All language subtitles for aussie.gold.hunters.s08e01.720p.web.h264-b2b

PAUL VOICEOVER: Over the past decade

I've pulled millions of dollars
worth of gold out of the ground...

but my last time around

I fell well, short of my 500-ounce
season target.

It was the worst season
I've ever had in the gold game.

I took a big hit.

I was down and out.

This season I'm back

with a new team, new ground,
new equipment

and a new target and that target
this year is gonna be 1,000 ounces.

That's over $2.6 million worth.

I'm pretty sure that
the new business partners

are gonna be shocked
that I wanna chase 1,000 ounces.

The way I see it,
it's basically go big or go home.

The biggest risk this season
is the new team itself.

Your business partners have to be
people you can trust and rely on...

and trust has to be
earned in this game

but only time will tell.

Well, look who it is.

MATT DICKSON (NARRATES): Australia,
the oldest continent on Earth,

a land over 4 billion years old.

For generations brave men and women
have scoured

this inhospitable landscape to chase
the dream of striking it rich.

Yeah. (LAUGHS)

Whoo!

We're on the gold.

This season the hunt continues...

It feels so good to be back.

This is our playground.

..as the biggest ever line-up
of Aussie Gold Hunters

move heaven and earth...

This gold better be worth it, man.

..to uncover life changing fortunes.

Whoo!

And with a global crisis
driving record prices...

This is literally the biggest gamble
of my mining career.

If we don't start seeing
gold soon...pretty much finished.

..the stakes have
never been higher.

Newcomers head deeper
into the Australian outback...

Look out! Look out! Rocks!

..than ever before.

And season vets
push themselves to breaking point...

Mate, are you alright?

Death adder.
Get bitten by that, you're dead.

..in the greatest
treasure hunt on Earth.

I love it! I love it!

Whoo-hoo. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

Told you, mate.
This is what I live for.

That is gold!

Yee, hee, hoo!

Whoo!

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Hey, Paul.

Hey, Mel, Alex.

How you going?
Yeah, good.

Good to see you.

Hey, Mackie.
Yeah, good.

Well, between us
we've got millions of dollars

worth of machinery,

we've got our team that
needs to be paid

and after running costs every month,

which is $50,000

we're going to need a lot of gold
to make this partnership work.

We did decide to combine

our businesses together
this year so,

that's a high risk but hopefully
that means higher reward.

Well, that big reward
we're all chasing

is the financial freedom
to do what we want.

Yeah.
I want to chase it.

I want to chase that dream.

Mine boss Melanie Wood
has been instrumental

in buying and selling
hundreds and thousands of dollars

worth of leases

across the gold fields
of Western Australia.

Her partner, Alex Stead,

has spent the last decade running
a dozen different gold mines.

Together they've hauled
in over 600 ounces of gold

from their current home, Meldorado,

a 6sqkm patch of dirt
outside the town of Leonora.

By joining forces with Paul,

The Gold Devils
will share a combined $2 million

in equipment and wash plants,
as well as Paul's ten leases,

a combined 100sqkm
of gold rich virgin ground.

Well, I've been
thinking about our season target,

um and without muckin' around,

um, I want to chase 1,000 ounces.

1,000 ounces?

1,000 ounces.

I just think
with everything that we've got,

all the gear, all the leases,
it might not be that crazy.

We might be able to hit it.

Yeah, well,
that's not a break-even target.

That's just, that's giving us
quite a healthy pay day so.

It is.

Well, that's what we want.
Big challenge but...

Can we do it?

I'm up for it. Yeah, I'm in.

Yep. If you're in, I'm in.

Alright. That's a relief.

(LAUGHTER)

I thought you we're gonna tell me
to go take a hike.

How's ah, Meldorado going?

Should go check
the sluices,

see how they're
running.

That's a good place
to start.

(LAUGHTER)

We're sampling new areas

because it's been a bit
hit and miss lately.

We are all set up
and we have got water

so it's a good starting point.

But without gold
I mean what's the point.

Yeah.
There's gotta be gold.

So, we're gonna run a test to see
if there's enough gold here

to make it worth staying here.

The target is for every 200 tonnes

I want to see about ten ounces.

So, if we can't get ten ounces
by the end of the week ah,

we can't afford
to keep operating here.

Yeah, we've
just got to think smarter about

how we're gonna
approach this target.

If we're running out of gold
at Meldorado we have to have plan B.

So, we've got the Phoenix
Project still,

that's where the heap
leach is running.

There's a whole bunch of pay dirt
there stock piled up already.

We also got the Fair Lady

that we can go and have
a crack at as well.

So, why don't I go
and sample Fair Lady and see

if I can get some gold in the pan
but also send some off to the labs.

