Aussie Gold Hunters Season 10 Episode 20

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Aussie Gold Hunters Season 10 Episode 20  #PrimeUSTV   🎞 Please join  https://t.me/CinemaSeriesUSFilm

Transcript

00:00I've had a lot of big moves this season, I've sold the Phoenix Project, ended up going back

00:13to the Desert King, ended up buying the Desert Queen, and now to make things a little bit more

00:20complicated, I'm up here at the Matrix. Millions of dollars worth of gold in the ground, just need

00:28to know which option to choose, which one to target, and which one's going to make us money.

00:45The Matrix, my cousin's lease, he's had enough, he's moving on and he wants to sell it so I've

00:50got first option to take it over. I know he's pulled out roughly around 90 kilos of gold

00:54over the past 15 years. That's about 10 million bucks, and if I can prove up that this is

00:59going to be another viable mine site for us, well then we'll buy this one as well. We're

01:02basically in the last week of the season now, we're still 97 ounces away from our season target

01:07at 200, so you've got to take risks in this gold game to make it or break it really. So

01:13I've spent about 12 grand getting these guys out here, it's too hard for the machines to

01:17do this ground, so easiest way to do it is to blast it. I'd like to go out with a big

01:25tally of gold at the end of the day. Yeah, fingers crossed, it's right there behind me.

01:29So you've got your detonator, you've got your booster that gets loaded into the hole, and

01:37then Shane will come along with the Ampho and load the hole. So we're just pouring approximately

01:4440 kilos in the hole. The Ampho is ammonium nitrate, which is the little balls that you

01:49can see, and fuel oil, which is diesel blended together. Pull this tag down so we know it's

01:59done. We're going to whack down about 35 glass holes. We've marked out a drill pattern. The

02:07holes are two and a half to three metres apart. We're basically going to time delay sequences,

02:13so each hole will fire a millisecond later than the first one. That basically gives you

02:18a nice, even blast. We're basically going to heap the whole lot back into the pit. From

02:22there we'll use the 60 tonne excavator. Dig it out, lay it out, and detect over the top.

02:29Fingers crossed, it actually gets the gold out of it. Everything in mining is a bit dangerous,

02:36but especially when you're drilling and blasting. Anything can go wrong, so basically the girls

02:41aren't going to be here for the blast. They're keeping a safe distance at the moment.

02:45One of the biggest ones is fly rock. Fly rock is when the gases escape and take with it the

02:52rocks around it and fly into the air and hit machines and people if they're too close. So

02:59yeah, we stand 250 metres away, so we're safe. The green light's going towards the firing

03:06box, so we'll put the firing box up on the hill over here. Sends a shock down the line, so we

03:11can put the box closer to the blast and stand far enough away, so we're not in the danger

03:15area. Right Paul, this looks like we're firing up away. Let's let it rip from here I reckon.

03:20We've just got to hold the fingers on these two buttons at the same time and even pressure

03:25down. Three, two, one.

03:29I'm really missing you bud. Sort of makes me wonder why I do this to myself, you know. Come

03:52way up here on the palmer and work so damn hard. I haven't got much left in the tank mate. I'm

03:58really looking forward to it come to an end to be honest. How was your birthday? Yeah,

04:03pretty good. I wish you were here though. It's kind of hard to actually hear sometimes. I

04:07wish I could have been there too mate. I mean I miss all of you kids. I'm up here for eight

04:12months straight. I don't see any of you as a, you know, it sort of gets pretty hard towards

04:17the end of the year. Well I've got to cut it short Dad, sorry. Right on. Thanks for the call

04:22mate. It means the world to me. Love ya. Love you too Dad. See ya mate.

04:27That got cut short a bit quicker than I'd hoped but it was good to chat to him. Oh I miss the

04:36kids. Alright. Morning. Hey. You ready to roll? Yeah mate I'm ready to go. So load your gear

04:49up mate. We're gonna hit Cattle Creek. We're gonna finally get up to the top. Hopefully this

04:53gamble pays off. Sounds good. It's been a hot year. Like a 65 ounce target is just

05:04massive. Our biggest weigh in for the year has been like 11 ounces. Yeah and now we've

05:09got to get 20. And it could start raining anytime. Tell you what, it's pretty hot already. It's

05:18gonna be a hard one out there today. It's not just hot now, it is so humid. It's making

05:25it hard to work. It's making it hard to even get out of bed in the morning.

