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Gold Rush: Alaska - Season 16 - Episode 00: R.o.o.k.i.e Mine Boss Showdown
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Let's go for an adventure.
00:02On this gold rush.
00:04Now I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
00:06It's the first ever rookie mind boss showdown.
00:10School of hard knocks, baby.
00:11No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:13Of course it's my fault. I'm in charge.
00:15Hitting the three most successful freshman bosses head to head.
00:20We got a learning curve to get ahead up here. There's no doubt about that.
00:23Judging their first year wins.
00:25Nice work.
00:26And fails.
00:27This is outrageous.
00:28To reveal who.
00:30We're going to do it.
00:32Blow in the plan. Yeah, woo.
00:34Is the top rookie mind boss.
00:48So what are you going to do about gold this year?
00:51I'm going to find it.
00:52In 15 years of gold rush.
00:55Now I'm going to start kicking some ass.
00:56There have been five rookie mind bosses.
01:00Honestly, it's one of the most challenging things I've ever done.
01:03But the best of the first year miners boils down to three.
01:08Teenager Parker Schnabel.
01:10It's about making money.
01:11That's what matters.
01:12Air to Tony Beat's mining empire, Kevin Beetz.
01:16It's time to show I have what it takes to be the boss.
01:18And seasoned foreman, Rick Ness.
01:21The opportunity is now.
01:22I just got to take it.
01:24Getting off to a fast start is essential for a first year mind boss.
01:29So the first round of competition is a showdown over who hits their first gold the fastest.
01:4216-year-old Parker Schnabel leaves his junior year of high school and goes straight into his freshman mind boss
01:50season.
01:50I have faith in your management that it will be successful.
01:55Thanks.
01:56Shake.
01:59Pretty big moment.
02:00I'm in charge now.
02:02Parker is gifted the big nugget mind by his grandpa, John.
02:06Complete with a working wash plant, iron, and crew.
02:11And needs 75 ounces by the end of his first season to keep the family operation afloat.
02:18He has vision that he's going to make thousands of dollars every day and I hope he's right.
02:24I've got a plan.
02:26I'm going to execute my plan.
02:28Simple as that.
02:29Parker's plan to see his first gold is to hit an easy score.
02:35Tailings mined over two decades ago.
02:38My grandpa mined this bench up here.
02:41This is all the tailings from that.
02:43If their sluice box caught 50% of the gold and they got 100 ounces then, then there would be
02:49another 100 ounces here.
02:50So we're going to give a crack at it.
02:58Hopefully there's a pile of gold sitting in there somewhere.
03:07It's the first clean out of dirt that I've picked out, I guess.
03:20Three-fifths of an ounce.
03:22We only ran four hours, so I think we're going to have a good week.
03:25After seeing gold on day one of being the boss, Parker spends the rest of his first week running all
03:33the tailings.
03:37It's working.
03:40They're getting bigger.
03:45It's Friday today, so we're going to clean out the whole plant.
03:50This is our first full week of running, and we've gotten six or seven ounces.
03:56Parker banks almost 10% of his season gold within a week of becoming boss.
04:02I must be doing something right.
04:05Parker's tailings are a one-time hit.
04:08He still needs to find more ground to keep sluicing, so he earns four points out of five in the
04:16first round.
04:18Next, newbie mine boss Kevin Beetz also has an opportunity to hit first gold fast, but he wants a lot
04:27more than 75 ounces in his first year.
04:31I got big plans to set up a gold mine and run it my way.
04:34We do have 1,000-ounce gold.
04:36This is a big gamble, so me and Faith have to make this work.
04:39After 20 years working on the family mine, clashes with his dad, Tony...
04:45What can you do, Kevin?
04:47Get a test fire in.
04:48Yeah, I don't even want to go there.
04:49...led to him breaking away and leasing ground from his old man.
04:54We'll give you Scribner.
04:55...borrowing equipment to start his own operation.
04:59You're not getting the best that we have, but you shouldn't have much troubles getting started.
05:04All you got to do down there is prove yourself.
05:08Right now, he opened up a mid-sized cut to get going.
05:13Based on what drill holes that Tony had and the little bit of poking around I did, between 15, 20
05:18feet of muck on top.
05:19Okay.
05:20To get his 1,000-ounce season gold, Kevin needs to open a three-acre cut in just four weeks.
05:30If I can keep all the machines going, our current schedule has us losing by the end of the month.
05:37Angles crossed.
05:40Opening the cut in a dozer borrowed from Tony, foreman Brennan Ruehl.
05:46What the...
05:47Something's not feeling right.
05:51That's green.
05:54Sick of this s***.
05:57What is this?
06:00Bolts obviously fell off the inside.
06:02Can't keep this old s*** running for more than a day.
06:05Four weeks into the season, disaster strikes.
