"Hoffman:" "What are you going for?" "man." "000 ounces." "Todd." "504.)\fs70}On this{\alphaHFF} "Gold Rush"... 504.)\fs70}On this "Gold Rush"... 000 ounces and not an ounce more." "Can you build a bigger one?" "000 ounces." "man." "What do you say?" "Why not?" "we're standing on a big-ass sail." "Can feel the wind pulling' this thing." "Whoa!" "Broke loose!" "Not here to ruffle any feathers or anything." "Kevin:" "Are you gonna let me run the dredge a bit more?" "the Hoffman crew left McKinnon Creek and the Klondike for good." "Just go for it." "But now they're back..." "Sheamus." "...to dismantle Monster Red to Oregon." "clear." "Let her down." "Their first Oregon operation has so far produced a disappointing 50 ounces." "I don't know why the High Bar isn't producing." "We tested it." "Something's going on." "I don't know what." "the Buckland." "And they need a wash plant." "so." "get it down there." "See what happens." "I got to get this plant to Oregon." "We got to get sluicing." "We're running out of time." "So we still got a couple big pieces that we got to get out of here." "We got that screen deck." "That's gonna be a huge piece." "I want to tighten these cables up." "485)}I want to double-check and look at every pick point." "Fred." "525)}Narrator:" "Todd has drafted Klondike mine boss Sheamus Christie" "And his crane." "000-pound plant." "This wind's getting worse and worse." "the wind is bad." "I'm nervous." "And put some weight on it." "you ready?" "Let's go." "we're standing on a big-ass sail." "7 feet high." "see how much wind it catches." "Sheamus." "Fred?" "All we've done so far is take a little cushion out of the springs." "Yeah." "It's coming off over here!" "We're moving." "It's coming up." "I can feel the wind pulling this thing." "baby." "Come on." "how's it look?" "we ought to have him come down." "looking good." "Nearly there!" "Yeah!" "Narrator:" "The screen deck is safely stowed." "All that's left is to remove the shaker stand." "there's been over $5 million worth of gold" "Washed right under where my feet are and end up in those sluices." "This is why we came here." "This is the most important part." "We can't screw this up." "Hoffman:" "This whole trip is about this part here." "Can't just go out and buy something like this in short order." "Fred?" "probably thirty." "Let's do it!" "000." "500." "15. 16. 17. 20." "23. 25." "Has it even budged?" "Hasn't even moved an inch." "Keep hitting it." "000." "Todd." "I don't think it should be this heavy." "000 pounds more than the weight of the shaker stand." "it won't budge." "Sheamus?" "Fuck!" "Holy frick." "Ugh." "helping Tony move this other dredge." "Narrator:" "Gene Cheeseman is back" "For his second season as Tony Beets' foreman. something different." "Not too many people get to do that." "And bring the ancient gold machine back to life." "Cheeseman:" "We got to barge it down the Yukon river." "So that's another challenge." "There's gonna be some learning curve with that." "Looking forward to getting started on the project." "That's why I'm here." "[ chuckles ] Huh?" "has he?" "he hasn't changed." "Let's put it that way." "Yeah." "Tony." "Yeah." "Minnie." "I had to bring something." "next time bring something better." "Yeah." "I guess." "it will hurry things along." "I'm ready to get going." "I knew you'd be ready." "Awesome." "So what are you both sitting here talking?" "I want to move that dredge is what I want to do." "Yeah." "Tony Beets bought two old tugboats to haul the dredge down the Yukon river." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "We're gonna have to take that all apart anyways." "So I don't know." "I guess " "Yeah." "Gene has to turn a pile of scrap" "Into a fleet of working tugs. fuel tanks." "None of the cooling lines are hooked up. make a few phone calls here about some of the controls and stuff." "it looks overwhelming." "Okay." "I'm gonna go work." "Shit." "Go to hell." "800 and bring it over and tap it." "000 wash plant south to their new operation in Oregon." "It's stuck right now." "It's not lifting it." "Narrator:" "But the shaker stand is stuck fast In the frozen Klondike dirt." "Freddy Dodge has a plan..." "They're gonna grab that 800 and try to get it out of there." "Narrator: ..." "Try to nudge loose one corner of the stand" "To give Sheamus a better shot at lifting it." "Push out!" "Push out on the arm!" "There you go." "Whoa!" "Talk to me!" "Dig in and roll it this way." "Roger." "See if you can get a better angle." "Yeah." "It's broke loose." "Okay." "Let's see if we can lift the old girl." "We're gonna try to get the bucket underneath there." "Jiggle it a little bit while Sheamus is pulling." "28. 29." "000 pounds." "There." "It's starting to move." "Perfect." "Yeah!" "Sheamus!" "000's the number." "I hate permafrost." "Just a little reminder why I went to Oregon." "Now one problem " "I got to find the frickin' gold." "Ruault:" "We're making awesome progress." "but we're motoring right along." "I just hope we can keep this up for the rest of this season." "Parker Schnabel is on the gold." "has produced a healthy 126 ounces after just 4 days running." "Doumitt:" "It was surprising to see that much gold." "If this cut keeps going. 