I'll take off to the leach project

um, check that out.

I've got to get some samples
back to the lab as well.

I'll just get that,
those 200 tonnes through and...

By yourself?

Yeah.

No, not the easiest thing to do
but I can step up and do this.

Awesome. Team effort.

Alright, I'm going to hit the road.
Me too.

The Gold Devils need to target
the best ground available

so while Alex runs his test to see

if Meldorado is bust,

Paul heads 350km west

to his heap leach processing plant,
The Phoenix Project.

And Mel drives 100km southeast

to test
Paul's lease

Fair Lady

to assess if it could be

their new home for the season.

While Paul's off checking
his leach project

I'm going to go off
and sample but, you know,

we're leaving Alex by himself
to run the, the wash plant

but we just have
to get stuff done right now.

Mel's going to be
a really good business partner.

Um, she understands
the financial structure

of what it takes to run
a mining operation.

Alex is going to be
fantastic as well.

He knows his way in and out
of all mining machines

and all the recovery methods

we're gonna need to produce gold so

all and all we're going
to make a pretty good team.

I'm left here running this plant,

which, it's not easy going

but if there's more gold
at either of the locations

they've got in mind
then this might be up in sticks and,

and going to a new home.

For the test,
Alex is running Barnabee,

a wet plant shaker deck

capable of running
the 4 tonne an hour

Alex needs to complete his 200 tonne
test by the end of the week.

I've got no time to hang around.

It's full throttle,
get dirt through this wash plant,

get 200 tonnes through and hopefully
there's ten ounces.

Oh, what the earth's
going on out there?

Ah!

No water!

This is not what I need.

Some of the biggest nuggets

that have been found in the world

have been found right here
in this paddock

and we are literally
40, 50 metres away

from where a $2 million nugget
had been found.

In the heart of
Victoria's Golden Triangle region,

Brent Shannon is back on the hunt
for million-dollar nuggets.

1,700-ounce lump
was found just in here.

And many more were found right down
through Catto's Paddock.

500s, 600s.

This is the reason

why I cannot give up hope

on this paddock.

Any moment through here,

we literally might find
a life-changing nugget.

These nuggets are huge around here.

Absolutely huge
and I'm not gonna give up

until I find one.

Mine boss Brent

and his brother-in-law, Ethan West,

are the Poseidon Crew.

With over two decades experience,

they've unearthed some
of the biggest nuggets found

in Victoria
since the Gold Rush ended

in the late 1860s.

Mate, we've got a big future
ahead of us, Buddy.

Last season Brent sold the team's

254 hectare 'big licence' lease

but it meant giving up
consistent fine gold

from their million-dollar wet plant

to chase record-breaking nuggets

on the legendary 5-hectare
Catto's Paddock.

I had to sell one dream
to try and chase another.

This will be the paddock
that might land us the 1,000-ouncer.

The Holy Grail is to find
the world's largest nugget.

Whether that's achievable
or not I don't know,

but you got to set your bar high.

But the team was a crippling
250 ounces short

of their 350-ounce season target,
leaving Ethan at a crossroads.

I've got a new house,

a small family
that I'm providing for.

I'm lucky enough to have a base wage
but I rely on gold.

That is where the money is for me.

Last season was a bit chaotic.

It was a bit disastrous,
and a lot of things

have changed in the circumstances

between now
and then.

Cost of living
is going up

and house, kids,

you know, it's changing the outlook
on my life.

I can no longer just be happy
with the money

that I've got and I don't know

how long I can keep doing
what I'm doing.

This is high risk high reward
and right now

there's a lot more risk than reward

and that's terrifying for me,
me and my family.

I hope we land a large nugget.

I hope that we walk away
with more than we started

with but hope doesn't pay the bills.

It doesn't get me
further ahead in life

and it ain't going to put money
in the bank for the next ten years.

Something needs to give.
It really does.

Something needs to change

because I can't continue
on this path right now.

Hey, Eth.
How you going, buddy?

Ready for the big
nugget hunt again, mate?

Mate, there's a few things
I got to talk to you.

Look, with the way
we ended Catto's last year,

I don't know if I can stomach
the same season like that again.

I've got no consistency
coming out of the ground.

It's...it's hard. I'm not...

I know, it's tough, mate.
This mining stuff is tough and...

That's the issue, mate.

I'm, I can't budget anything
and right now I don't know

whether I'm earning
50,000 or 250,000

and that's the issue I'm having is,
I got me house, I've the two kids.

I just need you
to stick with me, mate.

I'm...I'm...I can't make promises.
Right?

Exactly
what we're going to get 'cause...

I know, you can't make gold appear.
'Cause, cause you can't.

