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[suspenseful music playing]

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[birds chirping]

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When it comes
to liberating gold

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from hardrock,

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do you have to be crazy enough
to go and get it? Yes.

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Rock, rock.

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Underground, everything wants
to kill ya.

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Out, out, out, out, out.
We gotta go,

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we gotta go, we gotta go.

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[Chad] It is the hardest form

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of gold mining to get into.

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The mill site
has a couple of flaws.

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The whole process,
it's very demanding.

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We're not getting there

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as much gold as we should be.

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We can go a couple days
without seeing anything.

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[Chad] I have put
a lot of money into this,

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hard life savings.

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I've personally invested

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probably a quarter million
into the project.

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[Harry] I gotta take care
of my mom and my family.

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We are all gonna fail
together or succeed together.

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[Sean] It's this or possible
financial ruin.

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And that's why I am here

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100% asking for help

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so that this could be turned

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in to a viable,
livable outcome

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for me and for the men
on my team.

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[Chad] I've put
all my savings into this.

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Um, I don't know, man. Sorry.

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[Freddy] Let's make
some gold, guys.

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[narrator] Freddy Dodge.

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There's no guarantees
in gold, buddy.

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[narrator] And Juan Ibarra.

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All right.
Well, let's do it, huh?

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[narrator]
Have mastered the art

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of getting gold
out of the ground.

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[Juan] Look at that.

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[narrator] In the most
rugged places on earth.

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[Juan] I'm feeling
a little sick, Freddy.

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[narrator] Now, they rescue
struggling miners.

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Ooh. That's not good.

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[narrator] Who risked it
all to be rich.

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[Freddy] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Shut it down.

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[narrator] Who are about
to lose everything.

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Eyeballs.

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[narrator] To revive
these failing mines,

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Freddy and Juan engineered
the impossible.

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-[man] All good.
-[Juan] Well, I've never heard
of a under sluice before.

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[narrator]
Deliver some hard truths.

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This material
you're digging now
is totally worthless.

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[narrator]
And track down the gold.

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That's what dreams
are made of right there.

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[narrator] But if they don't
at least double

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the miners' gold recovery,

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they won't take a dime
in return.

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But it's 10 times
the amount of gold.

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-Woo!
-[Freddy] That's awesome.

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[laughter]

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[birds chirping]

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It's 8:00 in the morning
and it's only, uh, 85 degrees.

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Yeah. Nice brisk 85.

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Perfect welding weather.

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We're on camera.

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You better smile.

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-First job in California,
buddy.
-Yeah, I know.

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-Hopefully it's not our last.
-[laughs]

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Well, shoot. It's pretty
desolate out here, Fred.

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[Freddy] Yeah.

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[narrator] It's late spring,
and Freddy and Juan

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are in a remote corner
of California's
Mojave Desert,

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at the Gretzner Mine.

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Already facing triple-digit
temperatures,

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they've landed at their first
ever hardrock rescue

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of a problem-plagued
operation,

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struggling
to stay above ground.

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[Freddy]
This isn't a mine for sure,

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but it's the right address.

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Well, there's been
a lot of gold
come out of California.

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-Tremendous amount.
-Yeah.

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[narrator] Gold was first
discovered 18 miles

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from here in 1881

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when miners came in search
of a gold-bearing quartz vein

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up to 10 feet thick.

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Over 100 years,

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this region has produced

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185,000 ounces of gold

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worth $350 million

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in today's money.

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-[Greg] Howdy.
-[Chad] How's it going?

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[Greg] Oh, my gosh.

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Good meeting you.

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-Chad?
-Glad you can make it.

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-[Juan] How you doing?
-Nice to meet you.

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-I'm Chad.
-Juan.

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-Freddy.
-Greg, I assume.

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This is my wife, Sallie.

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-Hi, Sallie.
-Hi.

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-Hi. How you doing, brother?
-Oh my gosh.

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I'm so excited
to meet you, guys.

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Where's your mine at, then?

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Our mine is few miles
that way.

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And you can see the hills.

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-[Freddy] Those mountains
over there?
-[Chad] Yup.

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-Right there.
-[Freddy] Okay.

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[narrator] In the last
five years,

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44-year-old miner Chad

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and his crew of investors

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stake seven hardrock claims

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with access to over 260 acres
of land,

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13 underground shafts,

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and 16 tunnels.

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He built a rock-crushing mill

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from salvaged equipment

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located 7 miles
from his mines.

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[Chad] The first time
I felt gold was, uh,

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when I went gold panning
in the San Gabriel River.

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I found the first gold ever.

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I was super excited.

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I've been in retail.

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I've been in sales.

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I've been in service.
I've been in construction.

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But I like the hard work
of gold mining.

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The chance to live off
of the land,

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to build something
for my family.

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And one day have this turn
into a successful business.

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Right now, gold mining isn't
my full-time job.

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I am a research engineer.

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There's sometimes a large gap

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between contracts and I find
myself without work.

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And so, you definitely
get nervous wondering

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where your next paycheck
is gonna come from.

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[narrator] In the 10-month
mining season,

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Chad lives away
from his family by the mill

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with his dad, Greg

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and his stepmom, Sallie.

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The gold mining operation

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is really at the heart
of the relationship

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I have with my dad.

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I know it would
really be hard

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on both of us
if it didn't succeed.

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We have had
our ups and downs.

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There is a big gap
in our relationship,

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uh, over 20 years.

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So, being able to mend that

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has been an important part
of our life.

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I'm a different guy than I was

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back in our strange years.

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I pursued, you know,
the rock and roll thing

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and little partying too much,

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but we figured out a way
to mend things up.

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And now, we are just...
We're solid.

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Setting up a hardrock
operation ain't cheap,

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you know, especially
when you got a mill set up
and everything else.

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What kind of money you guys
have invested into this?

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Uh, we have between
$150,000 to $250,000

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depending on how
you look at it.

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Yeah.

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-[Chad] Yeah.
-Okay.

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Have you recovered
any of your money back yet?

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-No.
-[Freddy] No?

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00:06:13,724 --> 00:06:15,586
Very little.
We're not getting near

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00:06:15,586 --> 00:06:17,689
as much gold as we should be.

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So, what does your
mining season look like?

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Is it year round?

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We would like it to be, but

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the heat, the summer months,

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it's so hot out here
we can't run our equipment

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over 104 degrees for some
of the electrical motors.

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-[Juan] Oh, for sure.
-And we have to shut down.

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So, what's your goal?

172
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We need to be able
to hit 20 ounces

173
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before summer.

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I've put all my savings
into this.

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We need to start seeing
a return on this.

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[narrator]
In the Mojave Desert,

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peak summer sun causes

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00:06:43,586 --> 00:06:45,275
heavy equipment to overheat,

179
00:06:45,275 --> 00:06:48,689
shutting down operations
until the fall.

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Where you guys
at right now on that?

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00:06:50,172 --> 00:06:52,620
We're at 2 ounces of gold.

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00:06:54,103 --> 00:06:57,103
[narrator]
With just seven weeks
before they must shut down,

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the Gretzner Mine
needs more than

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2.5 ounces a week
to stay afloat.

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00:07:02,793 --> 00:07:04,172
So, what do you guys have
to lose

186
00:07:04,172 --> 00:07:06,275
if this doesn't
work out for you?

187
00:07:06,275 --> 00:07:08,103
We have a...
Our life savings invested

188
00:07:08,103 --> 00:07:10,310
in this, uh, along
with our partners.

189
00:07:11,793 --> 00:07:13,103
Now, is there
multiple partners,

190
00:07:13,103 --> 00:07:14,793
or just you guys?

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00:07:14,793 --> 00:07:16,379
[Chad] Uh, multiple partners
on this.

192
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Uh, we got five.

193
00:07:18,310 --> 00:07:20,482
-Did they have money
invested as well?
-[Greg] Oh, yes.

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-[Freddy] All of you do?
-[Juan] Everyone's
all out, huh?

195
00:07:22,068 --> 00:07:23,896
-[Freddy] Y'all got
skin in the game.
-[Greg] Oh, yes.

196
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[Chad] I've put a lot
of money and time

197
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,068
into making this successful.

198
00:07:28,068 --> 00:07:30,000
-So, is the rest
of the crew here?
-Yeah.

199
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,344
-Check out the mill.
-[Greg] Let's do it.

200
00:07:31,344 --> 00:07:32,793
-All right. Sounds good.
-[Greg] See you
a little bit, honey.

201
00:07:32,793 --> 00:07:34,275
[Sallie] All right.

202
00:07:34,275 --> 00:07:36,103
This is the first rescue
that Freddy and I have done

203
00:07:36,103 --> 00:07:38,482
that's a hardrock mine,
um, that's got a mill set up,

204
00:07:38,482 --> 00:07:41,103
but, uh, you know, we actually
came out from that industry.

205
00:07:42,275 --> 00:07:43,793
That's actually
where I started mining

206
00:07:43,793 --> 00:07:45,793
and I know Freddy's had some
experience there as well.

207
00:07:45,793 --> 00:07:48,275
So, uh, it's kinda good
to be back to our roots.

208
00:07:48,275 --> 00:07:49,793
[Freddy] Now, hardrock mining.

209
00:07:49,793 --> 00:07:51,586
It's definitely harder
in a lot of ways

210
00:07:51,586 --> 00:07:53,103
than placer mining is.

211
00:07:53,793 --> 00:07:55,172
You gotta free it
from the rock.

212
00:07:55,172 --> 00:07:57,206
You gotta blast it,

213
00:07:57,206 --> 00:07:58,241
pick it,

214
00:07:58,620 --> 00:07:59,586
crush it,

215
00:07:59,586 --> 00:08:02,275
and then do all these
other things

216
00:08:02,275 --> 00:08:04,689
that you don't have to do
in placer mining.

217
00:08:04,689 --> 00:08:06,620
It's a tough game.

218
00:08:06,620 --> 00:08:08,482
-Hey. Nice to meet you.
-How you doing?

219
00:08:08,482 --> 00:08:09,689
-I'm Ron.
-Ron, Juan.

220
00:08:09,689 --> 00:08:11,206
Nice to meet you, Juan.

221
00:08:11,206 --> 00:08:13,896
Hey, we really appreciate
you coming out.

222
00:08:13,896 --> 00:08:16,689
[narrator] Over two years,
Chad assembled a crew

223
00:08:16,689 --> 00:08:19,103
of part-time
weekend warriors.

224
00:08:19,103 --> 00:08:22,172
Ron, Harry, and Sean,

225
00:08:22,172 --> 00:08:24,206
who are also investors.

226
00:08:24,896 --> 00:08:26,379
Well, we'll have a look
at what you got.

227
00:08:26,379 --> 00:08:27,413
Why don't you show us around?

228
00:08:27,413 --> 00:08:28,482
-[Sean] Come on in.
-[Ron] Okay. Come on in.

229
00:08:28,482 --> 00:08:29,517
[Greg] Let's go.

230
00:08:29,517 --> 00:08:31,103
[Freddy] You got a couch.

231
00:08:31,103 --> 00:08:32,688
-That's the office.
-Is that right?

232
00:08:32,688 --> 00:08:34,379
-[Chad] Yeah.
-[laughter]

233
00:08:34,379 --> 00:08:35,931
[Juan] So what does your gold
look like?

234
00:08:35,931 --> 00:08:37,586
[Chad] So our gold
is super fine.

235
00:08:37,586 --> 00:08:39,000
This is, uh, this is what

236
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,172
the finished product
looks like for us.

237
00:08:40,172 --> 00:08:41,379
[Juan] There you go.

238
00:08:43,068 --> 00:08:46,793
[narrator] Gold rich rock
is found in quartz veins

239
00:08:46,793 --> 00:08:50,344
that rise through the earth
over millions of years.

240
00:08:51,103 --> 00:08:53,827
Hardrock miners
chase these veins

241
00:08:53,827 --> 00:08:56,586
by digging hundreds
of feet underground

242
00:08:56,586 --> 00:08:58,896
to extract the ore rock.

243
00:08:58,896 --> 00:09:04,620
Good ground is equal to eight
to ten grams per ton of ore.

244
00:09:04,620 --> 00:09:07,172
The Gretzners
have extracted six tons

245
00:09:07,172 --> 00:09:10,103
ready to be processed
through their mill.

246
00:09:10,103 --> 00:09:12,896
[Freddy] Well, you guys
wanna fire up your mill?

247
00:09:12,896 --> 00:09:14,896
-What do you think?
Two-hour test run?
-Yes, sir.

248
00:09:14,896 --> 00:09:16,068
-[Juan] Let's try it.
-[Freddy] See what it does.

249
00:09:16,068 --> 00:09:17,586
-[Chad] Let's do it.
-[Freddy] Let's do it.

250
00:09:17,586 --> 00:09:19,206
[Chad] Let's crush some rock.

251
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,896
[narrator] Stage one,
gold-bearing ore is fed

252
00:09:25,896 --> 00:09:28,965
into a large hopper
and crushed into pieces.

253
00:09:31,793 --> 00:09:35,000
Then it's transported
to a surge hopper

254
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,172
where the oversized rock
is removed.

255
00:09:38,172 --> 00:09:40,793
And the final stage
of the process,

256
00:09:40,793 --> 00:09:43,275
the small rocks are ground
to a powder

257
00:09:43,275 --> 00:09:45,034
in a milling machine.

258
00:09:45,724 --> 00:09:47,413
Water is added

259
00:09:47,413 --> 00:09:50,103
and the mix is piped
to a table

260
00:09:50,103 --> 00:09:53,551
where gold is separated
from the worthless material.

261
00:09:55,689 --> 00:09:57,517
When operating correctly,

262
00:09:57,517 --> 00:10:00,068
the process should be
fully automated

263
00:10:00,068 --> 00:10:02,827
with very little
human intervention.

264
00:10:02,827 --> 00:10:05,103
[Freddy] I [bleep] hate
those chain balls.

265
00:10:05,103 --> 00:10:07,172
[Juan] Yeah.
Those are painfully slow.

266
00:10:07,172 --> 00:10:08,689
[Freddy] Four and a half
minutes to pick those

267
00:10:08,689 --> 00:10:11,137
first bag up and dump it
in the hopper.

268
00:10:12,275 --> 00:10:13,689
[Juan] Right now
it's not really efficient.

269
00:10:13,689 --> 00:10:16,793
It takes four guys
to load the plant.

270
00:10:16,793 --> 00:10:20,000
[Freddy] Just have
to feed it by hand
with a shovel up there.

271
00:10:21,793 --> 00:10:23,482
There's a lot of wasted time
right there, Freddy.

272
00:10:23,482 --> 00:10:25,103
A lot of wasted time.

273
00:10:27,793 --> 00:10:30,172
[narrator] Next step,
Chad pushes the rock

274
00:10:30,172 --> 00:10:32,000
through the hopper
into a machine

275
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,000
called a jaw crusher,

276
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,344
which pulverizes
the large rock into pieces.

277
00:10:37,896 --> 00:10:39,482
I'm a little embarrassed,

278
00:10:39,482 --> 00:10:41,275
because there's
so many things wrong

279
00:10:41,275 --> 00:10:43,586
with our equipment,
and they're seeing it.

280
00:10:43,586 --> 00:10:44,827
And there's no way to hide it.

281
00:10:47,172 --> 00:10:48,413
Is that on?

282
00:10:49,206 --> 00:10:50,413
There's nothing.

283
00:10:51,103 --> 00:10:52,793
Right now, the hopper,

284
00:10:52,793 --> 00:10:54,206
it's not feeding the material.

285
00:10:54,206 --> 00:10:55,379
He's feeding the material

286
00:10:55,379 --> 00:10:57,172
into the jaw
with a shovel, so.

287
00:10:57,172 --> 00:10:58,689
To make work,

288
00:10:58,689 --> 00:11:01,103
they'd almost be better off
feeding it directly

289
00:11:01,103 --> 00:11:02,689
into the jaw
out of the ore sack.

290
00:11:02,689 --> 00:11:04,896
They really...
They really would be.

291
00:11:04,896 --> 00:11:07,482
[Freddy] We got a bunch
of issues going on here.

292
00:11:07,482 --> 00:11:10,724
[suspenseful music playing]

293
00:11:15,620 --> 00:11:16,896
[Juan]
That's green right there.

294
00:11:16,896 --> 00:11:18,448
We need to do something
better about that.

295
00:11:19,896 --> 00:11:21,517
[narrator]
The vibrating screen

296
00:11:21,517 --> 00:11:24,689
that sorts the rock
lacks enough power.

297
00:11:24,689 --> 00:11:28,103
So, Chad's crew must
also do it by hand.

298
00:11:28,896 --> 00:11:30,896
Right now he's down there
with a hammer.

299
00:11:30,896 --> 00:11:33,896
He'd hire a trained monkey
to do that, but no.

300
00:11:33,896 --> 00:11:36,000
Essentially,
it's become a manual screen,

301
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,103
even though he has
a vibrator on it.

302
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,275
[narrator]
With the rock sorted,

303
00:11:41,275 --> 00:11:43,482
Ron and Sean
now reduced the flow

304
00:11:43,482 --> 00:11:46,275
of material up the conveyor.

305
00:11:46,275 --> 00:11:48,103
[Freddy] Well,
and then we've got him here

306
00:11:48,103 --> 00:11:50,000
putting everything to center.

307
00:11:51,379 --> 00:11:53,896
Why are you putting that
to center like that?

308
00:11:53,896 --> 00:11:56,103
[Sean] Any more than this
and it overloads the table.

309
00:11:56,103 --> 00:11:57,517
[Freddy] Okay. Understood.

310
00:11:58,275 --> 00:12:00,827
They got time killers
all down the line.

311
00:12:04,275 --> 00:12:05,620
[Sean] I'm seeing
a little gold in there.

312
00:12:05,620 --> 00:12:08,172
[Ron] Yeah, it's mixed
with the black sand.

313
00:12:08,172 --> 00:12:11,586
[narrator] The shaker table
uses water and gravity

314
00:12:11,586 --> 00:12:14,517
to separate gold
from lighter material.

315
00:12:14,517 --> 00:12:16,379
[Freddy]
Lot of rocks on the table.

316
00:12:16,379 --> 00:12:18,000
[Ron speaking]

317
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,172
[narrator] If larger rocks
reach the table,

318
00:12:20,172 --> 00:12:23,137
they risk
displacing fine gold.

319
00:12:23,827 --> 00:12:25,586
[Freddy] I'd hang a light
from the roof,

320
00:12:25,586 --> 00:12:28,413
like an eight foot LED
over the middle of 'em.

321
00:12:28,413 --> 00:12:29,896
That's what I have
on all my tables.

322
00:12:29,896 --> 00:12:31,344
[man 1] How far up?

323
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,068
-[man 2] Oh.
-Oh, yeah. Okay.

324
00:12:33,068 --> 00:12:35,172
Right here so it's not
shining in your eyes,

325
00:12:35,172 --> 00:12:36,413
but it's enough
to spread the table.

326
00:12:36,413 --> 00:12:37,620
[Harry] That's a good idea.

327
00:12:40,310 --> 00:12:42,000
All right. Shut it down.

328
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:43,517
[narrator] After two hours,

329
00:12:43,517 --> 00:12:45,689
time is called on the test.

330
00:12:45,689 --> 00:12:46,827
[Juan] All right.
Let's shut it down.

331
00:12:46,827 --> 00:12:49,068
-[Freddy] Hopper's empty.
-[man] Hopper's empty?

332
00:12:49,068 --> 00:12:50,310
Thank you, sir.

333
00:12:50,896 --> 00:12:52,206
[Freddy]
On the test run today,

334
00:12:52,206 --> 00:12:55,379
Juan and myself seen
a lot of manual labor.

335
00:12:55,379 --> 00:12:56,793
You got all this equipment,

336
00:12:56,793 --> 00:12:58,689
yet it takes manual labor
to make it work.

337
00:12:58,689 --> 00:13:01,275
That did not
impress me at all.

338
00:13:01,275 --> 00:13:02,379
It wasn't good.

339
00:13:02,379 --> 00:13:03,689
And we've got some ideas

340
00:13:03,689 --> 00:13:05,827
to save 'em a lot of labor,
a lot of time.

341
00:13:05,827 --> 00:13:08,000
At least
if they're not doing the job,

342
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,310
they don't need to be doing,

343
00:13:09,310 --> 00:13:11,000
they can be doing
other things
to catch more gold.

344
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,896
It's a tough game,
hardrock mining is.

345
00:13:13,896 --> 00:13:16,931
We might have taken on more
work than we can handle here.

346
00:13:23,172 --> 00:13:25,551
[suspenseful music playing]

347
00:13:31,275 --> 00:13:32,896
I wouldn't mind
panning a little bit

348
00:13:32,896 --> 00:13:34,482
-to see what the gold
looks like down.
-[Juan] Take a look at it.

349
00:13:34,482 --> 00:13:35,758
[Freddy] Yeah.
You wanna do it, or me?

350
00:13:35,758 --> 00:13:37,103
[Juan] You go ahead and do it.

351
00:13:37,103 --> 00:13:38,827
I haven't watched
your videos enough.

352
00:13:39,758 --> 00:13:42,172
[narrator]
Deep in the scorching
Mojave Desert,

353
00:13:42,172 --> 00:13:44,620
the Gretzner crew
clean up the gold

354
00:13:44,620 --> 00:13:46,517
from their two-hour test.

