- 1 hour ago
Outback Crystal Hunters - Season 2 - Episode 03: HEART OF (DARWIN) GLASS
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00:20¡Suscríbete al canal!
00:36¡Suscríbete al canal!
01:00The hills, the weeds, it's just really hard.
01:03It's against you and snakes and all sorts of creatures.
01:15¡Suscríbete al canal!
01:45¡Suscríbete al canal!
01:46Very interesting phone call last night, actually.
01:49I was chatting to the original guys that found an aquamarine deposit here in the 1980s.
01:55And apparently they found some incredible stuff there, but they had to leave.
02:00And so they didn't get to finish digging it.
02:03So apparently there's a lost aquamarine deposit here somewhere that we're going to try and find.
02:11The challenge is a lot of these older diggings would be almost completely overgrown or kind of lost.
02:18This is a bit of a treasure hunt.
02:22Look!
02:28This is definitely man-made.
02:30I'm guessing the old-timers would use this as a marker.
02:33So I've got a pretty good feeling that where they used to work or where they had worked is around
02:38here somewhere.
02:40Oi, guys, you on channel?
02:41Yep.
02:42I think I found an old marker.
02:44I think we should have a look around here.
02:46Oh, really?
02:46That's awesome!
02:50I think this is it.
02:52What have you got?
02:53Oh!
02:54Wow, that's definitely a marker.
02:56Yeah.
02:56Yeah, if I was an old-time prospector and I wanted to mark a spot, I mean, you could see
03:00this from down in the plains there.
03:03This was left for a reason.
03:06Well, I'm working my way across with the excavator now, so I'll just keep heading over.
03:10And if you guys search this area, this is a clue.
03:14Bloody oath.
03:18Eagle's Bluff, a lone hill rising 448 metres above sea level out of a remote tropical savannah.
03:27I'm just having a look around this area.
03:31So here we have a little bit of crystallisation.
03:35Quartz, which is a good sign that there could be some crystals around.
03:40Getting closer to something.
03:42There's quite a lot of quartz running through all the granite here.
03:48All the granite here as well.
03:53Oh!
03:57That's an aqua!
03:58Oh my god, wasn't I expecting that?
04:03Aquamarine, alongside emerald, is a gem variant of the mineral beryl.
04:07It's blue hue caused by traces of iron.
04:11In antiquity, it was believed to be mermaid treasure and granted safe sea travel.
04:17Today, aquamarine is used as a binding engine in skincare products and features in a tiara worn by Queen Elizabeth
04:24II.
04:25I found aqua!
04:27I found aqua!
04:27No way!
04:28I'm coming right now.
04:30Yeah!
04:31Great news, guys!
04:32Yeah, just keep an eye out for any old bloke.
04:33You must be getting close, I reckon.
04:35Oh my god!
04:36Look, look, look!
04:36Oh my god!
04:38No way!
04:39It's literally just sitting there.
04:41Good on you!
04:41Yeah, so there's definitely something around.
04:43You see, it must be one of the old diggings.
04:46This area looks quite disturbed.
04:48It would have had something in there, maybe a pocket and all of this rock here on the floor looks
04:54like it's come out of there.
04:56That's the old times diggings for sure.
05:02That looks almost impossible to get through there, mate.
05:05Yeah, I don't know what you're going to do.
05:07A lot of big boulders there.
05:09Give it a go, though.
05:10You've got to dig it this far.
05:11Come this far.
05:13Soon find out.
05:16So I've set the target for this season at $750,000, which is quite high.
05:23But my goal for the year is to buy myself a bigger property.
05:27I'm actually running out of room at home now.
05:30I've got so many crystals and rocks, and now I've got a little mini excavator and a truck.
05:34So getting a bigger property with a big shed on it, that's my goal for this year.
05:43So we've got less than a week left here now, and it's proving quite challenging to get this track in.
05:49I'm getting into some of the most difficult ground here.
05:53There's giant boulders, and I'm not even sure if we're going to be able to get through.
05:59But on the other side of those boulders is where the old diggings are.
06:03So there's a good chance of finding something really amazing.
06:07But I've just got a way up.
06:09Can we get there?
06:09Is it actually possible?
06:11At this stage, I'm not too sure.
06:13Because it's hard ground.
06:15It's no problem.
06:41It doesn't matter.
06:46Wow!
06:47This main tunnel ran through this way
06:50and it was actually filthy rich with sapphire.
06:54They were getting 400-600 carats per load.
06:57Wow!
06:57And they were doing 2-3 loads per day
06:59so that was massive amounts of sapphire here.
07:04That's amazing, eh?
07:05This is the good morning.
07:06This is what mine will turn into one day, hopefully.
07:11Ruby Vale.
07:13Population 500.
07:15Part of the largest gem-bearing grounds in the Southern Hemisphere.
