Aussie Gold Hunters S09E15 (2024)
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This time on Aussie Gold Hunters.
00:03It's just the two of us,
00:04so how are we supposed to do all this?
00:06Mel and Alex get some desperately needed help.
00:09I might have heard that you people
00:11were a little bit short for staff.
00:12One week trial, Rob.
00:13Welcome to the team.
00:14But a massive two ton boulder.
00:17Mel, it's completely clogged it.
00:20Threatens to end their season.
00:22If that falls, it could be game over.
00:25Brad McGee struggles to keep the equipment running.
00:29Oh, man, you've got to be bloody kidding me.
00:32That's not going to work like that.
00:34Yeah, I'll try and help you.
00:35Oh, Christ!
00:36Pushing his family to rally together...
00:39Look at that one!
00:40..as they discover a new patch of gold-rich ground.
00:43Another big one!
00:44That's huge!
00:46In the Great Victoria Desert...
00:48We've only got a couple of weeks left of the season.
00:51..Bret and Kat are forced to rebuild their team.
00:54They build their dam to protect their most precious resource.
00:58That water, it's our livelihoods.
01:00As extreme heat...
01:02Look at that! Hey!
01:03..scorches their dead horse lease.
01:05Have a drink, have a sit down.
01:07Your health's more important.
01:08Oh, I'm surprised that little loader's pulling this thing, mate.
01:1230-tonne, that's doing all right.
01:15Yeah, it's been doing good, hey? It's doing well.
01:18Yeah, I don't have a lot of steering, but we'll get there.
01:23The water pump's failed on this big loader,
01:25so we can't really do anything about it.
01:27We've got to get it back up and running again.
01:29We've got to get it back up and running again.
01:31We've got to get it back up and running again.
01:33We've got to get it back up and running again.
01:35We've got to get it back up and running again.
01:37So we can't start it up, can't drive it,
01:40so we're towing it back to camp.
01:42You know, it's just going to be easy to work on back there.
01:45I've got Dad coming up.
01:46Apparently, he's found a, say, park for it.
01:49So hopefully, it all goes well.
01:51We can get it in, get it running, get back on track.
01:57Yep, that'll do it, mate. We're there.
02:00Job well done. Sweet as!
02:03There goes the alarms.
02:06Pops here.
02:10Dad, how are you? Good. How are you?
02:12God, are you all right? Yep.
02:14Yeah, so I've got your pump. Have you? Yep.
02:16I tell you, it's been stressing me out to get this thing up and running.
02:19Yeah, so it's about the dummy, eh? Yeah.
02:21I've been trying to push this area up the back,
02:23and we're finding a few nuggets there I want to open it right up.
02:26The little loader just won't push it. The ground's too hard.
02:28So I need that big loader.
02:30So let's get this pump on. Yeah.
02:32Well, I'm going to take the loader back up there
02:34and keep going, doing what I'm doing.
02:36We're probably going to be the rest of the day putting this in.
02:38Just keep pushing in the cart there and just laying out and detecting.
02:41Cool. All right, we'll get stuck into it, eh, Dad? Yep.
02:47This loader, it just opens up a whole new level for us.
02:51Last week, the McGee's upgraded to a 30-tonne loader
02:55to break through the harder ground.
02:57Look at the size of that!
02:59Unlocking gold-rich pay dirt.
03:02That's unbelievable.
03:04Ah, something's not right.
03:06The alarm's going off and it's overheating.
03:08But mechanical failures...
03:10It's raining, it's wet.
03:12..and bad weather shut down their main operation.
03:16You need dry soil to be able to run through that.
03:22Now, with just a few more minutes to go,
03:25now, with just a few weeks left in the season,
03:28they need to get their biggest earthmover back online
03:32to stand a chance of hitting their 25-ounce target.
03:35Thanks, Heath, for this, Dad. You're a lifesaver.
03:37Yeah, no, it's all right.
03:39That's perfect. I'll get stuck into it, eh?
03:41Righto. Let's do it. All right.
03:47This pump, it brings water in
03:50and this impeller spins around and pumps it through the engine.
03:54So it's got to do that to stay cool.
03:56In this sort of environment, mining environment,
03:59you've really got to have mechanical knowledge.
04:01I've been working around heavy earthmoving equipment
04:04for probably 50 years, repairing it and that.
04:07Brad actually did his apprenticeship with me,
04:10so he's taken over now. He's the mechanic in the family.
04:13Trying to be. Yeah.
04:15The hardest part is just actually getting it in there
04:17without breaking the gasket.
04:19Last thing I need to do is put it in and it'll leak again, you know.
04:22It's the sort of thing I can do with my eyes closed,
04:24but Brad needs the experience.
04:26You don't throw spanners and stuff. Yeah, right.
04:28It's just, it's going to be bloody awkward.
