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00:00There's a secret war going on in the outback town of Claremont.
00:14The gold here is so good and the value of gold now is so high.
00:19Oh, look at that.
00:20Dog ate dog.
00:21The wars are on.
00:23Why are you entertaining this idiot?
00:26I was a bit pissed off when Donnie come in.
00:28How good, son?
00:30Three mining teams.
00:32We have to blow money into the mine, so we have to make it work.
00:36Fighting it out on the one patch of land.
00:40This is just some of the stuff Donnie's been walking over.
00:43Guys, I'd be lucky if I don't walk over his big nose.
00:47This time.
00:48You ready, Kimbo?
00:49Let's learn how to drive this thing.
00:51Dan throws Kimberley into the deep end with mixed results.
00:55What am I doing?
00:57That area there, man.
00:58That's where I'm going.
00:59Dennis and Donnie hatch an audacious plan to peg new ground.
01:04If these guys kiss up me, I'll be pissed.
01:07And send Lee packing.
01:09Sick of diving into my own pockets to pay for everything.
01:13And Richie's bizarre Gold Coast gold dig.
01:17We scanned a lot of weird and wonderful things in our scanner, but never a gold nugget.
01:20To supercharge Team 1870's operation.
01:24The 24 grain ain't going to cover.
01:26That's my absolute last and final offer.
01:28At 1870, Dan and wife Kira are prepping their dry blower for a day of processing work.
01:55Put these on, we can fire it up.
01:57Yeah.
01:58So she's probably the best we've ever worked together.
02:01The day's still young.
02:02The dry blower's already delivered four ounces of gold.
02:08The conveyor's running through.
02:11So we should be kicking ass today.
02:14Let's just get this up and running.
02:16Get some dirt through it.
02:17And at the end of the day, let's see the gold coming out.
02:20Dan now needs to bring the wash plant online.
02:22And then get the two machines working together in tandem.
02:27Their $500,000 season target depends on it.
02:32We're already weeks behind where we need to be.
02:35So you girls are now going to have to step up.
02:40But upscaling a mine costs money.
02:43And they now need a new generator.
02:47Cue Richie.
02:48So Richie's gone back to the Gold Coast to go sell some gold.
02:52We need a generator.
02:53We need one for the wash plant.
02:55Richie's on the hunt for $30,000 cash.
02:58He's hoping one of his rich Gold Coast mates will step up and buy an 1870 nugget off him.
03:05Richie's gone to sell some gold so we can keep going, buy some more generators, keep it going.
03:11Yeah.
03:12So Kira and I are going to be on the tools today.
03:14I'm going to give yourself and Kimberley a crash course on how to use a loader.
03:20That way Braden and myself can get back up and keep continuing off the wash plant.
03:25It's been the slowest start to the season.
03:27But seeing that gold come in, I think we're on the right track.
03:30We can still do this.
03:32As long as there's no more breakdowns.
03:33So now that we've got all the ground loosened up over here for the loader to pick up,
03:37you girls are just going to dump the dirt up into the bin.
03:41All the gold will get caught up in these riffles here.
03:44All the lighter material will come off into the conveyor and go straight into our tailings.
03:49So how much gold do you think Kira and I are going to get today running this, all this?
03:53Look, I'd like to see close to an ounce at the end of today.
03:56I'll do two.
03:57Dan and Richie sacked all their contractors.
04:021870 is now a full-on family affair.
04:06So I've been thrown out here.
04:07Clearly my nails weren't built for mining.
04:10I don't know how this is going to go.
04:12Only time will tell if Dan's bunch of mining misfits can actually do the job and turn a profit.
04:20You ready, Kimberley?
04:21Let's learn how to drive this thing.
04:25So there is a seatbelt as well.
04:27What do you think I'm going to do?
04:28Burnouts?
04:29It's going to be a lot of new things on my resume.
04:32Okay.
04:33Don't run me over.
04:35Is this scary?
04:37I think the girls have got potential.
04:40Oh my God.
04:41It's a race.
04:42Go, go, go.
04:44No?
04:47Oh, I've got to put it in drive.
04:48There we go.
04:52Oh.
04:53Okay.
04:53At the end of the day, something is better than nothing.
04:59Okay.
04:59Okay.
05:01Lower the whole bucket down.
05:05Jesus.
05:05Keep it going.
05:06Okay, yep.
05:08Now drive forward.
05:09Oh my gosh.
05:10It's a little bit different to driving my car at home.
05:15Keep it going.
05:18Now start to curl the bucket so you control towards you.
05:22Keep it going.
05:25Keep it going.
05:27Perfect.
05:27That's pretty good for a person who's never operated a machine in her life.
05:55other than the Mercedes Benz.
05:58Awesome.
06:00I'll get a hang of it one year to the day.
06:02Absolutely.
06:04The dry blower uses air and vibration to separate the gold from the dirt.
06:09Kimberley needs to carefully feed the hopper bin without overloading the riffle trays underneath.
06:15Or the whole thing will jam up and grind to a halt.
06:21Okay, that's it.
06:22There's a lot into it to get it running right.
06:27The riffle trays, if they're not on the right angle, you lose gold.
06:30The feed rate, if it's not right, you lose gold.
06:34So we're just trying to keep an eye on the dirt levels, okay?
06:38Oh, that was enough.
06:39Well, I'm just trying to get Kira to keep an eye on how much dirt's going through to make
06:45sure that the hopper bins aren't getting over full.
06:48Dan needs Kira and Kimberley to operate independently, without his supervision.
06:53Oh, it's on.
06:54No.
06:56He needs to get back to assembling the washboard.
06:59I'll let you take the reins.
