- 14 hours ago
Outback Crystal Hunters - Season 2 - Episode 05: NO SHAYNE NO GAIN
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TVTranscript
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00:38We're only around 5km away from the car right now.
00:41There's been times that we've walked all day.
00:46Look at that.
00:48Yeah, that's full of quartz,
00:51but we're after the real clear sort of stuff, you know,
00:53so I reckon they are further up.
01:00Oh, snake! Snake, snake, snake!
01:27Snake, snake, snake!
01:30Whereabouts?
01:30He's just going here.
01:32Hold him.
01:33What type of snake is it?
01:34Looks like a copperhead, but a lot of snakes all look the same.
01:37You treat them all as venomous, all dangerous.
01:40Inland Tawapanziati, the most venomous snake in the world.
01:43If you get bitten by one of them, it's definitely game over.
01:51The inhospitable terrain of northwest Queensland.
01:55Absolute beautiful view, isn't it?
01:57Neil Wilkinson and his father, Neil Senior,
02:00have travelled 1,000 kilometres southwest
02:02from the cattle station they manage.
02:05On the hunt for old-timers' clear quartz diggings.
02:10We've got a seasoned target of 10 grand.
02:13Most of that is mostly the regos,
02:16insurances for the caravan and carb.
02:18And we also got schooling for my young fella.
02:21Good morning.
02:22We actually have to pay for internet
02:23and we have to pay for the schooling.
02:26Can you tell us what's happening to your place?
02:28It costs us a fair bit to actually come out here with the caravan.
02:31Just in fuel alone, it's cost $1,000.
02:33So it has taken a bit of a toll on the bank.
02:37But hopefully we can recoup that with the crystals that we find.
02:42I mean, look at that.
02:44That's diggings, eh?
02:45Oh, look at this, Dad.
02:46It's a bloody massive hole here.
02:48Oh, wow!
02:51Holy ****, they've done some damage here.
02:53Yeah, that looks like it's all been hand-dug, eh?
02:55You wouldn't do that for nothing, you know?
02:57So they must have been finding something in that hole.
03:00Well, I'll let you go down there and I'll wait up top
03:02and let us know what you see, eh?
03:03Rattle.
03:07Just be careful.
03:09Oh, jeez.
03:10There's quartz in the wall here, eh?
03:12Like, just in top of the ceiling here.
03:14Yeah?
03:14It's what we come here for.
03:15And it looks like we're going to be on the money, hope.
03:18We need it, so...
03:19I'm just...
03:20I'm just stoked.
03:21It's bloody awesome.
03:22And just these crystals here,
03:24just at the entrance here,
03:25is bloody unreal.
03:27That's a big quartz crystal.
03:29And it's still going...
03:30Oh, that's awesome.
03:32Look at that.
03:34Oh, it's about to come out.
03:36Oh, look at that.
03:39Holy ****.
03:40That's incredible.
03:41So what are you finding, Neil?
03:42I've got a nice big crystal point here.
03:44Have a check of this out.
03:47That's not...
03:48Are you ready?
03:48Catch it.
03:48Don't break it.
03:50Oh, have a look at that.
03:52Oh, yeah.
03:53And clean, too.
03:55Yeah, it's nice.
03:59Prized by collectors for its clarity,
04:03clear quartz is free of the trace elements or radiation
04:05that colour other variations of the crystal.
04:10Able to vibrate at a precise frequency,
04:13it is a vital component in timekeeping
04:15and signal transmission equipment.
04:19We'll start excavating this part out here
04:21and I'll go back and get the buckets.
04:23All right.
04:23You look like you'd be fairly safe here by yourself.
04:25Yeah, yeah, this is definitely better than in there, for sure.
04:28I'll be back after, aye?
04:30Yeah, too easy.
04:31Be safe.
04:31Yep.
04:32I'll be here.
04:33We don't have the right gear at the moment.
04:35We didn't bring much with us, being that we were scouting around.
04:38So I've got Dad running down to the car.
04:41It's probably around two to three k's away.
04:55Oh, yeah, there's a nice crystal cluster here.
04:58It might be all right.
04:59But I might try to get that out.
05:02But yeah, it's getting hot.
05:09Yep, it's coming out now.
05:16Oh, it's got a few nice good points on it.
05:18I'm back.
05:19Oh, good.
05:20I'll give this to you, Dad.
05:25How are you feeling down here?
05:27It's bloody hot, aye?
05:28That sun's beaming on me down here.
05:30And there's no wind, no breeze.
05:32Yeah, you should be careful.
05:33Don't get too much heat on you.
05:35But I've got to keep going.
05:36I've got to...
05:37We need the crystals.
05:40We can't stop.
05:42Yeah, look, I reckon you come out for a while.
05:44I'll have a spell, aye?
05:45Come up, we'll cool you down.
05:48Not good.
05:49Come up.
05:50Just give me a sec.
05:51I'm getting dizzy.
05:55Okay, sit.
06:26Right to send the bucket up, mate?
06:27Yeah, mate.
06:28Send him up.
06:29Rightio, sending her up now.
06:33We'll process this one.
06:34And hopefully there's some good stone in it.
06:36It'll be a good indicator to tell us
06:38whether we're heading the right direction.
