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Short filmTranscript
00:00:00When it comes to liberating gold from hard rock, do you have to be crazy enough to go
00:00:10and get it?
00:00:11Yes.
00:00:12Rock.
00:00:13Rock.
00:00:14Underground, everything wants to kill you.
00:00:15Out.
00:00:16Out.
00:00:17Out.
00:00:18Out.
00:00:19We got to go.
00:00:20We got to go.
00:00:21We got to go.
00:00:22It is the hardest form of gold mining to get into.
00:00:23The mill site has a couple of flaws.
00:00:25The whole process, it's very demanding.
00:00:28We're not getting near as much gold as we should be.
00:00:31We can go a couple days without seeing anything.
00:00:35I have put a lot of money into this, our life savings.
00:00:39I've personally invested probably a quarter million into the project.
00:00:42I got to take care of my mom and my family.
00:00:45We are all going to fail together or succeed together.
00:00:48It's this or possible financial ruin.
00:00:51And that's why I am here 100% asking for help so that this can be turned into a viable,
00:00:57livable outcome for me and for the men on my team.
00:01:00I put all my savings into this.
00:01:02I don't know, man.
00:01:03Sorry.
00:01:04Let's make some gold, guys.
00:01:13Freddy Dodge.
00:01:14There's no guarantees in gold, buddy.
00:01:17And Juan Ibarra.
00:01:18All right.
00:01:19Well, let's do it, huh?
00:01:20Have mastered the art of getting gold out of the ground.
00:01:24Look at that.
00:01:26In the most rugged places on earth.
00:01:28I'm feeling a little sick, Freddy.
00:01:30Now they rescue struggling miners.
00:01:33That's not good.
00:01:34Who've risked it all to be rich.
00:01:37Whoa, whoa, whoa, shut it down.
00:01:39But are about to lose everything.
00:01:41Eyeballs.
00:01:42To revive these failing mines, Freddy and Juan engineer the impossible.
00:01:47Well, I've never heard of an undersluice before.
00:01:50Deliver some hard truths.
00:01:53This material you're digging now is totally worthless.
00:01:56And track down the gold.
00:01:58That's what dreams are made of right there.
00:01:59But if they don't at least double the miners' gold recovery, they won't take a dime in return.
00:02:06It's 10 times the amount of gold.
00:02:08That's awesome.
00:02:09It's eight in the morning and it's only 85 degrees.
00:02:27Nice brisk 85.
00:02:28Perfect welding weather.
00:02:30We're on camera.
00:02:31You better smile.
00:02:34First job in California, buddy.
00:02:35Hopefully it's not our last.
00:02:38Wow, shoot.
00:02:39It's pretty desolate out here, Fred.
00:02:41Yeah.
00:02:42It's late spring and Freddy and Juan are in a remote corner of California's Mojave Desert
00:02:50at the Gretzner mine.
00:02:52Already facing triple digit temperatures, they've landed at their first ever hard rock
00:02:57rescue of a problem plagued operation struggling to stay above ground.
00:03:04This isn't a mine for sure, but it's the right address.
00:03:07There's been a lot of gold come out of California.
00:03:09Tremendous amount.
00:03:10Yeah.
00:03:11Gold was first discovered 18 miles from here in 1881 when miners came in search of a gold-bearing
00:03:20quartz vein up to 10 feet thick.
00:03:24Over 100 years, this region has produced 185,000 ounces of gold worth $350 million in today's
00:03:36money.
00:03:37Howdy.
00:03:38How's it going?
00:03:39Hi, guys.
00:03:40Good to meet you.
00:03:41Chad?
00:03:42Glad you could make it.
00:03:43How you doing?
00:03:44Nice to meet you.
00:03:45I'm Chad.
00:03:46Juan.
00:03:47Freddy.
00:03:48Greg, I assume.
00:03:49This is my wife, Sally.
00:03:50Hi, Sally.
00:03:51Hi.
00:03:52Juan, how you doing, brother?
00:03:53My gosh, I'm so excited to meet you guys.
00:03:56Where's your mine at then?
00:03:57Our mine is a few miles that way, and you can see the hills.
00:04:01Those mountains over there?
00:04:02Yep.
00:04:03Right there.
00:04:05In the last five years, 44-year-old miner Chad and his crew of investors staked seven
00:04:12hard rock claims with access to over 260 acres of land, 13 underground shafts, and 16 tunnels.
00:04:24He built a rock-crushing mill from salvaged equipment located seven miles from his mines.
00:04:35The first time I felt gold was when I went gold panning in the San Gabriel River.
00:04:39I found the first gold ever.
00:04:40I was super excited.
00:04:43I've been in retail.
00:04:44I've been in sales.
00:04:45I've been in service.
00:04:47I've been in construction.
00:04:48But I like the hard work of gold mining, the chance to live off the land, to build something
00:04:53for my family, and one day have this turn into a successful business.
00:05:00Right now, gold mining isn't my full-time job.
00:05:02I am a research engineer.
00:05:04There's sometimes a large gap between contracts, and I find myself without work.
00:05:08And so you definitely get nervous, wondering where your next paycheck's going to come from.
00:05:13In the 10-month mining season, Chad lives away from his family by the mill with his
00:05:19dad, Greg, and his stepmom, Sally.
00:05:22The gold mining operation is really at the heart of the relationship I have with my dad.
00:05:27I know it would really be hard on both of us if it didn't succeed.
00:05:33We have had our ups and downs.
00:05:35There is a big gap in our relationship over 20 years.
00:05:39So being able to mend that has been an important part of our life.
00:05:44I'm a different guy than I was back in our estranged years.
00:05:47I pursued, you know, the rock and roll thing and a little partying too much.
00:05:51But we figured out a way to mend things up, and now we are just, we're solid.
00:05:57Setting up a hard rock operation ain't cheap, you know, especially when you got a mill set
00:06:00up and everything else.
00:06:01What kind of money do you guys have invested into this?
00:06:03We have between $150,000 to $250,000, depending on how you look at it.
00:06:07Yeah.
00:06:08Okay.
00:06:09Have you recovered any of your money back yet?
00:06:12No.
00:06:13No.
00:06:14Very little.
00:06:15We're not getting near as much gold as we should be.
00:06:18So what does your mining season look like?
00:06:20Is it year-round?
00:06:22We would like it to be, but the heat, the summer months, it's so hot out here, we can't
00:06:26run our equipment over 104 degrees for some of the electric motors, and we have to shut
00:06:30down.
00:06:31So what's your goal?
00:06:32We need to be able to hit 20 ounces before summer.
00:06:35I put all my savings into this.
00:06:37We need to start seeing a return on this.
00:06:40In the Mojave Desert, peak summer sun causes heavy equipment to overheat, shutting down
00:06:46operations until the fall.
00:06:49Where are you guys at right now on that?
00:06:51We're at two ounces of gold.
00:06:54With just seven weeks before they must shut down, the Gretzner mine needs more than 2.5
00:07:00ounces a week to stay afloat.
00:07:03So what do you guys have to lose if this doesn't work out for you?
00:07:06We have our life savings invested in this, along with our partners.
00:07:11Now, is there multiple partners or just you guys?
00:07:15Multiple partners on this.
00:07:17We got five.
00:07:18Do they have money invested as well?
00:07:20Oh, yes.
00:07:21They do.
00:07:22All of you do?
00:07:23Everyone's all in.
00:07:24You all got skin in the game.
00:07:25Oh, yes.
00:07:26I've put a lot of money and time into making this successful.
00:07:28So is the rest of the crew here?
00:07:29Yeah.
00:07:30Check out the mill.
00:07:31Let's do it.
00:07:32Sounds good.
00:07:33See you in a little bit, honey.
00:07:34All right.
00:07:35This is the first rescue that Freddie and I have done that's a hard rock mine that's
00:07:38got a mill set up.
00:07:39But, you know, we actually came out from that industry.
00:07:42That's actually where I started mining, and I know Freddie's had some experience there
00:07:45as well.
00:07:46So it's kind of good to be back to our roots.
00:07:48Hard rock mining gets definitely harder in a lot of ways than plaster mining is.
00:07:54You got to free it from the rock.
00:07:55You got to blast it, pick it, crush it, and then do all these other things that you don't
00:08:03have to do.
00:08:04Plaster mining.
00:08:05It's a tough game.
00:08:06Hey.
00:08:07How you doing?
00:08:08Nice to meet you.
00:08:09I'm Ron.
00:08:10Ron.
00:08:11Juan.
00:08:12Nice to meet you, Juan.
00:08:13Hey, we really appreciate you coming out.
00:08:14Over two years, Chad assembled a crew of part-time weekend warriors, Ron, Harry, and Sean, who
00:08:22are also investors.
00:08:25Well, we'll have a look at what you got.
00:08:26Why don't you show us around?
00:08:27Come on in.
00:08:28Okay, come on in.
00:08:29Let's go.
00:08:30We got a couch.
00:08:31That's the office.
00:08:32Is that right?
00:08:33Yeah.
00:08:34So what does your gold look like?
00:08:36So our gold is super fine.
00:08:38This is what the finished product looks like for us.
00:08:40Here you go.
00:08:43Gold-rich rock is found in quartz veins that rise through the earth over millions of years.
00:08:51Hard rock miners chase these veins by digging hundreds of feet underground to extract the
00:08:58ore rock.
00:08:59Good ground is equal to 8 to 10 grams per ton of ore.
00:09:05The Gretzners have extracted six tons ready to be processed through their mill.
00:09:10Well, you guys want to fire up your mill?
00:09:12What do you think?
00:09:13Two-hour test run?
00:09:14Yes, sir.
00:09:15Let's try it.
00:09:16See what it does.
00:09:17Let's do it.
00:09:18Let's do it.
00:09:19Let's crush some rock.
00:09:21Stage one, gold-bearing ore is fed into a large hopper and crushed into pieces.
00:09:32Then it's transported to a surge hopper, where the oversized rock is removed.
00:09:38In the final stage of the process, the small rocks are ground to a powder in a milling
00:09:44machine.
00:09:46Water is added, and the mix is piped to a table where gold is separated from the worthless
00:09:52material.
00:09:56When operating correctly, the process should be fully automated with very little human
00:10:01intervention.
00:10:02I f***ing hate those chain pulls.
00:10:05Yeah, those are painfully slow.
