- 3 hours ago
Gold Wars Downunder - Season 1 - Episode 03: Richie and Kimberley discover the harsh realities of gold mining
Category
📺
TVTranscript
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.
00:18Oh, look at that.
00:20Dog ate dog.
00:21The wars are on.
00:23Why are you entertaining this idiot?
00:25I was a bit pissed off when Donnie come in.
00:28How good's that?
00:29Three mining teams.
00:31We have put a load of money into the mine, so we have to make it work.
00:35On the one patch of land.
00:37This is just some of the stuff Donnie's been walking over.
00:41Guy's foot.
00:42You're lucky if I don't walk over his big nose.
00:45This time.
00:46Had enough of it.
00:48See the holes here?
00:49One there, one there, one there, one there.
00:52So they're not shy.
00:53Matt and his new head of security, Blue, go undercover to try and catch a gold thief.
00:59So they're basically just taking 10s and 20s out of your wallet without you being there.
01:04Those thieves.
01:06Richie gets outboxed by Dennis.
01:09You've about a procession.
01:10You're not falling to gold.
01:11You've got to spot the balls, so we don't have a choice.
01:14Who's driving a hard bargain.
01:17What do you sort of think price-wise?
01:20I think you're more like half an ounce.
01:28And ex-business partners Lee and Donnie come face-to-face in a tense showdown.
01:35I was not expecting Lee to get out of that vehicle.
01:38And when I seen him, I was just, I was a bit shell-shocked.
01:42The guy is a dead-set grump.
01:45You're a fool.
01:46You've ripped me off since day dot.
01:48You just need to be a partnership.
01:50You are a leech.
01:51Right, I'm good on you.
01:52Leech McGrath.
01:52Good on you.
02:07The 1870 mining lease, Claremont.
02:13Mining world stuff.
02:1813 weeks into the season, and mine owners Ritchie and Kimberley are learning the hard
02:23way that all that glitters is not gold.
02:28When I first purchased 1870, I was prepared to put in half a million.
02:34That's more than doubled now.
02:36Every single day, there's something else going wrong.
02:39This mine is costing a fortune, and it is concerning.
02:43Of course, we've invested a lot of money.
02:46Just watching the bank account go down, down, down, down, down.
02:49All they have for the season is $81,500 worth of gold.
02:55Their target is $500,000.
02:58This is supposed to be solid.
03:00They put on a pivot.
03:02We have a lad come out who can weld.
03:05Not very good.
03:07And now, the one bit of kit they were relying on to help them turn things around
03:12the $50,000 drive lower is stuck on a dirt track.
03:18We've made all this way in here.
03:21I knew this was going to be a fire to you.
03:23Mine manager Dan is at his wits' end.
03:27Look at her world.
03:29She came down pretty hard.
03:32If, for some reason, it got damaged, it'd be a disaster, and it'd be a complete waste
03:40of my last six or nine months.
03:45They need to get the draw bar on the dry blower repaired and fast.
03:50We've got to sort out a proper hitch for it.
03:52This is a joke.
03:53Dan has called Dennis, the owner of Swiss Diggings, to come and bail him out of trouble.
04:00Can you bring your welder over, Dennis?
04:03We're in a bit of a bind.
04:06It's always an interesting phone call on a Sunday morning.
04:16Dennis and Dan get on well, and Dennis has all of the welding equipment needed to do
04:21the job.
04:22What should we be paying him to do this?
04:25Probably $150 an hour.
04:32So, a few years ago, Dennis bought Swiss Diggings from me.
04:36Stand-up guy.
04:38How you been, mate?
04:39Been a while, though.
04:40Not too bad, mate.
04:41Not too bad.
04:41Dennis and Richie.
04:42Richie, how you doing, mate?
04:43Good, Richie.
04:44How are you, buddy?
04:44Not too shabby.
04:45Thanks for coming in and helping us.
04:48However, when he rocked up, he was cold.
04:52Hmm.
04:53So, what have you got going on here, mate?
04:54What do you do?
04:55Oh, look.
04:55We've just come down into this gully, and she's just snapped, and now we're stuck.
05:02So, I was hoping with your welder, maybe you might be able to...
05:07Fix her up for us a bit.
05:10Oh, look.
05:10I think I could probably knock someone up here for you.
05:12Yeah.
05:13What do you sort of think the price was?
05:15Five or six grams or something?
05:19I'm thinking more like half an ounce.
05:23Half an ounce?
05:24Yep.
