Original subtitles

[narrator] Coming up on Yukon Gold...

-Is that thunder? -No, no!

[Andy] 911. The river just blew through the banks.

The river rises really fast and it becomes a nightmare.

Samson!

Come talk to me! I can't see fuck all.

I just need some fuck alone time. Like, fuck off away from me.

If he can't prove himself, he's going to look for another job.

I can't do this, buddy.

I'm scared, Kivi. I might have to go back on chemo.

♪ You know There ain't no rest for the wicked ♪

♪ Money don't grow on trees ♪

♪ We got bills to pay ♪

♪ We got mouths to feed ♪

♪ There ain't nothing In this world for free ♪

♪ And no, we can't slow down ♪

♪ We can't hold back ♪

♪ Though you know we wish we could ♪

♪ Oh, no There ain't no rest for the wicked ♪

♪ Until we close our eyes for good ♪

[Chris] I'm just knackered this morning.

[narrator] 6:00 a.m. on Stowe Creek.

[Chris] Ugh.

[narrator] Mining partners Chris St. Jean

and Nika Guilbault get an early start with their crew.

Nika and I, we've hired more experienced help...

Two veterans, Riley and Lindsay.

It's been a real big help.

Then we've got David.

He's brand-new to anything, so we'll see.

It's going to take the right people to get to the thousand ounces.

[narrator] Before they head to work, rookie David opens a package from home.

I get to sit down for this one.

[Chris] Yeah, David's got the funniest addiction ever.

The package has just arrived. It's from my mom.

It's maple syrup.

It's better than Christmas time.

19 years old and from Quebec, so maple syrup's a big thing.

I can't even watch this.

[Chris] And he drinks it straight.

God, David, how do you not have any cavities?

He travelled from Quebec in a pick-up.

He said to himself he was going to mine.

It didn't matter how.

He went to 40 mine sites. 40!

And everybody rejected him and he didn't give up.

God... I don't even know what to say about that, David.

[laughs]

All right, let's head out.

[narrator] Just one month into the season,

Chris has already scored 250 ounces of gold.

We've had the best start we've ever had, but there's no letting up now.

We can't leave anything behind in the big cut.

So you just want to get in there as fast as you can.

[narrator] Today it's all hands on deck to make the five-kilometer move

to the final section of the big cut.

Okay, just up, up. And curl the ripper.

Cool...

That's good.

The tracks are all looking good.

[Chris] Between Riley and Lindsay, you can't ask for a better crew.

It doesn't get any better than this.

[Lindsay] You're clear.

[narrator] With the plant in safe hands...

All right, let's get this cocksucker hooked up.

...Chris enlists young David's help moving his junk feeder off the cut.

This feeder is right in the fucking way.

[narrator] Two weeks ago, Chris and Nika

bought the $60,000 feeder sight unseen.

So many things wrong with it that it's not operational.

It is a piece of crap.

[narrator] It's been collecting dust ever since.

I'm pissed off. I don't like getting ripped off.

Stay out of the way if that chain fucking breaks.

I don't want anybody's face getting ripped off.

[David] I'm the new guy.

I am the one that has less experience.

Just stand back where I can see you.

[David] Eventually I want to run a mine,

so I am really thankful to Chris and Nika to give me a chance.

-Whoa. -[David] Are we okay?

I need you to tell me what's going on!

[David] Chris cannot see the feeder from the CAT cabin,

so I'm his eye all around the feeder.

Well? What's going on? Okay?

No, just-- Don't move. I think...

What's that?

[Chris] We haven't had the greatest luck with the younger generation

helping us out here.

Sometimes I think to myself, "What's he doing?"

Well, talk to me. I can't see fuck all!

Forward.

[crushing]

Fuck sakes!

I need to know what's going on.

[Chris] We've got a fuck-up now.

A real big fuck-up.

[narrator] The feeder is jammed up tight against the dozer.

Fuck!

Jesus Christ!

Cock-sucking waste of time now.

I just need some fuck alone time. Fuck off, away from me.

Lindsay, come over here so I can get a hand.