000." "the same as last year. 565)}We're at a bit of a limit because Tony's royalties are " "Start to really kick in and hit pretty hard." "we have to pay 25% royalty." "We need to make money this year." "We might be able to do as much gold as we did with 12 or 14 people last year with only 6 or 7 this season." "Because we're mining good and cheap and efficient." "but." "Just wants to have the profit." "Hey." "Do you have about an hour?" "There's something I want to go show you." "Okay." "Give me a second here." "Parker's looking at ways of moving dirt more efficiently." "So where are we going?" "I met this guy that mines down here on Dominion." "He's custom built and designed these conveyors that he uses actually." "To move all his dirt?" "all of it." "he just runs a three-man operation." "Wow." "those are what he uses." "What the hell?" "That's one Frankenstein Machine right there." "they're pretty sweet." "You're moving everything 120 feet away from you." "I'd have to see one running." "Narrator:" "This machine is the brainchild of Klondike innovator Adrian Hollis." "buddy?" "Good." "How are you?" "Good." "the same." "Rick." "How you doing?" "He's our foreman." "this is what we do." "This is how we move dirt here." "500 yards an hour." "Wow." "It's a cheap way to move dirt." "nothing but this conveyor." "Nothing but this conveyor." "Wow." "000 feet long." "Narrator:" "The 130-foot mobile conveyor sits on top of an old excavator." "A single operator loads overburden into the hopper." "The conveyor then shifts it 120 feet up and out of the cut." "the operator simply moves the whole machine." "and starts the process again." "You don't have any other crew other than one guy feeding this thing?" "and he feeds this." "He just comes down here." "We just send him off with some pork and beans." "And he gets at it." "Ha ha ha ha." "Narrator:" "And the conveyor uses a fraction of the fuel burnt by a fleet of rock trucks." "So what's this thing cost to run?" "200 a day." "000 yards a day?" "Sometimes more." "Generally calculate all that costs on about 30 cents a yard." "That's 1/3 of what we're at." "and it doesn't have to have much gold in it." "And you're looking pretty sweet at the end of the season." "Pretty impressive." "Would you be willing to help build us one?" "then I'll look after it." "And we'll see if we can make one work." "huh?" "You certainly will." "Depends how big you want to make it." "Do you want to make a big one or a little one?" "Can you build a bigger one? I would say you wouldn't have a problem with 150 feet." "Adrian." "Thanks for your time." "son." "I appreciate it." "Thanks a lot." "Yeah." "It was great meeting you." "Yup." "Narrator:" "All Parker needs to start building his own super conveyor is an excavator." "Yeah." "I think it could really change our operation you know." "It could change a lot of things at our site." "I think it could make us a lot more efficient." "He's the Mastermind behind this." "then..." "I want to get one built." "We appear to be good and going." "685)}Narrator:" "Kevin Beets is at the helm of his father's old dredge." "We are a-dredging." "that's not too bad." "000." "555)}Gonna drop my bucket right down to a belt level." "555)}And off... 555)}We go." "555)}That's nice bedrock." "555)}There's been tons of bucket line slippage today 555)}'Cause it's worn right the fuck out." "Now I am not moving at all." "a slipping bucket line has been slowing it down." "it's been an ongoing issue for -- since we started." "Uh uh uh." "Oh shit." "Okay." "You stop." "You guys stop." "I've shut it off because it was about a minute of the bucket line not moving at all." "It was like it was stuck." "So it kept turning up on top." "But the buckets weren't moving." "That was grinding the absolute shit out of the sprocket." "I can't dig that section." "It was pretty clear." "So no point in beating the shit out of the poor dredge." "when I can't dig it." "Narrator:" "The bucket line works like a bicycle chain which is driven by a drive cog." "Wear plates on the wheel act as teeth that engage the bucket line." "which means the bucket line" "Is losing it's grip and slipping whenever it has to dig the harder bedrock." "We know there's some gold in this bedrock." "So we're missing out." "softer ground. and go from there." "Here comes Tony." "it could be better." "Watch out." "The sprockets on the bucket line..." "Yeah?" "Those things are fucked" "They're supposed to be square to catch the bottom shit." "They're all worn down." "they're this thick." "That's causing the bucket line to slip." "We can't fuckin' dig worth a shit." "done." "too." "'cause part of the people " "It's three bolts." "There's no fuckin' rocket science there." "yeah." "too." "All