- 22 hours ago
Gold Rush: Alaska - Season 16 - Episode 13: Valhalla or Bust
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:16This year has been a tough one. It's showing on everybody, really. I mean, me especially.
00:24I mean, we're halfway through the season right now, and our 1,800-ounce goal seems about a million miles
00:28away.
00:28We have a bad season, and I can't really recover from that. The business would fail, so I can't let
00:37that happen.
00:39Over halfway through the season, when the gold should be flowing, Rick Ness's operation is at a standstill.
00:50After leaving Lightning Creek, he moved back to Vegas Valley, but it proved too dangerous to mine.
00:59Now, he only has a million dollars left in the bank and is weighing up his next gamble.
01:06Vegas Valley, we've got some pay down there, but I just didn't like how that was going. That's why I
01:13stopped it.
01:14The way that I'm thinking is this. We've got to expand. We've got to expand it big.
01:19Vegas Valley is right here. There is an easy spot if we went a little bit backwards from Vegas Valley
01:24and catch what I see as the channel turns into here.
01:29The only problem with that is there we have no drill holes. There's no guarantee there and a lot of
01:34dirt. This should be moving the mountain.
01:37Last season, Rick removed a mountain of dirt to dig down nearly 200 feet at Vegas Valley and pull out
01:46800 ounces of gold worth $2 million.
01:51But last week, after running only two truckloads of pay, he abandoned the treacherous cut.
02:00Now, instead of just expanding the pit to make it safer, Rick wants to dig out a new four-acre
02:08cut shifting over a million yards of overburden in just six weeks to reach gold.
02:14He's gambling will deliver a bigger payday.
02:20What's up, Rick?
02:21What's going on?
02:22Morning.
02:23I know we were talking about what direction we're going to head in. I think we're just going to go
02:28big.
02:28We're going to go after an extension there in Vegas Valley and really open it up.
02:35We're going to have to move a ton of dirt to do it, but we've got to blow it wide
02:38open.
02:40How big are you going?
02:41Probably twice the width of Vegas Valley to start with.
02:46Do you have enough time to open up a cut that big?
02:48We've got more time than we did last year.
02:50We might have more time than we did last year. We don't have more money than we did last year.
02:53Yeah.
02:53I mean, this time last year we were sitting about 1,000 ounces in the bank and we don't even
02:57have half that at this moment.
02:59Yeah.
03:02It seems like we're moving a mountain. How long do you think that's going to take?
03:06It's going to take several weeks before we see any gold, but...
03:09What about Lightning Creek?
03:11The gold's not bad, but it's not anywhere near what it is, you know, when it's deep cuts.
03:17So is there any, like, drill results right close by where you want to expand at, that you know that
03:22the pay's going to be good or not?
03:24That's another thing. No, there's not.
03:28It's not a slot machine you put 25 cents in and f***ing walk away.
03:32I know. I know. And trust me, I don't like that, but this is the only option we have.
03:40You know, if we do this, we're not just risking our gold bonuses or your gold, but it could be
03:46the end of the company as well.
03:50Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're not wrong.
03:56It seems like I've been in that spot a lot.
04:00We've all had your back, but, man, this is a pretty big f***ing shift, and for all of us to
04:06hope to God we go home with something, I mean, we got a lot on the line here.
04:10Yeah, I know this is big. I know it's a lot to ask for, but the only way it works
04:15is if you guys are, you know, if you guys are all in.
04:19And, uh, I guess I'll just ask it. Are you in?
04:24I mean, I'm in, but it doesn't mean I want to be in, but I'm here.
04:30I'll take it.
04:31Yeah, I don't know, man, but you just point where I gotta go, I guess.
04:35Yeah, I will. You gotta have a lot of dirt to move, but I know you can do it.
04:38Heather, you didn't answer.
04:39We believe in you, so I'm reluctantly in.
04:42That's awesome. I mean, I've been in every other time, so why not? Why stop now?
04:46I don't even gotta ask you, Kyle.
04:47Yeah, I know.
04:47I'm in, but I'm skeptical. I'll be watching the bills pretty close on this one.
04:51This is, again, the biggest risk we've ever taken here.
04:54I'm glad you're in. I know you're skeptical, but that will change, and we will get to the bottom of
05:00this, and we will get all that gold.
05:01We get 1,800 ounces this year, no problem. It's down there.
05:04Let's do it. So we're all in?
05:06We're all in.
05:06How have you thought of a name for it?
05:08I heard a song by a band called Storm Warrior. It was called Valhalla.
05:11All right, so Viking heaven.
05:12Yeah.
05:13Sounds great.
05:15Sweet. It better be heaven when we get to the bottom, then.