355
00:13:46,517 --> 00:13:49,517
[man] I hope we have gold
for Freddy on one.

356
00:13:49,517 --> 00:13:52,620
[narrator] Freddy takes a pan
for an early indication.

357
00:13:52,620 --> 00:13:54,000
[man] This is nothing.

358
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,620
[Freddy] Lots of rocks in it.

359
00:13:55,620 --> 00:13:57,413
Yeah, that's not good.

360
00:13:57,413 --> 00:13:58,793
[Freddy] Why don't you guys
get it cleaned up?

361
00:13:58,793 --> 00:14:00,517
'Cause that's just one pan.

362
00:14:02,103 --> 00:14:04,517
It wasn't good
is all I can say.

363
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,586
I've done better pans
out of the bank on a creek,

364
00:14:08,586 --> 00:14:11,620
so, you know,
hopefully there's more
in that concentrate

365
00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:13,413
and we'll find out more
in the morning.

366
00:14:13,413 --> 00:14:17,655
That pan did not
thrill me at all.

367
00:14:18,068 --> 00:14:19,379
[Harry] It's real fine.

368
00:14:19,379 --> 00:14:21,206
-[man] Oh, yeah.
-[Harry] Looks like
a thin line of gold

369
00:14:21,206 --> 00:14:22,862
right at the top.

370
00:14:22,862 --> 00:14:24,379
There's a lot at stake.

371
00:14:24,379 --> 00:14:27,172
I mean, there's been so much
money invested already.

372
00:14:27,172 --> 00:14:29,482
I put a good amount of money
in myself.

373
00:14:29,482 --> 00:14:32,000
And, uh, if things get
a little shaky,

374
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,034
it's not gonna be that easy
to weather it.

375
00:14:34,931 --> 00:14:37,103
It looks like a little flake
right there.

376
00:14:37,103 --> 00:14:40,931
When it comes to gold,
it's location,
location, location.

377
00:14:40,931 --> 00:14:44,103
Hardrock testing can be
a hell of a lot harder.

378
00:14:44,103 --> 00:14:46,793
Your underground,
your chasing seams,

379
00:14:46,793 --> 00:14:49,000
the vein disappears,

380
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,827
but at the same time,
the ore can be really rich.

381
00:14:52,172 --> 00:14:53,724
You can do really well.

382
00:14:56,620 --> 00:14:58,689
Well, that wasn't very good
for that first run.

383
00:14:58,689 --> 00:15:00,172
[Juan] Oof.

384
00:15:00,172 --> 00:15:01,310
They've taken on a lot,
you know,

385
00:15:01,310 --> 00:15:03,482
for them to get together,

386
00:15:03,482 --> 00:15:05,586
purchase the building,
put the mill up,

387
00:15:05,586 --> 00:15:07,172
get all the equipment that
they needed for the mill.

388
00:15:07,172 --> 00:15:09,103
That's a quite
a big undertaking.

389
00:15:09,103 --> 00:15:10,310
Really, their whole process,

390
00:15:10,310 --> 00:15:11,793
it's, uh,
very labor-intensive.

391
00:15:11,793 --> 00:15:13,586
It's time
to eliminate some jobs

392
00:15:13,586 --> 00:15:14,896
so they can get on
to better things.

393
00:15:14,896 --> 00:15:16,034
[Juan] Yeah, absolutely.

394
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,586
[crickets chirping]

395
00:15:20,586 --> 00:15:23,827
[suspenseful music playing]

396
00:15:28,206 --> 00:15:30,275
[Harry] Here you go, Chad.
Grab this.

397
00:15:30,275 --> 00:15:33,206
[narrator] Next morning,
back at the mill site.

398
00:15:33,206 --> 00:15:35,103
You know, I could probably use

399
00:15:35,103 --> 00:15:37,482
that connection
off of your air compression.

400
00:15:37,482 --> 00:15:39,793
I can hook up
to my sand blaster.

401
00:15:39,793 --> 00:15:42,000
[narrator] Chad and Harry
have cleaned up the gold

402
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,103
from one ton of ore
the crew ran

403
00:15:44,103 --> 00:15:46,862
through their two-hour test.

404
00:15:46,862 --> 00:15:48,689
Chad's definitely
one of my good friends.

405
00:15:48,689 --> 00:15:50,103
Um, we've been at this
for a while

406
00:15:50,103 --> 00:15:51,275
and we've learned
about each other

407
00:15:51,275 --> 00:15:52,896
and we've grown over time

408
00:15:52,896 --> 00:15:55,172
and we've shared a lot
of thoughts and trouble,

409
00:15:55,172 --> 00:15:56,620
so, yeah, we're close.

410
00:15:57,586 --> 00:15:59,379
[narrator]
Right-hand man, Harry,

411
00:15:59,379 --> 00:16:02,689
has been on Chad's crew
for six years

412
00:16:02,689 --> 00:16:05,068
and invested $40,000

413
00:16:05,068 --> 00:16:07,689
into the mining operation.

414
00:16:07,689 --> 00:16:11,793
When you're on the vein
and on the gold, it's awesome.

415
00:16:11,793 --> 00:16:14,275
Getting gold out
of the ground
and turn it into a bar,

416
00:16:14,275 --> 00:16:16,310
I mean, that's pretty rad.

417
00:16:18,896 --> 00:16:20,689
Everything I've ever learned
in my whole life

418
00:16:20,689 --> 00:16:22,172
has just been working
with my hands

419
00:16:22,172 --> 00:16:23,482
and I like digging holes

420
00:16:23,482 --> 00:16:25,275
and it's just
a natural fit for me.

421
00:16:25,275 --> 00:16:27,206
Turning wrenches,
fixing equipment,

422
00:16:27,206 --> 00:16:28,689
and blowing up rock.

423
00:16:29,793 --> 00:16:32,620
[narrator]
Harry first met Chad
on a prospecting mission

424
00:16:32,620 --> 00:16:35,068
in 2017.

425
00:16:35,068 --> 00:16:36,793
His experience in engineering

426
00:16:36,793 --> 00:16:40,379
makes him a valuable member
of the team.

427
00:16:40,379 --> 00:16:42,310
[Harry] When I first got
together with these guys,

428
00:16:42,310 --> 00:16:44,206
I gotten outta
the Marine Corps for a while

429
00:16:44,206 --> 00:16:46,586
and, you know,
I was having a rough time.

430
00:16:46,586 --> 00:16:49,068
These guys have brought me
back to where I need to be

431
00:16:49,068 --> 00:16:50,310
and it's helped me at home

432
00:16:50,310 --> 00:16:52,517
and relationship
with my family.

433
00:16:56,310 --> 00:16:58,793
-[Freddy] Well,
weigh it up on one.
-[Juan] Yup.

434
00:16:58,793 --> 00:17:01,000
-[Freddy] You guys got it
all dried up?
-[Harry] Yes, sir.

435
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:02,586
-[Chad] Yeah.
-[Juan] Well,
let's take a look at it.

436
00:17:02,586 --> 00:17:05,482
-Where's your dad at?
-You know,
he's pretty tired.

437
00:17:05,482 --> 00:17:06,619
He's not feeling good.

438
00:17:06,619 --> 00:17:08,378
-Okay.
-He put his all

439
00:17:08,378 --> 00:17:10,172
into being out here
with you guys, uh,

440
00:17:10,172 --> 00:17:11,517
it kinda kicked his butt.

441
00:17:11,517 --> 00:17:13,103
[Freddy] Right. Right.

442
00:17:13,103 --> 00:17:14,310
Well, hopefully
he feels better.

443
00:17:14,310 --> 00:17:15,448
-[Freddy] Mmm-hmm.
-Thanks.

444
00:17:16,103 --> 00:17:17,931
I feel pressure.

445
00:17:17,931 --> 00:17:19,517
Not only have I seen our team

446
00:17:19,517 --> 00:17:21,758
invest everything
they have in this,

447
00:17:21,758 --> 00:17:23,689
my dad and I,

448
00:17:23,689 --> 00:17:25,792
we've invested a lot in this.

449
00:17:25,792 --> 00:17:27,103
If this doesn't work out,

450
00:17:27,103 --> 00:17:28,517
it would be
really hard on him.

451
00:17:28,517 --> 00:17:30,379
So, I don't want...
I don't wanna see that.

452
00:17:30,379 --> 00:17:33,241
I wanna see us succeed
and we'll find a way.

453
00:17:34,068 --> 00:17:36,172
[Freddy]
Well, let's weigh it up.

454
00:17:36,172 --> 00:17:38,000
-Yup.
-You do the honors, Chad.

455
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,379
[Chad] All right. Here we go.

456
00:17:40,379 --> 00:17:44,000
[narrator] Chad and his team
need to make $700 a day

457
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:45,413
to breakeven.

458
00:17:48,586 --> 00:17:49,896
[Freddy] Don't spill it.

459
00:17:58,586 --> 00:18:01,379
-[Juan] .03.
-[Freddy] .03. Yup.

460
00:18:01,379 --> 00:18:03,586
Nine-tenths of a gram.

461
00:18:03,586 --> 00:18:05,172
-[Juan] Almost a gram.
-[Chad] Almost a gram

462
00:18:05,172 --> 00:18:08,103
-from one ton of ore.
-Hmm.

463
00:18:09,379 --> 00:18:12,206
[narrator]
Worth less than $60.

464
00:18:12,206 --> 00:18:15,655
It's not even enough
to cover fuel for the mill.

465
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,275
Five guys, right?

466
00:18:18,275 --> 00:18:22,000
Five guys, uh, a day
to pull one ton from the mine.

467
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,482
-[Freddy] Yup.
-[Chad] Haul it here...

468
00:18:23,482 --> 00:18:25,000
-Yup.
-[Chad] and then a day
to run it and...

469
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,448
Yeah.

470
00:18:27,379 --> 00:18:28,689
[Juan] That's a tremendous
amount of work

471
00:18:28,689 --> 00:18:30,931
for that small of a payday.

472
00:18:33,862 --> 00:18:35,241
Yeah.

473
00:18:38,517 --> 00:18:40,172
What is required
for you guys to be able

474
00:18:40,172 --> 00:18:42,586
to pay your bills
and pay your guys something?

475
00:18:42,586 --> 00:18:44,000
We'd come up with what,
two to two

476
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,551
and a half ounces a week.

477
00:18:48,689 --> 00:18:50,482
-[Juan] You know...
Well, with this ore...
-[Freddy] With this ore...

478
00:18:50,482 --> 00:18:52,000
-it's not possible.
-it's not gonna be possible.

479
00:18:53,586 --> 00:18:54,793
[Chad] Maybe we get your help

480
00:18:54,793 --> 00:18:56,103
on finding
some better ground.

481
00:18:56,103 --> 00:18:58,793
Well, that's a tough one
in the time we're here.

482
00:18:58,793 --> 00:19:00,310
Without running it,

483
00:19:00,310 --> 00:19:02,068
there's no way
I can tell you anything.

484
00:19:02,068 --> 00:19:04,379
-We'd love to look
at your mine.
-[Juan] Yeah.

485
00:19:04,379 --> 00:19:06,517
But we need to spend
most of our time

486
00:19:06,517 --> 00:19:08,482
making your equipment
more efficient

487
00:19:08,482 --> 00:19:10,896
so you can test your own mines
at a quicker rate.

488
00:19:10,896 --> 00:19:13,000
And then once you find
that vein, that good vein,

489
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,103
you'll be able
to rock and roll

490
00:19:14,103 --> 00:19:15,379
and just blow it
right through the mill.

491
00:19:15,379 --> 00:19:16,689
We've both worked
underground before

492
00:19:16,689 --> 00:19:19,000
and I've seen just crazy veins
come out, you know,

493
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,068
where it's visible gold,
2,600 ounces a ton.

494
00:19:22,068 --> 00:19:24,379
-[Harry] Yeah.
-[Freddy] So it all comes down
to the ore.

495
00:19:24,379 --> 00:19:25,689
[Chad] Hey, I'm glad
you guys are here

496
00:19:25,689 --> 00:19:26,896
because we need the help.

497
00:19:26,896 --> 00:19:28,310
We're ready for the challenge.

498
00:19:28,310 --> 00:19:29,896
-[Harry] Definitely.
-We're ready for it.

499
00:19:31,275 --> 00:19:32,586
[Juan] The good news
is that Freddy and I,

500
00:19:32,586 --> 00:19:34,000
we did notice a lot of things
in the mill

501
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,758
that we can improve on.

502
00:19:35,758 --> 00:19:38,000
Ultimately, it's gonna
come down to a combination

503
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,482
of getting the production up,

504
00:19:39,482 --> 00:19:41,379
but also getting
on better ore.

505
00:19:41,379 --> 00:19:43,689
They need to get out of those
other veins they've got,

506
00:19:43,689 --> 00:19:45,689
those other mines,
and see what's there.

507
00:19:45,689 --> 00:19:47,862
And once they find
that better gold,

508
00:19:47,862 --> 00:19:49,758
they will have a plant here

509
00:19:49,758 --> 00:19:51,793
that not only
is it the test plant

510
00:19:51,793 --> 00:19:52,931
to find the better gold,

511
00:19:52,931 --> 00:19:54,689
but it's the one that
puts gold in their pocket,

512
00:19:54,689 --> 00:19:55,896
puts money in the bank.

513
00:19:57,103 --> 00:19:59,068
[narrator] Freddy and Juan
have four more days

514
00:19:59,068 --> 00:20:01,000
to put the Gretzner's
on track

515
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,034
for their 2.5 ounce
a week target.

516
00:20:05,517 --> 00:20:06,862
[Freddy]
What do you think, Juan?

517
00:20:06,862 --> 00:20:08,586
Well, Freddy, I think
there's quite a few things

518
00:20:08,586 --> 00:20:10,379
we can improve on
inside that mill.

519
00:20:10,379 --> 00:20:11,689
Yeah.

520
00:20:11,689 --> 00:20:14,103
[Juan] I'd like to get rid
of that chain ball.

521
00:20:14,103 --> 00:20:15,482
-[Freddy] They're slow.
-[Juan] Ah.

522
00:20:15,482 --> 00:20:16,620
[Freddy] Miserably slow.

523
00:20:16,620 --> 00:20:17,896
[Juan] Yeah, terribly slow.

524
00:20:17,896 --> 00:20:19,103
[Freddy] I'm thinking on this.

525
00:20:19,103 --> 00:20:20,758
They got that little vibrator
on there,

526
00:20:20,758 --> 00:20:22,206
-on that hopper.
-[Juan] It's doing nothing.

527
00:20:22,206 --> 00:20:23,689
Yeah.

528
00:20:23,689 --> 00:20:26,172
Do one of your eccentrics
down below here,

529
00:20:26,172 --> 00:20:28,000
will be able to get more throw
out of that hopper

530
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,413
so it feeds properly

531
00:20:29,413 --> 00:20:30,931
instead of having
to get up there

532
00:20:30,931 --> 00:20:32,379
-and shovel it by hand.
-[Freddy] Yup.

533
00:20:32,379 --> 00:20:35,172
[narrator] An eccentric motor
uses offset weights

534
00:20:35,172 --> 00:20:37,517
to create
a throwing movement.

535
00:20:39,517 --> 00:20:41,517
Freddy and Juan's plan,

536
00:20:42,172 --> 00:20:44,482
first,
they'll upgrade the hopper

537
00:20:44,482 --> 00:20:46,241
with an electric winch

538
00:20:47,689 --> 00:20:49,586
and whole new shaking process

539
00:20:49,586 --> 00:20:52,827
for moving pay
into the jaw crusher behind.

540
00:20:57,103 --> 00:21:00,000
Next, at the second hopper,

541
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,068
they'll add a screen
at the top

542
00:21:03,068 --> 00:21:05,413
to divert oversized rock.

543
00:21:08,379 --> 00:21:12,172
Finally, after the rock
has been milled to dust

544
00:21:12,172 --> 00:21:14,000
and the gold liberated,

545
00:21:15,586 --> 00:21:17,310
a vibrating screen,

546
00:21:17,310 --> 00:21:21,000
a new sluice box will help
catch the bigger gold

547
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,344
before the fine
get caught on the table.

548
00:21:26,758 --> 00:21:28,000
How's it going, guys?

549
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:29,206
[Chad] Hey.

550
00:21:30,068 --> 00:21:32,689
Well, we watched
you guys run and, uh,

551
00:21:32,689 --> 00:21:35,793
you know, multiple things
we think we can help you with.

552
00:21:35,793 --> 00:21:37,689
What we really wanna do
is make this circuit,

553
00:21:37,689 --> 00:21:39,896
the crushing circuit
a one-man job...

554
00:21:39,896 --> 00:21:41,068
-Yeah.
-without being, you know,

555
00:21:41,068 --> 00:21:42,586
a five-man team,

556
00:21:42,586 --> 00:21:44,000
you know,
starting from the beginning.

557
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,862
We're gonna put
an electric wench

558
00:21:45,862 --> 00:21:47,793
so it's not...

559
00:21:47,793 --> 00:21:50,275
[Freddy] Four minutes of bag
just to get it up.

560
00:21:50,275 --> 00:21:53,172
On this, we wanna redo
your hopper assembly there.

561
00:21:53,172 --> 00:21:56,206
We're gonna put airbags on it
and then put a real
eccentric in it.

562
00:21:56,206 --> 00:21:58,000
-Oh, wow.
-Okay. [laughs]

563
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,206
So, your surge hopper,

564
00:22:00,206 --> 00:22:03,482
where you've got your screen
there is the exact wrong spot.

565
00:22:03,482 --> 00:22:06,206
Even if we have to cut in to
your hopper just a little bit,

566
00:22:06,206 --> 00:22:08,103
we wanna put a screen
up there.

567
00:22:08,103 --> 00:22:10,931
Pipe it down, have your
wheelbarrow right there,

568
00:22:10,931 --> 00:22:13,379
and get it back in this test.

569
00:22:13,379 --> 00:22:16,068
So another idea that we had
is coming off your mill here,

570
00:22:16,068 --> 00:22:18,517
but a small tiny sluice box,

571
00:22:18,517 --> 00:22:20,068
but it'll have a screen
on top of it.

572
00:22:20,068 --> 00:22:21,103
[man] Keep it from going
on the table.

573
00:22:21,103 --> 00:22:22,758
Keep it from going
on the table.

574
00:22:22,758 --> 00:22:24,275
-Wow.
-So it'll catch 40% to 60%

575
00:22:24,275 --> 00:22:26,103
of your gold
on that sluice box.

576
00:22:26,103 --> 00:22:27,931
-That'd be awesome.
-[Chad] Much needed.

577
00:22:27,931 --> 00:22:30,206
[Juan] Now we need to talk
about the money situation.

578
00:22:30,206 --> 00:22:31,517
-All right.
-We're gonna need

579
00:22:31,517 --> 00:22:34,000
about $2,000 in material.

580
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,758
And then on top of that,
we would like you guys

581
00:22:35,758 --> 00:22:37,206
to cover our expenses.

582
00:22:38,275 --> 00:22:40,000
[Freddy]
Let's throw some dice here.

583
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,793
If we don't get you 10 times
the amount of gold

584
00:22:41,793 --> 00:22:43,000
that was in that
first cleanup,

585
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,551
our labor's free.

586
00:22:47,068 --> 00:22:49,000
We could make this work,
right?

587
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,482
Can we pull together
and we'll make it work?

588
00:22:51,482 --> 00:22:52,896
[man] Yeah, we'll find a way.

589
00:22:52,896 --> 00:22:54,379
[Juan] You guys are good
with it? We're good with it?

590
00:22:54,379 --> 00:22:55,862
[Freddy] And you guys
are ready to help?

591
00:22:55,862 --> 00:22:57,275
-Because we only have
-[Chad] We're ready to
work this.

592
00:22:57,275 --> 00:22:58,172
a limited amount of time.

593
00:22:58,172 --> 00:22:59,172
-Done.
-All right, guys.

594
00:22:59,172 --> 00:23:00,413
-All right.
-[Freddy] Deal.

595
00:23:00,413 --> 00:23:01,655
Deal.

596
00:23:01,655 --> 00:23:03,793
[Chad] The fixes that Freddy
and Juan have proposed,

597
00:23:03,793 --> 00:23:07,482
they're ambitious in such
a short period of time.

598
00:23:07,482 --> 00:23:08,793
It's gonna be some long hours

599
00:23:08,793 --> 00:23:10,103
and we're gonna have
to give them a hand

600
00:23:10,103 --> 00:23:11,689
and help them however we can.

601
00:23:11,689 --> 00:23:14,896
[dramatic music playing]

602
00:23:16,517 --> 00:23:17,586
[Freddy] Whoa. What is that?

603
00:23:17,586 --> 00:23:18,758
[narrator] Coming up.

604
00:23:18,758 --> 00:23:19,620
[Chad] Let's get outta here.

605
00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:20,793
Out, out, out, out, out.

606
00:23:20,793 --> 00:23:22,758
We gotta go,
we gotta go, we gotta go.

607
00:23:22,758 --> 00:23:25,931
[tense music playing]

608
00:23:32,689 --> 00:23:35,931
[instrumental music playing]

609
00:23:40,344 --> 00:23:41,586
[Chad] Hey, Dad.

