Gold Rush

WE'RE TWO WEEKS IN, AND WE HAVEN'T MINED AN OUNCE OF GOLD.

Narrator: ON THIS "GOLD RUSH"...

HEY, BUD, I'M ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS DOZER.

SHE'S TOAST.

. THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

HEY, GUYS, I'M GONNA SHUT IT DOWN.

I CALL THIS THE WAKE-UP CALL.

THERE'S NOT ONE PERSON HERE THAT WANTS TO SIT ON THEIR ASS.

THIS IS HOW IT'S GONNA BE ALL YEAR.

WHAT THE WOULD I EXPECT BUT, FOR THEM TO BAIL?

I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GONNA HAVE A MINING SEASON THIS YEAR.

YOU'VE GOTTA GO MINE SOMEWHERE, SO WHERE DO YOU GO MINE?

Parker: THE CLUSTER CUT SURE PROVED UP TO HER NAME.

MITCH, THIS THING'S ON FIRE.

WE'RE IN TROUBLE.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Parker: I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GONNA HAVE

A MINING SEASON THIS YEAR.

TONY HAS CAUSED ENOUGH PROBLEMS TO THE POINT WHERE

OUR ONLY OPTION IS TO REMOVE ALL OUR EQUIPMENT

FROM THE GROUND THAT...

FROM THE GROUND THAT I OWN.

AND I'M DRIVING HOME TO SEE MY FOLKS

AND SEE WHAT...

SEE WHAT MY MOM AND DAD HAVE TO SAY.

Narrator: TWO WEEKS INTO THE SEASON,

PARKER SCHNABEL IS FACING A CRITICAL SHORTFALL

AFTER BEING FORCED TO PUT HIS MINING OPERATION ON HOLD.

Parker: YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT I DO KNOW IS THAT

GOT A LOT OF BILLS TO PAY.

SPENT A LOT OF MONEY THIS WINTER,

SPENT A LOT OF MONEY THIS SPRING,

AND, UM...

WE'RE GONNA BE BROKE IN A HURRY

IF WE DON'T FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.

COME ON! COME ON!

Nancy: HI, BUDDY!

HI, HONEY!

DID YOU SLEEP ON THE WAY? I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED.

-OH, YEAH. HEY, DAD. -HEY, PARKER.

-HOW YOU DOING FELLA? -GOOD. HOW ARE YOU?

-NICE TO SEE YA. -DOZER, COME HERE.

REAL PLEASURE.

Nancy: SO, PARKER, I'VE HEARD THINGS AREN'T GOING SO WELL.

YEAH, AND NOW THEY'RE GOING WORSE.

TONY IS GIVING YA A LOT OF GRIEF? WHAT'S GOING ON?

YEAH, SO, I MEAN, IT ALL STARTED WITH HIM

BLOWING UP AT ME LAST WEEK.

Narrator: PARKER STARTED THE SEASON TRYING TO MINE

HIS OWN GROUND FOR THE FIRST TIME

AND OPEN THE CLUSTER CUT.

Narrator: BUT HE FAILED TO GET TONY BEETS' PERMISSION

TO ACCESS WATER, TO AND FROM THE INDIAN RIVER.

THIS MINING SEASON'S GONNA END BEFORE IT STARTED.

YEAH, SINCE THEN, TONY'S REFUSED TO TALK TO ME,

AND IT LED ME INTO A SITUATION WHERE I'VE --

I'VE TOLD THE MINING INSPECTORS THAT EITHER AN AGREEMENT

WILL BE IN PLACE OR I'LL LEAVE,

AND I'VE GOTTA HONOR THAT, RIGHT?

AT THIS POINT IN TIME, BECAUSE OF TONY'S ACTIONS,

I DON'T SEE ANY FEASIBLE WAY TO MAKE THAT WORK.

THE GROUND THAT WE BOUGHT...

LIKE...

I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS ALL HEADS.

