All language subtitles for Gold.Rush.S16E01.Records.Will.be.Broken.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb

Market volatility
of gold stands out.

Gold just hit a new record,
$3,500 an ounce.

And the price of gold
has been climbing.

This is somewhere
that economists believe

will continue to be
a safe haven.

Oh, Tony.

Good.
How are you?

Yeah?

You got some of that
tiny shiny coming in?

Good.

Gold price.

I don't even like to talk
about it or look at it.

Well, then it goes down $300,
and I'm like,

"What's happening?"
And it's like,

"Oh, it's still up $1,000."

Whether I want to say
the number or not, because I

keep saying it and not hitting
it, but no, we're going to have

to start doing 10,000 a year
for a while now.

Bring it on.

You're going big.
What do you need to do?

Yeah.

Yeah, no, it's good
to see you.

I'm glad you're doing well.

Hopefully the wars are
behind us.

Bye!

Tony and I have known each other
for, you know, 14 years.

That's wild.

Like 99% of the time,
it's great.

That 1% [bleep] absolutely
sucks, and he's like one

of the biggest [bleep]
on the planet.

But 99% of the time,
he's wonderful.

Maybe 95%.

16 years ago...

Three-fifths of an ounce,
which is about $800.

...a global financial crash

caused gold prices to rocket...

It's just gold fever.

...to $1,000 an ounce...

I'm going to Disneyland!

...sparking a modern-day
gold rush.

- It's alive!
- We're washing rocks, baby!

But striking it rich

proved harder than imagined.

That's it.
We're done.

Now...

Breaking news on Wall Street
with stocks tumbling.

Gold in safe havens,
they are surging.

Gold prices have more than
tripled to an all-time high,

$3,500 per ounce.

We're going gold mining, boys!

Hang on!

With just six months
to cash in...

Are we here for a shootout?

...top dogs...

Are you going to behave?

...and underdogs...

I'm just a delivery boy.

I don't really give a [bleep].
I just want to get paid.

...collide...

I got a job offer from Parker.

Look out!

...and play dirty...

- Can I trust you on this?
- Er... yeah.

...to hit the jackpot!

Holy smokes!

That's a hell of a pan!

We joke about it
being an addiction,

but it literally is.

Some...

You made a [bleep] mess.

...will not survive.

Pick me out
somebody to fire.

It sucks, man.
It really sucks.

Others...

...soar to new heights...

See, you guys
are [bleep] killing it!

...and set records.

I was not expecting that.

Pretty amazing!

2,043 and a half ounces.

- That's wild!
- You get a pan!

You get a pan!
You get a pan!

Genuinely, that's insane!

The Yukon,

North America's last frontier.

For over a century,
prospectors have scoured

these valleys and creeks
for life-changing gold,

with just a few summer months
to make their fortunes.

The stars are aligned for us.

The gold price is crazy!

We've got a ton of ground
prepped on Dominion,

and we're going to be able
to stretch our legs

and really run and see
what it's made out of.

This is the year
that we'll find out.

30-year-old Parker Schnabel
is on the precipice

of a career-defining season.

The gold mining prodigy,

who started out
with a crew of two,

is now a mining mogul
with 60 machines

and a 40-person crew.

We've got amazing people,
and then we have, like,

this crazy gold price,
and we're dangerously close

to things being really good.

I just want to go to work.
I just want to wash rocks

and, you know,
get sluicy-goosey

for the tiny shiny.
That's all I want to do.

I did not, I have not told
you how to do your job

one time this whole year!

Just 16 years old when he
first became a mine boss...

I'm pretty young
and it's tough to,

you know, I never know if I'm
doing the right thing or not.

...Parker struggled...

I'm spending the money here
and I make the calls.

...to manage his crew.

If you can't handle it, then

maybe this isn't
the place for you.

You are making
an enemy out of me.

But as the young miner grew...

In gold mining, you're only
as good as the people you have.

...he evolved.

- Oh, yeah!
- Look at that!

Our season starts now.

I'll stand behind him
any day of the week.

...with a vision that spawned
a gold-mining empire...

Wow-- that's the biggest clean
out we've ever had.

...and delivered more than
$115 million in gold.

This does not stop here.

I'm losing faith in you guys.

But last season...

It's been one fight
after the next.

We're not making money
when we're doing it like this.

It's frustrating.

I know what we were doing
was wrong.

...Parker crashed and burned.

Worst clean up ever.

I don't like this feeling.

I don't like being a loser.

We came up short and it's not
gonna happen again.

This winter, I have spent

all the money I could get
my hands on

buying equipment
and hiring people.

It's a challenge.

This is kind of uncharted
territory for me.

So much [bleep] going on.

We just have to hammer down,
focus on...

washing rocks, filling jars,

and everybody's gonna have
to step up.

40 miles southeast
of Dawson City

lies Parker's kingdom,

an area nearly the size
of Manhattan.

His main operation
is Dominion Creek,

land he's bought,

where he'll run three
washplants to deliver

the bulk of his gold.

25 miles northwest,
he'll send a satellite crew

to Sulphur Creek
to hunt for pockets of gold

left behind by the old-timers.

Running the enormous operation
will cost Parker

$100,000 each day.

But if he's successful,
he could bring in more than

$35 million in gold this year.

- What's happening, man?
- How are you guys?

Yo, yo.

Doing good.
How are you?

Not too bad.

- Welcome to my map room.
- Very nice.

This is where
it all happens, eh?

How was your winter?

It was good.

I was a bum for the most part.

To execute his master plan,
Parker's counting

on his trusted lieutenants,
Mitch Blaschke and Tyson Lee.

We're gonna do 10,000
ounces this year.

Like, we keep talking about it,

but we actually have
to just do it.

So we're gonna run
four plants this year.

Wow.

Trying to run four washplants,
it's just like--

- We were all over
the place last year trying to...
- Yeah.

...cover our bases and, like,
we're gonna be spread out.

You know how it is
when that happens.

Yeah, I know.

I know that there's going to be
a lot of challenges.

I'm not--
I don't disagree with you.

