1 00:00:00,934 --> 00:00:02,667 [Andy] I think I might have screwed up. 2 00:00:02,667 --> 00:00:05,400 The whole pile is moving towards the creek. 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,066 [Todd] It's like a mudslide. 4 00:00:07,066 --> 00:00:10,200 [narrator] After an engineering error puts the Hoffman's mine 5 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,100 -at risk... -[Andy] I've never made a mistake like this before. 6 00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:18,000 [narrator] A severe storm pushes it to the brink of collapse. 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,467 This is an absolute mess. 8 00:00:20,467 --> 00:00:23,700 Oh, yeah, that's turning into slop really fast. 9 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:28,100 [narrator] As heavy rain drives mud toward a fragile watershed... 10 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:32,100 State and federal agencies descend on the mine. 11 00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:34,300 Hey, Todd, there's some inspectors here. 12 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:37,667 That rainstorm we had, it's going to bring the people out 13 00:00:37,667 --> 00:00:39,300 because they know we got hammered. 14 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:41,767 [narrator] Facing fines and work stop orders. 15 00:00:41,767 --> 00:00:43,367 [Todd] Every time we've been inspected, 16 00:00:43,367 --> 00:00:45,000 there's always been something that we need to fix. 17 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,467 [Todd] I just hope this doesn't throw a wrench in our plans. 18 00:00:51,467 --> 00:00:55,000 [narrator] For the Hoffman team, it's a race against time and the elements... 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,100 [Todd] There's over a million dollars of gold sitting underneath all that mud. 20 00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:00,100 [narrator] ...to re-engineer their operation. 21 00:01:00,100 --> 00:01:01,233 Are you seeing this? 22 00:01:01,467 --> 00:01:03,100 Come on. 23 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:06,800 [narrator] Before the government shuts down the mine for good. 24 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,700 [Todd] The point that we're at, Jack's final season will be 25 00:01:09,700 --> 00:01:11,100 one of our worst seasons. 26 00:01:11,100 --> 00:01:12,500 [sighs] 27 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:16,600 Kind of sick to my stomach right now. 28 00:01:18,467 --> 00:01:20,100 [thunderclap] 29 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,133 [rain pattering] 30 00:01:35,767 --> 00:01:36,834 It's kind of rainy. 31 00:01:36,834 --> 00:01:40,634 You know, this is some rainy day, liquid sunshine. 32 00:01:48,867 --> 00:01:52,667 Sterling, this is, I don't know, this is an absolute mess. 33 00:01:52,667 --> 00:01:54,467 I don't know what we're going to do. 34 00:01:54,467 --> 00:01:57,033 Yeah, this is turning into slop really fast. 35 00:01:58,266 --> 00:02:00,266 What do you want to do with all this? 36 00:02:00,266 --> 00:02:02,867 We don't have the time to separate it. 37 00:02:02,867 --> 00:02:05,367 And any gravel that's in there has got gold in it. 38 00:02:05,367 --> 00:02:08,000 I think we're just gonna have to run the whole thing. 39 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:09,867 All right. Will the plant take it? 40 00:02:09,867 --> 00:02:11,867 [Andy] We'll be under a lot of pressure. 41 00:02:11,867 --> 00:02:13,767 We're just gonna have to run a lot more yardage, 42 00:02:13,767 --> 00:02:16,600 get the gold out of it, but at least we'll get it out of it. 43 00:02:16,867 --> 00:02:18,867 Okay, 10-4. 44 00:02:18,867 --> 00:02:20,567 [Andy] This mine's one of the toughest mines 45 00:02:20,567 --> 00:02:21,533 I've ever had to work on. 46 00:02:21,533 --> 00:02:24,700 It rains, and it just never seems to let up. 47 00:02:24,700 --> 00:02:27,567 The more rain we have, the more problems we have. 48 00:02:27,567 --> 00:02:29,600 At this point, we just got to run the pay 49 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,100 because there's no point in waiting for the rain to stop. 50 00:02:32,100 --> 00:02:33,800 We could be waiting all season. 51 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,500 Dakota, just fire up the plant. 52 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:37,467 We're just going to run this slop. 53 00:02:37,467 --> 00:02:39,166 Everybody clear of the trommel. 54 00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:39,934 Clear of the trommel. 55 00:02:55,367 --> 00:02:57,367 We're at least running some dirt. 56 00:02:57,367 --> 00:02:59,000 It's been raining like crazy, 57 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,800 but we're not going to shut down. 58 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,467 We're going to run that wet pay. 59 00:03:02,467 --> 00:03:06,367 But because it's wet, it's much heavier than dry pay. 60 00:03:06,367 --> 00:03:09,100 That trommel's got a lot of weight inside it. 61 00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:11,000 It's going to put stress on the chains 62 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,000 and different things like that, the rollers. 63 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,400 So hopefully we don't break something, 64 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:16,767 but we can't shut down. 65 00:03:16,767 --> 00:03:18,300 We're going to run it through. 66 00:03:37,567 --> 00:03:40,367 With having everything wet versus dry, 67 00:03:40,367 --> 00:03:41,800 you can't stack as high. 68 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,100 And then Dakota's having a heck of a time 69 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:45,900 trying to push it up to the guy 70 00:03:45,900 --> 00:03:48,467 that's loading it because it won't stack. 71 00:03:48,467 --> 00:03:50,467 It just oozes back down the pile. 72 00:03:50,467 --> 00:03:53,500 So it just makes everything less efficient. 73 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:56,500 But you got to do it. 74 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,967 [man] Hey, Todd, I'm going to push some of this off 75 00:04:05,967 --> 00:04:07,266 and keep this pay out back. 76 00:04:07,266 --> 00:04:10,867 -[Todd] I think that's a great idea. -Okay. 77 00:04:10,867 --> 00:04:14,600 This stuff is so wet, it just runs down the pad. 78 00:04:22,266 --> 00:04:25,400 We're going to dam it off on either side 79 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,800 and dump right in front of the hopper there. 80 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:43,767 [Sparky] I'm like Jack of all trades. 81 00:04:43,767 --> 00:04:45,667 When I'm not welding, I'm in a truck. 