On tonight’s episode of Reclaimed on Discovery, you have a front-row seat as the show’s hosts take us deep into a mold-infested silver mine in a bid to see if it can still produce sellable ore.
Discovery is betting that reclaimed mines are going to be catnip for viewers already invested in shows like Gold Rush and even Dave Turin’s Lost Mines. Old abandoned shafts and mines are re-explored and found to be viable with improved excavation technology.
This clip is not for the claustrophobic!
Tonight we enter a dank, dark silver mine with hosts Alex Charvat and Kevin Gilman, who are putting their lives at risk as they enter this mold-infested tunnel, and it gets worse as they head in deep.
In the clip, Alex Charvet explains what they are doing in the mine as they progress.
Noting the air quality, he says: “If this ventilation isn’t fixed, nobody can work in there, and that means we’re not getting any silver out of that mine…moisture [is] everywhere, the floor is wet. The air dock is wet. The walls are wet… and it speaks to the ventilation system. it’s no wonder they have a mold problem.”
The two make their way through the tunnel. Cameras capture the living mold piles hanging like stalagmites and stalactites on the surfaces. It’s super creepy.
Alex says: “Kevin and I are obviously concerned about air quality, so we take our own meters in there, and in this particular case, the mine owner flat-out told us that air quality is an issue, especially because it’s so wet. One of the big dangers of all this water in here is you kick it up, and you can release hydrogen sulfide gas, and that could kill somebody.”
As Alex and Kevin make their way deeper into the mine, they must keep an eye on the oxygen percentage just to make sure it stays above 20%.
He adds: “We have to make sure we get that carbon monoxide and sulfide gas is out of it, it’s paramount. I mean with without us doing that, it could be deadly.”
One the episode, we learn that a third-generation miner has big dreams of re-opening his father’s compromised old silver mine, but unsafe conditions call for Alex and Kevin’s advice.
The men negotiate a deal to restore the mine, adding value to the homestead land, all in the hopes of getting it up and running and possibly producing silver ore once again.
What is Reclaimed about?
Discovery’s Thursday off-the-grid programming was made for Reclaimed, co-hosted by Alex Charvat and Kevin Gilman.
Their work is to reexamine the shuttered mines, mainly in their state of Colorado, in a bid to help homesteaders repair their claims so that these abandoned mines have the potential to become income-making pieces of real estate.
This Colorado-centric Discovery Channel series Reclaimed premiered on January 9, 2020, on Discovery.
In a nutshell, think of this Discovery series as a mining rehab show. This show is where mines receive second and third chances to produce more left-behind valuable ore.
Many people are unaware that abandoned mines are often still conduits for ore veins and caches that miners gave up on for lack of resources at the time.
Who are Alex Charvat and Kevin Gilman?
According to Discovery, Alex and Kevin are expert builders with expertise and training in “engineering, mountaineering, mining and forestry.”
Their unusual skill set combinations are what add to the twist of Reclaimed, as they help homesteaders understand the value of their land as they assess a property’s value.
Then they negotiate their cut of the mine’s reclaimed ore profits in exchange for their efforts in improving the overall real estate valuation — a win-win for a homesteader out of his or her depth.
Our exclusive clip for Reclaimed:
Tune in tonight as we go into one of the moldiest and crazy looking wet silver mines where the living mold is so thick it almost looks like foam hanging from the rafters.
You cannot believe how bad it is until you see the clip below:
Reclaimed airs on Thursdays at 9 pm on Discovery Channel.