1 00:00:01,482 --> 00:00:02,482 Hey, I'm dropping dirt right now. 2 00:00:02,482 --> 00:00:03,896 Drop it like it's hot, baby. 3 00:00:03,896 --> 00:00:07,172 [narrator] With 482 ounces of gold mined so far... 4 00:00:07,172 --> 00:00:09,724 I'm feeling good. This is what it was supposed to be like. 5 00:00:09,724 --> 00:00:11,896 [narrator] ...the Hoffmans are pushing both plants 6 00:00:11,896 --> 00:00:14,103 to hit 1,000 ounces. 7 00:00:14,103 --> 00:00:16,206 [Todd] I need paydirt, I need it right now. 8 00:00:16,206 --> 00:00:18,724 [Hunter] The ancient riverbed pay is almost done. 9 00:00:18,724 --> 00:00:21,310 [narrator] After discovering rich new paydirt... 10 00:00:21,310 --> 00:00:23,275 -[Todd] The narrows are dull. -[man] Oh, my gosh. 11 00:00:23,275 --> 00:00:24,310 We got a lot of ore in it. 12 00:00:24,310 --> 00:00:26,068 [narrator] ...and hitting a jackpot cleanout. 13 00:00:26,068 --> 00:00:28,000 -Yeah, man. Yeah. -Suck it. 14 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,310 This is a lot of gold. 15 00:00:30,310 --> 00:00:32,000 [narrator] The team faces a challenge 16 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,103 that could put their 1,000 ounce gold out of reach. 17 00:00:35,103 --> 00:00:36,413 Uh-oh. 18 00:00:36,413 --> 00:00:38,379 -We have a problem. It's bad. -[Todd over radio] Damn it. 19 00:00:38,379 --> 00:00:40,379 [narrator] With the Holy Roller hemorrhaging money... 20 00:00:40,379 --> 00:00:42,896 [Andy] It's about 5,000 an hour. It could be down. 21 00:00:42,896 --> 00:00:44,275 We need to stay running. 22 00:00:44,275 --> 00:00:46,172 [narrator] And just a few weeks left... 23 00:00:46,172 --> 00:00:47,586 We just don't have a lot of time. 24 00:00:47,586 --> 00:00:49,482 It's a real pain in the ass. 25 00:00:49,482 --> 00:00:52,000 [narrator] The pressure's on Hunter to step up. 26 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000 [Hunter] If they're not running, it hurts everybody. 27 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,103 [narrator] Can he rise to the challenge? 28 00:00:56,103 --> 00:00:58,000 [Hunter] We need to crank through this as fast as we can. 29 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,000 [Hudson] Pick up the slack. 30 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,724 [narrator] But will the Hoffmans fall short? 31 00:01:01,724 --> 00:01:03,344 This was a mistake. 32 00:01:08,896 --> 00:01:13,448 [dramatic music playing] 33 00:01:23,172 --> 00:01:25,275 So far, the Black Pearl's been crushing it. 34 00:01:25,275 --> 00:01:28,275 Last week, we got more gold than the Holy Roller. 35 00:01:28,275 --> 00:01:29,586 And, uh, we hit our goal for the week. 36 00:01:29,586 --> 00:01:30,896 So, we're coming off a big win 37 00:01:30,896 --> 00:01:32,793 and I'm hoping we do it again. 38 00:01:32,793 --> 00:01:34,033 [Todd] Let's do it, baby. 39 00:01:35,103 --> 00:01:37,378 [Hunter] All the work we put in is finally paying off, 40 00:01:37,378 --> 00:01:39,344 not only for us but for everybody as a team. 41 00:01:41,172 --> 00:01:44,068 I really want to win, but also, I want my dad to win 42 00:01:44,068 --> 00:01:46,103 and I want everybody to win. 43 00:01:46,103 --> 00:01:47,896 These guys deserve a win. 44 00:01:47,896 --> 00:01:49,793 Both plants are going right now 45 00:01:49,793 --> 00:01:51,551 and that's really what we need. 46 00:01:54,103 --> 00:01:56,862 [rock music playing] 47 00:02:05,413 --> 00:02:07,000 [Todd] I'm feeling good about things. 48 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,723 This is really what it was supposed to be like. 49 00:02:09,723 --> 00:02:12,724 We got two plants running head to head, 50 00:02:12,724 --> 00:02:15,413 which is, you know what, actually a really good thing. 51 00:02:15,413 --> 00:02:20,413 The, uh, two plants that are actually one covering for the other. 52 00:02:20,413 --> 00:02:21,689 Hunter beat us last week. 53 00:02:21,689 --> 00:02:24,586 This week, I think it's going to be ours. 54 00:02:24,586 --> 00:02:29,000 We're just gonna run a ton of yardage and figure this out. 55 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,275 [narrator] The goal in mining is to reach your best yard-per-hour ratio. 56 00:02:33,275 --> 00:02:37,067 Running more yards and paydirt each hour leads to more gold. 57 00:02:37,067 --> 00:02:40,172 But there's always a limit depending on the type of paydirt 58 00:02:40,172 --> 00:02:42,413 and what the wash plant can handle. 59 00:02:42,413 --> 00:02:44,689 [Todd] So, right now, I guarantee you 60 00:02:44,689 --> 00:02:47,275 we're actually getting a lot of gold every hour. 61 00:02:47,275 --> 00:02:48,448 Back on track. 62 00:02:49,896 --> 00:02:51,689 I'm watching the sluice box the whole time 63 00:02:51,689 --> 00:02:55,620 and if you overload it, blind it over, you're gonna lose gold. 64 00:02:55,620 --> 00:02:58,482 It's scary because you look in there and you're like, 65 00:02:58,482 --> 00:03:02,206 "Am I losing gold into my sluice box?" 66 00:03:02,206 --> 00:03:04,517 And every time, it's like, "No, I'm not." 67 00:03:04,517 --> 00:03:06,689 So, take it up a notch, Todd. 68 00:03:06,689 --> 00:03:08,482 You're at 120 yards an hour. 69 00:03:08,482 --> 00:03:10,793 Hundred-thirty, 150. 70 00:03:10,793 --> 00:03:12,586 Now I'm at 200 yards an hour. 71 00:03:12,586 --> 00:03:16,275 I'm going way faster than the Black Pearl. 72 00:03:16,275 --> 00:03:18,965 At the end of the year, man, it's the yarder's game. 73 00:03:20,482 --> 00:03:22,862 How many yards are you going to pump through this thing? 74 00:03:24,896 --> 00:03:27,344 [soft guitar music playing] 75 00:03:28,482 --> 00:03:31,965 [wolf howling] 76 00:03:40,517 --> 00:03:42,620 -[bear grunts] -[bleep] 77 00:03:42,620 --> 00:03:44,379 [Todd] That's a big bear. 78 00:03:44,379 --> 00:03:46,379 [Rob] He's coming this way. 79 00:03:46,379 --> 00:03:48,793 [Andy] Boy. [bleep] He's checking us out, dude. 80 00:03:49,896 --> 00:03:52,379 [Todd] He's right [bleep] there. 81 00:03:52,379 --> 00:03:54,172 [Todd] [bleep] He's coming over the hill. 82 00:03:55,067 --> 00:03:57,000 We have our fox den right here 83 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,896 straight across and they have 84 00:03:58,896 --> 00:04:03,206 mom and dad fox and five little, little pups. 85 00:04:03,206 --> 00:04:06,310 It's kind of scary, you know, just out of the blue. 86 00:04:06,310 --> 00:04:08,517 Here comes a grizzly bear out of-- middle of nowhere 87 00:04:08,517 --> 00:04:11,620 to take out our whole little fox family. 88 00:04:11,620 --> 00:04:14,275 Jack ain't having any of that. 89 00:04:14,275 --> 00:04:17,586 There's always things we're running into up here in Alaska, 90 00:04:17,586 --> 00:04:21,103 but, you know, having a bear just rush into camp like that, 91 00:04:21,103 --> 00:04:22,793 it just reminds us 92 00:04:22,793 --> 00:04:26,482 that, uh, Mother Nature really is in charge. 93 00:04:26,482 --> 00:04:28,620 -[radio beeps] -[Todd] Andy, you got a copy? 94 00:04:28,620 --> 00:04:30,000 [Andy over radio] Yeah. It's not safe right now 95 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:31,896 for guys to be walking around. 96 00:04:31,896 --> 00:04:34,172 -[radio beeps] -[Todd] Stay in your truck. 97 00:04:34,172 --> 00:04:35,448 [Andy over radio] Be tough. 98 00:04:36,275 --> 00:04:38,793 We should probably move everybody back. 99 00:04:38,793 --> 00:04:42,000 [Jack] We've had encounters with a few bears up here 100 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,068 and if they start coming towards you or into your camp, 101 00:04:46,068 --> 00:04:47,793 you better be prepared. 102 00:04:48,482 --> 00:04:50,379 They will attack you. 103 00:04:50,379 --> 00:04:54,068 And you got to be super cautious. 