82 00:04:45,667 --> 00:04:48,800 Sometimes you gotta be pretty malleable and fit in where you can. 83 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,567 We're delivering the sloppy pay. 84 00:04:50,567 --> 00:04:53,066 As sloppy as it is, it's a rich pay. 85 00:04:53,066 --> 00:04:54,834 It's gonna get us to our goal. 86 00:05:03,567 --> 00:05:07,600 [Todd] People say that some of the great things, you know, are hard, 87 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,600 and that's why you don't see many people doing them. 88 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,900 And that's why you don't see very many miners out here. 89 00:05:11,900 --> 00:05:12,667 It's hard. 90 00:05:12,667 --> 00:05:14,567 There's a lot of water flooding. 91 00:05:14,567 --> 00:05:16,367 It's like, it's just crazy. 92 00:05:16,367 --> 00:05:19,300 It can get wild out here. It's a wild animal. 93 00:05:34,467 --> 00:05:36,967 Gold's been really good. 94 00:05:36,967 --> 00:05:42,100 You know, I have not been on ground that's been this good. 95 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:45,567 This has been phenomenal, Todd. 96 00:05:45,567 --> 00:05:47,900 Well, we're just going to keep grinding away, 97 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:49,567 keep running through the plant, 98 00:05:49,567 --> 00:05:51,800 -bringing you guys big cleanups. -Yeah. 99 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,133 [both chuckle] 100 00:05:53,767 --> 00:05:56,767 They may not all be that good, 101 00:05:56,767 --> 00:05:58,200 but I mean, they just keep coming in. 102 00:05:58,200 --> 00:05:59,100 Why not? 103 00:05:59,100 --> 00:06:00,467 The ground's that good. 104 00:06:00,467 --> 00:06:01,567 I hope it is. 105 00:06:01,567 --> 00:06:04,400 It's just like you get three ounces, 106 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:05,700 you get three and a half ounces, 107 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:07,567 a hundred, now you get four. 108 00:06:07,567 --> 00:06:10,166 -So... -If we make it, that's going to be, 109 00:06:10,166 --> 00:06:12,567 you know, just really cool. 110 00:06:12,567 --> 00:06:17,767 You know, I... I've never made that kind of gold. 111 00:06:17,767 --> 00:06:22,467 We've never got to that point, you know, that is phenomenal. 112 00:06:22,467 --> 00:06:23,934 And I think it's a... 113 00:06:24,667 --> 00:06:26,834 Everybody could go home with a lot of gold. 114 00:06:27,166 --> 00:06:28,867 -Let's hope. -Yeah. 115 00:06:28,867 --> 00:06:30,133 [Andy] Hey, Todd. 116 00:06:30,567 --> 00:06:32,667 Yeah, yeah. 117 00:06:32,667 --> 00:06:35,367 [Andy] Looks like we got some inspectors here. 118 00:06:35,367 --> 00:06:37,000 I'm going to go see what they want. 119 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,166 Okay, everybody just give Andy some space. 120 00:06:43,166 --> 00:06:46,266 Everybody just do what you're doing. 121 00:06:46,266 --> 00:06:49,033 Leave Andy alone for now. He's going to be busy. 122 00:06:50,066 --> 00:06:52,166 -What the crap's going on? -I don't know. 123 00:06:52,166 --> 00:06:54,133 I'll figure it out. I'll call you in a bit. 124 00:07:07,467 --> 00:07:09,867 I feel like I'm sick to my stomach right now. 125 00:07:09,867 --> 00:07:11,133 I don't... 126 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,567 [sighs] I knew it, man. I knew it. 127 00:07:16,567 --> 00:07:19,500 Everything's going too good. It was going too good. 128 00:07:28,667 --> 00:07:29,967 How are you guys doing? 129 00:07:29,967 --> 00:07:32,233 -We're good. How are you? -Good. 130 00:07:45,867 --> 00:07:49,100 I'll take you guys around and kind of show you. 131 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:50,700 So I'll take you down to our cut. 132 00:07:51,166 --> 00:07:52,500 We've got the inspectors here. 133 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:54,000 We've had a lot of rains. 134 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:55,867 This makes kind of a stressful situation. 135 00:07:55,867 --> 00:07:58,800 But it's common for inspectors to come after 136 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,266 big storms, make sure that we're doing the right thing. 137 00:08:01,266 --> 00:08:04,867 So hopefully, if everything's okay, we just get back to mining. 138 00:08:04,867 --> 00:08:07,200 Let's just hope this is just routine and nothing more. 139 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:08,800 That's good with you guys? 140 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,100 -That works for us. -Okay. 141 00:08:10,100 --> 00:08:11,867 You just follow me on down there, okay? 142 00:08:11,867 --> 00:08:13,266 Okay. 143 00:08:15,667 --> 00:08:19,166 You know, these inspections are routine for our mine, 144 00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:23,000 but if you find something in noncompliance, 145 00:08:23,467 --> 00:08:25,333 they can shut you down. 146 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,266 We've been having such a good season. 147 00:08:33,266 --> 00:08:36,166 I just hope this doesn't throw a wrench in our plans, 148 00:08:36,166 --> 00:08:39,900 but we're at the mercy of these inspectors 149 00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:42,100 and the laws and rules. 150 00:08:42,100 --> 00:08:45,467 You just go through everything in your head, you know. 151 00:08:45,467 --> 00:08:48,667 We had a lot of rain, which created a mudslide 152 00:08:48,667 --> 00:08:51,800 last week and turned our cut into soup this week. 153 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:53,500 They're not going to like that. 154 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:55,500 Let's just hope it doesn't kill our seasons. 155 00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:56,433 It can. 156 00:08:56,967 --> 00:08:58,233 It can shut you down. 157 00:09:09,567 --> 00:09:12,667 I hope this all works out, because I don't want 158 00:09:12,667 --> 00:09:13,900 to shut down right now. 159 00:09:23,467 --> 00:09:25,667 Drive into that slot on the next load, 160 00:09:25,667 --> 00:09:29,233 and then kind of crank it to your right and fill that hole, too. 161 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,867 So we've been running this pay out of the Lost Cut, 162 00:09:34,867 --> 00:09:39,700 and this stuff's been super wet, which is a pain. 163 00:09:39,700 --> 00:09:42,233 We're just trying to keep up with the plan at this point. 164 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:44,300 We just don't have a choice. 165 00:09:44,300 --> 00:09:45,800 I mean, it's so late in the season now. 166 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:47,500 We just don't have the time to dry it out. 167 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:49,700 So we just got to get it through the plant 168 00:09:49,700 --> 00:09:52,600 if we can and just take what we can get. 169 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,233 [gears grinding] 170 00:10:03,967 --> 00:10:05,533 Holy [bleep]. 171 00:10:07,700 --> 00:10:11,300 Tater, Tater, the Holy Roller just shut down. 172 00:10:11,300 --> 00:10:13,500 I'm going to need you up here ASAP. 173 00:10:13,900 --> 00:10:15,133 Copy that. 174 00:10:17,767 --> 00:10:19,200 [Dakota] It's not looking good. 175 00:10:47,033 --> 00:10:50,367 [Todd] Heavy rains have been messing us up this year. 176 00:10:50,367 --> 00:10:52,033 It shut us down last week. 177 00:10:52,033 --> 00:10:55,867 Now it's creating all kinds of issues in our cut with mud. 178 00:10:55,867 --> 00:10:57,767 And as we're fighting the fight, 179 00:10:57,767 --> 00:11:00,100 our environmental inspectors show up. 180 00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:01,600 It's not good. 181 00:11:05,867 --> 00:11:11,266 Well, kind of what we feared, that monsoon rainstorm we had. 182 00:11:11,266 --> 00:11:13,967 It's going to bring the people out 183 00:11:13,967 --> 00:11:16,266 'cause they know good and well we got hammered. 