05:25For Richard, as some millionaire, he seems to be very much controlled by his mine manager.
05:33An ounce of gold's five grand, so two and a half grand.
05:37Yeah, I think so.
05:44With Dennis away on the call-out, the Swiss diggings pit is vacant.
05:53Not a great sign when Dennis' takings for the season are $151,500 versus the half a million he wants.
06:04Copied, Matt.
06:05Dennis' new contractor, Donnie, is heading over to the Scratchy Moo lease.
06:11He's been invited over by mine's joint owner, Matt.
06:16Copied, Scratchy Moo.
06:17Anyone got a copy?
06:20Copied, Matt.
06:27Donnie and Matt used to work together at 1870.
06:31The other thing they have in common is they were both sacked by Dan.
06:37Copy, Matt.
06:42No answer.
06:44But Donnie's in for a shock.
06:48Matt sent Lee, Donnie's ex-business partner, to unlock the entry gate to the mine.
06:54Flash-looking car.
07:01What the...
07:04Fancy saying, you're here.
07:09What are you doing here?
07:11I was not expecting Lee to get out of that vehicle.
07:13And when I seen him, I was just...
07:17I was a bit shell-shocked.
07:19What are you...
07:19Why are you here?
07:21You working with Matty?
07:22No, he's a businesswoman, Donnie.
07:24Not too fussy about who he lets on his...
07:26Police.
07:33Half an ounce.
07:34Yeah, I think so.
07:35Half an ounce is a bit steep.
07:37So, look, obviously, I appreciate it.
07:38We're in the middle of bloody nowhere, but...
07:40At 1870, Dennis is about to teach Richie and Dan
07:44a lesson in the art of deal-making in the goldfields.
07:48I appreciate what you're saying,
07:50but there's better places I could be too.
07:53His job price to fix the world on the dry blower
07:56is three times Dan's initial estimate.
07:59But Team 1870 has no time to waste.
08:03I think when Dennis came out, what he did,
08:06he threw in a bit of extra money just to cover the...
08:08Call it the Donnie tax.
08:11Mate, I've got...
08:13I've got issues over there myself.
08:14You know, as you know, I've got a new contractor.
08:16You pulled me away from him.
08:18I think he was just, like, saying,
08:19well, are you going to f*** with Donnie?
08:21I'll f*** you guys.
08:23If the gold's not coming through, what do you want me to do?
08:26It's a business to be run.
08:28What do you expect?
08:29If the gold's not coming in, how are we going to keep...
08:31Yeah, that's fine.
08:32Well, what about the gutless way it was done, though?
08:34Why didn't you come down and talk to me, Dan?
08:36Yeah, yeah, well...
08:37Donnie's main gripe with Richie and Dan
08:40is that he was terminated from 1870
08:42without notice and via email.
08:45That didn't go down well with Dennis.
08:49I've had over 55 employees
08:51and never, ever have I ever let them go by an email.
08:55You know, I think you've got to show
08:57the balls to actually let someone go.
08:58You've got to do it face-to-face
09:00and actually have a conversation with them.
09:02You're about to process them.
09:04You're not finding gold.
09:05You've got to spot the balls, so we don't have a choice.
09:09All right, well, look, let's just get it done.
09:11I want to go process, man.
09:13All right, let's do it.
09:14Thanks, man. Appreciate it.
09:15Cheers.
09:16All right, I'll follow this up, eh?
09:19Bugger them.
09:21They can pay it.
09:21It's the way it is.
09:23Half an ounce of gold is a load of gold
09:25for a couple of hours' work.
09:27I don't know.
09:28I think we'll carry it, mate, if we can.
09:31Getting screwed over a bit,
09:32but hopefully he does a good job welding.
09:39Scratchy move.
09:41Sounds a bit better.
09:44And Damo and Matt are the outright leaders in the gold fields
09:48with $240,000 worth of gold for the season.
09:53But their gold tally has slowed
09:56since Lee arrived a few weeks ago.
09:58Yeah.
09:59Just swarf.
10:01No, no, no, no.
10:03You're full of...
10:03Lee used to own the 1870 mine with Donnie.
10:07Donnie and I, we were working quite well together.
10:09We were helping each other out.
10:11We were quite close.
10:12And then, yeah, after the split,
10:15after we were gone,
10:16it just turned upside down.
10:19Just, yeah, it was bizarre.
10:22Lee subsequently sold 1870 to Richie for $400,000,
10:27and Donnie claims he has never been paid what he was owed.
10:32You're full of...
10:33You've ripped me off since day dot.
