1
00:00:03,172 --> 00:00:05,413
I told you where
to put your sluice, over here.
2
00:00:05,413 --> 00:00:08,034
Everybody's telling me
to put it like this.
3
00:00:08,034 --> 00:00:09,965
[narrator] After weeks
of butting heads...
4
00:00:09,965 --> 00:00:11,862
You've been stepping
on my toes the whole project.
5
00:00:11,862 --> 00:00:12,689
No, I haven't.
6
00:00:13,931 --> 00:00:15,586
...and unexpected setbacks...
7
00:00:16,413 --> 00:00:18,758
[man speaking]
8
00:00:20,310 --> 00:00:22,379
...the Hoffmans are
looking forward.
9
00:00:22,379 --> 00:00:23,793
[man] Is that what
I think it is?
10
00:00:23,793 --> 00:00:26,137
- I think it's a drift,
isn't it?
- Yeah.
11
00:00:26,137 --> 00:00:28,310
[narrator] But with just
the Holy Roller running,
12
00:00:28,310 --> 00:00:30,068
they'll need Hunter's
second plant
13
00:00:30,068 --> 00:00:33,448
to hit their
$1.75 million target.
14
00:00:33,448 --> 00:00:35,724
We're firing the Black Pearl,
everybody clear.
15
00:00:35,724 --> 00:00:37,379
[narrator] Will
the Black Pearl's maiden run
16
00:00:37,379 --> 00:00:40,000
help them sail towards
their season-long
17
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:41,379
1,000-ounce gold?
18
00:00:41,379 --> 00:00:43,172
- [man] It's rolling.
- She rolls.
19
00:00:43,172 --> 00:00:44,965
Look at that little patch
of gold right there.
20
00:00:44,965 --> 00:00:46,655
- That's money in the bank.
- [whistles]
21
00:00:46,655 --> 00:00:47,931
Or will it sink them?
22
00:00:48,310 --> 00:00:49,172
[bleep]
23
00:00:49,172 --> 00:00:50,310
Sparky, you've gotta
talk to me.
24
00:00:50,310 --> 00:00:52,379
[Sparky] Hey, we got water
gushing out in the pan.
25
00:00:52,379 --> 00:00:53,517
You gotta be kidding me.
26
00:01:15,586 --> 00:01:17,724
[narrator]
With the Holy Roller's
current gold production
27
00:01:17,724 --> 00:01:20,000
well short
of the 100-ounce average
28
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,586
the Hoffmans are
aiming for this week.
29
00:01:22,586 --> 00:01:26,206
And the Black Pearl, one part
shy of being operational,
30
00:01:26,206 --> 00:01:28,931
Hunter and Framer
set out to find it.
31
00:01:28,931 --> 00:01:32,448
Two running plants will mean
double the production.
32
00:01:32,448 --> 00:01:33,862
[Hunter] Last piece
of the wash plant,
33
00:01:33,862 --> 00:01:35,344
we're really close
34
00:01:35,344 --> 00:01:38,344
I honestly didn't think we
were gonna be able
to get this far.
35
00:01:39,931 --> 00:01:42,310
[narrator] To get the Black
Pearl to this point,
36
00:01:42,310 --> 00:01:46,172
Hunter and his team had
to cut the wash plant
into three pieces
37
00:01:46,172 --> 00:01:49,793
to transport it 80 miles
across an unforgiving road.
38
00:01:49,793 --> 00:01:51,689
I look good over here.
How are you guys looking?
39
00:01:51,689 --> 00:01:55,275
[narrator] And then reassemble
the 80,000-lb behemoth on site
40
00:01:55,275 --> 00:01:57,103
with limited parts and tools.
41
00:01:57,103 --> 00:01:58,448
[man] That's it!
42
00:01:58,448 --> 00:02:00,793
We got stuff done we didn't
think we were gonna
be able to.
43
00:02:03,034 --> 00:02:05,310
[Hunter] It's a big plant,
requires a lot of water.
44
00:02:05,310 --> 00:02:07,206
You know it didn't come
with a pump.
45
00:02:07,206 --> 00:02:08,931
If I don't have enough water,
I can't run it at all.
46
00:02:09,965 --> 00:02:11,517
So, I called Nate.
47
00:02:11,517 --> 00:02:13,758
He's been a huge lifesaver
for me this season.
48
00:02:13,758 --> 00:02:16,310
And he called around.
He found me a pump,
49
00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:18,758
and I'm hoping that this
is gonna be just enough
50
00:02:18,758 --> 00:02:20,172
to get us enough water
for the Black Pearl.
51
00:02:20,620 --> 00:02:21,310
There she is.
52
00:02:22,310 --> 00:02:24,034
Right now, it's my only option
53
00:02:24,034 --> 00:02:26,137
and, uh, we're gonna see
if we can make it work.
54
00:02:27,413 --> 00:02:29,310
- Hunter, man, what's going on?
- How's it going?
55
00:02:29,310 --> 00:02:30,103
- How are you?
- Good to see you.
56
00:02:30,103 --> 00:02:30,793
- Good.
- There she is.
57
00:02:31,413 --> 00:02:32,896
So we pulled it off.
58
00:02:32,896 --> 00:02:35,482
- Yeah, it's no Barco pump,
you're right.
- [Nate] No.
59
00:02:35,482 --> 00:02:37,827
But do you know what it
takes to find a pump
in Nome?
60
00:02:37,827 --> 00:02:40,724
- This one's gonna cost you.
- [Hunter] Yeah, I figured.
61
00:02:40,724 --> 00:02:43,655
Do you know any specs
on this, like the water?
62
00:02:43,655 --> 00:02:45,793
You're gonna have to dial in.
Depends on what you
got for nozzle.
63
00:02:45,793 --> 00:02:47,103
But it's gonna work.
64
00:02:47,103 --> 00:02:49,275
- They've got
a suction line too.
- Okay.
65
00:02:49,275 --> 00:02:50,620
So that will marry up
right here.
66
00:02:50,620 --> 00:02:52,551
You're gonna have to change
your discharge phalange,
67
00:02:52,551 --> 00:02:55,931
but other than that, I mean,
it's self-priming, it's
a good pump.
68
00:02:55,931 --> 00:02:58,000
It should be everything
you need right now.
69
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,724
I mean, right now,
beggars can't be choosers.
70
00:03:00,724 --> 00:03:02,965
I don't really have
too many options.
71
00:03:02,965 --> 00:03:05,068
- You wanna crank it up?
- Yeah.
72
00:03:05,068 --> 00:03:07,172
- You hold the Murphy switch.
- Yeah.
73
00:03:07,172 --> 00:03:08,827
[engine starting]
74
00:03:09,862 --> 00:03:11,896
[engine revving]
75
00:03:12,724 --> 00:03:16,172
[Nate speaking]
76
00:03:18,379 --> 00:03:20,724
[engine slowing]
77
00:03:20,724 --> 00:03:22,724
- [Nate] The only downside
is it's a small pump.
- Yep.
78
00:03:22,724 --> 00:03:26,275
So you might struggle
with water supply a little bit
79
00:03:26,275 --> 00:03:27,862
Well, Hunter, what do
you think? You want it?
80
00:03:29,896 --> 00:03:32,620
Hey, well it runs,
and it's a pump, so...
81
00:03:32,620 --> 00:03:34,758
- It's a pump.
- It's better than
what I had, so...
82
00:03:34,758 --> 00:03:36,620
- All right, let's get
it loaded.
- Let's do it.
83
00:03:38,965 --> 00:03:41,862
[Hunter] You know, your
Achilles' heel in mining
is your water.
84
00:03:41,862 --> 00:03:45,068
You have to have enough water
to make the sluices
work properly.
85
00:03:45,068 --> 00:03:48,551
We need this to run,
so we'll see what happens.
86
00:03:48,551 --> 00:03:50,482
- All right, are you ready?
- Yeah.
87
00:03:52,655 --> 00:03:55,034
These are the last
pieces I needed to get
the Black Pearl running.
88
00:03:55,034 --> 00:03:56,758
I got a pump, so I'm hoping
this weekend
89
00:03:56,758 --> 00:03:57,896
we'll get everything
wrapped up.
90
00:03:59,413 --> 00:04:01,137
All right, what do I owe you?
91
00:04:01,137 --> 00:04:04,103
We'll talk later.
Just get that plant running.
92
00:04:04,103 --> 00:04:06,413
If it all works out,
maybe I can pay you in gold.
93
00:04:06,413 --> 00:04:08,931
I never turn down gold,
you know.
94
00:04:08,931 --> 00:04:10,172
We're both involved
in this thing now.
95
00:04:10,172 --> 00:04:13,103
- You've had to help me
so many times, you know.
- Exactly.
96
00:04:13,103 --> 00:04:14,655
[Framer] Actually I'm
a little bit nervous.
97
00:04:14,655 --> 00:04:17,137
It's a good pump,
but it's old.
