All language subtitles for Gold.Rush.S16E00.Rookie.Mine.Boss.Showdown.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY

Let's go for an adventure!

[narrator]
On this "Gold Rush."

Now I'm putting my money
where my mouth is.

It's the first ever
rookie mine boss showdown...

[Rick]
School of hard knocks, baby.

[Kevin] No, no, no, no!

[machine creaks, stops]

Of course it's my fault.
I'm in charge.

...pitting the three
most successful

freshman bosses
head to head...

We got a learning curve
to get ahead of here.

There's no doubt about that.

...judging their
first year wins...

-Nice win.
- ...and fails...

This is [bleep] outrageous.

...to reveal who...

We're gonna do it!

Loading the plant, yeah, whoo!

...is the top
rookie mine boss.

[Fred] So, what are you gonna
do about gold this year?

I'm gonna find it.

In 15 years of "Gold Rush"...

Now I'm gonna start
kicking some ass.

...there have been five
rookie mine bosses.

Honestly, it's one of the most

challenging things
I've ever done.

But the best of the first year
miners boils down to three.

Teenager Parker Schnabel.

[Parker]
It's about making money.

That's what matters.

Heir to Tony Beets' mining
empire, Kevin Beets.

[Kevin] It's time to show I have
what it takes to be the boss.

And seasoned foreman,
Rick Ness.

[Rick] The opportunity is now.
I just got to take it.

Getting off to a fast start
is essential

for a first year mine boss.

So the first round
of competition is a showdown

over who hits
their first gold the fastest.

Sixteen-year-old
Parker Schnabel

leaves his junior year
of high school

and goes straight
into his freshman

mine boss season.

I have faith
in your management,

that it will be successful.

Thanks.

Shake [laughs].

[Parker] Pretty big moment.
I'm in charge now.

Parker is gifted
the Big Nugget Mine

by his grandpa John,

complete with a working
washplant, iron, and crew,

and needs 75 ounces
by the end of his first season

to keep the family
operation afloat.

He has visions that he's gonna
make thousands of dollars

every day, and I hope
he's right.

[Parker] I've got a plan.
I'm gonna execute my plan.

Simple as that.

Parker's plan to see
his first gold

is to hit an easy score,

tailings mined
over two decades ago.

My grandpa mined
this bench up here.

This is all the tailings
from that.

If their sluice box caught
50% of the gold

and they got 100 ounces then,

then there would
be another 100 ounces here.

So we're gonna give
a crack at it.

[rattling]

[water splashing]

Hopefully there's
a pile of gold

sitting in there somewhere.

[machine rattles, stops]

It's the first clean out
of dirt

that I've picked out,
I guess.

Three fifths of an ounce.

We only ran four hours,

so I think we're gonna have
a good week.

After seeing gold on day one
of being the boss,

Parker spends the rest
of his first week

running all the tailings.

[Parker] It's working!

They're getting bigger!

It's Friday today,
so we're gonna clean out

the whole plant.

This is our first full week
of running,

and we've gotten six
or seven ounces.

Parker banks almost 10%
of his season goal,

within a week of becoming boss.

I must be doing
something right.

Parker's tailings
are a one time hit.

He still needs to find
more ground to keep sluicing.

So he earns four points
out of five in the first round.

Next, newbie mine boss
Kevin Beets

also has an opportunity
to hit first gold fast,

but he wants a lot more
than 75 ounces

in his first year.

I got big plans to set up
a gold mine and run it my way.

We do have
a thousand-ounce goal.

This is a big gamble,
so me and Faith

have to make this work.

After 20 years working
on the family mine,

clashes with his dad, Tony...

Could have test fired it.

...led to him breaking away
and leasing ground

from his old man...

...borrowing equipment
to start his own operation.

[Tony speaking]

[Kevin] Right now, we opened up
a mid-sized cut to get going.

Based on what drill holes
that Tony had and the little bit

of poking around I did,

between 15, 20 feet
of muck on top.

OK.

To get his 1,000-ounce
season goal,

Kevin needs to open
a three-acre cut

in just four weeks.

[excavator whirring]

[Kevin] If I can keep
all the machines going,

our current schedule
has us, uh...

sluicing by the end
of the month.

Fingers crossed.

Opening the cut in a dozer
borrowed from Tony,

Foreman Brennan Ruault.

[Brennan]
What the --

Something's not feeling right.

[machine creaking]

That's strange.

Sick of this [bleep].

What is this?

[bleep] bolts obviously
fell off the inside.

Can't keep this old [bleep]
running for more than a day.

Four weeks into the season,
disaster strikes.

[Kevin] So, yeah,
this ain't [bleep] great.

