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Gold Rush: Freddy Dodges Mine Rescue - Season 5 - Episode 07: The Jig is Up
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00:03One of my favorite sayings is, if you can't do it, just try harder.
00:10I've been mining here for 10 years.
00:13I'm pretty proud of what I've built for somebody that's self-taught.
00:17There's definitely gold in the ground here.
00:19But a few years back, we were totally shut down over permitting issues.
00:29Since we've been up and running again, we've been having so many breakdowns because of the older equipment.
00:37I'm one of the only miners in the area who has jigs, and there are no experts around to help
00:42me.
00:42I'm sure we're losing gold. I'm over $250,000 behind.
00:48I really need Freddie and Juan's help here. This is all I got.
00:55Freddie Dodge...
00:56I'd rather have gold in the bank than gold in the mountain.
00:58...and Juan Ibarra...
01:00Not bad for built in the field.
01:01...want to make you rich.
01:03It turns your dream out here into a reality.
01:07In the past five years, the value of gold has doubled.
01:11There's a $3,000 nugget right there.
01:14But rookie miners...
01:16...find it more elusive than ever.
01:19If we don't recover more gold, then we could lose everything.
01:22But there is hope...
01:25Miracles, they do happen.
01:27...to turn desperation into fortune.
01:30Freddie and Juan have one week...
01:32What you just did, this genius.
01:34...to deliver a golden payday.
01:36They have a future and they know what they need to do.
01:51I've never been in this part of British Columbia before, Juan.
01:55Yeah, from the looks of it, if we get lost on this road, we can go for hours without seeing
01:59anything.
02:01But one thing's good, I'm feeling better.
02:03Roger that.
02:05Well, you know, we're a couple of weeks after my little health scare.
02:08I was actually a little nervous that I was having a stroke.
02:11I ended up having a really bad ear infection that went viral and it caused Bell's palsy.
02:16You know, unfortunately I still can't move the right side of my face, but physically I feel great.
02:21I mean, it'll be something I can get over.
02:23So, I might as well get back to what I love to do and that's being out with Freddie and
02:27helping people.
02:30Freddie and Juan.
02:31Journey through the Canadian wilderness.
02:34Headed through the remote Perron Mine.
02:37Where mine boss Dan Perron and his family worked their 1,800 acre claim off the banks of the historic
02:46Fraser River.
02:48So, what do we know about Dan, Freddie?
02:51Well, he's been mining up here for quite some time.
02:54Now he's on the Fraser River, huh?
02:56Yeah, on the Fraser.
02:58Historically, the Fraser River has produced a lot of gold.
03:01That's broke a lot of people as well, Juan.
03:05In 1858, the discovery of gold in the Fraser River saw over 30,000 gold seekers flood the region.
03:13Over the next nine years, they recovered more than 1.6 million ounces of gold worth $3 billion in today's
03:23money.
03:26It's one of the bigger operations we've helped.
03:28Yeah, for sure.
03:29Yeah.
03:30Looks like it.
03:30How's it going?
03:32How we doing?
03:33Awesome.
03:33Dan, I assume.
03:34I'm doing way better now with you guys here.
03:37Well, hello.
03:37I'm Juan.
03:37Nice to meet you.
03:38It's been an awesome pleasure.
03:39Brad.
03:40Brad.
03:40Pleasure, Brad.
03:41So how long have you guys been mining out here?
03:43We've been mining here for, well, this is our 10th season.
03:47Really?
03:47Well, what's your role here, Brad?
03:49I come down and help out when I'm in between jobs.
03:52Kind of help out wherever I can.
03:54Give him a little bit of a break when he needs it.
03:57Okay.
03:58What do you do, Wendy?
03:59I do all the paperwork, all the books, pay all the bills.
04:02We have the gold room, and Mike do the final clean up.
04:05Yeah.
04:06Trying to do the best we can.
04:07But I think, and I hope you guys think too as well, that I kind of built something pretty
04:12half decent for no training, no help, or anything like that.
04:17Ten years ago, Dan gave up his job in logging to pursue his dream of being a gold miner.
04:25A big Pan American jig.
04:27A lot of people probably thought I was crazy to let go of what I'd already had built up before
04:32and try something new.
04:34I visited a friend of mine that had a gold mine.
04:37Just, I got the fever.
04:40So yeah, I got gold fever pretty bad.
04:43After buying a gold claim in southern British Columbia, Dan built his wash plant from scratch.
04:49Oh, I love doing what I'm doing.
04:52This is just my dream, and everything was going so well.
04:58But in 2022, misfortune struck when a clerical error saw Dan's mind shut down by the local government.
