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Gold Rush Mine Rescue with Freddy & Juan Season 6 Episode 11
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00:03I've been in the ballroom doing someone else's job and I'm unaware of the issues that we're
00:09having up here at the watch plant. On this episode of Mine Rescue, a widowed mine owner
00:17makes a last stand on her inherited claim. Everyone just needs to be on the same page.
00:24Whoa, whoa, whoa, shut it down. But with winter closing in, we've been broke down more than we've
00:32been able to run. The frustration levels are very high for me. Well, that's got to be one of the
00:36shortest test runs, huh? Two seconds. And more than just gold at stake. He would have been so proud of
00:42me that I could ride the loader, drive the loader, that I can mine. The pressure is on for Freddie
00:49and
00:49one to help them find fortune. I was hoping to see more gold in the pan. Or face failure. We
00:56were
00:56trying to cram two weeks worth of work at a week. I just spotted a huge problem, guys. Could be
01:02a
01:02season injury. Probably the highest mine rescue we've ever done, huh? I think it's 14,400 feet,
01:16that mountain. The thin air, lack of water, and shorter season make Colorado's Rocky Mountains
01:22one of the hardest places to mine in the U.S. On the doorstep of winter, Freddie and Juan race
01:30to
01:30the Leadville Mining District, where the miners make what will be their last stand before financial ruin.
01:37Good. How are you doing? Good to see you. Good to see you guys. Freddie. Sean. Nice to meet you.
01:43Christine. Nice to meet you. So how's it going? Well, we're having our struggles. Good struggles.
01:47We've only ran 36 days. You've only ran 36 days, huh? You broke down a lot then? On and off
01:53for about
01:53five months. Lots of breakdowns. What have been your main issues as far as breakdowns go?
02:00Everything. It's been from one end to the other. It's cost employees, help, friendships. It's been
02:06a real heartache. Never really had frustrations this bad. But on top of that, when we drove in,
02:11it was a little snowy, so. The trees are changing colors, so that's as mining season up here is
02:15coming to an end. You know, it may not seem like a whole lot, but, you know, genuinely,
02:19when you don't have a whole lot of time left, you know, it could be a big hurdle. That is
02:23true.
02:23That's part of our struggle as well. We're running out of time.
02:26Originally a family business, Chrissy has taken over running the 3,000-acre Willow Creek mine.
02:34The plan was for my husband and I to run the mine and have our family here. Things happened. He
02:40passed
02:40away. Chrissy never got an opportunity to do anything with her husband on this mine,
02:50and they just kind of let everything go dormant. Her and I crossed paths and struck
02:55a deal, and here I am. My relationship with Sean is like a brother-sister kind of relationship.
03:03We kind of joke about that. He's great. His family's great.
03:08Almost got me. Almost got you.
03:09I've learned so much from him. Chrissy, do you have somewhere to put this?
03:13There's no other person who's going to lease your land and then let you come and help.
03:17Ooh, that's a pretty one. That's a nice one.
03:20Or be any part of what they're doing. All right, I'm sticking it in my pocket. Don't let me forget.
03:26But for Sean, this season isn't just critical. Failure could end his mining career for good.
03:34I always had a passion for gold, and that's led me to chase the dream.
03:41Mining has put a strain on my family. I've lost quite a bit of money in the past, some of
03:47our life savings.
03:48My wife, she's given me one more chance to succeed at this, and if I don't succeed, then I'm going
03:53to have to get out of gold mining.
03:57Do you have any of the gold that you're pulling out of the ground up there that we can look
04:01at?
04:04Combination of chunky and fine, huh?
04:07Beautiful.
04:08Yeah.
04:08Chunky and fine gold indicates multiple events on the land.
04:12A high potential target if the gold can be captured.
04:17So how much have you gotten this season so far?
04:19We've gotten 87 ounces already this season.
04:21Not terrible.
04:22Well, what's your goal for this season?
04:23We really need probably around $350.
04:27Cool.
04:27To keep up all the claims, all the equipment, the insurance.
04:32It's going to be a hard one, because the one thing about being this high up is the winter comes
04:35quick, right?
04:36Yes, sir.
04:36You probably only have 40 days left.
04:38To help them run consistently, a rescue must increase production to at least 6.5 ounces a day to stand
04:47any hope of hitting their goal.
04:49What's been your best day?
04:50We had a day where we got 9 ounces out of 1,000 tons, but we haven't been able to
04:55do that since.
04:56So that tells us that there is some spotty ground here.
04:59So more than likely, it's going to be a combination of working on the plant, but then also trying to
05:03figure out where that gold is.
05:04Absolutely.
05:05And follow that.
05:06Because if gold was everywhere, it wouldn't be worth anything.
05:09True.
05:10What have you invested so far?
05:12I got a startup $50,000 on this.
05:16And who loaned you that money?
05:17Chrissy did.
05:18Okay.