06:42We've been moving a lot of dirt lately.
06:44We haven't been finding a lot of sapphire.
06:46We have to find stone.
06:48Otherwise, we're not going to make our quota.
06:51There's a lot of dirt between sapphires,
06:54as they say out here.
06:55But at the moment, we're feeling it, you know?
07:00Hopefully we have some stones.
07:03Well, it's going to determine what we're doing next anyway.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Come on.
07:10Oh, bugger.
07:12All right, let's check it out.
07:14Spread him out a bit.
07:17Not looking very good, boys, eh?
07:18Nah, man.
07:20Not at all.
07:22Yeah.
07:22Nothing much here, boys.
07:24You can see the pocket's been cleaned out.
07:27We've got a big target to hit,
07:28so I think we should get the old machine going.
07:30Drill a hole down here.
07:32The neighbours have showed me around the back of their claims and stuff,
07:34and I had a good look.
07:35There's a good wash down there.
07:36Oh, yeah?
07:36If we've got two mines going,
07:38we've got a big chance of hitting our sapphires.
07:40Ruby Vale.
07:42The heart of sapphire country
07:43in the Queensland Central Highlands
07:46and base of operations for Tyson Francis
07:48and brothers Brad and Shane Herring.
07:52So this is it, boys.
07:54This is the hole.
07:57With this machine, we can move a lot more dirt.
08:00All right, so what work needs to be done to get it going?
08:03Does it even go?
08:04What we need to do is the wiring here on this motor.
08:07I'm on that.
08:08A little of the wiring.
08:09A couple of bolts in the mounts.
08:11That wiring's faded out on that.
08:13We need that fixed as well.
08:14Oh, yes, it's old.
08:15Once we get that done, then we can fix up the bullhorns.
08:18That'll need a spring too, won't it?
08:20Yeah, we'll have to weld a spring in there
08:21and a counterweight on here just to help the spring.
08:25Spring-loaded bullhorns send the empty bucket back down the mine shaft.
08:30The three motors needing repair return the bucket to the surface,
08:34turn the trommel, and run the conveyor belt.
08:39It's a lot of work, man.
08:40Are you sure you're going to be stones over there?
08:43Enough?
08:43Pretty confident.
08:45Doubles our chances, mate.
08:46We've got a big target to hit, so you've got to give it a go.
08:49It's risky, but worth it.
08:52Gem-grade cut sapphires are worth, on average, $1,000 a carat.
08:58Found in Rubyvale, one of the largest black sapphires in the world,
09:03the Black Star of Queensland, was originally used as a doorstop.
09:08When discovered to be a sapphire,
09:10it was crafted into a pendant worth an estimated $100 million.
09:16It's going to be a bit of an outlay of the money.
09:18It's from the season target.
09:19But without the risk, you can't get reward.
09:22Hey, Mum.
09:23Hey!
09:24How are you?
09:24Good to see you, Mum.
09:25Yeah, you too.
09:26My mum and my brother, we're really close.
09:28Sit down.
09:29We grew up country boys, family-orientated,
09:32and Mum's the keystone of that.
09:34And look, you know, our goals are that Mum can actually retire.
09:38You're heading back to work then?
09:40Can we get back on the road?
09:41Hopefully not for much longer.
09:43Oh.
09:43One day we can have enough money that you can retire
09:46and come and stay out here with us.
09:47Oh, that would be great.
09:52It's going to need a grinder.
09:54Bit old, that one.
09:56As Brad and Shane begin repairs on the 50-year-old processing plant...
10:00There you go, mate.
10:01..Tyson needs to organise a drill
10:02to dig the access shaft for the new mine.
10:05Hey, mate, how you going?
10:07Just get a price on that hole you can drill for us tomorrow.
10:11How much?
10:14Yeah, right.
10:14OK.
10:16Thanks, mate.
10:17Bye.
10:20Hey, boys.
10:21Yep.
10:221,600 bucks for a 30-foot hole.
10:24Jesus.
10:25And if it's any deeper, we have to shell out.
10:26It could be double.
10:27Jesus.
10:28Yeah, so that's it.
10:30That's what it'll cost us.
10:31No, I know.
10:32Fair enough.
10:33Yeah.
10:33All right.
10:34I'll let you get back to it.
10:37I'm just finishing off the power box,
10:39putting the last connectors on.
10:42So...
10:43And look at that.
10:45Like a bought one.
10:46Hey, that's awesome.
10:48So let's test it out, eh?
10:51We're going to start with the conveyor motor.
10:55So we'll give that a go.
10:57Let's see what happens.
10:58Turn this on down here for the whole power box.
11:02And...
11:02Oop.
11:03That's not good.
11:04What's going on over here, mate?
11:07Yes, there's...
11:07The power box is tripping out their power,
11:09not the motors, yeah.
11:10Well, we've got the drill rig turned up very shortly.
11:12We need this done, mate.
11:13Yeah, I'll get into it, mate.
11:14Sorry about that.
11:14All right.
11:16We've got to get in and get it done
11:18because we've got the drill rig on the way.
11:20And this is going to hold up the show,
11:21which is going to cost us money
11:23and it's going to put us behind
11:24and it's going to be all my fault.
