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Gold Wars Downunder - Season 1 - Episode 06
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00:06There's a secret war going on in the outback town of Claremont.
00:14The gold here is so good and the value of gold now is so high.
00:19Dog ate dog, the wars are on.
00:23Why are you entertaining this idiot?
00:25I was a bit pissed off when Donnie come in.
00:27How good's that?
00:29Three mining teams.
00:31We have put money into the mine so we have to make it work.
00:35Fighting it out on the one patch of land.
00:39This is just some of the stuff Donnie's been walking over.
00:42Guy's full of ****.
00:43He'd be lucky if I don't walk over his big nose.
00:47This time...
00:48I don't want someone coming back saying that we have accepted stolen goods.
00:52No, but you haven't.
00:53Lee's excavator trade deal turns sour for Matt and Damo.
00:58It's just typical crap that, you know, just sneaks up on you when you're dealing with Lee sometimes.
01:08Richie hurt himself.
01:11Richie suffers a serious injury.
01:13A scale of one to ten, it's around about eight or nine.
01:16I'm positive I've broken something.
01:20If that's broken, you're out of action for a while though.
01:23Three steps forward, two steps back.
01:27And Dennis offers Donnie the land deal of the year.
01:31I think I'll sell you the lease.
01:33But it comes with a catch.
01:35So what I need you to do, mate, is to get yourself 37 and a half grand by the end
01:39of the season.
01:41I'm not about to let anything stand in my road.
01:58You'll know it when we hear it.
02:00Scratchy moo, Claremont, Queensland.
02:03I can't believe how lame the last couple of scrapes have been.
02:08And Matt and Damo's blistering start to the season is slowing down.
02:13It's a bit deflating, but we had a couple of, you know, pretty solid weeks.
02:19Give us some sounds here. What's going on?
02:22I would like to think that it would continue, but you've got to go with your ups and downs.
02:28Their tally stands at 70 ounces of gold.
02:32That's about $150,000 short of their $500,000 season target.
02:38But they're still the front runners on the Claremont gold fields.
02:43What we want is a nice, deep inverted one.
02:45Look out. Can you pay that up?
02:47Well, if it needs to happen, it needs to happen now.
02:50Damo and Matt are hoping to pound their way out of the slump.
02:54You got some deposit money the other day?
02:56Finally hit the bank yesterday.
02:57That's good.
02:58But we need to work out this title for the JBC.
03:01Yeah, clear that.
03:03Meanwhile, Lee's running through the numbers on the landing with Matt's wife Cherie,
03:08who manages the finances at Scratchy Moon.
03:11Lee's paid the $15,000 cash component of the deal.
03:15But Cherie's discovered there's finance still owing on the excavator Lee threw in as part of the exchange.
03:23So I just got the paperwork back from DS.
03:27Mm-hmm.
03:27So I just shot that through.
03:28Mm-hmm.
03:29So everything's cleared.
03:30I've got access.
03:31Mm-hmm.
03:31So give me access.
03:32Obviously we need that.
03:32So I'm clear to pay.
03:33Yeah.
03:34And that's great you got access, but you're not getting access until the title's done.
03:37Correct.
03:38Yeah.
03:38And then we also need to sort out this bucket issue.
03:40So we've got a bit of an issue with buckets.
03:46So we've bought the excavator, or we've done an exchange for that excavator as is.
03:52And then next thing you know, someone's coming out of the woodwork saying that there is buckets.
03:57You know, this other guy's buckets.
03:59And it's like...
04:01There was a little bit of conjecture about how many buckets the machine come with.
04:05As far as I'm concerned, the machine came with two buckets.
04:08This whole bucket issue has been a schmozzle.
04:11Hasn't that finished with yet?
04:13Well, I told you.
04:14You need to sort it.
04:15It's not our issue.
04:16I've got the paperwork for that.
04:18So...
04:19Yeah, but you haven't provided it to me.
04:20I've asked you a couple of times.
04:21I don't want someone coming back saying that we have accepted stolen goods.
04:25No, but you haven't.
04:26One of the things we said to him is, look, we just don't want any dramas.
04:30We want a smooth transaction.
04:31And, of course, it's just typical crap that, you know, just sneaks up on you when you're dealing with Lee
04:40sometime.
04:41But until we're satisfied that the machine is rightfully ours, no pegs are going in the ground.
04:54Hey, mate.
04:55Hey, Mike.
04:57How are you going?
04:58Oh, yeah.
04:59Hot.
