Hoffman Family Gold

Last season,

the Hoffmans faced the richest...

Yeah, that's crazy gold.

...but toughest mine of their career.

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Stop!

I don't think we're gonna make it.

But they rose to the challenge...

Come on, baby!

And won.

You guys out there, did it, man.

Now, they're back to get the gold.

This year, I brought a killer crew.

Only the best.

This is almost like, going to war.

You got your army and The Holy Roller is like your tank.

And this season, the risk...

I am way out on a limb, financially.

...is all on Todd's shoulders.

Todd has thrown it all on the line.

We need a lot of gold.

But there's one obstacle he didn't see coming.

His son, Hunter.

Me and my Dad has totally different styles of how we operate, how we work.

- Cut down. -Just be quiet. Let me back drag it.

After years of clashes...

-He died. I don't know why. - Why?

...Hunter Hoffman sets out on his own.

This is my tenth season. I've always wanted to run my own plant.

If we have two plants going,

we have a better chance of hitting our goal.

All I'm asking is for you to give me a chance.

I hope you know what you're getting involved into.

My mind is already made up.

It's a big gamble. It's a huge, huge risk.

The Hoffmans may have finally hit the motherload.

Look at Tater's hand.

-All gold, man. - Is that amazing or what?

This is the richest ground that I've ever mined on.

Popping nuggets left and right.

But will this season tear them apart?

You guys said you will bring the 650 here.

Don't ever call me a liar.

'Cause I'll fight you right out here in this pay pile.

If we can't do it now, we're in deep, deep trouble.

And me in financial ruin.

Look at these, guys.

- Wow. - Holy cow!

That's a lineup, boys.

I got a lease for all new equipment.

-Do you see that? -Yeah.

You said new equipment. That's insane.

Dude, this sick!

Pow.

Everything has auto-greasers.

What do you think, Jack?

Oh, my gosh, Todd.

We've never ever had equipment like this.

New bucket, new teeth, new cutting edges.

New cab. It's like a new car.

This is crazy.

For ten years... Hunter, my dad and I,

we've been looking for a mine

that is rich and hasn't been picked through.

And I think we found it right here at Mammoth Valley.

We know that Mammoth Valley mine is loaded with gold.

- Holy! - Oh!

Let 'em see that.

-That is gold. What? -That is crazy!

5.1 ounces per hundred.

Holy great!

It worked out to 70 ounces per 100 yards.

That's just out of this world.

Last year, we barely scratched the surface.

This is the type of drone we've been looking for.

But now, we're back to finish what we started.

Okay, what's the plan. Andy!

How are we gonna get across this freaking river?

That bridge will not hold these machines.

No.

But we know, last year, we never would have made it across.

It's just too deep.

We had a drier year.

The water is as low as we've ever seen it.

Hopefully, it's low enough.

This is our best opportunity.

I'll jump in the shortest machine, the 360.

I feel my way across it

and once I get across,

then everybody can just follow the exact the same route.

Guys, these machines are like, the best machines

that we've ever had a chance to run.

And I'm financially on the hook on these babies,

so let's not stick one out here in the river

and ruin the dang thing.

Last season was a disaster.

There's a hole in the slurry line.

It's got a torque converter overheat issue.

One excavator has a leaky hose.

Massive oil leak. You can't open the door.

The fuel truck blew the engine.

This tire is junk. No good.

All the equipment broke down.

It doesn't have enough hydraulic power to pull itself out.

Lot of smoke.

We actually spent more time repairing it than running it.

We're gonna be working around the clock.

Not this year.

To succeed up here, you cannot have breakdowns.

Come on, Andy. Let's fire it up.

Let's bring that 360 out here.

Okay, fire it up.

You have to have the best equipment

and that's what I paid for.

Look how much lower Andy is

-than a driver in one of those rock trucks. - Yeah.

We're gonna bring Andy out with the 360

which is our shortest machine.

If we don't get these machines across that river,

we're screwed.

-It is truly sink or swim. You know? -Yeah.

Come on, baby.

Andy is poking around, he's feeling around.

He's looking for the hole,

just to make sure he's gonna be safe.

Ooh, it's looking deep already.

Damn, where my bucket is, it looks like it will be

right at the flipping top of the house.

Gonna be really close.

Yeah, I don't like that.

You're gonna throw water up into the electronics and everything else.

Getting deeper.

You're in the house now, Andy.

Ooh. Uh-oh.

It's getting a lot deeper.

- We better get going. - Oh, man.

Oh! Holy cow!

I gotta be getting close to coming up the road.

Careful!

Careful, Andy.

Oh, my God.

Come on. Little further.

Okay, my bucket is on shallower ground.

Going for it.

Go. Go, go, go, go, go.

We got it. We got it.

Oh, man. I thought it was going down.

He freakin' made it.

No way.

He did it. He made it across.

Come on, Tater.

Coming through, you guys.

Follow that path, Tater.

Don't veer off of it.

Copy.

I am way out on a limb, financially.

This mine is in the Seward Peninsula of Alaska.

80 miles off of Nome, so we're completely off the grid.

Wow, it's getting deep.

So my equipment and transportation costs

are north of $750,000.

We got 'er.

Labor and fuel costs are at about $150,000 each.

Ooh, she's getting deep.

I'm look at 600 ounces, give or take

just to break even.

Hudson's coming through now.

But a good mine gives you a profit

that you can take home

and it leaves enough gold to put into next year.

That's our last truck.

So, I'm looking for thousand ounces of gold

to call this season a win.

Okay, don't turn yet.

Going through. We're going through.

It's kinda slipping. It's slipping.

Hey, that truck is slipping.

Hold up, hold up. Don't carry it up.

I'll get behind him. I'll tell you when I'm there.

When you feel me touch your headache rack,

then you start going. Okay?

Ten-four.

There you go, boys. That's how it's done, baby.

Nice job.

All right!

Yee-haw! We got her.

Love you, baby.

We did it. We got it. We're good.

-Nailed it. -Made it.

This year, I brought a killer crew.

I need a hug.

-I need a hug. -We win!

Awesome, man.

Need a pair of underwear.

I brought only the best.

I got my son, Hunter. I got my son, Cub.

Andy and his son Dakota.

Even Sparky.

And I brought in a couple of experts, Framer and Tater.

Those guys can run anything that we have.