06:10So...
06:11Yeah, this ain't s*** great.
06:13They need to take out the engine so it can get to the transmission.
06:17So, it essentially looking like it's going to be down for a f***ing while.
06:21It's pretty f***ing frustrating.
06:24I know Tony didn't want to give me, like, his best equipment, but this is a little ridiculous.
06:29I am definitely going to be talking to Tony.
06:36Hey, Tony.
06:37Hey, Kevin.
06:38What's up, man?
06:39Uh, well, I don't need to talk about that, do you, Ten?
06:42Uh-huh.
06:43She kind of, uh, grenaded.
06:48What grenaded?
06:49Uh, something in the transmission.
06:51Pretty much dead in the water.
06:54It was ran when you got it.
06:56What do you want?
06:57Uh, I need to have a spare from you.
07:02There is no more people.
07:04We all got to learn.
07:06Be your own boss.
07:07Okay.
07:08Uh, yeah.
07:09Got to run.
07:09I got s*** to do.
07:21More equipment problems.
07:23We've had a lot of delays.
07:24We really need to get s***ing.
07:27Slows progress.
07:29Coffee there, Kev?
07:30I think we're on the, uh, pay streak here.
07:33I'll be right down.
07:34It's two months, over a third of the way through his first season.
07:39There is some yellow s*** in here.
07:42Before Kevin finally sees his first gold.
07:45It's nice to have some confirmation, ain't it?
07:47We're about a month behind where we'd want it to be.
07:50We thought we'd already be sluicing by now, but delays, delays, breakdowns, breakdowns.
07:54So, the faster we can get this pay out, the faster we can set the plant up and get running.
08:03Kevin's problems delay him hitting gold, but he eventually clocks a first gold weigh of 33 ounces, giving him two
08:12points in the first round.
08:17Delays are something our last rookie mine boss can't afford, when he starts his new mine from scratch.
08:24This year is different.
08:26I'm the boss.
08:26It's 100% my operation.
08:28By the end of this year, I'll either be broke, or I'll have my own successful gold mining operation and
08:34a pile of gold.
08:34Rick Ness came through the ranks at Parker Schnabel's operation, and in 2018, decides to put his own money on
08:44the line and go it alone.
08:47I've never had this much responsibility before.
08:49I've never put, you know, my own money on the line like this.
08:52And now, you know, my crew is going to be depending on me.
08:55There's just a lot riding on my shoulders.
09:01Let's do it.
09:02Let's go start moving some f***ing mud.
09:03Right.
09:04Ready!
09:04Rick matches Kevin's ambition of a 1,000-ounce season gold, but goes even bigger, planning to open up a
09:13monster six-acre cut.
09:15Woo!
09:16Hoping to hit gold in 10 days, he goes all in, hiring a 475, the biggest dozer in the Klondike,
09:25for $100,000.
09:28I've got this 475 for 10 days max.
09:30That's all I can afford, really, to have it running.
09:32It could be sunk before I even get started.
09:40You know, I need to know what's in the ground now.
09:43I need to know if it's worth it.
09:48That's pay dirt right there.
09:50Right there for sure.
10:07Guys, you're not going to believe this, but I actually got a thawed hole down here, down to bedrock, into
10:11the pay gravel.
10:12So I'm going to do a pan.
10:13You guys should come check it out.
10:14We're really going to see if we've got gold here or not.
10:21All right, man.
10:22This is it.
10:23I haven't even seen anybody pan gold in my life.
10:37There is gold in here.
10:38Whoa!
10:39All right.
10:39I'd say there's probably a dozen colors in here.
10:41If you think now, the size of this pan, how many pans there are in here.
10:49That's all we need to see.
10:50That's all we need to see.
10:52It's real.
10:52It's real, dude.
10:53It's real now, right?
10:54That's our freedom right in there.
10:56But the only way we're going to get it is if we get back to work.
10:58Let's go get it.
10:58A million dollars, boys.
11:00Let's go, Dan!
11:00Let's go.
11:03In 10 days, Rick's dozer gamble delivers his first flakes of gold, later leading to a first gold weigh of
11:1230 ounces.
11:14That's mine.
11:19Rick's master plan gets him on gold fast and sets him up for the rest of the season, giving him
11:26the full five points.
11:29At the end of the first round, Kevin's bottom of the pile.
11:34Parker is second, and Rick bulldozers his way to the top.
11:40Coming up...
11:41We've got water, so I'll go feed the plant.
11:43The rookie's first wash plants are put to the test.
11:47All f***ing time.
11:48Shut it off, shut it off, shut it off.
11:50In the broadcast!
11:56In the rookie mind boss face-off...
11:59I must be doing something right.
12:01...three freshman mind bosses are going head-to-head.
12:05Could be sunk before I even get started.