05:20Well, what happens, you know, if you don't get your gold this year?
05:25Well, I'm going to have to pay back my debt.
05:28Right.
05:29And I'm going to have to go get a real job and pay them back out of my payroll.
05:34Well, we'll do our best to help you.
05:36The frustration levels are very high.
05:37For me, we've been broke down more than we've been able to run.
05:40Well, you know what we like to do is typically we want to watch a test run and go from
05:44there.
05:44So we can kind of assess what's going on and figure out what we can do to help you.
05:48Okay.
05:48Sounds great.
05:50Right off the get-go, they seem like really nice people.
05:52But, you know, I think they might be a little unrealistic with some of their goals right now.
05:56So they definitely need some help.
05:57I'm not 100% sure if their goal is really, you know, obtainable.
06:01Fire it up.
06:08Let's do it.
06:09Start the gin.
06:10The crew, led by Sean, includes Chrissy's cousin, Dan, and contractor, Izzy Kaya.
06:19Start a firemer.
06:23Holy !
06:25Shut it down.
06:26Oh !
06:27Ah !
06:34Are you kidding me?
06:38That's got to be one of the shortest test runs, huh?
06:41Two seconds.
06:42Yeah, that's a record.
06:44Unbelievable.
06:47Not good.
06:49Oh, man.
06:50One of the clamps came apart from one of the water hoses and got a little crazy.
06:54So now, once again, we're down.
06:59I'm being pushed to get gold, but it's not happening because of the breakdowns.
07:04This is going to take forever.
07:07Well, I'm keeping the clock running.
07:08You know, it's still part of the four-hour run.
07:11Exactly.
07:12Big deal here, you know, the climate here is the same as, call it Alaska.
07:16Mm-hmm.
07:16So, I mean, you only have so much of a season to run.
07:20Yeah, yeah.
07:21Well, it's not a good start, but I can see why they haven't ran a whole lot.
07:25You guys ready to fire up again?
07:34Oh, there we go.
07:37Hopefully, we can get a bucket in there now.
07:4030 minutes later, first bucket.
07:42Yep.
07:44Pay is fed into a 40-foot rotating trommel,
07:48where spray bars inside wash the pay from the gravels into a triple sluice run
07:54where the gold should be recovered.
07:56While to save their limited water,
07:59a sand screw separates fine tailings from the snow mill they need to rely on all season.
08:09That chain is slapping on the bottom of the drive.
08:12See how it's climbing?
08:13Yeah.
08:14Eventually, it's going to double up on itself.
08:17Right now, the drive chain is getting hung up on this rocket.
08:20Eventually, it might break the chain or possibly break the gearbox.
08:29We're lean, lean, lean on the water.
08:31Yeah, way lean.
08:33Working at such elevation above the cloud line
08:36means the Willow Creek mine gets just six inches of rain a year
08:41to replenish the wash ponds.
08:44The thicker the water gets, the more gold you lose.
08:47That's what happens when you sluice out of a mud puddle.
09:00One whole section of the sluice box that's not being used.
09:03This section right here is completely packed.
09:07We've got a lot of issues here.
09:12Look at that big rock going up.
09:16Uh-oh, uh-oh.
09:17Too big a rock's going through, man.
09:21Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
09:25It's going to shred this thing.
09:27Oh, get it out of there.
09:30You got the sun down again.
09:32Yeah.
09:36They shut the conveyor off.
09:37Oh, they did.
09:38Let's go take a look.
09:39Another breakdown.
09:42Look, it's shredding the belt up there.
09:43Oh, my .
09:47We got some big rocks coming through and wedging in the frame.
09:50And it's tearing up my belt.
09:52Look at that big cut right up there.
09:58Well, I can see why they're not having a whole lot of run time.
10:00A little problem here, a little problem there.
10:03It shuts you down, yep.
10:04You have multiples throughout a day.
10:05Yeah.
10:06You're losing hours of run time.
10:08Mm-hmm.
10:09And motivation.
10:11Man, this gets old.
10:12This is tiring, man.
10:15That conveyor's not going to last much longer anyways, Freddy.
10:17I think we should shut the test down.
10:19We're going to have to.
10:19Hey, guys, just shut down.
10:22All right.
10:27Not good on the conveyor, huh?
10:29You say you might have 40 days of a season left this year.
10:32This conveyor will cost you 20 of them working on it.
10:36The belt's too narrow for the amount of material you're running.
10:39That's why you're having rocks come off the side.
10:41And that's a safety issue.
10:42This conveyor's not going to make the rest of the season.
10:47I know it was only an hour, but let's clean the box up and see what we got.
10:51So we kind of have, you know, at least a baseline.
10:54Baseline, yeah.
10:54Okay.
10:55To figure out what we got in that hour.
10:56And then Freddy and I are going to put our heads together and figure out what we can do.
10:59We'll come up with a game plan.
11:00Sounds good.