11:42On the map here,
11:43it looks like we're coming to the end of the track
11:45up just up around the corner.
11:47Yeah, it doesn't look like too many tracks off this one.
11:49No.
11:50And we're still not too close
11:52to that other peridot spot.
11:54We can get as close as we can to it.
11:56The car.
11:57It looks pretty treacherous
11:58and there's a reason people don't drive off
12:00into long ground spot.
12:02Yeah, this is the end of the track, Frankie.
12:04Yeah, all right.
12:05I'll let you out here then.
12:06Okay.
12:12From this side of the tree.
12:16I'm just trying to guide Frankie
12:17in the safest direction
12:18through the long grass.
12:20There's a lot of, you know,
12:21sticks up in the grass.
12:22We don't want to pop any tyres,
12:23so come on.
12:25Just watch that there.
12:26Frankie, a little hole there.
12:37Stop.
12:41Looks like it.
12:44This is as far as we're going to take the ute in.
12:46It's getting a bit too dangerous
12:47to drive through the long grass,
12:48so we're just going to try and find
12:50the source of the peridot.
12:54Remote northwest Queensland,
12:56a region dominated by tropical savannah.
13:00It's long grasses concealing deposits
13:02of the crystal peridot.
13:04So the peridot is formed deep within the earth
13:07and it's brought up from the mantle
13:09from volcanic activity.
13:10So there's a volcanic plug on the field up here
13:13that's brought up all the peridot
13:15and just been deposited all over the field.
13:20Hmm.
13:27Look at that.
13:28Oh, that's a beauty.
13:30That's a good little specimen, that one.
13:32Got a bit of the basalt host rock
13:34and you can see some of the peridot
13:36within the host rock still.
13:39There you go.
13:39That peridot's just popped out.
13:41And we'll be looking for these sort of stones
13:43and then around it,
13:44hopefully some peridot gems
13:46that have weathered out.
13:47Absolutely.
13:48It's actually everywhere here.
13:50It's come out of a volcano,
13:51so a lot of it has been fractured due to the heat.
13:54Hopefully we come across some nice clear stones
13:56that will be facetable.
13:59Peridot was first mined over 4,000 years ago
14:03by the ancient Egyptians
14:05and has even been found in comet dust,
14:08meteorites and on the moon.
14:11Today, cut and faceted peridot
14:13can be worth up to $700 a carat.
14:16We might just have a bit of a look over this area
14:18and see if we can locate the best spot in the area
14:22and go from there.
14:25But this is definitely where it's at.
14:28Crystals are more important than ever now
14:30because we've started a little crystal business.
14:32The crystal business is my main income.
14:34I ended up quitting my 9 to 5 a few years ago
14:36to focus on the crystals now
14:37and I've got to give it my all,
14:39get out here and find some more crystals
14:41to be able to keep that stock up within our business
14:43and keep it rolling.
14:49Oh, hello.
14:55Looks like someone's beat us to it.
14:59Oh, this area's been absolutely hammered in here.
15:02This is not a very good sight to see
15:03and looks like they've been digging here for quite a while, so...
15:07Hey, Ed.
15:10I've got to come and have a look at this.
15:11I don't think we're going to find anything here.
15:15Oh, my God.
15:19I was hoping that no one had been here before.
15:24Oh, God.
15:26Everywhere here.
15:26Oh, my God.
15:27Everywhere, yeah, it's been smashed here.
15:30What do you think we do?
15:31Actually, not too sure.
15:32It's actually there.
15:33It took the wind out of me, this one.
15:43Yeah, I'm just going to have to troubleshoot
15:44and find out what's that.
15:48That's working.
15:49So it's working now.
15:51Having a few problems over there with it wiring.
15:54It's definitely holding us up on getting it ready
15:57and, you know, that could change our season
16:00if we can't get it running properly.
16:01Screwdriver?
16:02The Ruby Vale boys are losing precious digging time
16:05repairing a 50-year-old sapphire processing plant.
16:09Fail to get it operational
16:10and they'll waste thousands in drilling and set-up costs.
16:14Fire this one up.
16:16Test another motor as well.
16:18Oh, there it goes.
16:19She tripped.
16:20She tripped.
16:21So I reckon it's actually this motor over here
16:23because I had them both plugged in earlier
16:26when we first fired it up and it was having the issues.
16:28Yeah, it's here's an old motor and it's not going to be easy to fix
16:31unless it's just the wiring.
16:33We'll check it out.
16:35Here comes the drill rig.
16:37Hey, mate.
16:39Right, the hole's down the back over here.
16:41I'm pretty sure it's going to be this little cable here
16:43that goes through the capacitor.
16:45It's exposed.
16:46I thought I'd get away with it,
16:48but obviously we'll have to fix up the wires.
16:51If that doesn't go, then we'll be a little bit behind.
16:56Close enough.
16:57Good enough there.
17:02There it comes.
17:03There you go.
17:04Look how old it is.
17:05Look at this.
17:06It just crumbles apart.
17:07Hopefully this will be enough to get the motor up and running.
17:11If I can spread these two wires apart enough,
17:13because it's only got a couple of millimetres in there
17:17to keep them spread apart.
17:19There you go, Sharno.
17:20What's happening with the power, mate?