Tyson, I need you on Dominion
running the whole operation.

Right.

- So good luck.
- Thanks, I'll need it.

I don't know what's going
to come out of Sulphur and it's

going to be a difficult project
so I need you to go over there,

Mitch, and get that
sorted out first.

We only have a partial season
on the water license so we need

to get it done in a hurry.

All right.

Parker's Sulphur water license,
a permit to pull water

from creeks to wash gold,
expires in just 10 weeks.

After that...

he can't mine the claim.

So what kind of crew do we have
to get this done?

We've hired a bunch
of new people.

OK.

One big thing is people
who can't do their job,

we need to fire.

We want to have
the best of the best.

But you guys are the ones that
are going to be able to make

this happen or not.
It's brutal, right?

It's gonna be
a stressful year for you two.

Yeah.

I know it's a bit
of a daunting task,

but I'm excited.
- It's gonna
be exhausting.

- Yeah.
- No days off.

You just had six months off.

Yeah...

- Thanks for coming back.
- Yeah.

- I appreciate having
you guys here.
- Thank you.

I'm looking forward
to this season.

Yeah, for sure.
Thanks, man.

All right, let's do it.

There's a lot of work to do.
There's a lot of gold to find.

Now it's up to Mitch and Tyson
to get the job done.

Hopefully.

The job will get done.

Hopefully, it's the two of them
that does it, is what I mean.

Things are already
starting off

a little bit different here.

Parker made it very clear that,
you know, everybody's got

to pull their weight
and then some.

We got no room for error.

Last year,
Mitch was in charge.

This year, it's gonna be
on my shoulders.

Last year, I was managing
one washplant.

This year,

gonna be managing three,
so no [bleep] ups.

We gotta find
a [bleep] ton of gold.

Tyson's first mission is
to start pulling in gold

on Dominion's Bridge Cut.

The crew has spent two years
mining this spot

with mixed results.

Now, Parker sees and rides
on it delivering big.

But there's a problem.

Over winter,
water flooded the cut,

and the gold-bearing paydirt
is buried under three feet

of solid ice.

I'm in the 250.

Got Michael in the 390.

Coming to work for Parker,
it's kind of a dream come true.

I like the way
he runs his outfit.

His gear is really nice.

We got Amy here,
first truckload ice,

heading out of the cut.
First of many.

This is my first time

driving a rock truck.

Before they can get to paydirt,

Tyson's crew needs to shift
over 25,000 tons of ice.

I think realistically,

how the hell are we gonna do
all this in a week?

Right now, I'd like
to be setting up the washplant

and firing it up today,

but we're a long ways
away from that.

How are things going?

Well, man, the ice is a lot
thicker than we thought, eh?

Yeah, there's a lot of ice
in here.

- It's really rotten.
- Mm-hmm.

So what's your plan?

Just keep building piles,
trucking off this ice.

Right, OK.

We have extra trucks
in the yard, no?

You got any more people?
Any more iron you can give us?

- I don't know.
- OK.

- Thanks, dude.
- No worries.

See ya.

If by the end of the week

I don't have the ice
out of this cut

and the washplant going,
I will have failed my first task

first week of the season.

Parker just wants the ice out
and the washplant going.

The long and short of it.

I don't really want to spend
money trucking [bleep] ice,

but we really don't have
much of an alternative.

So we're just going to have
to [bleep] suck it up.

We need to get sluicing.

That's gonna be what
makes or breaks the season.

Yeah, here we go!

I can't believe we're sluicing
as early as we are.

We started the season early,
but we want to keep that up.

Everybody's in a rush.

Ten miles south,
at Indian River,

King of the Klondike,
Tony Beets,

is already two weeks ahead
of his rivals.

Tony's hoping
for a quick score

from the 13-acre
Early Bird cut.

Forty years ago, Tony and wife
Minnie left the Netherlands

to seek their fortune
in the Yukon.

From nothing, Tony grew
a $60 million mining dynasty.

Until two years ago...

We're six, seven
million in the hole.

...when the business
descended into chaos...

...his family fractured.

He's running it
into the [bleep] ground.

You told me this cat
was gonna be mine.

Yeah.

- Feeling a little shafted.
- Shut down the plant.

Every single
[bleep] time.

But the Klondike King pulled
his family together...

...keeping son, Mike,
and daughter, Monica,

working for him...

I appreciate everything
you're doing to help me.

Anything for family, Monica.

...but giving eldest son,
Kevin, the chance to set up

his own operation.

That sounds very, very nice.

By the end of last season...

...the Beets had reeled in

a record 5,777 ounces,

worth $14.4 million.

Tony believes his claims
could deliver a jaw-dropping

6,500 ounces this season
worth more than $22 million.

Well, hello sir.

- Well, she's...
- Yellow.

Got yellow stuff.

Yeah.

Especially at this price.

Not only is Tony already
sluicing, he's the first

to weigh out his gold.

- Ready, set, go!
- OK, let's go.

At Indian River,

Tony Beets is gambling
on an early season score

to cash in
on record high gold prices.

- Ready, set, go!
- OK, let's go.

He's already sluiced nearly
half of the Early Bird cut...

50, 60, 70.

...which he's counting on
to deliver at least 300 ounces.

190, 260, 290,

300.

Wow!
360, 390...

417.56.

Ain't that a beaut?

That's pretty amazing.

In just two weeks,
the Beets have pulled

in $1.5 million.

So, how have you planned out
this summer?

Sounds good to me.

But I was thinking,
you gave Kevin a bunch of help

getting him going...

So, is there anything you're
going to help us with?

I'm OK with that, you?

I'm very interested to see
what Tony was talking about

in terms of other opportunities.

I think it's really cool that
Kevin has gone out on his own,

but Michael's been

out here since he was 12.

Mike's really chomping
at the bit to do more things.

Big picture goals,
I would like my own mine,

but right now,
it's not a priority.

I have a bunch of other [bleep]
that I have to get done.

We'll see.

100 miles away, in Keno,
Rick Ness...

Yeah, that's a big
pile of dirt.

...is sitting on a pile of gold
at his Duncan Creek claim.

