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00:00Hold it, hold it.
00:16That looks really good, actually.
00:18Looks like there's a bit of a cavity behind that boulder there.
00:22What I'd like you to do is just rock break out this little ledge.
00:30No, no, no, stop, stop.
00:46Wow, holy.
00:48That is amazing.
01:00Huge big plate of amethyst up here.
01:17I wasn't expecting it to be quite that big, but yeah, this is absolutely incredible.
01:22This is what we need.
01:24Wow.
01:26Have a look at this.
01:27Do you want something good?
01:28Come up here.
01:31No way.
01:32Check it out.
01:33That's unreal.
01:34Is that a whole big cluster?
01:35Yeah.
01:36It's huge.
01:39The ancient Pilbara, searing under brutal 45 degree summer temperatures.
01:47Patrick Gunderson and his team have just days left to mine before the extreme heat shuts
01:53down all work.
01:54Now comes the challenge of how to get it out.
01:58Yeah.
01:59How are you going to get it out?
02:00I was just thinking before, probably going to have to get pulled to rock break, some of
02:04this out, build a bit of a platform here.
02:06Yeah.
02:06And then, yeah, we'll rock break left and right of it.
02:09Be hard getting it out in one piece as well.
02:11Well, all we can do is try.
02:13Need a win.
02:14Need a win, a big win.
02:14Amethyst is a purple variant of quartz.
02:22It's striking hue caused by traces of irradiated iron.
02:27For centuries, it was seen as one of the five cardinal gemstones considered precious above
02:31all else.
02:34Today, amethyst is valued as specimen pieces and for use in jewellery.
02:38Good luck, Paul.
02:41Don't break it.
02:45Really struggling to find anything sort of consistent here.
02:49Like we get little pockets and then it sort of stops, goes to nothing.
02:53Last season at this very mine, Patrick and the team found the world's largest amethyst
02:59cluster, a 21-ton behemoth that potentially exhausted the mine of the purple crystal.
03:09We're into our last week here and I'm reflecting on this massive target that I've set for myself
03:15and sort of realising that maybe I was a bit overambitious with it.
03:19I'm not sure if we'll reach it.
03:21Pat set a target really high this year just because we really want to buy a new property
03:25to expand our business.
03:26We're sort of running out of space that the house we're in now.
03:28It is getting so much harder to get into this ground.
03:32We're not finding as many crystals as previous years.
03:35The ideal scenario now is either we open up a really big pocket zone that just produces
03:40a lot of high quality pieces or we somehow miraculously open up another cave system so
03:46everyone's going to give it their best shot.
03:52We've decided that the only way we're going to get this fuss for out is by building a bit
03:57of a bench below it and then we're going to rock break either side of it and just hope
04:01that we can get it to, in a controlled fashion, fall on this bench.
04:06We can't get it out by hand just because it's locked in solid quartz.
04:09But with that comes the risk that this whole thing could crumble apart at any second.
04:14So, yeah, pretty nervous here.
04:21A cluster of this size could be worth sort of over ten grand easily in one piece.
04:27If it all falls apart, then it's pretty much worthless.
04:31Well, that's actually a nice piece down there, Pat.
04:43I'll run down and grab it.
04:55We're trying to get this big amethyst plate out, but you've also got to keep your eyes peeled
04:59because this beauty accidentally got knocked out and rolled down.
05:02So, we're collecting these two and that's a beautiful plate.
05:07So, we're going to spend the next little bit of time here just working really slowly around
05:11it, trying to expose it so we can get it out.
05:14Whoa!
05:14Whoa!
05:15Whoa!
05:15Whoa!
05:15Whoa!
05:15Whoa!
05:16Whoa!
05:16Whoa!
05:17Whoa!
05:17Whoa!
05:18Whoa!
05:18Whoa!
05:19Whoa!
05:19Whoa!
05:20Whoa!
05:20Whoa!
05:21Whoa!
05:21Whoa!
05:22Whoa!
05:22Whoa!
05:23Whoa!
05:24Whoa!
05:25Whoa!
05:26Whoa!
05:27Whoa!
05:28Whoa!
05:29Whoa!
05:30Whoa!
05:31Oh!
05:32Whoa!
05:33Whoa!
05:34Whoa!
05:39Whoa!
05:40What the f**k does that happen?
05:41Ah, geez Matt, she was rough up in here.
05:45That's a bit of an issue.
05:47What's he had it like?
05:48Ah, f**k!
05:49Ooh.
05:50That's not good, mate.