05:18It will be.
05:18Yeah.
05:19Right?
05:19Let's do it.
05:20All right. Thanks, guys. The best.
05:23I knew the crew was going to push back a bit, you know, be skeptical. It's a risk. It's a
05:28big risk. Biggest one we've ever taken. But, you know, they trust me, they're with me, and we're going to
05:32make this work.
05:41All righty, here we go. First tree going down. Boom, boom. It's a long ways to get down to pay.
05:55But, you know, hopefully we can get this job done for Rick.
06:03The way I see it in my head, I think we're in pretty good shape. Bailey's got a good start
06:06on it. I think we're going to get a month of solution at the end of it, and that's all
06:10we'll need. But, we just got to stay focused. You know, we know the gold's down there. We just got
06:13to make sure we get to it before we get froze out. That's a long way to go. Scary.
06:45Fire it up.
06:46Fire it up. Find the lot too, please.
06:47You guys, boy, boy, boy. The bills are there, so let's get some gold in the box so we can
06:52stay ahead of the game.
06:53After more than 40 years in the Klondike, Tony Beat's gold fever is burning hotter than ever.
07:02With gold prices at an all-time high, he's already banked $14 million and has no plan of slowing down.
07:13I like sluice box music. I like the sounds of rattling rocks, meaning I make money. All that other ****
07:20I don't care for.
07:21Years ago, I had an ABBA tape. I think I played that for seven years. I still don't know the
07:27words.
07:29I'm pretty proud of myself, huh?
07:35Tony's rattling rocks with two wash plants in the 46-acre corner cut, where there's enough gold-rich ground to
07:44mine 24-7 until winter hits.
07:49Put in a corner cut here. This is a big cut. I don't think I've ever had one this big.
07:56You know what? It's a nice sight. You got one plant going on the left, you got another plant going
08:01on the right.
08:02I mean, what more could you ask for, right? But the entire one thing, life is pretty good.
08:09While Indian River fires on all cylinders, 40 miles north at Paradise Hill, nothing is running, including the 350-yard
08:23-an-hour trommel.
08:26So at Paradise, things are slow. It's finally time to get some rocks in the trommel. Quite a bit of
08:32things has to be done.
08:33We're going to have to move our water intake a lot closer to the trommel, so it's easier to get
08:39to.
08:40So we're going to see Mike out there and see what we're going to do.
08:45The trommel will eventually run. The thing is, my dad took a bunch of my people and equipment, which is
08:51fine.
08:51He's the one who pays the bills. He's the boss.
08:54But it makes it so I can't do them.
09:01We're going to big our new pumping pond.
09:04And then give him a day, maybe two, and that should be done.
09:07Then we can place our pumps down here.
09:09Two, three days, we should be getting pretty close to going to be able to have water up onto the
09:14trommel.
09:16Hey, Mike!
09:18Yeah?
09:20Okay, you want to go look down below?
09:22Sure. I would like to see what's the plan with the pond, actually.
09:26Okay, well, let's go look at the pond.
09:28The good thing is when we put our pond here, when we have low water in the creek, we have
09:34our water coming from over there.
09:35Yeah.
09:36We're fixing all the dikes.
09:38Because then you will have that dike high.
09:40Yeah, I know.
09:42So let's clear all the trees off, and then we'll bring the excavator and a couple trucks, and then we'll
09:48dig a hole.
09:49Okay, get somebody in there, Mike, clear it all off.
09:52You know, nothing is going to happen if we don't get started.
09:55So then we can get started right now.
09:57Yeah, I know.
09:58Yeah, we're going to need some gold to pay for this , that'd be for sure.
10:01Yes, I know.
10:04Well, the beets trommel sits on top of Paradise Hill and has previously been fed water from a feeder pond
10:12a mile downhill.
10:14But the long distance was too much for the pump, leading to multiple breakdowns.
10:19Before they fire up the trommel, Tony wants to create a new feeder pond.
10:25First, Mike needs to build up and widen the dike road to give him better access.
10:31Then, clear the trees, dig out the pond, and flood it with water from the nearby creek.
10:38Finally, move the three-ton pump into position.
10:42And Tony wants this all done by the end of the week.
10:49The only problem, Tony's taken all the experienced crew to the Indian River, leaving Mike with rookies.
10:58Very dangerous job you four are going to have, building up the dikes.
11:03You're going to be driving down that dike, dead center.
11:08Very, very slow, please.
11:10Because remember, you go off this way, you're going to roll two, three times, you're going to probably be pretty
11:13up.
11:14You roll this way, you're going to go into the mud, and there's no way in hell I'm going to
11:17be able to get there with enough equipment fast enough to save you.
