Ready to go.
[narrator] The Hoffmans' mining is in full swing.
Trommel's turning.
[narrator] But with torrential weather obstructing them
and a few disappointing cleanouts...
We're screwed.
[narrator] ...their 1,000-ounce goal
may be out of reach.
That's not even half of where we're supposed to be.
[narrator] Now with one plant coming up short...
[Todd Hoffman] I'm not happy with the amount of gold
that we're getting out of the Holy Roller.
[narrator] ...Todd turns his focus to Hunter's operation.
[Todd] Having the Black Pearl up and running
would be a huge help right now.
[narrator] And he's calling the shots.
Keep comin'. Keep comin'.
-What are they doing? -They're moving the Black Pearl
without us, man.
[Hunter] They're just taking over.
I told you where to put your sluice in.
No, you didn't. No, you did not.
[narrator] With emotions running high
between father and son...
Everybody saw you tell me to put it like this.
Don't ever call me a liar.
It literally feels like I'm here with some dude who hates me.
[narrator] ...will this venture be finished
before it's even started?
You don't follow through, then you quit.
[Hunter] This was real for me. Like, this was really hard.
[Todd] So, we're running out of time.
And you know what? In gold mining,
nothing seems to go right.
We're behind.
I'm under an immense amount of pressure right now.
So we're in between a rock and a hard space.
I see some trouble's comin'
if you wanna know the truth.
It's us against the friggin' weather.
And are we gonna leave here with a loss or a win?
Are we gonna come out of here with a profit, you know?
So to be honest with you,
having the Black Pearl up and running
would be a huge help right now.
I just hope that my son and Sparky
can get this thing operational.
[Hunter] I'm pretty confident.
I think we're gonna kill it.
Last night, me and Sparky wrapped up
everything that we needed to do in here.
And this was the last piece to finishing this drum off.
So now we got that whole crack sealed up.
Sparky's finishing the last bit of welding on the frame.
Even getting this thing out here, logistically,
was a huge nightmare.
You know, we had to torch this entire thing into pieces
and then reassemble it out here with limited tools
and limited manpower, so...
Today's the day where we get to see the drum actually go on.
And, uh, we've been waiting weeks for this moment,
so I feel good about it.
We're gonna kill it.
[narrator] Hunter's plan to mount the Black Pearl's trommel onto the frame
requires multiple steps.
First, the team needs to pull the frame around
to the other side
and line it up with the drum to properly mount it.
Once the frame is in position, they will have to build a ramp
so the loader and the excavator
will have enough height and leverage
to raise the drum and create the clearance
for the final and most crucial step,
carefully pulling the frame under the drum
with an excavator
and precisely fitting the trommel right into place.
One wrong move could damage the Black Pearl
and set the team back for weeks.
We're gonna hook the cables onto the frame here...
Oh, yeah.
...and we're gonna drag this thing to that end of the drum,
line everything up...
Okay, everybody clear?
[Hunter] ...then give her a go.
The problem is everything is really heavy.
There you go.
I'm just barely gonna skim by here.
Start going to your right now a little bit.
[Hunter] Sparky, how am I looking?
Whoa!
-You like it? -Yeah, you're good.
[Hunter] Everything's going pretty good.
We got the whole frame drug over here.
And then we gotta build our ramp on the side.
How high did you want the ramp?
[Hunter on radio] Uh, we need it about three feet high.
So we got the frame in place.
We built a ramp on this far side.
We got the loader and excavator going in there.
So we're gonna get all of our chains on here...
cables, rig everything up
and see if we can lift it high enough
to actually get it on the frame.
I think this whole thing put together is like 80,000 pounds.
Uh, it's heavier than it looks.
It's heavier than we thought it was gonna be.
When we took this thing off the truck,
it took three excavators.
So we're gonna see if this loader's got enough juice
to pick up the heavy end, 490 on that end,
and we have to get it
at least seven, eight feet off the ground.
So we'll see if we can do it.
-We're gonna do itself, right? -Right here.
[Sparky] I'm feeling vertically challenged, dude.
You're gonna make me laugh, dude.
There.
-How are you that short? -You probably have frickin' longneck arms, dude.
I had no clue that you were that tiny.
You know, we've been working on this for weeks, me and Hunter.