07:18It is renowned for one of the world's most coveted gemstones.
07:23Sapphires.
07:25I'm over here to help Timmy out with the boys.
07:28You've got to help your neighbours out, especially the elderly.
07:30They need the young blood that's out here to give them a hand
07:32for the heavy, hard work sometimes.
07:34Alright, guys, let's go have a look.
07:35Well, where I'm digging at the moment, this is the area here.
07:39I've been getting some really nice sapphires and I need to get a parcel up for my buyers.
07:47And I would love it if you guys could give me a hand.
07:50So I need the fellas because I can only do 11 odd wheelbarrows in one day.
07:55But having them, we can do 40, 50 wheelbarrows and hit it hard.
07:59And that way I can have that parcel ready for my buyers this week.
08:03So what do you reckon about 51% for me?
08:07You guys get 49.
08:09That's fair.
08:09And we're going to kill it.
08:11Sounds good.
08:12Sounds good.
08:13Let's get going.
08:14Let's get up.
08:15Woohoo!
08:16Alright.
08:17Yeah, look.
08:17Some big ones.
08:19Look at the size of them all though, hey.
08:21It's real important to give people a hand out here.
08:23That's how you build relationships and get to know what you're doing.
08:27Tim's a wealth of knowledge.
08:28So, yeah, we're happy to do this deal.
08:30It'll benefit everyone.
08:33And you learn so much off these people.
08:34We show them respect and we help them out.
08:37And they give us the knowledge.
08:39I've heard a lot of good stories about this place.
08:42200 carat are down the roof.
08:43Like, just walking around picking them out when they were digging there.
08:46It was insane.
08:48Sapphires are a gem variant of corundum,
08:51the second hardest mineral after diamond.
08:55Unearthed in a multitude of colours,
08:57the iconic blue hue is caused by traces of iron and titanium.
09:01We target this season 60,000.
09:05Me girlfriend and a new little baby,
09:07a little four month old, little William.
09:09So, I try and get as much stone as I can to get the money up
09:13and support the family in town.
09:17We're hoping that my brother and I can make it around 30 grand each.
09:2160 grand all up.
09:22And that would cover all the expenses for our equipment
09:25to run our mines once they're approved.
09:31We're a really close family and our mum is the keystone of it.
09:34She's ready to retire.
09:35We're ready to step up and help her out.
09:40Come on, baby.
09:42That's it.
09:45We are chasing old riverbed.
09:47The big thing here is there's many deposits of it.
09:51So, over thousands of years, it's deposited different layers.
09:55It's cut out new streams.
10:00In this ground, we search for pockets or drop-offs
10:04where the bedrock is indentated
10:07and your stones gather in there.
10:09And, of course, sapphire being heavy,
10:12nine on the moth scale, they're heavy like gold.
10:15So, they settle the same way.
10:17They fall through the gravel in the riverbed
10:20and they get to the bottom
10:21and then the current pushes them into these pockets.
10:25So, hopefully, we're in for a big treat.
10:42OK, got one, but it's a bit of a dud.
10:45But it's just come out of the bottom here.
10:49Woo-hoo!
10:50She's clear.
10:52I didn't think she was, but she's clear.
10:54Happy days.
10:56Hopefully, they keep coming.
10:57Look at that.
10:58It's a smile on my face, definitely,
11:00because I know the sapphire's going to be there.
11:03100% guaranteed.
11:05Hopefully, a lot bigger and a lot nicer as well to top it off.
11:14Right.
11:15The perfect one, too.
11:16You get to cross it off.
11:17We've got ten buckets.
11:18One little.
11:19One more.
11:21All right, boys.
11:23See you in the uptight.
11:27Righto, send it up when you're ready, boys.
11:37Oh, hang on.
11:39It's going up and it's sliding back down.
11:41She keeps jamming.
11:42I don't know what's going on.
11:43I don't know if it's a hydraulic break or what.
11:44Are you just staying clear of the hole, mate?
11:46I just don't trust it.
11:47I know what's going on with it.
11:49They've just asked us to stand back a little.
11:52They're not sure how it's going to play out.
11:56I don't think it's actually dumped the bucket up there yet.
11:58I think she's still full.
12:00Give me a minute, mate.
12:01I'm trying to see what's going on.
12:03Yeah, copy that.
12:04Look out.
12:04Look out.
12:05Take it back.
12:06Take it back.
12:06Oh, Jesus.
12:08You just let go, eh?
12:09You're right.
12:10You're right down there, boys.
12:17Yeah, I'll go.
12:18Pull.
12:18Yep.
12:19That's better.
12:22Tilt forward.
12:25Okay, swing around and away we go.
12:26Yep.
12:27We've got a two-ton copper specimen from the Rockland Mines in Cloncurry.
12:32We're going to put it into an acid tub.