98
00:04:17,137 --> 00:04:18,965
It's a last-minute deal.
99
00:04:18,965 --> 00:04:20,517
Hopefully this thing runs
like it's supposed to.
100
00:04:23,413 --> 00:04:25,241
There we go.
101
00:04:25,241 --> 00:04:26,689
That's it, let's roll.
102
00:04:26,689 --> 00:04:30,206
- Nate, thanks
for saving my ass again.
- Any time, bud.
103
00:04:30,206 --> 00:04:31,655
Thank you, I appreciate it.
104
00:04:35,275 --> 00:04:37,379
[Hunter] You know, hopefully
in a day or two we're
up and running.
105
00:04:46,517 --> 00:04:48,034
[Todd speaking]
106
00:04:52,206 --> 00:04:54,655
We're coming out nice
and clean. They look good.
107
00:04:55,620 --> 00:04:56,655
[narrator] Back at the mine,
108
00:04:56,655 --> 00:04:59,172
the Holy Roller hits
its midday stride
109
00:04:59,172 --> 00:05:01,000
as it processes material.
110
00:05:03,034 --> 00:05:05,517
[Todd] Last week
was really, really good.
111
00:05:05,517 --> 00:05:09,758
Big picture, we're still way
behind where we need to be.
112
00:05:09,758 --> 00:05:12,379
We just plain and simple
need to get more gold.
113
00:05:14,448 --> 00:05:17,379
We need 100 ounces a week
to hit our goal.
114
00:05:18,103 --> 00:05:19,482
[Todd speaking]
115
00:05:21,379 --> 00:05:23,034
Ten-four, will do, Todd.
116
00:05:23,034 --> 00:05:26,413
[Todd] I need Hunter to get
the Black Pearl up
and running.
117
00:05:26,413 --> 00:05:28,724
And while that's happening,
118
00:05:28,724 --> 00:05:31,310
I need to put the best
pay dirt I can
119
00:05:31,310 --> 00:05:32,724
through the Holy Roller,
120
00:05:32,724 --> 00:05:35,655
and just keep grinding
as much gold as we can get.
121
00:05:35,655 --> 00:05:38,344
We got a limited amount
of pay dirt right now.
122
00:05:39,034 --> 00:05:40,862
We will run out eventually
123
00:05:40,862 --> 00:05:43,310
if we do not find
some more quick.
124
00:05:43,310 --> 00:05:46,379
But at the end of the day
we need the mother lode.
125
00:05:46,379 --> 00:05:47,172
We wanna hit it.
126
00:05:55,965 --> 00:05:57,896
I have pulled straight up
to you, port side in.
127
00:05:58,758 --> 00:06:00,758
Perfecto. Thanks.
128
00:06:00,758 --> 00:06:03,896
[narrator] Across the claim
on the ancient riverbed cut,
129
00:06:03,896 --> 00:06:07,931
Andy and the rest of the crew
work to keep the plant fed.
130
00:06:07,931 --> 00:06:10,103
[Andy] We had a lot of high
hopes coming into this season,
131
00:06:10,103 --> 00:06:11,172
and we still do.
132
00:06:14,655 --> 00:06:16,862
But we have
a long ways to go.
133
00:06:16,862 --> 00:06:18,275
We wanna get
1,000 ounces,
134
00:06:18,275 --> 00:06:19,862
so I'm gonna keep
stripping pay,
135
00:06:20,517 --> 00:06:21,586
just keep going.
136
00:06:31,344 --> 00:06:32,172
Holy crap.
137
00:06:33,724 --> 00:06:36,137
It's just solid ice,
the side of that hill.
138
00:06:39,241 --> 00:06:40,379
That is really cool.
139
00:06:44,172 --> 00:06:45,724
[beeping signals]
140
00:06:48,413 --> 00:06:50,586
And it shows we're
on the gold.
141
00:06:50,586 --> 00:06:52,758
Hey, Todd, if you've
got a second, come
down here to the cut
142
00:06:52,758 --> 00:06:54,241
I've got something
to show you.
143
00:06:54,241 --> 00:06:55,103
[Todd] That's 10-four.
144
00:06:58,034 --> 00:07:00,068
Holy crap, look how big
that sucker is.
145
00:07:07,517 --> 00:07:09,206
[Todd] Is that
what I think it is?
146
00:07:09,206 --> 00:07:11,379
- I think it's a drift,
isn't it?
- Yeah.
147
00:07:11,896 --> 00:07:12,827
That's a tunnel.
148
00:07:13,724 --> 00:07:15,000
[Andy] It's a big tunnel.
149
00:07:15,689 --> 00:07:18,172
I've exposed an old drift.
150
00:07:18,172 --> 00:07:19,517
When the old timers
were in there
151
00:07:19,517 --> 00:07:21,896
digging with pick
and shovel
152
00:07:21,896 --> 00:07:24,448
this had to have been
really rich ground
153
00:07:24,448 --> 00:07:28,206
for these guys to be
doing this all by hand.
154
00:07:28,206 --> 00:07:30,862
[narrator] What Andy has
unearthed are the remains
155
00:07:30,862 --> 00:07:33,206
of what's known as
a miner's drift.
156
00:07:33,206 --> 00:07:35,586
A subterranean tunnel
built wide enough
157
00:07:35,586 --> 00:07:38,620
so that several miners
could pan long sections
158
00:07:38,620 --> 00:07:42,517
of promising pay dirt
well below the surface.
159
00:07:42,517 --> 00:07:45,862
For the miners who worked
this claim 100 years ago,
160
00:07:45,862 --> 00:07:48,068
this was laborious
backbreaking work
161
00:07:49,034 --> 00:07:51,448
done with the technology
of their time,
162
00:07:51,448 --> 00:07:53,862
which was mostly
pickaxes and shovels.
163
00:07:58,137 --> 00:08:00,655
It looks like this drift
filled up with water and soil,
164
00:08:00,655 --> 00:08:02,068
and it froze.
165
00:08:02,068 --> 00:08:05,172
We've been digging
into it from the side.
166
00:08:05,172 --> 00:08:06,758
That don't look like
a little hole.
167
00:08:06,758 --> 00:08:07,793
That was, like--
168
00:08:07,793 --> 00:08:10,413
It's like a family
of miners could go in it.
169
00:08:10,413 --> 00:08:12,310
[Todd] If you find a tunnel
170
00:08:12,310 --> 00:08:15,206
or a guy picked his
way through,
171
00:08:15,206 --> 00:08:17,344
we take this very,
very serious.
172
00:08:17,344 --> 00:08:20,689
And when we've ever
found any of these,
173
00:08:20,689 --> 00:08:24,206
it's always been
the best gold we ever had.
174
00:08:24,206 --> 00:08:27,689
So, the old timers,
they had to go for big gold
175
00:08:27,689 --> 00:08:31,034
because gold was only
20, 30 bucks an ounce.
176
00:08:31,034 --> 00:08:33,482
So the amount of gold
that they had to dig up
by hand,
177
00:08:34,551 --> 00:08:35,931
was unbelievable.
178
00:08:35,931 --> 00:08:38,896
Hey, Thurber, come on down.
I want you to have
a look at this.
179
00:08:40,655 --> 00:08:41,551
An old pale.
180
00:08:43,379 --> 00:08:46,689
There's some more stuff
up there. What is that?
181
00:08:47,827 --> 00:08:50,793
Dude, they were
living up in here.
182
00:08:50,793 --> 00:08:53,482
This was probably
full of gold.
183
00:08:53,482 --> 00:08:55,724
You fill this up with gold
and then take it out...
184
00:08:57,068 --> 00:08:58,172
I don't know.
185
00:08:58,172 --> 00:09:00,793
The old timers,
they investigated.
186
00:09:01,793 --> 00:09:03,241
They started a little tunnel,
187
00:09:03,862 --> 00:09:05,931
if it started paying off,
188
00:09:05,931 --> 00:09:08,827
they made a bigger tunnel,
and a bigger tunnel.
189
00:09:09,827 --> 00:09:12,413
And either that guy
was a fat guy like me,
190
00:09:12,413 --> 00:09:14,862
or he had a hell of a lot
of gold in there.
191
00:09:14,862 --> 00:09:17,206
- I'll go with the gold.
- [Todd] Yeah, me too.
192
00:09:17,206 --> 00:09:18,517
Thurber, see that tunnel?
193
00:09:19,517 --> 00:09:20,344
[Thurber] That's crazy.
194
00:09:20,344 --> 00:09:22,172
I need you to take
a sample of that.
195
00:09:22,172 --> 00:09:25,068
- You can see where he
was carving in.
- Yeah.
196
00:09:25,068 --> 00:09:27,137
- [Todd] You see how he
made his tunnel wide?
- Sure.
197
00:09:27,137 --> 00:09:30,275
- He was lugging that stuff
directly on the side.
- Yep.
