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00:00Next on Prospectors.
00:04Rich Fredder battles the win in hopes of unearthing one of his biggest topaz finds ever.
00:11The Doris family prepares to shut down for the winter, but what they find blows them
00:17away.
00:18I think it's going to be a $250,000 pocket.
00:23Amanda Adkins mines in a top secret location.
00:26It's very exciting, oh my god, oh my god, it's the size of a lemon.
00:31Oh, son of a .
00:33No, this is no good, it won't get any better until July.
00:37And snow shuts down Mount Antero for the season.
00:39Really got my butt kicked up there.
00:41Forcing Steve Brancato to look for redemption in Lake George.
00:45Oh my god.
00:46What?
00:47Shut up.
00:48This is going to be phenomenal.
00:53They're Rocky Mountain treasure hunters.
00:55Look at that.
00:56Look at that.
00:57It's jamming.
00:58Looking to strike it rich.
00:59Yes.
01:00But the quest for gems comes at a cost.
01:03Weather, rock slides, and greed make this a deadly gamble.
01:08Kids coming!
01:09They are the extreme fortune seekers known as Prospectors.
01:12I think you're looking up for in the quarter million dollar range.
01:15Holy cow.
01:16It's early October in the Colorado Rockies.
01:28And on Mount Antero, the summit is now blanketed with snow until spring.
01:34For Steve Brancato, it's been an unproductive year.
01:41Got some aqua.
01:43It's not getting my pay dirt, man.
01:45I need a payday here.
01:46This is not a payday.
01:47This is a, you know, pittance.
01:49I might have got a grand off the mountain the whole season.
01:53For much of the 16-week mining season, Steve's tried to break apart a cap rock he believes
02:00blocks an aquamarine pocket.
02:02It's driving me nuts.
02:03To no avail.
02:04I'm an inch away.
02:05I'm always an inch away, man.
02:06Always an inch away.
02:08Today is an Indian summer day at lower elevations.
02:12And Steve and his mining partner, John Reed, have just borrowed a demolition saw to cut through
02:19the cap rock.
02:20Just as soon as they do a practice run to figure out how it works.
02:24Anyone who knows me knows when it comes to machinery, you know, I have a tendency to
02:28be kind of hard-handed and I break stuff.
02:33It's a $1,700 blade.
02:35Fry that blade out.
02:36I owe $1,700 bucks.
02:39I need equipment, man.
02:50Sorry, dude.
02:51I want to run it.
02:52I'd blame the equipment, but I've been doing that for 25 years.
02:55It's got to be me.
02:56I'd have done a lot better before the industrial revolution, I think.
03:09This is a lot more than just a chainsaw.
03:12And, uh, it's dangerous.
03:14At 5,400 RPMs, if you let it wobble a little bit, it's got like this gyroscopic effect.
03:19It'll start to wobble out of control.
03:22It's eaten through that rock like nobody's business, you know?
03:28I'm going back over and busting that cap rock.
03:30We're going to go make mincemeat out of it and see what's underneath.
03:37Beautiful.
03:38That's a good guy.
03:41Go ahead.
03:42Sit.
03:43Good catch.
03:44Sit.
03:45Nope.
03:46Sit.
03:47Sit.
03:48Good boy.
03:49Oh, man, he's a carnivore.
03:51No more turkey, little turkey.
03:53Miles away, Amanda Adkins, Rich Freddard, and mining partner Jean Kalman think they have
03:59found an area so abundant with gems.
04:02The location is top secret.
04:04This place is top secret for me because nobody else digs here yet.
04:08And that's really rare in the digging and mining community that you have a spot open
04:12that nobody else has exploited or completely dug out yet.
04:15And there's phenomenal, big, rare, expensive gemstones here.
04:19In fact, Jean scored big just a week ago.
04:23We found a few things.
04:24Over a half pound of topaz.
04:26Right here.
04:29That's a big money find right there, guys.
04:32That's peach.
04:33That's the peach and pink topaz group that they're talking about in the book.
04:36This has never been documented in this particular area.
04:39While yellow topaz is the best known, the gem can come in a variety of hues.
04:44And quality pink and red can fetch up to $600 per carat.
04:48Whoo!
04:49What that topaz says about today's digs is that there's more of it.
04:56My next step with this area would be to find a pocket like that, right up over the ridge.
