The killer for the Hoffman's backup operation in Oregon was they didn't count on the old dredge miners capturing all of the worthwhile gold (deep) at the bedrock boundary. Dave Turin & Todd's assumption was that the ol' timers dredge buckets weren't able to cut into the top cracked seam layer of the bedrock - as could modern excavators. Turned out to be a bad assumption.
It's an interesting show. The behind the scenes "extras" from a few years ago revealed the introduction of using high tech drones. They had some safety concerns about buzz cutting the miners in close up shots (stopping & hovering). I'm more interested in the show due to the character dynamics & management styles. There is a wealth of information for people to learn who put teams together & have to make tough decisions with different character types.
LOL! If I ran the Hoffman operation, I would send Papaw home to his rocker on the porch and put Dave Turin in complete and absolute operational charge.