"Let's get some dirt In it!" "Get the pile in the plant!" "On this "Gold rush"... what's up with rick and Parker hiring these old guys?" "Tonka toys in your backyard And getting paid for it!" "perfect!" "whoa, whoa!" "Screwed up." "I swear I'm gonna wring Doumitt's neck." "I've been forced to work In this cut by myself." "I need help in the cut." "I go where I am needed." "And I'm Needed everywhere." "Definitely kind of sucks." "we are at ground zero." "I Hate to say this." "But I need you guys to go The next 2 weeks without pay." "I didn't come here To work for free." "I don't see How it's gonna work." "I came down here To oregon with a " "A pretty good belief that This ground was worth a damn." "And it's not." "And if there is no gold, We're not getting paid." "And if I don't have money In my account, I can't live." "At todd hoffman's high bar mine," "Morale is at an all-time low." "you know, we thought, When we came to the high bar," "That this was gonna be One of our best seasons ever." "And right now, it just Kind of feels like a mistake." "this year, Todd hoffman has set" "By far His most ambitious goal -- 5,000 ounces." "first bucket, trey." "here we go!" "After a grim start," "Freddy dodge discovered A new pay streak." "Look at that." "Yellow gold." "That could be A serious game-changer." "But 5 weeks into the season," "They've mined just 129 ounces of gold," "Worth a pathetic $150,000." "That doesn't cut it." "We're hitting a lot More bad spots than good." "We don't want to quit." "But we might not be Staying at the high bar." "Can you guys meet me At the edge cut?" "Frustrated by last week's Disastrous 14.5 ounce cleanup," "Todd's crew gave him An ultimatum." "I'd promised the guys that, If we didn't get 50 ounces," "That I'd close The high bar down." "Even though it's less than half Of what we need each week, 50 ounces would Keep us in the game." "It could be here." "Guys, it could be here." "And I want to give it Every last chance we can." "But I need you guys To give me your all." "I'm with you." "Let's give it 100%." "If we can get 50 ounces from this," "I think it's a reason to stay, 'cause we can expand on this." "all right." "one more shot." "one more shot." "one more shot." "let's do it." "So this is it." "We got to get every ounce Of pay dirt we can." "We got to get this gold." "Everyone, the plant Is going hot." "I repeat, The plant is going hot." "copy that." "Kevin, you ready to go?" "Yeah, we're ready To go here." "Let's do it." "my wife's back home Taking care of four kids" "While I'm trying To support them." "And I have another Kid on the way." "So I hope we can stay here." "Keep this plant running hard." "You know, right now, We're at the point" "Where it's kind of A sink-or-swim type of deal." "We've got to get gold." "So what we're gonna do Is get this top layer off." "And then I'm just Gonna go down deeper." "Um, you know, we have no idea" "If this goes 20 feet Or 100 feet or 5 feet." "I mean, we just -- We just don't know." "So we'll just keep going down," "Make it a bigger hole Until we get gold." "Up here, I'm pretty positive" "The deeper you go, The more gold you're gonna see." "Might be more Difficult to get." "Andy's in some pretty Tough stuff right now." "Um, the clay layer, We have a lot of clay up here." "So we try to stay Away from it." "The plant does not Like it at all." "And that stuff's just Pretty nasty material." "Logan, pick up the pace." "We need to slam as much dirt Through this plant as we can." "Getting a full bucket here Is next to impossible." "This material is so dense, All kinds of weird clay." "And it's a fight To load with this." "You've got to be kidding me." "Kevin to will." "yeah, go -- go ahead, kevin." "it just, like, bogged way down." "And it's taking forever For this stuff to run through." "Kevin, I got that feeder Turned all the way up." "So it's -- It's at max it can go." "And that feeder's Backed in pretty tight." "What's going on here Is we're into some" "Really wet clay, red material." "And that stuff's just packing That feeder tight in." "This is not good." "At this rate," "We're never gonna Get 50 ounces." "we've got A really good system down." "And as long as we've got Good people, it keeps up." "2,000 miles north, Parker schnabel" "Has already mined 412 ounces of gold," "Worth almost half A million dollars." "But the only way To hit his massive 4,000-ounce season goal" "Is to run his new wash plant At full throttle." "right now, the plant's Running about 240 yards" "An hour, which is pretty good." "It's, - It's quite a bit of dirt." "You know, at that, we do An ounce for every 90, 