05:01This is a sign of topaz.
05:03All this red mud that I found.
05:05The red mud, colored by minerals, is a sign that a crystal pocket is nearby.
05:10It's just a great place to dig.
05:18Let's do it.
05:19Back on Mount Antero, Steve is ready to saw through the cap rock that guards his big aquamarine pocket.
05:26I've dug more juicy ground on Antero than I've ever dug without producing anything of substance.
05:32And now I've got my hands on this great tool.
05:35We're going to go bust open the cap rock.
05:39This could be good, but that saw.
05:41At 8,000 feet, the road is clear of ice and snow.
05:45Well, looks like she's got a little more snow than last night.
05:50Yeah.
05:54But above 12,000 feet, temperatures are often 20 degrees colder.
05:59Oh, son of a .
06:05Yeah.
06:06No, we're even for ATVs.
06:10No, this is no good.
06:12Even ATVs aren't going to get through this.
06:15You know, and it's frozen underneath.
06:17Got a hell of a drop off on one side, and I'm talking 800, 1200 feet in spots where you wouldn't hit a rock or a tree before you slowed down.
06:26It won't get any better until July.
06:30We're done.
06:31My heart has sunk, man.
06:33I'm definitely disappointed.
06:34You know, I need to stay digging through the winter, so.
06:37I hate to have to leave, but I've got good digs going on out in Lake Georgia.
06:41See you later, Mountain Taro.
06:49100 miles south of Denver, near Lake George.
06:53Look at that.
06:54That's awesome.
06:55After finding the largest Amazonite pocket of their mining career a few weeks ago,
07:02the Doris family is back to shut down operations for the winter.
07:07All right, we've got work to do.
07:09Just one more second.
07:11Just one more, Tim.
07:12Just one more.
07:14We just came here to finish a little bit of work, close in the hole a little bit, make it safe for the winter.
07:19Get out of there.
07:20Oh, just let me get the one thing.
07:22One more.
07:23One more.
07:24Promise and I'm done.
07:26That's one more right there.
07:27You're done.
07:28That's not what I was going for.
07:29My mentality as a whole is to continue to push and keep going, keep going, keep going.
07:34Maybe there'll be a big Amazonite pocket underneath this pocket.
07:37What's that?
07:38I don't know.
07:39Let me look.
07:40You're getting back into Amazonite, bud.
07:41Is that green?
07:43That is.
07:44I gotta wash these off.
07:45What the hell?
07:47And you can see the green in this one.
07:50Let me use the machine and clean this out really quick.
07:53All right.
07:54Here's the kind of problem that you like to have.
07:56You know, I was shutting down, but that was just begging to be scratched.
08:11You never know.
08:12It might just be the next two inches and I hit the mother load.
08:16No color at all.
08:17That's just depressing.
08:19Not even six inches.
08:20Hey, it pushed your luck.
08:24Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
08:28Look at this, Tim.
08:30That's good.
08:32Whoa, there it is.
08:33That's pocket.
08:34That's green.
08:35That's pocket.
08:37Holy cow, Dad.
08:43That's green.
08:45That's pocket.
08:46Holy cow, Dad.
08:48Near Lake George, the Doris family is seeing signs of precious Amazonite.
08:54That is killer.
08:55Look at that thing.
08:56That is huge.
08:58Finding this pocket was just out of the blue.
09:01We just came here to close in the hole a little bit, make it safe for the winter.
09:05And there it was.
09:06Is that a combo?
09:08That is one, isn't it?
09:10Holy crap.
09:11The first crystal they pull out is a combination of Amazonite and smoky quartz.
09:17That's a good rock.
09:19The presence of both in one cluster makes the entire specimen more valuable to collectors.
09:24There you go.
09:26Holy cow.
09:28You're kidding me.
09:29Oh, that is awesome.
09:30Look at the size of it.
09:31I want to keep digging.
09:32These things are massive.
09:33That's amazing.
09:34These smoky quartz are huge and the Amazonites are, I mean, monumental in size.
09:40And they just keep coming out of his pocket.
09:43Look at that.
09:44That's a trout, man.
09:45I'm happy.
09:46Good cow.
09:47Yeah, I got to admit, it is a good thing that Tim just keeps going.
09:51I probably would have packed it and left.