[radio, Lindsay] Okay.

[David] Chris is frustrated because we struggled to communicate.

And it's not a good thing.

I need some communication in the CAT.

[Chris] With David, you have to really mentor him along.

[radio] Just try lifting a bit.

You're clear.

[Chris] It's slow and tedious work.

[radio] It's all good.

Good.

Rocks. Block the wheels.

We're done.

Finally.

Okay up there?

Oh yeah. Fine.

[Chris] It's time to move on.

[Big Al] She's a grind today, I'll tell you.

[narrator] South of Dawson City, on the road to Indian River...

[Big Al] I busted my balls here for years,

and I pretty well pissed all my money away.

What's the point here after a while? You know what I mean?

We'll get it. We'll make it all worthwhile.

[narrator] Four weeks into the 16-week gold mining season,

Big Al's on the hunt for a new pit...

I just-- I've got to do something.

...with help from his buddy, geologist Kevin Kivi.

To find gold, I used to rely on my gut quite a bit,

but it seems to be letting me down lately.

That's why Kivi's here. We're using science.

[narrator] Until Al finds new ground to sluice,

he's not bringing in any gold.

Want me to guide you?

There's not a lot of spare money right now.

Worried about paying the bills.

[Big Al] You've got to watch, because people have gone broke.

That's good.

It's a sad thing, because you could be next.

And we've got water!

[narrator] Al and Kivi take soil samples from the far edge of the claim...

We fill the hopper about halfway, right across.

...and run them through the mini-sluice to test for gold.

Please, Kivi. Come on, buddy.

We need all the gold we can get.

[grunting, straining]

Ouch. Fuck!

That hurt.

[grunts]

I can't do this, buddy.

-I got it. -I would, but I can't.

[narrator] Big Al's still recovering from a rare form of blood cancer

that kept him in a wheelchair most of last year.

Health-wise, this season I've been up and down quite a bit.

Tired lots.

But I'm working 12 hours and 14 hours a day.

I'm my own worst enemy, like everybody else out there.

Okay...

We tilt it,

and then we put a block under one side.

[narrator] To get to the last of the sample,

they've got to hoist the 200-pound steel box on its side.

I can get it. You get out of the way.

Aah!

[groans, coughs]

Holy...

Holy fuck!

That scared the shit out of me. I thought I was going to get it.

I'm still weak. Still... balance is tough.

[Big Al] There goes all our fucking gold.

Yeah.

[narrator] They've spilled the last of the precious paydirt onto the ground.

Fuck!

[Kivi] Here, let me do that.

Tired of being a fucking cripple.

Okay.

Good, Kivi. Moving forward again.

[Big Al] This is the bottom, the two middles, and one side, eh.

[narrator] Al and Kivi examine the soil sample for signs of gold.

I'm begging.

Little dirty bastard.

Naw, this one sucks.

[Big Al] The gold is not showing up.

I'm getting a little stressed, because...

time's marching on up here.

[narrator] Finding a new pit is Al's only hope to salvage his season.

My brain has started to believe I can't,

and I'm fighting it and saying, "Yeah, you can,"

and it's just

not registering.

[PJ] Let's boogie!

[narrator] West of Dawson City, in 50 Mile Valley...

[PJ] Let's just go walk to the end of here.

There's nothing that you can't see from right here that we've done.

...mining partners Andy Tai and Paul Joseph

are under the gun to start sluicing their new cut...

[PJ] You can see we stripped this whole thing off.

The creek goes like this, there's a pile there at the end.

[Andy] Yeah. I've known PJ for years.

We're elementary school friends from Whitehorse.

All this stuff is all bottom gravels and bedrock.

[Andy] PJ is the mine's operations manager.

He understands the basics of stripping the cuts and getting down to the paydirt.

Turbo panned in here, took random pans and was pulling gold in random pans.

Yeah, well, I'll go take a look.

[Andy] I'm the back-end business guy,

so I want to bring top-quality dirt to the plant.

[Andy] Our mining strategy this season is

to stage our cuts better than we have in the past

so we're not wasting our time putting garbage through the plant

and burning money.