95 yards." "So we should be doing About 2 1/2 ounces an hour." "So, if that's true," "Then we're in good shape." "parker's attempting To run lean and mean" "With as few crew members As possible." "Yeah, the beauty of this setup With the feeder down in the cut" "And those conveyors Bringing the pay up" "To the plant is that," "With just a few people, You can stay running." "That thing sounds like me When I walk now!" "I think this sounds A little better." "Hurry up, tyson." "I'm tired of standing here" "Watching you work hard." "You want me to grab you a chair?" "yeah." "one with wheels?" "but parker's plan Is under strain," "As veteran miner chris doumitt Is on light duty." "64 years old, And I can't even dress myself." "I can get it!" "I'm helping, doumitt." "gol-dang kids!" "Just came off Of back surgery." "These kids won't Let me do anything." "They think I'm old Or something." "Yeah, doumitt's definitely eager To get back in the loader." "And I hope he takes His time to do it 'cause I don't want to see him Go back for another surgery." "I had back surgery, Not brain surgery, okay?" "I got it figured out." "sometimes, I wonder." "chris has been One of parker schnabel's" "Wash plant operators" "For the last three seasons." "But, this year, Things have changed." "Is your back All right doing that?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I'm going slow." "All right." "I love chris doumitt." "But chris just isn't In the shape to run a loader," "Like, all-out like we need here, You know?" "And tyson's turning into A very good plant operator." "He watches everything." "He keeps a good eye on things." "But he's fast, too." "I'm bailing pay As fast as I can." "And I'm hardly Putting a pile up." "We're never gonna keep up With this thing," "Not two of us." "so parker hires A new operator, denis sevigny." "And with his new Lean-and-mean approach," "Parker needs every crew member" "To be at the top of their game." "But it's all About sluicing, right?" "Don't stop the sluice box." "It's been like that everywhere I ever worked." "A guy could drop dead With a heart attack." "If he's dead, well, They'll deal with him." "Keep feeding the box." "I'm gonna go to work." "denis is a yukon local." "He's been mining a lot of years." "And, I've got High hopes, anyway." "We've got good people In the loaders." "It's a really good system." "what's up with rick and Parker hiring these old guys?" "Like, did they go To the retirement home" "And hand out flyers?" "hey, tyson!" "what's up?" "I need fuel." "And where's the fuel cap?" "the fuel truck's right there." "okay." "So just back up to it And lift the ass end." "Lift the cap." "New guy's first day On the job." "Dude, he's not gonna fuel right There out of that truck, is he?" "I don't think he's got As much experience" "In a loader as he claimed." "Now, which one Opens the grizzly?" "One, but make sure Your bucket isn't over it." "this one here opens it?" "yeah." "And this one closes it?" "No." "One opens and closes." "Two is stop." "Hopefully, maybe He can figure it out." "Kind of odd How he's going up the ramp" "With the bucket all the way In the air, though." "What's your thoughts On him?" "It don't seem to me like He's been in the machine before." "He says that he's new To new equipment." "But, like, loaders are Pretty much the same, man." "You got two levers." "One makes the boom go up." "One makes the bucket scoop." "Yeah." "And, I mean, like, I don't know." "He has balls, Carrying the bucket that high" "Going up that ramp." "I don't know if that's balls Or inexperience." "What the hell is he doing?" "He's sitting In the middle of the cut" "While he's supposed to be Running the plant." "Yeah." "It's ridiculous." "Like, he can't be Having a sandwich" "When you're supposed to be Running the plant." "what's going on?" "he's decided to take" "A lunch break or something?" "I don't know." "There ain't Dirt in the hopper." "The wash plant's on." "It needs dirt." "But the guy in the Loader ain't moving." "I don't really know What's happening, but..." "Go find out." "Letting the belt run dry." "at scribner creek, new Loader operator denis sevigny" "Has stopped work In the middle of his shift." "you can't just have dirt Not going through the plant." "I was having My coffee break." "There's no stopping When you're loading that plant." "Is that right?" "Okay." "I didn't know that." "There's got to be dirt Going through that plant." "I gotcha." "kidding me?" "Coffee break?" "This new guy's a joke." "running water through A plant without pay..." "I can't take this." "...Will wash gold Right out of the sluices." " that