05:00If the land deal falls through with Lee, Matt and Damo might be forced to renegotiate terms with Dennis and
05:08Donnie over at Swiss Diggings.
05:10We lost it, mate.
05:11We lost the deal.
05:12Hey.
05:13I got a phone call from Damo letting us know that old Lee McGrath got the lease.
05:20So he sort of gazumped us on it.
05:22But, you know, I have no doubt in my mind that there will be some swindling thing going on there
05:29that will be underhanded in some way, shape or form.
05:33But Dennis is not waiting round to see how Lee's antics play out.
05:38He's already come up with a plan B to keep Donnie on side.
05:42Look, mate.
05:43So it's a setback, but it's not a big setback.
05:46I've got another.
05:47I've got another plan.
05:47I've got another idea.
05:48I want to run past you.
05:50I reckon we've got an 80-hectare area up there on that western boundary.
05:54Yeah.
05:54A big lease in there.
05:56I don't understand Dennis's motivation to put me on ground.
06:02That doesn't mean I'm not going to take it.
06:04It just doesn't get much better than that.
06:07Buying and selling ground is all part of making money in the gold fields.
06:12Dennis owns 3,000 hectares of unpegged ground surrounding Swiss diggings that he can sell the mining rights to, to
06:20make a bit of money on the side.
06:22Okay.
06:23So how do you reckon that would work?
06:27Well, look, I've been put a little bit of thought into that too.
06:30And I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to, I think I'll sell you the lease at
06:34a fixed rate today at 75k.
06:3875k?
06:39Yep.
06:40Serious?
06:41We're looking after you, mate.
06:42We're trying to get you into your own ground, mate.
06:44Onto your own dirt.
06:45And I think this is the way to do it.
06:47So I reckon that's the plan, mate.
06:48And I've come up with a name for it as well.
06:52Yeah?
06:53Hmm.
06:561880.
06:571880.
06:581880 gold.
06:591880 is the sequel to 1870.
07:02And what makes us better, I think it's the people.
07:05And everyone knows they're going to get a good product.
07:08It's a win-win for both miners.
07:12Donnie finally gets on his own gold ground.
07:14And Dennis gets a much needed cash injection.
07:18But Dennis's offer comes with a huge catch.
07:21How do you like that one?
07:22What I'd like you to do or aim for, mate, is to put a bit of carrot in front of
07:27your nose here.
07:28So what I need you to do, mate, is to get yourself 37 and a half grand.
07:31At least buy yourself in by 50% of the lease cost by the end of the season.
07:40You're much fairer than that, man.
07:42No, you come out here and help me out, so I'm coming to help you out.
07:46Wow.
07:47Donnie has five weeks to come up with 37 and a half grand.
07:51Or the deal is off.
07:53Honestly, Donnie really needs to be on his own lease.
07:56And that's why I've decided to, you know, throw the option out there to pick a lease.
08:00He will put the best foot forward, but he needs it to be on his own lease.
08:04Cool, cool.
08:04Ronnie!
08:06Come on!
08:18Over at 1870, it's relocation day.
08:22Today is the big day.
08:24Twelve months in the making.
08:26We're finally getting all the down to the mine.
08:29So it's going to be convoy after convoy.
08:32Richie and Kimberly's $1 million mining gamble all rests on the outcome of today's wash plant move.
08:42The wash plant set up has cost me around about half a million dollars.
08:45So taking it down to site, I want to make sure we don't go up.
08:50Alright, last couple of days I've created a pad down the bottom where all this gear is going.
08:54Tried making the roads as wide as I could get with what we've got at the moment.
08:58The half a million dollar wash plant is made up of three big components.
09:03The conveyor.
09:06The hopper.
09:07And the trommel.
09:10If a single piece is damaged in the move, 1870's season will be over.
09:16Rich is starting to get a little stressed with the bank balance going down and down.
09:19So yeah, everyone's coming together to try and get it done because we're just so behind and, you know, we
09:24need to get on the gold fast.
09:26Adding to the stress and lack of cash flow, 1870's dry blowing operation will go on hold until the wash
09:34plant is delivered to site.
09:36Their modest gold tally remains unchanged at 32 ounces.
09:42I'm more nervous about the length of it and taking stuff out.
09:45So I'll sit behind in the buggy with Kira and we'll just monitor what's going and we'll just keep talking.
09:51Let's get all the gear down.
09:52Done, let's go.
09:54Kimberly's been given the job of towing the conveyor.
09:57Yeah, I've never towed anything this long before.
10:00I've towed boats and wasn't very successful.
