- 8 hours ago
Gold Rush - Season 16 Episode 8 -
No Off Days
No Off Days
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00I call him.
00:20Yeah?
00:21It's to you.
00:26Stay in it.
00:30You raised me 70.
00:38I'll call you.
00:39Threes and fours.
00:42Can anybody beat a queen high?
00:45An ace high.
00:48Mitch got you a pair of eights.
00:49Mitch's pot.
00:50There you go.
00:52That was my loan to you.
00:53Thank you, Brad.
00:54Appreciate that.
00:54I'm confused by this tactic of you guys not letting me win.
01:00All right.
01:00Well, welcome to the day in the life.
01:02Currently trying to get my money back from these guys.
01:07On this gold rush.
01:10I think we need more GoPros on the windscreen.
01:13We ride shotgun with Parker Schnabel.
01:17This is him.
01:18Unmarked grave.
01:19As he reveals what it takes to run a multi-million dollar mine.
01:24It caused me to be a bad manager.
01:27It pushed a lot of really good people away.
01:30Well, we left on terms.
01:32And makes a choice.
01:33Closing down the business scares me a lot.
01:35I'm just going to make a decision.
01:37That could determine the fate of his season.
01:40Those are your old friends.
01:42Is that the Hoffmans?
01:43It's your bet.
01:59Don't be scared.
02:0020.
02:05Show him, Brennan.
02:08Pair of twos.
02:10Pair of aces.
02:12First hand, I've won.
02:14We need some more fuel to more athletic wind.
02:18In the land of the midnight sun,
02:21Parker and his lieutenants are locked in a late night battle.
02:27Man, summer just doesn't want to show up this year.
02:30No, it's been cold, hasn't it?
02:32You going to buy a house one of these days?
02:34Or what do you think?
02:35I don't know.
02:36I never really have gotten that bothered about settling down.
02:40I bet you Nancy would love a couple grandkids.
02:43I don't know.
02:44I'm pretty good at scaring women off.
02:45I wouldn't know what it would be like to go back into the dating pool, honestly.
02:49A lot of overburden.
02:58Bless my grandpa's heart.
02:59But literally one of the last conversations that we had was in the hospital.
03:03And he was like, I feel so bad for you because you're always going to have to wonder why the girl you're with is with you.
03:13He definitely wished that you had just like met somebody before you had money.
03:17You know what I mean?
03:17He was coming at you with the truth.
03:19I would just hate to be like Scrooge McDuck.
03:23It's like I can have my like swimming pool full of gold and live alone.
03:28It happens when it happens, right?
03:30I wouldn't rush it.
03:31I wouldn't be in a rush, no.
03:32The part of it that I struggle with is like on a personal level, what am I doing all of this for?
03:38Up until the last few years, survival of the business went well that I was focused on.
03:43I didn't really put any sort of like meaningful effort into anything else.
03:49Yeah.
03:49I don't know how it plays out, but like I just keep getting older.
03:54Well, we all do.
03:55And I do want kids.
03:57I actually think it would be a blast to have them up here.
03:59A lot of those things when you quit looking is when it happens, you know?
04:03No different look at all the gold mines and then you went all over the world looking for where to mine.
04:08Where were we going to go sluice it next?
04:09And it was in your own backyard.
04:10So he wants to marry one of us.
04:12Tyson, I actually have a ring in my pocket.
04:13Okay, one more card.
04:21Read them and weep.
04:24F*** it, we'll go big to let's end.
04:28Okay.
04:29Do it all.
04:30Make home with you.
04:33Trip tens.
04:36Fair night.
04:37I got a six and an eight.
04:39You got a straight.
04:41Mitch is the winner.
04:43That's more like it.
04:47All right, guys, tomorrow is my day off.
04:50But you all have work tomorrow?
04:51Yeah.
04:52Sorry to keep you out until the wee hours of the morning.
04:55Have fun.
05:03Let's get this f***ing show on the road.
05:05We got a busy week ahead of us here.
05:08The next morning, Parker's crew get to work chasing his 10,000-ounce season target.
05:14Time to make some gold.
05:16That's why there's 24 hours in a day.
05:18While Parker does absolutely nothing.
05:22Hey, Bo's.
