- 15 hours ago
Gold Rush: Alaska - Season 16 - Episode 19: Rick's Mess
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00:12Hello, I'm your host, and I'm here to be a guest of the Oro, and I'm here to be a
00:14guest of the Oro, and I'm here to be a guest of the Oro.
00:30The last few weeks have been really difficult
00:32and set us back quite a bit with low recovery.
00:37Low ounces an hour and lots of hours.
00:40And lost production and just being a general pain in the ass.
00:46Parker Schnabel is ready for a new chapter in his season
00:50and is launching an all-out blitz to hit his 10,000-ounce goal
00:56by getting over 600 ounces this week.
01:00We've got four plants back up and running now,
01:03which is really good.
01:05We've got Gigi, the golden goose,
01:08running the new plants, awesome.
01:10You know, Gigi is a really nice addition
01:14to the sluicing fleet.
01:16And so that's, you know, hopefully gonna put us over the top
01:19because it does run a bit more yardage
01:21than any of the other plants on the mine site.
01:23With Dominion Creek firing on all cylinders,
01:27Parker's relying on his other claim, Ken and Stewart's,
01:31run by foreman Mitch Plaschke,
01:34to be the difference maker this week.
01:38It's just, like, spread really thin.
01:41And, you know, Mitch has done an incredible job
01:43without having a ton of equipment.
01:49Well, right now, I'm in the 550 here at Ken's,
01:52loading rock trucks,
01:53and we are barely keeping up with the rock sand.
01:58Wash plant rock sand is running all out,
02:01putting pressure on Mitch's two rock truck drivers
02:05to stay ahead of the pay pile.
02:09Here at Ken's, it's all about yardage.
02:12Uh, the ground here in Cut 2 isn't real high quality,
02:15so we gotta get through the volume.
02:17And in order to do that, I need, you know,
02:19as many trucks down here as I can get.
02:22You know, we've been pushing everything
02:23since the start of the season here.
02:25Everybody's getting tired.
02:31Yeah, so Mitch is pretty frustrated right now.
02:34We need some support.
02:36Like, they want us to get all this pay out of here.
02:40We need some help, for sure.
02:48Hey, Bailey, how's she going today, buddy?
02:51Yeah, I'm just feeling super tired
02:52towards the end of the season here.
02:55Yeah, that happens, buddy.
03:16Mitch, you got a copy?
03:18Billy, you got a copy?
03:20I got sucked into the ditch a bit.
03:24Fox is really close to tipping.
03:27All right, man, I'll be over there in a sec.
03:35Holy , Billy.
03:36How you doing?
03:38There's a little bit of piss in my pants,
03:40but other than that...
03:41I got it.
03:46Holy .
03:48When it's lean like this, you can't dump it to get the load out.
03:52You know, you can see the tires are already off the ground.
03:54It'll flip it the rest of the way over.
03:56Last thing we want to do is damage anything.
04:00You want to do it or do you want me to do it?
04:01What are you doing?
04:02Oh, yeah, dude, I'll jump in there and do it.
04:07If the fully loaded rock truck's box tips any further into the ditch,
04:12it could flip Billy's cab.
04:14So what we're going to do here,
04:16I'm going to try to keep a little pressure on this.
04:18Put it in drive.
04:19Just give it a little bit of throttle and a little bit of steering input
04:22back towards the center of the road.
04:23And if you feel that cab start lifting at all,
04:25just kick it into neutral as fast as you can.
04:28Because the last thing we want is this cab to roll here.
04:30Yeah, copy that.
04:31You ready?
04:32Yeah.
04:42Try and give it a little.
04:56There we go.
05:04Man, dude, that A-State is smoked.
05:08The A-State holds the front axle suspension system together.
05:16I'm just limping this truck back to Dominion.
05:19You know, I've just lost 50% of my trucking crew.
05:22The pay pile's getting low.
05:24I need trucks rolling.
05:32I need to go.
05:39Yo!
05:41Yo!
05:42What's going on?
05:44Uh, unfortunately this one here is completely shot.
05:49Uh, this A-State bushing is kind of brought out.
05:53And I'm a little concerned just because like,
05:56this plate is completely dropped.
06:02So you got one, two, three, four, five broken bolts.
06:12This is a f***ing nightmare.
06:14Those broken bolts are two inches inside of that hole.
06:20The A-40 rock truck has a front suspension axle stay that keeps the front axle aligned
06:27when moving on uneven ground.