We've been frickin' nailing it this whole time.
and now it's time to hammer this frickin' drum in.
Moment of truth.
[Hunter] Okay, right there. That's good.
Are we good?
[Sparky] Yeah, we're clear.
Just go up slow with it and see how she looks.
Okay, keep going. I wanna see how much height we can get out of it.
Not a problem.
-[snapping] -[Hunter] Oh, [bleep].
[metal creaking]
Okay, hold right there, Rob.
[narrator] As Tater reaches maximum lift
with the excavator...
I think, uh, that's just gonna do it.
That's gonna give us literally within six inches of what we need.
Hopefully.
[narrator] ...Hunter is ready after weeks of welding
to reattach the largest piece of the Black Pearl.
[Hunter on radio] Okay, we're ready to grab the frame on.
The hard work's comin' in, baby.
Now it's comin' to the truth.
We're gonna put this drum on, baby.
[Todd] We're behind on gold.
You know, we're trying to get to that mother lode,
trying to get that four or five ounces/100.
We're still stuck at an ounce, ounce-and-a-quarter/100.
The Black Pearl is actually needed right now.
If the Holy Roller has a catastrophic failure,
all we have left is the Black Pearl
to actually get to our goals.
I'm very happy for the Black Pearl right now.
Well, we'll see what happens.
[Hunter on radio] All right, you guys ready to go?
[narrator] With the Black Pearl's trommel
suspended eight feet in the air...
Yeah, I'm good.
[narrator] ...Hunter's crew will now drag
the frame underneath it.
Locked in.
[narrator] But with the trommel weighing
over 50,000 pounds
and the frame nearly 30,000 pounds...
[man on radio] It's going pretty good, Hunter.
[narrator] ...this maneuver will push all three machines
to their limit.
If anything bends or breaks...
Okay, back.
[narrator] ...it could jeopardize the entire season.
[Hunter on radio] Hold that, hold that. Nice and easy.
We got the faucet we gotta get by here.
This is very tight.
We don't have a lot of room to work with here.
And we got about 50,000 pounds hanging in the air.
[metal creaking]
I got maybe an inch.
[metal creaking]
[snapping]
What was that?
Did that just slip? Or did that break something?
[man on radio] The cable slipped on that edge there.
It should be good now if you just stick in.
This is a little nerve-racking.
[man on radio] Hold that.
It's really close.
I got... three quarters of an inch.
I'm gonna have to have you come forward like two inches.
-[metal creaking] -Yeah, right there, right there. Good.
-[snapping] -[bleep] Whoa.
What's going on?
[man on radio] Does that look okay?
I look good over here.
It was a little bounce.
She was trying to bounce off.
[man on radio] All right, let's go a little more easy.
[Hunter] We're doing, like, intricate open-heart surgery
with giant machines.
Coming.
We got two chains, a couple cables.
We're literally moving half an inch
with huge, heavy machinery.
-Stop right there. -Whoa, whoa.
I don't know anybody else doing this.
Right now, as Silver Jack would say,
no guts, no glory.
[metal creaking]
-[man] Whoa! -[Hunter] We in?
They hung up on something 'cause it just rocked forward.
We gonna need to pull that roller out?
[Hunter] So, right here,
these CAT rollers articulate like this.
Right now it's sitting all the way in.
So it's making it a little bit tighter
for us to get the drum in.
We're gonna bring this out
and it'll buy us just enough room
to slide the drum the last foot.
All right, go ahead.
[Hunter] There she goes.
-We gonna go more, or leave it like that? -[man] Little more.
Oh, right there, right there. Perfect.
Think smarter, not harder.
I love it.
[Hunter] There was a couple days
where I just didn't even think
we were gonna get to this point,
so if this thing goes on I'll probably... I might cry.
Hunter, you ready?
[Hunter on radio] Yeah, I'm ready.
If this thing goes on I might cry.
Hunter, you ready?
[Hunter on radio] Yeah, I'm ready.
It looks pretty good.
It's gonna clear that back ring.
You just gotta come down slow on it.
There you go.
[metal creaking]
-[clanging] -That's it.
-Okay, that's it right there. -Yeah.
As long as it's inside there.
Bro.