10:02Dracking off the trailer.
10:03So it's nice that they've let me, you know, be in charge of this.
10:06Let's see how it goes.
10:08Richie will ride shotgun and keep an eye on the tow.
10:12Okay.
10:15Dan and Kira will follow behind and provide an extra set of eyes.
10:20The Kimbo Express is ready to go.
10:24It's a two kilometre drive along a treacherous bush track to the processing site, but it's not their first rodeo.
10:31I've got to be careful of the trees. I don't want to hit any trees.
10:34There's tight corners. There's a few gullies I've got to go through.
10:39There's a lot of obstacles. So we've just got to take our time, get it down in one piece.
10:45The last time Team 1870 drove along the track, they nearly rode off the dry blower completely.
10:52The whole team is on edge.
10:56I've got to be going too fast.
10:58So go wider at that one.
11:00See how...
11:01Yeah, yeah.
11:02Yeah, closer.
11:03Yeah, wide.
11:08Hold up for a second, guys.
11:12Just like slow down here because we know what happened last off the dry blower.
11:15Yeah, but we've got a good driver this time.
11:18We've got a good driver this time, okay.
11:21Right, y'all.
11:26One poor decision now and Richie and Kimberley's mining dream will come crashing down.
11:36At Swiss Diggins, Dennis is installing security cameras around the perimeter of his lease following a daring gold poacher raid
11:45on his property a few nights ago.
11:47The old poachers were here the other night and we've amped up our security.
11:52We've had enough of it, basically. We're just completely done with it.
12:00Dennis and Donnie were completely outrun by a brazen gold thief raiding their pit under the cover of darkness.
12:07Oh, look at this thing!
12:08Ow!
12:11There you are.
12:12Hold on, Donnie.
12:13Hold on.
12:14I can't see.
12:15He's gone, man.
12:17He's gone.
12:20The recent spate of gold theft in Claremont has all three mining teams on red alert.
12:27The price of gold is driving this through the roof because the poaching now is becoming crazy.
12:35The thing is, you know, we don't know how much if they did get any gold or, you know, we
12:39can see that they've been digging in our piles but whether they actually got gold or whether they were actually
12:44getting steel.
12:45I hope the frick they got steel and not gold but we just don't know.
12:50Ramping up security around the lease is an unwanted distraction.
12:54But with a $500,000 season target on the line, Dennis can't afford to lose any gold.
13:01And neither can Donnie.
13:04We've got a good range of different cameras here at the moment and these are just an added thing.
13:08These are the old bush cameras that, you know, for looking for animals and so forth but we're actually using
13:14them for, I suppose, looking for animals.
13:17Dennis will need hard evidence if he wants to catch the poachers out and report them to police.
13:23The Claremont community, we know who the poachers are but, you know, it's whether you can prove it or not.
13:29You have to actually catch them.
13:30And then we need to make an internet sensation out of them.
13:36At the mine site, a re-motivated Donnie has responded with pace and vigour to Dennis's offer to peg new
13:43ground at 1880.
13:45Like, to have my own lease has been the end game since I started out here and I'm not about
13:52to let anything stand in my road.
13:55He's brought in his mate Ronnie to help speed things up.
13:59We've been on a good running so hopefully it'll keep up.
14:03Ronnie is still learning.
14:05But he's doing his best and, you know, he's never let me down.
14:13He's here, he tells me he's going to be here at 6.30, he's here at 6 o'clock.
14:17And he works all day, he doesn't complain.
14:19I've had to pull it up sometimes because I can tell he's buggered and he won't say anything.
14:25So, you know, you can't ask for better than that.
14:28It's a big rock in this.
14:30Yeah, I'm not expecting you to get anything yet, mate.
14:32All I did was take the loose off the top.
14:35It'll be the next cut that'll reduce, but you never know, one might pop up.
14:40But Dennis isn't sold on Donnie's new upscaling strategy.
14:44I thought I actually motivated him to, you know, to get going and get more gold in his jar and...
14:50Well, now he's having to pay Ronnie and I...
14:56Donnie needs to come up with the $37,500 deposit to ink the new land deal with Dennis.
15:03Problem is, he's agreed to pay Ronnie 10% of his share of the proceeds from Swiss diggings.
15:10I don't get philosophy that you can be quicker when you do the digging
15:16and then sit in the cab and bark orders.
15:19I can't remember what I did there, so I think we're still detecting from about where that scrape is back.
15:26Donnie, however, begs to differ.