But the moment
you drive out that gate

is the moment we're going to find

a 500-ouncer or a 1,000-ouncer,
right?

I don't know how much longer
I can continue with this rate

that we're on of not finding gold.

That's what I'm saying.
I can't hold on any longer.

All I need to know right now,

are you in this season 100%

or do you need
to find something else?

I'm, I'm done.

00:11:32.440 -- 00:11:34.640
Anzac Day is a huge day.

It's a day of remembering
those who've fallen

and those who've served
and those who haven't come back.

In Kalgoorlie, Western Australia,

ex-servicing member
of the Australian Defence Force,

Chris Smith
and mining partner, Brad McGhie,

are paying respect to the Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps.

Whenever the world was in trouble

the men and women of the goldfields

would drop tools and enlist
to serve their country.

The Western Australian
Gold Rush ended

when they left to fight
for our freedom.

Some as young as 14
and one in five of those people

who served never returned.

This season is in honour of those
who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We're putting it
all on the line for ourselves,

for our families, for the gold,

to follow that Aussie dream
and hit that ultimate payday.

Hey, Chris, I appreciate
you taking me to the Anzac Service.

It certainly makes you appreciate
what we're doing out here

and the freedoms we've got.

Let's say we honour them by smashing
this target this season

and getting stuck into it eh?

It was quite an emotional
experience attending the service.

Now, it's all about the excitement
we're gonna get back out there

and we're gonna smash this season.

Brad and Chris have left
their families in the city of Perth,

travelling 600km east,

in the hopes of striking it rich

on their Devil's Cut lease
outside of Coolgardie.

It's going to be hard like
always being away from family.

You know, we spend a hell of a lot
of time up here

and we need to find a lot of gold.

Let's hit this season

and get back home
to our families again eh?

We don't have any other
source of income so this is it.

This has to work.

Yeah, I reckon we set
this season's target at 50 ounces.

I think, that's pretty much
the bare minimum we're gonna need.

I think, it was a pretty good
move offloading that dry blower.

We gave it a go, mate,

and we really didn't
have too much success

with it so the next step
is to go wet plant.

Last season the Gold Retrievers
overcame huge equipment setbacks

to hit their 30-ounce target...

but they wasted tens
of thousands of dollars

on a dry blower they couldn't
use due to wet weather.

They've now invested
in new equipment

that will crush and wash pay dirt
to recover gold.

We're going
a whole new process this season.

We got the crushing gear,
we got the wet plant.

It's going to be a steep
learning curve for us but um,

if we can get that up
and running, mate,

we're going to do
very bloody well, I reckon.

Yeah, there's been
a bit of water around.

We should be able to make the
most of this wet patch.

Holy crap!

There's been a rollover, man.

Whoa!

I hope no one's in there.

Hello.

Anyone in it?

Are you in this season

or do you need
to find something else?

I'm...I'm done.

Alright, alright.

Well, I haven't said anything
but what if I told you,

there's a chance
we might get the big licence back?

What do you mean?
What are you doing, buying it back?

Well, you know,
how we sold it last year?

Yeah, yeah.

There's been a few phone calls
to and fro

and he's indicated to me

that they might not
be able to come up

with the balance of funding
for the licence.

Alright, so...
Right?

So, there's a very real possibility
we might get the big licence back,

to maybe get back to the consistent
gold that we left last season.

It's not a absolute, right?

He's asked for about oh,
roughly 60 days.

On the back of what we could
potentially find here,

and maybe the big licence
coming back,

are you in this year?

I'll support whatever
decision you make.

Yep.
In or out?

I need to know.

Well, I'll be in, mate.
I'll back that.

You sure?
Yep. I'm in. Hurry up.

Come here you.

Mate, you had me worried there.

I honestly thought...

I'm not a quitter, mate,

but I got to be,
I got to put me family first.

Now, let's get digging.
Alright.

The more we dig
the more chance we can find.

I'm in.

You know, it's important every year

I keep finding gold
to keep in business

but this year there's
more pressure on me than ever.

I gotta keep the team together
and Ethan was looking like

he was about to, about to leave and,
you know, my team is my family.

Yeah, you're right to go, Pauly.

No worries, buddy. All good.

Ethan's father, Paul West,

has been helping
out for the past few years

since retiring
from the construction industry.

Yeah, I understand
where Ethan's coming from.

He's got a family,
he's got a wedding to plan.

He's just got a lot on his plate

so he's got a lot of concerns.

I also understand
where Brent's coming from.

He's got dreams and goals.

Look, at the end of the day we're
a strong family unit

and it's good to see
that they have sorted it out

and gonna keep working along.

This sort of gold mining's,
this is big nugget hunting.

