Opal Hunters S04 E03

  • 2 months ago
Travel to Australia, and watch this real life documentary, of people mining the Opal gemstone.

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Transcript
00:00On Outback Opal Hunters, the tunnel rats are under threat from poison gas.
00:07If he's down there for too long and passes out, I'll probably kill him.
00:10Apprentice Sam steps up.
00:12Look out mate!
00:14Get out of the way!
00:16To get a new mine up and running.
00:18And rookie miners The Palms go deep underground for the very first time.
00:25That ceiling looks a bit dodged.
00:28It's just falling off when I'm touching it.
00:52The end is coming very close for us.
00:55To know that finally, after 20 years, I'm on Opal, and I'm on good ground,
01:01and then I have to leave that behind, that's what's pissing me off the most.
01:05Minterby, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert.
01:09Summer temperatures consistently climb above 40 degrees.
01:15So now we'll drill some holes and do a blast.
01:20Tunnel rats Rodney Pearce, Son Baden and partner Lees are in a race to find Opal.
01:27Their chosen mining technique, explosives.
01:31First bomb, in the hole.
01:33They've set three bombs.
01:35We'll fire them, we'll head into a safe zone, we'll count them going off.
01:40It's just so important to make sure that every single bomb's going off.
01:45If you're going in there and there could be an unfired explosive in there,
01:49it could actually go off, which is deadly.
01:56I only heard two.
01:59Looks like we've got a misfire.
02:03Could be anything. It could be a little cut in the fuse.
02:06Leesie, just stay here. I'm going to go down there and check on that misfire.
02:11Once I know what's going on, I'll let yous know.
02:14If I have to blow it out, I'll have to blow it out.
02:16Dad, you stay there too.
02:19If the fuse is burnt, that creates heat.
02:23And if there's still heat within that explosive, the explosive can go off at any time.
02:30It's very dangerous.
02:35The tunnel rats are hunting Mintubee crystal opal, one of the world's most sought after.
02:42Still short of their seasoned target,
02:45the tunnel rats have just two months before Mintubee is permanently shut down.
02:51If I don't get at least $200,000, I'm stuffed. Dad's stuffed. We're screwed.
02:57We need money to be able to buy another place, another home.
03:07Right, son?
03:09Yeah, I found it.
03:11All right, I've got the misfire out of the hole.
03:26The bomb is now disarmed.
03:29Faulty fuse.
03:32Yeah. Good.
03:34I'm just making another bomb to put in the hole, so all good to roll.
03:39The home-made bombs contain enough ammonium nitrate explosive
03:43to blast through a metre of solid rock.
03:57All right-o. Lighting out.
04:00All right-o. Lighting out.
04:15Well done. All good. That was a good one.
04:18We're heading out to an old claim of ours at an area called Hidden Valley.
04:23We're going to pull the digger out of there and take it out to Aloha where we need it to keep mining.
04:30In the remote outback of New South Wales,
04:33Pete Cook and his 20-year-old apprentice, Sam Westra,
04:37are getting ready to do some heavy lifting.
04:41Yeah, so what we'll do, I'll just get the crane set up over the hole.
04:44I just hope it's going to lift it.
04:46Well, we will find out.
04:48Little has been found in their Hidden Valley claim.
04:51In an effort to rescue their Caesar, they're cutting their losses
04:55and hauling their one-tonne hydraulic digger out of Hidden Valley
04:59and into their Aloha claim.
05:01We still can't get a hold of Pete Cook.
05:04We've got to get a hold of Sam Westra.
05:07And into their Aloha claim.
05:09We still probably haven't had a claim that's consistently producing good money.
05:15The claim at Aloha is our best chance now to pull out some gems.
05:20Damage their only digger or get it stuck in the narrow shaft
05:24and their season will be as good as over.
05:27Hopefully it'll fit. I think it'll be a pretty tight squeeze trying to get it out, so we'll see.
05:32I'm going to back this as close to the edge of the hole as I can
05:37so we can hook the crane onto it.
05:39Hopefully the crane's got enough guts to pull it out.
05:43Don't put yourself in that hole.
05:45I don't want to have to pick you up out with the crane.
05:50They're hunting for one of the most valuable gems on the planet.
05:54Black opal, worth up to $43,000 a gram.
06:01If we don't find any opal this year, you'd have to have a bit of a think
06:05about whether you continued on.
06:07At the end of the day, I could be earning more money doing something else.
06:11I'd miss him if he left, though it would be a shame.
06:15I really hope we find some opal so that he can stay.
06:18Moving to their Aloha claim could be the last chance to hit their target.
