0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains strong language
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Three British workers have all accepted the challenge to do their job
0:00:11 > 0:00:15under the most stressful and dangerous conditions on the planet.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18'They must be a really, hard, hard people here'
0:00:18 > 0:00:20to be able to cope with this.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24'At home, we'd shut the department, you know.'
0:00:24 > 0:00:26People wouldn't come to work.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27This is gung ho mining, this is.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30It's really dangerous, really dangerous.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Craig Notman is leaving his home and his job in British mining
0:00:37 > 0:00:40to join the gold rush in the Mongolian wilderness.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46He'll be working in some of the most dangerous mines on Earth...
0:00:46 > 0:00:48It really is awful. It's really bad. That's really bad.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52..he'll experience a traditional nomadic lifestyle under threat...
0:00:52 > 0:00:56As a coal miner, we don't get to milk many yaks!
0:00:56 > 0:00:59..and meet a desperate people,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02forced to dig up a land they hold sacred...
0:01:02 > 0:01:06It's really difficult to take in, this is.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10..before discovering first-hand the depths some will go to survive.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13He's been shafted by one, two, three families.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37My father's a miner, my granddad was a miner
0:01:37 > 0:01:38and his granddad before him was a coal miner.
0:01:38 > 0:01:4137-year-old Craig Notman
0:01:41 > 0:01:44has been working in British mines for 15 years.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I love it, I love this job, I love what I do.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Mining is definitely in the blood,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and I don't think it's easy for anybody to step into mining.
0:01:53 > 0:01:59Britain still extracts more than 200 million tonnes of minerals a year.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Nature - she's given it to us, and we need to take it.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06It's all what we use, and it's mined by men and machines.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09People think that mining's done with shovel and pecs,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13but nine times out of ten it's with machines that are controlled by little computers.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16It's not so much in the arm now as in the brain.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Big boys' toys, innit?
0:02:17 > 0:02:20It's not all dirty, not dusty, not smoky.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23There's things that we put in place, ventilation, extraction.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27British mining is the safest environment that we can make it.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29That's confirmed, Captain, I'm the last man through.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The last man through.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Disasters still strike, even in British mines.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Last year, Craig joined Mines Rescue,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41an emergency response team dedicated to saving lives underground.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44Receiving, over.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Can you proceed now to try and find the missing person? Over.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Mining is dangerous, there's no two ways about it.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53THE MEN SHOUT
0:02:53 > 0:02:55'We've got explosions, we've got fires, we've got gas,
0:02:55 > 0:02:56'we've got falls of ground.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00'If all the ducks line up, we've got a bad day out, for all of us.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:03At Mines Rescue Training Centre, in the Midlands,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05safety is a way of life.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10If we see our colleagues, or even a stranger doing something wrong, we're going to stop them
0:03:10 > 0:03:13because we want to go home to our families at the end of the night.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16We're brought up as, like, watching each other's backs, aren't we?
0:03:16 > 0:03:18It's not just watching your backs down the mine,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20you talk about it in the pub, don't you?
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Or when you're socialising out, wherever it is.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Imagine meerkats, when you see them all sitting up looking around,
0:03:26 > 0:03:27it's exactly the same as miners.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30We're always watching, looking out, listening for something to happen.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Ooh! Ooh, it's hurting!
0:03:35 > 0:03:37The lads here will do owt for you
0:03:37 > 0:03:40and that's how it'll always be in mining.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- Cake for you!- Oh, mate.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46'It's like blood, like family. That's what we are, a brotherhood. We look after each other.'
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I think it'd be the same wherever you go in the world
0:03:48 > 0:03:51because it's such a bad place, you know?
0:03:51 > 0:03:53You've got to look after each other.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54See you all later.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56THEY ALL CHEER
0:03:56 > 0:03:57'I'm going to a foreign country,'
0:03:57 > 0:04:00but I'll be damn sure that I make sure it's going to be right,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04and I'm going to be safe, and I'm going to get back home to my family.
0:04:05 > 0:04:06Craig lives in Staffordshire.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10He's been married to Angela for 17 years and they have three children.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15'Craig is the family man, through and through.'
0:04:15 > 0:04:18He's a hard worker, he'll work hard for his family.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'I guess I've always worried about him being in the mine,'
0:04:21 > 0:04:24but he just loves it and he's really proud,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and we're proud that that's what he does.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30It's time to find out just where Craig is heading.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Don't know where we're going. We need to know, don't we?
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- Scotland.- Scotland?
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- South America?- South America. That's close to Scotland, isn't it?
0:04:39 > 0:04:43In a few days, Craig will be travelling over 4,000 miles -
0:04:43 > 0:04:45to Mongolia.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48You're joking?!