11:20So you're going to drown a die?
11:21Yeah.
11:22I'd rather none of you get hurt or killed.
11:25You're also still learning. You're still learning.
11:28Ashley, as the one I've worked with the longest and the most experienced truck driver I have here right now,
11:32if you don't feel too safe doing it, let her know.
11:35And same with you, right?
11:37Let her know. She'll hop in with you.
11:39I'd rather you all just take your time, okay?
11:48Yeah, Mike told me I was the most experienced rock truck driver he's got this morning.
11:53I've been driving trucks for a long time.
11:54Like, I've driven bigger trucks than this.
11:56But it's a lot of weight, and when you're that close to the edge, it's...
11:59I don't know, it's weird to say, like, it's...
12:01I've been driving for a long time, but my anxiety right now is, like, I'm scared.
12:22Oh, ****. Mike, Mike, copy Mike.
12:29Mike, Mike, do you copy Mike?
12:32Yes, go ahead.
12:33Hey, Mike, we got a problem.
12:36The D6 just went over the edge.
12:48Sounds like a case of a scared driver in a **** spot.
12:52So I'm gonna go over there, I'm gonna have a look.
12:56Racing to raise the dike road next to the new feeder pond,
13:01rookie operator Garrett Dullwood has crashed his D6 dozer.
13:07I was just backing up to come around this pile here,
13:10so I could push it out and widen up the sides.
13:12But on my way up, the ground gave out over here,
13:15and I slid probably about four or five feet down the side.
13:24Oh, we're just gonna grab the ass and **** swing him out.
13:30He's gonna give you a pull, a little pull,
13:32and then you're gonna basically lock that track
13:34and try to turn with that track.
13:36We're gonna see how that goes.
13:44Let's go! It's starting to slide!
13:53Lift up! Up!
13:55Cuz you lost tension!
14:03Back it up.
14:08Hey, he's sliding down.
14:10Stop!
14:16Yeah.
14:19See if you can keep tension.
14:20Walk your way over this way,
14:22cuz now you're gonna have to pull them completely.
14:26Don't move!
14:27Yup.
14:30You want me to try that?
14:31Keep working this way.
14:47We're gonna try to pull him straight.
14:49Cuz then he might...
14:50Yeah.
14:52Cuz right now he's in the right precarious spot.
14:55I know.
15:00Slowly back it up.
15:02Slowly back it up.
15:16Stop!
15:21She's good to go.
15:22You all can return to your rock trucks.
15:25Let's go, Colby.
15:27Perfect.
15:29Actually, it went pretty smooth.
15:30I mean, it could've went smoother.
15:32It could've not went over the edge in the first place.
15:54You've gotta be kidding me.
16:00For sake.
16:12Hey, Jay, you got a copy?
16:15Jay, in the fuel truck.
16:17Yes, I hear you.
16:19Hey, you just drove past a frayed cable in the road.
16:23When you see that kind of stuff, could you please pick it up?
16:26Um, it's a really good way of taking a tire out.
16:31Yes, I hear you.
16:33That goes for everybody that can hear me.
16:35It's like there's a piece of steel or a cable or a big
16:38block in the middle of the road.
16:40Just take the 30 seconds it takes to pick it up and move it, please.
16:43Tires are expensive.
16:49Parker Schnabel's crew are frantically trying to bank a record 10,000 ounce gold haul and are right on target.
16:58With four wash plants loosing, they have already pulled out over $20 million of gold.
17:08We have four plants running, three of them on Dominion.
17:11Right now there's a lot of pressure on the Golden Mile.
17:13And so Mitch is helping out with that.
17:16Which leaves Brennan looking after things at Kenneth Stewart.
17:21Hopefully he's getting down to pay.
17:24We just need to continue keeping these four wash plants running
17:27because we need to do at least 400 ounces a week to hit our goal.
17:37I'm gonna grab my pan.
17:39Yo, how you doing?
17:41Pretty good.
17:41I'll wash this real quick.
17:43Okay.
17:50Four little flakes.
17:53Yeah.
17:54One, two, three.
17:57Four.
17:58So, yeah.
18:00Nothing too interesting, but you're close.
18:02I would bet that the bottom of this ditch is on pay.
18:05Right.
18:05Given that pan that I just did.
18:07Because that was about at the bottom of your ditch level.
18:09Okay.
18:10So, with a little bit of effort, you'll have this section on pay.
18:13Which needs to happen because we're gonna start sluicing here in like three days.
18:16At Ken and Stewart's eight acre pit one, Brennan's crew are sluicing with wash plant Roxanne
18:23and have three days of stockpiled pay left before they run out.