12:34And we're going to clean all the malachite off it to make it shiny copper colour.
12:39Good my side.
12:40Yep.
12:41Here we go.
12:42Perfect.
12:44Places on.
12:47As soon as it comes down, start spraying it.
12:51Wow.
12:52What do you think, guys?
12:53Pretty amazing?
12:54Wow.
12:55Look at that.
12:56It's about $20,000 worth of copper, two-tonnes,
12:59and then close to about $60,000 as a specimen for a museum.
13:04You can never have too many crystals.
13:07He who dies with the most rocks wins.
13:13Geologist Tom Capitani is Australia's largest commercial dealer of minerals, crystals and fossils.
13:20Stretching across five acres is his vast collection, unearthed over the last 35 years.
13:27So this is Chris de Weldy, our exhibition gallery.
13:30This is where I can show off all my rocks.
13:32Rose quartz spheres, carvings, quartz clusters, large ammonites from Morocco where I've just been.
13:38You see these beautiful amethyst pieces.
13:42If you have a look at this, this is a crazy piece.
13:44The whole thing closes up.
13:49This is probably the most amazing experience I've ever had.
13:53We drove into Mexico and we went down to Naca.
13:56The Cave of Giants is probably the biggest crystal cave in the world.
14:00There are 15, 20-metre-long giant selenite crystals just shooting through the roof in all directions,
14:06grown through these warm hydrothermal solutions percolating through the ground.
14:11It was really one of those moments in life where it's like a spiritual thing, like,
14:16my God, this is just the ultimate experience in geology, seeing these crystal caverns.
14:22Scientists, collectors, general public, people want weird rocks.
14:25I make an effort to find them.
14:34Hey, how are you, buddy?
14:36I'm doing well, thank you.
14:39Dutch-born Hank Eaves, a former commercial pilot and now a highly successful collector and seller.
14:46Hank relies on Tom when he needs rare crystals for his showroom.
14:52So you got a little project for me, have you, Hank?
14:54Yes, absolutely.
14:56So let's go up to your meteorite room, show me what you're after.
15:01Ta-da!
15:02It looks crazy, doesn't it?
15:04Crazy collection.
15:05Well, about half of it I think I got from you.
15:10Hank's collection features rare palisites, meteorites containing crystals.
15:16Of the 60,000 meteorites that hit Earth, less than a hundred are palisites.
15:23I'm blown away every time I see it. Look at the...
15:25Oh my God, what's that?
15:27It's the alarm system.
15:29You know there's one thing missing, don't you?
15:32What's missing, Hank?
15:34Darwin glass.
15:36To complete his collection, Hank needs Darwin glass, named after Mount Darwin in West Tasmania, where it was first discovered.
15:45Known as an impactite, it formed after a meteorite struck with the force of a 20 megaton nuclear warhead, creating
15:52a 1.2 kilometre wide crater.
15:55The impact ejected molten terrestrial rock into the air, which cooled and solidified into glass mid-flight.
16:03This glass was thrown up to 30, 40 kilometres from the crater.
16:07But this is nearly a million years ago.
16:10Really, the challenge of finding a bit of Darwin glass can be problematic, to say the least.
16:16I've known Tom 20 years.
16:18Probably the most knowledgeable person that I know.
16:20If it exists, he will get us for you.
16:23There's no question about that.
16:31So we're coming in from Cradle Mountain, we're going to zoom down here, spin around the crater, then we're going
16:39to land on the plateau.
16:41Ideally, we're going to try to look for Darwin glass, and then onto Ten Mile Hill.
16:45What sort of piece is Hank actually after?
16:47Well, Hank had his weight one foot long, made 20 kilos, translucent yellow-green colour.
16:55Realistically, what's the factability of what we can actually get?
16:57He'd be lucky if we're getting a one cent piece size and one cent piece.
17:01Got my guys on board, Andy and Josh.
17:04Josh is my resident geologist in training, he's a university graduate.
17:08Andy's a guy that will do the impossible, you know, impenetrable forest here.
17:12And so Andy's a guy that can get in there and do what we've got to do.
17:15He's put up with me for 24 years, that says a lot about his personality.
17:21It's all a bit new to me looking at this material, and that's what we usually do, but, yeah, hopefully
17:26we'll come up with some pieces.
17:2830 years ago, I spent a lot of time in the southwest doing exploration work in a pretty well impenetrable
17:32bush.
17:32The only way in was really helicopters in and out, it was just crazy stuff.
17:36You don't want to be on any of these roads or any of these tracks.
17:38The risk is not worth it, it's far more practical using a helicopter, plus it gives us better access to
17:43where we want to go.
17:43The weather forecast at the moment is pretty unstable tomorrow, a lot of wind.
17:48This is a pretty horrifically expensive exercise, you know, we can't afford delays.