05:27There's the boy I'm looking for.
05:29How are you?
05:30I'm good.
05:31How are you?
05:31Good.
05:33Mine manager, Nona Loveless, oversees the day-to-day logistics of Parker's massive operation.
05:39How are you feeling after last night's hurrah?
05:44I'm drinking some tea and detoxing.
05:48Well, I'm going to try to give you a break from the pit, but that just ended.
05:51Oh, yeah, what you got for me.
05:54I feel bad.
05:55But anyway, we need the next project for the stripping crew.
05:59Okay.
06:00They could be done today, as early as today.
06:02So I just wanted to make sure that they're not just twiddling their thumbs.
06:05Yeah, no, that's not an issue.
06:06The stripping crew exposes the pay dirt that keeps Parker's wash plants fed.
06:13To keep gold flowing, Parker must choose their next project in his mining empire.
06:20That decision could result in millions in gold or falling short of his seasoned target.
06:27Well, I'll go check in with everybody and see who needs help.
06:31When do you need to know about the stripping crew?
06:33By the end of the day, for sure.
06:34And also, we need some gold.
06:37Sold.
06:38We need some cash in the bank.
06:39We do.
06:40Okay, I can do that.
06:41I can do both those things.
06:42We'll see you later.
06:43I'll get on it and get back to you.
06:47Spread across three locations, Parker's 10,000-acre operation consists of over 60 machines,
06:55three wash plants, three wash plants, and close to 40 employees, costing over $100,000 a day to run.
07:08Unfortunately, Parker's trying to take the day off, but with no such thing around here, there's always something that comes up.
07:15The stripping crew is a very important part of our operation.
07:18For the most part, they don't go on camera.
07:21They're like the special forces team that all can run any piece of equipment on the mine site.
07:27They just get s*** done.
07:29So we need to figure out what the s*** is that they need to get done next.
07:36I think we need more GoPros on the windscreen.
07:40At least four more, at a minimum.
07:46To determine where to deploy the stripping crew, Parker must visit each of his three lieutenants and assess their operations in person.
07:57I don't want to pit managers against each other and create a fierce level of competition inside the company.
08:05But in the short term, it's more efficient.
08:08People always want help.
08:10And it's like trying to figure out, like, who actually needs it and who can go on their own.
08:18First stop, the cuts on his flagship Dominion Creek property.
08:24Parker's biggest project, Dominion, should account for over two-thirds of his 10,000-ounce target.
08:34Tyson's doing really well this year.
08:37Dominion's slated to do 7,000 ounces or something.
08:40And right now, that's all his domain.
08:44Big responsibility for sure.
08:47We're up here for seven months a year, working hard every day.
08:52Overseeing the entire Dominion Creek project is veteran miner Tyson Lee.
08:58Pretty green at the mining aspect of things.
09:02Starting as a rock truck driver.
09:04Right now, I'm letting Tyson run Slucifer.
09:07Yeehaw!
09:08Tyson has battled his way up the ranks.
09:12You can't just tell the boss what he wants to hear.
09:14You have to tell him what needs to be done.
09:16Before becoming one of Parker's most trusted pit bosses.
09:20See if I can take anything off your shoulders.
09:23I need people that I can trust, and Tyson's one of the top ones.
09:30What's up?
09:32How's it going?
09:33All good.
09:33How are you?
09:34Pretty good.
09:36It's a big pit.
09:37Yeah, it is.
09:38300 yards both ways.
09:40So, the stripping crew is just about done with their project.
09:44Maybe by the end of today.
09:46But, I wanted to talk to you about just like, I know you have a lot of stuff that you haven't gotten to, right?
09:52Yep.
09:53Just hoping to throw up enough pay.
09:55Those guys can come down here and start trucking into our wash plant.
10:00We can rip this ditch.
10:02We can get our area excavated out.
10:04Definitely going to hit frost on this side, I would imagine.
10:06It would be really nice to get all of this stuff done.
10:11Yeah.
10:12Just get all your ditches in, get all your plant pads set up.
10:16You know, you've definitely got a lot going on.
10:18Having already brought in nearly 2,000 ounces, giving Tyson the stripping crew would allow Parker to keep Dominion on schedule.
