1 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:03,600 It's quite a bit of gold in there. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:04,900 [Todd] That is awesome. 3 00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:06,467 [narrator] On an Alaskan mine site 4 00:00:06,467 --> 00:00:09,400 that ruined many generations of miners... 5 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,166 -That's a pile of gold right there, guys. -Whoo! 6 00:00:12,166 --> 00:00:16,100 [narrator] ...the Hoffman clan is finally banking real gold. 7 00:00:16,100 --> 00:00:19,567 [Todd] Three thousand ounces is within reach. 8 00:00:19,567 --> 00:00:21,000 Now it's about us. 9 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,367 [narrator] Mine boss Todd Hoffman's strategy to build roads 10 00:00:25,367 --> 00:00:28,500 gives the crew access to muddy pay dirt. 11 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,700 It's, like, five foot of slop right there. 12 00:00:30,700 --> 00:00:32,834 All the pay dirt is soup. 13 00:00:34,066 --> 00:00:35,767 [narrator] But in a closed system... 14 00:00:35,767 --> 00:00:38,266 -How dirty is that water? -Getting worse. 15 00:00:38,266 --> 00:00:41,667 [narrator] ...too much mud creates problems of its own. 16 00:00:41,667 --> 00:00:43,000 [Todd] We're going to start losing gold. 17 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:44,166 Guys, this ain't good. 18 00:00:44,166 --> 00:00:45,934 We're going to have to shut down. 19 00:00:46,567 --> 00:00:49,066 Muddy water makes gold float. 20 00:00:49,066 --> 00:00:51,767 [narrator] The only chance of making their goal... 21 00:00:51,767 --> 00:00:53,100 Come on, girl, pull together for us. 22 00:00:53,100 --> 00:00:57,700 [narrator] ...is engineering a way to beat nature at its own game. 23 00:00:57,700 --> 00:01:00,800 Four hours of trying to put a pipe in the ditch is kind of stupid. 24 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:02,066 Whoa. Whoa. 25 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,467 [Todd] How many yards you got in this thing? 26 00:01:20,467 --> 00:01:22,333 [Andy] There's 8,000 yards on the bottom. 27 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,700 Hey, Dakota, how dirty is that water? 28 00:01:30,700 --> 00:01:33,367 It's getting dirtier. Getting worse. 29 00:01:33,367 --> 00:01:35,700 [Todd] Yeah, the water's concerning. 30 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:37,900 -It's really dirty right there. -Yeah. 31 00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:40,333 [Todd speaking] 32 00:01:43,767 --> 00:01:45,166 If you can't keep your water clean, 33 00:01:45,166 --> 00:01:46,533 you're not going to catch the gold. 34 00:01:48,066 --> 00:01:50,266 [narrator] Just three weeks into the season, 35 00:01:50,266 --> 00:01:53,967 the mine's water circuit exposes a mysterious issue, 36 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:55,634 muddy runoff. 37 00:01:56,667 --> 00:01:59,100 [Todd] Muddy water makes gold float. 38 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:03,100 And it's going to go down the box right out into the drink. 39 00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:06,467 So we got some real problems in the sluice box. 40 00:02:06,467 --> 00:02:10,500 We're actually running the dirtiest water that we've ever sluiced 41 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:13,767 because I'm bringing all the water out of the cut, 42 00:02:13,767 --> 00:02:17,000 and I'm running it into my circuit. 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,300 [narrator] The Hoffman's use a closed-loop circuit 44 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:21,800 to recycle and clean their water. 45 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,667 Clean water is pumped from a large holding pond to the wash plants 46 00:02:25,667 --> 00:02:28,867 and then discarded out of the sluice boxes. 47 00:02:28,867 --> 00:02:32,166 This dirty water is sent back into the circuit 48 00:02:32,166 --> 00:02:35,600 where the sediment from the used water settles to the bottom, 49 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,266 allowing clean water to travel back to the starting point, 50 00:02:39,266 --> 00:02:40,667 the holding pond. 51 00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:46,200 But with the muddy water reaching the plants, 52 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,066 Todd suspects a breakdown somewhere in the circuit. 53 00:02:53,066 --> 00:02:54,734 [Todd] Oh, my gosh, look at it. 54 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:56,233 Wow. 55 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:01,867 So we've had a lot of dirty water in the cut, 56 00:03:01,867 --> 00:03:05,200 and we've had to drain it into our circuit and try to clean it up. 57 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,734 I don't know what's going on. We got to figure it out. 58 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,767 So, the cut over here, 59 00:03:12,767 --> 00:03:15,233 you got these drainage ditches. 60 00:03:15,967 --> 00:03:18,400 So as the muddy ice melts, 61 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,800 the water comes down the ditch, 62 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,400 we pump it up over the dike here, 63 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,467 and we've put it in right here. 64 00:03:26,467 --> 00:03:27,967 We got a problem here, 65 00:03:27,967 --> 00:03:31,000 this water, it's too dirty to sluice. 66 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,367 And if the water's too dirty, you're not going to catch the gold 67 00:03:34,367 --> 00:03:37,567 because the dirty water makes gold float. 68 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,200 We are on track for our best season that we've ever had. 69 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,166 We've got two great weigh-ins. I want a third one. 70 00:03:45,166 --> 00:03:48,867 I can't let this problem throw us off course. 71 00:03:48,867 --> 00:03:51,967 So I need to shut the plants down and get this problem fixed 72 00:03:51,967 --> 00:03:53,934 until I can get some cleaner water. 73 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:55,867 Guys, this ain't good. 74 00:03:55,867 --> 00:03:57,867 We're going to have to shut down 75 00:03:57,867 --> 00:04:00,967 and fix this fricken water, one way or another here. 76 00:04:00,967 --> 00:04:02,333 Go ahead and shut it down. 77 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:04,767 [engine stopping] 78 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,200 When our plants are down, we're losing $40,000 per day. 79 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:18,533 Go ahead and kill the pump. 80 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,700 The water's muddy, so we got to figure out what's going on 81 00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:23,767 and fix this, 82 00:04:23,767 --> 00:04:25,667 otherwise we're going to lose or momentum, 83 00:04:25,667 --> 00:04:27,066 and we're not going to hit our goal. 84 00:04:37,467 --> 00:04:39,567 I'm telling you, this is pretty cool 85 00:04:39,567 --> 00:04:42,467 -being able to go out across this. -All right. 86 00:04:42,467 --> 00:04:44,333 This doesn't tear anything up. 87 00:04:45,567 --> 00:04:47,300 [narrator] At the edge of Mammoth Valley, 88 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:49,867 several miles southeast of the Lost Cut, 89 00:04:49,867 --> 00:04:53,867 Jack and Hunter take the sherk into unmined terrain 90 00:04:53,867 --> 00:04:55,900 in search of a new source of gold. 91 00:04:55,900 --> 00:04:57,266 I wonder what that is right there? 92 00:04:57,266 --> 00:05:00,634 Dead straight forward, that's a bear, or a musk ox, or something, right? 