104 00:04:54,068 --> 00:04:56,793 A good bear is a bear that runs away from you. 105 00:04:56,793 --> 00:04:57,896 -[radio beeps] -[Hunter] Hey, Dad. 106 00:04:57,896 --> 00:04:59,103 Be careful. 107 00:04:59,103 --> 00:05:01,103 [Hunter] It's right in that creek bottom. 108 00:05:01,103 --> 00:05:04,103 [Jack] Sometimes, you have to fire a couple of shots in the air... 109 00:05:04,103 --> 00:05:05,379 [gunshots] 110 00:05:05,379 --> 00:05:09,620 ...to make it safe for the miners and for the bear. 111 00:05:09,620 --> 00:05:13,000 Sometimes, the bear is smart enough to take off. 112 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:14,586 [Todd] Stay in your truck. 113 00:05:16,379 --> 00:05:18,551 We need to get this bear out of here so we can get to work. 114 00:05:20,413 --> 00:05:22,103 He doesn't want to leave. He's hungry. 115 00:05:22,103 --> 00:05:23,620 The bear was right here. 116 00:05:23,620 --> 00:05:26,103 Seen it right here. Well, it crossed the ridgetop 117 00:05:26,103 --> 00:05:28,310 and it came down across where the rock trucks... 118 00:05:28,310 --> 00:05:32,275 It's probably 75, 50 yards from the trucks 119 00:05:32,275 --> 00:05:34,379 and then it went chased it, came back up the hill. 120 00:05:34,379 --> 00:05:37,310 Now, it's coming back towards camp across the road. 121 00:05:37,310 --> 00:05:39,793 He probably smells kitchen grease and all of our breakfast 122 00:05:39,793 --> 00:05:42,275 and everything else. The suckers can smell two miles away. 123 00:05:43,517 --> 00:05:45,172 [Todd] It's kinda scary right now. 124 00:05:45,172 --> 00:05:48,310 It brings it back to reality. We're in the middle of nowhere. 125 00:05:48,310 --> 00:05:52,310 And, uh, these bears are serious and they're very, very hungry. 126 00:05:52,310 --> 00:05:53,448 [gunshot] 127 00:05:56,896 --> 00:05:58,068 [Todd] There he goes. 128 00:05:59,275 --> 00:06:01,482 We got a job to do, they got a job to do, 129 00:06:01,482 --> 00:06:03,172 and hopefully, we can all get along. 130 00:06:03,172 --> 00:06:05,689 It looks like the bear's safely gotten away 131 00:06:05,689 --> 00:06:07,793 and we can get back to work. 132 00:06:07,793 --> 00:06:10,172 Okay, let's get them going. 133 00:06:10,793 --> 00:06:13,241 [dramatic music playing] 134 00:06:15,379 --> 00:06:17,000 [Andy] Fire up the Black Pearl. 135 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,551 [motor starts] 136 00:06:21,896 --> 00:06:26,275 [Todd] Last week, we finally got over 100 ounces for the first time. 137 00:06:26,275 --> 00:06:28,103 And now, we're seeing some great goals. 138 00:06:28,103 --> 00:06:31,068 Okay, let's fire this thing up. 139 00:06:31,068 --> 00:06:32,896 [engine starts] 140 00:06:32,896 --> 00:06:34,517 Randy, fire up the pump. 141 00:06:34,517 --> 00:06:36,172 These new cuts that we're getting 142 00:06:36,172 --> 00:06:38,172 the gold out of, from Dahl and Northport. 143 00:06:38,172 --> 00:06:40,275 Right now, it's super encouraging. 144 00:06:40,275 --> 00:06:43,655 It looks like our goal is actually reachable. 145 00:06:49,103 --> 00:06:52,206 [Jack] Right now, we are running good. 146 00:06:52,206 --> 00:06:55,517 The name of the game in mining is yardage. 147 00:06:55,517 --> 00:06:58,103 Yeah, and so if we want to get to our gold, 148 00:06:58,103 --> 00:07:01,275 we just gotta keep running. 149 00:07:01,275 --> 00:07:04,344 And Todd's even dragged me down to run the plant. 150 00:07:06,586 --> 00:07:09,000 By the end of the season, 151 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,344 we have to have the gold. 152 00:07:17,413 --> 00:07:19,068 [dramatic music playing] 153 00:07:34,310 --> 00:07:35,551 [bleep] 154 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,551 We have a problem. 155 00:07:41,896 --> 00:07:43,379 Splitter's leaking. 156 00:07:43,379 --> 00:07:46,551 There's a bunch of gold underneath the, uh, sluice box right now. 157 00:07:47,896 --> 00:07:49,793 A lot of it. 158 00:07:49,793 --> 00:07:51,896 We're gonna have to shut the trommel off. 159 00:07:51,896 --> 00:07:53,379 Idle the generator down. 160 00:07:55,896 --> 00:07:57,379 Hey, Randy? 161 00:07:57,379 --> 00:07:59,034 -Do you have a copy? -[radio beeping] 162 00:08:00,206 --> 00:08:02,310 Tater, you on this channel? 163 00:08:02,310 --> 00:08:04,724 Do you want to come up here for a second? We have a problem. 164 00:08:04,724 --> 00:08:05,620 [radio beeping] 165 00:08:05,620 --> 00:08:07,275 [engine whirring] 166 00:08:07,275 --> 00:08:09,103 [engine stops whirring] 167 00:08:09,103 --> 00:08:11,068 Uh-oh. 168 00:08:18,620 --> 00:08:20,068 [Hunter] What's going on? 169 00:08:27,724 --> 00:08:29,724 That's looking like, uh... 170 00:08:29,724 --> 00:08:32,275 They're having some sort of a problem with their sluice or their shoot 171 00:08:32,275 --> 00:08:33,620 or something like that, 172 00:08:33,620 --> 00:08:34,895 which is not good. 173 00:08:34,895 --> 00:08:37,965 Hopefully, it's not something that's been going on all day, 174 00:08:39,379 --> 00:08:41,448 'cause that can be catastrophic. 175 00:08:44,724 --> 00:08:46,172 Come over and look at this. 176 00:08:47,413 --> 00:08:48,448 Now, look over here. 177 00:08:49,689 --> 00:08:51,172 -[Andy] Oh. -[Rob] What do you see? 178 00:08:51,172 --> 00:08:52,379 [bleep] 179 00:08:52,379 --> 00:08:54,517 [Rob] Bunch of gold underneath it? 180 00:08:54,517 --> 00:08:56,103 Starts up here. 181 00:08:56,103 --> 00:08:58,655 You see it underneath the splitter right here. 182 00:08:59,793 --> 00:09:02,896 [Andy] It's hitting the back of the hydraulics and coming down. 183 00:09:02,896 --> 00:09:04,344 So, there might be a hole. 184 00:09:08,620 --> 00:09:11,172 [Rob] Yup, there's a hole right there. 185 00:09:11,172 --> 00:09:13,517 -[Andy] It's a hole? -[Rob] Inside... Yeah, there's a hole. 186 00:09:13,517 --> 00:09:14,758 [Andy] Son of a gun. 187 00:09:18,620 --> 00:09:20,379 We got a leak, Jack. 188 00:09:20,379 --> 00:09:22,000 Is that what went wrong? 189 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,379 [Rob] Duck down. Watch your feet. 190 00:09:24,379 --> 00:09:27,000 We've been washing gold down the hole all day. 191 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:28,103 [Jack] Oh, no. 192 00:09:28,103 --> 00:09:30,448 [Rob] We're trying to get the lid off. 193 00:09:34,793 --> 00:09:37,586 Step number one, don't get fingers caught in it. 194 00:09:40,689 --> 00:09:44,413 [Rob] We're going to need the 360 and a chain and a shackle. 195 00:09:44,413 --> 00:09:45,793 Pull this off. 196 00:09:45,793 --> 00:09:48,379 We are shut down, not catching any more gold. 197 00:09:48,379 --> 00:09:51,275 The splitter's got a hole in it and is leaking 198 00:09:51,275 --> 00:09:54,482 behind the sluice box and down on the ground. 199 00:09:54,482 --> 00:09:57,000 So, we got to get it fixed 'cause we can't run it like that. 200 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:58,896 You're just throwing away gold. 201 00:09:58,896 --> 00:10:00,206 We're not running till it's fixed 202 00:10:00,206 --> 00:10:01,689 and we're not making any money. 203 00:10:01,689 --> 00:10:03,896 So, we need to get her done now. 204 00:10:03,896 --> 00:10:05,689 [dramatic music playing] 205 00:10:09,482 --> 00:10:11,448 [engine starts] 206 00:10:13,793 --> 00:10:15,172 Turn ends right there. 207 00:10:15,172 --> 00:10:17,172 It's right exactly where you'd expect it to, 208 00:10:17,172 --> 00:10:18,793 where all the material goes. 209 00:10:18,793 --> 00:10:22,000 [narrator] The Holy Roller trommel connects to the splitter, 210 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,103 which connects to the sluice box. 211 00:10:24,103 --> 00:10:28,000 The purpose of the splitter is to evenly spread out the water flow 212 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,310 that travels into the sluice box 213 00:10:30,310 --> 00:10:35,310 so as to avoid paydirt bunching up and collecting in pockets. 