is not okay!" " okay!" "I don't know!" "hey!" " don't do that again!" " okay, so don't stop " "Let's get some Dirt in it!" "Don't " "Get the pile In the plant!" "Okay!" "This pile right here, Right here." "That's why the stockpile's There, is when the " "When we need a pile Of dirt quick, grab it." "Okay, okay, I gotcha." "We can't have that belt Running dry." "Look at that right there." "Just pissing it All out onto the ground." "I told him three times, Massage it through." "That's his version of Massaging it through, I guess." "Dumping it off the back?" "Yep." "It's as piss-easy As it can get." "If they can't get this, Then they're not gonna get it." "It's empty." "It's empty?" "Okay, just back up And tip the grizzlies out," "And I'll shut 'er down." "denis has reached The end of his first shift." "Actually really good." "I got a good teacher." "Tyson knows what he's doing." "He's given me a good -- Lot of good pointers." "And, yeah." "Had a great day." "Past 2 weeks, I've maybe split 15 shovelfuls down here." "And then..." "New guy runs the plant" "For 2 hours And buries the bloody thing." "Young man's job." "Would've been nice If he would've stuck around" "To clean up his mess, but..." "Nope." "That's what I'm here for, I guess." "It's a high-pace environment" "Over here Running this wash plant." "And, you know, If the guy's not gonna be able" "To keep up, We can't keep him around." "That's what we hired him to do." "And give him one more day," "See if he can figure it out." "I will, anyways." "I can't speak for parker." "at eureka creek," "Tony beets' 75-year-old dredge Is on the gold." "Son kevin is dredge master," "While daughter monica Strips ground ahead." "Their teamwork has so far Produced 757 ounces of gold" "Worth more than $900,000." "I was looking For you, yeah." "Yeah, it's not Getting done around here." "I need help in the cut." "You know, I had people around To give me this much attention" "As that dredge Is getting," "I'd be up on the hill Sluicing right now, too!" "yeah, this is my own Little pile of 25 miles north, At paradise hill," "Tony's son, 26-year-old mike" "Is solely responsible" "For getting the family mine Up and running." "Dad is pretty busy this year." "He's left me in charge Around here." "So he can spend most of his time Focusing on the dredges." "I'm actually Behind schedule here" "Because I've been forced to work" "In this cut by myself" "With nobody else But mike there on the monitor." "So I'm a decent fricking 2 weeks behind, 3 weeks behind." "mike needs To start producing gold." "But he can't fire up The wash plant" "Till he and the monitor operator" "Strip 20 feet of overburden" "And get down to the pay layer." "It takes three machines To remove the permafrost." "An excavator digs out The frozen overburden." "A dozer pushes it over To the monitor," "Which blasts it into a slurry." "The dozer can then remove The liquid mud out of the cut." "I think, it's gonna Take a bit of work." "Yeah." "Good." "Yeah." "kevin's just been Demoted from dredge master" "To his younger Brother's assistant." "I'd rather not leave the dredge, But I go where I am needed." "And I'm Needed everywhere." "Hey, mike!" "Not all of us Drive like you do." "All right." "We got a plan for this?" "Yep." "You got all this black muck here About 20, 30 feet" "That we got to strip away" "To get to the white Channel beneath it." "The black muck is usually Frozen, like permafrost." "Once that melts, It turns into goo," "Which is what we're working Through right now." "So mike's ripping Through the frost." "And I am pushing it all to Where the monitor can reach." "the beets brothers Have been mining together" "For more than a decade." "when me and him fricking Start working together," "We move a load." "I don't know if you guys Can see it." "But I think I just saw Pay pop up over there." "Kevin, do you copy?" "Copy, what's up?" "Found pay dirt." "One more time?" "I found the money dirt." "good to hear, man." "Whoo-hoo." "I don't got any spare bodies To drive the rock truck." "So I'll just do it." "kevin hauls the first Pay dirt to the wash plant." "Can you grab this end?" "To complete the family," "Sister monica joins them" "To set up the sluice box." "And now pull that mat out." "All right." "Perfect." "we are putting the box Together on the hill" "To get mike sluicing here." "Um, just got to Lay the mats down." "Get the hoe on the pile, And it's good to go." "It's gonna take everybody in the Beets family working together, 'cause we've all been Doing this for a long time." "And if we set each other To certain jobs," "We all know it's gonna Get done a