12:08After scoring points for hitting their first gold, Rick is in the lead.
12:14Next up...
12:16We've got to get a f***ing sluicing.
12:17We've got bills to pay.
12:18The heart of their operations are put to the test.
12:22How they set them up, fire them up, and keep sluicing.
12:26In the wash plant round.
12:30Set up and fire up is no problem for Parker Schnabel, whose inherited plant is ready to sluice straight off
12:38the bat.
12:39We're definitely making money.
12:40We're on a roll.
12:41Hopefully we can keep it up.
12:43It's going pretty good.
12:45I'm feeling positive.
12:46But the young boss hits trouble when he strikes bad ground.
12:52Pretty poor.
12:54We need more than a few flakes.
12:56And decides to up the ante and push his old plant to its limits.
13:01I'm going so fast because I need to feed the plant.
13:03Because we're running 10 hours today.
13:06This is my fourth load in, what, 20 minutes?
13:10Just 30 minutes into his 10-hour shift.
13:18The plant grinds to a halt.
13:24His generators regularly has failed.
13:29There's nothing I can do up here, really.
13:31I could talk to my grandpa.
13:34We shut down, huh?
13:36I guess we stopped.
13:40We had this problem about 10 years ago.
13:43Okay.
13:45With his grandpa's help, Parker gets a new regulator and is back on the gold.
13:53In about 20 minutes, we'll start getting a little more confident.
13:58And about an hour after that, we'll be pretty sure we fixed it.
14:03But it's not long before the relic is down again.
14:14Hey!
14:17This whole bearing is gone.
14:19This is really not something that we need right now.
14:22So that's a pain in the ass.
14:24We're going to fix this as fast as we can.
14:27As his crew get to work removing the broken bearing that spins the trommel,
14:33Parker has an eight-hour round trip to source a replacement.
14:37The plant hasn't been running, and we're losing money hand over fist.
14:44She's there.
14:45If it's straight, that's perfect.
14:48All right.
14:49Good job.
14:58Looks good.
15:02At least there's still hope.
15:04Sometimes, like my grandpa says, all you have is hope.
15:10Parker's ancient plant gets him sluicing early,
15:14but his decision to push it to the limit sets him back more than once,
15:19giving him three points.
15:22The next boss, Kevin Beetz,
15:25hatches a plan to make the perfect wash plant setup.
15:29Yeah, look at that.
15:30Now we're almost at the actual getting gold part of gold mining.
15:33About time.
15:34By spending time and cold, hard cash.
15:39We want to do it once and do it right and just be done with it.
15:43So that's how we're going to run it.
15:45Kevin blows his life savings on a new $700,000 shaker deck
15:51and splashes another $100,000 on a gas-powered generator to run the plant.
15:58Spent a lot of money already.
16:00Got ahead of 1,000 ounces to get some of those costs back.
16:04Hopefully, we can hit her.
16:06Kevin takes two weeks to build a 400-foot-long mega pad.
16:11What a good day to see this on the pad.
16:14Delightful.
16:14And a further six days tinkering to dial in the plant.
16:18Kevin's always been a bit of a procrastinator.
16:21He's got to get his together and hurry to up a little bit.
16:24Then it starts loosing.
16:25Eventually, nearly halfway through his first season as a mine boss.
16:30The slide horizontally.
16:32Little bit, little bit.
16:34He's finally ready to fire up.
16:37I really, really, really hope it goes well after all the nights and days running into this.
16:41So my fingers are crossed, my toes are crossed.
16:44If I could, I'd cross my tongue.
16:54All right, I'm going to open her up.
16:58There we go.
17:02That's a big old.
17:07That's looking really nice, Kev.
17:09So excited, bud.
17:12Yes, finally!
17:14I'm currently got a relief.
17:16Give you a hug for this one.
17:18Nice work.
17:18Keep it going.
17:21Spending so much time making sure that everything's going to run before we put actual pay through the plant.
17:25It's a lot more work, but we are going to save time down the line.
17:29Kevin's patience and big investment pays off, setting him up to sluice almost non-stop, giving him the full five
17:39points.
17:40A perfect score that Rick Ness could match with his own wash plant master plan.
17:47Ruby, we got a wash plant.
17:50I've always had some input as far as how we set our wash plants up when I was with Parker,
17:54but ultimately he had the final say.
17:56And now this year it's 100% my call.
18:01Now it's time to get some gold.
18:03After spending big on opening up his first cut, Rick drops his last $180,000 on the wash plant of
18:12his dreams.
18:13Oh, yes!
18:14Look at that beast.
18:16I christened thee Dirt Reynolds.
18:21But unlike Kevin, Rick has an ingenious plan to get it set up and fired up fast.
18:28I'm unloading giant Legos.
18:31So I've ordered up a bunch of concrete blocks.