I would say there's probably
pretty damn close to 400 ounces

sitting there, and right now
that's worth over

a million dollars.
And it's ready to go.

Our plant's sitting
right there.

The bad news is we still don't
have a water license,

and we can't touch this.

It blows my mind.

Rick's water license,
essential to mining,

still hasn't come through.

Until he gets it,
he can't mine Duncan Creek.

I almost don't even know
if I should do this.

Thinking it would make me,
thinking it would satisfy me,

but it's probably just gonna
make me more mad.

Holy [bleep]!

That's outrageous amount
of gold in one pan.

I don't even know what
the emotion is right now.

Normally I see a pan like that
and I hit the [bleep] roof.

This is, uh...

That's unbelievable!

And we can't touch it.

Hit the bypass!

Rick Ness...

I expected growing pains,
but this is [bleep] outrageous.

...is a fighter...

Booyah!

...with a small crew
of buddies...

Rally!

...paying them out each season
from his haul.

There's one of those for each
of you guys.

You guys earned it.

A miner for 13 years...

- What!
- I know!

...he's had highs.

That's like an ounce
right there.

...and lows.

No, no, no!

I don't know what else
to do right now.

It's getting out of control.

Always on the brink
of losing it all...

That's one last farewell kick
in the balls.

...but last season...

This is it.
Now this is all mine.

...he bought his own ground...

Let's go!

Vegas Valley, here we go.

Whoo! Yeah!

...hit the jackpot and reeled
in $4.5 million in gold...

That's it.
We did it.

I've got some bad news.

...only to be gut-punched.

We've got a big problem
with the water license

being approved,
and I can't guarantee

you'll have the license
next year.

Without the water license,
you can't mine.

Now, Rick must find
a way to pull a rabbit

out of the hat... again.

- What's up, dudes?
- Not much, you?

- Nice crutches.
- Yeah, you like those, eh?

Good start.

With nowhere to mine,

only half Rick's crew has
made it back, for now.

Well, you guys have seen it all.

You've seen the good.
You've seen the bad.

You've seen the opportunity.
You've seen the setbacks.

It's a [bleep] mess right now.

It's not just us.

I mean, there's a lot of people
getting screwed.

There's no one shutting
the door right now saying that,

you know, your water license
is never coming in.

It's just tied up.

So what are we doing here
with no water license?

It's not the only
pile of gold out here,

and that's why
you're here.

We just have
to find another one.

But it's not gonna be
on this ground.

And you know what?

Gold prices are $1,000 more
an ounce than when we left

here last year.
And that's [bleep] insanity.

- This is not the year to quit.
- No.

And we need 1,800 ounces
this year.

Yeah, I know that things seem
down, but you know what?

We are here, and I am gonna
find us a spot.

At the end of the [bleep] day,
that's what we're gonna do.

But if this water license comes
through at any point

this summer, you bet your ass
I want to move us back here.

I mean, you haven't
let us down yet.

- [bleep] right.
- All right.

Hopefully, Rick understands
what he's doing here.

And hopefully, wherever we're
going, it's going to be good.

I want to start moving
some dirt.

These guys have stuck with me
through a lot, and I'm glad

to see they're sticking with me
through this.

We will find a place to mine,

and we're gonna make it work.

- OK, Chelsea, you ready?
- Ready.

- Kayden, you ready?
- Yep, ready.

All right, then, folks.

Screen deck is turning on,
first time for the season.

Let's go!

First scoop of pay going
in for the season.

Beauty!

At Scribner Creek,
just like his father Tony,

second-year mine boss
Kevin Beets

is ahead of the pack.

It feels really good
to sluice this early,

especially after last year.

It's nice to see it
[bleep] running.

Can we have this one?

Last season,
with a little help from dad...

Three, two, one, ahh!

Whoo! Yeah!

...Kevin plunged his life
savings into his own operation.

This is a big gamble,
so me and Faith have

to make this work.

It's looking really nice, Kev.

So excited, bud.

Overall, I think it's
a pretty good [bleep] day.

But almost from the get-go...

I'm trying to help you here,
and you're talking over me.

...tempers flared...

It's not fun to work with.

...until Foreman
Brennan Ruault

took control of the crew...

You don't want
to [bleep] hear it?

I want this to be
squashed right [bleep] now.

...and the cuts.

Yes, finally!

Hahaha!
Much [bleep] better.

That's a nice way
to keep her going, haha!

...helping them score...

- Let there be gold!
- [bleep] beautiful.

...a big payday.

Yay, money!

It's nice to be
in the upswing, honestly.

We made the right call
of getting away from Tony's.

I'm feeling really good
about this year.

I think we're off
to a strong start,

which is good because we have
a big goal this year,

2,000 ounces.

Figure may as well go double
what we did last year.

Aim big.

And with gold prices being
as high as they are, if there's

any time to have a good,
big year for gold totals,

it is this [bleep] year.

Kevin's mission this year is
to double his gold target

and cement his place as a mine
boss in his own right.

So our mining plan--

we left ourselves
a piggy bank last year.

That way, we have money
coming in from day one.

So day one sluicing.

This is gonna hopefully
continue on well.

Last year I was pretty
frustrated out here

with how much
we're shutting down.

But Brennan, he knows
what he's doing.

It's nice having Kayden back.

It's always good
to have returners who know

how things run and, you know,
you can rely on.

And Brennan should be
showing up soon.

Oh, it feels good
to be back in the Yukon.

This feels like my second home.

- Howdy, stranger.
- How's it going, guys?

- Not too [bleep] bad.
- How are you doing?

We were wondering
where the [bleep] you were at.

Nice to see you, pal.

So what's up?
We were starting to wonder,

we haven't heard
from you in a bit.

So yeah, um...

Um...

I ended up getting a phone call
there that I wasn't

expecting to get.

Of another job offer.

Um...

And it was a pretty good
job offer, so...

I've leaned towards
taking that position.

Who offered you the job?

Well, Parker ended up calling
me there, which I was

completely not expecting.

Same.

Yeah, um...

Really? Back with Parker?