I need to take out the engine

so I can get
to the transmission.

So, it's essentially looking
like it's gonna be down

for a [bleep] while.
It's really [bleep] frustrating.

I know Tony didn't wanna
give me, like,

his best equipment, but this is
a little ridiculous.

I am definitely gonna be
talking to Tony.

[Kevin] Hey, Tony.

[Tony speaking]

[Kevin] Uh, well, I need to talk
about that D10.

[Tony] A-ha?

[Kevin]
She kind of, uh, grenaded.

Uh, something
in the transmission.

Pretty much dead in the water.

[Tony speaking]

I need to have
a spare from you.

[Tony speaking]

More equipment problems...

[Kevin]
We've had a lot of delays.

We really need
to get sluicing.

...slows progress.

[Brennan] Copy there, Kev?

I think we're
on the paystreak here.

[Kevin] I'll be right down.

It's two months,
over a third of the way

through his first season...

[Kevin] There is some
yellow [bleep] in here.

...before Kevin finally sees
his first gold.

It's nice to have some
confirmation, ain't it?

We're about a month behind
where we'd want it to be.

We thought we'd already be
sluicing by now,

but delays, delays,
breakdowns, breakdowns.

So the faster we can get
this pay out,

the faster we can set
the plant up and get running.

Kevin's problems
delay him hitting gold,

but he eventually clocks

a first gold weigh
of 33 ounces,

giving him two points
in the first round.

Delays are something our last
rookie mine boss can't afford

when he starts his new mine
from scratch.

This year is different.
I'm the boss.

It's 100% my operation.

By the end of this year,
I'll either be broke

or I'll have my own successful
gold mining operation,

and a pile of gold.

Rick Ness came
through the ranks

at Parker Schnabel's operation,

and in 2018,
decides to put his own money

on the line
and go it alone.

[Rick] I've never had this much
responsibility before.

I've never put, you know,

my own money
on the line like this.

And now, you know, my crew is
gonna be depending on me.

There's just a lot riding
on my shoulders.

Let's do it.

Let's go start moving
some [bleep] mud.

-Right.
-Rally!

Rick matches Kevin's ambition
of a 1,000-ounce season goal,

but goes even bigger,

planning to open up
a monster six-acre cut.

Whoo!

Hoping to hit gold in 10 days,

he goes all in,

hiring a 475,

the biggest dozer
in the Klondike,

for $100,000.

[Rick] I've got this 475
for 10 days max.

That's all I can afford,
really, to have it running.

Could be sunk
before I even get started.

[dozer roars]

You know, I need to know
what's in the ground now.

I need to know if
it's worth it.

That's pay dirt right there.
Right there, for sure.

Oh, yeah.
There we go.

[tense music plays]

Guys, you're not gonna
believe this, but I actually

got a thawed hole down here,
down to bedrock,

into the pay gravel.
So I'm gonna do a pan.

You guys should
come check it out.

We're really going to see
if we've got gold here or not.

[Terry]
All right, man, this is it.

I haven't even seen
anybody pan gold in my life.

[water sloshes]

-[Rick] There is gold in here.
-[Terry] Whoa!

[Ben] All right.

I'd say there's probably
a dozen colors in here.

If you think now...

the size of this pan,
how many pans there are in here?

Huh?

That's all we need to see.

That's all we need to see.

[Ryan] It's real.
It's a real deal.

[Rick] It's real now, right?

That's our freedom
right in there.

But the only way
we're gonna get it

is if we get back to work.

[Terry] Let's go get it,
million dollars, boys.

[Rick] Let's go then!
Let's go.

Whoo!

In 10 days, Rick's dozer
gamble delivers his first

flakes of gold, later leading
to a first gold weigh

of 30 ounces.

[bleep] yeah!

-Let's mine.
-Yeah.

[all] Rally!

Rick's master plan gets him
on gold fast and sets him up

for the rest of the season,

giving him
the full five points.

At the end of the first round,

Kevin's bottom of the pile,

Parker is second,

and Rick bulldozers his way
to the top.

Coming up...

We've got water,
so I'll go feed the plant.

The rookies' first washplants
are put to the test.

About [bleep] time.

[Rick] Shut it off,
shut it off, shut it off!

Hit the bypass!

[thrilling music plays]

In the rookie mine boss
face off...

I must be doing
something right.

...three freshman mine bosses

are going head to head.

[Rick] Could be sunk
before I even get started.

After scoring points
for hitting their first gold,

Rick is in the lead.

Next up...

[Kevin]
We gotta get [bleep] sluicing.
We got bills to pay.

The heart of their operations
are put to the test.

How they set them up,
fire them up,

and keep sluicing

in the washplant round.

