Original subtitles

For 100 straight days, six down on their luck men from the lower 48 states have struggled to find gold in the Alaskan wilderness.

So far they've pulled a pitiful amount of gold out of the ground.

We got gold. That's a start.

Winter is fast approaching, and there are only a few weeks left to mine.

I've already put everything I have into this.

Whether the crew likes it or not, a gold mining veteran lights a fire under the operation.

It's not a vacation.

The gold starts to flow.

We got our first real nugget.

But as the days get shorter, the pressure to strike it rich reaches a boiling point.

-Hey damn.

-Oh no.

Sitting there beating at the thread.

Don't argue with me.

It's early September in Porcupine Creek Alaska. And Jack Hoffman is digging deep for gold rich pay dirt.

Well over here he's hitting the big boulders.

That's what we want to see. Underneath the boulders is where we gotta go.

And I mean, it's gonna be tough. We'll run into some we probably can't even move.

That means I'm down at the bottom. That's a good sign.

Get underneath those big boulders.

We might have hundreds of dollars per yard.

We'll find out.

For over 3 months the Hoffman crew has been digging themselves deep in to debt.

I'm just blowing my gold right friggen down the creek.

Correct.

Their search for gold has cost them nearly $275,000 dollars.

This isn't an exact science. This is tough.

And they've only found 2.7 ounces, worth just $3200 dollars.

For me it's a real letdown.

Adding pressure is claim owner Earl Foster.

I might ask them to leave. It depends on what gets done the rest of this season.

Earl is due 20 percent of any gold they find.

To guarantee a healthy cut, Earl has sent in his best man, Dakota Fred.

I want to do what's right for the owner, Earl.

Fred, a veteran miner, has found gold everywhere, from the Nevada desert to the arctic circle.

He's on the claim to find gold at any cost.

You can't just show up and now you're the boss.

Before the brutal Alaskan winter shuts them down.

They're gonna have to listen to somebody that's been there and done that.

Mid morning, and the Porcupine mine site is fully operational.

Jack digs gold rich dirt and boulders from the glory hole. Chris Doumitt scoops up the haul with the loader.

And transfers it to Greg Remsburg in the 270 excavator.

Finally it gets loaded into the wash plant. The wash plant is designed to separate gold from dirt and rocks.

The grizzly bars allow only 4 inch rocks and under to enter the shaker.

Material smaller than an inch washes through the vibrating punch plate and out to a trough.

Here slanted steel bars called riffles trap gold nuggets.

Next, the trommel spins the material and anything smaller than half an inch passes out through mesh.

Below, a sluice box and a pair of jigs trap the smallest particles of gold.

That's a big boy coming down there.

But there's a problem.

What the hell you got going on?

Big boulders are piling up on the grizzly bars, slowing the operation down.

Harness and Fred move in to take a closer look.

They sticking up there a little bit.

Yeah.

Get up on there.

We got a rock that's in there wrong. It just will not come out of there.

With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.

Shut it down. With the shaker constantly getting blocked up.

Todd decides to shut off the wash plant and break for lunch.

I'm gonna go eat something.

Okay.

Fred skips lunch to keep at it. He has a plan for the shaker.

There's no reason we can't eliminate about half of these grizzly bars in here.

That thing is only accepting 4 inch rocks.

And we need it to accept up to about 8 inch rocks.

So we got to open up this grizzly. It will speed up the feeding process, and the whole process, by more than double.

The grizzly bars screen out large boulders and protect the shaker from damage.

Fred wants to remove two of the bars to allow more gold bearing material into the shaker.

But Fred would be making these major changes, without asking crew mechanic James Harness.

What the hell's going on here?

What are you doing?

Well sir

We plugging up up here.

That machine will handle..

You cut out grizzly bars? That machine will handle..

You cut out grizzly bars?

That machine will handle at least 12 inch rocks. You cut out grizzly bars?

That machine will handle at least 12 inch rocks.

Fred, you can't do that.

Why not? You got those great big old bars down there.

What about the strength? What are you gonna do when it starts twisting when you get this machine all over it and it's all screwed up then?

What's gonna twist. I don't see anything gonna twist?

But now, you've destroyed this thing. What's gonna twist. I don't see anything gonna twist?