15:29But having both of us there, I can dig, Ron detects, and it just speeds it up a little bit
15:36and gives us a little bit more labour time on the cuts.
15:41Only time will tell if the Donnie Ronnie show will pay dividends or not.
15:46So we need just...we need...we've got to get cracking, man.
15:59Oh, he's just trying to get down to a pay layer.
16:02He's still probably another three or four hundred off.
16:05But he's also knocked a bit of this stuff off,
16:07so I just want to go around and do a bit of a check through here.
16:10At Scratchy Moon, Lee's jumped in to give Damo a hand in the megapid.
16:14He's waiting on ownership documents to come through for his excavator
16:19so he can sign off on the land deal.
16:21So, yeah, we should find something here.
16:23But if this was so rich, there's got to be something in these piles.
16:26So far, the megapid has delivered 25 ounces of gold for Matt and Damo.
16:31But the run has dried up in recent weeks.
16:34I'm just being systematic.
16:37I'm just digging through my area and I'm staying in that area.
16:40Is it the only area that I could stink the bucket? No.
16:42I'm being patient.
16:45All right, let's do this.
16:51We had two pretty mediocre cuts there and there.
16:55And I know there's gold here under this tree, right,
16:59because the old-timers have been finding it in the heaps.
17:03So there's gold on the bottom, they've brought it up.
17:04So we're right in the zone, like where we're standing here.
17:09Should start to make some sounds.
17:15Damo's instincts are telling him they're only a few scrapes away
17:19from hitting the next pay layer.
17:28But there's a hiccup.
17:30Had a good run.
17:33The starter motor on the excavator has died.
17:37Exactly what I didn't need,
17:38because I just need to be digging every day.
17:41You know, there's a lot, we've got a lot of ground to dig.
17:43It takes a lot of time to get down to the gold
17:46and when you get onto that pay layer.
17:48Hey, Mooka, are you on channel?
17:51Damo's business partner, Matt,
17:53has a replacement starter motor in his truck.
17:59But he's on the other side of the lease
18:02and he's not answering Damo's SOS call.
18:08Ah.
18:11Ow.
18:18Just draw it straight on for that part.
18:20Don't see that big pile of dirt there.
18:23Which one?
18:26Kimberley has successfully made it through Dan's Ditch
18:30and onto site with the first piece of the new wash plant.
18:35You made it.
18:36We made it in one piece.
18:39But there's much more to be done.
18:41They still need to move the hopper and the trommel.
18:46Any damage to either piece of equipment
18:49and it's game over for the season.
18:52Dan's a bit scared about taking this one down.
18:55So, we've just made a new tow hitch on it
18:59and all that type of stuff
19:00and it's not that long, so let's see how it goes.
19:06Yeah, it'll be interesting.
19:08That's pretty bloody big.
19:09That's huge.
19:12The hopper's short drawbar
19:14gives Dan less manoeuvrability
19:17and less visibility on the load.
19:20You're only about six inches from hitting that then.
19:23It's going to be hard to see if you're going to hit it from behind.
19:28Look when I look through the mirror, it just looks like it's mine.
19:31It's part of the trunk.
19:37It is fitting in by like an inch that side and two inches that side.
19:41If he goes any further, he's going to take out the farmer's fences.
19:45I ain't sticking around to fix those fences.
19:47It's clear in this situation we're the best supervisors.
19:52I've got fairly steep walls on either side of me here, so I'll see if it fits.
20:00Yeah, can you see the left-hand side all right?
20:10I'm actually really loving it right now.
20:12I can just see it's all coming together.
20:16Dan has nailed it.
20:20One more machine down.
20:22That's... we're getting closer.
20:26The team needs to quickly put the stabilisation legs in place
20:30before unhooking the hopper.
20:32Wind that left-hand side one up a little bit.
20:35Going up or down?
20:36Down.
20:42Is that enough?
20:51Ah!
20:53She hurt himself!
20:55The kickback on the drill has twisted Richie's hand.
21:00Oh!
21:01Oh, that hurt.
21:03I saw to see he was in some pain.
21:05He was trying to hide it.
21:06But he was in some wicked pain, eh?
21:09If Richie has broken his hand,
21:11he won't be able to do any heavy lifting.
21:13And that'll leave Dan a man down until the end of the season.
21:19It feels like I've broken all that.
21:21Yeah, so...
21:22No one likes being a wuss, but...
21:26It bloody killed.
21:27It really hurt.
21:28I knew instantly I'd broken my hand.
21:37Well, this machine, the starter's finally...
21:40It's probably finished.