00:10:07Four and a half minutes to pick the first bag up and dump it in the hopper.
00:10:12Right now it's not really efficient.
00:10:13It takes four guys to load the plant.
00:10:15Just have to feed it by hand with a shovel up there.
00:10:20There's a lot of wasted time right there, Brady.
00:10:23A lot of wasted time.
00:10:27Next step, Chad pushes the rock through the hopper into a machine called a jaw crusher,
00:10:33which pulverizes the large rock into pieces.
00:10:37I'm a little embarrassed because there's so many things wrong with our equipment, and
00:10:42they're seeing it, and there's no way to hide it.
00:10:45That on?
00:10:48It does nothing.
00:10:51Right now the hopper, it's not feeding the material.
00:10:54He's feeding the material into the jaw with a shovel, so it's make work.
00:10:58It'd almost be better off feeding it directly into the jaw out of the ore sack.
00:11:02They really would be.
00:11:04We've got a bunch of issues going on here.
00:11:13That screen right there, we need to do something better about that.
00:11:17The vibrating screen that sorts the rock lacks enough power,
00:11:22so Chad's crew must also do it by hand.
00:11:26I know he's down there with a hammer.
00:11:29You'd hire a trained monkey to do that one, though.
00:11:31Essentially, it's become a manual screen, even though he has a vibrator on it.
00:11:38With the rock sorted, Ron and Sean now reduce the flow of material up the conveyor.
00:11:45Well, then we've got him here putting everything to center.
00:11:50Why are you putting that to center like that?
00:11:53Any more than this and it overloads the table.
00:11:55Okay, understood.
00:11:57They've got time killers all down the line.
00:12:03I'm seeing a little gold in there.
00:12:05Yeah, it's mixed with the black sand.
00:12:08The shaker table uses water and gravity to separate gold from lighter material.
00:12:14A lot of rocks on the table.
00:12:17If larger rocks reach the table, they risk displacing fine gold.
00:12:23I'd hang a light from the roof, like an eight-foot LED, over the middle of them.
00:12:28That's what I have on all my tables.
00:12:30How far up?
00:12:32Right here, so it's not shining in your eyes, but it's enough to spread the table.
00:12:36That's a good idea.
00:12:39All right, shut it down.
00:12:41After two hours, time is called on the test.
00:12:45All right, let's shut it down.
00:12:46Hopper's empty.
00:12:47Hopper's empty?
00:12:48Thank you, sir.
00:12:50On the test run today, Juan and myself seen a lot of manual labor.
00:12:54You get all this equipment, yet it takes manual labor to make it work.
00:12:58That did not impress me at all.
00:13:00It wasn't good.
00:13:01We've got some ideas to save them a lot of labor, a lot of time.
00:13:05At least if they're not doing the job they don't need to be doing,
00:13:08they can be doing other things to catch more gold.
00:13:10It's a tough game, hard rock mining is.
00:13:13We might have taken on more work than we can handle here.
00:13:17I wouldn't mind panning a little bit of it and see what the gold looks like.
00:13:20Take a look at it?
00:13:21Yeah.
00:13:22You want to do it or me?
00:13:23You go ahead and do it.
00:13:24I haven't watched your videos enough.
00:13:27Deep in the scorching Mojave Desert,
00:13:29the Gretzner crew clean up the gold from their two hour test.
00:13:33I hope we have some good luck.
00:13:35Yeah, I think so too.
00:13:36We do.
00:13:38I hope we get some good results.
00:13:39Yeah, I think so too.
00:13:40I hope we do.
00:13:42I hope we do.
00:13:43the gold from their two-hour test.
00:13:46I hope we have gold for Freddy on one.
00:13:49Freddy takes a pan for an early indication.
00:13:52This is nothing.
00:13:53Lots of rocks in it.
00:13:55Yeah, that's not good.
00:13:57Why don't you guys get it cleaned up?
00:13:58Because that's just one pan.
00:14:01It wasn't good, is all I can say.
00:14:05I've done better pans out of the bank on a creek.
00:14:08So, you know, hopefully there's more in that concentrate,
00:14:11and we'll find out more in the morning
00:14:13that that pan did not thrill me at all.
00:14:18It's real fine.
00:14:19Looks like a thin line of gold right at the top.
00:14:22There's a lot at stake.
00:14:24I mean, there's been so much money invested already.
00:14:27I put a good amount of money in myself,
00:14:29and if things get a little shaky,
00:14:31it's not gonna be that easy to weather it.
00:14:34It looks like a little flake right there.
00:14:37When it comes to gold, it's location, location, location.
00:14:40Hard rock testing can be a hell of a lot harder.
00:14:44You're underground. You're chasing seams.
00:14:46The vein disappears.
00:14:48But at the same time, the ore can be really rich.
00:14:52You can do really well.
00:14:56Well, that wasn't very good, that first run.
00:14:59They've taken on a lot, you know, for them to get together,
00:15:03purchase the building, put the mill up,
00:15:05get all the equipment that they need for the mill.
00:15:07That's quite a big undertaking.
00:15:08Really, their whole process, it's very labor-intensive.
00:15:11It's time to eliminate some jobs
00:15:13so they can get on to better things.
00:15:15Absolutely.
00:15:28Here you go, Chad. You can grab this.
00:15:30Next morning, back at the mill site.
00:15:33You know, I could probably use that connection
00:15:36off of your air compression.
00:15:37I can hook it up to my sandblaster.
00:15:39Chad and Harry have cleaned up the gold from one ton of ore
00:15:43the crew ran through their two-hour test.
00:15:46Chad's definitely one of my good friends.
00:15:48We've been at this for a while,
00:15:49and we've learned about each other,
00:15:51and we've grown over time,
00:15:52and we've shared a lot of thoughts and troubles.
00:15:55So, yeah, we're close.
00:15:57Right-hand man Harry has been on Chad's crew for six years
00:16:02and invested $40,000 into the mining operation.
00:16:07When you're on the vein and on the gold, it's awesome.
00:16:11Getting gold out of the ground and turn it into a bar,
00:16:14I mean, that's pretty rad.
00:16:18Everything I've ever learned in my whole life
00:16:20has just been working with my hands,
00:16:22and I like digging holes, and it's just a natural fit for me,
00:16:25turning wrenches, fixing equipment, and blowing up rock.
00:16:29Harry first met Chad on a prospecting mission
00:16:32in 2017.
00:16:35His experience in engineering
00:16:37makes him a valuable member of the team.
00:16:40When I first got together with these guys,
00:16:42I had gotten out of the Marine Corps for a while,
00:16:44and I was having a rough time.
00:16:46These guys have brought me back to where I need to be,
00:16:49and it's helped me at home and relationship with my family.
00:16:56Well, weigh it up, huh, Juan?
00:16:57Yeah.
00:16:58You guys got it all dried up?
00:17:00Yes, sir. Yeah.
00:17:01Well, let's take a look at it.
00:17:02Where's your dad at?
00:17:03You know, he's pretty tired.
00:17:05He's not feeling good.
00:17:06OK.
00:17:07He put his all into being out here with you guys.
00:17:10It kind of kicked his butt.
00:17:11Right.
00:17:12Right.
00:17:13Well, hopefully he feels better.
00:17:14Thanks.
00:17:16I feel pressure.
00:17:17Not only have I seen our team invest everything
00:17:20they have in this, my dad and I, we've invested a lot in this.
00:17:25If this doesn't work out, it would be really hard on him.
00:17:28So I don't want to see that.
00:17:30I want to see us succeed, and we'll find a way.
00:17:34Well, let's weigh it up.
00:17:35Yeah.
00:17:36You do the honors, Chad.
00:17:38All right.
00:17:38Here we go.
00:17:40Chad and his team need to make $700 a day to break even.
00:17:48Don't spill it.
00:17:580.03.
00:17:590.03, yeah.
00:18:019 tenths of a gram.
00:18:03Almost a gram.
00:18:04Almost a gram from one ton of ore.
00:18:09Worth less than $60, it's not even enough
00:18:13to cover fuel for the mill.
00:18:16Five guys, right?
00:18:18Five guys, a day to pull one ton from the mine, haul it here,
00:18:23and then a day to run it.
00:18:25Yeah.
00:18:27That's a tremendous amount of work
00:18:28for that small of a payday.
00:18:33Yeah.
00:18:38What is required for you guys to be able to pay your bills
00:18:40and pay your guys something?
00:18:42We'd come up with, what, two to two and a half ounces a week.
00:18:48You know, with this ore, it's not going to be possible.
00:18:53Maybe we get your help on finding some better ground.
00:18:56Well, that's a tough one in the time we're here.
00:18:58Without running it, there's no way I can tell you anything.
00:19:02We'd love to look at your mine, but we
00:19:04need to spend most of our time making your equipment
00:19:07more efficient so you can test your own mines
00:19:09at a quicker rate.
00:19:10And then once you find that vein, that good vein,
00:19:12you'll be able to rock and roll and just blow
00:19:14it right through the mill.
00:19:15We both worked underground before,
00:19:16and I've seen just crazy veins come out, you know,
00:19:18where it's visible gold, 2,600 ounces a ton.
00:19:22So it all comes down to the ore.
00:19:23I think I'm glad you guys are here,
00:19:25because we need the help.
00:19:26We're ready for the challenge.
00:19:27Definitely.
00:19:28We're ready for it.
00:19:31The good news is that Freddy and I,
00:19:32we did notice a lot of things in the mill
00:19:34that we can improve on.
00:19:35Ultimately, it's going to come down to a combination
00:19:37of getting the production up, but also
00:19:39getting on better ore.
00:19:41They need to get out of those other veins they've got,
00:19:43those other mines, and see what's there.
00:19:45And once they find that better gold,
00:19:48they will have a plant here that not only is it the test plant
00:19:51to find the better gold, but it's
00:19:53the one that puts gold in their pocket,
00:19:54puts money in the bank.
00:19:57Freddy and Juan have four more days
00:19:59to put the Gretzners on track for their 2.5
00:20:02ounce a week target.
00:20:05What do you think, Juan?
00:20:07Well, Freddy, I think there's quite a few things we can
00:20:08improve on inside that mill.
00:20:10Yeah.
00:20:11I'd like to get rid of that chain fall.
00:20:14They're slow, miserably slow.
