- 5 hours ago
Maxton Hall The World Between Us – Episode 3
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00:00:00market volatility of gold stands out gold just hit a new record thirty five hundred dollars an
00:00:10ounce and the price of gold has been climbing this is somewhere that economists believe will
00:00:15continue to be a safe haven it is Tony how's it going man how are you hanging in there yeah
00:00:26you got some of that tiny shiny coming in yes good it has all the makings of a good season
00:00:32Parker hey gold price yeah I don't even like to talk about it or look at it me neither because
00:00:37it should be illegal that's how high it is isn't it well then it like goes down three hundred dollars
00:00:42and I'm like what's happening and it's like oh it's still up a thousand yes if you want to beef
00:00:46up your piggy bank well that'll be the year whether I want to say the number or not because I keep
00:00:51saying it and not hitting it but um no we're gonna have to start doing ten thousand a year for
00:00:55for a while now that's a lot of bucks you better get with it bring it on you're going big why do
00:01:02you need to do six six and a half if we do more we do more yeah anyway that's all the makings of a
00:01:09good year long as the price stays there yeah no it's good to see you I'm glad you're doing well
00:01:14same to you hopefully the wars are behind us right
00:01:18bye bye
00:01:24Tony and I've known each other for you know 14 years that's wild like 99 percent of the time
00:01:34it's great that one percent absolutely sucks and he's like one of the biggest on the planet
00:01:39but 99 percent of the time it's just wonderful maybe 95 percent
00:01:4616 years ago three-fifths of an ounce which is about eight hundred dollars a global financial crash
00:01:56caused gold prices to rock it's just gold fever to one thousand dollars an ounce
00:02:03sparking a modern day gold rush it's alive watch the rocks baby but striking it rich proved harder
00:02:13than imagined that's it we're done now breaking news on wall street with stocks tumbling golden
00:02:21safe havens they are surging gold prices have more than tripled to an all-time high three thousand
00:02:29five hundred dollars per ounce we're going gold mining boys hang on
00:02:34with just six months to cash in whoa whoa whoa are we here for a shootout
00:02:42top dogs i don't ask questions i give orders are you gonna behave and underdogs i'm just a delivery
00:02:49boy i don't really give a i just want to get paid collide i got a job offer from parker
00:02:55look out and play dirty can i trust you on this hi yeah to hit the jackpot holy smokes that's a
00:03:06hell of a pant we joke about it being an addiction but it literally is some you made a mess will not
00:03:13survive pick me out somebody to fire yeah it sucks man it really sucks others soar to new heights
00:03:23you guys are killing it there's nothing like making money of your kids is there and set records i was
00:03:32not expecting that did he amazing yeah 2043 and a half ounces that's wild you get a pan you get a pan
00:03:42you get a pan genuinely that's insane
00:04:00the yukon north america's last frontier
00:04:05for over a century prospectors have scoured these valleys and creeks for life-changing gold
00:04:15with just a few summer months to make their fortunes
00:04:20the stars are aligned for us the gold price is crazy we've got a ton of ground prepped on dominion and
00:04:27um we're going to be able to stretch our legs and really run and see what it's made out of
00:04:33this is the year that we'll find out
00:04:3730 year old parker schnabel is on the precipice of a career defining season
00:04:43the gold mining prodigy who started out with a crew of two is now a mining mogul with 60 machines
00:04:51and a 40-person crew we've got amazing people and then we have like this crazy gold price and
00:04:58we're dangerously close to things being really good i just want to go to work i just want to wash rocks
00:05:07and you know get sluicy goosey for the tiny shiny that's all i want to do
00:05:13i did not i have not told you how to do your job one time this whole year just 16 years old when he
00:05:19first became a mine boss i'm pretty young and it's tough to you know i never know if i'm doing the
00:05:26right thing or not parker struggled i'm spending the money here and i make the calls to manage his
00:05:32crew if you can't handle it then maybe this isn't the place for you you are making an enemy out of me
00:05:38but as the young miner grew in gold mining you're only as good as the people you have he evolved
00:05:47oh yeah look at that our season starts now i'll stand behind him any day of the week with a vision
00:05:53that spawned a gold mining empire wow that's the biggest clean out we've ever had and delivered
00:06:00more than 115 million dollars in gold this is not stop here
00:06:09i'm losing faith in you guys but last season it's been one fight after the next we're not making
00:06:16money when we're doing it like this it's frustrating i know what we were doing was wrong
00:06:21parker crashed and burned worst cleanup ever
00:06:25i don't like this feeling i don't like being a loser we came up short and it's not gonna happen
00:06:35again this winter i have spent all the money i can get my hands on buying equipment and hiring people
00:06:44it's a challenge this is kind of uncharted territory for me so much going on we just have to hammer down
00:06:52focus on washing rocks filling jars and everybody's gonna have to step up
00:07:0040 miles southeast of dawson city lies parker's kingdom an area nearly the size of manhattan
00:07:09his main operation is dominion creek land he's bought where he'll run three wash plants to deliver the
00:07:15bulk of his gold 25 miles northwest he'll send a satellite crew to sulfur creek to hunt for pockets
00:07:23of gold left behind by the old timers running the enormous operation will cost parker a hundred thousand
00:07:32dollars each day but if he's successful he could bring in more than 35 million dollars in gold this year
00:07:40what's happening man how are you guys yo yo doing good how are you not too bad welcome to my map room
00:07:50very nice swear it all happens eh how was your winter it was good i uh was a bum for the most part
00:08:01to execute his master plan parker's counting on his trusted lieutenants mitch blasky and tyson lee
00:08:08we're gonna do 10 000 ounces this year
00:08:14like we keep talking about it but we actually have to just do it so we're gonna run four plants this
00:08:21year wow trying to run four wash plants it's like we were all over the place last year trying to
00:08:28cover our bases and like we're gonna be spread out you know how it is when that happens yeah i know i know
00:08:34that there's gonna be a lot of challenges i'm i'm not i don't disagree with you tyson i need you on
00:08:41dominion running a whole operation all right so good luck thanks i'll need it i don't know what's
00:08:51going to come out of sulfur and it's going to be a difficult project so i need you to go over there
00:08:55mitt and get that sorted out first we only have a partial season on the water license so we need
00:09:01to get it done in a hurry all right parker's sulfur water license a permit to pull water from creeks to
00:09:08wash gold expires in just 10 weeks after that he can't mind the claim so what kind of crew do we have
00:09:15to get this done we've hired a bunch of new people okay one big thing is people who can't do their job we
00:09:24need to fire we want to have the best of the best but you guys are the ones that are going to be able
00:09:29to make this happen or not it's brutal right it's going to be a stressful year for you two yeah
00:09:42i know it's a bit of a daunting task but like i'm excited exhausting yeah no days off you just had six
00:09:48months off yeah thanks for coming back yeah i appreciate having you guys here i'm looking forward
00:09:56to this season yeah for sure thanks man all right let's do it there's a lot of work to do there's a
00:10:03lot of gold to find now it's up to mitch and tyson to get the job done hopefully
00:10:09the job will get done hopefully it's the two of them that does it that's what i mean
00:10:20things are already starting off a little bit different here parker made it very clear that
00:10:24uh you know everybody's got to pull their weight and then some we got no room for air
00:10:30last year mitch was in charge this year it's going to be on my shoulders last year i was managing one
00:10:36wash plant this year going to be managing three so no cups we got to find a ton of gold
00:10:45tyson's first mission is to start pulling in gold on dominion's bridge cut
00:10:52the crew has spent two years mining this spot with mixed results now parker's season rides on it
00:11:00delivering big but there's a problem over winter water flooded the cut and the gold bearing pay dirt