93 00:05:01,367 --> 00:05:03,667 Might be a musk ox. 94 00:05:03,667 --> 00:05:06,367 -[Hunter] Oh, my gosh. -[Jack] Yeah, he's a big old boy. 95 00:05:06,367 --> 00:05:07,634 [musk ox grunts] 96 00:05:08,367 --> 00:05:11,166 Hunter and I are prospecting today. 97 00:05:11,166 --> 00:05:14,767 I've never ridden in a Sherp. So it's going to be fun 98 00:05:14,767 --> 00:05:18,567 We're going to go out and, uh, find another source of gold 99 00:05:18,567 --> 00:05:20,834 because the Lost Cut's bound to run out. 100 00:05:21,266 --> 00:05:22,634 Where are we going? 101 00:05:23,367 --> 00:05:24,634 So I want to go out... 102 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:28,200 -And... -[Jack] Yeah. 103 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:33,500 -Okay. -[Hunter] So I'm thinking, yeah, we'll creep out, 104 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:36,367 and hopefully today's the day we find something. 105 00:05:36,367 --> 00:05:41,333 [Jack] You know , maybe we'll find that pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. 106 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,166 We're using a map that has our mines drill results. 107 00:05:46,166 --> 00:05:48,000 It's kind of like a treasure map 108 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,834 that'll help us find our next big deposit. 109 00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:55,266 Carry Creek could be our salvation, I don't know. 110 00:05:55,867 --> 00:05:58,533 -[Hunter speaking] -[Jack] Yeah. 111 00:06:03,467 --> 00:06:04,567 [Jack] Yeah. 112 00:06:06,100 --> 00:06:11,066 Most of the reason why I'm out here this year 113 00:06:11,066 --> 00:06:13,367 is just for my grandpa, honestly. 114 00:06:13,367 --> 00:06:15,166 And if this is going to be his last year, 115 00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:19,734 then I feel a responsibility to make Jack's last season a huge one. 116 00:06:21,066 --> 00:06:23,533 -[Jack] Are we going to go down that way? -[Hunter] Yeah. 117 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,667 Bigger pond, second, third. 118 00:06:30,667 --> 00:06:31,867 -Dike this up here. -Uh-huh. 119 00:06:33,066 --> 00:06:34,333 Put a pipe across right here then. 120 00:06:35,166 --> 00:06:36,700 I think that'll help us a lot. 121 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:38,266 [Andy] Okay, let's keep going. 122 00:06:43,066 --> 00:06:47,567 So we didn't anticipate, um, having the water so dirty coming out of our cut. 123 00:06:47,567 --> 00:06:49,233 We got to do something to clean it. 124 00:06:50,767 --> 00:06:54,567 What we're doing today is we're going to build several different small ponds 125 00:06:54,567 --> 00:06:56,233 off to the side of our circuit, 126 00:06:56,900 --> 00:06:58,600 and try to pump into it, 127 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,266 and let our, uh, muddy material settle 128 00:07:02,266 --> 00:07:04,500 before the water goes back into our circuit. 129 00:07:04,500 --> 00:07:06,600 [narrator] Andy's new idea to clean the water 130 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:11,100 involves building three settling ponds next to the water circuit. 131 00:07:11,100 --> 00:07:14,567 They'll pump dirty water from the lost cut into the ponds 132 00:07:14,567 --> 00:07:17,066 where the sediment will separate from the water. 133 00:07:17,066 --> 00:07:18,266 If they're successful, 134 00:07:18,266 --> 00:07:21,000 the clean water will flow through a large pipe, 135 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,533 known as a culvert, into the circuit. 136 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:27,734 [Andy] It's no sluicing today. 137 00:07:27,734 --> 00:07:30,467 It's building some ponds and trying to get a different circuit going 138 00:07:30,467 --> 00:07:31,934 to settle this mud out. 139 00:07:34,467 --> 00:07:36,967 While I'm finishing digging these pounds, 140 00:07:36,967 --> 00:07:38,367 Framer's putting in that culvert 141 00:07:38,367 --> 00:07:40,266 to get the clean water into the circuit. 142 00:07:43,567 --> 00:07:45,000 -[Framer] Go grab the other one... -[Dakota speaking] 143 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,166 ...from the same end, the far end, 144 00:07:47,867 --> 00:07:49,066 and then bring it around. 145 00:07:49,066 --> 00:07:51,166 This is the only piece of pipe we have large enough 146 00:07:51,166 --> 00:07:53,700 to make it across the road here for the haul road. 147 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:56,100 Unfortunately, it's in two pieces. 148 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:58,700 So we're going to have to find our own way to weld it together 149 00:07:58,700 --> 00:08:01,066 because it won't fit in our welder. 150 00:08:01,066 --> 00:08:03,266 So, the best option I think we have 151 00:08:03,266 --> 00:08:05,166 is to take a piece of steel and heat it up, 152 00:08:05,166 --> 00:08:06,900 and melt the two pieces of pipe, 153 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:09,433 and then we'll use the machines to fuse the pipe together. 154 00:08:13,166 --> 00:08:14,734 -[Dakota] More? -[Framer] Yeah, give me a little more. 155 00:08:15,100 --> 00:08:16,066 Okay. 156 00:08:16,066 --> 00:08:18,367 It's the same process as using a fusion machine. 157 00:08:18,367 --> 00:08:19,367 I haven't done this before, 158 00:08:19,367 --> 00:08:20,967 but theoretically, it should work. 159 00:08:20,967 --> 00:08:23,967 We just have to lock the pipe together so they line up, 160 00:08:23,967 --> 00:08:25,467 and then you've got to face the pipes 161 00:08:25,467 --> 00:08:27,767 so the pipes are even when you heat them, 162 00:08:27,767 --> 00:08:30,166 and then you need an element to heat the pipe, 163 00:08:30,166 --> 00:08:33,066 and then something to press the pipes together, 164 00:08:33,066 --> 00:08:34,500 and hold them while they cool. 165 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:37,600 So we're using two excavators to hold the pipes in place, 166 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,066 and then Spink's here to pull the pipe back, 167 00:08:41,066 --> 00:08:42,100 to get the heater out, 168 00:08:42,100 --> 00:08:44,066 and then to press the pipe back together, 169 00:08:44,066 --> 00:08:46,367 and hold it too cool off. 170 00:08:46,367 --> 00:08:48,867 As for our heating element, we're using a piece of steel 171 00:08:48,867 --> 00:08:50,667 that is left over from the Holy Roller. 172 00:08:51,767 --> 00:08:53,867 [tool whirring] 173 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:56,567 What's the plate for? 174 00:08:56,567 --> 00:09:00,400 We don't have a fusion welder, so we have to heat 175 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,066 the plate up with a torch, 176 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,266 and then stick them together, 177 00:09:04,266 --> 00:09:05,467 and then it melts the pipe, 178 00:09:05,467 --> 00:09:06,700 and then you pull them apart, 179 00:09:06,700 --> 00:09:09,333 and then you've got to push the pipe back together and weld it. 180 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:13,166 All right, put that plate on there now and see white that looks like. 181 00:09:14,867 --> 00:09:16,367 [Andy] You know, I got the three ponds dug, 182 00:09:16,367 --> 00:09:18,100 now we've got to get this culvert finished. 183 00:09:18,100 --> 00:09:19,767 I don't know exactly what Framer's doing, 184 00:09:19,767 --> 00:09:21,667 but this is not the time to be experimenting. 185 00:09:21,667 --> 00:09:24,300 This isn't a science fair, we've got a mine to run. 186 00:09:24,300 --> 00:09:27,000 You think you'll be able to get those to stick together like that? 187 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:28,834 I hope so. I got no other choice. 188 00:09:29,166 --> 00:09:30,900 It has to be sealed. 