Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch (2021) s01e06 Episode Script
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DUANE OLLINGER: This
whole place is mystery,
and it's all about
finding the truth.
But we're looking
for buried treasure.
We've got stories
about Aztec gold.
MAN: According to
legend, they stored
it in the Uinta Mountains.
Stories about the Rhodes mine.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This
very well could be
where this treasure is buried.
See this?
We're on the verge
of a huge discovery.
It could be worth
millions of dollars.
But there's more to this
story than what you think.
We call it the energy zone.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's unexplainable,
but it's creating
something out of nothing.
[cackling]
I'm gonna have to
rethink everything.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): These pieces
are starting to line up.
DUANE OLLINGER: The heck?
Did you hear that?
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
But there's risks on this deal.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Look at this.
He's going into a trance.
Right where Chad's camping.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Right
where Chad's camping.
My whole family's out there.
This is a whole
new ball game now.
There are some places on Earth
that just don't seem right,
but land feels different.
It acts different.
And this here is
one of those places.
Some say the land is trying
to hold on to something.
Aztec treasure.
Holy [bleep].
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Caverns of gold.
Look at this.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Mormon riches.
It'll be a million
dollars here.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Some even
say there's a buried spaceship.
DUANE OLLINGER: Hell yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): Me?
I never cared much
about the stories.
I just care about
finding whatever
the hell is in the ground.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Let's
get out of here.
[shouts]
[gasping]
Everybody needs to grab
their stuff now so we
can go catch up with Chad.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I think it's
time to start wearing firearms.
Well, why do you
think I carry mine?
I think I'll carry mine, too.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we
see this trespasser
on a trail cam
that Charlie set up right
next to Chad's camp.
I don't like for anything to
get in the way of our work,
but safety does come first.
CHARLIE SNIDER: There's
Chad, right there.
DUANE OLLINGER: What's the deal?
What's going on?
Everything all right?
CHAD OLLINGER: I
checked on the family.
They're OK, but he
might still be out here.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Yeah.
We need to find this
guy if he's here.
Where was that camera at?
It was right back over here.
Right over there.
We can check along
this bank here.
DUANE OLLINGER: See a
vehicle or anything?
No.
No vehicles at all.
No lights.
Nothing.
Well.
DUANE OLLINGER: Geez.
CHAD OLLINGER: There's no
telling where he could be.
DUANE OLLINGER: No.
Not in this mess.
Crazy son of a buck like
that could hide anywhere.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Well, OK.
DUANE OLLINGER: What
do you think, Charlie?
I think we probably
need to split up.
If you can get your side-by-side
and take care of the road--
DUANE OLLINGER: OK.
Chad, if you'll stay within
hollering distance of me--
CHAD OLLINGER: OK.
--I'mma push further,
deeper into the woods here,
along the creek.
And if we can flush
him out, we can get
him up on the road [inaudible].
OK, I got him.
[tense music]
CHARLIE SNIDER: What's
that over there?
Hey!
Hey!
[bleep]
He's not here.
He's probably
long gone by now,
but I don't see any
footprints or anything.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's just so dense.
There's my dad, right there.
See anything?
DUANE OLLINGER: No.
Didn't see anything.
What did you guys see?
Nah, we didn't find
anything in there.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well, let's
get the hell out of here.
CHARLIE SNIDER: All right.
It was pretty weird,
though, wasn't it?
CHAD OLLINGER: Got my
attention, I will say.
DUANE OLLINGER: That
was a skinwalker.
CARISSA DAVENPORT: This area
is known for skinwalkers.
There are evil spirits that
can shapeshift into whatever
needs be, and they are entities
that are not to be messed with.
PAM WARNER: The people that live
here are very afraid of them
and have had a lot of
experiences with them.
They've seen people actually
turn into different animals,
like a coyote.
The cows-- they'd find them
in the morning, all mutilated.
I believe that they've
always been here.
It's part of the Native
American lore of the area.
It's starting to
happen more and more.
Just be careful
with what you're
messing with, because sometimes
it can follow you home.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I put a huge amount of money
into this project,
and my goal has always
been to get into the cavern and
find out the truth about what
the hell's down there.
And hopefully, that's
a truckload of gold.
But part of the reason that we
haven't got accomplished what
we need to is some of
these weird things that
are happening to
us on this ranch,
and they take up
a lot of our time.
[beep]
Ah, [bleep].
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): So
it's my job as the boss to keep
everybody's eye on the target.
We found a box in the
bottom of these caverns.
And people don't go around
burying a box of nothing.
It has to be something
that's valuable.
And right now, we still don't
have a good entry point.
If we could bring a rathole
rig in and drop right down in
and see if there's a dry
entrance that we can walk into,
that's just better.
It takes the risk out of it.
DUANE OLLINGER: We will bring
that drilling rig back in,
but we have to get some
better target points.
ERIC DRUMMOND: What about
running some geophysical?
You guys have mentioned you
having ER survey equipment,
like electrical resistivity?
Yeah.
We have the resistivity.
Use something like that.
Maybe that can pinpoint.
You go closer to the
source where you know
you've broken into it before.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): We've
been throwing everything we got
to try to get into the cavern.
We've tried GPR, dyeing the
pond, the boring machine.
We're down to the last couple
of things in our toolkit.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah.
We'll get that tester out,
the resistivity tester,
and just five different
spots around here.
Great.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'd really
be interested in going back
to check out that
unmapped fault.
CHAD OLLINGER: I think so, too.
We never really
ruled that spot out.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well, that
sounds like a game plan there.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
This unmapped fault zone is
a spot where we tried to punch
in with the boring machine,
and the bedrock was so hard, the
bit just slid up the mountain,
parallel to the ground.
CHAD OLLINGER: It's
a [bleep] drill stem.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we're
gonna go back and
see if we can punch
through with a rathole rig.
But first, we need to pinpoint
the right spot to drill.
We know there is a cavern
here, but we don't know
exactly where to drill into it.
So what we're doing here is
called resistivity testing.
So, the first thing we do is
put metal stakes in the ground,
equally spaced out.
After that, we hook
an electrical wire up
to two stakes at the
same time, and we send
a charge through those stakes.
The material between the stakes
allows the wires to talk.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 3.87.
OK.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
When we get lower readings,
that means we're on bedrock.
Low resistivity,
high conductivity.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 6.06.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Whenever we increase
the distance between the stakes,
it also increases the depth
that we're going down.
The hope is, when we get
past 30 or 40 feet down,
we'll start seeing
some big numbers.
That would suggest
a void with nothing
conductive between
the two stakes.
CHAD OLLINGER: That's
at 20 foot in depth.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Good.
6.06.
Still only 6.
[bleep]
I don't know if it's working.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Chad and
Charlie, like I said,
this technology
generally doesn't
work well in bedrock unless you
can get the stake through it.
