1 00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:05,266 We are going to run out of pay dirt. There's no way around it. 2 00:00:05,266 --> 00:00:06,967 You know, there ain't no rest for the wicked, 3 00:00:06,967 --> 00:00:10,266 but we're getting down to the last thread. 4 00:00:10,266 --> 00:00:11,767 [narrator] Following government orders 5 00:00:11,767 --> 00:00:14,233 to stop expansion of their Lost Cut mine... 6 00:00:15,467 --> 00:00:18,166 Just when I thought I started getting good at rock trucking, 7 00:00:18,166 --> 00:00:20,900 I guess we're almost done with haulin' pay. 8 00:00:21,567 --> 00:00:22,667 [Todd] A little scary. 9 00:00:22,667 --> 00:00:24,667 We're in desperate mode. 10 00:00:24,667 --> 00:00:28,367 [narrator] The Hoffman crew scrambles to find a new source of pay dirt. 11 00:00:28,367 --> 00:00:30,367 There's exposed gravel up here, 12 00:00:30,367 --> 00:00:31,867 and it seems thawed. 13 00:00:31,867 --> 00:00:34,233 Let's find out if it's really worth it. 14 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,200 I don't know if there's gold here. 15 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,567 This is literally my last ditch effort to just salvage the season. 16 00:00:41,567 --> 00:00:43,567 All right, see you guys after a bit. 17 00:00:43,567 --> 00:00:45,400 [narrator] But when a team member goes missing... 18 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,066 I couldn't live with myself if something bad happened to one of my guys. 19 00:00:49,066 --> 00:00:51,367 [narrator] Hunting gold in Alaska's frontier 20 00:00:51,367 --> 00:00:54,567 suddenly becomes a matter of life and death. 21 00:00:54,567 --> 00:00:56,300 Framer didn't come home last night. 22 00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:58,100 This isn't a little thing. 23 00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:01,300 A lot of people don't survive up here. 24 00:01:03,767 --> 00:01:04,767 It's not looking very good. 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,233 Andy, I've got a load or so off the wall here. 26 00:01:24,867 --> 00:01:26,233 Perfect. 27 00:01:27,467 --> 00:01:28,800 [Carl] Not much pay left. 28 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,667 We pretty well milked the cow out. 29 00:01:31,667 --> 00:01:34,700 We're just scraping the wall, trying to get the last little bit of it. 30 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,600 Froze, hard to get. 31 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,400 We'll get a few loads out of it. 32 00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:43,767 But we're just trying to get what we can. 33 00:01:43,767 --> 00:01:45,467 And if they don't get any more pay dirt, 34 00:01:45,467 --> 00:01:47,700 it's not looking too great. 35 00:01:49,867 --> 00:01:52,467 Just when I thought I started getting good at rock trucking, 36 00:01:52,467 --> 00:01:55,467 I guess we're almost done with haulin' pay. 37 00:01:55,467 --> 00:01:57,767 Definitely do not want the season to be ending early. 38 00:01:57,767 --> 00:01:59,133 But by the looks of it, 39 00:01:59,133 --> 00:02:04,133 it looks like we're dealing with our scraps or what we have left. 40 00:02:17,467 --> 00:02:18,900 [Todd] This is it. 41 00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:22,967 We scraped the last peanut butter from the jar. 42 00:02:22,967 --> 00:02:26,066 [narrator] Todd planned to open three times as much ground 43 00:02:26,066 --> 00:02:29,000 to get to 3,033 ounces. 44 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,100 But a couple weeks ago, inspectors came through with citations, 45 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:37,367 and will not allow Team Hoffman to open up any more ground. 46 00:02:37,367 --> 00:02:40,667 [Todd] The only things we can run right now is pre-disturbed ground 47 00:02:40,667 --> 00:02:42,600 and stuff we've already opened up. 48 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,100 What are you thinking, man? 49 00:02:50,867 --> 00:02:53,300 So we might have a couple more days. 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,233 Maybe one or two more map holes and we got her, huh? 51 00:02:57,700 --> 00:02:58,900 Yeah, and it'll be done. 52 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,300 It didn't go exactly as planned, 53 00:03:04,567 --> 00:03:07,100 but we fought through it, you know? 54 00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:08,567 As I often say. 55 00:03:08,567 --> 00:03:11,367 There wasn't any part of it that went to a plan. 56 00:03:11,367 --> 00:03:14,000 Nobody told us there was 10-12 feet of ice. 57 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,700 We moved mud around, We moved water around, 58 00:03:16,700 --> 00:03:20,867 and we're at the mercy of these inspectors. 59 00:03:20,867 --> 00:03:23,333 You know, It is what it is. That's where we're at. 60 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:27,000 So the guys have stacked at the plants 61 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,500 every bit of pay dirt that we can get out of the Lost Cut. 62 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:33,467 You know what, our original goal was to get 3,000 ounces. 63 00:03:33,467 --> 00:03:36,066 And you know what? That's not gonna happen now. 64 00:03:36,066 --> 00:03:38,900 I don't even think that there's gonna be enough in that Lost Cut 65 00:03:38,900 --> 00:03:41,400 to even get us to 1,023. 66 00:03:42,266 --> 00:03:45,133 The place has good gold, but it's hard to mine. 67 00:03:46,467 --> 00:03:49,667 Let's, uh... let's figure this out, 68 00:03:49,667 --> 00:03:51,767 If we don't hit at least 1,000 ounces, 69 00:03:51,767 --> 00:03:53,467 we're gonna have a huge loss. 70 00:03:53,467 --> 00:03:57,400 And the guys are not gonna take home what they need to take home. 71 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,767 So, we need to find some more pay dirt 72 00:04:00,767 --> 00:04:03,266 from ground that we don't have to reopen up. 73 00:04:03,266 --> 00:04:05,900 And when I say we, I mean Hunter. 74 00:04:07,066 --> 00:04:09,066 Hopefully, we can come up with some more pay. 75 00:04:09,066 --> 00:04:14,734 Otherwise, this is the end of our season. 76 00:04:16,900 --> 00:04:18,400 All right, let's go. 77 00:04:23,667 --> 00:04:25,600 [wind blowing] 78 00:04:35,667 --> 00:04:37,767 [Hunter] I'm taking the Sherp out. 79 00:04:37,767 --> 00:04:39,867 I'm a little bit off the beaten path. 80 00:04:39,867 --> 00:04:42,400 I'm kind of going out and looking at some of the other areas 81 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,000 on the claim that have a good drill report. 82 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:50,767 This is not the way any of us wanted it to go, 83 00:04:50,767 --> 00:04:53,667 and it's not the way I thought this season was going to go. 84 00:04:53,667 --> 00:04:57,033 It's a huge bummer that we're facing some of these problems. 85 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,700 This was supposed to be the season that we broke our record. 86 00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:04,166 And now, unfortunately, it's looking like another season 87 00:05:04,166 --> 00:05:05,700 that we're just trying to survive. 88 00:05:08,166 --> 00:05:10,867 The more the time goes on, the more pressure I'm feeling 89 00:05:10,867 --> 00:05:16,133 to try to figure out some sort of a lifeline to save our season. 