184 00:11:16,266 --> 00:11:18,066 And I think they're just seeing 185 00:11:18,066 --> 00:11:20,500 how we survived the storm. 186 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,066 So I think we're good, but you never know. 187 00:11:31,066 --> 00:11:34,734 They seem not overjoyed, but they just made 188 00:11:34,734 --> 00:11:37,867 a trek through the tundra, and that can't be fun. 189 00:11:38,266 --> 00:11:39,767 Doesn't help to worry. 190 00:11:39,767 --> 00:11:42,000 We're doing everything we possibly can. 191 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,734 And if it comes to the point where we can't run, well, what do you do? 192 00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:53,834 [Todd] We're at the mercy of 193 00:11:53,834 --> 00:11:56,800 these inspectors and the laws and rules. 194 00:11:57,667 --> 00:11:59,100 We're not perfect. 195 00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:00,667 Every time we've been inspected, 196 00:12:00,667 --> 00:12:02,934 there's always been something that we need to fix and do. 197 00:12:02,934 --> 00:12:05,767 But let's just hope it doesn't kill our season. 198 00:12:05,767 --> 00:12:06,767 I'm worried and stuff. 199 00:12:06,767 --> 00:12:09,200 I really don't want to film any more about it. 200 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,200 I'm kind of sick to my stomach right now. 201 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:12,400 -Okay, we will. -Thanks, guys. 202 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,000 You're welcome. 203 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,967 [Todd] I'll wait and see what Andy says. 204 00:12:15,967 --> 00:12:18,800 Hopefully, it went better than I think. 205 00:12:27,166 --> 00:12:30,233 Dakota, what'd you do? 206 00:12:31,066 --> 00:12:33,600 The spray bar had a little too much vibration. 207 00:12:33,867 --> 00:12:34,734 Oh, yeah. 208 00:12:34,734 --> 00:12:36,900 -I can see it from here. -It's hanging. 209 00:12:38,300 --> 00:12:39,767 That ain't no good. 210 00:12:39,767 --> 00:12:41,867 [Tater] The spray bar inside the trommel's broken. 211 00:12:41,867 --> 00:12:45,066 We've been running some heavy, dense, muddy material. 212 00:12:45,066 --> 00:12:49,100 It was causing vibration and too much weight on the plant. 213 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:52,567 Unfortunately, it caused the motor on the trommel to stop. 214 00:12:52,567 --> 00:12:54,934 The spray bar bracket snapped. 215 00:12:54,934 --> 00:12:56,934 Hopefully, there's not too much damage. 216 00:12:56,934 --> 00:12:59,367 One of the brackets that actually holds the spray bar 217 00:12:59,367 --> 00:13:02,300 in place is completely detached and off. 218 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,500 [narrator] The first step in fixing the spray bar 219 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:10,667 bar is for Dakota and Tater to use the excavator 220 00:13:10,667 --> 00:13:13,967 to set the bar back into its correct position. 221 00:13:13,967 --> 00:13:17,667 Once set, Tater will use a temporary strap to hold it 222 00:13:17,667 --> 00:13:21,967 in place while he welds the broken strap back together. 223 00:13:21,967 --> 00:13:25,367 [Dakota] The spray bar is one of the most essential parts in this trommel. 224 00:13:25,367 --> 00:13:27,166 All that pay that's going through there 225 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:29,166 needs to be washed. 226 00:13:29,166 --> 00:13:31,767 [Tater] It's really important these straps stay on there 227 00:13:31,767 --> 00:13:34,100 and the spray bar stays where we set it. 228 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:36,567 It has a certain angle that we set it at. 229 00:13:36,567 --> 00:13:39,567 It's actually hitting the rock as it's tumbling 230 00:13:39,567 --> 00:13:41,367 and not just as it's on the deal, 231 00:13:41,367 --> 00:13:43,100 so it'll clean the rocks better. 232 00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:45,367 We're just going to use the excavator up on the pad 233 00:13:45,367 --> 00:13:49,900 right now and just sling this water bar and then pick it up. 234 00:14:12,033 --> 00:14:12,900 Okay. 235 00:14:16,967 --> 00:14:18,000 You win. 236 00:14:18,567 --> 00:14:20,467 This thing's a little bit broken. 237 00:14:20,467 --> 00:14:23,000 It used to be a round half of an 8-inch pipe, 238 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,266 but you can see this is the clean break. 239 00:14:25,266 --> 00:14:26,834 But for now, we're going to go up, 240 00:14:26,834 --> 00:14:28,900 and I'm going to weld it back together and make it round again. 241 00:14:34,767 --> 00:14:35,800 All right. 242 00:14:36,266 --> 00:14:37,867 Something 8-inch. 243 00:14:37,867 --> 00:14:39,734 That'll give you an idea 244 00:14:39,734 --> 00:14:41,166 how far out of round she is. 245 00:14:41,166 --> 00:14:42,400 Really bad. 246 00:14:42,667 --> 00:14:43,900 So... 247 00:14:51,166 --> 00:14:52,300 There. 248 00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:53,567 Not a bad fit. 249 00:14:53,567 --> 00:14:55,467 Hopefully that's the same size. 250 00:14:55,467 --> 00:14:56,734 If not, I can drive it... 251 00:14:57,767 --> 00:14:59,400 I can drive it over our pipe. 252 00:15:00,266 --> 00:15:01,934 The spray bar strap is fixed. 253 00:15:01,934 --> 00:15:03,266 It's a great thing. 254 00:15:03,266 --> 00:15:04,166 We're back up and running, 255 00:15:04,166 --> 00:15:06,500 but we can't run this material anymore 256 00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:09,266 because it's too heavy and we don't need any more problems. 257 00:15:09,266 --> 00:15:11,600 If we do, not only could this break again, 258 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:13,700 but there's other things that can get damaged. 259 00:15:16,667 --> 00:15:18,300 Don't get your fingers on there. 260 00:15:19,467 --> 00:15:20,500 There we go. 261 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,233 Okay. 262 00:15:23,233 --> 00:15:26,967 I can work some miracles, but there's a lot of work to do. 263 00:15:26,967 --> 00:15:28,166 We need to get moving. 264 00:15:40,834 --> 00:15:42,600 -Where are they? -They left. 265 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,000 Oh, weird. 266 00:15:44,867 --> 00:15:47,834 Well, I'm sure we'll get a report on it. 267 00:15:47,834 --> 00:15:50,266 -They looked at all of our pond system. -Yeah. 268 00:15:50,266 --> 00:15:51,667 We're not leaking anything. 269 00:15:51,667 --> 00:15:53,600 I mean, we busted our butt to do it right. 270 00:15:54,266 --> 00:15:56,066 I think we're in compliance. 