00:20:16Yeah, terribly slow.
00:20:17I'm thinking on this, they've got that little vibrator
00:20:20on there, on that hopper.
00:20:21That's doing nothing, yeah.
00:20:23Do one of your eccentrics down below here.
00:20:25We'll be able to get more throw out of that hopper
00:20:27so it feeds properly instead of having to get up
00:20:30there and shovel it by hand.
00:20:32An eccentric motor uses offset weights
00:20:35to create a throwing movement.
00:20:39Freddy and Juan's plan?
00:20:42First, they'll upgrade the hopper with an electric winch,
00:20:47a whole new shaking process for moving pay
00:20:50into the jaw crusher behind.
00:20:57Next, at the second hopper, they'll
00:21:01add a screen at the top to divert oversized rock.
00:21:08Finally, after the rock has been milled to dust
00:21:12and the gold liberated, a vibrating screen
00:21:17and new sluice box will help catch the bigger gold
00:21:21before the fines get caught on the table.
00:21:26How's it going, guys?
00:21:27Hey.
00:21:30Well, we watched you guys run, and you know,
00:21:33multiple things we think we can help you with.
00:21:35What we really want to do is make this circuit,
00:21:37the crushing circuit, a one-man job
00:21:39without being a five-man team, you know,
00:21:42started from the beginning.
00:21:44We're going to put an electric winch
00:21:45so it's not four minutes a bag just to get it up.
00:21:50On this, we want to redo your hopper assembly there.
00:21:53We're going to put air bags on it
00:21:54and then put a real eccentric in it.
00:21:55OK.
00:21:57So your surge hopper, where you've got your screen there
00:22:01is the exact wrong spot.
00:22:03Even if we have to cut into your hopper just a little bit,
00:22:06we want to put a screen up there, pipe it down,
00:22:08have your wheelbarrow right there,
00:22:10and get it back in this test.
00:22:13So another idea that we had is coming off your mill here,
00:22:15put a small, tiny sluice box.
00:22:18Put it will have a screen on top of it.
00:22:20Keep it from going on the table.
00:22:20Keep it from going on the table.
00:22:21Wow.
00:22:22So it'll catch 40% to 60% of your gold on that sluice box.
00:22:26That'd be awesome.
00:22:26Much needed.
00:22:27Now we need to talk about the money situation.
00:22:31We're going to need about $2,000 in material.
00:22:33And then on top of that, we would like
00:22:35you guys to cover our expenses.
00:22:38Let's throw some dice here.
00:22:39If we don't get you 10 times the amount of gold
00:22:41that was in that first cleanup, our labor's free.
00:22:47We could make this work, right?
00:22:48Can we pull together and make it work?
00:22:51Yeah, we'll find a way.
00:22:52You guys are good with it?
00:22:53We're good with it?
00:22:53And you guys are ready to help?
00:22:55We're ready to work with you guys.
00:22:56A limited amount of time.
00:22:57All right, guys.
00:22:58All right.
00:22:59Deal.
00:23:00Deal.
00:23:01The fixes that Freddie and Juan have proposed,
00:23:03they're ambitious in such a short period of time.
00:23:07It's going to be some long hours,
00:23:08and we're going to have to give them a hand
00:23:09and help them however we can.
00:23:16Whoa, what's that?
00:23:17Coming up.
00:23:18Let's get out of here.
00:23:19Out, out, out, out, out.
00:23:20We got to go.
00:23:21We got to go.
00:23:22We got to go.
00:23:39Hey, Dad.
00:23:40At the Gretzner's Desert Mine, Chad's dad, Greg,
00:23:44back on the job.
00:23:46Hey, how you feeling?
00:23:48Yeah, hanging in there.
00:23:49Diagnosed with degenerative nerve damage in 2010,
00:23:54Greg's found salvation in mining.
00:23:56But the desert heat takes its toll.
00:23:59As long as I have some time off here and there,
00:24:01I can regroup and heal up.
00:24:04I'm always rooting for him and encouraging him
00:24:06to try to lay it low, cut back, because he's been in pain.
00:24:13Although they now work together on their hard rock mine,
00:24:17Chad and Greg haven't always had the best
00:24:19father-son relationship.
00:24:23He had left us and divorced my mom when I was 14.
00:24:28Dad loved rock and roll.
00:24:33When you're around the rock and roll atmosphere
00:24:34and a lot of alcohol, a lot of drugs, a lot of women,
00:24:37and usually that doesn't work out well for a family
00:24:40environment with kids.
00:24:42The years that I was kind of being dumb, if you will,
00:24:47looking back, it's like, yeah, I could
00:24:49have been a little wiser.
00:24:51I thought it was a lost thing.
00:24:53But last few years, my son and I have had a great relationship.
00:24:58It just makes me really happy.
00:25:03I love it.
00:25:05Reconnected since 2016, Father Greg
00:25:09has invested all his life savings,
00:25:11but still struggles to find his place on the mine.
00:25:15And that gold weight just didn't come in the way any of us
00:25:18were anticipating.
00:25:20Really?
00:25:21Yeah, the 0.03 ounces to the ton, or 0.9 grams,
00:25:27that was dismal.
00:25:29We've overcame obstacles before.
00:25:32So I know you got it in you.
00:25:34I know I do.
00:25:35We can't go any lower, so we can only go up.
00:25:37Yeah, I know.
00:25:38And you push yourself hard, so we all appreciate that.
00:25:42Well, thank you.
00:25:43I'm giving it my all.
00:25:44All right, Dad. Thank you.
00:25:45All right, get over here.
00:25:46All right.
00:25:47Appreciate that.
00:25:48Yep.
00:25:48Bye.
00:25:53We got to divide and conquer a little bit here.
00:25:55Inbound for the day, Freddie and Juan plan their attack.
00:26:00I want to start working on that hopper, kind of have
00:26:02in my mind what I want to do there.
00:26:03Well, and I think I'll run out and look at their mines,
00:26:06because the ore that we ran yesterday, it's no good.
00:26:10No bueno.
00:26:10No, it's not worth running.
00:26:12We could double their throughput,
00:26:14but still double the gold of what we just saw
00:26:16is still terrible.
00:26:17Making them gold go broke faster is what that would do.
00:26:23We're going to see how we can't put some people out of work
00:26:26here.
00:26:27At least if they're not doing the job
00:26:29they don't need to be doing, they
00:26:30need to be doing other things to catch more gold.
00:26:33We can always mock it up and see.
00:26:36Yeah, because right now the one I have, it's probably,
00:26:39shoot, it's going to be another six inches shorter.
00:26:41Six inches?
00:26:42Longer than, yeah.
00:26:43See what it looks like.
00:26:45To get the ball rolling, Juan and Freddie
00:26:47begin with an easy win, a new electric hoist.
00:26:51I'm just setting up this new hoist, electric hoist.
00:26:56It's a hell of a lot easier than pulling on that chain.
00:27:01So with the chain fall, it was four minutes up and down.
00:27:04Minimum.
00:27:05Minimum.
00:27:06And then on top of that, by the end of the day,
00:27:08you got sore arms.
00:27:09And our hope is that you guys are
00:27:11going to run so much material, you're not
00:27:12going to want that chain fall.
00:27:14You're going to want something fast, up and down.
00:27:16Yep.
00:27:17Cable hoist looks like it's going to help us out a lot.
00:27:20And keep Chad off the top of that machine,
00:27:22and we can focus more on just getting bags in there
00:27:24and not starving the job.
00:27:25Yeah, I think it's going to help us out a lot.
00:27:2721 seconds, 22 seconds plus, another five seconds
00:27:31to take it in.
00:27:32So let's call it 30 seconds.
00:27:33So we've cut this by 3 4ths.
00:27:36So you got 75% less time with the winch.
00:27:42Hey, Juan.
00:27:42Hey, Greg.
00:27:43How you doing, buddy?
00:27:44Good.
00:27:44Feeling better?
00:27:45Yeah.
00:27:45Yeah.
00:27:46I'm doing a lot better.
00:27:47You want to give me a hand real quick?
00:27:48Yeah, most definitely.
00:27:50Next, Juan and Greg redesign the hopper.
00:27:53Go ahead and pull that off.
00:27:55And then what I'll have you do is, once I get these parts cut
00:27:57out, you can help me.
00:27:58We'll start getting this all welded together.
00:28:00Dig it.
00:28:00Getting it all jigged up.
00:28:01Perfect.
00:28:02I like it.
00:28:02Thank you, sir.
00:28:04In order to feed the material, that hopper
00:28:05has to move enough that it actually
00:28:08can push that material forward, and it doesn't
00:28:10have enough power to do that.
00:28:11Mounted with springs, the hopper lacks the ability
00:28:14to shake out the material.
00:28:17Juan's fix, install four sets of adhesives
00:28:21Juan's fix, install four sets of adjustable airbags
00:28:25to control the force of the hopper's movement,
00:28:29a first for mine rescue.
00:28:33Give it a little lift.
00:28:38Yeah, OK.
00:28:43So what I'm doing is I'm cutting out the brackets right now.
00:28:45These brackets are going to be for the airbags
00:28:47to support it and give it that cushion it needs
00:28:49so when it vibrates, it actually vibrates.
00:28:52It's got the holes for the mounting brackets
00:28:53and then also the hole for the air.
00:28:56While Freddy prepares the hopper for the new fittings,
00:29:00Juan is assembling the frame to house the airbags.
00:29:03I'm getting the rest of these mounts together.
00:29:05We're going to put some supports on them,
00:29:06and that way when it's vibrating,
00:29:07it'll absorb that impact so it doesn't bend it over.
00:29:10Very cool.
00:29:11Well, let's get it rigged up on your side.
00:29:12You want to get those hooks in there?
00:29:14Yep.
00:29:15All right.
00:29:17Greg was wanting to soak up everything I was telling him.
00:29:20Hopefully, by us being here and helping him out,
00:29:22he was able to learn a little bit.
00:29:24Working alongside of Freddy and Juan
00:29:27is so amazing and awesome to me.
00:29:30Their honest concern and their willingness
00:29:33to do these changes, I was happy I could jump in and help out
00:29:37wherever I could.
00:29:39Want to keep an eye on those as I lower it?
00:29:45Awesome.
00:29:46Back on.
00:29:48These are just really simple.
00:29:49They're actually kind of an automotive airbag.