09:54There's no way I'm going to close this up now.
10:06Not much gravity working with us here, is there?
10:08Not far from the Doris family, Steve Brancato has brought mining partners Dave Hanlon and James Delabar to help with a dig site near Lake George.
10:19I really feel like this ground out here is going to make up for our financial loss on Antero this year.
10:25Really got my butt kicked up there.
10:28Steve has to hit here and hit big or else take a second job to see him through the winter.
10:33I don't have to tend bar, you know?
10:36Working for someone else, making them money, and I don't like that idea at all.
10:41Hopefully we'll have a pocket back in there.
10:49That's looking so juicy in there.
10:51There's a pocket right in there?
10:53Good looking blue.
10:54That might be the vein right in there.
10:56Oh, my God.
10:58Mm-hmm.
10:59That is.
11:00That's a pocket.
11:01Nice.
11:04Yeah, there's Amazonite in there.
11:06Ah!
11:08What?
11:09Shut up.
11:10This is going to be phenomenal.
11:11Holy shikes.
11:12Look at the size of this stuff.
11:15The size of it.
11:16Crystal wall material.
11:17Dude.
11:19Oh, my goodness.
11:20Nice.
11:21Come get this.
11:221,000 plus.
11:231,250.
11:241,500.
11:26I got the ref paid, mama.
11:29Going to have some cheese with that macaroni this week.
11:32I felt really good about leaving Antero for some reason.
11:36Here in Lake George, there's Amazonite waterfalls and Topaz rainbows, man.
11:41It's another $1,000.
11:43Woo-hoo!
11:44I got a golden ticket.
11:45At Rich Freddard and Amanda Adkins' secret spot.
11:56Oh, that dirt.
11:57Man, a wind.
11:5860-mile-per-hour gusts are making the hunt for Topaz and aggravating them.
12:02Mm-hmm.
12:03We're getting in our last hurrah before the weather changes.
12:05Yeah.
12:06Our days are numbered.
12:07It said snow by night after tomorrow.
12:09Woo!
12:10Woo-hoo!
12:11Right.
12:12Deep snow will make this claim inaccessible until spring.
12:13So Rich and his mining partner Gene Kalman power through what could be their last day.
12:15The gusts are very powerful.
12:16Wow.
12:17They're throwing dirt all over the place as we shovel.
12:18Woo-hoo!
12:19We've got to keep our mouths shut if we don't get a mouth full of dirt.
12:20Our eyes get full of it.
12:21It's not the best situation.
12:22That wind gets too nasty, we might need to find another sheltered spot.
12:28In the nearby trees away from the wind, the wind gets too nasty and the wind gets so
12:33far away from another day.
12:34Well, last year he told us to have two incidences, but we couldn't get a breath.
12:38And it's all bad.
12:39So, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.
12:40We're going to keep our mouth shut.
12:41We're going to get a mouth full of dirt.
12:43Our eyes get full of it.
12:44It's not the best situation.
12:45If the wind gets too nasty, we might need to find another sheltered spot.
12:50in the nearby trees away from the wind amanda adkins believes she is close to finding her own
12:56pocket of topaz amanda hey you know you're out of the wind more over here yeah yeah it was perfect
13:01way nicer and today amanda's spot in the trees may be more lucrative gene amanda are you serious
13:12oh my god are you serious i'm not sure uh i'm freaking out look at the crystal structure
13:23oh my god oh my god oh that's intense oh my god it's size of a lemon
13:29at a secret location in the colorado rockies oh my god oh my god is that green florida oh my god no
13:43it's topaz it's dark green topaz amanda adkins thinks she's found a rare and valuable green topaz
13:52that is the darkest green i have ever seen but gene kalman isn't so sure are you sure it's not
13:58fluorite yeah the only other thing gives you a clue if it's fluorite it'll have the um angled
14:05almost a 45 degree angle fracture lines i've never seen fluorite that dark before though either that
14:10dark of a green either way it's rare i'm gonna yell at rich he needs to come over and check this out
14:15meet her on the road up here back up on the road now i'm pretty sure this topaz a green topaz this
14:22size does not come out of the ground every day so this is about a 10 grand stone at least if it is
14:27topaz it could be amanda's most valuable find this season and she has big plans for the money
14:34one of my goals for this mining season was to make enough money to put the down payment on a bigger
14:39house this means the kids and i are going to continue to have another good year it looks like
14:45you're gonna freak when you see this you got some good green going on yeah whatever he is he's beautiful
14:50you gotta see the color determination how dark that is oh yeah that is dark the shape
14:59it doesn't have that real glossy look to it and oh look on here look at that oh yeah look at the