Set up and fire up is no
problem for Parker Schnabel,

whose inherited plant is ready
to sluice straight off the bat.

[Parker]
We're definitely making money.

We're on a roll.

Hopefully, we can keep it up.

It's going pretty good.

I'm feeling positive.

But the young boss
hits trouble

when he strikes bad ground.

[Parker] Pretty poor.

We need more than a few flakes.

And decides to up the ante
and push his old plant

to its limits.

I'm going so fast, because I
need to feed the plant,

because we're running
10 hours today.

This is my fourth load in,
what, 20 minutes?

Just 30 minutes
into his 10-hour shift...

[machine shuts off]

[Parker] [bleep]!

...the plant grinds to a halt.

His generator's regulator
has failed.

There's nothing I can do
up here, really.

Could talk to my grandpa.

[John] We shut down, huh?
I guess we stopped.

We had this problem
about 10 years ago.

OK.

With his grandpa's help,
Parker gets a new regulator

and is back on the gold.

[machine starts whirring]

In about 20 minutes,
we'll start getting a little...

more confident, and in about
an hour after that, we'll be...

pretty sure we fixed it.

But it's not long before
the relic is down again.

[machine rumbles, stops]

[Parker] Hey!

[Gary]
This whole bearing is gone.

This is really not something
that we need right now.

[Parker]
So that's a pain in the ass.

[Gary] We're gonna fix this
as fast as we can.

As his crew get to work
removing the broken bearing

that spins the trommel,

Parker has an eight-hour
round trip

to source a replacement.

[Parker]
The plant hasn't been running,
and we're losing money,

hand over fist.

[Terry] She's there.

[Parker] If it's straight,
that's perfect.

All right, good job.

[whirring slowly]

[Parker] Looks good.

At least there's still hope.

Sometimes, like my grandpa
says, "All you have is hope."

Parker's ancient plant
gets him sluicing early,

but his decision to push it
to the limit sets him back

more than once,
giving him three points.

The next boss, Kevin Beets,
hatches a plan to make

the perfect washplant setup...

[Brennan] Yeah, look at that.

Now we're almost
at the actual getting gold part

of gold mining.
About [bleep] time.

...by spending time
and cold, hard cash.

We wanna do it once
and do it right,

and just be done with it.

So that's how
we're gonna [bleep] run it.

Kevin blows his life savings
on a new $700,000 shaker deck

and splashes another $100,000

on a gas-powered generator
to run the plant.

[Kevin]
Spent a lot of money already.

Got to hit 1,000 ounces
to get of those costs back.

Hopefully, we can hit it.

Kevin takes two weeks to build
a 400-foot long mega pad.

What a good [bleep] day
to see this on the pad.

[Kevin] Delightful.

And a further six days
tinkering to dial in the plant.

[Tony speaking]

Eventually, nearly halfway
through his first season...

as a mine boss.

[Kevin] Slide horizontally.

Little bit, little bit.

...he's finally ready
to fire up.

[Kevin]
I really, really, really hope
it goes well after all

the nights and days
that went into this.

So my fingers are crossed,
my toes are crossed.

If I could,
I'd cross my tongue.

Holy [bleep]!
That's violent.

[Brennan and Faith chuckle]

[machine rumbling loudly]

All right, I'm gonna
open her up.

There we go.

[Kevin] Let there be gold!

-[Brennan] Whoo! Yeah!
-[all cheering]

[Brennan] That's looking
really nice, Kev.

So excited, bud.

Yes, finally!

[Kevin] I've currently got
[bleep] relief.

Give you a hug for this one.

Nice work keeping her going.

[Kevin]
Spending so much time making
sure that everything's gonna

run before we put actual pay
through the plant.

It's a lot of more work,

but we are gonna save time
down the line.

Kevin's patience and big
investment pays off,

setting him up to sluice
almost non stop,

giving him
the full five points.

A perfect score that Rick Ness
could match

with his own
washplant masterplan.

Ruby, we got a washplant!

I've always had some input
as far as how we set

our washplants up when I was
with Parker, but ultimately,

he had the final say,
and now this year,

it's 100% my call.

Ooh! Now it's time
to get some gold.

After spending big
on opening up his first cut,

Rick drops his last $180,000

on the washplant of his dreams.

[Terry] Boom, yes!

[Rick]
Look at that [bleep] beast.

I christen thee,
"Durt Reynolds."

[heavy thudding]

-Ha-ha, yeah.
-[all cheering]

But unlike Kevin, Rick has
an ingenious plan to get it

set up and fired up fast.

I'm unloading giant Legos.

[epic music plays]

[Rick] So I've ordered up
a bunch of concrete blocks.