05:54Ah, what we've got is a tree standing at the entrance there.
06:00The wind's blown it over and tore a big root ball up.
06:03So now we've got a pile of dirt at the front, so it's built a dam and made a lake in the
06:06entrance.
06:07Hey Hugh, you better come check this out, mate.
06:14Oh man, this ain't good.
06:16This is chock-a-block full of water.
06:18What?
06:19The genie's in it and everything.
06:22A day just went from ordinary to absolute **** house.
06:29Beneath the primal forests of West Tasmania, heavy rainfall has flooded the Platte, a world
06:36renowned crystal mine.
06:40That is not ideal.
06:48We've stashed the generator just inside the attic and we weren't really expecting this
06:52type of weather over the last few weeks.
06:56Our little barra is full of water and flooded out the generator so we could **** right from
07:01the start.
07:02Should have put it in the shed, eh?
07:04We'll learn our lesson.
07:06We might get lucky.
07:07I didn't expect that, mate.
07:12I didn't expect it to go.
07:20Now, the big test.
07:21The engine will run, but the generator makes power.
07:26Yeah, we're going to plug the power into it now and if we get a load from it...
07:32Oh, are you serious?
07:37That was very, very lucky, yeah.
07:39How's that possible?
07:40It was half full of water.
07:42How does that work?
07:43Well, it's loaded up.
07:45It's making power.
07:46Lead the way.
07:47Lead the way.
07:49So, this area in particular is an area of the mine that made the whole place famous worldwide.
07:59It's an area we like to call Bear's Pocket.
08:01An elf fella named Bear Parker found a beautiful, big, lustrous pyromorphite and croquite pocket
08:06here.
08:07Probably the best the world's ever seen, so we're hoping there's a little bit left here.
08:10I reckon, just above us here, you can see all the green sparkles up there, that's what we're
08:15after.
08:16These are the type of multi-species specimens that we need for the shop to sell to the collectors.
08:24This is what the people are after, something different, something unique.
08:28Croquite and pyromorphite are both lead-based minerals, with croquite consisting of chromate
08:36and pyromorphite containing chlorophosphate.
08:40Finding a specimen with both crystals is extremely rare.
08:44So, what do you reckon, we're going to need some timbers up there to sort of build a bit
08:50of a working platform?
08:51Yeah, yeah, so we'll get a bit of tallowood there and put a couple of stulls in and a
08:57couple of planks on it.
08:57I reckon that'll do him, mate.
09:08That's plenty.
09:09That's given us plenty.
09:10If we can't make something up out of that, we've got problems.
09:13Yep, good to come up now, Hugh.
09:19Straight up that ladder.
09:20It's up that bucket there if you've got a spare hand, mate.
09:24Righto.
09:25Send him up.
09:26Oh, look at that.
09:30Righto.
09:31A few wedges, Hugh.
09:32Can I get a thick wedge, please?
09:33Yep.
09:34So the wedges drive it in tight, so it'll wedge in really tight.
09:45That one there I've just put in as it will fill a gap.
09:48Now I'll get some skinny ones onto it and we'll really put some pressure on it.
09:52Oh, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it.
09:59Right there, Hugh.
10:00That all just exposed cracks everywhere.
10:02Yep.
10:03All that.
10:04You can find us.
10:22So what do you reckon, Dad?
10:27We've got the wet season coming up and we won't be able to get much digging while it's
10:32wet.
10:33This week is pretty much our last week of actually trying to get some rocks.
10:37I'd really like to get a lease for the next season.
10:41A lease would be, what, around two and a half grand?
10:43Yeah, about that, yeah.
10:44So what do you think we do to actually come up with that sort of money?
10:48Well, we're in the right spot here for getting Topaz, so we've done alright getting Topaz
10:53here before.
10:54The Topaz mountain there.
10:55Yeah.
10:56Let's go for it.
10:57Righto.
10:58Might be able to buy a new pair of thongs.
11:04So I want to get a lease because at the moment we're just digging with hand tools up
11:07at that crystal mountain.
11:09If we get a lease, that allows us to get actually machinery up there and we can actually dig
11:12that mountain a lot easier and hopefully get a lot more crystals.
11:16Our only income at the moment is actually finding crystals, selling them and paying for the
11:21bills that way.
11:22It is, it is a big pressure because I've got a family to feed and if we don't find crystals,
11:26we go hungry.
11:27Alright, filter still here.
11:40That's where we found the Topaz before.
11:43Yeah, give another bash.