It was not, you know,
there's just a few things

in the offer that really align
to what my future--

where I kind of see myself being
and some goals that I have set,

you know what I mean?
- No.

I wish you at least told us
earlier, so that we can plan.

If I had have known a lot
sooner, I would have said it

a lot sooner, right?

Ugh...

There's not really much we can
offer you to get you back here

this year, I guess, eh?

I've kind of already
agreed to it.

Well, thank you
for stopping by,

telling us in [bleep] person.

Hey, guys.
You guys have a wicked season.

- I'll see you.
- See you.

Well, then.

2,000 ounces without
the foreman is gonna be

a bit more of a project then,
isn't it?

It is kind of hard to find
someone with Brennan's

experience that you can
rely on.

If they're good,
they've got a job.

Maybe we should go
poaching, too.

Hm.

We're down to the last bit
of ice here in the Bridge Cut.

Once we get that out of here,

that means I can start getting
Bob ready to sluice.

Three days
into his ice-moving marathon,

Tyson's under the gun.

Parker's given me
and I've taken on more

than I've ever taken on
working here before.

Can I do it?
I don't know.

But am I willing to find out?

Yeah, it could have cost me
my job, 100%.

But I hope it doesn't.

If it does,
I'll be flipping burgers.

Come visit me
at the drive-thru.

And yes, I will be
spitting in them.

A 25-mile drive northwest...

I'm down here at Sulphur,

just trying to get this cut
opened up.

This cut's 2,000 feet long.

That's probably big enough
to land a small airplane on.

For a lot of miners, this would
be their whole season with

multiple people working on it,
and right now I'm down here

jumping from the dozer
to the excavator,

back and forth, ripping.

...Mitch has a two-acre strip
to mine out

in just 10 weeks

before Parker's water license
runs out.

If he fails, he'll be forced
to leave gold behind.

The time frame down here is
definitely my biggest concern.

This water license is getting
closer to expire by the minute,

and yet I'm the only one
down here.

Who we got here?

Oh, hey, man, what's up?

Not much, my friend.

How are you?

Oh, busy.

Good to see you, pal.
Come on.

I'm not a hugger,
but I'll give you one.

Oh, just don't let nobody--
don't tell nobody that.

Yeah, keep that [bleep]
off the radio.

What's your plans?

Well,
Parker poached me.

He sent me up here to come
to work with you.

- No way, man!
- Yeah, buddy!

All right!

He said to me specifically,

"You and Mitch work
so [bleep] good together,

I want to get
that band back together."

That's the exact words
out of his mouth.

- Dude, that's awesome!
- [bleep] yeah.

I can't believe
he didn't tell me.

Whoo!

Brennan and Mitch...

- That's the last scoop?
- [bleep] yeah.

Whoo!

...were mining buddies on
Parker's Scribner Creek claim.

- Yeah, buddy.
- Whoo! [bleep] yeah.

- Nice work, man.
- Yeah, you too, man.

- They became co-foremen...
- That is perfect.

- ...and a bromance blossomed.
- [bleep] are we good?

- What a nice feeling!
- Brennan, hurry up!

You've had five [bleep] days
to get this done.

For [bleep] sakes.

You're in charge,
or are you not in charge?

Until five years ago,
when Brennan quit

after falling out with Parker.

I'm so [bleep]
over this bull[bleep], man.

Dude, we've moved a lot
of dirt, and this year,

let me tell you what,
we got more than ever.

I could certainly use
some help.

Well,
that's what I'm here for.

You can jump in the dozer.
We just gotta rip this edge.

I'm gonna start throwing
everything back.

OK, well,
I'm excited, buddy.

Time to move some dirt.

Dude, it's unreal to have
you back here!

Christmas came early!

In all the years I've been
gone, I've missed working

with you every [bleep]
day of it, buddy.

Oh, you're probably back
because you heard

we got Taco Tuesday.

He did mention you guys got
a really good cook,

so that was
a big plus for me.

Oh, that looks like Parker.

How's it going?

- Hey, welcome back.
- Thanks, pal.

OK.

The whole Sulphur project is
kind of an interesting one,

because it's really hard to see

what is pay and what is waste.

What you're really looking for

is virgin banks
or, like, virgin sections.

This, to me, looks
like virgin still, right?

So you're forced to pan
your way through it

and see what's going on.

This is a totally different
type of mining this, eh?

Three-quarters of a century
ago, old-timers used a dredge

to mine Sulphur Creek,

pulling out more than
$1.2 billion in gold.

But in its wake,
it left a mystery.

Floating in a self-made pond,
the dredge traveled its way

down the valley, sluicing
from one side to the other.

But above the water line,

the high banks were
out of reach,

so gold was left untouched.

And where the dredge turned,

it covered up pockets
of gold-rich virgin ground

with worthless tailings,

making Sulphur a potential

treasure trove
of hidden gold...

If they can find it.

It's just going to take
some time to figure out.

Like, I would be panning
pretty constantly.

Perfect.
Sounds good to me.

OK.

We got so much water
coming through here.

We got all this material.

We need to start
moving it over.

You know, we need it dry.

If we start just working this,

it's just gonna get
wetter and wetter.

We're not dredging.

So, I want to just focus
on the ditch here.

Yeah, OK, I mean, I agree
with you, but I just,

what about Parker, you know?

Yeah, but I mean, if we
just start digging in here,

we're gonna be
working underwater.

Despite Parker's rush to find
the gold, Mitch ignores

his orders to pan
and decides to dig a ditch

to drain the water.

The first thing we got to do
and we're gonna do

is get rid of this water.
- All right.

It's going really good.

I've got the ditch all the way
to the top end of this cut,

which was 2,000 feet long,

and the cut's starting
to drain out.

At Sulphur Creek, Mitch has
defied Parker's orders to hunt

for virgin hot spots
and is ditching instead.

Parker's planning on coming
down today and doing some

panning here, but we've got
a lot of material that's still

got to be moved here before
it's ready to have Parker have

a look at this and see
what he wants to do.

I was hoping to have
all this ready by now.

The [bleep]
are you doing?