The history shows they were here.

The old timers
don't get absolutely everything.

They only have to leave
a small patch of ground like that,

with a monster nugget
sitting in it like that,

and that changes everything.

Absolutely everything.

Argh freakin' hell!

Eth, I think, we just done a hose,
mate.

This is right when we don't need it.
Unbelievable!

Is there anyone in it?
Nah.

No blood or anything in there?

I didn't see anything, mate.

I wonder if they're still around.

That's a serious crash eh?

Maybe go make a call
and I'll have a look around.

I'll go ring. Alright.

Hello!
I'm just going to call the cops.

This is a pretty serious accident
so I'm going to call it in.

Hello!

I feel worried for the people
that were inside that.

It's a pretty heavy wreck.

Yeah,
hope no one's ah been hurt in it.

Alright well, that's good.

Alright, yep. Thank you.

See ya.

Chris!
Yo!

It's been reported, mate.

They already know about it.

They alright?

Yeah, as far as I know.

Um.
They're investigating but yeah.

What, did they say it was stolen or?

Nah, they didn't say.

I mean, they're not going to give me
that sort of information but

I did say can we move it off the
track and they said that was fine.

Yep.

Bring your car down
through here, mate,

and I'll hook the snatch
onto the back here.

You just don't know out here.

I mean, that...that could have been

a very bloody serious accident.

Someone could have been killed.

So, um look, hopefully

no one's been hurt
and um we'll get it out of the way.

2/3 of Australia's
fatal car accidents

occur in remote areas...

Yeah, righto, mate.

We're right?
Yep.

..with unpredictable wildlife
and cattle on roads

being a major cause of deaths.

Geez that...that would
have given him a headache eh?

Any sort of massive trauma out here,

you've only got an hour or so
before you're basically a gonner.

It's not just
the heat,

it's not just
lack of water.

It's you have
an accident,

you're stranded.

If you don't have your sat phone
with you when you're exploring,

you're a gonner.

Keen to start their season,

Brad and Chris
have hauled the wet plant components

straight to their new worksite.

Yeah, so what we're
about to do is unload all the gear.

We're going to lay it out next
to this water hole that we've built.

We've pretty much spent
most of our profit from last year

on this gear so, you know,

there's a lot riding on it,
well, and truly.

This 50-ounce target this season
is really just to keep us out here.

That's the bare minimum that we're
going to need to pay the bills.

It's a good thing we're doing
a wet plant this season, Chris.

There's a bit of water
in the dam already, mate.

Yeah, it's looking good, mate,

but you know I wanted a bigger,
better plant.

I'm trusting you here.

Mate, this'll get our 50 ounces,
don't worry about that.

Chris is creating a level surface
for the team's

new $75,000 wet plant.

A crusher will smash
large gold-bearing rocks

into chunks small enough
for the ball mill to pulverise

into a fine sand
using heavy steel balls.

The concentrator
will then trap any found gold

and recycle the water
back to the settling pond.

With this new operation

we need to be pulling
at least five to six grams per day

just to make ends meet,
just to pay the costs.

The plant that we've got
is a little bit smaller

than what I wanted,

less sophisticated
that what I wanted as well.

So, Brad, what's the tonnes
per hour on all this equipment?

Mate, I reckon we can get
two tonne per hour out of this.

So, how many tonne per hour
is that concentrator?

That's about five, isn't it?

Mate, the concentrator's
about five but the problem

is the ball mill is only about two

so we can only run
to the lowest figure.

So, two tonne an hour is what it is.

Well, it's definitely not
what I envisaged, mate.

I was hoping we were going
to get five to eight.

Unless you want
to spend another million dollars,

um this is what we've got
but we can always upgrade,

we've got to start somewhere.

We don't have the experience of this
so this will get the ball rolling.

We can always upgrade.

If you can go grab the genny
for us that would be great, man.

Then I can start
sort of get all the wiring

and everything set up as well.

I wanted to buy some plant
that was up ready to go

and all we had to do was press go

and gold will
come out the other end.

The ideal situation would be

for us to pump
20 tonne through a day.

If we're getting
five grams per tonne,

that's...that's 100 grams a day.

That's...that's three ounces.

That is a huge amount per day.

So, if Chris is in a bit of a mood

'cause we're finding
three ounces a day,

then I'm sorry ah,
he's in the wrong business.

The final piece of the plant
is a diesel powered generator.

This power unit is the lifeblood
of the operation,

supplying the electricity needed
to run the mill,

crusher and the concentrator.

Ahh (BLEEP)!

What?

It's not three phase.

What did you order?

Not that.

It's supposed to be three phase.

We need three phase
to run all this gear.

