🏘️ Gold Rush (2010) - Season 16 Episode 21
The dream of striking it big becomes reality. In Episode 21 "1,000-Ounce Week", one crew achieves the impossible: mining over 1,000 ounces of gold in a single week. But record-breaking success comes with record-breaking pressure — equipment failures, weather threats, and team exhaustion push everyone to the limit. Who will hold it together... and who will crack under the weight of success?
🔹 Episode Highlights:
• Historic milestone: 1,000+ ounces in one week — a career-defining achievement
• Equipment crisis: breakdowns threaten to derail the record run
• Weather wildcard: rain, mud & freezing temps test preparation & grit
• Team dynamics: celebration, tension & the human cost of big gold
• Signature Gold Rush intensity: high stakes, hard work & unforgettable payoff
🔹 Series Info:
• Format: Reality Documentary / Mining Adventure / Ensemble Serial
• Original Network: Discovery Channel (US) / Discovery+ / International Syndication
• Series Launch: 2010 | Season: 16 | Episode: 21 | Title: "1,000-Ounce Week"
• Setting: Alaska/Yukon Mining Claims, Canada/USA | Language: English
• Runtime: ~42-45 minutes (full) | Clip/Highlight version: ~10-15 min
🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to Gold Rush recaps & mining adventure podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
👉 Enjoying the series? Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and comment: "Which crew deserved the 1,000-ounce week? 👇" Turn on notifications 🔔 for Episode 22 Season Finale!
#ShowTVMovies #GoldRush #DiscoveryChannel #1000OunceWeek #S16E21 #MiningAdventure #GoldMining #RealityTV #BingeWatch #ParkerSchnabel
⚠️ Copyright Disclaimer: This video is shared for promotional, review, and informational purposes only. All rights to "Gold Rush" belong to Discovery Communications, Raw TV, and associated producers. This upload complies with Fair Use guidelines (Section 107, U.S. Copyright Act). No copyright infringement intended.
The dream of striking it big becomes reality. In Episode 21 "1,000-Ounce Week", one crew achieves the impossible: mining over 1,000 ounces of gold in a single week. But record-breaking success comes with record-breaking pressure — equipment failures, weather threats, and team exhaustion push everyone to the limit. Who will hold it together... and who will crack under the weight of success?
🔹 Episode Highlights:
• Historic milestone: 1,000+ ounces in one week — a career-defining achievement
• Equipment crisis: breakdowns threaten to derail the record run
• Weather wildcard: rain, mud & freezing temps test preparation & grit
• Team dynamics: celebration, tension & the human cost of big gold
• Signature Gold Rush intensity: high stakes, hard work & unforgettable payoff
🔹 Series Info:
• Format: Reality Documentary / Mining Adventure / Ensemble Serial
• Original Network: Discovery Channel (US) / Discovery+ / International Syndication
• Series Launch: 2010 | Season: 16 | Episode: 21 | Title: "1,000-Ounce Week"
• Setting: Alaska/Yukon Mining Claims, Canada/USA | Language: English
• Runtime: ~42-45 minutes (full) | Clip/Highlight version: ~10-15 min
🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to Gold Rush recaps & mining adventure podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
👉 Enjoying the series? Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and comment: "Which crew deserved the 1,000-ounce week? 👇" Turn on notifications 🔔 for Episode 22 Season Finale!
#ShowTVMovies #GoldRush #DiscoveryChannel #1000OunceWeek #S16E21 #MiningAdventure #GoldMining #RealityTV #BingeWatch #ParkerSchnabel
⚠️ Copyright Disclaimer: This video is shared for promotional, review, and informational purposes only. All rights to "Gold Rush" belong to Discovery Communications, Raw TV, and associated producers. This upload complies with Fair Use guidelines (Section 107, U.S. Copyright Act). No copyright infringement intended.
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FunTranscript
00:17We already flew past that 6,500-ounce goal.
00:21I mean, just because that's the goal doesn't mean we're going to stop.
00:25Parker is going for 10,000 ounces.
00:27Let's see who ends up on top.
00:29Tony Beats only has a few weeks left in the season
00:33and wants to blow his rivals out of the water
00:36to secure his crown as king of the Klondike.
00:41He's already stacked over $30 million,
00:44but with the gold price jumping another $100 an ounce,
00:50the king is hungry for more.
00:53We got fined a lot. This looks a lot.
00:55There's ripping through the corner cut in the Indian.
00:59Mike on Paradise, I mean, he's got a trommel running,
01:02and he's got enough pay now out of Hester,
01:04so he's going to have Harold on the go.
01:07By the end of the week, you had four sluice plants running.
01:10So the potential of having 1,000-ounce gold lays are almost guaranteed.
01:24If Tony is to hit a record 1,000-ounce hole this week,
01:29he needs to run the fresh Hester cut pay.
01:33Now let's see if we can find some gold in the pay.
01:36And for that, he needs to set up his fourth wash plant, Harold. Fast.
01:42It's time to build her up.
01:44Build him up, I guess, huh? It's a Harold.
01:46First step, build a pad for the 100-yard-an-hour plant.
01:52Pile over here, pile in the middle, and a pile over there.
01:56Okay.
01:57Also, I think about a step back.