189 00:09:30,900 --> 00:09:32,300 So you're just going to heat the steel 190 00:09:32,300 --> 00:09:34,266 -and melt it, and then just slip them together. -[Framer] Yeah. 191 00:09:34,266 --> 00:09:37,066 I'm going to overheat it to, like, 550, and then... 192 00:09:38,266 --> 00:09:39,867 ...push it together. 193 00:09:39,867 --> 00:09:42,066 You don't think, even if you wrap the sucker, 194 00:09:42,867 --> 00:09:44,467 put them together tight, 195 00:09:44,467 --> 00:09:47,000 dug a 6-foot hole rock underneath of it, 196 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,233 for drainage if they leaked? 197 00:09:49,767 --> 00:09:51,533 No, I don't, no. 198 00:09:52,767 --> 00:09:55,100 I know I'm right and Andy's wrong. 199 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:57,667 'Cause I'm tired of going back and fixing everything we do 200 00:09:57,667 --> 00:09:59,367 because we don't do it right the first time. 201 00:09:59,367 --> 00:10:02,000 Every single one of us is here for one reason, to make money, 202 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,266 and that's why I'm trying to do things right, 203 00:10:04,266 --> 00:10:06,266 and we can all go home with some gold in our pocket. 204 00:10:06,266 --> 00:10:07,767 By the time we dig that ditch, 205 00:10:07,767 --> 00:10:10,667 we're going to be already in the sand. 206 00:10:10,667 --> 00:10:14,100 And you know what happens if we get water intrusion into the sand, it's over. 207 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:15,166 We lose our road. 208 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,667 The problem is if the water gets in the road, 209 00:10:17,667 --> 00:10:20,667 and then it turns everything in the middle of the road to mud. 210 00:10:20,667 --> 00:10:22,066 It won't just dry out on its own. 211 00:10:22,066 --> 00:10:24,567 You got to dig all that mud out, throw it away, 212 00:10:24,567 --> 00:10:27,700 and then put all new materials back in the road. 213 00:10:27,700 --> 00:10:29,367 Let's just get this done real fast. 214 00:10:29,367 --> 00:10:30,533 We'll find a way there. 215 00:10:31,567 --> 00:10:33,266 [Andy] Any time we set up a new water system, 216 00:10:33,266 --> 00:10:36,400 it's always a pain, it never goes as fast as you want it to. 217 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,367 I didn't come up here to dig ditches and put water pipes together. 218 00:10:39,367 --> 00:10:42,266 I came up here to mine, so hopefully we can get it done quick, 219 00:10:42,266 --> 00:10:43,667 keep going forward. 220 00:10:50,767 --> 00:10:52,100 [Framer] Damn it. 221 00:10:55,734 --> 00:10:57,467 [Framer] Let's clean it up. Let's just get this done real fast. 222 00:10:57,467 --> 00:10:58,667 We'll find a way there. 223 00:10:58,667 --> 00:11:00,100 [narrator] With the mine shut down 224 00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:02,367 due to the dirty water in the circuit, 225 00:11:02,367 --> 00:11:05,500 Framer and his crew work on the time-consuming task 226 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:08,233 of connecting two pipes to lay under the road. 227 00:11:09,066 --> 00:11:11,266 [Framer] Pull this one. Keep it coming. 228 00:11:11,266 --> 00:11:13,100 You got a lot of doubters up here, bud. 229 00:11:13,100 --> 00:11:15,367 I want stuff done right the first time, 230 00:11:15,367 --> 00:11:17,266 and know for the entire rest of the season 231 00:11:17,266 --> 00:11:19,400 that our road isn't going to fail 232 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,333 because we took a shortcut. 233 00:11:22,867 --> 00:11:24,400 -Up on the metal. -Yeah. 234 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:26,500 [Framer] Last season, I was a new guy, 235 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:29,033 and I was worried about, you know, stepping on people's toes. 236 00:11:29,033 --> 00:11:31,200 This year, I honestly don't care about that. 237 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,667 Like, I'm going to hurt your feelings, that's fine, I don't care. 238 00:11:33,667 --> 00:11:37,166 But everyone here needs to just stand up and tell Andy and Todd both, 239 00:11:37,166 --> 00:11:39,967 like, "No, we got to take the time and do it right, 240 00:11:39,967 --> 00:11:42,934 so we're not backstepping every single day. 241 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:45,333 Just hold it on this. 242 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:47,467 Just put the heat out on the corner. 243 00:11:47,467 --> 00:11:48,834 It'll transfer it in. 244 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:53,533 Go up, up, up, there you go. 245 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,000 [Todd] I've used those pieces before. 246 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,333 You can just put fabric around it, and you're done with it. 247 00:12:02,266 --> 00:12:05,166 This isn't rocket science, but sometimes... 248 00:12:05,166 --> 00:12:07,367 ...you just need to do things and get them done. 249 00:12:07,367 --> 00:12:09,166 I'm tired of waiting. 250 00:12:09,166 --> 00:12:10,333 [Framer] Shove it over. 251 00:12:11,166 --> 00:12:12,433 Oh, no. Hold on. 252 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:15,166 -[bleep] -[pipe thuds] 253 00:12:15,166 --> 00:12:16,834 Come on, girl, hold together for us. 254 00:12:28,467 --> 00:12:30,367 -Tony. -Hey, Todd. 255 00:12:30,367 --> 00:12:32,000 -How you doing, man? -Good, how are you? 256 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,266 Good. Glad you came. Good to see you. 257 00:12:33,266 --> 00:12:36,000 -What's going on? -A lot of dirty water. 258 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,767 We got to get something to solve this pretty quick. 259 00:12:37,767 --> 00:12:39,667 Okay. I brought the green chemistry you wanted. 260 00:12:39,667 --> 00:12:41,066 -So let's get down and take a look. -[Todd] Okay. Okay. 261 00:12:41,066 --> 00:12:42,767 -We'll do some testing. -I'll, uh, ride with you. 262 00:12:42,767 --> 00:12:43,834 -Okay, sounds good. -[Todd] Okay. 263 00:12:45,066 --> 00:12:47,166 I called Tony from the Dober company 264 00:12:47,166 --> 00:12:49,166 to help me clean up this water. 265 00:12:49,166 --> 00:12:52,667 He has a green product. It's a flocculent. 266 00:12:52,667 --> 00:12:56,567 And it's actually made up from ground up crab shells. 267 00:12:56,567 --> 00:12:57,734 You put it in the water. 268 00:12:57,734 --> 00:13:01,100 It's supposed to pull that sediment out of the water. 269 00:13:01,100 --> 00:13:02,767 But first, we got to test the product 270 00:13:02,767 --> 00:13:05,033 and make sure it's even going to work. 271 00:13:05,033 --> 00:13:07,533 [Tony] We'll see if we can knock it out, uh, on the first try here. 272 00:13:13,867 --> 00:13:16,667 So this is simulating when your water's running, 273 00:13:16,667 --> 00:13:18,867 and you're agitating the water. 274 00:13:18,867 --> 00:13:21,500 Adding the chemistry in just like you would do over at the plant. 275 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:23,100 Let this stir a little bit. 276 00:13:24,767 --> 00:13:26,333 And then we should... 277 00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:30,433 ...get some treatment. 278 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:35,166 [Todd] Whoa. 279 00:13:35,166 --> 00:13:37,100 Holy cow, that's quick. 280 00:13:37,100 --> 00:13:40,567 I wasn't, uh, expecting to see that that quick. 281 00:13:41,734 --> 00:13:43,266 My gosh, look at it. 282 00:13:43,266 --> 00:13:44,433 Look at that. 283 00:13:48,033 --> 00:13:49,934 [Tony] I think that's your answer right there. 284 00:13:49,934 --> 00:13:51,767 -What do you think, boss? -[Todd] I... I like it. 285 00:13:51,767 --> 00:13:53,367 How fast can we get it? 286 00:13:53,367 --> 00:13:56,100 We've got it on the floor. We could ship it out tomorrow. 