214 00:10:35,310 --> 00:10:39,206 But a hole has developed at the bottom of the splitter on the right side 215 00:10:39,206 --> 00:10:43,206 causing gold-bearing material to leak out onto the ground 216 00:10:43,206 --> 00:10:46,275 instead of being caught in the sluice box. 217 00:10:46,275 --> 00:10:48,724 When the trommel's running and we're putting material through it, 218 00:10:48,724 --> 00:10:50,896 all the larger material comes out the end. 219 00:10:50,896 --> 00:10:52,724 Everything half inch and smaller 220 00:10:52,724 --> 00:10:54,482 comes down through this splitter, 221 00:10:54,482 --> 00:10:59,000 the water and sand, and small rocks like this. 222 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,379 And it comes around here, and as you can see, 223 00:11:01,379 --> 00:11:03,413 it wears really heavily right here. 224 00:11:03,413 --> 00:11:05,965 It comes around and goes through there. 225 00:11:12,379 --> 00:11:15,724 Yeah, um, looks like there's something wrong with the Holy Roller, 226 00:11:15,724 --> 00:11:18,344 with the shoot or sluice or something. 227 00:11:20,275 --> 00:11:22,379 [Todd over radio] What happened? 228 00:11:22,379 --> 00:11:24,793 I don't know. The Holy Roller's got an issue. 229 00:11:25,689 --> 00:11:28,551 Their pump's not on. Damn it. 230 00:11:34,482 --> 00:11:36,482 They shut down. There's some sort of a leak going on. 231 00:11:36,482 --> 00:11:39,310 I think they have a hole in the splitter or something. 232 00:11:39,310 --> 00:11:41,793 [Hudson] Now, they've made a lot of snarky little comments 233 00:11:41,793 --> 00:11:43,517 to us about our issues, 234 00:11:43,517 --> 00:11:45,275 but I'm not going to say anything to them, though. 235 00:11:45,275 --> 00:11:48,275 So, I want to treat them how I'd like to be treated. 236 00:11:49,068 --> 00:11:51,482 We have a common goal, it's to get gold. 237 00:11:51,482 --> 00:11:53,517 And it's never good when anybody breaks down. 238 00:11:53,517 --> 00:11:54,896 [Hunter] It hurts everybody. 239 00:11:54,896 --> 00:11:57,482 So, we'll just, uh, we'll figure out what the problem is, 240 00:11:57,482 --> 00:11:58,965 hopefully get it fixed. 241 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,379 See if we can get some more pay 242 00:12:01,379 --> 00:12:03,620 and I'll help relieve their workload a little bit 243 00:12:03,620 --> 00:12:07,103 and, uh, we'll just go out until we get it done. 244 00:12:07,103 --> 00:12:10,724 Right now, literally, we can't even afford to shut down for an hour 245 00:12:10,724 --> 00:12:12,000 if we can help it. 246 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:13,896 Even though we're in competition with the Holy Roller. 247 00:12:13,896 --> 00:12:15,896 I'm going to step up and try to fill that gap a little bit 248 00:12:15,896 --> 00:12:19,413 because if we don't get to 1,000 ounces, it screws all of us. 249 00:12:19,413 --> 00:12:21,620 So, uh, we're going to keep hammering away 250 00:12:21,620 --> 00:12:23,862 and just make sure that our plant doesn't break down. 251 00:12:26,896 --> 00:12:29,896 [Jack sighs] I wish I would've caught this earlier. Well... 252 00:12:29,896 --> 00:12:31,620 Who would know? 253 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:33,000 [radio beeping] 254 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,068 Can you tell Todd and Andy we need to see them down at the trommel 255 00:12:36,068 --> 00:12:37,482 at the Holy Roller, please? 256 00:12:37,482 --> 00:12:38,793 [radio beeps] 257 00:12:38,793 --> 00:12:41,724 [Todd over radio] You want me down there? What's going on? 258 00:12:41,724 --> 00:12:45,586 I need you at the trommel, the Holy Roller, right now. It's bad. 259 00:12:45,586 --> 00:12:47,793 [Todd over radio] Damn it. Um, okay. 260 00:12:49,103 --> 00:12:51,448 So, I guess we got some work to do. 261 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,793 [Jack] Son of a biscuit. 262 00:13:00,793 --> 00:13:02,758 [Rob over radio] Hey, Todd, I need you at the trommel, 263 00:13:02,758 --> 00:13:04,655 the Holy Roller, right now. It's bad. 264 00:13:11,241 --> 00:13:15,172 So, something bad happened to the plant. 265 00:13:15,172 --> 00:13:18,379 Either something blew up or something broke. I don't know. 266 00:13:18,379 --> 00:13:23,206 Problem is, Tater sounded actually a little freaked out. 267 00:13:24,137 --> 00:13:26,000 That's never good. 268 00:13:33,586 --> 00:13:35,172 [Hunter] The Holy Roller's got an issue. 269 00:13:35,172 --> 00:13:37,586 If they're not running, it hurts everybody. 270 00:13:37,586 --> 00:13:39,000 Hopefully, they get it fixed, 271 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,241 and in the meantime, we'll see if we can get some more pay 272 00:13:41,241 --> 00:13:43,586 and I'll help relieve the work load a little bit 273 00:13:43,586 --> 00:13:45,241 and we'll just go at it. 274 00:13:47,586 --> 00:13:49,793 You know, I just hope that my dad sees that 275 00:13:49,793 --> 00:13:51,862 even though, you know, things aren't going well, 276 00:13:51,862 --> 00:13:53,551 that uh, he can depend on me. 277 00:13:57,275 --> 00:13:59,586 That's a little... watch out. 278 00:13:59,586 --> 00:14:00,758 [Todd clears throat] 279 00:14:02,586 --> 00:14:04,793 -[Andy] We got two holes. -[groans] 280 00:14:04,793 --> 00:14:06,586 [Rob] And it's dumping it on the ground. 281 00:14:06,586 --> 00:14:08,793 Bunch of gold underneath the sluice box right now. 282 00:14:08,793 --> 00:14:10,896 [Todd] That was some of the best paydirt we had. 283 00:14:10,896 --> 00:14:12,586 How long do you think it's been leaking? 284 00:14:12,586 --> 00:14:15,793 Uh, I'd probably say, by the looks of it, five-six hours? 285 00:14:15,793 --> 00:14:17,862 -God! -[Rob] The problem is, that's our good one. 286 00:14:17,862 --> 00:14:21,000 This is the side that catches most of the gold. 287 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,931 And then there's a great big hole on the other side now, too. 288 00:14:24,482 --> 00:14:25,965 [Todd] Look at this. 289 00:14:26,689 --> 00:14:28,586 -[Rob] Really bad. -[Todd] God dang it. 290 00:14:28,586 --> 00:14:29,689 If you look at the total, 291 00:14:29,689 --> 00:14:31,896 we're only out about 500 ounces. 292 00:14:31,896 --> 00:14:34,482 It's gonna take another 500 ounces 293 00:14:34,482 --> 00:14:37,000 to reach our goal, and, uh... 294 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,862 Luckily the Black Pearl is running, 295 00:14:38,862 --> 00:14:42,586 or we wouldn't even have any chance of-of reaching that goal at all. 296 00:14:42,586 --> 00:14:45,586 [Rob] We need to get all that we can, pick back up, 297 00:14:45,586 --> 00:14:48,379 -and regroup. -We-- we do not have half a day, 298 00:14:48,379 --> 00:14:49,689 this was a mistake. 299 00:14:49,689 --> 00:14:52,310 A big hit, right there. Big hit. 300 00:14:53,379 --> 00:14:55,034 All right, here's the deal, 301 00:14:55,034 --> 00:15:00,137 the potential loss here is probably between 20 and 25,000 bucks. 302 00:15:00,137 --> 00:15:03,482 And to be honest with you, we did not catch it fast enough. 303 00:15:03,482 --> 00:15:05,758 Could've caught it when it just happened. 304 00:15:06,344 --> 00:15:09,034 So, yes, we are very confident 305 00:15:09,034 --> 00:15:10,586 in this plant and in this box, 306 00:15:10,586 --> 00:15:13,000 but these shoots are used. 307 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,137 Somebody in Colorado ran these things 308 00:15:15,137 --> 00:15:17,896 and you can't always tell how thin the metal is. 309 00:15:17,896 --> 00:15:19,482 We're running so much sand 310 00:15:19,482 --> 00:15:21,344 it just eats away at the steel. 