But now, you've destroyed this thing.

I, totally, absolutely, disagree.

We are doing nothing but plugging this thing up on both sides, uh, even in the middle it's plugging up.

I appreciate your opinion, but we need to all sit down and talk about this kind of stuff before we do it.

Yeah, but it takes a long time to make a decision.

No it doesn't. Not around here.

Fred. Cut those two out. That'll be a happy medium. And let's get to work. Come on.

-Sounds good.

-Let's go.

Alright. -Sounds good.

-Let's go.

Alright.

I like that.

He just did it.

Sorry man.

He's just gotta go through the protocol. You just can't go running doing your own thing.

We've had that before and that doesn't work. You gotta work as a team.

I knew this was going to create a problem. They can chew my ass all they want.

Go ahead and chew.

Rule number one. Is you don't chop anything out without talking to me first.

(Clang)

Rule number two, is you don't argue with me, otherwise it pisses me off.

Clear.

(Clang) Clear.

(Clang)

Gonna help out a great deal on the feed situation up here.

But not everyone shares Fred's optimism.

Now we're gonna throw a bunch of weight on it and see if it holds together or not.

If it beats itself to death, I'm gonna say I told you so.

We have to keep mining, you know. It's not a question of wanting to. We have to.

The crew powers up the shaker.

Then prepares to test the grizzly bar modifications.

But as soon as they start to move dirt

(Bang)

Todd hits the grizzly bars with 2000 pounds of force from the excavator's bucket.

I'm not really sure what happened.

Need to get a chain. I accidentally hooked it.

The impact has ripped the grizzly bars loose from their support poles.

The crew scrambles to stop the 1600 pound grizzlies from collapsing.

Get something under that. Probably under one of those bars.

Hook that under that bar right there.

To hold up the bars, Todd applies tension to the chain, while Fred and Greg move in to secure the first support.

Hurry up. Let's go.

Get going.

And Greg gets the second.

Finally, Todd inches the grizzly bars back into place.

Hiss. Thud.

Badoom.

Alright. Much much better.

He he he he he. A little operations error.

You know, If that thing fell on our shaker we'd be done.

Done.

So..critical.

A critical job.

By preventing the grizzly bars from crushing their precious shaker, the crew has avoided disaster.

Let's wash some rocks, man. Let's wash some rocks.

Put material in there.

Finally, It's time to test Fred's modifications to the grizzly bars.

Somebody put material in there. Let's get it washed and see how it goes.

How's it look Fred?

That's much better. Much better.

Ho ho ho. There.

-Come on now.

-That's a big mother.

Put it in there.

Yeah. That's awesome. It's clear.

Fred's modifications are working, and the wash plant is processing material twice as fast.

Lots of boulders down in that shaker.

If the crew can maintain this pace, they stand a chance of hitting the mother lode.

The next morning, with mining back on track, Todd takes the time to prepare a surprise for his dad's birthday.

No.

Frick.

Decorating a cake. What more of a way to say I love you Dad.

I was gonna knit him something, but I'm..

(Wheezy laugh)

Ha ha ha ha.

Nothing says I love you than a homemade cake. Let's try one.

Pull him a nugget.

Mmm.

That's so, that's classy.

You guys block it so he can't go by ya.

-Don't let him go by ya.

-Yeah. Have him stop right in front of you.

-Hey Jack.

-Alright.

(Laughter)

Happy digging birthday dude J.

(Cheer)

Happy 65 man. Yeah.

Ha ha ha ha

-Oh no.

Here, James.

I feel like 45, but you know. I know I'm not so, yet a

-He looks like 70

-Ha ha ha ha.

Melt the cake.

A g'day. Come on. Hey ah.

(cheers, clapping)

You're in Alaska and they have surprises and stuff and

They've uh, gone through a lot of uh, a lot of effort to do this you know so.

Uh, it's not easy to cook a cake up here.

I'm also a diabetic and it's all pure sugar but it's pretty good, you know.

For the crew, a few precious moments of down time go a long way.

But the festive atmosphere doesn't last long.

Up ahead.

The wash plant is overwhelmed by tons of rock. Up ahead.

Up ahead.

What's up? Up ahead.

Up ahead.