02:07It's looking pretty good.
02:08Go pull the plants on and see what it does.
02:19Go!
02:21Beautiful.
02:22Done.
02:26Next, install the 30-foot-long hopper feeder.
02:31Everybody, you're out of the way!
02:33Straight back, Lance.
02:34Straight back.
02:38Good.
02:39Good, good, good, good, good.
02:41Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!
02:45Oh, .
02:45Forward, Lance.
02:48Had it on the wrong channel!
02:53Finally, connect the hose.
02:57And fire up the pump that sends water to the plant.
03:08What the f*** did they do to this thing?
03:13Because it's telling me the coolant's low.
03:18It's over full.
03:20I haven't been that lucky with pumps.
03:24Lucas, do you copy? Lucas, do you copy?
03:28If mechanic Lucas Lotz can't fix the pump,
03:31Tony's hopes for a four-wash plant blitz and 1,000-ounce week are toast.
03:37So, it's either sensor for the coolant or it's the ECM, according to the code.
03:44The ECM, or electronic control module, is the pump's computer.
03:49It will not allow the pump to fire up if it can't sense coolant.
03:54And you guys have started it and everything?
03:57Yep.
03:58Gonna go have a check of what Colby's doing.
04:01These engines are pretty common, but best case scenario,
04:04I just need to reduce some sensor wiring.
04:07Worst case, we'll need an ECM and it'll be about a week.
04:11Mike will be p***ing p***ed.
04:14So, the coolant sensor's definitely p***ed.
04:16That's probably why I won't start.
04:18It thinks that there's no coolant in it.
04:21Yeah, that's over full.
04:22These are potentiometers.
04:27Sometimes, in a pinch, you can use these in place of a sensor,
04:32if you know what you're doing.
04:33With no spare sensors, Lucas plans to bush fix the pump with a potentiometer,
04:40a type of variable resistor he hopes can replicate the electronic signal of a working sensor.
04:48You just gotta match the resistance that the sensor would regularly put out.
04:54So, we got it plugged in.
04:56So, now I gotta play with it.
04:57And then, once I get it to the sweet spot, the code will go away.
05:00And then we're in business.
05:02Theoretically.
05:05Yeah.
05:12I think I got it.
05:17Well, a little bit.
05:20That looks like a potentiometer trick worked.
05:22So, Mike's gonna be more happy than a pig in s*** or a pig in gold this time of year,
05:27I guess.
05:38Is this kind of a big day for Mike if he gets to start up Harald again?
05:42We'll start turning it on.
05:46Hey!
05:48You got water?
05:50Dump!
05:51Dump!
05:56We have to go get some champagne, Mom.
05:58Yeah.
05:58Hey.
06:00You got two plans about me.
06:02Yeah.
06:03Finally.
06:04Yeah, you did.
06:07With Harald finally sluicing Hester Cut pay dirt, the Beats have a shot at a record-breaking 1,000-ounce
06:15week.
06:16Now it's going as good.
06:18I hope it stays going until the end of the year.
06:37What's happening, man?
06:39I just wanted to let you know we're gonna come do the stripping down here this fall for next year.
06:47So the whole stripping crew is coming down.
06:49So we're gonna go up and take another bite into the hill.
06:52Just keep an eye on them.
06:54Well, that gets pretty deep over there going to that hillside.
06:56It gets deep, yeah.
06:56There's a lot of mud.
06:57We only got a couple trucks down here.
06:59I'm trying to dig, pay, do fines, keep the plant running 24 hours a day.
07:03Like, we've got, what, five of us down here.
07:07Running a whole mine site.
07:09No, I get it.
07:09Going 24-7.
07:10I totally get it.
07:12You know, we are where we are.
07:15I mean, I know it needs to be done, but it doesn't make getting it done any easier.
07:20I'm aware of that, but they're coming down.
07:23All right.
07:24Well, we'll see what we can do to keep them rolling.
07:29Right now, we're just trying to keep this wash plant running, bringing a bunch more machines down here.
07:33It's just more we've got to stay on top of, and right now we've got our hands full.
07:43It's been a long season, and you know, the end is well within sight.
07:48Parker Schnabel is gaining momentum.
07:51With multiple weeks above 500 ounces, he's nearly 700 ounces ahead of Tony in the race to 10,000.
08:01But he's already got his eye on next season's prize.
08:05Fall time is one of our most productive stripping times for the next year.
08:13And with how much we're sluicing these years, the stripping's just incredibly important.
08:19We've got a crew just starting our next pit on the Indian River for next year.
08:23And in the midst of, you know, trying to keep wash plants running and keep things thawed out, Mitch is
08:29also, you know, taking that on.
08:31Can't understate how important that part of the company is.
08:46This is such a massive project here.
08:50Parker wants all the mud off before the end of the season.
08:53And even if we throw every resource we have at it, I still don't think we've got enough time to
08:59get this done before the end of the season.
09:01At the Indian River, in Kennan Stewart's Pit 2, Mitch still has three acres to mine out and sluice through
09:09rock sand before the end of the season.
09:13But now a third of a mile away, Parker has tasked Mitch with also overseeing a massive stripping project, opening
09:22up a new 28-acre cut.