198
00:09:30,275 --> 00:09:32,241
[Thurber] It's kinda cool.
A hundred-plus years ago,
199
00:09:32,241 --> 00:09:34,379
someone walked around
with that bucket
200
00:09:34,379 --> 00:09:37,448
and for whatever reason,
they stopped there.
201
00:09:38,103 --> 00:09:39,724
We're gonna continue on.
202
00:09:39,724 --> 00:09:43,000
So... it kinda gets you.
203
00:09:45,965 --> 00:09:48,379
If you don't get it,
it's kinda hard to explain
204
00:09:48,379 --> 00:09:51,689
but, you know,
why did they quit?
205
00:09:52,517 --> 00:09:54,000
Did they die out here?
206
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,068
I mean, it's such
a huge story.
207
00:09:57,068 --> 00:09:58,344
To be part of it...
208
00:10:02,344 --> 00:10:03,965
...yeah. It's pretty big
209
00:10:05,034 --> 00:10:06,862
I could go up right here.
210
00:10:06,862 --> 00:10:09,551
[Thurber] Every time
that we've ever been
in this gray layer,
211
00:10:09,551 --> 00:10:11,275
it's got a lot of gold in it.
212
00:10:11,275 --> 00:10:14,620
[narrator] Based on previous
signs and this color soil,
213
00:10:14,620 --> 00:10:17,103
Andy and Thurber suspect
the miner's drift
214
00:10:17,103 --> 00:10:20,896
could yield just north
of three ounces per 100 yards.
215
00:10:20,896 --> 00:10:22,241
Yeah, that's just crazy.
216
00:10:24,689 --> 00:10:27,103
[Andy] I couldn't believe it
when I started opening it.
217
00:10:27,103 --> 00:10:28,172
[Thurber] Yeah,
it's kinda eerie.
218
00:10:30,965 --> 00:10:34,000
- Okay, I'll go freeze
my hands somewhere.
- Okay.
219
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,931
- This is the fun part.
- Yeah.
220
00:10:35,931 --> 00:10:39,827
[Thurber] But also
when the gold table turns
from green to gold it's good.
221
00:10:40,241 --> 00:10:40,931
Okay.
222
00:10:44,034 --> 00:10:46,344
[Thurber] We're just kind
of chomping at the bit
to see what's going on.
223
00:10:54,206 --> 00:10:56,241
What I'm doing
is I'm screening it.
224
00:10:56,241 --> 00:10:58,896
We rinse everything off.
We get a true test.
225
00:10:58,896 --> 00:11:01,000
If you throw rocks
before you wash them
226
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:02,793
they probably
have gold on them.
227
00:11:02,793 --> 00:11:04,068
That's how you want
your rocks to look
228
00:11:04,068 --> 00:11:06,413
after they go through
the trommel. Clean.
229
00:11:06,413 --> 00:11:08,482
If they're dirty, they've
got gold on them still.
230
00:11:12,793 --> 00:11:15,448
You've gotta remember,
you got two handfuls of dirt.
231
00:11:15,448 --> 00:11:17,724
If you see any gold,
it's probably very rich.
232
00:11:24,896 --> 00:11:26,586
Wow, wow, wow.
233
00:11:28,137 --> 00:11:29,068
Holy crap.
234
00:11:33,344 --> 00:11:35,068
Wow, wow, wow.
235
00:11:36,103 --> 00:11:37,517
Holy crap.
236
00:11:37,517 --> 00:11:39,724
So Thurber just took
a little sample,
237
00:11:39,724 --> 00:11:42,551
just outside of the drift.
238
00:11:42,551 --> 00:11:43,655
So I'm gonna go
take a look.
239
00:11:46,172 --> 00:11:48,620
- What?
- I think I know why
they were there.
240
00:11:48,620 --> 00:11:50,931
- It's pretty good.
- Pretty good?
241
00:11:50,931 --> 00:11:53,034
Dude, look at how
big the gold is,
242
00:11:53,034 --> 00:11:54,310
how much there is.
243
00:11:55,413 --> 00:11:57,034
Look at all that.
244
00:11:57,034 --> 00:11:59,517
If you start here, I'm
not even gonna count them.
245
00:11:59,517 --> 00:12:02,034
There's just gold
all through here.
246
00:12:02,034 --> 00:12:03,620
Some bigger pieces.
That one there,
247
00:12:03,620 --> 00:12:05,758
you'd drop it in the pan
it will actually make noise.
248
00:12:06,724 --> 00:12:07,896
- That's a picker.
- Yeah.
249
00:12:07,896 --> 00:12:09,344
Holy smoke.
250
00:12:09,344 --> 00:12:13,965
In all of the years
of thousands of pans
that we did in the Yukon,
251
00:12:13,965 --> 00:12:15,689
I've never seen gold
like that.
252
00:12:15,689 --> 00:12:17,620
I can't wait
to run this stuff.
253
00:12:17,620 --> 00:12:18,931
[Thurman] This is crazy good.
254
00:12:24,517 --> 00:12:26,310
[Hunter] The Black Pearl
is really close.
255
00:12:26,310 --> 00:12:28,620
It's gonna be one
of life's delicious moments
256
00:12:28,620 --> 00:12:31,103
when we see
this thing running, so...
257
00:12:31,103 --> 00:12:34,068
[narrator] The Black Pearl's
new pump is now set in place,
258
00:12:34,068 --> 00:12:37,931
bringing the plant one step
closer to its first fire up.
259
00:12:37,931 --> 00:12:38,965
Whoo!
260
00:12:38,965 --> 00:12:40,655
- Got it!
- Yeah!
261
00:12:41,827 --> 00:12:44,862
- Ready?
- Now we just stick
this baby together.
262
00:12:44,862 --> 00:12:46,517
[Hunter] Finally got the pump.
263
00:12:46,517 --> 00:12:48,793
The last thing we need to do
is hook up the water line
264
00:12:48,793 --> 00:12:50,517
and send water up
to the plant.
265
00:12:50,517 --> 00:12:51,827
We had a smaller pump,
266
00:12:51,827 --> 00:12:53,862
but we're not really
experienced with that pump.
267
00:12:53,862 --> 00:12:56,862
I'm hoping that because
of the water line being
a little bit bigger,
268
00:12:56,862 --> 00:12:59,551
we have a little more volume
to get us enough water
for the Black Pearl.
269
00:12:59,551 --> 00:13:01,793
But we won't know until we get
this whole thing hooked up.
270
00:13:01,793 --> 00:13:04,965
[Sparky] As long as this
gets done, everything
else falls in place.
271
00:13:04,965 --> 00:13:06,896
If you don't have water,
you don't have a plant.
272
00:13:07,344 --> 00:13:08,137
[Hunter] Ready?
273
00:13:11,379 --> 00:13:13,034
[Hunter] I am nervous.
This is a lot of work.
274
00:13:13,034 --> 00:13:15,241
I don't know any other
kids in their early 20s
275
00:13:15,241 --> 00:13:16,862
that have taken on
a project like this,
276
00:13:16,862 --> 00:13:19,034
and completely rebuilt,
277
00:13:19,034 --> 00:13:22,965
you know, the biggest trommel
that we've ever seen basically.
278
00:13:22,965 --> 00:13:25,586
Most of the people here
don't think I'm gonna
be able to do it,
279
00:13:25,586 --> 00:13:28,586
but, you know, I'm
too committed to back out now
280
00:13:28,586 --> 00:13:30,172
and I'm really just trying
to prove to myself
281
00:13:30,172 --> 00:13:31,620
that I can get this
thing running.
282
00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:34,034
Hold on. Hold on.
Hold on! Turn it this way.
283
00:13:34,034 --> 00:13:35,413
[Hunter]
You know, I've got
a lot of responsibility
284
00:13:35,413 --> 00:13:36,862
to actually get this
plant running.
285
00:13:36,862 --> 00:13:38,827
It's gonna be a huge piece
286
00:13:38,827 --> 00:13:41,241
to us actually getting
to our goal, I think, so...
287
00:13:41,241 --> 00:13:43,724
All right, that's it!
Let's go.
288
00:13:46,241 --> 00:13:47,862
[Sparky] You can't stop
the Black Pearl, baby.
289
00:13:59,517 --> 00:14:00,379
[Andy speaking]
290
00:14:01,896 --> 00:14:03,413
[narrator] Across the mine,
291
00:14:03,413 --> 00:14:05,862
Andy scratches pay
at the miner's drift.
292
00:14:06,793 --> 00:14:09,000
[Andy speaking]
293
00:14:11,275 --> 00:14:14,482
Enlisting Dakota and Cub
to transport it to the plants.
294
00:14:20,517 --> 00:14:21,655
Hey, Dakota...
295
00:14:22,896 --> 00:14:23,551
Yeah.
296
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:24,965
It's Papa here.
297
00:14:25,827 --> 00:14:27,068
[Andy speaking]
298
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,137
This will light
a sluice box up.