00:11:09is buried under three feet of solid ice
00:11:29i'm in the 250 got michael in the 390
00:11:33coming to work for parker it's uh kind of a dream come true i like the way he runs his outfit his
00:11:40gears really nice we got amy here first truckload ice heading out of the cut first of many this is my
00:11:52first time driving a rock truck before they can get to pay dirt tyson's crew needs to shift over 25 000
00:12:01tons of ice
00:12:11i think realistically how the hell are we going to do all this in a week
00:12:17right now i'd like to be setting up the wash plant and firing it up today but we're a long ways away from
00:12:22that
00:12:31how are things going well man the ice is a lot thicker than we thought eh
00:12:35yeah there's a lot of ice in here no it's really rotten
00:12:39so what's your plan just keep uh building piles trucking off this ice right
00:12:45okay we have extra trucks in the yard no you got any more people any more iron you can give us
00:12:53i don't know okay thanks dude no worries see ya
00:13:06if by the end of the week i don't have the ice out of this cut from the wash plant going
00:13:19will have failed my first task first week of the season
00:13:23parker just wants the ice out from the wash plant going the long and short of it
00:13:27i don't really want to spend money trucking ice but we really don't have much of an alternative so
00:13:38um we're just gonna have to suck it up we need to get sleuthing that's gonna be what makes or breaks the season
00:13:57yeah here we go i can't believe we're sleuthing as early as we are
00:14:11we started the season early but we want to keep that up everybody's in their eyes
00:14:1710 miles south at indian river king of the klondon tony beats is already two weeks ahead of his rivals
00:14:25we're giving a and the gold price is in our favor we've been losing days for two weeks we got the
00:14:31early bird cut was all taught ground so that was awesome tony's hoping for a quick score from the 13
00:14:37acre early bird cut if the gold price stays where it is and we lose most of the summer like we did last
00:14:45year darn thing me you're gonna make enough money to set up three generations
00:14:50when there's opportunities there grab it 40 years ago tony and wife minnie left the netherlands to
00:14:58seek their fortune in the yukon all we have was 300 bucks i work 14 hours a day every day
00:15:06from nothing tony grew a 60 million dollar mining dynasty i'm trying to build a future for my kids
00:15:12they got to take over they're going to have to run the circus all by themselves
00:15:21piece of i've never ever never ever had that much here before until two years ago
00:15:29there's six seven million in the hole when the business descended into chaos
00:15:33if i've ever seen a cup then i'm looking at it his family fractured he's running it into the ground
00:15:39he told me this cat was going to be mine oh really yeah feeling a little shafted
00:15:47i shut down the plant you just quit you got to be kidding me every time
00:15:56i'll tell you what they won't give up that easy
00:16:00but the klondike king pulled his family together our kids are really stepping up this year
00:16:06keeping son mike and daughter monica working for him i appreciate everything you're doing to help
00:16:11me anything for family monica but giving eldest son kevin the chance to set up his own operation
00:16:17how's that sound to you that sounds very very nice by the end of last season the more you make the
00:16:23better we like you make the beats had reeled in a record five thousand seven hundred and seventy seven
00:16:29ounces worth 14.4 million dollars that sure is a hell of a lot other than last year
00:16:39it is not a time to sit back and enjoy this is a time to get together and get out there in the
00:16:44morning and make things happen you owe that to the next generation people can have money people
00:16:50gonna have a lot of things but kids and grandkids there's something that if you don't have that you
00:16:56don't have very much tony believes his claims could deliver a jaw-dropping 6500 ounces this season
00:17:07worth more than 22 million dollars hey guys how's it looking well yellow got yellow stuff good thing we
00:17:17started early mike huh yeah when the sun is shining you better ready to make some hay yeah right especially
00:17:23at this price there you go not only is tony already sluicing he's the first to weigh out his gold i can
00:17:30always get more gold i cannot always get this price so let's wait and have a look at it okay ready let's go
00:17:45let's wait and have a look at it at indian river tony beats is gambling on an early season score
00:17:51to cash in on record high gold prices hey ready let's go go he's already sluiced nearly half of the
00:18:00early bird cut 50 60 70 which he's counting on to deliver at least 300 ounces 90 260 290 300 wow 360 390
00:18:16417 and 56. ain't that a beaut that's pretty amazing in just two weeks the beats have pulled in one and a half
00:18:28million dollars i'd say it's a record for us not just the price as to what the we're doing that's a lot of money
00:18:34right there if we keep this up we go so how have you planned out this summer mike you're going to be
00:18:43on the hill as usual monica it would be nice if you could oversee in the gold room cleaning the gold
00:18:50sounds good to me but i was thinking you gave kevin a bunch of help getting him going
00:18:56so is there anything you can help us with
00:18:57there's some opportunities out there let's get these two places here going first and then we'll
00:19:05talk not making any promises until i have that in place right i'm okay with that you there you go
00:19:15so all hands on deck we gotta go
00:19:19i'm very interested to see what tony was talking about in terms of other opportunities
00:19:24i think it's really cool that kevin has gone out on his own but michael's been out here since he was
00:19:3212. mike's really chomping the bit to do more things big picture goals i would like my own mind but
00:19:38right now it's not a priority i have a bunch of other i have to get done we'll see
00:19:44like i'm monica they'll be acting about getting started for themselves but right now we're busy other
00:19:49places so they're just going to have to hang in there for a little bit anyway i never never had
00:19:55that much gold that early a great start to the season
00:20:10one hundred miles away in keno rick ness that's a big pile of dirt is sitting on a pile of gold
00:20:22at his duncan creek claim i would say there's probably pretty damn close to 400 ounces sitting
00:20:29there and right now that's worth over a million dollars and uh it's ready to go our plant's sitting
00:20:33right there the bad news is is we still don't have a water license and we can't touch this
00:20:39blows my mind rick's water license essential to mining still hasn't come through until he gets it
00:20:48he can't mine duncan creek i almost don't even know if i should do this
00:20:52thinking it would make me thinking it would satisfy it would probably just make me more mad
00:21:06oh that's outrageous amount of gold in one pan
00:21:10i don't even know what the emotion is right now i normally i see a pan like that and i hit the roof
00:21:15this is uh that's unbelievable and we can't touch it
00:21:30rick ness i don't expect the growing pains but this is outrageous is a fighter
00:21:36with a small crew of buddies paying them out each season from his haul here's one of those reach you
00:21:44guys you guys you guys earned it a miner for 13 years what he's had highs that's like an ounce
00:21:50right there everybody yourselves and loads no no no no i don't know what else to do right now
00:21:58it's getting out of control always on the brink of losing it all that's one last farewell kicking
00:22:03the balls but last season this is it now this is all mine he bought his own ground let's go
00:22:11megas valley here we go hit the jackpot and reeled in 4.5 million dollars in gold that's it i did it
00:22:22i've got some bad news only to be gut punched we've got a big problem with the water license
00:22:27being approved and i can't guarantee you'll have the license next year without the water license you can't
00:22:34mine now rick must find a way to pull a rabbit out of the hat again what's up dudes how much you
00:22:50nice crushes yeah you like those hey good start with nowhere to mine only half rick's crew has made
00:22:57it back for now well you guys have seen it all you've seen the good you've seen the bad you've
00:23:03seen the the opportunity you've seen the setbacks it's a mess right now it's not just us i mean there's
00:23:11a lot of people getting screwed there's no one shutting the door right now saying that you know
00:23:14your water license never coming in it's just tied up so what are we doing here with no water license
00:23:21it's not the only pile of gold out here and that's why you're here we just have to find another one