Well, this is not good.

What's happening?

I thought you might
need some panning,

but I take it not, right now?

Yeah.

Most important thing,
just trying to get rid

of the water here so we can
actually move the dirt.

We got a pretty good
system down.

We're just trying to get
that corner cleaned out,

and then we'll be ready for it.

There's a lot of work
to do here.

I mean, I just got Brennan
yesterday, so.

[bleep]!

There are two options.

Find some virgin ground,

or else you can leave.

OK, that's a waste
of [bleep] time.

Ugh!

You know, gold can buy
a lot of things,

but it can't buy patience.

And the higher the prices go,

you know, the less of it
there seems to be around here.

Parker wants things done
in a certain way and order,

and I get that.
It's his business.

It's his company.

You know, I've moved a lot
of dirt up here, and, you know,

I'm confident
in what I'm doing.

Got the ditches down.
We got the cut draining.

And, you know, in my opinion,
that's the right move.

I just wasted two hours.

We just need to get panning.

It's my first week
back on the job.

Haven't worked for Parker
for over five years now.

And, you know,
he's already pissed off.

This is the type of [bleep] that
made me leave the last time.

A hundred miles east...

We have to pull
the trigger on something.

Otherwise, we're gonna miss
this whole season.

...still waiting for his water
license and desperate

for somewhere to mine,

Rick's on his way
to prospect new ground

at a nearby claim--
Lightning Creek.

You can go to any mine out
here and listen to the guy

tell you how much gold's
on the property,

but which one's
telling the truth?

Not a single
[bleep] one of them.

So if we're gonna get
any answers up there,

it's gonna be our own.

Rick's mining
in the Keno Mountains

has been boom or bust.

The unpredictable ground almost
bankrupted him six years ago

until he hit the honey hole
at Duncan Creek.

We do our own testing
and see what we find,

and we know
we can trust that.

Rick's found gold
on his Duncan Creek claim

in two spots.

Now, he's hoping
the paystreak extends

to the Lightning Creek claim,

eight miles upstream,

near the gold motherlode
at Mount Hinton.

Lightning Creek is owned
by Rick's old landlord,

Troy Taylor.

Ah, there he is.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey, Troy.

How's it going?

- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.

Hey, Troy.

Welcome to Lightning Creek.

We're ready to hit the ground
running, get some gold

out of the ground.

Six seasons ago...

- Our deal is 10%.
- Yep.

For 100 ounce minimum.

Rick leased Duncan Creek
from landowner Troy Taylor.

That's nice-looking gold
there, Rick.

Then cut a handshake deal
to buy the claim...

Thanks, Rick.
Appreciate that.

...gambling millions
of dollars...

I'm sure you're happy
to see that.

...on the promise
of a gold bonanza.

Holy [bleep].

This is your last
[bleep] chance.

It was a rocky ride,
but finally the deal was done,

bar one crucial detail.

I have to trust that
the water license

is gonna come through.
- Yeah.

- You're all in.
- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.
- All in.

It was on Troy to get
the water license for Rick,

but now that it hasn't
come through, he might have

other ground for Rick
to kick the tires on.

Looks like you've done
a little bit of work here, eh?

A little bit, yeah.

Dad and I did some sluicing
last September, so, yeah.

Just you and your dad,
pretty much, eh?

- Yeah, just Dad and I.
- But what was the gold like?

I mean, is it decent, or...?

Yeah, it was decent.

The gold is good here.

We had some good results
last fall.

Dad and I did some testing
and we're pleased.

Lightning is just like
Upper Duncan in the sense

that it's flowing
through a canyon.

Hopefully, gold has been
flushed out of those canyons

like Upper Duncan
into this main valley.

How much overburden
is on top of it, like?

It's not bad.

It's just about five feet
of muck and sand.

Ready to pay then?

- That's it, eh?
- Yeah.

And I would just take about
15 feet and then we get

into another-- it's kind
of like a false bedrock,

and that's where
I would stop for now.

- So the pay layer was 15 feet?
- Yeah.

That's more than I expected.

I know that we're not
the only ones fighting

this water license
stuff this year.

What's the deal
with this one here?

How many more years are on it?

Yeah, that's a good question.
This is good till 2028.

So you got a few more years
here, or we do.

Why give us the option?
I mean, it's just, you know,

why aren't you doing it?

Well, I feel bad about
this whole water license thing,

so I want to give you
a shot here.

Dad and I can

step aside for a year
if you want to go here.

There's no cost
on the royalty.

Yeah, there's
a lot less risk for us.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

And I don't want to sound like
a salesman, but there is other

people that have been
calling me over the winter, so.

But and I've been holding on
to this for you,

so I'm hoping that we can
work something out.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

You know, I mean,

can I trust you on this?
- Er... yeah.

We've been, what,
six years now together?

- I think, uh...
- Yeah.

I mean, I just, there's been

no shortage of surprises
out here.

I can't wait too much longer.

Dad and I are going
to keep mining

or get somebody else
in here, so.

No, I understand that.

We got the trommel here today,
so we get some testing done

and try to make a decision
as quick as we can, so.

Let's do it.

It's definitely getting harder
to trust people out here.

Gold's at a premium,
water license are

rare as can be.

The vultures are circling.

Troy, he always seems to have
the answer when I don't.

So it's a win-win for Troy.

[bleep] Troy.

We need this to work out,
because we need to get

somewhere to go mining,
and we need it quick.

Still waiting
for his water license,

Rick Ness has to move
his operation and is hoping

new ground at Lightning Creek
will be worth it.

We've already done a couple
of test holes,

but I want to do
one more here.

There's a lot of big boulders
out of this.

Could be nice stuff.

Troy Taylor has already
stripped a section

down to paydirt,

so Rick's making spot checks
on the stripped ground.

He'll run two square yards
of pay and is looking

for at least a gram
from the run.

By the sounds of Troy,

you know, it's looking
pretty good here.

But I have kind of some doubts
here, but at the same time,

I really hope this is gonna
turn out for us.

That should be
a good enough speed.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, I'll go get
the water going.

OK.