00:29:52But you know, sometimes you've got to use what you can get,
00:29:54and that's what we could get.
00:29:55And they work good, so we're going to use them.
00:29:57Awesome.
00:29:57Very, very cool.
00:29:59It'll work.
00:29:59Yeah, no problem.
00:30:08What do you guys think about running out to your mine
00:30:10real quick?
00:30:11Across the claim.
00:30:12I'd love to show it to you.
00:30:13Yeah.
00:30:14Freddy's keen to get eyes on Chad's mine.
00:30:18Pretty weak around that first one, so.
00:30:20Let's do it.
00:30:22We have hard rock gold mines that we
00:30:24own all the mineral rights on.
00:30:26They're also proven mines that the old timers worked.
00:30:29So being able to go into existing workings
00:30:31and then sample there and develop it.
00:30:33The downside and negative to that
00:30:35is it's expensive and dangerous to get into these old workings.
00:30:40So Freddy could absolutely help us out.
00:30:45I think he'll like the work we've done on it.
00:30:47There's a lot of things that Juan and myself
00:30:49can do to help their plant.
00:30:50But the gold, I wasn't really impressed with.
00:30:53They're losing money right now.
00:30:55They have six other mines.
00:30:57You got the right ore with the right amount of gold in it,
00:31:00you can do really well.
00:31:02Freddy and Chad head into the mountains seven miles west,
00:31:06where hundreds of tunnels on their claim
00:31:09crisscross these historic gold fields.
00:31:13How long have you guys had this place, your family?
00:31:16Four years.
00:31:17Four years.
00:31:18I don't know why I just have this drive, Freddy.
00:31:21This determination, I'm going to find a way to make it work.
00:31:25Our team does look to me as the mine boss.
00:31:28So it's a big responsibility to lead these guys.
00:31:32And I don't want to let them down.
00:31:33I want to make sure that I'm doing my part to lead
00:31:35us in the right direction.
00:31:38We're here.
00:31:40So this your hole in the ground, huh?
00:31:42Sure is.
00:31:44I've worked underground enough to know how tough it is.
00:31:47It's far more expensive and dangerous than plasma mining.
00:31:52It's a hard game to play.
00:31:54Sure, the ore is richer and the rewards are great,
00:31:57but the risks are many.
00:32:01Well, I guess get geared up and head down, huh?
00:32:04Yeah.
00:32:05Yeah, that's going to tie it off.
00:32:07Just watch the little hole, but you got a deck here
00:32:09you could step on.
00:32:10Getting darker, that's for sure.
00:32:12No, we're on rock, rock.
00:32:15The quartz vein they are working
00:32:17is 85 feet below the ground.
00:32:24Hey, guys, don't take any of the film crew
00:32:28any farther than that.
00:32:29The hanging wall is separating two inches.
00:32:31There's stoles holding it up, but that's a danger zone.
00:32:33I'm not going back there.
00:32:35This is one of the spots we're working and sampling.
00:32:38I can see the vein structure there.
00:32:40It's not easy to get out of here either.
00:32:43Over 95% of the world's gold left unmined
00:32:47is believed to be underground, with over $3 trillion
00:32:51in gold reserves yet to be mined.
00:32:55Almost all large mining companies
00:32:57draw their gold from a hard rock site.
00:33:01We've got a microscope.
00:33:08There's a piece right there.
00:33:11That's so small, a lot of times, that doesn't cut it, right?
00:33:15So we typically have three to four guys working here.
00:33:19I mean, if everybody's available, we'll have all five.
00:33:22And you're doing it by hand?
00:33:23Yeah.
00:33:24I see your buckets here.
00:33:25Is that how you're doing it?
00:33:26Yeah, I'm doing it by hand.
00:33:27You're doing it by hand?
00:33:28Yeah.
00:33:29I see your buckets here.
00:33:30Is that how you're mucking this over?
00:33:32Every bucket, probably 50 pounds coming out of here, 40, 50
00:33:35pounds.
00:33:36Yeah.
00:33:37So to get a ton, it takes a lot of manpower.
00:33:40Our record in one day was eight tons.
00:33:43You ever have any of this hanging wall bust off on you?
00:33:47I see you got it cribbed in a few places here.
00:33:51And a few little pieces like that.
00:33:52Yeah.
00:33:54Well, it's dark and it's tight.
00:33:56It's not the easiest place to get into.
00:33:58There's just not enough gold in the ore.
00:34:01So go to a different spot.
00:34:06Whoa, what's that?
00:34:08Piece fell off the roof.
00:34:09Guys, I wouldn't go any farther.
00:34:12Let's get out of here.
00:34:13What the fuck going on?
00:34:14Out, out, out, out, out.
00:34:15We got to go.
00:34:16We got to go.
00:34:17We got to go.
00:34:27I'm not going back there.
00:34:29Yeah.
00:34:31In the Mojave Desert, a rock fall
00:34:33has halted Freddy's investigation
00:34:36into the Gretzner's hard rock mine.
00:34:39It's not a job for the timid in that mine.
00:34:43It's dark and it's tight down there.
00:34:44And those guys, I can tell they have to work their butts off
00:34:48to get that ore out of that mine.
00:34:49Hand chisel each piece of rock out to get it out of there
00:34:53to find out if it has enough gold in it.
00:34:55Right now, these guys are deep in the hole, cost-wise.
00:34:58If all their mines are similar to this one,
00:35:01then they won't be in business very long.
00:35:09Yeah, the stuff you're running right now,
00:35:11you're going to go broke on.
00:35:12Yeah.
00:35:13You know, average wages with the amount of labor
00:35:16you had in it, all it was taking,
00:35:18you guys were averaging about $0.50 an hour apiece.
00:35:20Oh, yeah.
00:35:21That's horrible.
00:35:23Trying to sample and prove out the mines,
00:35:26but then also at the same time trying to make gold.
00:35:29That's the thing.
00:35:31We got six other mines to go look at.
00:35:34But there's a lot of things that have
00:35:37to be done to make this plant run more efficiently.
00:35:41We haven't got a lot of time.
00:35:43So if we can streamline that, it's
00:35:45going to help the efficiency in the field.
00:35:48If we get, you know, your mill running more efficiently,
00:35:52you can test these different main structures you've got
00:35:56or different parts of them at a more efficient rate.
00:36:11Whatever we can do, we'll do it.
00:36:13Back at the Gretzner mill, Juan pushes on
00:36:16with the second hopper fix.
00:36:18We're kind of behind the eight ball now.
00:36:22Having fitted the new airbags, he
00:36:24needs to upgrade the vibrator.
00:36:26I'm already starting to work on all the brackets
00:36:28for the eccentric vibrator.
00:36:30We've got to get going on it, because if we
00:36:31don't get started now, we'll never finish this project.
00:36:34So this is something different that we haven't really done.
00:36:36This is going to be a vibrator.
00:36:38But what we're actually doing is doing an eccentric.
00:36:41Before, they had a little tiny vibrator on the back
00:36:43here that wasn't doing anything.
00:36:44All it was doing was compacting the material.
00:36:47An eccentric vibrator uses off-center weights
00:36:51mounted on a bar to create a throwing back and forth
00:36:54movement.
00:36:55Juan's theory?
00:36:56This movement will help the hopper
00:36:58stay unclogged, saving time and manpower.
00:37:04We're going to use these weights that we cut out on the table.
00:37:06And we'll have opposing weights, so one this way,
00:37:09one the other way.
00:37:10All that weight will be off-center on the shaft.
00:37:11And what it'll do, it'll actually
00:37:13throw the material forward.
00:37:14So that's what these are.
00:37:17By spinning heavy weights on a bar below the hopper,
00:37:20the eccentric vibrator will pulsate a steady supply
00:37:23of rocks into the jaw crusher.
00:37:26It took five guys to feed this.
00:37:28So what we're trying to do is trying
00:37:29to eliminate all that extra labor
00:37:30to make it one smooth transition where you feed it,
00:37:33it feeds itself into the jaw, and you
00:37:35catch it on the other side.
00:37:46That's brilliant.
00:37:49Everything that we've got going here,
00:37:50they look at it with new eyes.
00:37:52And they see stuff that we haven't seen.
00:37:54And they pull really cool tricks out of the hat
00:37:57and make it work.
00:37:59I'm really happy about it.
00:38:01Chad will have to file for unemployment.
00:38:05Should be good.
00:38:06It looks OK.
00:38:07Hopefully it works as good as it looks.
00:38:09Almost looks like he knew what you were doing.
00:38:11Kind of.
00:38:11I saw it in a book once.
00:38:13Saw it on a cartoon?
00:38:14Yeah.
00:38:16One of the most experienced miners in the crew, Ron,
00:38:20is Chad's largest investor.
00:38:22Yeah, I've personally invested probably a quarter
00:38:25million into the project.
00:38:28Building contractor by night, gold miner by day,
00:38:33Ron is determined to make a success of the hard rock mine
00:38:36with his band of brothers.
00:38:39I've invested all I could.
00:38:41My mom left me a little money when she passed.
00:38:44I wanted to, I wanted to, sorry,
00:38:53wasn't expecting this.
00:38:57I just wanted her legacy to live on.
00:39:00And then I hope that my boy and my grandsons, if nothing else,
00:39:05they'll learn the camaraderie and the hard work
00:39:07that comes with that.
00:39:09I know that we can succeed.
00:39:12I can't quit.
00:39:13I'm not a quitter.
00:39:21I'm trying to find Greg.
00:39:22I need a little bit of help on that screen I'm going to build.
00:39:25With the hopper complete, Juan turns his attention
00:39:28to the next planned fix with Chad's father Greg.
00:39:32But he's nowhere to be seen.
00:39:34Hey, Sally.
00:39:35Oh, hey, Juan. How's it going?
00:39:36Good.
00:39:37How you doing?
00:39:38I'm doing OK.
00:39:39I'm trying to get this mess cleaned up a little.
00:39:40Clean it up a little bit?
00:39:41Nice.
00:39:42Is Greg around?
00:39:43He'll be out in the afternoon.
00:39:45OK, OK.
00:39:46Yeah, I was just going to have him help me with that screen
00:39:47we're going to build.
00:39:48He normally works for a couple of days.
00:39:51And then he has to probably lay down, take a little nap,
00:39:54and then he'll be out this afternoon.