I'm gonna build a bit
of a retaining wall
for my plant to sit on.

It should actually
be a cleaner setup

and less likely
to undermine itself.

I need to get the washplant
up and running,

and every minute counts.

Rick takes just four hours
to complete the pad

and hauls in
the 20-ton washplant.

[Rick] Talk about
right on the [bleep] edge.

Does it worry you that
it's hanging off the edge?

[Rick] No.

[drill whirring]

[Rick]
Now we're getting somewhere!

[Ryan] All right, I'm gonna
start this thing.

[Rick] Fire it up!

[machine starts]

[Rick] There it is.

[water splashing]

All right, I'm gonna put
a bucket of dirt in.

[Ryan] Ten-four.

[Karla]
Yeah, we're feeding the plant.

This is a pretty big deal.

Whoo-oo-oo!
Yay, people are smiling.

[Rick] Completely what?

Where does all that water
come from?

Karla, hit the bypass.

[bleep] hell.

Shut the by --
Shut the pump off,

hit the bypass.

Shut it off, shut it off,
shut it off, shut it off.

Hit the bypass!

[dramatic music plays]

[valve creaks]

[suspenseful music plays]

[Ryan] Turnbuckles gave way.

Where's Rick?

Oh, I'm gonna
need a minute.

[bleep] sluice boxes fell off.

Water almost took out
the pad enough

to dump the plant off the pad.

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

After his disastrous first
ever fire up as a mine boss,

Rick calls the only man
who can save his setup.

-[Freddy] How's it going, Rick?
-[Rick] Freddy, man,

I'm glad to see you, buddy.
-[Freddy chuckles]

Holy [bleep].
Been too long.

Man, I don't mind telling you,
right off the bat,

I'm in a [bleep] bad way here.

What do you think?

[Freddy] I think you...

bought somebody else's
nightmare, Rick.

Freddy Dodge replaces
the 10-foot sluice box

that fell off Rick's plant

with fabricated 30-foot long
gold catchers.

[crane rumbling]

[Freddy] Easy, Rick.

Whoa!

Easy!

Perfect right there, Rick.

Whoo!

That's all I need, man.
That's huge relief for me.

And mounts them on an extended
pad to secure them in place.

[Rick] Yee haw!

Feed the beast.

Sluice box is in place.
That's a good sign.

It's running.

Rick's washplant
finally gets running,

but he's weeks behind schedule,

and he's nearly ruined
his season,

earning him just one point.

Halfway through the rookie
mine boss faceoff,

Rick drops to last,

and Kevin's perfect setup

draws him neck and neck
with Parker in first place.

[Rick] My dad was right.

I'm gonna go home
at the end of the season,

broke with no friends.

Coming up...

I don't care if you guys
hate my guts.

-Right.
-I need a little respect.

Can Rick stage a comeback,

competing in
leadership skills...

[all] Rally!

...and final gold weighs?

[Parker]
We haven't had that much gold

in the pan all summer.

[laughing]

[cheering]

In the freshman mine boss
head to head...

[Parker]
Now the race is really on.

Now it's time to get serious.

...the rookies have raced
to bank their first gold,

fired up their first washplants
and banked points

on the rookie
mine boss leader board.

At the halfway stage,
Kevin and Parker tie

for pole position as we head
into the third round.

One of the biggest challenges
for any rookie mine boss

is stepping up
to lead their crew...

Let's go.

...and dealing with any
problems they hit.

[all] Rally!

Round three...

is a test of leadership.

Kevin Beets decides to divide
responsibilities on his claim.

Go move some dirt, folks.

Roger that, boss.

He delegates running the cut
to his new foreman,

master dirt mover, Brennan.

Brennan is gonna be a great
asset to the operation.

You know, I wanna get
as much gold as possible

by the time the snow
starts flying.

While Kevin...

[Kevin speaking]

...focuses on keeping
the operation

and machinery running.

[Kevin]
Fix this thing so we can run.

Fix that thing so we can run.

After four months of working
together, the plant chews

through the last of their first
three-acre cut,

and Brennan gets to work
opening up more ground.

[Kevin]
It needs to happen super fast
because that pile is getting

chewed down so quickly,
it's actually getting scary.

[machines rumbling]

[Chase] Oh, [bleep].

[engine revving]

[Chase] [bleep] sakes.

Hey buddy, I'm stuck down here
in the cut.

[Brennan] [bleep] sakes.

Water from Kevin's
sluice pond next door

is flooding Brennan's new cut.

I think I might try
and nudge you backwards.

[engine revving]

[Chase] Thanks, Brennan,
you're the man.

[Brennan] I'm gonna need
to get another pump

in here immediately.
We have no extra pumps.