The ramp is collapsed. Up ahead.

You kidding me? Up ahead.

Fred and James Harness face off over yet another crucial repair. You kidding me? Up ahead.

Up ahead. Fred and James Harness face off over yet another crucial repair.

-Fred.

-Don't argue with me. Up ahead.

And in the midst of the drama, the crew's fortune takes a radical turn for the better. Up ahead.

Those rows are friggen straight gold going across there. Not just here an there. Up ahead.

I mean Bam. Bam. Bam. Up ahead.

I mean Bam. Bam. Bam.

Winter is closing in on the gold fields of Porcupine Creek.

The crew has just weeks to make the $275,000 dollars they need to turn a profit.

Veteran miner Fred Hurt has been brought in to boost productivity.

He's pushing the equipment and the crew to their limits.

The most important thing is to feed material in that thing.

Keep it going. Keep it going. And one more thing. Keep it going.

Fred takes control of the 270 excavator to process as much dirt as possible.

Suddenly, the excavator starts gushing hydraulic fluid.

Holy, aw frick.

The cylinder has come loose and snapped a hose.

Son of a b.

Need a bucket.

Todd.

The crew can't run any dirt until the 270 is repaired.

It broke off clean. But we have to take that out of there with a chisel, and fold it in then take it out.

Unscrew this.

Todd calls in chief mechanic James Harness to inspect the damage.

Fred has sheared off the bolt connecting the hose to the cylinder, and the threads are now jammed with metal.

Let's put it up in there and get the pin back in there.

We're gonna need bigger, bigger chocks man.

Still working on it.

The crew has to move fast, or they will lose the rest of the day's mining.

Harness starts to chisel out the damaged thread.

But it's not a quick fix. And Fred wants to get up and running as soon as possible.

Whoa, whoa. Watch the threads.

You want to do this?

Yup. It came off.

Watch. Can you roll it. You got it started real good right there. Can you roll that in?

I would have already if I could.

Stop your talking.

You're messing with the threads down there and you're gonna.. Stop your talking.

You're messing with the threads down there and you're gonna..

You're messing with me. And you're about to get a hammer in your ass. You're messing with the threads down there and you're gonna..

You're messing with me. And you're about to get a hammer in your ass.

Shit, oh sweet.

Fred steps in to speed up the repair.

Don't fuck it up Fred.

Well the threads are, you got the threads so fucked up I can't do nothing.

That isn't the threads you dumb cunt.

You roll the pieces in...

-Get outta my way.

-Hey hey hey hey. Hey.

-Go ahead.

-You want this up your arse.

-Hey.

-James.

You've been in my way since I started. Now just quit fucking arguing with me.

You're sitting there beating in the thread.

-Don't argue with me.

-Hey. Stop it.

-Yeah.

-Don't push him.

Don't push anybody.

I said, you're messing the threads up. Don't push anybody.

I said, you're messing the threads up.

-Okay

-Cause your goddamn nose is in my way.

-Get out of the way.

-Hey hey hey. Let's walk.

-Let's take a walk.

-Just asked you to roll it in.

You know what? I'll roll something in.

No no no no no.

James stop. James, come here. Just..

Already had a walk off situation. We don't need another one.

Everybody calm down.

Thurber's in charge of this situation.

Do you have any thread uh, thread dies.

Come with me.

-Do you have any thread..

-Fred. Follow me.

Do you have any thread dies?

We'll go talk about it over here.

Yeah. I always gotta be

In the middle of it.

There's not gonna be any more punches thrown. I guarantee you that.

We just don't touch another guy.

And when someone gets that beady look in their

Eyes and they're gonna go at somebody, you better step in.

Cause it's just seconds away from just..being really ugly.

We just don't go off on somebody just makes an innocent little suggestion, based on experience.

Uh.

This territorial bullshit.

Don't need to be.

You know, he tries real hard and everything and that's commendable, but

You know, he has to learn that

Sometimes you just gotta step back and let things happen. You can't sit there

and micromanage people or they're gonna get pissed off.

And when I'm trying to hurry up and fix something and somebody's in my way.

It irritates me a little bit.

I'm gonna cool off by the fire.

Dakota Fred was inserted by Earl, the claim owner, to turn the mining operation around.