0:04:48 > 0:04:49Do they even mine there?
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Oh, my gosh!
0:04:52 > 0:04:53Mongolia.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57God, my head's bubbling up here! Bloomin 'eck!
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Craig has never been this far away from home
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and has rarely spent time away from his family.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Mongolia, one of the most remote and desolate places on Earth.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Once home to a nomadic people,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22now it's a country in the midst of a huge mining boom.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Billions of dollars of minerals flooding over the border to neighbouring China
0:05:26 > 0:05:29have created a new class of super rich,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34but 40% of all Mongolians are locked in poverty.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37For thousands of families, the only way to survive
0:05:37 > 0:05:40is to risk their lives in these deadly, unregulated mines,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45carving out a meagre existence from a land where they once roamed free.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59'It's amazing. It's such a beautiful place. Beautiful place.'
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Vast, vast country of just emptiness and nothingness.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12From the capital, it's an 11-hour drive across the Mongolian steppe
0:06:12 > 0:06:14to the remote mining settlement where Craig will be staying.
0:06:21 > 0:06:22It's just amazing.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Just opens up from nothingness to a massive community.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Wow!
0:06:31 > 0:06:3315 years ago, this was a small market town.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Today, Uyanga is home to around 1,500 people
0:06:38 > 0:06:40who make their living from mining.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Craig will be spending the next 12 days living and working
0:06:46 > 0:06:50with a local miner, Sukhbaatar, and his family.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53THEY TALK IN DIALECT
0:06:55 > 0:06:56My name's Craig.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01CRAIG GREETS IN MONGOLIAN
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Simba, Simba.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Simba. Good dog? Friendly dog?
0:07:11 > 0:07:16Craig will be staying in the yard in a traditional Mongolian tent,
0:07:16 > 0:07:17called a ger.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Wow...
0:07:20 > 0:07:22This is beautiful.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Sukhbaatar's wife Gansuvd has put the kettle on.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Tea with salt?
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Tea with salt.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Do you work with a team of men or do you work on your own?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Your wife works with you in the mine?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49CRAIG LAUGHS
0:07:49 > 0:07:53That's really str... In the UK that doesn't, it... No.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04I'm just blown away by the fact he works with his wife,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and his children as well!
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I love my wife to bits, but I just...
0:08:09 > 0:08:12There's no way I could work with her. She'd do my head in!
0:08:12 > 0:08:16It's time for Craig to see where he's going to be working.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20That one's for me?
0:08:21 > 0:08:23It's a two-mile ride up to the mine.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I got Sukhbaatar here to guide me.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Nothing can go wrong! HE CHUCKLES
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Happy days!
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Mongolian weather is extreme and changeable.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Sometimes it is said to have all four seasons in one day,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39but, whatever the weather,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Sukhbaatar and Gansuvd make this journey to work
0:08:41 > 0:08:44every day of the year.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53'I'm in Mongolia, I'm living with a family and it is like a dream.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56'I feels, I'm going to wake up any moment.'
0:08:56 > 0:09:01We're driving through yaks and just vast landscape,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and I'm expecting to see mining machinery, big machinery,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and I can't hear nothin', I can't see nothin'.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11If Craig is expecting anything like a British mine, he's in for a shock.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I can't believe that this is mining.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30People just digging holes in the ground.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34It looks like a prison camp.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38This is not...
0:09:38 > 0:09:40It's not what I expected, this isn't.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Nothing like I expected.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45So you all dig...one hole?
0:09:56 > 0:09:57Bloody hell!
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Do you know, if that ground collapsed...
0:10:05 > 0:10:07This is just mud and...
0:10:07 > 0:10:10for a collapse... It's so easy for a collapsed ground in here.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25That's not on, is it? It's not on. I just can't...
0:10:25 > 0:10:27HE EXHALES
0:10:27 > 0:10:28Bloody hell.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I couldn't send my wife down there, or my children.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46What is the ore that you're extracting?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Fucking hell. OK.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55This is the Mongolian gold rush.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Alongside the big international mining companies,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02about a 100,000 ordinary people around the country
0:11:02 > 0:11:04have become small-scale miners,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06digging into the soil and panning for gold.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Nobody knows how many have died in the huge networks of tunnels.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16That's a massive risk, that's a massive risk,
0:11:16 > 0:11:17for a little piece of gold.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21There's a girl there who's about the same age as Jessica.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23She's got to be about the same age.
0:11:26 > 0:11:27It breaks your heart.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30It'd break my heart to do that to my kids every day -
0:11:30 > 0:11:31bring 'em out to work.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Before Craig starts work,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45there are a few practicalities that need to be taken care of.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48So the toilets are all outside?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53OK, so you stand over...