05:08This shutdown was financially and mentally just devastating.
05:12Like, I was in a pretty dark place for a long time.
05:16Took him two years of fighting, but finally, he managed to get his permits back.
05:23After two years of sitting idle.
05:26Oh, it's so frustrating.
05:27What happened?
05:28That plug again?
05:30Yeah!
05:31Ben's wash plant is now plagued with problems.
05:34We've been having so many breakdowns with, you know, older equipment.
05:38We end up running into a lot of problems with the jigs, plugging up the hoses.
05:43I've never had somebody really guiding me or learning from anybody else, just trying to figure it out.
05:49But I've got a lot of money borrowed.
05:52I'm under huge pressure to get everything paid off.
05:55This has to work.
05:56I've got no backup plan.
06:00That shutdown was just unbelievable.
06:03But my mom and dad and my son helped me out financially.
06:08So you borrowed some money to keep going is what you're saying when you were shut down?
06:11Yeah.
06:11We had no other choice.
06:12Yeah.
06:13Yeah.
06:13We borrowed over $250,000.
06:16Wow.
06:18That's a lot.
06:19Yeah.
06:20How much gold have you gotten out of the ground here?
06:22Before the shutdown, we were averaging close to 200 ounces a year.
06:28Really?
06:28Yeah.
06:29Yeah.
06:30So what's your goal for the season?
06:31Right now, to try to get caught up with everything that we're behind on.
06:35And I'd sure like to see 250 ounces.
06:38Wow.
06:40That's a big goal.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Oh, I know.
06:43How far along are you right now?
06:44I have to talk to my secretary.
06:47Probably about 60.
06:48Really?
06:49Yeah.
06:50Since we've been up and running again, we're struggling to get caught up.
06:54So we need to get about another 190 ounces.
06:58And how much time do you have left?
07:00We only got about eight weeks left.
07:02Wow.
07:03In two months, Dan will need to hit four ounces a day to reach his target.
07:09What's your gold look like here?
07:11Fine?
07:11It's pretty fine.
07:12Actually, I have some.
07:15It's pretty gold, huh?
07:16Yeah.
07:17Yep.
07:17That's what the Fraser River is famous for.
07:19Fine gold.
07:22So this is your plant, huh?
07:23Yeah.
07:24This is what we're working with.
07:26Yeah.
07:26You got a lot of stuff going on here.
07:28A lot of stuff.
07:29You got some jigs?
07:30Yeah, I love my jigs, but they're getting really old.
07:34Are you relying on your jigs as your primary recovery source?
07:37Yeah.
07:38Okay.
07:39Dan's wash plant includes two jigs, which do a similar job to a shaker deck.
07:44A combination of water, pulsing movements, and gravity encourage the heavier gold to drop down into the catch pans below.
07:53You got a primary jig there?
07:55That's correct.
07:55Yeah.
07:56And then the concentrated material comes down here into this smaller jig?
07:58Yes.
07:59Yes.
07:59And then over the smaller jig, into that sluice.
08:02Into that sluice.
08:02Are you catching much gold in that sluice?
08:04We're getting gold, but I need more of it for sure.
08:06Yeah.
08:07Well, let's do a four-hour test run and see what we see.
08:10You betcha.
08:12Fire it up!
08:34ziemlich творical grimy falar.
08:43You've read it and it's a�� pot right here then.
08:43which screen the pay into a hopper feeder.
08:46The pay drops down onto a 35-foot conveyor
08:49that feeds the shaker deck.
08:53Oversized rocks are discarded off the end,
08:58while the pay is washed by a large jig,
09:01which separates out the fine gold.
09:06So what are you thinking?
09:07You know, I know he really likes the jig,
09:09but honestly, it's a little overly complicated.
09:13A jig uses the density difference
09:16between gold and worthless dirt
09:19to separate the precious mineral.
09:22Pay dirt is washed through a layer known as ragging,
09:26made up of small rocks and metal ball bearings,
09:29which are vibrated on a screen
09:32that allows the denser gold to be freed
09:35and drop into the hutches below.
09:39Gold-rich material then passes through
09:42through a small hopper
09:44and is collected in another smaller jig
09:48while the fine gold is caught in a sluice.
09:57Well, one thing's for certain,
09:59you might have the world's record for hoses.
10:02Yeah.
10:03You know, he's overcomplicated a scenario
10:06that should be pretty simple.
10:08You know, one thing that can be said about jigs
10:10is that they're decent at dealing
10:12with different types of pay,
10:13but also inconsistent pee.