07:00You give her a full guide now on how to get the dirt and dump it.
07:04Good luck, guys.
07:05I'm fairly confident these girls can figure the machines out.
07:11I'm going to shoot off and get my day underway.
07:14At Scratchy Moo, Damo and Lee are making progress mining the Megapit.
07:28This big pile here is the pile of spoil, which is everything that's come out of the top six metres.
07:35As much as you want to get all the gold out with the detector, obviously, when you're moving
07:40so much ground, peel up nuggets in the slate, then we spread it out, re-detect it, you get
07:47a lot more gold out of that.
07:49Mine owners Damo and Matt have quietly been raking in the gold.
07:54They're at $275,000 for the season.
07:58I think we'll get 100 ounces pretty easy.
08:01I don't want to say pretty easy.
08:02It's bloody hard work.
08:04But I don't see anything stopping us from getting there based on our trajectory now.
08:09Show us what you're made of.
08:11And then there's Lee, hovering in the wings with big promises to buy some land off them.
08:17So working with the boys here and seeing the gold, there's good volumes of gold.
08:22I'm confident enough to want to do a deal.
08:25You see, we don't even have to have our picks with us in this stuff.
08:28This is where Scratchy truly comes to life, because I can just scratch.
08:32My heart's content like a chicken.
08:35There we go.
08:35But Lee's in the middle of a divorce.
08:39Getting hold of funds to pay for the land is proving more difficult than he imagined.
08:45So for me to get this coin together, I need to settle with the X, get that money through,
08:52free my cash-ups to pay these boys, get it done.
08:56Gold!
08:56Oh yeah, that'll be a good one.
08:59It's pretty robust.
09:00See, it's got some chunk to it.
09:02So that'll be...
09:03It's probably a 0.4 there.
09:06And there'll be plenty...
09:06You can do that all afternoon on this.
09:09It's got a bit of a wobble there, isn't it?
09:21At Swiss Diggings, Lee's ex-business partner, Donnie, and his new boss, Dennis, are on fire.
09:29They're well over a third of the way towards their season target.
09:33We've got a good colour here.
09:35Yeah, I reckon she's going to drop off through here.
09:39It was a masterstroke by Dennis to take on Donnie at a time when no-one wanted anything to do with him.
09:46Me and Donnie have been working all right.
09:47We've been going well together.
09:49Donnie's provided enough evidence that he can do what he can do.
09:53Donnie's the secret sauce Dennis has been waiting for to take his operation to the next level.
09:59Dennis needs to keep him on side.
10:01I pulled up a GRS here.
10:03I'm having to look around at different grounds to see where we can actually pop a new lease in.
10:07For us.
10:09Serious?
10:09Yeah.
10:10Barely serious.
10:14Well, this is serious.
10:15Thanks.
10:17I honestly think he needs to be on his own lease, so I've thrown the option out there to peg a lease together.
10:22With a bit of luck, he'll end up owning it, and that's the ultimate goal.
10:30Dennis has given me a chance.
10:31It has really given me the go ahead and the setup for myself.
10:34That's what I've always wanted.
10:35What do you reckon is good ground?
10:38I know there's good ground behind 1870 there, so we've got good gold coming through this valley system running into 1870 there, right through.
10:48Yeah, and it's good, rich ground.
10:51And who owns this EPM around Scratchy Moot?
10:53That's Matt and Damage.
10:55That is Matt and Damage.
10:56That area there, man, that's where I'll be going.
10:59The land they're looking to peg is the exact same parcel of land that Lee, Donnie's old business partner, is trying to buy.
11:07Dennis' audacious plan will put Donnie and Lee on a direct collision course with each other.
11:13There's not much ground left out there, mate, so this is an opportunity, I think, that we probably need to start capitalising on.
11:18I'm here on the Gold Coast, so I can sell one of these nuggets we've got.
11:31Richie's back in his hometown, hoping to sell a showpiece nugget to one of his cashed-up socialite mates.
11:39I've got a mate who's a doctor here on the coast.
11:42He owns one of the biggest radiology companies, blow up the latest and greatest bells and whistles.
11:46He has expressed interest in buying some gold, and if he does, then I can afford to buy this generator I'm eyeing off.
11:56Selling gold before the season's end was never meant to be part of the plan.
12:02But cost blowouts and machine breakdowns have left Richie out of pocket.
12:07The upsetting part for me is he's selling one of the biggest nuggets I've ever found.
12:11When I dug that nugget out of the ground, it was just a special moment.
12:17They're hard to come by that size.
12:19Still one of the biggest nuggets I've ever found, so I'm hoping he gets what I've told him to get.
12:24Dan's nugget weighs 144 grams, just under 5 ounces.
12:30At today's gold price, that's around $28,000.
12:34But nuggets this size are extremely rare and can command a premium.
12:39Dan has instructed Richie not to sell the nugget for anything less than $30,000.
12:45I'm sick of diving into my own pockets to pay for everything.
12:49Now that mine can start paying for itself.
12:54Knock, knock.
12:55Come on in.
12:56Buddy.
12:57How are you, mate?
12:57How are you going?
12:59Good.
12:59I brought you a present.
13:02Ka-ching.
13:03Holy cow.
13:05That is quite a nugget.
13:07It's bloody heavy, isn't it?
13:08That's the biggest one we've found so far.
13:10Well, since I've taken over the mine anyway.
13:12It's got a bit of weight to it.
13:13It has.
13:16144.35.
13:17Wow.
13:19So how pure is this rock?
13:20Well, Claremont has got literally one of Australia's most pure quality nuggets at 97% to 99% pure gold.