certain way." "It's a lot easier Than having to train" "A whole bunch of new people To do it that way," "No matter what you say." "Let's go." "yep." "Yeah." "All right!" "it's taken Five weeks of hard work." "But finally, the beets family" "Have their second operation Running this season." "They're mining gold In two separate locations." "Nice, isn't it?" "You're welcome." "You're welcome." "No, it's awesome." "It's nice to be finally Out of that black muck" "And sluicing." "Little sister, big brother, His father." "Aw, man!" "Come here, both of you!" "aah!" "You don't have To like each other." "But you have To take care of each other 'cause blood's thicker Than water." "And it's the only family You got, right?" "Mike!" "The new job's going slow." "chris!" "yo!" "can you turn the pump on?" "you're good." "parker's dream of Mining 4,000 ounces this season" "Depends on getting the best out Of his minimal crew." "Little bit of back problems Kind of slowing me down." "stuck on light duties After back surgery..." "So you fuel it in the morning, Then you fuel it at noon?" "Is that the routine?" "...Chris doumitt Has a new job." "thanks, chris." "yep." "He has to refuel every piece Of equipment on the mine." "hitting the ground Running this year." "Well, walking." "Walking hard." "Least I'm doing something." "Hey, don't forget about Your fueling responsibilities." "I fueled everything?" "at the wash plant, Loader operator denis sevigny" "Starts day two of his new job." "I enjoy it." "Hey, they're big Tonka toys in your backyard" "And getting paid For it -- perfect!" "Right, we just need To pick the speed up now." "Yeah, is that where you're at?" "I'll get there, parker." "Let's do this!" "to keep his wash plant Running at full speed," "Parker needs every crew member To bring his "A" game." "You know, we're running Through a lot of dirt." "Pretty important that We've got good people on it." "With four good people, you could Be running 24/7 all season." "It's all about finding Those right people." "Denis, yeah, Doesn't seem like" "He's an all-star on the loader." "Is he getting any better?" "not really." "And now I'm running around More than I was before." "I need to be dealing With coarse tailings" "And tossing up pay And watching the plant." "I can't have time To sit there and teach people" "How to get a full scoop In their bucket." "They should know that stuff If they're coming out here" "Looking for a job." "And we're running Our feeder belt" "At the highest rate It's ever ran." "So we're definitely Pushing things." "We need guys that know How to run the loader." "Hey, hey, how's it going?" "I'm gonna take Over here for a bit" "If you want to go up And see parker there." "I don't know." "He just said he wanted me" "To run the plant for a bit." "all right, You can hop in with me." "Um, things just Aren't working out." "We -- we just need A little faster pace here." "Hope you understand that." "I don't take personally." "Never did, never will." "Too old for that." "I was hired As a loader operator." "And I'm not that bad, either." "I've seen, operators A lot worse than me." "I stopped at 11:00 for a coffee." "And this is, I think, The results of it." "Can't have coffee break?" "Can't have lunch?" "What the You talking about, you know?" "I'll take one coffee break And my lunch, you know?" "And, if that's a no-no, Well, then," "Maybe I shouldn't Be here anyways." "We need more guys here that know" "What they're doing And are able-bodied." "We don't need a bunch of guys That all they want to do" "Is sit on their ass And run equipment." "That's not the way Things run out here." "If you want to do that, Go work for the city." "What the" "yeah, all of a sudden, They really do." "What in the There's no water." "Shut it down!" "whoa, whoa!" "Our screen, our screen deck!" "What the" "Yeah, this thing just Our lower deck out." "wow." "well, isn't that Gonna be fun?" "well, we lost water To our plant." "Now it's Completely clogged." "Yeah, that was our bottom deck Going out the damn conveyor." "I wonder if it built up So much underneath on the bottom" "That it pushed it out?" "that's probably What it was, mitch." "What happened here Is all the fines" "Built up in our, under chute" "Because we had no water Washing it away." "So, when that happened, It pushed all" "Of our screen media out." "And it all went out Our tailings." "When the water supply stopped," "The conveyors kept piling" "Dry pay dirt Into the shaker deck." "Without water to keep it moving," "A mountain of fine Material piled up," "Eventually forcing the screens Out of the deck," "Up the conveyor," "And