00:39:56Hopefully he feels a little better.
00:39:57But when he has a chance, come out and give me a hand.
00:39:59Yeah, I will.
00:39:59Awesome.
00:40:01I appreciate it.
00:40:03Married in 2005, mining mom Sally's
00:40:07been by Greg's side through thick and thin.
00:40:10He was a musician when I met him.
00:40:13And I think that drawed me to him.
00:40:15So here we are, 22 years later, married.
00:40:19Living on a fixed income, Sally and Greg
00:40:22have gambled everything on this gold hunting venture.
00:40:25We have a lot at stake here.
00:40:26We have a lot of money invested into this mill site.
00:40:29So it could be devastating if it doesn't work out.
00:40:35Wano.
00:40:36Hey, Fred.
00:40:37Back at the compound.
00:40:39It's hot.
00:40:40It's a warm one, huh?
00:40:41Yeah.
00:40:41Yeah.
00:40:42How'd it look over there at the mine site?
00:40:43Well, I went underground to that one
00:40:45they're playing around with down there.
00:40:47And they don't have the resources
00:40:51to really go underground right at this moment.
00:40:54You know, they're hand-picking down there.
00:40:56Then they're pulling it out in buckets.
00:40:58Holy cow.
00:40:59You know, I got a lot going on here
00:41:00with the water supply and everything.
00:41:02Holy cow.
00:41:03You know, I got a lot going on here with the build.
00:41:05So I'll be tied up doing this for the next day or so.
00:41:08But if you can go out there and give them a hand,
00:41:10that's really what they need.
00:41:11You know, underground mining is a whole different animal.
00:41:13You know, you and I both have been underground before.
00:41:14And it's a whole different type of mining.
00:41:16Yeah.
00:41:17It really is.
00:41:17You got to have rich ground to go underground
00:41:19on a small scale.
00:41:20Yeah.
00:41:21Yeah.
00:41:21And especially doing it the way they're doing it
00:41:23with picks and shovels, that's tough.
00:41:25That's a hard way to do it.
00:41:2785 feet to the surface.
00:41:29And then loading it in trucks and hauling it in,
00:41:32crushing it.
00:41:32But they're mucking it all out by hand underneath there.
00:41:36So it's a lot of work.
00:41:37Yeah.
00:41:39Commercial operations can mine lower grade ores
00:41:42and still make a profit due to the huge volumes of material
00:41:46that they are able to process.
00:41:49But Chad's mine runs only a ton a day.
00:41:53Refocusing his manpower could get him closer to the gold.
00:41:58That big bronze bushing in there is probably wore out.
00:42:00Juan and I are spinning a lot of plates right now.
00:42:03There's some space in there.
00:42:04At the stage these guys are in right now,
00:42:07getting rid of the labor in here help the efficiency
00:42:11in this building.
00:42:12It's going to help the efficiency in the field.
00:42:14Because two or three of them can go.
00:42:17And they can start getting more ore.
00:42:20If there's not enough gold in the spot that you're testing,
00:42:24get out of there before it takes your money away.
00:42:31Whoa.
00:42:38Juan, can you come over?
00:42:39We need your help.
00:42:41In the California desert.
00:42:43Curious what they have to say about that.
00:42:45Freddie and Juan face their first hard rock rescue.
00:42:49We think that might be the banging noise.
00:42:51Probably so.
00:42:53At a mine run by Chad Gretzner and a crew of investors.
00:42:57So yeah, let's yank this out, Chad.
00:42:59All right.
00:43:01Freddie's most urgent task is to investigate the other mines
00:43:05on Chad's property and find more gold.
00:43:08But first, he will lay the groundwork of the next fix.
00:43:13I'm pretty proud of this design, but it's not doing what I want.
00:43:16This is backwards right here.
00:43:17Yeah.
00:43:18So what I want to do right here, I'm
00:43:20going to build a screen up here.
00:43:22So we'll get the material while it's
00:43:23going into the surge hopper, catch it,
00:43:26and then you can run it back through while you're
00:43:28running your crushing circuit.
00:43:31To help sort the crushed rock into different sizes,
00:43:34Freddie will remove Greg's inefficient screen
00:43:37at the bottom of the hopper and build a new classifier
00:43:41at the top to remove larger rock.
00:43:47This is an exciting fix because now we can run more material
00:43:53and it takes two guys off of this whole process back here.
00:43:58Ready?
00:43:58Yep.
00:43:59I'm going to pick up the front.
00:44:01All right.
00:44:01Go.
00:44:04Perfect.
00:44:05Perfect's good enough if you can't do any better.
00:44:07That's what I'm talking about.
00:44:13Right there's your screen, huh?
00:44:14As fixes stack up, Freddie looks to save time and money
00:44:18by salvaging material.
00:44:20Well, it's a little wore out, but it should work, huh?
00:44:23Yeah.
00:44:23Use what you got.
00:44:25All right.
00:44:25So let's get this out of here.
00:44:27OK.
00:44:28Ready?
00:44:29Lift with your back.
00:44:30Two, three.
00:44:32Stand her up.
00:44:32If you don't keep working, it doesn't get done.
00:44:35OK.
00:44:39I'm going to start on that other screen deck up top
00:44:42under the hopper.
00:44:43Yep.
00:44:44So I'm going to build it.
00:44:45We'll use one of the vibrators on it.
00:44:47Yeah.
00:44:48If you want me to buzz out the frame for you real quick.
00:44:50OK.
00:44:50Well, you're on your project, too, though, so.
00:44:52Yeah, but I'm going to be cutting it.
00:44:54I'm going to be cutting right now.
00:44:55I'm designing.
00:44:55So I can cut a bunch of shit out real quick for you.
00:44:58Yeah, so picture a four foot long flat bottom,
00:45:0210 gauge bottom in it, probably.
00:45:03Yep.
00:45:04Got to work.
00:45:04No problem.
00:45:06Start building the screen in here
00:45:08over the top of their surge hopper.
00:45:11Hopefully, we can get that material screen
00:45:12before it goes in, not after.
00:45:17You know, Freddie and I, we always divide and conquer.
00:45:19Right now, I'm going to try to cut out
00:45:21that little screen for him so he can put his vibrator
00:45:23and his mesh material on it.
00:45:25Chad and the guys did a great job installing everything
00:45:27here in the mill.
00:45:28I think they just don't have some experience with some
00:45:29of the other equipment that we have.
00:45:32Designed, programmed, Juan's cut table
00:45:36uses a torch burning a 25,000 degree jet of plasma
00:45:41to slice through 3 quarter inch steel.
00:45:45As we start doing our build and start
00:45:46seeing what we can do in the mill,
00:45:47sometimes that doesn't really come to pass.
00:45:49So what we have to do is kind of alter our plan
00:45:51and make it fit for their situation.
00:45:53We're going to have to make it work, you know,
00:45:55because we're going to build a separate screen.
00:45:56It's a lot more work.
00:45:57It's a lot more build time.
00:45:58But you know what?
00:45:59This machine's a time saver.
00:46:00So we just got to keep on plugging along.
00:46:10That cut out on the table, that saved us,
00:46:12you know, a day worth of work.
00:46:22Freddy, what can I help with?
00:46:23Well, we're going to need to move this around a little bit.
00:46:27Pivot?
00:46:28Well.
00:46:30Or tilt?
00:46:31When he's not working in real estate,
00:46:33hard rock mining greenhorn Sean spends his weekends
00:46:37at the mill chasing gold.
00:46:39Freddy's expertise and Juan's knowledge and fabrication
00:46:43can really get us over the hump and get
00:46:46those ounces per week we need.
00:46:48Sean's gold fever started over 20 years ago
00:46:52during a trip to California.
00:46:54The first time I found gold, I was in a river
00:46:56in northern California.
00:46:58I pulled back the flap on the dredge.
00:46:59I saw a line of gold laying across the mat,
00:47:02and I was absolutely hooked.
00:47:03I reached in, I picked that gold up.
00:47:05Like a marlin hitting a lure.
00:47:07I mean, bang, I was on and zzzz, fish on.
00:47:10There was, my life's never been the same since.
00:47:14Finding gold might have rocked Sean's world,
00:47:17but bricks and mortar pays bills.
00:47:20Real estate has been wonderful to me,
00:47:22but there are forces that are making that real estate
00:47:25business extremely difficult, and it's not
00:47:27financially as viable anymore.
00:47:29My wife and I sit down at the beginning of the month,
00:47:32and it's time to write some checks and pay some bills.
00:47:34Scares the heck out of me.
00:47:36It's sleepless nights.
00:47:37I was up last night thinking about this stuff.
00:47:40I want to be able to not survive, but thrive.
00:47:44And the opportunity that we have with Freddy and Juan,
00:47:47I think, we've got a shot at that.
00:47:49I don't have a backup plan.
00:47:51It's this, or find a possible financial room.
00:47:56That's thick enough to weld to, isn't it?
00:47:58Oh, yeah.
00:47:59Or do you want to screw to it?
00:48:00I can weld to it.
00:48:04Juan has cut all the pieces for the screen deck.
00:48:07Now he must weld them in place before Freddy
00:48:10can install the wire mesh.
00:48:11At the top of the second hopper, the new screen
00:48:14will divert oversized rock down a chute
00:48:18so it can be rerun through the crusher immediately.
00:48:21So I'm getting started on that surge bend screen.
00:48:24So all the material going into the surge bend,
00:48:25anything that's over half inch is going
00:48:27to go back to the crusher.
00:48:34I guess that's it.
00:48:37This will make it a lot more efficient.
00:48:40This will make it a lot more efficient.
00:48:41It will be nice.
00:48:42Well, we essentially put about four guys out of work, Freddy.
00:48:45Four different jobs.
00:48:45Yeah, four different jobs.
00:48:46But there's lots of other more beneficial jobs for them to do.
00:48:49Yeah.
00:48:50All right, Freddy, I'm going to get back to work.
00:48:51OK, thanks, Juan.
00:48:52Well, you guys ready to hang this?
00:48:54Yes, sir.
00:48:55With Freddy's scout of the other mine sites pressing,
00:48:59Ron and Sean help him test his design.
00:49:04Let's do a test run on it.
00:49:06Want to hand me some of that gravel there?
00:49:09Well, you ready?
00:49:10Yeah.