04:31It's got to be done. Nobody's going to do it for you.
04:37I'm just up here pushing pads and detecting,
04:40but, yeah, you know, there's not much gold in this.
04:43You know, they're few and far between nuggets,
04:45so, you know, we're running at a loss.
04:47We're just trying to get what we can while the load is down.
04:53Digging out some more dirt from the pit.
04:56At least, you know, doing that,
04:58we'll have a chance of finding something, you know.
05:01Can't just sit around and do nothing.
05:09That is jammed, eh?
05:11I don't know if I'm going to get that out of there now.
05:14That's bloody heavy. Yeah, well, I can't help it.
05:17Jammy finger.
05:20All right, you're going to have to work something out.
05:22That's not going to work like that.
05:24Yeah, you know, the pressure's on Max and Brad right now
05:27to get that loader up and going, you know,
05:29and get that water pump in, because, you know,
05:31we're just waiting to get up there.
05:33So, yeah, if they can't get it fixed,
05:35then we might as well go home.
05:38We've got on to a really rich quartz vein last week.
05:41Now we've followed that quartz
05:43and we've got another 300 tonnes of pretty nice material stockpiled.
05:48We've got to get something out of this.
05:53I haven't told Mel yet, but I've actually sourced us
05:56a little dry blower.
05:58So if we can get this thing going,
06:00we might be able to get it out of there.
06:02I haven't told Mel yet,
06:04but I've actually sourced us a little dry blower.
06:06So if we can get that running,
06:08where she's detected up all those nuggets,
06:10I mean, it could be fine gold there,
06:12and if there is, that's another payday.
06:14The downside is, how do we run the damn thing?
06:18Paul's gone off to chase his own projects,
06:20so now just down to me and Mel.
06:25There's Mel now.
06:27I think it's time to give her a surprise.
06:33Alex, what the hell?
06:35Isn't it awesome?
06:37You've been finding all that gold out there.
06:39Yeah.
06:40Now this can go and get the fine gold.
06:42Oh, God.
06:43Please tell me you did not buy this.
06:48Alex!
06:49I didn't buy it.
06:50Oh, God.
06:51I can see you're going to jump down my neck
06:53then, spending all the last of our pennies on a dry blower.
06:56Now, this is a friend's dry blower.
06:58They're not using it, so I've done a deal.
07:00We give them 20% of anything we get,
07:02we've got the thing for four weeks.
07:04Yeah, I mean, this is amazing,
07:06but it's just the two of us,
07:08so how are we supposed to do all this?
07:10Yeah, we can't run two plants with just two of us,
07:13so I reckon we put the shout-out for help,
07:15see who's around and ideally find someone
07:18who's a multi-skilled miner like ourselves.
07:20All right, well, I'll put the ads out around town
07:22and see if we can get someone to come in and give us a hand.
07:25Yeah, well, until then, it's just the two of us.
07:27Let's get stuck into it.
07:29All right, I'm going to check out the new dry blower.
07:34For the past year at least, even last season, we struggled.
07:39You know, I thought we came into it as a team.
07:41Sorry, guys, so this is an opportunity I've got to take.
07:44Last time, Paul Mackey made the tough call
07:47to abandon Fairlady, chasing gold on his own.
07:50We are still a team,
07:51we're just running separate operations at the moment.
07:53With the help of his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Ebony.
07:56169 ounces.
07:58That is huge!
07:59The gamble paid off,
08:00adding half a million dollars to the gold devil's total.
08:04That's a massive chunk off the season, I tell you.
08:07Now, Mel and Alex are struggling
08:09to run the Fairlady operation on their own.
08:12At the moment, we're up against it.
08:14It's just the two of us. We need more help.
08:17It might look idyllic out here,
08:18but the simple fact is this is tough work
08:21and not many people want to do it.
08:25Getting someone to join our small team,
08:27it's not going to be easy.
08:30We need a bit of a win on the table,
08:32raise our morale, raise our spirits up,
08:34and nothing really does that like a big block of gold.
08:38So we'll get these plants running
08:40and see what we can produce.
08:44You know, Paul can do what he likes,
08:46but myself and Alex have had to come together
08:49and, you know, it's made us stronger.
08:51We're not going anywhere.
08:52We're going to stick together,
08:53work our arses off and keep moving forward.
08:57Yeah, so I'm going to keep stockpiling this dirt,
09:00drop it over at the dry blower,
09:02and then I can start processing
09:04and hopefully we can start getting some gold.
09:11Yep, concentrators are on,
09:13bore mill's on, impactor's on.
09:16We're running.
09:19Time to feed some dirt,
09:21get this thing producing some gold.
09:24Get this thing producing some gold.
09:34Lloyd's our primary crushing plant,
09:36turning big rocks to dust
09:37and then getting the gold out of the fine stuff.