21:41...finally packed it in.
21:42So that's it.
21:43If we want to finish this cut, we need to get this starter going.
21:48At Scratchy Moo,
21:49the replacement starter motor Damo needs for his excavator
21:53is sitting in the back of Matt's truck.
21:58Mooka, how are you on channel?
22:01But Matt's been out of range
22:03and hasn't been able to answer Damo's calls.
22:08Mooka, how are you on channel?
22:10Good!
22:13I guess that's yes.
22:15This machine started...
22:17Man, I'm gonna get something going on here
22:18because I've got to finish this cut.
22:21Wheels or tracks.
22:23There is always drama.
22:26It appears so.
22:27Can you get your ass over here and get this cracking?
22:29I'll be there in five.
22:34There's no doubt that, um,
22:37out here,
22:38you want to be able to be handy,
22:41particularly mechanically handy.
22:44Mechanic's truck.
22:46And so there's no doubt Mooka is incredibly valuable
22:49when it comes to all that
22:50because, you know,
22:51he just gets in and does it.
22:52He's done it for years.
22:53That's his skill.
22:55Hey, what's happened to our machine?
22:57You brought the lemon.
22:59You brought the lemon
23:00and now it's broken down the high-end eye.
23:03Yeah, but you're gonna fix it, see,
23:04because of your skill.
23:06The excavator Lee's hoping to sell to Matt and Damo
23:09as part of the land deal
23:10can't be used until the question of
23:13who owns the buckets is resolved.
23:16And that just puts pressure on Matt and Damo
23:19to get their digger back up and running.
23:22No, don't!
23:26Come on.
23:30Lee, what do you think you're doing up there?
23:33I'm just gonna open the cover and do some preparation.
23:34I'm gonna say you might pull a fingernail or...
23:37They're already busted.
23:38Get some dirt under those nails of yours.
23:41Well, you can't even lift the lid.
23:48Oh, yeah, I'm just the punching bag sometimes.
23:50I like taking the piss out of me.
23:54It's just...
23:55It's one of those days, it's just...
23:57It's so annoying.
23:59I'm fairly used to getting quite good gold.
24:01So to be on a cut that's just not really paying,
24:04it's giving me the... actually.
24:06Don't get rid of the rubbish.
24:13Probably at least four hours of mucking around in that cut.
24:16Found half a gram.
24:17And now that new starter, 650 bucks.
24:21We haven't made enough to cover the diesel.
24:23We're getting down to the pay layer
24:25and haven't covered the starter motor.
24:32You better get in that excavator.
24:36Come on, start it.
24:37It's slowing me down now.
24:41Hey!
24:42Hey!
24:43Hey!
24:44We're back in action.
24:47Only 650 bucks and ten minutes later.
24:50Crisis averted for the moment.
24:52We don't want to f*** around anymore.
24:54We don't need any more down time.
24:56I'm starting to get a bit antsy because we're getting into the week
24:59and the tallies are down.
25:10This is the big one.
25:12At 1870, Richie's crushed his hand and thinks he may have broken it.
25:17But there's much work still to be done.
25:20So he's going to tough it out.
25:22This has got a swivel steering system on it.
25:25So it's like sort of backing a trailer when you're driving.
25:29That's more complicated than it looks.
25:31So figure it out.
25:34The final piece of the wash plan still has to be moved aside
25:38if they're to get back on schedule.
25:40I'm tired. I'm stuffed.
25:42And this is going to go to plan.
25:44But we haven't towed this before.
25:51So everything at the moment is a bit of a challenge.
25:55Keep going. Straight back.
25:57Back a tiny bit more.
26:00Yep.
26:01Let's go, Richie.
26:02I'll just go forward and tell me when to turn once I pass this bucket.
26:07Richie's in serious pain.
26:09But he's going to tow the $200,000 trommel to side if he can.
26:14Well, this is going to be long trip and scary.
26:17And I can barely use my hand.
26:21Team 1870's success depends on the wash plan making it safely to side
26:26and working to capacity.
26:28A scale of one to ten, it's around about an eight or nine.
26:32It's, um...
26:35I'm positive.
26:36I've broken something.
26:42What's really going through my mind at the moment is,
26:44how am I going to keep moving forward?
26:47I don't want to hold up the team.
26:49And I know Dan was relying when we were giving him a hand,
26:51and literally, I've got no hand to give him now.
26:56I don't know whether I should go to a hospital or a doctor or something like that,
27:01but I don't know what they can do.
27:05I don't even know where I could go, which is a bit silly.