00:23:27but it's not gonna be on this ground
00:23:32and you know what gold prices are a thousand dollars more an ounce than when we left here
00:23:36last year i mean that's insanity this is not the year to quit no we need 1800 ounces this year
00:23:44yeah i know that things seem down but you know what we are here and and i am going to find us a
00:23:49spot at the end of the day that's what we're going to do but if this water license comes
00:23:53through at any point this summer you bet your ass i want to move us back here i mean you haven't let
00:23:57us down yet all right hopefully rick understands what he's doing here and hopefully like wherever
00:24:06we're going it's going to be good i want to start moving some dirt these guys have stuck with me
00:24:10through a lot and glad to see they're sticking with me through this we will find a place to mine
00:24:14and uh we're gonna make it work okay uh chelsea you ready ready gaiden you ready yep ready all
00:24:34right then folks screen deck is turning on first time for the season let's go
00:24:44first scoop of pay going in for the season
00:24:52good it 2025 here comes the goal at scribner creek just like his father tony second year mind boss kevin
00:25:03beats is ahead of the pack feels really good to lose this early especially after last year
00:25:09it's it's nice to see it running
00:25:14so you want to look at some iron do you can we have this one last season with a little help from dad
00:25:21three two one
00:25:26kevin plunged his life savings into his own operation this is a big gamble so me and faith have to make
00:25:31this work that's looking really nice cap so excited but overall i think it's a pretty good day
00:25:38but almost from the get-go i'm trying to help you here and you're talking over me tempers flared
00:25:44it's not fun to work with until foreman brennan ruo took control of the crew you don't want to hear it
00:25:54oh this is the piece squash right now and the cuts
00:25:59yes finally
00:26:02so nice work keep it going helping them score that's a big old beautiful a big payday
00:26:10yay money it's nice to be in the upswing honestly
00:26:16we made the right call of getting away from tony's i'm feeling really good about this year i think
00:26:21we're off to a strong start which is good because we have a big goal this year 2 000 ounces figure
00:26:28may as well go double what we did last year aim big and with gold prices being as high as they are if
00:26:33there's any time to have a good big year for gold totals it is this year kevin's mission this year
00:26:39is to double his gold target and cement his place as a mine boss in his own right so our mining plan we
00:26:47left ourselves a p-bank last year that way we have money coming in from day one
00:26:55so day one's losing this is gonna hopefully continue on well
00:27:01last year i was pretty frustrated out here with how much we're shutting down but brennan he knows
00:27:08what he's doing it's nice having taken back it's always good to have returners who know how things
00:27:14run and you know you can rely on that brennan should be showing up soon
00:27:22oh it feels good to be back in the yukon this feels like my second home
00:27:30howdy stranger how's it going guys not too
00:27:38right on we're wondering where the you're at nice to see you pal
00:27:44so what's up we're starting to wonder we haven't heard from you in a bit so yeah um
00:27:48um um i ended up getting a phone call there that i wasn't expecting to get
00:28:00um of another job offer
00:28:05and uh it was a pretty good job offer so i've leaned towards taking that position
00:28:19who offered you the job well parker ended up calling me there which i was completely
00:28:25not expecting same
00:28:29yeah um really back with parker
00:28:35it was not you know there's just a few things in the offer that really
00:28:37aligned to what my future where i kind of see myself being in some goals
00:28:41to have set you know what i mean no
00:28:46i wish you at least told us earlier so that we can plan
00:28:50if i had have known a lot sooner i would have said it a lot sooner right
00:28:56there's not really much we can offer you to get you back here this year i guess
00:28:59huh i've kind of already agreed to it
00:29:01well thank you for stopping by telling us okay guys well you guys have a wicked season we'll see
00:29:12you see you
00:29:18well then
00:29:212 000 ounces without the foreman is going to be a bit more of a project then isn't it
00:29:26it is going to hurt to find someone with brennan's experience that you can rely on
00:29:29if they're good they've got a job
00:29:32maybe we should go poaching too
00:29:47we're down to the last bit of ice here in the bridge that once we get that out of here
00:29:55that means i can start getting bob ready to sluice three days into his ice moving marathon tyson's under the gun
00:30:06parker's given me and i've taken on more than i've ever taken on working here before
00:30:12can i do it i don't know but am i willing to find out yeah it could have cost me my job 100
00:30:18but i hope it doesn't
00:30:23if it does i'll be flipping burgers come visit me at the drive-through
00:30:28and yes i will be spitting in them
00:30:29a 25 mile drive northwest i'm down here at sulper just trying to get this cut opened up
00:30:40this cuts 2 000 feet long they got's probably uh big enough to land a small airplane on
00:30:50for a lot of miners this would be their whole season with multiple people working on it and
00:30:54right now i'm down here jumping from the dozer to the excavator back and forth ripping mitch has a
00:31:00two-acre strip to mine out in just 10 weeks before parker's water license runs out if he fails he'll be
00:31:08forced to leave gold behind the time frame down here is definitely my biggest concern this water license
00:31:14is getting closer to expire by the minute and yet i'm the only one down here
00:31:28who we got here
00:31:35oh hey man what's up not much my friend how are you oh busy good to see you pal come on i'll give you
00:31:44one oh just don't let nobody don't tell anybody yeah keep that off the radio
00:31:52what's your plans well parker poached me you sent me up here to come to work with you
00:31:59no way man yeah buddy all right he said to me specifically you and mitch work so good together
00:32:05i want to get that band back together that's exact words out of his mouth dude that's awesome yeah i
00:32:09can't believe you didn't tell me brennan and mitch it's a lot of scoop yeah we're mining buddies
00:32:19on parker's scribner creek claim yeah nice work yeah you too man they became co-foremen that is
00:32:27perfect and a bromance blossomed are we good what a nice feeling
00:32:31brennan hurry up you've had five days to get this done james are you in charge or are you not in
00:32:38charge until five years ago when brennan quit after falling out with parker so over this man
00:32:48dude we've moved a lot of dirt in this year let me tell you what we got more than ever i could
00:32:52certainly use some help that's what i'm here for you can jump in the dozer we just got to rip this edge
00:32:57i'm gonna start throwing everything back okay well i'm excited buddy
00:33:07time to move some dirt
00:33:13dude it's unreal to have you back here christmas came early
00:33:18all the years i've been gone i've missed working with you every day of it buddy oh you're probably
00:33:23back because you heard we got taco tuesday you didn't mention you guys got a really good cook
00:33:28so that was a big plus for me
00:33:36oh that looks like parker
00:33:45how's it going hey welcome back thanks pal
00:33:49okay the whole sulfur project is kind of an interesting one because
00:33:53it's really hard to see what is pay and what is waste what you're really looking for is virgin banks or
00:34:00like virgin um sections this to me looks like virgin still right so you're forced to pan your way
00:34:11through it and see what's going on this is totally different type of mine in this see
00:34:16three quarters of a century ago old timers used a dredge to mine sulfur creek
00:34:24pulling out more than 1.2 billion dollars in gold but in its wake it left a mystery
00:34:31floating in a self-made pond the dredge traveled its way down the valley
00:34:37sluicing from one side to the other but above the water line the high banks were out of reach so gold
00:34:44was left untouched and where the dredge turned it covered up pockets of gold rich virgin ground
00:34:52with worthless tailings making sulfur a potential treasure trove of hidden gold
00:34:58gold if they can find it it's just gonna take some time to figure out like i would be panning pretty
00:35:06constantly perfect sounds good to me okay
00:35:16you got so much water coming through here we got all this material we need to start moving it
00:35:20over. We need it dry. If we start just working this, it's just going to get wetter and wetter.