[narrator] But a month into the mining season,

they've pulled less than 100 ounces of gold out of the ground.

[PJ] So sluice, sluice, sluice today,

try and get at least a thousand yards in before lunchtime.

[narrator] If they don't hit their 600-ounce season goal,

Andy and PJ's second year mining could be their last.

-You guys ready? -Giving it!

[rock music playing]

[radio] Start scooping!

[Andy] If we don't reach our goal, we don't have the money to come back

and I don't think I can raise more money to continue us going.

So there is a lot on the line for sure.

[thunder roars]

Is that thunder?

[Andy] Rain is our ultimate challenge weather-wise out here.

It can flash-flood our stream that we mine,

which can blow out our intake ponds, flood our cuts.

[narrator] The sudden rain storm sends a rush of water pouring into the valley.

[radio] PJ, you've got to get over here, man. It's a 911!

[PJ] I can't believe this. Yikes.

[narrator] The raging river is flooding the new cut...

Fuck! There's a lot of water, man.

...and threatens to wash away their paydirt.

Samson!

What happened?

That broke right out and almost washed me away.

Crazy, man. [laughs] Almost shit myself.

[narrator] PJ jumps in to plug the breach before their gold is washed away.

[PJ] There's more and more water coming, hey?

[Andy] You can see it push that bank now, eh.

Yeah!

[narrator] PJ saves the day.

The river is contained before it destroys the cut.

-I'll keep an eye on it. -Okay.

Okay, man.

[PJ] It's an hourly battle in the mine.

There's always something happening...

and real strains on you mentally and physically.

-[radio] Start scooping. -[radio 2] You betcha.

[narrator] With disaster averted, the guys get back sluicing.

This year is a make-or-break year.

My dad was our initial investor that believed in me enough

to give me the money to start going after this crazy dream.

[PJ] Now the real work begins.

It's important to get enough gold here.

Without any profit in the company, there's no paying back my dad.

Let's boogie.

[Big Al] Coming.

[narrator] On Indian River...

I love to count.

[Kivi] I am the count.

...Al and geologist Kivi continue their search for a new pit.

Fuck! Where is it?

[Big Al] We're doing some testing now, and we dug three duds right in a row,

and it just sinks you right down, eh.

I have to go have a lay-down.

Okay.

I'm physically tired and worn right the frick out.

I'm hurting.

And it may be because of

my health issues.

[indistinct phone chatter]

Yeah, Allen McGregor calling.

I was wondering if I could

sneak in and get my bloodwork done this morning.

[narrator] Al makes a last-minute appointment

at the hospital in Dawson City.

[chuckles] Thanks. Bye.

[Big Al] Been able to quit my chemo now since March,

so we're just keeping an eye on me,

and see if anything goes wonky again,

because it's always in the back of your mind no matter what you do.

Hey, my dear.

You ready for me?

-For you. -Even though I'm late?

I kind of expect it now.

-I see the heart's still working. -Yeah.

-All righty. -That's all you needed?

That's all I need.

Done like dinner.

[Big Al] The doctors review it.

I usually don't hear, which is...

It would be nice to hear.

Thank you. Thank you kindly.

It's kind of a no-news-is-good-news thing.

At least it's not raining.

[narrator] Fair weather in 50 Mile Valley...

Back on the gold now.

...with the floodwater contained and the sun shining down,

Andy and PJ sluice their new cut.

Hey, man.

[Andy, radio] The pay looks really good.

It's dark, it's sticky... All good adjectives for pay.

[PJ] When we first started out, we used to go at it and take it as it came.

This year we wanted to be more calculated, just watching our ground better.

[engine dying]

Aw, don't you die on me, man.

[narrator] The loader grinds to a halt.

What a joke.

I was loading tailings into the dump truck and the loader lost all its power.

This is stupid.

Breakdowns are the most frustrating thing out here.

We're under a lot of financial pressure.

We need to keep getting gold to pay those bills.

If I sit here and think about it too much, I'll start to cry right now.

It's brutal.

[Rob] We'll get old Betsy running here.