05:32You alright? Oh mate. Tell ya this year's worn me down. Since we've been on the Palmer

05:39River, I've missed two of my kids 21st and an 18th. That was hard. I've just got, yeah got a

05:46bit on my mind I guess eh? Yeah. This is a tight squeeze. You'll be alright. So this is

05:57where it's gonna start to get a bit hairy. Don't get on a side angle on the hill. Straight

06:04up. Yeah I'm worried. I don't wanna roll this thing. Straight up mate. Okay. Feet up. Well

06:09this is exactly why we can use the muggy to get us to Cattle Creek. Because there ain't

06:14no roads. I mean this is, this is why no one's coming in here mate. Because this is so hard

06:21to navigate. So Ross. Good job mate. You're getting us in there. Good work. Alright this

06:28might be as far as we can safely get. Alrighty yeah I think it'll be on foot from here. This

06:35is all or nothing now mate. Are we gonna get there? No I wanna pull up. The temperature's

06:42going through the roof. Cool. This season, Jackie Bazzetti and Andrew Lay. We can't drive

06:48any further. Have endured the sweltering conditions of tropical far north Queensland's Palmer River

06:54gold fields. Here she is under this tree. But with a 65 ounce target forcing them further

07:01into uncharted territory. 2.89 ounces mate. Yeah right. We need to come up with a plan

07:08because what we're doing now is risky and dangerous. They hired an all-terrain vehicle

07:13for the final push of the season. We wouldn't have got in here without this buggy. Now

07:20they've ventured over 30 kilometres deeper than ever before. Hoping the remote Cattle Creek

07:27delivers the $70,000 they still need to hit target before the wet season shuts them down.

07:34I just wanted to come out and check out the Palmer River. We've got some storm clouds that

07:39are starting to build up now and they've been hanging around lately which makes me pretty

07:44worried because all we need is a massive storm and this entire river in front of us will completely

07:52flood. The water will be up over our heads where we're standing. We're camped on this side of the river

07:59but that over there is basically the rest of Australia. There's no other way out for us. We

08:06have to be on that side of the river before this floods.

08:11The Palmer's just kicked my ass this year. Most people just don't understand how tough this

08:23job really is. We've been pushing really deep, pushing ourselves super hard, massive hikes,

08:30working hard ground. It makes me think about next year too, what I'm going to do. Can I keep doing this?

08:38I'm not even sure if that's a target. How the hell am I going to get this out?

08:59Oh, can nothing come easy? Tree roots and bedrock everywhere.

09:10Oh, I've got to get out.

09:16Oh, come on.

09:19This is just the worst spot to find a nugget. At the start of the year it wouldn't have

09:35worried me I would have smashed this out but now I've barely got the energy. I've got it.

09:41This is my job. This is what I do. Come on, mate. Fire up.

09:55Come on.

09:56Right, it's out. Oh, man.

10:11Come on.

10:13Come on. You better be gold.

10:27All that work. That's it.

10:32All that work for that.

10:35All that work for bloody $10 worth of gold.

10:38I don't want to be here anymore.

10:51I've had enough. I've had enough.

10:54Oh, man.

10:55Oh, man.

11:02This is our last week for the season.

11:05We set a target at the start of the season of 300 ounces.

11:09We're at 32, roughly 32 and a half ounces.

11:12And that's pretty dismal.

11:14The good news of the year so far is that we've finally got an okay to get work done at German Gully.

11:24We've made a start, but it's only a start.

11:28It's the last week of the season.

11:30We've got to make the most of it.

11:32I'm about to call in a favour to hopefully get us running.

11:37Hey, Eve.

11:38How you going, buddy?

11:39Good, mate. How's it going?

11:40Yeah, it's good, mate. It's good.

11:42Made a start over at Neves.

11:43Yeah, how's that going? I heard that.

11:44Over at German Gully, yeah.

11:45I did hear that you've been over there.

11:46Remember where I said if I needed you, I'm going to ask for it?

11:49I said I'd be there. Help out.

11:50But that's why I want to talk to you.

11:53I need you to come back for at least a week.

11:56Are you needing me back?

11:57Yes.

11:58Mate, I'm working for a bigger company managing this site.

12:01I can't just go, yeah, no worries, I'm down and everything and off I go.

12:04I have to talk to people first.

12:05If you can talk and do what you can, but I wouldn't have come here if I didn't need you.

12:09I will do my absolute best, but I can't just make a promise.

12:12Make some phone calls.

12:13Sorry I can't give you a better answer, mate, but that's the best I can do at this point.

12:16Alright, mate.

12:18Sorry, mate.