10:15That's for sure.
10:21What happened?
10:22The water should be coming out of there faster,
10:25so I think something is jammed up in there.
10:27Yeah.
10:28What happened, Fred?
10:29Oh, his pipe's plugged up there.
10:31Hey, Dan!
10:32How bad is it?
10:33Shut everything down!
10:34Hey!
10:43What happened?
10:45Oh, I got a rock or something jammed in that pipe.
10:51At the Paran mine,
10:53just 10 minutes into the first test...
10:56It's happened before.
10:57...a blocked pipe from the hopper to the jig
11:00stops the operation.
11:03We quite often lose time like this here.
11:06We get rocks at where the hose kind of narrows down.
11:10They get plugged up right in there.
11:13That screen in that jig's probably opened up,
11:16so that's why he's getting some bigger material through.
11:18Oh, yeah.
11:19Dan's primary jig at the top of his plant
11:22is over 50 years old.
11:24Any time you get a surge of material in there
11:26that can't flow through that pipe,
11:27it'll get clogged up.
11:29Yep.
11:29Juan suspects the screen is worn,
11:31which allows rocks from the ragging
11:34to fall through,
11:35plugging up Dan's pipe below.
11:38That's better.
11:39Got it?
11:40Yeah.
11:41There was a rock in there, too.
11:45It's embarrassing to have something that small,
11:47the rock shut the whole thing down.
11:51The small stuff is what's killing us.
11:54It's just so frustrating.
11:56They're ready?
11:57Yes.
11:58Fire it up, Brad.
12:06Try again.
12:10Fire it out already,
12:12and it only started 10 minutes ago.
12:21We need to do something about that sluice box,
12:23because it doesn't have any riffles.
12:25Those mats there,
12:27you know like I know,
12:28there's no storage there for any material.
12:29I agree.
12:31Without riffles to help trap the gold,
12:33Dan is probably losing precious material
12:36out of the end of his sluice.
12:50What do you think, Juan?
12:51Last bucket?
12:52Last bucket, huh?
12:53For exactly four hours right now.
12:55Hey, Dan,
12:56you want to holler at him last bucket?
12:58Okay.
12:59Okay.
13:09I'll clean this one up.
13:11Dan starts to clean the mats from his sluice box,
13:14which tilts to one side for a quicker cleanup.
13:17Let's go pan this real quick.
13:18While Juan pans the tailings
13:20to see if the primary jig is losing gold.
13:38There's a bunch of fine gold in there.
13:39There's quite a bit of gold in there.
13:40Oh, I don't want to look, man.
13:44That's...
13:44Look at all that.
13:45Wow.
13:46You know, for one little pan...
13:48Oh, yeah.
13:49A hundred colors in here.
13:51There's way too much to be losing.
13:52And I sure as hell didn't think I was losing that much.
13:57That should have never been lost.
14:01You guys want to get everything cleaned up?
14:03And then what we'll do is meet up with you guys
14:04tomorrow at the gold room.
14:05Yes.
14:05And then we'll see what we got.
14:07That's great.
14:07Thank you so much.
14:08Okay.
14:08We'll see you in the morning.
14:09You betcha.
14:10Sounds good.
14:11All right.
14:11Awesome.
14:13They're going to help us.
14:14I know they will help us.
14:30How's it going, guys?
14:32Hello.
14:33Hello, ma'am.
14:34Hello.
14:34I'm Juan.
14:36Nice to meet you, Juan.
14:37Nice to meet you, too.
14:38At the Perron's gold room, Dan's mom, Roland, helps clean the concentrate from the test run.
14:45So do you help Dan quite a bit here in the gold room?
14:48A fair amount.
14:49Yeah?
14:49Yeah.
14:50We all work together.
14:51Well, that's good.
14:51And that, which is a nice part.
14:53Yeah.
14:53You know?
14:54One nice thing is I know I'll never get fired.
14:59So Dan was saying that when he got shut down, you came to his rescue financially to keep the mine,
15:04huh?
15:05Yes.
15:05He works very hard.
15:07Yeah.
15:07There's no two ways about it.
15:08He doesn't get much sleep or much rest.
15:12And I love my son, so I always say if he needs something, well, here it is.
15:16I've got it.
15:18That's a beautiful thing.
15:19Sometimes it's very tough, but like he always says, I don't know what I would do without you.
15:26Well, you're a great mom.
15:28I love it.
15:33Moment of truth, huh?
15:34I'm pretty nervous.
15:36Weigh it up, Juan.
15:38Okay.
15:41For Dan to hit his 250-ounce target.