A three phase generator has 180%
more capacity

than a single phase model
of the same size.

Mate, we've got a whole heap
of gear here now that we can't use.

It will run the concentrator
but it won't run anything else.

Far out.

Mate, it happens.
It happens.

Do you know how hard it
is to get another generator?

I know, I know.

Well, this isn't
what I bloody ordered.

Mate, that's two weeks downtime.

Yeah, you don't think I know that?

You deal with it, mate.

You deal with it.
I'll get one.

I'll get one, don't worry about it.

You go do what you're
doing, I'll sort it out.

Alright.

00:22:09.120 -- 00:22:10.680
It's really good
that we've all split up

and gone to do different things.

We've got a huge target

so we really do need
to hit the ground running.

The pressure's on so we don't
have much time to mess around.

While Melanie Wood
and business partner

Paul Mackie are testing

for gold on their other leases,

at Meldorado Alex Stead

has been left to run the team's
wash plant by himself.

Right, that's pretty obvious
what's happened.

The pump should be full of water
and it's not so that hose must be

getting close to the surface

and it's pulling air
up through the pump,

the pump's lost its pressure

and we lost, ah,
all the water to Barnabee.

As the water level
in the dam dropped,

the intake hose has sucked in air,

creating an air bubble

causing the pump to lose suction.

So, the long

and the short of that is,

I've got to get in that dam,

which the water is not appealing,

reposition that hose
a little deeper,

prime the pump
and hopefully that'll do it.

All the animals have been
coming and drinking from this.

This is just fowl.

That stuff floating,
is pretty much just cow crap.

Oh!

Just getting this hose
a little bit deeper

and a few more hours of water,

that's all I need
to get this test through.

This is a back up pump
that tops this whole dam up.

I'm going to use it today
to fill this up with water,

hopefully get enough suction going,

it'll suck its own
water up the hill.

If Alex can displace
the air with water,

the pump will regain its pressure.

(BLEEP).

Yeah.

At least we got the pump primed.

Oh, well, it's working.

That's all I needed.

Back to it.

No time for a shower.

Let's just get this job done.

Oh!

Right, well,
I hope Paul and Mel appreciate this.

(CHEERFUL MUSIC)

I'm just going
to lay down some material

and see if we can find some nuggets.

I've got to put us on the board

until Brad can get that
generator sorted out.

On their lease outside
of Coolgardie,

Chris has left team-mate Brad
to build their wash plant

but until they secure
a replacement generator,

their only hope of gold
is to spread pay dirt

into 15cm thick pads
ready for detecting.

So, it's not an ideal
start to the season.

We always tell other people
come prepared

and here we are, unprepared.

If this system doesn't work

then that could be the end
of our season.

We've put all our profit
from last year into this,

so if we can't get
this up and runnin'

it's just been a waste of money.

Gotta make it work, man.
The pressure's on.

If I can get all this ready
for a generator, then I'm happy.

This has got to sit below...below
the shoot from the, ah,

ball mill so
that will dig that right out.

Well, we've set a
bigger target this season, um.

We feel a little bit more confident

in what we're doing now
but ah I'll tell you what,

if we don't hit our
50-ounce target ah,

it's time to pack up and sell up
and go home and get a real job

and I don't want to do that.

We've sacrificed a lot this year.

Kids are growing up without us,
the families miss us all the time

and financially
we've sacrificed a lot as well.

I really need to try
and at least get this set up um,

even if I can
get this section set up

and then at least ah,
half the job's done.

We spent a lot of money
on the off season.

We had big plans of getting
that crushing plant up

and running straight away but um,
yeah, that's on the backburner now.

(DETECTOR BEEPS)

Oh, there's a target.

At least we've got one good thing
that's working...this new detector.

Whatever it is, it's pretty small.

At this stage we need
every little piece we can get.

Still can't even see it.

Oh, you're kidding me.

I would never have picked
that up with the old detector.

At least one of us
has made a good investment hey.

Yeah, it's the first one
for the season.

It's nothing to write home
about but ah,

hope there's plenty more of those.

Hey!

Oh, that's a nice target.

Whoa! That's in the scoop.

It's a good sign when it's
at the bottom of the scoop.

Means it's heavier.

Oh, here we go.

That's a...that's
a much nicer nugget.

Two grams that one.

I'm feeling, ah, pretty excited
about this to be honest

with you, so I think we're ah,
we're on a winner.

Well, this was the bit
that was worrying me,

trying to get this to line up.

Just trying to work out how to do it

so I'm absolutely over
the moon with this.

Yeah,
that's put me in a much better mood.

Finding gold always
puts a smile on my face.

Oh, that sounds nice.

Wow!

Ooh!
That's got a really nice sound.