11:01Thank you so much.
11:01Appreciate it.
11:04I have a lot of responsibility to make this happen.
11:07My family is relying on me.
11:09But with all the breakdowns, I'm just not sure how much longer we can survive.
11:15Now I see what Sean's up against.
11:17You know, it's frustrating.
11:19And it's really kind of brings the light why he hasn't been able to run all that much.
11:35How's it going, Chrissy?
11:36In Colorado, at the Willow Creek Mine.
11:39Hey, Brady.
11:40That scared you, did I?
11:41Oh, no.
11:42I was just, I was mesmerized by the table.
11:45Freddy checks in with mine owner, Chrissy, who cleans up the gold from the aborted one-hour test.
11:51There we go.
11:52There's a little bit of gold in it, huh?
11:53A little bit, a little bit.
11:55What got you into gold mining?
11:57Well, my dad bought into this quite a few years ago, shortly after that.
12:02I was up here with my husband.
12:05We came up, spent a month up here, been surveyed for the whole area here with my dad.
12:10We were going to start a new life, do some gold mining.
12:14And unfortunately, my husband passed away.
12:16Massive heart attack.
12:17I'm sorry to hear that.
12:23It's going to be a tough one.
12:28What made me want to be a gold miner was probably just the adventure of it.
12:35Just coming up here and learning more about it.
12:38And that intrigued me.
12:39And so I just got more involved in it.
12:42It's hard being here without my husband being here.
12:46I feel that this is where I'm supposed to be.
12:50Without her husband's help to run the mine, Chrissy nearly abandoned it until Sean stepped in.
12:57This is where I am and I'm going to make it happen.
12:59The ultimate dream for this mine is for our family's interest to help make it very successful.
13:06For years to come, everyone recovering gold and being miners.
13:10And I think Matt, my husband, would be very proud of what I'm doing today.
13:15I get to stop.
13:20I had to knock the wind out of your sails.
13:22Yeah.
13:22It's been difficult at times.
13:24But it's good, too.
13:26Because I know he's watching over us.
13:28And I think he's happy that I'm up here.
13:31Yeah.
13:31I bet he is.
13:34I want to do bigger things with this mine.
13:37Well, this year is super important, then.
13:38It's very, very important.
13:40And, you know, it's either make it or break it, you know.
13:43Well, hopefully we can help you make your goal.
13:46It's important for Chrissy to make this a success.
13:48And I tell you what, she's a devoted person.
13:51You know, she wants to learn.
13:52She works hard.
13:54So if the season lasts long enough, there's a good chance they'll succeed.
14:03How are we doing?
14:04Got her all cleaned up?
14:05Yes, sir.
14:06Cleanup complete.
14:07Freddie and Juan join the crew to weigh the gold from the one-hour test run.
14:13Let's have a look.
14:14Here's what we got.
14:15Okay.
14:16Nice, clean little...
14:18Let's do it.
14:20Excited to see what we got.
14:21Yeah.
14:22Well, there's a little chunk in there, too.
14:24Little nugget in there.
14:26Quarter ounce.
14:27Quarter ounce, yeah.
14:30Half ounce.
14:35There's an ounce.
14:36There's an ounce.
14:41That's pretty decent, 1.18.
14:42Yeah.
14:42Yeah?
14:43Yeah, it's good.
14:43Wow.
14:44Yeah, considering the breakdowns, that's not bad at all.
14:46Right.
14:47Looks like you got decent gold here, but if you can't run, you know, you can't get it.
14:52Yeah.
14:53And, you know, and the truth is, you might have hit a hot spot.
14:55You know, you guys had mentioned before that you guys had really great cleanups, and then
14:58the next day, nothing, right?
14:59That is true.
15:00That is true.
15:01But let us get back to the truck and figure out what we can do, and we'll come back and
15:05see
15:05you guys in just a bit.
15:06That sounds great.
15:07We appreciate it.
15:11There's a lot of issues with that plant.
15:12Yeah.
15:13We've got distribution and water issues.
15:15Right now, all three sluice boxes are packed with sediment.
15:18I think we need to start thinking about ground as well.
15:20You know, the ground's going to be a big part of it.
15:22That conveyor, we need to get rid of it.
15:23It needs to go.
15:24Yeah.
15:24Put a pit in there, they can muck the material out.
15:26Yeah.
15:27Pit and a ramp.
15:27Yeah.
15:28To get in with the loader.
15:29On that drive system, I think it may be just an idler or something there to be able to
15:32take up that slop.
15:33Yeah.
15:33Because eventually that chain's going to double up on itself.
15:36And it's going to tear that gearbox apart.
15:38Let's go talk to them.
15:39Let's do it.
15:43How's it going, guys?
15:44Hey, guys.
15:45I kind of came up with a few ideas of what we can do to help you guys out.
15:48One of the things that we're a little worried about is just the inconsistency of the ground,
15:52right?