15:45There's an ounce.
15:46There's an ounce, yeah.
15:47The Goldway must deliver at least two ounces.
15:561.16.
15:59It's definitely shy of what we're going to need, for sure.
16:02If Dan continues to run at this rate, he'll face a shortfall of over $180,000 by the end
16:10of the season.
16:11Oh, I need some help.
16:12You know, honestly, when Freddie and I watched the plant run, you know, we did notice a few
16:16things that we can improve on, so.
16:17Okay.
16:18Yeah.
16:19Juan and myself will go put our heads together and see how we can help you.
16:22I sure appreciate it, you guys, so much.
16:25No worries.
16:25All right.
16:26See you in a bit.
16:26See you in a bit, guys.
16:26Thanks so much, you guys.
16:27You bet.
16:28I sure need more than not to be able to survive, but there's still a long ways to go.
16:34Well, then also get back to a life.
16:36I mean, we've sacrificed, like, a lot of things, because all we do is work.
16:40We just can't keep going with more losses.
16:49What do you think, guano?
16:50You know, he took a process that should be simple and overcomplicated it.
16:54Yep.
16:54So, basically, what we can do, leave his jigs the way he has them, because he likes them,
16:58and they are working.
17:00They are.
17:00But they are losing some gold.
17:02So, I think that'd be a good opportunity to work on that jig and put new screens in.
17:05I agree.
17:06What I'm thinking, too, you've seen where he plugged up that pipe coming out of the hopper
17:10off the jig.
17:10Oh, yeah.
17:11Right?
17:11We built a small sluice box instead of that pipe from the hopper over to his little jig.
17:17You know, and right now, off of those jigs, he already has a sluice box.
17:21Yeah, but it's pretty worthless.
17:22Yeah, the mats are all ruined and warped.
17:25So, what I'd like to do is actually build him a good sluice there.
17:28Yep.
17:29And then we're going to have another sluice box over here.
17:31Okay.
17:32Underneath this jig here.
17:33So, basically, that's really going to focus on that fine gold recovery that he's losing.
17:37Yep.
17:41To stop Dan's discharge pipe, which runs into his secondary jig from clogging, Freddy and
17:48Juan will replace it with a larger pipe and small sluice.
17:54To prevent gold from being lost, the primary jig will be upgraded with a new grate and screen.
18:04Dan's sluice is losing fine gold.
18:08Freddy will replace it and add new carpets and his signature riffles.
18:13Finally, they'll install another sluice off the end of Dan's primary jig to maximize his gold recovery.
18:23How bad is it?
18:25Well, it's not terrible.
18:26But there is definitely a few things that we want to do.
18:29Okay.
18:29One, that sluice box that you have right now that's coming off those smaller jigs.
18:33Yeah.
18:33We want to replace it.
18:34Okay.
18:35Yeah.
18:35Get something in there that can hold gold.
18:37Okay.
18:37And we're thinking of getting that material that's coming off your big jigs.
18:40Yeah.
18:41Going the other direction and then putting a sluice under it.
18:44Okay.
18:44But, you know, we were down for 10, 15 minutes to clean that little pipe out.
18:48Yeah.
18:48So, what we want to do is put a bigger discharge port and then we're actually going to put that
18:53into a small sluice run that goes on top of the jig.
18:56Okay.
18:57So, instead of that pipe that's plugging up on you.
18:59Okay.
19:00And one of the other things that we saw is the bottom of your jig or screen.
19:03It's leaking a lot of material.
19:04Oh, yeah.
19:05And a bunch of rocks.
19:06So, we're going to fix that screen.
19:08That's something we're going to try to address as well.
19:09Oh, that sounds great.
19:10But, you know, with everything we talked about, we're looking at about $4,000 in materials.
19:17Then we'd like an ounce of gold a piece.
19:23That just covers our cost.
19:27Not a problem, boy.
19:28That sounds just awesome.
19:30We'll deal then.
19:31Unbelievable.
19:31Okay.
19:32Unbelievable.
19:33I got faith in you guys, for sure.
19:34Well, we'll see you in the morning.
19:36Oh, you don't know how good that makes me feel, man.
19:38See you in a bit, guys.
19:39Thanks.
19:40Thanks.
19:41I know those guys know what they're doing, and they'll get her done.
19:45Hopefully, it'll make a huge, huge, huge difference.
19:57How's it going, Juano?
19:59Good, buddy.
19:59How you feeling?
20:00Not good.
20:01No?
20:02In British Columbia, it's the first full-build day of the Paran rescue.
20:07I'm a busy one.
20:08But there's a problem.