LOOK AT IT FROM CASH FLOW,

YOU'LL HAVE NO CREW TO DO ANYTHING IF YOU DON'T

GIVE 'EM -- IF YOU DON'T PAY THEIR PAYROLL, YOU KNOW?

WHAT THIS ALL LEADS TO IS, WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO

TO KEEP OUR BUSINESS, TO SURVIVE?

LIKE, WE'RE IN TROUBLE.

RIGHT?

I MEAN, IS HE JUST BEING THIS WAY BECAUSE HE CAN?

'CAUSE HE WANTS TO MESS WITH YOU,

WHAT'S HIS END GAME?

I REALLY THINK THIS WAS ALL MALICIOUS ON TONY'S PART

TO GET ME RIGHT BACK TO HIS GROUND

AND KEEP PAYING HIM ROYALTIES.

AND HE NEEDS THE MONEY.

IS THERE ANY OTHER GROUND ANYWHERE THAT YOU KNOW

THAT YOU CAN MINE?

THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS, THIS TIME OF YEAR,

IF ANYBODY YOU APPROACH, THEY KNOW THAT YOU'RE DESPERATE.

YOU'RE DESPERATE, SO...

AND IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT I'VE LEARNED UP THERE...

YEAH, IT'S DON'T BE DESPERATE.

...IT'S THAT MOVES THAT ARE MADE IN DESPERATION...

-DON'T WORK OUT. -...ARE JUST TERRIBLE.

I MEAN, YOU'VE GOTTA GO MINE SOMEWHERE,

SO WHERE DO YOU GO MINE?

UM...

THE ONLY THING FEASIBLE RIGHT NOW

WOULD BE...

UM....

GOING BACK TO LEASING FROM TONY BEETS.

GOING BACK TO THE LAST CUT, WHERE WE LEFT OFF LAST YEAR.

WHAT I'M REALLY HAVING TROUBLE WITH,

WHAT I DON'T THINK I COULD DO,

IS GO MINE HIS GROUND AND PAY HIM ROYALTIES EVERY WEEK

AFTER ALL THAT HE'S DONE TO YOU THIS SEASON.

I MEAN, HE HAS TOTALLY RUINED YOUR SEASON.

FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT, YEAH, IT MAKES ME DISGUSTED

BUT IT'S THE ONLY FEASIBLE MOVE TO SURVIVE.

IT IS THE TIME TO PUT MONEY IN THE BANK AS SOON AS WE CAN.

-THANKS, MOM. -

Narrator: INSTEAD OF MINING HIS OWN GROUND,

ROYALTY FREE, PARKER WILL ONCE AGAIN LEASE FROM TONY

AND PAY A ROYALTY THAT LAST YEAR TOTALED

OVER $1.3 MILLION.

YEAH, I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY IS DOES KIND OF FEEL

LIKE TONY HAS BEAT US INTO SUBMISSION, YOU KNOW.

IT REALLY FEELS LIKE HE WON

AND THAT WE'RE CRAWLING BACK TO HIM.

TONY IS LIKE A COCKROACH.

HE WILL SURVIVE ANYTHING.

I WILL GET TONY BEETS BACK FOR WHAT HE'S DONE.

AT THIS POINT, WE'RE TWO WEEKS IN,

SPENDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS,

AND I GOT NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVEN'T MINED AN OUNCE OF GOLD.

Narrator: AT QUARTZ CREEK, NEW MINE BOSS RICK NESS

IS ATTEMPTING TO OPEN UP HIS FIRST EVER CUT,

THE FREEDOM CUT,

A PIECE OF GROUND THE SIZE OF FOUR FOOTBALL FIELDS.

Rick: I'VE GOT EVERYTHING I HAVE ON THE LINE,

BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALSO MY FRIENDS AS WELL,

AND THEY'VE GOT WIVES, KIDS.

AND IF I CAN'T START SHOWING THEM SOME GOLD,

I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THEY CAN AFFORD TO STICK AROUND.

ALL I'VE GOT IS A DOG TO FEED.

IT'S NOT REALLY THE SAME, YOU KNOW.