00:35:25We're not dredging. So I want to just focus on the ditch here. Yeah, okay. I mean, I agree with
00:35:31you, but I just, what about Parker, you know? Yeah, but I mean, if we just start digging in
00:35:36here, we're going to be working underwater. Despite Parker's rush to find the gold,
00:35:42Mitch ignores his orders to pan and decides to dig a ditch to drain the water. The first thing
00:35:48we've got to do and we're going to do is get rid of this water. All right.
00:35:57It's going really good. I've got the ditch, you know, all the way to the top end of this cut,
00:36:03which was 2,000 feet long, and the cut's starting to drain out.
00:36:08At Sulphur Creek, Mitch has defied Parker's orders to hunt for virgin hot spots and is ditching instead.
00:36:16Parker's planning on coming down today and doing some panning here, but we got a lot of material
00:36:22that's still got to be moved here before it's ready to have Parker have a look at this and see
00:36:25what he wants to do.
00:36:35I was hoping to have all this ready by now.
00:36:40What the are you doing?
00:36:43Well, this is not good.
00:36:46What's happening?
00:36:49I thought you might need some panning,
00:36:51but I take it not right now.
00:36:54Yeah.
00:36:56Most important thing, just trying to get rid of the water here so we can actually move the dirt.
00:37:00We've got a pretty good system down.
00:37:02We're just trying to get that corner cleaned out and then we'll be ready for it.
00:37:09There's a lot of work to do here.
00:37:11I mean, I just got Brandon yesterday, so...
00:37:13There are two options.
00:37:21Find some virgin ground or else you can leave.
00:37:29Okay, that's a waste of time.
00:37:33Yeah.
00:37:35Ah.
00:37:35You know, gold can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy patience.
00:37:48And the higher the prices go, you know, the less of it there seems to be around here.
00:37:53Parker wants things done in a certain way and order, and I get that.
00:37:56It's his business.
00:37:56It's his company.
00:37:57You know, I've moved a lot of dirt up here, and, you know, I'm confident in what I'm doing.
00:38:02Got the ditches down, we got the cut grain in, and, you know, in my opinion, that's the right move.
00:38:10I just wasted two hours.
00:38:13We just need to get panning.
00:38:18It's my first week back on the job.
00:38:20Haven't worked for Parker for over five years now, and, you know, he's already pissed off.
00:38:24This is the type of that made me leave the last time.
00:38:32A hundred miles east.
00:38:40We're going to have to pull the trigger on something, otherwise we're going to miss this whole season.
00:38:43Still waiting for his water license and desperate for somewhere to mine,
00:38:48Rick's on his way to prospect new ground at a nearby claim, Lightning Creek.
00:38:53You can go to any mine out here and listen to the guy tell you how much gold's on the property,
00:38:56but which one's telling the truth?
00:38:58Not a single one of them.
00:38:59So if we're going to get any answers up there, it's going to be our own.
00:39:02Rick's mining in the Keno Mountains has been boom or bust.
00:39:07The unpredictable ground almost bankrupted him six years ago until he hit the honey hole at Duncan Creek.
00:39:14We do our own testing and see what we find, and we know we can trust that.
00:39:19Rick's found gold on his Duncan Creek claim in two spots.
00:39:23Now, he's hoping the pay streak extends to the Lightning Creek claim, eight miles upstream, near the gold motherlode at Mount Hinton.
00:39:34Lightning Creek is owned by Rick's old landlord, Troy Taylor.
00:39:39Ah, there he is.
00:39:44Hey, guys.
00:39:45Hey, Troy.
00:39:45How's it going?
00:39:46Good to see you.
00:39:46Good to see you.
00:39:47Hey, Troy.
00:39:48Ah, welcome to Lightning Creek.
00:39:50We're ready to hit the ground running, get some gold out of the ground.
00:39:53Six seasons ago, our deal is 10% for 100 ounce minimum.
00:39:59Rick leased Duncan Creek from landowner Troy Taylor.
00:40:03Ah, that's nice looking gold there, Rick.
00:40:05Then cut a handshake deal to buy the claim.
00:40:09Thanks, Rick.
00:40:09Appreciate that.
00:40:10Gambling millions of dollars.
00:40:12I'm sure you're happy to see that.
00:40:14On the promise of a gold bonanza.
00:40:17Holy s***.
00:40:19This is your last s*** chance.
00:40:22It was a rocky ride, but finally, the deal was done, bar one crucial detail.
00:40:29I have to trust that that water license is going to come through.
00:40:32Yeah.
00:40:32You're all in.
00:40:34Yeah.
00:40:35All in.
00:40:37It was on Troy to get the water license for Rick, but now that it hasn't come through,
00:40:43he might have other ground for Rick to kick the tires on.
00:40:46Looks like you've done a little bit of work here, right?
00:40:48A little bit, yeah.
00:40:49Dad and I did some sluice in last September, so, yeah.
00:40:52Just you and your dad, pretty much?
00:40:53Yeah, just dad and I.
00:40:54But what was the gold like?
00:40:55I mean, is it decent or?
00:40:57Yeah, it was decent.
00:40:58The gold is good here.
00:41:00We had some good results last fall.
00:41:01Dad and I did some testing and we're pleased.
00:41:03Lightning is just like Upper Duncan in the sense that it's flowing through a canyon.
00:41:09Hopefully, gold has been flushed out of those canyons, like Upper Duncan, into this main valley.
00:41:14How much overburden is on top of, like?
00:41:16It's not bad.
00:41:17It's just about five feet of muck and sand.
00:41:21Great to pay, then.
00:41:22Well, that's it, eh?
00:41:22Yeah.
00:41:23And I would just take about 15 feet and then we get into another, it's kind of like a false bedrock,
00:41:28and that's where I would stop for now.
00:41:30So the pay layer was 15 feet?
00:41:32Yeah.
00:41:33That's more than I expected.
00:41:35I know that we're not the only ones fighting this water license stuff this year.
00:41:38What's the deal with this one here?
00:41:39How many more years are on it?
00:41:41Yeah, that's a good question.
00:41:42This is good till 2028.
00:41:44So you've got a few more years here, and we do.
00:41:48Why give us the option?
00:41:49I mean, it's just, you know, why aren't you doing it?
00:41:52Well, I feel bad about this whole water license thing, so I want to give you a shot here, and Dad and I can step aside for a year if you want to go here.
00:42:06So there's no cost on the royalty.
00:42:08Yeah, there's a lot less risk for us.
00:42:12And I don't want to sound like a salesman, but there is other people that have been calling me over the winter.
00:42:16So, but I've been holding on to this for you, so I'm hoping that we can work something out.
00:42:24Yeah.
00:42:27You know, I mean, can I trust you on this?
00:42:31Oh, yeah.
00:42:32We've been, what, six years now together, so I think, uh...
00:42:38I mean, I just, there's been no shortage of surprises out here.