90 00:05:20,266 --> 00:05:22,467 [narrator] To identify new sources of pay dirt, 91 00:05:22,467 --> 00:05:24,467 Hunter must find thawed ground, 92 00:05:24,467 --> 00:05:28,867 ideally gravel, that has already been disturbed by past miners 93 00:05:28,867 --> 00:05:32,600 located close enough to a road from mine trucks to access. 94 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:34,667 Let me see. 95 00:05:34,667 --> 00:05:37,100 I'm looking through the drill reports and the maps 96 00:05:37,100 --> 00:05:38,934 to give me some sort of direction. 97 00:05:43,367 --> 00:05:45,800 Before, when I was prospecting, I was looking for our future, 98 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,233 and now it's looking like I'm looking for our present. 99 00:05:51,100 --> 00:05:53,066 If I can see some gravel sticking out on the surface 100 00:05:53,066 --> 00:05:54,700 that means here's not a ton of overburden 101 00:05:54,700 --> 00:05:57,233 and maybe we can just get paid right off of the top. 102 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,100 Right now, the Lost Cut's bone dry. 103 00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:05,133 We're down to our last few days of the stacked Lost Cut pay. 104 00:06:05,867 --> 00:06:07,800 So, the pressure is really on us right now. 105 00:06:12,066 --> 00:06:15,000 [Framer] So, right now the loaders are stacking up pay, 106 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,667 and as a water expert, there's not a lot I can do. 107 00:06:17,667 --> 00:06:20,467 So today is my one day off, and I'm taking advantage of it. 108 00:06:20,467 --> 00:06:22,667 All right, see you guys after a bit. 109 00:06:22,667 --> 00:06:26,000 I gotta get ready. I'm going on the caribou hunt today. 110 00:06:34,767 --> 00:06:36,600 [Todd] We're running out of pay dirt. 111 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:38,634 Coming right to the end of it. 112 00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:40,200 I wish we had more gold. 113 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,066 If Hunter doesn't find, you know, some pay dirt, 114 00:06:43,066 --> 00:06:44,166 and we're gonna be out of dirt, 115 00:06:44,166 --> 00:06:47,967 then it's gonna be a very big loss for the season. 116 00:06:47,967 --> 00:06:49,734 It's not what I was hoping. 117 00:06:52,066 --> 00:06:54,467 We have about two days of pay left. 118 00:06:54,467 --> 00:06:57,667 Hunter needs to find some pay dirt and quick. 119 00:06:57,667 --> 00:07:00,500 If we don't, we're gonna start bleeding money. 120 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:01,700 When you have an army of guys, 121 00:07:01,700 --> 00:07:03,100 but they're not producing gold. 122 00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:05,900 it gets pretty expensive pretty damn quick. 123 00:07:05,900 --> 00:07:08,467 I won't even break even at this point. 124 00:07:08,467 --> 00:07:10,867 If we don't hit at least 1,000 ounces, 125 00:07:10,867 --> 00:07:13,133 I'm gonna be financially destroyed. 126 00:07:24,467 --> 00:07:27,266 -Is Framer back yet? -[Todd] No, he's not back. 127 00:07:27,266 --> 00:07:28,400 Starting to get worried. 128 00:07:29,166 --> 00:07:30,634 Well, it's gonna be a long night. 129 00:07:31,300 --> 00:07:33,000 And hopefully he knows what he's doing. 130 00:07:43,767 --> 00:07:47,000 Hey, guys, we got a bit of a situation here with Framer. 131 00:07:48,900 --> 00:07:50,300 Okay, here's the deal. 132 00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:52,000 Um... 133 00:07:52,567 --> 00:07:54,400 Framer didn't come home last night. 134 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,567 He went out to shoot a caribou and he went out a long ways. 135 00:08:00,567 --> 00:08:02,300 You know how cold it got last night. 136 00:08:02,767 --> 00:08:03,767 That's not good. 137 00:08:03,767 --> 00:08:05,500 Did anybody know what he left with? 138 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:06,667 He just kind of left. 139 00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:08,000 Well, I was asking him 140 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,667 what he had in case something happened, 141 00:08:09,667 --> 00:08:13,300 He said, well, he's got two bottles of water and he's good. 142 00:08:14,100 --> 00:08:15,400 Did he have a sat phone? 143 00:08:16,700 --> 00:08:18,900 -He doesn't? -I don't think so. 144 00:08:19,900 --> 00:08:22,367 What do you think, Tater? You're his best friend. 145 00:08:22,367 --> 00:08:25,700 I'm just hoping he's stuck out there overnight because it was dark. 146 00:08:27,467 --> 00:08:29,100 That's what I'm hoping. 147 00:08:29,100 --> 00:08:31,300 Tater was up all night and worried about it, 148 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:33,100 and you could see the emotion in his eyes. 149 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:37,066 You know, these guys are... we've become pretty close with each other up here, 150 00:08:37,066 --> 00:08:38,367 I feel a little bit like a failure, 151 00:08:38,367 --> 00:08:40,533 but I just couldn't live with myself. 152 00:08:41,266 --> 00:08:43,166 If something bad happened to one of my guys, 153 00:08:43,166 --> 00:08:45,667 especially at the end of a tough season here. 154 00:08:45,667 --> 00:08:49,066 You just never know out here and when you're by yourself 155 00:08:49,066 --> 00:08:51,000 it's the coolest experience, 156 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,467 but it's also the most dangerous. 157 00:08:53,467 --> 00:08:56,200 Oh. I didn't think we'd be dealing with this right here at the end 158 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,700 but here we go. 159 00:08:57,700 --> 00:09:01,166 Early in the season, he had a leg injury. 160 00:09:01,166 --> 00:09:04,100 Maybe we got a compounding issue or something. 161 00:09:04,100 --> 00:09:07,300 I don't know. I think we ought to call the troopers 162 00:09:07,300 --> 00:09:10,433 -and at least explained to 'em that we got a guy out you. -Yeah. 163 00:09:13,867 --> 00:09:17,133 -[clears throat] -Alaska State trooper. 164 00:09:21,100 --> 00:09:22,734 [phone dialing] 165 00:09:23,266 --> 00:09:24,800 [man on phone] Thank you for... 166 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:30,266 Yeah. Hi. This is Todd Hoffman out here at Mammoth Valley mine. 167 00:09:30,266 --> 00:09:31,867 I had a guy go out caribou hunting. 168 00:09:31,867 --> 00:09:34,567 and he didn't... He didn't come in last night. 169 00:09:34,567 --> 00:09:36,000 He's a pretty capable guy, 170 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,700 but normally he would try to reach us, you know? 171 00:09:40,700 --> 00:09:43,133 [man] Okay, what's the guy's name, the hunter? 172 00:09:43,667 --> 00:09:46,133 It's Micah Johnston. 173 00:09:47,867 --> 00:09:49,133 [man] Was he on foot? 174 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:50,867 No, he had a quad. 175 00:09:50,867 --> 00:09:53,066 [man] Did he tell anybody kind of a plan 176 00:09:53,066 --> 00:09:55,567 -or what he was thinking of how long he'd be out? -Yeah. 177 00:09:55,567 --> 00:09:57,867 Here's Andy. 178 00:09:57,867 --> 00:10:01,367 Yeah. He just said he was going out towards, like Navigator and Windy Creek 179 00:10:01,367 --> 00:10:05,800 and was going to make a loop probably 20-25 miles each way. 180 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:07,066 [man] When did he leave? 181 00:10:07,066 --> 00:10:09,100 About 9:30 yesterday morning. 182 00:10:09,100 --> 00:10:12,767 [man] I can get somebody out there to take a look around. 