CHAD OLLINGER: All right.
Let me show you something.
This is a broken drill
bit from a while back.
They couldn't get it back
out, because it got stuck,
and it ended up breaking.
But we think it's all the way
through the void, and if it is,
it'll give us a reading of
what's below the bedrock,
right?
Right.
Let's check it.
Sure.
All right, we're good?
Yeah.
That's 40 foot in depth.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 18.68.
It's higher than
we're used to.
That's not-- there's
no period on there.
Oh, really?
Hey, come look at this, Eric.
ERIC DRUMMOND: What you got?
Look at this.
That's 1,800.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Oh, wow.
That's significant.
CHAD OLLINGER: Totally open.
If we get through the
bedrock, we get to the cave.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): The test
results were so exciting
because the higher the numbers,
the bigger the void.
So it might mean some
huge cavern below us.
Might just be this whole
area is a huge cavern.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Good deal.
[laughter]
[bleep]
CHAD OLLINGER: You
owe me a beer, Eric.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's OK.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I promised the guys
we'd bring the rathole
rig back in if we
found some promising targets.
Bring it in!
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): They held
up their end of the bargain,
and I'm gonna hold up mine.
CHAD OLLINGER: Stand out from
there and get right here.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we're back
at the unmarked
fault zone that we
could not bust
through the bedrock
with the boring machine.
Chad used the resistivity
test to find out
where there's a
void, so we're gonna
drill that with a bigger rig.
Go a little more.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Chad says
there's a void 30 foot down,
and that's an expensive hole.
The little [bleep]
better be right.
They're gonna try to get
as close to that drill stent
without hitting it, so--
ERIC DRUMMOND: OK, cool.
It's gonna be just
right over here.
That's where the scans
on that resistivity
were huge, showing
a void right there.
This is my spot that I think
is the one, just from the test.
Pressure's on.
Kind of nervous, actually.
[laughing]
Yes!
[laughing]
Water's a great sign, yeah.
Woo-hoo!
No water's a bad sign.
Look at that.
There's water right there.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Wow!
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah!
See it?
[clapping, laughing]
There we go.
What are we?
CHARLIE SNIDER: 17.
OK, awesome.
Let's go.
DUANE OLLINGER: That's
a good sign right there.
[inaudible] , baby.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
Let's drill that [bleep].
[chuckling]
CHAD OLLINGER:
So, the scans were
showing about 24 to 30 feet.
That's where the cave is.
So we've got about 10 more
feet or a little bit less.
DUANE OLLINGER:
The bottom's dryer.
Wet up here and dry down here.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
It's a small seam up top.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Even though we're
looking for a dry entrance, the
water is a good sign at first.
It means that where
we're drilling
is connected to the
flooded entrance.
Then, if we break through
to some dry stuff,
we will have that dry
entrance we're looking for.
Yeah, baby.
Come on, baby.
Here we go.
This is it.
Just wait.
We'll go up another 6 foot.
It'll be there.
[bleep]
No pressure, right?
No pressure.
[chuckling]
No pressure.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 29 and 1/2.
29 and 1/2.
This should be the one, yeah.
29 and 1/2.
Yeah.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So, whenever
you punch into the
cavern, the drill
should have zero resistance.
The sound should change.
It'll be obvious by
looking at the drill
and feeling the machine
that we're in the cavern.
- That's wet.
- That's the water line right
Yeah, that's completely--
CHAD OLLINGER: Still
digging, though.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Got at
least 7 feet of water
in the bottom of the hole.
Of course, the last bit of
that section of drill pipe
going down--
the sound became a lot less.
And so, I don't know if it
took pressure off the bit
or if it was falling down.
We'll ask the
driller about that.
Were you taking pressure
off the bit, or--
So we're at 32.
Chad?
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah?
You notice the sound got
quieter when the [inaudible]
was almost down?
He says that he has to
put more pressure on it--
CHAD OLLINGER: Oh, he is?
ERIC DRUMMOND: --to
drill more so that--
yeah.
It's not a void.
That water--
It may be clay, and it may
be the effects of the water.
That water will probably
knock it out, too.
Yep.
Yeah, OK.
Hey, Chad!
What do you say
let's shut it down?
One more.
DUANE OLLINGER: That's it.
One more.
That's all.
[bleep] [bleep].
[bleep] [bleep].
Let's go home.
MAN (ON RADIO): Copy that.
Let's go home.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well,
fellas, it's coming in,
and it will just flat-ass
dump on us, and we know that.
What we do have is
a little window here
of maybe one to three days--
enough time to do one more
drill with that rathole rig.
So, one at a time,
you guys tell me
what you think is
the best scenario,
'cause we got one more drill.
One more drill.
And we'll work our
way around, and I
respect all y'all's opinion.
Chad, you want to start?
I think we should
go to the energy zone.
The way those GPR
guys were freaking
out about whatever's down there
might be worth checking out.
OK.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I kind
of agree with that.
I've run hundreds of those GPR
surveys in my line of work,
and I've never seen this
equipment react like that.
Right.
And so, it's always a
crapshoot when you're drilling.
You never know what
you're gonna find.
But I want to see
what's going on there.
Charlie boy,
what do you think?
I'm inclined to go with Chad.
You guys don't think
there's any other place
that might benefit us more.
We've already
drilled quite a bit,
and we've got one last shot.
And so, something a
little bit different
could help us find significant
information, and there you go.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
That's a good thought.
Well, let's do it.
That drill's on track, so we
can take a little bit of snow.
But we don't need no
ice getting under them
metal tracks, so we better do it
now, and we better do it fast.
Sounds good.
Cool.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Winter's coming in,
and we're running out of time.
It won't be long
before it shuts down.
So we decided to dig
at the energy zone.
That's been ground zero for
all the weird stuff that's
been happening on this project.
I've never seen that.
[beeping, whirring]
The control is all [bleep] up.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): We know
that there's something
that's causing all
these magnetic interferences.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We're
at about 6 feet.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): But
so far, the drill's just going
easy and not hitting anything.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 18 feet.
So I don't know.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 25 feet.
50 feet.
75 feet.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): And then we
get to the end of the bit
at 85 foot, and nothing.
So far, we missed on all the
targets that we drilled in.
It's frustrating.
But I'll tell you what.
There's something going on here
that's creating a huge energy
zone, and come
hell or high water,
we will get to the bottom of it.
So if we can't find the
access point to get ourself
underground to find the
answer, maybe it's time
to bring the answer up to us.
Dang!
Damn.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Eric thinks
if we get a sample of
that dirt down there,
it might tell us
why the equipment's
been screwing up and not letting
us get down into the cavern.
And if we happen to scoop
up a little gold down there,
that sure would be
all right with me.
We're building the deal to
scrape the walls on that hole
over there in the energy zone.
This device will go down and
bring up whatever's down there.