299
00:14:33,137 --> 00:14:34,655
Big mistake.
300
00:14:34,655 --> 00:14:36,551
[Andy] Never tell us that.
301
00:14:36,551 --> 00:14:39,379
[Dakota] Probably shouldn't
have said that to us.
302
00:14:39,379 --> 00:14:40,793
Nowhere is stuff gonna
light up.
303
00:14:42,448 --> 00:14:43,103
Oh, yeah.
304
00:14:43,827 --> 00:14:45,137
[Dakota speaking]
305
00:14:46,758 --> 00:14:47,620
[Andy] It doesn't matter.
306
00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:48,862
It's all going
to the same place.
307
00:15:01,103 --> 00:15:02,551
[Hunter speaking]
308
00:15:03,482 --> 00:15:04,931
Getting some pay
up to the Black Pearl.
309
00:15:10,137 --> 00:15:12,103
So here it is, our first
tons of pay.
310
00:15:12,103 --> 00:15:13,241
I think this stuff's
pretty rich.
311
00:15:25,034 --> 00:15:26,448
Once we've got
a little pile going,
312
00:15:26,448 --> 00:15:27,827
I'm gonna call the excavator
up from here.
313
00:15:27,827 --> 00:15:29,137
We'll fire up.
314
00:15:29,137 --> 00:15:30,689
And I don't know how
this plant's gonna run it,
315
00:15:30,689 --> 00:15:31,896
but we'll know
by the end of the day.
316
00:15:33,655 --> 00:15:35,137
This is dope.
It smells good.
317
00:15:41,827 --> 00:15:44,448
- [Hunter] Have we got
all the hoses hooked up?
- [Sparky] Yep.
318
00:15:44,448 --> 00:15:46,965
The motor, everything
is supposed to be dialed.
319
00:15:46,965 --> 00:15:50,310
Yeah, everything looks dialed.
Chain is set, rollers is set.
320
00:15:54,965 --> 00:15:59,034
- Yep, I think we're good.
- Yeah, it looks
pretty good, bro.
321
00:15:59,413 --> 00:16:00,586
Okay.
322
00:16:00,586 --> 00:16:02,689
[narrator] After four weeks
of construction,
323
00:16:02,689 --> 00:16:04,758
the Hoffmans have
the Black Pearl rigged
324
00:16:04,758 --> 00:16:07,793
and ready to run gold
for the first time.
325
00:16:07,793 --> 00:16:08,482
[Hunter sighs deeply]
326
00:16:14,034 --> 00:16:17,620
So, I wanted to have
everybody up here because...
327
00:16:17,620 --> 00:16:20,310
You guys know how much
work me and Sparky
have put into this.
328
00:16:20,310 --> 00:16:21,620
A lot of you guys
helped on this.
329
00:16:21,620 --> 00:16:23,827
I really, genuinely,
appreciate it.
330
00:16:23,827 --> 00:16:26,896
I know this is my
10th summer mining,
331
00:16:26,896 --> 00:16:28,827
but I think that this summer
I probably learned more
332
00:16:28,827 --> 00:16:31,241
than every other season
maybe combined.
333
00:16:32,620 --> 00:16:36,931
So, I don't know how well
it's gonna run.
334
00:16:36,931 --> 00:16:38,827
I haven't put any dirt
through it, but, you know,
335
00:16:38,827 --> 00:16:40,310
I thought it would be cool
for everybody to be here
336
00:16:40,310 --> 00:16:43,103
for us to fire it up
and kind of have this
moment together, so...
337
00:16:44,413 --> 00:16:47,068
You know, Hunter,
I'm real proud of you guys.
338
00:16:47,068 --> 00:16:49,620
I came up and helped
you a little bit,
339
00:16:49,620 --> 00:16:51,275
but, you know, you did it all.
340
00:16:51,275 --> 00:16:54,965
And just even getting
that drum on there
341
00:16:56,068 --> 00:16:58,000
is a chore in itself.
342
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,137
I'm excited. You guys
put in a lot of work,
343
00:17:00,758 --> 00:17:01,655
a lot of late nights,
344
00:17:02,413 --> 00:17:03,448
a lot of welding,
345
00:17:04,241 --> 00:17:05,068
but you did it.
346
00:17:05,689 --> 00:17:07,448
It was a huge task.
347
00:17:07,448 --> 00:17:10,310
[Hunter] I think that
it's gonna get us,
you know, to our goal.
348
00:17:11,413 --> 00:17:12,896
It's a proven wash plant.
349
00:17:12,896 --> 00:17:14,620
It's simple.
It's built really tough.
350
00:17:14,620 --> 00:17:16,689
I don't know. We won't know
till we fire it up,
351
00:17:16,689 --> 00:17:20,586
but I think I have a feeling
that she's gonna work good.
352
00:17:20,586 --> 00:17:23,103
- I say we fire this thing up.
- Let's do it.
353
00:17:23,103 --> 00:17:25,068
I wanna see the fat girl run.
354
00:17:25,068 --> 00:17:27,517
All right, let's turn
this baby.
355
00:17:27,517 --> 00:17:29,310
[Todd] Hunter, you're
calling the shots.
356
00:17:29,310 --> 00:17:30,344
How do we do this?
357
00:17:31,482 --> 00:17:32,344
Who does what?
358
00:17:33,379 --> 00:17:35,068
Well, I was gonna have
Framer get on the pump.
359
00:17:35,068 --> 00:17:36,482
I was gonna get on the motor,
360
00:17:36,482 --> 00:17:38,689
and then everybody else
just get somewhere safe.
361
00:17:38,689 --> 00:17:39,758
Okay, let's go.
362
00:17:43,689 --> 00:17:46,862
So this whole
Black Pearl situation,
363
00:17:46,862 --> 00:17:49,344
down deep I'm excited
for Hunter
364
00:17:49,344 --> 00:17:52,724
but you're looking at
a wash plant that's
30 years old,
365
00:17:52,724 --> 00:17:56,827
and it's been collecting rust
at least for the last
seven years.
366
00:17:56,827 --> 00:17:58,862
It's a little bit
of a Frankenstein.
367
00:17:58,862 --> 00:18:02,172
If it doesn't work,
we just cannot afford that.
368
00:18:02,172 --> 00:18:04,931
We're already behind
on that 1,000-ounce goal.
369
00:18:05,724 --> 00:18:08,172
I really am going
to lose money
370
00:18:08,172 --> 00:18:11,862
if we don't get maybe
a couple hundred ounces
through this plant.
371
00:18:13,310 --> 00:18:14,068
I'm not a mechanic,
372
00:18:15,551 --> 00:18:17,482
but I just know that this key
needs to be turned.
373
00:18:17,482 --> 00:18:20,655
So, we're firing
the Black Pearl.
Everybody clear.
374
00:18:20,655 --> 00:18:22,241
Is everybody clear?
Clear.
375
00:18:22,241 --> 00:18:25,827
We are all clear, Hunter.
Everything looks good.
376
00:18:25,827 --> 00:18:26,965
So this is the moment
right here.
377
00:18:36,413 --> 00:18:37,793
[motor starting]
378
00:18:41,862 --> 00:18:43,206
[clanking]
379
00:18:52,172 --> 00:18:53,689
Dude, is this thing
even gonna roll?
380
00:19:07,344 --> 00:19:08,862
Dude, is this thing
even gonna roll?
381
00:19:14,034 --> 00:19:17,000
- [Hunter] It's rolling.
- She rolls, yes!
382
00:19:19,310 --> 00:19:20,862
[laughing] She rolls!
383
00:19:21,862 --> 00:19:23,172
Framer, fire the water.
384
00:19:23,965 --> 00:19:25,275
All right, ready to fire.
385
00:19:26,310 --> 00:19:27,689
[Framer thinking]
386
00:19:36,310 --> 00:19:37,517
[Framer speaking]
387
00:19:37,517 --> 00:19:39,000
Hunter, do you want me
to run it up?
388
00:19:39,517 --> 00:19:40,448
There it goes.
389
00:19:45,310 --> 00:19:47,586
We got water!
[laughing]
390
00:19:48,344 --> 00:19:50,793
[all cheering]
391
00:19:50,793 --> 00:19:54,413
Hey, Framer, bring the pump
all the way up. Full rpm.
392
00:19:54,413 --> 00:19:56,379
All right. I'm gonna
run it up a little bit.
393
00:20:06,172 --> 00:20:07,931
[Sparky] How's the box, Thurb?
394
00:20:07,931 --> 00:20:09,344
[Thurber speaking]
395
00:20:10,862 --> 00:20:12,103
[indistinct], Sparky.
396
00:20:12,103 --> 00:20:15,172
Yes, dude, we got this.
We got this.
397
00:20:15,172 --> 00:20:17,000
Come here, come here.
Give me a hug.
398
00:20:19,655 --> 00:20:20,965
I feel really good.