271 00:15:56,066 --> 00:15:58,867 I mean, there's always work to do, but, like, 272 00:15:58,867 --> 00:16:04,667 nobody's ever mined this whole valley like we are. 273 00:16:04,667 --> 00:16:08,734 We want to do what's right and try to get, you know, 274 00:16:08,734 --> 00:16:11,600 if they do have things that they want us to change, 275 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:12,467 we'll do it, you know? 276 00:16:14,166 --> 00:16:16,867 We've been mining here for a while now. 277 00:16:16,867 --> 00:16:19,200 We've had to do a lot to get this place set up, 278 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:20,767 and we've never cut any corners. 279 00:16:20,767 --> 00:16:23,300 So hopefully, inspectors recognize that. 280 00:16:24,033 --> 00:16:26,100 Mining's getting tough, boys. 281 00:16:26,100 --> 00:16:28,000 Mining's getting tough out here. 282 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:30,033 You know, sometimes you wonder, 283 00:16:30,033 --> 00:16:31,967 is the chase worth it, you know? 284 00:16:31,967 --> 00:16:34,600 -But... -Days like this, it seems like 285 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:36,033 it's sometimes like it's not. 286 00:16:36,033 --> 00:16:38,867 But then you look at our guys, and you look at what 287 00:16:38,867 --> 00:16:42,400 it means to them, and you see the joy that it brings them. 288 00:16:43,467 --> 00:16:44,500 Yeah. 289 00:16:46,066 --> 00:16:47,867 We're turning these guys into men. 290 00:16:47,867 --> 00:16:50,266 They're running huge equipment, 291 00:16:50,266 --> 00:16:53,467 and we're mining clean. 292 00:16:53,467 --> 00:16:55,000 We're doing the best we can. 293 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,000 And I think there's something bigger than 294 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,200 just trying to go out and line our pockets. 295 00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:05,467 The way our company is turning out, I'm proud of it. 296 00:17:05,467 --> 00:17:08,567 Even if they came in and gave us some trouble, 297 00:17:08,567 --> 00:17:10,834 we would definitely fix it, whatever it was. 298 00:17:10,834 --> 00:17:15,166 -You know, but... -You can plan everything right, but... 299 00:17:15,166 --> 00:17:17,767 -There's still a lot of things that can go wrong. -There's some... 300 00:17:17,767 --> 00:17:20,767 I'm still trying to figure out what we're supposed 301 00:17:20,767 --> 00:17:23,233 to learn from all this, right? You know, from God. 302 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,467 So until we figure that out, 303 00:17:26,467 --> 00:17:28,734 I think we'll just keep plugging forward. 304 00:17:28,734 --> 00:17:29,400 Yeah. 305 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,600 -Oh, thanks, buddy. -Yeah. 306 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,734 -Hey, I appreciate going on this journey with me, man. -Yeah. 307 00:17:35,734 --> 00:17:37,266 -It's a journey. -It's not always easy. 308 00:17:37,266 --> 00:17:38,233 No. 309 00:17:38,834 --> 00:17:40,133 It'll be worth it, though. 310 00:17:40,934 --> 00:17:42,367 [Todd] Get some sleep. 311 00:17:53,634 --> 00:17:57,433 Right now, the point that we're at to not sugarcoat it, 312 00:17:57,433 --> 00:17:59,467 I'm completely screwed. 313 00:17:59,467 --> 00:18:01,767 If we don't get this mud flow controlled quickly 314 00:18:01,767 --> 00:18:03,767 and it gets worse, that could cause 315 00:18:03,767 --> 00:18:06,433 more inspectors to come out to the mine. 316 00:18:06,433 --> 00:18:09,333 We have mud pumps here, so I think the best plan 317 00:18:09,333 --> 00:18:12,000 is to build a big pond to pump the mud into. 318 00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:15,634 [narrator] To eliminate the confounding layer of mud, 319 00:18:15,634 --> 00:18:19,000 the crew will install two gas-powered slurry pumps 320 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,867 to push the mud into a retaining pond. 321 00:18:21,867 --> 00:18:24,967 If successful, the crew should gain access 322 00:18:24,967 --> 00:18:26,700 to the underlying pay dirt. 323 00:18:38,834 --> 00:18:40,500 You got a copy, Andy? 324 00:18:41,934 --> 00:18:43,300 Yeah, go ahead. 325 00:18:49,734 --> 00:18:51,900 Hate when you find more gravel. 326 00:18:52,634 --> 00:18:54,300 [bleep] 327 00:18:56,266 --> 00:18:59,567 [narrator] While construction of the retention pond is underway, 328 00:18:59,567 --> 00:19:03,867 the crew works on the most crucial component of Andy's plan, 329 00:19:03,867 --> 00:19:05,100 the mud pumps. 330 00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:07,133 If you hit it hard, it should go easy. 331 00:19:07,133 --> 00:19:09,333 -Oh, really? -Yeah. 332 00:19:09,333 --> 00:19:12,467 Trying to get these new slurry pumps together. 333 00:19:13,767 --> 00:19:15,634 These have like a rubber flapper 334 00:19:15,634 --> 00:19:17,367 pretty much that's stomping the mud out. 335 00:19:17,367 --> 00:19:20,166 So just pump straight silt and slurry. 336 00:19:20,166 --> 00:19:23,000 So should help out in the cut a lot. 337 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,934 [Sterling] We are putting fittings on hoses 338 00:19:25,934 --> 00:19:27,567 and then we're going to roll them up. 339 00:19:27,567 --> 00:19:30,433 These are the discharge hoses for the slurry pump. 340 00:19:30,433 --> 00:19:31,767 That's going to go on the cut 341 00:19:31,767 --> 00:19:34,000 so we can start controlling some of this mud. 342 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,734 These mud pumps, all it is is a bladder inside of the pump. 343 00:19:37,734 --> 00:19:39,867 That's what's going to suction the mud out 344 00:19:39,867 --> 00:19:41,467 so we can save that pay. 345 00:19:42,066 --> 00:19:43,767 I have nightmares about pumps. 346 00:19:44,634 --> 00:19:46,300 This guy has pump nightmares. 347 00:19:49,133 --> 00:19:51,367 [Framer] Andy's digging us a retention pond right now. 348 00:19:51,367 --> 00:19:53,066 We're going to put these pumps in, 349 00:19:53,066 --> 00:19:54,367 and we're going to start pumping 350 00:19:54,367 --> 00:19:55,233 the mud out of the cut 351 00:19:55,233 --> 00:19:57,066 and over into his new retention ponds. 352 00:19:57,066 --> 00:20:01,767 And hopefully, this afternoon, he'll have some dry ground 353 00:20:01,767 --> 00:20:03,066 to start digging some pay on. 354 00:20:12,467 --> 00:20:13,667 Good thing it's ice under it. 355 00:20:13,667 --> 00:20:15,300 Yeah, it's nice and gooey. 356 00:20:16,634 --> 00:20:18,467 All right, let's do this one first. 357 00:20:18,467 --> 00:20:19,967 Yep. 358 00:20:25,533 --> 00:20:27,967 We need to pick it up and carry it all the way over there. 359 00:20:27,967 --> 00:20:29,100 Okay. 360 00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:30,667 The end, this end needs to be all the way down there. 361 00:20:30,667 --> 00:20:32,567 This one? It needs to be that one? 362 00:20:32,567 --> 00:20:34,433 You want to roll it out and drag it? 363 00:20:34,433 --> 00:20:35,900 You want to do that? 364 00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:37,967 Or do you want to just carry the whole thing over there and roll it back? 365 00:20:37,967 --> 00:20:39,367 -Yeah, I don't know. -We can just go? 366 00:20:39,467 --> 00:20:40,400 Just go. 367 00:20:47,433 --> 00:20:50,634 Caleb, pull it out there. 