183 00:10:12,767 --> 00:10:14,800 If you hear something, please give me a call, okay? 184 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:16,200 Will do. 185 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:19,100 -All right. Thank you, sir. -Thank you. 186 00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:21,200 This isn't a little thing. 187 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,667 This is his life, you know? 188 00:10:23,667 --> 00:10:27,767 -Yeah. -My prayer is for Framer 189 00:10:27,767 --> 00:10:31,166 to come wheeling back in 190 00:10:31,166 --> 00:10:35,467 and with a happy spirit on and everything. 191 00:10:35,467 --> 00:10:39,500 But I can't say that for 100 percent that's gonna happen. 192 00:10:39,500 --> 00:10:41,367 He would definitely be 193 00:10:41,367 --> 00:10:45,000 under hypothermia if he has not passed away already. 194 00:10:51,066 --> 00:10:53,000 [wind blowing] 195 00:10:56,166 --> 00:10:58,000 [Tater] Framer's out there somewhere. 196 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,166 He never came back last night. 197 00:11:00,166 --> 00:11:01,667 We're gonna go ahead and put a drone up. 198 00:11:01,667 --> 00:11:03,166 It's got a pretty limited range, 199 00:11:03,166 --> 00:11:04,500 but we're hoping that maybe 200 00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:06,667 if he's somewhere close, we might get an eye on him. 201 00:11:06,667 --> 00:11:10,166 It's gonna be a while before anybody gets here to actually go search. 202 00:11:10,166 --> 00:11:11,867 In the meantime, we're going to do everything we can 203 00:11:11,867 --> 00:11:13,700 to try and find him, get him back to camp. 204 00:11:15,867 --> 00:11:17,767 [Andy] Framer went hunting yesterday. 205 00:11:17,767 --> 00:11:19,767 He's been going for 24 hours. 206 00:11:19,767 --> 00:11:22,367 We suspect he's out about 30-40 miles 207 00:11:22,367 --> 00:11:24,400 out of camp with a four wheeler. 208 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:25,834 It's really vast out here. 209 00:11:25,834 --> 00:11:27,767 A myriad of things could be wrong, 210 00:11:27,767 --> 00:11:30,266 broken four wheeler, crashed, hurt. 211 00:11:30,266 --> 00:11:32,266 It could be anything, and we have no way 212 00:11:32,266 --> 00:11:34,867 to communicate with him, so we don't know. 213 00:11:37,867 --> 00:11:41,000 We have an idea of the route he took and where he's at. 214 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,100 He said he was gonna go up Atlas Creek and down an outer ridge, 215 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:46,667 So we're just going to kind of scan here. 216 00:11:46,667 --> 00:11:47,700 Up through Atlas Creek 217 00:11:47,700 --> 00:11:50,467 and then out on the ridgeline he was gonna take. 218 00:11:50,467 --> 00:11:52,567 I mean, there's a lot of area out there, 219 00:11:52,567 --> 00:11:55,066 and if he isn't on the route, it would be easy to miss him. 220 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,834 Framer's a very experienced cutter. 221 00:11:58,834 --> 00:12:01,500 He grew up in southeast Alaska, 222 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:04,467 so it's not a real big concern for his abilities. 223 00:12:04,467 --> 00:12:07,000 But with the terrain and the animals out here, 224 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,600 you never know what could happen. 225 00:12:09,166 --> 00:12:10,667 He's my best friend. 226 00:12:10,667 --> 00:12:13,100 I don't want it to be like he's stuck under a four-wheeler or something, 227 00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:15,500 because then I wouldn't be able to live with myself, seriously. 228 00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:18,367 We're going down the road just past Atlas. 229 00:12:18,367 --> 00:12:20,467 It looks like there's some faint wheeler tracks down there. 230 00:12:20,467 --> 00:12:22,300 But It's hard to tell. 231 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:25,400 But I'm not seeing anybody. 232 00:12:26,467 --> 00:12:29,000 I really don't know what to do. This is really bad. 233 00:12:34,467 --> 00:12:37,467 [Todd] Just when I thought this season couldn't get any worse, 234 00:12:37,467 --> 00:12:39,400 one of my guys goes missing. 235 00:12:43,767 --> 00:12:46,300 I don't know. A little scary, you know, 236 00:12:49,767 --> 00:12:52,467 Just sent the guys back to work 237 00:12:52,467 --> 00:12:55,166 to churn through all the rest of the pay dirt, 238 00:12:55,166 --> 00:12:59,200 and then Tater and I are gonna try to do everything we can to find Framer. 239 00:13:03,567 --> 00:13:05,500 [wind blowing] 240 00:13:08,667 --> 00:13:10,166 [Hunter] I'm up here on the Plateau. 241 00:13:10,166 --> 00:13:11,600 I'm a little bit off the beaten path, 242 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,433 kind of going out and looking at some of the other areas on the claim. 243 00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:19,600 I'm hoping I can find Framer. 244 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:21,200 As of right now, it's not looking good. 245 00:13:22,467 --> 00:13:26,066 So I'm going out on this point here because from the main road, 246 00:13:26,066 --> 00:13:28,500 it looks like there's some sort of gravel 247 00:13:29,266 --> 00:13:31,166 or something out here. 248 00:13:31,166 --> 00:13:33,000 It's kind of a stretch, but right now, 249 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,266 every other place I've looked is frozen or it's too far from a road. 250 00:13:37,266 --> 00:13:40,567 So I'm seeing what looks like old tailings 251 00:13:40,567 --> 00:13:42,567 on part of the Plateau here, 252 00:13:42,567 --> 00:13:46,567 so obviously somebody has tried to mine up here at one point 253 00:13:46,567 --> 00:13:49,500 and there's a ton of exposed gravel. 254 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:52,066 The weird part is it all looks like bedrock 255 00:13:52,066 --> 00:13:55,033 and not even any overburden at all. 256 00:13:55,033 --> 00:13:57,667 But right now, if it's not thawed ground, 257 00:13:57,667 --> 00:14:00,700 it's really not even gonna be any help to us. 258 00:14:05,467 --> 00:14:07,033 I believe we're right here. 259 00:14:07,033 --> 00:14:10,100 My only concern is we're really far away from the plant, 260 00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:12,166 and I don't even know with three trucks 261 00:14:12,166 --> 00:14:14,500 if we could keep up at this distance. 262 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,567 But I got to just check out every option 263 00:14:17,567 --> 00:14:22,400 and, um, you know, bring it back to the guys and see what we want to do. 264 00:14:41,667 --> 00:14:43,800 I mean, this all looks like thawed pay. 265 00:14:45,667 --> 00:14:47,400 It's different than the Lost Cut, 266 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,667 but this is what we're looking for. 267 00:14:49,667 --> 00:14:51,300 It's not frozen. There's a lot of rock. 268 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:52,233 There's dirt in it. 269 00:14:54,367 --> 00:14:56,333 It's just not in the most convenient spot. 270 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,467 This was kind of one of the last places I wanted to look 271 00:15:00,467 --> 00:15:02,066 because it has no drill reports. 272 00:15:02,066 --> 00:15:03,600 I don't know if there's gold here. 273 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,967 This is literally my last ditch effort 274 00:15:05,967 --> 00:15:10,266 to try to find something that we can run to just salvage this season. 