06:23But first, they need to get the digger up the two-metre-wide mine shaft
06:28using their three-decades-old crane.
06:32I'm going to have to go up and then when the weight comes on
06:35it's just going to swing in and then take the full weight on the crane.
06:42There's still plenty of room for a disaster.
06:45Righty-ho, well, you're good to go.
06:52At one tonne, the ungainly digger is at the limit of the crane's capacity.
06:58It's coming.
07:05Cable up!
07:12There we go.
07:13How's that?
07:14Yeah, keep going!
07:18I can hear that crane struggling a bit.
07:21It struggles with the weight a little bit. It's right on its limit.
07:26It's a pretty awkward load for Pete, so I'll get up there quick
07:30and give him a hand to get it on the back of the truck.
07:43Is that the oil leaking out, is it?
07:45Yeah, we'll see. Look at the pissing out under there.
07:48That crane's blowing up.
07:50It must have blown something on the winch.
07:53There's a locking valve and that's supposed to hold the winch in place.
07:57I'm out, mate!
08:00Get out of the way!
08:06Down!
08:09That's nearly uncontrollable, that.
08:11Right, well, it's on there and we won't move it until it's fixed.
08:15A little bit touch and go there for the moment.
08:18You can see I've got oil pissing out underneath, so I'm very glad
08:21it didn't happen as we were pulling up out of the hole.
08:24That could have been a bit of a disaster.
08:33Whatever we've been doing, I've always had in my mind that this is where...
08:36Where we're coming to.
08:38We're going to be miners.
08:40We are going to be miners.
08:42Well, when I say we, I mean you.
08:44Are you going to do a bit of digging?
08:46Yeah, when you find the opal, I'll dig it out.
08:48Oh, yeah, I see. Deal.
08:51Ex-school teacher Carl Grice and jewellery maker Mary Macmillan
08:55have finally reached the scorching desert plains of Whitecliffs
08:59in remote New South Wales.
09:03It suddenly feels really real.
09:05I just hope it's what we've dreamed it to be.
09:07Three months ago, they sold their home,
09:10packed up their entire lives into a camper van
09:13and travelled across the country on their first ever quest for opal.
09:17We literally have sold everything apart from what's in the van.
09:21This isn't just a holiday for us.
09:23We need to make money from opal.
09:25So far, the rookies have struggled in the harsh outback.
09:29And now they're hoping their luck will change
09:32in the oldest opal field in Australia.
09:38Population, 200.
09:40Really? Oh, yeah.
09:42202.
09:44We chose Whitecliffs over one of the bigger fields
09:47partly because we've seen some of the opal that comes from here
09:50and it's absolutely beautiful.
09:52The Poms are hunting for the stunning pineapple opals
09:55that Whitecliffs is famous for,
09:57worth up to $500,000 apiece.
10:02Can't wait to get started.
10:04To help them, they've enlisted veteran local miner Graham Doughton.
10:11Welcome to Whitecliffs. Thanks, mate. Good to see you.
10:13How are you going?
10:14We've been very fortunate to have been in contact with Graham.
10:18He's a second-generation opal miner here in Whitecliffs,
10:20a bit of a local legend, and he's helped organise our claim.
10:23I've sorted out a bit of ground for him,
10:25part of the old historic opal field.
10:28What's special about this spot?
10:30I do know that there's actually been opal come out of just that section over there.
10:33So that's just on the edge of your claim.
10:35Oh, I can't wait. Can't wait to get in there.
10:38It's an old hole.
10:40You know, dug out over 120-odd years ago.
10:43This is a good option as a starter
10:45because your level is going to be somewhere between 20 and 30 feet.
10:48So we've just saved 20 feet of digging already, then.
10:50And 20 feet of the worst ground
10:52that you possibly don't want to actually go through yourself.
10:55Oh, superb. So we could be digging quite soon, then.
10:58Have you brought anything with you at all?
11:00I've got a spade and a bucket.
11:02OK, so you actually sound very unprepared at the moment.
11:05So you're really going to have to start from scratch
11:08and just put all of your gear together.
11:10You're going to have to go back and get...
11:12That's fair enough.
11:15Just pop down the shop and grab everything.
11:17Well, the shop where I'd be probably recommending will be Dubbo.
11:21How far is that?
11:23650km.
11:25650km?!
11:27This is why I asked.
11:29Did you bring anything with you just to save you that drive?
11:31You're kidding!
11:33A bit unprepared, Carl.
11:35Right, OK. I thought we were done with the long drives.
11:38I'm annoyed at myself for not doing my research before I turned up.
11:41I just assumed there would be mining equipment available here.
11:45That's going to take us a day to drive there and a day to drive back.
