What drone is this?
Number four or five?
1513
01:15:13,233 --> 01:15:14,533
-Six.
-[Juan laughs]
1514
01:15:19,433 --> 01:15:20,767
Think, Freddy,
you've gotten better.
1515
01:15:20,767 --> 01:15:22,033
[Freddy] No, I haven't.
1516
01:15:22,033 --> 01:15:24,166
Went through
the widespread trees
instead of the narrow ones.
1517
01:15:24,166 --> 01:15:25,367
You didn't wanna go
to the narrow gap, huh?
1518
01:15:25,367 --> 01:15:28,266
If there was only one tree,
I could find a way to hit it.
1519
01:15:29,000 --> 01:15:30,300
[Juan]
How's it looking? Oh, wow.
1520
01:15:30,300 --> 01:15:32,233
It's definitely bigger
than it looks from the ground
here, huh?
1521
01:15:32,233 --> 01:15:34,266
[Juan] That's a lot bigger
than what it looks like.
1522
01:15:34,266 --> 01:15:35,233
I think I read they mined out
1523
01:15:35,233 --> 01:15:37,100
about 22 million tons
of gravel.
1524
01:15:37,100 --> 01:15:38,967
Yeah. That's quite a bit.
1525
01:15:38,967 --> 01:15:40,033
[Juan] There's a lot
of material there.
1526
01:15:40,033 --> 01:15:41,166
But like you said Freddy,
you know,
1527
01:15:41,166 --> 01:15:42,667
there's a reason
they mined all that material.
1528
01:15:42,667 --> 01:15:43,967
-It must've been
pretty decent gold.
-Yeah.
1529
01:15:54,533 --> 01:15:56,767
[Freddy] You ready, guys?
Let's fire it up and run.
1530
01:15:56,767 --> 01:15:58,867
-Let's do it.
-[Helen] Start the pump,
thanks.
1531
01:15:58,867 --> 01:16:00,066
[David] Starting the pump.
1532
01:16:01,567 --> 01:16:03,166
[narrator] At the Paredes mine
1533
01:16:03,166 --> 01:16:06,533
with the pump cap
and large wash plant fixed
1534
01:16:06,533 --> 01:16:08,266
and new pay found,
1535
01:16:08,266 --> 01:16:12,767
Raul, Helen and David
start the second test.
1536
01:16:15,266 --> 01:16:16,567
[Raul] Hey, hey!
1537
01:16:16,567 --> 01:16:18,567
No more agua. We're good.
1538
01:16:19,433 --> 01:16:21,266
[Raul] I'm very excited.
This is my day.
1539
01:16:22,266 --> 01:16:26,000
I've been waiting for this
for a long, long time.
1540
01:16:27,100 --> 01:16:28,367
[Freddy] How's it look?
1541
01:16:29,533 --> 01:16:31,467
-[Juan] Looks really good
in here, Fred.
-[Freddy] Yeah.
1542
01:16:36,533 --> 01:16:37,367
First bucket.
1543
01:16:38,367 --> 01:16:40,100
There you go,
started the timer.
1544
01:16:42,567 --> 01:16:44,367
[narrator]
The stockpiled pocket of pay
1545
01:16:44,367 --> 01:16:47,333
will keep the plant
running for an hour.
1546
01:16:47,333 --> 01:16:49,133
Enough time
for Freddy and Juan
1547
01:16:49,133 --> 01:16:52,367
to assess their fixes
on the big plant.
1548
01:16:54,066 --> 01:16:56,467
[Helen]
The difference is amazing.
1549
01:16:56,467 --> 01:16:59,133
Now it's even.
It's running beautifully.
1550
01:17:02,734 --> 01:17:03,734
[Juan] Looks good.
1551
01:17:04,333 --> 01:17:05,567
The plant before,
1552
01:17:05,567 --> 01:17:07,634
there would be no way
I could even hear you.
1553
01:17:07,634 --> 01:17:10,233
But now
the plant's actually running
pretty decent.
1554
01:17:10,233 --> 01:17:12,767
So far, the material
coming off the end
looks really clean,
1555
01:17:12,767 --> 01:17:14,567
so I couldn't be happier.
1556
01:17:17,000 --> 01:17:21,533
[narrator]
The new fitted punch plates
screen out the worthless rock.