We'll put scrapers
on the side of it,
and then we'll use
two winches-- one
to let it down, the other
winch to tighten it up.
And then that'll make
these scrapers go out
and scrape the wall
as we raise it up.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm real
impressed with what
he's done here.
Duane is somewhat of
a mechanical genius.
We can do multiple
holes on it, right?
Yeah.
We can just back up, release
it, drop it back down,
and scrape it again.
That looks great.
DUANE OLLINGER:
So now the plan is
that we're gonna put the
scraper in all the way
down, around 85 foot,
scrape the walls,
bring it up, and see
what's down there.
At that board right there,
we want to be at 75 foot,
and then we'll give
it another 5 foot,
and we'll know we'll be
scraping it, all right?
OK, yeah.
OK, Chad.
Let's send it down.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We got 20.
We got 40.
50?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yup.
Damn, that's pretty as a
picture down there, fellas.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah, it is.
DUANE OLLINGER: We're at 100?
ERIC DRUMMOND: 70.
Go 2 more feet.
Of 83 and stop.
CHAD OLLINGER: 83.
There it is.
God, that is down there.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yes, it is.
Let's deploy the scrapers.
We'll bring it up to 78,
and I'll call it out.
CHARLIE SNIDER: All right.
It's tight.
ERIC DRUMMOND: It's tight?
CHARLIE SNIDER: Yep.
[whirring]
[impact, silence]
[whirring]
[whirring]
[grinding]
[whirring]
DUANE OLLINGER:
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[bleep]
OK.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
CHAD OLLINGER: It's stuck.
Too tight, Chad.
Let her down.
[interposing voices]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Let her down.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
It seems like every time
we make some progress,
something else steps
up and starts fighting us.
Let's loosen this
one a little bit.
OK.
Let both of 'em down.
CHAD OLLINGER: All right.
She's free.
DUANE OLLINGER: There you go.
There you go.
CHAD OLLINGER: She's free.
DUANE OLLINGER: OK.
We're free.
OK, come on up here.
Let's take it all the way up.
Let's see what we did.
We have a hell of a
sample on our side.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I think so.
Here we go.
Ooh.
Look.
That's blue.
Interesting.
CHAD OLLINGER:
[bleep],, that's blue.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Wow.
It is.
Look at that.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's
definitely blue.
I see the blue.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
Wow, that's cool.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I see it.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Look at that.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): We
brought that scraper back up,
and all of a sudden,
we pulled up blue dirt.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Wow.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): It was
a bluest dirt you ever seen.
And what it is, I
just don't know.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): I've
seen some really weird things
in my career as a geologist,
but this blue dirt
we're seeing here is
really, really interesting.
So I want to explore it more.
What could the
blue mean, Eric?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Well, from a
geologic standpoint, it's rare.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): First thing
that comes to mind is an
interesting mineral called
iridium.
It can be worth as
much or more than gold.
Iridium is so rare, and
the demand is so high.
It's used in electronics
and microchips.
The price fluctuates, but
right now it's around $3,000
an ounce.
But usually you only see
it in small particles.
It's not normally found
in massive deposits,
because a lot of it
comes from space impacts.
So, when the impact
occurs, it spreads it
all out in very fine particles.
A deposit of iridium
is really not something
you normally see on Earth.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Iridium--
just highly conductive.
This could be the element that's
causing everything to go wrong.
This could be the
explanation for this energy.
I think that's a success.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah, it is.
DUANE OLLINGER: Hell yeah.
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND: All right.
We'll set her down.
[bird hooting]
Yeah.
Let's just walk
up this draw here.
OK.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We've
been experiencing really
weird things going on here.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
Well, a huge deposit
of a blue mineral
is just so strange,
and I think we have to
explore more to see if there's
iridium on the property.
I know our main
focus is finding out
what's underneath
the ground here,
but maybe the answer is it's
a huge deposit of iridium.
So if that's true, these
deposits could be worth
more than any buried treasure.
I think it's worth
taking a sample here.
It looks like, when
this is flowing,
you got a little
waterfall right here,
and the heavy materials are
gonna sit right at the bottom
here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Gotcha.
Grab me that sample bag?
Yep, yep.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We'll get some
of the digging tools out.
Iridium is heavier
than gold, so we're
hoping to find it right in the
bottom of this trap right here.
Nice.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's some
nice-looking material.
If we find iridium
in this sample here,
we'll go all throughout
this gully here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yes.
If we found a legitimate,
minable deposit,
that could be worth
a lot of money.
What is this?
Oh my goodness.
Whoa.
Grab me that sample bag?
Yep, yep.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We'll get some
of the digging tools out.
Iridium is heavier
than gold, so we're
hoping to find it right in the
bottom of this trap right here.
What is this?
Oh my goodness.
Whoa.
[bleep]
It's super heavy--
ERIC DRUMMOND: What is that?
CHAD OLLINGER: --whatever it is.
It's heavy?
Yeah.
Oh my god.
I think we got a meteorite.
What the heck?
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
Iridium is often
associated with meteorites.
It's more plentiful in outer
space than it is on Earth.
And so, meteorite
on site here could
be a very good indication of
high concentrations of iridium.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Very interesting.
Can you catch that?
[laughter]
DUANE OLLINGER: That is
a heavy son of a buck.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Isn't it?
Doesn't that feel
good in your hand?
That's crazy.
You can just tell how hot
that son of a buck got.
[inaudible]
The speed that that
thing got up to is just--
It's nice holding something
that came from outer space.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This could
be a major, major discovery.
Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I've said since day 1
that I want to know the truth.
I always thought that
that search would lead
me to gold in those caverns.
But if there's a super valuable
space mineral on this property,
we will look into that, also.
Maybe it's all
connected somehow.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm heading
upstream, getting samples,
and I'll bring 'em back
and see what we've got.
This looks like a perfect spot.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): If I
can get enough samples to show
that there are significant
amounts of iridium on site,
it could not only be
worth a lot of money.
It could maybe explain
some of the anomalies that
have been happening out here.
CHAD OLLINGER: If
it's not one thing,
it's another out
here, all the time.
ERIC DRUMMOND: It looks like
thunderstorms are brewing.
[bleep]
I don't want to
be on the mountain
when it starts lightning.
CHAD OLLINGER: This
weather is killing us.
It's like it has a mind of its
own, trying to shut us down.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This is what
you have to deal with when
you're out in the field.
You're dealing with weather.
You're dealing with terrain.
[shouts]
CHARLIE SNIDER (VOICEOVER):
We have these quite often.
All of a sudden, you get this
lightning and thundering going
on, and you don't
even know what's
gonna happen till it happens.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's getting close.
Now it's really time to go.
CHARLIE SNIDER
(VOICEOVER): We don't
have any control out here.
We have to go with what
mother nature gives us.
And right now, it's not giving
us a lot of opportunity.