275 00:15:10,266 --> 00:15:11,500 We'll see what my dad and Andy want to do. 276 00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:12,934 It's a long haul from the plant, 277 00:15:12,934 --> 00:15:15,300 but hopefully this is what's gonna save us. 278 00:15:28,667 --> 00:15:31,300 Hey, Andy, Do you want me to drop this next to you? 279 00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:32,467 [Andy] Yeah. Right there, buddy. 280 00:15:32,467 --> 00:15:34,700 -Thanks. -[Nick] Copy that. 281 00:15:37,667 --> 00:15:39,166 [Andy] We're hauling out the road. 282 00:15:39,166 --> 00:15:41,600 The last little bit of pay that's underneath of it, 283 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,700 a little pit on both sides and that's it. 284 00:15:45,467 --> 00:15:48,300 [Todd] So this is our last ditch effort to scrape every bit of pay 285 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:50,767 that we can get out of the Lost Cut. 286 00:15:50,767 --> 00:15:53,667 When we built this road, I put several feet of gravel 287 00:15:53,667 --> 00:15:56,467 on top of a base layer of frozen pay. 288 00:15:56,467 --> 00:15:57,767 Carl's out there right now, 289 00:15:57,767 --> 00:16:01,066 removing the gravel to get that rich pay that's underneath. 290 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,934 [Andy] Everybody that's ever been here before us 291 00:16:18,934 --> 00:16:23,100 has failed, literally in over 100 years, and we can see why. 292 00:16:23,100 --> 00:16:27,834 Because the challenges that are here and the logistics of getting things here, 293 00:16:27,834 --> 00:16:29,100 is an absolute nightmare. 294 00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:33,400 So when one thing goes wrong, it can just be a domino effect 295 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,100 of everything else that can go wrong. You know, what do you do? 296 00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:37,834 Quit and go home or you just finish it. 297 00:16:37,834 --> 00:16:39,200 And we're gonna finish it 298 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,300 and get as much as we possibly can out of this. 299 00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:45,200 It's been good pay all the way through here, 300 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,600 and it should be good pay underneath the road. 301 00:16:50,667 --> 00:16:52,500 [Andy] Carl, you want me to pull up? 302 00:16:52,834 --> 00:16:54,233 [Carl] Yeah, please. 303 00:16:56,867 --> 00:16:58,033 But once he's done scraping, 304 00:16:58,033 --> 00:17:00,066 that'll be the end of this cut. 305 00:17:00,066 --> 00:17:03,600 If Hunter doesn't find any other prospects for us to target, 306 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,400 then, might be going home early. 307 00:17:16,367 --> 00:17:17,667 We're gonna run out of pay dirt, 308 00:17:17,667 --> 00:17:19,634 so we're definitely in trouble. 309 00:17:20,467 --> 00:17:22,000 I'm wore out. 310 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,100 I feel like I've aged ten years. 311 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,867 You know what? I don't know if I can handle any more of this stress, 312 00:17:26,867 --> 00:17:28,100 running out of pay dirt. 313 00:17:28,100 --> 00:17:31,367 The troopers are out trying to find Framer. 314 00:17:31,367 --> 00:17:35,567 We don't know if he's dying or what's going on, so this is crazy. 315 00:17:35,567 --> 00:17:37,800 It's not over, so... 316 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,767 What are you finding out there? 317 00:17:41,767 --> 00:17:43,300 -Anything? -Yeah. 318 00:17:43,300 --> 00:17:48,166 I mean, I've gone out into Atlas Creek, over by Joe Creek 319 00:17:48,166 --> 00:17:54,166 at the very top of North Fork all the way down into Carey Creek. 320 00:17:54,166 --> 00:17:56,367 -Okay. -You know, and there's gold at all of them. 321 00:17:56,367 --> 00:17:59,567 But if you're saying we can't disturb the tundra, 322 00:17:59,567 --> 00:18:02,767 we kind of have both of our hands tied behind our back. 323 00:18:02,767 --> 00:18:05,467 And so, the last place I checked, 324 00:18:05,467 --> 00:18:08,867 it was up here on the Plateau, which isn't drilled. 325 00:18:08,867 --> 00:18:12,867 but there's exposed gravel up here and it seems thawed. 326 00:18:12,867 --> 00:18:14,734 And there's pay right on the surface. 327 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:18,467 So I don't see any other option. 328 00:18:18,467 --> 00:18:22,266 And you've got some exposed gravel close to the road. 329 00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:23,767 I mean, it checks all the boxes. 330 00:18:23,767 --> 00:18:27,266 The question is, does it have enough gold in it, you know? 331 00:18:27,266 --> 00:18:30,066 But maybe beggars can't be choosers at this point. 332 00:18:30,066 --> 00:18:32,834 No, I mean, I still think it's a miracle 333 00:18:32,834 --> 00:18:37,467 -that we found anything thawed right now. -We just need to test it. 334 00:18:37,467 --> 00:18:39,800 If there's... if there's no gold in that gravel, we're done. 335 00:18:40,166 --> 00:18:41,634 A hundred percent. 336 00:18:42,033 --> 00:18:43,367 There is nothing else. 337 00:18:43,367 --> 00:18:45,266 [Todd] Hunter, take a truck, 338 00:18:45,266 --> 00:18:47,800 go out there, get some of that pay dirt and test it. 339 00:18:48,100 --> 00:18:49,533 Okay. 340 00:18:49,533 --> 00:18:53,467 Let's find the results and then let's find out if it's really worth it. 341 00:18:53,467 --> 00:18:56,000 If not, then we're gonna go ahead and pack it in. 342 00:18:56,967 --> 00:18:59,133 -Go home early. -Okay. 343 00:18:59,767 --> 00:19:00,867 Thanks, Hunter. 344 00:19:12,667 --> 00:19:14,734 I'm getting down to the needle now. 345 00:19:14,734 --> 00:19:17,266 So, Hunter's been out prospecting lately, 346 00:19:17,266 --> 00:19:19,634 and he's doing a damn good job at it. 347 00:19:19,634 --> 00:19:22,767 But, you know, if he doesn't find our saving grace, 348 00:19:22,767 --> 00:19:24,266 we're completely screwed, 349 00:19:24,266 --> 00:19:26,767 and we're not gonna reach to our goal this season. 350 00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:31,967 Just digging into the road at this point. 351 00:19:31,967 --> 00:19:34,934 We basically only got like a couple of truckloads left of pay, 352 00:19:34,934 --> 00:19:37,867 and that's pretty much it for the rest of the season. 353 00:19:41,433 --> 00:19:43,467 We're running every inch of that cut 354 00:19:43,467 --> 00:19:45,567 and get as much gold as we possibly can. 355 00:19:45,567 --> 00:19:48,166 We worked really hard to get it out of the ground 356 00:19:48,166 --> 00:19:49,967 and make sure that I don't leave anything behind. 357 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,567 [Todd] We're going to run out of pay dirt in the Lost Cut 358 00:19:53,567 --> 00:19:55,266 after digging up the road. 359 00:19:55,266 --> 00:19:57,467 On top of that, I've got a guy missing. 360 00:19:57,467 --> 00:19:58,600 Are you kidding me? 361 00:19:59,767 --> 00:20:01,867 It's really hard to actually work 362 00:20:01,867 --> 00:20:04,800 while we know we've got a guy missing out there who could be dying. 363 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,500 That's it, guys, that's enough. No more rush, boys. 364 00:20:17,100 --> 00:20:18,867 Copy that. Last truckload. 365 00:20:19,767 --> 00:20:21,100 That's done. 366 00:20:21,100 --> 00:20:22,867 So I don't know what's going to happen. 