311 00:15:21,344 --> 00:15:24,241 That's like sand paper, we're sand paper-ing all this metal. 312 00:15:24,241 --> 00:15:25,379 -[Todd] So... -[Rob] Yeah. 313 00:15:25,379 --> 00:15:26,758 You think we could patch it? 314 00:15:26,758 --> 00:15:27,862 [Rob] Hopefully. 315 00:15:27,862 --> 00:15:29,793 How about just weld it over the top for now? 316 00:15:29,793 --> 00:15:33,137 The right fix would be to cut the bottom section where it's worn out 317 00:15:33,137 --> 00:15:35,103 -help welding it lower. -We don't have time for that. 318 00:15:35,103 --> 00:15:36,793 -We're gonna have to... -[Rob] We don't have time for that. 319 00:15:36,793 --> 00:15:38,793 -...band-aid this thing-- -[Rob] We're gonna do that and then silicon around it. 320 00:15:38,793 --> 00:15:41,137 [Todd] Guys, we cannot have this happen again. 321 00:15:41,137 --> 00:15:43,034 Somebody get out and look around, 322 00:15:43,034 --> 00:15:46,034 because if this happens again, 323 00:15:46,034 --> 00:15:48,172 it could just be the difference, right? 324 00:15:48,172 --> 00:15:51,482 But it might not be 20-25,000 it could be a lot worse. 325 00:15:51,482 --> 00:15:53,137 It's a lesson that... 326 00:15:53,137 --> 00:15:56,137 Just gotta walk around the sucker every once in a while. 327 00:15:56,137 --> 00:15:59,034 [Todd] This needs to be a wake-up call for everybody. 328 00:15:59,034 --> 00:16:01,586 We cannot lose our train of thought on this. 329 00:16:01,586 --> 00:16:03,137 Yeah. 330 00:16:03,137 --> 00:16:05,344 [Andy] We've obviously leaked material out on the ground, 331 00:16:05,344 --> 00:16:08,000 and uh, it's frustrating, you know, you... 332 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,379 [scoffs] 333 00:16:09,379 --> 00:16:12,379 It just seems like every time we turn around, there's another problem. 334 00:16:12,379 --> 00:16:15,241 It's easy to get complacent when everything's working right. 335 00:16:15,241 --> 00:16:16,689 And it was a little bitty hole, 336 00:16:16,689 --> 00:16:19,137 but a little bitty hole, gold goes right through it. 337 00:16:19,137 --> 00:16:20,379 So, what do you do? 338 00:16:20,379 --> 00:16:22,000 You fix it and you move on. 339 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,482 Okay, you guys grab the steel, 340 00:16:25,482 --> 00:16:27,379 we're gonna get all the clean-up stuff in here, 341 00:16:27,379 --> 00:16:30,275 we'll pull these out, we'll get that welded up, 342 00:16:30,275 --> 00:16:32,344 and hopefully, we can hit it again in the morning. 343 00:16:32,344 --> 00:16:33,379 -Huh? -[Andy] Yeah. 344 00:16:33,379 --> 00:16:34,448 -All right? -Yup. 345 00:16:38,172 --> 00:16:39,482 The sun was out, 346 00:16:39,482 --> 00:16:42,793 we're running, our flags are flying, we're both getting gold, 347 00:16:42,793 --> 00:16:44,344 really good paydirt today, 348 00:16:44,344 --> 00:16:48,896 we ran on, probably 3,000 yards between the two of us and... 349 00:16:48,896 --> 00:16:50,344 It's one of those days where you just think, 350 00:16:50,344 --> 00:16:52,586 "Man, this-this day couldn't be any more perfect", 351 00:16:52,586 --> 00:16:53,758 and then... 352 00:16:53,758 --> 00:16:55,965 You remember, it's gold mining 353 00:16:55,965 --> 00:16:57,758 and something's gonna freaking happen, 354 00:16:57,758 --> 00:16:59,655 and yeah, sure enough, it did to us. 355 00:17:00,379 --> 00:17:02,379 It's up to Hunter to keep us in the game 356 00:17:02,379 --> 00:17:03,862 while we make this fix. 357 00:17:05,896 --> 00:17:07,137 [radio beeping] 358 00:17:07,137 --> 00:17:08,792 [Hunter] We need to crank through this pay as fast as we can. 359 00:17:08,792 --> 00:17:09,758 You know... 360 00:17:10,689 --> 00:17:13,310 [Todd speaking over radio] 361 00:17:14,792 --> 00:17:16,034 10-4, thank you. 362 00:17:25,378 --> 00:17:26,689 [Rob] [bleep] Todd. 363 00:17:26,689 --> 00:17:28,758 -[Todd] What? -[Rob] Have another hole right here. 364 00:17:28,758 --> 00:17:29,793 [Rob groans] 365 00:17:29,793 --> 00:17:32,103 [Todd] We need to do that whole front edge. 366 00:17:32,103 --> 00:17:35,379 We need to cut a bunch of that flat bar. 367 00:17:35,379 --> 00:17:39,482 Our sluice box has three totally different holes in it. 368 00:17:39,482 --> 00:17:41,137 Three spots that have holes. 369 00:17:41,137 --> 00:17:44,862 This problem with this plant isn't any one person's fault. 370 00:17:44,862 --> 00:17:47,103 We just need to check this thing more often. 371 00:17:47,103 --> 00:17:50,379 Maybe make some time in the day to stop and look at it. 372 00:17:50,379 --> 00:17:53,862 But, uh we do need to catch problems like that a lot sooner, 373 00:17:53,862 --> 00:17:55,896 'cause you blow gold down the ground, 374 00:17:55,896 --> 00:17:58,000 I mean, why even bother mining it? 375 00:17:59,103 --> 00:18:01,862 I'm gonna take that first patch I did off. 376 00:18:01,862 --> 00:18:03,379 And we'll just run a flat bar. 377 00:18:03,379 --> 00:18:06,586 -Flat bar, flat bar and flat bar. -Flat bar everything. 378 00:18:06,586 --> 00:18:09,137 Well, I'm gonna get what we have to do tonight, tonight. 379 00:18:09,137 --> 00:18:11,137 -Okay. -Ron's on his way. 380 00:18:11,137 --> 00:18:12,103 Good. 381 00:18:13,586 --> 00:18:14,965 [beeping] 382 00:18:17,241 --> 00:18:19,793 [machine whirring] 383 00:18:19,793 --> 00:18:22,482 [Ron] We are fabricating some reinforcement plates 384 00:18:22,482 --> 00:18:24,034 to take up this worn area. 385 00:18:24,034 --> 00:18:26,137 We're going to blend them in real nice 386 00:18:26,137 --> 00:18:27,551 so they don't affect the flow. 387 00:18:28,379 --> 00:18:30,034 We got a little bit of mess going here. 388 00:18:30,034 --> 00:18:31,689 The whole site shut down. 389 00:18:31,689 --> 00:18:34,000 We'll deal with it properly, take our time. 390 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,241 We're planning to work until we're done. 391 00:18:36,241 --> 00:18:37,655 It's gonna be a late night. 392 00:18:38,172 --> 00:18:39,896 What'd you find, Mr. Ron? 393 00:18:39,896 --> 00:18:41,241 It's a 5-inch. 394 00:18:41,241 --> 00:18:43,137 -[Rob] Oh, that's perfect. -Got a choice... 395 00:18:43,137 --> 00:18:44,896 -One eighth to quarter inch. -[Rob] Quarter inch. 396 00:18:44,896 --> 00:18:46,344 All right, I'll chisel this piece off. 397 00:18:48,896 --> 00:18:49,931 Fire in the hole. 398 00:18:54,965 --> 00:18:56,793 [narrator] To repair the multiple holes, 399 00:18:56,793 --> 00:18:59,034 in the Holy Roller splitter 400 00:18:59,034 --> 00:19:01,586 the crew will use leftover steel plates 401 00:19:01,586 --> 00:19:04,482 and weld them to the splitter to plug the leak. 402 00:19:04,482 --> 00:19:07,034 We should weld this first, right off the hot. 403 00:19:07,034 --> 00:19:09,310 And then weld the face into it and blend it in. 404 00:19:11,379 --> 00:19:13,896 [Todd] We're uh, between a rock and a hard place. 405 00:19:13,896 --> 00:19:17,000 We can't just run down to the store and go grab these kinda parts, 406 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:18,482 everything's custom. 407 00:19:18,482 --> 00:19:21,793 We gotta actually just take pieces of steel, 408 00:19:21,793 --> 00:19:24,137 try to band-aid this together. 409 00:19:24,137 --> 00:19:26,793 If these plates aren't welded on 410 00:19:26,793 --> 00:19:29,241 and put in place just right, 411 00:19:29,241 --> 00:19:31,172 it could cause more problems. 412 00:19:31,172 --> 00:19:34,482 Last year, we were just putting band-aids on band-aids, 413 00:19:34,482 --> 00:19:37,344 but what worries me is that we're here again. 