368 00:20:50,634 --> 00:20:51,934 Want to go straight out? 369 00:20:51,934 --> 00:20:53,100 Yeah. 370 00:20:57,133 --> 00:20:58,367 [Andy] Great. 371 00:20:58,367 --> 00:21:01,800 That's good. Just go towards the excavator. 372 00:21:02,266 --> 00:21:03,300 No. 373 00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:06,367 Caleb, go towards the excavator. 374 00:21:06,367 --> 00:21:08,000 [Todd] So what we're going to attempt to do, 375 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,333 we're going to pump mud. 376 00:21:09,333 --> 00:21:12,266 Hopefully, we can uncover all this pay dirt here. 377 00:21:12,266 --> 00:21:14,567 We've got two little tiny pumps. 378 00:21:14,567 --> 00:21:16,166 And it might work, and it may not. 379 00:21:16,166 --> 00:21:17,100 We don't know. 380 00:21:17,567 --> 00:21:18,533 This has to work. 381 00:21:18,533 --> 00:21:20,867 Not only do we need to get to our good pay, 382 00:21:20,867 --> 00:21:23,767 but we got these inspectors here the other day. 383 00:21:23,767 --> 00:21:25,667 If they come back for any reason 384 00:21:25,667 --> 00:21:27,867 and we have this mud that's out of control 385 00:21:27,867 --> 00:21:30,066 in the cut, it's not going to look good. 386 00:21:30,066 --> 00:21:31,634 We don't want to get shut down, 387 00:21:31,634 --> 00:21:34,433 and hopefully these little pumps will do the trick. 388 00:21:34,433 --> 00:21:36,734 Straighten this hose out, get some water in that pump, 389 00:21:36,734 --> 00:21:37,867 and then we can fire it. 390 00:21:37,867 --> 00:21:39,600 Is it going to work or no? 391 00:21:40,266 --> 00:21:41,867 What do you think, Andy? 392 00:21:42,533 --> 00:21:43,900 Framer's the expert. 393 00:21:44,433 --> 00:21:45,667 It's gooey. 394 00:21:45,667 --> 00:21:48,567 -If it don't work, it's Framer's fault. -Yep. 395 00:21:48,567 --> 00:21:50,100 All right, let's fire it up. 396 00:21:50,667 --> 00:21:51,700 Nice. 397 00:21:52,767 --> 00:21:54,400 We will see if this works. 398 00:21:55,567 --> 00:21:58,166 We got probably a million dollars 399 00:21:58,166 --> 00:21:59,900 worth of pay dirt sitting right there. 400 00:22:00,934 --> 00:22:02,767 All right, well, we're pumping. 401 00:22:09,467 --> 00:22:11,300 Okay, here we go, here we go. 402 00:22:15,867 --> 00:22:18,967 Dig a hole right where your bucket is, like right there. 403 00:22:21,634 --> 00:22:23,767 There we go. 404 00:22:23,767 --> 00:22:26,133 [Caleb] Is he just burying them, or are we putting them in that hole? 405 00:22:26,133 --> 00:22:27,433 We're going to put them in that hole. 406 00:22:27,433 --> 00:22:29,000 Don't bury the hoses. Just dig the hole, 407 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,700 and we'll throw the hose in the hole. 408 00:22:33,567 --> 00:22:34,934 [Todd] This is tricky. 409 00:22:34,934 --> 00:22:36,934 This is very, very tricky. 410 00:22:36,934 --> 00:22:38,800 That's good. Let him throw it in there. 411 00:22:41,166 --> 00:22:42,500 [Framer laughing] 412 00:22:43,634 --> 00:22:45,233 This is the part where you say, 413 00:22:45,233 --> 00:22:47,000 I love my job, right there. 414 00:22:47,634 --> 00:22:49,567 Don't get much better than this. 415 00:22:49,567 --> 00:22:52,367 [Todd] If it doesn't work, we're going to have to go to plan B. 416 00:22:52,367 --> 00:22:54,467 And that might be just wait till it freezes up 417 00:22:54,467 --> 00:22:56,166 a little bit, try to truck it out. 418 00:22:56,166 --> 00:22:58,266 But I don't know. 419 00:22:58,266 --> 00:23:00,300 That doesn't sound like a good idea. 420 00:23:02,834 --> 00:23:04,266 It don't hold very much gas, though. 421 00:23:04,266 --> 00:23:07,266 Somebody's going to be down there about day 422 00:23:07,266 --> 00:23:10,433 and night refueling for a couple of days anyway. 423 00:23:10,433 --> 00:23:13,166 [Todd] What we're trying to do is move mud, 424 00:23:13,166 --> 00:23:17,100 this strip of mud to that side of the cut. 425 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,266 We probably have a million dollars worth of gold 426 00:23:20,266 --> 00:23:22,467 right through this strip here. 427 00:23:22,467 --> 00:23:26,000 We can't get to it unless we get that mud out of the way. 428 00:23:32,166 --> 00:23:34,233 -[man] Hey, Todd, you got a copy? -Yeah. 429 00:23:34,233 --> 00:23:37,266 [man] Heads up, you have inspectors coming your way. 430 00:23:40,133 --> 00:23:43,000 These inspectors didn't get enough the other day. 431 00:23:54,367 --> 00:23:56,667 Are we seeing this? Come on. 432 00:24:09,634 --> 00:24:10,667 [Todd] Stop! 433 00:24:11,033 --> 00:24:12,700 We gotta rethink this. 434 00:24:20,467 --> 00:24:21,600 [Todd] Stop! 435 00:24:22,667 --> 00:24:24,300 We gotta rethink this. 436 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:30,233 Andy, you got a second? 437 00:24:30,567 --> 00:24:32,233 We gotta rethink this. 438 00:24:33,967 --> 00:24:36,166 Do you see the inspectors are back? 439 00:24:37,266 --> 00:24:38,300 You know what? 440 00:24:38,300 --> 00:24:40,066 This is the second time this week the inspectors 441 00:24:40,066 --> 00:24:43,367 are back, which I don't exactly know why they're here. 442 00:24:43,367 --> 00:24:45,667 But since they're back, it makes me think 443 00:24:45,667 --> 00:24:47,166 that they found something. 444 00:24:47,166 --> 00:24:50,367 My gut tells me they don't like the mud in the cut. 445 00:24:50,367 --> 00:24:52,266 So we have to fix it quick. 446 00:24:52,266 --> 00:24:54,767 And these pumps are not going to do it. 447 00:24:54,767 --> 00:24:57,433 There's just no manual for this stuff, dude. 448 00:24:57,433 --> 00:24:59,667 You just got to look at it and read it. 449 00:24:59,667 --> 00:25:00,300 And you know what? 450 00:25:00,300 --> 00:25:01,767 You're the best at it. 451 00:25:01,767 --> 00:25:03,834 It doesn't look like it right now. 452 00:25:03,834 --> 00:25:07,066 How about you and I go up and say a little prayer to God 453 00:25:07,066 --> 00:25:08,367 on this? 454 00:25:08,367 --> 00:25:09,767 Let's just figure it out. 455 00:25:09,767 --> 00:25:12,033 I don't care what you decide. 456 00:25:12,033 --> 00:25:13,200 We're with you. 457 00:25:15,133 --> 00:25:17,367 And let's just shut down for now until 458 00:25:17,367 --> 00:25:18,767 the inspectors leave. 459 00:25:26,867 --> 00:25:29,800 -[thunder rumbling] -[rain pattering] 460 00:25:56,567 --> 00:25:58,867 [Todd] We've really got to figure out this mud. 461 00:25:58,867 --> 00:26:02,166 You know, these inspectors are breathing down our necks. 462 00:26:02,166 --> 00:26:05,233 You guys realize if you do the math under that mud, 463 00:26:05,233 --> 00:26:08,567 there's probably a million dollars right along that edge. 464 00:26:08,567 --> 00:26:11,266 -Yeah. -I mean, that puts us over the hump. 465 00:26:11,266 --> 00:26:13,533 If we don't do something drastic, 466 00:26:13,533 --> 00:26:16,100 -we're going to lose everything. -There's a lot, yeah. 467 00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:19,233 We got to treat it like a landside, like on 101. 468 00:26:19,233 --> 00:26:21,266 This is our mountain right here. 469 00:26:21,266 --> 00:26:23,266 Our pay is out here. 470 00:26:23,266 --> 00:26:27,667 Cowboy Carl, he's a 30-year excavation guy, 471 00:26:27,667 --> 00:26:29,967 and so he knows his stuff. 