Dude. [chuckles]
[Hunter sighs with relief]
Dude, it's a heavy weight off your shoulders, bro.
That was frickin' hard work.
[Hunter] Yeah, all that hard work, man. Look at that.
[Sparky] You have this in the bag, dude.
This is actually crazy.
[Todd laughs]
Look at these guys.
Wow. Seriously.
This is a big hurdle.
We got stuff done
we didn't think we were gonna be able to do.
[Todd chuckles]
But we trust in the process.
I've never seen any of you guys
cut your entire washplant
into a bunch of pieces,
repair the entire thing and reassemble it, so...
Now you know why we don't do that.
[laughing]
Now we gotta get gold in it.
Yeah.
Start going.
Yeah.
There's a bunch of pay dirt out here.
It's got a bunch of gold in it, guys.
As a dad, obviously I'm proud of Hunter.
But right now,
all I see is that we're behind.
All the celebrating can come later once we hit our goal.
We still got work to do on it
but let's go and get some gold.
[Hunter] This whole thing is a big learning experience for me, so...
It's just... This is real for me.
Like, I'm not here doing this...
you know, for anybody else.
I feel like my dad never gives me the respect I deserve.
I feel like I've been doing this stuff every summer
for, like, most of my life, and so...
uh, this one was a huge win just for myself, personally.
Feels good. Feels good.
[narrator] With the Black Pearl
now only a few steps away from taking pay dirt...
at the Holy Roller, Todd's clocking out
and handing over the controls
to keep pay dirt flowing through the plant.
I've been in here for a long time.
You know, my dad, I'm about ready to swap out with him.
Hop in there and I'll get out.
You gotta run long, long hours.
We're working 16 hours a day.
My dad's done a great job but he needs to stay in the pit.
It was his dream. We all came here because of him.
So everybody's gotta take some time in a machine.
Including Jack.
It's actually pretty nice to be back on some equipment.
This is one of the very few chances that I get to,
and I'm feeding the plant, I'm feeding the main plant.
We need Hunter's plant.
Hunter's plant can run the yardage
that the Holy Roller can't run.
If he can get it going,
holy smokes, we can double our production.
So I'm just gonna do what I can to help the team.
We're all together in this.
[narrator] While the Holy Roller runs non-stop...
Down here I have to get to the small tailings.
[narrator] ...Todd and Hunter meet to talk about
the placement of the Black Pearl's sluice box.
So, I built all this up.
This is hard as a rock.
I have to get the small tailings.
See? Your sluice goes there.
Like this. Off that way.
Since we're gonna be running two plants at the same time,
it's really crucial that we position the Black Pearl
just in the right spot
so that we can keep
this operation running efficiently.
[Hunter] It has to make sense, dude.
Okay, so you're gonna have to tell me where you want it.
Where's your trommel?
Which angle?
Okay.
Your sluice comes this way, off the side.
So your sluice right off here.
And then your trommel sits right here.
Eh... yeah.
You know, I think we're on the same page.
[Hunter] So, I got a drain going on right here
which needs to be a specific pitch
for the sluice box.
[narrator] Just like on the Holy Roller,
the Black Pearl's sluice box
requires two inches per foot of fall
to trap gold in the riffles.
We're just gonna lay it out where my dad said,
you know, specifically where he thinks we should set it.
And then hopefully get this thing going.
Bit along.
There you go, perfect.
[narrator] Gold sluices must be positioned just right
in order to share the same drainage system
for the water run-off from their washplants.
Yeah, I think this is gonna work out nice.
Sluice is level, good grade.
I got something here to hold material in.
I like it.
Sweet.
This is perfect.
[narrator] Now that the sluice box
has been set in place,
Hunter will use the 650 excavator
to drag the 80,000-pound plant
to the spot where it will run pay dirt.
[man on radio]
Come on back.
It ain't budging it.
You're not moving at all.
[Hunter] I'm hoping that the water and the mud
works in my favor.
[man] It's looking real promising.
Hunter was able to just get this big bastard
right over. Look at that! Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[man on radio] Whoa, right there.
Hold on, you're gonna hit the pipe.
That would not be good.
We almost hit a black pipe!
You gotta spin way to your right.
There you go. You can travel straight back.
[Sparky] One small step for man,
one huge friggin' slide for the Black Pearl.