06:30It's made up of two shock absorbers and two spherical bushings all bolted together to the frame of the
06:38truck.
06:38But five bolts have broken off inside its housing.
06:43To get them out, holes will need to be drilled into the bolts so an extractor tool can fit inside
06:50and
06:51unscrew them.
06:52Then the A-State can be pulled apart and new parts installed, allowing the truck to be driven safely.
07:01Every hour we're not moving material is, uh, putting us behind.
07:05I get that, dude.
07:06But I think the fastest thing to do is just, we just fix this.
07:08But we don't, we can't give you a spare right now.
07:10I mean, I don't, I don't have a spare available here.
07:12There's no spares around here, man.
07:14Nothing?
07:15No, Tyson's not going to give up any trucks.
07:17Well, maybe I'll just go take one.
07:19I think, I think you should.
07:20We're going to have to figure something out because otherwise we're going to turn off the
07:23wash plant.
07:33Let's go find Tyson and see if we can get ourselves a rock truck.
07:40You know, I've only got two rock trucks down at Ken's and one of them's gone down.
07:44So we definitely can't keep the plant going with what we got.
07:47There he is right there.
07:49Perfect.
07:53Hey man, how's it going?
07:54Pretty good, you?
07:55Oh, had better days in search of a rock truck.
07:59We got the front axles about ready to fall out of one of ours.
08:02So I took it to the yard.
08:03Janko's working on it.
08:04He's got the parts, but he's going to be a bit to get it running.
08:07And I was hoping you had a spare that I can grab, get back down there so we can keep
08:11sluicing.
08:13We don't really have a spare, man.
08:15We're running flat out here with three wash plants.
08:18Yeah, I hear you.
08:23I don't know what to say because, yeah, every truck's being used.
08:27And you know how it is when you're running lots of trucks.
08:31One goes down, another gets up, and it's...
08:35I mean, if I don't get a truck and get back down there, like, Roxanne's going to shut down.
08:40Right.
08:40So, I mean, I could really use the favor today, bud.
08:46I mean, I know it's not ideal, man, but I just...
08:50If we're going to hit 10,000 ounces, we got to try and keep all these wash plants running.
08:55It'd do me a huge favor if you had something I could grab right now, man.
09:02Right, well, I just can't do that, man.
09:09Thanks.
09:10No worries.
09:15This is .
09:33Last week was a big blow.
09:35You know, we spent almost two months stripping this Valhalla cut, and when we got to the bottom, you know,
09:42right above pay, we got the worst news, basically.
09:43At least 20 feet of clay on top of that, and we do not have the time this year to
09:47deal with it.
09:48So we had to abandon that and move on.
09:50It's a big one.
09:53That's a big cup.
09:54Rick Ness is licking his wounds.
09:57After spending a million dollars on his Valhalla cut, he hit a clay layer, blocking his path to the pay
10:05dirt.
10:06Rick doesn't have enough time to break through it this year, and now he's heading back to another spot he
10:13abandoned earlier this season.
10:17We've got no choice now. We've got to return to Vegas Valley.
10:20We've got a pay dirt. We know it's good. We know it's got a lot of gold. We still have
10:24a lot of work to do to make it safe.
10:29Last year, Rick's Vegas Valley cut saved his season, paying out nearly $2.1 million in just three weeks of
10:38running.
10:44Seven weeks ago, Rick and his crew tried to return to the hot spot.
10:50I don't like this.
10:55It's too dangerous.
10:56But we're forced to pull the plug.
10:59Hey, Bailey, let's get the f*** out of here.
11:01We need to get this set up better. We're not ready for this.
11:04With the unstable wall making it too hazardous to mine, Rick decided to gamble on opening a brand new cut,
11:12Valhalla, hoping to hit an even bigger score.
11:16If we do this, we're not just risking our gold bonuses or your gold, but it could be the end
11:22of the company as well.
11:25Now, with the little money he has left, he's back where he started.
11:30We've got a bit of an overhang of permafrost that's hanging over it, and I just don't like it. It's
11:35not safe right now. There's nothing I can do about it. I have to clean it up.
11:39If this new plan doesn't pan out, Rick has one final option.
11:44Tony Beats came here, and he gave me an offer on this ground to buy everything, and it's a really
11:50good offer. It's starting to look like maybe the smartest thing I could do. And I turned it down, but
11:56nothing's off the table forever.