10:35It was meant to be a partnership.
10:37That's why they call you Leach McGrath.
10:39What?
10:41So how do you think you didn't own half the business?
10:44It's such a McGrath.
10:44So why did I pay the estimate?
10:46Because you paid me, that's why.
10:48What did I ever get out of it?
10:50You got free labor for two years.
10:52That's what you got.
10:53The gold.
10:54What gold?
10:55What gold did I get?
10:56The 70-30 split after we went out.
10:59What gold did I get when I was mixed up with you with 1870?
11:02I've seen you walk away with two big trays of gold
11:05you've been flashing on Facebook.
11:06If Matt had secretly hoped his mates Lee and Donnie
11:10might kiss and make up,
11:11he's going to be sorely disappointed.
11:15Let's go through the financials that we sold.
11:17Where's my...
11:18Cut of the gold.
11:18That we sold, Donnie.
11:19Where's my payment?
11:20To pay for the excavator, Donnie.
11:23How did we pay for the excavator?
11:25How did we pay for Black Betty?
11:27How did we pay for all the other stuff?
11:29How did we pay for the leases?
11:31How did we...
11:31How did we pay for the leases?
11:33You never paid a...
11:34With the gold we paid for.
11:35You never paid one cent.
11:38I'm the only one that contributed money into that...
11:41Leach.
11:42You are Leach.
11:43Righto, good on you.
11:44Leach McGrath.
11:45Good on you.
11:46You, you piece of...
11:47Righto.
11:51Fuckin' those.
11:52Fuck them all.
11:54People don't think they get enough money.
11:56People don't think someone's ripped them off.
11:58On it goes.
12:01Man, what a...
12:02Fancy having that...
12:04Police.
12:12They seem to do whatever they want to do around Claremont.
12:15If things weren't heating up enough at Scratchy Mo...
12:18Go down and see where they've had a...
12:20Had a bit of a scratch now.
12:22Matt has received reports of thieves sneaking onto their lease at night and stealing gold.
12:29So they've dug down here.
12:30There's all these...
12:31On my left there.
12:32Yeah, there's all holes down here.
12:34Yeah, well, the old fence jumpers club going strong in Claremont.
12:42Gold thieves, known as poachers, are a constant threat to every miner in Claremont.
12:50The poaching now is becoming crazy.
12:55These guys are seriously taking some very big chances doing what they're doing.
13:02There's red paint on the trees, there's signs all around, there's chains up, there's phone apps that tell you exactly
13:09where you are.
13:10So as a prospector, you've got no excuse for being on a mining lease.
13:18But just people having that, the gall to just, you know, I'm just going to ignore it, I'm going to
13:23do what I want, I'm going to come in there, it just gives you...
13:31Matt has recruited his old army mate, retired Sergeant Major Blue, to help him try and identify the culprits.
13:38So they're basically just taking 10s and 20s out of your wallet without you being there.
13:42That's thieves.
13:44See the holes here, they'll hear the other, probably three nights ago.
13:47Yeah, they're all...
13:48So they're not shy.
13:51So we've spent three years and a few hundred thousand dollars to make this lease happen here, and it's pretty
13:57frustrating and pretty upsetting, to be honest,
14:00that someone's just wandering around your backyard, basically, and stealing from you.
14:09Which side are you on, mate?
14:11At $18.70, Dan and Richie have reluctantly agreed to pay Dennis' $2,500 call-out fee.
14:21Richie's on the tools.
14:25They need to get the dry blower operational today, if there's any chance of getting their season back on track.
14:32If you lift her up, I'll give you a level.
14:39Half an hour.
14:41This is the first time Dennis has clocked the new setter at $18.70.
14:47So my plan is to actually run a bead, and then I'm going to put a gusset in, and then
14:53I'm going to run down the sides, and then around the edge, give it a bit more strength.
14:57And I'll try and do that on both sides for them.
15:00And then that'll give them a bit more strength in the whole process.
15:07Obviously, when they're done, but the half an ounce tomorrow, I could go buy one of these things.
15:12It's just, you know.
15:14$18.70 is flatline.
15:17The mine hasn't produced a single gram of gold in the last two weeks.
15:23It's so hard to juggle putting this Meccano set together.
15:28I need help.
15:31Dan's wife, Kira, has agreed to come up to the mine for a few weeks.
15:36Dan needs the extra help.
15:39I'm sort of thinking, like, we're now a fair bit behind from where we were yesterday.
15:45I'm grateful he's here.