Here we go.
I think I beat it.
I think I cheated death
one more time here.
[panting]
OK.
I made it.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): Duane brought
me onto this project to try to
help him get into this cavern.
Obviously, after
Chad found that box,
I started to like
this treasure angle.
Can you get that
underneath there?
But not all treasure is
buried in underground caverns.
Iridium is a naturally-occurring
mineral that's more
valuable than a box of gold.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Come on, Eric!
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND: First,
we'll do a surface sample.
This is nice, red-looking
material here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah,
it is, isn't it?
ERIC DRUMMOND: It's got
some iron in it for sure.
They say that iridium
has an affinity for iron.
Is that right?
Yeah.
Hopefully it shows.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
We've got three samples
from all over the ranch.
We've got a surface sample
from yesterday's hike.
We got a sample from
the meteor site.
And we have a sample
of the blue mineral
that we pulled out
of the energy zone.
I used to always
be hoping for gold,
but now I'm hoping for iridium.
All I can do is give
them options, basically,
and I'll give them that
option to mine for iridium
if we find it in
significant concentration.
So, next, this is the blue zone,
so we'll do the same thing.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): We're looking
for evidence of a meaningful
concentration of iridium--
something that may
explain the anomalies
that go on around the property.
And if it's that big,
that means we can mine it.
I like that.
The last is just
a small sample,
but OK, this is
the meteorite wash.
Do the honors.
Go ahead.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): We know,
whenever we get that
first snow and the weather
starts kicking up,
that we're getting
close to the end of the season.
I obviously want to go into
the cavern and back to the box,
but if we can find
something else of value
before we get snowed
in, that'd be huge, too.
ERIC DRUMMOND: So we
got our sample there.
That's our concentrate,
which we'll pan out.
Nice.
So, first we'll do the
surface sample we took.
OK.
[suspenseful music]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Right off the
bat, I'm not seeing anything.
Now we'll do the
meteorite sample.
I don't see anything there.
Now we'll look at the next one.
This is the sample
from the blue zone.
I'm really hopeful
for this sample here.
Look at that.
Yeah, you can
definitely see that.
It's a shiny,
metallic, bluish thing.
Yeah, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Interesting.
It could be iridium.
This is the sample
from the blue zone.
I'm really hopeful
for this sample here.
Look at that.
Yeah, you can
definitely see that.
It's a shiny,
metallic, bluish thing.
Yeah, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Interesting.
There's two of 'em.
Two pieces right there.
Two pieces.
What is that?
It could be iridium.
If it is iridium, it's
coming from somewhere,
and so there could be
a big deposit up there.
If we find this load source
of that, oof, that's huge.
Depending on the
size of the deposit,
it can be worth millions,
tens of millions,
hundreds of millions.
It's that valuable.
Yes, they're small, but having
that many pieces in one spot
is really, really significant.
From a geology
aspect, that's huge.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Well, Eric found four flakes
of something, and
it might be iridium,
so we're gonna test
'em with the XRF gun
and see how pure they are.
But it's gonna have to
be a high concentration
before we want to get into
a iridium mining operation
out here.
DUANE OLLINGER: We're ready?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Start her up.
[beep]
Parts per million,
iridium, minable--
it's considered 10
parts per million.
So anything above 20
would be amazing, right?
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Come on, iridium.
[beep]
Hey.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's
50 parts per million?
- 61.
- Yeah, there--
[interposing voices]
ERIC DRUMMOND: So
it's still running.
It's still running.
It's going up.
It just got 87.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 80
parts per million?
Oh, my.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): The
early stages of the process--
it's coming up 80
parts per million.
We've got iridium, guys.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
That was significant in itself.
If it had ended at that point,
I would have been very happy.
Uh-oh.
This is the full scan here?
This is the final?
- Yep.
[beep]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Oh!
804,000?
And those specs
are pure iridium.
It jumped up to 800,000.
Like, what?
That's amazing.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
That's unbelievable.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's fantastic.
You got it, man!
[laughter]
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): It's amazing.
It shot high.
It shot huge.
I think Eric's on
to something here.
We may have an
iridium mine here.
That'd be all right.
That'd be real good.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): We're still
a long ways from finding
a minable deposit,
but that's very significant.
That's awesome.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I'm not giving up
on the treasure in these
caves, but we could be sitting
on a huge iridium deposit.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We're
on the trail, boys.
Duane, you ready to
become an iridium magnate?
That'd be a "yes."
[laughing]
All right.
I'll second that motion.
There you go.
CHARLIE SNIDER: One beer left.
Gonna be hard to split.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'll
tell you what, guys.
I can feel the chill in the air.
Our season's almost to the
end, but I'm real happy.
I'm happy about what we found.
I'm happy about the potential.
I'm a prospector.
And so, what I'm seeing are
indications that you have
something significant here.
We have a minable
deposit of iridium.
It could be worth millions.
It could also explain why we've
been seeing these weird things,
the equipment malfunctions.
Iridium will do that, then?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Well, it's a very
dense metal, just like gold.
So, with a GPR or
even resistivity, it
can affect the instruments,
is what I'm saying.
CHARLIE SNIDER: So
you think it would
cause a lot of interference?
ERIC DRUMMOND: It could, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
There are still some question
marks out there,
but I think we've
answered one very big question.
Why are all of our electronics--
drones, GPR, sound
engineering equipment--
[interference]
--in the basement--
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
--camera system gone haywire?
It's a very distinct
possibility that iridium
is causing this interference.
Well, I think we
solved one part of it,
but we still got
a long ways to go.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah,
there's still a lot
of discoveries to be made.
Not only the treasure
aspect, but the mineral.
We know it's connected somehow.
CHARLIE SNIDER: That's
the mystery of this place.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER: So
here's the deal, fellas.
It's high risk out here, but
the reward is just overwhelming.
And no risk, no fun.
[laughter]
I hate to admit it, but
I'm one of those junkies,
and I think I raised
one just like me.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
We've answered one big question,
which is [bleep] awesome.
But for the next six
months, I'm gonna
be dreaming about that
box in that cavern, man.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): Sometimes,
to do something
very significant,
you have to deal with
a little bit of risk.
But once in a while,
you get that big payday.
Yeah.
It's coming.
We're close.
Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I'm telling you,
there is so much here, and
where this will lead us,
I'll never know.
Man, that's what
life's all about--
the journey.
DUANE OLLINGER:
What a ride, man.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm all in.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Let's
go for it, 100%.
CHAD OLLINGER: I'm ready.
whole place is mystery,
and it's all about
finding the truth.
But we're looking
for buried treasure.
We've got stories
about Aztec gold.
MAN: According to
legend, they stored
it in the Uinta Mountains.
Stories about the Rhodes mine.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This
very well could be
where this treasure is buried.
See this?
We're on the verge
of a huge discovery.
