No Off Days with Parker – Full Episode Recap | Gold Rush

Let’s get this show on the road. We got a busy week ahead of us here. The next morning, Parker’s crew get to work chasing his 10,000 ounce season target.
>> Time to make some gold. It’s why there’s 24 hours in a day. while Parker does absolutely nothing.
>> Hey, Bose.
>> There’s the boy I’m looking for.
>> How are you?
>> I’m good. How are you?
>> Good.
>> Mine manager Nona Loveless oversees the day-to-day logistics of Parker’s massive operation.
>> How are you feeling after last night’s Harra?
>> I’m drinking some tea and detoxing.
Well, going to try to give you a break from the pit, but that just ended.
>> Oh, yeah. What you got for me?
>> I feel bad. But anyway, um we need the next project for the stripping crew.
>> Okay.
>> They could be done today, as early as today. So, I just wanted to make sure that they’re not just twiddling their thumbs.
>> Yeah. No, that’s not an issue.
>> The stripping crew exposes the pay dirt that keeps Parker’s wash plants fed. To keep gold flowing, Parker must choose their next project in his mining empire.
That decision could result in millions in gold or falling short of his season target.
>> Well, I’ll go check in with everybody and see who needs help. When do you need to know about the stripping crew?
>> By the end of the day, for sure. And also, we need some gold sold.
>> We need some cash in the bank.
>> We do.
>> Okay, I can do that. I can do both those things.
>> Thank you. We’ll see you later.
>> I’ll get on it and get back to you.
>> Spread across three locations, Parker’s 10,000 acre operation consists of over 60 machines, three wash plants, and close to 40 employees, costing over $100,000 a day to run.
Unfortunately, Parker’s trying to take the day off, but uh there’s no such thing around here. There’s always something that comes up. The stripping crew is a very important part of our operation. For the most part, they don’t go on camera. They’re like the special forces team that all can run any piece of equipment on the mine site. They just get done. So, we need to figure out what the is that they need to get done next.
I think we need more GoPros on the windscreen. At least four more at a minimum >> to determine where to deploy the stripping crew. Parker must visit each of his three lieutenants and assess their operations in person. I don’t want to pit managers against each other and create a fierce level of competition inside the company. But in the short term, it’s more efficient.
People always want help and it’s like trying to figure out like who actually needs it and who can go on their own.
First stop, the cuts on his flagship Dominion Creek property.
Parker’s biggest project, Dominion, should account for over 23 of his 10,000 ounce target.
>> Tyson’s doing really well this year.
Dominion’s slated to do 7,000 ounces or something. Um, and right now that’s all his domain. Big responsibility for sure.
>> We’re up here for 7 months a year working hard every day. Overseeing the entire Dominion Creek project is veteran miner Tyson Lee.
>> Pretty green at the the mining aspect of things.
>> Starting as a rock truck driver.
>> Right now I’m letting Tyson run Lucifer.
Yeehaw.
>> Tyson has battled his way up the ranks.
>> You can’t just tell the boss what he wants to hear. You have to tell him what needs to be done.
>> Before becoming one of Parker’s most trusted pit bosses. if I can take anything off your shoulders.
>> I need people that I can trust and Tyson’s one of the top ones.
>> What’s up? How’s it going?
>> Oh, good. How are you?
>> Pretty good.
>> It’s a big pit.
>> Yeah, it is. 300 yards both ways.
>> So, the stripping crew is just about done with their project. maybe by the end of today. But I wanted to talk to you about just like I know you have a lot of stuff that you haven’t gotten to, right?
>> Yep. I was hoping to throw up enough pay those guys can come down here and start trucking into our wash plant.
>> We can rip this ditch. We can get our area excavated out. Definitely going to hit frost on this side. I would imagine >> it would be really nice to get all of this stuff done.
>> Yeah, >> just get all your ditches in. get all your plant pads set up. No, you’ve definitely got a lot going on.
>> Having already brought in nearly 2,000 ounces, giving Tyson the stripping crew would allow Parker to keep Dominion on schedule, but might cause Parker’s other claims to fall behind.
>> Let me talk to Brennan and Mitch as well and see what they have going on. And then >> is it a battle for people between us or >> No, it’s not a battle. I’m just going to make a decision.
>> Okay.
Who’s the better salesman? Right.
>> Yeah.
>> Come here.
>> Is he going to get back up now?
>> All right. See you, man. Good luck with your dog. Thanks.
I’m a little slow this morning. Yeah.
But we need to know where to put the stripping crew.