414 00:19:37,344 --> 00:19:40,586 So hopefully, these band-aids work and these welds hold, 415 00:19:40,586 --> 00:19:44,000 because more time we're down, more money we lose. 416 00:20:00,896 --> 00:20:02,758 [Todd] How we looking Tater-tot? 417 00:20:03,379 --> 00:20:04,689 [Rob] Good, what do you think? 418 00:20:04,689 --> 00:20:06,137 Armor plating. 419 00:20:06,793 --> 00:20:08,241 Good job. 420 00:20:08,241 --> 00:20:09,793 Stay with it. 421 00:20:09,793 --> 00:20:11,275 Yo, I don't care how long it takes, 422 00:20:11,275 --> 00:20:12,896 we gotta run in the morning. 423 00:20:12,896 --> 00:20:14,655 [Rob] Will do, buddy... 424 00:20:32,344 --> 00:20:34,068 It's a real pain in the ass. 425 00:20:34,068 --> 00:20:36,448 But if we have to stay up all night, we'll get her done. 426 00:20:36,448 --> 00:20:38,034 We'll get her running tomorrow. 427 00:20:38,689 --> 00:20:40,241 Can't afford to not run. 428 00:20:42,172 --> 00:20:44,103 It really is a pain in my ass. 429 00:21:03,068 --> 00:21:04,206 [Hunter] All right. 430 00:21:08,551 --> 00:21:10,034 Clear! 431 00:21:10,034 --> 00:21:11,655 Fire in the Black Pearl. Everybody clear. 432 00:21:18,689 --> 00:21:20,137 [man] Yeah, Rob. 433 00:21:28,689 --> 00:21:29,793 [exhales sharply] 434 00:21:37,172 --> 00:21:40,172 So it's the next day after the Holy Rollers issue. 435 00:21:40,172 --> 00:21:44,068 They're still, uh, getting everything wrapped up, but... 436 00:21:44,068 --> 00:21:46,758 right now, the Black Pearl crew is killing it, man. 437 00:21:47,793 --> 00:21:49,068 Knock on wood, uh, 438 00:21:49,068 --> 00:21:50,758 we have another good day of running. 439 00:21:51,689 --> 00:21:54,241 That's an advantage of us having two plants. 440 00:21:55,448 --> 00:21:58,344 So far, this thing is, uh, 441 00:21:58,344 --> 00:21:59,965 been pretty reliable for us. 442 00:22:12,068 --> 00:22:13,034 [Ron grunts] 443 00:22:15,275 --> 00:22:17,137 [Rob] We got the splitter last night. 444 00:22:17,137 --> 00:22:18,000 Welded back together, 445 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,344 piece is welded in. 446 00:22:19,344 --> 00:22:20,896 So it doesn't leak anymore. 447 00:22:20,896 --> 00:22:25,000 And so, we can, uh, go back to business as usual. 448 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,689 [Randy] Todd said that it was about 5000 an hour to be down. 449 00:22:28,689 --> 00:22:32,689 Unfortunate for us, we just don't have that downtime. 450 00:22:32,689 --> 00:22:34,344 We need to stay running. 451 00:22:35,241 --> 00:22:36,034 All right. 452 00:22:37,068 --> 00:22:37,862 Think we've got her. 453 00:22:39,689 --> 00:22:41,137 -Clear? -[man 2] All clear. 454 00:22:45,689 --> 00:22:48,758 [machines whirring] 455 00:22:59,137 --> 00:23:01,586 [Todd] We're back in business and that's what we need. 456 00:23:01,586 --> 00:23:03,620 We'll be running pay dirt here in about two minutes. 457 00:23:04,172 --> 00:23:05,448 So it took all night, 458 00:23:05,448 --> 00:23:07,896 but we got the Holy Roller back up and running 459 00:23:07,896 --> 00:23:10,344 the splitter is fixed for now. 460 00:23:10,344 --> 00:23:12,689 But I'm actually worried about our weigh in, 461 00:23:12,689 --> 00:23:15,586 with all these shutdowns and breakdowns. 462 00:23:15,586 --> 00:23:18,310 But you know what, we're just gonna have to see. 463 00:23:54,689 --> 00:23:56,793 [Andy] Get everybody in, uh? 464 00:23:56,793 --> 00:23:58,344 This is gonna really slow things down, so, 465 00:23:58,344 --> 00:23:59,586 but yeah, we gotta do it. 466 00:23:59,586 --> 00:24:02,896 [Todd] It's gonna cost us time and money, but... 467 00:24:02,896 --> 00:24:04,448 we really don't have a choice. 468 00:24:04,448 --> 00:24:05,896 I'm gonna call everybody. 469 00:24:05,896 --> 00:24:08,310 Everybody meet at the dome, we got something... 470 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:10,206 we gotta shift gears. 471 00:24:11,172 --> 00:24:12,103 [man 3 over radio] 10-4. 472 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,241 [man 4] What do you think this is about? 473 00:24:15,241 --> 00:24:16,793 [Hunter] I don't know. 474 00:24:16,793 --> 00:24:19,655 Probably... something not good. 475 00:24:20,448 --> 00:24:21,655 [man 4] Add it to the list. 476 00:24:23,482 --> 00:24:24,517 Per usual. 477 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,793 Little tired to come up for a meeting, and... 478 00:24:28,793 --> 00:24:30,620 We'll see-- we'll see what's going on. 479 00:24:36,068 --> 00:24:37,275 [Todd] Hey, guys. 480 00:24:37,275 --> 00:24:38,379 Bad news. 481 00:24:38,379 --> 00:24:40,448 From the Army Corp of Engineers 482 00:24:40,448 --> 00:24:44,379 it seems that pretty much no reclamation has been done 483 00:24:44,379 --> 00:24:45,448 on this creek. 484 00:24:45,448 --> 00:24:47,793 And the Army Corp has say on every mine 485 00:24:47,793 --> 00:24:49,068 up here in Alaska. 486 00:24:49,068 --> 00:24:51,793 They have the power to shut us down if we don't do it. 487 00:24:51,793 --> 00:24:53,344 Everybody previous to us, 488 00:24:53,344 --> 00:24:55,896 has never done any reclamation on this creek. 489 00:24:55,896 --> 00:24:58,000 So we gotta stop everything. 490 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,172 It's all hands on deck. 491 00:25:00,172 --> 00:25:04,241 [narrator] Mine reclamation reverses the impact of surface mining 492 00:25:04,241 --> 00:25:06,758 by restoring the area to its natural state. 493 00:25:07,275 --> 00:25:09,000 In order to accomplish this, 494 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,275 the team will move tons of top soil, 495 00:25:11,275 --> 00:25:12,586 and grade the area, 496 00:25:12,586 --> 00:25:14,275 and return vegetation 497 00:25:14,275 --> 00:25:17,344 that will restore the area to its native habitat. 498 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,689 [man 5] How much reclamation? 499 00:25:20,689 --> 00:25:22,896 [Todd] Almost 14 acres. 500 00:25:22,896 --> 00:25:25,103 Which is the-- a pretty big chunk. 501 00:25:26,344 --> 00:25:28,241 [Andy] Everything that's been open, 502 00:25:28,689 --> 00:25:30,241 needs to be reclamated. 503 00:25:30,241 --> 00:25:32,896 And to put organics back on top. 504 00:25:32,896 --> 00:25:34,793 It's like, basically doing it twice. 505 00:25:34,793 --> 00:25:36,241 That's a lot of work. 506 00:25:36,241 --> 00:25:38,448 And it's gonna cost us a lot of money. 507 00:25:38,448 --> 00:25:41,689 And I know it's a step back and we're already behind, 508 00:25:41,689 --> 00:25:45,172 but if we wanna be in good standing with Army Corp, 509 00:25:45,172 --> 00:25:46,620 we're gonna have to do it. 510 00:25:48,448 --> 00:25:51,275 How many days are we down doing this? 511 00:25:51,275 --> 00:25:53,206 [Todd] Maybe a week? I don't know. 512 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:54,896 -A week? -[man 6] That's not-- 513 00:25:54,896 --> 00:25:56,068 We don't have a lot of weeks left 514 00:25:56,068 --> 00:25:58,034 and if it's gonna take a week, 515 00:25:58,034 --> 00:26:01,137 it's gonna put us even farther behind. 516 00:26:01,137 --> 00:26:04,517 I don't think we can stop what we're doing for a full week. 517 00:26:15,827 --> 00:26:16,931 [Todd] Hey, guys. 518 00:26:16,931 --> 00:26:18,000 Bad news. 519 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000 From the Army Corp of Engineers, 520 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,000 it seems that pretty much no reclamation has been done 521 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,068 on this creek. 522 00:26:25,068 --> 00:26:27,655 And the Army Corp has say on every mine 523 00:26:27,655 --> 00:26:28,827 up here in Alaska. 