10:28But, might cause Parker's other claims to fall behind.
10:32Let me talk to Brennan and Mitch as well and see what they have going on.
10:35And then...
10:36Is it a battle for people between us, or...
10:39No, it's not a battle.
10:42I'm just going to make a decision.
10:44Okay.
10:46Who's the better salesman, right?
10:47Yeah.
10:49Come here.
10:49What's he going to get back up now?
10:54All right.
10:54See you, man.
10:55Good luck with your dog.
10:56Thanks.
11:01You know, I was surprised to see him here this morning.
11:04I guess that's a miner's life, right?
11:06You don't really get a day off.
11:07Last night at the poker game, Parker was talking about settling down, putting down some roots, getting a partner, and we really never have time to talk about stuff like that.
11:20If you put your whole life into moving dirt, and there's no more dirt to be moved, then what's next?
11:30You know, is Parker ready for that big lifestyle change?
11:33That I don't know.
11:34Tyson had a good couple of points about how much help it would be to have some extra hands in, you know, the pits that we're doing this year.
11:45But we'll see what everybody else says.
11:48Having heard Tyson's case for Dominion, Parker will visit two more mines before he makes a decision on where to send his elite stripping crew.
12:04I'm a little slow this morning, yeah.
12:16But we need to know where to put the stripping crew.
12:22Despite it being his day off, Parker's working.
12:26He's on his way to cash in gold.
12:28But before that, he's traveling between his cuts to determine which to strip.
12:35Every yard we sluice has about four or five yards of stripping.
12:44And so if you're sluicing 400 yards an hour, if you aren't stripping 2,000 yards an hour, you're falling behind.
12:51Right now I'm just going to see Brennan here at Ken and Stewart's so that we can start making some decisions.
12:57The lease with Ken and Stewart has always been an important one to me because it is a lot of ground that can keep the company going into the future for quite some time.
13:07To hit Parker's 10,000 ounce goal, Ken and Stewart's needs to produce at least 2,000 ounces.
13:15But so far, it's produced nothing.
13:19And the cut is still not down to pay dirt.
13:22I've been away from Parker and his crew for the last few seasons.
13:26In charge of getting the pit ready for sluicing is veteran miner Brennan Ruhel.
13:32I'm with my original gold rush family and I'm back with them again.
13:35Can't wait to see the little yellow flakes on the sluice box.
13:38After joining Parker's crew 10 years ago and quickly proving himself as an expert operator.
13:46If anybody wants to go home, they can go home.
13:50Disagreements with Parker drove Brennan to quit.
13:53Go pack my sh** and leave right now. I don't give a sh** about any of this sh**.
13:57But since then, tempers have cooled.
14:01Well, we left on terms and I think we just started losing communication between one another.
14:06It was definitely a big thing.
14:12We've got a bunch of projects to do, but I'm not sure which one to focus on.
14:15So you are going to have a wash plant here soon.
14:17Yeah.
14:18And with gold price where they are, we're just going to hammer on the sluicing.
14:21Gotcha. That makes sense.
14:23We could start in here quite soon, right?
14:25Not really.
14:26In that center section, there's a big frozen spot still.
14:29And I mean, we've been working ditches and working ditches and pull and thaw.
14:32So we're falling behind on a stripping.
14:37Holding potentially 20% of Parker's season goal, frozen ground means Brennan's cut is off track for sluicing.
14:47I need help.
14:48That's the challenge that I've got right now.
14:50We can hopefully catch back up with falling behind on the stripping throughout the summer.
14:56Okay.
14:58Some big rock in here.
15:00I'm excited to see down there because I've never seen such big rock on the Indian River myself.
15:06And hopefully there's a bunch of gold up there.
15:07F***ing hope so.
15:09What else you got on the go today?
15:10I've got to go to town and sell some gold.
15:12Oh, nice.
15:13Pay you guys.
15:15Hate that.
15:15Okay, well, that sounds good.
15:19I'm going to keep ditching here so you have fun in town.
15:21I'll be waiting for my paycheck.
15:24Thanks, Brennan.
15:26Sending Brennan the stripping crew would help accelerate his sluicing timeline.
15:32But there's still one more site to visit.