It could be worth
millions of dollars.
But there's more to this
story than what you think.
We call it the energy zone.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's unexplainable,
but it's creating
something out of nothing.
[cackling]
I'm gonna have to
rethink everything.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): These pieces
are starting to line up.
DUANE OLLINGER: The heck?
Did you hear that?
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
But there's risks on this deal.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Look at this.
He's going into a trance.
Right where Chad's camping.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Right
where Chad's camping.
My whole family's out there.
This is a whole
new ball game now.
There are some places on Earth
that just don't seem right,
but land feels different.
It acts different.
And this here is
one of those places.
Some say the land is trying
to hold on to something.
Aztec treasure.
Holy [bleep].
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Caverns of gold.
Look at this.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Mormon riches.
It'll be a million
dollars here.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Some even
say there's a buried spaceship.
DUANE OLLINGER: Hell yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): Me?
I never cared much
about the stories.
I just care about
finding whatever
the hell is in the ground.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Let's
get out of here.
[shouts]
[gasping]
Everybody needs to grab
their stuff now so we
can go catch up with Chad.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I think it's
time to start wearing firearms.
Well, why do you
think I carry mine?
I think I'll carry mine, too.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we
see this trespasser
on a trail cam
that Charlie set up right
next to Chad's camp.
I don't like for anything to
get in the way of our work,
but safety does come first.
CHARLIE SNIDER: There's
Chad, right there.
DUANE OLLINGER: What's the deal?
What's going on?
Everything all right?
CHAD OLLINGER: I
checked on the family.
They're OK, but he
might still be out here.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Yeah.
We need to find this
guy if he's here.
Where was that camera at?
It was right back over here.
Right over there.
We can check along
this bank here.
DUANE OLLINGER: See a
vehicle or anything?
No.
No vehicles at all.
No lights.
Nothing.
Well.
DUANE OLLINGER: Geez.
CHAD OLLINGER: There's no
telling where he could be.
DUANE OLLINGER: No.
Not in this mess.
Crazy son of a buck like
that could hide anywhere.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Well, OK.
DUANE OLLINGER: What
do you think, Charlie?
I think we probably
need to split up.
If you can get your side-by-side
and take care of the road--
DUANE OLLINGER: OK.
Chad, if you'll stay within
hollering distance of me--
CHAD OLLINGER: OK.
--I'mma push further,
deeper into the woods here,
along the creek.
And if we can flush
him out, we can get
him up on the road [inaudible].
OK, I got him.
[tense music]
CHARLIE SNIDER: What's
that over there?
Hey!
Hey!
[bleep]
He's not here.
He's probably
long gone by now,
but I don't see any
footprints or anything.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's just so dense.
There's my dad, right there.
See anything?
DUANE OLLINGER: No.
Didn't see anything.
What did you guys see?
Nah, we didn't find
anything in there.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well, let's
get the hell out of here.
CHARLIE SNIDER: All right.
It was pretty weird,
though, wasn't it?
CHAD OLLINGER: Got my
attention, I will say.
DUANE OLLINGER: That
was a skinwalker.
CARISSA DAVENPORT: This area
is known for skinwalkers.
There are evil spirits that
can shapeshift into whatever
needs be, and they are entities
that are not to be messed with.
PAM WARNER: The people that live
here are very afraid of them
and have had a lot of
experiences with them.
They've seen people actually
turn into different animals,
like a coyote.
The cows-- they'd find them
in the morning, all mutilated.
I believe that they've
always been here.
It's part of the Native
American lore of the area.
It's starting to
happen more and more.
Just be careful
with what you're
messing with, because sometimes
it can follow you home.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I put a huge amount of money
into this project,
and my goal has always
been to get into the cavern and
find out the truth about what
the hell's down there.
And hopefully, that's
a truckload of gold.
But part of the reason that we
haven't got accomplished what
we need to is some of
these weird things that
are happening to
us on this ranch,
and they take up
a lot of our time.
[beep]
Ah, [bleep].
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): So
it's my job as the boss to keep
everybody's eye on the target.
We found a box in the
bottom of these caverns.
And people don't go around
burying a box of nothing.
It has to be something
that's valuable.
And right now, we still don't
have a good entry point.
If we could bring a rathole
rig in and drop right down in
and see if there's a dry
entrance that we can walk into,
that's just better.
It takes the risk out of it.
DUANE OLLINGER: We will bring
that drilling rig back in,
but we have to get some
better target points.
ERIC DRUMMOND: What about
running some geophysical?
You guys have mentioned you
having ER survey equipment,
like electrical resistivity?
Yeah.
We have the resistivity.
Use something like that.
Maybe that can pinpoint.
You go closer to the
source where you know
you've broken into it before.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): We've
been throwing everything we got
to try to get into the cavern.
We've tried GPR, dyeing the
pond, the boring machine.
We're down to the last couple
of things in our toolkit.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah.
We'll get that tester out,
the resistivity tester,
and just five different
spots around here.
Great.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'd really
be interested in going back
to check out that
unmapped fault.
CHAD OLLINGER: I think so, too.
We never really
ruled that spot out.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well, that
sounds like a game plan there.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
This unmapped fault zone is
a spot where we tried to punch
in with the boring machine,
and the bedrock was so hard, the
bit just slid up the mountain,
parallel to the ground.
CHAD OLLINGER: It's
a [bleep] drill stem.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we're
gonna go back and
see if we can punch
through with a rathole rig.
But first, we need to pinpoint
the right spot to drill.
We know there is a cavern
here, but we don't know
exactly where to drill into it.
So what we're doing here is
called resistivity testing.
So, the first thing we do is
put metal stakes in the ground,
equally spaced out.
After that, we hook
an electrical wire up
to two stakes at the
same time, and we send
a charge through those stakes.
The material between the stakes
allows the wires to talk.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 3.87.
OK.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
When we get lower readings,
that means we're on bedrock.
Low resistivity,
high conductivity.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 6.06.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Whenever we increase
the distance between the stakes,
it also increases the depth
that we're going down.
The hope is, when we get
past 30 or 40 feet down,
we'll start seeing
some big numbers.
That would suggest
a void with nothing
conductive between
the two stakes.
CHAD OLLINGER: That's
at 20 foot in depth.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Good.
6.06.
Still only 6.
[bleep]
I don't know if it's working.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Chad and
Charlie, like I said,
this technology
generally doesn't
work well in bedrock unless you
can get the stake through it.
CHAD OLLINGER: All right.
Let me show you something.
This is a broken drill
bit from a while back.
They couldn't get it back
out, because it got stuck,
and it ended up breaking.
But we think it's all the way
through the void, and if it is,
it'll give us a reading of
what's below the bedrock,
right?
Right.
Let's check it.
Sure.
All right, we're good?
Yeah.
That's 40 foot in depth.
CHARLIE SNIDER: 18.68.