15:52Yeah, I want to go into the cut with you.
15:54Okay.
15:54So we'll have a look at the geology up here and, you know, do a bunch of test panning.
15:58Okay.
15:59But then we want to get your plant tuned up, too.
16:01Most important is that distribution.
16:03We'll try to get it where it's an even feed into all your sluices.
16:06Okay.
16:07And then we want to put a tensioner on your chain because your chain's not long for the
16:11world the way it's running.
16:13A big mess.
16:14Oh, it is.
16:14A very expensive mess.
16:16You know, you break that box, you know, you're probably 25 grand for that box.
16:19The biggest thing we want to do is make sure that the plant is reliable, that you guys
16:22are able to run a full 10-hour day with no issues.
16:24It takes a lot of resources to get water out here.
16:27So every bit we can save is going to save money down the line.
16:31We can introduce more water on the backside.
16:33And with all that said, you know, we want an ounce of gold apiece.
16:37Yeah, and then as far as the material goes, $6,000 for material.
16:41Okay.
16:42Conveyor's number one.
16:43All right.
16:44Well, let's do it.
16:44You guys are good with it.
16:45Yeah.
16:46We're great with it.
16:46Yeah.
16:46Yeah.
16:47All right.
16:47Sounds great.
16:48All right.
16:49In an ambitious wash plant overhaul to improve reliability,
16:54Freddie and Juan will remove the conveyor and replace it with a hassle-free tailings pit
17:00that can be easily cleared.
17:03On the trommel, the drive chain has become slack.
17:07Juan will fabricate an idler to regulate the tension.
17:12And a new distribution chute will direct the silt-heavy concentrates into the sluice runs,
17:19which will be sealed, leveled, and raised to help catch more gold.
17:29I got my rig right here for it.
17:31Juan's first task, remove the nine-ton conveyor.
17:36We should be able to lift it and get it out from underneath that stand and then be able
17:39to bring it down.
17:41You want to just go with the chain around it and then back to your hook?
17:44Yep.
17:47Right now, we've got the legs dug out, and we're going to see if we can lift that conveyor.
17:54There's a lot of things that can go wrong right now.
17:56You know, if it's too much weight and we get off the stand, you can pull the truck over.
17:59What I'm going to do is I'm going to lift it just a little bit to see if I can
18:01handle it.
18:02If I can handle it, great.
18:03If not, then we'll reposition.
18:05Okay.
18:10There you go.
18:28Yeah!
18:30That'll work.
18:33Got it done in a few minutes, but I appreciate it.
18:35Hey, no worries.
18:37I am new to mining, but, yeah, I probably have a little bit of gold fever.
18:44Sean's right-hand man is Chrissy's cousin, Dan, who came for family but stays for gold.
18:51I'm here to help Chrissy.
18:52She's trying to prove that she can make this mine successful.
18:57Very exciting to see your results when you do have a good run and a good cleanup.
19:01But I'm also doing this for my family, my two daughters and my wife, so that I can make
19:07a better life for them.
19:09Listen, once I get this drug back a little bit, come with me.
19:13Now it's down on the ground.
19:14They can manage it, get it out of here.
19:28We won't have any more problems with our conveyor belt.
19:32Freddie and Juan had us get that conveyor belt out of the way.
19:36So I'm digging out of tailings pit here, nice and deep.
19:42Definitely going to work out a lot better having that conveyor belt that always breaks
19:47down on me.
19:48We're going to speed things up.
19:51How's it going, Sean?
19:52Good, Freddie.
19:53How are you doing?
19:54Doing all right.
19:55I was just finishing up on this ramp here.
19:58What do you think about sloping it a little more gentle for your loader?
20:02We can do that.
20:03Save you a bunch of fuel.
20:04Yeah, right.
20:05And wear and tear on your loader.
20:07Yeah, absolutely.
20:08But that should hold some tailings, huh?
20:10Yeah, it looks good.
20:11Oh, this will work.
20:12Getting rid of that conveyor is the best thing for this plant.
20:16I agree.
20:17100%.
20:17Okay, Freddie.
20:18See you in a bit.
20:23Freddie and Juan showed up just right at the nick of time.
20:26When Chrissy first came up here, she was sad.
20:30She was very heartbroken.
20:32This ship was ready to sink, and now there's a glimmer of hope that I can repay my debts
20:38in this season on a good note.
20:43That should be deep enough.
20:56At 14,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains.
20:59Let me design it out real quick, and we'll get it cut.
21:02Juan begins work on a new distribution chute for the Willow Creek Mine.
21:07When you have a limited season, I'm hoping that once we get it in there, it's really going
21:11to help the production.
21:12But ultimately, we don't know until we actually put it in place and try it out.
21:17The chute will focus the pay from the trommel to a central box.
21:22A dampener will slow the material down and force it to divide equally across the three
21:29sluices.