287 00:13:56,100 --> 00:13:58,367 [Todd] Okay. Right there, man. 288 00:13:58,367 --> 00:14:00,200 This could change our season right there. 289 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,367 So I got to get my hands on this product ASAP 290 00:14:04,367 --> 00:14:06,767 'cause we got to get our plants up and running, 291 00:14:06,767 --> 00:14:08,634 or we're not going to meet our goals. 292 00:14:20,033 --> 00:14:23,100 -See these white flowers. -[Hunter] Yeah. 293 00:14:23,100 --> 00:14:26,166 Those only come up when they've dug. 294 00:14:26,166 --> 00:14:28,567 -I know. Look at this. Look at this hole. -Yeah. 295 00:14:28,567 --> 00:14:30,200 [Hunter] That was a ditch. 296 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:31,834 [Jack] The old timers were there. 297 00:14:32,567 --> 00:14:33,667 [vocalizes] 298 00:14:35,166 --> 00:14:37,834 Hunter and I are prospecting Carry Creek. 299 00:14:37,834 --> 00:14:39,500 This is my last season, 300 00:14:39,500 --> 00:14:43,567 and so my time on this land is probably at an end. 301 00:14:43,567 --> 00:14:47,300 It's really important that we find another source of gold 302 00:14:47,300 --> 00:14:49,867 because the last cut's bound to run out, 303 00:14:49,867 --> 00:14:53,500 and I want Hunter to have a long and fruitful future. 304 00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:57,634 So, we could be sitting on the drill holes right here. 305 00:14:58,266 --> 00:14:59,367 [Hunter] Yeah. 306 00:15:02,567 --> 00:15:06,100 [Jack] This creek is just southeast of the Last Cut. 307 00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:10,867 We need to find a spot that has at least three ounces of gold per hundred 308 00:15:10,867 --> 00:15:13,066 to make it worth it to mine. 309 00:15:15,100 --> 00:15:17,500 Ooh, quite a piece of equipment. 310 00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:19,467 [Hunter] Okay, let me get this fired up. 311 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:23,767 So my dad finally agreed to invest in some new equipment, 312 00:15:23,767 --> 00:15:26,166 so we're out here with the new drone. 313 00:15:26,166 --> 00:15:30,767 The camera on this drone uses lidar to basically 3D-map the terrain. 314 00:15:30,767 --> 00:15:33,367 Usually, you're just taking stabs in the dark, but, 315 00:15:33,367 --> 00:15:35,467 with this you can get a better idea, you know, 316 00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:37,500 what ground has been opened up before. 317 00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:39,834 Has an area already been mined out or not? 318 00:15:39,834 --> 00:15:42,400 Is the ground thawed? How deep is the overburden? 319 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,600 -[Jack] All right. -And so it does give you a better idea 320 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,867 of what you're working with before you go 321 00:15:46,867 --> 00:15:49,433 bringing equipment out here and go to break ground, so... 322 00:16:02,867 --> 00:16:05,767 [Jack] So, that's sending a message here to you. 323 00:16:05,767 --> 00:16:07,834 -We have all those points. -[Jack] Yeah. 324 00:16:07,834 --> 00:16:10,734 And it's basically going to follow this route that it created. 325 00:16:10,734 --> 00:16:13,066 So red on the map means rock and gravel, 326 00:16:13,066 --> 00:16:14,400 and that's what we're looking for. 327 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,467 That means that it might have been mined by old timers, 328 00:16:16,467 --> 00:16:18,467 and there might be gold there. 329 00:16:18,467 --> 00:16:20,266 -Shoot all that imaging. -[Jack] Yeah. 330 00:16:20,266 --> 00:16:21,467 -[Hunter] Create a map of it. -[Jack] Yeah. 331 00:16:21,467 --> 00:16:22,767 [Hunter] And then it'll download all of that, 332 00:16:22,767 --> 00:16:24,266 and then we'll be able to take a look at what's going on. 333 00:16:24,266 --> 00:16:27,533 -So it will fly that path right there. -[Hunter] Flying itself, yep. 334 00:16:27,967 --> 00:16:29,100 [Jack] My god. 335 00:16:30,867 --> 00:16:32,266 [Hunter] So there's the live video, 336 00:16:32,266 --> 00:16:34,567 -and then that's the lidar imaging. -[Jack] Yeah. 337 00:16:34,567 --> 00:16:36,567 So what's that going to tell you? 338 00:16:36,567 --> 00:16:38,767 -[Hunter] So that'll show us, like, it's showing the creek. -[Jack] Yeah. 339 00:16:38,767 --> 00:16:41,667 -[Hunter] It'll show any holes, ditches, -[Jack] Okay. 340 00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:45,367 Hunter's using some pretty cool technology and lidar, 341 00:16:45,367 --> 00:16:48,867 and I'd given anything for it back in the '80s, 342 00:16:48,867 --> 00:16:51,300 but it wasn't around. 343 00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:53,567 Then we got to figure out how to try to get an excavator out here. 344 00:16:53,567 --> 00:16:56,266 If you can get a dump-truck load, 345 00:16:56,266 --> 00:16:57,867 I'll run it through the plant. 346 00:16:57,867 --> 00:16:59,066 -Yeah. -That'll be pretty cool. 347 00:16:59,066 --> 00:17:00,667 -Run it through your plant. -[Jack] Yeah. 348 00:17:00,667 --> 00:17:03,100 If this can get crazy gold, 349 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:05,667 -[chuckles] I'm all for it. -Right. 350 00:17:05,667 --> 00:17:07,033 As soon as the drone's finished, 351 00:17:07,033 --> 00:17:08,734 we'll head back and take a look at the footage. 352 00:17:08,734 --> 00:17:09,834 [Jack] Okay. 353 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:14,333 [Framer] Oh, no, hold on. 354 00:17:15,367 --> 00:17:17,100 [bleep] 355 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:18,734 Come on, girl, hold together for us. 356 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:25,333 [Dakota] Do it again. 357 00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:28,867 [Andy] He's trying to do a good job, 358 00:17:28,867 --> 00:17:30,600 so I get what he's trying to do, 359 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,200 but they've been on this thing for four hours. 360 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,567 I would have had the pipe done three and a half hours ago. 361 00:17:36,567 --> 00:17:38,867 I would have been using the road and doing the next project. 362 00:17:38,867 --> 00:17:42,634 So, four hours on a pipe, trying to put a pipe in the ditch is... 363 00:17:43,033 --> 00:17:45,200 It's kind of stupid. 364 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,200 [Framer] We'll cool it off, and if it doesn't hold, I guess... 365 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,667 ...we put the [bleep] on the ground and we lose our road. 366 00:17:51,867 --> 00:17:54,767 We got in a hurry 'cause Andy tried to [bleep] us. 367 00:17:54,767 --> 00:17:57,000 "Hi, Andy, I see you there looking over my shoulder." 368 00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:03,767 [Todd] Hey, Andy, how's it going down there?" 369 00:18:03,767 --> 00:18:05,533 [Andy] Still waiting on Framer to finish his pipe. 370 00:18:06,567 --> 00:18:09,467 [Todd] Andy, we got to get this done by tomorrow. 371 00:18:09,867 --> 00:18:11,033 [Andy] Okay. 372 00:18:15,166 --> 00:18:16,367 [Andy] Think it'll hold? 373 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,367 [laughing] 374 00:18:18,367 --> 00:18:20,567 [Framer] All it has to do is hold until it lays in that ditch. 375 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:23,367 It'll go easy when it's in two pieces. 376 00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:26,166 It'll just, uh... 377 00:18:26,166 --> 00:18:28,266 It won't let me sleep at night if it's in two pieces 378 00:18:28,266 --> 00:18:30,266 'cause I don't how long that road will last 379 00:18:30,266 --> 00:18:31,934 if it [bleep] goes in like that. 380 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,166 Saying, look at the beads on that thing. It would have been perfect. 