[narrator] Mine mechanic Rob doesn't waste any time troubleshooting the problem.

When you're sitting there at an idle and it's going up in RPM,

either your speedo or,

like, one of the transmission speed sensors.

So... I need a computer.

[narrator] Checking the sensor requires specialized diagnostic equipment.

-We've got to call Great Western? -Yes.

Fuck!

[Rob] And when I'm limited by a computer, I hate that.

I like doing everything myself.

I don't like handing it off to other people. That's what irritates me.

[Rob] That loader, like...

[Andy, frustrated sigh]

We have to get the mechanic here to look at it and fix it.

[narrator] Until the loader is fixed,

the dozer will have to step in hauling pay to the plant.

[PJ] It basically cuts our productivity in half.

We can only haul so much to and from the plant,

and we have to slow down everything.

[PJ] It causes a lot of time delays and just inefficiencies.

[Andy] Amateur hour.

[Chris] All right...

-Can we start? -Yup.

Keep going, right along here.

[narrator] 7:00 a.m. on Stowe Creek...

Let's go to work.

[narrator] After a day moving the plant,

Chris can finally start sluicing the last section of the big cut.

Okay... this is our pay layer right here, right.

Okay.

Top of pay, top of bottom.

[narrator] But first, he gives rookie minehand David

a lesson on feeding the plant.

So this is the bottom of how deep we want to go, right.

You see how it's just bedrock, like that?

[narrator] Gold-rich paydirt sits just above a layer of rock

and hard clay called bedrock.

All right, let's go and see if they're ready to get you sluicing here.

[Chris] David, our new hire, we brought him on to feed the plant.

He says he can do it, so we'll put him on the plant and see what happens here.

[rock music playing]

-Ah, right on. At least it's sluicing. -Yeah.

[Riley] Fuck's going on?

[Chris] Fuck all going across that screen deck.

[narrator] Chris spots a problem.

There's nothing coming out of the tail shaft.

[narrator] Tailings, the washed rocks the plant spits out,

have stopped tumbling off of the conveyor.

[Chris] Shut the water off!

[dramatic music playing]

Oh boy, oh boy!

[Chris] We got a fuck-up now, a real big fuck-up.

You have to come up here and have a look so you can see what the fuck.

-Do you see a problem here? -[David] Yes.

-A big problem? -Yes.

[narrator] David made a rookie mistake.

He fed clay into the hopper, plugging the plant.

Jesus.

You're going to need to be above it, David.

[David] Chris is not happy.

I know it's my fault, but

we learn by doing mistakes, so...

Now I know this cut is just clay at the bottom.

[Chris] Waste of time now...

Okay.

-You go fire up the water. -Okay.

[Chris] It's always tough with younger minehands and just hiring people.

You get jaded when you bring people out

and they can't do what they say they can do.

[narrator] This screw-up could be David's last.

Jesus, David...

If he can't prove himself, he is going to be looking for another job.

[Big Al] I'm scared, Kivi.

[narrator] On Indian River, after his blood test, Al is back at the mine.

I might have to go back on chemo.

The phone could ring and my whole world could change in an instant

and it could be, you know, not for the better,

but until then, I get to chase a dream.

Life is too short.

[Big Al] Just tell me she's five ounces an hour everywhere we dig!

Am I asking for too much?

There is five ounces, stretching for miles.

You've just got to unravel it.

[narrator] So far all of Al and Kivi's attempts to find gold have struck out...

I've seen so many guys up here.

Things have really turned bad on them.

I worry about that. Maybe I'm all done.

You're going to love this.

Let's get at it!

[narrator] But they've got a new plan

and the latest technology to help find the gold.

She's lit up.

[drone whirling]

[narrator] Indian River is one of the richest producers in the Yukon

and a hotbed of mining activity since the gold rush of the 1890s.

[Big Al] Well, I hope you fuck better than you fly!

[laughs]

[narrator] The drone gives Al and Kivi a bird's-eye view of the claim

to search for signs of unmined ground the old timers left behind.

So just do a hole along here

so we can see what's on this side of the river.