20:10Yeah, I don't feel good at all.
20:12Okay.
20:12My headache and nauseous.
20:14Yeah.
20:15My blood sugar's really messed up.
20:18I'm not trying to let you down, buddy.
20:20No worries.
20:21Your health is first.
20:22Go see your doctor right away, Fred.
20:24All right.
20:25Sorry, man.
20:26Nothing to be sorry about, Freddie.
20:27Thank you, buddy.
20:31Freddie wouldn't mind me saying this, but he was diagnosed with diabetes, and it's been a battle for him.
20:37I know Freddie has the greatest intention in the world, and he was reluctant to go, but it's the right
20:42decision.
20:43Go home and take care of yourself, buddy.
20:45Really.
20:46Live, Freddie.
20:48Bye.
20:51You know, being down without Freddie is tough.
20:53It's a lot more weight on my shoulders, and it's going to be a lot more work than I anticipated,
20:57but fortunately, Brad and Dan are really good at what they do, so they're able to help or do the
21:02best we can.
21:09How are you this morning?
21:11Oh, could be better.
21:15Freddie ended up going home this morning.
21:17Oh, really?
21:18Okay.
21:18Yeah, he wasn't feeling good at all.
21:20You know, he was so sick that he had to leave.
21:22Yeah, no, I'm glad that he's on his way home.
21:25Yeah, yeah.
21:26No, it's just the right call.
21:28But still got a boatload of work to do.
21:31We're going to have to kind of divide and conquer.
21:32Put us to work.
21:33Put us to work.
21:34Okay.
21:35Brad, if you could go down there and start removing that grate.
21:38Dan, we're going to start cutting some stuff out for the jig?
21:40Yeah.
21:41Okay, I like that.
21:42Let's go, guys.
21:49Missing a couple pieces in there.
21:51At the wash plant, Brad prepares for Juan's new grate and the steel screen, which will keep the ragging from
21:58falling through and clogging the jig pipes.
22:01This is a pretty old piece of equipment.
22:03Part of it's made out of wood.
22:05As you can see in here, with these starting to droop down, you're starting to get holes in here.
22:12So rocks go down through the jig and that plugs up our hoses down below.
22:16It causes big downtime.
22:18So hopefully, we can get this fixed properly so we don't have to do this again.
22:31Do you mind if I watch?
22:32Yeah, come on in.
22:33Don't get scared and fall off.
22:35Yeah.
22:38At the cut trailer, Juan uses his plasma cutter to build a new steel frame for Dan's jig.
22:48Redoing the top jig grate with steel, that'll make a big difference because it still has the original wood grates
22:57in it.
22:58So this will recover more gold.
23:01A 25,000-degree jet of plasma slices through the four-gauge piece of steel.
23:08That is nuts.
23:10That is nuts.
23:10I absolutely cannot believe what this thing does.
23:14That man is better than watching TV.
23:23We just cut the grates out for the jig right now.
23:27The grates that he has, they're made out of wood and they're all rotted out.
23:30So by doing this, ultimately, it's going to help with his gold recovery.
23:35So we'll get him welded up and get him down there and get him installed.
23:42Let's get those pieces.
23:45Bring it in towards me just a little bit.
23:46There you go.
23:48All right.
23:52Perfect.
23:59Nah, none of that.
24:01Unreal, man.
24:02I get lucky every now and then.
24:03Oh, yeah.
24:04Don't me, man.
24:07All right.
24:08Let's do the ends first.
24:09Just like a puzzle.
24:12This means so much.
24:13What this will do for us just rekindles the hope that we can make it work.
24:17These upgrades will make all the difference in the world.
24:20Yeah.
24:21You were shut down for a couple of years though, huh?
24:23Yeah.
24:23Yeah.
24:23And how was that for you?
24:24Oh, it buggered me up so bad mentally and stuff like that.
24:29I'm sure it felt like everything was ripped away from you.
24:31Oh, well, it was.
24:32Yeah.
24:32It was taken away and didn't even know whether I was going to be able to get going again.
24:36And it just put me so far behind.
24:39It was just unbelievable.
24:41We're trying to catch up.
24:42And I got to thank my family for bearing with me through some really dark times.
24:48I didn't like myself.
24:50Yeah.
24:51For a long time.
24:52Yeah.
24:54A $2 million investment plus mounting bills increased the pressure.
25:00Financially, this shutdown just about put me under.
25:05On the verge of losing everything, Dan's parents stepped in, keeping up payments on machinery, while Dan couldn't mind.
25:14Mom and Dad helped me out huge financially.