381 00:18:43,166 --> 00:18:45,233 All we had to do was get it together even. 382 00:18:46,266 --> 00:18:47,767 It's looking pretty [bleep], 383 00:18:47,767 --> 00:18:49,967 but hopefully it holds together. 384 00:18:49,967 --> 00:18:52,734 The true test is when we pick it up if it actually stays together. 385 00:18:53,166 --> 00:18:54,967 So, we'll see. 386 00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:57,166 [crew member] On two sides. 387 00:18:57,166 --> 00:18:59,567 -[Andy] So it goes like this. -Just trying to hold it together. 388 00:18:59,567 --> 00:19:01,433 I don't understand. That doesn't make any sense. 389 00:19:03,867 --> 00:19:05,100 [Tater] Okay, here we go. 390 00:19:14,266 --> 00:19:16,166 Got 5 bucks on your weld. 391 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:18,900 [Framer] Breathe. Just breathe. 392 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,734 Please hold together for me. 393 00:19:35,567 --> 00:19:36,667 Oh. 394 00:19:38,266 --> 00:19:39,867 [bleep] 395 00:19:39,867 --> 00:19:42,000 Hold on a sec. I'll run over here and straighten it up. 396 00:19:45,834 --> 00:19:46,934 Straight down. 397 00:19:51,166 --> 00:19:52,367 Whoa. Whoa. 398 00:19:57,867 --> 00:19:59,200 [Framer] Straight down. 399 00:20:00,266 --> 00:20:01,734 Whoa. Whoa. 400 00:20:06,867 --> 00:20:08,667 [narrator] With the settling ponds complete, 401 00:20:08,667 --> 00:20:10,634 all eyes are on Framer's pipe. 402 00:20:11,166 --> 00:20:12,834 If his weld doesn't hold, 403 00:20:12,834 --> 00:20:15,333 the Hoffman crew can't resume mining. 404 00:20:17,367 --> 00:20:19,200 He's gonna lay that thing down. 405 00:20:22,166 --> 00:20:23,767 [Framer] Right there. 406 00:20:23,767 --> 00:20:26,934 Look at that. We've got one piece of pipe that won't leak. 407 00:20:29,567 --> 00:20:30,634 That weld looks pretty bad, 408 00:20:30,634 --> 00:20:32,967 and I did have my doubts that it wouldn't hold, but, 409 00:20:32,967 --> 00:20:35,667 it held, and that's all that matters, and it's gonna work. 410 00:20:35,667 --> 00:20:39,100 And it's not gonna ruin our road, so we're happy with that. 411 00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:43,634 [Andy] They finally got the pipe in. 412 00:20:43,634 --> 00:20:46,333 Um, I've got no problem with them trying to weld it together. 413 00:20:46,333 --> 00:20:48,066 Problem was it took five hours. 414 00:20:48,066 --> 00:20:50,667 Could have had the thing in there four and a half hours ago. 415 00:20:50,667 --> 00:20:53,166 So I'm glad they got it in. I'm glad it worked. 416 00:20:53,166 --> 00:20:56,100 But there's some things you just can't spend that much time on. 417 00:20:56,934 --> 00:20:58,066 [Framer] All right. 418 00:20:58,834 --> 00:21:01,133 Every one of you [bleep] doubted me. 419 00:21:01,133 --> 00:21:02,533 Is piping gonna hold? 420 00:21:02,533 --> 00:21:03,634 There's a win. 421 00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:07,166 [laughing] 422 00:21:08,233 --> 00:21:10,300 I hate to say it, Andy, but I told you so. 423 00:21:18,867 --> 00:21:22,166 So, I got the imaging from the drone. 424 00:21:22,166 --> 00:21:24,367 -Mmm-hmm. -[Hunter] It was this one here. 425 00:21:24,367 --> 00:21:27,266 -[Jack] Yeah. -[Hunter] The lidar mapping should tell us 426 00:21:27,266 --> 00:21:29,166 where ground's been disturbed, 427 00:21:29,166 --> 00:21:32,033 which can indicate miners have been there before, 428 00:21:32,033 --> 00:21:35,166 meaning there's ground potentially rich with gold. 429 00:21:35,166 --> 00:21:37,200 [Jack] What does that red line mean again? 430 00:21:37,834 --> 00:21:40,433 -[Hunter] That means gravel. -Okay. 431 00:21:40,433 --> 00:21:43,467 And I'm seeing, like, here, it looks like there's gravel out on this point. 432 00:21:43,467 --> 00:21:46,767 -[Jack] Yeah. -I think right here is this. 433 00:21:46,767 --> 00:21:48,266 [Jack] Okay. 434 00:21:48,266 --> 00:21:50,066 -That's where those drills. -[Hunter] Where all those drill holes are. 435 00:21:50,066 --> 00:21:51,500 [Jack] Yeah. 436 00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:54,867 [Hunter] So try to track an excavator in there and see if it's thawed or not. 437 00:21:54,867 --> 00:21:57,333 Oh, okay. 438 00:21:57,333 --> 00:22:01,834 In my experience, if we get gravels up to the surface, 439 00:22:02,266 --> 00:22:03,834 like, we actually saw, 440 00:22:03,834 --> 00:22:06,266 it won't be froze. 441 00:22:06,266 --> 00:22:09,266 -That's been the history. -That's what I'm hoping. Maybe. 442 00:22:09,266 --> 00:22:12,000 It looks like we've found the right spot to pull from Carry Creek, 443 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,433 but it's going to be a little bit tricky to pull a sample out of there. 444 00:22:15,433 --> 00:22:17,634 It's a farther location than the last cut, 445 00:22:17,634 --> 00:22:19,433 and that means we're gonna have to build a road. 446 00:22:19,867 --> 00:22:21,066 It's not impossible, 447 00:22:21,066 --> 00:22:24,734 but if the gold's not at least three ounces a hundred, 448 00:22:24,734 --> 00:22:25,867 it just doesn't make sense. 449 00:22:25,867 --> 00:22:27,100 I think it's worth, uh... 450 00:22:28,367 --> 00:22:29,600 ...worth a run. 451 00:22:30,133 --> 00:22:32,734 -I say go for it, man. -Okay. 452 00:22:43,467 --> 00:22:45,333 You getting pretty close over there, big daddy? 453 00:22:46,266 --> 00:22:48,266 [Framer] Let's pump some water. 454 00:22:48,266 --> 00:22:51,133 All right, fire it up. Nice and easy, just an idle. 455 00:22:51,133 --> 00:22:52,667 We got our new ponds up and running. 456 00:22:52,667 --> 00:22:55,867 We're gonna get this flood water out of our cut, 457 00:22:55,867 --> 00:22:58,233 and, uh, hopefully by this evening, 458 00:22:58,233 --> 00:22:59,634 Andy can start hauling some pay. 459 00:22:59,634 --> 00:23:00,934 -Good? -[crew member] Yeah, good. 460 00:23:00,934 --> 00:23:03,533 -We all good? -[Tater] Hours in RPM, sir? 461 00:23:04,467 --> 00:23:06,567 [narrator] To test the new settling-pond system, 462 00:23:06,567 --> 00:23:11,033 the pump will put hundreds of pounds of water pressure on Framer's new piping. 463 00:23:11,867 --> 00:23:14,000 If his bush-fix weld fails, 464 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,166 it's back to square one, building a new culvert, 465 00:23:17,166 --> 00:23:21,734 and that could cost the entire crew a successful gold weigh-in this week. 466 00:23:27,867 --> 00:23:29,233 Yeah. 467 00:23:32,467 --> 00:23:36,166 Tater and the guys are watching the pipes on the existing circuit. 468 00:23:36,166 --> 00:23:38,600 And I'm watching the water on the settling ponds. 469 00:23:39,333 --> 00:23:40,600 [Andy speaking] 470 00:23:44,233 --> 00:23:45,333 Here it is. 471 00:23:47,266 --> 00:23:50,133 Oh, easy. Turn her down. Turn her down, way down. 472 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:52,133 [Andy speaking] 473 00:23:59,567 --> 00:24:00,734 [Tater] Ten-four, I'm coming. 474 00:24:05,033 --> 00:24:06,333 That's not real good. 475 00:24:17,867 --> 00:24:19,066 Okay, copy that. 476 00:24:19,066 --> 00:24:23,533 How do we have a leak in a pipe that was fine two days ago? 477 00:24:24,166 --> 00:24:25,300 We haven't touched it. 478 00:24:25,767 --> 00:24:27,800 [Tater speaking] 479 00:24:30,867 --> 00:24:32,600 We need to shut her down, Framer. 480 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,233 Go, kill it. 481 00:24:39,367 --> 00:24:40,934 [engine slows] 482 00:24:44,367 --> 00:24:46,233 So it looks like the leak is right... 483 00:24:47,166 --> 00:24:49,066 ...here. 484 00:24:49,066 --> 00:24:51,734 I'm going to go ahead and hazard a guess 485 00:24:51,734 --> 00:24:53,166 that it's right there. 486 00:24:53,166 --> 00:24:56,467 This HDPE that runs under the road, 487 00:24:56,467 --> 00:24:59,033 it's gonna cause some erosion issues. 