12:01Yeah, you know, I think this is our best plan of action. It's just trying to get down to pay
12:06as quick as we can. We know there's pay here. Pretty sure Rick knows what the f*** he's doing. He
12:11can probably show me a few things.
12:15To get to Vegas Valley's exposed pay, Rick needs Bailey in the 700 to widen the far side of the
12:23cut, creating more space for their trucking crew.
12:27But there's a block of thawing permafrost overhanging the entrance to the cut, making the wall unstable.
12:36Rick must use the 460 to dig back the overhang and make it safe enough to mine the cut below.
12:52Can you hear me right?
12:55Yeah, go ahead.
12:56It definitely probably sucks to be in that 460 right now, not a 700.
13:00I don't know how I'm even going to make this work, but that's what I'm going to do. Walk back
13:05and forth a million times.
13:11Harder than f***.
13:13You know, we don't have a dozer here or any kind of ripper machine to get this permafrost out of
13:17here.
13:19All I've got is our 460, and with this big old kind of held together bucket, you know, we can't
13:25cry about it.
13:26We can't just not do it.
13:27We just have to do it.
13:35What the f*** is that?
13:39F***.
13:40Yeah, he's a kidney.
13:42Aw, dude.
13:49Aw, f*** great.
13:52Well, that's a first.
13:54F***.
13:55F***.
14:02Yeah, this is not what we need right now.
14:04It's our only other excavator, and they've got no f***ing bucket now.
14:07F***.
14:09Rick Ness has hit a major obstacle on his return to Vegas Valley.
14:15Ryan, you got a copy?
14:18Yeah, go ahead.
14:19Yeah, I just ripped the f***ing floor out of a bucket on that 460.
14:23It's completely gone.
14:26I guess I don't know what you're going to do about it, but I'm going to, I guess I'm going
14:28to get this machine the f*** out of here if I can,
14:30and we're going to have to look for another bucket.
15:00What the f***?
15:02Yeah, I knew it was worn out, but I didn't think it was that f***ing worn out.
15:07I mean, I've seen it happen before.
15:09I didn't think this one was there.
15:10I knew it was getting thin.
15:11Looks like it's been patched together before.
15:13So what's going to be the quickest?
15:15You better go buy a bucket.
15:16Yeah.
15:17I would get your phone out of your pocket and start making calls.
15:21Yeah, you got to figure out who to call first.
15:23Yeah.
15:24Good luck with that.
15:26I pretty much knew it as soon as that happened, that we could fix that bucket, but it's going to
15:29take way too long.
15:30We need that machine now, so I'm going to have to find a new one and get it here f***ing
15:34quick.
15:55I mean, just because we passed our goal doesn't mean all of a sudden we're going to give up.
16:01So, I mean, we just keep on producing, and that'll be more gold than we ever got out of the
16:06ground, and they f*** you up.
16:09Let's not waste the opportunity.
16:11Like, with a gold price being this high, let's keep on going as long as we can.
16:15Klondike kingpin, Tony Beetz, has been on cruise control, with two plants sluicing on the Indian River, and Sun Mike's
16:25trommel running 24-7 on Paradise Hill.
16:28But last week, Tony stumbled, spending $4 million on a property he can't mine.
16:36So, the whole thing that moves, the lice is there, that is a mess, so we've got to sort that
16:42out.
16:43But, you know, there's other places we can go. You're not going to give up that easy.
16:48To bring in even more gold, Tony wants Sun Mike to dial up his production.
16:55I think we'd better give Mike a challenge on day, get him to open up the Hester cut.
17:03Last year, we left the Hester cut behind, and we're well on our way of making the same mistake.
17:10Now, we'd really like to go in there and at least get a chunk out.
17:14Then, you know, at some point, we'll have at least something to sluice there.
17:24Oh, I wonder who that could be.
17:32Good job, Mike.
17:35Oh, better days, had worse.
17:38Then why not put some effort in the Hester cut?
17:42Let's start by the plan of pumping the water out first, Mike.
17:45Putting the pipe in.
17:46Yep.
17:47And then we'll take it from there.
17:48Hmm.
17:50It'll be worth the effort.
17:51There's no question about that.
17:53It's good stuff.
17:55Okay, good enough.
17:56First, we need to move them old dredge boilers out of the way.
17:59That's when the dredges used to come around here.
18:08Whoa, what the was that?
18:13Five years ago, Tony discovered two old-timer dredge boilers at the Hester cut.
18:21It's not pretty big, huh?
18:24That's pretty big, huh?
18:24Wow.