17:52I'm paying my staff to be here.
17:54I mean, so I'm paying their wages, the helicopter fees, accommodation, vehicle hire, airplane flights down here.
18:00Hello, Josh speaking.
18:02Hey Josh, Tom for tomorrow, helicopter. How's it going?
18:06Yeah, good Tom, how are you?
18:07Good, good, good. What's the plan for tomorrow? We are on?
18:11Mate, unfortunately I've just had another look at the forecast there.
18:14That low cloud is still hanging around the area and it's not going to let us get anywhere near the
18:19Darwin crater there.
18:20So I reckon we're better off pushing it back a day.
18:22No, Ruth, thanks Josh. I'm in a really limited timeframe.
18:25We've got to be back in Melbourne in two days' time.
18:28Costing me a fortune to be here, particularly with my crew standing by, so we really want to get this
18:33deal going.
18:34We can't afford to have these delays.
18:42I'm so close, like the diggings are literally, I don't know, not even 20 metres away.
18:48But I'm trying to build a road down to it here and it's really hard.
18:54I've got giant boulders ahead of me and we're running out of time as well,
18:58so hopefully I can get this road through in the next couple of hours.
19:01Patrick Gunderson is banking on unearthing aquamarine to finance a massive new mine base to store machinery and commercial grey
19:10crystal.
19:13I've got Luke helping out now.
19:15He's grabbing any small rocks that he can find to fill up the gaps between these giant boulders and hopefully
19:20we can make a road.
19:22Otherwise there's no way I'm getting down there.
19:25We're not far away from a really productive area down there.
19:28All of this time we're chewing up making this road is cutting down on the time that we get to
19:34actually go digging.
19:42There's so many, like, sketchy things. I've just discovered that these rubber track excavators, as soon as they try and
19:48get traction on a granite boulder they just start slipping.
19:51Today I've had a few instances this morning already with excavator getting caught up on rocks and sort of slipping
19:58sideways and it's not a good feeling.
20:01And I'm faced with probably one of the steepest sections of this track that I'm trying to build right now.
20:07I'm literally perched on the side of a giant boulder field down here and off to my right is just
20:14a 45 degree drop full of huge boulders.
20:17So the last thing I want to do is slip sideways and end up tumbling down this hill.
20:22That would be, um, probably the end of me actually.
20:26Take it nice and easy mate.
20:39It's slippery.
20:42I'm going to have to get rid of this tree.
20:44It's like the only place I can really get it is on a f***ing steep slope.
20:49So to add to the challenge of just trying to get down this slope, this steep slope, I've got a
20:54dead tree in front of me that's actually overhanging me.
20:57And I really need to get that out of the way so that I can actually get through this last
21:01little gap.
21:02If the tree falls this way it's going to come straight down on the excavator.
21:06So I've just got to be super bloody careful here.
21:09And hopefully I've got enough reach in my boom here that I can push it the other way.
21:14I'm shitting myself to be honest.
21:16Nice and easy.
21:26Just keep that boom extended.
21:28Yeah, but then when I let the boom go.
21:38So far f***ing hell.
21:42My heart is f***ing racing.
21:48Look out mate, look out.
21:51Oh jeez.
21:53Right, stop, stop.
21:54Oi, come here bro.
21:56The bucket just let go.
21:57Just let go aye.
21:58Just come flying right down there boys.
22:01Ah yeah, everyone's alright.
22:02Holy.
22:03Must be the cable.
22:04I think, oh the belt's jumped off.
22:06That's what's going on.
22:14Yeah, that was pretty dangerous man.
22:15I could have killed my brother.
22:16I could have killed Tyson.
22:17Or whoever was standing there.
22:19Yeah, we don't want that.
22:22I don't know mate, the belt was jumped off.
22:25All clear.
22:26But yeah, she's not broken.
22:28I think it was this bit of wire here mate.
22:30I don't know where the wire come from.
22:32She caught up on the belt and spat it off.
22:34Chew through it too, the wire.
22:36Alrighty, I've got a new belt mate.
22:37Beauty mate.
22:38Sweet.
22:38Same size.
22:39Little bit tighter.
22:41Beautiful.
22:42So she'll be right.
22:43What a wacky moon mate.
22:49Look at that.
22:51Snug.
22:52Righto, we're just going to give it a test run.
22:54Make sure it's all safe.
22:55Here we go.
22:56Alright, everyone stand back boys.
22:58Up she comes.
23:00Fingers crossed.
23:08There she goes.
23:09There she goes.
23:11Sweet eyes.
23:12Happy days.
23:13Beautiful.
23:14All back and running.
23:16We're good to go mate.
23:17We're running again.
23:17Let's get some dirt up.
23:18Couple of hiccups here and there.
23:20What's mining without them?
23:24The Ruby Vale boys are working with neighbour Tim Patek
23:27at his claim on a 49 to 51% split.