I LEFT MY WIFE AND MY 8-YEAR-OLD SON

TO COME UP HERE.

AND WE GOTTA GET SOME GOLD IN OUR HANDS.

Rick: OUR MAJOR PROBLEM RIGHT NOW

IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE A DOZER TO GET THROUGH THIS PERMAFROST.

IT'S JUST THIS TIME A YEAR UP HERE, MAN,

THERE'S JUST NONE AVAILABLE.

EVERYBODY'S USING THEIR STUFF.

Narrator: LAST WEEK, RICK HIRED

SHEAMUS CHRISTIE'S MONSTER 475 DOZER.

IT GOT HIM DOWN TO FROZEN GRAVEL.

BUT AT $10,000 A DAY, HE COULDN'T AFFORD TO KEEP IT.

SO HE SWAPPED IT OUT

FOR A 700 EXCAVATOR OPERATED BY TERRY,

THE ONLY MEMBER OF HIS CREW WITH MINING EXPERIENCE.

HEY, TERRY, YOU GOTTA COPY?

Terry: Yeah. Go.

-HOW'S IT GOING, BUDDY? -This stuff is so frozen,

YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY LABORING OVER HERE TO GET A BUCKETFUL.

THE 700 HERE IS NOT GOING TO DO IT.

WE'RE NOT DIGGING FROZEN GRAVEL OUT.

We're about to be at a standstill

unless I can find an affordable dozer.

Narrator: RICK CALLS IN AN OLD FRIEND...

WHAT'S GOING ON, BUDDY?

...PARKER'S MECHANIC FROM THREE YEARS AGO.

-GOOD TO SEE YOU MAN. -GOOD TO SEE YA.

Rick: BEEN A WHILE. DUDE, YOUR TIMING IS IMPECCABLE, MAN.

-YEAH? -I NEED YOU HERE.

BEEN SCARY RUNNING WITHOUT A MECHANIC.

YEAH, YOU BEEN PRETTY LUCKY, RIGHT?

NOW THAT I'M HERE, EVERYTHING'S GONNA BREAK DOWN, SO...

YEAH. OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM RIGHT NOW

IS WE'RE JUST ABOUT GRINDING TO A HALT

BECAUSE WE'VE GOT NO THAWED MATERIAL TO MOVE.

-OKAY. -NOTHING.

I BEEN STRIPPING GROUND WITH THIS MONSTER 475

THAT SHEAMUS OWNS. -YEP.

BUT, DUDE, 10 GRAND A DAY IT'S COSTING ME.

SO YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET YOURSELF A CHEAP DOZER THEN?

YEAH. WE GETTING DESPERATE HERE.

SO ON MY WAY IN HERE, I SEEN A 275

ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT...

IT'S KIND OF A JUNKER, BUT I DON'T THINK

IT'S BEEN RUN IN QUITE A WHILE.

IT DOESN'T HAVE A BLADE ON IT, YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW

IF IT'S EVEN GONNA FIRE UP.

I HATE TO... -PUT ME RIGHT TO WORK?

PUT YOU RIGHT TO WORK, BUT, , I NEED TO,

PUT YOU RIGHT TO WORK.

-OKAY, I CAN DO THAT BUDDY. -OKAY.

IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. IT'S JUST GET DOWN TO IT, RIGHT?

ALL RIGHT.

I TELL YOU WHAT, YOU'RE SHOWING UP AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME.

Rick: MAN, AM I GLAD TO HAVE CARL BACK, JUST IN TIME.

IF HE CAN GET THAT 275 GOING, WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS.

Carl: WHAT I THINK WE'RE GONNA DO IS

WE'RE JUST GONNA GRAB WITH THE LOADER,

DRIVE IT IN, HOOK IT UP.

I THINK WE'LL DO ONE ARM AT A TIME.

Narrator: CARL'S PLAN --

HAVE RYAN RAISE THE BLADE ARM SOCKET

SO THAT RICK CAN DRIVE THE 275 INTO POSITION