27:13All right, mate, we're coming up to Dan's ditch.
27:17I'm taking it real slow.
27:21There's a lot of weight to it, and it's swaying.
27:23It's obviously very top-heavy, so...
27:29Just stay back a bit, just in case it comes up.
27:44Might have to get Kimberley to drive the car back,
27:46because I can't even hold the steering wheel.
27:51It's a bittersweet outcome.
27:54Richie has managed to get the wash plant to site without damaging it.
27:58The same can't be said for his injured hand.
28:01He's now facing a spell on the sidelines.
28:05Yeah-ha!
28:09I'm pretty happy about getting the wash plant down there.
28:12It went fairly smooth.
28:14Normally, when something's going to go wrong, it goes wrong,
28:17and it goes wrong in a big, big way.
28:20But that went way better than I was expecting.
28:23It's done!
28:24That only took a bloody year.
28:26Yeah.
28:27Yeah, no, it's not happening.
28:29How's it here, man?
28:30Not going to lie to you. I think I broke it.
28:32Yeah, it's starting to change colour, man.
28:34I thought it was shaking. Can't even close it.
28:36I think you need to go put some ice on it, man.
28:38If that's broken, you're out of action for a while, though.
28:45Lee's still waiting for the excavator ownership documents to come through.
28:50But Damo and Matt have given him an early entry pass
28:53to do some detecting on his new lease next door to Scratchy Moo.
28:59If he's going to peg there, we want him to be successful.
29:02Yeah, get out there and have a go, and he might be able to find a few spots
29:04where he can start digging once the lease is through.
29:11So this is a gully system here.
29:13So we've got a big gully system coming off the hill that pushes all the way through here.
29:17But I know there's shallow ground back up here because I can see bedrock.
29:21I can see, yeah, large, large, heavy shifts just across the road here.
29:25So I'm saying that this is going to push back through here.
29:29I should find more shallow ground.
29:30So the ground's going to be shallow.
29:32Gold will sit in our low points.
29:35To have the ground just behind 1870,
29:37it just gives me a massive advantage of where to dig straight away.
29:43Lee's planning on running gold detecting lessons on the land
29:47to help recoup some of his start-up costs.
29:49It's the same thing he did on his old lease, 1870, back in the day.
29:54Due to some regulation changes only in the last week,
29:57it has changed a few things where now if you have a pegged lease,
30:03you can actually go on and do your exploration.
30:06So in saying that, I'll be able to get straight on
30:09and start exploring with detecting.
30:11Bingo.
30:13That's a target.
30:18Charcoal.
30:22Right, so this will be noisy everywhere.
30:24Issue I've got here is I've got charcoal.
30:27Charcoal sends your machine off.
30:29That false target.
30:37All right, where are you?
30:40There's always, there's always got to be a couple of big ones at the bottom of the cut that they
30:44miss.
30:44The old timers.
30:46Damo's finally back in business in the cut.
30:49The replacement starter motor works and the excavator's humming.
30:54He now just needs to get a wriggle on.
30:57But the old timers have really done a good job at cleaning out a big drive through here, so it
31:02was probably pretty rich, but we've found lots of little pieces all around it.
31:06I've had it before where the tail end of the cut starts to peak.
31:10When you get onto that pay layer, if you get down there and it's just a big swarf fest, it's
31:16just sometimes a bit frustrating.
31:21That's going to be a good nugget. That's a good nugget.
31:25The old timers left millions of dollars worth of gold here undiscovered, following the Claremont gold rush back in 1861.
31:34When you walk over Scratchy Moo, you realise that there's a whole bunch of ground that the old timers work.
31:41This one's definitely over a gram.
31:42There's more gold under here by far than what's been found, without a doubt.
31:46It's not a stoinker, but there it is there.
31:50Oh, it's like almost a love art shape.
31:53Beautiful.
31:55You guys are good too, Grandma.
31:57It's probably 350 bucks.
32:11Those two holes, mate.
32:13Right in front of your coil.
32:15Yeah.
32:16Well, I started to walk up here and you told me...
32:19I wanted you to do the cut first, mate.
32:20You start walking away halfway through a job, you start forgetting where you're at.
32:24At Swiss Diggings, Donny's racing against the clock.
32:28Just do the hole, mate.
32:30He needs to cough up six ounces of gold in five weeks to secure the rights to peg 1880.
32:37Whoa!
32:38Whoa!
32:41Hold the phone!
32:44Well, hopefully it's not ground noise.
32:52Go over and have a squiz.