13:30The average in Australia is between 92% to 98%.
13:33So Claremont gold is one of my sought-after gold, especially the nuggets.
13:37They're super rare.
13:38It's clear that Gus really wants this nugget.
13:40I've just got to get him across the line.
13:42I need to get some cash flow going so I can buy this generator.
13:45How are you going, mate?
13:51Yeah, good.
13:52Pretty close?
13:53Yeah, I'm just double-checking on the measurements.
13:56Back at 1870, Dan and son Brayden are hard at it trying to assemble the new wash plant.
14:03So now the girls are up and running with the dry blower, that frees me up.
14:07I can be up here with Brayden putting together some machinery.
14:11So this is going to be one of our feed conveyors.
14:15We've just assembled it.
14:17So now we just want to make sure it doesn't track to one side.
14:20Because if it does do that and it starts hitting the framework,
14:25well, we're going to destroy a belt fairly quick.
14:26And at this point in time, I don't want any more delays.
14:31But Dan's decision to leave Kira and Kimberly unsupervised might not have been a wise one.
14:37All right, start tilting it back.
14:41All right, no, not going back.
14:43You've got to tilt the...
14:44Oh, yeah.
14:46Oh, my God.
14:47Okay.
14:49Oh, my God.
14:51Oh!
14:53What am I doing?
14:56That wasn't meant to happen.
14:58Definitely the front-end loader doesn't compare to driving a Mercedes.
15:02A little bit bumpy.
15:04A little rough.
15:05Oh!
15:05It's definitely not a Mercedes.
15:13I don't judge a book by cover, but I genuinely did not think that that girl was going to do any good.
15:22Look.
15:23All right?
15:26I love that it is.
15:27But from the outset, I didn't think she was going to do well.
15:30Low and steady wins the race.
15:32I'm trying to find out to get tired of this.
15:37She got in there, and I was very, very impressed.
15:41Perfect.
15:42Don't tell her I said that.
15:44Yeah.
15:46Karen.
15:47What?
15:47What Team 1870 lacks in experience, they more than make up for in have-a-go, true grit.
16:02I don't like getting too close to the team.
16:06Is that good?
16:08Everyone here has a lot to lose if they don't get it right.
16:12We have put everything on the line.
16:14So much work, so much effort.
16:17Richie's pumped in so much money.
16:20But we're finally there.
16:22Like, we can actually give it a crack.
16:25Okay, that's it.
16:28Loading the driveway is a delicate operation.
16:32I think I'm doing the hang of this now.
16:34Kimberley is a fast learner.
16:37The question is, does she know when to stop?
16:42Go, go, go!
16:44Stop.
16:44Stop, stop!
16:50You're ready to go!
16:52What's up?
16:53What's happened?
16:55Something's happened.
16:57Drive well.
16:58Yeah, it's like the pot ribbit or something there.
17:02That's not good, so we're at a little standstill, so this gets fixed, I guess.
17:07The town of Claremont.
17:18And Donnie's stocking up on supplies for Swiss diggings.
17:21Hey, Dennis, what's going on?
17:26Mate, I've had to bail.
17:28You've had to bail?
17:30Yeah, mate, yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:31I've had to go back to the coast.
17:34Oh, serious?
17:36Yeah, this container's arrived and this excavator's in it, so I've had to come home to get that
17:40sorted out, mate.
17:42So I've had to bail.
17:45I had an excavator that I designed and had built in China.
17:49The freight company told me it was coming in, and so I had a 48-hour window to get it out of the box.
17:54The timing was just the worst that could ever possibly happen.
17:57Interestingly enough, I've had an email from Damien over at Scratchy.
18:02Yeah.
18:03Apparently, Leach McGrubb is looking at the same ground that we were sort of thinking about pegging out.
18:08Leach McGrubb.
18:11From that email, what he said is, Leach McGrubb is there, mate, to make the deal.
18:16It's just like a bad déjà vu with that bloke, fair dickle.
18:22I just can't seem to get away from this bloke.
18:24Whatever Donnie's feelings towards his old business partner are,
18:30Lee was the first one in to make an offer.
18:34But he's struggling to get hold of enough cash to ink a deal.
18:38And that could give Dennis and Donnie the opening they need.
18:42I'd rather do this myself, but I don't think we've actually got any other option, mate.
18:46I'm going to need you to hop foot over there, over to Scratchy's.
18:49Today? This morning?
18:51Yeah, this morning, mate. I don't think we've got any time to wait.
18:53We've got any chance of putting the cat amongst the pigeons with the grub right now.
18:59Donnie, he is not the person that I would normally send in to do that,
19:03especially with his baggage with Lee.
19:05But we had no other choice.
19:08You've got to be cool, calm and collected, mate.
19:10You know me, I'm always cool, calm and collected.
19:13I don't have an awful lot of time.
19:15They're probably getting offers at 100 to 1.
19:20So I'm coming after him.
19:22So what do you want me to talk to Damo and Matty about?
19:25How do you want me to approach this?
19:28So Matt and Damo, they want 100% up front.
19:30And that's before the lease even goes through.
19:33It just doesn't make good business sense to me.
19:34I'd rather do 50% up front than 50% on completion or sign up for the lease.
19:43Yeah, right.
19:45Mining leases can take up to three years to get approved by the mines department.
19:49And there's no guarantees they will even go through.
19:54Paying 100% up front puts the financial risk squarely on the buyer.
20:00And I think probably because old McGrub's in there,
20:03they could probably start playing hardball with us as well.
20:07So let's go and see what they've got, the terms, and we go from there, right?
20:12I ain't going out there seeing that.