524 00:26:28,827 --> 00:26:31,448 They have the power to shut us down if we don't do it. 525 00:26:31,448 --> 00:26:34,862 I don't think we can stop what we're doing for a full week. 526 00:26:34,862 --> 00:26:37,482 That's a lot of time and a lot of money to do that. 527 00:26:37,482 --> 00:26:40,000 If both crews stop to do the reclamation, 528 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:41,655 it's just gonna put us way behind. 529 00:26:41,655 --> 00:26:43,862 We're never gonna make it to a 1000 ounces, so. 530 00:26:43,862 --> 00:26:44,862 The young guys, uh, 531 00:26:44,862 --> 00:26:46,000 we're gonna have to take it on the chin, 532 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,551 and just try to bust this stuff out as fast we can 533 00:26:48,551 --> 00:26:50,068 and get it reclamated. 534 00:26:50,068 --> 00:26:52,551 Right now, this is the only way we can stay on target, so. 535 00:26:52,551 --> 00:26:53,620 It is what it is. 536 00:26:53,620 --> 00:26:55,379 You guys wanna bust-- bust butt 537 00:26:55,379 --> 00:26:56,758 and get it done in three, four days? 538 00:26:56,758 --> 00:26:58,379 Hey, I'm with you. 539 00:26:58,379 --> 00:27:02,068 But you use Andy and follow his lead. 540 00:27:02,068 --> 00:27:04,000 Andy's done reclamation before, 541 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,931 and his experience is gonna be a big help for Hunter's team. 542 00:27:07,931 --> 00:27:09,103 This is where we're at. 543 00:27:09,103 --> 00:27:11,241 [Andy] Just gotta put everybody in machines, 544 00:27:11,241 --> 00:27:13,000 let's, uh, start hauling some dirt. 545 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,862 Get the organics back on there. 546 00:27:14,862 --> 00:27:16,275 Get this done as quick as we can. 547 00:27:16,275 --> 00:27:17,793 [Andy] All right, let's get to work. 548 00:27:28,103 --> 00:27:29,724 [Todd] For us to continue with the dream, 549 00:27:29,724 --> 00:27:31,482 we had to finish this. 550 00:27:31,482 --> 00:27:36,000 And right now I feel like, we got a really good plan. 551 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,241 I am super proud of these guys. 552 00:27:38,241 --> 00:27:39,758 Everybody, Hudson, 553 00:27:39,758 --> 00:27:42,310 start going through your checklists on the truck. 554 00:27:44,482 --> 00:27:45,758 [Hunter grunts] Oh, God. 555 00:27:45,758 --> 00:27:48,655 [Todd] You know, this is what being a leader is all about. 556 00:27:48,655 --> 00:27:52,482 Step up, figure out what that problem is and solve it. 557 00:27:52,482 --> 00:27:55,000 That's part of his development as a leader. 558 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,862 He needs to do this. 559 00:27:56,862 --> 00:27:58,103 [Hunter] I'm trying to do what's best for our team, 560 00:27:58,103 --> 00:27:59,862 not just for myself and so, 561 00:27:59,862 --> 00:28:01,724 I'm learning a lot about being a leader and... 562 00:28:01,724 --> 00:28:03,275 I gotta put my pride to the side and... 563 00:28:03,275 --> 00:28:04,241 It is what it is. 564 00:28:05,172 --> 00:28:06,793 We just gotta get her done now. 565 00:28:09,206 --> 00:28:11,379 [narrator] To complete the reclamation requirements, 566 00:28:11,379 --> 00:28:15,862 Hunter and his team need to reclaim 14 acres across the mine. 567 00:28:15,862 --> 00:28:18,655 Hunter will take the six acres at Quartz Creek 568 00:28:18,655 --> 00:28:22,379 while Cub will restore the three acres over lower Dahl Creek. 569 00:28:22,379 --> 00:28:26,655 And Dakota will replenish five acres of upper Dahl. 570 00:28:26,655 --> 00:28:29,000 But the first step of the reclamation process 571 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,931 begins with the loading of organic materials into the rock trucks. 572 00:28:34,068 --> 00:28:36,344 [Andy speaking] 573 00:28:36,344 --> 00:28:39,448 [Dakota speaking] 574 00:28:40,724 --> 00:28:43,448 [Andy speaking] 575 00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:46,862 [Dakota] It's getting tougher and tougher. 576 00:28:46,862 --> 00:28:49,655 Just little setbacks like these reclamation deals, 577 00:28:49,655 --> 00:28:52,000 with being so late in the year, 578 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,137 it's just more of a hurdle for us. 579 00:28:55,724 --> 00:28:58,241 It seems like, kind of the goal's getting out of reach, but... 580 00:28:58,241 --> 00:28:59,448 we'll just keep pushing through it. 581 00:28:59,448 --> 00:29:00,413 It's all we can do. 582 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:03,862 [Todd] I just gotta hand it to the guys. 583 00:29:03,862 --> 00:29:06,068 This has been very, very difficult, but... 584 00:29:06,068 --> 00:29:08,551 at the end of the day, we wanna get a 1000 ounces. 585 00:29:08,551 --> 00:29:11,103 So if we can keep the Holy Roller running, 586 00:29:11,103 --> 00:29:13,758 there's a possibility that we can hit that goal. 587 00:29:13,758 --> 00:29:15,482 I don't know if we have any other choice. 588 00:29:15,482 --> 00:29:17,068 So I think it's actually... 589 00:29:17,655 --> 00:29:19,655 pretty admirable of my son 590 00:29:19,655 --> 00:29:21,344 and hopefully we can... 591 00:29:21,344 --> 00:29:23,000 you know, make up some of that-- 592 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000 some of that ground that we've lost. 593 00:29:34,862 --> 00:29:37,551 [Andy] Nico and Dakota are just loading this place up. 594 00:29:37,551 --> 00:29:39,137 They're knocking it out of the ball park. 595 00:29:46,482 --> 00:29:47,827 It's time for the rock truckers 596 00:29:47,827 --> 00:29:50,103 and dirt can't get where it needs to go. 597 00:29:50,103 --> 00:29:51,137 [Dakota] You got it. 598 00:29:54,172 --> 00:29:58,068 [Todd speaking] 599 00:29:58,068 --> 00:29:59,689 [Andy speaking] 600 00:30:05,206 --> 00:30:08,482 Everyday we're not running is really bad. 601 00:30:08,482 --> 00:30:11,827 We have to be running like, at least 12 hours a day. 602 00:30:12,551 --> 00:30:15,241 Because every hour matters. 603 00:30:15,241 --> 00:30:17,551 So, one little hiccup is gonna... 604 00:30:18,551 --> 00:30:20,241 cost us a lot. 605 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,655 [Hudson speaking] 606 00:30:24,655 --> 00:30:27,758 [Andy] Hey, you need to put a few more loads up on your right. 607 00:30:27,758 --> 00:30:28,862 That hill there. 608 00:30:28,862 --> 00:30:30,724 Like, about six loads. 609 00:30:30,724 --> 00:30:32,137 I can already see 'em. 610 00:30:32,551 --> 00:30:34,103 Yeah. 611 00:30:35,482 --> 00:30:39,103 [narrator] As the rock trucks deliver their loads to all three sites... 612 00:30:39,103 --> 00:30:40,344 -[Andy] Straight back. -[beeping] 613 00:30:40,344 --> 00:30:41,758 Keep coming, keep coming. 614 00:30:41,758 --> 00:30:42,862 [narrator] Andy is hard at work 615 00:30:42,862 --> 00:30:45,758 on the second stage of the reclamation process. 616 00:30:45,758 --> 00:30:48,862 Prepping the ground for the incoming ridge top soil. 617 00:30:48,862 --> 00:30:49,620 [Andy] Stop. 618 00:30:50,103 --> 00:30:51,379 Perfecto. 619 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,103 [Andy] We're actually doing a lot of reclamation here today 620 00:30:56,103 --> 00:30:59,068 on ground that previous miners have mined. 621 00:30:59,068 --> 00:31:01,827 They left, went bankrupt, and never did it. 622 00:31:03,862 --> 00:31:04,655 [Andy] Hey, Mike. 623 00:31:04,655 --> 00:31:05,862 [Mike over radio] Yes, sir. 624 00:31:05,862 --> 00:31:07,862 See that little glass bottle on the side of the road there? 625 00:31:07,862 --> 00:31:10,551 Put a few piles in there and then you're good. 626 00:31:10,551 --> 00:31:12,551 [Mike over radio] 10-4, I'll do that. 627 00:31:12,551 --> 00:31:14,551 We've always done reclamation. 