488 00:24:59,033 --> 00:25:01,166 [Framer] And guess whose pipe didn't leak? Mine. 489 00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:04,533 My weld held, but now another pipe is leaking. 490 00:25:04,533 --> 00:25:07,433 This is why it pays to do things right the first time. 491 00:25:08,033 --> 00:25:10,934 [Tater speaking] 492 00:25:12,166 --> 00:25:13,767 [Framer] If we don't fix this leak... 493 00:25:13,767 --> 00:25:17,667 -Start knocking. -...then the road would erode away and fail. 494 00:25:17,667 --> 00:25:22,266 This is the exact problem that I was talking about with Andy on the other pipe. 495 00:25:22,266 --> 00:25:24,333 Dig [bleep] next to it. 496 00:25:24,333 --> 00:25:26,467 [Framer] Same thing would have happened in the middle of the road 497 00:25:26,467 --> 00:25:28,100 when I told him we had to weld it. 498 00:25:28,100 --> 00:25:30,166 And we couldn't just wrap it with a piece of plastic 499 00:25:30,166 --> 00:25:34,266 because we'd be in the same situation over there that we are right now. 500 00:25:34,266 --> 00:25:35,634 [Tater] This is the edge of the pipe. 501 00:25:36,967 --> 00:25:38,433 On the side of it. 502 00:25:38,433 --> 00:25:40,734 [Framer] This is why I told him we got to do things right the first time. 503 00:26:03,166 --> 00:26:04,333 [Hunter] I'm out here in the excavator 504 00:26:04,333 --> 00:26:06,033 because the lidar drone has shown me 505 00:26:06,033 --> 00:26:07,634 some areas over here at Carry Creek 506 00:26:07,634 --> 00:26:09,367 that I think are gonna have some good gold. 507 00:26:09,367 --> 00:26:11,834 So I'm going to poke around and see if that's true or not. 508 00:26:13,066 --> 00:26:16,467 There's some sort of an old miner's cut in here. 509 00:26:16,467 --> 00:26:18,634 Surprisingly, this ground doesn't look frozen at all, 510 00:26:18,634 --> 00:26:20,367 and that's a really good sign. 511 00:26:20,367 --> 00:26:23,266 So, we're gonna try to get 20 yards out of here, 512 00:26:23,266 --> 00:26:24,867 and get it to the Jackrabbit, and run it, 513 00:26:24,867 --> 00:26:26,634 and see if it's gonna be decent or not. 514 00:26:28,467 --> 00:26:31,634 The drone reports show three ounces a hundred down in here. 515 00:26:31,634 --> 00:26:34,533 So, we'll see if that's really true or not. 516 00:26:36,667 --> 00:26:39,033 With it being my grandpa's last season, 517 00:26:39,033 --> 00:26:43,367 I feel a responsibility to do everything I can to figure out our next move, 518 00:26:43,367 --> 00:26:46,934 and make sure that we have pay till the end so we can get to our goal. 519 00:26:46,934 --> 00:26:48,567 So I'm going to load this pay up on the rock truck, 520 00:26:48,567 --> 00:26:51,834 haul it back to camp, and hopefully save the season. 521 00:27:01,133 --> 00:27:03,100 I'd put rock over this corner, 522 00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:05,367 and then the rest of it sand burn. 523 00:27:05,367 --> 00:27:08,567 The pipes are fixed, and we're ready to divert the last cut runoff 524 00:27:08,567 --> 00:27:10,333 to the settling ponds. 525 00:27:10,333 --> 00:27:12,734 And the final step is to introduce the flocculent. 526 00:27:16,233 --> 00:27:20,133 All right, let's hook this thing up and get it rolling. 527 00:27:20,133 --> 00:27:23,367 Todd just had the flocculent rush-delivered to the mine. 528 00:27:23,367 --> 00:27:25,567 So the flocculent comes in these totes. 529 00:27:25,567 --> 00:27:29,133 So basically, by injecting the flocculent right here at the pump, 530 00:27:29,133 --> 00:27:33,467 the flocculent's working as it goes up this pipe and into the first pond. 531 00:27:33,467 --> 00:27:35,934 It's actually mixing all the way up there, 532 00:27:35,934 --> 00:27:37,467 so when it drops in there, 533 00:27:37,467 --> 00:27:41,066 the flocculent actually collects on all the soil and the sediment in the water, 534 00:27:41,066 --> 00:27:43,367 and it pulls it and holds it on the bottom, 535 00:27:43,367 --> 00:27:45,066 and cleans it out as best as we can 536 00:27:45,066 --> 00:27:46,500 and then goes right into our circuit. 537 00:27:47,967 --> 00:27:50,266 So we got our, uh, flocculent pumping in here. 538 00:27:50,266 --> 00:27:52,266 You can see it flowing through. 539 00:27:52,266 --> 00:27:54,233 We're actually, uh, treating water right now. 540 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,233 And, uh, we're really playing catchup now. 541 00:28:00,233 --> 00:28:02,333 We've got a huge goal we're trying to hit for Jack. 542 00:28:02,333 --> 00:28:03,867 It's 3,000, and, uh, 543 00:28:03,867 --> 00:28:05,734 we're set back quite a ways now, 544 00:28:05,734 --> 00:28:07,667 so we're gonna really kick it into high gear, 545 00:28:07,667 --> 00:28:11,033 try and do some catchup and get ready to find some gold. 546 00:28:21,634 --> 00:28:23,767 [Hunter] I'm hauling a new sample from Carry Creek, 547 00:28:23,767 --> 00:28:26,667 and I'm hoping that I can, uh, you know, 548 00:28:26,667 --> 00:28:29,900 find a place where we can start pulling pay and that's gonna pay out. 549 00:28:31,333 --> 00:28:32,934 A lot of these areas have been mined out, 550 00:28:32,934 --> 00:28:35,667 and it's hard to know exactly if you're on the pay layer or not. 551 00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:38,533 So, even with the lidar drone and everything, 552 00:28:38,533 --> 00:28:40,967 doesn't mean that we're guaranteed to find gold. 553 00:28:40,967 --> 00:28:43,467 But I'm gonna bring this test up to Jack's plant 554 00:28:43,467 --> 00:28:45,800 and see if Carry Creek has something better for us. 555 00:28:47,867 --> 00:28:52,166 Basically, my family's mining legacy is hanging in the balance, 556 00:28:52,166 --> 00:28:54,667 and if this is supposed to be the year that we're gonna be breaking records 557 00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:57,367 and ending my grandpa's last season on a win, 558 00:28:57,367 --> 00:28:59,834 and there's a little bit of weight on my shoulders right now, 559 00:28:59,834 --> 00:29:03,934 but I'm hoping that this is gonna be the load that kind of sets us up. 560 00:29:14,567 --> 00:29:15,700 Well... 561 00:29:17,233 --> 00:29:18,867 ...here it is, from Carry Creek. 562 00:29:18,867 --> 00:29:21,133 -See what it has in it. -[Jack] Yeah. 563 00:29:21,133 --> 00:29:23,533 -We'll go ahead and run it. -Yeah. Okay. 564 00:29:33,467 --> 00:29:36,333 All right, kid, let's fire up the water pumps. 565 00:29:36,333 --> 00:29:38,834 So we're gonna go ahead and fire up the pumps, 566 00:29:38,834 --> 00:29:41,433 check out the water, see how clean it is, 567 00:29:41,433 --> 00:29:45,066 If we can get it any bit cleaner, we can catch more gold. 568 00:29:45,066 --> 00:29:46,767 Bring the water up on the furrow. 569 00:29:46,767 --> 00:29:48,333 [Tater] Ten-four. 570 00:29:51,934 --> 00:29:54,033 [Framer] All right, Black Pearl's up and running. 571 00:29:56,567 --> 00:29:58,667 Yeah, you know, at first, looks a little bit dirty, 572 00:29:58,667 --> 00:30:00,233 but actually it's cleaning up. 573 00:30:11,767 --> 00:30:14,166 We've been able to knock a lot of the solids out of there 574 00:30:14,166 --> 00:30:16,567 with this, uh, flocking. 575 00:30:16,567 --> 00:30:18,367 -[Todd] If you feel that there's no sediment in there. -[Framer] Oh, yeah. 576 00:30:18,367 --> 00:30:20,767 -[Todd] It's clean. That's good water. -[Framer] Way better. 577 00:30:20,767 --> 00:30:23,233 -Way better. -You can actually feel when it's too dirty. 578 00:30:23,233 --> 00:30:25,834 It actually gets almost slimy. 579 00:30:25,834 --> 00:30:27,567 Yeah, it looks dirty, but you put your hand in there, 580 00:30:27,567 --> 00:30:28,967 and look, it's clean. 581 00:30:28,967 --> 00:30:31,867 [Todd] What we've done is we've added some settling ponds over here, 582 00:30:31,867 --> 00:30:34,166 and added in some more flocking. 583 00:30:34,166 --> 00:30:35,667 We're feeling our water, 584 00:30:35,667 --> 00:30:37,767 and it's actually feel, not by look. 585 00:30:37,767 --> 00:30:40,967 So this here is nice and clean water. 