33:05We're gonna have trouble with hot rocks today, Link, mate.
33:08I'll jump back in the machine and I'll open this cut up a bit more, mate.
33:28Give it a big clear, mate. Clear it all.
33:31Yeah.
33:31All that dirt away.
33:32Still in the ground. That's good.
33:35Oh, I've been waiting for that sound there.
33:38Oh!
33:40Come on!
33:45Oh, it's in the clod!
33:47Come on!
33:48Is that it?
33:49That's it.
33:51It'll be ten grams, all right.
33:53Ten grams?
33:55A ten gram nugget is worth around two grand at today's gold price.
34:00Only trouble is, it's not gold.
34:03Oh, it's a...
34:04Oh, it's a bullet, you rat bag.
34:08Daddy, your eyes painted on men.
34:13Well, I figured out his eyesight's not great.
34:16No, it's not. It's not a bullet.
34:18It's the tip off a conical tooth.
34:20The dud fine is a case of double disappointment.
34:25The conical tooth suggests they're no longer mining on virgin ground.
34:29This ground could have already been turned over years ago.
34:33The gold's starting to get thin.
34:37The ground's starting to get scarce.
34:39And, you know, if I don't produce and I don't find the gold,
34:44it's not happening.
34:53At Scratchy Moo, Lee's soon-to-be-pegged ground
34:56has so far only produced false positives.
35:04Yeah, there's something in there.
35:10There we go.
35:20Oh, it's a bit grunchy.
35:22Oh, no, it's not.
35:25No, it's not.
35:28Fucking clunker.
35:29Absolutely clunker.
35:31Don't go with that.
35:35That's six grand.
35:37The $1,200 nugget is a positive sign.
35:42The land suddenly looks like a steal
35:44as Lee pulled off a masterstroke.
35:47It's beautiful gold.
35:49It's just stunning.
35:51It cleans up so well.
35:54Yeah, so I've been watching the boys over there.
35:56They're getting a lot of small stuff.
35:59Start getting crackers like this.
36:00This is what we want.
36:01This is what I want.
36:02So to head straight over onto the new lease
36:04and to pick up six grams quite quickly,
36:08that's a really, really good sign for me.
36:10I know I've got a good location
36:12and I know there's going to be good gold there.
36:19Oh.
36:24That's a better target.
36:28Hear that inverted tone.
36:30Back in the mega pit,
36:32Damo's fortunes are also on the rise.
36:34Oh.
36:36Met me at this point.
36:41Holy.
36:45That just popped out.
36:47I reckon that was in the old time of spoil.
36:49There's the edge there.
36:52Check that out.
36:55It's Scratchy Moo's biggest nugget of the season,
36:58an eight-grammer worth $1,600.
37:02That's the sort of stuff that helps your day a lot.
37:05It's been a tough cut
37:06and I've had a couple of tough cuts
37:07and that's a beauty.
37:09That does make me pretty happy.
37:11Tensions building up, building up,
37:13and then suddenly it's like,
37:15the gold starts to flow
37:16and the bottle starts to shake.
37:22That's awesome.
37:23That's really good.
37:30Haven't got anything yet.
37:34At Swiss Diggings,
37:36Dennis is back in his pit
37:37just a few hundred metres away
37:39from Donny and Ronnie's new cut.
37:41Probably just a little bit slower on.
37:44The dynamic duo has so far
37:47found nothing but rubbish.
37:49And that's not a good outcome for Donny.
37:52He employed Ronnie
37:53to try and double his gold output.
37:59Oh, that sounds good, Ron.
38:02Yeah.
38:04It's laying in the dirt somewhere.
38:06It's laying in the dirt somewhere.
38:09I'll bet you,
38:10I'll bet you were the ducks of high school,
38:12were you?
38:15It's laying in the dirt somewhere.
38:17It's laying in the dirt somewhere.
38:19Yeah.
38:27Keep going.
38:29When it gets loudest,
38:30you're right on it.
38:34It's got to be in the dirt here somewhere.
38:36Oh, yeah, shut up.
38:38Look what I've got.
38:40What do you got?
38:41Oh, yeah, man.
38:43Come on.
38:48For him to hit that seven grammer,
38:52that was pretty cool.
38:56And now Ronnie's got another target.
39:00Oh, ho, ho.
39:02Sounds good.
39:03Come on.
39:07Oh, ho, ho.
39:16Another one.
39:16Good stuff, Ron.
39:18Yeah.
39:21Well, there you go, man.
39:22What's that?