15:35That right there is definitely the hard part of Parker's job because all of us can use an abundance of every piece of equipment here
15:42to get the scope of the work done that he sets out every year.
15:45You know, I see how stressed out I can get out here in the cut just running a crew that he owns.
15:51I don't have to worry about new equipment, mechanics, paying all the fuel bills and the wages.
15:56That's a lot to get thrown into at whatever he started at.
16:00What was it, 14 years old or something?
16:02So I'm sure there's always a stress, but it isn't conveyed to the crew anymore like it used to be.
16:07And it's super awesome to be a part of that.
16:09A lot of my job is figuring out where the next ounces are and trying to replace the ones we mine, right?
16:20I am pretty financially motivated and I analyze decisions in my life based on the financial impacts of them.
16:31I don't think it's a good thing.
16:34Was your grandpa like that?
16:35I don't know.
16:41He wasn't when I knew him.
16:45But that was in his 80s and 90s.
16:48People change in their 80s and 90s.
16:50My grandpa dying, I was very well prepared for it.
17:00He was so old.
17:03But my dozer dying was so brutal.
17:07My dog.
17:10He wasn't that old, you know?
17:11He was only eight.
17:13He's actually buried just around the corner here.
17:15I've also got a new member of the team to introduce.
17:22Dozer.
17:24During Parker's second year in the Yukon.
17:26Come on, buddy.
17:27Don't run away.
17:29Do you not like gold mining?
17:30Come on.
17:31He brought a 12-week-old puppy to the mine site.
17:34What's wrong?
17:36Huh?
17:37A lab and German shepherd mix, Dozer was Parker's constant companion.
17:42I gotta work there, man.
17:44Over the next eight mining seasons.
17:47Sometimes I wish I was a dog.
17:49Until passing away two years ago.
17:54I don't think I've ever walked over to where I buried him.
17:58And the ground was frozen, so Jordan had to bring me a dozer and an excavator to rip the ground to be able to bury him.
18:08I don't even know.
18:08Well, I know I'll find the spot.
18:10But it's just up here.
18:11Let's go say hi.
18:14This is him.
18:25Unmarked grave.
18:29I always meant to have a headstone made for him.
18:33Why'd you pick this spot?
18:35Oh, he just had a good view of the valley.
18:37It just felt like it was a nice spot.
18:49Yeah.
18:50He was a good dog.
18:51Coming up.
19:06Can't wait for a warm-up.
19:08Parker cashes in.
19:09Normally you bring in more than this.
19:12Oh, no.
19:13Today was kind of supposed to be a day off for me, but by the end of the day, I kind of have to have an answer about, yeah, the stripping crew need to go next.
19:34It's past midday, and Parker is still trying to determine which cut his stripping crew will work on next.
19:44Right now I'm just going to see Sulphur.
19:46Last stop is Parker's newest project, Sulphur Creek.
19:54Bought last year, Sulphur delivered over 700 ounces of gold.
20:00This season, Parker needs double that number to hit his 10,000-ounce gold.
20:06Sulphur is important to do, but I kind of want to just get a temperature check on Mitch and see how he's doing.
20:12In charge of the Sulphur Creek project is one of Parker's longtime crew members, Mitch Blaschke.
20:21I remember working for Parker when he was a bit younger there, and man, it was people coming and going, and they were going faster than they were coming.
20:31Starting as a young mechanic.
20:33How's it going?
20:34I'm looking forward to a good season, and whatever it takes to get the job done, and get some gold in the box.
20:40Mitch is now one of Parker's most valued miners.
20:44As soon as we get this thing finished up, you're going to head downtown with it and try and pick up some chicks?
20:50Yeah, that's what I need.
20:52And their relationship has had both highs...
20:55You are a hell of a leader.
20:57...and lows.
20:59I'm not very happy with you. It's a mess.
21:01For that kid being such a genius, some days he's a f***ing moron.
21:08Hi.
21:09How's it going?
21:10Good. How are you?
21:11Not too bad.
21:14Just got done with the cleanup, doing a little maintenance.
21:16How'd your cleanup look?
21:18There's some gold in it.
21:19It's just really hard to tell, like, some of it was sitting on the top, but we'll know a lot more when Chris gives us some numbers there.