18:34I'm going to build a bit of a retaining wall for my plant to sit on.
18:37It should actually be a cleaner setup and less likely to undermine itself.
18:41I need to get the wash plant up and running and every minute counts.
18:45Rick takes just four hours to complete the pad and hauls in the 20-ton wash plant.
18:51Talk about right on the edge.
18:57Does it worry you that it's hanging off the edge?
18:59No.
19:03Now we're getting somewhere.
19:09All right, I'm going to start this thing.
19:12Fire it up!
19:16There it is.
19:20All right, I'm going to put a bucket of dirt in.
19:22Ten more.
19:23Yeah, we're feeding the plant.
19:25This is a pretty big deal.
19:29Yay, people are smiling.
19:34Completely what?
19:35Where does all that water come from?
19:37Carla, hit the bypass.
19:40hell.
19:43Shut the pump off.
19:44Hit the bypass.
19:46Shut it off.
19:46Shut it off.
19:47Shut it off.
19:47Shut it off.
19:48Hit the bypass!
19:59Hit the bypass!
20:08Turnbuckles gave way.
20:09Where's Rick?
20:12Oh, I'm going to need a minute.
20:14Sluice boxes fell off.
20:16Water almost took out the pad enough to dump the plant off the pad.
20:22No expected growing pains, but this is outrageous.
20:24After his disastrous first-ever fire-up as a mind boss, Rick calls the only man who can save his
20:32setup.
20:33How's it going, Rick?
20:34Freddy, man, I'm glad to see you, buddy.
20:36Holy ****, it's been too long.
20:39Man, I don't mind telling you, right off the bat, I'm in a **** bad way here.
20:43What do you think?
20:44I think you bought somebody else's nightmare, Rick.
20:48Freddy Dodge replaces the 10-foot sluice box that fell off Rick's plant with fabricated 30-foot-long gold catchers.
20:59Easy, Rick.
21:01Hey!
21:03Easy!
21:06Perfect right there, Rick.
21:08Woo!
21:08That's all I need, man.
21:10That's huge relief for me.
21:12And mounts them on an extended pad to secure them in place.
21:21Yee-haw!
21:23Feed the beast.
21:28Sluice box is on place.
21:30That's a good sign.
21:31Let's run it.
21:35Rick's wash plant finally gets running, but he's weeks behind schedule, and he's nearly ruined his season, earning him just
21:45one point.
21:47Halfway through the rookie mind-boss face-off, Rick drops to last, and Kevin's perfect setup draws in neck-and
21:55-neck with Parker in first place.
21:59My dad was right.
22:00I'm going to go home at the end of the season, broke with no friends.
22:03Coming up...
22:04I don't care if you guys hate my guts.
22:06Right.
22:06I need a little respect.
22:07Can Rick stage a comeback, competing in leadership skills?
22:11Ready!
22:13And final gold ways.
22:16We haven't had that much gold in the pan all summer.
22:19Ha-ha-ha-ha.
22:24In the freshman mind-boss head-to-head...
22:27Now the race is really on.
22:28Now it's time to get serious.
22:29The rookies have raced to bank their first gold, fired up their first wash plants, and banked points on the
22:37rookie mind-boss leaderboard.
22:40At the halfway stage, Kevin and Parker tie for pole position as we head into the third round.
22:49One of the biggest challenges for any rookie mind-boss is stepping up to lead their crew.
22:55Let's go.
22:56And dealing with any problems they hit.
23:00Round three is a test of leadership.
23:05Kevin Beetz decides to divide responsibilities on his claim.
23:10Go move some dirt, Brooks.
23:12Roger that, boss.
23:13He delegates running the cut to his new foreman, master dirt mover Brennan.
23:19Brennan is going to be a great asset to the operation.
23:22You know, I want to get as much cold as possible by the time the snow starts flying.
23:26Kevin, while Kevin focuses on keeping the operation and machinery running.
23:33Fix this thing so we can run.
23:36Fix that thing so we can run.
23:38After four months of working together, the plant chews through the last of their first three-acre cut.
23:45And Brennan gets to work opening up more ground.
23:49It needs to happen super fast.
23:51Because that pile is getting chewed down so quickly, it's actually getting scary.
24:00Oh, f***.
24:03F*** sakes.
24:04Hey, buddy, I'm stuck down here in the cut.
24:07F*** sakes.
24:08Water from Kevin's sluice pond next door is flooding Brennan's new cut.
24:14I think I might try and nudge you backwards.
24:25Thanks, Brennan.
24:26You're the man.
24:29I'm going to need to get another pump in here immediately.
24:32We have no extra pumps.
24:34Brennan looks to Kevin for a solution.
24:41Hey, Brennan.
24:43I can't dig pay down here, dude.
24:45I've been needing another pump for like a week now.