Hey, Ricky, we're ready

for you to throw some in
if you want.

I'll give her a shot.

This bucket's kind of big,
I'll probably make a mess.

Washing the rocks really nice,

so hopefully it gives us
a good reading.

That's the last of the dirt.

I'd say we got
our test done here.

We'll have to clean it up
and then get the hell

out of here and weigh it,
see what we got.

- Shut her down, clean her up.
- Yeah, man.

OK, let's do it.

It doesn't have
to be [bleep] hot,

but it's got to be hot enough
for us to buy it.

Best girl, best girl.

Oh, hello, hello.

Back at camp, the fate
of Rick's season rests

on the results
of the Lightning Creek test.

Some nice pickers in there.

Yeah.

If the gold is good, it could
be the lifeline he needs.

What's the ground like
down there?

It's pretty shallow.
Um...

Seems like only about

an average of about
five feet overburden,

maybe a little bit more,
and then a solid

15-foot thick pay layer.

Well, that's pretty good.

That's a really good ratio.

I don't expect it to pay out
like Vegas Valley,

but who knows?

Shall we see
if it's even worth it?

We shall.
Weigh some gold.

All right.

I don't think I've ever
weighed up this small amount

of gold, but let's get it
all in there.

Rick wants at least a gram
from his two-yard run.

We got.525 on there.

Just half what Rick
was hoping for.

So is it worth it?

No.

We're gonna be sitting here
with our [bleep] hands out,

no place to mine.

We're screwed.

A hundred miles away,

Tony Beets has already banked

$1.5 million in gold.

Tony's mining operation is
split between two claims,

Indian River, where he's
already sluicing pay

from the Early Bird cut,

and 40 miles away,

Paradise Hill, the core
of the family business

for over 30 years.

Oh, good, yourself?

I know.

That seems a little excessive.

Yeah.

Don't worry, Dad.
I'll help you with that.

Well, if you did your job
better, you'd have more time.

Oh, yeah?

Catch you later, Dad.

My goal, do my job well

and get the results
my dad wants.

So, I'm gonna get as much
gold as I can this year.

Because with the prices
as they are,

you're a [bleep] moron,

if you don't take
advantage of that.

While Tony's based
at Indian River,

he's giving Mike sole charge
of Paradise Hill,

entrusting him
with a nine-man crew

to supersize the super pit.

More responsibility,
more authority.

But I want to focus on stripping
before I get sluicing

so that I can just, when I get
sluicing, I don't stop.

Over the last three years,

the Beets family
has cleared out

nearly four million tons
of worthless overburden,

creating an 18-acre super pit.

The cut is home
to the Klondike's fabled

white channel pay,

concentrated gold
washed down directly

from hard rock deposits.

So far, it's produced over
4,000 ounces of gold,

worth $15 million.

This year, Mike plans to extend
the cut by nearly 50%,

opening up eight more
acres of ground.

Tony wants the first acre down
to pay by the end of the week.

We're going to have a whole
whackload of stuff opened up.

So, we have a lot of work
ahead of us.

My dad bought six new trucks.

We're going to strip, strip,
strip, strip, strip, strip.

Another year at Paradise.
Glad to be back.

We got brand-new rock trucks.

Just hauling overburden
from the cut

we're trying to expand.

To get down
to the gold-bearing pay layer,

a D11 dozer rips and pushes

the worthless waste dirt
called "overburden"

to two excavators,

which load it
into rock trucks,

haul it 2,000 feet away,

and dump it
on the waste pile.

Hopefully get sluicing here
in Paradise soon,

get that gold coming in.

Aw, [bleep]!

I'm stuck in here!

You're right
on the [bleep] edge.

Oh, [bleep]!

I'm stuck in here.

Oh, my [bleep] [bleep]!

I honestly don't want
to touch it.

You're right
on the [bleep] edge.

At Paradise Hill,
a brand new

$750,000 rock truck
has flipped,

with driver Graeme
trapped inside the cab,

hanging on the edge
of a 200-foot drop.

This side
is just [bleep].

I wish Mike could hurry up,

because if the bank
starts to go...

Do I still have
all my windows?

You still have
all your windows, yes.

[bleep] [bleep].

Ugh.

Hoo-hoo.

The exhaust and hoses are
pretty [bleep] cold, too.

Oh, my hood's [bleep]!

Breaking our [bleep]
new truck right away.

It's slowly dropping
more and more

which is a little
nerve-racking.

Uh...

As long as you get me pulled
out of here before I slip.

OK...

Well, he can't get out.

Too big.

Yeah.

He won't fit through
that window.

You could double its size,
he wouldn't fit.

- OK, you ready, Graeme?
- I guess so.

Holy crap.

OK, you can try
climbing up the seat there.

Well...

Feels good to be out,
but still a little shaky.

Yeah, phew.

Glad it didn't go
over the edge fully, that's--

Wow!

Could be fired, could not be,

depending on the mood.

To set the 36-ton truck back
on its wheels, Tony and Mike

use the 520-horsepower
D10 dozer,

while the 480 excavator holds
the box in place to stop it

dropping over the edge.

I'm very sorry, Tony.

I still feel bad,
since it's a brand new truck.

I was expecting him
to be a little bit more...

aggravated.

I flipped one of the new ones.

Yeah...

Yeah.

For Mike, it's now a fight

to hit paydirt
by the end of the week

with one less truck,

and show Tony he can
run Paradise Hill

on his own.

Brennan and I are trying
to get as much ground open up

down here at Sulphur
as possible.

At Sulphur Creek,
Mitch and Brennan

have finally drained the cut

and exposed what could be

their first hidden pay pocket.

How far did the dredge
get over here?

Figure out what's left for us.

Now they're ready
for Parker to pan.

Hopefully we got
something for him to look at.

Old Parker likes to see
the gold and, you know,

he wants it now.

Like this, to me,
looks virgin.

I really don't know
what to expect.

I'm just gonna show Mitch.

One pan out of the downstream
edge of your ditch.

Holy smokes!

That's why we're doing this.

Wow!

And that's pretty exciting.