[booming]
[man on radio] That dam is so bad.
I'm not really surprised.
This thing's heavy, man.
Chain just busted.
Was not expecting that. It's a new chain.
So now we're gonna have to ditch that.
We're gonna need a four-part cable
and we're gonna yank that sucker like how we did the first time,
so we can get it on the pad looking nice and pretty.
[exhales]
I'll just go dead-center on there.
I'm gonna pull it
and then I just need you to steer it back.
-Okay. -Know what I mean?
It looks good.
Nothing looks binded.
It looks pretty parallel.
I got the hooks on the Clovis.
All right, let's do it.
[banging]
Let's hope this one doesn't break.
Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop.
[man on radio] I'm locked up, I can't turn left anymore.
You're good, you're good, just keep going.
Yeah. Lower, lower, lower, lower.
Whoa, what the frick was that?
Hey.
Look where you put your sluice box.
Now I can't get my small tailings.
How are we gonna do that?
I can't watch Hunter all the time,
but I see him over there moving his washplant,
and his sluice box is blocking
where my tailings are gonna go.
[narrator] Fine tailings are the excess dirt and sludge
that flows from a plant's sluice box.
If those small tailings are not removed
from a water circuit,
they'll quickly build up, creating a dam
and blocking the water flowing from the sluice boxes.
But the placement of the Black Pearl's sluice box
is currently blocking access
to the Holy Roller's fine tailings.
That's why I wanted to put the sluice box
closer to my sluice box so we could reach everything.
But now I can't reach any small tailings over here.
[Hunter] You've been sitting there on the hill
watching what I've been doing,
so sounds like maybe you should have said something before.
He's trying to tell me how the sluice box,
it's not in the location they wanted.
The way that we set it up was
how they asked us to set it up.
I know he's stressed out,
I know he has a lot wrapped up under this mine,
and I don't know if that's what's causing him
to act the way he's acting.
But it's hard for me not to lose my temper, you know?
I was gonna put it here.
They made me put it there,
and now he's [bleep] blaming it all on me.
Let's, uh... let's just shut down.
Let them get their plant moved.
[Hunter] What am I supposed to [bleep] do?
This dude can never take responsibility for anything.
What was your idea?
Let me know. I wanna be a team player,
but what do we... How do we get the tailings?
[Hunter] Oh, yeah?
Yeah, you seem like a team player.
You tell me what's gonna satisfy you and I'll do it.
I told you where to put your sluice over here.
-No, you didn't. No, you did not. -Where you agreed to.
We all see what's happened.
Okay, I don't wanna argue.
Hey.
Let's get it, baby.
It's an uphill battle.
It's all good.
No, it's not. It's not all good.
[sighs]
[Hudson] It's not the first time I've seen
my dad and my brother go at it,
but my dad just did what he does,
and that's come in last-minute to try to change things up
and mess everybody's plan up.
It's a [bleep] pain in the ass.
[sighs] I don't know what to do, Sparky.
Dude, these guys are not on our team.
It doesn't feel like it.
How am I ever... How are we gonna do this?
It doesn't even feel like I'm here with my dad.
It literally feels like I'm here with
somebody who hates me.
I wasn't expecting it this way,
to see these guys like this.
And they're making it harder for us,
but the victory's gonna be so much sweeter, brother.
I'm gonna keep going, literally for you and Cub.
[Sparky] This is just annoying, bro.
You know, like, in your position I can only imagine.
[sighs]
I never wanna be a quitter.
I don't think Jack would like that if I quit.
And, uh...
I'm just gonna finish out the season, it's just, uh...
It's not, uh... It's not what I thought it was gonna be.
You know? And that sucks.
Andy, tell me about where the sluice is supposed to go.
[Andy] So here's how we drew it out.
-Okay? -I know how we drew it out.
Okay, you know what? First of all...
-And then you guys all tell me I couldn't. -No, no "you guys."
You're gonna change the plans?
You gotta run it by us.
This is so you guys can gang up on me.
No, we're not ganging up on anybody.
[Hunter] Everybody saw you tell me to put it like this.
[Todd] No I didn't.
Dude, here's the deal.
I'm trying to stay out of your way cause I'm...
We feel like...