The Hoffmans cannot get rid of Fred. They have to find a way to deal with him.

He's a, he's just kinda a lone wolf, and he needs to learn how to work as a team.

Yeah.

He thinks he's the best miner in the world but he needs to just take it down a notch.

-Yeah.

-I'm afraid he's gonna

get into it with somebody, you know.

I would hope not, you know.

I hope not too. I'm done with all that kinda stuff.

Yeah. Yup.

The next morning, Todd asks foreman Greg Remsburg to act as peacemaker between Fred and James Harness.

Everybody on this team has an issue with you because of your argumentative attitude.

Hey. It is my job to question some of the things you ought to doing anyway.

You all don't know this do you?

Why is it your job?

I've been told to do it.

Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure.

I mean this, is just part of it. It's just part of it.

But a simple little suggestion, and it was a question really, is all it was.

I tell you what. You have had arguments with me since day one.

Since day one you've argued with me about everything I've done. And I'm tired of it. And I have no more patience for it.

-Alright. That's it.

-Okay.

-No more

Don't argue with me and we'll be fine.

Hey, that's fine.

There's no reason to you.

If you have a question about me or whatever you can take it up with Todd. There's no reason to you.

If you have a question about me or whatever you can take it up with Todd.

I just don't want to argue with you about what I'm doing. It's not your fucking place and it's none of your business.

Well.

It isn't. It's my personal business. It's my job. I've been here, I've been a mechanic for almost as long as you've been alive.

So don't tell me I don't know what I'm doing and don't come up and argue with me about stuff, and we'll be fine.

I'm not going to accept it from anybody.

Instead of calming tempers, the meeting has only inflamed them.

Let's get back to work,

I, obviously, rub him very much the wrong way. Ever since I ever been here.

Everybody's always warned me about James. Be careful with James. He's like...

you know, a little keg of dynamite go off at any time.

Well, I,

I don't, you know

He doesn't intimidate me.

Up ahead.

Woo hoo. Up ahead.

The crew finally finds big nuggets. Up ahead.

Got our first real nugget. Up ahead.

Fred keeps up the pressure. Up ahead.

No. It's not the big rockS. Up ahead.

And Harness's wash plant.. cracks under the strain. Up ahead.

The ramp is collapsed. Up ahead.

The ramp is collapsed.

Trouble is brewing in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.

While Jack digs dirt from deep down in the glory hole.

Hey Chris.

Give me some material to put in the hopper.

The material that they hope holds the gold is not getting up to the wash plant fast enough for Dakota Fred.

That big old lumbering machine out there, is too slow.

In three and a half months, the Hoffmans have sunk $275,000 dollars into Porcupine Creek.

And pulled out just $3200 dollars worth of gold.

Fred is dead set on speeding up production.

Material's going through just fine. Apparently everything down there's going fine.

But, uh, We're out of material. It's taking a long time to haul, uh, material over here.

They need to stockpile a lot of material, and dozer pushing it up here constantly.

Ha ha. Ha ha. Fred.

He jumps on the excavator and expects everything to be done for him.

I do what I do.

As Fred ups the pace, the water supply runs low. And the waste rocks, known as tailings, pile up at the back of the shaker.

Where the hell is everybody?

Fucking slackers.

Where the hell's the other operator?

Well I don't know. Just me,you, and Thurber here. Nobody turned the water pump on, man.

We been running the whole time with just what's in the pond. And it's running low.

Alright.

Yeah. Jack's gone.

Something's happening to this. All the rocks are all stacked up at the back end, back there.

Well, do you want me to move the rocks, or run out of water?

-There you go.

-Pick one.

See what the hell's going on in there.

Fred's grizzly bar modifications now allow the wash plant to process material so fast that Chris can't keep up.

The loader has been so busy, overworked trying to pick up fines, bring me material, pick up the big rocks.

They come over here to unload this, and it's completely built up with rocks.

The weight of the boulders builds and eventually, the ramp cracks under the pressure.

What's up?

The ramp's collapsed.

The crew desperately needs to run dirt every hour of every day to get every flake of gold they can.

But once again, Harness has to shut down the wash plant.

Well.

Lookit these boards. What?

Three nails on there holding this board up.

But to hold it. You know.

