Plot Synopsis

After years of failed attempts of finding gold on his own, a real estate speculator-turned-gold prospector, Todd Ryznar, has convinced a group of his friends to spend eight weeks in the great, vast Ontario wilderness in search of gold at the old Straw Lake. This half-hour reality series follows his ragtag crew from Shotgun Exploration as they look to strike it rich in these gold-laden hills of Northern Ontario. Todd and Roj head into the town of Fort Frances to consult with former government geologist and gold prospecting expert, Allen Raoul. Allen encourages Todd to focus on the tailings the waste rock from the former mine. After a slow start, and with operations barely underway, the Shotgun crew finally catch a break when Matt discovers what appears to be the real tailings deposits uphill from the foundation. Then, a visit from the geologist reveals that Todd and the team are finally digging in the right areas and if they can just get the trommel and shaker table working on a regular basis, the gold is there. After finally seeing gold in the pan, Todd is hopeful that they can use the momentum to finally get things going -- but gold production is still happening at a snail's pace. Soon, the machinery is operational and the team is starting to finally gel -- Alexa and Olivia are crushing rocks on a full time basis, Roj and Jimmy are working together to figure out the chemical leaching process. But underwhelming assay results have put Todd's dreams of a golden ticket to retirement at risk. With time running out, and little gold to show, Todd breaks the bank and brings in new equipment to try and accelerate the process. With winter fast-approaching, it's apparent that Todd and his team are entering their final days at Straw Lake. As the frost sets in, mining operations are compromised by frozen pipes, malfunctioning equipment and earth too solid for processing. Animal Planet aired the U.S. premiere of this series on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 from 7-11pm ET/PT, showing the entire eight-episode first season on the same night.