21:32And that way that material comes over, it hits that center chamber, so it can fan out over
21:36the box and have equal distribution over the sluices.
21:40So we got all the parts cut up.
21:42Now I'm going to get down to the plant, get it installed.
21:53This your cut, then, huh?
21:55Yes, sir.
21:56Well, let's go have a look.
21:58All righty.
21:59After a season of inconsistent cleanups, Freddy gets eyes on the material Sean is running.
22:06Why did you pick this area here, Sean?
22:08You're looking up at the mountain and how the draw came down, and it came down through
22:13here.
22:14Yeah.
22:15This would be the stuff I took for our test right here.
22:18Looks like clay, huh?
22:19Yeah.
22:21My thoughts here, without panning yet, is that top layer is probably low-grade.
22:28It hasn't been reworked a lot.
22:30It's kind of a glacial till on top.
22:33This material down below, you can see how the rocks are laying in there.
22:37So this got reworked by a stream system at some point.
22:41That did not.
22:42That got pushed there.
22:44Do you think this could have been a really wide river at one time?
22:46No, don't know.
22:48The stream doesn't have to be really wide, right?
22:50But it's going to go back and forth over millions of years, right?
22:53Okay, yeah.
22:55So it makes a valley wider.
22:57Interesting.
22:58Well, let's take a sample of this and see what we get.
23:01Okay.
23:10Oh, that water's cold.
23:13Ice cold.
23:16Not a tremendous amount of heavies in it.
23:27There's that hit in this thing here, huh?
23:30Usually not with gold like this, though.
23:33Fine gold's spread fairly evenly through a layer like that.
23:38But I was hoping to see more gold in the pan after that goldway.
23:42I mean, there's gold in it, but not much.
23:44Well, that's surprising that I'm seeing very little in there.
23:49I've done a few pans along here, and they've been pretty good.
23:54You pick a spot this time.
23:56Okay.
23:57Okay.
24:15Let's take it down farther.
24:16Here, let me take...
24:17You want me to finish?
24:17Yeah, yeah.
24:19So right now, I'm watching that tip out there.
24:21So if there's a piece of gold in there, you're going to see it.
24:26Two specks.
24:30Yeah, I see them.
24:31There and there.
24:32So it's no better than the other one.
24:34Huh.
24:36I am pretty surprised about that.
24:39You know, we did that one-hour run, got over an ounce.
24:43I'm really shocked that we're not seeing the gold in the pans
24:46like I'm seeing up there at the plant.
24:49There's gold in it, but nothing like that test.
24:53So I'm going to call a buddy in.
24:55Mine's just down the hill here.
24:57And bring him up.
24:59He probably knows more about, you know, this type deposit up here
25:02than anybody alive today.
25:03So his information may be very helpful.
25:12Hell yeah.
25:13At the plant, Juan assembles the distribution box,
25:16which will feed pay evenly to the sluices.
25:19We'll make it work.
25:28That's good.
25:28Perfect.
25:30We're going to funnel all that material in,
25:32and then we have this little bit of a dampener.
25:34What this does is going to force the material in the water
25:36to be able to level out,
25:37and then that way it can divide three ways evenly
25:40across these sluice boxes.
25:42I still got to get everything built for the idler,
25:45and we have a lot of stuff we got to get fabricated
25:48before we can install it on the plant.
26:01How's it going, Lance?
26:02At the entrance to the mine...
26:05Good to see you, sir.
26:06Good seeing you, as always.
26:07Freddie calls in friend and fellow mining mogul,
26:11Lance Baller, to get an insider's read on the ground.
26:15I appreciate you coming up the mountain.
26:17So how are things looking?
26:18Well, I'd sure like to pick your brain on this area.
26:21You probably know it better than anybody.
26:22Let me grab my hard hat, and I'll be right over.
26:25All righty.
26:29Here's where they got that pay from, Lance.
26:32Right over here.
26:35Looks like it's been reworked,
26:37and it looks good,
26:38but the pans weren't good out of it.
26:40Have you ran any of this stuff?
26:42Yeah, so we lost a lot of money
26:44over those first few years
26:45trying to figure this stuff out.
26:48We panned a lot of it.
26:49It was very marginal.
26:51We couldn't figure it out.
26:52It was just not paying good.
26:54It didn't look good.
26:55And then we found out
26:56that there was a seam in there
26:57that was about 24 inches thick,
26:59and 95% of all the gold
27:02was just in that seam.
27:04Do you see that seam in here?
27:06Yeah, so you got your bigger rock
27:07coming down here,
27:08and then you hit this layer,
27:10and it looks like it's pay.
27:12It has rocks in there.
27:13It's not.
27:14It's going to be very, very low gold content
27:16until it hits this clay layer in here,
27:20as you see.
27:21So there's going to be a layer
27:22in between those clays
27:23that most of that gold is in between.