12:20He's really throwing it on me this time.

12:23He's asking a lot.

12:25Having Ethan there for the whole week would make a world of difference.

12:29Last week, trying to be in two places.

12:31I was trying to be up at the wash plant and trying to be down at the dig site.

12:35I just need someone experienced up at the wash plant.

12:38I understand there's no promises, but if he can get there, that'd be great.

12:53Alright, watch your eyes, mate.

12:59Alright, Kate.

13:00It's all patched up.

13:01Instead of it all spurting out everywhere and our gold going on the ground now,

13:05it should be all going across the sluice box.

13:07We've got one week left.

13:08We're going to get as much gold on those scales as possible.

13:11You're going to be under the pump this week, mate.

13:13Yeah.

13:14Alright?

13:15So we're going to keep that dirt coming up here.

13:16We just need you to keep feeding this thing.

13:17Makes sense.

13:18But at the end of the day, yeah, it's done, mate.

13:21Let's get all packed up.

13:22Alright, beautiful.

13:23And get into it.

13:31You've made it, mate.

13:34You've made it, mate.

13:35Yeah, I've made it, mate.

13:36Alright.

13:37Thanks for coming, bud.

13:38Yeah, buddy.

13:39There you go.

13:40Alright, what are we doing, mate?

13:41What's the plan?

13:42I'm going to go down there with Jaden.

13:43I'm just going to focus on getting dirt out of the hole.

13:45Yeah, that'll work.

13:46Getting it detected and getting it here in a stockpile.

13:48You know plants backwards, mate.

13:49Just do whatever you have to do to get that stockpile of dirt through that plant

13:54and as much of it this week.

13:56Mate.

13:57That's all I want you to do.

13:58I've got it.

13:59I've got to save the day, mate.

14:00Thanks for coming.

14:02I need someone to work with my boys and secure my family's future.

14:09This season, Brent Shannon has set out to fulfil his lifelong friend Neville Perry's dying

14:16wish.

14:17I believe right here we have a $600 million resource.

14:21We could go into the billions.

14:23To help secure permits for Neville's family to mine the historic German gully.

14:28A site that produced some of Australia's largest gold nuggets.

14:33I've been trying to leave no stone unturned to get these permits through.

14:38But when Neville tragically lost his battle with cancer and permit delays continued.

14:44That's absolutely heartbreaking mate, but I think this is the end of the road.

14:47Ethan West, Brent's brother-in-law and right hand man, was forced to quit the team.

14:53Come here.

14:54Come here.

14:55Come here.

15:04That's it.

15:05Now I'm just waiting for him to fire the water up.

15:06It's good to be back with these boys.

15:07I didn't want to leave, but the offer come up that I just couldn't refuse.

15:16I've always promised Brent before I left that I'll come back to him as soon as I can.

15:21I owe him that.

15:22I owe Nev that.

15:23I owe the boys that.

15:24And this is why I'm here.

15:26So right now Brent's pushing out our pay dirt that we've pulled out of the hole.

15:32It's my job to come out and detect over the pad while Brenton's doing another hole.

15:36And we just keep going and stuff.

15:38Once I've detected that, we'll push it all up into a pole, load it up into the dump truck,

15:43and take it up to the wash plant.

15:45Alright, Jaden, mate.

15:46That pad's pushed out and ready to go, bud.

15:48No worries there, mate.

15:49I'm on to it, eh?

15:55First target already.

16:08There it is.

16:09Well, that's alright.

16:10That's only just detected that little section there.

16:13So first target already, and that's a couple of grammy, I reckon.

16:17So 250 bucks right there.

16:22If I can hopefully get the gold on the tally, well, this is what it's all about.

16:27I'm just noticing all these little things are probably little adjustments like this.

16:31The amount of water that's coming out, we could definitely get more dirt through this

16:35and down the sluice.

16:36The more tons we get through, the more gold we're going to end up on the scales at the end of the week.

16:42We're doing probably about three ton an hour.

16:44It's not very much.

16:46The boys, they got me here to do all this and to make it all happen.

16:50But I'm also limited with what plant size I've got.

16:53I can't make the plant bigger, so I've got to work out ways to make the plant more efficient and better.

16:59Hey, Caden, you're going to have to keep on top of this and keep this full, yeah?

17:02Okay.

17:03Keep on top of it.

17:04It's going to be a struggle to keep up.

17:05I've got to try to be as efficient as I can because I'm feeding this plant.

17:09Because if I'm not, we're not going to have enough dirt running through it.