610
00:23:41,586 --> 00:23:43,862
[narrator] At the Gretzner's
Desert mine,

611
00:23:43,862 --> 00:23:46,931
Chad's dad, Greg,
back on the job.

612
00:23:47,379 --> 00:23:48,896
Hey, how you feeling?

613
00:23:48,896 --> 00:23:50,137
Yeah, hanging in there.

614
00:23:50,137 --> 00:23:52,379
[narrator]
Diagnosed with degenerative

615
00:23:52,379 --> 00:23:54,896
nerve damage in 2010,

616
00:23:54,896 --> 00:23:57,241
Greg's found salvation
in mining

617
00:23:57,241 --> 00:23:59,689
but the desert heat
takes its toll.

618
00:23:59,689 --> 00:24:01,586
Yeah, as long as I have,
you know, uh,

619
00:24:01,586 --> 00:24:05,103
some time off here and there,
I can regroup and heal up.

620
00:24:05,103 --> 00:24:06,379
I'm always rooting for him

621
00:24:06,379 --> 00:24:08,137
and encourage him to try

622
00:24:08,137 --> 00:24:09,862
to lay it low,

623
00:24:09,862 --> 00:24:13,413
cut back because, uh,
he's been in pain.

624
00:24:14,241 --> 00:24:16,000
[narrator] Although they
now work together

625
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,896
on their hardrock mine,

626
00:24:17,896 --> 00:24:19,896
Chad and Greg
haven't always had

627
00:24:19,896 --> 00:24:22,586
the best father-son
relationship.

628
00:24:24,172 --> 00:24:27,413
He had left us and divorced
my mom when I was 14.

629
00:24:29,275 --> 00:24:34,000
Dad loved rock and roll.

630
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,896
You know, around the rock
and roll atmosphere

631
00:24:35,896 --> 00:24:37,586
and a lot of alcohol there,
a lot of drugs,

632
00:24:37,586 --> 00:24:40,275
a lot of women, and, uh,
usually that doesn't work out

633
00:24:40,275 --> 00:24:43,241
well for a family environment
with kids.

634
00:24:43,241 --> 00:24:45,862
[Greg] The years
that I was kind of being,

635
00:24:45,862 --> 00:24:48,172
you know, dumb, if you will.

636
00:24:48,172 --> 00:24:49,655
Looking back it's, like,

637
00:24:49,655 --> 00:24:50,931
yeah, I could've been
a little wiser.

638
00:24:51,551 --> 00:24:53,551
I thought
it was a lost thing,

639
00:24:53,551 --> 00:24:55,344
but, uh, last few years,

640
00:24:55,344 --> 00:24:58,310
my son and I have had
a great relationship.

641
00:24:59,241 --> 00:25:01,000
Uh, just makes me
really happy.

642
00:25:04,034 --> 00:25:05,241
I love it.

643
00:25:06,103 --> 00:25:09,241
[narrator]
Reconnected since 2016,

644
00:25:09,241 --> 00:25:12,275
father Greg has invested
all his lifesavings

645
00:25:12,275 --> 00:25:15,482
but still struggles to find
his place on the mine.

646
00:25:16,344 --> 00:25:18,862
Man, that gold weight
just didn't come in the way

647
00:25:18,862 --> 00:25:20,689
any of us were anticipating.

648
00:25:20,689 --> 00:25:22,172
Oh, really?

649
00:25:22,172 --> 00:25:28,482
Yeah, the .03 ounces
to the time or .9 grams,

650
00:25:28,482 --> 00:25:30,448
that was dismal.

651
00:25:30,448 --> 00:25:32,655
We've overcame obstacles
before.

652
00:25:32,655 --> 00:25:35,793
So, I know you got it in you.
I know I do.

653
00:25:35,793 --> 00:25:37,896
We can't go any lower
so we can only go up.

654
00:25:37,896 --> 00:25:40,758
[Chad] Yeah. I know.
And you push yourself hard.

655
00:25:40,758 --> 00:25:42,275
So, we all appreciate that.

656
00:25:42,275 --> 00:25:43,689
Oh, thank you.

657
00:25:43,689 --> 00:25:45,482
Right. I'm giving it my all.

658
00:25:45,482 --> 00:25:46,896
-All right, Dad. Thank you.
-All right. Get over here.

659
00:25:46,896 --> 00:25:48,965
-All right. Appreciate that.
-Yeah.

660
00:25:48,965 --> 00:25:50,275
All right.

661
00:25:50,275 --> 00:25:52,931
[acoustic music playing]

662
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,137
We gotta divide
and conquer a little bit here.

663
00:25:56,137 --> 00:25:57,793
[narrator]
Inbound for the day,

664
00:25:57,793 --> 00:26:00,689
Freddy and Juan
plan their attack.

665
00:26:00,689 --> 00:26:02,482
I wanna start working
on that hopper.

666
00:26:02,482 --> 00:26:04,275
Kinda have in my mind
what I wanna do there.

667
00:26:04,275 --> 00:26:05,896
Well, then I think
I'll that run out,

668
00:26:05,896 --> 00:26:06,965
look at their mines

669
00:26:06,965 --> 00:26:09,275
because the ore
that we ran yesterday...

670
00:26:09,275 --> 00:26:10,689
-Yeah.
-it's no good.

671
00:26:10,689 --> 00:26:11,896
-No bueno.
-Yeah. No. It's not...

672
00:26:11,896 --> 00:26:13,000
It's not worth running.

673
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,551
We could double
their throughput

674
00:26:14,551 --> 00:26:16,172
but still double the gold

675
00:26:16,172 --> 00:26:17,793
of what we just saw
still terrible.

676
00:26:17,793 --> 00:26:19,965
Well, just making 'em gold,
go broke faster.

677
00:26:19,965 --> 00:26:21,103
-That's good.
-That's what that would do.

678
00:26:21,103 --> 00:26:23,482
[dramatic music playing]

679
00:26:23,482 --> 00:26:26,275
We're gonna see
how we can't put some people

680
00:26:26,275 --> 00:26:28,000
out of work here.

681
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,758
At least,
if they're not doing the job

682
00:26:29,758 --> 00:26:31,172
they don't need to be doing,

683
00:26:31,172 --> 00:26:33,413
they can be doing other
things to catch more gold.

684
00:26:34,551 --> 00:26:36,793
We can... We can always
mock it up and see.

685
00:26:36,793 --> 00:26:38,655
[Juan] Yeah, 'cause right now,
the one I have...

686
00:26:38,655 --> 00:26:40,172
-[Harry] Yeah.
-it's probably shoot.

687
00:26:40,172 --> 00:26:42,275
It's gonna be another
six inches shorter.

688
00:26:42,275 --> 00:26:43,793
-[Harry] Six inches?
-Longer than... Yeah.

689
00:26:43,793 --> 00:26:45,586
-See what it looks like.
-Okay.

690
00:26:45,586 --> 00:26:47,172
[narrator]
To get the ball rolling,

691
00:26:47,172 --> 00:26:50,068
Juan and Freddy begin
with an easy win.

692
00:26:50,068 --> 00:26:51,896
A new electric hoist.

693
00:26:51,896 --> 00:26:54,344
[Freddy] Uh, I'm just setting
up this new, uh, hoist.

694
00:26:54,344 --> 00:26:56,000
Electric hoist.

695
00:26:57,068 --> 00:26:59,896
It's a hell lot easier
than pulling on that chain.

696
00:26:59,896 --> 00:27:03,068
[acoustic music playing]

697
00:27:07,586 --> 00:27:09,241
So, with the chain fall,
you know, it was...

698
00:27:09,241 --> 00:27:11,000
it was four minutes,
up and down.

699
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,275
-Minimum.
-Minimum.

700
00:27:12,275 --> 00:27:13,758
And then on top of that,
by the end of the day,

701
00:27:13,758 --> 00:27:15,275
you got sore arms, you know?

702
00:27:15,275 --> 00:27:16,551
-And our hope...
-Yeah.

703
00:27:16,551 --> 00:27:18,241
is that you guys are gonna run
so much material.

704
00:27:18,241 --> 00:27:19,551
You're not gonna want
that chain fall.

705
00:27:19,551 --> 00:27:21,137
You're gonna want something
fast up and down.

706
00:27:21,137 --> 00:27:23,034
[electric hoist whirring]

707
00:27:23,034 --> 00:27:25,241
The cable hoist looks like
it's gonna help us out a lot

708
00:27:25,241 --> 00:27:27,586
and keep Chad off the top
of that machine

709
00:27:27,586 --> 00:27:29,965
and we can focus more
and just getting bags in there

710
00:27:29,965 --> 00:27:32,275
and not starving
the jaw crusher.

711
00:27:32,275 --> 00:27:34,172
21 seconds, 22 seconds,

712
00:27:34,172 --> 00:27:36,689
plus another 5 seconds
to take it in.

713
00:27:36,689 --> 00:27:38,551
So, let's call it 30 seconds.

714
00:27:38,551 --> 00:27:41,172
So, we've cut this
by three-fourths.

715
00:27:41,172 --> 00:27:44,379
So, you got 75% less time
with the winch.

716
00:27:46,758 --> 00:27:48,344
-[Greg] Hey, Juan.
-[Juan] Hey, Greg.
How you doing, buddy?

717
00:27:48,344 --> 00:27:49,482
-[Greg] Good.
-[Juan] Feeling better?

718
00:27:49,482 --> 00:27:51,172
Yeah, yeah.
I'm doing a lot better.

719
00:27:51,172 --> 00:27:52,448
Do you wanna give me
a hand real quick?

720
00:27:52,448 --> 00:27:53,862
[Greg] Yeah, most definitely.

721
00:27:54,689 --> 00:27:57,827
[narrator] Next, Juan and Greg
redesigned the hopper.

722
00:27:59,137 --> 00:28:00,965
Go ahead and pull that off
and then what I'll have you do

723
00:28:00,965 --> 00:28:02,758
is once I get these parts
cut out, you can help me.

724
00:28:02,758 --> 00:28:04,586
We'll start getting this all
welded together.

725
00:28:04,586 --> 00:28:06,000
-[Greg] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Getting it all jigged up.

726
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,172
-[Greg] I like it.
-Perfect. Thank you, sir.

727
00:28:08,172 --> 00:28:09,482
In order to feed the material,

728
00:28:09,482 --> 00:28:11,448
that hopper has to move enough

729
00:28:11,448 --> 00:28:13,482
that it actually can push
that material forward

730
00:28:13,482 --> 00:28:15,172
and it doesn't have enough
power to do that.

731
00:28:15,172 --> 00:28:17,137
[narrator]
Mounted with springs,

732
00:28:17,137 --> 00:28:20,517
the hopper lacks the ability
to shake out the material.

733
00:28:21,482 --> 00:28:23,068
Juan's fix,

734
00:28:23,068 --> 00:28:25,896
install four sets
of adjustable airbags

735
00:28:25,896 --> 00:28:29,000
to control the force
of the hopper's movement,

736
00:28:30,275 --> 00:28:33,000
a first for Mine Rescue.

737
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,689
Give it a little lift.

738
00:28:39,275 --> 00:28:40,827
Yeah. Okay.

739
00:28:43,758 --> 00:28:46,344
So, what I'm doing
is I'm cutting out
the brackets right now.

740
00:28:46,344 --> 00:28:49,103
These brackets are gonna be
for the airbags to support it

741
00:28:49,103 --> 00:28:51,172
and give it that cushion
it needs so when it vibrates,

742
00:28:51,172 --> 00:28:53,034
it actually vibrates.

743
00:28:53,034 --> 00:28:54,758
It's got the hole through
the mounting brackets

744
00:28:54,758 --> 00:28:56,793
and then also,
the hole for the air.

745
00:28:56,793 --> 00:28:58,379
[narrator] While Freddy
prepares the hopper

746
00:28:58,379 --> 00:29:00,586
for the new fittings,

747
00:29:00,586 --> 00:29:04,172
Juan is assembling the frame
to house the airbags.

748
00:29:04,172 --> 00:29:05,758
[Juan] I'm gonna rust
these mounts together,

749
00:29:05,758 --> 00:29:07,137
we're gonna put some supports
on them

750
00:29:07,137 --> 00:29:08,586
and that way,
when it's vibrating,

751
00:29:08,586 --> 00:29:10,000
it'll absorb that impact

752
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:11,517
so it doesn't bend it over.

753
00:29:11,517 --> 00:29:13,586
-[Greg] Very cool.
-[Juan] Well, let's get it
rigged up on your side.

754
00:29:13,586 --> 00:29:15,172
You wanna get those, uh,
hooks in there?

755
00:29:15,172 --> 00:29:16,379
[Greg] Yup.

756
00:29:18,586 --> 00:29:20,448
All right.

757
00:29:20,448 --> 00:29:21,689
[Juan]
Greg was wanting to soak up

758
00:29:21,689 --> 00:29:22,862
everything I was going.

759
00:29:22,862 --> 00:29:24,068
And hopefully,
by us being here

760
00:29:24,068 --> 00:29:25,103
and helping him out, you know,

761
00:29:25,103 --> 00:29:26,310
he's able to learn
a little bit.

762
00:29:27,448 --> 00:29:29,689
Working alongside
of Freddy and Juan

763
00:29:29,689 --> 00:29:32,379
is so amazing
and awesome to me.

764
00:29:32,379 --> 00:29:36,172
Their honest concern
and their willingness

765
00:29:36,172 --> 00:29:37,689
to do these changes,

766
00:29:37,689 --> 00:29:39,000
I was happy I could jump in

767
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:40,517
and help out wherever I could.

768
00:29:41,551 --> 00:29:43,793
[Juan] You wanna keep an eye
on both [indistinct]
all right.

769
00:29:46,655 --> 00:29:48,586
-Awesome.
-Back on.

770
00:29:49,172 --> 00:29:50,793
These are just really simple.

771
00:29:50,793 --> 00:29:53,137
They're actually kind of
an automotive airbag.

772
00:29:53,137 --> 00:29:55,000
But, you know, sometimes you
gotta use what you can get.

773
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000
And that's what we could get

774
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:57,586
and they work good,
so we're gonna use 'em.

775
00:29:57,586 --> 00:29:58,689
[Greg] Awesome.

776
00:29:58,689 --> 00:30:00,241
-Very, very cool. Thank you.
-[Juan] Good work.

777
00:30:00,241 --> 00:30:01,517
Yeah. No problem.

778
00:30:09,344 --> 00:30:10,689
What do you guys think
about running out

779
00:30:10,689 --> 00:30:11,758
to your mine real quick?

780
00:30:11,758 --> 00:30:13,551
[narrator] Across the claim...

781
00:30:13,551 --> 00:30:15,034
-We're gonna show it to you.
-Yeah.

782
00:30:15,034 --> 00:30:16,172
[narrator] Freddy is keen

783
00:30:16,172 --> 00:30:18,793
to get eyes on Chad's mine.

784
00:30:18,793 --> 00:30:21,034
Pretty weak
around that first one, so...

785
00:30:21,034 --> 00:30:22,758
-[Chad] All right.
-[man] Let's do it.

786
00:30:22,758 --> 00:30:24,482
[Chad] We have hardrock
gold mines

787
00:30:24,482 --> 00:30:26,689
that we own
all the mineral rights on.

788
00:30:26,689 --> 00:30:30,000
They are also proven mines
that the old timers worked.

789
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,344
So, being able to go
into existing workings

790
00:30:32,344 --> 00:30:33,896
and then sample there
and develop it.

791
00:30:33,896 --> 00:30:35,758
The downside
and negative to that

792
00:30:35,758 --> 00:30:37,758
is it's expensive
and dangerous

793
00:30:37,758 --> 00:30:39,827
to get into these
old workings.

794
00:30:40,586 --> 00:30:43,000
So, Freddy could
absolutely help us out.

795
00:30:45,482 --> 00:30:47,793
[Chad] I think you'll like
the work we've done on it.

796
00:30:47,793 --> 00:30:50,000
There's a lot of things
that Juan and myself can do

797
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,137
to help their plant.

798
00:30:51,137 --> 00:30:54,000
But the gold, I wasn't
really impressed with.

799
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:55,689
They're losing money
right now.

800
00:30:55,689 --> 00:30:58,379
They have six other mines.

801
00:30:58,379 --> 00:30:59,758
You got the right ore

802
00:30:59,758 --> 00:31:01,379
with the right amount
of gold in it,

803
00:31:01,379 --> 00:31:03,172
you can do really well.

804
00:31:03,172 --> 00:31:04,862
[narrator]
Freddy and Chad head

805
00:31:04,862 --> 00:31:07,172
into the mountain
7 miles west,

806
00:31:07,172 --> 00:31:09,896
where hundreds of tunnels
on their claim

807
00:31:09,896 --> 00:31:13,000
crisscrossed these
historic gold fields.

808
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,586
[Freddy] How long have
you guys had this place,

809
00:31:15,586 --> 00:31:17,379
-your family?
-[Chad] Uh, four years.

810
00:31:17,379 --> 00:31:19,034
-[Freddy] Four years?
-I don't know why.

811
00:31:19,034 --> 00:31:21,965
I just have this drive,
Freddy.

812
00:31:21,965 --> 00:31:23,275
This determination.

813
00:31:23,275 --> 00:31:26,172
I'm gonna find a way
to make it work.

814
00:31:26,172 --> 00:31:29,275
Our team does look to me
as the mine boss.

815
00:31:29,275 --> 00:31:32,344
So, it's a big responsibility
to lead these guys

816
00:31:32,344 --> 00:31:34,034
and I don't wanna
let them down.

817
00:31:34,034 --> 00:31:35,482
I wanna make sure
that I'm doing my part

818
00:31:35,482 --> 00:31:37,482
to lead us
in the right direction.

819
00:31:39,172 --> 00:31:40,379
We're here.

820
00:31:41,034 --> 00:31:42,931
So, this your hole
in the ground, huh?

821
00:31:43,172 --> 00:31:44,448
[Chad] Sure is.

822
00:31:44,448 --> 00:31:45,793
[Freddy] I've worked
underground enough

823
00:31:45,793 --> 00:31:47,413
to know how tough it is.

824
00:31:48,172 --> 00:31:49,793
It's far more expensive

825
00:31:49,793 --> 00:31:52,000
and dangerous
than placer mining.

826
00:31:53,379 --> 00:31:55,275
It's a hard game to play.

827
00:31:55,275 --> 00:31:57,862
Sure, the ore is richer
and the rewards are great,

828
00:31:57,862 --> 00:31:59,310
but the risks are many.

829
00:32:01,896 --> 00:32:04,586
Well, I guess get geared up
and head down, huh?

830
00:32:04,586 --> 00:32:06,000
[Chad] Yeah.

831
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,172
-[man] Yeah.
-Let's get him tied up.

832
00:32:08,172 --> 00:32:10,000
[Chad]
Just watch your little hole
but you got a deck here.

833
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,379
You can step on it.

834
00:32:11,379 --> 00:32:13,172
[Freddy] Getting darker,
that's for sure.

835
00:32:13,172 --> 00:32:15,448
[Chad] No run. Rock, rock.

836
00:32:15,448 --> 00:32:17,586
[narrator] The quartz vein
they are working

837
00:32:17,586 --> 00:32:20,620
is 85 feet below the ground.

838
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:26,689
Hey, guys.

839
00:32:26,689 --> 00:32:30,137
Don't take any of the film
crew any further than that.

840
00:32:30,137 --> 00:32:31,965
[Chad] The hanging wall
is separating two inches.

841
00:32:31,965 --> 00:32:33,172
There are stools
holding it up,

842
00:32:33,172 --> 00:32:34,482
but that's the danger zone.

843
00:32:34,482 --> 00:32:36,137
I'm not going back there.

844
00:32:40,172 --> 00:32:42,172
[Chad]
Um, this is one of the spots

845
00:32:42,172 --> 00:32:43,689
we're working and sampling.

846
00:32:43,689 --> 00:32:45,379
[Freddy] I can see
the vein structure there.

847
00:32:45,379 --> 00:32:47,482
Not easy to get out
of here either.

848
00:32:47,965 --> 00:32:49,793
[narrator] Over 95%

849
00:32:49,793 --> 00:32:52,344
of the world's gold
left unmined

850
00:32:52,344 --> 00:32:55,172
is believed to be underground

851
00:32:55,172 --> 00:32:58,551
with over three trillion
dollars in gold reserves

852
00:32:58,551 --> 00:33:00,275
yet to be mined.

853
00:33:00,275 --> 00:33:03,000
Almost all large
mining companies

854
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:04,482
draw their gold

855
00:33:04,482 --> 00:33:06,758
from a hard rock source.

856
00:33:06,758 --> 00:33:08,137
[Freddy] You got a microscope.

857
00:33:13,655 --> 00:33:16,068
-Search some gold.
-There's a piece.

858
00:33:16,068 --> 00:33:17,586
-Right.
-[Chad] Yeah, all right.

859
00:33:17,586 --> 00:33:19,275
-[Freddy] That's so small.
-A lot of times,

860
00:33:19,275 --> 00:33:21,793
that doesn't cut it, right?

861
00:33:21,793 --> 00:33:25,482
So, we typically have three
to four guys work in here.

862
00:33:25,482 --> 00:33:28,034
I mean,
if everybody's available,
we'll have all five.