It's higher than
we're used to.
That's not-- there's
no period on there.
Oh, really?
Hey, come look at this, Eric.
ERIC DRUMMOND: What you got?
Look at this.
That's 1,800.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Oh, wow.
That's significant.
CHAD OLLINGER: Totally open.
If we get through the
bedrock, we get to the cave.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): The test
results were so exciting
because the higher the numbers,
the bigger the void.
So it might mean some
huge cavern below us.
Might just be this whole
area is a huge cavern.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Good deal.
[laughter]
[bleep]
CHAD OLLINGER: You
owe me a beer, Eric.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's OK.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I promised the guys
we'd bring the rathole
rig back in if we
found some promising targets.
Bring it in!
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): They held
up their end of the bargain,
and I'm gonna hold up mine.
CHAD OLLINGER: Stand out from
there and get right here.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So we're back
at the unmarked
fault zone that we
could not bust
through the bedrock
with the boring machine.
Chad used the resistivity
test to find out
where there's a
void, so we're gonna
drill that with a bigger rig.
Go a little more.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Chad says
there's a void 30 foot down,
and that's an expensive hole.
The little [bleep]
better be right.
They're gonna try to get
as close to that drill stent
without hitting it, so--
ERIC DRUMMOND: OK, cool.
It's gonna be just
right over here.
That's where the scans
on that resistivity
were huge, showing
a void right there.
This is my spot that I think
is the one, just from the test.
Pressure's on.
Kind of nervous, actually.
[laughing]
Yes!
[laughing]
Water's a great sign, yeah.
Woo-hoo!
No water's a bad sign.
Look at that.
There's water right there.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Wow!
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah!
See it?
[clapping, laughing]
There we go.
What are we?
CHARLIE SNIDER: 17.
OK, awesome.
Let's go.
DUANE OLLINGER: That's
a good sign right there.
[inaudible] , baby.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
Let's drill that [bleep].
[chuckling]
CHAD OLLINGER:
So, the scans were
showing about 24 to 30 feet.
That's where the cave is.
So we've got about 10 more
feet or a little bit less.
DUANE OLLINGER:
The bottom's dryer.
Wet up here and dry down here.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
It's a small seam up top.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Even though we're
looking for a dry entrance, the
water is a good sign at first.
It means that where
we're drilling
is connected to the
flooded entrance.
Then, if we break through
to some dry stuff,
we will have that dry
entrance we're looking for.
Yeah, baby.
Come on, baby.
Here we go.
This is it.
Just wait.
We'll go up another 6 foot.
It'll be there.
[bleep]
No pressure, right?
No pressure.
[chuckling]
No pressure.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 29 and 1/2.
29 and 1/2.
This should be the one, yeah.
29 and 1/2.
Yeah.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): So, whenever
you punch into the
cavern, the drill
should have zero resistance.
The sound should change.
It'll be obvious by
looking at the drill
and feeling the machine
that we're in the cavern.
- That's wet.
- That's the water line right
Yeah, that's completely--
CHAD OLLINGER: Still
digging, though.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Got at
least 7 feet of water
in the bottom of the hole.
Of course, the last bit of
that section of drill pipe
going down--
the sound became a lot less.
And so, I don't know if it
took pressure off the bit
or if it was falling down.
We'll ask the
driller about that.
Were you taking pressure
off the bit, or--
So we're at 32.
Chad?
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah?
You notice the sound got
quieter when the [inaudible]
was almost down?
He says that he has to
put more pressure on it--
CHAD OLLINGER: Oh, he is?
ERIC DRUMMOND: --to
drill more so that--
yeah.
It's not a void.
That water--
It may be clay, and it may
be the effects of the water.
That water will probably
knock it out, too.
Yep.
Yeah, OK.
Hey, Chad!
What do you say
let's shut it down?
One more.
DUANE OLLINGER: That's it.
One more.
That's all.
[bleep] [bleep].
[bleep] [bleep].
Let's go home.
MAN (ON RADIO): Copy that.
Let's go home.
DUANE OLLINGER: Well,
fellas, it's coming in,
and it will just flat-ass
dump on us, and we know that.
What we do have is
a little window here
of maybe one to three days--
enough time to do one more
drill with that rathole rig.
So, one at a time,
you guys tell me
what you think is
the best scenario,
'cause we got one more drill.
One more drill.
And we'll work our
way around, and I
respect all y'all's opinion.
Chad, you want to start?
I think we should
go to the energy zone.
The way those GPR
guys were freaking
out about whatever's down there
might be worth checking out.
OK.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I kind
of agree with that.
I've run hundreds of those GPR
surveys in my line of work,
and I've never seen this
equipment react like that.
Right.
And so, it's always a
crapshoot when you're drilling.
You never know what
you're gonna find.
But I want to see
what's going on there.
Charlie boy,
what do you think?
I'm inclined to go with Chad.
You guys don't think
there's any other place
that might benefit us more.
We've already
drilled quite a bit,
and we've got one last shot.
And so, something a
little bit different
could help us find significant
information, and there you go.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
That's a good thought.
Well, let's do it.
That drill's on track, so we
can take a little bit of snow.
But we don't need no
ice getting under them
metal tracks, so we better do it
now, and we better do it fast.
Sounds good.
Cool.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Winter's coming in,
and we're running out of time.
It won't be long
before it shuts down.
So we decided to dig
at the energy zone.
That's been ground zero for
all the weird stuff that's
been happening on this project.
I've never seen that.
[beeping, whirring]
The control is all [bleep] up.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): We know
that there's something
that's causing all
these magnetic interferences.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We're
at about 6 feet.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): But
so far, the drill's just going
easy and not hitting anything.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 18 feet.
So I don't know.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 25 feet.
50 feet.
75 feet.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): And then we
get to the end of the bit
at 85 foot, and nothing.
So far, we missed on all the
targets that we drilled in.
It's frustrating.
But I'll tell you what.
There's something going on here
that's creating a huge energy
zone, and come
hell or high water,
we will get to the bottom of it.
So if we can't find the
access point to get ourself
underground to find the
answer, maybe it's time
to bring the answer up to us.
Dang!
Damn.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): Eric thinks
if we get a sample of
that dirt down there,
it might tell us
why the equipment's
been screwing up and not letting
us get down into the cavern.
And if we happen to scoop
up a little gold down there,
that sure would be
all right with me.
We're building the deal to
scrape the walls on that hole
over there in the energy zone.
This device will go down and
bring up whatever's down there.
We'll put scrapers
on the side of it,
and then we'll use
two winches-- one
to let it down, the other
winch to tighten it up.
And then that'll make
these scrapers go out
and scrape the wall
as we raise it up.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm real
impressed with what
he's done here.
Duane is somewhat of
a mechanical genius.
We can do multiple
holes on it, right?
Yeah.