00:49:12Ready, Sean?
00:49:13Hold on, plugging it in.
00:49:15There you go.
00:49:22Take her down a couple more degrees.
00:49:26Right now, it's not shaking quite strong enough.
00:49:29We're going to have to pitch it down just a little bit
00:49:31for these square rocks.
00:49:34OK, come up.
00:49:37Come on.
00:49:38Fire it up.
00:49:53That's worse.
00:49:54Yeah.
00:49:55That s**t locks in those.
00:49:58A frustrating setback as the sharp rock
00:50:01catches in the mesh screen.
00:50:03Yeah, because all the angles, it's all crushed.
00:50:06Yeah.
00:50:09I'm frustrated on every fix sometimes,
00:50:11especially when you're behind the eight ball.
00:50:16Things take longer than you think they should
00:50:18or you planned them.
00:50:20You just keep your spirits up and you keep working.
00:50:24I wouldn't mind cutting another inch off your hopper.
00:50:26OK.
00:50:31When you're crushing rock, it's all angular,
00:50:34so it doesn't flow like a river rock.
00:50:37I think Freddy is getting a little frustrated,
00:50:39but he's sticking to it.
00:50:41He says he's not going to let it beat him.
00:50:46Just square-ass rocks and just no time left.
00:50:53Yeah, I don't think this is going to f**king work.
00:50:57F**k.
00:51:05Here we go.
00:51:06Fire in the hole.
00:51:10Now, shut it off.
00:51:14Shut it off.
00:51:25Oh, no.
00:51:26Oh, no.
00:51:26Oh, no.
00:51:27Oh, no.
00:51:28Oh, no.
00:51:29Oh, no.
00:51:30Oh, no.
00:51:30Oh, no.
00:51:31Oh, no.
00:51:32Oh, no.
00:51:34Oh, no.
00:51:36You can see rock still stuck in the screen.
00:51:39They're jammed in there.
00:51:40So it's going to get worse the more it runs.
00:51:43I'm going to have to bring it down about three more degrees.
00:51:45Yeah.
00:51:46Right now, it's probably 8 degrees.
00:51:48Is any material coming off of it or not?
00:51:50Very little.
00:51:51Yeah.
00:51:53There's a lot of things that have
00:51:54to be done to make this plant run more efficiently.
00:51:57If we leave a couple pieces of the puzzle out here,
00:52:00we're not going to get the efficiency rate
00:52:02we'd like to see out of it, out of what we're going to do.
00:52:14With the salvaged wire screen unusable,
00:52:18Freddy goes back to the drawing board.
00:52:21I kind of drew up a generic punch plate here.
00:52:24What do you think? Can you cut me one out?
00:52:25I'm not liking that wire cloth on there, that screen cloth.
00:52:28That's easy. We can do that.
00:52:30Thanks, sir.
00:52:31I'll spend the rest of the afternoon looking
00:52:32at some of their other mines.
00:52:34Okay.
00:52:36All right, Freddy, sounds good.
00:52:37One of the guys will have to carry on without me
00:52:39and get these fixes done.
00:52:47We got a lot of work to do to the plant,
00:52:49but we also got to try to find some better ore,
00:52:52so it's time to get out and look at some of their other mines.
00:52:55So, the mine that we're headed to
00:52:57is made up of a few different mines,
00:52:59and it's like an underground city.
00:53:03It's impressive.
00:53:05After a narrow escape from the previous mine,
00:53:08Chad's hoping he can convince Freddy
00:53:11his second mine has potential.
00:53:13Now, these veins strike over 5,000 feet in length.
00:53:18The vein's as wide as the truck.
00:53:21What year did they start mining here?
00:53:2342.
00:53:26Completed in 1916,
00:53:29Chad's other mine extends 300 feet below the surface
00:53:33with a labyrinth of tunnels
00:53:35that chase gold veins up to 12 feet wide.
00:53:40In its 26 years of operation,
00:53:42it produced 67,000 ounces worth $127 million in today's money.
00:53:52So, this your other spot, huh?
00:53:54Yeah.
00:53:56We're at the main haulage shaft.
00:54:01This goes down 300 feet.
00:54:05How far does this mine go?
00:54:07The strike of the vein is over 5,000 feet.
00:54:11That's a deep hole.
00:54:12Yeah.
00:54:15At 300 feet, I'm not building that long a ladder.
00:54:18You got any maps or anything of the mine?
00:54:20Yeah, I do.
00:54:23Back in the 80s, some geologists explored the mine,
00:54:27mapped it, and then took some samples.
00:54:29This is one of the parallel veins
00:54:31right next to the largest gold mine in the district,
00:54:35going over 1,250 feet deep.
00:54:38Your costs of playing with this, they're going to be high.
00:54:42Your other mine, your costs are high
00:54:44when you're underground, right?
00:54:45Right.
00:54:46Maybe a half ounce a ton can make a profit.
00:54:50It ain't going to work.
00:54:54It's not even worth looking at your other mine sites
00:54:56if this is the best one you have.
00:55:01But what do we think here?
00:55:04That's going to be all dump material.
00:55:08Dump material to there, just sitting here on the surface.
00:55:14When the old timers decided gold ore was too low value,
00:55:18they dumped the rock in piles on the surface.
00:55:22So I'm going to say 100 feet.
00:55:24Let's average it by 20 feet.
00:55:28You don't have to haul it from underground.
00:55:35Freddy's hunch?
00:55:37Rock left at the entrance of the mine, known as an ore dump,
00:55:42could be far richer than what Chad and his crew
00:55:45are currently mining.
00:55:49I'm just flipping a coin, but I'd
00:55:51test the old timer's waste that they
00:55:53couldn't get the gold out of.
00:55:55And I'm serious.
00:55:56I got a friend that that's what he does for a living.
00:55:58Amazing news.
00:56:00That's pretty rad.
00:56:01Yeah.
00:56:02This is where I'd start, because there's
00:56:03a whack of it sitting here.
00:56:04There is.
00:56:05They didn't have a jaw crusher sometimes.
00:56:08They didn't, you know, with some of those really old mines.
00:56:10They had to cherry pick the highest grade stuff.
00:56:11They hydrated it by hand.
00:56:13Yeah.
00:56:13Yep, nope, that's not good enough.
00:56:14That's only a quarter ounce per ton, right?
00:56:17We have a few mines with mine dumps on it.
00:56:21I guess if this is a quarter ounce per ton
00:56:23and just sitting here, 40,000 tons we're standing on.
00:56:2740,000 times 0.25 equals 10,000 ounces.
00:56:36Yes, sir.
00:56:40It's $17 million worth of gold you're possibly
00:56:42standing on right here.
00:56:44I like those numbers.
00:56:45Yeah, I like those numbers.
00:56:48Well, if you got more of this, who knows?
00:56:50You may never have to go underground again.
00:56:52If the numbers are right, this dump site
00:56:55could not only be profitable ahead of summer,
00:56:58but gives them capital to explore
00:57:00the other mines on their claim.
00:57:03I'm super happy with what Freddy just told us.
00:57:05What we have here at the mine and what
00:57:07we can get on the surface, we're excited to get after it.
00:57:11You know, the sky's the limit.
00:57:12I like the sound of this.
00:57:14This actually could be a lifeline for our team
00:57:17and for our season.
00:57:19But the only way to find out is to do a bulk test.
00:57:22I don't want the guys to get too excited.
00:57:24We can't bank on anything right now
00:57:26until we have the numbers and the gold to prove it.
00:57:29So it even becomes more important for Juan and myself
00:57:31to get their mill operating better than it was in the past
00:57:35so they can get more material through per day
00:57:38and get the gold in their pockets.
00:57:41Off to see the wizard.
00:57:45Woo!
00:57:54I'm excited to run a sample from that dump.
00:57:58Back at the mill, before Chad and his investor crew
00:58:01roll the dice on the old-timers ore dump.
00:58:04Awesome sauce.
00:58:05They need to confirm Freddy's hunch
00:58:07and crush a five-gallon sample to see if it contains gold.
00:58:11All right.
00:58:12I think I'm going to get it down to eighth inch.
00:58:15This is as true of a sample as we could get.
00:58:19I love the science behind hard rock mining.
00:58:21The geology, the engineering, that's
00:58:24what has captured my attention.
00:58:26And that's why I do what I do.
00:58:33It seems like gold fever is a disease.
00:58:35Absolutely.
00:58:38To help control it, I try to base my hope
00:58:42on science and some of the testing
00:58:44that we do because gold fever can sometimes
00:58:47steer you down the wrong route.
00:58:48So you got to make good decisions.
00:58:50You got to know for a fact it's there.
00:58:52You got to test like crazy, sample, sample, sample.
00:58:55That's a good crush there, Harry.
00:58:57If you don't, and you're just going on that hunch,
00:58:59there's a really good chance that you might be throwing
00:59:02your money down the drain.
00:59:04Greg, ready for it?
00:59:05Yeah, he's ready.
00:59:06Cool.
00:59:07Yeah, let's go get it over there.
00:59:13So we're just finishing up the punch plate for Freddy.
00:59:27We had the wire mesh, but the wire mesh really
00:59:30didn't work for what we wanted.
00:59:31With just two days remaining at the Gretzner's hard rock mine,
00:59:35Juan puts the finishing touches on Freddy's new screen
00:59:39for the surge hopper.
00:59:40So there it is.
00:59:41I'm going to go give it to Freddy
00:59:43so he can get it installed.
00:59:44Keep on working.
00:59:48Ready to go in, buddy.
00:59:49Nice.
00:59:50Thank you, sir.
00:59:51It looks good.
00:59:53Before, oversized rock collected under the hopper
00:59:57and had to be removed by hand.
01:00:00Now, Freddy's new screen will divert
01:00:02oversized rock down a chute, ready to be
01:00:06rerun through the crusher.
01:00:12What do you think, Juan?
01:00:14I like it, Freddy.
01:00:15Get some rocks and throw on there.
01:00:17See what it does, huh?
01:00:19It's getting the rocks screened out,
01:00:20so where all the material going into the surge hopper
01:00:23is the size it needs to be.
01:00:24And it allows them to re-crush that material
01:00:26on the same circuit with the same ore,
01:00:30so they aren't watering down another batch of material.
01:00:42Well, the screen's working, but we only had the one vibrator,
01:00:46so use what you got.