18:25That has to be gold enough.
18:28From 1913 until the 1960s, the old-timers dredged the Hunker Valley for gold, and on one legendary day, they
18:38pulled in 800 ounces.
18:44Tony thinks they abandoned the dredge at his Hester cut, leaving behind a pocket of rich virgin ground.
18:54If I'm correct, then there is no other piece on Hunker virgin ground left as big as this.
19:02But the spot has been Tony's perennial end-of-season nemesis.
19:08It's full of f***ing water.
19:13Talk about a waste of f***ing time.
19:17Now, he's determined to conquer the cut.
19:21Last year, we had troubles with the water running out of the bank, so that was kind of f***ing us
19:25up.
19:25I was just thinking, when we started digging it out, we start with the wall first, if anything,
19:28because then if anything slumps down, we don't have to worry about it no more.
19:31We'll be taking this site out down here. We'll be plonging away at all that all the f***ing way along.
19:37Yeah.
19:38Because the slope is f***ing, you know.
19:41It is.
19:43So we've got all the toys to do it with.
19:45The biggest thing is, get f***ing started, because there is a f***ing lot of f***ing money in this hole.
19:51So, let's get into f***ing get started.
19:55Before he can pump out the water, Tony needs to remove the old dredge boilers,
20:00then make the hillside safe from sloughing into the cut by digging it back and trucking the mud out.
20:09Wouldn't hurt if it would give Mike a hand with it, anyway.
20:13But I like doing these hotball things, yeah.
20:17Well, it is not my first rodeo, so to speak.
20:20We're going to get them boilers out of the way.
20:23I'm going to kick this one over the bank.
20:29Well, that's nothing spectacular. Let me f***ing do that again.
20:33Just when you want something to tumble down the f***ing hill, it doesn't.
20:40That makes for a whale better show now, it doesn't.
20:43No skill required for that one, wasn't it?
20:46Perfect.
20:47Put the other one over there, too.
20:56So, now to be sure if the boilers are off the hillside down there, start digging it out.
21:03You know, you've got to have a plan.
21:06We're going to put trucks on these leads, so you want it to be safe.
21:16He's going to have to clean it off a bit, level it off so the trucks can get up to
21:20him flat.
21:20What I would like to do, Zach, is back them f***ing up in here, yeah.
21:26Okay, sounds good.
21:27With a stable ledge, the trucks can start hauling the mud out.
21:33Hopefully it all goes smooth, and then, yeah, I'll be happy.
21:37But if it is consistent s***, then no, I really ain't going to be happy.
21:54Good job done.
21:57Wall dug back.
21:58Now, Mike and his crew can focus on draining the cut.
22:03Good job done.
22:05Get pumping, Mike.
22:06I want that cut dry, but the end of the week.
22:08End of the week?
22:10Right?
22:11Let's get on it.
22:14Everything on that fuel roll is tight, right?
22:16Yeah, okay.
22:18Final!
22:19Final!
22:32We've got to take the water out.
22:34There's got to dry up.
22:35There's a whole bunch of things down there.
22:37Let's get on with the program.
22:40Because otherwise, if we don't hurry up, then ain't going to happen.
22:58We're trying to catch up here.
23:00Having that rock truck go down definitely didn't help us out.
23:03You know, we're behind right now.
23:05Foreman Mitch Blaschke is feeling the pressure,
23:09with Parker relying on him for a good haul this week.
23:13He's been down to one rock truck hauling pay for the last 24 hours.
23:27How's it going, man?
23:29It's a big cut.
23:31We're gaining on it.
23:33Yeah, which is good.
23:35What do you think?
23:36Do you think we're going to get through this?
23:39It'll be close.
23:40You think it'll be close?
23:41Yeah.
23:41I'm a little concerned about it.
23:43We're hauling pay up there, just while I have, like, one truck.
23:47All right, yeah, I don't really have anything else.
23:50We're still going to have to keep the circuit going.
23:54There's nothing we can do about it.
23:55Just do as good a job as you can, right?
24:02You know, the truth is Dominion, that's a priority right now.
24:05Okay.
24:06Which is a little bit problematic for you,
24:08but it won't be for long, I don't think.
24:11Okay.
24:17Okay.
24:19All righty, well, we'll keep at it.
24:22Thanks, man.
24:22All right, no worries, man.
24:30You know, we've all got to learn to share our resources up here.
24:33There's a lot going on, but, you know,
24:35one truck down here is 50% of my fleet at the moment.