We can just back up, release
it, drop it back down,
and scrape it again.
That looks great.
DUANE OLLINGER:
So now the plan is
that we're gonna put the
scraper in all the way
down, around 85 foot,
scrape the walls,
bring it up, and see
what's down there.
At that board right there,
we want to be at 75 foot,
and then we'll give
it another 5 foot,
and we'll know we'll be
scraping it, all right?
OK, yeah.
OK, Chad.
Let's send it down.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We got 20.
We got 40.
50?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yup.
Damn, that's pretty as a
picture down there, fellas.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah, it is.
DUANE OLLINGER: We're at 100?
ERIC DRUMMOND: 70.
Go 2 more feet.
Of 83 and stop.
CHAD OLLINGER: 83.
There it is.
God, that is down there.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yes, it is.
Let's deploy the scrapers.
We'll bring it up to 78,
and I'll call it out.
CHARLIE SNIDER: All right.
It's tight.
ERIC DRUMMOND: It's tight?
CHARLIE SNIDER: Yep.
[whirring]
[impact, silence]
[whirring]
[whirring]
[grinding]
[whirring]
DUANE OLLINGER:
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[bleep]
OK.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
CHAD OLLINGER: It's stuck.
Too tight, Chad.
Let her down.
[interposing voices]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Let her down.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
It seems like every time
we make some progress,
something else steps
up and starts fighting us.
Let's loosen this
one a little bit.
OK.
Let both of 'em down.
CHAD OLLINGER: All right.
She's free.
DUANE OLLINGER: There you go.
There you go.
CHAD OLLINGER: She's free.
DUANE OLLINGER: OK.
We're free.
OK, come on up here.
Let's take it all the way up.
Let's see what we did.
We have a hell of a
sample on our side.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I think so.
Here we go.
Ooh.
Look.
That's blue.
Interesting.
CHAD OLLINGER:
[bleep],, that's blue.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Wow.
It is.
Look at that.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's
definitely blue.
I see the blue.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
Wow, that's cool.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I see it.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Look at that.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER): We
brought that scraper back up,
and all of a sudden,
we pulled up blue dirt.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Wow.
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): It was
a bluest dirt you ever seen.
And what it is, I
just don't know.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): I've
seen some really weird things
in my career as a geologist,
but this blue dirt
we're seeing here is
really, really interesting.
So I want to explore it more.
What could the
blue mean, Eric?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Well, from a
geologic standpoint, it's rare.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): First thing
that comes to mind is an
interesting mineral called
iridium.
It can be worth as
much or more than gold.
Iridium is so rare, and
the demand is so high.
It's used in electronics
and microchips.
The price fluctuates, but
right now it's around $3,000
an ounce.
But usually you only see
it in small particles.
It's not normally found
in massive deposits,
because a lot of it
comes from space impacts.
So, when the impact
occurs, it spreads it
all out in very fine particles.
A deposit of iridium
is really not something
you normally see on Earth.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Iridium--
just highly conductive.
This could be the element that's
causing everything to go wrong.
This could be the
explanation for this energy.
I think that's a success.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah, it is.
DUANE OLLINGER: Hell yeah.
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND: All right.
We'll set her down.
[bird hooting]
Yeah.
Let's just walk
up this draw here.
OK.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We've
been experiencing really
weird things going on here.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
Well, a huge deposit
of a blue mineral
is just so strange,
and I think we have to
explore more to see if there's
iridium on the property.
I know our main
focus is finding out
what's underneath
the ground here,
but maybe the answer is it's
a huge deposit of iridium.
So if that's true, these
deposits could be worth
more than any buried treasure.
I think it's worth
taking a sample here.
It looks like, when
this is flowing,
you got a little
waterfall right here,
and the heavy materials are
gonna sit right at the bottom
here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Gotcha.
Grab me that sample bag?
Yep, yep.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We'll get some
of the digging tools out.
Iridium is heavier
than gold, so we're
hoping to find it right in the
bottom of this trap right here.
Nice.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's some
nice-looking material.
If we find iridium
in this sample here,
we'll go all throughout
this gully here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yes.
If we found a legitimate,
minable deposit,
that could be worth
a lot of money.
What is this?
Oh my goodness.
Whoa.
Grab me that sample bag?
Yep, yep.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We'll get some
of the digging tools out.
Iridium is heavier
than gold, so we're
hoping to find it right in the
bottom of this trap right here.
What is this?
Oh my goodness.
Whoa.
[bleep]
It's super heavy--
ERIC DRUMMOND: What is that?
CHAD OLLINGER: --whatever it is.
It's heavy?
Yeah.
Oh my god.
I think we got a meteorite.
What the heck?
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
Iridium is often
associated with meteorites.
It's more plentiful in outer
space than it is on Earth.
And so, meteorite
on site here could
be a very good indication of
high concentrations of iridium.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Very interesting.
Can you catch that?
[laughter]
DUANE OLLINGER: That is
a heavy son of a buck.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Isn't it?
Doesn't that feel
good in your hand?
That's crazy.
You can just tell how hot
that son of a buck got.
[inaudible]
The speed that that
thing got up to is just--
It's nice holding something
that came from outer space.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This could
be a major, major discovery.
Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I've said since day 1
that I want to know the truth.
I always thought that
that search would lead
me to gold in those caverns.
But if there's a super valuable
space mineral on this property,
we will look into that, also.
Maybe it's all
connected somehow.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm heading
upstream, getting samples,
and I'll bring 'em back
and see what we've got.
This looks like a perfect spot.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): If I
can get enough samples to show
that there are significant
amounts of iridium on site,
it could not only be
worth a lot of money.
It could maybe explain
some of the anomalies that
have been happening out here.
CHAD OLLINGER: If
it's not one thing,
it's another out
here, all the time.
ERIC DRUMMOND: It looks like
thunderstorms are brewing.
[bleep]
I don't want to
be on the mountain
when it starts lightning.
CHAD OLLINGER: This
weather is killing us.
It's like it has a mind of its
own, trying to shut us down.
ERIC DRUMMOND: This is what
you have to deal with when
you're out in the field.
You're dealing with weather.
You're dealing with terrain.
[shouts]
CHARLIE SNIDER (VOICEOVER):
We have these quite often.
All of a sudden, you get this
lightning and thundering going
on, and you don't
even know what's
gonna happen till it happens.
CHAD OLLINGER:
It's getting close.
Now it's really time to go.
CHARLIE SNIDER
(VOICEOVER): We don't
have any control out here.
We have to go with what
mother nature gives us.
And right now, it's not giving
us a lot of opportunity.
Here we go.
I think I beat it.
I think I cheated death
one more time here.
[panting]
OK.
I made it.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): Duane brought
me onto this project to try to
help him get into this cavern.
Obviously, after
Chad found that box,
I started to like
this treasure angle.
Can you get that
underneath there?