367 00:20:32,667 --> 00:20:34,767 [Tater] It looks like there's some faint wheeler tracks down there 368 00:20:34,767 --> 00:20:38,066 but it's hard to tell. 369 00:20:38,066 --> 00:20:40,567 But it looks like that's what we're looking at, there's the road. 370 00:20:41,667 --> 00:20:44,367 Looks like somebody's been out on it recently. 371 00:20:44,367 --> 00:20:46,266 Knowing Framer, he'd be on the road 372 00:20:46,266 --> 00:20:48,367 because that's where we'd be looking for him, 373 00:20:48,367 --> 00:20:49,667 trying to follow the track he's on. 374 00:20:49,667 --> 00:20:52,300 It looks like four wheeler tracks over here. 375 00:20:53,467 --> 00:20:55,967 Which would make sense 'cause the road's really wet. 376 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,634 So this is probably the way he went out. 377 00:20:58,634 --> 00:21:00,066 That's what he said he was gonna do. 378 00:21:00,433 --> 00:21:02,000 Oh. Whoa! 379 00:21:03,033 --> 00:21:04,400 Looks like we have him. 380 00:21:04,533 --> 00:21:05,567 Hey, Todd. 381 00:21:05,567 --> 00:21:07,066 -[Todd] Yeah? -We got him. 382 00:21:07,667 --> 00:21:09,634 He's walking down by Atlas. 383 00:21:09,634 --> 00:21:11,166 -No way. -He's limping. 384 00:21:11,533 --> 00:21:12,634 [Todd] Like, how bad? 385 00:21:12,634 --> 00:21:14,166 Like, he's limping pretty bad, dude. 386 00:21:14,166 --> 00:21:15,934 Well, we better go get him. 387 00:21:15,934 --> 00:21:17,667 -[Todd] All right. -[Tater] That's less than a mile. 388 00:21:17,667 --> 00:21:20,166 [Todd] I'll grab Thurber, and a two quads, and we'll go grab him. 389 00:21:20,166 --> 00:21:21,567 -[Tater] Okay. -[Todd] Couple miles out? 390 00:21:21,567 --> 00:21:23,100 [Tater] Yeah. He's not far out there. 391 00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:24,467 [Todd] He sees your drone. 392 00:21:24,467 --> 00:21:25,934 -[Tater] Oh, yeah. -[Todd] He knows we got him. 393 00:21:25,934 --> 00:21:27,133 [Tater] He knows we got him. 394 00:21:28,266 --> 00:21:29,133 It's good news. 395 00:21:29,133 --> 00:21:31,100 We found him. He's been out all night. 396 00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:32,700 Who knows how long he's been walking? 397 00:21:33,433 --> 00:21:36,667 My guess is, a long time. 398 00:21:36,667 --> 00:21:39,266 [Thurber] They just picked him up on the drone, which is a good thing. 399 00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:42,066 He's walking, limping pretty bad. 400 00:21:42,066 --> 00:21:43,900 So he's been walking a while. 401 00:21:44,433 --> 00:21:45,867 It's been over 24 hours. 402 00:21:45,867 --> 00:21:47,834 He could have broke down the first thing yesterday, 403 00:21:47,834 --> 00:21:49,367 and he's been walking ever since. 404 00:21:49,367 --> 00:21:52,233 So, he's pretty exhausted looking. 405 00:21:55,867 --> 00:21:57,100 He's right there over the hill. 406 00:21:57,100 --> 00:21:59,367 -Am I right? -Yep. Ready? 407 00:22:01,066 --> 00:22:02,166 Let's go. 408 00:22:08,867 --> 00:22:11,967 [wind blowing] 409 00:22:30,667 --> 00:22:33,967 -[Thurber] You survived. -[Framer] Oh, man. 410 00:22:33,967 --> 00:22:35,166 I'm so happy to see you guys. 411 00:22:35,166 --> 00:22:37,567 Hey, what happened? 412 00:22:37,567 --> 00:22:40,233 [Framer] I lost my gas can. Somewhere, I ran out of gas. 413 00:22:40,233 --> 00:22:41,934 [Thurber] Where's your quad, do you know? 414 00:22:41,934 --> 00:22:43,367 Nineteen miles from here. 415 00:22:43,367 --> 00:22:44,934 [Thurber] Did you GPS it? 416 00:22:44,934 --> 00:22:47,567 Yeah, I got GPS... GPS. 417 00:22:47,567 --> 00:22:49,533 So how far have you hiked in this stuff? 418 00:22:49,533 --> 00:22:52,266 -About 19 miles? -As the crow flies. 419 00:22:53,066 --> 00:22:55,333 -Jeez. -Yeah. 420 00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:57,166 [bleep], dude. 421 00:22:57,166 --> 00:22:58,667 How's your leg? 422 00:22:58,667 --> 00:23:00,700 It wasn't that bad until about 8 miles ago. 423 00:23:01,333 --> 00:23:02,333 All right, Well, get on there. 424 00:23:02,333 --> 00:23:03,533 -Let's get you back. -Let's get you back. Yeah. 425 00:23:03,533 --> 00:23:04,600 Yeah. 426 00:23:04,934 --> 00:23:06,367 [engines starting] 427 00:23:07,767 --> 00:23:10,233 We got you, buddy. Let's get you back to camp. 428 00:23:10,767 --> 00:23:12,734 Try to get you fixed up. 429 00:23:12,734 --> 00:23:16,500 Get him some fluids and wrap his knee up. 430 00:23:31,734 --> 00:23:34,033 [Framer] So I've been walking for the last 19 hours 431 00:23:34,033 --> 00:23:35,400 on an injured knee 432 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,967 and never would have thought that I'd be so happy to see these guys. 433 00:23:39,467 --> 00:23:40,700 [laughs] 434 00:23:41,467 --> 00:23:43,567 [Tater] Where'd you run out of gas at? 435 00:23:43,567 --> 00:23:46,233 [Framer] I found some caribou and I started chasing 'em. 436 00:23:46,233 --> 00:23:48,133 And I stopped, I'm like, "I better check my gas. 437 00:23:48,133 --> 00:23:49,400 I'm getting way the hell out of here." 438 00:23:50,567 --> 00:23:52,066 And I opened it, I'm like, [bleep], 439 00:23:52,066 --> 00:23:53,467 quarter of a tank, I'm cutting close. 440 00:23:53,467 --> 00:23:55,400 And I looked back and my gas can was gone. 441 00:23:55,834 --> 00:23:57,100 I was out of gas. 442 00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:58,400 [Todd] How long have you been hiking? 443 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,166 -All night? -Started hiking at 4 o' clock yesterday afternoon, 444 00:24:01,166 --> 00:24:03,467 -You hiked all night? -Hiked all night. 445 00:24:03,467 --> 00:24:07,867 I took a about an hour nap about six o'clock this morning. 446 00:24:07,867 --> 00:24:09,367 [Tater] I'm glad you're back. 447 00:24:09,367 --> 00:24:12,467 -He twisted his knee coming in and that's the problem. -[Tater] Okay, okay. 448 00:24:12,834 --> 00:24:14,233 -Yeah? -Yeah. 449 00:24:14,233 --> 00:24:17,667 I... I messed this knee up bad and then limping on it, 450 00:24:17,667 --> 00:24:19,934 now my hip's all messed up, too. 451 00:24:19,934 --> 00:24:23,934 [Jack] A lot of people that don't survive up here. 452 00:24:23,934 --> 00:24:27,233 and it's one of the places that is... 453 00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,266 it's severe, you know. 454 00:24:29,266 --> 00:24:32,667 He survived and I'm grateful for that. 455 00:24:32,667 --> 00:24:36,533 The absolute best case scenario happened. 456 00:24:36,533 --> 00:24:40,667 You've got to have a lot of guts to survive something like that. 457 00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:43,667 One more night, It would have been curtains for you. 458 00:24:43,667 --> 00:24:45,867 Well, we're glad you're here. 459 00:24:45,867 --> 00:24:48,467 Where the heck are we going to find Tater a new friend? 460 00:24:48,467 --> 00:24:49,567 Best friend. 461 00:24:49,567 --> 00:24:51,000 -Good luck. -Yeah. 462 00:24:52,266 --> 00:24:54,333 Next step, you need to get off that knee. 463 00:24:54,333 --> 00:24:55,734 -Get some water. -[Tater] Let's get you in here. 464 00:24:55,734 --> 00:24:58,266 Get some ice and get some stuff on your leg. 465 00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:04,734 -[Tater] I'm just glad you're fine, dude. -[Framer groans] 466 00:25:04,734 --> 00:25:08,000 [Todd] He's gonna be limping, but he's going to make it home to his family. 