21:27How are you doing?
21:28Good.
21:29Sorry for keeping you up so late.
21:31All right, that was pretty fun.
21:32That was fun.
21:34This pile's going to go in a hurry.
21:35Yeah.
21:36Especially when you turn your feed rate up a bit.
21:38What I'm worried about here is, like, this pile being gone before we have that stripped and are able to start hauling pay down to it.
21:44Gotcha.
21:44We're just trying to keep it going, but it'd be really nice if we could have some more trucks down here.
21:48Just to try to make it by the time your water license runs out.
21:51Exactly.
21:54Sulfur Creek is historically gold-rich, but Plucker's water license expires this season.
22:01If sulfur isn't mined out this year, he may lose any remaining gold forever.
22:08I'll see what we can do.
22:10I'm supposed to go talk to Nona again, so I can chat to her as well.
22:14All right.
22:14Thanks, dude.
22:15No problem, man.
22:20This project just keeps expanding, and with that, you need more resources with the time frame that we're working against here.
22:26You know, let's talk to Parker.
22:29He's learned a lot about dealing with people and problems over the years, and he's certainly grown up a lot.
22:35You know, you hear Parker talking about wanting to have a family.
22:38I think Parker would make a good dad.
22:40Who knows?
22:41Maybe one of these days, you know, our kids will be out here playing together or moving dirt and finding gold.
22:47One of the fun things about the job, you get to a size, and it reminds me of, like, those, like, World War II movies when you've got all of the little, like, battalions and the army on, like, the big map, and you're, like, pushing them with those little, like, craps sticks.
23:09Brennan has way too much on his plate on the Indian River right now.
23:12Mitch could use another truck or two, Tyson could use another truck or two.
23:18I don't know what I want.
23:20I really don't know.
23:22I usually like a bit more time to make a decision.
23:26Before making the call on where to send his stripping crew, Parker takes a detour to the Indian River.
23:34This is the stretch of Indian River that we spent most of our time cutting our teeth on, not by our old camp.
23:43It's where we started, you know, with Little Blue that I bought from Todd Hoffman, and then Big Red, and then Goldzilla, and then Slucifer.
23:54Over the last decade, Parker mined an astonishing 60,000 ounces from claims on the Indian River.
24:04In the early days, I was scared to death of failing, but I had the sense that nobody cared whether we succeeded or failed, which was just totally wrong.
24:17And it caused me to be a very bad manager and very negative towards the people around me, and it pushed a lot of really good people away.
24:30Like most things, I had to learn the lessons the hard way.
24:34This is our old camp on the Indian River, and I just wanted to peek inside here and see what kind of shape it's in.
24:41I haven't been in it in two years, maybe even three.
24:49Parker's purchase of Dominion Creek came with an existing campsite, making his old camp obsolete.
24:56Oh, well, that is outside.
25:05Yeah, we stayed here for nine years.
25:08We mined here for like 11 years, but the first two years we stayed somewhere else.
25:15This definitely brings back a lot of memories.
25:19It's been gnarly in here, isn't it?
25:20Let's get out of here before we get black mold in our lungs.
25:24This was home from the time I was 18 until two years ago, right?
25:3312 years, almost.
25:35I stayed on that hill in a well site.
25:38Moving trailers this remote costs tens of thousands of dollars, and with nowhere to put them,
25:45Parker has simply mothballed the Indian River camp until it's needed.
26:00Now it's lunchtime.
26:01See ya.
26:09Coming up.
26:10A lot of dreamers out there.
26:11Who's that?
26:13Those are your old friends.
26:15Is that the Hoffmans?
26:18Want to come up and learn to dance?
26:20Oh, you hatched to.
26:21Ha, ha, ha, ha.
26:31It's getting a fair bit busier.
26:37There's a lot going on up here.
26:39And so we're trying to hit the ground running for the next project.
26:43His day nearly done.
26:46Parker still needs to sell gold in Dawson City and make a decision on his stripping crew's next project.
26:53When we get, like, the main section of Dominion Mined Out, I really don't know what the company looks like.
27:03For a mining company the size we are, that's a little bit scary.