I feel like I'm on the outs with everybody,
with you guys.
And I don't wanna say anything.
But now, you changed it, why don't you bring it to us?
-Are you literally being serious? -We didn't know. Ask him.
You can't put one box way down there
and one box here.
You've gotta be within certain distance
of the other box.
And you may disagree,
but you're wrong.
That's where it's gotta go.
Where the issue is, is that
we were going to do it
how you guys are suggesting it now.
Then we were told specifically
-to do it another way. -Who did?
-Who told you? -You.
-Andy and you. -No, I did not.
-That is a bald-faced... -Andy and you walk it.
That is not true.
Maybe I should have said something.
It honestly did not occur to me
how far away that sluice was
until I was up there
and I'm like, "This isn't gonna work."
But we're not gonna win if you don't listen to me on this.
Everything starts with these small tailings.
Drill it into your head.
It all starts with the tailings that come off
of your sluice box.
[Andy] Obviously there was miscommunication
and misunderstanding.
Whatever you wanna call it...
the frustration needs to go away,
we need to come together as a team and say, "Okay, I..."
How is the frustration supposed to go away,
when we're saying that we're saying bald-faced lies,
when we're trying to literally make a compromise
-and not mess it up? -Look at me.
Here's the deal.
There might be a lot of things that I am,
but I am not a liar.
Don't ever call me a liar.
Nobody here calls me a liar, okay?
'Cause I'll fight you right out here
in this [bleep] pay pile.
Who called you a liar?
You just did. Don't call me a liar.
I'm an honorable man. Okay?
Don't do it.
Let's just fix it, okay?
[Todd] Hunter, I love him and respect him,
and he's amazing.
But he's a wild animal, kinda like me, so...
you know, sometimes wild animals bite ya.
If there's some resentment and things like that,
then all I can do is move forward,
say I'm sorry, apologize,
try to learn from it, become better.
That's all I can do.
Your sluice has to be here.
-[Andy] Roughly. -This is where it's gotta go.
Come back tomorrow, let's spray this thing out,
take it off and let's start getting it money.
I can't let my investment go to hell.
Otherwise I'm gonna come out of here
and I'm gonna lose a lot of money.
I gotta get this gold.
All right.
Let's start again tomorrow, huh? All right.
Tell you what, if I can't repair
this relationship with my son,
that'll be a big regret in my life.
Because I don't wanna lose my family.
So, Dad, my son is not liking
how we're interacting.
I mean, I understand him wanting to be
out doing his thing, but it's like, man.
So I'm actually worried. Things don't look good.
We have had so many delays,
and it's kinda scary, so...
Not that I haven't heard it, you know?
I've been listening, and for what it's worth,
he thinks that he should be calling the shots,
but you can call the shots
if you're getting the job done.
It's just not happening
at the rate that he thinks it should, so...
He's doing his thing and wants...
Oh, I don't know whether it's respect or what.
But the thing is,
it's decisions that Hunter has to make,
and he's gotta go for it.
He can't be blaming anybody else.
Nobody else to blame other than himself.
You know, and I want him to be successful.
Me too.
I can't give you counsel on raising your son.
He's your son.
I raised you, you didn't come with a book,
and I tried my best
to give you every opportunity that I could.
He's an adult.
He's not a child.
I just don't want him to make a bad move
and ruin all this for him.
And, you know, who knows? Something could blow up
on this plant and we may
run the rest of the season with his, so...
-Yeah. I know that. -Anything can happen up here.
We might need both plants, you know?
I think that's gonna be the case.
[Todd] Let the pressure off
and set it down on the ground so I get that chain out.
So, after talking to my dad I realized
I just gotta step in,
I gotta help Hunter whether he likes it or not.
I gotta speed this up. I need to move his washplant.
We're behind, and we don't have the gold
that we need to have at this point in the season,
so positioning the Black Pearl just right
hopefully can get Hunter running
sooner rather than later.
Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.
[on radio] Keep coming.
To you a little bit, Todd. To you.
There you go. Whoa, whoa, hold that.
Right there, right there.
[Sparky] What are they doing?
They're moving the Black Pearl without us, man.
Thought they were running dirt today?
[Hunter] I don't know.
Just like everything we've done on this plant
and they won't even let us move it.
You know what I mean?