But not all treasure is
buried in underground caverns.
Iridium is a naturally-occurring
mineral that's more
valuable than a box of gold.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Come on, Eric!
[laughing]
ERIC DRUMMOND: First,
we'll do a surface sample.
This is nice, red-looking
material here.
CHAD OLLINGER: Yeah,
it is, isn't it?
ERIC DRUMMOND: It's got
some iron in it for sure.
They say that iridium
has an affinity for iron.
Is that right?
Yeah.
Hopefully it shows.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
We've got three samples
from all over the ranch.
We've got a surface sample
from yesterday's hike.
We got a sample from
the meteor site.
And we have a sample
of the blue mineral
that we pulled out
of the energy zone.
I used to always
be hoping for gold,
but now I'm hoping for iridium.
All I can do is give
them options, basically,
and I'll give them that
option to mine for iridium
if we find it in
significant concentration.
So, next, this is the blue zone,
so we'll do the same thing.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): We're looking
for evidence of a meaningful
concentration of iridium--
something that may
explain the anomalies
that go on around the property.
And if it's that big,
that means we can mine it.
I like that.
The last is just
a small sample,
but OK, this is
the meteorite wash.
Do the honors.
Go ahead.
CHAD OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): We know,
whenever we get that
first snow and the weather
starts kicking up,
that we're getting
close to the end of the season.
I obviously want to go into
the cavern and back to the box,
but if we can find
something else of value
before we get snowed
in, that'd be huge, too.
ERIC DRUMMOND: So we
got our sample there.
That's our concentrate,
which we'll pan out.
Nice.
So, first we'll do the
surface sample we took.
OK.
[suspenseful music]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Right off the
bat, I'm not seeing anything.
Now we'll do the
meteorite sample.
I don't see anything there.
Now we'll look at the next one.
This is the sample
from the blue zone.
I'm really hopeful
for this sample here.
Look at that.
Yeah, you can
definitely see that.
It's a shiny,
metallic, bluish thing.
Yeah, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Interesting.
It could be iridium.
This is the sample
from the blue zone.
I'm really hopeful
for this sample here.
Look at that.
Yeah, you can
definitely see that.
It's a shiny,
metallic, bluish thing.
Yeah, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Interesting.
There's two of 'em.
Two pieces right there.
Two pieces.
What is that?
It could be iridium.
If it is iridium, it's
coming from somewhere,
and so there could be
a big deposit up there.
If we find this load source
of that, oof, that's huge.
Depending on the
size of the deposit,
it can be worth millions,
tens of millions,
hundreds of millions.
It's that valuable.
Yes, they're small, but having
that many pieces in one spot
is really, really significant.
From a geology
aspect, that's huge.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
Well, Eric found four flakes
of something, and
it might be iridium,
so we're gonna test
'em with the XRF gun
and see how pure they are.
But it's gonna have to
be a high concentration
before we want to get into
a iridium mining operation
out here.
DUANE OLLINGER: We're ready?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Start her up.
[beep]
Parts per million,
iridium, minable--
it's considered 10
parts per million.
So anything above 20
would be amazing, right?
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Come on, iridium.
[beep]
Hey.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's
50 parts per million?
- 61.
- Yeah, there--
[interposing voices]
ERIC DRUMMOND: So
it's still running.
It's still running.
It's going up.
It just got 87.
ERIC DRUMMOND: 80
parts per million?
Oh, my.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER): The
early stages of the process--
it's coming up 80
parts per million.
We've got iridium, guys.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
That was significant in itself.
If it had ended at that point,
I would have been very happy.
Uh-oh.
This is the full scan here?
This is the final?
- Yep.
[beep]
ERIC DRUMMOND: Oh!
804,000?
And those specs
are pure iridium.
It jumped up to 800,000.
Like, what?
That's amazing.
CHARLIE SNIDER:
That's unbelievable.
ERIC DRUMMOND: That's fantastic.
You got it, man!
[laughter]
DUANE OLLINGER
(VOICEOVER): It's amazing.
It shot high.
It shot huge.
I think Eric's on
to something here.
We may have an
iridium mine here.
That'd be all right.
That'd be real good.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): We're still
a long ways from finding
a minable deposit,
but that's very significant.
That's awesome.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I'm not giving up
on the treasure in these
caves, but we could be sitting
on a huge iridium deposit.
ERIC DRUMMOND: We're
on the trail, boys.
Duane, you ready to
become an iridium magnate?
That'd be a "yes."
[laughing]
All right.
I'll second that motion.
There you go.
CHARLIE SNIDER: One beer left.
Gonna be hard to split.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'll
tell you what, guys.
I can feel the chill in the air.
Our season's almost to the
end, but I'm real happy.
I'm happy about what we found.
I'm happy about the potential.
I'm a prospector.
And so, what I'm seeing are
indications that you have
something significant here.
We have a minable
deposit of iridium.
It could be worth millions.
It could also explain why we've
been seeing these weird things,
the equipment malfunctions.
Iridium will do that, then?
ERIC DRUMMOND: Well, it's a very
dense metal, just like gold.
So, with a GPR or
even resistivity, it
can affect the instruments,
is what I'm saying.
CHARLIE SNIDER: So
you think it would
cause a lot of interference?
ERIC DRUMMOND: It could, yeah.
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
There are still some question
marks out there,
but I think we've
answered one very big question.
Why are all of our electronics--
drones, GPR, sound
engineering equipment--
[interference]
--in the basement--
ERIC DRUMMOND (VOICEOVER):
--camera system gone haywire?
It's a very distinct
possibility that iridium
is causing this interference.
Well, I think we
solved one part of it,
but we still got
a long ways to go.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah,
there's still a lot
of discoveries to be made.
Not only the treasure
aspect, but the mineral.
We know it's connected somehow.
CHARLIE SNIDER: That's
the mystery of this place.
ERIC DRUMMOND: Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER: So
here's the deal, fellas.
It's high risk out here, but
the reward is just overwhelming.
And no risk, no fun.
[laughter]
I hate to admit it, but
I'm one of those junkies,
and I think I raised
one just like me.
CHAD OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
We've answered one big question,
which is [bleep] awesome.
But for the next six
months, I'm gonna
be dreaming about that
box in that cavern, man.
ERIC DRUMMOND
(VOICEOVER): Sometimes,
to do something
very significant,
you have to deal with
a little bit of risk.
But once in a while,
you get that big payday.
Yeah.
It's coming.
We're close.
Yeah.
DUANE OLLINGER (VOICEOVER):
I'm telling you,
there is so much here, and
where this will lead us,
I'll never know.
Man, that's what
life's all about--
the journey.
DUANE OLLINGER:
What a ride, man.
ERIC DRUMMOND: I'm all in.
CHARLIE SNIDER: Let's
go for it, 100%.
CHAD OLLINGER: I'm ready.