15:46It's just setback after setback after setback.
15:49We want to be processing dirt today like ASAP.
15:56How's it going, man?
15:57Yeah, all done, mate.
15:58All that.
15:58It's all done for you.
16:00Dennis has successfully welded the dryblower's broken drawbar back together.
16:05Hopefully, it lasts for you and gets you where you need to get it to.
16:09Well, let's get him paid.
16:10You can get underway.
16:11I can get this down where it needs to go.
16:13Good stuff.
16:13No worries at all.
16:14Cheers, man.
16:15Thanks, guys.
16:17All right, bud.
16:18Let's get you paid.
16:19It's been a costly $2,500 morning for Ritchie and Kimberley.
16:29Thanks for coming out and helping out today with the welding.
16:32Oh, that's fine.
16:33That's no worries at all.
16:33Saved our day, I think.
16:35So here's your gold.
16:37We've got it for you.
16:38There you go.
16:39Thanks very much.
16:40You don't mind it for you.
16:41Go for it.
16:46Look at that.
16:47Bang on.
16:47There you go.
16:48Back on.
16:48Good stuff.
16:501870's gold tally now stands at $79,000.
16:55The team is going backwards.
16:58Didn't really want to part with the gold.
17:00But anyway, you had to let go.
17:01That's the way you wanted to get paid.
17:03And yeah, so you've got to do what you've got to do out here, I guess.
17:06Thank you very much.
17:07Appreciate it, mate.
17:08Thanks for saving your arse, mate.
17:11Thanks, Richard.
17:12Nice to meet you.
17:12Likewise.
17:13Nice to see you too, Kimberley.
17:14I'm sure we'll see each other again.
17:16Definitely.
17:16Absolutely.
17:16Good stuff.
17:17All right.
17:17Thanks, guys.
17:19In Claremont, everyone has something to say about everyone else.
17:24And Dennis is no different.
17:27From the little I understand of what's going on over there with the dry blowing set up,
17:31the strategy, it's not commercially viable.
17:34I think they're doing it cheaply.
17:38And what they've got there is literally a pile of EA Falcon cars that went to China, got scrapped,
17:44come back as processing plants.
17:47Pretty much rubbish.
17:55Get into it, Donnie.
17:56Get into it, Donnie.
17:58Keep going, Donnie.
18:00You'll be right.
18:02You'll be right.
18:07I'll be right back.
18:08At Swiss diggings, Donnie's feeling hard done by.
18:12I'll get back here.
18:14I'll get a message off Dennis.
18:16Oh, I've gone over to 1870 to help Dan and Richie Rich.
18:20Well, I mean, after what they did to me, I mean, I just can't believe Dennis even entertained them.
18:27I mean, why would you want to go there and help them?
18:31You've got ground here to dig.
18:33You've got work here to do.
18:35And here I am on me, eh?
18:39But what Donnie doesn't realise is that Dennis has just stitched up Team 1870 as payback for the way Dan
18:46treated Donnie.
18:48I would have told them to go jamming up their arse.
18:54Dennis left Donnie very specific instructions to dig in a straight line.
19:00Well, it's not really the way Dennis wanted me to go, but I expect him to be here helping me
19:06do the work.
19:07But Donnie's no yes man.
19:09He has issues around authority and prefers to do things his way.
19:13So there's a stringer about where my inside tooth is there right now running down on a 45.
19:23When I spotted that stringer in the wall, I thought, mother, look.
19:30So I'm just going to bust this out into that stringer and just see what's in further.
19:40A stringer is a vein or fracture in the rock, mostly composed of quartz.
19:46It's also where valuable metals like gold can be trapped.
19:50So I'll get her up and go and have a look.
19:56There's a...
19:58There's something going on in there.
20:01All I know is a gold miner, it's soft.
20:04That is soft.
20:05That is hard.
20:07Gold can't go through that.
20:09But it can go through that.
20:11So that's what I'm chasing.
20:13If I'm right, I'm right.
20:14If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
20:18Where are you?
20:20Come out, come out, wherever you are.
20:22At Scratchy Moo, Lee's taking out some pent-up frustration on the pick.
20:27His run-in with Donnie was ugly and unexpected.
20:32Nice.
20:33Look at the enthusiasm.
20:34I'm a bit excited.
20:36The gold is slow going.
20:39But they've hit an old mine shaft from the late 1800s.
20:42It's a promising sign.
20:46We are under old-timer workings, and I did wonder whether they were from, like, shafts?
20:53Yeah, the old-timers took it.