00:42:43I can't wait too much longer.
00:42:44Dad and I are going to keep mining or get somebody else in here, so...
00:42:48No, I understand that.
00:42:49So we got the trauma here today, so we get some testing done and try to make a decision as quick as we can, so...
00:42:57Let's do it.
00:42:59It's definitely getting harder to trust people out here.
00:43:01You know, gold's at a premium, water licenses are rare as can be.
00:43:05The vultures are circling.
00:43:07Troy, he always seems to have the answer when I don't.
00:43:09So it's, uh, you know, it's a win-win for Troy.
00:43:12Troy.
00:43:23We need this to work out because we need to get somewhere to go mining and we need to quit.
00:43:31Still waiting for his water license.
00:43:35Rick Ness has to move his operation.
00:43:38It is hoping new ground at Lightning Creek will be worth it.
00:43:43We've already done a couple of test holes, but I want to do one more here.
00:43:47There's a lot of big bullies down to this.
00:43:50Could be nice stuff.
00:43:51Troy Taylor has already stripped a section down to pay dirt, so Rick's making spot checks on the stripped ground.
00:43:58He'll run two square yards of pay and is looking for at least a gram from the run.
00:44:04By the sounds of Troy, you know, it's looking pretty good here.
00:44:07But I have kind of some doubts here, but at the same time, I really hope this is going to turn out for us.
00:44:12That should be a good enough speed.
00:44:23Yeah, for sure.
00:44:25Yeah, I'll go get the water going.
00:44:26Okay.
00:44:32Hey, Ricky.
00:44:33Are we ready for you to throw some in if you want?
00:44:35I'll give her a shot.
00:44:36This bucket's kind of big.
00:44:37I'll probably make a mess.
00:44:42It's washing the rocks really nice, so hopefully it gives us good breeding.
00:44:55That's the last of the dirt.
00:44:56That's how we got our test done here.
00:44:57We'll have to clean it up and then get the hell out of here and weigh it and see what we got.
00:45:03Shut her down, clean her up.
00:45:04Yeah, man.
00:45:04Okay, let's do it.
00:45:07It does have to be hot, but it's got to be hot enough for a slice.
00:45:12Oh, hello, hello.
00:45:22Back at camp, the fate of Rick's season rests on the results of the Lightning Creek test.
00:45:29Some nice pickers on that.
00:45:30Yeah.
00:45:31If the gold is good, it could be the lifeline he needs.
00:45:36What's the ground like down there?
00:45:37It's pretty shallow.
00:45:39Seems like only about an average of about five feet overburden, maybe a little bit more,
00:45:43and then a solid 15-foot stick pay layer.
00:45:46Well, that's pretty good.
00:45:47That's a really good, you know, ratio.
00:45:49I don't expect it to pay out like Vegas Valley, but who knows?
00:45:54Shall we see if it's even worth it?
00:45:55We shall.
00:45:56Weigh some gold.
00:45:58All right.
00:45:58I don't think I've ever weighed up this small amount of gold, but let's get it all in there.
00:46:04Rick wants at least a gram from his two-yard run.
00:46:07Oh, we got 0.525 on there.
00:46:25Just half what Rick was hoping for.
00:46:28So is it worth it?
00:46:33No.
00:46:33No.
00:46:37We're going to be sitting here with our f***ing hands out, no place to mine.
00:46:41We're screwed.
00:46:54We had a super fast start to the season.
00:46:56We have cleanups and a couple bucks in the bank.
00:46:59A hundred miles away, Tony Beetz has already banked $1.5 million in gold.
00:47:05There is more pressure on Mike this year.
00:47:08I mean, Mike has been running Paradise Hill like it's his, but it's not his.
00:47:11It's still f***ing mine.
00:47:12So maybe we'll have to do something with him.
00:47:15He wants a piece of the action too.
00:47:18Once he has the hill up and running, well, then we'll just see what we can pull off.
00:47:22Tony's mining operation is split between two claims, Indian River, where he's already sluicing pay from the early bird cut, and 40 miles away, Paradise Hill, the core of the family business for over 30 years.
00:47:40Hey, Mike, D-copy, Mike, D-copy.
00:47:43Try to catch him, would you please?
00:47:47Hey, Mike, how are you?
00:47:48Oh, good, yourself?
00:47:50No complaints.
00:47:53Last year I was back and forth a bit, but this year you won't see very much of me.
00:47:57You got lots to do here.
00:47:59I know.
00:47:59But I got quite a pile going on in the Indian, too.
00:48:02With this f***ing gold price here, we don't f***ing get on it, boy, I tell you.
00:48:05Let's get it on the go.
00:48:08Get down the pay door this week.
00:48:10That seems a little excessive.
00:48:12Oh, really?
00:48:15Step up to the plate.
00:48:16Yeah.
00:48:18Make some money so I can spend some more.
00:48:19How's that?
00:48:20Don't worry, Dad.
00:48:21I'll help you with that.
00:48:22Yeah, anyway, Mike, I can't shoot the s*** and sit around there like you do.
00:48:26I got to go to work.
00:48:27Well, if you did your job better, you'd have more time.
00:48:30F*** off, Mike.
00:48:31I'm leaving.
00:48:31See you later.
00:48:33Catch you later, Dad.
00:48:34Yeah, I love you, too.
00:48:38My goal is my job well and get the results my dad wants, so I'm going to get as much gold
00:48:44as I can this year because with the prices as they are, you're a f***ing moron if you
00:48:50don't take advantage of that.
00:48:52While Tony's based at Indian River, he's giving Mike sole charge of Paradise Hill, entrusting
00:48:58him with a nine-man crew to supersize the super pit.
00:49:02More responsibility, more authority.
00:49:05I want to focus on stripping before I get sluicing so that I can just, when I get sluicing, I
00:49:10don't stop.
00:49:11Over the last three years, the Beats family has cleared out nearly 4 million tons of worthless
00:49:21overburden, creating an 18-acre super pit.
00:49:25The cut is home to the Klondike's fabled White Channel pay, concentrated gold washed down directly
00:49:33from hard rock deposits.
00:49:35So far, it's produced over 4,000 ounces of gold worth $15 million.
00:49:41This year, Mike plans to extend the cut by nearly 50 percent, opening up eight more acres of ground.
00:49:50Tony wants the first acre down to pay by the end of the week.
00:49:54We're going to have a whole whack load of stuff opened up, so we have a lot of work ahead
00:50:05of us.
00:50:08My dad bought six new trucks.
00:50:11We're going to strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip.
00:50:15Another year at Paradise.
00:50:16I'm glad to be back.
00:50:17We've got brand new rock trucks.
00:50:19Just hauling overburden from the cut.
00:50:20We're trying to expand.
00:50:23To get down to the gold-bearing pay lane, a D-11 dozer rips and pushes the worthless waste
00:50:29dirt, called overburden, to two excavators, which load it into rock trucks, haul it 2,000 feet
00:50:37away, and dump it on the waste pile.
00:50:42Hopefully it gets loose in here in Paradise soon, get that gold coming in.
00:50:50Guys, guys, guys, guys, we've got a problem, we've got a problem.
00:51:00The cat truck has flipped.
00:51:01The cab of the cat truck has flipped.
00:51:04Oh, .
00:51:05I'm stuck in here.
00:51:09Right on the edge.
00:51:17Oh, .
00:51:18I'm stuck in here.
00:51:26Oh, my .