863
00:33:28,034 --> 00:33:29,965
-And you're doing it by hand?
-[Chad] Yeah.

864
00:33:29,965 --> 00:33:31,379
-Getting out.
-[Freddy] I see
your buckets here.

865
00:33:31,379 --> 00:33:33,103
Is that how you're mucking
this over?

866
00:33:33,103 --> 00:33:35,655
Every bucket is probably
50 pounds coming out of here.

867
00:33:35,655 --> 00:33:37,482
-Forty, fifty pounds.
-[Chad] Yeah.

868
00:33:37,482 --> 00:33:40,379
Ooh, so to get a ton,
it takes a lot of manpower.

869
00:33:41,344 --> 00:33:44,068
[Chad] Our record in one day
was eight tons.

870
00:33:44,068 --> 00:33:47,482
You ever have any of this
hanging wall bust off on you?

871
00:33:47,482 --> 00:33:50,517
I see you got it curved
in a few places here.

872
00:33:51,551 --> 00:33:53,344
[Chad] Yeah, you see
little pieces like that.

873
00:33:53,344 --> 00:33:57,172
[Freddy] Yeah. Well, it's dark
and it's tight.

874
00:33:57,172 --> 00:33:59,275
It's not the easiest place
to get in to.

875
00:33:59,275 --> 00:34:02,103
There's just not enough gold
in the ore.

876
00:34:02,103 --> 00:34:04,689
So, go to a different spot.

877
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,482
Whoa. What's that?

878
00:34:08,482 --> 00:34:09,965
[Chad] A piece fell off
the roof.

879
00:34:09,965 --> 00:34:12,965
[Freddy] Guys, I wouldn't go
any further.

880
00:34:12,965 --> 00:34:15,275
-[Chad] Let's get outta here.
-[Freddy] What the [bleep]
going on?

881
00:34:15,275 --> 00:34:17,137
[Chad]
Out, out, out, out, out.
We gotta go.

882
00:34:17,137 --> 00:34:18,896
We gotta go. We gotta go.

883
00:34:27,447 --> 00:34:29,379
[dramatic music playing]

884
00:34:29,379 --> 00:34:31,034
[Freddy] I'm not going
back there.

885
00:34:31,034 --> 00:34:32,447
[Chad] Yeah.

886
00:34:32,447 --> 00:34:34,447
[narrator]
In the Mojave Desert,

887
00:34:34,447 --> 00:34:37,137
a rock fall has halted
Freddy's investigation

888
00:34:37,137 --> 00:34:41,000
into the Gretzner's
hardrock mine.

889
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,482
[Freddy] It's not a job
for the timid in that mine.

890
00:34:44,482 --> 00:34:46,172
It's dark and it's tight
down there.

891
00:34:46,172 --> 00:34:48,137
And those guys,
I can tell they have

892
00:34:48,137 --> 00:34:49,757
to work their butts off

893
00:34:49,757 --> 00:34:51,482
to get that ore
out of that mine.

894
00:34:51,482 --> 00:34:53,793
Hand chisel each piece
of rock out

895
00:34:53,793 --> 00:34:54,965
to get it out of there

896
00:34:54,965 --> 00:34:56,585
to find out
if there's enough gold in it.

897
00:34:56,585 --> 00:34:59,793
Right now, these guys are
deep in the hole, cost-wise.

898
00:34:59,793 --> 00:35:02,344
If all their mines
are similar to this one,

899
00:35:02,344 --> 00:35:06,068
then, uh, they won't be
in business very long.

900
00:35:10,379 --> 00:35:12,172
Yeah. The structure
you're on right now,

901
00:35:12,172 --> 00:35:14,275
-you're gonna go broke on.
-Yeah.

902
00:35:14,275 --> 00:35:15,896
You know? Average wage

903
00:35:15,896 --> 00:35:18,275
is with the amount
of labor you had in it.

904
00:35:18,275 --> 00:35:20,034
Well, it was taken you guys
were averaging

905
00:35:20,034 --> 00:35:21,793
about 50 cents an hour
apiece, so...

906
00:35:21,793 --> 00:35:24,586
Oh, yeah. That's horrible.

907
00:35:24,586 --> 00:35:26,965
Trying to sample
and prove out the mines,

908
00:35:26,965 --> 00:35:28,689
uh, but then also
at the same time trying

909
00:35:28,689 --> 00:35:30,931
-to make gold.
-[Freddy] That's what I think.

910
00:35:32,896 --> 00:35:35,896
We got six other mines
to go look at.

911
00:35:35,896 --> 00:35:39,862
But, there's a lot of things
that have to be done

912
00:35:39,862 --> 00:35:41,724
to make this plant
run more efficiently.

913
00:35:42,379 --> 00:35:44,344
We haven't got a lot of time.

914
00:35:44,344 --> 00:35:46,172
So, if we can
streamline that,

915
00:35:46,172 --> 00:35:49,034
it's gonna help
the efficiency in the field.

916
00:35:49,034 --> 00:35:50,448
Hopefully, get, you know,

917
00:35:50,448 --> 00:35:53,275
your mill running
more efficiently,

918
00:35:53,275 --> 00:35:55,000
you can test

919
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,586
these different main
structures you've got

920
00:35:57,586 --> 00:35:59,172
or different parts of 'em...

921
00:35:59,172 --> 00:36:01,896
-Yes.
-at a more efficient rate.

922
00:36:01,896 --> 00:36:05,068
[dramatic music playing]

923
00:36:12,275 --> 00:36:14,655
[Juan] Whatever we can do,
we'll do it.

924
00:36:14,655 --> 00:36:16,344
[narrator]
Back at the Gretzner Mill,

925
00:36:16,344 --> 00:36:19,655
one pushes on
with the second hopper fix.

926
00:36:19,655 --> 00:36:21,896
[Juan] We're kind of behind
the 8 Ball now.

927
00:36:23,137 --> 00:36:25,241
[narrator] Having fitted
the new airbags,

928
00:36:25,241 --> 00:36:28,448
he needs to upgrade
the vibrator.

929
00:36:28,448 --> 00:36:29,896
I'm already starting to work
on all the brackets

930
00:36:29,896 --> 00:36:31,137
for the eccentric vibrator.

931
00:36:31,137 --> 00:36:32,068
We gotta get going on it

932
00:36:32,068 --> 00:36:33,448
'cause if we don't
get started now,

933
00:36:33,448 --> 00:36:36,137
we'll never finish
this project.

934
00:36:36,137 --> 00:36:37,689
So this is something different
that we haven't really done.

935
00:36:37,689 --> 00:36:39,551
This is a... This is
gonna be a vibrator

936
00:36:39,551 --> 00:36:42,000
but what we're actually doing
is doing an eccentric

937
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:43,896
before they had a little,
tiny vibrator on the back here

938
00:36:43,896 --> 00:36:45,275
that wasn't doing anything.

939
00:36:45,275 --> 00:36:48,379
All it was doing
was compacting the material.

940
00:36:48,379 --> 00:36:50,241
[narrator]
An eccentric vibrator

941
00:36:50,241 --> 00:36:53,379
uses off-center weight
mounted on a bar

942
00:36:53,379 --> 00:36:56,689
to create a throwing
back and forth movement.

943
00:36:56,689 --> 00:36:59,137
Juan's theory,
this movement will help

944
00:36:59,137 --> 00:37:00,965
the hopper stay unclogged,

945
00:37:00,965 --> 00:37:03,413
saving time and manpower.

946
00:37:05,172 --> 00:37:07,586
We're gonna use these weights
that we cut out on the table

947
00:37:07,586 --> 00:37:09,586
and we'll have
opposing weights,

948
00:37:09,586 --> 00:37:11,275
so one this way,
one the other way.

949
00:37:11,275 --> 00:37:13,000
All that weight will be
off-center on the shaft

950
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,482
and what it'll do,
it'll actually throw

951
00:37:14,482 --> 00:37:15,793
the material forward.

952
00:37:15,793 --> 00:37:17,413
So that's what these are.

953
00:37:18,068 --> 00:37:19,586
[narrator]
By spinning heavy weights

954
00:37:19,586 --> 00:37:21,482
on a bar below the hopper,

955
00:37:21,482 --> 00:37:23,793
the eccentric vibrator
will pulsate

956
00:37:23,793 --> 00:37:25,482
a steady supply of rocks

957
00:37:25,482 --> 00:37:27,551
into the jaw crusher.

958
00:37:27,551 --> 00:37:29,034
[Juan] It took five guys
to feed it,

959
00:37:29,034 --> 00:37:30,586
so what we're trying to do
is trying to eliminate

960
00:37:30,586 --> 00:37:31,896
all that extra labor

961
00:37:31,896 --> 00:37:33,689
to make it one
smooth transition

962
00:37:33,689 --> 00:37:36,482
where you feed it,
it feeds itself into the jaw,

963
00:37:36,482 --> 00:37:38,103
and you catch it
on the other side.

964
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,413
[Ron] That's brilliant.

965
00:37:49,862 --> 00:37:51,965
Everything
that we've got going here,

966
00:37:51,965 --> 00:37:53,793
they look at it with new eyes

967
00:37:53,793 --> 00:37:55,482
and they see stuff
that we haven't seen

968
00:37:55,482 --> 00:37:58,379
and they pull really
cool tricks out of the hat

969
00:37:58,379 --> 00:38:00,068
and make it work.

970
00:38:00,068 --> 00:38:02,896
[laughing] I'm really happy
about it.

971
00:38:02,896 --> 00:38:06,275
Chad'll have to file
for unemployment. [chuckles]

972
00:38:06,275 --> 00:38:08,482
-[Juan] Should be good.
It looks okay.
-[Ron] Yeah.

973
00:38:08,482 --> 00:38:10,586
Hopefully it works
as good as it looks.

974
00:38:10,586 --> 00:38:12,172
[Ron] Almost looks like
you know what you're doing.

975
00:38:12,172 --> 00:38:14,482
Kind of.
I saw it in a book once.

976
00:38:14,482 --> 00:38:16,172
-[Ron] Saw it on a cartoon?
-Yeah.

977
00:38:16,172 --> 00:38:17,586
[laughter]

978
00:38:17,586 --> 00:38:19,379
[narrator] One of the most
experienced miners

979
00:38:19,379 --> 00:38:21,241
in the crew, Ron,

980
00:38:21,241 --> 00:38:23,689
is Chad's largest investor.

981
00:38:23,689 --> 00:38:27,655
Yeah, I've personally invested
probably a quarter million

982
00:38:27,655 --> 00:38:28,724
into the project.

983
00:38:29,896 --> 00:38:32,275
[narrator] Building contractor
by night,

984
00:38:32,275 --> 00:38:34,275
gold miner by day,

985
00:38:34,275 --> 00:38:36,379
Ron is determined
to make a success

986
00:38:36,379 --> 00:38:37,689
of the Hard Rock Mine

987
00:38:37,689 --> 00:38:39,793
with his band of brothers.

988
00:38:40,689 --> 00:38:42,482
[Ron] I've invested
all I could.

989
00:38:42,482 --> 00:38:45,758
My mom left me a little money
when she passed.

990
00:38:45,758 --> 00:38:47,482
I wanted to...

991
00:38:47,482 --> 00:38:50,586
[sobbing]

992
00:38:50,586 --> 00:38:52,310
I wanted to...

993
00:38:52,689 --> 00:38:54,000
Sorry.

994
00:38:54,379 --> 00:38:56,689
Wasn't expecting this.

995
00:38:57,034 --> 00:38:58,896
Um, I just wanted,

996
00:38:58,896 --> 00:39:01,379
uh, her legacy to live on

997
00:39:01,379 --> 00:39:05,379
and then I hope
that my boy and grandsons,

998
00:39:05,379 --> 00:39:07,655
if nothing else,
they'll learn the camaraderie

999
00:39:07,655 --> 00:39:10,275
and the hard work
that comes with that.

1000
00:39:10,275 --> 00:39:12,482
I know that we can succeed.

1001
00:39:13,068 --> 00:39:14,275
I can't quit... Can't quit.

1002
00:39:14,275 --> 00:39:15,724
I'm not a quitter.

1003
00:39:22,689 --> 00:39:24,551
I'm trying to find Greg.
I need a little bit of help

1004
00:39:24,551 --> 00:39:26,241
on that screen
I'm gonna build.

1005
00:39:26,241 --> 00:39:27,896
[narrator]
With the Hopper complete,

1006
00:39:27,896 --> 00:39:31,344
Juan turns his attention
to the next planned fix

1007
00:39:31,344 --> 00:39:33,379
with Chad's father Greg.

1008
00:39:33,379 --> 00:39:35,379
But he's nowhere to be seen.

1009
00:39:35,379 --> 00:39:37,000
-[Juan] Hey, Sallie.
-Oh, hey, Juan.

1010
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,689
-How's it going?
-Good. How you doing?

1011
00:39:38,689 --> 00:39:40,000
[exhales sharply]
I'm doing okay.

1012
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,344
I'm trying to get this mess
cleaned up a little bit.

1013
00:39:41,344 --> 00:39:42,655
Cleaning up a little bit?
Nice.

1014
00:39:42,655 --> 00:39:44,275
-Yeah.
-Hey, is Greg around?

1015
00:39:44,275 --> 00:39:46,068
Uh, he'll be out
in the afternoon.

1016
00:39:46,068 --> 00:39:47,344
-[Juan] Okay. Okay.
-Yeah.

1017
00:39:47,344 --> 00:39:48,448
Yeah, I was just gonna
have him help me

1018
00:39:48,448 --> 00:39:49,586
with that screen
we're gonna build.

1019
00:39:49,586 --> 00:39:52,551
He normally works
for a couple of days.

1020
00:39:52,551 --> 00:39:55,000
And then, he has to probably
lay down and take a little nap

1021
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,172
and then, he'll be
out this afternoon.

1022
00:39:57,172 --> 00:39:58,413
Hopefully he feels
a little better

1023
00:39:58,413 --> 00:39:59,965
but when he has a chance,
come out and give me a hand.

1024
00:39:59,965 --> 00:40:01,551
-[Sallie] Yeah, I will.
Definitely.
-Awesome. Thank you.

1025
00:40:01,551 --> 00:40:03,172
Thank you. I appreciate it.

1026
00:40:04,586 --> 00:40:06,965
[narrator] Married in 2005,

1027
00:40:06,965 --> 00:40:10,172
mining mom Sallie
has been by Greg's side

1028
00:40:10,172 --> 00:40:11,896
through thick and thin.

1029
00:40:11,896 --> 00:40:14,172
[Sallie] He was a musician
when I met him.

1030
00:40:14,172 --> 00:40:16,896
And I think
that drawed me to him.

1031
00:40:16,896 --> 00:40:19,689
So here we are
22 years later, married.

1032
00:40:19,689 --> 00:40:21,793
[narrator]
Living on a fixed income,

1033
00:40:21,793 --> 00:40:24,344
Sallie and Greg have
gambled everything

1034
00:40:24,344 --> 00:40:26,275
on this gold hunting venture.

1035
00:40:26,275 --> 00:40:27,655
[Sallie] We have a lot
at stake here.

1036
00:40:27,655 --> 00:40:30,000
We have a lot of money
invested into this mill site.

1037
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:33,413
So, it could be devastating...

1038
00:40:34,586 --> 00:40:36,517
if it doesn't work out.

1039
00:40:40,689 --> 00:40:42,241
-Juano.
-Hey, Fred.

1040
00:40:42,241 --> 00:40:43,965
[narrator]
Back at the compound.

1041
00:40:43,965 --> 00:40:45,275
[exhales] It's hot.

1042
00:40:45,275 --> 00:40:46,758
-It's a warm one, huh?
-Yeah.

1043
00:40:46,758 --> 00:40:48,793
No. Look over there
at the mine site.

1044
00:40:48,793 --> 00:40:50,482
Well, I went underground

1045
00:40:50,482 --> 00:40:52,586
to that one they're playing
around with down there.

1046
00:40:52,586 --> 00:40:56,000
And, you know,
they don't have the resources

1047
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:57,758
to really go underground

1048
00:40:57,758 --> 00:40:59,655
-right at this moment.
-Yeah.

1049
00:40:59,655 --> 00:41:01,482
[Freddy] You know, they're
handpicking down there,

1050
00:41:01,482 --> 00:41:04,103
then they're pulling it out
in buckets. Holy cow.

1051
00:41:04,103 --> 00:41:06,275
You know, I got
a lot going on here
with the... With the build,

1052
00:41:06,275 --> 00:41:09,034
so I'll be tied up doing this
for the next day or so

1053
00:41:09,034 --> 00:41:10,758
but if you can go out there
and give them a hand,

1054
00:41:10,758 --> 00:41:12,000
you know,
that's really what they need.

1055
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:13,172
You know, underground mining

1056
00:41:13,172 --> 00:41:14,379
is a whole different animal,
you know.

1057
00:41:14,379 --> 00:41:15,793
You know, you and I both have
been underground before

1058
00:41:15,793 --> 00:41:17,482
and it's a whole
different type of mining.

1059
00:41:17,482 --> 00:41:18,551
-[Freddy] Yup.
-It really is.

1060
00:41:18,551 --> 00:41:20,379
You gotta have rich ground
to go underground

1061
00:41:20,379 --> 00:41:22,448
-on a small scale. Yeah.
-Yeah.

1062
00:41:22,448 --> 00:41:24,241
Yeah, especially doing it
the way they're doing

1063
00:41:24,241 --> 00:41:25,448
with picks and shovels.

1064
00:41:25,448 --> 00:41:26,896
That's tough.

1065
00:41:26,896 --> 00:41:28,655
-That's a hard way to do it.
-85 feet

1066
00:41:28,655 --> 00:41:30,551
to the surface...

1067
00:41:30,551 --> 00:41:32,068
and then loading it in trucks

1068
00:41:32,068 --> 00:41:33,689
and hauling it in,
crushing it.

1069
00:41:33,689 --> 00:41:35,275
But they're mucking it all out

1070
00:41:35,275 --> 00:41:37,103
by hand underneath there.

1071
00:41:37,103 --> 00:41:39,896
-So it's a lot of work.
-Yeah.

1072
00:41:39,896 --> 00:41:43,482
[narrator]
Commercial operations can
mine lower ground ores

1073
00:41:43,482 --> 00:41:45,448
and still make a profit due

1074
00:41:45,448 --> 00:41:47,896
to the huge volumes
of material

1075
00:41:47,896 --> 00:41:50,172
that they're able to process.

1076
00:41:50,172 --> 00:41:54,068
But Chad's mine runs
only a ton a day.

1077
00:41:54,689 --> 00:41:57,000
Refocusing his manpower

1078
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,379
could get him closer
to the gold.

1079
00:41:59,379 --> 00:42:01,862
That big brown bushing
in there
is probably wore out, huh?

1080
00:42:01,862 --> 00:42:04,379
[Freddy]
Juan and I are spinning a lot
of plates right now.

1081
00:42:04,379 --> 00:42:05,448
[Juan] There's some space
in there.

1082
00:42:05,448 --> 00:42:08,344
But the stage these guys
are in right now,

1083
00:42:08,344 --> 00:42:10,655
getting rid of the labor
in here

1084
00:42:10,655 --> 00:42:13,379
helped the efficiency
in this building.

1085
00:42:13,379 --> 00:42:15,689
It's gonna help
the efficiency in the field,

1086
00:42:15,689 --> 00:42:17,896
because two or three
of them can go.

1087
00:42:17,896 --> 00:42:20,000
And they can start
getting more ore.

1088
00:42:21,034 --> 00:42:23,034
If there's not enough gold

1089
00:42:23,034 --> 00:42:25,241
in the spot
that you're testing,

1090
00:42:25,241 --> 00:42:27,379
get out of there before
it takes your money away.

1091
00:42:36,482 --> 00:42:39,689
[dramatic music playing]

1092
00:42:40,586 --> 00:42:43,000
Juan, can you come over?
We need your help.

1093
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,068
[narrator]
In the California desert...

1094
00:42:45,068 --> 00:42:47,275
Curious what they have
to say about that.

1095
00:42:47,275 --> 00:42:51,034
[narrator] Freddy and Juan
face their first
hard rock rescue...

1096
00:42:51,034 --> 00:42:53,000
[Sean] We think that might be
the banging noise.

1097
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:54,586
Probably so.

1098
00:42:54,586 --> 00:42:57,137
[narrator] At a mine
run by Chad Gretzner

1099
00:42:57,137 --> 00:42:58,896
and a crew of investors.

1100
00:42:58,896 --> 00:43:01,379
So, yeah, I'll let you yank
this out, Chad.

1101
00:43:01,379 --> 00:43:03,137
All right.

1102
00:43:03,137 --> 00:43:05,068
[narrator]
Freddy's most urgent task

1103
00:43:05,068 --> 00:43:06,896
is to investigate
the other mines

1104
00:43:06,896 --> 00:43:08,275
on Chad's property

1105
00:43:08,275 --> 00:43:10,344
and find more gold.

1106
00:43:10,344 --> 00:43:14,689
But first,
he will lay the groundwork
of the next fix.

1107
00:43:14,689 --> 00:43:17,551
I'm pretty proud
of this design,
but it's not doing what I--

1108
00:43:17,551 --> 00:43:19,275
This is backwards right here.

