Nearly $3 Million Found To End The Season & Shawn Pomrenke Is Dethroned! | Bering Sea Gold

Last push of the season. We’re on the best gold we’ve been on all season. As the storm winds force other miners off the water, Mr. Gold, Sean Pomrenke, is still fighting the good fight.

Big swell coming in; it’s only a matter of time before it kicks us off the water. Right now, things are running good—north winds, the new arm—everything’s perfect. I’m feeling lucky, putting gold in the box.

The shaker motor dies. Without the shaker, you can’t wash dirt. Without washing dirt, you can’t make gold. That’s the way it goes with gold mining: something will break. You’re like, “Oh,” but it’s always when you’re on the best gold.

The plant doesn’t want to stay running. The gold in the pan looks really good. It’s the law of the Bering Sea—she’s not going to give it up easy. I’m going to get it back up and running one way or another. I’m not going to let anything stop me.

Figured it out—Sean has fixed the failed shaker engine. We’re making gold now; he’s back in business. It was a connection between the key and the coil. Pull it apart, clean it up, put it back together.

If you want to be a good miner, you have to know how to keep things running. That was a big wave, making it hard to dig. The winter storm is finally catching up to Captain Sean Pomrenke. I just need a few more buckets.

But even in the face of high winds and huge swells, Mr. Gold is still at it.

“Oh, that’s a big wave there!” Most guys wouldn’t know how to make conditions like this work; they’d just give up and go home. Look at that. But with my experience, we can make it work.

Are we still making money? Yes. Are we still putting gold in the box? Yes. Are we going to keep doing it? You’re damn right we’re going to keep going. I like a little challenge. We’re going to keep running until we can’t run anymore.

Looking good. Maybe we’ll finish the season off strong. Sean Pomrenke is hoping that his final haul of the season will be enough to keep his coveted spot atop Nome’s gold mining heap.

Going into the final cleanup, it’s bittersweet. You hope for a huge pile of gold, but at that point, it is what it is.

“That was hot—there’s 20, 70, 80, 100… Oh yeah, 140! There we go!”

140 oz pushes Sean’s season total to 1,400 oz, worth a staggering $1.2 million.

“140 is a good way to end a season. I am extremely happy. 140 oz will help us carry through the winter and keep some forward momentum going on the mega dredge.”

After toughing out the weather, Sean’s final numbers are well-earned. Mr. Gold is out. Later, tater.

But will it be enough to hang on to the top spot?

“We had a good run. It’s the last of it. How was it? Well, we’ll see.”

Captain Ken Kerr, along with Dave and George Young, are hoping the all-night push was enough to put them over the top.

“This is a pretty good load here. Oh, that one’s all right. I told you it was going to be good, always. You like the final cleanup to be the biggest.”

“Man, how much is that? It’s the most important cleanup. It’s the end cleanup; it’s the end of the season. That’s a lot of gold in that jar. It’s going to be a sad day for Mr. Shawn when he loses this bet.”

“All right, can I pour it? 20, 30… I’m too tired to go too slow. Look at that. Look at that. 80… and that’s pretty stuff. Never get tired of looking at gold, do you?”

“100?”

“Never.”

“I’ll bet you there’s 120… This might be our best. A lot left in there. 170, 180, two… I can’t believe this!”

“That’s nice. 230, 260, 270 oz, buddy!”

“Now that is good.”

A 270 oz cleanup puts them at 1,160 oz, worth over $1.3 million, and lands them at the top of this summer’s gold count.

“The 270 oz cleanup is the greatest, biggest one we’ve had. Late start and staying late in the season paid off.”

“No, you did good—it paid off, brother.”

“Season’s over. Time to settle up with Sean.”

“Well, I mean, season’s over. Time for Sean to settle up with me.”

“I’m ready for a nap. I’m ready for hibernation, yeah, and, uh, to go to some warmer climate. Who’s buying my ticket to Hawaii?”

Ken Kerr is crowned Nome’s top miner, besting the rest of the fleet and keeping the reward of his 100 oz bet with Sean Pomrenke.

“Sum up the season in a couple of words: tough. Done it since I was a kid, and this was the toughest one by far.”

“Put my boat to bed. The gods of gold have not been kind to us this year, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. We’re going to change; we’re going to grow; we’re going to get better.”

“See you next summer. Behave!”

“I’m thinking about an operation where I can go long distance and explore new territories. Come next season, when the weather lays down, it’s all about that bottom crawler I’m building. We’re ready to go to sea—or under the sea.”

“This is the baddest gold-getting system in Nome—possibly the planet. I’m happy we made it down the coast further than anybody else has made it, and we found gold there.”

“There’s definitely big things on the horizon for the Kelly family. I’m going to hit it big—it’s just a matter of time. And I would like it next year, not way down the line. Very satisfied this year with what we accomplished and what we went through. It’s amazing, the gold we got.”

“All you got to do is bring it all together next season and see where it goes.”