Give me a break.

Fred's modifications to the grizzly bars enable the wash plant to process a lot more material, and bigger rocks.

But when washed rocks aren't cleared away fast enough, they pile up and overwhelm the shaker supports.

Let the, they let the uh..

hopper completely fill up with rocks.

In Fred's experience, heavy boulders are often packed with gold bearing dirt.

But Harness is convinced that these larger rocks are too much for their setup to handle.

over the end of it.

Yeah. Well. The big rocks took this.

Oh. It's not the big rocks.

Well, the little ones didn't do it.

It's a combination of all of them.

I told ya.

We're gonna have trouble.

Cause this isn't set up for that.

The thing would work fine if you just had, that box cleared out completely.

It never should ever stay in that thing.

You think I don't know that?

Yes Sir.

He he he he.

I told him it wouldn't take it and now it hasn't so..

Not really anything else to talk about.

You don't need to have all that weight going through there beating everything up. That's not what this was designed for.

We have fine little tiny gold. Why put hundred pound rocks through there. It's stupid.

Well, that's his opinion.

His opinion. Only.

And I'm sure it would be in a minority.

Now we have to go through and modify the rest of the system to take the weight.

Which I didn't want to have to do. We don't have the damn time.

Do you want me to unbolt this. Get rid of the wood.

Steel, steel, and use that.

Why don't we do that. Get rid of all this.

It's not fair for him to gamble with the outcome of what we're doing.

We have no time left. I never would have cut those out of there because it's gonna add more weight,

more room for error, more problems just like this. And I don't want to deal with it. We don't have the time.

It's not fair to these guys who been working their butts off for months.

You know, it just pisses me off, because this didn't have to be this way.

So bowed in the middle. It looks like some women I've known.

The breakdown is costing them precious gold they can't afford to lose.

They need to come up with a fix as soon as possible.

All fucked up.

We got to pull out this mess.

I think that'll get us running.

And if the whole crew stays here tomorrow, we can come up with a, a fix, that we're back running.

Desperate to run, they use an extra lag bolt, a 2 x 6 timber, and more reinforcement to take the strain off the splintered support.

Some day this will all just be a big nightmare.

The makeshift repair is enough to keep the mine running, for now.

It's a new day in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.

Safety officer Jim Thurber is up early and on watch.

He's spotted a problem.

Oh fuck. He's spotted a problem.

Oh fuck.

Overnight, water has started leaking from the holding pond into the glory hole.

Aw. Great.

It's our supply is now leaking back through and I'm afraid that at any second this is just gonna all go.

And uh, probably should get off here because this bank will probably just take off.

Great.

Water pours through, weakening the critical dam.

The entire mining operation depends on three small pumps that will have to work non stop to keep the glory hole from flooding with 30 feet of water.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know if your gold's on the side of a rock and you're dragging it through water it's gonna drop off because it's 19 times heavier than water.

So if you drop all your gold off in the pond you don't wind up with it in your sluice box. That's kinda stupid.

But the pumps are seizing up.

Big one's not pumping.

It was going. It

It quit.

Chris Doumitt identifies the problem.

See how thick the mud is.

Thick mud at the bottom of the glory hole is clogging the pump intakes.

It's a big trash pump. Always picking up mud and dirt and crud off the bottom.

Plugging up the suction. Not getting any pumping.

The race is on to fix the pumps before the hole fills up, and the precious gold is washed off the rocks.

Chris comes up with a brilliant solution.

Just floated the suction lines. You put a bucket towards the end of it. That keeps it up off the bottom so it floats around and it can just pump water instead of mud.

That is really a good idea. You know Chris is inventive, you know, and I appreciate Chris.

I'm more confident right now that we're on the gold. I know we are.

I've seen it. I know exactly that we're here.

All I gotta do is get it, you know. I'm trying to get it dry, but it's not, you know, so I got to take it any way I can get it.

While they wait for the glory hole to drain, the crew get a visit from a gold mining legend.

You got too much gold and you wanted to bring some over here to have us haul it down. Is that right?

That's how it is.

-And you?

-I'm fine.

Haven't seen you in a while.

I know. I've just got lots of things to do like everybody else.

Yeah.

John Schnabel has been mining across the creek for 25 years.