467 00:25:08,567 --> 00:25:09,667 I've gotta call everybody off. 468 00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:11,133 Call the troopers off, 469 00:25:11,133 --> 00:25:15,133 make sure everybody knows we found him and that he's okay. 470 00:25:15,133 --> 00:25:19,266 Could have easily been rolled on, killed by a bear. 471 00:25:19,266 --> 00:25:23,500 Accidentally shot, you know? You just never know out here. 472 00:25:32,767 --> 00:25:35,066 [wind blowing] 473 00:25:50,166 --> 00:25:52,767 [Hunter] You know, right now there's a lot of pressure on me 474 00:25:52,767 --> 00:25:54,166 to try to figure out what we're gonna do 475 00:25:54,166 --> 00:25:56,367 because the Lost Cut's about out of pay, 476 00:25:59,166 --> 00:26:02,033 I'm kind of switching gears and heading in a new direction 477 00:26:02,033 --> 00:26:04,567 to this area called the Plateau. 478 00:26:04,567 --> 00:26:07,567 Just here by myself and I don't really care how I have to do it. 479 00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:08,800 I'm gonna get it done 480 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,000 because the Plateau might be basically our life preserver, 481 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,834 and it's actually close enough to a road where we can get some trucks in here. 482 00:26:15,834 --> 00:26:17,867 It's not frozen. It has gravel. 483 00:26:17,867 --> 00:26:20,367 And so right now I'm just trying to figure out 484 00:26:20,367 --> 00:26:23,967 what kind of gold it has or not. 485 00:26:23,967 --> 00:26:27,266 I got to just go off of my gut and there is some gold. 486 00:26:27,266 --> 00:26:29,367 Try to get some of this gravel into a truck. 487 00:26:29,367 --> 00:26:31,767 I want to try to run 1,000 yards with the Black Pearl. 488 00:26:31,767 --> 00:26:33,734 Maybe it's good. Maybe it's not. 489 00:26:33,734 --> 00:26:36,333 It's a huge risk, but I want everybody to win 490 00:26:36,333 --> 00:26:38,634 and I want my grandpa to have a good last season. 491 00:26:38,634 --> 00:26:40,467 But right now, this is all I've got. 492 00:26:40,467 --> 00:26:42,266 So if the Plateau doesn't pay out, 493 00:26:42,266 --> 00:26:43,867 then I don't really know what we're gonna do. 494 00:26:50,166 --> 00:26:52,400 [wind blowing] 495 00:26:56,166 --> 00:26:58,233 [Spencer] I gotta check and look at your knee. 496 00:26:58,233 --> 00:26:59,767 Yeah. Whoa. 497 00:27:03,033 --> 00:27:04,667 [Spencer speaking] 498 00:27:04,667 --> 00:27:06,400 [Framer] No, if I sit up, I can't. 499 00:27:10,767 --> 00:27:12,767 -[Framer groans] -[Spencer] Yeah. 500 00:27:12,767 --> 00:27:15,000 It's like this tendon right here. 501 00:27:15,567 --> 00:27:16,734 -Right on the outside? -Mmm-hmm. 502 00:27:16,734 --> 00:27:18,567 Does that go anywhere else or is it just all over last-- 503 00:27:18,567 --> 00:27:20,567 -Just right there. -Okay, is it constant? 504 00:27:20,734 --> 00:27:22,166 Come and go? 505 00:27:22,166 --> 00:27:24,266 It's just when I try and move my leg, 506 00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:27,000 either forward or back. I just can't pick my leg up. 507 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,000 [Spencer] Yeah, yeah. 508 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,400 [Framer groans] 509 00:27:40,166 --> 00:27:41,533 [Spencer] What about when you extend it? 510 00:27:41,533 --> 00:27:43,333 [Framer] Oh, yeah, I can... I can move my foot. 511 00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:44,767 -Okay. -I just can't pick my leg up. 512 00:27:44,767 --> 00:27:46,567 Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, but just the foot. 513 00:27:46,567 --> 00:27:48,133 -Yeah. I'm-- Yeah. -You have a range of motion there? 514 00:27:48,133 --> 00:27:49,634 -Okay. -It's... it's fine. 515 00:27:49,634 --> 00:27:51,467 You feel me touching your toes and everything? 516 00:27:51,467 --> 00:27:52,800 -Yeah. -Okay. 517 00:27:53,734 --> 00:27:56,166 [Framer] I just need to take a shower into the bed. 518 00:27:56,166 --> 00:27:58,467 [Spencer] All right, sir. You are in stable condition. 519 00:27:59,367 --> 00:28:02,400 And by your spirits, I think you're doing well. 520 00:28:02,867 --> 00:28:04,133 We're happy to have you back. 521 00:28:04,667 --> 00:28:05,667 Happy to be back. 522 00:28:05,667 --> 00:28:07,000 -Yeah. -Yeah. 523 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 -Framer. -Yo. 524 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,133 What happened, dude? 525 00:28:10,133 --> 00:28:13,233 -We were worried about you, man. -Ran out of gas, man. 526 00:28:13,233 --> 00:28:15,266 Yeah. I'm glad you made it, dude. 527 00:28:15,266 --> 00:28:17,867 Truly, we were worried about it for a second. 528 00:28:17,867 --> 00:28:21,734 What was going through your head when, like, the fricking quad turned off 529 00:28:21,734 --> 00:28:24,433 and it's like, oh, frick, you're in the middle of nowhere? 530 00:28:24,433 --> 00:28:27,667 I was like... this is gonna be a long, long night. 531 00:28:27,667 --> 00:28:29,667 -[laughs] -Dude. 532 00:28:29,667 --> 00:28:31,100 Bring it in, man. 533 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:34,066 I'm glad... I'm glad you're... glad you're good, dude. 534 00:28:34,066 --> 00:28:36,333 -Yeah. -Holy frick. 535 00:28:36,333 --> 00:28:38,500 [Framer] What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? 536 00:28:46,433 --> 00:28:49,266 It's a super big relief that Framer's back. 537 00:28:49,266 --> 00:28:52,500 He's gonna take it easy while he lets his knee heal up. 538 00:28:53,367 --> 00:28:55,333 I think the guys are kind of renewed 539 00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:57,767 now that we've found Framer. 540 00:28:57,767 --> 00:29:00,600 That's really going to help us push ahead and finish strong. 541 00:29:02,767 --> 00:29:04,367 [man 1] I want to run some more pay dirt 542 00:29:04,367 --> 00:29:07,000 so I can bring home some more frickin' cash. 543 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,400 [man 2] Yeah. 544 00:29:09,467 --> 00:29:11,767 This whole season's been fighting fires. 545 00:29:11,767 --> 00:29:12,934 You've got a melting cut 546 00:29:12,934 --> 00:29:16,667 and government agencies constantly want to shut us down. 547 00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:20,233 It's like we've been fighting this whole season for this freaking pay dirt. 548 00:29:21,266 --> 00:29:22,967 [sighs] 549 00:29:22,967 --> 00:29:26,400 Hard freaking work and not anybody can do it. 550 00:29:28,333 --> 00:29:32,300 Last few buckets and the Lost Cut will be finished up. 551 00:29:33,233 --> 00:29:34,767 I think everybody had, you know, 552 00:29:34,767 --> 00:29:36,667 a lot of high hopes for this season. 553 00:29:36,667 --> 00:29:39,100 We wanted a lot more out of this cut 554 00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:41,367 and didn't get what we thought we'd get. 555 00:29:42,367 --> 00:29:45,233 I put a lot of work into it and a lot of long days, 556 00:29:45,233 --> 00:29:49,734 and it sucks to kind of see it come up short handed. 557 00:29:49,734 --> 00:29:54,266 This is my last bucket here and then passing off Sparky 558 00:29:54,266 --> 00:29:57,433 and, uh, this is gonna be it for the Lost Cut. 559 00:29:57,433 --> 00:29:59,934 Hopefully, this is the one that puts us up there, 560 00:29:59,934 --> 00:30:04,166 and it's remembered because clean ups so far haven't been very good. 561 00:30:04,166 --> 00:30:06,233 So I think everybody's hoping 562 00:30:06,233 --> 00:30:09,400 it goes good, and, uh, it's more than we think. 563 00:30:11,367 --> 00:30:14,367 It's all you, Sparks. It's my last one. 564 00:30:14,367 --> 00:30:17,567 [Sparky] All right, buddy. I'll take us home on this one. 565 00:30:17,567 --> 00:30:21,166 Now the Dakota's dropped off the last load from the Lost Cut, 566 00:30:21,166 --> 00:30:24,066 It's a good thing that Hunter's dropping dirt from the Plateau 567 00:30:24,066 --> 00:30:26,266 to the Black Pearl for a test run. 568 00:30:26,266 --> 00:30:28,166 And if there's a bunch of gold in that dirt, 569 00:30:28,166 --> 00:30:31,567 Hunter's prospecting can save us from this bad situation. 