00:51:27I honestly don't want to touch it.
00:51:29Right on the edge.
00:51:31At Paradise Hill, a brand new $750,000 rock truck has flipped, with driver Graham trapped
00:51:38inside the cab, hanging on the edge of a 200-foot drop.
00:51:43This side is just .
00:51:44I wish Mike could hurry up, because if the bank starts to go.
00:51:49This is not the circus I signed up for.
00:51:51I still have all my windows.
00:51:55You still have all your windows, yes.
00:51:57Oh, that exhaust.
00:52:04And the hoses are pretty pulled, too.
00:52:08Oh, my hood's .
00:52:09Breaking our new truck right away.
00:52:12It's slowly dropping more and more, which is a little nerve-wracking.
00:52:15As long as it can get me pulled out of here before I flip.
00:52:22Okay.
00:52:24Well, he can't get out.
00:52:25Too big.
00:52:33Hey, Mike!
00:52:34He won't fit through that window.
00:52:42If he could double his size, he wouldn't fit.
00:52:43Rescue him, for sake.
00:52:45We're supposed to be pinched hard.
00:52:48Kick out the window.
00:52:51Make him stand on the steering wheel, stick his head out the window, kick the thing in.
00:52:55That way, his eyes and ears, and everything will be fine.
00:52:58Get his fat ass out.
00:53:00Okay, you ready, Graham?
00:53:01I guess so.
00:53:02There he goes.
00:53:17Holy crap.
00:53:25Okay.
00:53:26You can try climbing up the seat there.
00:53:32Well.
00:53:37Feels good to be out, but still a little shaky.
00:53:41Yeah.
00:53:43Glad it didn't go over the edge fully.
00:53:45That's...
00:53:45Wow.
00:53:48Could be fired, could not be, depending on the mood.
00:53:51Hey, Mike!
00:53:51Put it on the grass!
00:53:52To set the 36-ton truck back on its wheels, Tony and Mike use the 520-horsepower D10 dozer,
00:54:01while the 480 excavator holds the box in place to stop it dropping over the edge.
00:54:09Perfect.
00:54:09Pull the...
00:54:10Pull the...
00:54:10Keep it going, keep it going.
00:54:20Perfect.
00:54:25I'm very sorry, Tony.
00:54:26I know, I'm not really thinking anything I do about it, because you're on the frost, and
00:54:31they're slippery.
00:54:33I still feel bad since it's a brand new truck, but...
00:54:34Well, that doesn't matter.
00:54:35That happens, my man.
00:54:38I was expecting him to be a little bit more aggravated.
00:54:41I flipped one of the new ones.
00:54:42There's no use firing people at his neck, because when you fire somebody, there's two people
00:54:47that lose.
00:54:48I lose an employee, he loses his job.
00:54:53It's too bad you had to break the window, but so it is, I guess, right?
00:54:56Yeah.
00:54:57I'll be the hood, be the fender, I'll be the railing, I'll be...
00:55:00Nobody hurt, that's always a big thing.
00:55:02Yeah.
00:55:03For Mike, it's now a fight to hit pay dirt by the end of the week with one less truck,
00:55:09and show Tony he can run Paradise Hill.
00:55:12On his own.
00:55:14That's enough horse shit.
00:55:15If you want to prove yourself, I suggest you get rid of it.
00:55:29Brennan and I are trying to get as much ground open up down here at Sulphur as possible.
00:55:33At Sulphur Creek, Mitch and Brennan have finally drained the cut, and exposed what could be
00:55:39their first hidden pay pocket.
00:55:42How far did the dredge get over here, figure out what's left for us?
00:55:46Now, they're ready for Parker to pan.
00:55:50Hopefully we got something for him to look at.
00:55:53Old Parker likes to see the gold, and, you know, he wants it now.
00:55:56Like this, to me, looks virgin.
00:56:05I really don't know what to expect.
00:56:07I'm just going to show Mitch.
00:56:21One pan out of the downstream edge of your ditch.
00:56:28Holy smoke.
00:56:32That's why we're doing this.
00:56:34Wow.
00:56:35And that's pretty exciting.
00:56:38Find it again.
00:56:40Yeah, hopefully there's more of that.
00:56:41That was a really good pan.
00:56:45You know, we just need to get a wash plant in here and find out what mine's like a pan's.
00:56:5025 miles southeast at Dominion Creek.
00:56:54We got the ice out of the bridge cut.
00:56:56We got pay stacked up.
00:56:58Now it's time.
00:56:59We get a slewson.
00:57:00Tyson is on the clock.
00:57:02Parker wants wash plant Bob's sleucing by the end of the day.
00:57:07I haven't talked to Alex and Liam yet.
00:57:08There will be no waiting.
00:57:11Parker has made that abundantly clear.
00:57:17How's it going, guys?
00:57:19We're ready to run dirt.
00:57:23The hopper's going to be the main holdup for Bob starting.
00:57:27The pre-wash hopper feeder?
00:57:28Yeah.
00:57:30This feed chain system?
00:57:31This plant can't run without it.
00:57:34Man.
00:57:36It would have been nicer if you told me that.
00:57:38The feed chain system, which drives the wash plant's pre-wash conveyor, is broken, and
00:57:44the mechanics want to install a new one.
00:57:46Parker, he wants Bob running today.
00:57:51There's no getting around to this right now.
00:57:53Yeah.
00:57:55F*** me.
00:57:56Let's get at it.
00:57:56We've got a lot of work to do.
00:58:11Mr. Justin.
00:58:12Hey, boys.
00:58:13Mr. Bill.
00:58:13Gentlemen.
00:58:15What's going on?
00:58:16We brought a rush-rush project.
00:58:20At Dominion Creek, Parker's mechanics are hustling to fix the feed chain system on Bob's pre-wash
00:58:27conveyor.
00:58:28All right.
00:58:28Well, let's get this thing unloaded and get at it, because it ain't going to fix itself.
00:58:32The pre-wash conveyor moves Pater into the shaker to be washed.
00:58:39The motor, which turns the conveyor's front drive shaft, is connected via a small chain
00:58:44and sprocket.
00:58:45But over time, the chain tightened, pulling the shaft inwards, breaking apart the sprocket
00:58:52and bearings.
00:58:53To fix this design fault, the mechanics will remove the small chain and sprocket, fit a
00:59:00new front drive shaft, and align the motor so it sends power directly to the shaft.
00:59:10Chain is up.
00:59:14There we go.
00:59:15Let motor come out of there nice and easy.
00:59:17Okay, we're laughing.
00:59:23This is the final fit.
00:59:30There we go.
00:59:31Perfect.
00:59:35Right, so that, that is it.
00:59:40Copy, Alec.
00:59:41Go for Alec.
00:59:43You are ready to roll, my friend.
00:59:45Sweet.
00:59:46We'll come grab it.
00:59:52Wide load coming to you.
01:00:00Well, look at this.
01:00:01You guys pulled it off.
01:00:03What do you say we get Bob running?
01:00:13Keep it coming.
01:00:15Lift it up a little bit.
01:00:19Whoa, there, buddy.
01:00:21There it goes.
01:00:22You're in.
01:00:28Beautiful.
01:00:28Sweet.
01:00:30Everything's in place.
01:00:32Okay, you guys ready?
01:00:33Yep.
01:00:34Yep.
01:00:34Well, here we go.
01:00:35Let's fire bomb up.
01:00:40Take your decks on.
01:00:41Here goes the pre-wash offer.