09:25Mitch's crew must first shift nearly a million yards of mud to expose the cut's layer of permafrost.
09:33Once thawed by the sun, they need to strip it down to pay gravels before winter freezes them out.
09:44It's just so tough when you're trying to be at two places at once.
09:47I need to be down at the wash plant, taking care of things there, and then you come over here
09:51and check on the stripping crew and you're like,
09:53Oh, I could spend all day over here making things work better.
09:57I love running Dozer. It's probably my favorite machine.
10:01It's like playing in the sandbox when you're a kid, but now I have a really big muddy sandbox.
10:08Operator Jacob Allen is in one of the two D10 Dozers, removing the top layer of mud.
10:15If we don't get down to permafrost, sun can't thaw it out, and we're pretty well screwed.
10:22In the 950 excavator, Caden Potvin loads the overburden into rock trucks to dump out of the cut.
10:30We got as much gear down here as we have available to us right now, so thinking optimistically we could
10:39be out of here before Christmas.
10:47Uh-oh. Caden, we're going to need your help. We just hit a pretty good soft spot here.
10:53All right, I'll crawl off the pile here and kind of give you a little push.
10:59Yeah, that'd be awesome.
11:03Jacob's $1.5 million machine is no match for the slop.
11:10All this water is seeped up through underneath and it's turned it all right to poo.
11:21All right, all right.
11:24All right.
11:28Oh, wait.
11:30I'm not going to get out of this one.
11:34Mud Mountain.
11:48Come on.
11:49Come on.
11:51Come on.
11:52Harper's Indian River stripping crew is stuck in the mud.
11:58We're going to have to go up more, Caden.
12:02I'm even sliding backwards.
12:07Yeah, Caden, I don't think that works.
12:09If they can't strip the overburden this week, they won't be able to thaw the permafrost, ruining Parker's plan for
12:18a fast start next season.
12:20Yeah, I'm getting stuck too, so I'll dig this out and see if that works.
12:27Yeah, you're going to have to come around and put them inside.
12:30I got you.
12:38I'm just digging out all the stuff that's making the dozer spin out and it should just be able to
12:47drive right out here.
12:48I do tell the rock truckers that they get one freebie, and then every time I get them unstucked after
12:55that, it's a case of Dr. Pepper.
12:59It's way cheaper than the case of beer I was going to buy you.
13:04Okay, good luck.
13:14I'm making a break from home.
13:17Thanks, Caden. I really appreciate that.
13:20Hey man, like you said, first one's free.
13:24This is going to be an extensive hill.
13:31500 feet away, at the other end of the new cut.
13:35We've got to get the mud moved if we got any shot of mining this ground next season.
13:42Right now the weather's holding out for us, so we've got to make the most of it.
13:47Mitch?
13:48Yeah man, what's up?
13:50We've added some horsepower to the fleet. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
13:54I'm on my way.
13:59Yeah, I definitely never thought that we'd be buying one of these brand new, but the gold prices being where
14:06they're at, it made sense.
14:15I mean, check that out. Brand new D11.
14:18You know, crazy to think that's $4 million right there.
14:22That's how Parker spends his money.
14:24You know, you could have a sports car, big house, but you know, that's what Parker's got there.
14:29There's a big yellow iron, which turns into some shiny yellow gold.
14:33Well, buddy, thanks for sending that new D11 down here, because if we got any shot of getting this done,
14:38it's going to be with that machine.
14:39It's just, this thing's more fodder for the frozen mud. It'll be beat to in no time.
14:48Parker is taking the first shift in the new D11.
14:52There's nothing moving as much dirt right now as this brand new D11 with that big old blade on it.
14:57It's really helping us out here. Hopefully it's going to get us to the finish line.
15:01This thing is pretty sweet.
15:15That always feels good when Rick calls me to come up here.
15:20Hopefully I can help these guys out a little bit for the final push.
15:27All right, here we are.
15:31Hey!
15:32What's going on?
15:33What's up, man? You made it.
15:34How are you doing?
15:35Good.
15:36Welcome back.
15:37Yeah.
15:38How's it going?
15:39Oh, man, that's a whole different story.
15:41Yeah.
15:41It's this time of year, man. You know, everybody's tired.
15:43Oh, yeah. Everyone's ornery.
15:45Everybody's ornery, but they'll be happy to see you, and we sure as hell could use an extra set of
15:48hands.
15:49Where are you at now?
15:49We're not even at 700. Barely over 600.
15:54So, yeah, we're a long ways off, but we're back in Vegas Valley.
15:57Okay.
15:57You know, pulling some good pay out of there.
16:00Let's hop a little Hilux here and go take a look.
16:06All right, let's go take the tour, buddy.
16:11Rick Ness' season is finally turning a corner.
16:14After two months with no gold coming in, last week Rick fired up Monster Red and pulled out over 200
16:24ounces from Vegas Valley.
16:26Holy .
16:27That's a big cut.
16:29Yeah, that's pretty impressive, eh?
16:32For a seven-man crew.
16:34You guys move some dirt.
16:36We know it's good pay in Vegas Valley for sure.
16:38We're going to get on a roll here now.
16:40The last thing up was good.
16:41We need them to be a little bit better, but I know they're going to be.