18:29Half a mile away, in the 15 acre pit two, Parker wants Brennan down to pay by the end of
18:36the week,
18:37so that he can move Roxanne in as soon as pit one is done.
18:47We're getting pretty close to the pay layer, but with green crew and you're having to train as you go,
18:52so everything's feeling like it's on my shoulders.
18:55And it just, uh, always feeling like you're behind.
19:01This is the first time I've ever been to the Yukon.
19:03The newest member on Brennan's crew is rookie Billy Abbott.
19:09Brennan, it seems great.
19:11We're just trying to get the cut down to pay here by the end of the week, so they can
19:16start sluicing.
19:17So it's crunch time.
19:19What the was that?
19:31For sakes.
19:36Hey Brennan, you got a copy?
19:40I'll go ahead.
19:42Yeah, I just blew a tire here.
19:46Are you serious right now?
19:49Yeah, sorry man, it'll hole in the tire here, uh, .
19:54I don't have time for down time, for sakes.
20:00Hey Janko, you got a copy, Janko?
20:02Yeah, go ahead, Brennan.
20:04Hey pal, I got a downed rock truck here, sounds like a tire went flat.
20:08Can you come down and fix that for me?
20:22It's quite the puncture there, eh?
20:26I'm just going to have a peek over here.
20:28Ah, I don't believe that was rock that punctured that tire.
20:32Just going to check their, uh, their path here, where they drive.
20:40This is devastating, you know, you got to think that's 10, 12 loads in behind now, in this race, trying
20:45to get this cut ready.
20:46So, it really hurts.
20:49Copy, Brennan.
20:52Hey Janko.
20:54Hey man, I found some steel in the runway here for their loading path.
20:57Pretty sure that's what punctured this tire.
21:00Unbelievable.
21:02Running over a piece of steel down here.
21:05That makes my blood pressure go through the roof.
21:07If someone was paying attention, they definitely could have seen it.
21:12Oh man, not good.
21:14Especially after Parker just told us to look out for that .
21:23Oh, hope I don't get fired from this.
21:35With this truck being down, it's, uh, definitely going to put a strain on the production over here.
21:43With a rock truck down, Brennan struggles to keep up his breakneck pace getting down to pay in pit two.
21:51This is devastating to see a truck go down right now.
21:54You know, you got to think in an hour, it could probably get an extra 10, 12 loads out on
21:58that one truck at least.
22:00And that's 10, 12 loads in behind now, in this race, trying to get this cut ready.
22:04So, it really hurts.
22:06Whoa.
22:07There we go.
22:12Put that in.
22:13Nice, freshie tire.
22:21Done.
22:23Hey, Brennan, I just finished working up this tire.
22:25Uh, you can come grab this truck.
22:27Okay, pal.
22:28I really appreciate that.
22:29Yeah, no problem.
22:30Just make sure your guys, like, pay attention to where they're driving, eh?
22:34Because this could have been prevented.
22:36All right, buddy. Well, yeah.
22:38I'm going to have to get out here and go talk to them.
22:44Hey, Billy, how's it going, buddy?
22:48Not good.
22:49You know, I need my guys watching what they're doing out here.
22:52Okay.
22:53There's a lot going on.
22:54It's hard to get a mechanic down here.
22:56It's an hour away for them, and they're so spread thin with the other things going on, you know.
23:00So any downtime really sucks, you know.
23:02You see the size of that cut.
23:06But, uh, we got until the end of the week to get this cut done.
23:08Okay.
23:09So, your truck's ready so you can hop back in and get going out there.
23:12Yeah.
23:13Thanks, bud.
23:18Yeah, you know, I was a bit scared there.
23:21But, uh, he was pretty understanding about it, so.
23:25Everyone makes mistakes.
23:28But only really idiots make them twice.
23:48You know, Mike, how is your pump coming up?
23:51The pump itself is going to have to basically sit right here.
23:53And then we can put the fuel tank over there.
23:56No, I'm just letting you know.
23:57You want to get in and out?
23:58Because, yeah, I don't want you to show up and say, I don't like that.
24:00I'm switching around.
24:02Well, I wasn't going to do that.
24:04Yeah.
24:05He will do that anyway, son, Mike.
24:07Whatever your effort you put into it.
24:09You think it should be right, then I want it left.
24:12To get Paradise Hills Trommel closer to sluicing, Tony's son Mike has completed the dike road, cleared trees, dug the
24:22feeder pond, and filled it with water from the creek.
24:26I gotta go.
24:27Okay, Mike.
24:28Put it in place.
24:29Hook it up.
24:30Now, all Mike needs to do is move the pump 180 feet into position.