09:41All right, one bucket in.
09:43Now check everything over.
09:47I've finished stockpiling dirt.
09:49Now I'm going to fire this up and...
09:51Well, this is the first run here,
09:53so let's hope it starts producing some gold.
10:05It's pretty full on.
10:07I'm having to load and check absolutely everything.
10:10It's not easy, but at the moment I'm keeping on top of it.
10:13So far, it's all looking good.
10:18Last week we hit some great quarks
10:20and we've continued to follow that same vein.
10:23We've got 300 tonnes stockpiled.
10:25Out of that, there should be 30 ounces of gold at least.
10:29If there isn't, that would be very disappointing.
10:35Oh!
10:50It's completely clogged it.
10:53Should have seen it in the bucket,
10:55but this stuff's just so dusty.
11:08So, we had a pretty good week last week, didn't we?
11:12Yeah, it wasn't bad.
11:14But, you know, we're a long way off from our target.
11:17We are. We're way off from our target.
11:20We've had a fair few setbacks and whatnot,
11:23but you know what, we've persevered.
11:25You've gotten some experience under your belt
11:28and we're getting everything down to a fine art now too.
11:31Yeah, I think we're working pretty good as a team.
11:34Just got to smash through that dirt.
11:36All right, well, let's get that gen set going.
11:39Get some water pumping.
11:41Yep.
11:42And get stuck in.
11:43Get it all happening.
11:44Get it happening.
11:45Yeah.
11:47Yeah.
11:52What the hell's going on here?
11:59Are you kidding me?
12:01Hey, my love.
12:03Yeah?
12:04Something's gone into the ponds again.
12:06They're completely buggered.
12:08Oh, aye.
12:10Really?
12:12How the hell do they destroy a tank?
12:16Ridiculous.
12:18It's really frustrating.
12:20We've only got a couple of weeks left of the season
12:23and this might be it.
12:24Yeah, it looks terrible, but in the grand scheme of things...
12:29It feels like this.
12:31Look, I'll make some calls and see what I can come up with.
12:35All right, good luck.
12:37You can see a little claw marks where something,
12:40I'm thinking kangaroo, has gotten in.
12:43We're the only water around for bloody miles,
12:46so I don't blame the critters coming in,
12:48but if they could do it without destroying our stuff,
12:51that would be better for everyone.
12:54Yeah, look, I'm out at Dead Horse and we've had a couple of dramas.
12:59You still got that cement mixer I fixed?
13:02Good.
13:03All right.
13:04Yeah, I'll be straight there.
13:06All right.
13:07Ciao.
13:08Hey, Kat?
13:09Yeah?
13:10I have a plan.
13:11All right, I'm over fixing this, I really am.
13:14So I reckon we make it semi-permanent.
13:17Let's concrete the thing in,
13:18let's have it so that the animals can't destroy it.
13:22I'll go and get the supplies that we need.
13:24Yeah.
13:25If you can start on the clean-up.
13:27Yep.
13:28And we'll get it nailed.
13:29See you soon.
13:30All right.
13:31Have fun.
13:37After losing her office job,
13:39Kat Dubelin joined forces with her gold mining partner,
13:42Brett Brumby.
13:43We've still got bills coming in, can't live off nothing.
13:46The couple endured an endless string of breakdowns and bad luck.
13:50It's just one thing after another, after another, after another,
13:54and I don't know how much I can take.
13:57Last week, new information led the duo to a patch of gold-rich pay dirt.
14:02In some spots it goes up to five or six grams per tonne.
14:06Huge win.
14:07Yeah.
14:08It's just a matter of running the tonnes.
14:11Desperate to hit their 50-ounce target,
14:14Brett and Kat have no choice but to work through desert temperatures
14:18that by midday reach the upper 40s.
14:21We had really good results last week,
14:25and to come back to this,
14:28really isn't what we need.
14:31So behind in our target,
14:34and it's been so many setbacks.
14:37Sometimes I feel like I'm the curse,
14:40like Brett's been doing pretty good without me,
14:43and then I come along and all this stuff breaks.
14:49I seem to be the common denominator.
14:54So every second that that wash plant's down, we're losing gold,
14:58so I've got to get in and out pretty quick, get back to Kat.
15:02Fix everything up and get processing.
15:08Middle of the day and that sun just keeps on biting you.
15:16It's just past 40 degrees,
15:18and we're not even, you know, at the hottest part of the day.
15:24I've got all the supplies.
15:26Let's get into it, eh?
15:32The heat's kicking in,
15:34only got two weeks left in the season, time's running short,
15:37and we've just got to get some stuff done.
15:42The Brumby's wet plant relies on water
15:45recycled through a series of settling ponds
15:48that will be reinforced with concrete.
15:52All this is is a layer of concrete mud
15:55just so that when the cows step on it or the roos or whatever,
15:59they don't go through, they don't destroy it.