23:31They need to find enough sapphire to expand their mining operations
23:35and fill an order for Tim's buyers.
23:39Oh no!
23:41That's him.
23:42Oh, what?
23:42There you go.
23:43He just blew his sapphire to pieces.
23:45Look at that.
23:45Hit it with a jackhammer.
23:47Oh, you're kidding.
23:48That's what they look like when they get shattered.
23:50Yeah, I hit it with the jackhammer and yeah, these things happen.
23:56Usually you don't see them when they pop because it's a puff of smoke
23:59and sometimes you hit big ones and that's a pretty good size.
24:04Yeah, look at that.
24:05Oh, it's Christmas.
24:07No, no, no, no.
24:09Timmy.
24:10I reckon that's going to be 50, 60 carat.
24:12You're pretty good.
24:13I'm guessing 70 carat.
24:1470.
24:15150 a carat.
24:17Yeah.
24:17200.
24:17Times 100.
24:18From 15 grand it's gone to probably about 4,000 bucks worth.
24:24Oh, you're going home, Timmy.
24:26So everyone was laughing about it but that's a lot of money we've lost there.
24:29And that's why we're here.
24:31You know, that's what we're trying to find.
24:32We've done all this work.
24:33And that was our payday.
24:48All righty.
24:50Cradle Mountain traffic.
24:51Robbie 44 Hotel Echo Foxtrot becoming airborne from the Pencil Pine helipad.
24:55We'll be on climb to 4,500 tracking south west for Darwin Crater.
25:00Cradle Mountain.
25:01Up we come, gentlemen.
25:05In near freezing conditions, Tom Capitani and his crew Josh and Andy are on a mission
25:11to secure rare Darwin glass for collector Hank Eves.
25:22Low cloud cover over the crater at the moment.
25:26We're just circling around now.
25:28Just seeing how thick and dense the bush is, why it's so inaccessible and why we need
25:33a helicopter.
25:34Crazy.
25:36There's our landing area.
25:37We're going to be landing somewhere out that way.
25:39This is it.
25:55Touchdown.
25:57All righty, guys.
25:58We're ready to rock and roll.
25:59But here we are.
26:01Darwin Plateau.
26:06On a razor tight schedule, the team has time for just two search locations.
26:11The first is a mountainside plateau of low-lying vegetation, two kilometers from Darwin Crater.
26:16It's just a tiny fraction of the 400 square kilometers where Darwin glass could be buried.
26:27Oh, my...
26:28Oh, God, is that delaminating?
26:30My God.
26:31I wonder why my toes were feeling cold.
26:42Nothing so far, unfortunately.
26:44I thought there may have been something up on the top here and that.
26:48It's pretty well in the middle of nowhere.
26:50It's the most out-of-the-way place I've ever been in that.
26:52The fact we came in here by helicopter, that just shows the remoteness of it.
26:56No one's ever been here before, the way it feels.
26:58It's a place you definitely wouldn't want to get stuck, particularly at the moment stuck overnight.
27:03If something went wrong out here, anything like that, you'd be in a lot of trouble.
27:08Hey, Andrew.
27:09How's it going?
27:12Yeah, all good.
27:13It's nice out here, but no Darwin glass, unfortunately.
27:17Got to get back to the chopper.
27:18The pilot's really wanting to go.
27:21We've got to get down Ten Mile Hill.
27:22No worries.
27:23All good.
27:23I'll make a move.
27:24I'll head back there.
27:25Should see shortly.
27:27Had a good look around the area and that there.
27:29And as good as if it was standing here, we would have found it.
27:33Unfortunately, that no go on this one.
27:48Dump him in.
27:50Another bucket.
27:51On the bucket.
27:52Fifty-six wellbowers done today.
27:55That's going to be a great load.
27:57So there's going to be heaps of ironstone and hopefully heaps of sapphire.
28:01And that will make us all very happy.
28:03And I'll be able to do my parcel for my buyers and should be good.
28:10Hopefully.
28:10Fingers crossed.
28:14It'll be good to get a couple of grand each.
28:17Anything to pay the bills, that's good money.
28:19I think $3,000 weeks or so.
28:21That's fixed grand all up.
28:22Hopefully we get that out.
28:28All right.
28:29We're off.
28:32All right, lads.
28:34Let it drain out.
28:35Here comes the verdict.
28:37Excited.
28:38All right, let's go.
28:40Let's go.
28:41All right, lads.
28:41This is it.
28:46Look at that.
28:47Wow.
28:48It's everywhere.
28:49You've got to pick that up.
28:51Oh.
28:55Yeah.
28:56Yes.
28:57Yes.
28:58Yes.
28:58Oh, look at it.
28:59Yellow.
29:00Blue.
29:01Green.
29:02She's a party.
