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.