1109
00:43:19,275 --> 00:43:21,448
So what I wanna do
right here,

1110
00:43:21,448 --> 00:43:23,793
I'm gonna build
a screen up here

1111
00:43:23,793 --> 00:43:25,758
so we'll get the material
while it's going

1112
00:43:25,758 --> 00:43:27,482
into the surge hopper,

1113
00:43:27,482 --> 00:43:29,793
catch it, and then,
you can run it back through

1114
00:43:29,793 --> 00:43:32,551
while you're running
your crushing circuit.

1115
00:43:32,551 --> 00:43:34,172
[narrator] To help sort
the crushed rock

1116
00:43:34,172 --> 00:43:35,896
into different sizes,

1117
00:43:35,896 --> 00:43:38,586
Freddy will remove
Greg's inefficient screen

1118
00:43:38,586 --> 00:43:40,793
at the bottom of the hopper

1119
00:43:40,793 --> 00:43:44,172
and build a new classifier
at the top

1120
00:43:44,172 --> 00:43:46,413
to remove larger rock.

1121
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,000
This is an exciting fix,

1122
00:43:52,275 --> 00:43:54,793
because now we can run
more material

1123
00:43:54,793 --> 00:43:57,000
and it takes two guys

1124
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,965
off of this
whole process back here.

1125
00:43:59,965 --> 00:44:00,965
-Ready?
-[Chad] Yup.

1126
00:44:00,965 --> 00:44:02,379
We're gonna take...
Pick up the front.

1127
00:44:02,379 --> 00:44:03,620
-[Chad] All right.
-Go.

1128
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,034
[Chad] Oh. Perfect.

1129
00:44:07,034 --> 00:44:09,379
Perfect is good enough
if you can't do any better.

1130
00:44:09,379 --> 00:44:11,241
That's what I'm talking about.

1131
00:44:14,689 --> 00:44:16,379
Right there
is your screen, huh?

1132
00:44:16,379 --> 00:44:18,103
[narrator] As fixes stack up,

1133
00:44:18,103 --> 00:44:20,586
Freddy looks to save
time and money

1134
00:44:20,586 --> 00:44:22,172
by salvaging material.

1135
00:44:22,172 --> 00:44:23,655
[Freddy]
Well, it's a little wore out,

1136
00:44:23,655 --> 00:44:25,172
-but it should work, huh?
-[Chad] Yeah.

1137
00:44:25,172 --> 00:44:26,793
[Freddy] Use what you got.

1138
00:44:28,793 --> 00:44:31,379
[Chad] All right.
So let's get this out of here.

1139
00:44:31,379 --> 00:44:32,379
[Ron] Are you ready?

1140
00:44:32,379 --> 00:44:33,793
Lift with your back.

1141
00:44:33,793 --> 00:44:36,344
-Two, three.
-Stand her up.

1142
00:44:36,344 --> 00:44:38,000
If you don't keep working,
it doesn't get done.

1143
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:39,379
Okay.

1144
00:44:42,758 --> 00:44:44,793
I'm gonna start
on that other screen deck

1145
00:44:44,793 --> 00:44:47,068
-up top under the hopper.
-Yup.

1146
00:44:47,068 --> 00:44:48,551
So I'm gonna build it.

1147
00:44:48,551 --> 00:44:50,482
We'll use
one of the vibrators on it.

1148
00:44:50,482 --> 00:44:52,103
Yeah.
If you want me to buzz off

1149
00:44:52,103 --> 00:44:53,758
-the frame for you real quick.
-[Freddy] Okay.

1150
00:44:53,758 --> 00:44:55,137
Well, you're on
your project too though, so...

1151
00:44:55,137 --> 00:44:56,482
Yeah,
but I'm gonna be cutting.

1152
00:44:56,482 --> 00:44:58,000
Right now I'm designing,
so I can cut

1153
00:44:58,000 --> 00:44:59,793
a bunch of [bleep]
real quick for you.

1154
00:44:59,793 --> 00:45:02,482
[Freddy] Yeah.
So picture a four-foot long...

1155
00:45:02,482 --> 00:45:03,793
-Yes.
-flat bottom,

1156
00:45:03,793 --> 00:45:05,482
10-gauge bottom in it
probably.

1157
00:45:05,482 --> 00:45:07,655
-That'll work.
-[Juan] No problem.

1158
00:45:07,655 --> 00:45:09,793
[Freddy] I'm gonna start
building a screen in here

1159
00:45:09,793 --> 00:45:12,551
over the top
of their surge hopper.

1160
00:45:12,551 --> 00:45:14,586
Hopefully we can get
that material screened

1161
00:45:14,586 --> 00:45:17,103
before it goes in, not after.

1162
00:45:19,172 --> 00:45:20,896
You know, Freddy and I,
we always divide and conquer.

1163
00:45:20,896 --> 00:45:22,379
Right now,
I'm gonna try to cut out

1164
00:45:22,379 --> 00:45:23,586
that little screen for him

1165
00:45:23,586 --> 00:45:25,137
so he can put his vibrator

1166
00:45:25,137 --> 00:45:27,000
and his mesh material on it.

1167
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:28,379
Chad and the guys
did a great job

1168
00:45:28,379 --> 00:45:29,482
installing everything here
in the mill.

1169
00:45:29,482 --> 00:45:31,275
I think they just don't have
some experience

1170
00:45:31,275 --> 00:45:32,896
with some of the other
equipment that we have.

1171
00:45:33,482 --> 00:45:35,586
[narrator] Designed program,

1172
00:45:36,689 --> 00:45:38,965
Juan's cut table uses a torch

1173
00:45:38,965 --> 00:45:43,103
burning a 25,000-degree
jet of plasma

1174
00:45:43,103 --> 00:45:45,724
to slice through
three-quarter inch steel.

1175
00:45:46,689 --> 00:45:48,000
[Juan]
As we start doing our builds

1176
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:49,482
and start seeing
what we can do in the mills,

1177
00:45:49,482 --> 00:45:50,896
sometimes that doesn't really
come to pass.

1178
00:45:50,896 --> 00:45:53,000
So what we have to do
is kind of alter our plan

1179
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:54,862
and make it fit
for their situation.

1180
00:45:54,862 --> 00:45:56,586
We're gonna have
to make it work, you know,

1181
00:45:56,586 --> 00:45:58,448
because we're gonna build
a separate screen.

1182
00:45:58,448 --> 00:46:00,172
It's a lot more work,
it's a lot more build time

1183
00:46:00,172 --> 00:46:02,379
but, you know what?
This machine is a time saver,

1184
00:46:02,379 --> 00:46:05,310
so we just gotta keep
on plugging along.

1185
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:14,172
That cut out on the table,
that saves us, you know,

1186
00:46:14,172 --> 00:46:15,931
a day worth of work.

1187
00:46:17,586 --> 00:46:20,724
[dramatic music playing]

1188
00:46:23,793 --> 00:46:25,551
Freddy, what can I help with?

1189
00:46:25,551 --> 00:46:28,275
Well, we're gonna need to move
this around a little bit.

1190
00:46:29,172 --> 00:46:31,000
-Pivot?
-Right, well...

1191
00:46:31,896 --> 00:46:33,103
Or tilt?

1192
00:46:33,103 --> 00:46:35,103
[narrator]
When he's not working
in real estate,

1193
00:46:35,103 --> 00:46:37,689
hard rock mining
greenhorn Sean

1194
00:46:37,689 --> 00:46:40,896
spends his weekends
at the mill chasing gold.

1195
00:46:40,896 --> 00:46:44,137
Freddy's expertise
and Juan's knowledge

1196
00:46:44,137 --> 00:46:47,482
at fabrication can really
get us over the hump

1197
00:46:47,482 --> 00:46:50,344
and get those ounces
per week we need.

1198
00:46:50,344 --> 00:46:53,793
[narrator] Sean's gold fever
started over 20 years ago

1199
00:46:53,793 --> 00:46:55,862
during a trip to California.

1200
00:46:55,862 --> 00:46:57,344
[Sean]
The first time I found gold,

1201
00:46:57,344 --> 00:46:59,689
I was in a river
in Northern California.

1202
00:46:59,689 --> 00:47:01,482
I pulled back
the flap on a dredge.

1203
00:47:01,482 --> 00:47:03,586
I saw a line of gold
lying across the mat,

1204
00:47:03,586 --> 00:47:05,137
and I was absolutely hooked.

1205
00:47:05,137 --> 00:47:07,000
I reached in,
I picked that gold up.

1206
00:47:07,586 --> 00:47:09,000
Like a marlin hitting a lure.

1207
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:10,551
I mean, bang, I was on

1208
00:47:10,551 --> 00:47:12,344
and... [makes sound] fish on.
There was...

1209
00:47:12,344 --> 00:47:14,620
My life's never been
the same since.

1210
00:47:15,551 --> 00:47:17,000
[narrator] Finding gold

1211
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:18,965
might have rocked
Sean's world,

1212
00:47:18,965 --> 00:47:21,862
but bricks and mortar
pay his bills.

1213
00:47:21,862 --> 00:47:24,103
[Sean] Real estate
has been wonderful to me.

1214
00:47:24,103 --> 00:47:26,344
But there are forces
that are making that

1215
00:47:26,344 --> 00:47:28,379
real estate business
extremely difficult,

1216
00:47:28,379 --> 00:47:31,000
and it's not financially
as viable anymore.

1217
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,793
My wife and I sit down
at the beginning of the month

1218
00:47:33,793 --> 00:47:34,896
and it's time
to write some checks

1219
00:47:34,896 --> 00:47:36,068
and pay some bills.

1220
00:47:36,068 --> 00:47:37,275
Scares the heck out of me.

1221
00:47:37,689 --> 00:47:39,034
It's sleepless nights.

1222
00:47:39,034 --> 00:47:40,275
I was up last night

1223
00:47:40,275 --> 00:47:41,965
thinking about this stuff.

1224
00:47:41,965 --> 00:47:45,689
I wanna be able
to not survive but thrive.

1225
00:47:45,689 --> 00:47:48,758
And the opportunity that
we have with Freddy and Juan,

1226
00:47:48,758 --> 00:47:50,793
I think, we've have a shot
at that.

1227
00:47:51,172 --> 00:47:52,896
I don't have a backup plan.

1228
00:47:52,896 --> 00:47:57,206
It's this
or possible financial ruin.

1229
00:47:58,172 --> 00:48:00,379
That's thick enough
to weld to, isn't it?

1230
00:48:00,379 --> 00:48:02,034
-[Freddy] Oh, yeah.
-Or do you want a screw to it?

1231
00:48:02,034 --> 00:48:03,413
[Freddy] Fine to weld to it.

1232
00:48:05,689 --> 00:48:07,068
[narrator] Juan has cut
all the pieces

1233
00:48:07,068 --> 00:48:08,862
for the screen deck.

1234
00:48:08,862 --> 00:48:11,000
Now, he must weld them
in place

1235
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:13,724
before Freddy can install
the wire mesh.

1236
00:48:15,689 --> 00:48:17,689
At the top
of the second hopper,

1237
00:48:17,689 --> 00:48:20,551
the new screen
will divert oversized rock

1238
00:48:20,551 --> 00:48:22,275
down a chute

1239
00:48:22,275 --> 00:48:25,344
so it can be rerun through
the crusher immediately.

1240
00:48:25,344 --> 00:48:27,896
[Juan] So I'll get started
on that surge bin screen

1241
00:48:27,896 --> 00:48:29,586
so all the material
go into the surge bin.

1242
00:48:29,586 --> 00:48:31,448
Anything that's over
half inch

1243
00:48:31,448 --> 00:48:32,896
is gonna go back to the...

1244
00:48:32,896 --> 00:48:34,000
to the crusher.

1245
00:48:39,068 --> 00:48:40,517
I guess that's it.

1246
00:48:41,896 --> 00:48:44,000
This will make it a lot more
efficient, it will be nice.

1247
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,172
Well, we essentially put about
four guys out of work, Freddy.

1248
00:48:46,172 --> 00:48:47,551
[Freddy]
Four different jobs, yeah.

1249
00:48:47,551 --> 00:48:48,827
[Juan] Yeah.
Four different jobs.

1250
00:48:48,827 --> 00:48:50,793
[Freddy] But there's lots
of other more beneficial jobs

1251
00:48:50,793 --> 00:48:52,000
-for them to do.
-[Juan] Yup.

1252
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:53,000
All right, Fred.
I'mma get back to work.

1253
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:54,379
Okay. Thanks, Juan.

1254
00:48:54,379 --> 00:48:55,689
Well, you guys ready

1255
00:48:55,689 --> 00:48:56,862
-to hang this?
-[Sean] Yes, sir.

1256
00:48:56,862 --> 00:48:58,379
[narrator] With Freddy scouted

1257
00:48:58,379 --> 00:49:00,689
the other mine
sites pressing,

1258
00:49:00,689 --> 00:49:03,586
Ron and Sean help
and test his design.

1259
00:49:05,655 --> 00:49:07,482
[Freddy]
Let's do a test run on it.

1260
00:49:08,379 --> 00:49:11,137
You wanna hand me some
of that gravel there?

1261
00:49:11,137 --> 00:49:12,931
-Well, you ready?
-[Ron] Yeah.

1262
00:49:13,275 --> 00:49:14,551
You ready, Sean?

1263
00:49:14,551 --> 00:49:15,827
[Sean] Hold on.
Plugging it in.

1264
00:49:17,275 --> 00:49:18,586
[Freddy] There you go.

1265
00:49:23,689 --> 00:49:25,827
Take her down
a couple more degrees.

1266
00:49:27,758 --> 00:49:31,172
Right now, it's not shaking
quite strong enough.

1267
00:49:31,172 --> 00:49:33,275
We're gonna have to pitch
it down just a little bit

1268
00:49:33,275 --> 00:49:34,724
for these square rocks.

1269
00:49:35,965 --> 00:49:37,137
Okay. Come up.

1270
00:49:38,965 --> 00:49:40,000
Come on.

1271
00:49:40,379 --> 00:49:41,482
Fire it up!

1272
00:49:43,034 --> 00:49:45,413
[machine whirring]

1273
00:49:54,482 --> 00:49:56,448
-[Ron] That's worse.
-Yeah.

1274
00:49:56,448 --> 00:49:59,551
[Ron] That's [bleep]
locked in though.

1275
00:49:59,551 --> 00:50:01,655
[narrator]
A frustrating setback,

1276
00:50:01,655 --> 00:50:04,758
as the sharp rock catches
in the mesh screen.

1277
00:50:04,758 --> 00:50:06,482
[Sean] Yeah.
Because of all the angles,

1278
00:50:06,482 --> 00:50:08,241
-it's all crushed.
-Yeah.

1279
00:50:10,793 --> 00:50:13,172
I'm frustrated
on every fix sometimes,

1280
00:50:13,172 --> 00:50:15,413
especially when you're behind
the eight ball.

1281
00:50:18,034 --> 00:50:20,482
Things take longer
than you think they should

1282
00:50:20,482 --> 00:50:22,241
where you planned them.

1283
00:50:22,241 --> 00:50:25,482
You just keep your spirits up
and you keep workin'.

1284
00:50:25,482 --> 00:50:28,172
I wouldn't mind cuttin'
another inch off your hopper.

1285
00:50:28,172 --> 00:50:29,517
[Ron] Okay.

1286
00:50:33,448 --> 00:50:34,965
When you're crushing rock,

1287
00:50:34,965 --> 00:50:36,379
it's all angular,

1288
00:50:36,379 --> 00:50:38,482
so it doesn't flow
like a river rock.

1289
00:50:38,482 --> 00:50:41,275
I think Freddy is getting
a little frustrated,

1290
00:50:41,275 --> 00:50:43,896
but he's sticking to it,
he says he doesn't...

1291
00:50:43,896 --> 00:50:45,310
He's not gonna let it
beat him.

1292
00:50:48,241 --> 00:50:52,827
Just square-ass rocks
and just no time left.

1293
00:50:54,689 --> 00:50:57,413
Yeah, I don't think
this is gonna [bleep] work.

1294
00:50:58,758 --> 00:50:59,896
[bleep]

1295
00:51:12,103 --> 00:51:13,896
[dramatic music playing]

1296
00:51:13,896 --> 00:51:15,620
-[Sean] Here we go.
-Fire in the hole.

1297
00:51:19,172 --> 00:51:20,620
Nope. Shut it off!

1298
00:51:22,689 --> 00:51:24,379
Shut it off!

1299
00:51:25,551 --> 00:51:28,689
[dramatic music playing]

1300
00:51:38,758 --> 00:51:40,689
[Freddy] You can see rocks
still stuck in the screen,

1301
00:51:40,689 --> 00:51:42,379
and they're jammed in there,

1302
00:51:42,379 --> 00:51:45,000
so it's gonna get worse
the more it runs.

1303
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:47,896
I'm gonna have to bring it
down about 3 more degrees.

1304
00:51:47,896 --> 00:51:50,689
Right now,
it's probably 8 degrees.

1305
00:51:50,689 --> 00:51:52,310
[Juan] Is any much
coming off of it or no?

1306
00:51:52,310 --> 00:51:53,931
-Very little.
-Yeah?

1307
00:51:54,862 --> 00:51:57,275
[Freddy]
There's a lot of things
that have to be done

1308
00:51:57,275 --> 00:51:59,793
to make this plant
run more efficiently.

1309
00:51:59,793 --> 00:52:02,517
If we leave a couple pieces
of the puzzle out here,

1310
00:52:02,517 --> 00:52:04,137
we're not gonna get
the efficiency rate

1311
00:52:04,137 --> 00:52:05,586
that we'd like to see
out of it,

1312
00:52:05,586 --> 00:52:07,172
out of what we're gonna do.

1313
00:52:09,103 --> 00:52:12,275
[dramatic music playing]

1314
00:52:16,896 --> 00:52:20,000
[narrator] With the salvaged
wire screen unusable,

1315
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:23,310
Freddy goes back
to the drawing board.

1316
00:52:23,310 --> 00:52:25,758
[Freddy] I kind of drew up
a generic punch plate here.

1317
00:52:25,758 --> 00:52:28,000
What do you think?
Can you cut me one out?

1318
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:29,689
I'm not liking that
wire cloth on there

1319
00:52:29,689 --> 00:52:31,586
-that screen cloth.
-[Juan] Yeah. That's easy.

1320
00:52:31,586 --> 00:52:33,413
-We can do that.
-Thank you, sir.

1321
00:52:33,413 --> 00:52:34,793
I'll spend
the rest of the afternoon

1322
00:52:34,793 --> 00:52:35,965
looking at some
of their other mines.

1323
00:52:35,965 --> 00:52:37,275
[Juan] Okay.

1324
00:52:38,241 --> 00:52:39,482
All right, Freddy.
Sounds good.

1325
00:52:39,482 --> 00:52:40,965
[Freddy] Juan and the guys

1326
00:52:40,965 --> 00:52:42,206
will have to carry on
without me

1327
00:52:42,206 --> 00:52:43,482
and get these fixes done.

1328
00:52:44,896 --> 00:52:48,000
[dramatic music playing]

1329
00:52:49,896 --> 00:52:51,793
We got a lot of work
to do to the plant,

1330
00:52:51,793 --> 00:52:53,793
but we also gotta try to find
some better ore,

1331
00:52:53,793 --> 00:52:55,241
so it's time to get out

1332
00:52:55,241 --> 00:52:57,275
and look at
some of the other mines.

1333
00:52:57,275 --> 00:52:59,379
So the mine
that we're headed to

1334
00:52:59,379 --> 00:53:01,586
is made up of
a few different mines.

1335
00:53:01,586 --> 00:53:04,827
And it's like
an underground city.

1336
00:53:05,172 --> 00:53:07,137
It's impressive.

1337
00:53:07,137 --> 00:53:08,689
[narrator]
After a narrow escape

1338
00:53:08,689 --> 00:53:10,448
from the previous mine,

1339
00:53:10,448 --> 00:53:12,896
Chad's hoping
he can convince Freddy

1340
00:53:12,896 --> 00:53:15,793
his second mine
has potential.

1341
00:53:15,793 --> 00:53:20,206
Now, these veins strike
over 5,000 feet in length.

1342
00:53:20,206 --> 00:53:22,103
The vein's as wide
as the truck.

1343
00:53:23,655 --> 00:53:25,689
[Freddy] What year
did they stop mining here?

1344
00:53:25,689 --> 00:53:27,172
[Chad] '42.

1345
00:53:28,965 --> 00:53:31,448
[narrator] Completed in 1916,

1346
00:53:31,448 --> 00:53:33,379
Chad's other mine extends

1347
00:53:33,379 --> 00:53:36,000
300 feet below the surface,

1348
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:37,896
with a labyrinth of tunnels

1349
00:53:37,896 --> 00:53:41,551
that chase gold veins
up to 12 feet wide.

1350
00:53:42,344 --> 00:53:44,862
In its 26 years of operation,

1351
00:53:44,862 --> 00:53:47,793
it produced 67,000 ounces

1352
00:53:47,793 --> 00:53:52,586
worth $127 million
in today's money.

1353
00:53:55,241 --> 00:53:56,896
[Freddy] So this
is your other spot, huh?

1354
00:53:56,896 --> 00:53:58,000
[Chad] Yeah.

1355
00:53:58,551 --> 00:54:01,793
We're at
the main hollow shaft.