At his big nugget mine, he recovers up to $30,000 dollars worth of gold per day.

The seasoned miner is encouraged by the crew's progress.

Looking at this big hole that they're now digging, I have the feeling that they're going to find something worthwhile.

For the 25 years I've been here, digging on this creek, when I hit large boulders I always come across gold.

So, they have lots of big boulders and hopefully all are hiding nuggets. Ha ha ha.

As the water recedes, Jack spots the boulders that Schnabel is talking about.

I know it weighs probably more than two Cadillacs but that is a big rock.

So right around those big boulders is where you find your big gold. That's what we're counting on.

I want to dig this out. I'm pumping it.

I'm just about down to where the point where I can keep up with what water is coming in.

So I can pull some of this stuff out. It'll be a little mucky but it'll have the gold still stuck to it. That's my goal.

The crew begins making up for lost time. Greg Remsburg starts by collecting a test pan.

I know it's here. This is the glory hole.

We're not even down to the bottom yet.

Have to go get our panning expert.

Yeah. I said it's there. Uh, and I

I wanted to believe myself you know.

But, I wanted to see it first you know.

The test pan proves they have hit rich pay dirt.

Yup. Big boulders coming out there.

Big boulders.

That's a very good sign.

There is gold in there. Oh absolutely. There is gold in there.

It's time to start mining and cashing in on the gold. The crew has never been so close.

The miners at Porcupine Creek are running dirt faster than ever before.

To make a profit, they need to dig out $275,000 dollars worth of gold before winter sets in.

Chris Doumitt has to work two jobs. Ferrying gold rich material to the wash plant. and clearing discarded tailings.

But working at this relentless pace is taking it's toll on the equipment.

And it isn't long before a hydraulic line bursts on the loader.

Once again,Harness is left to pick up the pieces.

It's a huge hydraulic line.

Right down there in the middle there that's attached to a rotating assembly.

It's the worst fucking piece of shit that you could have to deal wiith.

Excuse my French.

You need any help around here it's ridiculous.

Takes an Act of Congress.

What?

Because of our timeline this has to be done first, cause if we don't get the hose made we aren't using this machine.

Okay.

So hold the other end there that I've got the tool in.

Got it.

Cause I can't turn this. It keeps turning. It's on a rotator.

Got it.

James says there's something sticking out down there and it's wearing on the hose and breaking it. I think I overloaded the machine.

Every work stoppage cuts into potential profits. And they still need nearly 200 ounces of gold.

Anything else we need?

The nearest replacement hose is a 40 mile drive away down dirt roads and the store closes in an hour.

Yeah. I gotta go to Bigfoot and get a hose. Otherwise we don't run tomorrow.

There are only weeks left in southeast Alaska's mining season. The Hoffman crew can't afford to stop, just because they can't run dirt.

With the loader out of action, they switch their attention to a clean-out of the wash plant.

They start by checking the riffles to see if they've collected any gold.

Come here. Lookit this.

See that.

That's gold.

A piece of gold.

Right there and right there.

I know but look right here. See that, through there.

See that pile right there.

Starting to clean out.

I see gold here. Look at that pile.

And look at that pile. Look at that right there.

Right there. See that one. You see black sand and gold sitting at the back of one of your riffles which is like..

That's pretty cool. That's a good feeling.

It's weird looking. Like a weird looking.

It's a rock okay. False alarm.

Despite the false alarm, there are promising signs that the dirt they're washing through the shaker is packed with gold.

I think that that last ten yards, Greg.

A lot of this gold's on the top. That last 10 yards that you brought from down there is friggen dynamite.

Jack is back, and wants to see how the clean out is going.

Got a little, what you call a clinker in there. Ah.

For Fred, this clean out will make or break his reputation.

Could have acted like a ripple. That's why I say just dig your, dig your stuff away from the edge there real careful.

Start with your rocks always. Just, just, push them away.

There's gold up here on top of this rock.

I'm talking about that away over the wall from you.

Good lord, Christ. Holy fuck.

Oh ho.

There it is. There it is.

We got our first real nugget.

-Tee hee hee hee.

-Holy crap.

-Holy.

-Woo hoo.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

-Yeah. Isn't that a freak out.