1557
01:17:24,000 --> 01:17:25,567
[Freddy] Well,
the V-chute looks good.
1558
01:17:25,567 --> 01:17:27,467
The sluice looks good,
the punch plates.
1559
01:17:31,767 --> 01:17:34,166
[narrator] Juan's custom-made
steel V-chute
1560
01:17:34,934 --> 01:17:37,000
separates material evenly,
1561
01:17:37,000 --> 01:17:40,734
allowing gold rich pay
to settle in the riffles.
1562
01:17:41,767 --> 01:17:43,867
-[Freddy] Much better.
-Yeah, that's good.
1563
01:17:48,834 --> 01:17:50,367
[Raul] Hopefully,
things can change
1564
01:17:51,433 --> 01:17:53,000
for the better.
1565
01:17:53,000 --> 01:17:54,367
I'm gonna be able to,
1566
01:17:55,567 --> 01:17:58,166
to pay the people
that I owe money,
1567
01:17:58,166 --> 01:18:01,467
pay my bills
and doing what I love to do.
1568
01:18:01,967 --> 01:18:02,967
Be everything to me,
1569
01:18:02,967 --> 01:18:04,533
will mean everything,
the whole world, right?
1570
01:18:10,367 --> 01:18:13,834
[Freddy] I can see tailings
in that bay there,
feeding into the plant.
1571
01:18:13,834 --> 01:18:16,166
That's not good.
That's really gonna
water it down.
1572
01:18:17,266 --> 01:18:20,166
[narrator]
Freddy has identified
old timer tailings
1573
01:18:20,166 --> 01:18:22,567
mixed in with the virgin pay,
1574
01:18:22,567 --> 01:18:24,867
lowering the value
of the material.
1575
01:18:25,867 --> 01:18:27,367
[Freddy] Last bucket roll.
1576
01:18:35,867 --> 01:18:37,867
Part of it was tailings.
1577
01:18:37,867 --> 01:18:40,634
-[Juan] We dilute it
a little bit, uh?
-[Freddy] Yeah.
1578
01:18:40,634 --> 01:18:42,867
[Juan] We probably lost
quite a bit of gold.
1579
01:18:42,867 --> 01:18:43,967
[Freddy] Probably 50% of it.
1580
01:18:43,967 --> 01:18:45,266
-[Juan] Yeah,
I would imagine that.
-Yep.
1581
01:18:47,734 --> 01:18:48,867
[Juan] Well,
let's clean it up.
1582
01:18:48,867 --> 01:18:50,000
-[Freddy] Yep.
-[Juan] Let's do it.
1583
01:19:07,967 --> 01:19:10,133
-[Juan] Hello.
-[Freddy] Hi, guys.
Moment of truth, guys.
1584
01:19:10,133 --> 01:19:11,767
-How we doing?
-[Helen] So,
how does that look?
1585
01:19:11,767 --> 01:19:14,266
-Good, good.
-Well, we got gold there.
1586
01:19:14,266 --> 01:19:15,567
-[Freddy] Weighable amount.
-[Juan] Yeah.
1587
01:19:15,567 --> 01:19:17,533
But there's some issues
we wanted to talk to you
about.
1588
01:19:18,867 --> 01:19:20,467
-There was a lot of tailings.
-[Freddy] Lot of tailings
in it.
1589
01:19:20,467 --> 01:19:22,867
Let's say our,
our pay was diluted 50%.
1590
01:19:22,867 --> 01:19:25,967
-[Raul] Mmm-hmm.
-So, when you start, you know,
following that channel,
1591
01:19:25,967 --> 01:19:28,333
you need to make sure that
you just take the pay layer.
1592
01:19:28,333 --> 01:19:30,767
[Freddy]
And you've seen what we did
with that test trommel, right?
1593
01:19:30,767 --> 01:19:33,734
-[Juan] Yeah.
-We got a gram of gold
out of that out of five yards.
1594
01:19:33,734 --> 01:19:34,934
[Juan] Yeah, it's gonna be
a huge improvement
1595
01:19:34,934 --> 01:19:36,166
when, when you
actually get in there
1596
01:19:36,166 --> 01:19:37,567
and actually run straight pay,
1597
01:19:37,567 --> 01:19:38,867
you're gonna see
a night and day difference.