>> Despite it being his day off, Parker’s working. He’s on his way to cash in gold. But before that, he’s traveling between his cuts to determine which to strip. Every yard we slle has about four or five yards of stripping. And so if you’re slooing 400 yd an hour, if you aren’t stripping 2,000 y an hour, you’re falling behind.
Right now, I’m just going to see Brennan here at Canon Stewart’s so that we can start making some decisions. The lease with Kenan Stewart has always been an important one to me because it is a lot of ground that can keep the company going into the future for quite some time. To hit Parker’s 10,000 ounce goal, Kennan Stewarts needs to produce at least 2,000 O, but so far it’s produced nothing. And the cut is still not down to pay dirt.
>> I’ve been away from Parker and his crew for the last few seasons.
>> In charge of getting the pit ready for slooing is veteran miner Brennan Rule.
>> That was my original gold rush family, and I’m back with them again. Can’t wait to see the little yellow flakes on this loose box.
>> After joining Parker’s crew 10 years ago >> and quickly proving himself as an expert operator.
>> If anybody wants to go home, they can go home.
>> Disagreements with Parker drove Brennan to quit.
>> Go pack me. Leave right now. I don’t give a about any of the >> But since then, tempers have cooled.
Well, we’d left on terms and I think we just started losing communication between one another and that it was uh definitely a big thing.
>> We’ve got a bunch of projects to do, but I’m not sure which one to focus on. So, you are going to have a wash plant here soon. Yeah.
>> And with gold price where they are, we’re just going to hammer on the loosing.
>> Gotcha. That makes sense. We could start in here quite soon, right?
>> Not really. In that center section, there’s a big frozen spot still. And I mean, we’ve been working ditches and working ditches and pulling thaw. So, >> so we’re falling behind on a stripping.
>> Holding potentially 20% of Parker’s season gold. Frozen ground means Brennan’s cut is off track for slooing.
>> I need help. That’s the challenge that I’ve got right now. We can hopefully catch back up with falling behind on the stripping throughout this summer. Okay.
>> Some big rock in here.
>> I’m excited to see down there cuz I’ve never seen such big rock on the Indian River myself.
>> And hopefully there’s a bunch of gold up there.
>> Hope so. What else you got on the go today?
>> I’ve got to go to town and sell some gold.
>> Oh, nice.
>> Pay you guys. Hate that.
>> Okay. Well, that sounds good. I’m going to keep ditching here. So, you have fun in town. I’ll uh be waiting for my paycheck.
>> Thanks, Brandon. Thank you.
>> Sending Brennan the stripping crew would help accelerate his slooing timeline, but there’s still one more site to visit. That right there is definitely the hard part of Parker’s job because all of us could use an abundance of every piece of equipment here to get the scope of the work done that he sets out every year.
You know, I see how stressed out I can get out here in the cut just running a crew that he owns. I don’t have to worry about new equipment, mechanics, paying all the fuel bills, new wages. That’s a lot to get thrown into at whatever he started at. What was it, 14 years old or something? So, I’m sure there’s always a stress, but it isn’t conveyed to the crew anymore like it used to be. And it’s super awesome to be a part of that.
>> A lot of my job is figuring out where the next ounces are and trying to replace the ones we mine, right?
I am pretty financially motivated and I analyze decisions in my life based on the financial impacts of them. I don’t think it’s a good thing.
>> Was your grandpa like that?
>> I don’t know.
It’s getting a fair bit busier. There’s a lot going on up here and so we’re trying to hit the ground running of the next project.
>> His day nearly done. Parker still needs to sell gold in Dawson City and make a decision on his stripping crew’s next project.
When we get like the main section of Dominion Min out, I really don’t know what the company looks like for a mining company the size we are.
That’s a little bit scary. The idea of closing down the business scares me a lot. The idea of being here for another 20 years scares me a lot.
Now I’m going to see Chris. I worry about Chris a bit.
You know, he’s not he’s got some health issues as a aging man.
>> With this material, you can’t push it.
Starting as Parker’s wash plant expert at age 61, >> we have gold puddle after gold puddle after gold puddle. Oh. Oh, now >> a back injury forced Chris Dumit to become the gold room guru.
>> You’ve cleaned a lot of gold down here.
>> And Parker confidant.
>> You’re not going to sign this, are you?
Now age 73, Chris is Parker’s longest serving and oldest crew member. I >> signed it.
He’s still good at his job and he’s very important part of the mindsite. I don’t want to do it without him.
>> Hello. Hey, Parker. How’s it going?