24:38I'm not going to pump from here, but my water's over there.
24:41So I gotta put my pump where my water is.
24:45Oh, Leonard just wanted to use the pipe layer.
24:48I just don't usually like hauling something that big with a pipe layer for the sheer fact that one up,
24:53that thing starts swinging, and then you have a very expensive and dangerous thing flying.
24:58Fair.
25:02Okay, I'm going to do it my way.
25:04I'm going to drag this .
25:06Len, do you copy?
25:08Len?
25:09Yes?
25:10You're going to come down and look at your pump being moved.
25:13Are you going to lift it with the pipe layer?
25:15No, I'm going to drag it with 349.
25:18I think we should put it in the pipe layer.
25:20That's how we lift it before, and it looked perfect, so I don't see why we should change it.
25:26I don't even want to talk to him about it.
25:28That's what I've done several times.
25:30I don't know why Len has such an inversion to it.
25:32He's supposed to be down here.
25:34If he don't like it, next time he can be down here.
25:36Fair enough.
25:37Keep going.
25:38Pull that .
25:46Don't try to turn with weight.
25:48Turn this way.
25:53Mike here.
25:54Copy Mike.
25:55Wait to me.
26:03Oh .
26:05Something's not right.
26:06Solving, stop.
26:08What's wrong?
26:10Take the chain off.
26:12Change of plan since this thing ain't working and I don't have time to around with it.
26:16I say it.
26:17Tell Len that he can go move it himself.
26:21Take him away for all I care.
26:31Hey, don't have a clue what's going on.
26:35show.
26:37Anywhere and everywhere.
26:40What's the plan, Len?
26:41We're going to lift it with the pipe legger.
26:45They drag the pump and they got stuck or whatever they did with it.
26:50A lot of people think they know what they have to do and then they f*** it up even more.
26:55Sometimes frustrating, but that's what it is.
27:01Those two to the other side.
27:03That's good.
27:05Perfect.
27:10It's good.
27:11All right.
27:12Yeah, up a little bit.
27:17Yeah, what's up?
27:21Up a little bit.
27:23Oh.
27:25Easy does it, Colby.
27:27There's no fast pace on this thing.
27:29If you can move it over there a little bit.
27:31It's nice when it wants to work.
27:33Yeah.
27:39Put it down.
27:41What?
27:42Put it down.
27:43I am in charge here.
27:44Oh .
27:48He wants me to put it down.
27:50All right.
27:50Put it down.
27:58It's one of those jobs I wanted to be around for because I'm the one who wants to pick where
28:03the f*** pump goes, not where everyone else wants it.
28:06You might want to boom up a bit.
28:12It's always nice to start a project and finish a project and then start a new one, but that's
28:17not how it works over here.
28:19In the end, you think, ah, f*** it.
28:21Whatever they want.
28:27The pipe layer with the slings on it actually worked out just perfect.
28:35We're going to have to find a piece of pipe that can connect with a f***ing, um, flanges.
28:46Flanges, yes.
28:47For some f***ing reason, I cannot remember the name for today.
28:50It just literally goes in one ear out the other.
28:53So that'll work.
28:54Start of an Elzenheimer.
28:56Eltheimers?
28:57Parkinson.
28:58No, Elzenheimer, I guess.
29:00Elzenheimer?
29:00Yeah, you don't know what Elzenheimer is?
29:03What the f***?
29:05Oh, you don't, uh...
29:06You mean old timers?
29:08No, Elzenheimer.
29:11That's, uh...
29:12I know I forgot it, maybe I've got it.
29:16For some reason I can't f***ing read, uh, flanges.
29:19For some reason I just cannot remember today.
29:21But no, that's perfect.
29:24We're good to go.
29:24I'll start putting these pieces together and the, uh, pipe itself.
29:29Then I'll have a pump ready.
29:31Which means I'll be one step closer to sluicing.
29:46Still stripping away here.
29:48Working our way slowly to the bottom.
29:50Um, we got Ryan, Jason and Chris in rock trucks.
29:54We're moving along pretty good, I think.
29:58Rick Ness' crew are moving a mountain
30:01in a gamble to hit pay in their new cut, Valhalla.
30:05You know, it worries me that we're gonna have something go down
30:08because this equipment and these trucks,
30:10they're gonna be working non-stop
30:11and, uh, gonna be every bit of a month, month and a half
30:14worth of overburden before we even see pay.
30:16I think so.
30:18I hope that pay's worth it.
30:29Hello.
30:30Hey.
30:31So, we should probably talk about something.
30:33Yeah.
30:33I did some quick calculations
30:35and we're looking at at least a million
30:36in order to do what you want to do.
