For over 30 years, Tony Beets has been a mining legend in the Klondike. But after spending millions of dollars resurrecting two ancient dredges that he now can’t use, Tony needs to get back on top or face financial ruin.

“Last year, we kind of got boned with that water license, so we got kicked out of the Indian River and came up to the hill. We essentially had to start from scratch, and it was pretty intense.”

Tony is putting all his hope in the Mega Cut on Paradise Hill. The Beets family must mine around the clock to make up for lost time and hit Tony’s 3,000-ounce season goal.

“As long as we can keep that plant fed, then…we’re golden.”

Suddenly, the team notices something amiss.
“Who’s that? That’s power! Did you hear that? I don’t like the look of this.”

If the plant isn’t processing, they’re not making any money.
“It’s that simple. Looks like that gearbox is just wobbling all over the place.”

Tony’s crew discovers the problem: a bolt had broken off, leaving only three bolts holding the gearbox.
“So with it not sitting solid, it wibble-wobbles. Luckily, we caught it in time; otherwise, we’d probably lose a gearbox and half the distributor.”

The distributor ensures even material distribution. Without it, all the material would overload one section, leading to lost gold.
“It’s a simple fix when it goes well, but the whole plant is down until Kevin can remove and replace the broken gearbox bolt.”

“Every hour the wash plant is down, Tony is losing $25,000 in gold. We’re exposing a lot of ground right now. As soon as Kevin says go, I can start shipping trucks of pay dirt over. I’m sure he’s feeling the pressure.”

The bolt has been in place for 20 years, exposed to rain and rust. Kevin fights to get it out:
“This bolt is so seized in, I don’t think she’s coming out anytime soon.”

But Kevin has an idea:
“The bolt isn’t really the problem. It’s that it wiggle-wobbles. Reinforce it with seven bolts instead of three—wouldn’t that do it? Drill holes, put on a bigger bracket, and it’ll be good for another 15 years at least.”

To stop the gearbox from shaking, Kevin cuts two large steel brackets.
“He mounts them on either side of the gearbox and secures them with bolts to ensure even dirt distribution.”

“Alrighty, let’s get ready to rumble!”
Kevin finishes the fix, and the plant is back up, processing 350 yards of gold-rich dirt per hour.
“This is solid now—no wibble-wobble!”

The Beets family’s first gold weigh-in of the season arrives.
“Hey, well, here we are once again! After all the trouble, it’s nice to see some gold coming in.”

They pour the gold into the jar.
“10…25…40…70…140…141.5 ounces!”

When Tony started mining, gold was $500 an ounce. Now it’s $1,750, making the haul worth nearly $250,000.
“Not bad for a few days. It’s money, and we’ll take it.”

Tony reflects:
“Most people are struggling right now. Businesses are closed, but here we are, pulling gold out of the ground. Nothing wrong with that.”