into the tailings pile." "I swear, if that Pump is out of fuel," "I'm gonna wring doumitt's neck." "Yeah, out of fuel." "Unreal." "That's ridiculous." "I asked doumitt this morning If he fueled this pump," "If it was good." "And he said yeah." "This is his doumitt Didn't fuel that pump." "I love -- this is make-work Project right here." "Something that didn't Need to happen." "Once again, human error" "Has brought the plant To a standstill." "Chris is on light duty." "And The very first job I gave him," "I said make sure nothing runs Out of fuel on this site." "It's a pretty easy job." "I mean, this stuff Is just like concrete." "And, you know, right now, Our gold," "It's buried underneath All this" "It's just senseless, you know," "All because a pump Didn't get fueled." "It's just ridiculous." "I got to go talk To chris about it." "And I'm delaying it 'cause I'm pissed off at him." "Should have Brought a jackhammer." "Here, I'll try and break it up If you just want to wing it out." "Well, right now, we've been Down for a couple hours," "You know, all because The pump didn't get fueled." "100% self-inflicted" "And 100% preventable." "We did lose all the pins That hold the lower deck in." "But, fortunately, They look like," "The same ones That we used to run on big red." "And we still got some spares Kicking around from that." "All right." "I'll be back with pins." "Okay." "You know where We have these, chris?" "Pardon me?" "Pins for the deck?" "I saw them somewhere." "Well, we need them 'cause remember when you told me" "you fueled the pump today?" "yeah?" "Yeah, it ran out." "how could it run out?" "it ran out." "The plant filled with dirt." "And it The middle deck out." "I screwed up." "I been fueling it Every other day." "I don't know why it -- -well, it " "Zero percent, it stopped." "Let's find these" "So we can get going." "Go do it right now." "rick was pretty upset." "I don't blame him." "That was my fault." "But I don't know what happened." "That's why I stay away." "I don't want to be yelling And screaming at people here." "Mistakes get made." "But, you know, something like That can't happen." "So, I think I made my point." "I didn't have to yell And scream at him." "I don't think It's gonna happen again." "any luck on pins?" "yeah, it took me forever." "but I finally found them." "okay, I got all the screens." "Do you want to start Passing them up?" "Okay." "Right now, we got to get This wash plant back running." "The only way we can do that's" "Getting these screens Back in place." "They are a tight fit." "Well, it looks like We got them all back in." "Let's see if we can't get This plant back up and shaking." "ready?" "yep." "Start it up." "We just shot a couple Good hours of the day here." "We could've been sluicing, Making money." "all in all, It ended up being about 2 1/2 hours To solve that problem." "So that's probably $8,000, $9,000 right there." "We can't have those." "But back to getting Gold in the box." "Kevin, how you doing?" "Just keep plugging it Through the machine, dude." "we need that 50." "copy that." "the huffman crew Has been battling hard all week" "In tough, clay-rich ground," "Preparing for a crucial cleanup." "Everything's coming down To this final test." "I want to mine here." "I love it here." "And I love these guys." "But, if we don't get at least 50 ounces in this next cleanup," "I got to do what's best for me." "We need 50 ounces To stay alive." "Todd, this is it." "That the last bucket, kev?" "Yeah." "Be ready to shut This thing down." "After six days, they've run All the dirt they can" "Ahead of their 50-ounce test." "just ran our Last bucket of pay." "I'm banking my season On this mine." "It's do-or-die time." "I got everything On the line now." "Want me to grab half of that?" "I got it." "what?" "there's a goody." "Look at that." "That's a really good one." "Holy crap!" "That was a good nugget That logan just found." "And, to be honest, it's gonna Take hundreds of those." "And, right now, There's only one." "Grab some, hunter." "Grab a part of that." "at the gold room, Jim thurber starts" "The most important Cleanup of the season." "we've never ran This much concentrate" "From the high bar ever." "But, you know, there's a lot Riding on this cleanup." "So, got to find gold." "See, there goes a piece." "Todd pledged to find at least 50 ounces of gold in 1 week," "Or he'd shut down The high bar for good." "this is, like, From our wash plant." "We've been working hard." "And I've gotten gold pans" "That are way better-looking That this before." "Right now, It's a guessing game." "Dad, go through everything." "Get