30:39And, and...
30:40Are you saying we don't have enough to do it?
30:41Enough to cover it right now?
30:42Right now, I think with the gold we brought in this season,
30:44it's gonna be extremely tight.
30:49A billion dollars, yeah, that's, I mean, a lot.
30:53But, I mean, I don't know what else we do.
30:57Are you confident we have enough gold at the bottom
30:59of this project to, to make it worthwhile?
31:05I think we can make it work because of the gold prices
31:08being where they are and...
31:11It looks good in my head.
31:12I'm sure it looks terrible on paper.
31:14Yeah.
31:15Yeah.
31:18I mean, I don't want us to go bankrupt.
31:20I don't want to send everybody home without gold,
31:22but, you know, there's risks that have to be taken out here.
31:25All right, let's, uh, I'll catch up with you again later.
31:27Cool.
31:28Let you know how we're doing.
31:28Thanks, Jason.
31:29All right.
31:35We'll make this work.
31:36We'll make this work.
31:38Rick's Valhalla gamble means he's hemorrhaging
31:41thousands of dollars a day on fuel and wages
31:45and needs to hit pay in six weeks before he runs out of cash.
31:51Does Rick make the right decision every time?
31:54Maybe.
31:54Maybe not.
31:55But, uh, at the end, we've been pretty lucky going home
31:58with gold in our pockets, and I hope this year is no different.
32:04Oh!
32:05Oh!
32:08What the hell is that noise?
32:14Hey, Ryan, can you, uh, can you come see me here for a minute?
32:17Uh, I hit something or something fell off the truck.
32:19Something sounds like grinding on the back end.
32:22All right, Jason.
32:23I'll be over there as soon as I can.
32:25All right.
32:25I'll see you in a minute.
32:39Sounds like something coming from the back end, so...
32:42I'm not the expert on this.
32:43It's gonna be Ryan, so...
32:44Yeah, .
32:46Our driveline has spun off.
32:48It has destroyed the driveline, the companion flange,
32:51and, uh, we have neither one of those in stock.
32:54A rock truck down.
32:56Rick is behind the eight ball just days into the project.
33:01So we're down the rock truck,
33:03and Rick's not gonna be happy about that,
33:05so right now, biggest thing is we gotta get parts ordered.
33:10We'll rock it over there.
33:15Whoa.
33:27Uh-huh.
33:30Whoa.
33:32Whoa.
33:33Whoa.
33:33Hey, guys.
33:33Pit two is done and ready to be sluiced.
33:37We got the last load overburden out of here, so we're ready to set up a washpland.
33:42While Rick falls behind, at Kenan Steward's Pit 2, Brennan Ruo is on the pay.
33:50And in Pit 1, operator Sean Holcroft is racing to sluice the last of the gold through Roxanne.
33:58Trying to get as much of this as we can here so we can go get started on cut 2.
34:03But each day I've been frigging around with this stupid feeder here.
34:08The belt's walking back and forth. It's starting to fray. It's giving me issues every day.
34:17Oh, for f***ing seks, his belt's walking again.
34:21I'm going to have to shut her down. This thing's really starting to f***ing piss me off now.
34:30f***ing seks.
34:42I'm just checking the belt out here.
34:45It was starting to fray a bit.
34:48Some up here. There's a bigger chunk up there.
34:52And right where the belt joins together, it actually catches on some of these bottom rollers.
34:58It goes in beside these frames.
35:00When the belt gets too close, it'll catch on that and it'll just rip it to s***.
35:07Sean calls in father and son mechanics, Bill and Justin, to investigate.
35:14What's going on, boys?
35:15Oh, not much, buddy.
35:17It's been walking back and forth, that discharge belt.
35:19You can kind of see a little fray on the belt already.
35:22And you're at the end of your adjustment now?
35:24On this side, yeah.
35:25On this side, it's okay.
35:26Yeah.
35:27The belt is basically loose and it's just walking around doing whatever it wants to do.
35:32Maybe what we can do, I think, make some blocks.
35:36Yeah.
35:36For the tail pulley?
35:37Yeah.
35:37And then actually just unbolt the tail pulley off the bearing and then put a space in between that.
35:44Roxanne's conveyor belt has stretched over time and become loose, moving side to side, causing its edges to catch and
35:54fray.
35:55If not repaired, the rubber belt will tear apart and need to be completely replaced.
36:01Bill and Justin's bush fix is to install spacers at the bottom of the belt between the tail pulley and
36:10bearing, creating additional tension that will pull the belt tight and stop sideways movement.
36:20Just popped the bolts out of this bearing to run this tail pulley back and it fell right where I
36:25need it to be.