29:03Yeah.
29:03She's a big party.
29:04Party all right.
29:05Party.
29:05Oh.
29:06Oh, look.
29:07There's one.
29:08Come on.
29:09That is a party.
29:10Yeah.
29:11Look at that.
29:12She's a royal blue.
29:13That's royal blue.
29:14That's beautiful.
29:15That is gorgeous.
29:16That's the colour of the one that we've busted, eh?
29:18Yeah, actually.
29:19Yeah.
29:20So far, so good.
29:21Oh, another one.
29:23Excited.
29:23Oh, look at this wash with you, boys.
29:26Just everywhere.
29:27Holy hell, man.
29:28This is insane.
29:30Good, eh?
29:31Unbelievable.
29:32I bet we cut some of these instead of just selling them all in the rough.
29:35Value adding.
29:35Well, that'll turn it from 150 carats, isn't it?
29:37Yeah.
29:38To, what, a thousand bucks a carat or more?
29:39Yeah, it can be.
29:40Yeah, sounds good.
29:41Sounds good.
29:41Let's go.
29:44I gave it a little bit of thought.
29:47Yeah.
29:47We'll kick you off.
29:49What are we going to roll with?
29:51There it is.
29:53That pretty one here.
29:54Oh, yeah.
29:54Nice little yellow.
29:56Yep.
29:56Oh, yellow.
29:57Rare.
29:57Nice rare one.
29:58Yes.
29:59Highly valued.
30:00No pressure, mate.
30:02Leave it with me.
30:03Leave it with me.
30:05And we're going to try to maximise the value of it.
30:08This type of colour will be worth a thousand plus per carat.
30:13But if there's a crack in it, well, then it becomes hardly anything.
30:19Fifty bucks.
30:20We've got our sapphire here.
30:21We've glued it onto the dog stick.
30:23And we're ready to start to make the girdle.
30:27The girdle's the round part just that goes around the outside.
30:30It'll give us our basic shape and size.
30:34Nice and slow and then add a bit of water.
30:37So it cuts without scratching it too much.
30:40The less I can take off here, the better.
30:42It's crazy how much of the sapphire you actually lose when you cut it down.
30:47Yeah, around 75% of the stone you can lose sometimes.
30:54A little bit stressful when they're all counting on you.
30:57And be careful not to bump it or drop it or crack it.
31:01If I crack it, it's going to be worthless.
31:06The following day, the team are ready to value their sapphire hole,
31:10with the spoils being split 49 to 51% in Tim's favour.
31:15Good morning, gents.
31:17Hey, Timmy.
31:18Good morning, Tim.
31:18How are you?
31:20How are you?
31:20Very good, how are you?
31:21Oh, excellent.
31:22Excellent.
31:23I've done a bit of sorting here.
31:25Yep.
31:26We're going to start with the small ones, gents.
31:28And here we go.
31:30So we've got 60 carats.
31:3260 carats.
31:33By 25?
31:3425, yeah.
31:34Okay.
31:351,500.
31:36Okay.
31:37That's the first slot.
31:40Okay, this is the big one.
31:42Wow.
31:44244 carats.
31:46Wow.
31:46Yeah.
31:46244 carats.
31:48150 times.
31:48So these are 150 carats.
31:49150.
31:50And now these three.
31:5128,1 we're at.
31:52Okay, 43 carats.
31:54Wow.
31:55Now, these are a prize stone, so I would turn around and demand at least 400 per carat on
32:03this one.
32:03Wow.
32:04Yeah.
32:04Okay.
32:0517,2.
32:06Wow.
32:0717,200 for these three stones.
32:09Wow.
32:11Well, that's not the end of it, Timmy.
32:14What about this one, remember?
32:15Oh, right.
32:16Okay.
32:17This is the one I spent a bit of time on the other day.
32:19What is this worth now?
32:23Oh, wow.
32:24Wow.
32:25That's magic.
32:26Oh, nice work, bro.
32:27That is magic.
32:28Flawless?
32:29Yeah, flawless.
32:30Flawless.
32:31Crystal clean.
32:32Flawless.
32:33No cracks.
32:33Wow.
32:34That is absolutely gorgeous.
32:35You don't get them very often.
32:37Yeah.
32:37Two grand a carat.
32:38Yeah, two grand.
32:39Two grand per carat.
32:40Want to work at it?
32:411.5 carats.
32:43Wow.
32:433,000 bucks.
32:45Woo!
32:45That bumps up the key.
32:47That's a quick three grand.
32:47That's a quick three grand.
32:49That is nice.
32:49And that's the big change from $100 per carat in the raft.
32:53Look at that.
32:55So what does that take us to, mate?
32:57What are we up to?
32:57Well, if that's $3,000, that equals $61,000.
33:03Woo!
33:04Yeah!
33:05Nice one, Timmy.