11:48I did suggest to Carl a few times
11:50maybe we should pop in and just grab something.
11:52But Carl said,
11:54don't worry, everything will be for sale there.
11:56What have you actually got?
11:58We've got hand tools.
12:00You haven't got any leads?
12:02One.
12:04OK, so you're going to need a couple of 25s.
12:06You're going to need at least two lights.
12:08We haven't got a jackhammer either.
12:10OK, a jackhammer.
12:12This is just all the basic stuff you probably could have brought with you.
12:14I'm worried about them at this stage.
12:16We're out here in Wycliffe's. This is serious mining country.
12:18You know, you can't toy around with this.
12:20I can't set up the mine and now I've got to drive,
12:22I think, 1,300km round trip
12:24to the nearest store to buy something.
12:26It's not what we need.
12:28It's extra money, it's extra time.
12:30Yeah, I'm not happy about it.
12:37My lack of preparation is poor.
12:39Now we've got to drive a very long way
12:41just to get some equipment.
12:44WHIRRING
12:49The gases after your blasts,
12:51it's nitrous oxide.
12:53It can actually cause
12:55big problems for your lungs.
12:57120m into their grasshopper mine,
12:59the tunnel rats
13:01are carrying out safety checks
13:03before they can let off more blasts.
13:05So what I'm doing is
13:07just sometimes
13:09I'll just create a bit of smoke
13:11or see which way that flame's going.
13:14So I'll know that the smoke's going to come this way.
13:16It's always good to know
13:18the direction of where your gas is coming from
13:20because sometimes, yeah, it'll just get locked up somewhere.
13:23That's one.
13:25Three.
13:27That all?
13:31Three.
13:33Two.
13:35One.
13:39As we get down deeper into the mine,
13:41the gases are taking a lot longer to clear.
13:43Very, very, very harmful to the lungs.
13:45It'll chop your lungs out.
13:47I can still smell it. It's musty.
13:49Like real stale.
13:51Yeah, we should go.
13:53Exposure to nitrogen dioxide
13:55fumes can cause respiratory
13:57problems, rapid heart rate,
13:59seizures and even death.
14:03It's taking longer to clear. Like Dad's saying,
14:05you know, you'd be lucky to put two sets of shots off for a day.
14:07That's bad.
14:09Back in the day, we used to put six or seven
14:12shots off, no worries at all.
14:16After a two-hour delay,
14:18Baden and Lees try and return
14:20to the mine face.
14:22No. That's stinky.
14:24No.
14:26So we can't just waste time,
14:28take three or four hours to clear out.
14:30Time's money for us at the moment.
14:32Baden!
14:34He can't help himself.
14:36Worst case scenario,
14:38if he's down there for too long and passes out,
14:40it'll probably kill him.
14:42Get out of there!
14:44Stinky?
14:46Yeah, it's too bad.
14:48I'm glad I wasn't down there for any longer.
14:50I'm already starting to get a bit of a
14:52head spin.
14:54I feel a little bit tired on the chest and feel
14:56just that little bit dizzy, so that's
14:58a good indication that I was down there
15:00for way too long.
15:02If the tunnel rats are to continue
15:04mining safely, they need to
15:06ventilate the tunnels.
15:09I'm definitely going to have to drill holes.
15:11I just can't wait that much longer anymore.
15:21That's not looking real good, that crane.
15:23That's not safe to use like that.
15:25Always something.
15:27The tyres or wheels, it'll cost
15:29you time and money.
15:31It's just not safe.
15:33At Hidden Valley,
15:35Pete and Sam have serious crane
15:37problems.
15:39It's pretty bad that way that winch
15:41is playing up, so we can't
15:43take it out to Alloa the way it is.
15:45It'll end up in a disaster.
15:47Yeah, mate, I agree.
15:49It was all going way too smooth.
15:51The crane is
15:53critical for lowering their one-ton
15:55digger 20 metres into their
15:57Alloa mine.
15:59It's difficult to see. I don't know how the hell you can get at it.
16:01It's giving me a headache no matter what, I think.
16:04Plan B
16:06is I've got another old
16:08crane truck that I use on another
16:10machine. It's unregistered,
16:12so I can't drive it out to Alloa, but what
16:14I might do is I'll put it on
16:16the back of this truck.
16:18It'll be a truck on a
16:20truck, so
16:22that'll be a fair old load.
16:24So, mate, see if
16:26we can get this old girl out of
16:28retirement, get her running.
16:30Yeah, mate, hopefully it won't be too much
16:33mucking around. Chuck a couple of batteries and bleed it up
16:35and it should start up.
16:37Pete's old crane has been
16:39abandoned five kilometres away
16:41at a disused claim.