1356
00:54:03,620 --> 00:54:05,758
This goes down 300 feet.

1357
00:54:07,413 --> 00:54:09,965
How far does this mine go?

1358
00:54:09,965 --> 00:54:13,310
The strike of the vein
is over 5,000 feet.

1359
00:54:13,310 --> 00:54:15,172
-It's a deep hole.
-[Freddy] Yeah.

1360
00:54:17,379 --> 00:54:20,413
At 300 feet, I'm not building
that long a ladder.

1361
00:54:20,413 --> 00:54:22,034
You got any maps
or anything in the mine?

1362
00:54:22,034 --> 00:54:23,275
[Chad] Yeah, I do.

1363
00:54:25,310 --> 00:54:28,758
Back in the '80s, uh,
some geologists explored

1364
00:54:28,758 --> 00:54:31,689
the mine, mapped it,
and then took some samples.

1365
00:54:31,689 --> 00:54:33,896
This is one
of the parallel veins

1366
00:54:33,896 --> 00:54:37,482
right next to the largest
gold mine in the district

1367
00:54:37,482 --> 00:54:39,551
going over 1,250 feet deep.

1368
00:54:40,896 --> 00:54:43,000
Your cost of playing with this

1369
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:45,000
are gonna be high.

1370
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:46,551
Your other mine,
your costs are high

1371
00:54:46,551 --> 00:54:47,620
when you're underground,
right?

1372
00:54:47,620 --> 00:54:48,862
[Chad] Right.

1373
00:54:48,862 --> 00:54:50,310
[Freddy]
Maybe a half-ounce a ton

1374
00:54:50,310 --> 00:54:51,551
to make a profit.

1375
00:54:52,275 --> 00:54:53,689
It ain't gonna work.

1376
00:54:56,034 --> 00:54:58,689
It's not even worth
looking at your other mine
sites

1377
00:54:58,689 --> 00:55:00,655
if this is the best one
you have.

1378
00:55:03,275 --> 00:55:05,379
But what do we think here?

1379
00:55:06,655 --> 00:55:09,000
That's gonna be
all dump material?

1380
00:55:10,793 --> 00:55:12,137
Dump material over there,

1381
00:55:13,000 --> 00:55:16,344
just sitting here
on the surface.

1382
00:55:16,344 --> 00:55:18,310
[narrator]
When the old-timers decided

1383
00:55:18,310 --> 00:55:20,689
gold ore was too low value,

1384
00:55:20,689 --> 00:55:24,000
they dumped the rock in piles
on the surface.

1385
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:26,000
[Freddy] So I'm gonna say
100 feet,

1386
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:30,551
let's average it by 20 feet?

1387
00:55:30,551 --> 00:55:32,482
You don't have to haul it
from underground.

1388
00:55:32,482 --> 00:55:36,068
[dramatic music playing]

1389
00:55:37,689 --> 00:55:39,482
[narrator] Freddy's hunch,

1390
00:55:39,482 --> 00:55:42,068
rock left at the entrance
of the mine

1391
00:55:42,068 --> 00:55:45,517
known as an ore dump
could be far richer

1392
00:55:45,517 --> 00:55:48,655
than what Chad and his crew
are currently mining.

1393
00:55:51,137 --> 00:55:52,793
I'm just flippin' a coin,

1394
00:55:52,793 --> 00:55:55,068
but I'd test
the old-timers' waste

1395
00:55:55,068 --> 00:55:56,758
that they couldn't get
the gold out of.

1396
00:55:57,344 --> 00:55:59,103
And I'm serious.
I got a friend,

1397
00:55:59,103 --> 00:56:00,689
that's what he does
for a living.

1398
00:56:00,689 --> 00:56:02,206
[Harry] Amazing news.

1399
00:56:02,206 --> 00:56:03,620
-[Chad] That's pretty rad.
-[Harry] Yeah.

1400
00:56:03,620 --> 00:56:05,206
[Freddy] This is where
I'd start,

1401
00:56:05,206 --> 00:56:06,517
because there's a whack of it
sitting here.

1402
00:56:06,517 --> 00:56:07,965
[Chad] There is.

1403
00:56:07,965 --> 00:56:10,068
They didn't have
the jaw crusher sometimes.

1404
00:56:10,068 --> 00:56:12,344
You know, some of those
really old mines.

1405
00:56:12,344 --> 00:56:14,000
They had to cherry-pick
the highest grade stuff.

1406
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:15,379
-They high graded it by hand.
-Yeah.

1407
00:56:15,379 --> 00:56:16,965
Yup.
"No, that's not good enough."

1408
00:56:16,965 --> 00:56:19,758
That's only
quarter ounce per ton, right?

1409
00:56:19,758 --> 00:56:22,241
We have a few mines
with mine dumps on it.

1410
00:56:23,206 --> 00:56:25,793
[Freddy] I guess if this
is a quarter ounce per ton

1411
00:56:25,793 --> 00:56:28,206
and just sitting here,
40,000 tons,

1412
00:56:28,206 --> 00:56:29,689
we're standing on?

1413
00:56:29,689 --> 00:56:34,793
40,000 times .25

1414
00:56:34,793 --> 00:56:37,241
equals 10,000 ounces.

1415
00:56:38,103 --> 00:56:39,413
[Chad] Yes, sir.

1416
00:56:42,241 --> 00:56:43,896
So $17 million worth of gold

1417
00:56:43,896 --> 00:56:45,586
you're possibly
standing on right here.

1418
00:56:46,620 --> 00:56:48,000
[Harry] I like those numbers.

1419
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:49,862
[Chad] Yeah.
I like those numbers.

1420
00:56:49,862 --> 00:56:52,413
If you got more of this.
Who knows?

1421
00:56:52,413 --> 00:56:54,655
You may never have to go
underground again.

1422
00:56:54,655 --> 00:56:56,379
[narrator]
If the numbers are right,

1423
00:56:56,379 --> 00:56:59,000
this dump site could not only
be profitable

1424
00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:01,758
ahead of summer,
but gives them capital

1425
00:57:01,758 --> 00:57:05,206
to explore the other mines
on their claim.

1426
00:57:05,206 --> 00:57:07,655
I'm super happy
what Freddy just told us.

1427
00:57:07,655 --> 00:57:09,034
What we have here at the mine

1428
00:57:09,034 --> 00:57:10,586
and what we can get
on the surface,

1429
00:57:10,586 --> 00:57:12,241
we're excited
to get after it.

1430
00:57:13,241 --> 00:57:15,000
[Freddy]
You know, the sky's the limit.

1431
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:16,586
[Chad]
I like the sound of this.

1432
00:57:16,586 --> 00:57:19,137
This actually could be
a lifeline

1433
00:57:19,137 --> 00:57:21,068
for our team
and for our season.

1434
00:57:21,068 --> 00:57:23,000
But the only way to find out
is to do a bulk test.

1435
00:57:23,965 --> 00:57:26,034
I don't want the guys
to get too excited.

1436
00:57:26,034 --> 00:57:28,137
We can't bank on anything
right now

1437
00:57:28,137 --> 00:57:31,000
until we have the numbers
and the gold to prove it.

1438
00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:32,862
So it even becomes
more important

1439
00:57:32,862 --> 00:57:34,448
for Juan and myself
to get their mill

1440
00:57:34,448 --> 00:57:37,344
operating better
than it was in the past

1441
00:57:37,344 --> 00:57:40,310
so they can get more material
through per day

1442
00:57:40,310 --> 00:57:42,551
and get the gold
in their pockets.

1443
00:57:43,275 --> 00:57:44,758
Off to see the wizard.

1444
00:57:47,793 --> 00:57:51,000
[dramatic music playing]

1445
00:57:56,551 --> 00:57:59,965
[Chad] I'm excited to run
a sample from that dump.

1446
00:57:59,965 --> 00:58:01,413
[narrator] Back at the mill,

1447
00:58:01,413 --> 00:58:03,275
before Chad
and his investor crew

1448
00:58:03,275 --> 00:58:04,758
roll the dice

1449
00:58:04,758 --> 00:58:06,206
on the old-timers'
ore dump...

1450
00:58:06,206 --> 00:58:07,586
Awesomesauce.

1451
00:58:07,586 --> 00:58:09,655
[narrator] They need
to confirm Freddy's hunch

1452
00:58:09,655 --> 00:58:11,793
and crush a 5-gallon sample

1453
00:58:11,793 --> 00:58:13,896
to see if it contains gold.

1454
00:58:13,896 --> 00:58:15,758
[Chad] All right.
So this thing's, um,

1455
00:58:15,758 --> 00:58:17,448
gonna get it down to 8 inch.

1456
00:58:17,448 --> 00:58:19,931
This is as true of a sample
as we could get.

1457
00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:23,655
I love the science
behind hard rock mining,

1458
00:58:23,655 --> 00:58:25,551
the geology, the engineering.

1459
00:58:26,517 --> 00:58:28,206
That's what has captured
my attention,

1460
00:58:28,206 --> 00:58:30,000
and that's why I do what I do.

1461
00:58:31,413 --> 00:58:35,137
[dramatic music playing]

1462
00:58:35,137 --> 00:58:37,206
It seems like gold fever
is a disease.

1463
00:58:37,206 --> 00:58:38,586
Absolutely.

1464
00:58:40,206 --> 00:58:41,689
To help control it,

1465
00:58:41,689 --> 00:58:45,413
I try to base my hope
on science

1466
00:58:45,413 --> 00:58:47,000
and some of the testing
that we do,

1467
00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:48,689
because gold fever

1468
00:58:48,689 --> 00:58:50,517
can sometimes steer you down
the wrong route.

1469
00:58:50,517 --> 00:58:52,862
So you gotta make
good decisions,

1470
00:58:52,862 --> 00:58:54,689
you gotta know
for a fact it's there,

1471
00:58:54,689 --> 00:58:57,000
you gotta test like crazy,
sample, sample, sample.

1472
00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:58,862
That's a good crush there,
Harry.

1473
00:58:58,862 --> 00:59:00,137
If you don't,

1474
00:59:00,137 --> 00:59:01,862
and you're just going on
that hunch,

1475
00:59:01,862 --> 00:59:03,586
there's a really
good chance that

1476
00:59:03,586 --> 00:59:05,793
you might be throwing
your money down the drain.

1477
00:59:05,793 --> 00:59:07,310
[Harry] Greg, ready for it?

1478
00:59:07,310 --> 00:59:09,068
-[Greg] Yeah, it's running.
-Okay. Cool.

1479
00:59:09,068 --> 00:59:10,724
[Chad] Yeah.
Let's go get it over there.

1480
00:59:18,724 --> 00:59:21,931
[rock music playing]

1481
00:59:27,517 --> 00:59:28,689
[Juan]
So we're just finishing up

1482
00:59:28,689 --> 00:59:29,896
the punch plate with Freddy.

1483
00:59:29,896 --> 00:59:31,620
We have the wire mesh,

1484
00:59:31,620 --> 00:59:34,206
but the wire mesh really
didn't work for we want it.

1485
00:59:34,206 --> 00:59:36,000
[narrator]
With just two days remaining

1486
00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:38,068
at the Gretzner's
hard rock mine,

1487
00:59:38,068 --> 00:59:40,103
Juan puts
the finishing touches

1488
00:59:40,103 --> 00:59:42,758
on Freddy's new screen
for the surge hopper.

1489
00:59:42,758 --> 00:59:44,137
So there it is.

1490
00:59:44,137 --> 00:59:45,655
So I'm gonna go
give it to Freddy

1491
00:59:45,655 --> 00:59:47,827
so he can get it installed,
keep on workin'.

1492
00:59:50,551 --> 00:59:52,758
-It's ready to go in, buddy.
-[Freddy] Nice.

1493
00:59:53,206 --> 00:59:54,827
Thank you, sir. It looks good.

1494
00:59:55,448 --> 00:59:57,758
[narrator]
Before, oversized rock

1495
00:59:57,758 --> 00:59:59,517
collected under the hopper

1496
00:59:59,517 --> 01:00:01,517
and had to be removed
by hand.

1497
01:00:01,517 --> 01:00:05,206
Now, Freddy's new screen
will divert

1498
01:00:05,206 --> 01:00:07,551
oversized rock down a chute,

1499
01:00:08,310 --> 01:00:10,827
ready to be rerun
through the crusher.

1500
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:17,965
[dramatic music playing]

1501
01:00:17,965 --> 01:00:20,206
[metal clanking]

1502
01:00:20,793 --> 01:00:21,793
[Freddy]
What do you think, Juan?

1503
01:00:21,793 --> 01:00:23,448
I like it, Freddy.

1504
01:00:23,448 --> 01:00:25,206
[Freddy] Can get some rocks
and throw on there.

1505
01:00:25,206 --> 01:00:26,965
[Juan] See what it does, huh?

1506
01:00:26,965 --> 01:00:28,724
Just getting
the rocks screened out,

1507
01:00:28,724 --> 01:00:30,931
so all the material
going into the surge hopper

1508
01:00:30,931 --> 01:00:32,448
is the size it needs to be,

1509
01:00:32,448 --> 01:00:34,758
and it allows them to re-crush
that material

1510
01:00:34,758 --> 01:00:36,034
on the same circuit

1511
01:00:36,586 --> 01:00:37,931
with the same ore

1512
01:00:37,931 --> 01:00:39,034
so they aren't watering down

1513
01:00:39,034 --> 01:00:40,862
another batch of material.

1514
01:00:40,862 --> 01:00:44,103
[country music playing]

1515
01:00:45,413 --> 01:00:47,344
[Freddy]
Well, the screen is working

1516
01:00:47,344 --> 01:00:49,103
but we only had
the one vibrator,

1517
01:00:49,103 --> 01:00:50,448
so use what you got,

1518
01:00:50,448 --> 01:00:52,655
and there's no
getting one in time.

1519
01:00:53,896 --> 01:00:55,551
She may not be
the prettiest girl

1520
01:00:55,551 --> 01:00:57,241
at the dance
but she's at the dance.

1521
01:00:58,448 --> 01:00:59,413
[Juan] I like it.

1522
01:00:59,413 --> 01:01:01,034
[Freddy] It oughta work, huh?

1523
01:01:04,482 --> 01:01:05,896
Okay.
Are we ready for milling?

1524
01:01:05,896 --> 01:01:08,000
Yeah. Boy, look at the color
of that.

1525
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:10,000
[narrator] With the ore dump
sample crushed,

1526
01:01:10,000 --> 01:01:12,551
Greg steps up
to mill the material

1527
01:01:12,551 --> 01:01:15,655
into a fine powder
to release the gold.

1528
01:01:15,655 --> 01:01:17,689
[Chad] So, Dad,
I got your mask right here,

1529
01:01:17,689 --> 01:01:19,965
I'll set it in your screen
so it doesn't blow away.

1530
01:01:19,965 --> 01:01:21,517
-All right.
-Yeah.

1531
01:01:21,517 --> 01:01:24,068
This has been quite
the seven years.

1532
01:01:24,068 --> 01:01:25,758
If this works out,
we're gonna have

1533
01:01:25,758 --> 01:01:28,275
a great opportunity
to take your job off

1534
01:01:28,275 --> 01:01:29,689
and you'll fulfill your dream.

1535
01:01:29,689 --> 01:01:31,172
Yeah. Thanks, Dad.

1536
01:01:31,172 --> 01:01:33,103
That's been,
you know, my dream, too.

1537
01:01:33,931 --> 01:01:36,344
-You did a lot of work, man.
-Thanks, Dad.

1538
01:01:36,344 --> 01:01:38,137
-We got lot more coming up.
-Yeah.

1539
01:01:38,137 --> 01:01:39,896
So thank you
for sticking with it

1540
01:01:39,896 --> 01:01:41,827
and, you know, keeping us...

1541
01:01:41,827 --> 01:01:43,034
keeping us rolling.

1542
01:01:43,034 --> 01:01:44,482
Yeah. We all love it.

1543
01:01:44,482 --> 01:01:46,000
We haven't let any
of these challenges

1544
01:01:46,000 --> 01:01:48,034
that we've faced,
you know, come between us.

1545
01:01:48,034 --> 01:01:49,827
All right. Well, let's get
some gold, darn it.

1546
01:01:49,827 --> 01:01:51,275
-All right.
-[chuckles]

1547
01:01:51,896 --> 01:01:53,586
[Greg]
He's a big part of my life,

1548
01:01:53,586 --> 01:01:56,724
and I wanna see
his goals reached.

1549
01:01:56,724 --> 01:01:58,758
He's put so much work into it.

1550
01:01:58,758 --> 01:02:02,137
And to have him
make this thing work

1551
01:02:02,137 --> 01:02:04,000
and maybe quit his job
one day,

1552
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:06,172
it'd be such a blessing.

1553
01:02:06,551 --> 01:02:07,689
I would love that.

1554
01:02:10,965 --> 01:02:12,896
[narrator]
After milling the ore...

1555
01:02:14,034 --> 01:02:15,758
[Chad] Awesome.

1556
01:02:15,758 --> 01:02:18,482
[narrator] Greg runs it
through a small sluice.

1557
01:02:19,586 --> 01:02:23,000
We get about 87% recovery
on the first run.

1558
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:25,000
All right.
Clean up after this one.

1559
01:02:29,896 --> 01:02:31,689
-Hey, funky-doo.
-Hey, honey.

1560
01:02:31,689 --> 01:02:33,793
-How are you feeling?
-I'm feeling good.

1561
01:02:33,793 --> 01:02:35,275
I brought you a water.

1562
01:02:35,275 --> 01:02:36,689
How's your hands feeling?

1563
01:02:36,689 --> 01:02:37,965
Yeah, they're okay.

1564
01:02:37,965 --> 01:02:40,000
-Yeah?
-Yeah. We'll get by.

1565
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:41,862
You know, mining with Chad

1566
01:02:41,862 --> 01:02:44,482
has given Greg
a new sense of purpose.

1567
01:02:44,482 --> 01:02:47,517
And he's just a new man

1568
01:02:47,517 --> 01:02:49,620
being closer to his son.

1569
01:02:49,620 --> 01:02:51,655
This had rock mining
is not easy.

1570
01:02:51,655 --> 01:02:54,241
You know, I've seen him
build it from the ground up,

1571
01:02:54,241 --> 01:02:56,896
and it's amazing
what they've built.

1572
01:02:56,896 --> 01:02:59,000
It's nice to see you
and Chad working together.

1573
01:02:59,000 --> 01:03:00,379
Yeah, okay.
Are you kidding me?

1574
01:03:00,379 --> 01:03:02,034
-I love it.
-That's just amazing.

1575
01:03:02,034 --> 01:03:03,586
We turned
into a hell of a team.

1576
01:03:03,586 --> 01:03:04,931
Absolutely.

1577
01:03:08,448 --> 01:03:10,689
[Chad] Gonna take
this final pan over.

1578
01:03:10,689 --> 01:03:13,172
-[chuckles]
-This is really cool, son.

1579
01:03:16,793 --> 01:03:20,241
The results of this test
is very important.

1580
01:03:20,241 --> 01:03:22,620
This is...
This is a crucial test.

1581
01:03:22,620 --> 01:03:24,827
I'm hoping that
we'll be able to find out

1582
01:03:24,827 --> 01:03:27,448
how many grams of gold
we could recover.

1583
01:03:27,448 --> 01:03:29,862
From what I'm seeing
in this pan right now,

1584
01:03:29,862 --> 01:03:32,724
I am super excited,
because I am seeing some gold.

1585
01:03:35,689 --> 01:03:37,000
Yeah, baby.

1586
01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:38,206
[laughs]

1587
01:03:38,206 --> 01:03:39,586
Man, we need this.

1588
01:03:40,827 --> 01:03:43,586
Oh, I can't wait
to show the guys this.

1589
01:03:43,586 --> 01:03:46,655
Hey, guys. Grab Freddy,
he needs to see this.

1590
01:03:48,724 --> 01:03:50,172
[Sean] What's that?

1591
01:03:52,482 --> 01:03:54,862
This might be better
than we were anticipating.

1592
01:03:54,862 --> 01:03:56,655
-I can see it from here.
-Oh.

1593
01:03:56,655 --> 01:03:57,827
Yup. And this
is from the dump?

1594
01:03:57,827 --> 01:03:59,275
This is from the dump, sir.

1595
01:04:01,034 --> 01:04:02,482
Well, if that's 10
[indistinct]

1596
01:04:02,482 --> 01:04:04,724
we multiply it
by 200 per ton, right?

1597
01:04:04,724 --> 01:04:05,793
[Chad] Yes, sir.

1598
01:04:07,310 --> 01:04:09,482
That's $300 a ton material.

1599
01:04:10,103 --> 01:04:11,827
Okay.

1600
01:04:11,827 --> 01:04:15,172
[narrator] Chad could earn
up to $3,000 a day

1601
01:04:15,172 --> 01:04:18,344
running this grade of pay
through his plant.

1602
01:04:18,344 --> 01:04:20,344
[Freddy] Well guys, that looks
pretty good in the pan

1603
01:04:20,344 --> 01:04:21,931
for that dump material.

1604
01:04:21,931 --> 01:04:23,965
It's better than what you ran
the first time, it looks like.

1605
01:04:23,965 --> 01:04:25,586
Let's run it
on the final test,

1606
01:04:25,586 --> 01:04:28,448
and let's learn together
on what lives in it,

1607
01:04:28,448 --> 01:04:31,034
how much gold's in it, okay?