33:06Nice.
33:07Nice one, Timmy.
33:08Nice one.
33:10This beat's working, eh?
33:12Thanks very much, guys.
33:13Uh, I've got enough for my parcel now.
33:15Don't be happy.
33:16I just need your details and I'll send you the 30 grand.
33:19Yeah.
33:19No problem.
33:20What do you reckon, guys?
33:21We hit the pub?
33:22Yeah, I got him for a beer.
33:24I know.
33:24He's gonna have a beer.
33:24Oh, shit.
33:33Alrighty, guys.
33:33So I'm just gonna drop you down in this little clearing here.
33:36I've gotta run off for a little while.
33:38Pickup's gonna be at 3.30 on the dot.
33:40We need to leave here at 3.30 and we won't have enough light to get home.
33:47In the rugged Tasmanian Mountains, Tom and his crew have less than four hours to find rare Darwin glass for
33:54collector Hank Eves.
33:56As we're flying over from the crater, I notice these erosional points of old quarries and pits.
34:02And, you know, that's a good spot to start looking.
34:05We'll start here, we'll work a few hundred metres down the, um, down the side of Mount Darwin and see
34:11what we can find.
34:13Nope.
34:15Thought that was gonna be something then, but nope.
34:19Oh, we've just been looking around here and that lasts probably 15, 20 minutes and that doesn't appear to be
34:26anything here.
34:27I think we would have found something by now if there was.
34:30Nothing exposed at all.
34:33We'll go further up this track.
34:36There's too much eroded material falling down here, so we're not really seeing anything.
34:41We go a little bit higher up, there'll be less erosion and more likely to find the layer in which
34:46the Darwin glass is accumulating.
34:51It should be here.
34:57What?
34:58Oh, look at this.
34:59Oh, wow.
34:59Look.
35:00There's a piece there too.
35:01There's more, another one here, yep.
35:04Look at that, isn't that beautiful?
35:05Jemmy too.
35:06Wow.
35:08I just found the most beautiful, jemmy little piece of Darwin glass here.
35:12This is what we're looking for.
35:14This is Darwin glass.
35:15It's not just Darwin glass, it's gem-grade Darwin glass.
35:18The greenest, the greenest I've ever seen.
35:21Gem-grade Darwin glass is coveted by collectors for its translucency and vivid green hue.
35:28I'm relieved.
35:30That is a good space.
35:31This is the first find for the day, and surprisingly, it's all around us.
35:36I've just been looking at maybe the top 30 centimetres of this road cutting.
35:41I found some pretty big bits of Darwin glass.
35:44So that's really important now.
35:46Now we know where the Darwin glass is deposited.
35:48We know it's a rise in which it's in.
35:50So theoretically, if we went above it and dug down into the 12 inches of topsoil,
35:56we'll find lots of Darwin glass.
35:58Definitely a job for Andy.
36:04Yep, yep, here.
36:06There's some here.
36:07There's a little bit here.
36:09You find one bit, there's usually more around, so that's definitely a good start.
36:13That'll keep going up.
36:15See if we can find any openings.
36:23Oh my God.
36:24Hey.
36:26That's what I've been looking for.
36:27Look at this.
36:28This thing is unreal.
36:30This is the biggest piece I've ever seen.
36:33Definitely what it is.
36:34There's no doubt about it.
36:35It's Darwin glass.
36:36Didn't think we'd ever seen like that.
36:37That's definitely a Hank piece.
36:39Hank will be over the moon with this one, literally.
36:42Woo!
36:47How'd you go, Andy?
36:48Find anything?
36:49No, much.
36:50You guys didn't find much?
36:52A little bit in the hill, but not that much.
36:54A bit of a shame, isn't it?
36:56What?
36:58What?
36:59Wow.
37:01What?
37:02My God.
37:02That's just amazing.
37:03Hank's got to love that.
37:05Smile.
37:06Look at that.
37:06Wow.
37:09All right, there's Josh.
37:11Let's get a move on.
37:17Glad you've got too many more rocks, because we're at maximum power getting out here.
37:21All right.
37:23You guys have done well.
37:24Greg, thank you very much.
37:25Big dinner tonight?
37:27Yeah, we'll eat well tonight.
37:32All right.
37:33What have we got here?
37:35What do you recommend value is here we've got?
37:38This is my favourite piece, which is a really gemmy little one.
37:42I'd be faceting that.
37:43That's going to be a really nice little piece.
37:45That's a killer piece.
37:46But the best, the big one you found, Andy.
37:49That's worth a couple of grand, really.
37:51All this stuff's worth probably about a thousand dollars.
37:55It's worth about four thousand.
37:57But really, it's not about the money.
37:59It's the challenge of going there.
38:01You guys had fun?
38:02Yeah, wonderful.
38:03It was just amazing.