399
00:20:20,965 --> 00:20:22,793
This whole summer we've been
at war with this thing,
400
00:20:22,793 --> 00:20:25,241
and I finally am feeling
a victory right now,
401
00:20:25,241 --> 00:20:28,275
so, I'm like, I can't even
believe that we got
to this point.
402
00:20:28,275 --> 00:20:29,931
Hey, Jack, what do you think?
403
00:20:29,931 --> 00:20:32,586
- It worked, man.
- Dude, this thing's
gonna be a beast.
404
00:20:32,586 --> 00:20:36,241
I didn't know if it was gonna
happen, but it did.
405
00:20:36,241 --> 00:20:38,758
They got it here
and they got it together
406
00:20:38,758 --> 00:20:41,344
and everything's welded up.
407
00:20:41,344 --> 00:20:43,103
You know, I'm proud of them.
408
00:20:43,103 --> 00:20:44,241
[Hunter] What do you
think, Jim?
409
00:20:45,310 --> 00:20:46,931
I think you got it, brother.
410
00:20:46,931 --> 00:20:48,655
Hey, come here, Hunter.
Give me some.
411
00:20:49,034 --> 00:20:50,275
All right.
412
00:20:50,275 --> 00:20:53,241
You got it in the water.
Your plant's running.
413
00:20:53,241 --> 00:20:56,448
[Todd] This is a big moment
for Hunter. I'm really proud.
414
00:20:56,448 --> 00:20:58,896
I really hope that this
thing runs good
415
00:20:58,896 --> 00:21:01,862
because I wanna see him
have some pay off.
416
00:21:01,862 --> 00:21:04,310
The payoff will be
the gold in the box.
417
00:21:04,310 --> 00:21:08,344
If we can end this thing good,
and end this thing positive,
418
00:21:08,344 --> 00:21:10,655
and come out of this
with the gold that we need,
419
00:21:10,655 --> 00:21:13,482
then, you know what,
this is gonna be a win.
420
00:21:13,482 --> 00:21:16,034
Throw some dirt in it.
We'll see it go.
421
00:21:16,034 --> 00:21:18,000
[Todd] I wanna see
some dirt go through it.
422
00:21:19,551 --> 00:21:21,000
Let's go, baby!
423
00:21:26,275 --> 00:21:28,965
First bucket of dirt
for the Black Pearl,
right here.
424
00:21:29,862 --> 00:21:33,517
- All right, first bucket!
- First bucket!
425
00:21:33,517 --> 00:21:36,000
[cheering and clapping]
426
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,689
[man] First bucket
of dirt, yeah!
427
00:21:40,241 --> 00:21:40,931
Nice.
428
00:21:43,517 --> 00:21:45,103
So far it looks good.
429
00:21:45,103 --> 00:21:46,586
I'm not feeding it
slow either.
430
00:21:46,586 --> 00:21:49,103
I'm just throwing it
through here.
431
00:21:49,103 --> 00:21:52,068
This plant won't be able
to catch bigger nuggets
than the Holy Roller.
432
00:21:52,068 --> 00:21:55,448
The Holy Roller was built
for a Rocky train in Colorado.
433
00:21:55,448 --> 00:21:57,379
The Black Pearl's built
for, you know,
434
00:21:57,379 --> 00:21:58,517
the stuff up here
in Nome.
435
00:21:58,517 --> 00:22:00,379
Different material,
it has a lot of clay in it.
436
00:22:00,379 --> 00:22:02,827
The Black Pearl has all kinds
of stuff welded inside
437
00:22:02,827 --> 00:22:04,689
basically to break
the material up.
438
00:22:04,689 --> 00:22:06,689
It is two different styles.
439
00:22:06,689 --> 00:22:09,103
[Todd] It's official,
it's game on.
440
00:22:09,103 --> 00:22:11,965
- [man] How about we
get our plant running?
- [Todd] All right, let's go.
441
00:22:11,965 --> 00:22:15,586
We're running out of daylight,
and we're gonna fire back up.
442
00:22:15,586 --> 00:22:17,310
Let's go run some
dirt right now.
443
00:22:17,310 --> 00:22:20,379
We stopped down to watch
the Black Pearl run,
444
00:22:20,379 --> 00:22:22,793
now we've gotta
get the Holy Roller
running as well.
445
00:22:24,931 --> 00:22:27,172
- Everybody clear?
- [man] Yep.
446
00:22:30,586 --> 00:22:32,793
- [man] Ready to go?
- [Todd] Yeah, bring up
the water.
447
00:22:33,586 --> 00:22:35,137
[engine starting]
448
00:22:43,620 --> 00:22:45,000
[Todd] It's gonna be
the first time
449
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,931
both plants are up
and running.
450
00:22:46,931 --> 00:22:49,517
We're running double
the dirt right now
451
00:22:49,517 --> 00:22:53,793
because this could actually
get us to 1,000 ounces.
452
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,793
[narrator] With both plants
capable of running
453
00:23:01,793 --> 00:23:04,413
at least 300 yards
of pay per hour,
454
00:23:04,413 --> 00:23:07,931
the Hoffmans are now
processing twice as much dirt,
455
00:23:07,931 --> 00:23:10,206
potentially doubling
their results.
456
00:23:12,965 --> 00:23:15,965
[Todd] It's a great day.
We're running two plants.
457
00:23:15,965 --> 00:23:17,793
We're running
the miner's drift,
458
00:23:17,793 --> 00:23:19,862
which is we believe
is really good gold.
459
00:23:19,862 --> 00:23:21,137
If it is good gold,
460
00:23:21,137 --> 00:23:23,586
hopefully we can
catch up on our goal.
461
00:23:23,586 --> 00:23:25,620
We're not gonna reach it
without both plants.
462
00:23:44,758 --> 00:23:45,931
That's money.
463
00:24:07,103 --> 00:24:09,000
[Sparky speaking]
464
00:24:10,448 --> 00:24:12,379
Okay, I'm gonna do
my last scoop. Just stand by.
465
00:24:13,034 --> 00:24:13,965
Get it full, baby.
466
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,310
[Hunter] So, we ran
for the first time.
467
00:24:17,310 --> 00:24:18,448
We got a couple hours in.
468
00:24:19,931 --> 00:24:21,793
I've been running this
thing pretty hard.
469
00:24:21,793 --> 00:24:23,862
So, we're getting some
good dirt to the plant.
470
00:24:23,862 --> 00:24:27,103
Everything looks really good,
like, the thing's spinning consistently.
471
00:24:27,103 --> 00:24:28,344
The sluice box
is working good.
472
00:24:28,344 --> 00:24:29,931
The tailings are
coming out clean.
473
00:24:29,931 --> 00:24:32,413
But, this plant, it hasn't
ran in seven years,
474
00:24:32,413 --> 00:24:34,310
so I want to make sure
everything's dialed in,
475
00:24:34,310 --> 00:24:36,482
and actually catch gold
before it gets dark, so...
476
00:24:36,482 --> 00:24:38,482
I'm hoping we get to see
a little bit of gold tonight,
477
00:24:41,103 --> 00:24:42,413
um, we'll be ready
to shut down.
478
00:24:44,275 --> 00:24:45,551
[Cub] I'm on the bypass.
479
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,241
Dial the pump
all the way down.
480
00:24:59,551 --> 00:25:01,758
Yeah, we're good up here.
You can kill it whenever.
481
00:25:04,413 --> 00:25:05,896
We're gonna catch
these big nuggets.
482
00:25:08,344 --> 00:25:10,827
[Sparky] How's the barge
looking, fellas?
483
00:25:10,827 --> 00:25:12,965
It's like we've got a little
bow in the riffles there,
484
00:25:12,965 --> 00:25:14,896
but, like, none
of its packing.
485
00:25:14,896 --> 00:25:17,241
Oh, none of these are packed.
That's good.
486
00:25:17,241 --> 00:25:18,896
Here you go.
Here's some gold.
487
00:25:20,206 --> 00:25:21,965
- [Hunter chuckles nervously]
- Right there.
488
00:25:21,965 --> 00:25:22,655
Oh, yeah.
489
00:25:23,931 --> 00:25:26,275
- Oh, look at that.
Look at that!
- [Sparky] Oh, whoa.
490
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,896
Red to it.
491
00:25:28,896 --> 00:25:31,068
Look at that little patch
of gold right there.
492
00:25:31,068 --> 00:25:33,034
- Dude, that's money.
- [bleep] It's working.
493
00:25:34,275 --> 00:25:35,862
[bleep] Working, yeah.
494
00:25:35,862 --> 00:25:38,517
- [Sparky] That's money
in the bank.
- Whoo!
495
00:25:38,517 --> 00:25:40,103
We already got gold
in the nets.
496
00:25:40,103 --> 00:25:42,551
How many guys can say
they already did that?
497
00:25:42,551 --> 00:25:45,000
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- Yeah, yeah.
498
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,137
[Hunter] It is exciting just
because it has potential.