20:54We know they only took a certain percentage.
20:55I've heard that they've only really got about 13%.
21:00Clermont's gold run began in 1861 with the discovery of alluvial gold.
21:06The old-timers claim their fair share of the gold, but Lee's convinced there's millions of dollars worth left to
21:12be found.
21:13They didn't have the technology back then.
21:16Like, they're digging with picks and shovels and equipment that's broken.
21:20I'm convinced there's still a load of gold here.
21:25This is gold zone.
21:27This is proper gold zone.
21:33Ah-ha!
21:34Look at that.
21:35That's probably, yeah, 0.3, 0.4.
21:39Some days that's about the average size, which doesn't seem like a lot, but you keep putting them in the
21:45jar and they add up.
21:49In no time, Lee and Damo have pulled out 15 grams of gold worth around $2,500.
22:01It's a little gold, but a lot of it adds up.
22:05It's that big bit.
22:07Gold!
22:09You're on a winner.
22:10But gold's not the only thing the old-timers left behind.
22:16Look at these final two targets.
22:22What are you finding?
22:23Well, I found them.
22:24I found them the biggest mega-swarp I've ever found.
22:28Wow!
22:29Where's the tunnel?
22:30The old-timers have come through and taken what they've taken, but there's so much gold under here.
22:37There's more gold under here by far than what's been found, without a doubt.
22:50Team 1870 is well behind schedule.
22:53Their 100-ounce season target is further away than ever.
22:58But there is some good news.
23:01What's going on?
23:03Dan's family has arrived.
23:07How are you going?
23:08I brought you a new worker.
23:09Oh, true.
23:11So, Kira's a superhero.
23:13You know, we've got four kids.
23:15It's been so difficult for Dan, because he's out here working from sunup to sundown, trying to get everything together
23:26so that it will work.
23:28Spent eight, nine months at a time away from the family.
23:44Spent eight, nine months at a time away from the family.
24:01Spent eight, nine months at a time away from the family.
24:04This is going to be absolute no fun at all.
24:09The $50,000 dry blower is finally back on the move.
24:13We good to go?
24:15We good to go, buddy.
24:18When it comes to trying to chase the gold, there's a lot of things that can happen, and that's why
24:23not everyone does it.
24:25So, there's a lot of risk involved, but we'll get there, and hopefully this will pay off quickly.
24:34Dan has 400 metres of rough bush track to navigate to get to the processing site.
24:40Head a little bit to the left.
24:44Keep going left.
24:46I hope his welds hold up.
24:48So, I didn't think the dry blower getting down to the location would take two days.
24:52Two days has cost us a lot of money as well.
24:56That's it.
24:58This track is really gnarly.
25:00Hopefully, there's no more mistakes today, no more breakages.
25:07As soon as I start seeing the gold, I'll feel much better a bit the whole lot.
25:13Lift the forks a little.
25:14Dan needs to manoeuvre the dry blower through a sharp left turn before they're in the clear.
25:21They cannot afford any more disasters.
25:25Let's see if Dennis' welding holds on.
25:29All right, to the right here, there's some holes I just fell in, so try and stick left if you
25:36can.
25:43Yeah, I've just got to be careful how I'm doing this.
25:46Going around is true.
25:52Yeah, you're through the worst of it, mate.
25:57It's been an expensive and time-consuming ordeal, but they've finally done it.
26:04I reckon we're pretty well there, man.
26:05I'm going to hope you're flat.
26:12Fine operating skills.
26:13Good job.
26:15Well done, mate.
26:17Done.
26:20So getting the dry blower to site, it was a huge achievement in itself.
26:25It was like, finally the hard work's starting to pay off.
26:31Dan's wasting no more time.
26:33He wants to run a few buckets of soil through the dry blower to test the grade of the pay
26:38dirt.
26:39It'll also tell them if the dry blower has been damaged in the move.
26:44If something is damaged, our whole production stops.
26:50That area there is where the gold should be sitting, right on that colour change there.
26:57That's where the gold should be sitting, if it's going to be here, or anywhere up in here too, but
27:01right in that.
27:04At Swiss diggings, Donnie has deviated away from Dennis's mining plan.
27:16So before I left, I asked Donnie to go in a certain direction.
27:19And, you know, this is part of the parcel, I suppose, of him understanding my mining techniques.
27:24The boss has returned from his welding job at 1870.
27:30Hey!
27:31Oh, he's back.
27:33I don't want holes being jumped and I don't want, you know, turning left and turning right and doing it
27:38to your own will.