16:01It doesn't have to be waterproof
16:03because the plastic underneath does that.
16:05God, I hope they don't destroy it after all this.
16:08Maybe things going wrong.
16:11So Brett's got the cement mixer up and running.
16:15I'm just carrying the cement over to him.
16:18It's just getting hotter and hotter by the minute.
16:22It's days like this that you kind of wonder,
16:25am I doing the right thing?
16:27You know, other options of finding another job,
16:30but...
16:34Oh, it's bugging.
16:46The heat just kills you out here.
16:48You can't tip water in as quick as it sweats out.
17:01Ooh!
17:03Hey! What's that?
17:19So at the moment, the fan's sort of jammed in there, you know?
17:23So I can't lift it by hand and Dad can't get in the other side.
17:26So what we're going to do is drop a rope down from the top.
17:29He can lift the fan up and he can lift it up into position
17:32and I can hopefully get some bolts in the holder there.
17:36Yeah.
17:37Is that the right side?
17:40Yeah, that looks good.
17:41Oh, no.
17:42Yep.
17:43Yeah, look, the sooner we get this up and running, the better
17:46because we can get back to that other area
17:48and try and open it right up and see what's in it.
17:52Righto.
17:53You can take some weight there, Dad.
17:56All right, just slowly.
18:00Did that come up any higher there?
18:02That's about it.
18:04Just hold it there.
18:06Yep, that's... Hold it there.
18:15I think we had a win.
18:17Yeah, got the fan on.
18:20And we're back in the game.
18:25SIREN BLARES
18:28You the target?
18:29Yeah.
18:30Oh, awesome.
18:33Here.
18:34About there?
18:35Yeah.
18:36Am I doing this?
18:37Yeah, you can do it.
18:41Oh, got it.
18:42Do you reckon it's going to be gold?
18:44Maybe.
18:45I hope so.
18:46We can do with a bit of gold.
18:49Oh, look at that.
18:51I found it.
18:52Yeah, it's a little bit, but that'll help out.
18:55That's great.
18:57Wow.
19:02Yeah, no, it's looking good.
19:04I can't see any leaks.
19:06Everything seems to be running really good.
19:09I think she's sweet.
19:11Woo-hoo!
19:13Back in business, Dad.
19:15Time to find some gold.
19:20We'll get it up the back there,
19:22and here we'll open that whole area up.
19:28Hey, Dale, big boy's back in town.
19:33Let's go and find some gold.
19:35Follow me to the gold.
19:36Awesome.
19:37All right, I'll jump in the car and follow you.
19:39Sweet, I'm heading over.
19:41Come on, Bailey.
19:44It's a nice, solid dad.
19:50Well, here it is.
19:52Hopefully there's a heap of gold here.
19:54Yeah, I'm excited.
19:55This is going to be great.
19:56I'll open it up and see how we go, hey?
20:04The loader's working bloody beautiful,
20:06so it's pretty much game on.
20:08You know, you've got the whole family here,
20:10so we really need to start turning it up
20:12and finding some ounces,
20:13and I think this ground's going to hold a whole lot of gold for us,
20:16so I think this could be our turning point.
20:27BELL RINGS
20:29Ooh!
20:30Hey!
20:33You all right?
20:34BELL RINGS
20:38Come on.
20:40Sit up for me.
20:41Just sit for a sec.
20:42Are you dizzy?
20:44Come on.
20:45All right, we'll get you to the car.
20:51It's just so hot.
20:56DOOR SLAMS
21:00All right.
21:01You all right?
21:02Do you want to go home?
21:04No, no, we need to get this done.
21:07Yeah, but we need you to live through it too,
21:09so have a drink, have a sit down.
21:13Your health's more important.
21:23So, yeah.
21:25Kat's not doing so good,
21:27so we'll rest her up for 10 minutes,
21:29and then we'll check on her,
21:31and if we need to take her home, we need to take her home.
21:34There's no two ways about it.
21:38Every day without our work plan running is the day we lose gold.
21:43We can't afford that.
21:45We've got such a big target, and we're nowhere near it.
21:50It's just...it's been a rough year.
21:53Very rough year.
21:55But you know what?
21:59I wouldn't be anywhere else.
22:00This is...this is home.
22:06Oh.
22:08All right.
22:10Back into it.
22:14That's pretty ambitious of you.
22:16I know, right?
22:17Yeah.
22:19One at a time.
22:24If you want to get into this game, number one,
22:27you've got to cultivate a spirit of endeavour and perseverance.
22:32Kat, she's got a very, very go-getter attitude about everything.
22:37Something that I'm very proud of.
22:39First attitude I've ever come across.
22:45It's just too dangerous and too hot
22:48to be running a wheelbarrow in an arena.
22:51Running a wheelbarrow in and around all this.