38:04Amazing trip in there.
38:04Get out here and actually get what we got.
38:06And get to where we did.
38:09Wonderful experience.
38:10I mean, really, I've buckled this thing that I've always wanted to do.
38:13And we did it successfully.
38:14We found some Darwin glass.
38:16Hank's always happy with what I give him.
38:17We've got to go home.
38:18Freezing, guys.
38:19Get out of here.
38:19Pack it up.
38:20Bag it up.
38:20Josh, get it up.
38:22Get going.
38:32If I overexert the excavator, I'll put pressure on a particular angle.
38:36It's going to spin my cab around.
38:37And below me is just a sheer drop.
38:39So, yeah, really got to just go slowly here.
39:00We've done it.
39:02We made it.
39:05Beautiful, mate.
39:07Bit nerve-wracking there for a minute.
39:10I'll spin the dig around and we'll be able to start emptying out these old pits.
39:14And hopefully by this afternoon we'll be having aquamarine and beers.
39:19After battling for days to reach an old-timers aquamarine dig,
39:24Patrick and his team have just hours left to mine.
39:28So I'm just emptying out this old hole here
39:30and noticing that there's chunks of crystalline quartz just falling out of the wall.
39:35So I reckon there's a vein just behind here somewhere.
39:39Yeah, getting some really good signs.
39:41Nice quartz crystal has rolled out.
39:44Pretty nice little indicator that we're definitely in the right direction.
39:49I love crystals.
39:50I love crystals.
39:57Oi!
40:02What is it?
40:08What is it?
40:09What is it?
40:10Oh my gosh.
40:11You ready?
40:13I saw something.
40:15Oh!
40:20No freaking way!
40:22Look how Jimmy that is!
40:24Holy!
40:27Yeah!
40:29No way!
40:30Look at the termination on it too!
40:31That is insane!
40:33Just goes to show that like at any moment anything could roll out of here.
40:38And it was just like sitting next to the bucket.
40:40God, I'm so lucky I didn't put the bucket through that.
40:44Where's it come from?
40:45That's the thing.
40:47Are you finding other bits amongst it or?
40:48There's a few pieces starting to come out.
40:51Is it?
40:56That's a nice one, Luke.
40:57Oh!
40:58That's a decent size.
41:00Oh, look at that!
41:02That's gonna be a screamer.
41:04Wipe it.
41:05Yeah, throw it in the gold.
41:08Oh, that's so jammy.
41:12What's that there?
41:14Oh my God.
41:16No.
41:17No way.
41:21Oh my God!
41:23That's massive!
41:24That's huge!
41:26Wow.
41:27This is by far the biggest piece I've found here.
41:31Again, confirms that this is an incredible aquamarine deposit here.
41:35Well, I reckon these are so amazing.
41:37We should go back down and clean everything up.
41:39And I just want to see them all cleaned up and see what we got.
41:41Sounds like a plan.
41:49How are they cleaning up?
41:50Yeah, they're looking good.
41:51Yeah?
41:52Really nice colours.
41:53Do you want to tip some of this water out and have a proper look?
41:56Sounds good.
41:59Whoa!
42:01That's amazing!
42:03Ridiculous!
42:03Look at the colour in them.
42:05I reckon we should wear the poopy ones.
42:07See what they're worth.
42:08Yep.
42:08Let's start with this one.
42:10What do we reckon?
42:12Ooh!
42:13That's 90 carats.
42:15That's 90 carats.
42:15Yeah, wow.
42:16Quite a strong.
42:17That's a decent sized crystal, that one.
42:19And that is just gem quality.
42:21There's eight grand in that.
42:23Oh!
42:24Eight grand?
42:25Yeah.
42:25Nice job.
42:27And what about the really big one?
42:32Ooh!
42:32Ooh!
42:33Two hundred and seventy carats.
42:35Wow.
42:36That's crazy.
42:37I would say there's at least a three grand stone inside that one.
42:40Maybe four, probably four grand actually.
42:42There's a big chunk inside that.
42:45And then these other pieces.
42:47I reckon we've got 15 grand all up.
42:50Oh!
42:5215 grand!
42:53Good work, team.
42:54That's great work.
42:55Yeah.
42:56That's amazing.
42:57So what does that bring our season target up to at this point?
43:00Ah, so we're at 62 grand for last week.
43:03Already?
43:04Yeah.
43:04Plus 15 for this one, so that's 77 grand.
43:08Well, with the 750 grand target, that's a long way to go.
43:12It's a long way to go.
43:14But yeah, got a good feeling about it.
43:16Got high hopes.
43:17Absolutely.
43:19Well, let's go have a beer and celebrate.
43:21Yeah, that's good.
43:21Sounds good.
43:49Well, let's close out.
43:52Bye-bye.
43:52CC por Antarctica Films Argentina
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