472 00:26:29,967 --> 00:26:34,667 When Highway 101 was hit by a huge mudslide, 473 00:26:34,667 --> 00:26:38,467 Carl was really instrumental in clearing that slide. 474 00:26:38,467 --> 00:26:41,333 So his expertise in mud is actually 475 00:26:41,333 --> 00:26:43,266 going to come in handy right now. 476 00:26:44,367 --> 00:26:46,567 [Carl] It's the same principle as the mud pumps, 477 00:26:46,567 --> 00:26:49,166 just moving the mud in a different way. 478 00:26:49,166 --> 00:26:51,967 -Okay. -This mountain sits right here. It's a natural slide. 479 00:26:51,967 --> 00:26:54,734 We have a ditch that goes along here. 480 00:26:54,734 --> 00:26:58,166 Then we have our pay is out here, frozen. 481 00:26:58,166 --> 00:27:01,166 Gravity goes downhill. This is water leak. 482 00:27:01,166 --> 00:27:04,100 We build a little trough along this side, 483 00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:07,767 Andy's fast with the dozer, really fast. 484 00:27:07,767 --> 00:27:12,000 He takes all that top stuff, pushes it down here. 485 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,233 That exposes all this pay. 486 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,467 And stop the bleeding. 487 00:27:20,467 --> 00:27:23,066 And we can do it in a day instead of two weeks. 488 00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:26,467 [narrator] Carl's plan is to build a trough, 489 00:27:26,467 --> 00:27:29,867 a long, narrow channel, to direct the mud downhill 490 00:27:29,867 --> 00:27:33,266 to the edge of the cut, where it can be safely stored. 491 00:27:33,266 --> 00:27:36,767 Once the trough is complete, Andy will use the dozer 492 00:27:36,767 --> 00:27:38,367 to push the mud through it, 493 00:27:38,367 --> 00:27:41,266 re-exposing the rich pay dirt in the cut 494 00:27:41,266 --> 00:27:43,934 so the team can get back to sluicing. 495 00:27:43,934 --> 00:27:46,467 But that's assuming the inspectors don't flag 496 00:27:46,467 --> 00:27:48,900 other unanticipated problems. 497 00:27:50,033 --> 00:27:51,667 And like what Carl said, you've got 498 00:27:51,667 --> 00:27:53,233 your overburdened mountain, 499 00:27:53,233 --> 00:27:56,567 which is your wall, so it's not going to ooze that way. 500 00:27:56,567 --> 00:27:58,266 There's a little bit of water coming down. 501 00:27:58,266 --> 00:28:00,333 We just leave it right in the ditch. 502 00:28:00,333 --> 00:28:02,667 Everything's just going to keep oozing into that trough. 503 00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:04,033 It's just going to be water. 504 00:28:04,033 --> 00:28:06,767 You get that trough working, I mean, it'll work just like a canal. 505 00:28:06,767 --> 00:28:09,333 Once that stuff starts going, it'll just run down there. 506 00:28:09,333 --> 00:28:11,533 You think we got enough room to hold all of that? 507 00:28:11,533 --> 00:28:13,634 We have plenty of room. This should hold. 508 00:28:13,634 --> 00:28:17,100 I say we take the Hail Mary like this and go for it. 509 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:19,033 You're the ultimate decision, Andy. 510 00:28:19,033 --> 00:28:20,634 -What do you think? -I like it. 511 00:28:20,634 --> 00:28:22,266 You know, the problem is at this point, 512 00:28:22,266 --> 00:28:26,634 we're 900 feet short of what our goal was with the cut. 513 00:28:26,634 --> 00:28:28,467 This will get us every square inch, 514 00:28:28,467 --> 00:28:30,233 and like what Carl was saying, too. 515 00:28:30,233 --> 00:28:33,166 We're running out of time for if they're getting thawed. 516 00:28:33,166 --> 00:28:37,333 So it's like, I don't know a faster way to do it. 517 00:28:37,333 --> 00:28:38,634 You know, we've tried a lot of 518 00:28:38,634 --> 00:28:40,333 different ways to handle this mud. 519 00:28:40,333 --> 00:28:43,100 We keep eating away at it every day, 520 00:28:43,100 --> 00:28:45,266 but we just got to get it out of here. I think it'll work. 521 00:28:45,266 --> 00:28:48,333 Basically, our whole season is on Cowboy Carl's idea. 522 00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:49,367 Yep. 523 00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:51,400 Newest guy here. 524 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,100 Okay. 525 00:28:53,567 --> 00:28:56,066 We're going to call this Operation 101. 526 00:28:58,667 --> 00:29:00,333 How do you like it, Carl? 527 00:29:00,333 --> 00:29:02,300 -It will work. -This will move the mud. 528 00:29:02,867 --> 00:29:04,066 It'll move. 529 00:29:04,066 --> 00:29:06,367 It'll move it fast and efficiently. 530 00:29:06,367 --> 00:29:07,300 So this is it. 531 00:29:07,300 --> 00:29:09,634 This is the pay dirt for the whole season. 532 00:29:09,634 --> 00:29:13,800 We got to get every square foot of that pay out of there. 533 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:14,734 All right. 534 00:29:14,734 --> 00:29:16,734 Operation 101, Carl. 535 00:29:16,734 --> 00:29:17,767 Here we go. 536 00:29:17,767 --> 00:29:19,700 -[Andy] Let's get her done. -Let's get to work. 537 00:29:20,266 --> 00:29:21,500 Yes. 538 00:29:21,967 --> 00:29:24,266 [thunder rumbling] 539 00:29:35,166 --> 00:29:38,300 I'll just check my fluids, do my pre-check on the truck. 540 00:29:39,266 --> 00:29:40,667 I'm not going to be the guy that 541 00:29:40,667 --> 00:29:42,367 gets in here and blows up a motor. 542 00:29:43,767 --> 00:29:46,467 We're going to be running these things pretty hard today. 543 00:29:46,467 --> 00:29:47,767 And they're nice pieces of equipment. 544 00:29:47,767 --> 00:29:49,934 I want to keep them that way. 545 00:29:49,934 --> 00:29:52,266 Sparky and I are going to be hauling all the excess mud 546 00:29:52,266 --> 00:29:54,367 that Carl digs out so we can build the trough. 547 00:29:54,367 --> 00:29:56,266 But we have to make sure that these vehicles 548 00:29:56,266 --> 00:29:58,767 are up to the task of dealing with the rain. 549 00:29:58,767 --> 00:30:02,000 We really don't have time for any setbacks at this point. 550 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,233 This really is our last chance to get rid of the mud 551 00:30:04,233 --> 00:30:05,667 from the cut and get to the good pay dirt 552 00:30:05,667 --> 00:30:07,367 if we want to reach our goal. 553 00:30:19,367 --> 00:30:22,667 [narrator] Carl's plan is to dig a trough along the edge of the cut. 554 00:30:22,667 --> 00:30:25,333 He'll then load Sterling and Sparky with the mud 555 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:28,767 he's removing so they can haul it a safe distance 556 00:30:28,767 --> 00:30:30,400 from the valuable pay dirt. 557 00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:35,700 All right, 10-4. 558 00:30:41,166 --> 00:30:43,066 All right, easy does it. 559 00:30:45,100 --> 00:30:48,333 So Cowboy Carl's got a plan to save the cut. 560 00:30:48,333 --> 00:30:50,467 You know, at first we were using mud pumps, 561 00:30:50,467 --> 00:30:53,734 but I just had a feeling it was not going to work out. 562 00:30:53,734 --> 00:30:56,333 So Carl's got an idea of doing a trough 563 00:30:56,333 --> 00:30:58,867 and basically just leading all this mud, 564 00:30:58,867 --> 00:31:02,033 the top layer, down into this trough 565 00:31:02,033 --> 00:31:03,567 so we can get to the pay. 566 00:31:03,567 --> 00:31:05,567 And I really think that's going to work. 567 00:31:15,767 --> 00:31:19,000 Hey, Ron, do you want me to nose down there or back down there? 