22:55So I think the safest and cleverest thing that we can do
22:58is just attempt to do one of these dry pours.
23:04Basically, you spread your conch out where you want it to go,
23:07and then you moisten it three times,
23:10and it's enough to set everything.
23:13That's been a long and painful process.
23:17But we're getting closer.
23:19And...
23:21..we're getting closer to being reliable, which is the main thing.
23:27It's all good having some ground that's got some gold in it,
23:30but if you can't dig it up and process it reliably,
23:34you don't have much at all, really.
23:37Well, it looks like we're done, hey?
23:40Yeah.
23:41Look, it's rough as hell, it's an underpants,
23:43but it's a permanent solution to a persistent problem.
23:46Yeah.
23:47Pretty proud of us for achieving what we've done, so...
23:50Yeah.
23:51..well done.
23:52Let's spend the rest of the day just having a spell, hey?
23:55Yeah.
23:56Come on.
23:57All right.
23:58There's nothing else we can do.
24:00We've got to keep going.
24:02Don't be afraid to leave her a message, but...
24:05There's a reddaWe're geting quite close to reaching black sand here.
24:17Hmm.
24:18If we can't cut it off, then you can't survive any longer.
24:21Really?
24:22Today was our worst day.
24:24It was.
24:25Are you following me?
24:26Yes.
24:27We'll kill you.
24:28The rest of us will go kill ourselves.
24:31Alex, what happened? I heard a big bang.
24:35Massive rock just went into the hopper.
24:37I couldn't see it because of all the dust.
24:41I can't believe that one just slipped through.
24:44How are we going to get that out?
24:46I don't know.
24:47It's not looking good.
24:48Thing's a bloody monster.
24:49It's got to be at least a tonne of rock.
24:51Probably more.
24:52Yeah.
24:53Either I get in there with a sledgehammer,
24:55turn that one monster rock into bite-sized rocks.
24:58Oh, God.
24:59Which is going to take a lot of time and energy.
25:01Yeah.
25:02I think maybe try to put some chains around it
25:04and gently drop it down to the side.
25:07Or else we're going to be here for the rest of the day
25:09smashing it.
25:10Yep.
25:11All right, let's put a sling around it.
25:12We've got the excavator.
25:13We try and lift it back out.
25:19Well, it's either going to work or we're going to fail spectacularly.
25:22I think it's a one-shot deal.
25:24All right, Mel.
25:26That's all strapped up.
25:28All right, good luck.
25:29Let's get this thing out of there.
25:30Ugh.
25:33Oh.
25:34Get even, Mel.
25:36OK, it goes.
25:38It's just nerve-wracking, honestly.
25:41You know, it's just got a strap around it,
25:43so it's really easy for that rock just to fall straight through
25:45and just smash into the rest of the machinery there.
25:48It's going.
25:52All right, you've got tension now,
25:54so just up, up, up gently.
26:02Oh, God.
26:04That rock's right over the crusher.
26:06If that falls, it's 60 grand down the drain.
26:09All right, Alex, just slew to the right.
26:13I'll be very, very careful.
26:17Alex, just a bit slower.
26:20Steady.
26:21Oh, be careful.
26:22It's about to hit the...
26:23Oh, God.
26:30It's holding, but only just.
26:45Good job, Alex.
26:48We did it.
26:49Oh, we...
26:51I thought it was going to slip out of these straps at one point.
26:53So did I, yeah.
26:54It just shows you there's big rocks in it.
26:55I've got to be more careful when I'm loading.
26:57Yeah.
27:00Where's it going?
27:01Over there, you can see him.
27:03It's coming down this way.
27:04Yeah.
27:10How are you going?
27:11Good, how are you going?
27:12I'm looking for Alex.
27:13Yes, you found him.
27:14Alex, how are you going, mate?
27:16I'm Robert.
27:17Nice to meet you, Rob.
27:18Pleased to meet you, too.
27:19Hi, Robert, I'm Mel.
27:20G'day, Mel.
27:21Pleased to meet you.
27:22I've heard that you people are a little bit short for staff,
27:25so I thought I'd pop out and just see how you're going
27:28and see if you needed a hand, if I can be of help of any way.
27:31Well, we're very short-handed here.
27:33We've got a lot of machinery and there's only the two of us,
27:35so we're falling behind.
27:37Yes.
27:38So tell us a bit about yourself, Rob.
27:40What can you do?
27:41Yeah, well, I'm just sort of running around the bush prospecting
27:44and making a living out of that now, so...
27:47All right, so you can pan, you know wet plants.
27:49Yes, yes, yes.
27:50And crushing plants.
27:51Yep, yep.
27:52Operating machines.
27:53Yep, yep, operating machines.
27:55I was born and raised in the Goldfields, so...
27:57OK.
27:58Yeah, I've been around gold all my life, so...