11:45There's some big rocks there.
11:48Topaz.
11:49Needing a source of fluorine to form, Topaz crystallizes under intense heat and pressure
11:57within the Earth's crust.
11:59From ancient Rome to the modern day, the crystal is prized for its hardness and clarity, making
12:05it one of the world's most popular gemstones for jewelry.
12:09This here, this hole here, is where we found the big Topaz from the last time we were here.
12:14So what the plan is, we're going to actually dig in this vicinity to actually see if there's
12:18any more.
12:19There might be another pocket close by it.
12:21You can just go through that just to test sieve it, just see if we've got anything coming
12:25up.
12:26If we find another one in this next sieve, it's a good sign for us because then we know
12:33we're definitely onto them.
12:36If we don't, we might have to try a different direction maybe.
12:46Nothing decent, Neil.
12:47Oh, okay.
12:49I'll see what you come up with that, just to make sure.
12:52Alright.
12:56Not looking real promising, Neil.
13:01No, nothing in it?
13:04Nothing like last time.
13:05Last time we're finding stuff pretty much every sieve.
13:07We're getting good stuff, but this time, it's very, very scarce.
13:18You're going to get in the clay, are you?
13:20Find the clay.
13:22Maybe I need to go down deeper.
13:24I reckon so.
13:25So that's looking better soil.
13:26That's what we're after.
13:27That clay stuff.
13:28Yeah, but what worries me is there's absolutely no quartz in it.
13:41It's the right sort of clay, but it's just there's nothing in it.
13:44We've got two separate ones.
13:45Paul just went to rock break above it, and unfortunately, half the cluster has fallen off.
14:01A bit more than half.
14:02Well, more than half.
14:03So yeah, that's kind of disappointing.
14:05What a shame.
14:06Look, there was really nothing holding it.
14:09It's got no base rock to it anyways.
14:12Yeah, a real shame, but we've still got a few pieces that we can recover.
14:17That's the nature of nature.
14:19What we might do, Paul, is rock break this top of this lip off.
14:28Like, go back about a metre.
14:30All right.
14:31I'll do me business.
14:32Before we start rock breaking behind this ledge, I'm going to try and recover what I can from
14:37this.
14:38We're just working in a really awkward spot here.
14:39So, I'm going to peel away the top of it.
14:58No need to save one piece.
15:00That's a nice piece, though.
15:05Patrick's hopes for a valuable amethyst cluster are in pieces.
15:10For any chance of success to reach season target, the team must now face the pinnacle,
15:16an almost impenetrable dolomite monolith.
15:28We're about to start rock breaking around the pinnacle.
15:31The pinnacle's been an incredible source of pocket zones for the last few years.
15:36But it's getting progressively harder and harder to locate new pockets.
15:42So, we're really hoping that this rock breaker can open up a new zone.
15:45As Patrick attempts to expose crystals inside the pinnacle, Kirsty and the team are working
15:55a softer clay zone, hunting for individual specimens.
16:00So, when working these clay zones, what you really want to do is sort of work wider, especially
16:07when there's a bigger crystal in the centre.
16:09So, I'm just using a hammer and a screwdriver just to work through that clay.
16:14It's a little bit slow going, but at least we're not going to damage the crystal in the process.
16:19Pat!
16:20Yeah?
16:21Oi!
16:22Holy!
16:23Big DT!
16:24Yeah?
16:25Oh!
16:26Oh, Anthony!
16:27Oh, that's nice!
16:28Oh my God.
16:29Oh, I'm accessible at this point.
16:30Damn right.
16:31Oh, we are.
16:32Oh, we are.
16:33That's nice.
16:34Oh, my God!
16:35Oh!
16:36Oh, I'm accessible at this point.
16:37Damn right.
16:38Oh, we are.
16:39Oh, we are.
16:40Oh, we are.
16:41Oh, that's nice!
16:42Oh, my God.
16:43Oh, my God.
16:44Oh!
16:45Oh, I'm accessible at this point.
16:46Oh.
16:47Damn right.