Brennan looks to Kevin
for a solution.

[Kevin] Hey, Brennan.

I can't dig pay
down here, dude.

I've been needing another pump
for like a week now.

I know.

We just got to do
a clean up or two

to pay for the [bleep] thing.

[Brennan] Can we get
another pump from Tony?

[Kevin] I'm not gonna ask Tony
until I have to.

I fixed enough
of Tony's [bleep].

I'm just really struggling
down here, man.

I'm just getting
frustrated as [bleep].

If that pay pad runs out,
that shuts off, we don't have

any money coming in, and I feel
like that's on my shoulders.

Like, what do you want me
to do here?

I need a [bleep] pump.

I don't what to say, like,

we don't have the cash
right now.

You don't got a [bleep] pump.

[bleep] tough.

Yeah, well, I'm gonna...

I don't know what else
to say here.

[Brennan] Keep that out
of my face for a while.

I need a [bleep] pump, [bleep].

Weird.
Where the [bleep] he's going?

With Kevin failing to deliver,

Brennan takes matters
into his own hands.

[Brennan]
What we have here is a pump
that I went and purchased.

And hopefully she just starts
pumping immediately.

[Brennan] Oh, there we go.

Yay!

In 12 hours, Brennan's
$11,000 pump drains the cut

and bails Kevin
out of trouble.

[Kevin] That's a very nice
little pump

that Brennan went off
and bought.

[Brennan]
Hopefully, Kevin kind of finds
his footing here and gets

into that mine boss role
a little bit more.

Kevin's lack of leadership
almost brings his whole

operation to a standstill,
scoring him just one point.

A low score that could give
Parker the chance

to pull ahead.

I don't care if you guys
hate my guts.

-Right.
-I need a little respect.

But the teenager has
leadership problems of his own.

[Parker]
You can run the excavator,

and Gary, you can
run the truck.

Parker has taken on
his grandpa's veteran crew,

some triple his age,

and struggles
to gain their respect.

I guess that's a no.

It makes me not feel
like the boss.

Things don't improve
when the teenager tries

to stamp his authority.

[Parker] What are you doing?

[worker] I'm coming back.

I'm [indistinct] and that's
for your grandfather.

[Parker] My grandpa's not
in charge here.

-[worker] I don't care.
-[Parker] Stop a minute.

[worker] No, I ain't stopping.
You don't give me orders.

-[Parker] Why not?
-[worker] Because you don't.

You ask.
You don't order somebody.

You ask.
Have some respect for people.

I think you should show me
a little respect.

You told me to "Go haul dirt."

Is that how you treat somebody?

[worker]
You don't, hey, you don't
tell me how to do my job.

I didn't.

I have not told you how
to do your job

one time this whole year.

-I have not told you one time.
-[John] Parker.

[Parker] Not once!

You are approaching...

this man in the wrong way.

[Parker]
We're up here to make money,

and we're up here
to run the plant.

You won't make money
if you chase the help off.

Parker is still battling
to gain the crew's respect

when disaster strikes.

[Parker] This isn't gonna
do me any good.

Ah, [bleep]...

This is gonna be fun.

Mining authorities threatened
to shut him down for good.

[inspector] The mine needed
to be regulated

by the Federal Government

and it had been operating
without that regulation

for the 23 years.

[Parker]
Of course it's my fault.

I'm in charge.

The crew looked to Parker
to save their season.

[Parker] So this should have
a knee board.

Parker hires a specialist
to train him in mine safety,

brings his site up to code,

and within just 24 hours

has the inspector back
for a make-or-break verdict.

[Parker]
Will you be able to terminate
the stop work order...

today?
-[inspector] Yes.

-[Parker] We're good to go?
-[inspector] Yes.

[Parker] OK.
Thank you for your time.

We made it!

-[Parker] It's over.
-[Gary] All right.

[Parker]
Let's go, boys.

I was gonna wait until later
to run the plant, but I figured

we just needed to start
getting some dirt moved.

Parker's leadership takes
his crew from shutdown...

[Parker] We haven't had
that much gold in the pan

in all summer.

...to one of the most
productive days

of their season.

It is addictive after you see
the results of the gold

come out of the material.

It makes it all worth it.

I think it makes us
a good team.

After his rough start,
the teenager's hard work,

with gold to show for it,
finally proves to his crew

he can be a leader,
scoring him four points.

Rick has years of experience
leading crews as a foreman

before stepping up
to be a mine boss.

[Rick] Terry, I'm gonna put you

in the excavator
loading the trucks.

I'm gonna put you guys
all in trucks.

We'll get you in those machines,
get you comfortable,

and no pressure,
but in about an hour,

let's be [bleep]
cranking full tilt.