28:00OK, so it's very difficult taking someone in that just drives up.
28:03Yep.
28:04Because I don't know you from Adam or Eve.
28:06No, I understand that, yep.
28:07But I'm prepared to give you a quick trial.
28:09Mm-hm.
28:10Run you for a week, see how you go.
28:12No worries.
28:13And...
28:14I'll be quite happy with that.
28:15All right, I'll give you a week's trial.
28:17No problem.
28:18Thank you very much.
28:19Cheers, Rob.
28:20You're very welcome.
28:21This is the big boss, by the way.
28:22Welcome to the team, Rob.
28:24I've been drive-alloying, so I'm going to get back to that.
28:26Alex can show you around Lloyd.
28:27No worries, all right.
28:28Nice meeting you.
28:29Nice meeting you.
28:30Take care.
28:31Let's get into it.
28:32No worries.
28:33All right.
28:34Yep.
28:35Any questions you have, no questions is a stupid question.
28:36No.
28:37And safety is the most important thing.
28:43Well, this is great news that we've got another team member.
28:46You know, I don't know if he's any good or not,
28:48but only time will tell.
28:50I'm just glad we've got someone out here
28:52that's hopefully going to be able to help us.
28:55To catch the gold, Mel feeds pay dirt into the dry blower,
28:59where compressed air moves the material over the riffle trays.
29:03As the dirt cascades down the trays,
29:06the heavier gold is trapped in the grooves,
29:09while the waste dirt lands on a conveyor
29:11that piles the material away from the plant.
29:17I'm going to do a sample just to make sure
29:19that the machine's set up properly.
29:21It's always good just to check we're not losing gold.
29:25All right.
29:32Oh, s***.
29:34There's gold in here,
29:36which means that it's coming out the end and we're losing gold.
29:47Oh, s***.
30:02Brad's just finished pushing this pad.
30:05I've started on this side.
30:06Mum and Bailey have started on the other side
30:08and we're just walking down with the detectors.
30:11Brad's gone over down at the back there to push a new pad
30:16Opening up this new ground, you know, we need good results from it.
30:27Jesus Christ, that's big.
30:38Is that it there?
30:42That's a massive piece.
30:45Hey, Mum, look at that one.
30:47Oh, awesome.
30:49How big is it?
30:50I reckon it's about half an ounce there.
30:53That's huge.
31:02Another big one.
31:04Another one.
31:05Oh, my God.
31:06They're just everywhere in this pad.
31:08I love this day.
31:09I know, this is wicked.
31:15Danny and Wendy and Bailey,
31:16they're detecting the pad behind me that we've just come from
31:20and I'm just working my way down now
31:22to the one that Brad's just pushing out.
31:25There's a pretty heavy bush around here.
31:27This is a good opportunity just to go over the ground
31:30where he's cut the track tree because it's nice and open.
31:41Oh, that sounds good.
31:44There it is.
31:46Beautiful.
31:48That's a good find.
31:49That's worth about 500 bucks, that one.
31:53Hey, Brad, you got a copy?
31:55Here you go, yeah.
31:56I wouldn't even be halfway down that little track,
31:58and I found a nice little nugget here.
32:00It's about 5 grams, I'd say.
32:02Yeah, that's good news.
32:03Yeah, it must be in between these two pads as well.
32:06I'll keep going down this track anyway.
32:07You never know, there might be some more down here too.
32:14Oh, Bailey.
32:16All right, you want to get this one out?
32:18Yep.
32:19So, right around here.
32:23Oh, it's in there.
32:25Oh, it's in there.
32:29See it?
32:30Yeah.
32:31Oh, my goodness.
32:32Look at, oh, that's huge.
32:35That's fantastic, Bailey.
32:38Wait.
32:39Oh, my goodness.
32:40It kind of looks like a chicken.
32:42It does look like a chicken, doesn't it?
32:44That's awesome, mate.
32:46A little chicken nugget.
32:55There's gold in here.
32:57You know, it should be in the machine.
32:59The fact that I can see it in here means we're losing gold.
33:03We can't be losing gold, so we need to get this sorted.
33:07Yeah, the feed rate's too fast.
33:09There's too much dirt going on the plate, so I need to adjust it.
33:15Well, the thing is, if I go too slow,
33:17I'm not going to be able to process too much dirt.
33:20And if I go too fast, we're going to be losing gold,
33:23so I've just got to find the right balance.
33:26All right, well, I've slowed that right down.
33:28That's looking way better now.
33:30You know, hopefully those adjustments worked,
33:32because I don't know what else would be causing it.
33:38Well, it's not every day that someone rocks up on a postie bike.
33:42I think it shows determination.
33:45I mean, the chapter's over.
33:47It's not over.
33:48It's not over.
33:49It's not over.
33:50It's not over.