Find it again.

Yeah, hopefully
there's more of that.

That was a really good pan.

Now we just need to get
a washplant in here

and find out if it mines
like it pans.

25 miles southeast,
at Dominion Creek...

We got the ice out
of the Bridge Cut.

We got pay stacked up.

Now it's time we get sluicing.

...Tyson is on the clock.

Parker wants washplant Bob
sluicing by the end of the day.

I haven't talked
to Alec and Liam yet,

but there will be no waiting.

Parker has made that
abundantly clear.

How's it going guys?

We're ready to run dirt.

Um...

The hopper is going to be
the main hold up

for Bob starting.

The prewash hopper feeder?

Yeah.

This feed chain system
is [bleep].

This plant can't run
without it.

[bleep], man.

It would have been nice
if you told me that.

The feed chain system,
which drives the washplant's

prewash conveyor,
is broken,

and the mechanics want
to install a new one.

Parker, he wants Bob
running today.

There's no getting around this
right now.

Yeah.

[bleep] me.
Let's get at it.

We've got a lot of work to do.

- Mr. Justin.
- Hey, boys.

- Mr. Bill.
- Gentlemen.

What's going on?

We brought a rush rush project.

At Dominion Creek,
Parker's mechanics are hustling

to fix the feed chain system
on Bob's prewash conveyor.

All right, well, let's
get this thing unloaded

and get at it, because it
ain't gonna fix itself.

The prewash conveyor moves
paydirt into the shaker

to be washed.

The motor, which turns the
conveyor's front drive shaft

is connected via a small
chain and sprocket.

But over time
the chain tightened,

pulling the shaft inwards,
breaking apart

the sprocket and bearings.

To fix this design fault,
the mechanics will remove

the small chain and sprocket,

fit a new front drive shaft,
and align the motor

so it sends power
directly to the shaft.

The chain is out.

There we go.

Let the motor come out
of there nice and easy.

OK, we're laughing.

This is the final fit.

- There we go.
- Perfect.

Right, so that, that is it.

Copy, Alec.

Go for Alec.

You are ready to roll,
my friend.

Sweet.
We'll come grab it.

Wide load coming through.

Well, look at this!
You guys pulled it off.

What do you say
we get Bob running?

Keep it coming.

Lift it up a little bit.

Whoa there, buddy!

There it goes!
You're in.

- Beautiful.
- Sweet!

Everything's in place.

- OK, you guys ready?
- Yep.

- Yep.
- Well, here we go.

Let's fire Bob up.

Shaker deck's on!

Here goes the prewash hopper.

[bleep] it spins!

Here goes the first scoop
of the season.

The prewash conveyor delivers
paydirt to the plant.

Water jets blast the gold
and fine dirt off the rocks.

A shaker deck vibrates a set
of screens to separate out

the larger rocks,

while the smaller gold-bearing
material washes down into two

14-by-10-foot sluices,
where the riffles and mats

catch the gold.

Beautiful sight
right there, Liam.

First washplant
going on Dominion!

That is a beautiful sight.

With three days sluice-time
before the end of the week,

Tyson's on the gold.

Parker's big push
for 10,000 ounces is on.

Bob's got a lot of
ground to get through this year.

Miners across the Yukon are
gathering at Dawson City

for the Klondike Placer Mining
Association meeting.

The KPMA warn a glut
of unprocessed water licenses

is putting livelihoods at risk.

[bleep]
What a joke.

Desperate to start his season,
Rick is in Dawson to meet

the Klondike Placer
Mining Association,

the local union working with
miners with no water licenses.

My back's against the wall.

I've been up to my elbows,
in this, you know,

in this whole
water license stuff.

It sucks, man.
It really sucks.

The state of the industry
is not too great.

A lot of people in the exact
same boat as me

with the water
license and all that.

I'm hoping that the KPMA,
maybe they know when these

are going to get approved.

Give me some kind of reason
to stick with Duncan Creek.

You know, without it,
I don't know

what the hell
we're going to do.

Hey!

That's somebody I know.

What's going on, buddy?

- How you doing?
- I'm OK.

- How you been?
- I'm all right.

- Better than you.
- Yeah?

- I've heard what's going on.
- Oh, man.

There's a lot of people that
are pretty screwed up by it.

And the thing is,
the forces that are

against the mining...

have so many tactics
to stall things,

and it's death by delay.
- Yeah.

- That's just [bleep]
absolutely right.
- Right?

Just shoot me in the head.
Don't give me a slow death.

Yeah.

But let's see what they do in
the meeting, and then why don't

I buy you and Tony
a beer afterwards?
- I appreciate that, man.

All right.

Let's just go in this meeting
and see what they say

and go from there.

Something's gotta give.

Yeah, I've had enough of that.
Big waste of time.

It gets us nowhere.
It's just bull[bleep], you know?

Like, who's ass
do I put my fist up

to get some
[bleep] results here?

And maybe I'll [bleep] be done.
Who knows?

Who the [bleep] knows
at this point?

I'm gonna have a beer.
Maybe 10.

In Dawson,

with no breakthrough
on his water license,

Rick's hopes of mining
this season...

Best seat in the house!

...hang by a thread.

Good to see you again, buddy.

Good to see you.

You know, the last time
we were together was

14 years ago.

That's a long time ago.

I remember, I was like,
"I think Tony Beets is like

"the coolest guy in the world.

And I want to be like Tony."

Yeah.

Every year, I have more fun.

It takes a lot to get me
jealous, but when I roll by,

you have so much
equipment running.

You having fun?

No.

The KPMA has gotten
us nowhere.

Basically, we can't touch
Duncan Creek.

No, it's kind of a slap
in the face.

Do you have
that other block of ground?

Lightning creek? Yeah.

Well, I don't have it.
It's Troy's, so it's a lease.

But he's like a pretty
reasonable landlord.

He is.
And you know...

I wasn't gonna say
that, but yeah.

And you've done, like, one test
or a bunch of tests?

We did a few tests there.

Not very happy about it.

But there's a license there
for three years.

But I'm not sure if there's
a lot of gold in it.