1608
01:04:31,034 --> 01:04:32,655
All right. Thanks, Freddy.

1609
01:04:32,655 --> 01:04:34,344
[Freddy] Yeah.
See you in a bit, guys.

1610
01:04:35,000 --> 01:04:37,000
[birds chirping]

1611
01:04:37,000 --> 01:04:39,103
[Chad] He ran the math,
and he looked at it

1612
01:04:39,103 --> 01:04:41,689
and said, "That's $300 a ton."

1613
01:04:41,689 --> 01:04:42,655
-What?
-What?

1614
01:04:42,655 --> 01:04:43,827
[Chad] On the dump.

1615
01:04:43,827 --> 01:04:46,413
We can literally go and pull
this from the surface.

1616
01:04:46,413 --> 01:04:47,482
-Wow.
-That would be amazing.

1617
01:04:47,482 --> 01:04:48,620
-Unbelievable.
-That's awesome.

1618
01:04:48,620 --> 01:04:49,655
-I'm like, "Really?"
-Man.

1619
01:04:49,655 --> 01:04:50,758
-[Ron] That's awesome.
-It's amazing, man.

1620
01:04:50,758 --> 01:04:51,862
-Oh, my God.
-[laughs]

1621
01:04:51,862 --> 01:04:53,344
It's good. I'm telling you.

1622
01:04:53,344 --> 01:04:55,241
-Yeah.
-We need this.

1623
01:04:55,241 --> 01:04:58,517
This could not only save
our season now,

1624
01:04:58,517 --> 01:05:00,586
but next year.

1625
01:05:00,586 --> 01:05:02,517
[Greg] It sounds like
we're sitting on a gold mine.

1626
01:05:02,517 --> 01:05:03,896
[chuckles]

1627
01:05:03,896 --> 01:05:07,586
So... Literally.

1628
01:05:07,586 --> 01:05:09,724
I just did not expect
this to happen.

1629
01:05:09,724 --> 01:05:11,172
You... sometimes,
you don't see it.

1630
01:05:11,172 --> 01:05:13,758
It takes somebody else's eyes
to show it to you.

1631
01:05:14,482 --> 01:05:15,689
Wow.

1632
01:05:16,310 --> 01:05:17,793
Where's Freddy?
I need to hug him.

1633
01:05:17,793 --> 01:05:20,275
[laughs]

1634
01:05:20,275 --> 01:05:22,344
-Good panning.
-Great news.

1635
01:05:22,344 --> 01:05:23,862
-Good sluicing.
-Nice.

1636
01:05:23,862 --> 01:05:24,965
Oh, thank you.

1637
01:05:24,965 --> 01:05:26,172
Seeing that much gold

1638
01:05:26,172 --> 01:05:28,379
for such a small amount
of material

1639
01:05:28,379 --> 01:05:30,172
tells us that it's possible

1640
01:05:30,172 --> 01:05:32,655
that we can be successful
doing this

1641
01:05:32,655 --> 01:05:34,275
and making a living at it.

1642
01:05:34,275 --> 01:05:35,724
It's never easy,

1643
01:05:35,724 --> 01:05:37,413
stuff will always break down,

1644
01:05:37,413 --> 01:05:39,172
but we know
that when we persevere

1645
01:05:39,172 --> 01:05:41,827
and we sample, sample,
sample, we can do this.

1646
01:05:45,413 --> 01:05:49,000
[dramatic music playing]

1647
01:05:53,448 --> 01:05:54,896
-Hey, guys.
-Hey.

1648
01:05:54,896 --> 01:05:57,241
We're gonna have to do
some grading on this road

1649
01:05:57,241 --> 01:05:59,000
before we get
the mini ex here.

1650
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:01,827
[narrator] In the blazing sun
of the Mojave desert,

1651
01:06:01,827 --> 01:06:05,931
the Gretzner crew collect ore
from the old timers' dump

1652
01:06:05,931 --> 01:06:07,724
for a two-hour run.

1653
01:06:09,068 --> 01:06:11,448
Yeah, working out here
in the California desert,

1654
01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:13,517
chasing the American dream.

1655
01:06:14,413 --> 01:06:17,137
Hopefully, this bulk test
is gonna bear some fruit.

1656
01:06:17,137 --> 01:06:19,586
The thought of 10,000 ounces
being here,

1657
01:06:19,586 --> 01:06:23,068
this would change the lives
for our team.

1658
01:06:23,068 --> 01:06:24,758
We're hopeful
that we'll be able

1659
01:06:24,758 --> 01:06:26,965
to run the volume that we need

1660
01:06:26,965 --> 01:06:29,586
to get the gold
out of this ground right here.

1661
01:06:29,586 --> 01:06:31,482
[Harry] This will be
our last bucket load.

1662
01:06:31,482 --> 01:06:33,275
-[Chad] Oh, yeah, we're full.
-[Harry] Both bags are full.

1663
01:06:36,000 --> 01:06:38,275
-That's done.
-Secure our load.

1664
01:06:38,275 --> 01:06:40,448
There are so much left
in the hills.

1665
01:06:40,448 --> 01:06:41,862
Is it easy to get?

1666
01:06:41,862 --> 01:06:43,068
Yes.

1667
01:06:43,724 --> 01:06:45,379
-Let's go.
-Let's go.

1668
01:06:45,379 --> 01:06:50,206
[dramatic music playing]

1669
01:06:58,172 --> 01:07:00,241
[Juan] So I was thinking about
coming out the top there.

1670
01:07:00,241 --> 01:07:02,379
[narrator] At the Gretzner's
hard rock mill...

1671
01:07:03,413 --> 01:07:04,379
What do you think?

1672
01:07:04,379 --> 01:07:06,103
[narrator] With just 12 hours

1673
01:07:06,103 --> 01:07:08,241
before the final test,

1674
01:07:08,241 --> 01:07:10,379
Juan races to finish
the sluice

1675
01:07:10,379 --> 01:07:11,517
that will be positioned

1676
01:07:11,517 --> 01:07:14,689
after the mill crushes
the rock to a powder.

1677
01:07:15,896 --> 01:07:17,620
We're gonna do
a small sluice box

1678
01:07:17,620 --> 01:07:19,137
but on top
of that small sluice box,

1679
01:07:19,137 --> 01:07:20,724
we're gonna build a little
bit of a screen

1680
01:07:20,724 --> 01:07:22,620
to be able to cut
that bigger material out.

1681
01:07:23,275 --> 01:07:24,620
[narrator]
To prevent small rocks

1682
01:07:24,620 --> 01:07:27,206
disturbing the flow
of gold on the table,

1683
01:07:27,206 --> 01:07:30,000
Juan has fabricated
a vibrating screen

1684
01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:31,896
to remove them

1685
01:07:31,896 --> 01:07:35,758
and made a mini sluice to
catch gold before the table.

1686
01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:39,862
-Juan.
-Hey, how are you doing, Greg?

1687
01:07:39,862 --> 01:07:42,172
-Oh, doing a lot better.
-Feeling better?

1688
01:07:42,172 --> 01:07:43,689
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Happy to hear that, buddy.

1689
01:07:43,689 --> 01:07:45,689
You know, we love
the whole dynamic here,

1690
01:07:45,689 --> 01:07:47,137
you know, you and your son,

1691
01:07:47,137 --> 01:07:48,896
and if we can help you guys,
we wanna help you guys,

1692
01:07:48,896 --> 01:07:49,896
you know, reach your goal.

1693
01:07:49,896 --> 01:07:52,620
Well, I can see you
already have immensely,

1694
01:07:52,620 --> 01:07:53,931
-so again, thank you so much.
-Hey, no problem.

1695
01:07:53,931 --> 01:07:55,068
From the bottom
of my heart, man.

1696
01:07:55,068 --> 01:07:56,724
-Hey, thank you.
-All right.

1697
01:07:56,724 --> 01:07:58,344
-I'll see you in a bit.
-I like your setup, too.

1698
01:07:58,344 --> 01:07:59,724
-Thank you.
-[Greg] It's pretty bitchin'.

1699
01:07:59,724 --> 01:08:01,000
Take care, bud.

1700
01:08:02,689 --> 01:08:05,000
Working alongside
of Freddy and Juan,

1701
01:08:05,000 --> 01:08:07,655
at first, I was,
I mean, nervous,

1702
01:08:07,655 --> 01:08:09,551
you know, it was like,
"Oh, my gosh.

1703
01:08:09,551 --> 01:08:10,862
It's Freddy and Juan."

1704
01:08:11,620 --> 01:08:13,172
But then, when I saw
their work ethics

1705
01:08:13,172 --> 01:08:15,034
and they're just
regular guys,

1706
01:08:16,171 --> 01:08:17,482
it just makes you
really happy.

1707
01:08:17,482 --> 01:08:20,033
[country music playing]

1708
01:08:25,689 --> 01:08:26,930
[Juan] What do you think
of that little guy, Freddy?

1709
01:08:26,930 --> 01:08:28,000
[Freddy] I like it.

1710
01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:28,862
[Juan] I narrowed it up
a little bit

1711
01:08:28,862 --> 01:08:30,206
so it would fit
inside that trough.

1712
01:08:30,206 --> 01:08:31,827
[Freddy] That's perfect, yeah.

1713
01:08:31,827 --> 01:08:34,379
I just finished up the screen,
all it's gonna do is cut out

1714
01:08:34,379 --> 01:08:36,033
anything that's eighth
of an inch and bigger,

1715
01:08:36,033 --> 01:08:37,412
gonna cut it out
into a bucket,

1716
01:08:37,412 --> 01:08:38,620
the smaller material
in the water

1717
01:08:38,620 --> 01:08:40,482
should still travel
down the sluice box,

1718
01:08:40,482 --> 01:08:42,379
and be able to get recovered
here in the little riffles

1719
01:08:42,379 --> 01:08:44,862
we're gonna put in, and then
make its way to the table.

1720
01:08:44,862 --> 01:08:47,895
[country music playing]

1721
01:08:51,068 --> 01:08:52,862
[Juan] I need to drop this
a little more in the front.

1722
01:08:52,862 --> 01:08:54,448
Yup. You do.

1723
01:08:57,136 --> 01:08:58,586
Yeah, it's hitting
the bottom of that chute,

1724
01:08:58,586 --> 01:09:00,206
taking away
some of the vibration.

1725
01:09:01,551 --> 01:09:02,895
You know, this is not ideal.

1726
01:09:02,895 --> 01:09:03,930
You know, typically,
Freddy and I

1727
01:09:03,930 --> 01:09:05,310
like to get done
a little quicker

1728
01:09:05,310 --> 01:09:07,412
so that way we have a little
more time to work out...

1729
01:09:07,412 --> 01:09:09,274
Iron out any bugs
if there's any.

1730
01:09:09,274 --> 01:09:11,310
But unfortunately,
we didn't have that

1731
01:09:11,310 --> 01:09:13,000
with this build.

1732
01:09:16,517 --> 01:09:19,724
[country music playing]

1733
01:09:26,344 --> 01:09:28,412
[Juan] Well, I'm excited
to see it run.

1734
01:09:28,412 --> 01:09:30,724
-Looking forward to it.
-[Freddy] Yeah, me, too.

1735
01:09:30,724 --> 01:09:32,310
It's been a hard work, though.

1736
01:09:33,274 --> 01:09:34,862
-It's been a busy week.
-It's been hard,

1737
01:09:34,862 --> 01:09:36,689
hot, lot of work.

1738
01:09:36,689 --> 01:09:38,310
Mmm-hmm.

1739
01:09:38,310 --> 01:09:40,448
Get the material
in here and run a test.

1740
01:09:40,448 --> 01:09:41,448
Let's do it.

1741
01:09:42,895 --> 01:09:45,068
Well guys, what do you think?

1742
01:09:45,068 --> 01:09:46,412
Ready to do a test run?

1743
01:09:46,412 --> 01:09:47,689
-Yes, sir.
-Yes, sir.

1744
01:09:47,689 --> 01:09:48,862
Well, I hope this material

1745
01:09:48,862 --> 01:09:50,862
has got as much gold in it
as that test

1746
01:09:50,862 --> 01:09:52,792
that you guys crushed
in that little crusher.

1747
01:09:52,792 --> 01:09:54,517
[Juan] Let's do it.

1748
01:09:54,517 --> 01:09:56,517
-[Chad] We got fuel.
-[Freddy] Turn it on, Juan.

1749
01:09:57,586 --> 01:09:59,206
Lining up the jaw crusher.

1750
01:09:59,206 --> 01:10:03,413
Oh, I am tickled to see
all these new fixes work.

1751
01:10:04,620 --> 01:10:06,000
[Chad] Clear the belt.

1752
01:10:06,000 --> 01:10:07,896
-I'll set a timer.
-Yeah.

1753
01:10:07,896 --> 01:10:08,896
Two hours.

1754
01:10:12,379 --> 01:10:14,103
Light it up, Harry.

1755
01:10:14,103 --> 01:10:16,965
[dramatic music playing]

1756
01:10:16,965 --> 01:10:20,034
[Chad] All right.
Going uphill first batch.

1757
01:10:20,034 --> 01:10:23,413
[narrator] Hard rock sourced
from the old timers' ore dump

1758
01:10:23,413 --> 01:10:25,793
is loaded into the hopper.

1759
01:10:29,068 --> 01:10:31,172
That's perfect. I like it.

1760
01:10:31,172 --> 01:10:33,620
[narrator] Previously,
with the chain pull,

1761
01:10:33,620 --> 01:10:36,379
it was a four-minute
four-man job

1762
01:10:36,379 --> 01:10:39,551
and ore could compact
in the hopper.

1763
01:10:39,551 --> 01:10:41,551
[Freddy] The way
that eccentric's designed,

1764
01:10:41,551 --> 01:10:43,586
there's two weights
on each side,

1765
01:10:43,586 --> 01:10:47,000
so as we bring those back
opposite of each other,

1766
01:10:47,000 --> 01:10:49,758
you can slow down that feed
down, we can speed it up.

1767
01:10:49,758 --> 01:10:53,137
[narrator] Now, the winch
takes less than 20 seconds

1768
01:10:53,137 --> 01:10:55,758
to unload the bag

1769
01:10:55,758 --> 01:10:57,689
and the eccentric motor

1770
01:10:57,689 --> 01:11:00,413
aided by adjustable airbags

1771
01:11:00,413 --> 01:11:04,379
helps throw the rock directly
into the jaw crusher.

1772
01:11:05,517 --> 01:11:07,379
Freddy, it's working good.

1773
01:11:09,206 --> 01:11:11,241
I don't have to rake anymore.

1774
01:11:12,137 --> 01:11:13,689
[Chad speaking]

1775
01:11:15,000 --> 01:11:17,206
[narrator] In the first test,
oversized rock

1776
01:11:17,206 --> 01:11:20,310
clogged up the milling
process in the second hopper

1777
01:11:20,310 --> 01:11:25,000
and on the gold table, losing
valuable time and gold.

1778
01:11:25,000 --> 01:11:26,034
Look how fine this is

1779
01:11:26,034 --> 01:11:28,241
with the...
With the oversize knocked off.

1780
01:11:29,275 --> 01:11:31,758
Well, that screen down there
didn't work at all.

1781
01:11:31,758 --> 01:11:32,965
You had to sit there
with a hammer,

1782
01:11:32,965 --> 01:11:36,310
so now we're getting it out
of there

1783
01:11:36,310 --> 01:11:37,689
when it needs to be
out of there.

1784
01:11:37,689 --> 01:11:38,931
[Juan] Yeah.

1785
01:11:38,931 --> 01:11:41,965
[narrator] Now, Freddy
and Juan have fitted screens

1786
01:11:41,965 --> 01:11:43,620
throughout the system

1787
01:11:43,620 --> 01:11:46,000
which will filter out
any small rocks

1788
01:11:46,000 --> 01:11:50,068
that block the finer gold
from settling on the table.

1789
01:11:50,068 --> 01:11:51,482
[Chad] Oh, yeah,
look at the line of gold.

1790
01:11:51,482 --> 01:11:53,413
[Freddy speaking]

1791
01:11:54,448 --> 01:11:55,482
Yeah.

1792
01:11:56,344 --> 01:11:58,379
And it's not competing
for the same space

1793
01:11:58,379 --> 01:12:00,068
-that the gold is, you know.
-[Juan] Exactly.

1794
01:12:00,068 --> 01:12:01,724
I'd rather deal with it here
than down here.

1795
01:12:01,724 --> 01:12:03,275
[Chad] Absolutely.

1796
01:12:05,724 --> 01:12:07,482
System's primed.

1797
01:12:07,482 --> 01:12:10,241
[narrator] Outside,
while the test continues...

1798
01:12:10,827 --> 01:12:12,103
Here comes the water.

1799
01:12:12,103 --> 01:12:13,586
[narrator]
Harry is trying to rescue

1800
01:12:13,586 --> 01:12:15,482
another valuable commodity...

1801
01:12:16,551 --> 01:12:18,000
water.

1802
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:19,758
[Chad] Can you check the table
and see if we got good flow.

1803
01:12:19,758 --> 01:12:20,724
Go look.

1804
01:12:20,724 --> 01:12:22,448
All right.
I'll check the water. Copy.

1805
01:12:22,448 --> 01:12:24,000
[Harry] It's not pumping
at all right now.

1806
01:12:24,862 --> 01:12:26,206
[Freddy] So what's going on?

1807
01:12:26,206 --> 01:12:28,655
[Harry] For some reason, this
sand screw stopped performing.

1808
01:12:32,034 --> 01:12:35,482
[narrator] A sand screw
is able to recycle water

1809
01:12:35,482 --> 01:12:36,827
for the gold table

1810
01:12:36,827 --> 01:12:39,517
by separating it
from the gravel.

1811
01:12:39,517 --> 01:12:42,586
The spiral of metal,
known as a weir,

1812
01:12:42,586 --> 01:12:46,551
slowly turns upwards
carrying the sodden material.

1813
01:12:46,551 --> 01:12:49,241
As it lifts,
the water runs down

1814
01:12:49,241 --> 01:12:50,551
from the weir blade

1815
01:12:50,551 --> 01:12:53,551
to collect
in the calming pool below.

1816
01:12:53,551 --> 01:12:56,000
The gravel sticks
to the blades

1817
01:12:56,000 --> 01:12:57,793
and travels up to the top

1818
01:12:57,793 --> 01:12:59,827
becoming drier tailings.

1819
01:13:02,862 --> 01:13:04,482
Oh, that's all [bleep] up.

1820
01:13:06,724 --> 01:13:09,827
Oh, [bleep],
it's plugged solid.

1821
01:13:11,344 --> 01:13:13,206
Look how soupy this is.

1822
01:13:13,206 --> 01:13:15,172
It's probably 30% water.

1823
01:13:15,172 --> 01:13:17,586
Out here, every drop of water
counts for you guys.

1824
01:13:17,586 --> 01:13:19,620
-I'll bet you.
-[Harry] This is true.

1825
01:13:21,344 --> 01:13:25,137
[Freddy] We can save
a bunch of his water here.

1826
01:13:25,137 --> 01:13:27,241
Right now, it's not working.
It's too steep, for one.

1827
01:13:27,241 --> 01:13:28,931
It's set about eight degrees

1828
01:13:28,931 --> 01:13:30,896
steeper than
the steepest point

1829
01:13:30,896 --> 01:13:32,655
you should have
a sand screw out.

1830
01:13:32,655 --> 01:13:34,551
Something I was thinking
my way through,

1831
01:13:34,551 --> 01:13:36,862
figure out a way
to make it work.

1832
01:13:38,103 --> 01:13:39,482
It's 26 degrees.

1833
01:13:39,482 --> 01:13:40,965
First thing I seen
and I'm like,

1834
01:13:40,965 --> 01:13:42,586
"That thing's way too steep."

1835
01:13:42,586 --> 01:13:44,931
So I think
we pick this end up,

1836
01:13:44,931 --> 01:13:46,620
and then we just shovel out
from under it

1837
01:13:46,620 --> 01:13:48,275
and then keep coming down
with it

1838
01:13:48,275 --> 01:13:50,827
-until we get probably 15.
-Yes, sir.

1839
01:13:53,275 --> 01:13:55,206
Well, let's lower it down.

1840
01:13:55,517 --> 01:13:57,000
[Harry] Clear.

1841
01:13:57,000 --> 01:13:58,068
Keep going.

1842
01:13:58,655 --> 01:14:00,551
We're down.

1843
01:14:00,551 --> 01:14:02,965
Right now, we're at about 19
and a half degrees,

1844
01:14:02,965 --> 01:14:04,827
which is a lot better than 26,

1845
01:14:04,827 --> 01:14:08,068
because you seen it would
not carry your material up

1846
01:14:08,068 --> 01:14:09,448
at that pitch.

1847
01:14:11,000 --> 01:14:14,310
Well, let's put some material
in it and some water.

1848
01:14:15,103 --> 01:14:16,379
See what it does.

1849
01:14:16,379 --> 01:14:20,241
[narrator] Freddy's simple fix
could save the crew time

1850
01:14:20,241 --> 01:14:23,034
and over 50% of their water.

1851
01:14:24,241 --> 01:14:27,206
[intense music playing]

1852
01:14:33,482 --> 01:14:35,310
We got a problem down here.