16:43The truck itself
16:45is about worn out. The crane still seems
16:47to be okay.
16:49And that's the bit that we need.
16:51So we'll transport
16:53it out to Alloa.
16:55You've got these old gear. It's all
16:57come here to die, really.
16:59So you've just got to make the best out of what you've got,
17:01basically. Just patch it up, keep it going.
17:08Yeah, that's on the back there.
17:10Only just, but it made it.
17:12Now we'll head back to the shed
17:14and put the digger and the
17:16power pack on the back of the
17:18top truck. Next step,
17:20get that digger down the hole.
17:22We'll be ready to go tomorrow
17:24or the day after.
17:28But the next day
17:30there's bad news.
17:34Oh no.
17:36What have you done?
17:38I've wrecked my shoulder.
17:40How'd you do it? I've lifted
17:42the jerry can of fuel up and it's just
17:44gone bang. It's just exploded.
17:46I knew I'd torn something.
17:48It was excruciating pain.
17:50I can't climb ladders. I can't go underground.
17:52Several
17:54weeks before it's back to good again.
17:56It's a pain. Yeah, it's a nuisance.
18:00Ahhhh.
18:06I thought we were done with all these long drives
18:08for now. I thought we'd literally get our
18:10gear and be down the shaft.
18:12In Whitecliffs, rookie
18:14miners Carl and Mary have been
18:16forced to make a costly and
18:18time-consuming detour.
18:20My lack of planning has cost
18:22us a lot. A 1300
18:24kilometre round trip
18:26to buy vital mining equipment
18:28they forgot to bring with them.
18:32Now they need to show mining mentor
18:34Graham they're serious about
18:36getting started. Good morning.
18:38We are back. You're back from Dubbo.
18:40Good to see you mate. Bit of a long drive.
18:42Yeah it was. But I think we've got everything
18:44now. We've got everything on the list.
18:46You know you get carried away in these hardware shops.
18:48Yep. Got the jenny. Got the jackhammer.
18:50Most important. Got some lights.
18:52Cables. Need some hooks for pulling
18:54the opal out of the wall. That's how confident I am.
18:56Oh way to go. I think we've covered it all.
18:58The POM's unexpected
19:00shopping trip has cost them
19:02$3,000.
19:04Most of our pot of money
19:06has gone. We really need to
19:08get the mine set up
19:10and crack on and find some opal now.
19:12At the moment we've just got a hole
19:14in the ground and a shaft which
19:16was built 100 years ago maybe.
19:18So today we're going to have to build
19:20a metal collar which is a frame around
19:22the top of that shaft to make it secure.
19:24These holes are really deep.
19:26I measured the one that we're going to use
19:28at 27 feet.
19:30And the sides are very
19:32very steep to it where all the rubble is.
19:34So it's a little bit sketchy around there.
19:36And the collar has got to
19:38support the entire
19:40shaft. It's going to be our entry and exit.
19:42So it has to be secure. It has to be safe.
19:44You're a machine.
19:46I'm going to sit back and watch you.
19:48I'm not going to feel right
19:50if I don't work a sweat off today.
20:00Are you alright?
20:04Snug as a bug.
20:06It's a bit hairy watching Carl
20:08see close to a hole.
20:10It is a big drop here.
20:12So just be
20:14really careful.
20:26Look at that.
20:28Spot on mate.
20:34Let me just get the next one.
20:42I'm really excited
20:44now. Yeah, I can't wait to get down there
20:46and have a look what's there.
20:48The reality is we've got our own mine.
20:50We're going to start digging in there.
20:52And I can't wait to find that first piece of opal
20:54that I can cut and marry and set.
20:56Because that's our dream.
20:58And our dream is very very close now.
21:00Keep it steady.
21:02Now keep your toes in.
21:04Push that ladder out.
21:06Keep it out.
21:08I see, yeah.
21:11It's a bit wobbly.
21:15Crikey.
21:17I think this ladder's
21:19as old as the mineshaft.
21:23I'm at the bottom.
21:25How's it looking
21:27down there Carl?
21:29Blimey.
21:31The walls are a bit crumbly.
21:33How's the ceiling looking?
21:35I mean you need to really just check that first.
21:37The roof is a bit as well.
21:39Oh blimey.
21:41It's just falling off when I'm touching it.
21:43The 100 year old mineshaft
21:45leads to a network of tight tunnels.
21:47I'm going to go in there.
21:49Filled with tonnes of unstable
21:51dirt and rocks.
21:53It's like
21:55a maze down here.
21:57Oh, that ceiling looks a bit
21:59dodged. Get your legs out Carl.