They won't even let us finish it.
I don't know, dude. They're just taking over.
Well, I guess it's feeding their ego.
It's just wrong.
[Todd] You know, I don't wanna step on anybody's toes,
but we're at the point now where
these things are getting put in
in the wrong place.
[narrator] After the Black Pearl's sluice
interfered with the Holy Roller's operation,
Todd is helping to reposition it
to get both plants running as soon as possible.
[Todd] You gotta keep it close.
We gotta keep these sluices
where we get the small tailings.
Because this is my livelihood. This gold's for my family.
Okay, come on up.
I think we got it in the right spot.
I think this is gonna work.
Now the Black Pearl sluice box
is in the perfect spot
where we can actually reach all of our small tailings
on both plants at the same time.
-That's perfect. -That should work.
Yeah, all right. What's next?
We gotta keep rolling.
If you wanna get sluicing...
-Have at her. -I can.
Let's start making some money and we'll take care of this.
I'll fire up the generator.
Somebody fire up the water pump.
So, we had a hiccup, we had some bad attitudes,
but I'm not gonna allow myself to fall into that.
I'm gonna push forward.
We're on really good gold,
so I need to run this thing.
I gotta get every speck of gold
and try to keep from going broke.
You wanna go down there?
We can go down there if you wanna keep welding
and I'll keep welding with you.
Let's go down there, dude.
Okay. Let's go.
Like, I don't even know what's going on.
My dad got in there and just kinda started doing it.
You know, when things get more stressful
and pressure's on,
my dad doesn't react the best.
I don't really get it.
Hey Hunter, I need to tell you what we did.
So if you could come up here
and give me a minute, I'd appreciate it.
Tater and Framer had a good idea.
We moved it up a little bit,
probably about 10 feet, eight feet.
You pretty happy where it's at?
Yes or no?
I think that's the best spot.
You don't really care what I think.
[Todd] Here's the deal.
That, I believe, is in the right spot for sluicing.
-Fine. I'm not gonna argue. -I'm trying not to...
I don't wanna step on your toes.
Tater... I ran this hoe,
and Tater pulled it and built this pad.
This far, he's got a spot to set and feed.
Okay? You agreed that
we're gonna listen to these guys, and it's fine.
I mean, I feel like it's in a good spot.
But I also don't wanna step on your toes.
'Cause you're already pissed off at me.
You've been stepping on my toes the whole project.
[Todd] No, I haven't, son. I haven't.
[Hunter] Hey, I'm over it. I don't...
Hey, I'm over it too.
And I don't want any...
I'm tired of the friction and negativity.
I feel like every move I make is the wrong move.
I've tried to stay out of it, and I'm sorry, but that's it.
No more negativity on this whole gold mine.
All right?
I'm trying to take this in a positive way.
This is my 10th season. This is my 10th season mining with you.
It's not like I don't know how things are supposed to go.
I never said that. I'm saying
this season right here is hard.
I've been helping you every step.
When you ask for it, I help you.
I'm paying for it. I'm doing everything I can.
I don't know exactly what you want out of me.
Because I've been a good dad, and I've been a good guy.
-Really? -And I'm a good leader.
I am. And you know what else?
I owe it to Andy.
I think you have.
I owe it to all these guys. We have to get gold.
Whether you get your plant going or not,
it's up to you. You committed to it.
If you don't follow through, then you quit.
If you don't wanna be here, you don't have to come back.
Finish what you started.
I am gonna finish what I started.
[Todd] Good. And I'll help you.
We're running out of time. That's what freaks me out.
I owe money, and I have guys that I owe to.
That's why I'm hustling.
-All right? -I get it.
Am I good to go?
Dude, you're good.
You're good to go.
Am I a perfect dad with Hunter? No.
But, um, I really want him
to find his place in life. He's 23, struggling.
Have I stepped on his toes? Jeez, I don't think so.
Hopefully he someday looks back
and he sees the pressure
and responsibilities that I'm under.
[sighs]
[Todd] Hey.
Shh. Guys, come on. Come with me.
I actually just saw five baby foxes playing.
I think they live right on the side of this hill.
There they are. See 'em at the top of the hill?
There he is looking out.
There's one.
[fox cub mewls]
Here comes the other one, right there, on top.