17:22It turns out it was the capacitor.
17:24Yep.
17:24There was two wires that were completely bare.
17:26Yeah, right.
17:27And so they were shorting out.
17:28It all sounds like an easy fix anyway.
17:30It'll get us on the road.
17:31Easy fix?
17:32No, not at all.
17:34I've re-taped up them.
17:35If this doesn't work,
17:36I'd like to start thinking about what we can do.
17:45Plug him in.
17:46Here we go.
17:50A moment of truth.
17:56That's no good.
17:57No good at all.
17:59Just turn it on and it just keeps tripping the switch.
18:02That means it's the actual motor itself.
18:15Hey, mate.
18:16We've got a bit of bad news, man.
18:17What's going on?
18:19That, um...
18:19Oh, watch out.
18:23That motor's buggered.
18:24Buggered, is it?
18:25It's not turning on.
18:29Um, we haven't got one at all.
18:31And to get one out of you will take over a week.
18:33Yeah.
18:38I've got a motor at my joint.
18:40I'm going to go and see if that will fit.
18:42Righto.
18:43No dramas.
18:43All right, mate.
18:44Thank you.
18:51This looks like floor to me.
18:54Yeah, that's decomposed granite.
18:56All right, that's the bottom.
18:57I'm going to have a look.
18:59I'll, um...
18:59I'll just get him to spin it.
19:04What's your deck?
19:0623 feet.
19:0723 feet?
19:09Yeah.
19:09Great.
19:10It'll work out all right for me.
19:13Beautiful.
19:14I'm happy with that.
19:17Next will be bringing the machine over.
19:19And then we'll, um, get down there and fill it out.
19:22And start chasing where the stone are.
19:27So I'm just up here welding in the spring to run the bucket.
19:30It dumps the load.
19:32And then the spring is to help the motor
19:35actually bring the bucket back up and over
19:37and back down the shaft.
19:49I've got a motor here from my house,
19:51so we'll see if that fits.
19:53Um, all we have to do is put on a little plug
19:55and we're ready to go.
20:02Right, eh?
20:03Well, I'm just going to start rigging up this motor
20:04and then we're back in business.
20:07And then we'll be good.
20:09And we can start, uh, move it all over,
20:11connect it up,
20:12and hopefully...
20:13Oh, fire, fire!
20:14Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:16Get it in, get that fire!
20:17I've got it, bro.
20:19Come on, kill that tower!
20:20Hurry up!
20:27Hey, Luke!
20:29Come on, hop up now.
20:30It's almost school time.
20:32You've got to get on your computer.
20:33Quick.
20:34It's almost school.
20:37Oh, I'm feeling a lot better.
20:38Uh, I'm well rested.
20:40I've actually...
20:41I've drank a lot of water,
20:42so I'm a bit more hydrated today.
20:44It was just lucky for me.
20:45I had Dad there, you know,
20:47a bit of water and that
20:48to get me out of that hole.
20:49Otherwise, I think I would've...
20:50I would've went downhill pretty quickly.
20:52All right, honey.
20:53All right, bye.
20:54See you, Dad.
20:55All right.
20:57Be good for Mum.
20:58Catch us after, eh?
21:00I worry all the time
21:02that something's going to happen,
21:03go wrong,
21:04and it's definitely scary.
21:06But I'm just glad
21:07he's not up there by himself
21:08and he's with his Dad.
21:12I mean, in that hole,
21:13beside us,
21:14down in that little bit
21:15of a tunnel there,
21:16you can actually see
21:18there's nice-sized clusters in there,
21:20you know?
21:20They're not being damaged at all,
21:21so I'm wondering
21:23if we should get in there
21:24and try and get that cluster out.
21:26Yeah, but what about the roof?
21:27You said it's all pie and loose.
21:28We come all this way.
21:29We've got to risk it for the biscuit, eh?
21:31I mean, we've got to get into it.
21:32We've got to get these crystals.
21:33We've got to get some money up.
21:36In sweltering 35-degree temperatures,
21:39Neil Wilkinson
21:40and Father Neil Sr.
21:42have discovered
21:43an abandoned clear quartz mine
21:45they hope will pay off
21:46the family's mounting bills.
21:52I've got this cluster
21:53all dug around the back of it.
21:55I'll get Dad to come down
21:57and actually help me
21:58while I hold it
21:59because all these crystal points
22:00I don't want hitting
22:01the rocks down here
22:02because they'll break them off
22:03and it'll be worse than nothing.
22:08I'm getting nervous.
22:09I can't wait to see this comes out.
22:11Righto.
22:13Okay, you sure it's open here?
22:14Yeah, yeah.
22:15We're good.
22:16What I'll get you to do
22:17is get in here
22:18with the hammer and chisel
22:19and actually get in the top here
22:20and wedge it.
22:21Okay, okay.
22:22Right in here.
22:23Yep, right in there.
22:25Okay.
22:33Just go a bit slower.
22:35A bit slower.
22:36Ready?
22:37Yeah, just go slow.
22:40I don't know.
22:41I've got this under here.
22:42Okay, steady.
22:43Very steady.
22:44Oh, here it comes.
22:47Come on.
22:53It will come out in pieces.
22:56That would have been
22:56an awesome piece
22:57if it came out
22:58as one cluster.