25:18But Dad passed away a few years ago.
25:26Yeah, I sure wish Dad was here.
25:33I know he was really proud with what we're doing.
25:36He helped me out so much.
25:38And I can't quit thinking about him too and miss him.
25:46I'm pretty sure he'd be proud of me.
25:51It's just so hard to think how far behind I am right now.
25:59We'll make her.
26:00Too stubborn to quit.
26:04You know, I'm healing somewhat, but it's going to take a while.
26:08Yeah.
26:09You know, before I'm back to normal.
26:11Well, I'm really hoping with what we've got going on here, it's going to help you get in a better,
26:15you know, headspace.
26:16Yeah, I got so much hope for that.
26:18And, you know, now, like even just having you guys here trying to give me a hand to get going
26:22again means so much to me, man.
26:25Well, it's a pleasure being here with you, for sure.
26:27But, yeah, let's get these put together and we'll get them down.
26:29Right on.
26:29Thanks, Juan.
26:32It's been a battle for them.
26:34All the work we're doing here at the end of the day is to help Dan.
26:37And we're really hoping that the improvements you do here are going to be able to help them pay off
26:41some of those bills.
26:42His mom, his son, and really make this mine profitable.
27:02How'd this come out?
27:03Good.
27:03It looks good.
27:04Yeah.
27:04I mean, the cuts you made on there is just unbelievable.
27:07At the Cut trailer, Juan and Dan have finished the new grate for the jig.
27:13You going to get down there and install this?
27:15Yeah.
27:15And put the screen in and put this on top?
27:17Well, I'll see you in a bit.
27:18I'm going to get started on these sluice boxes.
27:19But if you need anything, come up and get me.
27:21You betcha.
27:21Thanks, Juan.
27:27While Juan begins building Dan's three new sluice boxes.
27:32We're installing these new stainless steel screens to replace the old rubber mats.
27:38Is that the right way?
27:40I think so.
27:44Perfect.
27:44Dan and Brad install the new screens and grate into the jig to stop clogging and improve their gold recovery.
27:53You ready?
27:54Yes.
27:55Yes.
27:57So now we're going to drop the new top rack in.
28:08Turn.
28:09That's all I got, son.
28:12Okay.
28:13Okay.
28:13Let it out.
28:14Okay.
28:15It's so great to have my son here giving me a hand.
28:19And I sure appreciate him helping me out.
28:22Come down for a second.
28:24Back that way.
28:26Down.
28:28Okay.
28:30Perfect.
28:31I'm starting to see a little bit more of a future down here at the mine, especially after Freddy and
28:38Juan have been here.
28:41Fits like a glove.
28:44Perfect.
28:46Dad does not stop.
28:48He goes and goes and goes all day.
28:51He doesn't take breaks.
28:52And I think my dad deserves to have this mine produce what it should be, not losing the gold that
28:59we are.
29:00Will that pay the bills?
29:03It'll be so great to see my parents get back on their feet, be able to pay off the debts
29:09and be able to actually start enjoying life a little bit more.
29:13I'm definitely worried and I got to just try to look out for them.
29:20There you go.
29:22Fill her back up.
29:23New grate installed.
29:24Dan and Brad refilled the jig with small rocks and ball bearings, which helps separate the gold from the tailings.
29:33I'm so super excited to see what we're going to get after the modification.
29:39When you start seeing that gold coming out, man, it does something to you.
29:46Okay, that was a big job.
29:48Well done.
29:51How we doing, guys?
29:52Okay.
29:53That looks good.
29:55I got the big sluice box almost done.
29:56Oh, I can't wait to see that.
29:57And we're getting ready to weld the tops on it.
29:59But the pressure's still on.
30:00We still got a lot to do.
30:02Yeah.
30:02We'll get some good rest tonight because tomorrow's going to be a big day.
30:04Yeah.
30:04All right, gentlemen.
30:05Well, thank you.
30:06See you in the morning.
30:07Thanks a minute, buddy.
30:08Have a good night.
30:08You bet.
30:09You too.
30:11You know, this would have been a lot of work if Freddie and myself were here and we were 100%.
30:15And that's not the case.
30:16Freddie's not here and I'm not 100%.
30:18And it's still the same amount of work.
30:20Hopefully we get it done.
30:39Oh, wow.
30:43Hey, guys.
30:44Good morning.
30:45How are you doing this morning?
30:47Good.
30:47Finished welding on these sluice boxes.
30:49Oh, those look so good, man.
30:50That's just awesome.
30:52So what I'd like to do is get these boxes on the truck and down to the plant.
30:56You bet.