22:09Well, I'm not really
22:11having much luck out there.
22:13Only due to the gas.
22:15Yeah, I'm not surprised.
22:17It's taken ages.
22:19Poison gas has forced the tunnel rats
22:21out of their grasshopper mine.
22:23Losing them half a day's mining
22:25as they race to find Opal
22:27before being evicted.
22:29Got to get rid of that smoke
22:31and the only way I know how to do it
22:33is to get the drill up
22:35and to drill
22:37some holes for ventilation.
22:39Is the old girl ready to go?
22:41Yep, I've
22:43done a bit of service on it
22:45and tuned it up.
22:47Their hopes rest
22:49on a 13 tonne investigator rig
22:51to drill the critical ventilation
22:53hole. But it's weight
22:55makes the 50 year old army truck
22:57it sits on unable to tackle
22:59the 5 kilometre of sand dunes
23:01in it's way.
23:03I'm probably going to have to pull you
23:05through that sand dune
23:07with the dozer. Oh, I would say so.
23:09We're not going to get through.
23:11We don't need to get it anywhere, we just
23:13tow it around with our bulldozer. We've got a D9H
23:15so it pretty much tows anything.
23:21With 410 horsepower
23:23the D9H gets
23:25to work.
23:27Everything
23:29went well,
23:31dozer went well,
23:33we can start drilling the hole.
23:37The plan
23:39is to drill a new shaft
23:41through 20 metres of sand and rock
23:43to release the trapped toxic gas.
23:49The gas will just get sucked out
23:51once it's out, I'll go straight back
23:53into work.
23:55We'll have to put 75 foot on
23:57to break through.
23:59That's all the augers
24:01that we've got to break through.
24:05After just 6 metres
24:07they hit hard iron stone
24:09cap rock that could destroy
24:11the tungsten steel teeth
24:13on the drill head.
24:17It's gone through.
24:19They thought the drill
24:21felt like it was moving a little bit
24:23skewy, so I think
24:25they want to pull it back up
24:27and just check the teeth on the bottom
24:29and make sure nothing's broken.
24:31Stuffed.
24:33All stuffed.
24:35Chewed out all the bullets on their drill head.
24:37Like to change out the bullets.
24:43It's going to be a tough job.
24:45Chewed out on their drill head.
24:47Like to change out the bullets.
24:51That's bad.
24:58The ground we call it a cap rock
25:00it's just so damn hard.
25:02So abrasive to machinery.
25:04Very, very hard.
25:06But in the rush to replace the teeth
25:08Baden's forgotten to wear
25:10protective equipment.
25:12What got you?
25:14A bit of metal.
25:16Had a little bit of a shard
25:18fly back, hit me on the eye.
25:20Just hold it on it
25:22for a while.
25:24It could have been really bad if it was in my eyeball
25:26but luckily enough it decided to go
25:28into me cheek instead.
25:30Give it another crack now we've got
25:32teeth, proper teeth on the head
25:34so we'll just give it another shot.
25:36Should drill better this time.
25:38After a 5 hour
25:40operation, it's time to
25:42check if they've drilled in the right spot.
25:44There's our hole.
25:46We said a bit there before didn't we?
25:48There, right there.
25:50Where we are here, this is where a lot of gas
25:52used to get trapped.
25:54Since this hole's been put in, the gas comes straight up here.
25:56So yeah, we're pretty happy
25:58the way it's worked out.
26:00It'll definitely help us get in here a lot quicker.
26:02So, we start getting back to work.
26:04It's just a pain in the neck.
26:06It really is. It's a bit of a blow.
26:08A tough mining season has finally caught up with Pete.
26:10His injured shoulder
26:12could derail their plans
26:14to get their digger into their last workable mine,
26:16Alloa.
26:18Hopefully it's a dampener on the plans a bit,
26:20don't you?
26:22It does.
26:24It does.
26:26It does.
26:28It does.
26:30It does.
26:32Hopefully it's a dampener on the plans a bit, don't you?
26:34It does.
26:36But I reckon we can still do it.
26:38Still put the digger down.
26:40Yeah.
26:42To keep their season alive,
26:44Apprentice Sam must take on the responsibility
26:46for their underground operations.
26:48Just keep lading it down.
26:50Down there is good.
26:52We can throw in the tower for four months
26:54or we can keep moving.
26:56Just means they've got to learn a bit quicker.
26:58You've just got to get in and give it a crack.
27:00Righto.
27:02Me and Pete, we've just got to keep going.
27:04Poor old Sam.
27:06He's going to have to just
27:08step up to the plate a bit
27:10and shoulder a heavier load.