24:38For some reason, it's still not here.
24:40Man, it should have been here hours ago.
24:43So, just going to get a hold of Taylor here.
24:47Yeah, hey, Taylor, man.
24:50Just down here at Roxanne,
24:51we're not going to be able to keep up with this thing.
24:55Dude, I don't know what to tell you, man.
24:57It's not going to take us too long.
24:58We can get this thing up and running for you.
25:00Okay.
25:01Thanks, man.
25:03The rock truck's fix has been delayed
25:06due to five broken bolts inside the A-Stay housing.
25:13I'm just finishing up here,
25:14trying to get this last bolt out.
25:20Once I get a hole through it,
25:21I should be able to tap an extractor through it
25:24and try to take it out.
25:30Nice.
25:31Cut all the way through it.
25:46I finally got these broken bolts out.
25:48With the final bolt out,
25:51Janko and Taylor can now separate the A-Stay
25:54and remove the worn parts.
25:58So, we need to lift up this front end of the truck here
26:01to split the A-Stay from the frame
26:04and then get it pounded out
26:05and get the parts put back in.
26:10Let's try to get this thing right on the tow hooks to lift it.
26:16This A-Stay should start separating.
26:18Yeah, there we go.
26:22Okay, so hopefully this thing will just fly out of here.
26:27Beauty.
26:29We got these,
26:30and now I'm ready to install them.
26:31Everything's all cleaned up, ready to go.
26:44So, this is going to push this bushing into this housing.
26:49As you can see, it's going up nice and easily now.
27:03Oh, awesome.
27:04It's seated.
27:05Should be able to send this thing to work right away.
27:10Hey, Mitch, this truck is good to go.
27:13Hey, Billy, go get your truck, man.
27:15We got some pay at all.
27:25We're the gate team out here, baby.
27:28Mitch and his skeleton crew are back to full strength
27:32and must now play catch-up to deliver a big haul this week.
27:36It's so nice to have in that rock truck here now.
27:39It's making a huge difference.
27:40We're getting caught up,
27:42and it is putting a dent in this material.
27:45You know, it took a little bit to get it here,
27:47but certainly worth the wait.
28:04Well, today I'm in Austin City.
28:08I don't get over here too often anymore,
28:09but I need a bucket for my 460 excavator.
28:12We're hoping to get a good deal on one.
28:15This is where the gold rush happened.
28:17This is where everybody came to,
28:18and they were in the gold fields just outside of this town
28:22trying to make their fortune.
28:23There's a lot of gold out there.
28:26I mean, there is still good ground here,
28:27but it's real hard to come by.
28:29You know, people have had it locked in for a long time,
28:31and Parker and Tony probably have the bulk of it,
28:34if I'm being honest.
28:35I mean, they both have tons of ground,
28:38and they're making a fortune.
28:43I've seen a lot of people come and go since I've been here,
28:45and not a whole lot of people stay.
28:47Somehow I've managed to stay for 13 years.
28:51Rick is heading to the Hunker Creek turnoff,
28:54which leads to some of the biggest gold mines in the Klondike.
29:00I've only been to this spot once before.
29:02It's, uh...
29:04Look at this stuff.
29:06Look at that.
29:07Money to burn.
29:09Fanny D11.
29:13There's a sign that says Office on it.
29:15It's got to be it.
29:22All right.
29:24Hopefully he's around.
29:27Papa Dog.
29:29Wet Dog.
29:30What's up?
29:32What's going on, man?
29:33Who's Wet Dog?
29:34That's Bosco.
29:35Have you met Bosco?
29:36No, I have.
29:37How's it going?
29:38Good, man.
29:39Good to see you.
29:39It's a pleasure.
29:40Oh, yeah.
29:40All right.
29:41No, I'm having a blast still.
29:42That's good.
29:43I mean, there's a brand new D11 sitting there.
29:44That's f***ing cool.
29:45Fresh off the track?
29:47How many of them?
29:48That's number five.
29:50Elevens?
29:51Yeah.
29:51Holy f*** up.
29:53I've heard rumblings.
29:54How many wash plants?
29:56Four.
29:56Holy f***, man.
29:57Yeah.
29:58This is, especially with gold prices up, this has become a much bigger sluicing project.
30:02So you just have to have the wash plants going.
30:04Yeah.
30:05Slammed.
30:06Hence four plants.
30:07Yeah.
30:08What else is new?
30:09I need to find a bucket.
