Today is a good day. Monster Red’s running perfect. For the first time this season, Rick’s washing Rally Valley pay dirt through Monster Red.

Got 1500 ounces to try and get this season, but as long as we stay steady from here on out, we’re going to be looking real good. At the end of the day, we’re going to get as much pay as we can out and, you know, not leave anything behind.

Obviously, all this water in this hole is not going to get pumped out. Rick’s only pump is being used to supply Monster Red with water. Meanwhile, operator Bailey Carton is 200 ft down in Rally Valley, racing to dig out pay before it floods with groundwater.

“That’s a lot of water.”
“The water’s not going to stop.”
“No.”

All the stuff that I’m digging out of this hole right now, it slightly looks like bedrock a little bit. Rick did say there should be at least another 20 ft down. It’s hard to tell when there are 10 ft of water.

“Rick, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m right down at the very bottom of Rally Valley right now and right near the sump pole and it looks like it’s all bedrock now. Can you come take a look and figure out what to do next here?”

Rick’s been digging at Rally Valley for 3 years. If Bailey’s finally hit bedrock, he could be on the richest pay yet.

“Now that’s bedrock rim. It’s got to be. Look at all that fine gravel. We’re definitely on to something here. We found our rim. I’m very excited what I see right there. I’ve been waiting to see bedrock in this hole. We’ve got it right here.”

You know, this is where the good stuff is. We’re either on the best gold in this hole or we’re very close to it. So, that’s exciting.

We’ve got a lot planned for this season, but the number one priority above all else was getting to the bottom of Rally Valley. We’re just about there. We’re finally finding the rim.

Now that they’ve hit bedrock, they need to chase this layer along the rest of the cut, pulling out what could be the richest pay dirt they’ve ever mined.

“We’ve just got to now follow that bedrock and it should show us the path for the best gold. We’re the first human beings to be at this level ever. Now that is pretty cool though.”

There’s still days of digging left to get all the pay out, and the water keeps pouring in.

“Yeah, it’s definitely stressful down here a little bit, you know, when you got to deal with all this water. But I’m honestly really excited to see when we finally clean out Monster Red and see what the hell is in those mats. You know, I feel like it’s going to look really good.”

“Says it’s going pretty good. So I’m just going to go check it out and see what it looks like. What do you say, guys? Want to shut it down?”

[Music]

Rick makes a quick spot check of the sluice runs to see if the pay has started to deliver big gold.

“I know that there’s good gold down there, but you know, until you see it in the box, it’s always tentative. You’re always nervous. I’m expecting to see good things, but really right now, I just want to get my eyes on it. It’s going to take a lot of pressure off.”

“Oh, look. Here’s one, guys. Look at that. That’s a beauty. Oh, here’s another big one. Yeah, that’s a thick one. These are easily some of the biggest ones we found. That’s the biggest one yet. Well, that’s neat. That is just neat.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but it took this long to get running. I knew that the gold is in there, but until you see it, man, it solves a lot of problems. Catch up real quick on season. Good job. Good job. Good job, boys. Good job.”

Some of the nicest nuggets I’ve ever seen. We’re going to have ourselves a golden year here.

[Music]

Rick has hit the jackpot. Now he is in a race to get all the gold out of the ground before Rally Valley floods with water.

“That’s a hell of a thing to find. That’s amazing. You know, that just goes to show you we’re definitely on the good Rally Valley. All we got to do is run the rest of it.”

[Music]

“What’s up, Jason? Heather.”

Rick’s brought his whole crew together for the first gold weigh of the season, including husband-and-wife duo, mine manager Jason and gold recovery specialist Heather Folster.

“Bose, what’s going on, sir?”

Last season, Rick pulled out 251 ounces from Rally Valley in his final gold weigh. Now he hopes the bedrock pay is even richer.

“Well, should we weigh up some gold or not?”
“Right. I’m excited. I’m going to go get it. Got the old trusty scale. She’s been through a war. She’s been through a war.”

“Bailey, you going to count it?”
“Yeah. Get it up here, buddy. Get it, Bailey.”
“Ready?”
“I’m ready. Here we go.”

[Music]

10… 20… 60… 70… 80… 90… 110… 113… 114… 115… 115.71.

“Yeah, it’s good for one jar. There’s for sure more.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Cuz there were nuggets.”
“There’s more.”
“You know, I like the sandbaggy guys. I do have more. So, I actually already weighed this up. It’s beautiful. You ready? And it just keeps going.”

“Get up, Buzz. Go look. You haven’t even seen it.”

Now, that’s a pour. That right there brings us to 315.71 ounces. Worth over three-quarters of a million dollars. Rick and his crew have smashed it out of the park with one of their best gold hauls ever.

“I’ll take that all day. That’s huge. That’s huge. That’s the biggest we’ve ever done. Can you imagine this sent in through one of the bank teller boxes and deposit that in my checking account? Thank you, good sir.”

“That’s just the start, you know what I mean? That’s the first gold weigh out of Rally Valley. And we know there’s more down there. I’ve never put that much gold on the table at once. And if we can keep them like this, then 1500 ounces is going to happen quick.”

“Cheers.”
“Right on.”
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”

“I’m Parker Schnobble and you’re watching Discovery Australia. Hit subscribe now to not miss out on any Gold Rush content.”