17:13This plant is churning through the dirt faster than what I can put through it.

17:26That belt's absolutely running empty.

17:35Hey, Caden, keep the loads up, mate. That's running out.

17:39I'm going as fast as I can here.

17:46We're just not keeping the hopper full.

17:48We're not getting enough load in there.

17:50Bottom line is right now, what we're doing isn't working.

17:52Something's going to have to change.

17:54I'm going to have to come up with something and something fast.

18:11Hey, are you all right?

18:13No, mate. I've had enough.

18:15Just take me back to the buggy and pack my camp and go, mate.

18:18I think I've had enough.

18:19I'm so worn out.

18:21I just miss the kids so much.

18:23I mean, a boy's having a birthday and I'm up here bloody digging $10 worth of gold out under a tree.

18:30It's just...

18:32What's the point in all this? Am I missing out on my kids' lives?

18:36No, there's a bigger picture, though.

18:38Like, you're working to help your life and the kids' lives.

18:41We set a massive target, man.

18:42Like, this is also the first time we've been able to get to Cattle Creek.

18:48And this is a good prospect.

18:50You just need to, like, hang in there just that little bit more.

18:54It's what we do.

19:00You know, I'm not going to give up, mate.

19:03I'm not.

19:05All right.

19:08Come on.

19:09Thanks, mate.

19:10Look at this.

19:11You're a good teammate, eh?

19:17Been a pretty rough run.

19:19It was good to have Jackie there to remind me why I do work hard, and it's the kids.

19:24It's the reason I do work hard.

19:26Give us all a future.

19:31Target up in under there.

19:33See what we got.

19:37That's easier to dig.

19:38No tree roots in there.

19:42All right.

19:43Now I just need it to be gold and it'll help get me back on my feet again.

19:52Oh, there it is.

19:54It's better than $10 nugget.

19:56Hey, mate, you got a coffee?

19:57Yeah, mate.

19:58I just got a nice little nug, probably 0.9, 120 bucks or so on my hand right here.

20:03Nothing like a bit of gold to bring some energy and a smile to our face.

20:06I'm happy to hear that.

20:07Good work.

20:08We might give that 65-ounce as a rattle yet, eh?

20:15I got a target.

20:17Yeah, I've got one as well.

20:18I'll give you a race.

20:19Ready, set, one, two, three, go.

20:22Get out.

20:24Oh, where are ya?

20:30With all the time is not to be able to find it.

20:32Yes, yes, yes, yes.

20:34I got it.

20:36All right, you win.

20:37There you are.

20:38Yeah.

20:39Well, I eventually found mine, but it'd be easy a gram of gold, mate.

20:42We're smashing it now.

20:44If we don't make 65 ounces, at least we didn't die wondering.

20:48We gave it everything we had.

20:49Fire in the hole.

20:50Fire in the hole.

20:51Fire in the hole.

20:52Woo-hey!

20:53It went.

20:54Thanks, mate.

20:55Good stuff.

20:56Hey, it went. Thanks mate. Good stuff. Wow. Were you happy with the blast? Yeah, I heaped

21:17it all forward. Left a massive crater at the back. It worked perfect. So basically you

21:25just don't turn your back on any of the walls because stuff will come down. I just want to

21:30get this area here detected. Don't go anywhere near over that backside because it's still

21:34too unstable. Okay. All right. So yeah, fire it up and good luck. I'm just trying to dig

21:44into the pile. I've just got to scratch away at it one bucket at a time and see what's

21:49in it. You know, I've got to move tons and tons and tons of dirt. So I've got it all out.

21:54I'll get the dozer in here and push all this out. Hopefully find some gold. It's a lot

22:00of diesel. It's a lot of machine hours and hopefully there's a payday at the end of it.

22:07It's pretty frightening out there as well when you're detecting. So I'm just trying to move

22:11a bit of the overburden from the top. Any one of these rocks, if it falls down and gets you,

22:16it's going to kill you. Some of these rocks coming down now, they're probably 10 tonne

22:20boulders. I like this one.

22:26I feel like the heat's starting to pick up a little bit in here.

22:29Oh yeah, it's oppressive. It's like radiating.

22:33Yeah, it's not much fun, is that? Hopefully we get a signal soon.

22:37You know what's funny? There's not even any flies. It's so hot.

22:40They're all under a shady tree. We're seriously running out of time for the season.