16:48Oh, we are. Oh, that's just amazing
16:59This is pretty amazing. This is what we're after nice decent size and amazing color
17:05Perfect condition looks like they're into some good stuff. So yeah, I'm relieved to see they're finding something
17:16Just breaking apart
17:18I
17:20Wasn't expecting this to happen, but it looks like that hard dolomite pinnacle is actually starting to break apart
17:25I can see a big big crack through it. So this might actually work. We might get into some some good zones here
17:41Nice work Paul
17:43Nice work Paul
17:45There's a big opening down here. I can't see any crystals yet, but it's a big cavity
17:54Let the treasure hunt begin
17:56You see that's only soft play up under that there
18:04We've got a 10 meter exposed hanging wall here and anything can fall off it and as we started putting the stalls in it started to sort of break around it
18:12So we've just had to reassess
18:15Look, I might just keep chipping away out there and bury it in the wall
18:19Probably just gonna take longer than what we planned
18:21Deep underground
18:23Jaren and Hugh are attempting to construct a platform to access a rare croquite and pyromorphite deposit
18:30Four meters above them
18:32So that's a lot nicer ground, isn't it?
18:36That's looking much better now
18:38We've hit some hard hanging wall
18:39We've got through the weathered clays
18:41And we've hit some nice solid ground
18:43And our stalls will be able to be supported in that
18:45Stay tight and keep us on our platform
18:47Now we've got a good solid
18:49Solid piece of hanging wall there now
18:50So good call
18:56That is beautiful
18:57Lovely job mate
18:59Pass him up and I'll pass him back down after a pre-fit
19:03No pre-fit
19:10No pre-fit required
19:11Can you pass me the boards up please?
19:18They're a bit wet
19:21How's she feel mate?
19:29Yep, we're on it
19:30Give us a point you will it mate
19:33Beautiful
19:40So we're just putting the final touches on our platform up there above us at the moment
19:46Hugh's just gonna screw the planks in now
19:48We're gonna run a bit of ventilation in there
19:51You can soon get yourself caught in a bit of bad air
19:53Especially in these little pockets up above where there's no actual flow
19:56So we sort of have to create that artificially with these ventilation pipes
20:07It's not the easiest spot to work but
20:09You know it all starts somewhere
20:10It starts smaller than you open it up
20:12Just inspecting my hues dropping to the floor on us
20:15And I'm just coming across little 5-10mm cylinder croquites with tiny little 2-3mm poromorphites in there
20:25It's a long way to go before it's a specimen but it's a good sign that he's heading in the right direction
20:42Right up through here we've got the green pyromorphite
20:58And if the voids open up a little bit you'll get your croquite noodles laying on it and that's what we're after
21:04If we break any of this stuff it's worth nothing
21:06So now we've got to undermine it slightly and then it's just gently gently go forward ever so slowly
21:10And hopefully get some specimens out
21:13Right on mate
21:15All good are we?
21:16Yeah give us another 2 minutes of vent and then come up
21:18What the f*** man this is bad
21:34See this big crack?
21:36I don't even want to f*** with that
21:38Need to find topaz and Neil's really struggling at the moment
21:51You know stressing a bit too by the look of it
21:53Well it's really hard to believe that we're not coming across anything
21:57When last time we were here we found really big topaz here and a lot of it
22:02But we're not finding anything
22:04But we've got to keep going because we don't really have a choice to stop
22:12This is the hard times you know
22:14It's hard to keep motivated because when you're not finding nothing
22:17It's really overwhelming sometimes
22:21In the final days of their season the Wilkinsons have returned to Topaz Mountain
22:26Desperate to find another two and a half thousand dollars worth of the crystal
22:31To buy a mining lease and set up next season
22:34Might have to go the other way I think
22:37Get over this way
22:39So what I'm concerned about
22:40I want to actually go this way into this wall here
22:43But these big rocks up here
22:45These are going to be a worry because if I start digging underneath them
22:47They're going to start coming down I reckon
22:49If we drop them in the hole and then I'll get a sledgehammer and break them up
22:52So I can get them out of the hole
22:58The old tom used to come up here crowbar like we're doing here
23:02The old tom has done it like this so why can't we
23:05Although they did die earlier too didn't they
23:07It is a big thing when we don't find nothing eh
23:11It sort of gets daunting that you need to pay the bills and that so
23:16Yeah we've been here for two days digging this big hole here
23:19If we don't find anything today
23:21We're going to probably have to sort something else out to get the money for that lease next season
23:32Oh, whoa, whoa, that's not good
23:34I'm going to have to move that rock eh
23:35I'm going to have to move that rock eh
23:37Oh, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere eh
23:40I think it's alright
23:42I reckon what we'll do is we'll just get this rock out here
23:44And then we'll like get that out of the way
23:46Just so it's a bit safer
23:47Okay
23:48Alright
23:55Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
23:57Right?