24:48I know.
24:50We just got to do a clean-up with you to pay for the f*** thing.
24:54Can we get another pump from Tony?
24:57I'm not going to ask Tony until I have to.
24:59I fixed enough of Tony f***.
25:01I'm just really struggling down here, man.
25:03I'm just getting frustrated as f***.
25:05If that paypal runs out, that shuts off.
25:07We don't have any money coming in.
25:08And I feel like that's on my shoulders.
25:11Like, what do you want me to do here?
25:13I need a f*** pump.
25:14I don't want to say, like, we don't have the cash right now.
25:18We don't got a f*** pump.
25:19F*** tough.
25:23Okay, well, I'm going to...
25:25I don't know what else to say here.
25:33Hey, Brennan.
25:35Get that out of my face for a while.
25:41I need a f*** pump.
25:46Weird.
25:47Where the f*** is he going?
25:49With Kevin failing to deliver,
25:52Brennan takes matters into his own hands.
25:55What we have here is a pump that I went and purchased.
26:00And hopefully she just starts pumping immediately.
26:09Oh, there we go.
26:12Yay!
26:13In 12 hours, Brennan's $11,000 pump drains the cut
26:18and bails Kevin out of trouble.
26:22That's a very nice little pump.
26:24Brennan went off and bumped.
26:26Hopefully, Kevin kind of finds his footing here
26:29and gets into that mind boss role a little bit more.
26:35Kevin's lack of leadership
26:36almost brings his whole operation to a standstill,
26:40scoring him just one point.
26:43A low score that could give Parker the chance to pull ahead.
26:48I don't care if you guys hate my guts.
26:50I need a little respect.
26:52But the teenager has leadership problems of his own.
26:55You can run the excavator and Gary, you can run the truck.
26:58Parker has taken on his grandpa's veteran crew.
27:02Some triple his age
27:03and struggles to gain their respect.
27:06I guess that's a no.
27:08It makes me not feel like the boss.
27:11Things don't improve when the teenager tries to stamp his authority.
27:16What are you doing?
27:17I'm coming back.
27:18I want to coordinate for your grandfather.
27:20My grandpa's not in charge here.
27:22I don't care.
27:24Stop a minute.
27:25No, I ain't stopping.
27:25Well, you don't give me orders.
27:27Why not?
27:28Because you don't.
27:29You ask.
27:30You don't order somebody.
27:31You ask.
27:32Have some respect for people.
27:34I think you should show me respect.
27:35You told me to go haul dirt.
27:37Is that how you treat somebody?
27:38You don't tell me how to do mine.
27:40I did not.
27:41I have not told you how to do your job one time this whole year.
27:45I have not told you one time.
27:48Parker.
27:49Not once.
27:53You are approaching this man in the wrong way.
27:59We're up here to make money.
28:00And we're up here to run the plan.
28:02You won't make money to change the hellhole.
28:09Parker is still battling to gain the crew's respect when disaster strikes.
28:14This isn't going to do me any good.
28:17Oh, this is going to be fun.
28:20Mining authorities threatened to shut him down for good.
28:24The mine needed to be regulated by the federal government.
28:27And it had been operating without that regulation for the 23 years.
28:34Of course it's my fault.
28:35I'm in charge.
28:38The crew looked to Parker to save their season.
28:42So this should have a knee board.
28:43Parker hires a specialist to train him in mine safety.
28:48Brings his sight up to code.
28:50And within just 24 hours, has the inspector back for a make-or-break verdict.
28:57Will you be able to terminate the stop-work order?
29:01Yeah.
29:02Today?
29:03We're good to go.
29:04Yes.
29:04Okay.
29:05Thank you for your time.
29:06We made it.
29:09It's over.
29:11All right.
29:14Let's go, boys.
29:17I was going to wait until later to run the plant, but I figured we just needed to start
29:21getting some dirt moved.
29:22Parker's leadership takes his crew from shutdown.
29:26We haven't had that much gold in the pan in all summer.
29:28To one of the most productive days of their season.
29:31It is addictive.
29:32After you see the results of the gold come out of the material, it makes it all worth it.
29:37I think it makes us a good team.
29:41After his rough start, the teenager's hard work, with gold to show for him, finally proves
29:48to his crew he can be a leader, scoring him four points.
29:54Rick has years of experience leading crews as a foreman before stepping up to be a mine
30:00boss.
30:01Terry, I'm going to put you in the excavator, loading the trucks.
30:04I'm going to put you guys all in trucks.
30:05We'll get you in those machines, get you comfortable, and no pressure, but in about an hour, let's
30:09be cranking full tilt.
30:10And he gambles on hiring a crew of loyal but inexperienced friends.
30:16Hey, water all over.
30:18That he aims to turn into a first-rate mining team.