22:59No, look at that.
23:00I feel devastated, really.
23:02I mean, we were hoping
23:02this is going to be the one,
23:04but no.
23:06I mean, what are we going to do now?
23:09We'll keep going.
23:10I mean, we keep going,
23:10but we don't have time.
23:11We've got to go.
23:12We've got to get back.
23:13I've got work to do.
23:14I've got.
23:19This, this is part
23:20of the big cluster
23:20that fell apart on us,
23:22unfortunately.
23:23Still saleable,
23:24but not as good money
23:25as what we could have got.
23:26This is our last day,
23:27unfortunately,
23:28and we've only got to get
23:29some more
23:30because this here
23:30ain't going to pay the bills.
23:34Back in.
23:35Right all.
23:37Right.
23:37Well, I might start
23:38excavating this corner out,
23:40eh?
23:43Oh.
23:47It's a big job.
23:49There's a lot of crystal in here.
23:50I mean, there's beautiful crystal everywhere.
23:51We're just trying to get around.
23:53It's just so tightly packed.
23:55Yeah, it makes it
23:57very difficult.
24:03I've broken the piece out here.
24:04Okay, see how this comes out?
24:06Oh, wow.
24:07Half coming out.
24:10Yeah, it's got some nice pieces,
24:11but it's not good.
24:12It's got one broken,
24:13broken one on the back end.
24:14This one is chipped.
24:16It's because I'm going hell
24:17for leather in there, so.
24:18At this point,
24:19we've got no time,
24:21so that there
24:22looks actually not too bad.
24:23If it comes out in pieces,
24:25it's probably not going to be
24:26a bad thing.
24:27It's a bugger.
24:31I mean, we do have a lot of singles
24:33because there's a lot of singles
24:34and we've got a fair few clusters,
24:35you know.
24:36We've got a lot of rocks
24:37to take down the hill today,
24:38so I'm sort of worried
24:42on how much weight's going to be
24:43trying to pack down the hill.
24:45Yeah, well,
24:45we'll take some loads down
24:46because this here is beating me.
24:48Here's some really nice rocks there,
24:49but I just can't,
24:50you know,
24:50just take it too long.
24:53Oh, that's looking knackered.
24:56It's a shame,
24:57but, oh, well,
24:58that's what it is.
25:04There we go.
25:06That's going to be easy
25:0730, 20 kilos.
25:11I'll catch you after, Roy.
25:13I'm back shortly.
25:14Right-o, be safe.
25:50I'll catch you after, Roy.
25:51I don't know
25:52what we're going to do now.
25:53I'm going to keep going,
25:54looking for another spot.
25:56Don't have any hopes up
25:57after seeing this.
26:04Feeling a bit disheartened.
26:05I was really hoping
26:06it'd be new ground up here,
26:07but, yeah,
26:09it's just not our luck today.
26:12Hopefully,
26:12if we keep heading up the hill,
26:13we can find some nice
26:14big chunks of Peridot.
26:18In remote northwest Queensland,
26:21Frankie Anthony
26:22and Ebrony Rawlins
26:23have had their isolated
26:25Peridot dig site...
26:26There's been diggings
26:27all through here.
26:28...gutted by miners.
26:33All right,
26:34getting very rocky.
26:35Watch your step.
26:37Holy s***.
26:38Okay, very rocky.
26:41Eyes on the ground.
26:48Couple little pieces here,
26:49Frankie.
26:51Nice.
26:52They're a bit fractured,
26:54but
26:55that's a good sign
26:56that
26:56we're getting closer
26:58to the source.
26:59Yeah,
27:00there's definitely
27:00a lot of good indicators
27:01around the place.
27:03This is one of the challenges
27:04right here.
27:05That's a little
27:06Peridot there.
27:07It just looks like
27:08a brown rock.
27:10They don't even look
27:11green at all.
27:11It's got the
27:12ironstone coating on it,
27:13but the only way
27:14to sort of tell
27:15is it looks like
27:16broken glass.
27:17Like,
27:17it's got all the
27:18angular edges on it.
27:22It's another one.
27:23Unfortunately,
27:24that's probably
27:25not what we're here for.
27:25We're after
27:26some kingstones today.
27:35Not really seeing
27:36a lot at the moment.
27:38Oh,
27:38there's a little bit
27:38of
27:40Peridot here.
27:44Which is a good sign.
27:46Oh,
27:46there you go.
27:47Look at that piece.
27:49Oh,
27:51that's beautiful.
27:52That was just
27:52sitting on the rock here.
27:57Oh my God.
27:58See,
27:58look,
27:58I just found another one.
27:59Oh my God.
28:00It's beautiful.
28:01Looking really promising here.
28:03Oh,
28:03there's another one there.
28:05Wow.
28:08Oh,
28:08just in this spot.
28:11What up to the sun?
28:13Yep,
28:13there's some colour.
28:17Hey,
28:18Frankie.
28:18You got something?
28:22First 10 minutes
28:23in this spot,
28:25look what I've found.
28:27Oh,
28:28Ebzy,
28:28look at that.
28:33Wow.
28:34That's beautiful.
28:35That might be
28:35a cutter for sure.