27:08The idea of closing down the business scares me a lot.
27:11The idea of being here for another 20 years scares me a lot.
27:19Now I'm going to see Chris.
27:21I worry about Chris a bit.
27:23You know, he's not, he's got some health issues as an aging man.
27:30With this material, you can't push it.
27:34Starting as Parker's wash plant expert at age 61.
27:39We have gold puddle after gold puddle after gold puddle.
27:43Oh, oh, now.
27:45A back injury forced Chris Dumit to become the gold room guru.
27:51We've cleaned a lot of gold down here.
27:52And Parker confidant.
27:55You're not going to sign this, are you?
27:57Now, age 73, Chris is Parker's longest serving and oldest crew member.
28:05I ain't signing it.
28:06He's still good at his job and he's a very important part of the mine site.
28:15I don't want to do it without him.
28:26Hello.
28:27Hey, Parker.
28:28How's it going?
28:28Good.
28:29How are you?
28:29Good.
28:30Busy.
28:31Do you have some gold for me?
28:32I do.
28:32I'm going to bring that into town and are you going to come with me?
28:35Gertie's?
28:36Yeah.
28:36Oh, ooh.
28:37Ooh.
28:39You're twisting my arm.
28:40I'll go.
28:40But there's something other gold room I want to show you.
28:42All right.
28:42I'm messing with.
28:47So I made that gold coin for you last year.
28:51Yeah.
28:51And I was thinking if we made small ones.
28:53Right.
28:55They'd be a lot more affordable.
28:57That's cool.
28:57Last year.
29:00Caesar Parker.
29:02Novelish.
29:03I know how you like old Roman coins.
29:06Chris started experimenting with casting custom gold coins as a gift for Parker.
29:12Thank you, Chris.
29:13You bet.
29:13I hope it brightens your day.
29:17This one's a little bit lighter.
29:19About a quarter of an ounce.
29:21It has a P on it.
29:23Oh, wow.
29:23So I'm trying different thicknesses for different weights.
29:26Because a quarter ounce, you're still at 900 bucks.
29:31Yeah.
29:32The thinner they get, the harder they are to cast.
29:34But if we had a press?
29:36Yeah, with a stamp, you can make any size.
29:39You know, like they do coins.
29:40Right.
29:41Do you think people would buy this?
29:43I think so.
29:44I mean, it's gold.
29:45It's an investment, right?
29:46And the cool thing about it is it's just like straight out of the ground,
29:49and you could ship it straight to people who are buying it, like retail.
29:53Right.
29:53I like that.
29:54That's cool.
29:55Very neat.
29:57But I like that it's rough.
29:59Okay.
30:01Good.
30:01Rustic.
30:02Yeah.
30:02In the carpentry trade.
30:03It's like pirate gold.
30:04Rustic.
30:06We're getting a lot of interest for Parker's gold,
30:09probably some of the most famous gold on the planet.
30:12So we're going to work on different ideas
30:15to see if we can't make it affordable
30:17so that everybody has a chance to own some of Parker's gold.
30:20And speaking of that, we're going to run off to town, sell some gold,
30:24and see if we can't keep this company going.
30:26To sell his gold in Dawson City, Parker must drive more than 50 miles over rough mining roads
30:42through the historic gold fields that were once home to thousands of hopeful miners during the gold rush.
30:49Kind of make you wonder, what possesses a person from all these hills, all this ground?
31:00Go.
31:00Hmm.
31:01I'll bet you there's gold right here.
31:02I think people explored all over the place.
31:06There was tens of thousands of people up here wanting to gold mine.
31:10Yeah.
31:11So they just went to every creek around and started digging holes.
31:14There were that many people, huh?
31:16During the gold rush?
31:17Yeah.
31:17Yeah.
31:18You're not aggressively looking for ground, are you?
31:21No.
31:22There are very few properties that are big enough to appeal to us now.
31:28There's more available for the mob and pop operation there is than there is ours.
31:33And there's little operations sprouting up all over the place.
31:36Yeah.
31:42Oh, yeah.
31:45A lot of dreamers out there.
31:47Who's that?
31:52Oh, yeah.
31:55Those are your old friends.
31:58I know this plant.
32:01Is that the holy roller?