30:12Let's go have a look around.
30:13Cool.
30:16Cool.
30:17Oh!
30:18Oh!
30:24What's your season been like?
30:26Hmm.
30:28Chasing a girl.
30:29You know.
30:29Sure.
30:30Same as you, probably.
30:34I'm not chasing any single one anymore, ever.
30:38Do you have any pin-on 460 buckets?
30:41We might.
30:41We might.
30:52Oh, right there.
30:54There's these guys.
30:55Dude, I remember that bucket.
30:56And I don't think that fits, because this we used for the coupler, right?
31:01Because we had a coupler.
31:02Yeah, yeah.
31:02I'm pretty sure this is a Hitachi bucket.
31:06Yeah, that's the wrong one.
31:08Um.
31:12There's a real peach for you.
31:14That's beauty.
31:15I think this might be your only bet.
31:18It's not in terrible shape.
31:19No.
31:20We're not too bad.
31:21What do you want for it?
31:22A handshake?
31:23I'm not saying I'm going to give it to you for free.
31:26So maybe you could help us out?
31:28I mean, I would normally say, like, 10 grand, but that's just because I don't like dealing
31:34with things like this.
31:36I don't know.
31:36Five grand?
31:39Yeah, why not?
31:40Five grand?
31:41Yeah.
31:42Perfect.
31:42Appreciate it.
31:43No worries.
31:44What else do you need?
31:46Half my life back?
31:48Yeah.
31:51Can't help you there.
31:53Do you think about getting out?
31:57I mean, I, I, less think about getting out and just wonder when the out is.
32:03Sell the place.
32:04Eh.
32:07I'll buy it from you.
32:16Sell the place.
32:20I'll buy it from you.
32:28The only other competition is Tony.
32:30He keeps coming, coming down there.
32:33Yeah.
32:33He won't pay you what it's worth.
32:34No.
32:35Be, be a bad time to sell, I think.
32:38Well.
32:38No.
32:38When gold prices are high, it's the time to do it.
32:41Yeah.
32:42Okay.
32:43Think about it.
32:45All right.
32:45Well, I'm sure you need to get back to the grind.
32:47Do I have a few things that I need to get wrapped up?
33:00Oh.
33:05All right.
33:07Good to see you as always, man.
33:08For real.
33:08Good to see you, too.
33:11Well, it's, uh, it's always good to visit Parker, see, uh, what he's got going on out
33:15here.
33:15I mean, it's astonishing.
33:16The amount of work that they get done here, it's just, uh, it's crazy.
33:19It's, it's cool to see.
33:20And I got a 460 bucket out of it, and, uh, you know, got to catch up, and it's a
33:24good trip.
33:25Time to get back to the mine.
33:49Making good progress, but it looks a bit, huh?
33:52Yeah.
33:52Just as far as you're going?
33:54For now.
33:55Oh, wow.
33:56Look at that.
33:57Oh, hey, pal, that looks pretty snazzy, you know, huh?
34:00It does.
34:01Wow, Mike.
34:03Mike has drained the Hester cut ahead of schedule, and has already started hauling pay out of
34:10the cut.
34:11It looks really well, Mike, oh?
34:13It does.
34:13Doesn't mean now you can drive around then.
34:15Yes.
34:16Last time I was here, that looked like that way.
34:19He ain't going to drive no truck over there.
34:21Let's go in there and have a look.
34:23Wow, you know, that looks really, really good.
34:27Yeah, I agree.
34:28Well, this is why I said you don't go in here unless you're going to come in here full force,
34:31because otherwise, if we stop for a week, it'd look like that again.
34:35Oh, man.
34:36I'm honestly a really tickled thing.
34:44You got a 480 in there.
34:47Yeah.
34:48And then there's all us.
34:50Yeah.
34:50Get with it before it gets wet.
34:53That is all flusable material.
34:57Looks like a great job.
34:59Last time I was here, it looked like water, mud, everything.
35:02Now look at it, we drive around in there, we rocked rocks like nothing.
35:09I'd say what we're going to do is, well, the weather is still really nice.
35:13I'm going to double up in this cut.
35:15All of that, as quick as we can.
35:18Fearing that the cut could flood again,
35:20Tony wants to get all gold-rich pay dirt out as quickly as possible,
35:25so he sends in a fleet of machines.
35:28Right, the other truck, you're on your way down,
35:30the other truck, you're on your way down.
35:32There you go.
35:35Put it up a little bit so you can get out of the way.