16:43We just need to get a few more hours on the soon spots, you know.
16:47Well, nothing like setting a fire to everything the last three weeks and trying to pull it out.
16:52Oh, yeah.
16:53One way or another, this place is going to be on fire when I leave, so.
16:58Anyways, enough chitchat.
17:00You want to help out?
17:01Yeah.
17:03To hit his 1,800-ounce gold and pay his crew their bonus, Rick needs record-breaking 400-ounce gold
17:12hauls every week for the rest of the season.
17:17It's that final push.
17:19This is when you kind of need that extra little boost of energy.
17:22This pivot from Valhalla back in the Vegas Valley, I think it's going to be a good thing.
17:25We know there's good gold in there, and, you know, Bailey's just going to have to get every last ounce
17:29out of that cut.
17:32I think people are getting tired.
17:34I think people are missing home.
17:38As it stands right now, I don't think anyone's getting a bonus.
17:41Even though we've got pay right here and we're finally got the plant fired up, you know, I don't like
17:45to be the negative Nancy, but I don't see 1,800 coming.
17:52Hey, Rick, you got a copy?
17:54Yeah, go for Rick.
17:54I kind of got a big problem in the cut. Could you come down here?
17:58I'll see you in a few minutes.
18:09Put in some work here.
18:12Yeah, man.
18:14I see the problem, though.
18:16Yeah.
18:16It didn't take long.
18:20I thought maybe it was going to take longer, but we're moving along really too quick, I guess.
18:28Vegas Valley is almost out of pay dirt, much earlier than Rick expected.
18:34So imagine, like, cleaning that all out, like, it'd be a week.
18:38Yeah, we're definitely going to need some more.
18:43Yeah.
18:44I'd say the only thing we can do is try to expand.
18:50What?
18:50It's not ideal.
18:51It's not this time of year, it's not ideal.
18:53But really, I'm looking at this piece right here.
18:55I mean, that's pay right there and we're staring at it.
18:57Yeah, I know.
18:57You don't seem very excited about it.
18:59Yeah, I just see all this.
19:01It's 40 feet down of material you have to move to get to the pay.
19:06Yep.
19:07At the bottom of Vegas Valley, Bailey only has a week's worth of pay.
19:13To keep Monster Red fed for the rest of the season, Rick wants to chase Vegas Valley's pay streak upstream.
19:22The only problem, Bailey will have to dig down a further 40 feet to hit the gold-rich pay.
19:30All before winter freezes them out.
19:34One way or another, we got to make it till the end of the season.
19:36I know.
19:37If we're still going to get to 1,800 ounces, that's the only way we're going to do it.
19:39I don't know, man.
19:42What have we got left?
19:45Three weeks?
19:46Maybe more, maybe less, but it's around there.
19:52I just think in three weeks, that's...
19:55We'll make it happen.
19:57You just keep the trucks going.
19:58Is it going to be worth it for a week's worth of pay?
20:02Yep.
20:03If it gets us 400 ounces, yeah.
20:05Okay.
20:06Definitely.
20:11We're not at 1,800 ounces, but at the end of the day, I'm trying to make sure these guys
20:15go home with gold in their pockets, and that's all there is to it.
20:19I'm just really f***ing worried with the time that we have and how much work's going to be done, and
20:23I don't think it's going to work out, but I hope it does.
20:28Maybe, you know, in another week, my mind will change, but right now, it's very stressful.
20:46I'm going to go start up Harold and start running it with these two new people that I just recently
20:51hired, Brett and Taylor.
20:53Mike Beetz is starting a new shift.
20:57Hopefully, it all goes well, and they can run 1,000 yards today.
21:01And needs his crew to sluice 1,000 yards a day to help hit Tony's 1,000-ounce target for
21:09the week.
21:10I don't see how they can f*** it up, but I've been proven wrong before.
21:19Morning.
21:19How's it going?
21:21Well, my dad wants to do 1,000 yards on this thing.
21:24If you go on the hoe, you go on the other hoe.
21:27Right on.
21:29When they're a couple, they generally work well together, and then it's nice for them because they have a loved
21:34one nearby.
21:35It also has the negative that if one decides they want to quit, you usually lose both.
21:46First bucket's in.
21:47We're running.
21:49All right, 999 more buckets to go.
21:53Local operators Brent Neibecker and Taylor Olsen have answered the call for end-of-season workers.
22:00Like, I've run lots of wash plants before.
22:02Never went on a mine thing this big.
22:04It's really cool, yeah.
22:07Taylor is on the Hester Cuts pay pile, where she loads rock trucks.
22:13I've been mining for about six years, and I normally load trucks or strip cuts down to pay.
22:21So, and I've also ran plants as well.
22:24The gold-rich pay is dumped next to Brent, who loads it into Harold's hopper.
22:29We actually met at a mine.
22:31We've been together pretty much since.
22:34She's the greatest, yeah.
22:35It's really good.
22:37We don't have many problems at work at all.
22:39She can get a little bit frustrated, but that's okay, because we're here to support each other.
22:54Slow.
22:56Slow.
22:56You're going to have to speed that up.
22:58I want to get through all that ground.