23:58There's crystals on the floor so there should be crystals
24:06They've fallen from the ceiling
24:07They've fallen down, yeah
24:08Right down the bottom
24:09Yeah
24:10That goes down about as far as I can see
24:12Looks like it's about two metres from the entrance here
24:15So that's a big cavity
24:17Now it's just time to start finding some crystals
24:20It's going to be epic I think
24:22After finally breaking into the dolomite pinnacle
24:25Patrick and Luke have discovered a new crystal bearing cavity
24:30That could bring their season home
24:32I can feel stuff down here
24:34I was just trying to reach it
24:37There's a few loose pieces
24:40A little something coming out now
24:43Oh, wow
24:46Just poured out this beautiful little smoky quartz cluster
24:50A lot of these ones that come out of here
24:51Don't have a lot of dirt on them
24:52Because they've been actually hanging upside down
24:54On the ceiling of the cavity
24:56So they're almost completely clean
24:59This pinnacle's been such a source of incredible specimens
25:02And hopefully this is the sign of what's to come
25:06Oh, I can feel something a bit bigger here
25:09Really?
25:10Yeah
25:11Oh, yeah, this is going to be good
25:16Whoa
25:17Yes
25:18That's what it's about
25:19Yeah, look at that
25:21That's amazing
25:23Pieces like this is really what we're hoping to find here
25:27Just the quality and formation of this piece
25:30Just makes it really unique
25:32That's amazing
25:33This is a world-class, museum-grade specimen
25:36Absolutely
25:38Nice one
25:41A nice little cluster
25:42Oh, that's a beauty, mate
25:43Yeah
25:44Yeah
25:51We've done really well
25:52I honestly can't reach any further in there
25:54But yeah, stoked to have some really nice high-quality clusters
25:58Definitely
26:01Get the truck down here, load it up
26:02Rightio
26:03Give them a clean and see what we got
26:04See what we got
26:09We found some incredible pieces
26:10The Smoky Cave has just been amazing
26:13Some absolutely stunning clusters have come out of it
26:16So let's pack up time?
26:17Yeah, let's see what we got
26:19Yeah, we've done pretty well today
26:20Yeah, I can see
26:21Yeah, amazing colour
26:28We're starting another row here somewhere?
26:30Oh, yeah
26:32So right now we're just grading the crystals into piles or sections of points
26:37And sections of clusters just to get a better visual of what we have
26:45I've got two clusters here that have a secondary coating of white calcite
26:51The only way to get them clean is to give them a bit of a soak
26:58What I'm using is a super diluted solution of water with a tiny bit of hydrochloric acid in it
27:04Which is essentially pool acid
27:06And what that'll do is it'll dissolve away the calcite but it won't touch the quartz
27:10So yeah, we'll see what's hiding underneath this crusty coating
27:17First one
27:19You can already see it fizzing away there
27:25So we'll give this about an hour or so
27:26Hopefully that'll all come off and left behind will be just absolutely beautiful smoky quartz
27:41Oh, it hasn't moved
27:42Not that while I've been in there jack picking away nothing's come off
27:45See this big crack?
27:47I don't even want to f*** with that
27:48Yeah, well don't, we're not f***ing with it
27:50Yeah
27:51Zero intention of doing anything with that apart from going past it
27:54It's just starting to fault through here
27:56And it's going to dry over time
27:58And like with a bit of vibes and things like that
28:00It's going to free up one day
28:02Just could be a hundred years time, could be tomorrow
28:07Dangerous cracks in the wall are forcing Jaren and Hugh
28:10To reassess their plan for mining rare croquite and pyromorphite to stock their fledgling mineral store
28:18Jaren's a little bit concerned about some of the cracks in the hanging wall there
28:22Our intentions are not to bugger around with the hanging wall
28:25We're just going to advance along it and expose the structure that we need to
28:30It's just a matter of keeping an eye on things
28:32If you see a wedge starting to bend or bow then there's pressure on it
28:35You just stop, get out
28:36Just so you're aware man, this whole thing vibes when you tap that
28:50Okay
28:52If it's just along a big fold here as Hugh taps into the hanging wall just down below
28:56I can feel the vibrations in this rock
28:58So I'm just going to keep an eye on it as Hugh sort of works in there
29:01And make sure it isn't doing any moving for now
29:06That there, that's what I want
29:21What's that?
29:25Oh, chrome seracite
29:29That is...