30:58You're clear over here now, yeah?
31:02To prepare for tomorrow's test run...
31:05Pull your back end this way a little bit.
31:07The team will install Juan's new sluice boxes, which will catch any fine gold the jigs miss.
31:15We built three sluice boxes, so all the gold that's recovered is going to be gold that they would have
31:19lost.
31:20So we got quite a bit done in the last few days.
31:23We still got a ton to do.
31:24We got to get down there and get everything installed.
31:27Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get this plant running.
31:32They're home, Juan.
31:33Awesome.
31:34Made it in one piece.
31:35Yeah.
31:37So we'll get everything installed and get this plant running.
31:39You betcha.
31:41Juan's plan?
31:42Install his three new sluice boxes to streamline Dan's over-complicated wash plan and recover more gold.
31:52Okay, so you want me up top, then?
31:53Yep.
31:54Good to hook it?
31:55Yeah, go ahead and hook it.
31:56First, they install the new steel sluice off the end of the primary jig...
32:01Almost.
32:02...to increase their recovery by up to 20%.
32:06That's good right there.
32:09There we go.
32:10So we're running out of time, guys, and I hate to do this, but I'll finish this up.
32:14If you guys want to help me, I'll start pulling that old sluice off, that little one.
32:17If you guys want to get going on that, that'd be great.
32:19I'll finish this up.
32:19We're on it.
32:21To be ready in time, Juan finishes welding the new primary sluice...
32:28...while Dan and Brad cut out the old one.
32:31Got to get it done.
32:34Nothing wrong with a little pressure.
32:37It gets the adrenaline rushing.
32:42Coming at ya.
32:44Okay, turn a little bit.
32:45You're good.
32:46You're good.
32:49Ah, it's way better.
32:51Second sluice done.
32:54It's probably one of the smallest sluices we've ever built.
32:56Really?
32:57It's a really cute little one.
32:58The team installed the final mini sluice.
33:02This is where I had the problem with the first test when my hose was plugged.
33:08This fix will stop material getting clogged between Dan's hopper and small jig.
33:14A little further down.
33:15There you go.
33:16Oh, that looks great.
33:17You guys got a lot of work done.
33:18And I definitely appreciate all the help.
33:20I'll see you in the morning then.
33:21You betcha.
33:25You know, I'm a little nervous.
33:26You know, we got a lot going on here.
33:27We made a lot of changes.
33:29But I'm really hoping it's going to be a big improvement.
33:31Because at the end of the day, Dan and Brad, they need the big improvements.
33:34But ultimately, we don't know until we actually run and do the cleanup.
33:45Well, not only do Freddy and I have our own trucks and trailers on the road.
33:48We have a crew that runs with us.
33:50And unfortunately, they're terrible drivers and they always hit rocks.
33:54So we get stuck with repairing their tires for them.
34:02You know, we're out in the middle of nowhere, so you got to improvise.
34:07But it works.
34:09Ian, here's your tire back.
34:11You can put it on yourself.
34:12Next time, don't hit rocks, okay?
34:13Thanks, Wong.
34:22You ready?
34:24Yeah!
34:28Bucket number one of our final four-hour test.
34:33At the Perron Mine in British Columbia.
34:36That's the first bucket right there.
34:38Moment of truth.
34:39With Freddy out of action, Juan's fixes will be put to the test.
34:44Well, I guess today's the day.
34:47We will see how this final run turns out.
34:55All right.
34:56Now your big sluice is coming off the jig.
34:59We'll go look at it real quick.
35:01Juan's brand-new 12-foot-long sluice at the end of the jig has been added to catch gold that
35:08Dan had previously lost in the tailings.
35:11So all the gold that's recovered in that box is going to be gold that they would have lost.
35:15You can see that material versus what we had in the first run.
35:18That looks better.
35:21We're just going to watch that mini sluice.
35:23Before, Dan had a discharge pipe that was getting clogged with rocks.
35:29Now, Juan's jig upgrade and mini sluice allow water and gold concentrate to go through the system without plugging up.
35:39And that's running really good.
35:41Yeah.
35:42And then we'll take a look at that sluice box that you have right now that's coming off those smaller
35:46jigs.
35:46Yeah.
35:48Finally, Juan's last sluice has been fitted with custom-made carpets and riffles to recover fine gold.
35:56That one works better.
35:58There you go.
35:59Yeah, you can still see the top of the riffle?
36:01Yeah, I can see it.
36:01You see it dancing around?
36:03Yeah.
36:03Pushing material out?
36:04Yeah.
36:04It's good.
36:05Great.