01:00:44Here goes the pre-wash offer.
01:00:49It's been.
01:00:55Here goes the first scoop of the season.
01:00:57The pre-wash conveyor delivers pay dirt to the plant.
01:01:07Water jets blast the gold and fine dirt off the rocks.
01:01:10A shaker deck vibrates a set of screens to separate out the larger rocks, while the smaller gold-bearing material washes down into two 14-by-10-foot sluices, where the riffles and mats catch the gold.
01:01:28Beautiful sight right there, Liam.
01:01:32First wash plank going on Dominion.
01:01:34That is a beautiful sight.
01:01:35With three days sluice time, before the end of the week, Tyson's on the gold.
01:01:42Parker's big push for 10,000 ounces is on.
01:01:46Bob's got a lot of ground to get through this here.
01:01:48Miners across the Yukon are gathering at Dawson City for the Klondike-Glaster Mining Association meeting.
01:02:06The KPMA warn a glut of unprocessed water licenses is putting livelihoods at risk.
01:02:12What a joke.
01:02:14Desperate to start his season, Rick is in Dawson to meet the Klondike-Placer Mining Association, a local union working with miners with no water licenses.
01:02:25My back's against the wall.
01:02:27I've been up to my elbows in this whole water license stuff.
01:02:31It sucks, man.
01:02:31It really sucks.
01:02:32The state of the industry is not too great.
01:02:34A lot of people in the exact same boat as me with the water license and all that.
01:02:38I'm hoping that the KPMA, maybe they know when these are going to get approved.
01:02:41Give me some kind of reason to stick with Duncan Creek.
01:02:43Without it, I don't know what the hell we're going to do.
01:02:45Hey, that's somebody I know.
01:02:48What's going on, buddy?
01:02:50How you doing?
01:02:50I'm okay.
01:02:51How are you, man?
01:02:51I'm all right.
01:02:52Better than you.
01:02:53Yeah?
01:02:54I've heard what's going on.
01:02:55Oh, man.
01:02:56There's a lot of people that are pretty screwed up by it.
01:02:59And the thing is, the forces that are against the mining have so many tactics to stall things, and it's death by delay.
01:03:06Yeah.
01:03:07This is absolutely right.
01:03:08Right?
01:03:09Just shoot me in the head.
01:03:09Don't give me a slow dab.
01:03:10Yeah.
01:03:12But let's see what they do in the meeting, and then why don't I buy you a beer afterwards?
01:03:15I appreciate that, man.
01:03:16All right.
01:03:18Just go in this meeting and see what they say, and go from there.
01:03:29Something's got to give.
01:03:30Yeah, I've had enough of that.
01:03:46Big waste of time.
01:03:47It gets us nowhere.
01:03:49It's just a bull, you know?
01:03:50I'm like, well, who's ass do I put my fist up to get some results here?
01:03:53And maybe I'll be done.
01:03:54Who knows?
01:03:55Who the knows at this point?
01:03:56Probably gonna have a beer.
01:03:57Maybe 10.
01:03:58In Dawson, with no breakthrough on his water license, Rick's hopes of mining this season...
01:04:05Best seat in the house.
01:04:06...hang by a thread.
01:04:08Whoa, whoa, whoa.
01:04:09What's up?
01:04:10Good to see you, buddy.
01:04:10Good to see you.
01:04:11You know, the last time we were together was, um, 14 years ago.
01:04:18Really?
01:04:18You think that was the last time I was still young?
01:04:21That's a long time ago.
01:04:24I remember, I was like, I think Tony Beetz is, like, the coolest guy in the world.
01:04:29And I want to be like, Tony.
01:04:33That'll be a long time, but you know what?
01:04:34I'll be in good years, right?
01:04:35Yeah.
01:04:36Every year I have more fun.
01:04:37Good for you.
01:04:38It takes a lot to get me jealous.
01:04:40But when I roll by, you have so much equipment running.
01:04:45So, how's Rick?
01:04:47You having fun?
01:04:49No.
01:04:50The KPM Bay has gotten us nowhere.
01:04:52Basically, we can't touch Duncan Creek.
01:04:54Ooh, that's not very good.
01:04:55No, it's kind of a slap in the face.
01:04:57Do you have that other block of ground?
01:05:00Lightning Creek?
01:05:01Yeah.
01:05:01Um, well, I don't have it.
01:05:03It's Troy's, so it's Elise.
01:05:06But he's, like, a pretty reasonable landlord.
01:05:07He is.
01:05:08And, you know...
01:05:09They're not like me.
01:05:10Yeah.
01:05:11I wasn't going to say that, but yeah.
01:05:14And you've done, like, one test or a bunch of tests?
01:05:17We did a few tests there.
01:05:18Not very happy about it.
01:05:20But there's a license there for three years.
01:05:22That's pretty good.
01:05:24But I'm not sure if there's a lot of gold in it.
01:05:28But, I mean, you have one thing going for you,
01:05:30and that is, like, gold price is so good.
01:05:32Good.
01:05:33No, I hear you.
01:05:33But this is definitely a gamble.
01:05:35Oh, the gold price is excellent.
01:05:38If you're lucky enough to have a license,
01:05:40hurry the up, mine the out of it,
01:05:43and leave.
01:05:44That's it.
01:05:44You just got to get out there
01:05:45and wash as many rocks as you can.
01:05:48Get the over that and make it work, Rick.
01:05:53You're right.
01:05:53Make some money.
01:05:56Oh, yeah.
01:05:57Hope it goes well.
01:06:00Well, I've got to run.
01:06:01I've got a dog that needs to walk.
01:06:03Parking it with fun.
01:06:05Rick.
01:06:05It's great to see you guys.
01:06:06You too.
01:06:06For sure.
01:06:07There you go.
01:06:07Yeah, let's not wait another 14 years, huh?
01:06:09Yeah.
01:06:09Yeah, do it.
01:06:11I've known Rick for 15 years.
01:06:14He was there for all the years
01:06:15where I was just, like, scared to death of going broke.
01:06:18I was scared to death of people taking advantage of me.
01:06:20I was scared to death of Tony kicking me off the ground.
01:06:22And this business eats you alive
01:06:25if you're not ready for it.
01:06:27With Rick, I could definitely see him losing everything
01:06:33and leaving the gold fields broke.
01:06:36But I could also see him building an empire.
01:06:39And I really hope that he's successful.
01:06:42I do.
01:06:44I cut my teeth out here with Parker.
01:06:45I've known Tony since the day I walked into the Klondike.
01:06:48And they've always had good advice,
01:06:50and I'd be foolish not to take it.
01:06:52I've got Lightning Creek as an option right now,
01:06:54and we're going to take that option,
01:06:55and we're going to run with it.
01:07:06I'd like to remind all rock truck drivers
01:07:08and the hoe operator working in the cut,
01:07:10keep going, keep skimming her off.
01:07:12Strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip.
01:07:13After a disastrous start managing Tony's Paradise Hill claim,
01:07:19Mike Beetz is racing to get down to pay.
01:07:22Mike's doing the best with what he's got,
01:07:24but we need to move this dirt, get to the gold, get to the pay.
01:07:26Our guys are doing real good.
01:07:30They're moving a lot of dirt.
01:07:32Some of this like right here,
01:07:33this has gone very far from the pay.
01:07:35It's so many rocks.
01:07:36That's usually a good indicator that's good stuff.
01:07:41If you want to drive in, I can grab my Kubota
01:07:43because it makes its way in.