29:30Okay, we're having a bit of a moment here
29:35Look at those things
29:37We've got beautiful yellow chrome seracite here, that is the stuff
29:41That is, we were not expecting that
29:44Chrome seracite is the local term for the yellow crystal form of lead carbonate
29:51A specimen displaying seracite, croquite and pyromorphite is incredibly rare
29:57I think it's the only place on earth where this actually happens
30:01All three in one, we're pretty excited about that
30:03We were not expecting chrome seracite to come out as well
30:06They have all these minerals together, it's just a, just a witch's cauldron of goodness
30:10So we're going to come around behind this lump here now, see if we can get it all out in one go
30:25Oh mate, mate mate mate mate mate, you should see what's in the floor man
30:30Yeah
30:31We've actually just encountered a little spot that has the beautiful green pyromorphite with croquite
30:39So we might be able to get a few nice specimens here
30:42Oh yeah, that's a beauty mate
30:45Beautiful mate, absolutely beautiful
30:49Look at that, check him out mate
30:53That's what we're after, carrots and broccoli
30:56The contrast of the beautiful green and the bright red, orange
31:02It doesn't get seen anywhere else
31:04It's so unique to the plat
31:06This is why we got the place, this is why we came here
31:08This is exactly why we came here
31:10Woo wee!
31:12She's still coming mate
31:14Still coming? Oh wow
31:16Yeah, that's a, that's a good one
31:19Size isn't necessarily what we're after here, it's aesthetics and perfection
31:23And that's what the mineral collectors are after too
31:25So it may only be two to four centimetres big
31:28But as long as we attain that perfection, that's what people are after
31:31Really good way to finish the week
31:33It'll be good to get in town and prep all these up and get them all safe, ready for sale
31:37Got him mate, beautiful
31:39Beautiful
31:48Look at that
31:50Yeah, this one's cleaning up really nice
31:52Exceptional quality
31:54We didn't find many like this on this dig
31:57But um, a few really nice ones
31:59So yeah, stoked to, to have these
32:01In the final week of their season
32:03Patrick and his team have discovered a massive haul of amethyst and smoky quartz
32:07The crystals are the team's last chance to hit their $750,000 target
32:14Look at those, wow!
32:16Yeah
32:17Wow
32:18Check that out, the colour
32:19Yeah, I couldn't resist cleaning up a few favourites just to see how they'd clean up
32:23Wow
32:24They're stunning
32:25I've also been soaking these other big clusters
32:27You know the ones that were covered in that white calcite?
32:29Yeah, yeah
32:30Yeah, this is them without all that white coating
32:33Oh mate, look at that
32:34Look at that
32:35That's incredible
32:36Incredible
32:37Yeah
32:38That's a statement piece for sure
32:39Yeah, the quality
32:41And then I've got this other amethyst one which is, I think, going to turn out really good
32:49Wow
32:50Look at that
32:51What colour in that?
32:52That's incredible
32:53So pretty
32:54Yeah
32:55Well done
32:56Stoked
32:57Done really well actually
32:58In terms of value, what are you thinking?
33:01Yeah, well
33:04I reckon
33:08I reckon we've got like $250,000 here
33:11No way
33:12Really?
33:13Yeah, I'm really, really, really happy
33:16You know, it's a little bit short of the target I set for myself this year
33:20But I think that was a bit ambitious
33:21You know, we didn't find as much as previous years
33:24But I'm so sure there's, you know, an incredible amount of crystals still hidden down there
33:28That will probably always remain there
33:29And I'm just so grateful for those that do come to light
33:32You know, I feel like it's a gift from the earth to be able to pass on to people
33:36Precious
33:37Yeah
33:38Well done
33:42Thanks for that great effort
33:43Great effort
33:44Thank you
33:45Thank you
33:46Thank you
33:48Let's go have a beer
33:58That's the last try of them
33:59Nice
34:00I think what we focus on now, mate
34:02Is rinsing up these ready prep sort of specimens
34:05We'll get them stabilised and we'll put them into boxes
34:09At the end of their season, Jaren and Hugh must carefully prepare
34:14The fragile crystal specimens for sale in their new mineral shop
34:18So what we're doing is we're stabilising the matrix of the specimen
34:22A lot of these specimens, when they dry out, they'll just go to dust
34:25So we've got to hold it together
34:27Essentially with glue, it stays completely transparent
34:29You wouldn't even know
34:31And the specimen will last for generations
34:33It's quite a risky but necessary procedure
34:38We're risking breaking them every time we're handling them
34:41So we need to get them strong and sturdy for our sale
34:50The dream's starting to really come together now
34:52We've got our shop up and running
34:53We've got our workshop in process
34:55And yeah, we've just got to put it all together now
34:58And hope for the best
34:59How you going with it, mate?