36:07It's all coming together, but I'm nervous as hell.
36:14Well, that's the last bucket. Let's go ahead and cut it off.
36:16Okay.
36:24I can pull that.
36:36I can't believe how much gold is in that sucker.
36:40Look at this.
36:41It's just on the carpet.
36:42You see that?
36:44And it's real fine stuff.
36:46Man, I sure didn't expect to see that much.
36:49Surprising, huh?
36:52We'll start rolling these up and now all we can do is hope.
36:56We took a look at the sluice boxes and they look amazing.
36:59Already we can see gold.
37:00You know, it looks really good, but we really don't know until we actually get it on the scale and
37:04know what's there.
37:05You know, it's been a tough week.
37:06I'm exhausted.
37:07I'm just hoping that there's enough gold here for Danny to be able to pay off his son, his mom,
37:11and really make some money here.
37:21How are we doing?
37:22Good.
37:25Well, got the gold.
37:27I'm nervous.
37:28You know, our first test run.
37:30Yeah.
37:30What do we get?
37:311.16.
37:33And in order to get caught up, you need 190 ounces.
37:36Yeah.
37:36In order to accomplish that in the time you have left, you need about four ounces a day, roughly.
37:40Oh, I can't wait to see it.
37:42But let's take a look at it.
37:44To hit their season goal of $575,000, this gold weigh must deliver at least two ounces.
37:53Half an ounce right there, a little over half an ounce.
37:56Call it one ounce right there.
37:57So that's pretty close to what we had our first run.
38:00Now let's dump the rest of it in.
38:04Look at that.
38:052.96.
38:07Holy .
38:09That is-
38:10That's amazing.
38:11Freaking believable.
38:13Freaking crazy.
38:14That's pretty dang good right there.
38:162.96 ounces, or almost six ounces a day, will bring Dan's gold total to 344 ounces by the end
38:26of the season.
38:26Oh, that's-
38:27That's a great outcome right there.
38:28Worth over $750,000, way over Dan's season gold.
38:34I'm really excited about that for you guys.
38:36And who knows, you know, that might be a little better pain, but the plant definitely is recovering more gold.
38:41That is so awesome.
38:43Yeah.
38:43That's pretty nice.
38:46I'm just ecstatic.
38:47Unbelievable.
38:48It's more than I ever could have imagined.
38:51And know for sure I'm going to be able to get Mum and Brad paid back.
38:55Maybe I can buy my own mine.
38:59Thank you so much.
39:00Oh, you're very welcome.
39:01I'll take a hug.
39:02Sweetheart.
39:03Juan has taught us so much over and above what he's built us.
39:07That man's a hero to me, man.
39:09Definitely happy with that.
39:10Excited.
39:11I'm excited for the future for you guys.
39:13It has been a pleasure.
39:13Thank you so much.
39:14Thank you so much.
39:16Thank you so much.
39:19Definitely.
39:20I spoke to him earlier and he's doing a lot better and is ready to get back at it.
39:23But I'll let Freddy know you guys.
39:25Yeah, for sure.
39:25Send your best wishes.
39:26Oh, yeah.
39:27You drive safe.
39:28It's been awesome.
39:30Thank you so much.
39:32See you later.
39:35Holy crap.
39:38That's crazy.
39:40To see my son accomplish so much makes me feel on top of the world.
39:49Thanks.
39:52Oh, love you.
39:53Love you too.
39:55I'm excited for Dan and his family and the future that they have now.
39:58To be honest, I was a little nervous.
40:00You know, Freddy not being here.
40:02Fortunately, it worked out.
40:03We did the best we could with what we had.
40:05Now, Freddy can get back out here with me doing what he loves.
40:15How you doing, Fred?
40:16I'm doing a lot better, Juan.
40:18A lot better.
40:18I'm feeling good.
40:19I've got my blood sugar straightened out.
40:22That's good.
40:22Yeah.
40:23So I'll see you soon.
40:24Well, sounds great, buddy.
40:25We'll get ready and we'll be back on the road in a couple weeks.
40:36Hi, Freddy and Juan.
40:38Dan Perron here.
40:40I just can't thank you guys enough.
40:45It's been crazy how much more gold the plant's been catching since the fixes that Juan hit.
40:54Our last cleanup, we got 16 ounces.
40:58You know, to do that is unbelievable.
41:03How's it looking, Mum?
41:05We are well on track on getting to our season goal.
41:09We have started paying Mum back quite a bit and also Brad well.
41:15So the whole process and what you guys did for me is just so unbelievably awesome.
41:23Thanks so much again.
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