28:37I was starting
28:38to lose a bit of wind there,
28:39thinking we weren't
28:39going to find anything.
28:40Look at that.
28:41We needed to find a spot.
28:42Looks like you found it.
28:44Let's go.
28:45Let's get the sims out.
28:46This is the spot.
28:46Woo!
29:02It was maybe something,
29:03but that's a better start
29:05than before.
29:13All right.
29:14Oh,
29:15first one.
29:16There we go.
29:17Oh,
29:18it's a bit,
29:18it's not that very good,
29:19but
29:20it's still a parrot, eh?
29:23Oh,
29:23yeah.
29:23No,
29:24here we go.
29:25Two more.
29:28What'd you find?
29:30Oh,
29:31beautiful.
29:31Is that included?
29:33Oh,
29:33hey,
29:33here's another one.
29:34It's pretty fractured,
29:35but the colour's there.
29:36And look at this one
29:37I just found.
29:39Holy.
29:40That's jammy.
29:42That's a monster, Eb.
29:44I just picked that up
29:44on the way.
29:46Probably like
29:46good $400 stone, eh?
29:49This is awesome,
29:50Frankie.
29:51We're just going to
29:51keep working
29:52until the sun sets,
29:53head back to camp
29:54and polish them up.
29:56There's another one.
29:57Oh,
29:57my God.
29:59There's a nice handful there.
30:08Get in there.
30:10Can someone...
30:14You got him?
30:16All good.
30:18Woo.
30:18Well,
30:19there we go.
30:23Oh,
30:23a bit of a fire.
30:24A fire extinguisher.
30:27She's a little bit empty.
30:28Just the slag dropping down,
30:30just lit all the grass on fire.
30:32Could have caught
30:33the whole thing on fire
30:34just because of all the grease
30:35underneath the actual truck.
30:37Yeah,
30:37I was stuck up the top
30:38and, yeah,
30:39it could have been
30:40a lot worse.
30:43Brothers Brad and Shane
30:45have finally got
30:46their sapphire processing
30:47plant operational,
30:49but now need to align it
30:51above the freshly drilled
30:52shaft of their new mine.
30:58Yeah,
30:59well,
30:59look,
30:59we've got a couple
31:00of flat tyres
31:01and also no braking system.
31:03You know,
31:04we're hoping it'll all go smoothly,
31:05but you just never know.
31:08I'll make sure I steer it
31:10into position.
31:12Brad will come round
31:12and hook up
31:13to the front of the truck
31:14and he'll just pull it all
31:15up past the shaft.
31:20This tractor on the back,
31:21he'll just hold onto it anyway.
31:23Not sure how well
31:23it'll actually steer
31:24after sitting here
31:25for so many years.
31:26Let's do it.
31:28Righty-o,
31:29I'm ready.
31:34Just about to take attention.
31:43Slow down a bit, Brad.
31:45Hard right, Shane.
31:46Hard right.
31:47You're going to take the post out.
31:48Slow down, Brad.
31:50Look at the width of your truck,
31:52Shane-o.
31:52Ladder to the right.
31:53Look at your back,
31:54left-hand wheel.
31:54Yeah, yeah.
31:55Turn right, Shane.
31:58That's all right.
31:59No worries.
32:00Now go left.
32:00Hard left.
32:01Turn into the left.
32:02Now straight from there.
32:03Yep.
32:04Yep, like that.
32:06That's it.
32:07We're clear here, boys.
32:10Hold it up.
32:10Hold there.
32:11Is that it, boys?
32:12That's close, man.
32:13Woo!
32:17Bloody staked.
32:18There she is.
32:19She's in.
32:20Awesome.
32:20I can see the sapphires now, man.
32:22I can see the sapphires now.
32:26Processing plant in position,
32:28Tyson and Brad need to add the water recycled tanks
32:31and silt traps to make it operational.
32:35Shane must return to their primary mine
32:38to hunt for sapphires
32:39in the hope he can recoup the costs
32:41of the new mine set up.
32:44Tyson's said it's up to me
32:46to sort of decide where I'm going to dig.
32:48So the pressure's on to find some sapphires.
32:51The wash level does continue up into the roof
32:53and it's got some really good colour.
32:56So look, there's your green,
32:58your red ochre
32:59and your yellow ironstone,
33:01which is all your indicators of sapphires.
33:03So I think I might work my way along the roof
33:07and give us a bit more clearance.
33:09Drop it down, run a few barrows.
33:21Righto, Brado.
33:22I'll seal all this up, mate,
33:23and put the pipes through
33:24and hopefully it holds the water for us
33:26and we'll fire it all up
33:27and we're ready to roll.
33:27It's getting close now, man.
33:30Hopefully Shane went well downstairs
33:31and we'll get some nice wash
33:33with some pay dirt in it.
33:35We're going to need it
33:36because it's been costing a lot of money.
33:39I'll send it up.
33:40I haven't seen any sapphires
33:42poking out of the wall
33:43or in any of the material
33:44that I've sent up
33:46as I've been doing it.
33:47So I'm just praying
33:48that it's all up there
33:49in the hopper.
34:03I've just sorted out a little pile.
34:05This will be our first lot of peridot
34:08to go into the tumbler.