22:46Yeah, it's getting way too hot to work out here. When it's a 40 degree day and at normal

22:51ambient temperature down in the pit here, it's pushing 50. If you keep pushing it, you're

22:56either going to hurt yourself, end up with heat stress or heat stroke, or even worse, break

23:01the machinery. And without the machinery, this job can't get done.

23:13I've pretty much done everything I can in the excavator now. I'm going to get into that

23:19dozer, remove all that overburden, and give me more room so I can get back in with a digger

23:27and actually dig down to where the gold's hiding. Now, time to push some dirt with the dozer.

23:42I'll just flatten off a bit of dirt here, so I can get the excavator back in.

23:51What the hell is going on with this thing?

23:52Come on!

24:00I've got no pushing power at all.

24:04Uh, no.

24:12There's something wrong with the machine.

24:22Hey, Brian, did you organise an excavator?

24:30What?

24:31No, there's an excavator coming down the road, mate.

24:33Hey. You gave me free reign to do what I needed to do, mate. This is what I thought I needed

24:38to do. Plain and simple, the other excavator just wasn't keeping up, mate. It's too little

24:43for what we're trying to achieve. This is going to be the best solution. I called in a favour.

24:48You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise the size difference in this machine.

24:52Yeah, there's a 14-tonner. The other one we're using is a 1.8-tonner. The bucket size.

24:57What would take 20 loads to fill that hop up with the other bucket? This can do in one.

25:01This is going to be really, really good. How good is this, eh? What do you reckon,

25:09mate? I'll be able to keep up now. So we'll swap seats, mate. I'll go over there in the

25:14little one and start cleaning up. Beautiful. You jump in this. You got this, buddy.

25:18Yeah, it's a lot better, Caden. Yeah, it's doing good. Yeah, man, in many words. This allows

25:42me just to focus on all this. I can just worry about keeping the tailings clear. It just really

25:47frees up a lot of time. Is our plan full now? It's already full after three buckets, eh?

25:55That is beautiful. Ah, mate, look, I'm just hoping, honestly, that this tonnage we're putting

26:01through, mate, equates into gold at the end of the week.

26:05Oh. Hey, Brian, I've got targets everywhere here, mate. Kiss and listen, Jaden.

26:17They're everywhere, mate. You've hit a bloody honey hole there, buddy.

26:27Oh, she's out. There it is. Right there, mate. About an ounce there, mate, I'd say. You're kidding.

26:39Three and a half grand right there, mate. There's targets all around him. And the ground's going bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

26:48There's no point in getting up on this one. I'm already here.

26:56Oh, yep. There it is right there. Jeez, that's even bigger. Christ. They're getting bigger there, Brent. That's got to be a ounce and a half or so. That's about a $5,000 nugget.

27:08We've got Jaden living his dad's dream. I've got my son, my brother-in-law up at the wash plant. Hopefully he's starting to wash ounces of gold out of our pay dirt.

27:25I'm a very proud and relieved man that it's finally starting to happen.

27:33Got another target here again. There it is. Oh, it's huge. Christ. You know, that's a two ounce plus. We're looking around $7,000 right there. That fills me jar already.

27:47I wouldn't have a clue how many pieces and how much weight's there. I suppose the scales at the end of the week are going to tell us we're going to keep going.

28:08After four years on the Palmer, we kind of had to really start thinking outside the box to try and find places we'd never been before.

28:16And it's been really damaging on us and our vehicles. And it's just really, really tough out here.

28:23We got 20 ounces to go. We got a 65 ounce target. There's just so much pressure.

28:29The weather's building. It's so humid. We might have to pull the plug at any moment.

28:38That's a big target.

28:39Come on.

28:42Come on.

28:45Straight into a big crack there.

28:48See if that's got it out.

28:50Woo!

28:51Woo!

28:52Woo!

28:54Oh, God.

28:59Oh, yes!

29:02Woo!

29:03That's a big chunk.

29:04Oh, that's got to be like 10 grams all day.

29:11That's what we're here for.

29:14Oh, I'm feeling good.

29:17Wee!

29:18Now that's a target.

29:20That's loud.

29:22Come on, you better be cold.

29:26Big nugget.

29:27If it's a big nugget, the last thing I wanted to do was hit it with my pig.

29:32You damage it and all that sort of value's gone as a nugget then.

29:37That's out.

29:38That's out.

29:39Woo!

29:40Listen to it.

29:41Screaming.

29:43Come on.

29:47Oh, come on.

29:50Listen to that.

29:51Oh, ha, ha, ha!

29:54Look at that!

29:57That's an ounce and a half of gold.

30:00Four or five thousand dollars.