20:14Well, look, at the end of the day, I think you've got to put your business head on your shoulders, mate.
20:21And you've just got to do what you've got to do.
20:24Talking business is not my forte.
20:26All I can really do is go out there and tell them that we want it and we're interested.
20:30And I would suggest to Lee, he really stay out of my way.
20:40Took you long enough.
20:42Been having a beer.
20:43I wish.
20:45At 1870, production has stalled.
20:49One of the ripple trays on the dry blower has come loose.
20:52It's not one thing, it's another, eh?
20:54It's always something.
20:55The machine's vibration has caused a rivet to pop and break.
21:00You can see how violent the vibrator on this is working, you know,
21:04and anything that moves is always going to wear.
21:08Something so basic, a five-cent pop rivet snapped.
21:12Stop stoperation.
21:14I'm hoping this is the last time this breaks.
21:15I'm...
21:16I've just got too much to do, you know.
21:19One step forward, three steps back.
21:22So you girls are right to go again, eh?
21:24Yep.
21:25Good.
21:25It's got to do.
21:26And that's been kicking our ass since the beginning of the season.
21:29On the Gold Coast, Richie's idea to sell some gold to an old mate who happens to be a doctor has taken a bizarre twist.
21:43We scanned a lot of weird and wonderful things in our scanner, but never a gold nugget.
21:47So, Gus has got the technology for me to prove to him how pure this nugget is, so why not?
21:54So, basically just taking some pictures of that nugget, and there you go.
22:00Look at that.
22:01Look at that.
22:02Yeah.
22:03There's method to Gus's madness.
22:05The CT scan has put a spotlight on the nugget's impurities, and that plays into his hands.
22:12What are these little spots here?
22:14I admit, they look like little bits of quartz, but there's one, two, three, four little bits of quartz,
22:20and they'll be not even the size of a match head.
22:23Yeah, that's typical Gus.
22:25He's trying to get a good deal, but he's not going to get mates rates.
22:28So it's not exactly pure if there's bits of quartz in there.
22:32Yeah, I can already tell where this is heading.
22:34That'd be at least 97, 98% pure.
22:36You're a doctor that's trying to stitch me up.
22:38We'll disagree on 96 and move on.
22:42Donnie is heading to Scratchy Moo to begin negotiations with Matt and Damo for their parcel of land.
22:56Oh, I'm going to hate doing this.
22:58This is Dennis' job, man.
23:00The last thing I want to do is come anywhere near this leech of a person.
23:07The land Dennis and Donnie want is the same land Lee wants to buy.
23:13Lee thinks he has the deal in the bag, but he doesn't have the cash.
23:18Try and keep me cool here today. I don't want nothing to do.
23:20If he comes up talking to me, I'm just going to tell him to get.
23:23I don't need to be talking to him.
23:24Just politely tell him to please stay out of my business
23:27and let me talk to the big boys.
23:31Donnie needs to keep a cool head.
23:34The last time he came face to face with Lee is a lesson in what not to do.
23:39You've ripped me off since day dot.
23:41It was meant to be a partnership.
23:43What did I ever get out of it?
23:45You got free labour for two years.
23:47That's what you got.
23:48The gold.
23:48What gold?
23:49With the gold.
23:50You never paid one cent.
23:52Essentially, we're pegging this lease for me.
23:58This is my future.
24:00So it's pretty important for me to get the ground.
24:04If I can get onto my own lease and now I can get 100% of the gold,
24:08then all of a sudden I can start living and breathing
24:11and, you know, my kids will benefit.
24:14Who's this?
24:18It's like Mr. Password.
24:19That's your mate.
24:20It won't be interesting.
24:24Do you need to go as nothing?
24:31Hey, mate, how are you?
24:32Good.
24:33Good, bud.
24:34Hey, mate.
24:35How are you?
24:35Yeah, it has been a while, mate.
24:36Yeah, absolutely.
24:38What brings you around?
24:41Dennis didn't contact you?
24:43Yeah, I emailed him and he said he was interested
24:45in having a look at some ground.
24:49Yeah, maybe I'll be able to go then.
24:51Talking about the lease, I'll get out of the road.
24:53Yeah, he said you were sniffing around.
24:55Wish you the best of luck.
24:57I was a bit pissed off when Donnie come in, actually.
25:00These guys must know I'm chasing this.
25:02Time I left.
25:04Good luck with it.
25:06If these guys come in and gazump me, I'll be pissed.
25:09In the Claremont golf fields,
25:11cash is king.
25:13That was a tad awkward.
25:15The question is,
25:16does Donnie have the negotiation skills required
25:19to get Matt and Damo to agree to Dennis' terms?
25:23Boy, boy, you're entertaining this idiot.
25:31See if I remember how to drive this thing.
25:34Ah!
25:35Airbrake.
25:36Okay.
25:36At 1870, the dry blower is fixed
25:40and it's all systems go.
25:43It might make the bulb liner out of the bus.
25:46I thought.
25:47I might be the first thing in it here.
25:49Got the air conditioning.
25:50Got the feed.
25:52Cut that there.
25:52I just got a bit of skeleton in the bus.
25:55I got to feed the spotter
25:56and make sure it was running.
25:58Hi.
25:59You look at the different
26:00in the bus.
26:01Oh, yeah.
26:03What do you mean?
26:06I'm standing there
26:08copping it,
26:11covered in filth-eating dirt.
26:13And, you know,
26:14Kimberley's worked hard too
26:15in her air conditioning cab.
26:19I'll need a pro by the end of the day
26:22at this.
26:23Mastering the loader
26:25is only half the challenge.
26:28The dry blower's feed rate
26:29also needs careful supervision.