27:39We need to sit down and discuss the reasons of why you're doing what you're doing.
27:42Dennis is a little bit different to me because Dennis, you know, he obviously has the funds to put the
27:48diesel in the machine.
27:49And whereas I'm of the mindset of, you know, if you're not on the gold, go back to where you've
27:54last found gold and try and find it again.
27:59How'd you go? You getting anything?
28:01No, I haven't got anything as yet.
28:05Why are you going that way?
28:08When we said to go this way.
28:10That's why I was waiting for you to ask me that.
28:13I made an executive decision.
28:17On your second day.
28:21Yep.
28:27Oh!
28:29It's working.
28:30I'm walking around a cart and seeing dig holes everywhere and it was very frustrating.
28:37One there, one there.
28:39At Scratchy Moo, Matt has discovered fresh dig holes in the cart.
28:45Yeah, someone stole that camera.
28:47Matt and his new head of security, Blue, have set hidden cameras and tripwire alarms to try and catch the
28:55poachers out.
28:56Just a little tripwire.
28:59That's that to cowbells or some other early warning device.
29:02Matt wants to put a stop to the thieving.
29:06Yeah, this is one of our cameras.
29:08We have roughly ten at the moment.
29:10I bought another four the other day.
29:13So we're putting them everywhere.
29:15They've been sneaky and walked straight past the cameras and the cameras haven't caught them.
29:22You like where I've got the swag set up?
29:24Yeah, that's all right, matey.
29:25You can see all the way down here.
29:26See through the valley.
29:27Yep.
29:29Blue will camp out overnight to try and catch the poachers red-handed.
29:35Stealing off a mining lease is a criminal offence.
29:38Trying to catch the poachers.
29:40We've had enough of it, basically.
29:42Reality is they shouldn't be there.
29:45If they don't know where they are, they shouldn't be there.
29:48But there's a hiccup.
29:50Man down.
29:51Sorry.
29:54Blue has a bad case of food poisoning.
29:59He's the toughest in the game.
30:01Look, he's still going, he's spewing.
30:02This bloke's the toughest nail.
30:06Poor old Blue, he's got this succulent Chinese meal.
30:14Their cameras haven't caught them, which were very close.
30:16And hopefully Blue gets some pictures and we can give them to the police.
30:20Prevent some of these thieving rats from taking money out of Matt's wallet.
30:25He's spent a lot of money to get to this point.
30:28A lot of blood, sweat and tears over three or four years.
30:31Matt needs hard evidence to take to the police.
30:35He's counting on Blue to come through with the proof.
30:39That's if he can make it through the night.
30:42I'll see you tomorrow, Blue.
30:44Right on, mate.
30:45Alright, you get on to them.
30:47Good luck.
30:49Karma's a...
30:49I'm a big believer in karma, Blue.
30:52Oh, it's coming around.
30:53I reckon so.
30:54Alright.
31:01So they're going to dump it in the top there.
31:04And then it goes through these, like, little trays.
31:07And how does everything on the top just not fall off here?
31:10Team 1870 is about to discover if the dry blower works or not.
31:16With running the dry blower, there's a lot of moving parts.
31:19So stuff can always go wrong.
31:21So I'm absolutely...
31:24Yeah, I'm nervous.
31:27All right, Bertie, do it.
31:28All right.
31:30Righty-o, mate.
31:31Go for it.
31:32Biner up.
31:47Seeing the dry blower getting up and going was awesome.
31:50To see that first bucket of dirt go through there and actually see, well, hey, it sort of works.
31:55That was pretty exciting for me.
31:58Well, process some dirt finally.
32:01Been waiting so long.
32:04Right now I'm happy as a pig in, you know what.
32:08Dry blowers are designed to separate heavy gold particles from dry soil.
32:13So the idea is to keep these fields equally full and never let them run dry.
32:22Well, that was running really nice.
32:24All the dirt's running beautifully over those riffles.
32:27So that's pretty cool.
32:31If Dan and Richie's calculations are correct, the dry blower should produce one to two ounces
32:37of gold a day worth $10,000.
32:39The plan is to turn over $70,000 of gold a week.
32:45Look, it was great to see the dry blower running, but the real thing that we want to find out
32:49is how much gold's in there.
32:57We're getting a bit of a plan together.
32:58We need to be sticking to this plan or we need to be talking to me about it.
33:01Well, I just figured I'm already in Rome, so I might as well go and see the Coliseum
33:05while I'm there.
33:07All right, eh?