30:03Oh, that's just the best.

30:08Such a massive year.

30:10So worn out.

30:11So cooked.

30:13Palmer has been testing me all year.

30:16Then it threw me this.

30:18You bloody river.

30:20Bloody little river.

30:35Can you hear that thunder?

30:36Absolutely, I can.

30:37We should get out of here, I think.

30:40We're camped on the other side of the Palmer River.

30:42If that floods, we're literally stuck here for the entire wet season.

30:47Well, it's coming now.

30:49We need a break camp.

30:51Holy hell, mate.

30:52It's a bit of a dream scenario right now.

30:53I don't want to speak too soon.

30:54You never do.

30:55But if we can keep going the way we are, we're really going to have some tons through at the end of the week.

31:07Ethan has done us an absolutely incredible favour, not just by being here, but by getting this excavator.

31:15I'm loving it.

31:16I'm loving every minute of it.

31:18We're getting all the detectable gold out on the pad.

31:22We don't want to damage those pieces because they're really valuable, you know.

31:25So let me get scooping this up, taking it to the plant.

31:29Hey, boys.

31:30I can actually feel the weight of the gold in the back of the truck.

31:33I'm telling you, boys.

31:35I reckon we're going to get a crap load of gold out of this stuff.

31:41I love your enthusiasm, Brent. I really do, mate. Nothing's changed.

31:46Alright, boys. That should keep you going for a bit longer.

31:50Yeah, it should be good, mate.

31:51Hey, before you go, come over and look at this, mate.

31:53I've got some concentrate for you.

31:54Just here, mate.

31:58Beautiful.

31:59I'll take this away.

32:00I'll make a start on it and get it smelted up.

32:02Work your magic.

32:03And hopefully we get some good weight on the scales, though.

32:05I hope so, mate. It's why I'm here.

32:07You're doing a good job, mate.

32:08Nice, buddy.

32:11Right.

32:13Now we'll start the process of cleaning this concentrates up.

32:17All the stuff that's coming out of the sluice is in this bucket.

32:20And we'll just keep panning this down, and then we'll smelt this up.

32:23And then...

32:26Butt ready for a weigh-in.

32:30By the looks of it, there's some gold coming through there.

32:32I can just start to see.

32:36This year, we've still got about, you know, 268 ounces to go.

32:40So hopefully, Nebby's looking down on us, and he'll deliver what he said was here.

32:48Well, this is looking pretty good here.

32:50I reckon there's probably maybe five or six ounces there.

32:57Through the furnace now.

32:58So I set it at 1,150 degrees.

33:02Gold smelts at 1,064 degrees, to be precise.

33:13I've got a bit of heat back in this mould.

33:14You've got to heat the moulds up, because if you introduce molten gold into this,

33:20it'll split your mould, and your gold will go everywhere,

33:23or it could explode.

33:25We don't want that happening.

33:27So we're bringing it up to about 1,150 degrees Celsius.

33:31All right.

33:34This is the exciting part.

33:48All right.

33:51All right.

33:53So there's our first one.

33:57Hopefully, there's more than one.

34:01It's not the filters.

34:11There's no oil dripping anywhere.

34:13It's just blowing way too much smoke.

34:14There's something wrong with it.

34:16I've got no pushing power at all.

34:19God damn it!

34:21Whatever the problem is, it's out of my capable hands.

34:25It's definitely a fitter job.

34:27I'm just going to shut it down.

34:32What an absolute nightmare.

34:35There's nothing I can do without the dozer.

34:39Let's have a look, eh?

34:41So this is what I'm coming here to try and prove up.

34:43When the earth's crust was forming and it was so molten, the ironstone and the gold contacts would come up basically with the quartz and leave stringers all the way through this ground here.

34:56That's where your gold gets trapped and solidifies.

35:05Well, there we go.

35:07This here's what I'm looking for.

35:09These quartz stringers.

35:10There's gold there.

35:12There's gold there already.

35:14I see the gold just poking out of it right on that iron contact with the quartz.

35:18I've just chiseled out.

35:21I'll probably say half a gram of gold in that special iron.

35:25God knows how much is down the bottom here.

35:28We could be sitting on the mother load.

35:30Hey, girls.

35:33How are you going?

35:35Good and bad.

35:36What's up?

35:38The dozer's not playing the game.

35:39I've got no power.

35:41Without the dozer, I can't move all this overburden to get the digger back in here to actually get to the gold.

35:47So, yeah, I don't want to go over anywhere near over that.