the nuggets." "Make sure we got Every little piece of gold." "I don't care If we got to sweep the floor." "Let's do everything we can." "I really want this to work, man." "I really want 50." "it's brutal Running that wash plant." "It is really brutal." "And my body is really happy That I'm not doing it." "The brain's having a little bit Of problem with it" "Because, when you give up The young man's job," "You know you'll never Go back to it again." "So, now, it's the realization" "That I'm no longer" "Gonna be able To do a young man's job." "And that hurts." "shut it down!" "after a frustrating Week of running," "It's time for a cleanup." "Yeah, this is our first cleanup Since our pump ran out of fuel" "And our shaker got clogged up." "So we'll see if that changes Our gold total at all." "I hope it doesn't." "We've had some problems This week." "yeah, I-I think, if you Could keep the plant running - keep the pumps flowing." "keep the pumps flowing, yeah." "Thanks for bringing That up, geez." "I'm not kind of embarrassed." "I'm totally embarrassed." "It's a basic mistake." "It's all right, doumitt." "It's behind us." "It's behind us." "Should we go weigh this out?" "Let's do it." "Ooh Hot, hot, hot!" "All right, Let's see what we've got." "Sweet." "to hit parker's 4,000-ounce season goal..." "there's 20." "..." "They need at least 144 ounces this week From scribner creek." "here's 50, 75," "90, 103.7." "That's not bad For all the problems." "It's not terrible for The problems we were having, no." "I mean, it's our Worst one yet, but " "We did lose some time." "103.7 ounces" "Is worth around $120,000." "It brings parker's total To 516 ounces." "We're bound to have A down week here and there." "yeah." "that's a pretty good bad day." "yeah." "Yeah." "yeah." "Human error has left them" "Over 40 ounces short Of their weekly target" "And cost parker $48,000." "We've got a long ways to go And a short time to get there." "Yeah, we're Getting there, though." "I mean, I hate to say it." "But I think it might be" "Turning into a young man's game Around here." "You better hate saying Something like that." "I want to know what we got." "I'm tired of waiting." "Yeah, no kidding." "In oregon, it's the moment Of truth for the hoffman crew." "that's it." "Well, I'll tell you what, dad, That ain't 50 ounces." "I feel like Such a fool right now." "I really do, dad." "We could get Obliterated this year." "I love these guys." "And I feel like I'm letting them down." "Yep, here they come." "moment of truth." "yep." "Well..." "I don't know what happened." "I can't explain it." "I had such high hopes For that place." "But we got 9.2 ounces." "We didn't come Anywhere close to 50." "how is that possible?" "I don't know." "So, because of that," "We're gonna go ahead And close the high bar." "we've almost lost Half our season." "But I think we still got A chance, you guys." "dave turin has been Setting up a second operation," "The buckland, 15 miles away." "I really feel the buckland Has gold in it." "That buckland could be rich." "We're gonna have to consolidate At the buckland" "And see if we can kick Some ass there." "I'll tell you what." "We are at ground zero." "We are starting over." "You know what, guys?" "I hate to say this." "But I need you guys to go The next 2 weeks without pay." "We got to cut Anything we can cut." "Then you tell mindy." "You tell mindy That I'm not getting paid." "She thinks I'm up here making Money to support the family." "You tell mindy I'm not getting paid." "I thought the high bar Was gonna make us all rich." "It just didn't Work out that way." "It ain't gonna happen If we start dividing ourselves." "That's for sure." "I'm not talking To you guys right now." "I'm not talking about it." "I'm not here." "I didn't come here To work for free." "I can't afford to work for free." "I've got a mortgage to pay." "I don't see how it's gonna work." "I've been through hell With this team." "You know, we're basically Got our backs against the wall." "Think a lot of us are in shock." "You know what?" "I never had confidence" "In the high bar at all." "I've always felt that The buckland is where it was at." "And now it's do-or-die." "On the next "Gold rush"..." "We got to shut down." "The gold that we're supposed To be getting up on that hill," "We ain't getting it." "I'm pissed." "These guys came up here And wasted our time." "First pay at buckland!" "that's a problem." "I guarantee you we don't Have another one of those." "I guarantee you we don't." "Our total is 913 ounces." "So it's the first Million bucks this year?" "yes, we have." "that's more like it."