01:00:48And there's no getting one in time.
01:00:51You may not be the prettiest girl at the dance,
01:00:53but she's at the dance.
01:00:56I like it.
01:00:57It ought to work, huh?
01:01:02OK, are we ready for milling?
01:01:03Yeah.
01:01:04Boy, look at the color of that.
01:01:05With the ore dump sample crushed,
01:01:07Greg steps up to mill the material into a fine powder
01:01:11to release the gold.
01:01:13So, Dad, I got your mask right here.
01:01:15I'll set it in your screen so it doesn't blow away.
01:01:17All right.
01:01:19This has been quite the seven years.
01:01:21This works out.
01:01:22We're going to have a great opportunity to take your job off
01:01:26and to fulfill your dream.
01:01:27Yeah, thanks, Dad.
01:01:28That's been, you know, my dream, too.
01:01:31We did a lot of work, man.
01:01:33Thanks, Dad.
01:01:34We got a lot more coming up.
01:01:35Yeah.
01:01:35So, thank you for sticking with it
01:01:37and, you know, keeping us rolling.
01:01:40Yeah.
01:01:41We haven't let any of these challenges that we faced,
01:01:44you know, come between us.
01:01:46All right, well, let's get some gold, darn it.
01:01:47All right.
01:01:49He's a big part of my life
01:01:51and I want to see his goals reached.
01:01:54He's put so much work into it.
01:01:56And to have him make this thing work
01:01:59and maybe quit his job one day,
01:02:01it'd be such a blessing.
01:02:04I would love that.
01:02:05After milling the ore...
01:02:08Awesome.
01:02:10...Greg runs it through a small sluice.
01:02:13We get about 87% recovery on the first run.
01:02:17All right, clean up after this one.
01:02:24Hey, Punky-Doo.
01:02:25Hey, honey.
01:02:26How are you feeling?
01:02:27I'm feeling good.
01:02:28I brought you your water.
01:02:29How's your hands feeling?
01:02:31Yeah, they're okay.
01:02:31They're okay?
01:02:32Yeah.
01:02:33You know, mining with Chad
01:02:34has given Greg a new sense of purpose.
01:02:37And he's just a new man being closer to his son.
01:02:42This hard rock mining is not easy.
01:02:44You know, I've seen them build it from the ground up
01:02:47and it's amazing what they've built.
01:02:49It's nice to see you and Chad working together.
01:02:52Yeah, are you kidding me?
01:02:53I love it.
01:02:54It's just amazing.
01:02:55We turn into a hell of a team.
01:02:56Absolutely.
01:02:57Let's go take this final pan over.
01:03:00This is really cool, son.
01:03:05The results of this test is very important.
01:03:09This is a crucial test.
01:03:12I'm hoping that we'll be able to find out
01:03:13how many grams of gold we can recover.
01:03:16From what I'm seeing in this pan right now,
01:03:18I am hoping that we'll be able to find out
01:03:20how many grams of gold we can recover.
01:03:22And I'm hoping that we'll be able to find out
01:03:24how many grams of gold we can recover.
01:03:26From what I'm seeing in this pan right now,
01:03:28I am super excited because I am seeing some gold.
01:03:34Yeah, baby.
01:03:36Man, we need this.
01:03:39Oh, I can't wait to show the guys this.
01:03:42Hey guys, grab Freddy.
01:03:44He needs to see this.
01:03:47What's that?
01:03:51This might be better than we were anticipating.
01:03:53I can see from here.
01:03:54Oh, oh, oh.
01:03:55Yep, this is from the dump.
01:03:57Well, if that's 10 pound,
01:03:58we multiply it by 200 for a ton, right?
01:04:01Yes, sir.
01:04:03That's $300 a ton material.
01:04:07Okay.
01:04:08Chad could earn up to $3,000 a day
01:04:11running this grade of pay through his plant.
01:04:14Well, guys, that looks pretty good
01:04:16in the pan for that dump material.
01:04:18It's better than what you ran the first time, it looks like.
01:04:20Let's run it on the final test
01:04:21and let's learn together on what lives in it,
01:04:24how much gold's in it, okay?
01:04:27All right.
01:04:27Thanks, Freddy.
01:04:28Yeah, see you in a bit, guys.
01:04:32He ran the math and he looked at it
01:04:35and said, that's $300 a ton.
01:04:37What?
01:04:38On the dump.
01:04:39We could literally go and pull this from the surface.
01:04:42Wow.
01:04:43That would be amazing.
01:04:44Unbelievable.
01:04:44That's awesome, oh my God.
01:04:45That's awesome.
01:04:46Oh my God.
01:04:49We need this.
01:04:51This could not only save our seeds,
01:04:53this could not only save our season now, but next year.
01:04:58It sounds like we're sitting on a gold mine.
01:05:03Literally.
01:05:05I just did not expect this to happen.
01:05:07Sometimes you don't see it,
01:05:08it takes somebody else's eyes to show it to you.
01:05:12Wow.
01:05:14Where's Freddy?
01:05:14I need to hug him.
01:05:18Good panning.
01:05:18Great news.
01:05:20Gets loosened.
01:05:21Oh, thank you.
01:05:22Seeing that much gold for such a small amount of material
01:05:26tells us that it's possible,
01:05:27that we can be successful doing this
01:05:30and making a living at it.
01:05:31It's never easy.
01:05:33Stuff will always break down,
01:05:35but we know that when we persevere
01:05:36and we sample, sample, sample, we can do this.
01:05:51Hey, guys.
01:05:52We're going to have to do some grading on this road
01:05:54before we get the Mini-X here.
01:05:56In the blazing sun of the Mojave Desert,
01:05:59the Gretzner crew collect ore from the old-timers' dump
01:06:03for a two-hour run.
01:06:06We're working out here in the California desert,
01:06:09chasing the American dream.
01:06:11Hopefully this bulk test is going to bear some fruit.
01:06:15The thought of 10,000 ounces being here,
01:06:17this would change the lives for our team.
01:06:20We're hopeful that we'll be able to run the volume
01:06:23that we need to get the gold out of this ground right here.
01:06:27This will be our last bucket load.
01:06:29Oh, yeah, we're full.
01:06:29Both bags are full.
01:06:33That's done.
01:06:34Let's secure our load.
01:06:36There is so much left in the hills.
01:06:38Is it easy to get?
01:06:39Yes.
01:06:41Let's go.
01:06:42Let's go.
01:06:51So, I was thinking about coming out the top there.
01:06:53At the Gretzner's hard rock mill...
01:06:57What do you think?
01:06:58With just 12 hours before the final test,
01:07:01Juan races to finish the sluice
01:07:04that will be positioned after the mill
01:07:06crushes the rock to a powder.
01:07:09We're going to do a small sluice box,
01:07:11but on top of that small sluice box,
01:07:12we're going to build a little bit of a screen
01:07:14to be able to cut that bigger material out.
01:07:16To prevent the sluice from breaking,
01:07:18Juan has fabricated a vibrating screen to remove them
01:07:22and made a mini sluice to catch gold before the table.
01:07:29Juan.
01:07:29Hey, how are you doing, Greg?
01:07:30Oh, I'm doing a lot better.
01:07:32Feeling better?
01:07:32Yeah.
01:07:33Happy to hear that, buddy.
01:07:34You know, we love the whole dynamic here,
01:07:36you know, you and your son,
01:07:37and if we can help you guys,
01:07:38we want to help you guys, you know, reach your goal.
01:07:40What I can see, you already have a men's hand.
01:07:43You're going to be able to do a lot better.
01:07:44I'm going to be able to do a lot better.
01:07:46I'm going to be able to do a lot better.
01:07:47I can see you already have immensely.
01:07:49So again, thank you so much.
01:07:50Hey, no problem.
01:07:51From the bottom of my heart, man.
01:07:52Hey, thank you.
01:07:53All right.
01:07:54I'll see you here in a bit.
01:07:55I like your setup, too.
01:07:55Hey, thank you.
01:07:56Pretty bitchin'.
01:07:57Take care, bud.
01:07:59Working alongside of Freddy and Juan,
01:08:02at first I was, I mean, nervous, you know?
01:08:05It was like, oh my gosh, it's Freddy and Juan.
01:08:08But then when I saw their work ethics,
01:08:10and they're just regular guys,
01:08:13it just makes you really happy.
01:08:18What do you think of that little guy, Freddy?
01:08:19I like it.
01:08:20I narrowed it up a little bit
01:08:21so it would fit inside that trough.
01:08:22That's perfect, yeah.
01:08:24I just finished up the screen.
01:08:25All it's going to do is cut out anything
01:08:27that's eighth of an inch and bigger.
01:08:28Going to cut it out into a bucket.
01:08:29The smaller material in the water
01:08:31should still travel down the sluice box
01:08:33and be able to get recovered here
01:08:34in the little riffles we're going to put in,
01:08:35and then make its way to the table.
01:08:38I need to drop these a little more in the front.
01:08:39Yep, you do.
01:08:44Yeah, it's hitting the bottom of that chute.
01:08:45It's taking away some of the vibration.
01:08:48You know, this is not ideal.
01:08:49You know, typically, Freddy and I
01:08:50like to get done a little quicker
01:08:52so that way we have a little more time to work out,
01:08:54iron out any bugs if there's any.
01:08:56But unfortunately, we didn't get that far.
01:08:57So, we're going to go ahead and take this
01:08:59to the right side, put it in the bottom.
01:09:02And we're going to go ahead and start
01:09:03out iron out any bugs if there's any but unfortunately we didn't have that with
01:09:08this build.
01:09:22Well I'm excited to see it run looking forward to it. Yeah me too. It's been a
01:09:28hard week though. It's been a busy week. Been hard, hot, a lot of work. Get the
01:09:35material in here and run a test.
01:09:39Well guys what do you think? You ready to do a test run? Well I hope this
01:09:45materials got as much gold in it as that test you guys crushed in that little
01:09:49crusher. Let's do it. We got fuel.
01:09:54Lighting up the jaw crusher. Oh I am tickled to see all these new fixes work.
01:10:01Clear fill. I'll set a timer. Yeah. Two hours.
01:10:09Light it up Terry.
01:10:13Right going up to first bag.
01:10:17Hard rock sourced from the old timers ore dump is loaded into the hopper.