35:50There's just too much overburden that can fall in on us.

35:53But I did find this in the wall over there.

35:55Nice bit of gold through it.

35:56Woohoo!

35:57Nice.

35:58It's a good sign.

35:59Yeah.

36:00It could be the start of something big.

36:01But, yeah.

36:02There's nothing I can do without the dozer.

36:04So, sorry to say, but I think that's us for the season.

36:07Yeah, it's getting really hot anyway.

36:09I think we'll just leave it for now and come back in the next season.

36:11Cooling it.

36:12Not a good way to end the season, but the goal's not going anywhere.

36:16Just have to get the machine fixed and come back next year.

36:19And hopefully start off with a big bang.

36:26All right.

36:29That's that.

36:30All done and dusted.

36:31It's a wrap.

36:33End of the season.

36:34End of the season.

36:35Been a wild ride.

36:37It's definitely been a roller coaster.

36:39We didn't get our 200 ounces season target, but then we got 103.

36:44So that equates to about $362,000 this year.

36:48Plus, we sold the Phoenix Project.

36:49Sold the Phoenix Project, yeah.

36:50And I bought my own lease, the Desert Queen.

36:52You did.

36:54Which I think did pretty good, I reckon.

36:56Yeah.

36:57We got the biggest nugget.

36:58Yeah.

36:59I might need to start being in charge of buying the leases.

37:02I'll leave that in your capable hands.

37:04Yeah.

37:05The biggest win for me this season was getting to spend all this time with you.

37:08So even though we didn't get the 200 ounces,

37:11the time we got to spend with you guys is worth its weight in gold.

37:15That's a bit cute.

37:16It is.

37:17I think that's a good note to end on.

37:19Me too.

37:20I think so.

37:21Go team.

37:22Team Mackie.

37:24We might not have got it to our season target this year,

37:26but next year we're going to smash it.

37:37Oh, the rain's just about here, mate.

37:39We've got to get across that Palmer River before the floods get in.

37:43You don't know what's happening further upstream.

37:45I've seen the Palmer come up and there's no rain here.

37:49We've stayed here right to the end, but we can't stay any longer.

37:54Righto, mate, I'm looking loaded.

37:55Where are you at?

37:56I'm just on my way down to the Palmer crossing.

37:58Alright.

37:59Palmer.

38:00Here we go.

38:01No.

38:02It looks like we're fine.

38:03The river's clear.

38:04Oh, I'm so glad.

38:06I'm across.

38:07No problem.

38:08You'll be fine.

38:09Whoo.

38:10It's always good to get through.

38:11We're safe now.

38:12We're pretty lucky to get out, mate.

38:13I know.

38:14It was right down to the wire there.

38:15We pushed it right to the end.

38:17I'm so glad we're across the river because God knows when that thing's going to go under.

38:18Oh, this year's tested me so much.

38:19Yeah.

38:20I'm across.

38:21I'm across.

38:22No problem.

38:23You'll be fine.

38:24Whoo.

38:26It's always good to get through.

38:29We're safe now.

38:35We're pretty lucky to get out, mate.

38:37I know.

38:38It was right down to the wire there.

38:40We pushed it right to the end.

38:42I'm so glad we're across the river because God knows when that thing's going to go under.

38:46This year's tested me so much, having to dig that target out of that tree root.

38:52I snapped, mate.

38:53The palmer broke me.

38:54But I'm glad you picked yourself up, mate, because we detected right down to the wire.

39:00Literally.

39:01Don't even know what's in here.

39:03Well, should we find out what we did get out of there?

39:05Yes.

39:06This is the last weigh-in.

39:08We're on 45.6 ounces now, so we need nearly 20 to hit that 65.

39:147.49, mate.

39:16Still got one more to go.

39:18Let's see what it weighs.

39:19Put it on there.

39:20Righto.

39:238.7.

39:248.7.

39:25That's 30 grand's worth of gold right there.

39:28Mate.

39:29And that's a 1.2 ounce nugget.

39:31So our total, 54.39.

39:35$190,000 worth of gold this year.

39:39We've actually beaten last year.

39:41Yeah, we have.

39:42Yeah, we beat last year.

39:43If there's anything to be proud of, it's that effort.

39:46Well, that number alone tells us how hard we worked.

39:50Absolutely.

39:51Yep.

39:52It was so hectic though, mate.

39:54Like, it really got me thinking about next year.

39:57I need to give more time to my family and less time to gold.

40:01Totally understand that.

40:02I've seen how much you've missed your kids.