23:05And it looks like there's a lot of rocks coming off your plant now, eh?
23:10Yeah, so Mike has come down here and turned up to speed.
23:14They're really going to have to hustle to keep up.
23:17It's already empty, just from talking to you.
23:19Okay, copy that, and I will keep them coming.
23:25With the increased speed, Brent needs to load four buckets a minute to keep the hopper full.
23:32I literally can't even take a drink or have a bite of a sandwich.
23:38But he's barely managing three.
23:41Oh, .
23:45Just back me up to where you want me.
23:47Okay.
23:49Yeah, looking good.
23:50Straight back.
23:52Good there.
23:54In the amount of time it took you to dump the truck, the plant went empty.
23:58Yeah, that's a lot faster.
23:59You can't feed that fast.
24:01Bro, I haven't slowed down.
24:03I'm on full throttle, stacking as high as I can.
24:05Go ahead.
24:09You guys have to come over and run the plant.
24:11You can't just keep up with this pace like I could get shit possible.
24:15At least come running for a minute.
24:17Copy that.
24:26Hi, babe.
24:27Hey, you.
24:38I'm going at my max capacity just to keep up, which it was okay for an hour.
24:44But I can't do that for 12 hours straight.
24:47The hopper is full.
24:49Yeah, it's great.
24:51You can keep that up all day for 12 hours.
24:53I already think so.
24:54Okay.
24:59Brent found it a little bit stressful to have to keep up with the plant while I'm with it running
25:04this fast.
25:05But I am happy to run it at this pace.
25:08I have more hours feeding plants.
25:10I used to be the night shift plant operator for about four years.
25:14So I'm pretty fast at grabbing the dirt and getting it into the hopper.
25:22How's it going in there?
25:24That's good, yeah.
25:25I'll just keep it as full as I can here if you can keep the pay coming.
25:29I want to see if we can get our wash plant going.
25:32Hey, that would be amazing.
25:36Yeah, we were gold mining.
25:38I did two seasons and did pretty good the first year.
25:44And not so good the second year.
25:46I lost a lot of money.
25:47I guess I like had that gold fever.
25:49We kind of ran out of gold where we were, so I started digging a hole.
25:54And then I ran out of money.
26:02Hey, this is our last bucket.
26:05Woo!
26:06Made on, baby!
26:08Hell yeah!
26:16Hello!
26:17Hey!
26:18Well, we made it through.
26:19Got here 1,000 yards through.
26:21So how'd the shift go?
26:23A few problems, but we swapped out, so we got through here.
26:28Sometimes it's nice to swap out and get a break from the one job, right?
26:31Yeah, it is.
26:33It's good to see Brent and Taylor got it done.
26:36I wasn't called down here for any major problems, so it went well.
26:40And we're just going to hopefully keep it going until the end of the season.
26:44After waiting 40 years to mine it.
26:47We'll just take a little bit out of the riffle here and just see what we've got.
26:52Tony is keen to see if the Hester cut has the goal to get him over 1,000 ounces this
27:00week.
27:00Find a bit of water, Mike.
27:02Let's have a look at this pan, okay?
27:10See how much gold is in there, guys?
27:12Yeah.
27:12There's quite a bit of gold in there, by the way.
27:14You can see it all through the pan.
27:15You see that?
27:17It's amazing.
27:19That'd be interesting to see what comes out of that.
27:22Okay, we're out of here.
27:25It's actually more than I expected.
27:28But there's like every other thing, on the end of the day, clean it up, dry it, and now weigh
27:34it,
27:35and then you know exactly what you've got.
27:45Right now there's just a lot going on here at Dominion.
27:48We're at that point in the season where everyone's just kind of in their spot, in their seat, and it's
27:53a matter of just keeping things going.
27:55At Parker's main operation on Dominion Creek, Foreman Tyson Lee is in charge of three wash plants, the Golden Goose
28:04and Big Red in the Golden Mile, and Bob in the bridge cut.
28:09We still have a lot of sluicing to do.
28:11We're still a ways off 10,000 ounces, and we just got to keep things going in the direction they're
28:17going in right now.
28:18Hey, Tyson, you got a copy?
28:21Yep, go ahead.
28:22I got a bunch of paint piling up on the plant hopper here.
28:26I might need you to take a look at it for me.
28:28Okay, I'm on my way.
28:30Thanks, dude.
28:37Looks like it's piling up quite high up here, so I'm just going to try and clear it here.
28:46What the f*** is going on?
28:48The hopper chain drive system on wash plant Bob should push all of the pay towards the shaker deck.
28:55It's not clearing, which isn't good.
28:57If the pile of pay reaches the feed conveyor, it could tear the belt.
29:02You know, I've just tried moving our hopper chain system, and it's not working.
29:06It's kind of binding up, so I've got to get it fixed up.
29:16Hi, buddy.
29:17Hey, Bill.
29:18I would say that it skipped a tooth on the sprocket on one side.
29:22So now you're trying to twist a steel bar around the corner as it goes around instead of rolling nice
29:29and flat around.
29:30Yeah.
29:31Now you're going to have to shut this thing down.
29:38We're feeling pretty confident that it's just the chain has jumped a link on the one side, so we ought
29:44to empty the pre-wash, and then hopefully we can get the link to go back into place.