1598
01:19:40,567 --> 01:19:41,467
You ready?
1599
01:19:41,467 --> 01:19:43,367
-[Helen] Yes, we're ready.
-[Raul] Yeah.
1600
01:19:43,367 --> 01:19:44,900
-[Freddy] Here goes nothing.
-[Raul] I'm excited.
1601
01:19:46,333 --> 01:19:50,867
[narrator]
The first test run produced
just 50 cents worth of gold.
1602
01:19:57,667 --> 01:19:58,734
[Freddy] Point zero three.
1603
01:20:01,100 --> 01:20:03,000
Point zero three, guys.
1604
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:06,133
[narrator] After an hour
running 30 yards of dirt,
1605
01:20:06,133 --> 01:20:10,467
Raul and Helen make
almost $70 worth of gold.
1606
01:20:10,467 --> 01:20:12,934
You know, point zero three
out of one hour run,
1607
01:20:12,934 --> 01:20:14,767
it, it's gold, it's here.
1608
01:20:14,767 --> 01:20:16,133
Honestly, I see hope there.
1609
01:20:16,133 --> 01:20:18,467
It's a heck of an improvement
from the first gold weight.
1610
01:20:18,467 --> 01:20:19,734
-Yep.
-[Helen] And we're happy.
1611
01:20:19,734 --> 01:20:21,767
[Juan] Now you know
you have some decent ground
on the, on,
1612
01:20:21,767 --> 01:20:22,834
on the property to run.
1613
01:20:22,834 --> 01:20:24,634
[Freddy] Stay in that
pay channel.
1614
01:20:24,634 --> 01:20:27,000
-[Juan] Yeah. Stay--
-[Freddy] And in those
shingled rocks.
1615
01:20:27,000 --> 01:20:28,667
But there should be
enough material here
1616
01:20:28,667 --> 01:20:31,667
to get your pockets lined
with a little bit of money.
1617
01:20:31,667 --> 01:20:34,467
But in the future,
you're gonna have to find
more ground.
1618
01:20:34,467 --> 01:20:37,266
And then two,
now you have a proper--
test plant
1619
01:20:37,266 --> 01:20:39,266
that you can take anywhere
to do testing.
1620
01:20:39,266 --> 01:20:41,734
And your wash plant
is working amazingly.
1621
01:20:41,734 --> 01:20:43,166
[Freddy]
It's running really well.
1622
01:20:43,166 --> 01:20:44,500
It's gonna pay off.
1623
01:20:44,500 --> 01:20:46,634
-You know, you're in a spot
where you can make some money.
-Yep.
1624
01:20:46,634 --> 01:20:48,433
Two hundred percent
improvement, eh?
1625
01:20:48,433 --> 01:20:50,567
-I mean, from what it was.
-[Juan] Oh, yeah.
1626
01:20:50,567 --> 01:20:52,033
-[Raul] It was, yeah.
-Two thousand percent.
1627
01:20:52,033 --> 01:20:53,467
[Helen] Yeah, 2000.
1628
01:20:53,467 --> 01:20:54,634
[Raul] Well,
thank you very much.
1629
01:20:54,634 --> 01:20:56,467
You guys, uh, give us hope.
I mean,
1630
01:20:56,467 --> 01:20:59,634
-if it wasn't for you guys,
no one...
-[Helen] We wouldn't be here.
1631
01:20:59,634 --> 01:21:01,033
[Raul] We wouldn't be here.
1632
01:21:01,033 --> 01:21:03,066
-[Freddy] You're very welcome.
-[Raul] You guys
changed our life.
1633
01:21:03,066 --> 01:21:05,834
[Helen] It's no longer
the battle that it was.
1634
01:21:05,834 --> 01:21:07,667
-We're off and running.
-[Freddy] Yep.
1635
01:21:07,667 --> 01:21:10,233
Well, guys, we've got
another mine to go to.
1636
01:21:10,233 --> 01:21:11,834
So, it's been
an absolute pleasure.
1637
01:21:11,834 --> 01:21:12,934
[Helen] Yeah, thank you.
1638
01:21:12,934 --> 01:21:14,834
[Freddy] I'm proud
of what we did here.