568 00:31:32,967 --> 00:31:36,667 I've done this before in a different situation, 569 00:31:36,667 --> 00:31:39,166 on a mudslide on a highway. 570 00:31:39,166 --> 00:31:41,100 And we kind of had the same deal. 571 00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:42,300 We had a big hole. 572 00:31:42,300 --> 00:31:46,567 We just made us a dozer slot, pushed it down in the slot. 573 00:31:46,567 --> 00:31:50,667 We used barriers and rocks to stop it, 574 00:31:50,667 --> 00:31:53,834 but we got frozen tundra and sand, 575 00:31:53,834 --> 00:31:55,667 which will work the same way. 576 00:31:58,834 --> 00:32:00,266 That'll work, Sterling. 577 00:32:13,066 --> 00:32:14,867 [Andy] So, I think this is working. 578 00:32:14,867 --> 00:32:16,600 I think your idea is working good. 579 00:32:17,133 --> 00:32:18,467 I'm going to start pushing mud. 580 00:32:18,467 --> 00:32:19,867 You keep digging that trough. 581 00:32:20,467 --> 00:32:21,667 [Carl] All right, sounds good. 582 00:32:21,667 --> 00:32:23,300 [Andy] Okay, I'll clean this up. 583 00:32:27,166 --> 00:32:30,767 I think Carl's plan will work, because it's liquid mud. 584 00:32:30,767 --> 00:32:33,367 Push it downhill, it'll go downhill. 585 00:32:34,667 --> 00:32:36,867 Everything will just kind of keep oozing on the trough. 586 00:32:36,867 --> 00:32:39,367 And I'll just keep shoving all this material down. 587 00:32:39,367 --> 00:32:41,734 And it'll just ooze out into this big hole. 588 00:32:41,734 --> 00:32:42,667 And we'll get most of it. 589 00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:46,367 We'll probably have six to 10 inches of slop 590 00:32:46,367 --> 00:32:49,266 still on top that we'll just mix in with the pay. 591 00:32:49,266 --> 00:32:50,367 And it won't be a big deal. 592 00:32:50,367 --> 00:32:52,800 It'll go right through that plant. We'll just run it. 593 00:32:54,467 --> 00:32:56,100 [Carl] The solution that I think that 594 00:32:56,100 --> 00:32:58,100 I've come up with, with Andy dozing, 595 00:32:58,100 --> 00:32:59,967 he's a very good dozer operator, 596 00:32:59,967 --> 00:33:01,200 and we have a natural slot. 597 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,667 One side we got the mountain, the other side we got ice, 598 00:33:04,667 --> 00:33:07,166 and it's about the dozer width, and as fast as 599 00:33:07,166 --> 00:33:10,367 he can doze, I think we can push it off in a day, 600 00:33:10,367 --> 00:33:14,166 and that'll get us to the pay, and he'll be able to rip it. 601 00:33:14,166 --> 00:33:17,066 Once he gets it ripped, we'll be able to load it and haul it. 602 00:33:17,934 --> 00:33:19,667 [Andy] Carl had a great idea. 603 00:33:19,667 --> 00:33:21,266 We're getting rid of the mud. 604 00:33:21,266 --> 00:33:23,667 This might actually work, and if it does, 605 00:33:23,667 --> 00:33:24,634 it'll be a huge relief. 606 00:33:35,367 --> 00:33:38,100 All right, Chambo, let's get the skid steer, 607 00:33:38,100 --> 00:33:39,266 wherever that's at. 608 00:33:39,266 --> 00:33:43,133 My name is Chamberlain, also known as Chambo around here. 609 00:33:43,133 --> 00:33:44,467 I am from Oregon. 610 00:33:44,467 --> 00:33:46,266 Been friends with Todd for a while, 611 00:33:46,266 --> 00:33:47,533 Hunter for a little bit. 612 00:33:47,533 --> 00:33:50,233 Okay, sit pretty right in front of that welder. 613 00:33:50,233 --> 00:33:51,433 I'm going to get a chain. 614 00:33:51,433 --> 00:33:53,667 We're going to fly this thing right in front of that Ford, 615 00:33:53,667 --> 00:33:55,533 and we're going to start cutting up, okay? 616 00:33:55,533 --> 00:33:57,767 I have never been to a mine before, you know? 617 00:33:57,767 --> 00:33:59,634 Never even seen big machinery 618 00:33:59,634 --> 00:34:01,066 like this in person, to be honest. 619 00:34:01,066 --> 00:34:03,200 But I'm enjoying it, though. I'm learning a lot. 620 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:04,300 What are you doing? 621 00:34:05,667 --> 00:34:07,667 -We're going to get that. -Oh. 622 00:34:09,233 --> 00:34:10,066 Come on, buddy. 623 00:34:10,066 --> 00:34:11,533 I thought we were grabbing the plate. 624 00:34:11,533 --> 00:34:13,333 When else am I going to get the opportunity 625 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:16,000 to come out to the middle of Alaska 626 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,934 in the middle of nowhere and do something like this? 627 00:34:18,934 --> 00:34:20,133 Like, I'm going to look back on this 628 00:34:20,133 --> 00:34:23,867 and tell people I was gold mining in Alaska when I was 20. 629 00:34:23,867 --> 00:34:25,600 You know what I mean? Who else can say that? 630 00:34:26,667 --> 00:34:28,000 Okay, you're good. 631 00:34:38,300 --> 00:34:40,934 [Carl] I'm not exactly sure how much pay is here, 632 00:34:40,934 --> 00:34:44,266 but there's a lot of pay. It's about two feet deep, 633 00:34:44,266 --> 00:34:47,367 and it's probably an acre or half an acre of ground, 634 00:34:47,367 --> 00:34:51,066 so I can't tell you how much pay is in there exactly. 635 00:34:51,066 --> 00:34:52,800 We'll know after it goes through the plant, 636 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:54,066 but there's a lot of pay, 637 00:34:54,066 --> 00:34:55,500 and it's been rich, this ground, 638 00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:57,300 so we don't want to leave it behind. 639 00:34:57,300 --> 00:35:00,066 [narrator] Carl's plan to remove the mud from the Lost Cut 640 00:35:00,066 --> 00:35:02,934 is nearly complete, and the crew has done it 641 00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:05,066 in just under 24 hours. 642 00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:12,200 We're getting rid of the mud, closing the gravel. 643 00:35:25,634 --> 00:35:27,767 [Hunter] Hey, Todd, that's the last of the mud. 644 00:35:27,767 --> 00:35:30,166 We're finally ready to start bringing pay. 645 00:35:30,900 --> 00:35:32,934 All right, guys, let's fire it up. 646 00:35:34,266 --> 00:35:37,500 -[motor whirring] -Everybody clear on firing the Black Pearl. 647 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,500 Ready to go. Go ahead. 648 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,333 [Todd] Here comes the water. 649 00:35:54,033 --> 00:35:55,934 So we're back up and running after 650 00:35:55,934 --> 00:35:59,166 a tough week of inspectors and mud. 651 00:35:59,166 --> 00:36:00,233 And you know what? 652 00:36:00,233 --> 00:36:02,867 Watching the trommel spin again, it's awesome. 653 00:36:02,867 --> 00:36:04,333 It's a good feeling. 654 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,900 Any pay you guys can just stack in the stockpile there. 655 00:36:11,467 --> 00:36:13,166 The cut looks great, Carl. 656 00:36:13,166 --> 00:36:15,100 -Good job. -Thank you. 657 00:36:15,100 --> 00:36:17,700 [Sparky] It feels good to finally be back on track. 658 00:36:17,700 --> 00:36:19,500 It's been obstacles and obstacles, 659 00:36:19,500 --> 00:36:21,600 you know, constantly during the season. 