Yeah, okay.

[Big Al] We think there's virgin areas left in there.

We're going to go and try and find them.

-There's the hole. -Yeah.

-I can see, Kivi. Thank you. [laughing] -Do you know where you are?

Been here before?

[narrator] The piles of grey tailings

show areas that have already been mined.

That looks all virgin to you, doesn't it?

Yeah.

-I kind of lost where I'm at. -Camp there, I think.

[Big Al] We started looking at aerial photos.

What was surprising is how much potential virgin ground is still there.

[narrator] The drone footage reveals a large section of unmined ground

right near camp.

-We've got to get a few samples, eh. -Oh, lots of samples.

We're going to go digging.

I'm excited now!

[Chris] I've got a headache.

Fuck me.

[narrator] Morning on Stowe Creek...

Hey, David?

...Chris checks in with rookie minehand David.

Smoothen this out so your machine tracks don't go up like this.

There are brand-new tracks, so don't want to get them wrecked. This.

Okay.

[narrator] Yesterday, David plugged up the sluice plant.

No sluice, no money, and the boss is not happy.

Today he gets one more shot to prove himself.

I'm going to try to learn from my mistakes

to not have any more breakdowns.

He's either going to make it or he's not.

If he's not what I want, he knows he's getting skidded down the road.

[dramatic music playing]

[mechanic squealing]

[narrator] A strange noise is coming from the conveyor.

[David] Fuck!

Chris, we have a problem.

Chris!

[narrator] David takes charge and makes the call to shut down the plant.

Chris, we have a problem at the plant.

[Chris] Fuck sakes.

Well, it may as well be another fucking weird day.

What is it?

The bearing up here.

Aw, fuck, it's got to be that one?

[sighs]

Yeah, that's fucking garbage, all right.

I'm going to pull the drive off.

Okay, it's bad.

There's no sluicing until we get our bearing fixed.

It's cost. You know, it's money. It's downtime.

Oh, my god.

[narrator] Chris and David head back to camp to order a new bearing.

If David hadn't have caught that,

could have cost us the belt off of the conveyor.

Could have been a lot, lot worse.

[moose calling]

[PJ] What a fucking joke!

[narrator] In 50 Mile Valley...

[Andy] This is really annoying, the stupid stuff here.

...with the dozer filling in for the busted loader,

Andy and PJ's mine is running at half speed...

The loader would have had this finished in about 20 minutes.

They've been doing this for... Probably an hour and 20 minutes now.

Time is money, that's why it's frustrating.

Got the mechanic coming to fix the loader.

I was expecting him about three hours ago.

We've got to get the guys working. We need it fixed right now.

[honks]

[narrator] The mechanic finally shows up.

Oh, no!

You guys are missing a truck.

What happened?

He's buried good.

-Yeah. Buried it? -Yeah, he's buried up to his diff.

In your mud hole.

In the mud hole? Well...

[narrator] The mechanic's diagnostic gear is stranded with his truck.

We couldn't get him out. This thing was chunking the ground.

Tried pulling me out on his way in.

Almost made it, but not quite.

Yeah, let's get the CAT and go back and rescue you.

I'll have to walk the CAT out there.

It's about a seven-hour return trip to get it out.

[narrator] PJ is forced to take the dozer

to pull the mechanic's truck out of the mud.

[PJ] We have to shut down here

because we won't even be able to keep going without this machine

that pushes pay to our plant.

[Andy] Okay, well...

We've got to fucking shut down, then.

[narrator] It's one more huge setback.

Oh, man.

[Andy] Some days it feels like the problems are really just piling up.

It really brings your spirits down,

because you just kind of want to throw it all up in the air and say "screw this."

[PJ] The mud hole, the notorious mud hole.

[narrator] Northeast of 50 Mile Valley,

PJ's on a mission to rescue the mechanic's truck out of the mud.

PJ!

We had to shut down sluicing because we wouldn't be able to keep going

without this machine

that pushes pay to our plant, so we've got to get at it.

We can't afford any delays.

Okay, let's do this.

Giving it.

There it is.