628 00:31:14,551 --> 00:31:16,379 We like putting the ground back. 629 00:31:16,379 --> 00:31:19,172 Not just, uh, stripping it and leaving it a mess. 630 00:31:20,344 --> 00:31:22,862 What it does is just you take and you strip off 631 00:31:22,862 --> 00:31:24,655 all of the top soils, 632 00:31:24,655 --> 00:31:26,758 getting down to the pay dirt, 633 00:31:26,758 --> 00:31:28,448 and-- and then, you stock pile it. 634 00:31:28,448 --> 00:31:30,551 You leave it out to the edges. 635 00:31:30,551 --> 00:31:34,551 But you come back and you just spread that back over the vegetation. 636 00:31:34,551 --> 00:31:37,206 And because this ground is frozen, 637 00:31:37,206 --> 00:31:38,862 once it becomes spot out, 638 00:31:38,862 --> 00:31:40,172 um, it comes to life. 639 00:31:40,172 --> 00:31:41,655 The seeds germinate. 640 00:31:41,655 --> 00:31:45,000 And they re-vegetate all the area that's been disturbed, so. 641 00:31:46,482 --> 00:31:47,724 That's what we're here to do. 642 00:31:49,379 --> 00:31:52,482 [man 7] It's now up to the Holy Roller and the old guys 643 00:31:52,482 --> 00:31:54,137 to get us to our goal. 644 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:57,379 [man 8] Nice work. 645 00:31:57,379 --> 00:32:00,103 [Todd] The Holy Roller, she's really running good. 646 00:32:00,103 --> 00:32:02,655 We got lucky. There's no leak. 647 00:32:02,655 --> 00:32:05,724 And thanks to Hunter, we're gonna keep running. 648 00:32:12,068 --> 00:32:13,482 [narrator] At Upper Dahl Creek, 649 00:32:13,482 --> 00:32:17,241 Hunter is beginning the third step of the reclamation process. 650 00:32:17,241 --> 00:32:18,379 [engine starts] 651 00:32:18,379 --> 00:32:20,413 Spreading the organic top soil. 652 00:32:21,724 --> 00:32:24,482 [Hunter] All of us are down here today, reclamating. 653 00:32:24,482 --> 00:32:27,551 We got Hudson and Sparky hauling top soil to me 654 00:32:27,551 --> 00:32:29,379 with, uh, organic material in it. 655 00:32:29,379 --> 00:32:31,344 And we're spreading that all over the top 656 00:32:31,344 --> 00:32:33,413 to make sure that all this stuff grows back. 657 00:32:35,379 --> 00:32:37,724 It's a little frustrating to have to do this right now, 658 00:32:37,724 --> 00:32:39,551 because we're already really behind. 659 00:32:39,551 --> 00:32:41,206 None of us wanna be reclamating today. 660 00:32:41,206 --> 00:32:42,379 We wanna all be, you know, 661 00:32:42,379 --> 00:32:44,448 working toward getting more pay. 662 00:32:52,482 --> 00:32:55,448 It's really time-consuming and-- and, uh, 663 00:32:55,448 --> 00:32:56,758 it's not easy, but, uh, 664 00:32:56,758 --> 00:32:58,241 it's the right thing to do. 665 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,000 It's slowing us down, it's costing us money, 666 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,344 it's costing us a lot of time, but... 667 00:33:05,344 --> 00:33:06,655 this is how it goes, man. 668 00:33:06,655 --> 00:33:07,862 It's another-- 669 00:33:07,862 --> 00:33:09,344 another roadblock that we're having to deal with, but... 670 00:33:09,758 --> 00:33:11,068 you just have to like, 671 00:33:11,068 --> 00:33:13,068 keep a good out look and-- and--- 672 00:33:13,068 --> 00:33:13,931 keep pushing. 673 00:33:17,862 --> 00:33:19,241 We just gotta get it done. 674 00:33:22,620 --> 00:33:25,000 If gold mining was easy, everybody'd be doing it. 675 00:33:35,551 --> 00:33:37,793 [narrator] Three days into the reclamation. 676 00:33:38,827 --> 00:33:40,931 [Todd speaking over radio] 677 00:33:41,275 --> 00:33:42,379 [Andy speaking] 678 00:33:42,379 --> 00:33:43,724 [Todd speaking over radio] 679 00:33:43,724 --> 00:33:44,655 [Andy] We're doing great. 680 00:33:44,655 --> 00:33:46,344 That looks good, in my opinion. 681 00:33:46,344 --> 00:33:47,172 We're close. 682 00:33:47,172 --> 00:33:48,482 [Todd speaking over radio] 10-4. 683 00:33:48,482 --> 00:33:51,827 [narrator] Hunter and his team have almost completed the job. 684 00:33:52,758 --> 00:33:54,068 [Todd] It's pretty exciting. 685 00:33:54,068 --> 00:33:57,000 We got gold in the box, I guarantee you. 686 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,931 And with Andy helping these young guys, 687 00:33:58,931 --> 00:34:01,482 they've got the reclamation put to bed. 688 00:34:01,482 --> 00:34:03,275 It's actually a really, really good feeling 689 00:34:03,275 --> 00:34:06,000 when you all work as a team and get stuff done. 690 00:34:08,275 --> 00:34:11,000 [Hunter speaking] 691 00:34:11,620 --> 00:34:12,724 At the end of the day, 692 00:34:12,724 --> 00:34:14,275 we're all supposed to be on the same team, you know? 693 00:34:14,275 --> 00:34:16,000 So, we're just gonna keep doing our thing, 694 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,551 get back to it and keep the vision 695 00:34:17,551 --> 00:34:18,620 and keep pressing forward. 696 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:22,931 [Andy speaking] 697 00:34:22,931 --> 00:34:23,724 [Andy speaking] 698 00:34:24,241 --> 00:34:25,172 [Todd speaking over radio] 699 00:34:30,103 --> 00:34:32,516 That's it. Think we got reclamation done. 700 00:34:34,931 --> 00:34:36,103 That looks good. 701 00:34:36,103 --> 00:34:38,793 This time next year, this should all be lush green. 702 00:34:44,655 --> 00:34:45,655 [Todd] We're gonna pull the box, 703 00:34:45,655 --> 00:34:48,000 get it up to Jack and Jim and, uh, 704 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,344 we'll see what we got. 705 00:34:51,103 --> 00:34:52,551 -[Todd] See this edge? -[man 9] Mmm-hmm? 706 00:34:52,551 --> 00:34:54,447 [Todd] Straight that out. 707 00:34:54,447 --> 00:34:57,551 [Todd] Hopefully we can make up some of that ground that we've lost 708 00:34:57,551 --> 00:34:58,931 with the reclamation. 709 00:34:59,758 --> 00:35:00,931 [man 10] That's where the gold is. 710 00:35:02,448 --> 00:35:04,275 If it isn't good, we're screwed. 711 00:35:06,620 --> 00:35:08,034 [man 11] Guys, look at that nugget! 712 00:35:17,172 --> 00:35:19,310 -Hi. -[man 12 laughs] 713 00:35:19,310 --> 00:35:22,103 [Todd] So my team has a lot of issues [laughs] out here, 714 00:35:22,103 --> 00:35:23,965 in the wilds of Alaska. 715 00:35:23,965 --> 00:35:24,827 But guess what? 716 00:35:25,379 --> 00:35:26,827 So does our camera crew. 717 00:35:26,827 --> 00:35:27,758 [man 13] Oh! 718 00:35:27,758 --> 00:35:29,482 See that camera guy? 719 00:35:29,482 --> 00:35:31,758 Yeah, well, you're not supposed to, okay? 720 00:35:31,758 --> 00:35:33,655 -[Todd] See the angles on 'em? -[man 14] Yep. 721 00:35:33,655 --> 00:35:34,448 [Todd] Weird. 722 00:35:35,103 --> 00:35:36,586 [man 15] Woah, [bleep]. 723 00:35:36,586 --> 00:35:37,862 -[man 16] You all right? -[man 17 speaking] 724 00:35:37,862 --> 00:35:38,827 -[man 16] Yeah? -[man 17] Yep. 725 00:35:38,827 --> 00:35:40,206 [Todd] Now I know why he wears all the gear. 726 00:35:40,206 --> 00:35:43,448 [man 15 speaking] 727 00:36:10,551 --> 00:36:13,310 [Jim] Dude, grabbing two nuggets at a time back here. 728 00:36:13,310 --> 00:36:14,689 [Jack] Oh, yeah, there you go. 729 00:36:14,689 --> 00:36:15,793 [Jim] Crazy. 730 00:36:15,793 --> 00:36:17,827 [narrator] After numerous delays and shutdowns 731 00:36:17,827 --> 00:36:19,724 due to reclamating the land, 732 00:36:19,724 --> 00:36:21,241 a troublesome bear sighting, 733 00:36:21,241 --> 00:36:24,310 and major repairs on Holy Roller's sluice box, 734 00:36:24,310 --> 00:36:25,793 [Jack] Whoo! 735 00:36:25,793 --> 00:36:27,827 [narrator] Jack and Thurber do the cleanup for both wash plants, 736 00:36:27,827 --> 00:36:31,448 hoping they made their 104 ounce weekly goal. 737 00:36:31,448 --> 00:36:34,241 [Jim] This is from the narrows of Dahl Creek. 