26:33Dan.
26:34Can you see the hot bits
26:36come up here?
26:37I can see that.
26:38You can hide or know.
26:39Yep.
26:40Running with the machinery and stuff.
26:42It's really hard
26:43because Dan's really the only person
26:45that's hands-on experience.
26:48Oh, come on.
26:53Oh, that was a cut.
26:58OK, stop, stop, stop, stop.
27:06Kimberley has overloaded the hopper
27:08and the riffle trays
27:10are now completely blocked up,
27:13bringing the operation
27:14to a standstill once again.
27:16It's a disaster.
27:19Can you get down here, please?
27:20It's an emergency.
27:21Dan's hands-off approach
27:23is not working.
27:25What's going on, Kira?
27:26So all our tray things
27:27are completely filled up.
27:29We've just had to completely stop.
27:31I don't even know what's going on.
27:33Let's lift your butt down here now.
27:34Not yet.
27:35All right, buddy.
27:42Time to get down to it.
27:43Let's talk business.
27:44Let's talk turkey.
27:45On the Gold Coast,
27:47Richie's trying to sell
27:48a giant nugget
27:49to his rich doctor mate, Gus,
27:51for $30,000.
27:53All right.
27:5430 grand.
27:59You do drive a hard bargain.
28:00It's not a hard bargain.
28:01The price of gold
28:03has doubled in the last two years.
28:06That there is a great investment.
28:08I think based on everything
28:10we've seen
28:10and market value,
28:12I think $24,000
28:13is reasonable for that.
28:16The $24,000
28:17ain't going to cut it.
28:18That's nature's retirement plan
28:20right there.
28:21Yeah.
28:23Look, it is a pretty
28:24extraordinary investment.
28:25I'm definitely interested.
28:27I haven't got an unlimited budget, though,
28:28and I know
28:29there's some impurities in it.
28:32I can do $27,000.
28:34That's the best I can do.
28:36That's my absolute
28:37last and final offer.
28:39In the day,
28:40I could have dicked around
28:41for a couple of weeks
28:42and found another buyer
28:43and all that type of stuff,
28:44but I need the money then.
28:45My time's more valuable
28:46to worry about $2,500,000.
28:48There's going to be people
28:49up there that's pissed off
28:51at me settling for $27,000,
28:53but I'm going to agree to that.
28:55All right?
28:56$27,000.
28:57Deal.
28:58I understand Dan
28:59will be pissed off
29:00that I accepted
29:00less than $30,000
29:01for the nugget,
29:02but this is a business decision.
29:04I wanted to free up some cash
29:05so I didn't have to
29:06put my hand in my own pocket.
29:07It's done.
29:11So,
29:11Dennis gives me a ring this morning.
29:13He says,
29:14I had to get out here
29:14prano
29:15because Lee McGrath
29:17was here
29:18sniffing around
29:19the land
29:19that we're looking at.
29:20Yeah, he's been here looking.
29:21At Scratchy Moo,
29:23Donnie is doing his best
29:25to keep his cool
29:26and snatch the parcel of land
29:28Matt and Damo
29:29are willing to sell
29:30from right under Lee's nose.
29:32I just wanted to come out
29:33and let you know
29:34we are dead set keen on the land.
29:36Yeah, well,
29:36it's $1,500 bucks a hectare.
29:38It's $1,500 bucks a hectare.
29:40Yeah.
29:41I don't think he's worried
29:41about the price.
29:43It's just more the terms.
29:45He wants to do 50%
29:47up front
29:48and 50%
29:50on approval.
29:53Yeah, we're not super keen on that.
29:56Right.
29:57I mean,
29:58that just,
29:59it just puts it back
30:00on our desk really
30:01to deal with any of the drama.
30:03It's like,
30:04you could take six months
30:05or you could take five years
30:06to get that lease through.
30:08Dennis,
30:09he just has got this
30:10band he's bonnet
30:12about
30:12for half and half.
30:14We don't want to be
30:15obligated to
30:15the process.
30:17Sitting there
30:18five years
30:18waiting for the rest
30:19of your money,
30:20like it's just...
30:21I mean,
30:22that wouldn't happen
30:22with us, but...
30:23That's what everyone says,
30:24you know?
30:25We have simultaneous approaches
30:27for that same piece of ground,
30:28so
30:29put your money on the table,
30:31pick your lease.
30:32That's
30:32our
30:33terms.
30:35So,
30:36I guess I'll just go back
30:37and tell Dennis
30:38that you guys aren't happy
30:39with the 50-50.
30:41I guess it's just up
30:42to Dennis.
30:42You've got to agree with that.
30:43agree with that for 100%
30:44and then he might be
30:47in front of Lee
30:47because he's got to
30:48chase his coin, so...
30:50If Downey can come up
30:52with the money,
30:53Dennis has probably
30:54got a good chance
30:54at grabbing it,
30:55I would think,
30:56if he can pay up front.
30:58Austin,
30:58best rest in a sense,
30:59play.
31:00That's useless.
31:02Look,
31:02at the end of the day,
31:03I don't really mind
31:03who gets it.
31:05It never comes through
31:05on the terms
31:06that we're requesting.
31:07It comes out trumps.
31:08What do you reckon?
31:16I can't get a break.
31:18Not today.
31:20Team 1870's
31:21new dry blower
31:23is clogged up
31:24and Dan's
31:25running out of patience.
31:28See this lever here?
31:30Yeah.
31:31This is what
31:31adjusts our flow.
31:33Okay.
31:33So if you watch
31:34that gap there,
31:35when I lift this lever up,
31:36see how it closes?
31:38Oh.