570 00:30:31,567 --> 00:30:34,433 Hopefully, we come out here with at least 1,000 ounces. 571 00:30:34,433 --> 00:30:36,367 We'll see how this box fricking looks. 572 00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:40,900 Hopefully, it's shining back, or it's as dull as an unsharpened pencil. 573 00:30:55,667 --> 00:30:56,934 [Hunter] If we're gonna make this move, 574 00:30:56,934 --> 00:30:59,533 I wanna make sure that it's gonna be worth it. 575 00:30:59,533 --> 00:31:02,367 Running some thawed pay through the Black Pearl right now 576 00:31:02,367 --> 00:31:03,734 um, is a good feeling, 577 00:31:03,734 --> 00:31:08,567 because this might just be the thing that that keeps us in the game. 578 00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:12,800 The Plateau is a longer haul, and once we make that switch, there's no going back. 579 00:31:17,266 --> 00:31:19,667 We're running about 1000 yards here, 580 00:31:19,667 --> 00:31:24,367 and, you know, I'm pretty excited to see if it's actually good. 581 00:31:24,367 --> 00:31:28,567 I guess only time will tell, But I have really high hopes for this. 582 00:31:28,567 --> 00:31:29,967 I'm excited to see what's in it. 583 00:31:31,033 --> 00:31:32,367 Hopefully, it's worth it. 584 00:31:34,233 --> 00:31:36,100 Grandpa would always say we're all millionaires. 585 00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:37,700 We just got to get it out of the ground. 586 00:31:38,367 --> 00:31:40,567 Yeah, I agree with that. 587 00:31:40,567 --> 00:31:43,166 So we started out this season, guns blazing, you know, 588 00:31:43,166 --> 00:31:45,967 we were putting up some good numbers, had some good cleanups. 589 00:31:45,967 --> 00:31:49,533 -137.3. -Whoo! 590 00:31:49,533 --> 00:31:51,967 -That's awesome. -Wow. 591 00:31:51,967 --> 00:31:54,367 [Hunter] And then, you know, we're hitting some major roadblocks. 592 00:31:54,367 --> 00:31:55,567 We're getting hit with inspections, 593 00:31:55,567 --> 00:31:57,333 weather, everything you can imagine. 594 00:31:57,333 --> 00:31:59,767 But, you know, we've faced a lot of adversity before, 595 00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:03,100 and I've seen my dad you know, push through and continue on. 596 00:32:03,100 --> 00:32:05,367 So that's exactly what we're gonna do now. 597 00:32:05,367 --> 00:32:07,400 You know, stay positive and just work with 598 00:32:08,233 --> 00:32:09,734 you know, what we've got right now 599 00:32:09,734 --> 00:32:12,467 and and pretty much all we have is this Plateau. 600 00:32:12,467 --> 00:32:15,133 If the Plateau pays out and it does have good gold, 601 00:32:15,133 --> 00:32:17,500 we can run this material for the rest of the season. 602 00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:21,467 Hmm... 603 00:32:23,934 --> 00:32:26,400 High risk, high reward. That's what it's all about. 604 00:32:42,834 --> 00:32:45,133 Hey, Sparky, how many buckets you got left? 605 00:32:49,166 --> 00:32:50,467 [Todd] We're coming down to the wire here. 606 00:32:50,467 --> 00:32:53,367 It looks like we're about... about out of pay here. 607 00:32:53,367 --> 00:32:57,667 From the Lost Cut. Got a couple more buckets and then we're done. 608 00:32:59,233 --> 00:33:02,367 This is where you say something about lemonade. 609 00:33:02,367 --> 00:33:04,066 We're gonna take the gold that we've got here, 610 00:33:04,066 --> 00:33:05,867 and we're gonna make the best of it. 611 00:33:07,667 --> 00:33:09,433 We're gonna do a cleanup. 612 00:33:09,433 --> 00:33:12,867 Hopefully, it's pretty big and go from there. 613 00:33:16,934 --> 00:33:19,066 I'm not happy with some of the situations. 614 00:33:19,066 --> 00:33:20,634 But you know what? 615 00:33:20,634 --> 00:33:23,567 That's gold mining. Sometimes you run into things that you just can't control. 616 00:33:24,867 --> 00:33:27,100 A lot of people can't live with that and deal with that. 617 00:33:27,100 --> 00:33:29,467 And you know what? I barely can, too. 618 00:33:29,467 --> 00:33:31,567 All right. This is the last bucket right here. 619 00:33:31,567 --> 00:33:32,834 The last bucket. 620 00:33:32,834 --> 00:33:34,767 And that's it for the Lost Cut, boys. 621 00:33:34,767 --> 00:33:36,166 That's it. 622 00:33:37,767 --> 00:33:42,533 So this is the last bit of pay dirt from the Lost Cut. 623 00:33:42,533 --> 00:33:46,867 And after this, it's all gonna be Plateau dirt or no dirt at all. 624 00:33:46,867 --> 00:33:48,433 So that's where we're at. 625 00:34:00,433 --> 00:34:04,567 That's all she wrote. The Lost Cut has been picked clean. 626 00:34:04,567 --> 00:34:08,133 All right, let's shut down the Holy Roller and get these maps pulled. 627 00:34:28,567 --> 00:34:29,734 There's gold in it. 628 00:34:29,734 --> 00:34:31,567 If it's in there, it's in there. 629 00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:36,033 Something right there in the middle. 630 00:34:36,033 --> 00:34:37,967 I haven't seen it up there for a while. 631 00:34:37,967 --> 00:34:40,500 You know what, every little bit's gonna count here. 632 00:34:40,967 --> 00:34:42,066 This is it. 633 00:34:42,066 --> 00:34:46,467 Hopefully, Hunter's prospecting is our saving grace. 634 00:34:46,467 --> 00:34:48,233 Let's just pull the whole damn box, 635 00:34:48,233 --> 00:34:50,300 and go up there and do a full cleanup. 636 00:34:52,533 --> 00:34:53,700 [man coughs] 637 00:35:02,367 --> 00:35:03,467 It's pretty clean. 638 00:35:05,066 --> 00:35:07,367 -Wow. -There's a little bit of material in there. 639 00:35:07,367 --> 00:35:08,867 Hopefully, that's all gold. 640 00:35:08,867 --> 00:35:11,033 I'm sure there's several ounces here 641 00:35:11,033 --> 00:35:13,700 -in every nook and cranny, -hopefully. 642 00:35:22,467 --> 00:35:23,867 I got Employee of the Week. 643 00:35:23,867 --> 00:35:25,200 [chuckles] 644 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,066 It was kind of a participation trophy if anything. 645 00:35:28,066 --> 00:35:30,200 It was more just a being here trophy. 646 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:31,467 But we don't actually have a trophy. 647 00:35:31,467 --> 00:35:33,767 We got some crayons on the notebook paper that we're gonna-- 648 00:35:33,767 --> 00:35:35,000 They have crayons. You know that? 649 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:36,233 -Yeah. -I eat 'em. 650 00:35:37,867 --> 00:35:38,934 This team right here, 651 00:35:38,934 --> 00:35:41,834 all these young guys, man, we've got a great team. 652 00:35:41,834 --> 00:35:44,767 Who cut Luke's hair? You cut your own hair? 653 00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:49,533 -My God. -He's lucky, he got ran over by a lawn mower. 654 00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:50,867 Little baby. [chuckles] 655 00:35:53,166 --> 00:35:54,667 Don't... delete that one. 656 00:35:57,066 --> 00:35:59,667 It's really nice seeing these two guys work together. 657 00:36:02,133 --> 00:36:03,367 They've been fighting a little bit. 658 00:36:03,367 --> 00:36:05,000 Yeah, yeah. 659 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,634 -Yeah, but that's just-- -That's just the end of the year. 660 00:36:07,634 --> 00:36:09,500 -I love you guys. -That's the state of nature. 