499
00:25:47,137 --> 00:25:49,655
But we started way behind.
500
00:25:49,655 --> 00:25:51,413
We've gotta run more yardage.
501
00:25:51,413 --> 00:25:54,344
So tomorrow we're
gonna get up
502
00:25:54,344 --> 00:25:56,310
and we're gonna run all day
and we're gonna get out there.
503
00:25:56,310 --> 00:25:58,379
- We'll do it.
- [Sparky] We're just
gonna run it, baby.
504
00:25:58,379 --> 00:26:00,000
All this hard work,
505
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,482
now it's time
for full speed ahead.
506
00:26:01,482 --> 00:26:02,827
- Whoo.
- It's game on, now.
507
00:26:02,827 --> 00:26:05,034
Game on, baby.
Whoo-hoo-hoo, yes!
508
00:26:06,068 --> 00:26:07,413
[Hunter] All the hard
work's paying off.
509
00:26:23,241 --> 00:26:26,482
Absolutely a great day.
Oh, my gosh.
510
00:26:26,482 --> 00:26:28,896
Firing the trommel.
Everybody clear.
511
00:26:28,896 --> 00:26:30,758
[beeping] Let's go here.
512
00:26:31,758 --> 00:26:33,724
[motor starting]
513
00:26:37,655 --> 00:26:39,275
All right, fellas, clear!
514
00:26:47,965 --> 00:26:49,000
I think it looks good.
515
00:26:50,482 --> 00:26:53,724
- [Hunter] You wanna
go get on the pump?
- Yeah, I'll go get the pump.
516
00:26:53,724 --> 00:26:55,931
[Hunter] Yesterday was our
first run for the Black Pearl.
517
00:26:57,275 --> 00:26:58,413
You know, she's
a proven plant.
518
00:26:58,413 --> 00:26:59,724
She's gotten a lot of gold
in her day,
519
00:26:59,724 --> 00:27:01,793
and I think that she's
in the service
for all this season,
520
00:27:01,793 --> 00:27:03,448
so hopefully by the end
of the day
521
00:27:03,448 --> 00:27:05,275
we'll try to get some
more gold. We need it.
522
00:27:05,275 --> 00:27:09,448
Andy found this miner's drift,
which usually is a good
sign if there's gold.
523
00:27:09,448 --> 00:27:10,655
Hey, Hunter, you got
a [indistinct]
524
00:27:11,827 --> 00:27:12,689
Yeah, go for it.
525
00:27:13,344 --> 00:27:15,068
- Fire!
- Fire it.
526
00:27:16,586 --> 00:27:18,551
[motor starting]
527
00:27:33,448 --> 00:27:35,206
So, we fired it up.
Everything looks good.
528
00:27:35,206 --> 00:27:36,172
It's spinning good.
529
00:27:36,172 --> 00:27:38,068
Everything's tracking
on the rollers nice.
530
00:27:38,068 --> 00:27:39,586
So we're gonna run some pay.
531
00:27:41,448 --> 00:27:43,758
Tell me when you see rock
coming out the end, Sparky.
532
00:27:43,758 --> 00:27:45,034
[Sparky] Ten-four, I gotcha.
533
00:27:48,379 --> 00:27:50,137
Yeah, we've got tailings
coming out.
534
00:27:55,379 --> 00:27:57,551
Hey, what's going on
over here?
535
00:27:57,551 --> 00:28:00,724
[Hunter] Sparky, the trommel's
not spinning well.
536
00:28:05,862 --> 00:28:07,310
- What's going on?
- [bleep]
537
00:28:08,275 --> 00:28:09,517
Sparky?
538
00:28:10,586 --> 00:28:11,655
You've gotta talk to me.
539
00:28:11,655 --> 00:28:13,689
[Sparky] There's water
gushing out of the pan.
540
00:28:15,655 --> 00:28:17,068
All right, I'm not feeding
this anymore
541
00:28:17,068 --> 00:28:19,275
until we figure out [bleep]
gets done.
542
00:28:19,275 --> 00:28:21,724
- [Hunter] That's for sure
jammed up.
- [Sparky] Yeah.
543
00:28:21,724 --> 00:28:24,103
[Hunter] I think it was just
clogged when we got the plant.
544
00:28:24,103 --> 00:28:25,586
[narrator] The Black Pearl's
unique setup
545
00:28:25,586 --> 00:28:29,896
uses a pan underneath
the trommel to catch
excess material.
546
00:28:29,896 --> 00:28:32,137
A hose connected
to the catch pan
547
00:28:32,137 --> 00:28:33,689
sends water through a pipe
548
00:28:33,689 --> 00:28:36,310
blowing the material
out of the sluice box.
549
00:28:36,310 --> 00:28:39,000
But a buildup of material
can clog the pan,
550
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,206
leaving water
with no place to run.
551
00:28:41,206 --> 00:28:44,172
[Todd] What's the situation
on that thing?
552
00:28:45,965 --> 00:28:47,896
It hasn't ran in seven years.
It's in that catch pan.
553
00:28:47,896 --> 00:28:50,103
It's all jammed,
so that's what's going on.
554
00:28:50,862 --> 00:28:51,517
Fix it.
555
00:28:53,724 --> 00:28:55,275
We're gonna have
to literally torch it open,
556
00:28:56,206 --> 00:28:59,000
clear it, and build it
back together.
557
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,620
We'll shut it down.
Shut the pump off.
558
00:29:00,620 --> 00:29:04,103
- Let's get your truck up there
and let's try to unclog that.
- All right.
559
00:29:04,103 --> 00:29:05,620
They're losing money
because of us, so...
560
00:29:08,586 --> 00:29:10,413
[Todd] The Black Pearl
went down.
561
00:29:10,413 --> 00:29:13,482
Me and Andy are actually
kind of freaking out
about this right now
562
00:29:13,482 --> 00:29:17,275
because this is not
just bad for them,
it's for the whole team.
563
00:29:17,275 --> 00:29:19,413
At this point in the game,
we need wins.
564
00:29:19,413 --> 00:29:21,413
We don't need losses
on this whole thing.
565
00:29:21,413 --> 00:29:23,724
And so far, it's not good.
566
00:29:23,724 --> 00:29:26,689
Now we just have one plant
running new material
567
00:29:26,689 --> 00:29:28,448
and that's nerve-racking.
568
00:29:28,448 --> 00:29:30,206
All right,
it's the last bucket.
569
00:29:30,206 --> 00:29:33,000
We're gonna pull the mats
and we're gonna see
what we've got.
570
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,310
If the gold isn't as good
as we think it is,
571
00:29:35,310 --> 00:29:37,000
it's gonna be bad.
It's gonna cost us.
572
00:29:37,689 --> 00:29:38,931
Bypass off!
573
00:29:38,931 --> 00:29:40,448
[Todd] Are we good
to shut the trommel off?
574
00:29:41,379 --> 00:29:42,551
The trommel's down.
575
00:29:44,241 --> 00:29:47,034
Generator's off.
Trommel's down.
576
00:29:47,034 --> 00:29:48,551
[Todd] Let's see what we've
got cooking down here.
577
00:29:50,551 --> 00:29:53,896
We're ready to do this
miner's drift mat clean up.
578
00:29:53,896 --> 00:29:56,931
Hopefully we're gonna have
a hell of a pay day here.
579
00:29:56,931 --> 00:30:00,827
These old timers wouldn't be
digging this type of a drift
580
00:30:00,827 --> 00:30:03,034
if it wasn't rich.
581
00:30:03,034 --> 00:30:06,137
So I think we're in
for something very, very good,
582
00:30:06,137 --> 00:30:08,275
but, you know what,
you never know
583
00:30:08,275 --> 00:30:12,310
until you run the dirt and you
do your clean-up and find out.
584
00:30:12,310 --> 00:30:15,931
And hopefully, at the end
of the day, we'll be ahead.
585
00:30:22,103 --> 00:30:24,103
Okay, have you got a flathead?
586
00:30:24,103 --> 00:30:25,275
Why don't you try
to pull that hose off
587
00:30:25,275 --> 00:30:26,758
and we can try to see
what's going on?
588
00:30:26,758 --> 00:30:28,344
Yeah, we'll see
what's going on.
589
00:30:28,344 --> 00:30:29,310
There's a catch pan
590
00:30:29,310 --> 00:30:31,586
that we planned
on digging out originally,
591
00:30:31,586 --> 00:30:34,241
but we must have
forgot about it.
592
00:30:34,241 --> 00:30:36,172
[narrator] During
the Black Pearl's assembly,
593
00:30:36,172 --> 00:30:37,827
the team neglected
to clean out
594
00:30:37,827 --> 00:30:39,586
the plant's lower catch pan
595
00:30:39,586 --> 00:30:41,758
while it was easily accessible.