30:21School of hard knocks, baby.
30:23Oh, we've got to learn a curve to get ahead of here.
30:25There's no doubt about that.
30:27I've been instructed, we want to get the load as far over as we can.
30:32If you're good, go ahead and dump.
30:40Oh, boy.
30:42Holy f***.
30:48Ryan, you all right?
30:49As soon as I pulled away, it caved in.
30:54He's just going to f***ing whip this thing over.
30:56You're clear.
30:58Keep going.
31:05All right, pull her out of there, Ryan.
31:07Don't hit that f***ing tailgate.
31:10Hey, can you guys all come over here real quick?
31:11Let's have a quick talk.
31:16Yo.
31:18What's up?
31:20Look, I love you guys.
31:21You've always had my f***ing back.
31:22I don't want to b***h at you, but, man, we've got to tighten up, man.
31:26Ryan, I know you flipped a rock truck.
31:28If we keep doing, making those mistakes, I mean, it's going to kill us.
31:32Right?
31:32You got it.
31:34All right.
31:34All right, let's get back to it, buddy.
31:36All right.
31:38After his near miss in a rock truck...
31:40It's going to take me a while to get the hang of doing this.
31:43Rick moves greenhorn Ryan to operating a loader, clearing the tailings at the plant.
31:49He's wandering out into the fine tailings in front of the plant.
31:53It's been way too long.
31:57Not even making a dip.
31:59Really getting sick of dealing with this.
32:01It's too f***ing much right now.
32:05F***.
32:06Just hit the sluice box.
32:08F*** this, man.
32:10F***.
32:20I just hit the sluice box.
32:22F*** this, man.
32:24F***.
32:27In the clash of the rookie mind bosses,
32:31Rick Ness needs to step up and prove himself in the leadership round.
32:40What's up, Ryan?
32:42I'm just getting a little overwhelmed here.
32:44Greenhorn Ryan is struggling to keep up with the plant's mounting tailings.
32:49Maybe I'll swap out with you for a minute.
32:51See if I can find anything different to do or find a rhythm or something.
32:57Hopefully Rick can give me an idea of how to keep ahead of everything, figure something out to make this
33:02work.
33:04I mean, this is about as important as it gets.
33:06All of our gold's coming out of that wash plant.
33:08So, you've got to take care of it.
33:10You've got to run it right.
33:12Rick shows Ryan a new method.
33:15Driving into the tailings, grabbing a scoop, and backing straight out instead of turning around.
33:23Cutting in half the time Ryan took.
33:26I think that's the trick.
33:27And I think that's probably where I'll make up my time.
33:31Woo!
33:31Loading the plant!
33:32Yeah!
33:33Woo!
33:34Woo!
33:40Sounds to me like you're having the time of your life up in here.
33:44Well, and you're moving them differently than I was.
33:47Yeah.
33:47And I can see where that's going to save time.
33:49You know what?
33:50I got us a little bit ahead here.
33:51I think I'll be okay.
33:54Yeah.
33:54I know you will, Ryan.
33:56Good luck, buddy.
33:59Rick leads his inexperienced crew by example.
34:02And begins to mold them into a working team, giving him the full five points.
34:10At the end of the leadership round, Kevin drops down the leaderboard, while Rick claws his way back to first
34:18alongside Parker.
34:21Heading into the final round, it's anyone's game.
34:24Kevin, as the rookie bosses battle to the end of the season and try to hit their first-year gold
34:32targets.
34:33We're on our final big push to get to 1,000 ounces.
34:36With just days of sluicing left, Kevin is desperate to hit his 1,000-ounce gold.
34:43He hires new crew and pushes his plant to the limit.
34:48The push is on.
34:49So after everything that we've faced this year, I'd be pretty bummed out if we don't hit our 1,000
34:54-ounce target, you know?
35:04Oh, f**k!
35:07F**k!
35:08F**k!
35:09F**k!
35:09Bloody belt's broke.
35:10The feeder belt.
35:11F**k!
35:12F**k!
35:12Okay, for the moment, will you?
35:14The belt that transports dirt from the upper feeder to the main conveyor belt has ripped in two, a potential
35:22season-ender.
35:24Oh, no.
35:25She's f**k!
35:26My rough battle plan is that we'll hook up with the 220, use that to yard it out.
35:34Okay.
35:35Then pick it up with the 480 to pull it all the way out, and then we can swing and
35:39set it down on that side.
35:40Refusing to give up, Kevin races to replace the entire belt before winter strikes.
35:47I'm going to hook up our four-point sling to the frame of this conveyor, and then hopefully, he can
35:54take the weight.
35:55And, Brandon, you can see what you're doing to pull it out.
36:04Sure.
36:06Yeah, I barely touched the joysticks.
36:08I let him go, and it kept sliding, so sorry about that.