31:39So,
31:40you just didn't
31:41touch the lever?
31:42No.
31:43It's probably
31:44just the vibration
31:45doing it,
31:45so I'll have to
31:46make that a bit tighter.
31:48The vibration
31:48on the screen
31:49vibrates the whole machine.
31:51It's caused the arm
31:52that actually helps
31:53slow up the feed rate
31:55on each hopper
31:56to come loose
31:57and slip down.
31:58So everything's
31:59just opened up,
32:00allowed full dirt
32:01to go straight through
32:02over the riffle trays.
32:06Whatever gold
32:07has been captured
32:08in the riffle trays
32:09is now mixed up
32:11with the waste dirt.
32:12It's one setback
32:13after another.
32:15So you girls
32:16have been at this
32:16for like four and a half
32:17hours now?
32:19Yeah.
32:19And we've just
32:20lost any gold
32:22we would have caught.
32:26So all those trays
32:28we've had to
32:28basically pour out
32:30the bulk of the dirt
32:31back into the pole
32:32and reprocess it.
32:34All my hard work
32:34gone down the drain.
32:36We'll unhook this tray.
32:37We're going to
32:38pour this dirt out.
32:39Four hours
32:40of busting our guts.
32:41Then all of a sudden
32:42you know
32:43we get told
32:44that oh yeah
32:44by the way
32:45that was for
32:45absolutely nothing.
32:48Okay.
32:50Kind of a little bit.
32:52It's a big hit
32:54to Dan's confidence
32:55and Richie's bottom line.
32:58Dan can't afford
32:59any more cost blowouts,
33:01poor management comms
33:02or machinery fails.
33:05No one's fault.
33:06It's just a
33:06just a pain in the arse.
33:10The team is getting close
33:12to breaking point.
33:14That's all we've come across
33:15so far
33:15is setback after setback
33:17after setback.
33:18It's just one thing
33:19after another
33:20after another.
33:28At Scratchy Moo
33:29Lee's desperate
33:31to find out
33:32how the talks
33:32with Donnie
33:33have gone.
33:35Just interesting
33:35to see what Donnie
33:36deficit up to.
33:39I'm so close
33:40to getting
33:41all my financial
33:42sordid.
33:45What was he doing?
33:46No love
33:47between you two.
33:49I don't want to get
33:50pipped
33:50at the 11th hour.
33:52So what's
33:53the go
33:53in here?
33:54They sniffing.
33:55Well they're sniffing
33:56at the same
33:56piece of parcel
33:57that you want.
34:00How am I looking?
34:01Am I still
34:01looking around or what?
34:02With a coin.
34:03Get your finance
34:04organised
34:04because this is
34:06how it's going to work.
34:07If he comes through
34:08and says he'll pay it all
34:09they're going to get it.
34:10Yeah, when?
34:11When is he talking?
34:12We can make the
34:12call any time.
34:14Yeah, well.
34:15He's not
34:15around with finance.
34:17We can't be
34:18any clearer than that.
34:20Right there.
34:20It's the game.
34:21It's the game.
34:23The coin's on the table.
34:24I reckon they'll
34:25lean towards me.
34:27But business is business.
34:28Like, they want to do
34:29the deal, they want
34:30the cash.
34:31I know where I stand
34:32and I know I've got to
34:32get my arse in
34:33and get the coin.
34:35So, pressure's on
34:36to get my cash,
34:37bring my cash up
34:38and get in
34:39and get the deal done.
34:40Well then make
34:41some phone calls
34:41better than I.
34:42Alright,
34:43better do that.
34:49Hey mate, how are you?
34:50Good bud, how are you?
34:52Yeah, not well.
34:54Yeah, been an
34:54interesting morning.
34:56At Swiss Diggings,
34:58Donny's updating
34:59Dennis on his
35:00negotiations
35:01with Matt and Damo.
35:03I went out to
35:04Matt and Damo.
35:06Lee McGrath's there.
35:08He hot-footed it.
35:09As soon as he
35:09saw me turn up
35:10he's like,
35:11oh, I'm out of here.
35:13So,
35:14and then
35:14I had a good yum.
35:16Look,
35:17they're pretty
35:18stuck on the 50-50.
35:22Yeah, righto.
35:23Righto.
35:23I really wanted
35:24to get this deal
35:25wrapped up.
35:26If we can't get
35:27this deal across the line
35:27it's going to be
35:28somebody else
35:28that's going to get it.
35:30Is it the same land
35:31that Lee's?
35:31Yeah, 100%.
35:33Righto.
35:34So the old
35:34ditches hanging around, eh?
35:36Yeah, yeah.
35:37And even they said
35:38to me that
35:39Lee was struggling
35:41to find the finance
35:42to do it.
35:43Oh, he's struggling
35:44to find finance.
35:45Well, that's what
35:46Damo and Matty
35:47told me.
35:49Here in Queensland
35:50the way that we peg
35:51it's all about money
35:52these days.
35:52It's whoever's got
35:53the money in the bank
35:54to actually make it happen.
35:55There's one thing I've got.
35:56I've got no issues
35:57with paying.
35:58Probably the best
35:59thing to do
35:59is I've got this
36:00excavated around
36:01of the box
36:02and she's ready
36:02to roll
36:03so I'll hightail
36:05it up tomorrow
36:05and we'll get
36:07to meet with Matty.
36:08Yeah, cool.
36:09Cool, that'll be good.
36:10Well, hopefully
36:10you can come up
36:11with an agreement
36:11and we can get
36:13that land
36:14and kick that
36:14clean out of the park.
36:16Let's try again.
36:23How the hell
36:24did I get
36:24what's in here?