29:49And then the bars will be parallel to go over the sprockets.
29:58Okay.
30:00Going backwards.
30:01Try and roll the chain backwards.
30:05Whoa.
30:08Liam, the issue is the sprockets are .
30:13This could be a major deal.
30:24This time of year, it always gets difficult.
30:27You know, crew's tired.
30:28Plants are tired.
30:29Just got to keep these wash plants running.
30:31At Dominion Creek, a broken hopper chain drive system means Wash Plant Bob is down.
30:40It didn't jump the link like we thought it did originally.
30:43The sprockets are completely wore out.
30:45So we need new sprockets, two new sprockets, my friend, and you'll be back in business.
30:53Wash Plant Bob's hopper chain drive is driven by two 10-inch sprockets.
30:59Over time, the sprockets' teeth have become worn, causing them to slip and stop moving the chain forward.
31:08Bill's plan? Split the chain, remove the old worn-out sprockets, and replace them with new ones.
31:25These are cat-like reflexes.
31:29Oh, safe as a church.
31:31Hydraulics on.
31:33Okay, go a little bit in reverse.
31:35Little bit in reverse.
31:38Whoa, whoa.
31:39Your other reverse.
31:40Other reverse.
31:45Jeez, look how brutal that is.
31:48So worn out.
31:49Nasty.
31:51Chain split.
31:52Sprockets are off.
31:53So we just got to install these new sprockets, and then we're all set.
32:06Everything's tight.
32:07We're good to go.
32:08Okay, sprockets are in, so now we'll get Liam to turn the hydraulics on.
32:18Whoa.
32:19Whoa.
32:24Okay, stop.
32:24Stop.
32:28I have one pin in.
32:32I'm all done.
32:33I'm going for ice cream.
32:36We're gonna fire this thing up and try it and see how it turns.
32:39Ready, Bill?
32:40Yeah.
32:46Super happy to see it working.
32:48Hopefully there won't be anything to stop the conveyor from working for the rest of the season here.
32:55Well, should we fire back up?
32:56If we're gonna catch up, we gotta put dirt through the plant, right?
32:59All righty.
33:02After four hours downtime, Bob is back in the game, sluicing bridge cut pay.
33:11You look good.
33:13We don't have much time left in the season, so hopefully that's it for downtime.
33:17You're at the bridge cut.
33:29100 miles east.
33:31Haven't really thought too much of the extension or how we're gonna do it.
33:35The Ness crew need 400 ounces of gold a week in order to hit Rick's 1,800-ounce target.
33:44Bailey is mining out the last of the pay from the Vegas Valley cut.
33:49I'm trying not to think about it till I get this Vegas Valley cleaned out, then we'll move on to
33:54that.
33:57Holy ****, who sits in this?
34:00At Monster Red, Rick's best buddy, Z, is jumping into the hot seat to load the plant.
34:07I still got it.
34:08I still **** got it.
34:10While mechanic Ryan Kent uses a second loader to clear the tailings.
34:16Well, Z, it's good to see you back. How's it feel to be back?
34:19I mean, how couldn't you like it up here? Look at around.
34:22This is like the best office view in the world.
34:25Why do you keep coming back?
34:27I mean, it's like the second family up here for me.
34:30I always come up in the beginning and the end, but the amount of dirt you guys moved this year
34:34is pretty substantial.
34:37You don't want to be here for the grunt work, do you?
34:39Listen, if that was the case, you probably shouldn't tell anyone.
34:42Let's keep it between us.
34:45Yeah, here's Secret Safe with me on Channel 1.
34:51Oh ****.
34:53What's the matter, Ryan?
34:55I don't know. Give me a sec.
35:04Hey, Z, shut that, shut that feeder off real quick, dude.
35:07All right, all right.
35:09****.
35:19You're missing a pin somewhere.
35:21Where'd you find it?
35:23I literally saw it bounce off, hit the tailing chute, landed right on the top of the bucket when I
35:27was coming out.
35:27I knew I should have stayed in the truck.
35:29Yep.
35:30Let's figure out where the **** he came from.
35:33Hey, Z!
35:34Yeah?
35:35Yeah?
35:35Yeah, it's over here.
35:37This ought to be fun.
35:39The two-inch pin that connects the grizzly bars to the feeder's hinge has broken in half.
35:46I don't want to take a chance to break this feeder, doing any damage.
35:49Better off trying to get the **** fixed.
35:50You lose this grizzly bar, then you lose the rest of the season.
35:54We gotta go find one.
35:57The grizzly bar's old pin is too worn out to reuse, so the guys search for a replacement.
36:05A second hopper feeder.
36:09Because we were using a mozzarella.
36:10I bet you it is the same.
36:13Man, this thing is ****.
36:15I gotta climb up there and measure it.
36:18I'm getting too fat for this ****.
36:21It's two inch.
36:22Is it?
36:23That will work.
36:24Now we gotta get it out.
36:25Yeah.
36:26We don't have a ladder anywhere, huh?
36:28No.
36:29You wanna stand on my shoulders?
36:32I'm sturdy.
36:34This pin looks like it is in there.
36:37Oh, it moved.
36:38Shut up.