36:12Yay!
36:14Beautiful!
36:16There we go.
36:19We're just sliding the belt up.
36:27Oh!
36:28Oh!
36:32Golden pony-boy!
36:35See, that's a success right there.
36:36I'm going to give it a push.
36:46Atta boy boss
36:48All right
36:49Need some cake
36:52That went really well
36:54So we'll get back running
36:56I'll run hard till we get snowed out
36:59Got a thousand ounces somehow
37:03Four days later
37:05Hi guys
37:07So everybody's bringing in gold
37:09Kevin's final gold is cleaned
37:12And ready to weigh
37:13Let's see what we got
37:14I'm very curious to see what you guys got on
37:16We ain't pretty f***ing high
37:18That's why we needed to break even
37:21Kevin has three weeks worth of sluicing to weigh
37:25He needs 320 ounces
37:27To hit his 1,000 ounce goal
37:31Let's pull it guys
37:3210, 20, 40, 50, 80, 90
37:37180, 190, 200, 250, 260, 360, 370, 375.80
37:47Oh my f***, such a relief
37:49I can finally pay everyone off
37:50Right
37:51How much does that make, right?
37:531,056.57
37:56So that's pretty damn nice
37:58For your first year, Kevin
38:00Is a f***ing lot better than most of them do
38:02Thank you
38:03And it didn't come just by ourselves
38:05Like you guys have helped us out
38:06That's a great deal
38:07You know
38:08Everybody needs a little bit of boost
38:10Everybody needs a little bit of help
38:12Thanks to his final push
38:17Kevin passes his make or break rookie mind boss gold
38:21Giving him five points in the final round
38:25Pushing him into a late lead
38:28But the rookie mind boss race
38:31Is far from over
38:32Parker and Rick still have to battle to the end
38:36And weigh their gold
38:38To lock in their final points
38:40That's not over yet
38:45Can a guy risk it all in America anymore?
38:48On the hunt for gold rush's best ever rookie mind boss
38:52Some new bosses
38:53Whoa
38:54Whoa
38:55That's gold
38:55It's a rock, okay
38:57False alarm
38:58Just didn't make the cut
39:00Here it is
39:01There's 14.64 counts this year
39:04My guys are like
39:06They think I've been gold mining my whole life or something
39:08Todd Hoffman
39:10Is only beaten to rock bottom
39:12By Fred Lewis
39:14That puts our total at 6.39
39:17Which is honestly embarrassing
39:25I think we kind of take it as a challenge to beat each other
39:29It's crunch time
39:30In the rookie mind boss competition
39:33Right now the name of the game is gold
39:34With points up for grabs
39:36The bosses are making a final push
39:39To hit their first year gold targets
39:43After success at his final gold way
39:46Kevin is in the lead
39:49Next up
39:50Parker
39:52His first year goal
39:54Is to keep the family mine afloat
39:56By banking 75 ounces
40:0033 ounces
40:04It looks like a lot of gold
40:05But we spent a lot of money to get it
40:11Parker's flunked his freshman year
40:14As a mine boss
40:15Pretty sad
40:15Pretty sad day
40:17But isn't giving up
40:19On his goal of keeping the family mine in business
40:23What we'll do is knock this hill out
40:25Take that slope
40:27At this slope
40:28All the way on down
40:29To the bank
40:31Smith Creek
40:32It's kind of an all or nothing deal for the whole mine
40:35Parker decides to run tests on Smith Creek
40:39The only virgin ground at Big Nugget
40:42In the hope it will deliver enough gold
40:44To convince his dad and grandpa
40:47To fund his dream of another season mining
40:52I'm nervous
40:53I'm nervous
40:53This is the last test
40:55This afternoon I'm going to talk to my dad and grandpa about Smith Creek
40:59And you know if there's nothing in this dirt
41:01I don't know what the mine will do
41:04I'm scared
41:25Done
41:26Beautiful
41:27Beautiful
41:27We don't see a thing yet
41:32It doesn't look like there's anything in it
41:38Here's a little bit
41:38Oh there's quite a bit in here
41:42What the
41:44Actually something in here
41:46That's weird
41:48This is the
41:49This is the little seuss
41:51That's fed out of the jig
41:55Wow
42:02There's quite a bit in here
42:03Gary
42:05That's
42:06Wow
42:07See that's like not bad at all
42:10That's not bad at all
42:17This is what we got off the pan this morning
42:20And not much was it
42:21And then I went down below the jig
42:24And that's what we got out of the little sluice
42:28That's pretty nice
42:29That's what you dug out of the hole
42:32Yeah a 45 minute test out of Smith Creek
42:35That's really encouraging
42:36Smith Creek will have bigger gold than that
42:40Are you saying you want to fund the mine next year
42:45I'm willing to give it a try
42:47I'll fund it for 50% of the gold we get out of it
42:52I'll take it
42:54I come out here and give it everything I've got
42:58I feel like I've done my job
43:02Parker banks just half of his gold
43:05But convinces his grandpa to give him another shot
43:09Earning him three points
43:11Enough to edge him to the top of the leaderboard
43:16Parker's dropped points
43:18Give Rick Ness a chance to snatch victory
43:21We're so close to our target
43:23I just don't know what to do anymore
43:25I mean we've exhausted all the fog ground
43:27But with just days of sluicing left
43:30Rick faces catastrophe
43:33He's run out of pay dirt
43:35And is shut down
43:3727 ounces short of his 1,000 ounce gold
43:41To find a solution
43:43Rick calls in his dad
43:45Rick Sr.