33:51I think it shows determination.
33:54I mean, the chap's keen.
33:56He's clearly not a spring chicken,
33:58but hopefully he's a genuine bloke,
34:00and if he is, he'll fit in well.
34:02You know what?
34:03A positive attitude and some determination goes a long way.
34:08And I know joining a new team's pretty hard,
34:11but I'll just continue on and improve myself,
34:14which I know I can.
34:17Well, it's tough living this life, but I love it,
34:20and I'm up for this challenge.
34:22Working in the city and living that life down there
34:25with all the breach of comforts.
34:27But that's not me.
34:28I like just living in the bush.
34:30We're out here, fresh air, and I'm happy in my own skin.
34:36We're up.
34:37All our gold should now be in the concentrators.
34:39So we drop the concentrators, we take that black sludge up,
34:43we melt it down, and that's how we get a gold each day.
34:46Yeah, no worries, boys.
34:48Spinning around, the heavy stuff sticks to it,
34:50the light stuff flows out.
34:52Fresh, clean water being added to the mix.
34:54Yep.
34:55Just helps all that gold drop out.
34:57Yep. Get rid of all this mud.
34:59Yeah, you've done this before.
35:01Yes.
35:02You always end up wet, greasy, or muddy.
35:05Sloppy.
35:06The fact that I've had you now running around today,
35:08you're worse than I am.
35:09Oh, it doesn't bother me, mate.
35:11Trust me.
35:12Trust me.
35:15I'll be going off.
35:16See the gold through it.
35:18Yeah, you can see the run of gold around it.
35:20That's good dirt we put through.
35:22Yeah, that quartz is really rich, really.
35:24Yeah.
35:25A good run last week, and if this week's the same,
35:28should be pretty flash.
35:30All right, let's go melt this down.
35:32No worries.
35:33See what we've got.
35:34Yeah, sweet.
35:43Yeah, it's come up good.
35:45It's looking like it's pretty much dry.
35:48We can get into it.
35:52We couldn't risk coming back out here during the day again.
35:55It was well over 40 degrees.
35:58Fingers crossed we can do this in the dark.
36:07Yeah, it's all doing great.
36:09It's actually doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
36:12So I'll jump in the truck and head over to the escalator
36:16and just load it and run a few more truckfuls of dirt over.
36:23This is my first time operating a machine of a nighttime.
36:29Still got a bit of dust coming up in my face, but you know what?
36:34At least I don't have that sun blaring down at me.
36:39I am a little bit nervous about it.
36:42So when Brent's walking around, we're playing.
36:45I can't see him.
36:46It's a bit more dangerous.
36:53It does seem to be pretty good dirt over here.
36:57This is where we got that bit of a surprise.
37:03I hope that that gold that we found in that spot
37:07wasn't a one-off.
37:09I hope there's a dirty great big patch of it there.
37:15Brent's dropping me off buckets and I keep unloading them into the gurney.
37:20The whole idea of a trommel is to clean the rocks
37:23where all the fine gold likes to hang around.
37:26And we're just going to keep on going until we can't go no more.
37:31Yeah, so we've put in some serious effort here.
37:35I really hope this is going to pay off.
37:44Well, it's been a big night, hasn't it?
37:47Yeah.
37:48Let's see what we've got, eh?
37:50Hopefully it was worth it.
37:57No way!
37:58Look at that!
37:59Look at that!
38:00Holy crap!
38:01One, two, three, four, five, seven, nine, twelve, thirty-two.
38:06There's heaps!
38:07Look at that.
38:08Well done.
38:09That is awesome.
38:10Awesome.
38:11So good.
38:13So good.
38:14Yeah.
38:21Alright, I'm excited.
38:22Bit of a weigh-in, eh?
38:23Yeah.
38:24How are you going, Dad?
38:25Good.
38:26Took you a while to get here.
38:27You get your zoomer frame stuck on a branch or something?
38:30I hope you guys aren't going to be disappointed if I found most of the gold.
38:33Well, I think we all found a fair bit this week.
38:36So, yeah, let's see what we've got, eh?
38:37I just kept finding them everywhere I went.
38:39So, I mean...
38:40That's a full jar.
38:41That is a full jar, eh?
38:43And I did really well, so...
38:45Let's have a look.
38:46Let's see what we've got.
38:512.53.
38:53Is it all gold?
38:55Yeah, it is all gold.
38:56Yeah, there's no rocks in that one.
38:58My turn.
38:59Alright, come on.
39:00What have you got?
39:01Another full jar.
39:03Yeah, boy.
39:04Let's see what I got.
39:07Holy crap.
39:09There's our little chicken nugget that we found.
39:11That is a motherload.
39:12Bailey helped me find these, so...
39:14So that's 5.27.
39:16So that's...
39:17That makes yours about 2.75.