That's the mom or the...
We better get out of here.
Uh-oh. Look out.
Come on, guys. Come on.
Dude!
See her coming down?
She wasn't playing.
All I gotta do is be faster
than our slowest camera guy. That's this guy.
If I can beat that guy, I'm safe from bears,
I'm safe from foxes.
That's why you always buy one slow guy in the pack.
[laughs]
Just a bypass.
[man on radio] That's the trommel down.
[narrator] With the Black Pearl
one step closer to being operational...
the Holy Roller shuts down for its third clean-up.
Due to a disappointing weigh-in last week,
the Hoffmans need this clean-up to produce
at least 98 ounces of gold
in order to reach their 1,000-ounce goal.
So, we're looking for gold.
We're starting to see the gold in the mats.
There's really not a whole lot.
We got a little flakey flake right there.
-But... -How's it looking?
-Eh. -Eh.
Nah, I mean, it looked okay up here from the top of the sluice run, but...
I don't know if it's a lot.
Let's just hope it's better than last clean-up, boys.
[groans] Oh, I don't think the boys are coming.
-[Andy] No? -No.
We had some issues.
Hunter had some things to say to me
that were actually pretty hard.
There might be a lot of things that I am,
but I am not a liar. Don't ever call me a liar.
I think he had some valid points,
but I also think that
I don't agree with some of it.
It made me feel like I'm actually a pretty bad dad.
So if you got any advice, I'd like to know.
'Cause it looks like this train
might be running off its tracks, so...
Sorry, I didn't mean to have family drama
in the middle of our gold mining.
But I guess this is where it is. I don't know.
-It's life. -Yeah.
These guys are trying really hard. You know, they're working really hard.
They're trying to put in the effort
to be part of the team, and, uh,
they're just not feeling
the support that I think they need.
We need to help them a little bit more,
and bring them back in.
I mean, I admire them.
I just gotta figure out a way to let them know that.
It's just tough all the way round.
That's the way it is.
That looks heavier.
Dad, you're carrying it like a football or a baby.
Yeah. I don't know.
-I don't know. -No?
[Jack] Where are we putting this one today?
There we go.
Which one, Dad?
-All right, well... -Dang it.
Where is Hunter?
[Todd] You tell me.
I kinda heard something that they're not coming, so...
Okay.
Well, I'm gonna weigh this no matter what,
so here you go.
-All right. -You ready?
-Chunky stuff in it. -[Jack] What do you think?
28, 30.
40. 50.
Keep going.
-[Jack] Oh, yeah. -[Todd] 60.
Come on, Jagger.
-70, almost. -70.
73.
-75? -He's just teasing.
I'm gonna feel 75.
-82, 83. -[Jack] Oh, wow.
83.
Still behind, but man, that's a huge...
That's a huge pile.
That's almost like, what, $140,000-ish?
Now we're going.
So now what do we gotta average a week?
Well, we have to average 100 ounces a week.
-That's still a lot. -Yeah.
You know, it bothers me
that Hunter's not here, and...
-You know, it hurts. -[Todd] Me too.
I know you and Hunter have a problem.
And, you know, that basically puts me in the middle.
'Cause I love both of you,
and I can see both sides, and I know that
it's something that can be worked out.
There's nothing in this life that can't be worked out.
But we need that Pearl.
Come hell or high water, that plant's gonna run.
-It would be helpful. -Yeah.
[narrator] The Holy Roller's third clean-up
is just under 84 ounces,
for a running total of 199 ounces.
The Hoffman crew now need 100 ounces of gold per week
to hit their season target of 1,000 ounces.
All right, that's enough of that.
We got a lot of gold to get, guys.
Get some rest, let's go.
We're gonna kick it tomorrow.
[Hunter] Honestly, every time I work with my dad
is really frustrating.
Today especially.
It's a little bit of a bummer.
Today would have been a pretty cool day, I think.
But I understand why my dad's stressed.
You know, he's in this season a lot of money, but...
this is supposed to be a thing that we're doing
as a family and as a team.
So I just... I don't wanna fight with him anymore.
Despite whatever happens,
we're gonna get this plant up and running,
and it's just something we're always gonna be able
to kinda hang our hat on,
and it's a huge accomplishment.