1853
01:14:36,068 --> 01:14:38,413
It's still blinding down
in the bottom.

1854
01:14:39,724 --> 01:14:40,758
I don't know.

1855
01:14:40,758 --> 01:14:42,103
I really don't know.

1856
01:14:43,344 --> 01:14:44,551
Well, I have to figure
something out

1857
01:14:44,551 --> 01:14:46,310
and I don't have time
for you guys right now.

1858
01:14:48,172 --> 01:14:50,034
Just leave me alone
with the cameras for a bit.

1859
01:14:50,034 --> 01:14:53,137
[intense music playing]

1860
01:15:00,344 --> 01:15:02,034
[Freddy]
Vulture gold mine, Juan.

1861
01:15:02,034 --> 01:15:04,448
[narrator]
While traveling the Lower 48

1862
01:15:04,448 --> 01:15:06,655
helping struggling miners,

1863
01:15:06,655 --> 01:15:08,344
Freddy and Juan take a break

1864
01:15:08,344 --> 01:15:11,482
at the famous
Hard Rock Vulture mine.

1865
01:15:11,482 --> 01:15:13,862
There's 5,000 people here,
Juan at one time.

1866
01:15:13,862 --> 01:15:16,517
[Juan]
Man, think about the families
that lived out here,

1867
01:15:16,517 --> 01:15:18,620
the men that worked out here.

1868
01:15:18,620 --> 01:15:20,103
-[Freddy] Men that died here.
-[Juan] Yeah.

1869
01:15:20,103 --> 01:15:21,551
It was a tough way to make
a living back then.

1870
01:15:21,551 --> 01:15:22,758
Still is.

1871
01:15:22,758 --> 01:15:25,068
I've worked underground enough
to know how tough it is.

1872
01:15:25,068 --> 01:15:27,068
-Better not be claustrophobic.
-[Juan] Nope. Nope.

1873
01:15:27,068 --> 01:15:29,448
[Freddy] When the lights
go out, it's darkness.

1874
01:15:29,448 --> 01:15:31,034
[Juan] Oh, you've never felt
darkness like that.

1875
01:15:31,034 --> 01:15:32,241
[Freddy]
There is no darkness like it.

1876
01:15:32,241 --> 01:15:33,137
No. [laughs]

1877
01:15:33,137 --> 01:15:35,000
In Colorado,
you'd go in at, like,

1878
01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:38,413
12,000 feet, be 40 below zero,

1879
01:15:38,413 --> 01:15:39,965
and get down to the bottom,

1880
01:15:39,965 --> 01:15:40,965
it's 110.

1881
01:15:40,965 --> 01:15:43,000
Every bit of you is just wet.

1882
01:15:43,000 --> 01:15:44,551
That's why they call it
the dry up top.

1883
01:15:44,551 --> 01:15:45,896
Yeah, exactly. [laughs]

1884
01:15:46,793 --> 01:15:47,758
These old timers
were tough, Freddy.

1885
01:15:47,758 --> 01:15:48,827
Damn tough.

1886
01:15:48,827 --> 01:15:51,413
It's a rough life back there,
but I guarantee

1887
01:15:51,413 --> 01:15:53,034
if we'd had
the opportunity to...

1888
01:15:53,034 --> 01:15:54,103
-Yeah.
-We'd probably been there.

1889
01:15:54,103 --> 01:15:55,344
You know, I think
it's kind of in our blood.

1890
01:15:55,344 --> 01:15:57,413
-[Freddy] Is that allure?
-[Juan] Yeah, exactly.

1891
01:15:57,413 --> 01:15:58,724
[laughs]

1892
01:16:04,000 --> 01:16:07,172
[country music playing]

1893
01:16:08,793 --> 01:16:09,758
[Freddy] Eyeballs.

1894
01:16:09,758 --> 01:16:11,896
[tool whirring]

1895
01:16:15,724 --> 01:16:18,172
[Freddy] Is it scary of me
cutting your machine up
like this?

1896
01:16:18,172 --> 01:16:19,793
[Harry] There's a lot
of things that scare me,

1897
01:16:19,793 --> 01:16:22,103
but cutting a piece
of metal's not one of them.

1898
01:16:22,103 --> 01:16:24,793
[narrator] At the Gretzner
mine in California,

1899
01:16:24,793 --> 01:16:28,827
an hour into the test,
Freddy spotted a problem.

1900
01:16:28,827 --> 01:16:30,655
Takes a lot of resources
for these guys

1901
01:16:30,655 --> 01:16:32,827
to get water out here.
They have to haul it,

1902
01:16:32,827 --> 01:16:34,517
so every bit we can save

1903
01:16:34,517 --> 01:16:37,310
is gonna save them money
down the line and time

1904
01:16:37,310 --> 01:16:38,793
where they could be doing
other things,

1905
01:16:38,793 --> 01:16:40,931
such as finding
better gold deposits.

1906
01:16:40,931 --> 01:16:45,206
I'm gonna take a little
less out than I initially was,

1907
01:16:45,206 --> 01:16:47,586
just in case your material
doesn't like it.

1908
01:16:47,586 --> 01:16:49,103
We can always take more out.

1909
01:16:49,103 --> 01:16:52,034
[narrator] In order
for the sand screw to work,

1910
01:16:52,034 --> 01:16:55,620
Freddy cuts a drainage
channel down one weir

1911
01:16:55,620 --> 01:16:58,379
to let more water drain out.

1912
01:16:58,379 --> 01:17:00,758
Well, let's dump
some sand and water in it

1913
01:17:00,758 --> 01:17:01,655
and see what it does.

1914
01:17:01,655 --> 01:17:04,241
[Harry] Roger that.
Sand's coming.

1915
01:17:04,241 --> 01:17:06,172
[Freddy] Well, hopefully
this works here

1916
01:17:06,172 --> 01:17:07,896
'cause we're running out
of time fast.

1917
01:17:10,551 --> 01:17:12,620
I'm really curious to see
that plug working.

1918
01:17:12,620 --> 01:17:15,000
That's something
I would've never thought of.

1919
01:17:16,206 --> 01:17:17,758
That's why these guys
are out here.

1920
01:17:25,655 --> 01:17:26,655
[Juan]
How's it working, Freddy?

1921
01:17:26,655 --> 01:17:28,655
Is it working good? Nice.

1922
01:17:30,275 --> 01:17:32,344
Look at the water
how it's heaping, heaping,

1923
01:17:32,344 --> 01:17:34,310
heaping, heaping,
then look up here.

1924
01:17:34,310 --> 01:17:35,448
[Juan]
Yeah, it cuts it out by a lot.

1925
01:17:35,448 --> 01:17:37,034
[Freddy] It's cutting 90%
of the water out of it

1926
01:17:37,034 --> 01:17:38,103
from down here.

1927
01:17:38,103 --> 01:17:40,379
[narrator] Freddy's idea
to drop the angle

1928
01:17:40,379 --> 01:17:41,551
of the sand screw

1929
01:17:41,551 --> 01:17:43,862
and cut a drainage channel
in the weir

1930
01:17:43,862 --> 01:17:45,379
has paid off.

1931
01:17:47,000 --> 01:17:48,758
-Huge difference, huh?
-[Juan] Looking good.

1932
01:17:48,758 --> 01:17:51,000
[Freddy] Just from that
little gap right there.

1933
01:17:51,000 --> 01:17:52,172
[Juan] It's crazy
how something so simple

1934
01:17:52,172 --> 01:17:53,931
-works so well, Freddy.
-[Freddy] Yeah.

1935
01:17:55,655 --> 01:17:58,206
Well, if this thing
keeps working like it is now,

1936
01:17:58,206 --> 01:18:00,103
you just lost a job out here.

1937
01:18:00,103 --> 01:18:01,620
[Harry]
I don't mind that part.

1938
01:18:01,620 --> 01:18:03,310
-[Freddy] Yup. Welcome.
-And much appreciated.

1939
01:18:04,724 --> 01:18:06,310
[Harry] Yeah, working
with Freddy's been cool.

1940
01:18:06,310 --> 01:18:07,862
Anytime I meet someone new

1941
01:18:07,862 --> 01:18:09,379
and work with someone
I haven't before,

1942
01:18:09,379 --> 01:18:10,965
to get an opportunity to see

1943
01:18:10,965 --> 01:18:12,379
some of the tricks
of the trade

1944
01:18:12,379 --> 01:18:13,965
and been watching 'em
carefully,

1945
01:18:13,965 --> 01:18:15,137
so that's been nice.

1946
01:18:20,000 --> 01:18:22,620
-[Ron] How's it going?
-[Greg] Not bad. No visible.

1947
01:18:22,620 --> 01:18:24,275
-No?
-But that's usual.

1948
01:18:24,275 --> 01:18:26,068
[Freddy] All right.
Shut it off there, guys,

1949
01:18:26,068 --> 01:18:27,793
'cause by the time
this gets up to the belt,

1950
01:18:27,793 --> 01:18:30,000
it will probably be
exactly two hours.

1951
01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:30,827
[Chad] Right.

1952
01:18:30,827 --> 01:18:32,793
All right.
Let's shut her down.

1953
01:18:33,620 --> 01:18:36,275
[narrator] In the two-hour
test run,

1954
01:18:36,275 --> 01:18:38,379
the Gretzner crew has run
double the amount

1955
01:18:38,379 --> 01:18:39,965
of pay through its mill.

1956
01:18:42,344 --> 01:18:43,517
There's gold in it.

1957
01:18:44,206 --> 01:18:45,586
Right here.

1958
01:18:45,586 --> 01:18:46,758
-A whole band of gold.
-Right here.

1959
01:18:46,758 --> 01:18:48,448
Up here is a bunch of gold.

1960
01:18:50,068 --> 01:18:51,551
[Harry] Water's off.

1961
01:18:53,137 --> 01:18:55,000
[Freddy] These guys have been
great to work with.

1962
01:18:55,000 --> 01:18:57,689
You know, they're not lazy,

1963
01:18:57,689 --> 01:18:59,310
you know, they aren't sitting
on their thumbs.

1964
01:18:59,310 --> 01:19:00,620
They wanna get involved

1965
01:19:00,620 --> 01:19:02,068
and that's good.

1966
01:19:02,068 --> 01:19:04,655
Without that involvement
from this group,

1967
01:19:04,655 --> 01:19:06,413
we wouldn't have got
the amount of things done

1968
01:19:06,413 --> 01:19:07,620
that we got done.

1969
01:19:15,551 --> 01:19:18,758
[country music playing]

1970
01:19:22,000 --> 01:19:23,103
[Freddy] How's it going, guys?

1971
01:19:23,103 --> 01:19:24,517
-[Chad] Hey, Freddy.
-[man] Hey. There they are.

1972
01:19:24,517 --> 01:19:26,689
-[Chad] Hey, Juan.
-You got the gold all dried?

1973
01:19:26,689 --> 01:19:27,655
-Yeah, we do.
-Oh, yeah.

1974
01:19:27,655 --> 01:19:28,896
Let's do it. [Juan]

1975
01:19:29,689 --> 01:19:31,034
During the first
two hour test run?

1976
01:19:31,034 --> 01:19:32,344
[Chad] Yes.

1977
01:19:33,068 --> 01:19:34,896
It wasn't good, you know,
for that amount of labor

1978
01:19:34,896 --> 01:19:36,103
that you guys put into it.

1979
01:19:36,103 --> 01:19:38,172
I know it's labor of love,
but when you're going broke,

1980
01:19:38,172 --> 01:19:39,655
it's not worth it.

1981
01:19:39,655 --> 01:19:41,034
Well, weigh it up, Juan.

1982
01:19:41,034 --> 01:19:42,310
[Juan]
Well, let's let Chad do it.

1983
01:19:42,310 --> 01:19:43,655
-[Freddy] Yeah.
-[Juan] There you go, Chad.

1984
01:19:43,655 --> 01:19:45,620
[Freddy] It's your mine,
you do the honors.

1985
01:19:45,620 --> 01:19:47,551
[narrator]
To make the mine viable,

1986
01:19:47,551 --> 01:19:51,068
Chad must produce
at least a quarter
of an ounce of gold.

1987
01:19:51,068 --> 01:19:52,137
-[Juan] There we go.
-[Freddy] Okay.

1988
01:19:52,137 --> 01:19:53,310
[Juan] 0.01.

1989
01:19:53,310 --> 01:19:54,344
[Freddy]
We're past what we did...

1990
01:19:54,344 --> 01:19:56,172
-Yeah, there we are.
-what we did last time.

1991
01:19:56,172 --> 01:19:57,655
-[Juan] Yup, yup.
-[Freddy] Yup.

1992
01:19:57,655 --> 01:19:58,931
There's still a lot
of gold in the jar.

1993
01:19:58,931 --> 01:20:01,448
-Wow.
-0.07, 0.09, 0.10, 0.11.

1994
01:20:01,448 --> 01:20:03,000
-[Sean] Wow. Look at that.
-[Sallie] Wow.

1995
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:06,000
[Freddy] 0.20, 0.23,

1996
01:20:06,000 --> 01:20:08,137
-0.25, 0.26.
-.26.

1997
01:20:08,137 --> 01:20:09,172
[man] .26.

1998
01:20:09,172 --> 01:20:10,172
[cheers]

1999
01:20:10,172 --> 01:20:11,551
[Freddy] Just over
a quarter of an ounce.

2000
01:20:11,551 --> 01:20:13,034
-Yeah.
-[Juan] That's awesome.

2001
01:20:13,034 --> 01:20:14,137
-Yeah.
-That's sweet.

2002
01:20:14,137 --> 01:20:17,482
[narrator] Worth almost $500.

2003
01:20:17,482 --> 01:20:19,275
Freddy and Juan
have increased

2004
01:20:19,275 --> 01:20:24,068
the Gretzner's gold by 767%.

2005
01:20:24,068 --> 01:20:26,689
So it's dang near 10 times
the amount of gold

2006
01:20:26,689 --> 01:20:29,482
in that pan
with a lot less work.

2007
01:20:29,482 --> 01:20:31,931
[narrator] Freddy's gamble
to run the old-timer's

2008
01:20:31,931 --> 01:20:34,137
ore dump has paid off.

2009
01:20:34,137 --> 01:20:35,310
Remind us again,
what was your goal

2010
01:20:35,310 --> 01:20:37,275
for the rest of the season?

2011
01:20:37,275 --> 01:20:39,275
We got to hit 20 ounces

2012
01:20:39,275 --> 01:20:41,068
before summer heats us up,
you know.

2013
01:20:41,068 --> 01:20:42,827
Okay. And we don't have
a whole lot of time left

2014
01:20:42,827 --> 01:20:45,172
-to do that, but--
-Yeah. Maybe six weeks.

2015
01:20:45,172 --> 01:20:47,482
[Freddy]
That's achievable, easily.

2016
01:20:47,482 --> 01:20:48,862
You're gonna exceed your goal.

2017
01:20:48,862 --> 01:20:52,344
If you can get a 10-hour day
running here, right?

2018
01:20:52,344 --> 01:20:54,931
At 1.1 tons per hour,

2019
01:20:54,931 --> 01:20:56,448
that's 11 tons a day, right?

2020
01:20:56,448 --> 01:20:57,758
If you kept it
running every day,

2021
01:20:57,758 --> 01:20:59,655
that's 100,000 bucks a month.

2022
01:20:59,655 --> 01:21:01,103
[narrator] In just 30 days,

2023
01:21:01,103 --> 01:21:03,241
the crew has the potential

2024
01:21:03,241 --> 01:21:07,172
to beat their 20-ounce
season goal twice over.

2025
01:21:09,206 --> 01:21:11,000
That's no joke.
That's some serious money.

2026
01:21:11,000 --> 01:21:12,551
[Sallie] Yeah. That's amazing.

2027
01:21:12,551 --> 01:21:14,551
[Freddy] There's 40,000 tons
there roughly.

2028
01:21:14,551 --> 01:21:16,103
You'll be grinding
on that stuff for a while.

2029
01:21:16,103 --> 01:21:17,344
[Chad] What do
you guys think about that?

2030
01:21:17,344 --> 01:21:19,172
-That is awesome.
-[Chad] That's massive.

2031
01:21:19,172 --> 01:21:20,724
-[Greg] Wow.
-I gotta...

2032
01:21:20,724 --> 01:21:22,620
I couldn't be happier,
you know,

2033
01:21:22,620 --> 01:21:26,000
because what we've done here
may change these guys' future

2034
01:21:26,000 --> 01:21:27,931
and seeing the smiles
on their faces

2035
01:21:27,931 --> 01:21:29,206
when we weigh the gold,

2036
01:21:29,206 --> 01:21:31,137
you know, nothing beats that.

2037
01:21:31,137 --> 01:21:32,413
Oh, my gosh, that's so pretty.

2038
01:21:32,413 --> 01:21:33,689
Right?

2039
01:21:34,827 --> 01:21:36,517
Gold mining has definitely

2040
01:21:36,517 --> 01:21:39,206
brought my son and I
so much closer.

2041
01:21:39,206 --> 01:21:41,344
I wouldn't trade it
for the world.

2042
01:21:41,344 --> 01:21:44,310
It didn't just solidify
my son and me,

2043
01:21:44,310 --> 01:21:45,724
but our whole team.

2044
01:21:45,724 --> 01:21:49,482
Our whole team, so yeah,
one hell of a week.

2045
01:21:50,275 --> 01:21:51,689
We're excited for you guys.

2046
01:21:51,689 --> 01:21:53,034
You know, honestly,
we see that,

2047
01:21:53,034 --> 01:21:54,103
it makes everything we did

2048
01:21:54,103 --> 01:21:55,413
and all the hard work
you guys have put in,

2049
01:21:55,413 --> 01:21:57,827
you know, worth it,
because now
it's a possibility.

2050
01:21:57,827 --> 01:22:00,068
This is a real possibility.

2051
01:22:00,068 --> 01:22:01,827
Freddy and I are actually
leaving today

2052
01:22:01,827 --> 01:22:04,551
knowing that the adjustments
we made in their mill,

2053
01:22:04,551 --> 01:22:07,275
they at least have the tools
to be able to make
themselves successful.

2054
01:22:07,275 --> 01:22:08,344
Stay in touch, guys.

2055
01:22:08,344 --> 01:22:09,275
Chad, good working
with you, buddy.

2056
01:22:09,275 --> 01:22:10,172
-Thank you.
-Thank you.

2057
01:22:10,172 --> 01:22:12,000
-Take care.
-Take care. Bye.

2058
01:22:13,172 --> 01:22:15,551
I'm really excited about this.

2059
01:22:15,551 --> 01:22:18,172
The potential now
with what I saw today.

2060
01:22:19,620 --> 01:22:21,517
Prior to that gold weigh,

2061
01:22:21,517 --> 01:22:23,103
we were running this
out of our pockets,

2062
01:22:23,103 --> 01:22:24,931
because we weren't making
enough gold

2063
01:22:24,931 --> 01:22:27,172
to basically even pay
the electric bill.

2064
01:22:27,172 --> 01:22:28,862
Now, that's off the table.

2065
01:22:28,862 --> 01:22:31,448
With what Freddy and Juan
have designed for us

2066
01:22:31,448 --> 01:22:32,896
and the efficiencies
that we have

2067
01:22:32,896 --> 01:22:35,310
and this gold dump
that Freddy discovered

2068
01:22:35,310 --> 01:22:38,379
is gonna put us
in the profit column.

2069
01:22:38,379 --> 01:22:40,758
The future definitely looks
bright in this regard

2070
01:22:40,758 --> 01:22:43,137
considering the gold recovery
we just got

2071
01:22:43,137 --> 01:22:45,310
and what we're potentially
standing on,

2072
01:22:45,310 --> 01:22:47,620
but I'm gonna go through it
and make it happen first.

2073
01:22:47,620 --> 01:22:49,793
And then... And then
I'll do the happy dance.

2074
01:22:49,793 --> 01:22:51,827
Our future is wide open.

2075
01:22:51,827 --> 01:22:53,862
Our future is so bright,
we got to wear shades.

2076
01:22:53,862 --> 01:22:56,655
Like it's gonna be wonderful.

2077
01:22:56,655 --> 01:22:59,275
[Chad] Well, this week
has been a roller coaster.

2078
01:22:59,275 --> 01:23:01,000
The gold recovery that we have

2079
01:23:01,000 --> 01:23:03,034
and now what that means
for our team,

2080
01:23:03,034 --> 01:23:05,655
what matters most to us
is relationships.

2081
01:23:05,655 --> 01:23:06,827
And I think, we'll...

2082
01:23:06,827 --> 01:23:08,965
We have a strong relationship
now than even ever.

2083
01:23:09,862 --> 01:23:11,482
Our future looks bright, guys.

2084
01:23:11,482 --> 01:23:12,482
Let's go make it happen.

2085
01:23:12,482 --> 01:23:13,827
[Greg] What do you say
we go get some...

2086
01:23:13,827 --> 01:23:15,000
-Go get some gold?
-[Ron] Yeah.

2087
01:23:15,000 --> 01:23:16,620
-Let's go get some gold.
-[Greg] All right.

2088
01:23:19,103 --> 01:23:20,586
[truck honks]

2089
01:23:25,241 --> 01:23:28,310
[upbeat music playing]