32:02Yeah.
32:0416 years ago.
32:06Feels like I'm coming home.
32:08Todd Hoffman moved his first wash plant onto his claim in Alaska.
32:13It looks like a big piece of junk.
32:15Under the watchful eye of his young neighbor, Parker Schnabel.
32:19The holy roller.
32:20After investing in a new trommel, Todd lost a hundred ounce bet with Parker to see who could mine more gold in a season.
32:31Not easy to do, hand a hundred ounces out.
32:34But here you go, Parker.
32:35And ultimately, retired from gold mining.
32:38A lot of dreamers.
32:45A lot of dreamers.
32:47Takes you back a hundred years, doesn't it?
32:49Wonder if we'll run into that guy.
32:52Actually looks like a pretty nice plant.
32:54I don't know.
32:55Looks like a piece of junk to me.
32:59Let's go to town and sell some gold.
33:00Come here.
33:15There's an old cabin right here.
33:18With a big old-time safe that's, like, got the doors blown off of it.
33:23I've always wondered what the story is behind that.
33:27It reminds me of a story that my grandpa told me.
33:30This mining operation on Porcupine Creek in the 30s, they had this big sluice box and they had just done a big cleanup, got the gold.
33:41That night, manager's dead in his house.
33:47They go to open the safe and the gold's gone.
33:50Nobody can find the gold.
33:52And the company goes bankrupt because they can't pay their bills.
33:55To the best of my knowledge, that's a true story.
33:59Pretty cool, huh?
34:00I never really like to have too much gold on site, and we've also got a lot of bills to pay.
34:21To keep his operation going, Parker's cashing in some gold.
34:27Okay, let's do it.
34:28Before he makes his final decision on where to send the stripping crew.
34:33Normally you bring in more than this.
34:35I do normally bring in more than this.
34:37Start of season.
34:39Darren Hunter is the premier gold buyer for Klondike Miners.
34:44Got to wait for her to warm up.
34:45Processing millions in gold every year.
34:50So, how's the season going so far?
34:52What do you have right now?
34:53You have six cleanups a week?
34:56We do three, then a day off, then three.
34:59Right.
35:00And this is sulfur, you said, Parker?
35:01Yeah.
35:01It's way finer.
35:07It's 99.8.
35:10What did we bring sulfur in at, do you remember, Parker?
35:1380.
35:13Yeah.
35:13So, then you're right on target, 79 to 81.
35:17Darren determines the cash value based on the daily spot price per ounce and the gold's purity.
35:25At 80% pure, Parker's 99.8 ounces is worth over a quarter of a million dollars.
35:34So, that's a purity?
35:34But this is actually a pretty cool thing.
35:36That's a purity of every creek around here?
35:36This is actually a pretty cool thing, yeah.
35:39Those are the purities of every creek.
35:41Some of those go back to the gold rush, because some of them haven't been mined since.
35:46So, those purities would be back from then.
35:49This is cool.
35:51All raw gold in the Yukon has small amounts of other metals, like silver, mixed in.
35:58Also, you can get it in this, Chris.
36:00Oh, there we are.
36:05Little Fight Mine is property.
36:07We made the book.
36:08We're in the book in 2023.
36:11They employ the best gold room attendants.
36:16The most humble gold cleaner.
36:18Yeah, most humble gold room guy in the whole Yukon.
36:24Always the cleanest gold I get, Chris.
36:27Well, thank you.
36:28You're welcome.
36:28It's always the cleanest.
36:33Perfect.
36:34Thank you very much, and I will put that in your account.
36:36Perfect.
36:38Thanks a lot.
36:38See you later.
36:39Good to see you.
36:39All right, we can go back to work, or we can go to the casino.
36:46I know what we should do.
36:48I know what we're going to do.
36:49Casinos and dance halls have sprung up in every gold rush boomtown in history.
37:02You got your Gerties part?
37:03And Dawson City is no exception.
37:06The iconic can-can dancers and professional gamblers were masters at parting the miners from their hard-earned gold.
37:19Oh, hello there.
37:24Do you want to come up and learn a dance?
37:26No.
37:27It'll be so much fun.
37:28No, I'm not doing that.
37:29No?