39:19Ooh, bigger.
39:20Jesus Christ.
39:21Oh, your mum beat ya.
39:23Alright, come on, boy.
39:24I'm a bit worried now.
39:26You should be.
39:27Don't worry.
39:28But yeah, it's all good gold, isn't it?
39:30Yeah.
39:31Holy crap.
39:32That is so good.
39:33That's 7.83, so that means yours is about 2.59, something like that.
39:38Woo!
39:39Baby, you're pumped.
39:41That's nearly 8 ounces of gold there.
39:44The McGee's are now just shy of their 25-ounce, $75,000 season target.
39:54Nearly a $25,000 a week.
39:56Oh, my Jesus.
39:57That's a good week.
39:58Good boy in the car.
39:59Happy with that.
40:00That's the best week ever.
40:01So good.
40:02That's what dreams are made of, isn't it?
40:03Yep.
40:11Just firing this up.
40:13Hopefully this will be a good melt.
40:21Well, it's up to temperature, so...
40:24Time to pour and see what we've got.
40:36Time to show the other guys what the hard work's delivered.
40:39Get it weighed up.
40:40See what we've made.
40:43So how'd you go working with Alex, Rob?
40:45Oh, but he knows his stuff.
40:46He's really good at what he does, so I really enjoy working with him, so...
40:50Well, that's good.
40:51All right, what are you old hens clucking about?
40:53Oh, just general banter talk, you know.
40:55All right.
40:56So how did I go, boss?
40:57Yeah, you must have gold in your veins because you're all over that plant.
41:01You're definitely here for another week if you're keen.
41:03I'm keen, mate.
41:04Absolutely.
41:05Yeah, always up for a challenge.
41:06Beautiful.
41:07All right.
41:08Yeah.
41:09On to the important stuff.
41:10Yeah.
41:11Can I show you what I got?
41:12Please do.
41:13Yep.
41:14Yes.
41:15All right.
41:16You ready?
41:17Yep.
41:182.7.
41:19Sweet.
41:20Nice.
41:21Good effort.
41:22Very nice.
41:23Yeah.
41:24I'll do what's safe.
41:25Well, we didn't slack off either.
41:26We put a lot of dirt through.
41:27Okay.
41:28You ready for this?
41:29Yes.
41:30Oh, yeah.
41:31Here we go.
41:32Drum roll.
41:33Oh, my.
41:34Holy moly.
41:35What was that?
41:36What?
41:37Oh, my.
41:3854.7 ounces.
41:39The $160,000 haul is the largest they've found at Fairlady this season, but it still leaves
41:47them more than $2 million short of their season target.
41:51There you go, Rob.
41:52Feel that.
41:53Yeah.
41:54That's only half the size of the rock you put in there, boss.
41:57Scales never tell a fib.
41:59That brings us to almost 300 ounces, and that's, what, three quarters of what we did last year.
42:05We're still in the running, but the season's sort of closing out quick.
42:08Yes, it is.
42:09So, I mean, weeks are flying by.
42:12Check this out.
42:13Oh, yeah.
42:14It's a decent thug, hey?
42:15Ready?
42:16Yeah.
42:17That's not bad.
42:18That's not bad.
42:19But we did put a lot of tonnage through.
42:20We put a lot of tonnage through.
42:21For two days, we would have been up around that 30, 40 ton mark.
42:22Oh, yeah, yeah.
42:23All right.
42:24We ready for this?
42:25Yes.
42:26Come on.
42:27One, two, three.
42:28Oh, my.
42:29Oh, my.
42:30Oh, my.
42:31Oh, my.
42:32Oh, my.
42:33Oh, my.
42:34Oh, my.
42:35Oh, my.
42:36Oh, my.
42:37Oh, my.
42:38Oh, my.
42:39Oh, my.
42:40Oh, my.
42:41Oh, oh, my.
42:46Oh, my.
42:47Oh, my.
42:48Oh, my.
42:49Oh, my.
42:50Oh, my.
42:51Oh, my.
42:52Oh, my.
42:53Oh, my.
42:56Oh, my.
42:57Oh, my.
42:58Five point five five.
42:59That's not bad.
43:00That's pretty good, actually.
43:01That's like the biggest we home we've had.
43:02Yeah.
43:03So, that's going about five point five grams per ton, roughly.
43:04That's pretty good.
43:05Four or five grams a ton.
43:06What?
43:07The Rich Dirt delivered over sixteen and a half thousand dollars worth of gold.
43:08The team face an enormous challenge to find two-thirds of their 50-ounce target in the
43:13final weeks.
43:14We haven't got long to go, so you know what, let's pull out all the stops and pull in all
43:19the favours too.
43:20Let's have a real big push this next week.
43:22Big crack next week.
43:23Yep.
43:24I like it.
43:25I like it a lot.
43:26Come on now.