Holy dooly!

Saw that straight away.
Would you look at that?

Little shard of it
on the edge there.

Ooh, hang on.

(LAUGHS) Holy crap!

That's a nice little nugget.

It just proves that the gold
is wrapped up in the...in the rock.

That's what we want the crusher for.

It'll get all these little bits
and pieces out of this bigger rock

but I'm keeping this one.

That's ah,
one of my nicest finds yet.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
That's beautiful!

If we don't' see good gold out
of this clean up

that could be game over
for this site.

It's got to be at least ten ounces

or we're burning diesel
and washing rocks

just for the hell of washing rocks.

While the Gold Devils
run a test to see

if the Meldorado lease
will be their home this season,

team leader Melanie Wood
is 100km away on the hunt

for a back-up plan.

It's always important
that I stay two steps ahead,

especially if it's not doing
so well, at Meldorado.

I have to be able
to find other ground that's got gold

so that we can move forward

and we've got somewhere else to go.

So, I'm on the lease
that Paul suggested, Fair Lady.

I can actually see why
he had a hunch about it.

I can see old diggings here
from the old timers.

So, you've got a...a quartz
vein running just down here.

2.5 billion years ago, hot,
pressurised fluid carrying gold

and quartz from the Earth's mantle

travelled towards the surface
along fault lines,

before cooling and hardening
into gold-bearing quartz veins

that shed gold as they decompose,

forming nugget rich pockets.

Hopefully they got a lot
of gold out of it but,

you know, hopefully they left
some gold here for us too.

And then they've come up here
and just knowing that the old timers

have been here
and they've obviously found gold,

it's a really good indication.

They were after, you know,
like 20 grams per tonne,

which is a crazy amount of gold

and we'd be happy
with five grams so yeah,

I think, there's a good chance
that they've um,

left some gold behind.

I'm just going to grab something
to break the rocks

with and some sample stuff
so bags and a pan.

So, I'm using a dolly pot.

They're pretty old school.

Ah, it's just a good way
to crush them up and um,

you know, get it down a bit finer,

put it through the pan
with some water and see

if there's any um, visible gold.

While Mel puts her prospecting
skills to the test,

team leader Paul Mackie

is 450km north-west

running a test to prove
that the heap leach

on his 2sqkm Phoenix Project
is about to pay off.

I really need this heap leach
to actually work.

I need to produce
a hell of a lot of gold.

If we've got to move
the other project

then we're tens
and tens of thousands of dollars

in moving costs so
I need that gold to cover it.

The leaching process
is over 500 years old.

It works by pumping cyanide
solution through gold bearing dirt.

The cyanide drains down through
the heap and binds to gold particles

before it's pumped through columns
of black carbon that trap the gold.

The cyanide is then pumped back
onto the heap to repeat the process

until every microscopic particle
of gold is trapped in the carbon.

So, I'll go and get
a head grade sample first

and then we'll grab a carbon sample

and then come back
for the tail sample.

Cyanide in the right doses
it'll kill you straight away.

The samples will reveal
if there's gold in the heap,

while the carbon test will determine

how much gold
has already been recovered.

Got to get these off to the lab now
and ah, get them tested.

Then we should know exactly how much
gold we have in the carbon,

what's loaded
and whether we can dump it.

Yeah, liquid money.

In a couple of days hopefully
we've all got some really good news

to share with each other.

You know, I'm a numbers person
so I don't really want

to spend all the money
to get machinery up here

if there's no gold here.

You know it has to be viable
to move forward

and move up here and, and mine gold.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, that's a good sign,

just from that small amount of rock

I can see some obvious pickers here

so it will be interesting to see
what results come back from the lab,

especially with fine gold as well.

I'm actually really
happy about that.

00:32:33.920 -- 00:32:36.320
Hey, Eth, I think,
we've just done a hose, mate.

This is right when we don't need it.

Unbelievable.

O ring.
It is?

It's out, mate.
It's out of here.

So, it's out of the O ring.

It's a lot better
than using the hose...

So we won't need a new hose.
Oh!

Eth, I took that
O ring kit back home, mate.

I don't think we got
any O rings here.

Bloody hell!
Are you for real?

Nah, I took them back
to the shed the other day.

I needed them back there
so you're going to have to run back

to Bendigo, mate, regardless.

Yep.

20 cent O ring.

It's just a couple of hours.
Yeah.

It's back in the shed
on the bench yeah?

Yeah.
OK?

This 20 cent part has brought
us down to our nails basically.

This could have been
completely avoided

if we had that kit here.

And this is what frustrates me,
is we have to do things like this.

It's, you know costing us thousands
and such in time.