27:26Millions of years ago,
27:28mineral-rich hot springs
27:29bubble up beneath Leadville,
27:31turning rock into clay,
27:33which traps a rich layer of gold.
27:36So this stuff, I would run.
27:40It's going to mess up his ponds.
27:41That's why he's probably not running it.
27:43But it has gold in it,
27:44and a lot of gold, usually.
27:45But he doesn't have a whole lot of water
27:47looking at it up there.
27:48Yeah, yeah.
27:48I've seen his ponds.
27:49So if he can just manage the clays
27:51to try to get as much gold
27:52as he can out of this,
27:53he's in a hot, hot area here.
27:55He's going to do really well on this.
27:59Well, I learned more
28:00about the geology of this area
28:01in an afternoon with Lance
28:03than I could have done
28:03in maybe a season
28:05because he's been mining up
28:07in here for a long time,
28:09and he's had pitfalls of his own.
28:11So he's learned his way through them.
28:13So now I can pass on
28:14that information to Sean,
28:17and he can run from there.
28:20Well, I appreciate your advice on it.
28:22All right.
28:36In Colorado's Leadville Mining District,
28:38I have a rocket design.
28:40We're going to cut it
28:40on this one-inch piece of steel.
28:42Juan sets to work
28:44to build a new idler
28:45for the trommel drive chain.
28:47What it's doing right now
28:48is that chain,
28:49as it comes across,
28:50is getting caught.
28:51Eventually, it's going to get caught
28:52and double up on itself
28:53and break off.
28:54So what we're going to do
28:54is we're going to put an idler there
28:55so that way it actually pushes it down
28:57and gets it out of the way.
29:02So this is going to be
29:03the tensioner arm.
29:04It's real simple.
29:05It's going to have a pivot here
29:06with two pillow blocks.
29:08Over here, it has these flange bearings,
29:09and it's going to have a sprocket here
29:10that rides on the chain.
29:11It'll pull that
29:12and get all that excess slot out of there
29:15so that way it doesn't have a chance
29:16to double up.
29:27Look at that.
29:29That's sweet.
29:34Idler complete.
29:36Juan heads to the plant
29:37for the install.
29:43I got it.
29:49I'm very excited
29:50to have Freddy and Juan
29:51come up here and help me with this
29:52because that'll definitely save us
29:54a lot of time.
29:55No more breakdowns.
30:02We're always behind schedule.
30:04You know, we were trying to cram
30:05two weeks' worth of work
30:07in basically a week.
30:10It's just kind of what we do.
30:18Wow, that looks great.
30:21Over in the cut,
30:22Sean stockpiles the high-grade pay
30:25identified by Freddy
30:27and local Lance Bowler.
30:29I'm pretty excited
30:30to see how it works now.
30:31It's been a big struggle
30:33all season long.
30:36See if these fixes all
30:38really will help us.
30:39Proof will definitely be in the pudding
30:41here when we do our test run.
30:53Three, four.
30:54At the wash plant,
30:56Freddy and Dan
30:57tune up the sluices.
31:00Eight, nine, ten.
31:03It's super important
31:04to keep these sluices level
31:06so if it's pitched to one side,
31:08where's all your material
31:09going to go?
31:09To that side.
31:10So you're making a three-foot-wide sluice
31:12into a one-foot-wide sluice
31:13is essentially what you're doing.
31:16All their sluices were out of level
31:19and I want more pitch.
31:21See how level it is.
31:24Pretty darn level.
31:25I think we were close, yeah.
31:27Okay.
31:29See what we got for pitch now.
31:32Almost perfect.
31:33Yeah.
31:34Yeah.
31:35Every little thing
31:36we're doing here,
31:36so let's say
31:37just leveling these boxes
31:39gets you another 3%
31:40of gold, right?
31:42Right.
31:42Let's say you get
31:42the pitch is set
31:43another 3% gold.
31:45You start adding those things up
31:46pretty soon,
31:48you know,
31:48let's say you increase
31:49by 10, 20, 30%.
31:50That's big.
31:51That's really big.
31:52They're all adjusted
31:53to the best we can adjust them.
31:56I enjoy working with Freddy.
31:57He's a wealth of knowledge
31:58to be honest with you.
32:00He's shown us
32:01a lot of little tips
32:01and tricks along the way
32:02and we'll be sure
32:04and put those
32:04to good use
32:05in the future.
32:08Let's check out
32:09the sand screws, Sean.
32:10Oh, yeah.
32:11Next,
32:12Freddy looks into
32:13the water system
32:14to prepare
32:15for the new
32:15clay-rich pay.
32:17Something's not right.
32:19I just spotted
32:20a huge problem, guys.
32:23The back of your
32:24sand screw's buried.
32:25You can see
32:26the after effects
32:26downstream.
32:28That sand
32:29should not be there.
32:30Well, let's go
32:31shut it down.
32:31Freddy has spotted
32:32a major issue
32:34with the sand screw.