738 00:36:34,241 --> 00:36:37,344 And, uh, we're seeing a lot more nuggets. 739 00:36:37,344 --> 00:36:39,827 We got all day to do this cleanup. 740 00:36:39,827 --> 00:36:41,827 We'll take whatever time we can 741 00:36:41,827 --> 00:36:44,586 to do the best job that can be possibly done. 742 00:36:45,620 --> 00:36:50,620 This gold room is pretty famous for not losing gold. 743 00:36:50,620 --> 00:36:53,793 We're really sure we're close to a source. 744 00:36:53,793 --> 00:36:56,517 Just 'cause of the condition of the nuggets. 745 00:36:56,517 --> 00:36:58,620 [narrator] Smooth gold nuggets with rounded edges 746 00:36:58,620 --> 00:37:02,000 indicate the gold has travelled and eroded over time. 747 00:37:02,344 --> 00:37:03,448 By contrast, 748 00:37:03,448 --> 00:37:06,896 jagged gold nuggets indicate a closer proximity 749 00:37:06,896 --> 00:37:08,448 to their lucrative source 750 00:37:08,448 --> 00:37:10,172 where the gold hasn't travelled 751 00:37:10,172 --> 00:37:12,724 and had an opportunity to erode. 752 00:37:12,724 --> 00:37:15,965 [Jim] Someday, we'll get to the source, and [laughs] 753 00:37:15,965 --> 00:37:18,068 That's what we're always hoping for. 754 00:37:18,068 --> 00:37:20,448 I guess, [laughs] that's all that keeps you going sometimes, 755 00:37:20,448 --> 00:37:21,965 is hope. 756 00:37:21,965 --> 00:37:24,551 But, uh, we'll see. 757 00:37:24,551 --> 00:37:27,551 [laughs] That little scale over there does not lie. 758 00:37:27,551 --> 00:37:30,793 You can dream, you can predict. 759 00:37:30,793 --> 00:37:32,620 It's gonna tell you the truth. 760 00:37:32,620 --> 00:37:34,758 So, we'll see how it goes. 761 00:37:44,241 --> 00:37:46,413 [Todd] Tough week for everybody. 762 00:37:46,413 --> 00:37:50,137 We needed to switch gears and do reclamation. 763 00:37:50,137 --> 00:37:53,068 Not something that I saw coming at all. 764 00:37:53,068 --> 00:37:56,068 In order to keep the good rapport with the Army Corp of Engineers, 765 00:37:56,068 --> 00:37:57,413 which is really important, 766 00:37:57,413 --> 00:37:59,551 we had to do it. 767 00:37:59,551 --> 00:38:01,344 And we wanna do the right thing, 768 00:38:01,344 --> 00:38:03,413 and we cleaned up a lot of other people's mess. 769 00:38:04,724 --> 00:38:08,000 Let's be honest, the can got kicked down the road. 770 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,310 And if we tried to kick it one more time, 771 00:38:10,310 --> 00:38:13,896 we would not have a future on this mine. 772 00:38:13,896 --> 00:38:15,620 And so I feel like, 773 00:38:16,310 --> 00:38:17,689 that was the best move, 774 00:38:17,689 --> 00:38:20,310 even though it didn't make anybody happy. 775 00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:23,000 [Hunter] I mean, we just weren't left with any other choice. 776 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:24,000 It's what we had to do. 777 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,620 And we've always done everything by the book. 778 00:38:26,137 --> 00:38:27,344 So, it is what it is. 779 00:38:27,344 --> 00:38:29,551 [Todd] If you hadn't stepped up on the reclamation, 780 00:38:29,551 --> 00:38:30,517 and got that done, 781 00:38:30,517 --> 00:38:33,172 we probably wouldn't have anything to weigh. 782 00:38:33,172 --> 00:38:34,068 So, thank you. 783 00:38:34,068 --> 00:38:35,551 I'm proud of you for that. 784 00:38:35,551 --> 00:38:37,034 Way to go. Good job, everybody. 785 00:38:37,034 --> 00:38:40,448 And hopefully, we can get little bit of gold this week, [laughs] but... 786 00:38:40,448 --> 00:38:42,827 -Yeah. -My clean up did not look very good 787 00:38:42,827 --> 00:38:44,310 coming out of the box. 788 00:38:44,310 --> 00:38:47,241 [Todd] Especially since we were down because of the sluice box. 789 00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:48,310 [man 18] Yeah. 790 00:38:50,344 --> 00:38:51,896 Alright, let's call it. 791 00:38:51,896 --> 00:38:53,344 Alright, you guys. 792 00:38:53,344 --> 00:38:55,172 -[man 19 coughs] -Who's going first? 793 00:38:55,172 --> 00:38:56,827 Winners go first. 794 00:38:56,827 --> 00:38:57,965 [Jack laughs] 795 00:38:57,965 --> 00:39:00,413 Just wanted to get that again that we won last week. 796 00:39:00,413 --> 00:39:01,620 Yeah, that's fine. 797 00:39:01,620 --> 00:39:03,620 -[Hunter] That's why we're going first. -That's good... 798 00:39:03,620 --> 00:39:04,827 -[Todd] Don't get used to it. -Black Pearl won. 799 00:39:04,827 --> 00:39:06,517 Don't get used to it, you guys. 800 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,206 [Todd] Okay. Someone count it off? 801 00:39:17,931 --> 00:39:19,137 Five... 802 00:39:21,551 --> 00:39:24,448 -[Sparky] Ten... -[Jack] Oh, it's getting really light. 803 00:39:24,448 --> 00:39:26,517 -I'll probably win this one. -Twenty... 804 00:39:29,931 --> 00:39:31,034 Thirty... 805 00:39:34,241 --> 00:39:36,551 [Jim] 30.15. 806 00:39:36,551 --> 00:39:38,000 [Todd sighs] Oh, well. 807 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,137 Well, I guarantee you 808 00:39:39,137 --> 00:39:41,241 we're not gonna make up the difference 809 00:39:41,241 --> 00:39:43,413 to 100 and something. [laughs] 810 00:39:43,413 --> 00:39:45,827 There's no way, but 30's weak. 811 00:39:45,827 --> 00:39:47,793 Okay. Here we go. 812 00:39:57,931 --> 00:39:59,413 [Sparky] It's looking a little bit lightweight. 813 00:40:00,172 --> 00:40:01,000 Twenty. 814 00:40:02,344 --> 00:40:04,517 [Jack] Not quiet, there's 20. 815 00:40:05,172 --> 00:40:06,793 Twenty... 816 00:40:08,344 --> 00:40:09,241 [Jim] Oh. 817 00:40:13,689 --> 00:40:15,241 -[Jack] All right. -[Todd] Thirty... 818 00:40:15,241 --> 00:40:18,517 -[Todd] Thirty-five, 36... -[Jack] That's 34, that's 35. 819 00:40:20,137 --> 00:40:21,586 [Todd] Thirty-seven. 820 00:40:23,517 --> 00:40:24,310 [Jack] Wow. 821 00:40:24,310 --> 00:40:26,034 You know what, we beat you guys, 822 00:40:26,034 --> 00:40:28,344 but it's still a bad week for everybody. 823 00:40:28,344 --> 00:40:29,689 [Jack] You're still both losers. 824 00:40:29,689 --> 00:40:31,413 Now what's our weekly average? 825 00:40:31,413 --> 00:40:33,724 Now we have to get 112. 826 00:40:33,724 --> 00:40:35,448 112 ounces. 827 00:40:35,448 --> 00:40:36,965 So it's stepping up, 828 00:40:36,965 --> 00:40:39,689 but you know, we had some work we had to get done, so. 829 00:40:41,137 --> 00:40:45,448 [narrator] This week, the Hoffman's produced a total of 67 ounces of gold. 830 00:40:45,448 --> 00:40:49,448 Bringing their running tally up to 549. 831 00:40:49,448 --> 00:40:53,344 The Hoffman's now need 451 more ounces of gold, 832 00:40:53,344 --> 00:40:56,241 to reach their season goal of 1000 ounces. 833 00:40:58,172 --> 00:41:00,103 This would've been a great week. 834 00:41:00,103 --> 00:41:02,034 I mean, after we broke a 100 last week, 835 00:41:02,034 --> 00:41:03,206 I was thinking, "Okay. 836 00:41:04,344 --> 00:41:05,724 We're gonna start picking up the pace." 837 00:41:05,724 --> 00:41:08,034 Obviously, we lost multiple days. 838 00:41:08,034 --> 00:41:09,620 I didn't expect it to be great. 839 00:41:09,620 --> 00:41:11,241 [Jack] Don't feel bad, you know, 840 00:41:11,241 --> 00:41:13,620 we're all in the same soup together. 841 00:41:13,620 --> 00:41:15,172 Don't get discouraged. 842 00:41:15,172 --> 00:41:17,620 You got a lot to look forward to. 843 00:41:18,827 --> 00:41:20,000 [Todd] Thank you, Dad. 844 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,241 We got a huge week. 845 00:41:22,241 --> 00:41:25,000 Let's get some rest and let's head out in the morning, okay? 846 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,034 All right, let's go.