43:47Where that pile of overburden is
43:48That's where the bedrock came up
43:50And that's where all the best drill holes were
43:52And it is where we did our best gold
43:54You're up against time
43:56So I guess
43:57What's the best option
43:58For what we got left in time
44:01Yeah, f*** it
44:02Let's do it
44:02I'll jump on that D9
44:04And give it my best shot
44:05Rick's last gasp gamble
44:08Is to open a small extension
44:10To his mind out cut
44:12But it's frozen
44:13And needs to be ripped
44:15To get to the pay dirt
44:17And all he's got
44:18Is a small D9 dozer
44:21We don't have enough time left here
44:23To do much
44:24But we got to give it
44:25Rick promised me
44:26He was going to do the 1,000 ounces
44:36Oh, that ain't good
44:37It's overheating really bad
44:41Radiator's got a hole in it somewhere
44:44F*** the bed or what
44:45You see where it pissed it all out
44:47On the blade right there
44:47Yeah
44:48The D9's radiator has blown
44:50Putting it down for the season
44:53What I was thinking was
44:53You know, I don't know
44:54I mean, we use Seamus' 475
44:56For the small area we're trying to get here
44:58I think that machine would do it
45:00We got to make the decision, I guess
45:02I mean, that's up to you
45:03What you want to do
45:04Yeah
45:04I don't really want to pay $6,000
45:06For that 475
45:08You got to spend money to make money
45:09Rick's only option
45:11Is to up the ante
45:12And rent the monster 475 dozer
45:16He used at the start of the season
45:18Oh, that's really obvious
45:20The difference
45:21Just the sheer power of it
45:22So I'm going to lay down some rips here
45:24It's going to take me probably
45:25About an hour
45:26To get this thing ripped up
45:27And then we'll push it all off again
45:32Terry, you want to get yourself
45:33In the trucks down here?
45:35All right, buddy
45:36Within three hours
45:37The cut is ripped
45:39This is it, guys
45:41This is our roll of the dice
45:45Peter pulled to the plant
45:47Let's fire up dirt rentals
45:49And desperate for gold
45:51Rick starts sluicing
45:54I want to make sure
45:55We get all the dirt run through the plant
45:57Peter's still frozen and full of chunks
45:58But we don't even give a s***
46:00We're going to run it anyways
46:02Three days later
46:03Rick's managed to sluice his Hail Mary cut
46:07And is ready for his final gold weigh
46:10Oh, yeah
46:12About time, Rick
46:14Can you believe it's been six months?
46:15So, Carla
46:16Where did we end up with on the last gold weigh?
46:19We're at 973
46:20Rick needs 27 ounces
46:22To hid his 1,000 ounce gold
46:25Might be in that jar
46:26I think it's time to find out
46:33That's 20
46:35Looking good
46:36Yeah
46:37Those are 27 ounces
46:43There's another
46:48The final gold weigh
46:50132.49 ounces
46:52You know what that means?
46:54We're over 1,100
46:55Nice
46:5611.05
46:57Blue by it
46:59Yeah
46:59Woo!
47:02Yeah
47:03Are you glad we stuck around now?
47:05Yeah
47:05Woo!
47:06That's awesome
47:07Yeah
47:08Yeah
47:09Yeah
47:11Yeah
47:12Yeah
47:13Woo!
47:13Woo!
47:14Woo!
47:14Woo!
47:15Rick blasts past his season goal
47:18By over 100 ounces
47:20Giving him the max
47:22Five points
47:23At the end of the rookie mind boss showdown
47:29There's only one winner
47:31Ray!
47:33Rick Ness
47:34Is crowned the best first year mind boss
47:38Yeah, Rick!
47:39Yeah!
47:42You guys are lunatics
47:44There was so many reasons for that first season
47:48To cause me to lose everything
47:49But that didn't happen
47:52I'm on such a high
47:53Like, you know
47:54The first season on my own was a success
47:57Get to the start of this, you're gonna catch who still outta my owni
47:58know Ар
47:586
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