And he gambles

on hiring a crew of loyal
but inexperienced friends...

[bleep] eh, water all over.

...that he aims to turn
into a first-rate mining team.

[Rick]
School of hard knocks, baby.

Oh, we got a learning curve
to get ahead of here.

There's no doubt about that.

I've been instructed
we wanna get the load

as far over as we can.

[Ryan] You're good.
Go ahead and dump.

[vehicles rumbling]

[Terry] Oh, boy...

[Ryan] Holy [bleep]!
Are you kidding me?

[vehicles rattles, crashes]

[Ryan] [bleep]!

[Terry] Ryan, you all right?

As soon as I pulled away,
it caved in.

[Rick] [bleep]! [bleep]!

He's just gonna [bleep]
flip this thing over.

You're clear.
Keep going.

[machines creaking]

[Rick] All right, pull it
out of there, Ryan.

Don't wanna hit
that [bleep] tailgate.

Hey, can you guys all come
over here, real quick?

Let's have a quick talk.

-Yo.
-What's up?

Look, I love you guys.

You've always had
my [bleep] back.

I don't wanna bitch at you,

but man, we gotta
tighten up, man.

Ryan, I know you flipped
a rock truck.

If we keep making
those mistakes,

I mean, it's gonna
kill us.

Right?

[Ryan] You got us.

[Terry] All right.

[Rick]
Let's get back to it, buddy.

[Terry] All right.

After his near miss
in a rock truck...

[Ryan]
It's gonna take me a while
to get the hang of doing this.

...Rick moves greenhorn Ryan
to operating a loader,

clearing the tailings
at the plant.

[Rick] He's wandering out
into the fine tailings

in front of a plant.

Spending way too long.

[loader rumbling]

[Ryan]
I'm not even making a dent.

Really getting sick
of dealing with this.

It's too [bleep] much
right now.

[loader crashes]

[Ryan] [bleep]!

I just hit the sluice box.

[bleep] this, man.

-[bleep]!
-[banging heavily]

[loader crashes]

[bleep]!

I just hit the sluice box.

[bleep] this, man.

-[bleep]!
-[banging heavily]

In the clash of the rookie
mine bosses,

Rick Ness needs to step up

and prove himself
in the leadership round.

[Rick] What's up, Ryan?

I'm just getting a little
overwhelmed here.

Greenhorn Ryan
is struggling to keep up

with the plant's
mounting tailings.

[Rick] Maybe I'll swap out
with you for a minute,

see if I can find
anything different to do

or find a rhythm
or something.

[Ryan] Hopefully Rick can give
me an idea how to keep ahead

of everything, figure something
out to make this work.

I mean, this is about
as important as it gets.

All of our gold's coming
out of that washplant,

so you gotta
take care of it.

You gotta run it right.

Rick shows Ryan
a new method --

driving into the tailings,
grabbing a scoop,

and backing straight out
instead of turning around,

cutting in half
the time Ryan took.

[Ryan]
I think that's the trick.

And I think that's probably
where I'll make up my time.

Whoo!
Loading the plant!

Yeah! Whoo!

Whoo!

[laughing]

[Ryan] Sounds to me like you're
having the time of your life

up in here.
-[Rick laughs]

[Ryan]
Well, and you're moving them
differently than I was.

Yeah.

[Ryan] And I can see where
that's gonna save time.

[Rick] You know what, I got us
a little bit ahead here.

-[Ryan] I think I'll be OK.
-[bleep] yeah.

I know you will, Ryan.
Good luck, buddy!

Rick leads his inexperienced
crew by example

and begins to mold them
into a working team,

giving him
the full five points.

At the end of
the leadership round,

Kevin drops down
the leader board

while Rick claws his way
back to first alongside Parker.

Heading into the final round,
it's anyone's game

as the rookie bosses battle
to the end of the season

and try to hit
their first year gold targets.

[Kevin]
We're on our final big push
to get to 1,000 ounces.

With just days of sluicing
left, Kevin is desperate to hit

his 1,000-ounce goal.

He hires new crew and pushes
his plant to the limit.

[Brennan] The push is on.

So after everything
that we've faced this year,

I'd be pretty bummed out
if we don't hit

our 1,000-ounce target,
you know?

[machine screeches roughly]

Oh, [bleep].

[bleep]

[Gary speaking]

[Brennan] [bleep]

OK, I'm on my way.

The belt that transports dirt
from the hopper feeder

to the main conveyor belt
has ripped in two.

A potential season ender.

[Kevin] Oh no, she's [bleep].

My rough battle plan

is that we'll hook up
with the 220,

use that to yard it out.

[Brennan] OK.