32:35You see this opening
32:36right here?
32:37Yes, sir.
32:39Okay.
32:39That's supposed
32:40to be closed off.
32:42Interesting.
32:43All that water
32:44is going fast
32:46backwards
32:47through there
32:48and it's dragging
32:49sand with it
32:50and that's why
32:51you're buried downstream.
32:53The sand screw
32:55separates fine tailings
32:56from sluice water,
32:58spiraling solids upwards
32:59while recycling water
33:01back into the system
33:03but with a plate missing,
33:04both solids and water
33:06are carried backwards
33:08into the holding pond,
33:10silting up
33:11the fresh water supply
33:12which if run through
33:13the plant
33:14will lose fine gold.
33:16A little hole
33:17right there
33:17is the reason
33:18why that's all
33:19buried back there.
33:21Wow,
33:21just that little hole
33:22made that much damage.
33:23If this isn't fixed,
33:25the pond's gonna fill up.
33:26It's gonna keep
33:27building up more material
33:28downstream
33:28and they won't
33:30be able to run.
33:41So we need to block
33:42that off.
33:43We need to block
33:44that off, yeah.
33:45Just hours
33:46from the second test run
33:48at Willow Creek.
33:49You got a tape measure
33:49handy?
33:50Yeah.
33:51Freddie and the crew
33:52work through
33:53a last minute setback
33:55with the sand screw.
33:5728 by 6, okay.
33:59With it
34:00empty of water,
34:02you know,
34:02it's an easy spot.
34:03So I'm sealing up
34:04the hole
34:04and that's gonna help
34:06save their sluice pond.
34:09Look pretty straight
34:10to you, Dan.
34:11Yeah.
34:21All right.
34:22We got her.
34:23Yes, sir.
34:23It's simple,
34:24but it's gonna
34:25make a huge difference.
34:31Are you guys ready
34:32to do our test run?
34:33Let's do it.
34:33Yeah, absolutely.
34:35Well, let's do
34:36one hour
34:36so it's apples to apples
34:37to the last one.
34:38Okay.
34:39Let's fire it up.
34:42Here comes the water.
34:47First bucket.
34:50During the first test run,
34:52you know,
34:52it only ran us
34:53about two seconds
34:54before a hose blew off.
34:56So we're ahead
34:56of that game right now.
35:01I'm watching the arm.
35:03It's doing really well.
35:03It's actually pulling
35:04that excess chain
35:05out of the way
35:06so it's not getting stuck.
35:08Yeah, dramatically better.
35:12Looks like we can go
35:13probably a while
35:13without having to dig
35:14this out
35:15because it's just
35:15going to keep
35:16pushing over.
35:17Yep.
35:18Keeps the hell
35:18out of that conveyor,
35:19doesn't it?
35:20Yeah, man.
35:21Game changer.
35:27You know,
35:28having this dampener plate
35:29is actually helping
35:30that material level out
35:31and feed evenly.
35:32So it's about as good
35:34as it's going to get.
35:35Water's way better.
35:37Oh, yeah.
35:37Way better coming
35:38down those sluces.
35:42That's working good.
35:43Yeah.
35:43Yeah, it looks pretty good.
35:44Looks better than it did.
35:45That's a little good.
35:46See, now it's forcing
35:47that material
35:47to go under that weir.
35:49Before,
35:50it had such a velocity
35:52going through that opening
35:53that it was just dragging sand.
35:57Right now,
35:57you've got a little time
35:58left of the season.
35:59Just run as much as you can.
36:00Yeah, that's what
36:01we needed to do.
36:02Just run, run, run.
36:03Yeah.
36:04If we get, like,
36:05a complete six-day weekend...
36:07Oh, yeah.
36:08Oh, my gosh.
36:09That's going to be incredible.
36:11I'm proving
36:12that I can do this
36:13with gold being
36:14so high as it is right now.
36:15Awesome.
36:16Woo-hoo!
36:17I think I could make
36:18this a successful mine.
36:20What do you got?
36:21Eight more minutes.
36:22Looks good.
36:23Yeah, Juan.
36:25Good job, buddy.
36:27Last bucket!
36:36Looks good, Freddy.
36:37Yeah.
36:38I see gold in here.
36:40There's a bunch
36:41in this middle one, too, Juan.
36:42Yeah.
36:43Took a lot more consistency
36:44than the last cleanup.
36:45Yeah, for sure.
36:48Yeah.
36:49We can see it
36:49in all three boxes
36:50instead of just the one.
36:53You guys want to pull?
36:54Yeah.
36:54Pull the mats
36:54and do a cleanup
36:55and we'll get ready
36:56for a gold way, huh?
36:57Yeah, let's do it.
36:57Sounds good.
36:58All right, guys.
36:59Let's pull it.
37:05Let's do it.
37:06I'm not sure how long
37:08that we can survive.
37:19How's it going, guys?