35:02Yeah, not too bad, mate
35:03It's starting to come together in here
35:05Ah, good job
35:06Pulled all these in, we'll have a bit of a look at some of these
35:08Some of these little easter eggs here
35:10Good to see what we've actually got
35:13With thousands invested in their new shop
35:16Jaren and Hugh now need to value their haul using a digital microscope
35:21Show this little fella on there
35:23He keeps sparkling at me
35:25Oh, look at that
35:27Oh, that's beautiful, mate
35:28That's perfection in a picture
35:29Look at that
35:31Nice little terminated crystals
35:33Green little forest behind it
35:35That's what we're here for
35:37What about that big three species one?
35:39What is that one here?
35:40I'm not sure how we're going to go with this one
35:46Oh, look at that though, mate
35:49There's so much going on in this rock
35:50I think we're on a winner there
35:56That is beautiful, mate
35:57Absolutely stunning
35:59The time we supply some photos with the specimens for all the buyers
36:03They can go away with their mineral and a picture
36:06That's exactly right
36:07We'll be targeting the micromounters with these sort of specimens, mate
36:11But I think they're going to be pretty happy
36:13So what do you reckon we've got here value-wise, buddy?
36:15Well, between that and what's drying at the moment
36:16It's a little bit tricky to say, but I think
36:22We're looking at about three and a half thousand dollars for the week, mate
36:25Oh, nice, I'm happy with that
36:26Three and a half grand, there's nothing to sneeze at
36:28No, mate, we didn't reach our season target
36:30But I don't think we've done too bad, have we?
36:32No, I'm pretty happy with that, mate
36:33I mean, we might not have got as much value in minerals
36:36But we've got this place organised
36:37We've got a workshop
36:38We've got a shop front that we can deal and wheel
36:40And talk to people
36:41So I think that's been the biggest achievement out of everything
36:43No, we've had a good year, mate
36:45And I think there's another good one ahead of us
36:47Oh, absolutely, we'll fly into it
36:48Good year
36:49Top effort
37:00You alright?
37:01That's, um, lucky, eh?
37:08That was scary
37:10I didn't think that rock would actually move
37:13But obviously a bit of vibration in it actually come down
37:16It's a huge rock
37:17It would have definitely crushed my legs, definitely
37:21Alright, well, we've got to keep going
37:24After all that, we're going to have to clean it out
37:27Make sure we're safer this time
37:29Because that was too close for comfort
37:33Got to come up with something
37:34We've got to keep digging
37:38At season end, Neil has been forced to take dangerous shortcuts
37:43Attempting to extract enough topaz to buy a mine lease
37:46To survive the year ahead
37:48It's looking a lot better, right?
37:50Yeah, it's looking a lot better
37:51We're actually down in that orangey sort of clay stuff
37:54So that's looking really good, I like that
37:59It might be a nice, um, soft spot here I can dig
38:03So it's got to be our day today
38:05We put too much effort in here to come up with nothing
38:11Hey, Dad, look at that
38:13That's smoky quartz
38:14That's what we're after
38:16That's a nice smoky quartz, eh?
38:18So we're on the right area here
38:19Yeah, I'm starting to get excited here
38:22Ha!
38:23Oh, yeah
38:24You don't mind grabbing me a sieve
38:25I'll get you a bit of dirt
38:26Fill me up
38:27Bit of a hole there, which is bloody awesome
38:31I can see little bits of smoky quartz here
38:33It's looking really good
38:34Oh, about time we might be coming onto something
38:41Oh-ho!
38:42What do you got?
38:43We're on them
38:44Yes!
38:45That's what we've been working for
38:46We need topaz
38:47Bloody brilliant, look at that
38:48Take our nut on
38:49Take our nut on
38:50It's definitely a pocket then, eh?
38:52If we're getting topaz like that
38:53It's definitely a good pocket
38:54Yeah, we're in a pocket
39:01I just put that thing in there and it popped out of the wall
39:04Check that out
39:06Oh, look at that
39:07It's not too clear, but jeez, look at the blue in it
39:09Oh, that's blue as
39:10There's got to be more in there
39:11Oh, yes!
39:12Are you kidding?
39:13Woo!