27:14At the mine site,
27:16fellow Lightning Ridge miners
27:18Gav and Tim have been called in
27:20to provide Sam with some backup.
27:22Ladders?
27:24Rip them out?
27:26Well, if we do, it makes it easier.
27:28There's no reason they should be there.
27:30If we can get them all in one go, that'd be good.
27:32I'll give it a go.
27:34On the surface, Pete and Tim will operate
27:36the crane and lower the one-ton
27:38digger down the 20-metre shaft,
27:40while Sam and Gav
27:42must guide it in and reassemble
27:44it below.
27:46This worries me.
27:48It's all got to come out.
27:52The roof's got to be the sleep unit.
27:54It's not in the greatest state.
27:56And, yeah, we're just worried
27:58bringing the digger down, it might knock
28:00parts of this roof out.
28:02See that?
28:04Well, that could fall down
28:06then on top of us,
28:08on top of our heads. I know we've got hard hats on,
28:10but it still can sprain
28:12or break your neck.
28:14Wouldn't want our roof to cave in, that's for sure.
28:16The ceiling
28:18could be very soft and crumbly.
28:20Rookie opal miner
28:22Carl Grice is underground
28:24for the very first time.
28:26Boy, I mean, this place looks old.
28:28Opened up in the late 1800s
28:30and unused for decades,
28:32the mine is treacherous.
28:34The walls are a bit crumbly.
28:36You're out of the way, coming down.
28:38We've got to get it down.
28:40We've got to get it down.
28:42We've got to get it down.
28:44You're out of the way, coming down.
28:48Mining veteran Graham Doughton
28:50has found this claim for the poms.
28:52But until now,
28:54he hasn't been able to check the conditions
28:56underground.
29:00It's an old hole.
29:02And it hasn't
29:04been overly worked yet, so
29:06you've got plenty of direction to go off this.
29:08Just watch for any of these
29:10cracks just opening up a little bit
29:12anywhere.
29:14If you don't dig anything out too big
29:16down here, you're not going to have any dramas.
29:18It's actually a good hole for you to start on this one.
29:20How's it looking?
29:22Superbly. Yeah, it looks good.
29:26While the mine's got the green light,
29:28it still needs lots of
29:30work. There's quite a lot of
29:32backfill in there, a lot of old rubble.
29:34So that needs to come out before we can
29:36dig anything fresh. Critical to
29:38getting the dirt out is this
29:40350 kilogram tipping machine,
29:42costing the poms yet another
29:44$1,500.
29:46So the tip is really, really important for us.
29:48That's going to bring
29:50all the dirt up for us.
29:54You're going to grab a leg, you're going to walk them in, you're going to spear them
29:56into the ground.
30:04Oh, enough!
30:10Just lock him off there
30:12somewhere. Now it's obviously
30:14very unstable. What we're
30:16doing now is potentially a little bit dangerous
30:18because obviously if it falls down,
30:20it could clout one of us.
30:22Drag it just a little bit.
30:26Let's start putting the ladder together.
30:30This 18 metre ladder will allow
30:32a bucket of dirt to run up and
30:34down the mine shaft.
30:36There we go.
30:40Ready?
30:42One, two, three.
30:44After half a day's hard
30:46graft, it's time to put the
30:4850-year-old tipper to the test.
31:02Finally, you're ready to start
31:04digging, start listing dirt.
31:06Oh, fantastic. Thanks, mate.
31:08No worries.
31:16Hey, he's already punched through.
31:18We'll definitely get out of the way now because the sand's
31:20going to come down and it's in the dust to see it.
31:22Move out of the way and be safe.
31:28That's enough for me.
31:30The Tunnel Rats' new ventilation shaft is
31:32finally in place, but it will still
31:34take time to disperse all the toxic
31:36gas. We won't be able to do any
31:38underground mining, so
31:40until then, we'll have to do
31:42something else.
31:44While they wait, Rodney has
31:46a surprise plan B to
31:48find opal.
31:50Well, I've got a
31:52confession to make that while you're
31:54away, I used to dump
31:5620 litre containers of
31:58opal and stuff down a
32:00drill hole. Why did you do that?
32:02Because I had
32:04nowhere here to hide it. I didn't know what else
32:06to do with it, so I shoved it down a drill
32:08hole. I've had my camp broken
32:10into. I didn't want to
32:12run the risk of
32:14that happening again.
32:16So I thought, well, I'm going to
32:18put it down a hole. Oh, the old legs
32:20marks the spot. Exactly. So you buried
32:22your treasure. Exactly. I've been calling it
32:24my little bank, keeping it my little secret.
32:26That's called better than a kick in the teeth.
32:28How about we go and get it? How about it?