36:26I'm going to put this piece of square tube in that I made as a spacer and then this side
36:33will be back together in no time.
36:40Okay.
36:41There we go.
36:42That's that side.
36:44Let's get the other side done.
36:45Okay.
36:48Squeeze this stuff all in there.
36:53We're one bolt away.
36:56I think that's going to work out good.
36:58All right.
37:00Well, let's give Sean a holler on air and tell him to get some dirt flying through this thing.
37:06We'll start the conveyor up.
37:09We'll get this thing running.
37:10We'll go up.
37:11Get the plant shaking.
37:13I should be good to go to get back to Sleucin.
37:20Everything seems to be good now, so hopefully we can get to washing rocks.
37:24I see the boss here, Parker.
37:26He's in the loader right now, so pretty awesome to see.
37:30We just lost a pretty big chunk of time, which is rare for us.
37:37And I think this might be my first time feeding a wash plant this year.
37:43And at the moment, it is working.
37:46So, back to Sleucin.
37:49I'm really hoping that it doesn't become a total show around here with four plants running.
38:02Let's get the driveline out of the way real quick.
38:05At Duncan Creek, the new rock truck driveline part has arrived.
38:11Now, mechanic Ryan and operator Kai are rushing to get the truck back to work in the new Valhalla cut.
38:21Basically, what we're going to do is rip this out, get a new one put in, put in a new
38:25companion, and go from there.
38:30Up or down?
38:31No, you're pulling down.
38:39We'll slide it out the back.
38:40Yeah.
38:41Ready?
38:44Got it.
38:48All right.
38:49We'll pull this middle section off really quick.
38:57All right.
39:02As you can see here, bolts came out.
39:05And what this does is it splines in to this companion shaft.
39:11And right now, there's no spline.
39:14So, it'd be riding on just bolts.
39:15So, now the new one, when you put it on, will actually inter-spline correctly.
39:23These trucks are extremely vital to getting pay or overburden out of that hole.
39:27So, having one down, that's going to be a huge blow to Bailey being able to accomplish what he needs
39:35to get done.
39:39Beautiful.
39:41New companions already installed.
39:43Now, it's time for the driveline.
39:51We'll get another bolt.
39:55Try to get this right in the splines before we just hammer on her.
39:59Watch your eyes.
40:02All good?
40:03Yep.
40:04Yeah.
40:04We can put everything down and go for a drive.
40:08Back to full strength, Rick's crew have a fighting chance
40:12of hitting Valhalla Paye within six weeks.
40:16Thanks for the help, man.
40:17No problem.
40:31These things kind of screws us all, trying to get up to 1,800 ounces.
40:35But, you know, we'll all jam together and we'll make it work.
40:49The kids are going to bring us some gold, I hear.
40:51Well, that's always good.
40:52Hi.
40:53Hello.
40:53Hello.
40:54Hi.
40:55So, you mean that if we would have more kids, they would have more gold?
40:58Yes.
40:58I don't know if that would have worked.
41:00That or you have a lot more Kevins.
41:04Yes, so now we moved into the corner cut and, like, that's a big one.
41:08So, this corner cut, do you think it's bigger than the mega cut, Mike and Kev?
41:13Oh, yeah.
41:15Yeah?
41:16Whatever I do is bigger and better than I would have.
41:18Oh, yeah.
41:20Okay.
41:22So, what have you been doing?
41:23Yeah, yeah.
41:24I'd like to know, too.
41:25You don't even have a trauma going.
41:26I'm slowly plugging away at it, doing as best as I can with what I got.
41:30Len is pretty good to work with, though, huh?
41:31Because he's a bit stubborn.
41:33Oh, yeah.
41:34But I'm in charge.
41:35Likes it or not, that's how it works.
41:37Yeah.
41:38Anyway, what do you think is the time frame I'm putting there, getting the trommel, Tony?
41:42Mike, what do you think?
41:43I'm hoping one or two weeks, but you know how things go.
41:47Sooner the better is always good, but, I mean, you got to do what you got to do, right?
41:50I think we should weigh up some gold.
41:52Why?
41:52You're anxious to see how much is there?
41:53Yeah, I'd like to see how much there is.
41:55Tony has recently been averaging 400 ounces of gold a week.
42:00All right, seeing as we usually start with Sluice Law, let's see if Sluice Law's Sluice Law.
42:04Okay.
42:0610, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 130, 150, 160, 170, 100, 180, 2, 230, 240,
42:18250, 260, 270, 280, 300, 330, 330, 339.92.
42:28Worth nearly 1.2 million dollars.
42:33That's a nice little hole there again, huh?