But, I mean, you have one
thing going for you,

and that is, like--
gold price is so good.

No, I hear you.

But this is
definitely a gamble.

You just got to get out there

and wash as many rocks
as you can.

You're right.

- ...
- Oh, yeah.

Well, I've got to run.

I've got a dog
that needs a walk.

- It's great to see you guys.
- You too, for sure.

Hey, let's not wait
another 14 years.

I've known Rick for 15 years.

He was there for all the years
where I was just, like,

scared to death of going broke.

I was scared to death of people
taking advantage of me.

I was scared to death of Tony
kicking me off the ground.

This business
[bleep] eats you alive

if you're not ready for it.

With Rick,

I could definitely see him...

losing everything and leaving
the goldfields broke.

But I could also see him
building an empire,

and I really hope
that he's successful.

I do.

I cut my teeth
out here with Parker.

I've known Tony since the day
I walked into the Klondike,

and they've always
had good advice,

and I'd be foolish
not to take it.

I've got Lightning Creek
as an option right now,

and we're gonna
take that option,

and we're gonna run with it.

I'd like to remind all rock
truck drivers and the whole

operator working in the cut,
keep going,

keep skimming her off.

Strip, strip, strip,
strip, strip, strip!

After a disastrous start

managing Tony's
Paradise Hill claim,

Mike Beets is racing
to get down to pay.

Mike's doing the best
with what he's got, but we need

to move this dirt,
get to the gold, get to the pay.

Our guys are doing real good.

They're moving a lot of dirt.

Some of this [bleep],
like right here,

this is not very far
from the pay.

There's so many rocks.

That's usually a good indicator
that's good stuff.

If you want to drive in,
I can grab my Kubota,

because it makes its way in.

Yeah, go ahead.

I'll be there in a minute.

A little bit clay in it,
but it's got the rocks.

Where would you like it?

Oh, yeah.

We're back! Hold on!

Before Tyson
cleared all the ice,

Parker turned the Bridge Cut
into a race track.

- Whoa!
- Oh, [bleep].

Just push on the front
a little bit.

Come on, get in there!

Ah!

Cody get in there!
Cody get in there!

Every light on the dash is on.

You know any good mechanics?

Dude, they're going to kill me
if they find out

why this happened.
Don't tell anybody.

We're down a foreman.

But I think being as set up as
we are now,

it is [bleep] doable.

And, well, we're going
to [bleep] try.

Tony's eldest son, Kevin,
has been running

his Scribner Creek mine
for a week,

relying more on operator
Kayden Foote.

This is the earliest I've
started sluicing in a season.

But I feel like it's going
to be a bit of a struggle

without Brennan.

He was an all-around
great foreman.

We really got to, as a team,
come together so we can get

as much out as we can.

- Hey, man.
- Got some yellow [bleep].

Oh!

- Hi, guys.
- Hey Minnie.

Not too bad.

Kevin leases the ground
from Tony

and pays a 10% royalty

on any gold he finds.

So, your second year on your
own, how are you feeling

about that?
You going to crush it?

Honestly, I'm feeling
pretty [bleep] good.

Yeah.

It definitely is a lot nicer
to hit the ground running.

What's happening with Brennan?

Well, we didn't know he was
showing up, and then he finally

came and talked to us, told us
that he wasn't coming back.

It would have been nice
if you would have let you

know that in the winter.

It would have
been nice, for sure.

That's people for you again.

Oh, yeah.

Next.

Yeah.

What's your goal?

Our goal is 2,000.

And we already have a little
bit of chunk of gold

at the start of the season,
so that's nice.

Do you maybe think
we can weight it up?

All right,
are we ready?

Kevin ran his stockpiled pay
for one week at Scribner Creek.

15...

20...

30...

40...

50...

57.04.

$200,000 in gold,

$60,000 more

than the same amount
was worth last season.

- Seventy.
- Seventy hours.

So it's
a little bit less, then.

Yeah.

Oh, [bleep] yeah,
that's better than zero.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Yup.

We have to work, so we'll talk
to you guys later.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Well,
a decent gold weigh.

Yeah, not too bad.

It's kind of nice to see
this yellow stuff

this early in the season.

I'm sure the folks would be
happy for us, too.

But the big thing we're looking
for right now is the foreman.

We'll get hiring,

and something
will [bleep] show up.

Royalty wise, yeah.

- What's happening?
- How's it going, man?

- Going good?
- Good.

It's been a while since
we've done one of these.

Yeah.

Big Cat!
He is back!

- How's it going?
- Welcome back.

Yeah, thank you.

It's good
having you back.

And there's a lot to do this
year, so we need all the help

we can get.
- Definitely.

It's the end of the first week
of what could be

a game-changing season
for Parker.

This is the year, huh?

Yeah.

We need to just
[bleep] shove dirt

down those washplant's
throats, huh?

It's a long road to 10,000.

Tyson's got Bob running
right now in the Bridge Cut.

Sulphur's drying out
a little bit.

We've got the trucks upstream,
they're stripping.

- And that's
going all right?
- Yep.

- Are you ready, T?
- Let's check it out, Doumitt.

This is Mr. Bob.
This is your first plant.

Well, here we go.

All eyes are on Tyson's
first run from the Bridge Cut.

Last season's payouts
were unpredictable.

Parker's looking
for at least 100 ounces

from three days' sluicing.

10...

20...

40...

60...

80...

Gonna break 100?

There we go, 100...

120...

125.8.

- Nice.
- Very nice.

Worth over $440,000.

Looks like it was worth
getting that ice off.

Yeah.

- We're on the board.
- Yeah.

That's definitely
a good start,

but we have
a long ways to go.

So I hope everybody's
ready to buckle in.

All right.
Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

We'll do it again next week

Big Cat is back.

Meow!

This season, we're
really going to be hopping.

Hopes are high, and I think
we've got a good shot at making

our 10,000 ounces this year.

I think this year
we've got the right recipe.

You know, we've got
really good people here.

It's probably the best chance
we'll have at doing

the five figures.

It's going to be
a ball-buster of a season

for the boys, though.