1639
01:21:14,834 --> 01:21:17,433
Even if Raul and Helen
don't stay on this property
1640
01:21:17,433 --> 01:21:18,700
or they mine it out,
1641
01:21:18,700 --> 01:21:22,000
they've got the tools
and the knowledge to go
somewhere else
1642
01:21:22,000 --> 01:21:23,967
and have a lot better start
than they've had here.
1643
01:21:23,967 --> 01:21:25,000
[Juan] Senor.
1644
01:21:25,000 --> 01:21:27,533
[speaking Spanish]
1645
01:21:27,533 --> 01:21:29,166
Aww.
1646
01:21:29,166 --> 01:21:32,467
[Raul speaking in English]
The hope that Freddy and Juan
has given us, priceless.
1647
01:21:33,100 --> 01:21:34,100
I'm on my way.
1648
01:21:34,100 --> 01:21:36,934
I'm feeling really awesome
right now.
1649
01:21:36,934 --> 01:21:38,233
For the future of our mining,
1650
01:21:38,233 --> 01:21:40,467
this is gonna be
really exciting.
1651
01:21:40,467 --> 01:21:41,867
[Juan] Please let us know
how you get on.
1652
01:21:41,867 --> 01:21:43,233
-[Helen] Definitely.
-[Freddy] Yeah, do.
1653
01:21:43,233 --> 01:21:45,533
Freddy and Juan,
[kisses] I love you.
1654
01:21:45,533 --> 01:21:50,166
And we can't thank you enough.
You've changed our, our world.
1655
01:21:51,333 --> 01:21:53,000
Honestly,
I feel that these fixes
1656
01:21:53,000 --> 01:21:54,166
and what we've done here
for 'em,
1657
01:21:54,166 --> 01:21:57,467
it's gonna,
it's gonna be life changing.
1658
01:21:57,467 --> 01:22:00,166
You know, I'm happy
that we had the opportunity
to come out here and help 'em.
1659
01:22:00,166 --> 01:22:02,367
It's great to meet people
that need the help
1660
01:22:02,367 --> 01:22:03,967
and that when they
receive the help,
1661
01:22:03,967 --> 01:22:05,433
they're,
they're truly appreciative
1662
01:22:05,433 --> 01:22:06,467
and the--
they definitely are that
1663
01:22:16,100 --> 01:22:18,333
After Freddy and Juan left,
1664
01:22:18,333 --> 01:22:21,533
we thought it was gonna be
way too difficult for us
1665
01:22:21,533 --> 01:22:25,567
to get to the dirt
with the current equipment
that we have.
1666
01:22:25,567 --> 01:22:28,433
So, we decided to move on
to find better grounds.
1667
01:22:29,467 --> 01:22:33,233
The gold isn't so difficult
to get at.
1668
01:22:33,233 --> 01:22:36,767
We did a lot of testing
with the trommel.
1669
01:22:36,767 --> 01:22:38,967
[Raul] I couldn't be
any more happy,
1670
01:22:38,967 --> 01:22:40,834
because without that trommel,
1671
01:22:40,834 --> 01:22:43,033
I wouldn't be telling you
what I'm telling you.
1672
01:22:43,033 --> 01:22:44,233
I found the ground.
1673
01:22:46,567 --> 01:22:49,233
[Helen] If we run a day
on this pay
1674
01:22:49,233 --> 01:22:51,033
and this is
being conservative,
1675
01:22:51,033 --> 01:22:55,467
we should be just over
the $3000 mark a day.
1676
01:22:56,133 --> 01:22:58,066
Pretty phenomenal.
1677
01:22:58,066 --> 01:23:02,000
Freddy and Juan
have really breathed
so much new life
1678
01:23:02,000 --> 01:23:05,000
into the future
of our gold mining.
1679
01:23:05,000 --> 01:23:08,867
And we're so excited
for next year to get, um,
1680
01:23:08,867 --> 01:23:11,166
started and see
what's in that ground.
1681
01:23:11,166 --> 01:23:12,967
[Raul]
Bills are gonna get paid,
1682
01:23:12,967 --> 01:23:16,266
we'll be able to make
some money as an income.
1683
01:23:16,266 --> 01:23:19,467
I did everything
as they told me,
and it was good.
1684
01:23:20,967 --> 01:23:21,934
It was good. I'm happy.
1685
01:23:21,934 --> 01:23:24,967
I'm counting the days
for next year.