37:29No.
37:30I'm sorry.
37:31I can't.
37:31Now turn around, shake what your mother gave you.
37:34Then turn back around.
37:35Big finish!
37:36Excellent!
37:37Aren't they incredible!
37:38Oh, I should have split them!
37:40You missed our poker game last night.
37:44Did you win?
37:45No, I lost.
37:46No, I lost.
37:47Brennan and Mitch won.
37:48No!
37:49It was Brennan, Mitch, Tyson and I.
37:50We were up way too late, but it was good.
37:52To a good season.
37:53To a good season.
37:54To a good season.
37:55Cheers!
37:56Cheers!
37:57Oh!
37:5816!
37:59Yeah!
38:00Woohoo!
38:01Staying and staying.
38:02Dealer-esque.
38:03So what did you guys talk about?
38:06You missed our poker game last night.
38:08Did you win?
38:09No, I lost.
38:10Brennan and Mitch won.
38:11No.
38:12It was Brennan, Mitch, Tyson and I.
38:13We were up way too late, but it was good.
38:14So what did you guys talk about during your poker game?
38:16Talked about having kids.
38:17Yeah?
38:18Are you thinking about baby making?
38:23I think you'd make a hell of a dad, that's for sure.
38:25I know you would.
38:27I don't actually feel like I'm in that big of a rush,
38:29but it is the one thing that's missing.
38:31For sure.
38:33I think that was probably one of the scariest moments of my life,
38:36when I first became a dad.
38:39I bet.
38:40I would be scared .
38:42Should I split the nines?
38:43This is such a bad idea.
38:46It's 10.
38:4720.
38:48Yeah, I think we're better gold miners than we are gamblers,
38:52Parker.
38:53Don't tell Nona about this.
38:54Evan's no.
38:55But I'm glad you're back.
38:57Yeah.
38:58I think this is the year that I really felt my age.
39:01Yeah?
39:02Yeah.
39:03I get up here and I feel so much better.
39:04Right.
39:05I feel so much healthier.
39:06I'm ready to go.
39:07I'm ready to rock and roll.
39:09I don't think that anybody else should tell you what is best for you.
39:16I wasn't planning on talking to you about this, but you understand the risks of being up
39:20here.
39:21Yeah.
39:22We're far away from a hospital.
39:23Oh, I see what you're saying.
39:24Yeah.
39:25That's your decision to make.
39:26Yeah.
39:27I don't want to be a liability.
39:29You're not a liability.
39:30I don't care.
39:31You die on the mine side.
39:32We'll just bury you in a tailings pile.
39:34Yeah.
39:35And I would be totally happy.
39:38They put me in fine tailings, not cores.
39:40I just don't want you to ever feel like that's something that is an issue for me, for you
39:46to be here.
39:47Okay.
39:48I said it years ago, and as long as I can, and as long as it's fun.
39:53Yeah.
39:54Right?
39:55We won one.
39:56Yeah.
39:57Let's go.
39:59Yes.
40:00Decline.
40:01Is that your wife?
40:04No, no.
40:05Oh, I do owe her an answer about a few things.
40:10I gotta run.
40:12Hello?
40:13It's the end of the day.
40:14I haven't heard back from you on the stripping crew.
40:17Where would you like them to go?
40:19We're going to keep the stripping crew at Dominion to help with all the projects that
40:23need to get done there.
40:24Okay.
40:25Dominion it is.
40:26Dominion's the number one priority.
40:28We'll have to take care of this year.
40:30To stay on target for his 10,000 ounce season, Parker's decided to keep his stripping crew
40:37focused on the flagship Dominion Creek property.
40:40Did you sell the gold today?
40:41Because we need that.
40:42Yeah.
40:43Of course I sold the gold.
40:45And money will be on the account tomorrow.
40:47Hope you had a great day off.
40:49Talk to you later.
40:50Good night.
40:51Good night, boys.
40:52So, yeah.
40:53Bit of a busy day.
40:54But not too bad.
40:58Nice to hang out with Chris in town.
41:00That doesn't happen too often, actually.
41:02We chose the day well.
41:06And...
41:07Um, hi, Bosco, you good?
41:14Good night.
41:15Good night, boys.
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