40:05I see how it takes its toll.

40:07What's more important, gold or family?

40:10Family.

40:11Yeah, really it is.

40:13But everything we've done, we should always be proud of ourselves.

40:17Absolutely.

40:18We make a fantastic team.

40:20We're unbeatable together.

40:22It's been such a ride.

40:25I know, mate.

40:26And it's been amazing.

40:27Go get your kids some ice cream.

40:29Yep.

40:30Might do that.

40:34All right, boys.

40:35Final weigh-in for the season.

40:38You know, to end the season here on German Gully, it's just amazing.

40:41To share your dad's dream with you is an absolute privilege.

40:45The old man's watching.

40:46Now, this is his spot.

40:48We're weighing it here so he can see everything that's getting put there.

40:51How'd we go, mate?

40:52We did pretty well, boys.

40:53I think we were working like a well-oiled machine before the sender.

40:57Yeah, we absolutely were, mate.

40:58That excavator definitely helped out that you ordered these.

41:00I didn't expect an excavator to come trundle on over the hill, but you know what?

41:04Mate, you gave me free reins, I run with it.

41:06You know what I'm like?

41:07I'll run.

41:08Honestly, mate, coming back this week, yeah, it really helped out.

41:11Yeah, we appreciate it, mate.

41:12We really do.

41:13So thanks for that, mate.

41:14I really do appreciate it.

41:15I appreciate it there, mate.

41:16No, that was a pleasure.

41:18Well, what do you reckon, boys?

41:19If we can get some gold on the scales?

41:21Yeah.

41:22Alright, so at the start of the season, Heath, as you know, we set a 300-ounce target.

41:26How'd you go, mate, with that?

41:28We're only at 32 and roughly 32 and a half ounces.

41:3132.4 to be precise.

41:33But guess what?

41:34I reckon it's about to change.

41:36Hey, Jayden?

41:38That's not bad, eh?

41:40They're real nice.

41:4217.1 ounces.

41:4417.1.

41:45That's just under $60,000 worth of gold, mate.

41:48That's pretty good.

41:49That's going pretty good.

41:50So let's see what your plant was going, Heath.

41:52I'd had 100%, mate, so let's see.

41:54I'm interested to see how much gold we've got.

41:56I've smelted this up, Heath.

42:00Oof.

42:01There we go.

42:02Have a look, boys.

42:03So that brings it to...

42:0425 there, mate.

42:05That's nearly eight ounces.

42:07That's not bad.

42:08That one bar.

42:09That's not too bad out of a small plant, mate.

42:10I would have pushed pretty hard for that, so...

42:11Yeah, well, it ain't too bad, but this is even better.

42:14There's still more.

42:17Have a look at that.

42:18You're kidding me.

42:20What do you think of that?

42:21Oh, mate.

42:22Oh, mate.

42:23Oh.

42:24Mate, this ground is absolutely ridiculous.

42:2657...

42:27What do you reckon, Jaden?

42:2857.180 ounces there, mate.

42:31That is over just, what, $200,000 worth of gold right there, mate.

42:35Wow, that brings our season total tally for the season at 89.6 ounces.

42:43Yeah.

42:44$313,000, mate.

42:46Pretty rich ground.

42:48That's ridiculous.

42:49That's ridiculous there, mate.

42:50Your dad was right, mate.

42:51If we didn't work well together, we wouldn't have got that gold on the scales, I tell you.

42:55Love working with this.

42:56We didn't make target, but we've come so far this season.

43:00To get back here, Jaden, and start digging back in your dad's dream, mate.

43:04Now we know that the gold is most definitely here.

43:07Next season, I'm starting to plan for it right now, mate.

43:10We are going to get bigger and better.

43:12That's incredible.

43:13That's incredible.

43:14We've got the big nugget country at Cadets, and we've got abundance of fine gold here.

43:19Let's get out of here and get ready for next season.

43:21Well done, buddy.

43:22It's a fantastic season in the end.

43:23We're going to go after bigger and better things next season.

43:26Let's go, boys.

43:27Well done.

43:28Well done.

43:30Let's go, boys.

43:31I'm gonna let us back, lady.

43:32I'll see you next time.

43:33I'll go, boys.

43:34Go, boys.

43:43You.

43:44Go, boys.

43:45Go, boys.

43:47Go.

43:49Go, boys.

43:52Go, boys.

43:53Go, boys.

43:54Go, boys.

43:55Go, boys.

43:56Go, boys.

43:57Go, girls.

43:58You

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