You have 5,000 PSI pressure
coming down these pipes and it

pushes...a piston behind
this cylinder pushes that out,

which makes the bucket crowd.

And right in here there's an O ring
and it looks like

it's actually blown past the O ring

and it's forcing the oil out
so we can't use the machine.

We've got to replace the O ring.

But I took an O ring kit back
to the shed the other day

and didn't bring it back here

and now it's cost me a couple
of hours of rooting around.

Right now the pressure
is on big time.

Any time you've got to stop digging,
it's money you're losing.

I don't want to come across selfish

but I have to start worrying
about me and Chelsea and,

you know, the two little ones.

We want to expand
our family even further

and in the current climate
it's...I don't know

if I'm going to have the funds
or be able to hold out.

I'm in this
for the long haul right now.

I've committed to it but
we can't afford to have breakdowns

and it...it's
kind of frustrating me.

This excavator is the most
crucial bit of equipment here.

We can do without a dump truck
if we have to,

we can do without a bulldozer

if we have to
but we can't do without this.

This is critical to the operation.

So, this just goes in here.

Alright, all done and tight, Eth.

Top her up with oil now
and we can get back to it.

And then hopefully
we're back in business.

Wow.

It never ends.

It's displaying a symbol here,
which I've never seen before.

Something's either
overheated or something.

We've gone from a two minute fix

to a 2.5, three hour fix

and now we've got something
displayed on here and...

(BLEEP).

Did one of those
red buttons get hit, Brent?

No.
Did you push one in, did you?

No.

I've...I...that was in a bit.

Try that, Brent.
You right there?

That's what it will be.
Yeah, try that.

Yeah,
that little red safety knob, Brent.

It was pushed in a little bit.
As you've opened...

Right.

..the door you must have
just knocked it and it's stuck.

It wasn't all the way
in but just a fraction, so.

Well, now
I know what that symbol is.

I've never seen that symbol.

She's fixed now, mate.
Back into it.

Let's get back into it!

This nuggety ground is so uncertain.

You just don't know
what you're going to find

from not only day to day
but week to week and really,

in the whole year.

But I need to deliver because
I need to keep the team together.

I knew it was going to be nugget
or nothing but I didn't realise

how much nothing
was in between the nuggets.

If we were
to get the big licence back,

it would change everything.

But right now
I'm missin' the consistency.

I've got nothing to budget off.
I've got nothing to go by.

I feel like I'm living week to week.

After we finished
scraping out a hole,

we get down here and detect

because could be gold left behind,

either in the walls or on the deck.

Right, we got a target
in the wall here.

Right about there.

So, what you can actually see,
this is actually virgin bedrock.

Look how hard and solid that is.

In here you can actually see
where the old timers,

they've been taking all the bedrock
and they've stopped right here.

Look at that.

There they've started
working here again.

I can dig it with me hand,
that's how soft it is.

Here, I can't dig it with me hand.

That's virgin ground.

In that area there, there could be
1,000 ounces sitting there.

This is the stuff that excites me.

I've knocked it down.

There you go.

Look at that.

I know,
it's only a small bit of gold

but that could have been 200 ouncer.

They keep leaving patches like this,

one day they're going to leave
a big pocket of gold

that's going to yield
a massive nugget for us.

That's a strong little target.

It's only little
but it could be gold.

There it is. Bit of gold.

It's a good start.
We're on gold.

There's got to be
a whole lot more of these though

to make this pay off for us.

Now, we're starting
to come onto gold,

I'm just slowing me swing
speed down a little bit,

keeping me sweeps nice and close.

(DETECTOR BEEPS)

When I start hearing signals
like that, that's money.

That's ah ching ching to me so.

This is exactly why I get excited.

There it is there.
Fell out of me hand.

So, this is a nice little chunk but
this is getting onto chunkier gold.

If we keep getting buts like this,

this is where our days
start adding up.

That's a really good sign.

I'm...I'm happy with that,
I really am.

And again I'd say it's gold.

We've got three targets
now off this one pad.

If it continues at this rate,

we should start adding up
some gold really quick

and this is what I was hoping for.

This is what I needed.

So, all that conversation with Brent
might have been a bit premature.

How ya going there, big fella?

Yeah, good, old boy.

What are we doing?
A weigh-in are we?

Outside of Coolgardie,
the Gold Retrievers Chris Smith

has returned with the team's
only gold for the week.

It's not a lot to write home about.

Well, mate, we haven't
had a hell of a lot of time

to even look for gold so, you know,
anything's better than nothing.

Getting on a roll
with this plant set up.

The main part of it's here
but we need a generator.

You know,
I've put the phone calls out, mate,

I'm just waiting to hear back.

Fingers crossed we'll get something.