36:26At 1870
36:27Kira and
36:28Kimberley
36:29are into their
36:30second hour
36:30of reprocessing
36:32all the dirt
36:33from the morning spill.
36:35Well,
36:35it's a long process.
36:37Long process.
36:38The novelty
36:39of gold mining
36:40is wearing
36:41a bit thin.
36:42Well,
36:43my friend
36:43was looking out
36:44having nice
36:45mocktails
36:45with nice
36:47fun somewhere
36:47on the water
36:48on a gold case
36:49and going out
36:49on the top of
36:50deserts.
36:52Hungry.
36:53I'm not worth
36:53under these conditions.
36:56I need a margarita.
36:58It's just
37:00monotonous.
37:01I'd rather
37:01move on to
37:02something where
37:03it's a bit cleaner.
37:05Hey, Dan.
37:07I'm absolutely
37:08done.
37:09This dry blower
37:10does not blow.
37:11It sucks.
37:13But there
37:14is some good news.
37:17Richie's back
37:17from the gold
37:18house with
37:19his new generator.
37:21Buddy,
37:22I come bearing
37:22gifts.
37:24Nice.
37:25The latest
37:25and greatest.
37:26Nice.
37:27But this is what
37:27we spent all
37:28our money
37:28on from
37:29the sale
37:30of the gold
37:30nugget, mate.
37:31I know Dan
37:32might be pissed
37:32off that I
37:33didn't get
37:33the $30,000
37:34for that nugget.
37:35The most
37:35important thing
37:35we can be
37:36doing right
37:36now is
37:37getting the
37:37whole plant
37:38up and
37:38running.
37:39So worrying
37:39about chasing
37:40coulda,
37:42shoulda,
37:42woulda dollars
37:43for a nugget.
37:44I haven't got
37:44time for that.
37:46You left
37:47the nugget,
37:47sir?
37:48Yep.
37:49She's gone.
37:50It hurt,
37:50but it's gone.
37:51What do you
37:52mean it hurt?
37:52What did you
37:53get?
37:56$27.
37:58$27.
38:00I thought we
38:01sort of
38:01agreed on
38:02$30,000.
38:03When I dug
38:04that out of
38:04the ground,
38:05that was
38:05a special
38:08moment for me.
38:09That's a
38:10cool, solid
38:11slug of a nugget.
38:12Instead of
38:13getting $30,000
38:14for the nugget,
38:15you got $27,000.
38:17That was
38:17upsetting.
38:19It was worth
38:19every bit of
38:19$30,000.
38:20Mate, at the end
38:20of the day,
38:21we just needed
38:21the cash.
38:21Team 1870
38:24is showing
38:25the early
38:25signs of
38:26imploding.
38:27The girls
38:28want to go
38:29home.
38:30And Dan
38:30and Richie
38:31are no longer
38:32seeing eye
38:33to eye.
38:34You want to
38:35get the max
38:35for your goal.
38:36He's a
38:37businessman.
38:37That's what
38:37he should be
38:38doing.
38:41$27,000.
38:44At
38:45Scratchy
38:45Moo,
38:46Matt and
38:46Damo are
38:47in a great
38:48place.
38:48Anytime
38:49we've got
38:49rattles in the
38:49bottle,
38:50it's a good
38:51day.
38:52The gold
38:53is coming
38:53in on
38:54volume and
38:55with
38:56consistency.
38:57Yeah,
38:58well,
38:58I'm not too
38:59sure about
38:59Lee and
39:01Donnie's
39:02side show
39:03they've got
39:03going on.
39:05I'm
39:06probably
39:06there's
39:06going to be
39:06a bit of
39:07more one
39:07about the
39:07pegging
39:08of the
39:08same spot.
39:10Plus,
39:11they've got
39:11Lee and
39:12Donnie at
39:12each other's
39:13throats
39:14in the race
39:15to secure
39:15their parcel
39:16of land.
39:18Where's
39:18Lee at the
39:18moment?
39:19I don't
39:21know where
39:21Lee is.
39:22Lee's off
39:22sorting out
39:22his finances
39:23somewhere.
39:25Dennis has
39:26got the
39:26cash.
39:27Dennis has
39:27cashed up,
39:28which
39:29honestly puts
39:30more pressure
39:31on me if I
39:32want to do
39:32anything.
39:34So Dennis has
39:34got the cash
39:35ready, I
39:35have it.
39:36Money talks,
39:37it just
39:37talks.
39:38And these
39:39guys want the
39:39cash.
39:39Unless you've
39:40got the
39:40cash, all
39:41of it up
39:41front, they're
39:42not going
39:42to do a
39:42deal.
39:44G'day mate,
39:44how you
39:44going?
39:45Lee's on the
39:46phone to
39:47his accountant
39:47to see what
39:48he can do
39:48about freeing
39:49up some
39:50funds.
39:51I've had
39:51another crew
39:52come in
39:52looking at
39:53this land
39:53over here.
39:54His future
39:55in Claremont
39:56depends on
39:57it.
39:57My old
39:58partner's
39:58hooked up
39:59with him.
39:59Yeah, he's
40:00just turned
40:01up here now,
40:01hence I've
40:02found out
40:02what's going
40:02on.
40:04So what
40:04we've got
40:05is we've
40:05got a bit
40:05of time
40:06pressure now.
40:07So if
40:07Dennis comes
40:07in over
40:08the top
40:08of me,
40:08there's a
40:09chance that
40:09he'll
40:09snabble
40:10this up
40:11here.
40:12I've
40:12just got
40:13to settle
40:13me and
40:14get the
40:15cash on
40:15the table.