661 00:36:13,667 --> 00:36:15,967 There's no more pay on the Lost Cut. 662 00:36:15,967 --> 00:36:19,200 We've scratched every pebble that we can get out of it. 663 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,800 This cut is officially done. 664 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,934 So what we have to do in reclamation is we have to take 665 00:36:24,934 --> 00:36:26,867 all the overburden that I pushed off, 666 00:36:26,867 --> 00:36:28,634 and we'll just bring it back down into the cut, 667 00:36:28,634 --> 00:36:31,133 smooth it out and put a dozer on top of it 668 00:36:31,133 --> 00:36:33,367 and just kind of round it off and contour it back 669 00:36:33,367 --> 00:36:35,867 to the contour of the landscape. 670 00:36:35,867 --> 00:36:40,467 And then this material has a lot of seeds and organics in it. 671 00:36:40,467 --> 00:36:42,400 It will just revegetate itself. 672 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,934 And in a few years, It'll look like nothing was ever done here. 673 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,467 How many ounces per 100 are you hoping for? 674 00:36:59,467 --> 00:37:02,033 You know, we'll see what it pays out at, 675 00:37:02,033 --> 00:37:06,166 but I haven't seen too much ground around here. 676 00:37:06,166 --> 00:37:09,867 that's worse than an ounce a 100, but we'll see. 677 00:37:09,867 --> 00:37:11,333 Right now we're about to do the cleanup 678 00:37:11,333 --> 00:37:15,433 for the Plateau test, and we ran about 1,000 yards. 679 00:37:15,433 --> 00:37:16,667 You know, we can get a good idea now, 680 00:37:16,667 --> 00:37:19,567 but we're not really gonna know until the cleanup is done. 681 00:37:19,567 --> 00:37:21,400 You know, we don't have a lot of options left. 682 00:37:28,066 --> 00:37:29,066 I'm going to set this in the end. 683 00:37:29,066 --> 00:37:30,900 -Is that cool or no? -Yeah. 684 00:37:32,467 --> 00:37:36,066 Honestly, I don't know if I've ever been more stressed out than I am right now, 685 00:37:36,066 --> 00:37:38,567 but everybody is under a lot of stress. 686 00:37:38,567 --> 00:37:42,133 The gold that is or isn't in these mats is basically going to determine 687 00:37:42,133 --> 00:37:45,467 the outcome of our mining company, our paychecks and, honestly, 688 00:37:45,467 --> 00:37:47,600 the success or failure of my grandpa's last season. 689 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:49,233 So, there's a lot of pressure right now. 690 00:37:51,266 --> 00:37:55,000 We'll see if it's gonna be enough for us to save our ass. 691 00:38:01,567 --> 00:38:02,767 [Jack] I'll take anything. 692 00:38:02,767 --> 00:38:04,900 As long as it's gold, I'll take it. 693 00:38:06,066 --> 00:38:10,400 You know, right now, we're running the Plateau cut. 694 00:38:11,533 --> 00:38:13,767 We need this to be really good. 695 00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:16,233 We're in desperate mode 696 00:38:16,233 --> 00:38:22,166 and desperate people will take risks sometimes, 697 00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:25,500 and I think that maybe this is worth the risk. 698 00:38:26,066 --> 00:38:28,266 The Plateau could be good. 699 00:38:28,266 --> 00:38:31,867 You just have to run it weigh it, go from there. 700 00:38:33,700 --> 00:38:37,433 If this is good, we're throwing all the eggs in the basket. 701 00:38:37,433 --> 00:38:39,834 We're going to run it until we're done. 702 00:38:40,300 --> 00:38:41,233 There's gold in here. 703 00:38:41,233 --> 00:38:44,233 We just have to find out how much there is. 704 00:38:44,233 --> 00:38:46,033 Guys want to take gold home, 705 00:38:46,033 --> 00:38:47,367 We need it. 706 00:38:47,367 --> 00:38:50,500 Tough part of the season. I hope it's good. 707 00:38:59,467 --> 00:39:02,867 So, guys, we're hoping for at least 80 ounces this week. 708 00:39:02,867 --> 00:39:04,767 Where are we at with the Lost Cut? 709 00:39:04,767 --> 00:39:07,900 So what Jack's got in that jar is... that's the end of it. 710 00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:12,467 There's no more. That cut has fought us from day one. 711 00:39:12,467 --> 00:39:16,233 Mudslides, water problems, ice lenses, broken dozers. 712 00:39:16,233 --> 00:39:18,300 -I mean... -We're hammering the reclamation, 713 00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:20,533 bringing that dirt back into the cut. 714 00:39:20,533 --> 00:39:21,934 In a year, year and a half from now, 715 00:39:21,934 --> 00:39:24,667 it'll be all lush green and look good again. 716 00:39:24,667 --> 00:39:26,767 Like the... like it was before we touched it. 717 00:39:26,767 --> 00:39:29,667 -So... -So how did that Plateau go? 718 00:39:29,667 --> 00:39:30,934 1,000 yards. 719 00:39:30,934 --> 00:39:32,700 Uh, it went really good. It's easy to run. 720 00:39:32,700 --> 00:39:34,834 It's easy to get to, a lot of gravel. 721 00:39:34,834 --> 00:39:36,600 -Yeah. -We didn't have to strip it. 722 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,634 The material runs really good through the plant, 723 00:39:38,634 --> 00:39:41,600 and so I think it went as good as it could. 724 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,200 All right, so we'll see the last of the Lost Cut. 725 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:45,934 Dad, just pour it right on there. 726 00:39:49,867 --> 00:39:55,533 Twenty, 27, 20... 36, 45. 727 00:39:55,533 --> 00:39:58,967 So that was 46 ounces from the Lost Cut. 728 00:39:59,467 --> 00:40:01,300 -That's it? --Final. 729 00:40:01,300 --> 00:40:04,266 Now, let's weigh what Hunter got from the Plateau. 730 00:40:04,266 --> 00:40:05,500 Let's hope it's good. 731 00:40:05,967 --> 00:40:07,500 It's do or die. 732 00:40:08,166 --> 00:40:09,900 [Jack] Ready. Here we go. 733 00:40:14,166 --> 00:40:21,033 Five, 10, 13, 14. 734 00:40:22,467 --> 00:40:24,233 14.6. 735 00:40:24,233 --> 00:40:26,400 Wow, I'll take that right now. 736 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,166 That's almost an ounce half a 100. 737 00:40:28,166 --> 00:40:29,333 Can't complain about it. 738 00:40:29,333 --> 00:40:30,867 What do you guys think? Andy? 739 00:40:30,867 --> 00:40:33,900 If it runs easy and then we can run it fast, 740 00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:35,500 I think it's probably worth doing. 741 00:40:36,467 --> 00:40:39,166 It's the only gold we've got at this point. 742 00:40:39,166 --> 00:40:40,800 Well, good job, Hunter. You found something good. 743 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,233 I'm sure it's not gonna be easy. It's a long ways. 744 00:40:43,233 --> 00:40:46,200 But, hey, we got some pay dirt next week. 745 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,767 We'll be digging that stuff and running it through the plant. 746 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,834 We've got 60.6 ounces. 747 00:40:51,834 --> 00:40:53,433 What's our total? 748 00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:55,967 765? 749 00:40:55,967 --> 00:40:58,200 [narrator] The total combined cleanup from the Plateau 750 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,200 and the last of the Lost Cut brings in 60.6 ounces of gold, 751 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,567 about $115,000 for the Hoffman team. 752 00:41:05,567 --> 00:41:09,600 And puts them 265 ounces away from their season goal. 753 00:41:10,667 --> 00:41:12,800 So we're... we're getting there. 754 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:14,934 Everything's expensive, though, as we well know. 755 00:41:14,934 --> 00:41:20,200 So let's keep grinding and push forward and head towards the Plateau. 756 00:41:20,900 --> 00:41:23,333 Hopefully onward and upward. 757 00:41:23,333 --> 00:41:25,100 Good job, guys. Let's get back to work.