39:23$1,800 bucks.
39:25Two nugs.
39:26Beautiful.
39:30The two nuggets cap off a four ounce weekly haul
39:34for Team Swiss diggings.
39:36And you start pulling out some decent gold
39:38and all your worries just seem to disappear.
39:42The maths, however, tells a less exciting story.
39:46By the time Donnie hands over 60% of the gold
39:49he's found to Dennis,
39:50and Ronnie takes his 10% cut,
39:53he'll be just $648 closer
39:56to that elusive $37,500 down payment
40:00for the new lease.
40:02Donnie has a long way to go.
40:05Beautiful.
40:06Keep it going.
40:12It's been a mixed week for Team Scratchy Moo.
40:15There's always something breaking down in this game.
40:17Always.
40:17Always.
40:18Looks alright, though.
40:19But this is some tasty-looking gold right there.
40:23Along with machinery breakdowns,
40:25Matt and Damo have had to cope with Lee's dodgy dealings.
40:29That's good. It saves us having to chase him.
40:31It's priority number one for me now.
40:32I just need to get this ticked off and done.
40:34Fair enough.
40:35You can get it done.
40:35Yeah, that priority number one.
40:37I'll remember that. I hope you do.
40:40This week is travelling along pretty nicely
40:42in terms of the gold tally.
40:43It's around the target every day is coming in.
40:48Yeah, 217.6.
40:50Woo-hoo!
40:51Yeah, that's good work.
40:51Good week, boys.
40:54Now, Cherie, as the paperwork's not through yet,
40:57and as you allowed me to go and have a little look over there...
40:59Oh, what story are we coming up with now?
41:02Ooh.
41:03It's a little 7-grammer I found next door.
41:05A little 7-grammer, wow.
41:07As you let me go for a little wander next door.
41:09It's a ripper.
41:09So that's ours to keep?
41:11Well, as I haven't paid for it yet.
41:13That's a bonus.
41:14I suppose it is our goal until you peg a leg.
41:16Sure it wasn't a poach out of the cut.
41:17Well, it wasn't a poach out of the cut,
41:19but it's a poach from over there that I'm pretty happy about.
41:22Lee's 7-gram gift is just what the doctor ordered.
41:26He's back in the good books with Team Scratchy Moo.
41:29It's pushing us closer and it's giving me more confidence
41:31that we're going to reach our tally.
41:33Good stuff.
41:34Good job.
41:40At 1870, the mood is more sombre.
41:44The machinery relocation was a hard-fought battle.
41:48On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm at a 9.5 of about to cry.
41:53Richie's broken his hand.
41:55He's in excruciating pain.
41:58There you go, mate.
42:00Obviously, I'm disappointed.
42:02Now I'm out of action.
42:03I don't know how long.
42:04I moved up here to give down a hand, and literally now I can't.
42:09The extent of the damage and the amount of time he'll need to spend back on the Gold Coast is
42:14yet to be determined.
42:16Yeah.
42:17I just did this so I don't have to work.
42:18That's all it is.
42:21It's hardly working anyway.
42:25I'm good at supervising.
42:26This is going to put us all back behind again.
42:29I don't think Dan and Kirill would be too impressed that we've had to lead them.
42:33But, yeah.
42:35Happens.
42:36Can I top that up a bit, please?
42:39Sure.
42:39Happy love bourbon.
42:42With Richie heading home to recover, and Kimberley by his side, 1870 season now rests on Dan's shoulders.
42:51He's going to be out of action for weeks now.
42:54I'm back to square one.
42:56Next time.
42:58I'm knackered, but I'm excited.
42:59Got it.
43:00Dan's mega wash plan is finally in place.
43:03But will Richie ever make it back to site?
43:06We're back at the surgeon today to see if Richie needs surgery.
43:10So, last week's been crazy.
43:12Well, I just need a break.
43:14Dan, you have to lift your game and do even more mental work.
43:19So, Lee's off trudging around the bush, banging some pegs in, and hopefully he doesn't trip over a snake.
43:23Lee comes good with his finances, and stakes his claim in the Claremont gold fields.
43:30It's a damn good feeling.
43:32Start me off.
43:33$400.
43:35And Donnie's brainwave gold auction idea.
43:38When you're sitting there and there's no bids coming through, and you're like, oh my God, here we go.
43:42To fund his 1880 land purchase.
43:46$38.50.
43:47Once.
43:49Twice.
43:50Three times.
43:51And Peggy's only's in the Claremont gold fields.
43:55Sold.
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