right." "What can you do?" "It would be really nice to get that fixed so we can actually dig again." "Kevin has to settle for lower-grade material." "Tony wants to wait for Gene to show up before we can fix those." "he is the big boss." "So he gets to make the big calls." "I know I'm supposed to be running the dredge." "Doesn't mean I get to." "Fuck!" "Okay." "Hoffman:" "Just drop 'em." "Heads!" "Heads!" "Narrator:" "Monster Red is finally loaded up." "Jack." "Fred." "man." "guys." "Thanks for helping us." "000-mile journey home" "And try to salvage their season." "Right into the Buckland." "I'll be damned." "man?" "Not too bad." "How are you." "man." "How's your summer going?" "[ sighing ] Ahh..." "Well... if you want to know the truth." "Just here getting the plant." "That's it." "Trying to liquidate what I have." "I got a hell of a yard sale going on." "You needing anything?" "What do you want for that excavator?" "make me an offer." "have Mitch take a look at it." "And we'll just put a value on it" "And go back and forth from there." "we do need a bigger hoe like that for a project we're working on." "buddy." "000 ounces." "I am." "That's a lot of gold." "Yeah." "What are you going for?" "Three." "you know." "000 ounces." "Todd." "there you go." "What do you think?" "You've achieved everything 'Cause you get a little gold in your pocket?" "Did I say that?" "Sounded like it." "No." "man." "I'm only 47 years old." "What would I know?" "I just got finished burying my grandpa." "You don't need to tell me shit like that." "I don't need that bullshit." "Come on!" "See ya." "See you later." "Let's get out of here." "Narrator:" "It will take the convoy 2 1/2 weeks to make its way to the new claim." "Hoffman:" "We need to get Monster Red down to the Buckland and start making some gold." "I'm gonna miss this place." "But my future isn't in the Klondike." "Parker can have it." "Gene." "Kevin?" "You made it in." "Yeah." "How's it going?" "shit breaks." "Yeah." "Narrator:" "Gene Cheeseman has been sent to oversee a repair on the dredge's bucket line." "So I'm guessing you're here for the -- what's " "What's up?" "What's up with that." "Just figure out a plan." "We noticed it began to slip about a month ago." "I've been trying to get on Tony's case to let us replace them." "for some reason." "Gene isn't needed here." "He's got better shit to do." "He should be on dredge number two today." "Kevin and Jason have been wanting to make the fix themselves." "but -- so... so... so..." "I'm not trying to do that." "So I don't want you to feel that way." "we'll be good." "Yeah." "Okay." "All right." "We could have fixed this problem on our own with the bucket line." "We have the welders here." "We have the wear plates. and" "He insisted on waiting for Gene." "Yep." "We're just looking at the sprockets." "right?" "Nowhe'sin arush." "Okay." "Phil's working on the bucket." "Jason and Bob just finishing cleaning out the hydraulic riffles for under the trommel." "Jason finished up greasing the bucket line." "yep." "Gotcha." "Is a chain." "565)}And it's skipping 'cause the sprockets wore out." "565)}Now you got to change those out." "565)}These guys look like they got it figured out" "Doing a good job." "I want to go move dredge two." "That's what I want to do." "It's... what I'm interested in." "Dredge master Kevin pulls the mats to take home to Tony as ordered." "or great." "That's how he operates." "like a natural disaster." "Then you pick up the pieces." "I'll take this off to Paradise." "clean it." "Then we can see what we got." "I did a pan." "While Gene Cheeseman oversees a repair on the dredge." "not too bad." "Yeah?" "There's a lot of material." "So there should be hopefully a lot of gold in that." "So if this turns out good..." "Uh-huh." "Are you gonna let me run the dredge a bit more?" "that's not what I'm meaning." "letting me manage it." "it's like with the sprockets on the bull gear." "Yeah?" "'Cause Gene's plan is the exact same plan I told you a month ago." "Yes." "Are you gonna give me more responsibility and let me make the call " "I want to fix this now" we can fix the fuckin' thing." "[ chuckles ]" ""Is it time?" Will you listen?" "Huh?" "Yippee." "Okay." "Finish this shit up." "That I don't need someone to hold my hand every time I decide to go left or right." "That's what he should trust me with." "Schnabel:" "I'm getting pissed off with this." "we're like.." "000 ounces." "Narrator:" "Parker is on his way to see Tony in a last-ditch attempt to improve his royalty deal." "we just -- we can't afford to pay a 25% royalty." "this is a business." "Right." "000 ounces as long as we're leasing from Tony." "And as long as he keeps taking the same position he is." "Parker has repeatedly tried and failed to renegotiate the deal with his claim owner." "Well." "give this a shot." "knock." "Parker." "Hi." "Hey." "Haven't seen you yet this year." "I know." "Sorry to hear about your granddad." "thanks." "Tony." "How you guys