596
00:30:41,758 --> 00:30:43,448
So, we're gonna have
to torch it open,
597
00:30:43,448 --> 00:30:46,827
shovel everything out, um,
because there's a big jam-up
598
00:30:46,827 --> 00:30:48,965
and we have water
spilling out.
599
00:30:48,965 --> 00:30:50,310
Move it up and down a bit.
600
00:30:52,413 --> 00:30:54,517
Oh, yep.
601
00:30:55,965 --> 00:30:57,724
We've got cut this right off,
right here.
602
00:30:58,896 --> 00:31:01,482
And like we thought,
it's jammed up.
603
00:31:01,482 --> 00:31:02,724
This whole thing's full
of material
604
00:31:02,724 --> 00:31:05,034
and this needs
to have flow.
605
00:31:05,034 --> 00:31:07,413
otherwise it fills up
and starts spewing out, so...
606
00:31:09,068 --> 00:31:11,793
[narrator] In order to unclog
the Black Pearl's catch pan
607
00:31:11,793 --> 00:31:13,517
and restore its water flow,
608
00:31:13,517 --> 00:31:16,862
Hunter and Sparky
have to cut it open
from the bottom.
609
00:31:16,862 --> 00:31:18,482
I just wanna, like, save this.
610
00:31:18,482 --> 00:31:21,137
Otherwise, we gotta, I mean,
just remake another one.
611
00:31:21,137 --> 00:31:23,068
What do you think about
cutting it like this?
612
00:31:23,068 --> 00:31:24,965
- Is that cool?
- Yeah, that'll work.
613
00:31:26,310 --> 00:31:28,758
[narrator] Then they can
clear out the build up
of material
614
00:31:28,758 --> 00:31:30,000
and weld it back together.
615
00:31:32,724 --> 00:31:33,379
[groans]
616
00:31:36,310 --> 00:31:38,517
Yep, there she is, Sparky.
617
00:31:43,448 --> 00:31:45,793
[Sparky] This sucker's
just packed, man.
618
00:31:46,724 --> 00:31:47,965
[Hunter] You've gotta
be kidding me.
619
00:31:51,137 --> 00:31:53,896
Were they sending big rocks
down their sluice box?
I don't understand.
620
00:31:55,482 --> 00:31:56,448
What is that?
621
00:31:59,517 --> 00:32:02,275
Holy [bleep]. Yeah.
622
00:32:02,275 --> 00:32:05,551
- Oh, my God, there's a whole
bunch of [bleep] steel, bro.
- Yeah.
623
00:32:05,551 --> 00:32:06,586
Yeah, what the heck?
624
00:32:09,896 --> 00:32:13,551
- Well?
- That definitely
wasn't from us.
625
00:32:13,551 --> 00:32:16,275
[narrator] During the Black
Pearl's seven years
sitting idle,
626
00:32:16,275 --> 00:32:18,931
a lack of upkeep
and exposure to weather
627
00:32:18,931 --> 00:32:21,586
caused metal in the plant
to rust and collect
628
00:32:21,586 --> 00:32:23,413
in the bottom
of the catch pan.
629
00:32:23,413 --> 00:32:25,034
When I first fired it up
I was thinking
630
00:32:25,034 --> 00:32:27,724
this thing might run perfectly
but unfortunately
631
00:32:27,724 --> 00:32:29,172
we're not gonna have gold
in the box tonight.
632
00:32:30,620 --> 00:32:31,448
Hey, guys,
633
00:32:36,620 --> 00:32:38,344
Oh, everything.
634
00:32:42,827 --> 00:32:43,655
Yeah.
635
00:32:49,689 --> 00:32:51,344
[Hunter] Obviously
there is a clog
636
00:32:51,344 --> 00:32:53,655
and, uh, just something
that, you know,
637
00:32:53,655 --> 00:32:55,034
wasn't addressed
before fire up.
638
00:32:55,034 --> 00:32:56,413
It should have been
taken care of,
639
00:32:56,413 --> 00:32:58,689
but there's a million things
on this plant that had
to be done,
640
00:32:58,689 --> 00:33:01,413
and, uh, it obviously
just got overlooked.
641
00:33:01,413 --> 00:33:03,000
So, what do you guys need?
642
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,310
[Hunter] This whole thing
clogged up underneath
our whole pipe,
643
00:33:06,310 --> 00:33:07,896
so we had to cut the end off
and dig it out.
644
00:33:08,758 --> 00:33:09,965
You can kind of see
through there,
645
00:33:09,965 --> 00:33:11,551
but it's still got
a bunch of [bleep].
646
00:33:11,551 --> 00:33:13,034
[Framer] Just a bunch
of crap in there,
647
00:33:13,034 --> 00:33:16,275
probably years and years.
That's a lot of pressure.
648
00:33:16,275 --> 00:33:18,862
So, I would bring that
water truck up here
649
00:33:19,862 --> 00:33:21,965
and that 2-inch hose
and blast it out...
650
00:33:21,965 --> 00:33:24,241
- Really?
- ...with an [indistinct]
and everything.
651
00:33:24,241 --> 00:33:26,103
Just put it on stream
and just shoot it in there.
652
00:33:26,103 --> 00:33:27,862
Okay, let's try to get it
cleared out,
653
00:33:27,862 --> 00:33:31,344
- and then I'm gonna have
to try this thing tomorrow.
- Okay.
654
00:33:32,482 --> 00:33:34,206
[Hunter] This is not, you
know, one issue after another,
655
00:33:34,206 --> 00:33:35,551
but we just don't
have a choice
656
00:33:35,551 --> 00:33:37,689
but to keep working through it
and persevering, so...
657
00:33:42,275 --> 00:33:44,034
If we can't get this
issue resolved,
658
00:33:44,034 --> 00:33:46,758
or if it's more of an issue
than I thought it was,
659
00:33:46,758 --> 00:33:48,241
then, uh, we're screwed.
660
00:33:48,241 --> 00:33:50,896
Hey, um, is it
coming out fine?
661
00:33:53,379 --> 00:33:55,241
[Hunter] Financially,
we're in the hole
662
00:33:55,241 --> 00:33:56,965
and we're not gonna
reach our goal, so...
663
00:33:58,655 --> 00:34:00,413
It's a little bit
of a scary moment.
664
00:34:11,655 --> 00:34:13,517
[Hunter] Sparky, close
your eyes and turn around.
665
00:34:14,517 --> 00:34:15,827
Don't look, buddy.
666
00:34:15,827 --> 00:34:20,137
I just... got you
a little something.
667
00:34:20,137 --> 00:34:22,655
The type of relationship
I have with Sparky
is like a brotherhood.
668
00:34:22,655 --> 00:34:24,448
It's like dudes sent to war
together, or whatever.
669
00:34:24,448 --> 00:34:26,931
You know, you persevere
through really hard
challenges together
670
00:34:26,931 --> 00:34:28,310
you become super close.
671
00:34:28,310 --> 00:34:29,206
Are you read? Turn around.
672
00:34:30,586 --> 00:34:31,724
You know,
you've gotta have fun.
673
00:34:31,724 --> 00:34:33,310
- Here you go, dude.
- [laughing] No way.
674
00:34:33,310 --> 00:34:34,448
- Here you go.
- What?
675
00:34:34,448 --> 00:34:35,793
I need you playing that baby.
676
00:34:35,793 --> 00:34:38,379
Have we got the key
to success right here?
677
00:34:38,379 --> 00:34:40,724
Dude, the Black Pearl's
going places, brother.
678
00:34:46,206 --> 00:34:49,000
Dude, I love that.
I love this frickin' thing.
679
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:49,862
See how happy he is?
680
00:34:49,862 --> 00:34:51,310
He's just got a really
good heart.
681
00:34:51,310 --> 00:34:52,448
He's one of my best friends.
682
00:34:52,448 --> 00:34:53,758
You guys gotta be dancing.
683
00:35:02,344 --> 00:35:03,000
Relax.
684
00:35:05,896 --> 00:35:07,275
[Sparky] I can't believe this.
685
00:35:25,241 --> 00:35:28,206
[narrator] As the Holy Roller
crew begins their day
sifting through dirt
686
00:35:28,206 --> 00:35:30,310
from a newly unearthed
miner's drift...
687
00:35:31,448 --> 00:35:33,620
All right,
third turn the charm.
688
00:35:33,620 --> 00:35:34,931
...Hunter is ready to see
689
00:35:34,931 --> 00:35:36,965
if clearing the Black Pearl's
catch pan
690
00:35:36,965 --> 00:35:40,103
will allow his plant
to finally run at full steam.
691
00:35:41,137 --> 00:35:43,034
This is the metal pole
we just flushed out,
692
00:35:43,034 --> 00:35:46,103
fixed it, welded it,
now it's time to rip it open.
693
00:35:46,103 --> 00:35:48,482
Huh. Only one way to find out
if it works. Let's do it.
694
00:35:50,551 --> 00:35:53,758
[Hunter] We just spent the day
trying to resolve this
water issue.