35:38Let's go.
35:44We do that five, six trucks in here, minimum.
35:48Anything to get it done.
35:49Anything to get this out of here.
36:01That truck there, hurry the up.
36:04It's to the floor, Tony.
36:06I don't give a what it is.
36:07Make it move.
36:11Stop that truck.
36:12Stop that truck.
36:14Mike, you got a truck so close there, it's not here.
36:17I don't want it.
36:18Okay, Monica, can you stop for a minute?
36:20The other guy, get out.
36:22The other guy, get out.
36:26Rock truck driver.
36:27Rock truck driver.
36:29Hey, moron in the truck.
36:31That's not where my bucket is.
36:33Just load the truck, Michael, please.
36:35I need him over here so he can get out.
36:38Otherwise, he's going to be in the way of the other trucks, too.
36:40Just load the truck, please.
36:42Oh, shit.
36:48Oh, no, where are we going?
36:49Where are we going?
36:53Oh, no.
36:56Will we get up this hill?
36:58Well, we've got no choice but to.
37:02Monica, step on that thing.
37:07It doesn't want me to go up the hill.
37:13I just got to come at it from a different angle.
37:16He's getting out of the other way, so you just got to go back a half a bit.
37:22Monica beats.
37:24She got stuck.
37:28Come on, little truckie.
37:29You can do it.
37:33Good.
37:39Two hours later, the operators have found their stride in the chaos and are starting to build a pay pile.
37:49So, basically, he's hauling the white channel off now.
37:53That looks really nice.
37:56I looked at this for 40 years because it's about time we're going to see the bottom of it.
38:01You know what I mean?
38:06That looks pretty good, Mike.
38:08Thank you, Monica.
38:14Cut, now under control, Monica heads back to Indian River to clean more gold.
38:21It's nice to see Mike and Monica working together again for a bit.
38:25You know, it's always nice to see us work together.
38:30Tony tells you he's proud of you by not telling you he's proud of you.
38:36And that's just how that is.
38:39That's how it'll always be.
38:44If he calls you, it's probably better than if he says you've done a great job.
39:09So, yeah, back up with the 460, finally got a bucket on it.
39:13You know, I went all the way to Parker's, and he was nice enough to sell me one.
39:19You know, getting this permafrost out of here so we can get back into Vegas Valley.
39:24After five days of work, Rick has nearly dug back the overhanging permafrost,
39:30while Bailey has widened the bottom pit, ready for his rock trucks to start hauling.
39:42That should do it right there.
39:44I feel a hell of a lot better about that.
39:48Oh, yeah.
39:50Hey, Bailey, you got a copy?
39:52Yeah, go ahead, Rick.
39:54Yeah, I feel a hell of a lot better about this overhanging.
39:56I got it all pulled back, and I think that you continue the way you're going now,
39:59and we'll be in business.
40:01Just get after it.
40:02That's great, man. Thanks.
40:06Rick's crew can finally get to work digging for gold at the bottom of Vegas Valley.
40:17You know, Tony made me this big offer on the ground,
40:19and I really didn't even think about it because I liked the direction we were heading.
40:22But now, you know, Parker's offer, who knows, that might be the answer for the future.
40:27There's a lot to think about.
40:33It's really f***ing with my head.
40:48Hi, guys. Long time, no see.
40:50Long time, no see.
40:52It's nice to get in that Hester, isn't it?
40:54Hi.
40:55Yes.
40:56That we're finally going to get serious in the Hester cut because I'd really like to see what's going to
41:00come out of that.
41:01So do I.
41:02The Beetz family already have a record gold haul this season.
41:07Should we weigh it up?
41:08With the two wash plants in the Indian River averaging over 450 ounces a week,
41:14the only question is, how much more can they get this year?
41:19So there's a sluice a lot.
41:21Are you counting?
41:22Okay, do it.
41:23Let's see what we got out of there.
41:2520, 40, 60, 100, 150, 180, 200, 230, 240, 250, 260, 267.9.
41:41Is that this thing as good a sluice a lot has done or what?
41:44Yeah, sluice a lot has been down a little bit, but it's up again now.
41:48Yeah, it was good, though.
41:49So which one is next?
41:50Find a lot?
41:51Find a lot.
41:52Perfect.
41:52I'll count it.
41:53Let's see what we got.
42:07In just one week, Tony's two plants have delivered nearly $2 million.
42:15That's a pretty good hole, all right?
42:17Yeah.
42:18Oh.