[laughs]

Right on, man! Wasn't too painful, eh?

We got it out and I'm glad it all worked out.

Now we can get back to the mine and

get our loader running and keep on sluicing.

The pressure's on.

[phone dialing]

[narrator] On Stowe Creek...

[phone call tone]

[clerk] Northern Bearings.

I'm looking for a pillow block bearing

and the only number I can find on it is a P215.

...a busted bearing has Chris and Nika's mine shut down.

[clerk] Yeah, I'm just going to check... I believe I know where they are.

-Give me one moment? -Okay.

Think it'll be expensive?

[clerk] Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Is it a universal piece, or is it for a vehicle?

No, it's from a conveyor.

[clerk] Oh, a conveyor belt, your conveyor.

Yeah.

[clerk] All right, Chris, just give me a moment here.

All right.

Newbies.

[clerk] Okay, um...

Yeah?

I don't have anything that big here.

Okay.

Oh, god.

[Chris] You can get pretty aggravated. The sluice is down.

You're not doing anything.

There's lots of frustrations, but you got to manage it.

Ask Daddy if he wants rum.

-[clerk] Quality Bearing. Good afternoon. -Yeah. Hi.

I'm looking for a pillow block bearing.

It's a P215.

[clerk] Okay, I do have 2-15/16ths on the shelf.

I'll take both of them, and can I get you to air-freight them for me?

-[Clerk] Okay, I'll have these for you. -Great. Thanks so much.

[Chris] Thank God. Two in stock. They'll be here in the morning.

The bearing's in Whitehorse.

Still, two and a half days down,

so two and a half days you can't make any money.

You just take that hit.

That's good.

There we go.

[narrator] Over in 50 Mile Valley...

A speed sensor in the transmission thinks it's driving when it's not.

...the mechanic runs a final diagnostic test on the loader.

Okay...

-How goes the battle? -Good.

-Good? -We got it up and running for you.

-Done? Nice. Nice! -She's running.

-You can put her to work. -OK.

-Good job. Thanks, man. -Any time.

Time to sluice.

[narrator] It's been one setback after another...

Loader!

...but PJ and Andy are finally back in business,

sluicing their new cut.

[Andy] When the mine's running 100 percent and our machines too

I mean, glory, glory, hallelujah.

My favorite sound is the sound of rocks coming off the sluice.

Chk-a-chk-a-chk-a. Non-stop.

I could probably fall asleep to that sound.

The sound of money.

[Andy] Yeah!

Awesome.

-Where are you digging? -Right over here.

[narrator] At Indian River...

-Stand over that side. -Okay.

...after three weeks of testing,

Al and Kivi have found unmined ground right near camp.

How's that, buddy?

-That looks good. -Beautiful looking stuff.

That's, like, two meters of pay, right?

Two to three.

[Big Al] Wouldn't that be something, Kivi, if it paid all the way through?

That'd be a couple years' work here.

I think your pails are full.

Right on.

[Big Al] It would be a sweet pit.

I hope the gold is in these buckets.

Buck, buck, buckets.

So we'll test them.

Hey, Kivi!

Are we rich?

-I don't know. I haven't panned this. -Oh.

-What's the fucking holdup? -Getting there.

[both laugh]

[narrator] Kivi washes the paydirt through a small test plant to separate the gold.

[Big Al] I really need a pit, bad.

If we can discover this one, that really takes a big load off of me.

We got a nuggie!

You take a sample and try and figure out how much gold is in that.

And then you extrapolate it to the larger volume of the pit.

Kivi, weigh that up!

Here you go, buddy.

[narrator] Al's after .02 ounces.

That works out to a cut producing two ounces an hour.

What's .075?

Let's see. That's two, four, six... Seven.

Seven ounces an hour? Jesus!

[both laugh]

Then we've got a pit!

[narrator] Weeks of testing pays off in big gold.

If this holds up, we could take that pit, right?

Maybe the side. Then we could take camp next year.

Definitely is a game changer.

[Big Al] I'm mining smarter, not harder,

and to be on the gold now,

it's exciting times.

Stress... gone!