586 00:30:40,967 --> 00:30:43,600 All right. Look at that. Looks good. 587 00:30:49,333 --> 00:30:51,166 Water going down. 588 00:30:51,166 --> 00:30:55,166 Right now we're running some dirt from Carry Creek through Jack's plant. 589 00:30:55,166 --> 00:30:58,900 You know, we'll see if Carry Creek is the place to be or not. 590 00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:02,767 [Jack] You know, look at that water. That's plenty of water. 591 00:31:02,767 --> 00:31:04,834 -[crew member] Looks about... Yeah, it looks right. -Yeah. 592 00:31:06,367 --> 00:31:07,767 [Hunter] We know there's gold in the ground, 593 00:31:07,767 --> 00:31:11,166 um, and this is kind of us just doing more of a bulk test 594 00:31:11,166 --> 00:31:12,467 through Jack's plant. 595 00:31:12,467 --> 00:31:14,467 You know, get some actual yardage through it, 596 00:31:14,467 --> 00:31:17,567 and then, uh, we'll pull the box and see what it is. 597 00:31:17,567 --> 00:31:21,000 -What do you think? -[Jack] That rock is coming off really clean. 598 00:31:21,567 --> 00:31:22,700 [Hunter] Yeah, look at it. 599 00:31:24,467 --> 00:31:27,000 Most of the... a small shaker deck 600 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,667 can only handle, you know, so many yards per hour. 601 00:31:29,667 --> 00:31:34,467 And so, you're not gonna break any records volume-wise with it, but, 602 00:31:34,467 --> 00:31:37,567 you know, you are able to... to run a lot more dirt than you would be 603 00:31:37,567 --> 00:31:41,000 with, you know, a gold pan, or a sluice box, or anything like that. 604 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,266 And so, uh, we'll try to get 20 yards through it. 605 00:31:44,266 --> 00:31:46,467 And then pull the box, and you'll kind of get an idea 606 00:31:46,467 --> 00:31:48,100 of, uh, you know, what you'd be looking like 607 00:31:48,100 --> 00:31:51,667 if you were to run this on... on a big plant all day. So... 608 00:31:51,667 --> 00:31:54,767 -How's the sluice look? -[Jack] The sluice is looking good. 609 00:31:54,767 --> 00:31:56,467 You running both of them still? 610 00:31:56,467 --> 00:31:58,166 -[Jack] No, one. -[Hunter] Just one. 611 00:31:58,166 --> 00:32:00,767 [Jack] We're gonna find out if there's gold in it. 612 00:32:00,767 --> 00:32:02,500 I think there is. 613 00:32:03,066 --> 00:32:04,634 Don't know how much. 614 00:32:18,166 --> 00:32:19,900 Just go through the swamp. 615 00:32:22,367 --> 00:32:24,467 Put it right here. 616 00:32:24,467 --> 00:32:26,867 [Hunter] We're about to do our first pull on the Jackrabbit 617 00:32:26,867 --> 00:32:28,000 from Carry Creek. 618 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,133 It's been worked by old timers before. 619 00:32:30,133 --> 00:32:33,266 Using a lidar drone, I could see they did some sort of an old cut. 620 00:32:33,266 --> 00:32:35,767 So, either that's gonna work in our favor, or it's not. 621 00:32:35,767 --> 00:32:39,066 So we're gonna pull the mats from the Jackrabbit, get it all cleaned up. 622 00:32:41,266 --> 00:32:43,333 Get all the gold off of that one. 623 00:32:43,767 --> 00:32:45,033 [chuckles] 624 00:32:45,033 --> 00:32:46,233 [Hunter] If this gold is good, 625 00:32:46,233 --> 00:32:48,266 the next task would be figuring out 626 00:32:48,266 --> 00:32:49,700 how we're gonna get the pay out of there. 627 00:32:50,567 --> 00:32:52,100 [Jack] Basically, Hunter, 628 00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:57,166 -now if Carry Creek is, uh, is our hope right now. -[Hunter] Yeah. 629 00:32:57,166 --> 00:33:00,567 [Jack] You know and I know that in the past, 630 00:33:00,567 --> 00:33:04,033 wherever we saw where miners had been, there was gold. 631 00:33:04,033 --> 00:33:07,533 -You know, they didn't have the time to mess around, so... -Yeah. 632 00:33:07,533 --> 00:33:09,967 -I'm open, bud. -[Hunter] Me too. 633 00:33:09,967 --> 00:33:12,667 -Hopefully, this is better than half an ounce a hundred. -[Jack] Yeah. Yeah. 634 00:33:12,667 --> 00:33:14,567 -I think so. -It's gonna have to be a lot better 635 00:33:14,567 --> 00:33:16,967 for it to be worth it for us to go down in there. 636 00:33:16,967 --> 00:33:18,433 So, we'll see. 637 00:33:18,433 --> 00:33:20,166 I mean, your plant's working good at least. 638 00:33:20,166 --> 00:33:22,166 -[Jack] Yeah. -[Hunter] We got that just try to find some gold, so... 639 00:33:22,166 --> 00:33:25,667 Well, let's get it up to the gold room, see what we got, huh? 640 00:33:25,667 --> 00:33:26,900 -[Hunter] Okay. -All right. 641 00:33:27,367 --> 00:33:28,834 Let's go, guys. 642 00:33:36,467 --> 00:33:38,500 [Todd] When you're ready let me know. I'll switch you out. 643 00:33:40,834 --> 00:33:43,166 [narrator] With clean water flowing through the circuit, 644 00:33:43,166 --> 00:33:46,734 Todd and his team are running Lost Cut pay through both plants 645 00:33:46,734 --> 00:33:48,333 at full capacity. 646 00:33:51,734 --> 00:33:53,367 [Todd] We're back up and running. 647 00:33:53,367 --> 00:33:55,834 Everything seems to be working okay. 648 00:33:56,867 --> 00:34:00,133 The good part about this mine is it is rich. 649 00:34:00,133 --> 00:34:02,433 But you know what, we're probably 650 00:34:02,433 --> 00:34:05,934 finding out why the gold's still here, 'cause it's difficult. 651 00:34:05,934 --> 00:34:10,333 So if we can just handle some of this water management issues 652 00:34:10,333 --> 00:34:12,233 and all the other things that we're dealing with, 653 00:34:12,233 --> 00:34:14,266 and we keep our eye on everything, 654 00:34:14,266 --> 00:34:15,734 we can hit our goals. 655 00:34:15,734 --> 00:34:19,867 Three thousand ounces is within reach. 656 00:34:19,867 --> 00:34:21,900 Now it's about us. 657 00:34:22,834 --> 00:34:24,667 It's ours to lose right here. 658 00:34:24,667 --> 00:34:27,133 So, can we do it? Yeah. 659 00:34:27,133 --> 00:34:29,967 Is there a good chance of us not doing it? Absolutely. 660 00:34:29,967 --> 00:34:31,734 So here we go. 661 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,467 He was the type of guy in a cowboy hat 662 00:34:44,467 --> 00:34:46,834 who could ride a horse backwards blindfolded. 663 00:34:49,867 --> 00:34:51,100 [laughing] 664 00:35:07,767 --> 00:35:10,533 And a hundred years later, you come out with a marshmallow tank. 665 00:35:10,533 --> 00:35:12,667 [Hunter] A marshmallow tank? 666 00:35:12,667 --> 00:35:15,367 -[laughs] Yeah, dude. -Yeah. 667 00:35:17,266 --> 00:35:20,033 You think we can, um, spruce it up a bit? 668 00:35:24,367 --> 00:35:25,500 [man] No. 669 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:27,967 -I give them props for making it out here, though. -Yeah. 670 00:35:27,967 --> 00:35:29,800 [man] Looks like they gave up on a dream 671 00:35:44,266 --> 00:35:48,767 [narrator] After several days of work reengineering their water-settling circuit, 672 00:35:48,767 --> 00:35:51,967 the crew braces for the only true measure of success... 673 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,400 ...results of their weekly gold weigh-in. 674 00:36:10,033 --> 00:36:11,166 It's got a lot of gold in it. 675 00:36:14,233 --> 00:36:15,333 [grunts] 676 00:36:16,934 --> 00:36:18,133 Some chunkies in there. 677 00:36:19,567 --> 00:36:21,767 Oh, dang, there's a lot of gold in that. 678 00:36:23,133 --> 00:36:24,900 [Mike] I like the pull so far. 679 00:36:24,900 --> 00:36:27,166 It's shining back like my smile. 680 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,634 [Todd] The lost cut is rich with gold, 681 00:36:30,634 --> 00:36:33,000 but both plants have been down most of the week, 682 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,033 so I don't want to get overconfident. 683 00:36:35,867 --> 00:36:37,400 We're gonna find out soon enough 684 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,967 if all of our hard work is gonna pay off. 685 00:36:50,934 --> 00:36:54,700 [Jack] This is a test from Carry Creek. 