36:39It moved.
36:41Oh, baby.
36:42Oh ****.
36:44Watch where it goes.
36:46I need that.
36:48Oh no, it went down the well.
36:50Oh, Timmy.
36:51Let's go put the new pin in.
36:55I'm sure you had a bunch of fixes this year.
36:57Was this the easiest one?
36:58This is by far the easiest one.
36:59Well, we're not done yet.
37:01Dude, it's just been a weird season.
37:03You know, it's been tough.
37:04We all come up here to work for gold.
37:06That's the whole reason we come up here.
37:09And to put in six months away from home and your family and your business and not go home
37:14with much or anything, that's killer, man.
37:17It's **** tough.
37:18I know you got a lot of **** at home.
37:20You're same with me, wife, daughter.
37:21I don't need to tell you about how hard it is.
37:25Rachel tearing up about, you know, me not being home.
37:28And she takes on a **** ton, dude.
37:30Oh, yeah.
37:30And it's like, do I just stay home next year?
37:34I don't wanna let Rick down, but I also don't wanna let my family down.
37:37No.
37:38Let's focus on small steps.
37:41Let's focus on getting this pin in and get back running.
37:43Yeah, yeah.
37:44And then we have all off-season to figure this **** out.
37:53You can't touch this one.
37:54Why?
37:56Because it's MC Hammer.
37:58Oh ****.
38:00I think it's 20 pounds?
38:02Yep.
38:03Don't hit me in the face.
38:07No.
38:10That one fell solid.
38:11It went. It moved.
38:14Do you want me to do the last one?
38:17One more.
38:18Ready?
38:19Uh-huh.
38:20That's it!
38:22Alright.
38:23Pin it in.
38:25Pin it to win it.
38:27Now you can tell Rick what you did.
38:29I didn't do it.
38:31I just happened to be here.
38:35Time to fire back up.
38:37Ryan and Zeke have lost just two hours of sluicing and are back in the race to hit the 400
38:45ounces Rick needs this week.
38:48Sucks having to plant down for a few hours, but I feel a lot better having to pin in there.
39:04Is there a thousand ounces in there?
39:06Oh, way more than a thousand.
39:09Hey Z.
39:10Hey.
39:10Good having you back.
39:11It's good to be back as always.
39:13Is anybody else happy about that?
39:14You're the best part of the end of the year, man.
39:16I'm a happy ending.
39:20We got more gold to come out of Vegas Valley, but not much Abe.
39:24What do you figure?
39:2420 feet?
39:2520 feet left.
39:26That'll give us a week maybe?
39:27Yeah.
39:29So that's not a lot, but we have to open up a bit of another cut.
39:32We do not know anything about this till we dig into it.
39:35Well, I do know that if we don't do it, we're not going to get any more gold.
39:38I know.
39:39And I know you know that, and it's a rough thing to do at the end of the season, but
39:43we need more gold, right? We do.
39:45Speaking of that, let's see how much we have to add to that.
39:48To hit his goal of 1,800, Rick needs 400 ounces a week.
39:54That's 100 right there.
39:57That's another 200 right there.
39:59Yeah.
39:59And this is another big .
40:04You ready, buddy?
40:06All right, let's do it.
40:07All right.
40:07There we go.
40:08I'm going to blow away the wind.
40:10Oh, 20, 30, 50, 70, 90, 100, 120.
40:19Wow.
40:20133.
40:21Five four.
40:22Nice.
40:23So that is 433.54.
40:26Worth $1.6 million.
40:30Woo!
40:30Rick's decision to pivot back to Vegas Valley has paid out big, delivering Rick's best ever gold way.
40:39Nice.
40:39Yeah.
40:40That puts us over 1,000.
40:41A couple more like that, we're good, right?
40:43We're almost there.
40:43We're so close.
40:44You know?
40:46Bring it in.
40:47All right, guys.
40:47Let's do it.
40:49Cheers.
40:50Cheers, fellas.
40:51Yeah!
40:51Yeah!
40:52Shake it back!
40:54Shake it back!
40:56When I left in spring, I hadn't seen any gold yet, so to come back now at the end and
41:02see a gold way like that, 400-some ounces, it's a great start to the final push.
41:10That is a big number, and man, do we need it.
41:12I'm so proud of these guys.
41:13They work so hard, and we need a lot more, but, you know, we know the gold's down there.
41:17We're going to have to pivot.
41:18We're going to run out of Vegas Valley gold, but we've got a good spot to go to, and I
41:21know these guys got it in.
41:22We just need a little luck.
41:33Is he hearing blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, nacho?
41:37Blah, blah, nacho, blah, blah, blah.
41:38Where does he?
41:39He hears food, nacho.
41:41Yeah.
41:41Oh, yay!
41:43How are things down at County Stewart's?
41:45It's busy now with all that stripping going on, but we're a lot better with that new D11, I'll tell
41:50you that.
41:50Thing's sick.
41:51Oh.
41:52Parker needs 1,058 ounces to hit his 10,000-ounce season target.
41:59All right, Chris.
42:01You ready?
42:01Show us some gold.
42:02All right.
42:03So this is a bridge cut.
42:05See how Bob did this week.
42:07Yeah.