[narrator] Al's found his new pit.

He's been sitting on a gold mine this entire time.

To find the big streak, that's everybody's dream up here.

That's what you come for.

You keep this up, I'm going to have to kiss you.

[both chuckle]

Sweet!

All right.

All right, going to check that out. I hope that's the right one.

[narrator] Morning on Stowe Creek.

Yes! It is.

We'll get it on there.

[narrator] Chris puts Lindsay in charge of replacing the bearing...

[Chris] Lindsay's specialty is shafts, bearings.

He's just knowledgeable about stuff and he takes it to the next level.

[narrator] But after a week of screw-ups, the jury is still out on David.

[Chris] We've had some mistakes with David, and I can't have that.

We've been down two days now, and we've got to get sluicing.

We only have a hundred days of sluicing

and we've lost two.

Okay, David, the bearing is on.

Now I need to lift up the gearbox and slide it onto the shaft.

The gearbox is 250 pounds.

It doesn't look that big, but it's heavy.

I don't know if we can lift this or not, David, but you want to give it a shot?

We can try.

Ready?

[groaning, straining]

Hold on. Put it down.

I'm not going to be a hero today.

Riley.

[Riley] Go ahead...

Yeah, bring your muscles.

[Riley] OK, be there in a sec...

I'll have to go up on top.

This mother's heavy.

What do we got here?

You're shorter, you're taller.

You there, you there, me here.

-Turn it a bit. -Okay.

That's okay.

Just like that.

[Chris] I didn't do anything.

Okay, done. Are you buying tonight?

-I thought David was. -Oh!

[chuckling]

Hey, David, we're good as new!

-Ready to sluice. -Okay.

Working for Chris is good.

He was the first one to give me a chance, because he don't fire me.

David makes some mistakes. He learns very quick.

Mistakes are how you usually learn.

It's how I learned. Got to make the mistakes.

Let's find some gold.

[Chris] That's money right there.

Boys, get over here. Let's weigh this shit up.

[narrator] In 50 Mile Valley...

Guesses?

...after a rough week,

Andy and PJ weigh the first batch of gold from their new cut.

-How many hours? -35.

We've got 35 hours on the box, so hoping to see an ounce an hour.

That's kind of what we shoot for out here.

35 and a half.

-32. -I'll say 35.

I'll say 35 because that's what I want.

[dramatic music playing]

[crew] Oh, oh, oh!

Ooh.

10,53. That's...

Right around 34.

-34 ounces. -Yeah.

-All right. -[crew cheering]

[narrator] 34 ounces of gold. That's over $59,000.

Looks good. I'm happy.

[narrator] Five weeks into the 16-week season,

Andy and PJ have collected 134 ounces of gold.

[Andy] Pretty close.

Not too bad, but, we need to be doing an ounce an hour or better.

So let's do better.

Do better.

[narrator] They'll have to pick up the pace to reach their 600-ounce goal.

Their future as miners depends on it.

I'm really driven to succeed out here. It means everything to me.

I don't want it to be a failure.

I don't want all this work, this blood, sweat, and tears to be for nothing.

I really believe in it, and I think we'll be able to reach that goal.

[PJ] Right on!

[David] It's ready if you want some.

[narrator] Early morning on Stowe Creek.

Pancakes were ready for the people that were ready

-when they woke up this morning. -All right.

[narrator] Rookie David makes breakfast for the crew.

Good job, David.

He's flying his pancakes.

There's been a few errors here with David,

but he also is learning and paying attention, so...

You know what? It was a good hire for me.

Oh, I'm still not awake.

[David] I'm really happy I live my dream.

The bosses are happy, and me,

I found a job and a new family.

Oh, my goodness.

The way to eat pancakes... They need to float in syrup.

[chuckling]

[Chris] We're lucky. I have a good crew this year.

I have the right people.

[Chris] You scare me, buddy.

The experience they bring to the table is like putting together a good hockey club.

It's all about what you bring to the team, right.

Very good pancakes. Thank you, David.

With them, we can make the thousand ounces.

-They're good. -Thank you.