42:18True.
42:19Let's do the trommel.
42:20Ready to weigh it up?
42:21Yes.
42:2410, 20, 30, 40, 50.
42:27As well as opening the Hester, Mike's crew have run Paradise Hills Trommel,
42:32averaging 215 ounces a week.
42:35310, 320, 340, 380, 400.
42:43408.46.
42:45All in, a massive 924 ounces, worth over $3.2 million.
42:55The Beats' best ever gold weigh.
42:58It is crazy.
43:00At the gold price, as it is, that's just not normal.
43:03I mean, look how much of this worth.
43:05It's just crazy.
43:06Yeah.
43:07That's awesome.
43:09The Beats' season total, 8,257 ounces, nearly $28.9 million in gold.
43:21Anyway, that's pretty decent gold this week.
43:24A lot of bucks, guys, a lot of bucks.
43:25You guys should clean this up.
43:27Yep.
43:27Clean it up.
43:28Let's get more.
43:28Let's get with it.
43:29Let's get at it.
43:30How was that?
43:30All right?
43:31Bye.
43:32Make some more.
43:33Sounds like a plan.
43:34Go get it.
43:34Go get it.
43:35The times are good.
43:36Bye.
43:36Anyway, young lady, I've got to go, so we'll catch you later.
43:40Okay?
43:40Bye.
43:48Yo, yo.
43:50Hey, man.
43:51After Tony's monster gold weigh, Parker is now 470 ounces behind.
43:58We're swamped down here.
44:00Back to four plants again.
44:02Yeah.
44:02Finally.
44:02Oh.
44:04Were you able to keep Roxanne going all week?
44:09We were, yeah.
44:10That's good.
44:11I know Mitch and Tyson bite its heads a little bit, but no punches were thrown, huh?
44:15I'm disappointed in you guys.
44:19I didn't raise your right.
44:20Last week, Parker's three wash plants brought in just over 421 ounces.
44:27You want to start a little big, Bob?
44:29Now, he has four wash plants running at full capacity and wants at least 600.
44:36Come on, Brennan.
44:36Ready?
44:37Yep.
44:38Bob has been running in the bridge cut, where it's averaging 150 ounces a week.
44:4520, 40, 60, 100, 130, 152.55.
44:54Nice.
44:55Man.
44:56Yeah, that's good.
44:58They've been consistent.
44:59Try to give them that.
45:00Okay, Tyson.
45:01Ready?
45:02For the first time, Parker has two plants sluicing the huge Golden Mile pay pile.
45:09First up, his oldest wash plant.
45:13Hey, Greg, here we go.
45:1620, 40, 100, 110, 130, 133.15.
45:25Yeah.
45:27Parker, do you want to do the goose?
45:30Sure.
45:31Here's your brand new baby.
45:361, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
45:4740, 50, 70, 90.
45:52Keep going.
45:54160.
45:57177.05.
45:59Nearly $620,000.
46:02Nice.
46:04Hell yeah.
46:04Good purchase.
46:05Sick.
46:06Yeah.
46:07I pretty much almost paid it off.
46:08To hit Parker's goal this week, Mitch's plant, Roxanne, needs to deliver over 137 ounces.
46:16The old Ken and Stewart's operation, eh?
46:20Yeah.
46:21All right.
46:21Let's see what we got here.
46:23We got 20, 60, 80, 100, 120, 130, 143.8.
46:37Nice.
46:38This is solid.
46:40Yeah.
46:41Last week, we had 421.3 ounces.
46:45This week, it's 606.55.
46:49So we broke 600 ounces in a week.
46:52Wicked.
46:53Back on track.
46:53That fourth plant makes a world of difference.
46:56It really does.
46:58So where does that put us?
46:59So our season total is 8,393.65.
47:04Worth nearly $29.4 million, the most ounces of gold Parker has ever mined in a season.
47:15Putting him back in the pole position with over 136 ounces more than Tony.
47:23There has never been a better time to be gold mining ever.
47:26We just need to keep these things going.
47:29I know it's been a hell of a year, and at this time of year, things get so difficult.
47:33But I appreciate you guys just sticking with it and, you know, keeping everything running.
47:40That's what we're here for, man.
47:44All right, gents.
47:47Such a good week having four wash plants back running.
47:50And, you know, now we're over 8,000 ounces.
47:53It's in shot to hit 10,000.
47:55If this weather holds, we can keep these plants going.
47:58Just got to try and make her happen.
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