-Believe it.

What's the size?

I don't know how much it's worth.

That'd look good on a necklace.

A pair of earrings.

Maybe a nose ring.

You see a little bit of gold. That's really good. You see a lot of gold. That's even better.

Those rows are friggen straight gold going across there. Not just here and there.

I mean, bam bam bam bam.

Muddy hands and all.

This is the beginning of good times for this crew.

Uh, they've put in an awful lot of work. Months of work. And they've been down a little bit.

But when they saw some of that gold. When we started panning that stuff out.

Uh. I noticed a little spark in everybody.

Yee hah.

Yet another equipment failure has forced the crew at Porcupine Creek to stop digging.

But it's also given them a chance to clean out the wash plant for any gold they've trapped in the last few days.

Look. You pull, when you pull these out of here, rap them against the side real hard and get all your material off before you set them off to the side.

Most of their gold will be tiny specks, smaller than a grain of sand.

So uh. We'll do it.

To get it out, they need to sift through the dirt in the sluices. Caught in the layers of a special carpet known as miner's moss.

Right now they're supposed to be full of gold.

But they're full of a lot of dirt, and a, and a little bit of gold.

Pull the handle. Pull like you mean it.

Oh okay. Well.

(pail separates)

See. There. See that? Sweet.

-You didn't drop any?

-Ha ha ha.

Those belongs outside.

You got gold on the bottom of that bucket?

The crew is making progress, but Fred is still quick to point out their rookie mistakes.

-Oh, just get it out of our way.

-No no no no. Whoa.

It's coating his shoes with gold.

-Easy.

-I mean he is coating his shoes with gold.

I've gotta let you guys make some mistakes.

Well, we'd appreciate that.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Thurber. How do you feel about this?

I don't know, but somebody just shit their pie hole. I'll tell you that.

Everyone's got their opinion, and we're all entitled to his. So, that's good.

-Is that it for that?

-Got one more.

The whole crew joins in on the effort to separate the tiny flecks of precious gold from buckets of thick mud.

You know, the anticipation of this clean out is just, crazy.

We ran some good dirt for about six hours, so we'll see what happens with that.

I, I just..

always knew that we had to get to where we're at.

And this is gonna prove it.

Every pan is just full of gold.

At least every pan I've done. Greg's still working on the one he started this morning.

Should have it done sometime tomorrow, so we'll see how he's doing.

The crew keeps at it well into the night.

It's painstaking work, but it's the only way to find out whether Fred's changes have been a success, or whether he's wasted their time.

There's too much gold in here for two old guys who can't see.

-Get outta here.

- What I'm trying to tell ya.

-Get outta here.

We're gonna take everything that looks like gold. even if it's pyrite.

Until Jack does a final count, the team won't know whether they've found enough gold to prove this claim can feed their families and save their homes.

So what we're gonna do with this gold. Now I've put it all together, and we're gonna weigh it, and then we're gonna put it in a bottle, and then we're gonna talk to the guys about it.

The last clean out delivered just 2.7 ounces of gold, worth less than $3500 dollars.

To make a profit, and start paying the crew for their backbreaking work , they need more than 200 ounces.

But if he comes out with anything over a couple ounces. I mean, I'm ecstatic.

Kinda starting to just taste a little bit of victory in it. Just keeps you guys going.

Just waiting for old Jack to give us the count.

Number one is we got 3.4 ounces.

(crew laughs and cheers)

And that, I'll tell you what, that is clean stuff.

In just 4 days mining, the Hoffman crew has got more gold than in the previous three and a half months.

Okay. At today's price

it would be $7,775 dollars.

Fred, your ass is on fire.

A long time waiting for that.

Um, You know and I've said it all along I knew it was there. You know, you just have that gut feel.

And the frustrations of not getting there, and then relief at finally getting there. And then what we anticipated is happening.

That's pretty cool.

They may finally be on the gold. But they need another 20 clean outs like this one.

And they have no idea how much time they have before the Alaskan winter shuts them down.

They finally got all that wet from behind their ears. They got their feet wet a little bit. They got dirty and nasty.

They finally earned the title of being miners.

(Todd and crew laughing)

Subs by Jack T (Todd and crew laughing)

Subs by Jack T