42:35Okay, let's weigh up the other one.
42:36Okay, let's weigh up the other one.
42:37I'm curious.
42:38So, Mike, count Sluice Law.
42:40Are you counting Find-A-Lot?
42:41I guess so.
42:43Okay, let's do it.
42:4410, 20, 40, 60, 80, 90, 100, 20, 40, 60, 68, 200, 40, 60, 80, 300, 332.62.
43:04Bringing this week's total to 673 ounces, more than $2,300,000.
43:12So, a couple million bucks on the table, and I mean, pretty soon we'll be adding the trommel to it.
43:17Maybe a bit of history, maybe someday, so.
43:20That will be all good.
43:21We can always get more gold.
43:23We may not always get this price.
43:25Right, Mike?
43:26Oh, yeah.
43:27The lady, it seems like the longer you keep on to it, the higher the price gets.
43:30Just over halfway through the season, the beets have already pulled in 4,611 ounces, only 2,000 short of
43:42their target.
43:42So, if we do this consistently, we're going to reach your goal sooner rather than later.
43:48Well, so be it.
43:49Don't matter.
43:50Are you going to up your goal?
43:52I'll see what we get.
43:54Okay, give your sister a hand, get the out, make some more with him.
43:57Yep.
44:12Hey, T. Speaking of having a bad day.
44:15What?
44:16Hey, Junior.
44:17How's it going, Pops?
44:18Bad day?
44:19I didn't react to nothing today.
44:21Hey, Parker.
44:22What's happening?
44:23It's your boy.
44:24Hey, Mitchell.
44:25So, we're going to take advantage of the nice weather when we're going to weigh out here tonight.
44:29Nice.
44:30Gets a little fresh air and sunshine.
44:33Beautiful.
44:34Parker still needs over 4,000 ounces to hit his $35 million target.
44:41Last gold weigh, he pulled in 505 ounces.
44:46This week, Parker wants to see more.
44:49We're still a long lead from our goal.
44:51Well, if you could keep Roxanne running, possibly we'd have a chance of hitting this thing.
44:58I think four wash plants is pushing, not only just the operators, but all the machines, the wash plants.
45:04Like, trying to keep up with four is a challenge.
45:07We can throw some gold on the scale.
45:09I can show you what's going on.
45:10Yeah, let's do it.
45:13Roxanne pulls in an average of 130 ounces a week from pit one.
45:19Big Roxanne.
45:21Okay.
45:21Let's weigh her up first.
45:23A little bit of downtime this week.
45:25Yeah, here we go.
45:27All right, we got 15, 30, 70, 90.
45:35I'll keep going.
45:36Here?
45:37That's about all we got, bud.
45:39100.35.
45:42Worth over $350,000.
45:45A little bit down from last week.
45:47Obviously, yeah, downtime makes sense.
45:50But hopefully with her running a full week, maybe next week's numbers will come up.
45:55Yeah, let's do Dominion.
45:56Bridge cut.
45:58Well, here we go.
46:00See how Bob did.
46:01We got 20, 40, 60, 80, 105.2.
46:10Worth over $360,000.
46:14I thought maybe you were doing like a bit of a switcheroo.
46:17Like, oh, things are looking bad and then we were going to have like 800 ounces.
46:22We need 800 ounces to do that.
46:25Parker now needs Slucifer and Big Red to deliver a combined 300 ounces to beat last week's total.
46:33Here's a golden mile.
46:35You got two plants down there.
46:36Yeah, two plants.
46:37So hopefully this one's a little better.
46:3840, 40, 80, 100, 140, 160, 200, 247.45.
46:52Worth $866,000.
46:58Where are we at?
46:59Well, last week we had 505 ounces.
47:03This week we have 453.0.
47:07We dropped roughly 50 ounces.
47:10And a lot of that could be because of Roxanne was broken.
47:14So that gives us a season total of 6,308.9.
47:20All right.
47:20Well, we'll get there.
47:22Slowly but surely we'll get there.
47:24Yep.
47:24They're not as fun when they're, I mean, we're a little spoiled with 800, 900 ounce cleanups.
47:29Yeah.
47:29Yeah.
47:30Well, I think the real key is just four plants running.
47:34Yeah.
47:34That's the whole, that's the foundation right there.
47:38Yeah, not a great week, but, you know, we're still fighting some downtime.
47:42But this is what happens with four plants.
47:45Before plants running this week, you know, we only got 400 and some ounces.
47:48Not what we'd like to see.
47:49But we had a lot of trucks down.
47:51We had plants down.
47:52So hopefully next week's better and we get back on those 800 ounce weeks because we need
47:56them to hit our season target.
Comments