>> Good. How are you?
>> Good. Busy.
>> Do you have some gold for me?
>> I do.
>> I’m going to bring that into town. And are you going to come with me, Gertie?
>> Yeah. Oh. Ooh. Ooh. You’re twisting my arm. I’ll go. But there’s something other gold I want to show you.
>> All right. Messing with.
>> So, I made that gold coin for you last year.
>> Yeah.
>> And I was thinking if we made small ones, right, >> they’d be a lot more affordable.
That’s cool.
>> Last year, >> Caesar Parker Snobish, if I know how you like old Roman coins, >> Chris started experimenting with casting custom gold coins as a gift for Parker.
>> Thank you, Chris.
>> You bet. I hope it brightens your day.
This one’s a little bit lighter, about a/4 of an ounce. It has a pee on it.
>> Oh, wow. So, I’m trying different thicknesses for different weights.
>> Cuz a quarter ounce, you’re still at 900 bucks.
>> Yeah. The thinner they get, the harder they are to cast.
>> But if we had a press >> Yeah. With a stamp, you can make any size, you know, like they do coins, >> right? Do you think people would buy this?
>> I think so. I mean, it’s gold. It’s an investment, right? And the cool thing about it is it’s just like straight out of the ground and you could ship it straight to people who are buying it like retail, >> right?
>> I like that. That’s cool. Very neat.
But I like that it’s rough.
>> Okay.
Good. Rustic in the car in the carpentry tree.
>> It’s like pirate gold.
>> Rustic.
We’re getting a lot of interest for Parker’s gold. Probably some of the most famous gold on the planet. So, we’re going to work on different ideas to see if we can’t make it affordable so that everybody has a chance to own some of Parker’s Gold. And speaking of that, we’re going to run off to town, sell some gold, and see if we can’t keep this company going.
To sell his gold in Dawson City, Parker must drive more than 50 miles over rough mining roads through the historic gold fields that were once home to thousands of hopeful miners during the gold rush.
Kind of make you wonder what possesses a person of all these hills, all this ground. Go, hm. I’ll bet you there’s gold right here.
I think people explored all over the place. There was tens of thousands of people up here wanting to gold mine.
>> Yeah.
>> So, they just went to every creek around and started digging holes.
>> There were that many people, huh?
>> During the gold rush?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> You’re not aggressively looking for ground, are you?
>> Yeah.
>> There are very few properties that are big enough to appeal to us now.
>> There’s more available for the Bob and Pop operation. There is there is >> there’s little operations sprouting up all over the place.
>> Yeah.
>> I never really like to have too much gold on site and we’ve also got a lot of bills to pay.
>> To keep his operation going, Parker’s cashing in some gold.
>> Okay, let’s do it. before he makes his final decision on where to send the stripping crew.
>> Normally you bring in more than this.
>> I do normally bring in more than this.
Start of season.
>> Darren Hunter is the premier gold buyer for Klondike Miners.
>> Can’t wait for her to warm up.
>> Processing millions in gold every year.
>> So, how’s the season going so far?
>> What do you have right now? You have six cleanups a week. We do three than a day off than three, >> right? And this is sulfur, you said.
>> Yeah.
>> It’s way finer.
>> Is 99.8.
>> What did we bring sulfur in at? Do you remember, Parker?
>> 80.
>> Yeah.
>> So then you’re right on target. 79 to 81.
>> Darren determines the cash value based on the daily spot price per ounce and the gold’s purity. At 80% pure, Parker’s 99.8 O is worth over a quart of a million dollars. That’s the purity.
>> But this is actually >> That’s the purities on every creek around here.
>> This is actually a pretty cool thing.
Yeah, >> those are purities of every creek.
>> Some of those go back to the gold rush cuz some of them haven’t been mined since. So those purities would be back from then.
>> This is cool.
All raw gold in the Yukon has small amounts of other metals like silver mixed in.
>> Also, you can get it in this Chris.
>> Oh, great.
>> There we are.
>> Little mine is made.
>> We’re in the book in 2023.
>> They employ the best gold room attendant.
>> The most humble gold. most humble gold room guy in the whole Yukon.
>> Always the cleanest gold I get, Chris.
>> Well, thank you.
>> You’re welcome. It’s always the cleanest.
>> Perfect.
>> Thank you very much. And I will put that in your account.
>> Perfect.
>> Thanks a lot. We’ll >> see you later. Good to see you.
>> All right, we can go back to work >> or we can go to the casino.
>> I know what we should do. I know what we’re going to do.