32:30You know, Dad
32:32is classed an old school miner.
32:34The old school miners, they
32:36do old school mining things
32:38like that.
32:40Alright, we'll follow you
32:42and, yeah,
32:44go and get it out.
32:52Well, I'm looking forward to seeing some colour
32:54come out of that hole, that's for sure.
33:00With
33:04countless drill holes to choose from,
33:06the team must rely on Rodney's
33:08memory to find the right one.
33:14That's what I remember.
33:16Yeah, I'm pretty sure
33:18it is. Well, it could be that one.
33:22We'll try this one first.
33:24Rodney's been struggling, definitely struggling.
33:26You can see it in him. He's getting very forgetful.
33:28He's not remembering to do
33:30lots of things.
33:32Yeah, we'll see how we go.
33:34Hopefully it's all lined up.
33:36There's like
33:38a piece of cardboard or something down there
33:40I can see. When we started putting
33:42the drill down and materials
33:44started coming up, I saw a bit of paper
33:46and all this kind of thing.
33:48I'm thinking, what the hell, we're drilling up a rubbish
33:50pit.
33:52And then lo and behold,
33:54that's got colour in it.
33:56Look at that.
33:58Opal and potch and all that
34:00sud coming up.
34:02That's a big bit of green.
34:04Some of them quite valuable.
34:06Dad,
34:08what the hell are you doing burying that?
34:10Look at that one. That's gorgeous.
34:12That's nice.
34:14Once it started coming up, there were just
34:16some quite big chunky bits and it was
34:18a lot of dark material.
34:20Oh yeah, that's nice.
34:22Oh, I'm stoked. That's awesome.
34:24That's a nice stone.
34:26That's probably another $300 stone.
34:28$400. The old
34:30X-Marxer spot did the job.
34:32How many more of these holes have you got?
34:36I knew that
34:38there was opal down there, but I didn't realise
34:40there was that much opal down there.
34:42For the tunnel rats,
34:44Rodney's hidden stash
34:46has delivered an unexpected haul.
34:48Over four kilos
34:50of rough opal.
34:54See that?
34:56Wouldn't want our roof cave in,
34:58that's for sure.
35:0020 metres below
35:02the parched outback,
35:04Rookie Sam is having to step up,
35:06installing a one tonne digger
35:08in the new aloe mine.
35:10Bringing the digger down might
35:12knock bits of the roof out
35:14with the state it's in.
35:16It's going to be quite a challenge.
35:18It's going to be quite a challenge.
35:20It's going to be quite a challenge.
35:22On the surface,
35:24injured Pete's relying on
35:26just one working arm
35:28and his 30-year-old crane
35:30to make the tricky descent.
35:32Rightio!
35:34Go down a bit there.
35:38Yes, and wheels are
35:40just touching the edge,
35:42so that'll help guide it.
35:44Rightio!
35:46Rightio!
35:48Rightio!
35:50Rightio!
35:56Oh, it's going to go close.
35:58Rightio!
36:00Rightio!
36:04There's always something,
36:06isn't there?
36:08The truck's radiator
36:10has sprung a leak, stopping the crane.
36:12Pete!
36:14Yeah?
36:16Lower it down a bit more.
36:18Just stop the truck to put some water in.
36:20And that's our water.
36:22That's it.
36:24The 500-kilo digger arm still needs to be lowered,
36:26but if the truck runs out of water,
36:28the engine will overheat
36:30and destroy itself within minutes.
36:32Righto, rock's coming down
36:34and the digger arm coming down.
36:38Rightio!
36:42Yeah.
36:44Alright.
36:46Rightio.
36:48Down gently.
36:52Keep going.
36:54Down a bit?
36:56Yeah.
37:02It's got to be in two pieces,
37:04and then one piece has to be suspended
37:06and reassembled at the bottom of the hole.
37:08And you need millimetre control
37:10over the crane to do that successfully.
37:12How's that?
37:14A little bit more.
37:16Too much.
37:18Too much on me.
37:20Slow, slow, we're getting close.
37:22I want the pin there close.
37:24Just put him in, yeah.
37:26That twist, that's it.
37:28That's it, that's it.
37:30You want it to go in, mate?
37:32So it falls in itself.
37:34That's good. All good.
37:36Tools copped the battery.
37:38Lucky it wasn't one of our legs
37:40or something.
37:42So that's the digger down,
37:44all ready to go.
37:46Unfortunately with Pete's shoulder,
37:48he won't be coming down,
37:50but we can finally get digging.
37:52It'll be my first time operating it,
37:54but we'll see how we go.
37:56Hopefully dig some gems out.
37:58So it'll be another first for me,
38:00running things on my own.