42:08Wash plant Bob is averaging 145 ounces a week.
42:13Here we go.
42:14We got 40, 100, 140, 174.2.
42:25Nice.
42:26Oh, that's nice.
42:26That's good.
42:27Picked yourself up a bit.
42:29Yeah.
42:30Golden mile.
42:32Two plants.
42:32So this is goose and big red.
42:35Yeah.
42:36All righty.
42:37Let's see how the two plants did.
42:38Last week, the golden mile delivered 330 ounces.
42:4340, 80, 140, 220.
42:52Are we going to break three?
42:54302.25.
42:58Nice.
42:59Just broke 300.
43:01That's goose.
43:01Painting itself off.
43:03You got good old rock sand, right?
43:05All right.
43:06Ready?
43:06We did a lot of dozing this week and a lot of solution.
43:08Let's see what we got.
43:09Since being in pit two at Ken and Stewart's, rock sand has averaged 141 ounces a week.
43:17And we got 30, 70, 100, 120, 150.8.
43:30Nice.
43:31Not bad.
43:32Not bad.
43:33That is a solid week.
43:35Last week, we had 548.55.
43:39This week, 627.25.
43:44Worth $2.3 million.
43:47Wicked.
43:48Yeah.
43:49That's bad.
43:49Good week.
43:50Our season total, 9,569.45.
43:56That's nice.
43:57Nice.
43:58Nice.
43:59We're roughly four and a half away from our goal, you guys.
44:02Another week like that and we'll have her.
44:04Yeah.
44:05Yeah.
44:06That's sick.
44:06Keep them running.
44:07That's a hell of a result.
44:08We got this.
44:10Oh, yeah.
44:10Yeah?
44:11Oh, yeah.
44:11Yeah.
44:11Get out there, you guys.
44:13Yeah.
44:15Yeah.
44:22So, Mike, how's the Hesterker going?
44:24How's Harold?
44:25Um, literally, it's just two people shut the f*** up and go, right?
44:29Yeah, cool, cool.
44:30And they've been doing pretty good.
44:31The trauma has been running pretty good this week, too.
44:34It's been going nonstop.
44:35So how about you?
44:36Hey, running 24-7, banging away, doing excellent.
44:40And we're down there, we're going to go to the bed of f***ing.
44:43I mean, we've never sluiced as much in our life.
44:45No, no.
44:46Should we weigh some gold?
44:47For the first time ever, Tony is running two wash plants at the Indian River
44:52and two plants at Paradise Hill.
44:56Together, he's hoping they will deliver a record-breaking 1,000-ounce haul.
45:01All right, this is for Sluice-A-Lot.
45:04Let's do it.
45:05Let's see what's going to happen here.
45:0630, 40.
45:08Sluice-A-Lot and Find-A-Lot have been running in the corner cut nonstop all week.
45:14200, 220, 230, 238.20.
45:22That's not too bad.
45:23No, that's pretty good.
45:25That's not bad.
45:26Oh, there you go.
45:28Let's go.
45:29So which one is this?
45:30Find-A-Lot.
45:31Find-A-Lot.
45:32Are you ready?
45:33Sure am.
45:34Good, there you go.
45:3640, 60, 100.
45:38140.
45:40180.
45:41200.
45:45217.54.
45:47Total so far, 456 ounces.
45:51Nice little haul.
45:53Bingo.
45:53I think so.
45:55Nothing wrong with that.
45:56Okay, next one.
45:57Let's see what more we can get.
45:59Trommel?
46:0130, 70, 90.
46:03The Trommel has been sluicing super-pit pay.
46:06150, 160, 170, 180, 200.
46:10You'll never make it as an auctioneer, friend.
46:13220, 230, 260, 290, 310, 320, 340, 370, 380, 390, 410, 420.
46:21Going long, it's going twice.
46:26Sold to me.
46:27Yoink.
46:30423.92.
46:32Trommel's doing his job.
46:34Well, that's pretty nice.
46:35Yeah.
46:35But you're on the volume, too, so hello.
46:38And we're not finished yet.
46:39No, we're not finished either.
46:41It would be nice to see what came out of Harold.
46:42It may be a long time coming.
46:44I looked at that property for 40 years.
46:47To hit Tony's 1,000-ounce weekly goal, Harold and the Hester cut need to deliver 121 ounces.
46:5830, 50, 70, 90, 100, 120, 130, 3.5.
47:05Yeah!
47:07At 1,013 ounces, this is Tony's biggest ever gold weigh, worth a staggering $3.7 million.
47:17That's a lot of money, Beetz.
47:19Yep.
47:20Okay.
47:20Very nice.
47:22So, the bar?
47:25Let's see if we can spend it there tonight, Mike.
47:27Holy...
47:29The Beetz family are now only 300 ounces behind the Schnabel crew.
47:35It's all coming up, Tony Beetz.
47:37Oh, boy.
47:39Let's stick to it.
47:40Let's keep on going.
47:41Bye, guys.
47:43Just f*** off?
47:44Pretty much.
47:47Four plans running.
47:49Our biggest goal is where you have it.
47:51All the stuff we bought, all the things we did to get ready, paid off.
47:56Paid off big time.
47:57All right.
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