33:08At Swiss Diggings, Dennis and Donnie's working relationship is being tested.
33:15Sounding all right.
33:18She's in the ground.
33:29Sounds good, Dennis.
33:31Sounds all right to me.
33:47Have a go at that.
33:51Holy...
33:51Hey, it's here.
33:54Isn't that colour, mate?
33:56Isn't that iron stone?
33:57Just redeem me self.
33:59Sort of.
34:00How good's that?
34:00If you get over half an ounce today, you're doing all right.
34:04Donnie's on a 40-60 split with Dennis.
34:07He'll need to keep the nuggets coming in big and fast if he wants to keep Dennis happy.
34:13If I can keep producing for him, he'll see the worth.
34:16And, you know, everyone loves to get gold in their pocket.
34:23We're off.
34:24Ha, ha, ha!
34:28Oh, how good's that?
34:32Isn't that clawed, I think?
34:41All right, come on, baby.
34:43Oh, I think I can see it.
34:47Look at that.
34:49Ha, ha, ha!
34:51Ha, ha!
34:54All right, that's about a few, a couple of grams of it.
34:56I love it when a plan comes together.
35:01Ha!
35:02Good job.
35:07All right, I might pass these out to you if that's cool.
35:10And if you just want to pour them in, so I'd probably pour it upside down.
35:15Yep.
35:16At 1870, it's been a successful first run for the dry blower.
35:21But the real test is how much gold has been caught in the ripple trace.
35:27That'll determine the gold reserve value of the land.
35:31I think I might get us a bigger bucket, eh?
35:33Yeah, that'd be good, because we're going to fill up full of gold.
35:36Dan's running three tonnes of dirt through the dry blower to test the ground.
35:42That's heavy.
35:44So how much gold do you reckon we'll get out of this?
35:47I'd like to see at least two grams, you know.
35:53Richie wants 50% more.
35:56I need at least three grams of gold for those three buckets we put in there
36:01to see if this thing works properly.
36:08That's a good-sounding target.
36:12Holy...
36:16Still in the wall, butter.
36:18You little ribber.
36:21At Swiss Diggings, Donnie's mining instincts have paid off big time.
36:30Oh, that's not it there, is it?
36:45Holy...
36:47Oh...
36:48Oh...
36:49Oh...
36:50Come on!
36:53Come on!
36:56Oh!
36:57Oh, mate!
36:59Ha-ha-ha!
36:59That's it!
37:01Holy...
37:02Have you ever waited this?
37:04Holy...
37:08Oh, look at that, mixed up in the clays.
37:11I think you've heard your stripes.
37:13Let's get it in the jar.
37:15Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
37:17It's a good problem to have, isn't it?
37:20Donnie's done it again.
37:22He's trumped his record nugget high.
37:27Ninety-seven point seventy-three grams.
37:31Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
37:32How good is that?
37:34It's a $16,000 gold haul for Dennis and Donnie,
37:39capped off with a monster two-and-a-half-ounce nugget
37:42valued at around $12,500.
37:46I don't get too many $16,000 days,
37:49and I don't think anyone does in the working industry.
37:51It's a pretty rare thing to be pulling that out in a day.
37:57And then there's the two-and-a-half grand stitch-up
38:00for the welding job at $18.70.
38:02What bad, eh?
38:04I have to learn the world.
38:07That brings Dennis' season tally to $170,000.
38:14Absolute cracking day and well-deserved.
38:16Yeah, cheers, mate.
38:16Well done again, mate.
38:17Cheers.
38:30So there's our tub of concentrate.
38:33That's out of all those trays.
38:35So I'm just going to do a quick pan, see how it goes.
38:41At $18.70, Richie and Kimberley are about to find out
38:45if their $1 million investment has potential.
38:49It's like bath water, isn't it?
38:51It's treason.
38:52It'll be like my bath water tonight.
38:54If they can get three grams of gold now,
38:57it'll prove that Dan's estimate of one gram of gold
39:01per tonne of pay dirt is realistic.
39:03And if it is, this little mine might turn out
39:07to be a very big money spinner.
39:09Bit of a process.
39:11Oh, look, there you go.
39:11Here's some here.
39:14Nice.
39:14A little tick of all.
39:15Oh, you hold that.
39:16There you go.
39:19That'd be about just over half a gram already,
39:22that I reckon.
39:23Nice colour.
39:27Oh, here's another bit.
39:30She's a specie too.
39:37Perfect warts.
39:38Hand it over.
39:38There is a little fine piece here.