34:09The tumbler will help us
34:10to polish off the sharp edges of the stone
34:13and it'll help to get rid of that iron stain
34:15on the peridot
34:17and yeah, unveil some of the colour
34:18that's underneath.
34:20So first things first,
34:22we'll pop the peridot
34:24into the tumbler.
34:25Put this lot
34:28of ceramic balls in there
34:30as they grind against the peridot.
34:32It just makes the process
34:34happen a lot quicker.
34:44We'll set it to
34:46just one day.
34:47We'll leave it overnight.
34:48Let it start tumbling.
34:50I guess we'll see what we have
34:52when it's finished.
34:54Come on.
35:00The tumbler's been on overnight
35:02so I'm hoping that they're
35:03a little bit polished off
35:05so we can see some of the colour.
35:07Alright.
35:10Oh, look at it already.
35:15Wow.
35:18Wow.
35:20Holy eggs, that's beautiful.
35:23They came out awesome.
35:25Wow, I'm actually blowing it away.
35:26I didn't realise
35:26there was that much nice stuff
35:28in there.
35:30I was actually a bit disheartened.
35:31I was thinking,
35:31oh, we didn't get that much,
35:33you know,
35:33it's just all brown rocks,
35:34but this is actually next level.
35:36What do you reckon
35:37we weigh these up
35:38and see what we've got here?
35:39Yeah, there's only
35:40really small ones left in here.
35:43Let's see what we got.
35:45First batch.
35:51913 carats right there.
35:53That's awesome.
35:54What would they be roughly?
35:55We'll call it about
35:56$8 in the rough.
35:58$8 per carat?
35:59$8 per carat in the rough,
35:59yep.
36:00$8 per carat.
36:01We've got 914 carats
36:03just there times 8.
36:06Oh, my God.
36:07What is that?
36:08That's over $7,000.
36:10Yooo!
36:10Well done, Edzie.
36:12And we've still got all this.
36:13Oh, my God.
36:16What sort of rough price
36:16would you put on those?
36:18It's tough to say,
36:19but, yeah,
36:20it'd be definitely
36:21on par with
36:22what we've got there,
36:23for sure.
36:24So that would easily be,
36:25what,
36:25$14,000, you said?
36:27Yeah.
36:28Bring it in.
36:29Woo-hoo!
36:31You know,
36:32something's been
36:32hiding the ground
36:33for 60 million years
36:34and you finally dig it out
36:36and it reveals
36:37its true beauty.
36:39Absolutely amazing.
36:40There's nothing
36:40really quite like it.
36:42Well, what do you reckon?
36:43Can we go and pack up camp
36:45and get going on
36:46to the next spot?
36:47Sounds good.
36:55All right.
36:57Fingers crossed.
36:58I'm hoping to see
37:00some really good sapphires
37:01in here.
37:02You know,
37:02we've spent a lot of money,
37:04so hopefully
37:05we've got something
37:06in there
37:07worth yahooing about.
37:15Let's find some stone.
37:20Let's find some stone.
37:21Quartz.
37:24Oh, look,
37:25this is looking all right.
37:26Here we are.
37:27We've got a nice one here.
37:28Looks all right.
37:29It's a good size.
37:30Oh, it looks nice.
37:31Jeez,
37:32I hope that's clear.
37:33All right,
37:34I'll keep looking.
37:38Oh, yes,
37:38that's more like it.
37:40Yeah,
37:40you're talking money.
37:41Look at that.
37:43Let's pray
37:43that's not a bomb.
37:49All right,
37:49brother,
37:49that's it, eh?
37:50She looks done.
37:51Yeah, man.
37:51Well done, eh?
37:52Well done.
37:53I wonder how Shano went.
37:54Yeah, well,
37:54how'd you go, boys?
37:55He's the man of the moment.
37:56How'd you go?
37:57How'd you go?
37:57That's the main thing.
37:58Well,
37:59I don't think I'll disappoint.
38:01Here we go.
38:02Yeah, righto.
38:02That's what we got.
38:03Check it out.
38:05Oh, nice.
38:06Some nice stones there.
38:06Good ones in there.
38:07Righto,
38:08let's have a look, eh,
38:08and weigh them up.
38:09Yeah.
38:09Torch and all.
38:10Sure, torch and all.
38:11Well done.
38:12He's excited.
38:13He looks happy.
38:17That looks like a cutter.
38:18Look at that.
38:20Oh,
38:20yeah.
38:21Oh, man.
38:22Yeah,
38:23it's a nice stone.
38:24Party.
38:25Beautiful stone.
38:26Well done.
38:27Well done.
38:28Saved the week, mate.
38:30Look at that.
38:30That's another one, too.
38:31Wow.
38:32Crystal clear inside that.
38:33It was definitely worth me going down
38:35and letting put in a day downstairs.
38:38Man.
38:39Oh,
38:39another river.
38:40Well done,
38:41Stoner.
38:41Look at the colour of that, eh?
38:42Look at that.
38:44Hey,
38:44how good is that?
38:45Let's just get the tally on those stones.
38:46Look at this.
38:47Yeah.
38:48Is that...
38:49Mate,
38:50that's all right.
38:50Yeah.
38:51Total is
38:5358 carats of cutters.