695
00:35:53,758 --> 00:35:55,620
The pipe that sends
water and material
696
00:35:55,620 --> 00:35:57,172
down the bottom
of the frame,
697
00:35:57,172 --> 00:35:58,517
we got that all clear.
698
00:35:58,517 --> 00:36:01,137
So right now we're gonna
figure out of it works or not.
699
00:36:01,137 --> 00:36:03,862
If it doesn't work, then,
uh, you know,
700
00:36:03,862 --> 00:36:05,586
I don't know what's
gonna happen.
701
00:36:05,586 --> 00:36:07,620
All right, brother, I'm about
to turn the pump. Over.
702
00:36:08,172 --> 00:36:09,137
Go for it.
703
00:36:09,827 --> 00:36:11,241
[indistinct]
704
00:36:21,034 --> 00:36:22,413
It's looking good so far, Hunter.
705
00:36:23,758 --> 00:36:27,344
Okay, let's fire the drum,
and run some rock real quick.
706
00:36:31,482 --> 00:36:32,862
[motor starting]
707
00:36:41,103 --> 00:36:43,965
- Are you ready, baby?
- Let's hit it, baby.
I'm all eyes.
708
00:36:44,862 --> 00:36:45,896
Well, hit it.
709
00:36:56,172 --> 00:36:57,172
Please, God, work.
710
00:37:03,379 --> 00:37:04,758
So far it looks good, huh?
711
00:37:05,551 --> 00:37:07,551
Yeah, it's looking
really good.
712
00:37:07,551 --> 00:37:10,000
- Go check out the pan.
- I'll come down there.
713
00:37:11,034 --> 00:37:12,965
Yeah, buddy,
it's looking good!
714
00:37:14,689 --> 00:37:17,275
- It looks really good, man.
- I just put a lot in.
715
00:37:19,068 --> 00:37:21,482
I didn't know if that
was gonna work,
but apparently it did.
716
00:37:21,482 --> 00:37:24,034
Hundreds of hours
to get this plant together.
717
00:37:24,034 --> 00:37:26,413
We got it rolling,
we fixed the leaks.
718
00:37:26,413 --> 00:37:28,586
We got this engine
working like a mother.
719
00:37:28,586 --> 00:37:30,586
And I'll tell you what,
I love my mother.
720
00:37:30,586 --> 00:37:32,413
I get nervous, like,
getting too excited.
721
00:37:32,413 --> 00:37:36,275
Like, I wanna be excited,
but I'm, like, we've had
so many issues
722
00:37:36,275 --> 00:37:38,931
that, you know, it makes
me scared to get too eager
if I run some pay,
723
00:37:38,931 --> 00:37:40,724
but I think it might
actually be ready.
724
00:37:40,724 --> 00:37:43,241
Yeah, now we're
having fun, baby.
725
00:37:43,793 --> 00:37:45,448
We're having fun.
726
00:37:45,448 --> 00:37:47,275
This evening we're gonna
run some pay.
727
00:37:48,206 --> 00:37:49,379
Oh, my gosh.
728
00:38:23,448 --> 00:38:26,793
Hey, glad you guys
are here this week.
729
00:38:26,793 --> 00:38:29,103
I know you had a setback
on the Black Pearl.
730
00:38:29,103 --> 00:38:30,793
Did you get it fixed yet?
731
00:38:30,793 --> 00:38:33,413
[Hunter] We haven't ran
enough yards to do
a full boxful,
732
00:38:33,413 --> 00:38:34,931
but everything's
spinning properly.
733
00:38:34,931 --> 00:38:36,413
Everything looks like
it's aligned right.
734
00:38:36,413 --> 00:38:37,655
There are no leaks.
735
00:38:37,655 --> 00:38:40,758
- So as in next week, we're
gonna have two clean-ups
- Yep.
736
00:38:40,758 --> 00:38:44,482
Very nice. I love seeing
both those plants running.
737
00:38:44,482 --> 00:38:46,862
Two hoes up there
swinging dirt,
738
00:38:46,862 --> 00:38:48,862
y'all running around there
hauling tailings.
739
00:38:48,862 --> 00:38:50,448
- That was pretty sweet.
- Yeah.
740
00:38:50,448 --> 00:38:51,724
She's ready to rev, so...
741
00:38:51,724 --> 00:38:53,241
When I came and helped
you guys,
742
00:38:53,241 --> 00:38:56,379
I didn't realize
how much you'd done
and how much you had to do.
743
00:38:56,379 --> 00:38:58,724
So, I'm really proud
of what you guys achieved.
744
00:38:58,724 --> 00:39:00,172
You should be proud
of yourselves.
745
00:39:00,172 --> 00:39:02,344
Your list
was so stinking long,
746
00:39:02,344 --> 00:39:05,862
- I'm impressed that
it's sitting up there.
- [Hunter] That's awesome.
747
00:39:05,862 --> 00:39:08,586
Because of that, we are
going to have a chance
748
00:39:08,586 --> 00:39:10,034
to come back
and hit our goals.
749
00:39:10,034 --> 00:39:11,620
This whole thing has
taught me a lot about
750
00:39:11,620 --> 00:39:14,413
pushing through, persevering
and sticking with it.
751
00:39:14,413 --> 00:39:16,689
Now we're having fun, baby.
752
00:39:16,689 --> 00:39:19,758
I'm glad because we're behind.
We could use some help.
753
00:39:21,827 --> 00:39:24,689
- That actually looks heavier.
- Yeah, it does.
754
00:39:24,689 --> 00:39:26,931
It looks like a 10-lb baby.
755
00:39:26,931 --> 00:39:30,000
We're running the miner's
drift and that ancient
river channel,
756
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:31,965
which we believe
is really good gold,
757
00:39:31,965 --> 00:39:35,862
but you never know until
you do your clean-up
and find out.
758
00:39:35,862 --> 00:39:37,172
Where are we at right now?
759
00:39:37,172 --> 00:39:38,793
We're at 200 ounces
right now.
760
00:39:39,482 --> 00:39:41,551
We need
100 ounces a week.
761
00:39:41,551 --> 00:39:44,517
- Okay, Dad, pour it.
- All right. Here we go.
762
00:39:47,103 --> 00:39:49,758
Oh, that's chunky.
Look at the nuggets in there.
763
00:39:51,896 --> 00:39:54,862
Forty-five, 50, 55, 60.
764
00:39:58,275 --> 00:39:59,758
Are you gonna get
to the doors of 80?
765
00:40:00,172 --> 00:40:01,172
Seventy.
766
00:40:01,620 --> 00:40:02,827
Seventy-five...
767
00:40:03,310 --> 00:40:04,000
Eighty...
768
00:40:05,793 --> 00:40:07,137
Eight-five.
769
00:40:09,931 --> 00:40:14,758
About another 140
is $45,000.
770
00:40:14,758 --> 00:40:16,896
- Now we're heading there.
- That's awesome.
771
00:40:16,896 --> 00:40:19,068
- Pretty close.
- We're getting there.
772
00:40:19,068 --> 00:40:23,448
This weigh-in for the miner's
drift is super-promising.
773
00:40:23,448 --> 00:40:27,482
Especially when you consider
that half of that pay dirt
774
00:40:27,482 --> 00:40:31,586
is just sitting right
by the Black Pearl
ready to be ran.
775
00:40:31,586 --> 00:40:35,517
If we could run that pay dirt
in two plants,
776
00:40:35,517 --> 00:40:38,482
that's gonna be big
for hitting our goal.
777
00:40:38,482 --> 00:40:40,413
[narrator] The Holy Roller's
fifth-week clean-up
778
00:40:40,413 --> 00:40:42,793
and first run
of the miner's drift dirt
779
00:40:42,793 --> 00:40:45,413
brings in a little over
85 ounces,
780
00:40:45,413 --> 00:40:48,448
marking their biggest
clean-out so far this season
781
00:40:48,448 --> 00:40:52,758
taking the Hoffman team's
running total up to 284 ounces
782
00:40:52,758 --> 00:40:56,137
which means they need
just over 700 more ounces
783
00:40:56,137 --> 00:40:58,275
to hit their season goal.
784
00:40:58,275 --> 00:40:59,448
We're back up a little bit.
785
00:40:59,448 --> 00:41:02,310
We're still needing
102 ounces per week.
786
00:41:02,310 --> 00:41:03,827
One really good goal,
787
00:41:03,827 --> 00:41:07,241
but hopefully you guys fill
in the gap.
788
00:41:07,241 --> 00:41:10,896
- We're gonna finally make our
weekly average.
- Yeah.
789
00:41:10,896 --> 00:41:14,068
No kidding, we need to get
a week with our average
going here
790
00:41:14,068 --> 00:41:17,896
because we're actually,
we're treading water.
791
00:41:17,896 --> 00:41:19,793
Let's get gold in the box,
know what I mean?
792
00:41:20,344 --> 00:41:21,137
Let's go to work.