660 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,300 It's not easy being on the mine, 661 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:24,867 but now we're back on track. 662 00:36:24,867 --> 00:36:26,433 Now it's time to get that money 663 00:36:26,433 --> 00:36:28,500 and start processing some gold, baby. 664 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,567 It's standing right in the worst spot to stand. 665 00:36:47,567 --> 00:36:49,333 Hey. 666 00:36:49,333 --> 00:36:51,567 You guys, take a screen out, and you don't, 667 00:36:51,567 --> 00:36:53,900 and you roll it up. You don't walk on it. 668 00:36:53,900 --> 00:36:54,934 You're walking on it. 669 00:36:54,934 --> 00:36:57,433 You're going to get, you don't walk in the gold. 670 00:36:57,433 --> 00:36:59,533 After everything that's happened this week, 671 00:36:59,533 --> 00:37:02,400 all the crazy stuff, we actually got some time 672 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:03,533 to do some mining. 673 00:37:03,533 --> 00:37:06,533 So we're going to pull the mats and see what we have. 674 00:37:06,533 --> 00:37:08,200 We kind of forgot how to do this. 675 00:37:10,433 --> 00:37:12,634 You don't know what you got until you do a cleanup. 676 00:37:12,634 --> 00:37:13,834 So we'll find out. 677 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,400 [Todd] Okay, tell us about the cut, Andy. 678 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:28,700 [Andy] Thanks to Carl and Operation 101, 679 00:37:28,700 --> 00:37:30,033 we're back to running dirt. 680 00:37:30,033 --> 00:37:32,634 We did lose a couple days dealing with the mud, 681 00:37:32,634 --> 00:37:35,300 so we weren't able to run the amount of dirt that we would have liked. 682 00:37:37,333 --> 00:37:39,500 So we also had an inspector here. 683 00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:43,500 But we haven't heard from them since they left the mine. 684 00:37:44,333 --> 00:37:46,400 We're still mining at this point, anyway. 685 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,233 So I don't know. 686 00:37:48,233 --> 00:37:49,300 Long or short, I don't know. 687 00:37:49,300 --> 00:37:52,533 I feel uneasy about it, but there's nothing specific 688 00:37:52,533 --> 00:37:54,266 to fix or anything at this point. 689 00:37:55,233 --> 00:37:57,700 You know, anytime there's an inspector, 690 00:37:57,700 --> 00:38:00,300 one could walk through, everything would be fine. 691 00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:02,233 One's gonna see all the problems in the world. 692 00:38:02,233 --> 00:38:04,734 So, I don't know, I'm a little bit nervous about it, 693 00:38:04,734 --> 00:38:07,433 but if we're still running, we're still running. 694 00:38:09,166 --> 00:38:11,634 It's been a big slowdown this week. 695 00:38:11,634 --> 00:38:13,867 I guarantee you we're not going to be in 696 00:38:13,867 --> 00:38:15,800 triple digits, but we did get some gold. 697 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:17,233 Dad, what do we got? 698 00:38:17,233 --> 00:38:19,467 [narrator] This is the sixth weigh-in of the season, 699 00:38:19,467 --> 00:38:22,367 and the team is far away from reaching their goal. 700 00:38:22,367 --> 00:38:26,166 Their current total is 495.1 ounces, 701 00:38:26,166 --> 00:38:30,400 and they need 3,033 ounces to reach their goal. 702 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:37,967 20, 30, 40. 703 00:38:39,533 --> 00:38:43,433 48, 49, 50, 52, 704 00:38:43,900 --> 00:38:50,333 54, 55, 55.4. 705 00:38:50,333 --> 00:38:52,700 That is what it is. That's where we're at. 706 00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:57,400 And there was a time when we did 55 ounces 707 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,767 -and we'd be doing cartwheels because we'd be so happy. -Yeah. Yeah. 708 00:38:59,767 --> 00:39:02,634 It is quite a bit normally, but not when you're going 709 00:39:02,634 --> 00:39:05,233 for 3,033 ounces. 710 00:39:05,233 --> 00:39:06,900 It's not going to cut it. 711 00:39:08,300 --> 00:39:10,900 We know the potential, because we've seen it. 712 00:39:10,900 --> 00:39:12,567 We had several clean outs in the hundreds, 713 00:39:12,567 --> 00:39:15,867 and I want it to be there as much as everybody else does, too. 714 00:39:15,867 --> 00:39:18,667 But you know, with trying to get rid of the mud out of the cut, 715 00:39:18,667 --> 00:39:21,533 I'm not really super surprised that 716 00:39:21,533 --> 00:39:23,900 it's not triple digits this time. 717 00:39:23,900 --> 00:39:26,634 Yeah, we kind of got spoiled there for a minute, huh? 718 00:39:27,166 --> 00:39:29,033 Now we've got a few down weeks, 719 00:39:29,033 --> 00:39:32,200 and it's going to be a grind. 720 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,800 3,033 slipping away. 721 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:37,700 You know, Thurber, what's our total? 722 00:39:38,233 --> 00:39:41,533 550.8. 723 00:39:42,433 --> 00:39:45,000 I'm not going to call it yet on this goal, 724 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,400 but next week's got to be a good one 725 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:52,266 or we're definitely not going to hit that goal. 726 00:39:52,266 --> 00:39:56,700 [narrator] As of now, the mine has reached 550.5 ounces, 727 00:39:56,700 --> 00:40:02,033 but they'll need 2,482.5 more if they want to hit their goal 728 00:40:02,033 --> 00:40:05,266 of 3,033 ounces. 729 00:40:05,266 --> 00:40:07,600 [Todd] Just do whatever you got to do, Andy. 730 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,100 Even if we've got to work a few more hours, let's do it. 731 00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:12,667 Let's get this gold count up. 732 00:40:12,667 --> 00:40:14,567 We'll get the most we possibly can get out of it. 733 00:40:14,567 --> 00:40:15,800 Keep the plant running. 734 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:21,233 At the end of the day, we're only accountable 735 00:40:21,233 --> 00:40:24,467 for the effort, not the outcome. 736 00:40:24,934 --> 00:40:27,266 So if we put out the effort, 737 00:40:27,266 --> 00:40:30,066 the outcome is really out of our hands, 738 00:40:30,066 --> 00:40:33,233 and we're going to get the gold that God has for us, period. 739 00:40:33,967 --> 00:40:35,700 But let's put the effort in. 740 00:40:35,700 --> 00:40:37,567 -Sound good, guys? -Yeah. 741 00:40:45,867 --> 00:40:47,266 What's going on? 742 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:51,600 It looks like the inspectors are back on the mine. 743 00:40:53,867 --> 00:40:55,066 This makes me nervous. 744 00:40:55,066 --> 00:40:56,700 I don't know how this is going to go. 745 00:40:58,433 --> 00:41:01,834 I just hope this doesn't throw a wrench in our plans. 746 00:41:04,533 --> 00:41:06,634 With the kind of crew that I have, 747 00:41:06,634 --> 00:41:09,033 we'll be able to tackle anything that comes. 748 00:41:10,333 --> 00:41:12,900 All right, so I hate to break it to you, 749 00:41:12,900 --> 00:41:16,000 but you cannot open any more of that cut. 750 00:41:19,467 --> 00:41:22,166 That's going to cost me millions of dollars. 751 00:41:22,967 --> 00:41:24,300 I am not asking.