doing?" "We're good." "anyway." "You bringing us goodies?" "I am." "100 ounces for you." "so." "That's good." "That\s pretty good." "I figure I'd get you out of my hair and just give you give you the minimum royalty up front here." "not bad." "That's our minimum royalty payment." "Yeah." "000 ounces with these with these royalty rates the way they are." "all I'm asking for is to cap the royalties at 20%." "We could go for 4 or 5 thousand ounces which would put " "At 20% that'd put 200 to 400 more ounces in your pocket." "we can just keep on chugging." "And it makes it worthwhile for me to do." "And you guys keep getting more gold out of the ground." "'Cause I'm really not up here.." "000 ounces or less. 000 ounces and not an ounce more." "Are we really gonna stick to that?" "I think we should talk about it." "'cause he wants to work." "How many people this day and age want to work?" "I don't want you to do that." "there should be options." "Right?" "Let him bring the gold." "What's up?" "we have our one from last year still." "Big Red." "000 ounces at the lower rate" "As long as it's on a second claim." "I wasn't planning on having two operations going this summer." "But I appreciate the compromise." "Right?" "Tony." "Tony. thinking that was gonna happen." "This is pretty late to start a project like that." "uh -- right?" "Do you have generators and pumps and feeders and loaders and" "A lot of stuff that goes into it." "mate." "Yeah." "Narrator:" "Parker has made a deal on Todd's 700 excavator." "He can now have Adrian build him a brand-new super conveyor." "Looks good." "It's a little beat up." "It came from the Hoffmans." "it looks as though it's nothing that can't be repaired." "I'm really lookin' forward to it." "Five weeks should just about do it." "And you're in business." "Geez." "It's a lot of work." "Kevin:" "You come have a look." "You tell me." "Narrator:" "The Beets family assembles for the third gold weigh of the season." "Faulty wear plates on the dredge have meant Kevin has struggled to dig high-quality pay." "they will find out how much it's cost them." "There she is." "30." "40. 50. 60." "70. 80." "90." "110. 130." "140. 160." "170." "No." "86 ounces." "000 in a single week." "it's hot." "No touchy." "If you had let me fix those wear plates way the fuck back when." "no." "wah." "we could've got a lot more." "really." "be involved in doin' it." "But I think Kevin's more capable of doin' it." "I'm fuckin' tryin' to be." "Ha ha ha." "Okay." "756.8" "That's more than we had all last year." "yes." "Kevin does have a point though." "Tony has to let go a little bit." "the better." "It's like anything." "so." "Here I am." "Gonna make it fuckin' work this year." "huh? Ready for his second Boundary Cut weigh in." "Schnabel:" "All right." "Let's see what this is." "Narrator:" "Their first weigh-in of the season was 126 ounces." "There's 20." "60." "120." "140." "145 on the button." "Ness:" "Whoo!" "Nice." "Yeah." "That's a good cleanup." "000 485)}Well on target for his season goal." "I keep bugging Tony about our royalty rates." "This week he did make a bit of a compromise in that" "He said We can run a second wash plant." "And it will reset at the original royalty rates." "Really?" "A different plant on a different cut." "And be independent of the other operation." "Doumitt:" "So each plant pays its own royalties?" "Yeah." "Wow." "Then it works up from there." "We've got that ground on Indian River from Tony that we got last year." "And we have yet to touch 'em at all." "It's all still trees and swamp." "Huh." "000 ounces down there." "I'm putting it on you." "You've got to want to do it and you've got to take it on and it's not gonna be easy." "So" "It's on you." "man." "What do you say?" "Uh-huh." "Why not?" "Let's give it a try." "Yeah." "Hell yeah." "What are you thinking for a wash plant?" "probably Big Red." "it was pretty tore up." "Mitch." "Yeah." "man." "We're goin' big." "Let's get after it." "huh?" "Mitch." "Yeah." "000 ounces. if that's what we gotta do." "That's what we're gonna go do." "Parker saying it's all on me." "you know?" "What it would be like." "And so I..." "I'm pretty excited about that." "um.." "but now it's -- it's pretty much being laid before me and I gotta this huge opportunity now." "Yeah." "I guess we're starting a second operation. 327)\fnLucida Calligraphy} Subs by JackT" "Hey." "so" "Now's the time to be pushing for everything we can." "Man:" "Whoa." "Whoa." "Whoa!" "Rick's going under!" "504.)\fs78} On the next{\alphaHFF}"Gold Rush 504.)\fs78} On the next "Gold Rush" "Gonna be the hardest thing we've ever done." "You're losing thousands of dollars a day." "We're not mining." "We're just wasting time." "Unless I see something really screwed up..." "Whoo." "Rick's the boss." "You're kidding me." "It's just not gonna thaw." "you're in trouble!" "Kevin:" "You're fuckin' supposed to be mining gold." "You don't like it?" "Too fuckin' bad." "Everybody has a breaking point."