01:07:44Yeah, let's walk.
01:07:46Looks like you need it.
01:07:47I'll be there in a minute.
01:08:01A little bit clay in it, but it's got the rocks.
01:08:05It'll be a fat chunk, huh?
01:08:08Let's grab a pan.
01:08:14Now, what if I forgot how the pan?
01:08:15It'll be a ****.
01:08:18Give me a rock.
01:08:22Where would you like it?
01:08:23Right there.
01:08:24Thank you, sir.
01:08:42Look at that.
01:08:45You're a good pan.
01:08:48Nice, fine stuff.
01:08:50It's fine as frog hair, as they say,
01:08:52but that's on the top anyway, right?
01:08:55Well, we can sluice that, Mike, eh?
01:08:57Oh, yeah.
01:08:57We're out a **** question.
01:09:01We hit pay in Paradise Hill.
01:09:03The Indian sluice lot is doing a good job.
01:09:06So everything is looking up.
01:09:07Everything is looking pretty good.
01:09:10Be all in business.
01:09:11Perfect.
01:09:11We're back.
01:09:19Hold on.
01:09:20Before Tyson cleared all the ice,
01:09:23Parker turned the bridge cut into a racetrack.
01:09:28Oh, ****.
01:09:29Just push on the front a little bit.
01:09:43Come on, get in there.
01:09:45Hold on.
01:09:48Cody, get in there.
01:09:50Cody, get in there.
01:09:51Every light on the dash is on.
01:10:04You know any good mechanics?
01:10:05Dude, they're going to kill me
01:10:06if they find out why this happened.
01:10:08Don't tell anybody.
01:10:09We're down to foreman.
01:10:19But I think being as set up as we are now,
01:10:21it is **** doable.
01:10:22And, well, we are going to **** try.
01:10:25Tony's eldest son, Kevin,
01:10:27has been running his Scribner Creek mine for a week,
01:10:30relying more on operator Caden Foote.
01:10:33This is the earliest I've started sluicing in a season,
01:10:36but I feel like it's going to be a bit of a struggle
01:10:39without Brennan.
01:10:40He was an all-around great foreman.
01:10:44We really got to, as a team, come together
01:10:47so we can get as much out as we can.
01:10:55Hey, man.
01:10:56Got some yellow ****.
01:10:57Oh, cool.
01:10:57Hi, guys.
01:11:00Hey, man.
01:11:00Hey, guys.
01:11:01How's it going, pal?
01:11:02How are you?
01:11:02Good.
01:11:04Kevin leases the ground from Tony
01:11:06and pays a 10% royalty on any gold he finds.
01:11:12So, your second year on your own.
01:11:14How are you feeling about that?
01:11:15You going to cross it?
01:11:17Honestly, I'm feeling pretty **** good.
01:11:20Ready to roll this year.
01:11:21You don't have to buy this, buy every **** thing, right?
01:11:24Yeah.
01:11:24So that's got to make it a lot easier start this year.
01:11:28It definitely is a lot nicer to hit the ground running.
01:11:30What's happening with Brennan?
01:11:32Well, we didn't know he was showing up,
01:11:34and then he finally came and talked to us,
01:11:37told us that he wasn't coming back.
01:11:39It would have been nice if he would have let you know that in the winter.
01:11:42It would have been nice, for sure.
01:11:43That's people for you again.
01:11:44That's people for you?
01:11:45Oh, yeah.
01:11:46So who gives a ****?
01:11:48Next.
01:11:48That's how it goes next.
01:11:52Uh, Tay, you had a nice early start.
01:11:54And have some gold coming out of the ground right away?
01:11:56Yeah.
01:11:57What's your gold?
01:11:59My gold is $2,000.
01:12:00And we already have a little bit of chunk of gold at the start of the season,
01:12:03so that's nice.
01:12:05Do you maybe think we can weigh it up?
01:12:07All right.
01:12:08Are we ready?
01:12:09Kevin ran his stockpiled pay for one week at Scribner Creek.
01:12:1315, 20, 30, 40, 50, 57.04.
01:12:29$200,000 in gold.
01:12:32$60,000 more than the same amount was worth last season.
01:12:37And that's how many hours?
01:12:3870.
01:12:3970 hours.
01:12:39So it's a little bit less than...
01:12:41So I've announced now.
01:12:42Yeah.
01:12:43That's still nice.
01:12:44Oh, ****, yeah.
01:12:45That's better than zero.
01:12:45Oh.
01:12:46This year cash in, so you may as well get with it, right?
01:12:49Yeah.
01:12:49You know?
01:12:50Okay, woman, let's get the **** out of here.
01:12:53Let's go.
01:12:53We have to work, so we'll talk to you guys later.
01:12:56Ladies and gentlemen, don't work too hard.
01:12:58Bye.
01:12:58Catch you later.
01:13:00Hey, dog.
01:13:03That was a decent quote, eh?
01:13:04Yeah, not too bad.
01:13:05It's kind of nice to see this yellow stuff this early in the season.
01:13:09I'm sure the folks would be happy for us, too.
01:13:10But the big thing we're looking for right now is the foreman.
01:13:14We'll get hiring, and something will **** show up.
01:13:20Nice little haul.
01:13:21I mean, it's a good **** start.
01:13:22It's a couple bucks, huh?
01:13:24Royalty-wise.
01:13:25Royalty-wise, yeah.
01:13:26Royalty-wise.
01:13:27There's nothing like making money off your kids, is there?
01:13:35What's happening?
01:13:36How's it going, man?
01:13:37Going good?
01:13:38Good.
01:13:39It's been a while since we've done one of these.
01:13:41Yeah.
01:13:43Hey, cat!
01:13:44Hey, he is back!
01:13:47How's it going?
01:13:48Welcome back.
01:13:49Yeah, thank you.
01:13:50It's good having you back.
01:13:51And there's a lot to do this year, so we need all the help we can get.
01:13:54Definitely.
01:13:54It's the end of the first week of what could be a game-changing season for Parker.
01:14:00This is the year, huh?
01:14:02Yeah.
01:14:02We need to just **** shove dirt down those wash plants' throats, huh?
01:14:09It's a long road to 10,000.
01:14:10Tyson's got Bob running right now in the bridge cut.
01:14:16We've got sulfur's drying out a little bit.
01:14:19We've got the trucks upstream there stripping.
01:14:21And that's going all right?
01:14:22Yep.
01:14:24Are you ready, T?
01:14:25Let's check it out, Dumit.
01:14:27This is Mr. Bob.
01:14:28This is your first plant.
01:14:29Well, here we go.
01:14:30All eyes are on Tyson's first run from the bridge cut.
01:14:34Last season's payouts were unpredictable.
01:14:37Parker's looking for at least 100 ounces from three days' sluicing.
01:14:4110, 20, 40, 60, 80.
01:14:51Going to break to 100.
01:14:53There we go.
01:14:54100, 120.
01:15:00125.8.
01:15:03Nice.
01:15:05Very nice.
01:15:06Worth over $440,000.
01:15:09Looks like it was worth getting that ice off.
01:15:13Yeah.
01:15:14We're on the board.
01:15:15Yeah.
01:15:17That's definitely a good start, but we have a long ways to go.
01:15:20So I hope everybody's ready to buckle in.
01:15:25All right.
01:15:25Thank you, guys.
01:15:27Do it again next week.
01:15:29Big cat is back.
01:15:31Meow.
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