Then pick it up with the 480
to pull it all the way out,

and then we can swing it
and set it down on that side.

Refusing to give up,
Kevin races to replace

the entire belt
before winter strikes.

[Kevin] I'm gonna hook up
our four-point sling

to the frame of this conveyor,

and then hopefully
he can take the weight, and...

Brennan, you can see what
you're doing to pull it out?

[rattling heavily]

[bleep]

Sure.

Yeah, I barely
touched the joysticks.

I let them go and it kept
sliding, so sorry about that.

[epic music plays]

-[Brennan] Yay.
-[Kevin] Beautiful.

There we go.

[Brennan] We're just
sliding the belt up.

[rattling heavily]

[grunting]

[Kevin]
Golden, pony boy!

Say, that's a success
right there.

I'm gonna give it a push.

[heavy bang]
[screeching]

-[Kevin] Whoo!
-[Brennan] Whoo!

[Kevin] Smooth like butter.

[exhales]

[Brennan] Attaboy, boss!

All right.
Piece of cake.

That went really well.
So we'll get back running,

and run [bleep] hard
till we get snowed out.

Get our thousand ounces somehow.

Four days later...

[Minnie] Hi, guys.

So everybody's
bringing in gold.

...Kevin's final gold is
cleaned and ready to weigh.

We aimed pretty [bleep] high.

That's what we needed
to break even.

Kevin has three weeks worth
of sluicing to weigh.

He needs 320 ounces to hit
his 1,000-ounce goal.

[Minnie] Let's pour, guys.

10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 90...

180, 190, 200, 250, 260...

360, 370...

375.80.

[Faith] Oh my [bleep],
such a relief.

I can finally pay everyone off.

Right?

[Tony] How much
does that make, Faith?

1,056.57.

[Tony speaking]

Thank you.
And it didn't come
just by ourselves.

Like, you guys
have helped us out.

A great deal.

Everybody needs a little bit
of help here and there.

Thanks to his final push,
Kevin passes his make-or-break

rookie mine boss goal,
giving him five points

in the final round,

pushing him into a late lead.

But the rookie mine boss race
is far from over.

Parker and Rick still have
to battle to the end

and weigh their gold
to lock in their final points.

[Parker]
It's not over yet.

Can't a guy risk at all
in America anymore?

On the hunt for Gold Rush's
best ever rookie mine boss,

some new bosses...

[Todd]
Whoa, whoa, that's gold.

It's a rock, OK?
False alarm.

...just didn't make the cut.

[Jack] Here it is.

There's 14.64 ounces here.

My guys are like,
they think I've been

gold mining my whole
life or something.

Todd Hoffman is only beaten
to rock bottom by Fred Lewis.

That puts our total at 6.39,

which is honestly embarrassing.

I think we kind of take it as
a challenge to beat each other.

It's crunch time in the rookie
mine boss competition.

[Rick] Right now, the name
of the game is gold.

With points up for grabs,
the bosses are making

a final push to hit
their first year gold targets.

After success
at his final gold weigh,

Kevin is in the lead.

Next up, Parker.

His first year goal is to keep
the family mine afloat

by banking 75 ounces.

33 ounces.

It looks like a lot of gold,

but we spent a lot of money
to get it.

Parker's flunked
his freshman year

as a mine boss...

[Parker]
Pretty sad, pretty sad day.

...but isn't giving up

on his goal of keeping
the family mine in business.

[Parker] What we'll do
is knock this hill out.

Take that slope at this slope
all the way on

down to the bank.

Smith Creek, it's kind
of an all-or-nothing deal

for the whole mine.

Parker decides to run tests
on Smith Creek,

the only virgin ground
at Big Nugget,

in the hope it will deliver
enough gold

to convince his dad
and grandpa

to fund his dream
of another season mining.

I'm nervous.
This is the last test.

This afternoon, I'm gonna
talk to my dad and grandpa

about Smith Creek.

And, you know, if there's
nothing in this dirt,

I don't know
what the mine will do.

I'm scared.

[rumbling]

[whirring stops]

[Parker] Done.
Beautiful.

We don't see a thing yet.

It doesn't look
like there's anything in it.

[Gary] Here's a little bit.

[Parker] Oh, there's
quite a bit in here.

What the [bleep]?

Actually, something in here.

That's weird.

This is the little sluice

that's fed out of the jig.

Wow.

[water sloshing softly]

[Parker]
There's quite a bit in here.

Gary?

-That's --
-Wow.

[Parker] See, that's, like,
not bad at all.

[Gary] That's not bad at all.

This is what we got
off the pan this morning.

[John] Hmm.

That's not much, was it?

[Parker] And then I went down
below the jig,

and that's what we got
out of the little sluice.