39:42Seeing only that very small amount of dirt
39:45that we put through it enabled us to bring out that much gold.
39:50It seems like a little bit,
39:51but when you start doing the math,
39:54it's going to change our lives.
39:55Love one in.
39:56Oh, I like that one.
39:58I thought that was a sticker.
39:59No, no.
40:00Do you want to hold it?
40:01Yeah, of course.
40:03Well, we're running it over a couple of grams of tonnes,
40:07so I reckon.
40:08It was over what I was expecting,
40:10plus there was all the micrograms of gold in there.
40:14That got me really excited,
40:16because now I know that the small gold
40:18that we're chasing is there.
40:20I must admit,
40:22I wasn't really expecting it to work that good.
40:25That four grams and the ultra fines
40:27shows that we're going to be very successful.
40:30The verdict is in.
40:321870's ground is rich in gold.
40:35If they can keep the dry blower running
40:37and bring the wash plant online,
40:39they could supersize their output
40:41from four grams to four ounces a day.
40:44I'm over the moon.
40:46That's better than I was expecting.
40:54At Scratchy Moo,
40:56Sergeant Major Blue has survived the food poisoning
40:59and the overnight camp out.
41:01I was going at the back end, the top end,
41:03but I just didn't sneeze, that's all.
41:05Yeah, it wasn't good.
41:06He didn't see any gold poachers,
41:09but Matt thinks Blue might have caught someone
41:12or something on one of the outlying hidden cameras.
41:15But there's this camera,
41:17I'm not sure if it's got any pictures on it,
41:18because we take them home probably once a week
41:20individually and put them on the computer
41:23and then look at all the photos and the information.
41:31That's prime pay right there.
41:34Lee's in the final stages of negotiating
41:36to buy right next door to Scratchy Moo.
41:40Last thing he wants is someone stealing his gold.
41:44It's quite volatile.
41:46This whole industry is quite volatile.
41:47They're getting a lot of poachers here at the moment
41:49coming in at night time.
41:50Like, these people just want the gold.
41:52They're hungry for the gold.
41:56Here's a couple of shots of the poachers on our cameras
41:59that we're setting up down Valley of the Diggs.
42:00He's got photos of him.
42:02He's got pictures of his car, of his face.
42:04The poor bloke's in a bit of trouble.
42:08Recognisable, buddy, patrol.
42:08Prospectious, guard.
42:09Look at that.
42:09That's a very...
42:10Chopped patrol with a bloody...
42:11Oh, full number play.
42:12Full number play.
42:13It's not going to take...
42:14Go to the cops.
42:15It's not going to take...
42:15We know that they're in there.
42:16So you've already sent these...
42:18This is the authorities, haven't you?
42:19Yeah, the cops already got them.
42:20Yeah, so Blue's done a treat.
42:22Yeah, yeah, Blue's done a good job.
42:23Cook guts and all.
42:24After he had his Chinese meal in town,
42:26his buddy...
42:26Fixed him right.
42:27Barley, Bally.
42:28His buddy...
42:30All that hardness.
42:31He pushed through when it was coming out both hands.
42:34Full pace.
42:35He was crook.
42:36He was so crook.
42:38Oh, God.
42:39Anyway.
42:44Team Scratchy Moo remains in the winner's circle.
42:48They've hauled in seven ounces of gold for the week.
42:52That takes them to $275,000 worth of gold for the season.
42:58Do I think we'll get to 100 ounces?
43:00Yes, I think we'll get to 100 ounces.
43:02Pretty easy.
43:04Would I just get to 100 ounces and stop there?
43:06No.
43:07This stuff's worth $5,000 an ounce.
43:10There's only one winner here for the season.
43:13Next time...
43:14You ready, Kimber?
43:14Learn how to drive this thing.
43:16Kimberley gets on the tools with disastrous results.
43:22What am I doing?
43:24That area there, man.
43:25That's where I'll be going.
43:26Dennis and Donnie hatch a bold plan to peg new ground and send Lee packing.
43:33If these guys come in and gazump me, I'll be pissed.
43:36Why are you entertaining this idiot?
43:39Basically, I'm sick of diving into my own pockets to pay for everything.
43:43And Richie's Gold Coast gold sale takes a bizarre twist.
43:47We've scanned a lot of weird and wonderful things in our scanner, but never a gold nugget.
43:51Can he seal the deal and fire up his bank balance?
43:55The 24-grain ain't going to tell it.
43:56That's my absolute last and final offer.
Comments