40:21Seriously,
40:22it is this
40:22close.
40:23My money
40:24is this
40:24close,
40:25but it
40:26could drop
40:26any minute.
40:27So it's
40:27due to
40:27settle on
40:28Friday.
40:31Today's
40:31Tuesday.
40:32If Dennis
40:33rings now
40:33and says
40:33he's the
40:34cash,
40:34puts the
40:34cash in
40:35the bank,
40:36it's going
40:36to be a
40:37race.
40:44There it
40:44is there.
40:44That's
40:45probably
40:45finally
40:45we've
40:46got a
40:46grammar
40:46out of
40:47this
40:47cut.
40:49Lee
40:50will
40:50need
40:50to
40:51hustle
40:51if
40:51he
40:51wants
40:52to
40:52share
40:52in
40:52some
40:53of
40:53scratchy
40:53moo's
40:54success.
40:55The low-key
40:56duo are
40:56up to
40:57$305,000
40:59for the
40:59season.
41:00Yeah,
41:01well,
41:01we've got
41:01a fair bit
41:01of cut
41:02to go
41:02here.
41:02This
41:02could
41:03come
41:03alive.
41:03You get
41:04an inverted
41:04tone and
41:04we're
41:05on.
41:06The
41:06gold
41:07ground
41:07up
41:07for
41:07sale
41:08would
41:08be
41:08a
41:09valuable
41:09get
41:09for
41:10Dennis
41:10and
41:10Donnie,
41:11who still
41:12have a
41:13ways to
41:13go to
41:14hit their
41:14half a
41:15million dollar
41:16season target.
41:18That's a
41:18wine o'clock.
41:20I still haven't
41:21broken a nail,
41:22so...
41:22But while
41:24scratchy
41:24moo and
41:25Swiss
41:25diggings
41:25are in
41:26the
41:26money,
41:27Team
41:271870
41:28needs to
41:29pan out
41:29the
41:29concentrates
41:30from the
41:30riffle
41:31trays to
41:32see just
41:32how much
41:33gold
41:33they've
41:33banked
41:34for the
41:34day.
41:35There we
41:35go.
41:36Let's
41:37go wash
41:37this up
41:38and see
41:38how much
41:38gold
41:38we've
41:39got.
41:39Feel
41:39the
41:40gold.
41:40It's in
41:40there.
41:42So much
41:42gold.
41:43So much
41:44gold.
41:44A few
41:45Tevin
41:45issues,
41:46it's
41:46running.
41:47Only the
41:47gold's
41:47going to
41:48tell what's
41:48in those
41:49riffle
41:49trays
41:50at the end
41:50of
41:52teething
41:53problems
41:53are the
41:54least of
41:54Dan's
41:55worries.
41:56Richie's
41:56not impressed
41:57with Dan's
41:58lack of
41:59progress
41:59with the
42:00wash plant
42:00assembly.
42:01How come
42:02the trombone
42:02start down?
42:04Well,
42:05I had the
42:05girls on the
42:05dry blower
42:06all day
42:06and we
42:07had nothing
42:08but issues.
42:08One issue
42:09after another
42:09after another.
42:12I was
42:13under the
42:14understanding
42:14that a lot
42:15more progress
42:16had happened.
42:16Now,
42:17I know you're
42:17working your
42:17ass off,
42:18but yeah,
42:19look,
42:20obviously,
42:20I can only
42:22fly in and
42:22out so
42:22often.
42:24Like,
42:25literally,
42:25I come up
42:25here thinking
42:26we're at a
42:26particular stage
42:27of where we
42:27have to be
42:28and we
42:28weren't.
42:29That really
42:30pissed me
42:30off.
42:32I've been
42:32awake since
42:33like four
42:34every morning,
42:34going to bed
42:35late with
42:35working under
42:36the lights.
42:37I mean,
42:37you can try
42:38to put my
42:38knees together,
42:39they're an
42:39absolute pain
42:40in the ass.
42:41Everything
42:41come in pieces,
42:42man,
42:42it all takes
42:43time.
42:44I've been
42:45buss and
42:45masks seven
42:46days a week.
42:47I haven't
42:47had a chance
42:48to go home.
42:49I'm here
42:50doing what
42:50I'm doing.
42:52That was a
42:55big shot at
42:55me.
42:58Next time.
42:59I need to
43:00concentrate.
43:01Lee's 11th hour
43:02bid to snatch
43:03the gold rich
43:04land off
43:05Matt and
43:06Damer.
43:06The lemon
43:07excavator!
43:09Don't get
43:09bogged now.
43:10Want to do
43:12a bit of a
43:12swap,
43:13do you?
43:13And destroy
43:14Donnie and
43:15Dennis's
43:15counter-offer.
43:17I really
43:17don't want
43:18to do
43:18the 100%
43:19up front.
43:20I'm sort
43:20of relying
43:21on trying
43:21to get
43:21something
43:22going with
43:22them.
43:26Kimberly!
43:28Kimberly's
43:28shock
43:29goal fight.
43:30There you
43:31go.
43:31My first
43:32little nugget.
43:33Brings new
43:34hope for
43:34team 1870.
43:36That is
43:37awesome.
43:37That's made
43:38my day.
43:41It's a
43:42poacher.
43:42We've got
43:42blokes
43:43in the pit.
43:45And Donnie
43:46and Dennis
43:46go after
43:47a poacher
43:48caught on
43:49camera
43:49stealing
43:50their gold.
43:50Here we go.
43:51Here we go.
43:51Oh, look at
43:52this thing.
43:53Look at that.
43:54Jump out.
43:55Jump out.
43:57Come on,
43:58now.
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