38:54What's that worth?
38:55What are we looking at?
38:56Um,
38:58I'd say around about 10 grand when they're cut.
39:00Yeah.
39:01Maybe a bit more.
39:01Yeah.
39:02Awesome.
39:03Yeah.
39:04That's covered everything, hasn't it?
39:05You're awesome, mate.
39:06Cover you.
39:06That's awesome.
39:07Well done.
39:07Well done.
39:08Awesome, man.
39:08Well done, bro.
39:09Well done, Stoner.
39:10Thank you.
39:11Thank you.
39:11Thank you.
39:11Well done.
39:12Well done.
39:13So,
39:13how'd you guys go?
39:15Shall we, mate?
39:15Fire up, big fella.
39:17All right,
39:17let's see.
39:18Have a look at this.
39:21We've got
39:22the trommel.
39:24Yeah.
39:25Yeah.
39:26Well done.
39:27The conveyor.
39:29It's going.
39:30It's going.
39:31It's going.
39:31We have the up and over.
39:34Yeah.
39:34Well done.
39:36Well done.
39:37Yeah.
39:37Well done.
39:38Well done.
39:38Nice.
39:39Nice work, eh?
39:41Now we're going to have two mines going.
39:43Yep.
39:44Next week,
39:44we'll get down there and dig them out.
39:46Yeah.
39:46It was all worth it, boys.
39:48Shane out held his weight in gold today,
39:49so it was good.
39:50We're on fire, mate.
39:51We're on target.
39:52But when the plan comes together, eh?
39:53Let's keep it going.
39:54Let's just smash our quota next week.
39:56Right on.
40:10Holy crap.
40:13Holy crap.
40:16Lucky Dad wasn't down there, eh?
40:19I mean, you can see it wasn't a cave-in.
40:21It was just that loose dirt that was up top there
40:23that's come down.
40:24But it's still pretty scary, eh?
40:26I'm going to tell Dad when he gets back,
40:28it's game over for us.
40:29You know, we're going to call it.
40:36Oh, you're back.
40:37Yeah.
40:38Hey, you're not going to believe it.
40:39You must have a horseshoe up your ass
40:41because this dirt come down
40:43probably 10, 15 minutes after you left
40:45and just went boof on the ground.
40:48You're kidding.
40:48There's a couple of rocks down there.
40:50Yeah, it probably would have killed you.
40:52It was just, it was a bit scary for me.
40:53I think it was the aim of the crystals telling me I'd get to go.
40:56I was just not winning there.
40:58Must be the power of the crystals.
41:00Must be.
41:02Neil and his father are all out of time
41:05on a clear quartz mining expedition.
41:08The spoils of their dig are vital
41:10for paying off crippling cost of living expenses.
41:14Oh, that's a lot of rocks.
41:23Happy, happy, easy.
41:2440 kilos or maybe 50 in that bag.
41:26I mean, without a big cluster,
41:28there's no guarantee we're going to make our season target.
41:32We had a good go at it though.
41:34Yeah, let's get back to camp
41:36and see what sort of rocks we got.
41:52Ah, that's cold.
41:55Refreshing or what?
41:57Oh, yeah, very refreshing.
42:04We're getting through the crystals.
42:06There is some good ones there.
42:08So, yeah, we did come here
42:10hoping to get around two and a half green.
42:12So, yeah, I hope for the best.
42:17So, what do you think?
42:19It's looking good, eh?
42:20A lot better than I expected.
42:21Yeah, no, that's good.
42:26Hey, honey, could you calculate this for me?
42:28Just so we can get a rough idea on this table here.
42:30I mean, you're looking at $300 for something like that.
42:33I mean, you've got $200 for that.
42:35And then you've got $150 for something like that.
42:37So, what's that add up to?
42:39Ah, $650, babe.
42:40So, $650, I mean, that's just for three of them, see?
42:43I mean, on this table, I could say,
42:46I mean, you're looking around $1,800
42:48just for this table alone.
42:49Yeah, that's cool.
42:50I mean, what do you think on the singles side of things?
42:52Well, you know, you've got big things like this thing.
42:54I mean, that's $100 all day.
42:55That's right, yeah.
42:56That's a huge chunker.
42:57If you go through all these, I mean, you'd have...
43:00What do you reckon?
43:01How much do you reckon all that tables worth?
43:02On this table, I reckon about a grand.
43:03It's worth easy.
43:04$1,000 and $1,800, that's...
43:06$2,800.
43:06$2,800.
43:07Yeah.
43:08And you're forgetting, we've got other stuff on the ground here.
43:10That's exactly right.
43:11But I reckon, you know, easy $3,000 all up.
43:13$3,000.
43:14That's brilliant.
43:15Bloody great, eh?
43:17Yes, that's cool.
43:18We've done it.
43:18Awesome.
43:19How many else?
43:20Congratulations, Monica.
43:21I'm absolutely relieved on how much we can get for these crystals.
43:25We've got a lot of bills coming up.
43:26It costs us $1,000 to come out here,
43:28so we're far from actually, like, resting.
43:31We've got to keep getting into it and keep getting more crystals.
43:34We've done it, Blake.
43:34We've got to keep getting more crystals.
44:06We've got to keep getting more Lei.
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