38:02With his first major test over,
38:04Sam's future is looking up.
38:06Good on you, Sam, for your car.
38:08You did well.
38:10All right, guys.
38:12Beer o'clock, eh?
38:14I think it's getting damn close.
38:24Finally, you're ready
38:26to start digging,
38:28start lifting dirt.
38:30In Whitecliffs,
38:32the Poms are one step closer
38:34to finding Opal in their new mine.
38:36I think you'd better get started, mate.
38:38With their 50-year-old tipper
38:40up and running,
38:42Carl can finally fulfill a lifelong dream.
38:44Ever since being a little kid,
38:46I've wanted to find treasure.
38:48If I started out wanting to be a pirate,
38:50that wasn't an option.
38:52But certainly finding Opal is an option.
38:54So to find that in the ground
38:56and be the first person to see it
38:58would definitely be a dream come true.
39:00Guys, I'm going to pull the cord.
39:02Rightio, we're watching.
39:04There she goes.
39:06When this thing comes down,
39:08you can imagine the weight in there.
39:12Stand clear down there.
39:16There it goes.
39:18Perfect.
39:20It was the perfect tip.
39:22A perfect tip.
39:24What about a perfect tip?
39:26Let the mining begin.
39:32This is where our dream meets reality.
39:36So the task at hand at the moment
39:38is to dig down another two or three feet
39:40before I can start to make any progress
39:42forwards towards the face
39:44to really chase the Opal.
39:46So there's a lot of work to be done
39:48before I can actually even hunt for Opal.
39:52So the next step on the process
39:54is to find some Opal
39:56and make some jewelry with it.
40:02We need to get going.
40:04Let's go find some Opal now.
40:16Yesterday, we drilled up
40:18all this material.
40:20I'd say about 150 ounces of Opal.
40:22Desperate for all the Opal
40:24they can find before eviction,
40:26the tunnel rats have dug up
40:28Rodney's buried treasure.
40:30Pays the bills, mate.
40:32They're counting on Lise
40:34to maximise its value on the cutting wheel.
40:36We managed to
40:38sort through a little bit last night
40:40and plucked out
40:42as you can see, quite a few big chunks.
40:44I'm going to give
40:46this one a rub in particular
40:48because it's really quite bright.
40:56In the past, when they've found Opal
40:58they've just, you know,
41:00separated it maybe into certain grades
41:02and then just sold it as rough.
41:04The dollar difference between
41:06the rough parcel and the finished product
41:08is on levels
41:10like this. You've essentially
41:12sold yourself out by selling it in rough form.
41:14But Lise has only
41:16one month's cutting experience.
41:18Can you have a little
41:20squiz at this one?
41:22So that brighter bar was that
41:24orangey one. I've got maybe
41:26half a mil of play there, so should I go
41:28down lower or not? I'd probably just
41:30leave it. If I rub stuff
41:32I can bring that to him and then we can
41:34critique it and then we can finish them off together
41:36and just learn
41:38the processes from start to finish.
41:40This is all just in
41:42this morning's cuttings. So that's
41:44what we got out of the hole. There's plenty more to go through.
41:46That's just fantastic. You can't
41:48get much better than that really, just digging it
41:50out of a bloody drill hole.
41:52But will Lise's handiwork
41:54impress veteran miner Rodney?
41:56Did you get a bit of gear?
41:58Yeah, I got a bit. I can't wait to see it.
42:00This is what we've been doing.
42:02A little bit.
42:04Do you want to show
42:06Dad? Little goodies.
42:08Made a little goody bag to show you.
42:10Oh wow.
42:12They're lovely.
42:14Well that was worth digging up, wasn't it?
42:16Well done boys and girls. Top job.
42:18Pulled out the treasure chest.
42:20My own opinion, what I think it's worth.
42:22Nothing worse than 10 grand.
42:2410 grand is what it is.
42:26At least.
42:28Rodney's treasure trove
42:30is made up of mintaby opal,
42:32milky white with blues and greens.
42:34They have 12
42:36grands, worth an estimated
42:38$10,000, bringing them
42:40even closer to the amount they need
42:42to secure a new future.
42:4610 grand's pretty good for a day's work.
42:48I don't think anyone would complain.
42:50Fantastic to see
42:52that colour again.
42:54Can you just
42:56step back and think,
42:58is there any other hole that you might have
43:00dumped over there?
43:02No. Are you sure?
43:04No, that's it. If you're happy with that,
43:06I'm happy with that.
43:08There might be opal miners there,
43:10they just do it for a job.
43:12But for us it's the passion to be able to
43:14hold your own opal and go, you know what,
43:16I've found it.
43:22I've found it.