37:20Got it all done?
37:21Yes, sir.
37:22I got it ready for you.
37:23At the gold room,
37:24Chrissy and her crew gather
37:26for the results
37:27of the one-hour test.
37:28How does it look?
37:30Well, that looks good.
37:31Nice and clean.
37:32You go ahead
37:33and pour it, Fred.
37:34Oh, yeah.
37:35See what you got.
37:37To hit their season goal
37:39of 350 ounces
37:41in the remaining
37:4240 days of the season,
37:44they need to be able
37:45to run 10 hours per day
37:47and this test
37:48must produce
37:49at least 0.65 of an ounce.
37:52A half ounce.
37:54There you go.
37:55Uh-huh.
37:56Three quarters of an ounce.
37:58One ounce.
37:59Yeah, yeah.
38:00There we go.
38:01Oh, there it is.
38:02There's 1.18 right there
38:03and I'm going to say
38:04we got a quarter of an ounce left.
38:07Excellent.
38:08See what we got.
38:131.57.
38:14There you go.
38:14That's awesome.
38:16All right.
38:16That's really good.
38:17In an hour.
38:18Yeah, yeah.
38:19That's $1,200 an hour more
38:22than the first run,
38:23first hour run.
38:24A potential
38:25of $50,000 a shift.
38:28If Sean and Chrissy
38:30run every day,
38:31they could nearly
38:31double their goal
38:33to a $2 million season.
38:36Right there.
38:37That's great.
38:37That's really going
38:38to change things.
38:39The biggest thing is
38:40is now you can run
38:41without breaking down.
38:42Yeah.
38:43Now, if you can stay
38:43on that material,
38:44you're making $4,500
38:45an hour right now.
38:46That's awesome, right?
38:48That's fantastic.
38:49You need to do
38:49six and a half ounces a day
38:51for the last 40 days
38:53of the season.
38:54I think this is really
38:54going to turn
38:55our season around.
38:56It should.
38:56Absolutely.
38:57This morning,
38:57you see how much
38:58snow is on the mountains.
39:00this time of year,
39:01I'd run seven days a week,
39:04all the hours you can run.
39:05Yeah.
39:05Your motto for the rest
39:06of the season should be
39:07run, run, run.
39:10And when you think
39:10about stopping,
39:12keep running.
39:12There you go.
39:13Thank you so much.
39:14Yes, thank you.
39:15That was amazing
39:15working with you guys.
39:16Thank you so much.
39:17Thank you, buddy.
39:17Appreciate it.
39:18You're welcome.
39:18I appreciate it.
39:19Likewise.
39:20Freddie, thank you very much.
39:22Here, you can have the pan.
39:23We'll keep the gold.
39:24Oh, wait.
39:26That pan's worth $4,500.
39:28That's not a good trade.
39:28Not a good trade.
39:30That's a better trade.
39:30All right.
39:31Take care, guys.
39:32All right.
39:33See you later.
39:33Safe travels.
39:36I couldn't have been
39:37more pleased
39:38with that gold way.
39:39You know,
39:39they may have 30 days left.
39:41They may have 40.
39:42But with the material
39:43they're running now,
39:44well, they could do it.
39:45So I'm very grateful
39:46that Freddie and Juan
39:47came out here.
39:49I've got to make this
39:49happen for my family.
39:50And we keep saying,
39:52run, run, run.
39:53That's what we're going
39:53to be saying
39:53for the rest of the season.
39:54It changed everything.
39:56You know,
39:56we're going to smash
39:58that gold 350 now.
39:59No problem.
40:01And definitely get
40:02my debt paid,
40:03that 50 grand.
40:04I'll be able to keep
40:04my passion of gold mining alive.
40:07Now they have
40:08a consistent plant.
40:09Instead of just running
40:09one hour,
40:10they can run 10 hours.
40:11I'm excited for them.
40:12Honestly,
40:12I'm really proud
40:13of what we did here.
40:14And it's a big win.
40:28With the fixes
40:29that Freddie and Juan did,
40:30we did increase
40:32our production for sure.
40:34Everything at the wash plant
40:35did help capture,
40:38and we're not losing anything.
40:44This season was a little
40:45difficult with history
40:47of the mine
40:48and history of,
40:49you know,
40:49my husband was supposed
40:50to be up there.
40:50We've held on to this
40:51for so long
40:52that this is going to happen.
40:57Unfortunately,
40:58we had a false weather,
40:59freeze out,
41:00and we weren't able
41:02to process anymore.
41:03Our building
41:04wasn't insulated.
41:10We got 247.7 ounces,
41:13a little short
41:14of our 350 goal.
41:15We did get things paid,
41:17and Sean got his money
41:19paid back to us,
41:20the loan back to us.
41:21We got all the operation
41:22costs taken care of,
41:24and everyone left
41:24with a little bold
41:25in their pocket.
41:26So it was a good season.
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