15:06lines in here i my opinion it is fluorite oh if that was a topaz that easily could have fetched about
15:14ten thousand dollars as a fluorite i'm just guessing she might get about five six hundred dollars for it
15:23that's very disappointing but uh i really can't complain this year i really really did good
15:33this is an awesome pocket near lake george the doris family is having their best mining season ever
15:40this is an awesome pocket it's just incredible holy cow dad is that all one amazonite crystal it's all
15:50one it's all one holy cow holy that is the biggest amazonite we've ever found him
16:04i am stoked we just found the largest amazonite that has ever been found out here bigger than my head
16:12yet close i think it's going to be a 250 000 pocket i can't believe it
16:21i still got my mojo dude nearby in lake george steve broncato's long dry spell is officially over
16:38he has hit a vein of amazonite that just keeps on giving now i've been telling him about licking them
16:45damn specimens rare earth minerals around here some of those are not very good for you aquaman
16:51oh yeah a little lithium is okay for me and uh and the beryllium just makes me you know hardens my bones
16:57i've seen people ask three four hundred dollars for a piece like this that's nice that's money yeah i'm
17:04pumped every time we stick a shovel in the ground out here i'm pulling something out this is amazing
17:09despite dropping temperatures steve broncato has had a great payday one that might get him through
17:17the winter all right it's flipping snowing
17:27good i must have been working hate leaving good stuff man by the time we turn all this into jewelry
17:36it's a ten thousand dollar a day there's no question about that i'm still the best if today
17:42is any indicator or what my winter is going to be like in lake george things are looking good
17:47it's going to make up for antero let's get the hell out of here
17:55let's go sell some rocks hey guys wow 34 carats and it's a monster this piece here i value between
18:05the
18:12for colorado prospectors when mining season winds down the selling season heats up beginning with
18:19several gem shows in denver let's go sell some rocks very important show for me a lot of my dealers are
18:25expecting me to go ahead and visit them today and give them their rocks and if amanda can sell enough
18:31today she'll have the money to put a down payment on a new house green mound minerals these guys deal
18:39in extremely high-end stones so the best of the best is right here how are y'all doing lots of goodies
18:46i dug off mount antero this year phenakite and some killer stones let's check it out gorgeous fluorite
18:53on matrix nice well done thank you looks like it's been a productive summer it has a hard year
18:59digging lots of weather going on up there i would imagine a double terminated drill bit phenakite from
19:04mount antero wow 34 carats and it's a monster this piece here i value between seven and ten thousand
19:12wow this is unbelievable amanda we have one two three four five six seven pieces of the fluoride
19:18octahedrons we'll do the pocket of phenakites awesome so the grand total is fourteen thousand
19:23eight hundred wow yes wow thank you so much that's some really good money i appreciate it guys all the
19:30best to you thank you congratulations i made enough to put a nice down payment on a new house
19:36yeah really good feeling hey steve joe how are you how are you good to see you over in lake george joe
19:47doris has asked mineral experts brian lee's and steve baling to evaluate their latest amazonite and
19:53smoky quartz find the snow's coming in we went out there close up you know for the winter and we hit
20:00this show me one so these are fresh out of the dirt these are big amazonites oh that's really
20:12fantastic joe these are big blocky crystals and they look like sculptures they're just beautiful
20:19look at how the light comes through yeah and these things are quasi translucent around the tips the color
20:24is so good it might be a quarter of a million dollar pocket i think these are very special pieces
20:31you've got the elements here to make some of the best groups ever discovered in colorado
20:36you're looking at a value between 350 and 400 000 for this pocket awesome
20:43not bad for the last day of the season in just 10 weeks the doris family estimates they've found over
20:501 million dollars in crystals making this their best season ever without a doubt this is the largest
20:57quality amazonite pocket that has ever been found in colorado after 30 years i've had the best season
21:04i've ever had i don't know what i'm going to do next season to top this you guys are making amazonite
21:10mineral history you know that this season