01:10:25That's perfect. I like it. Previously with the chain pull it was a
01:10:31four-minute four-man job and ore would come pack in the hopper. The way that
01:10:37eccentric's designed there's two weights on each side so as we bring those back
01:10:42opposite of each other you can slow that feed down you can speed it up. Now the
01:10:48winch takes less than 20 seconds to unload the bag and the eccentric motor
01:10:54aided by adjustable air bags helps throw the rock directly into the jaw
01:10:59crusher. Freddie it's working good.
01:11:05I don't have to rake anymore. No more raking.
01:11:11In the first test oversized rock clogged up the milling process in the second
01:11:16hopper and on the gold table losing valuable time and gold. Look how fine
01:11:22this is with the with the oversized knockoff. Well that screen down there
01:11:27didn't work at all. No. You had to sit there with a hammer so now we're getting
01:11:31it out of there when it needs to be out of there. Yeah. Now Freddie and Juan have
01:11:37fitted screens throughout the system which will filter out any small rocks
01:11:42that block the finer gold from settling on the table. Oh yeah look at that line
01:11:48of gold. I think it's spreading a little better. Yeah and it's not competing for the same space
01:11:55that the gold is you know. I'd rather deal with it here than down here.
01:11:59Absolutely. Systems primed. Outside while the test continues. Here comes the water.
01:12:08Harry is trying to rescue another valuable commodity. Water. Can you check
01:12:15the table see if we got good flow? All right I'll check water. Copy. It's not pumping at all
01:12:20right now. So what's going on? For some reason this sand screw stopped
01:12:25performing. A sand screw is able to recycle water for the gold table by
01:12:34separating it from the gravel. The spiral of metal known as a weir slowly turns
01:12:40upwards carrying the sodden material. As it lifts the water runs down from the
01:12:46weir blade to collect in the calming pool below. The gravel sticks to the
01:12:52blades and travels up to the top becoming drier tailings.
01:12:59Oh it's all f**ked up.
01:13:03Oh f**k. It's plugged solid. Look how soupy this is. It's probably 30% water. Now here every drop
01:13:13of water counts for you guys I'll bet you. Is it true?
01:13:17We can save a bunch of this water. Here right now it's not working. It's too
01:13:23steep for one. It's set about eight degrees steeper than the steepest point
01:13:27you should have a sand screw at. Something I have to think my way through. Figure out a
01:13:32way to make it work. It's 26 degrees. First thing I seen and I'm like that
01:13:38thing's way too steep. So I think we pick this end up and then we just shovel out
01:13:43from under it and then keep coming down with it until we get probably 15. Yes sir.
01:13:50Well let's lower it down. Clear. Keep going. We're down. Right now we're at about
01:13:5819 and a half degrees which is a lot better than 26 because you seen it would
01:14:03not carry your material up at that pitch. Well let's put some material in it.
01:14:10Some water. See what it does. Freddy's simple fix could save the crew time and
01:14:17over 50% of their water.
01:14:30We got a problem down here. It's still blinding down on the bottom. I don't know.
01:14:37I really don't know. Well I can figure something out and I don't have time for
01:14:42you guys right now. Just leave me alone with the cameras for a bit.
01:14:56Vulture gold mine Juan. While traveling the lower 48 helping struggling miners
01:15:02Freddy and Juan take a break at the famous hard rock vulture mine. There's
01:15:085,000 people here Juan at one time. Man I think about the families that lived out
01:15:12here the men that worked out here. Men that died here. Yeah it was a tough way
01:15:17to make a living back then. Still is. I've worked underground enough to know how
01:15:21tough it is. Better not be claustrophobic. Nope. When the lights go out it's darkness.
01:15:25You've never felt darkness like that. There is no darkness like it. In
01:15:29Colorado you'd go in at like 12,000 feet be 40 below zero and get down to the
01:15:35bottom it's a hundred and ten. Every bit of you just wet. That's why they call it
01:15:40the dry up top. Yeah exactly. These old-timers were tough Freddy. Damn tough.
01:15:45It's a rough life back there but I guarantee if we'd have had the
01:15:48opportunity to we'd probably been there. You know I think it's kind of in our
01:15:51blood. Is that a lure? Yeah exactly.
01:15:56You
01:16:04Eyeballs.
01:16:11Is it scary of me cutting your machine up like this? There's a lot of things that
01:16:15scare me but cutting a piece of metal is not one of them. At the Gretzner mine in
01:16:19California an hour into the test Freddy spotted a problem. Takes a lot of
01:16:25resources for these guys to get water out here they have to haul it. So every
01:16:29bit we can save is gonna save them money down the line and time where they could
01:16:34be doing other things such as finding better gold deposits. I'm gonna take a
01:16:38little less out than I initially was just in case your material doesn't like
01:16:43it. We can always take more out. In order for the sand screw to work Freddy cuts a
01:16:49drainage channel down one weir to let more water drain out. Well let's dump
01:16:55some sand and water in it and see what it does. Roger that.
01:16:58Sand's coming. Well hopefully this works here because we're running out of time fast.
01:17:06I'm really curious to see that plug working. That's something I would have
01:17:10never thought of. That's why these guys are out here.
01:17:19How's it working Freddy? Is it working good? Nice.
01:17:25Look at the water how it's heaping heaping heaping heaping then look up
01:17:29here. Yeah. It's cutting 90% of the water out of it from down here.
01:17:34Freddy's idea to drop the angle of the sand screw and cut a drainage channel in
01:17:39the weir has paid off. Huge difference huh? Just from that little gap right there.
01:17:46It's crazy how something so simple works so well Freddy. Yeah. Well if this
01:17:53thing keeps working like it is now you just lost a job out here. I don't mind
01:17:57that part. Yeah. You're much appreciated. Welcome.
01:18:00Working with Freddy's been cool. Anytime I meet someone new and work with
01:18:04someone I haven't before I get an opportunity to see some of the tricks of
01:18:08the trade and been watching them carefully so that's been nice.
01:18:16How's it going? That thing has no visible. No. But that's usual.
01:18:20Might shut it off there guys because by the time this gets up the belt will
01:18:24probably be exactly two hours. Right. All right let's shut her down.
01:18:29In the two-hour test run the Gretzner crew has run double the amount of pay
01:18:35through its mill. There's gold in it. Right here. The whole band of gold. Up
01:18:43here is a bunch of gold. Water's off. These guys have been great to work with.
01:18:51You know they're they're not lazy. You know they aren't sitting on their thumbs.
01:18:55They want to get involved and that's good. Without that involvement from this
01:19:00group we wouldn't have got the amount of things done that we got done.
01:19:13How's it going guys? You got the gold all dried? Yeah we do. Let's do it.
01:19:25During the first two-hour test run. Yes. It wasn't good you know for that amount
01:19:30of labor that you guys put into it. I know it's a labor of love but when
01:19:33you're going broke it's not worth it. Well weigh it up Juan. Well let's let Chad
01:19:38do it. Yeah. There you go Chad. It's your mine you do the honors. To make the mine
01:19:43viable Chad must produce at least a quarter of an ounce of gold. There we go.
01:19:48Okay. Point zero one. We're past what we did last time. Yep. There's still a lot of gold in the jar.
01:19:54Point zero seven, nine, ten, eleven. Wow. Point two oh, point two three, point two five, point two six.
01:20:04Point two six. Just over a quarter of an ounce. That's awesome. That's sweet. Nice.
01:20:10Worth almost five hundred dollars Freddie and Juan have increased the
01:20:15Gretzner's gold by seven hundred and sixty-seven percent. So it's dang near
01:20:21ten times the amount of gold in that pan with a lot less work. Freddie's
01:20:26gamble to run the old-timers ore dump has paid off. Remind us again what was
01:20:31your goal for for the rest of the season? We got a hit 20 ounces before summer
01:20:36heats us up. Okay and we don't have a whole lot of time left to do that. Yeah
01:20:40maybe six weeks. That's achievable easily. You're gonna exceed your goal. If you can
01:20:45get a ten-hour day running here right at 1.1 tons per hour that's 11 tons a
01:20:52day right? If you kept it running every day that's a hundred thousand bucks a
01:20:55month. In just 30 days the crew has the potential to beat their 20 ounce season
01:21:01goal twice over. That's no joke. That's some serious money.
01:21:07That's amazing. There's 40,000 tons there roughly. You'll be running on that stuff
01:21:12for a while. What do you guys think about that? That is awesome. That's massive. Wow. I couldn't be happier you know
01:21:19because what we've done here may change these guys future and seeing the smiles
01:21:23on their faces when we weighed the gold you know nothing beats that. Oh my gosh
01:21:28that's so pretty. Right? Gold mining has definitely brought my son and I so much
01:21:34closer. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It didn't just solidify my son and me
01:21:40but our whole team. Our whole team. So yeah what hell of a week. We're excited
01:21:47for you guys. You know honestly we see that it makes everything we did and all
01:21:50the hard work you guys have put in you know worth it because now it's it's a
01:21:53possibility. This is a real possibility. Freddie and I are actually leaving today
01:21:57knowing that the adjustments we made in their mill they at least have the tools
01:22:01to be able to make themselves successful. Stay in touch guys. Good working with you buddy.
01:22:07Take care. Bye. I'm really excited about this the potential now with what I saw today.
01:22:15Prior to that gold way we were running this out of our pockets because we
01:22:20weren't making enough gold to basically even pay the electric bill. Now that's
01:22:24off the table with what Freddie and Juan have designed for us and the efficiencies
01:22:28that we have and this gold dump that Freddie discovered is gonna put us in
01:22:33the profit column. The future definitely looks bright in this regard considering
01:22:37the gold recovery we just got and what we're potentially standing on but I'm
01:22:41gonna go through it and make it happen first and then and then I'll do the
01:22:45happy dance. Our future is is wide open. Our future is so bright we got to wear
01:22:49shades. Like it's gonna be wonderful. Well this week has been a roller coaster the
01:22:55gold recovery that we have and now what that means for our team. What matters
01:23:00most to us is relationships and I think we'll we have a stronger relationship
01:23:04now than even ever. Our future looks bright guys. Let's go make it happen.
01:23:09What do you say we go get some go get some gold. Let's go get some gold. All right.
01:23:30Mhm.
01:23:34Mhm.
01:23:36Mhm.