That's pretty nice.

That's what you dug out
of the hole?

[Parker] Yeah, a 45-minute test
out of Smith Creek.

That's really encouraging.

Smith Creek will have
bigger gold than that.

Are you saying you want to
fund the mine next year?

Uh...I'm willing
to give it a try.

I'll fund it

for 50% of the gold,
we get out of it.

[John laughs]

[Parker] I'll take it.

I come out here and give it
everything I've got.

I feel like...

I've done my job.

Parker banks
just half of his gold,

but convinces his grandpa
to give him another shot,

earning him three points,

enough to edge him to the top
of the leader board.

Parker's dropped points

give Rick Ness

a chance to snatch victory.

[Rick]
We're so close to our target,

I just don't know
what to do anymore.

I mean, we've exhausted
all the thawed ground.

But with just days
of sluicing left,

Rick faces catastrophe.

He's run out of paydirt
and is shut down,

27 ounces short
of his 1,000-ounce goal.

To find a solution,
Rick calls in his dad,

Rick Senior.

[Rick] Where that pile
of overburden is,

that's where the bedrock
came up,

and that's where
all the best drill holes were,

and it is where we did
our best gold.

-You're up against time,
so I guess --
-Yeah.

What's the best option
for what we got left in time?

[exhales sharply]

Yeah, [bleep] it.
Let's do it.

[Rick Sr.] I'll jump on that D9
and give it my best shot.

Rick's last-gasp gamble

is to open
a small extension

to his mined-out cut.

But it's frozen and needs to be
ripped to get to the paydirt,

and all he's got
is a small D9 dozer.

We don't have enough time left
here to do much,

but we gotta give it.

Rick promised me he was gonna
do the 1,000 ounces.

[thrilling music plays]

[dozer rumbling]

Oh-ho-ho-ho.

That ain't good.

It's overheating really bad.

Radiator's got a hole
in it somewhere.

[Rick] [bleep]
Is it bad or what?

[Rick Sr.]
You see where it pissed it all
out on the blade right there?

[Rick] Yeah.

The D9's radiator has blown,

putting it down for the season.

What I was thinking was,
you know, I don't know, I mean

we use Sheamus's 475
for the small area we're trying

to get here, I think
that machine would do it.

We got to make the decision,
I guess, I mean,

that's up to you,
what you wanna do, but --

[Rick]
Yeah, I don't really wanna pay

$6,000 for that 475.

But you got to spend money
to make money.

Rick's only option
is to up the ante

and rent the monster
475 dozer

he used at the start
of the season.

Oh, that's really obvious,
the difference.

[laughs]

Just the sheer power of it.

So I'm gonna lay down
some rips here.

It's gonna take me probably
about an hour to get this thing

ripped up, and then we'll
push it all off again.

Terry, you wanna
get yourself

and the trucks down here?

[Terry] All right, buddy.

Within three hours,
the cut is ripped.

[Ben] This is it, guys.

This is our roll of the dice.

Paydirt hauled to the plant...

[Rick]
Let's fire up Durt Reynolds.

...and desperate for gold,
Rick starts sluicing.

I wanna make sure we get all
the dirt run through the plant.

Paydirt still frozen
and full of chunks,

but I don't even give a [bleep].

We're gonna run it anyways.

Three days later,
Rick's managed to sluice

his Hail Mary cut and is ready
for his final gold weigh.

-Oh!
-Oh, yeah!

About time, Rick.

Can you believe
it's been six months?

So, Karla,
where did we end up with

on the gold weigh?

We're at 973.

Rick needs 27 ounces to hit
his 1,000-ounce goal.

[Rick] Might be in that jar?

I think it's time to find out.

-That's 20.
-[Ben] Looking good.

[crew] Yeah.

Those are 27 ounces.

[all cheering]

[crew] Yeah!

[Rick] And there's
another [bleep] hundred.

[joyful cheering]

The final gold weigh,
132.49 ounces.

You know what that means?
We're over 1100.

-Nice.
-1105.

Blew by it!

[all cheering]

[Rick] Are you glad we stuck
around now?

[crew] Yeah!

-That's awesome!
-Yeah!

-[cheering]
-Football huddle!

[all] Yeah!

Whoo!

[Rick cackles]

Rick blasts past his season
goal by over 100 ounces,

giving him the max five points.

At the end of the rookie
mine boss showdown...

there's only one winner.

[all] Rally!

Rick Ness is crowned the best
first year mine boss.

Yeah, Rick!

[all cheering joyfully]

You guys are lunatics.

There was so many reasons
for that first season

to cause me to lose everything,

but that didn't happen.

I'm on such a high,
like, you know,

the first season on my own
was a success.