It's all we can do.
Yeah, what have you got, mate?

I'm sort of itching to see
if you've found anything.

Yeah, just a little bit, mate.

I tell you what, we bloody need it.

So, 0.042.
Alright.

I'm happy just to see gold
coming out of that area.

I then came
across this little sucker.

Oh, nice little speci eh?
Yeah.

That brings it up to 0.3.

That's bloody good.

That's really good.
That's really good.

Yeah, I actually did even better...

You found another one?

I did, mate.
Check that out.

(LAUGHS) Holy crap!

You need to name that one, mate.

That's a pearler.
Yeah.

How about the Anzac biscuit?

Very, very appropriate, mate.

Good name.
So, that brings us up to...

Holy crap, man.
..2.036.

Bloody hell.

(LAUGHS)
Well done, mate.

Well done. That is so good.

Well, I think, there's 0.5 ounce
of rock in that gold.

So, let's say 1.6 of real gold.

That's good, man.

The 1.6-ounce haul

will cover their costs

after a difficult start.

If we're finding that

jagged little gold embedded
in the rock

that's what we need to pull it out.

That's exactly
what we're looking for, mate.

So, nah, well done, man.
Yeah.

Right it's been a tough week.
Let's go and have a beer eh.

It's getting late.
Absolutely yeah.

Let's do it. Well done.

So, how did Alex go with ah,
Barnabee?

Well, Alex um, fell in the pond.

You're joking.
Yeah, with all the cow shit.

(LAUGHS)

He had about three showers

but ah, he still stank.

Oh, I got to rustle up
some jokes when he gets here.

Yeah.

Outside Leonora, the Gold Devils
are about to discover

if Meldorado will be their base
or if it's time to pack up

and find a new home for the season.

I'm excited.
Hey.

Hey, guys.

What are you chuckling about?
Oh, nothing.

Oh, I just heard
you went for a swim.

I've still got the taste
of cow in my mouth so um,

I'm never living this down am I?

Alright, so how did we go?
Well...

Sounds good.
Sounds good.

I haven't weighed it so,
you ready for this?

Mm-hm.

Some nice little
chunky pieces there.

5.7.

So, it's not the ten we needed.

A disappointing 5.7 ounce return

means the team move their operation

to have any chance

of reaching their huge

1,000-ounce season target.

We've still got other options
like you were just telling me

that the sampling you did out there
was really, really good so.

Yeah, Fair Lady was really good.

When you say really good, I mean,

how much better is Fair Lady?

The samples
that come back from Fair Lady

were 0.1 ounce per tonne.

That's almost four times
what we got from Meldorado.

Yeah.

But on that, the results
came back from the...the leach,

the carbon loading is...is high
so at the moment

she's already sitting
around the two kilo mark

that we're going to recover.

Wow!
Yeah.

Do you know what? I...I think,
we're...we're done here.

This wasn't the start
that we wanted,

you know, moving camp.

That's a huge thing.

Yeah, it's going
to be scary actually.

But you know what, it's going
to cost us more if we stay here.

Good point. Well put.

Can't waste any time.

We've just got to get the trucks in,

get the cranes in and just move out.

Alright, lock it in.
Alright.

Let's organise it then.

Got the scales?

Got everything, mate.
Got everything?

Got the gold?
Rightio, boys.

We're back again.

It's the Poseidon Crew's
first weigh-in of the season

and Brent needs to put enough gold

on the scales
to ease Ethan's doubts.

Thanks for putting
all the pressure on me big time.

It is what it is.
Alright, boys.

But all the smalls...

comes to 2.41
with all the bigger bits included

brings us to 4.39,
which is around about you know,

nearly 11 grands
worth of gold there.

Would have been nice to have
some more out of it

but in this ground it's not too bad.

Alright, Eth,
I always set the target

and you always think I'm a dreamer.

What do you reckon
you set the target this season?

Oh, put the pressure back on me.

You set the target, mate.

Mate, look I...
You set whatever you want.

I've thought about it, mate.

For me to stick around
for more seasons to come,

I need 100 ounces.

I reckon there's a good chance

we'll smash that out
of the park at any moment.

Well, that's...
OK?

That's the bare minimum, Brent.

That's what I can work on.
You can work on those figures?

With my percentage out of that,
I can work on that.

The team will need more

than a weekly haul

of 4.39 ounces to hit Ethan's

proposed 100-ounce target.

As long as
we're still getting gold, Eth,

we're in the hunt.

So, if we just keep digging here,
the big nuggets will come.

I'm telling ya,
when it happens, boys,

you're not going to believe it.

I'm just hoping it happens
before you walk away from me.

Captioned by Ai-Media
ai-media.tv