686 00:36:54,700 --> 00:36:57,467 And it's the first material out of my plant. 687 00:36:58,266 --> 00:37:00,200 That's pretty cool. 688 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:02,200 Now, to see gold coming out. 689 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,100 There... There is gold here. 690 00:37:04,100 --> 00:37:08,734 It might be pretty good, but we'll only know after we weigh it. 691 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,533 Hopefully, it's good. 692 00:37:15,967 --> 00:37:20,767 I'm hoping that this weigh-in brings us between 50 and 70 ounces of gold. 693 00:37:20,767 --> 00:37:23,600 If we do better, then, hey, we gonna be happy. 694 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,100 Framer, so how's the water going? 695 00:37:26,100 --> 00:37:28,767 -I mean, no problems keeping it clean. -[Todd] Yeah. 696 00:37:28,767 --> 00:37:30,100 So we should have clean water here 697 00:37:30,100 --> 00:37:31,934 -for the rest of the season. -Good. 698 00:37:31,934 --> 00:37:34,700 Hunter, tell us what you've been doing. 699 00:37:34,700 --> 00:37:37,900 Well, me and Jack went out over to Carry Creek, 700 00:37:37,900 --> 00:37:40,767 and ran the drone, and found a place that looks like, 701 00:37:40,767 --> 00:37:43,634 you know, old timers, or somebody at one point was doing some sort of cut. 702 00:37:43,634 --> 00:37:44,667 Mmm. 703 00:37:44,667 --> 00:37:47,867 So, we ran 20 yards through the Jackrabbit. 704 00:37:47,867 --> 00:37:49,266 We'll see what it is. 705 00:37:49,266 --> 00:37:51,767 Dad, your plant's still going. Still running. 706 00:37:51,767 --> 00:37:52,734 Yeah, it's going. 707 00:37:52,734 --> 00:37:56,967 Hunter is absolutely doing really great with it. 708 00:37:56,967 --> 00:38:01,367 A little temperamental, but he's caught onto it, 709 00:38:01,367 --> 00:38:03,200 and it's working fine. 710 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:04,867 He's temperamental, or the plant? 711 00:38:04,867 --> 00:38:07,066 -[Jack] No, no, no, the plant is, you know. -[Todd] Oh, okay. 712 00:38:07,066 --> 00:38:09,133 -[laughing] -[Jack] Hunter's doing a great job. 713 00:38:09,133 --> 00:38:12,200 -Keep looking, and we're gonna find out right now, huh? -[Jack] Yeah. 714 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:13,934 How much gold did we get out of that? 715 00:38:13,934 --> 00:38:15,734 Well, this is it. 716 00:38:15,734 --> 00:38:19,634 I can't tell you exactly, but we'll find out here. 717 00:38:19,634 --> 00:38:20,867 -You ready? -Yeah. 718 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,100 -0.2. -[Todd] 0.2. 719 00:38:32,100 --> 00:38:33,867 [Hunter] So, like, an ounce a hundred. 720 00:38:33,867 --> 00:38:36,033 -[Jack] Yeah. No. -And it's not an easy spot to get to. 721 00:38:36,033 --> 00:38:41,300 -So probably not worth, uh, investigating anymore. -No. 722 00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,967 If it was insane gold, I'd say maybe we give it a shot, 723 00:38:43,967 --> 00:38:47,900 -but I don't think that's gonna carry us home, so... -[Todd] Yeah. 724 00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:51,967 You know, Hunter, so far, you've proved a point. 725 00:38:51,967 --> 00:38:53,767 There is gold out there, 726 00:38:53,767 --> 00:38:57,934 -but it's just not quite what we want yet. -No. 727 00:38:57,934 --> 00:38:59,333 It's really frustrating. 728 00:38:59,333 --> 00:39:01,634 I was really hoping that the dirt from Carry Creek 729 00:39:01,634 --> 00:39:04,066 was gonna pay out more than an ounce a hundred. 730 00:39:04,066 --> 00:39:06,900 I was really hoping that the lidar drone was gonna pay off. 731 00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:09,500 But I know there is some really rich spots on this property. 732 00:39:09,500 --> 00:39:10,667 It's just a matter of finding them. 733 00:39:10,667 --> 00:39:12,600 All right, let's get to the big daddy. 734 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:13,734 I see a bottle down here. 735 00:39:13,734 --> 00:39:15,567 Well... [chuckles] 736 00:39:16,367 --> 00:39:17,567 Yeah, it's good. 737 00:39:17,567 --> 00:39:18,967 [Todd] Ooh, you're a little shaky when you're carrying that. 738 00:39:18,967 --> 00:39:20,567 It's heavy. It's heavy. 739 00:39:20,567 --> 00:39:21,967 -How heavy? -[Jack] All right. 740 00:39:21,967 --> 00:39:24,400 -Oh, pretty good. -Oh. 741 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,066 [Todd] So this gold is from the lost cut. 742 00:39:26,066 --> 00:39:27,567 It was a real struggle. 743 00:39:27,567 --> 00:39:30,066 We finally got the dirt out of the water 744 00:39:30,066 --> 00:39:32,400 from our new settling-pond system. 745 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,367 So I'm hoping for some good results. 746 00:39:34,367 --> 00:39:36,266 -Okay. Somebody call it out. -[Jack] Okay. 747 00:39:37,867 --> 00:39:40,400 -There's 10. There's 20. -[Todd] Twenty. 748 00:39:41,867 --> 00:39:43,333 [Jack] Fifty. Sixty. 749 00:39:44,133 --> 00:39:45,600 Seventy. 750 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:47,266 Eighty. 751 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:49,934 Ninety. 752 00:39:51,934 --> 00:39:54,900 -Hundred. -[Hunter] Dude, this is insane. 753 00:39:54,900 --> 00:39:56,634 [Todd] We're in triple digits again, guys. 754 00:39:56,634 --> 00:39:57,800 -I like it. -This is awesome. 755 00:39:58,266 --> 00:39:59,934 [Jack] Twelve, 113. 756 00:40:02,233 --> 00:40:04,867 119. 120. 757 00:40:08,533 --> 00:40:10,800 -127. 128. -128. 758 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,567 129. 130.2. 759 00:40:14,567 --> 00:40:15,934 -[Todd] Wow. -130. 760 00:40:15,934 --> 00:40:18,400 -That's a big one. -Yeah. 761 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:19,734 -Way to go. -[Jack] That is good. 762 00:40:19,734 --> 00:40:21,800 -Way to go, everybody. -[crew member] It's a good week. 763 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,200 -So what are we at? Let's, uh, the total. -The total, yeah. 764 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:29,166 We're at 445.6 total. 765 00:40:29,166 --> 00:40:30,400 -[Todd] Whoo. -[Jack] Great. 766 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,300 I see the light at the end of the tunnel, or is that the train? 767 00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:34,500 It might be a train coming the other way. 768 00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:36,900 I know. That's what I'm worried about. 769 00:40:36,900 --> 00:40:38,900 [narrator] With a 130-ounce haul 770 00:40:38,900 --> 00:40:41,500 from both the Holy Roller and the Black Pearl, 771 00:40:41,500 --> 00:40:45,700 the Hoffman's now need 2,587 more ounces 772 00:40:45,700 --> 00:40:48,567 to hit their 3,033-ounce goal. 773 00:40:49,667 --> 00:40:52,467 [Todd] Thanks, guys, for your hard work this week. 774 00:40:52,467 --> 00:40:55,667 Now we got a lot of catching up to do to hit this goal. 775 00:40:55,667 --> 00:40:58,033 Let's keep it up. We're gonna hit it. 776 00:40:58,033 --> 00:41:01,834 That was a pretty good haul this week for how long we were down. 777 00:41:01,834 --> 00:41:07,867 But, uh, we're definitely a long ways from... from that 3,033-ounce goal. 778 00:41:07,867 --> 00:41:10,467 I want this season to end in a win, 779 00:41:10,467 --> 00:41:12,200 not only just for my dad, 780 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:13,900 but for all of us. 781 00:41:13,900 --> 00:41:15,800 Let's just hope we can pull this off. 782 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:19,100 You know what? It's the most unity we've ever had this year. 783 00:41:19,100 --> 00:41:22,266 -Mmm-hmm. -I think it's been most unity we've ever had. 784 00:41:22,266 --> 00:41:24,634 -[Jim] Yeah. Amen. -Let's keep it up, huh? 785 00:41:24,634 --> 00:41:25,934 [Jack] Yeah.