39:14Look at that
39:16That is blue
39:18That is big
39:19That's awesome
39:20Oh, payday, payday
39:21We're on to them
39:23I'll tell you what
39:24I was picking that splat chammer for all that time
39:27And we came across this stuff
39:29Makes it all worthwhile, you know
39:30At the end of the day, you know
39:32Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
39:34Look at that
39:35Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, that's...
39:43Yeah, yeah.
39:44Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
39:47Well, that was a great day
39:49Let's give these a wash and actually see what we come up with
39:52Oh, look at them
39:53Every time you wait
39:54I just can't believe it
39:58That's just a quick wash there
39:59We're gonna pour some water in there
40:05Look at how many that come out of that pocket.
40:09When you're selling them, you have to have those three Cs.
40:12It's the carrots, the colour and the clarity.
40:15Normally we go from, you know, a dollar to four dollars a carrot.
40:18Depends on if you have those three Cs.
40:20See this one here, it's got the size, it's got the clarity in it.
40:24I just don't see the colour in this.
40:26I would say more than two dollars per carrot.
40:28What do you say we weigh? I'm going to actually see what we come up with.
40:30Oh, look at that, 370 carats, $740.
40:38Just for that one rock, these ones here, we'll put on the scale, a dollar a dollar a carat.
40:44I mean, just look at that, that's 1,684 carats.
40:48$1,600 just right there at least.
40:50And then you've got this one here, which we said 740 bucks.
40:53So, I mean, that's incredible.
40:55Then we've got all the small stuff here.
40:58It's sort of a mixed bag.
40:59You can get the facetable grade topaz as well as the non-facetable, you know, the stuff that's not that clear.
41:04That's why I think we should go for a mixed bag, which is about a dollar per carat.
41:122,400 carats.
41:14$2,400.
41:16So, we're looking at two and a half grand there.
41:18About two and a bit there.
41:20I mean, just think about it.
41:21We need at least two and a half grand for that lease for next season.
41:24$500 for our season target this year.
41:26We're still a bit behind, so if we sell this as a bulk lot, we might be able to get about full green.
41:31All right, I'll get this fella on the phone and see what we come up with.
41:33Let's see how we go, eh?
41:34Let's do it.
41:38Hey, mate.
41:39How you going?
41:40Good, mate.
41:41Been waiting for you, Paul.
41:42Yeah.
41:42Need to get some f***ers.
41:44I'll show you what I got here, mate.
41:46That sounds good.
41:47Have a look at this.
41:50Oh, yeah.
41:50That looks good.
41:51Wow, look at those blue.
41:52That's some really nice blue there, eh?
41:54Yeah, mate.
41:55Look at how blue they are.
41:56They are incredible pieces.
41:58And I've also got a heap of little ones here that are facetable grade as well.
42:03I mean, we've got about 5,500 carats here.
42:07Oh, that's a fair good haul.
42:09We're hoping for about five and a half grand.
42:11Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of two grand, but...
42:16Oh, mate, two grand.
42:18Way, way, way too low.
42:19Yeah, mate, two grand's way too low.
42:21I mean, we worked pretty hard for this, and there's a lot of nice blue stuff.
42:24Look, the best I'll be able to do is about four grand, eh?
42:27I'm looking at, you know, making some money out of this as well.
42:31Mate, would you take four and a half?
42:37Oh, look.
42:40I can settle for four and a half grand, but I want first dibs on the next lot that comes through.
42:45Mate, I'm actually happy with that.
42:47I will definitely give you next dib on the stuff that we get in the future.
42:50That sounds like a deal.
42:52Righto, mate.
42:52I'll send through the money as soon as possible, and have a good one.
42:56You too, mate.
42:56Bye.
42:57Yes.
42:58We did it.
42:58Good off.
42:59Woo-hoo!
42:59We reached our target.
43:00Yes, that's what we wanted.
43:02We got our loose.
43:03Yes.
43:07Hey, honey.
43:08Come out.
43:09Bring the kids.
43:10Guess what we just did.
43:11We just made four and a half grand for all that.
43:14Well done, babe.
43:15That is epic.
43:16Go down.
43:17It was awesome.
43:18Oh, thanks, Luggy.
43:20Cheers.
43:20Eyes and all.
43:21Yes.
43:21Cheers, mate.
43:22That's real pretty, isn't it?
43:24Nice and pretty hang.
43:26What do you reckon, Luke?
43:27Look at that one.
43:28Don't break them.
43:29They're going to be sold.
43:30They're sold already.
43:31I can't wait to get into it next year, and get that lease.
43:34Bigger and better.
43:35Bigger and better.
43:35Bigger and better.
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43:05
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