0:11:53 > 0:11:55and s...?
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Yeah, OK.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What about bath or a shower?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And what do you do? Do you stand in it and then...?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05And then wash it off, yeah?
0:12:07 > 0:12:08THEY LAUGH
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Even in the spring, night-time temperatures
0:12:12 > 0:12:14can plummet well below zero.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Is this dung?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Some horse, some yak poo.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Benzine, fuel. Smell?
0:12:31 > 0:12:32CRAIG EXHALES
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Do the job. Look at that!
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It's been very emotional today.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43It's like a bit kick in the bollocks, basically, tell you the truth, and that's how I felt.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46That's what I can't get in my head. It seems life is cheap.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Good night, good night.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Craig is settling in,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54but the visit to Sukhbaatar's mine has unnerved him.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I mean, I've got a lot of thinking to do tonight.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Am I going to go down that hole?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02He's asked me to go. Thing is, I've got a family thousands of miles away
0:13:02 > 0:13:04who want me to come home to them.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08This is pushing me to the edge already, thinking about it.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's really cold in here. The fires have gone out.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I've just got to try and get my head down,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25but my head's been spinning round, 100 miles an hour.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Sukhbaatar's hole...
0:13:29 > 0:13:31..just looks like a grave,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34and that's the first thing I thought of, it's a grave.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Er...
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Today is supposed to be Craig's first day at work
0:13:43 > 0:13:46as a gold miner on the Mongolian steppe.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Eagles are flying in the sky. Absolutely amazing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54It's a gorgeous day, and I'm thankful for that
0:13:54 > 0:13:56cos it's probably going to help me when I, you know,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59make that final decision whether I go into the hole or not.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Good morning!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10He's been doing some drawing for us and some colouring pictures.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Look at these, you've been a really busy lad!
0:14:12 > 0:14:16What's the owl go? CRAIG HOOTS
0:14:18 > 0:14:19Ooo!
0:14:19 > 0:14:21That's it, an owl.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Owl.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25You say OWL.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Yeah! Language barrier is quite difficult.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33But there's another barrier that Craig needs to overcome.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36The long drop - and it's a long walk as well!
0:14:36 > 0:14:38You have to hang your head in shame
0:14:38 > 0:14:40because you know what's going to happen when you get there.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42At the minute I'm trying to hold off,
0:14:42 > 0:14:48but I know that nature will call and I'm going to have to face that demon.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50I don't know if I'm more nervous about using the long drop
0:14:50 > 0:14:53or going down the mine!
0:14:54 > 0:14:55He needs a trailer!
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Sukhbaatar has to carry everything he needs for the mine
0:14:58 > 0:15:00on the back of his motorbike.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08This would not, never be allowed on British roads.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17The early morning sun has already melted the snow in the valley.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22It's still a bad place to be...
0:15:22 > 0:15:25middle of nowhere like this. It's still a bad place.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30That's a long way down.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It's all loose. The sides are all loose.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40For the moment, Craig can avoid confronting his fears.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43It's like one, two, three, bungee!
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I feel sick as a pig. I feel really nervous.
0:15:46 > 0:15:47I feel nervous for him.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Deep below the ground,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Sukhbaatar has reached the bed of an ancient river.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It's here that the soil can sometimes contain gold.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01He's just going in, beyond, and he's not even...
0:16:01 > 0:16:03he's not even giving a shit about it.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06This would never happen at home. We would never allow it.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Well, I'm pretty strong
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and that's got a good bit of weight to it, that has.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Hauling the bucket is usually Gansuvd's job,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16bringing up nearly half a tonne of soil every day.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Pulling up this, for about eight hours,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24that's a ball ache on your back. Mega.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30To drop in them holes like that...
0:16:30 > 0:16:31they've got some bollocks
0:16:31 > 0:16:33cos I'm seriously thinking twice about doing it.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35They have got some balls to do that.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It's really, really dangerous.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41For now, Gansuvd's going to show him
0:16:41 > 0:16:43the next stage in the mining process - panning.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Flippin' heck, this water,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54if it was snowing, it would just be like ice, it'd be horrible.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58In fact, some has just gone down the glove and it is freezing cold water.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Once the soil has been washed and the bigger stones sifted out,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05the remaining sediment is transferred to a special mat.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12Into the mat. OK, yeah.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I hope we find something.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28I'm not doing it right. I knew I wouldn't.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30It's a knack, ain't it? It's a skill.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43This is where days of digging end in success or failure.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Don't put the pressure on me, I'm trying!
0:17:53 > 0:17:54This is really...
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Whoa, I'm going to let you do that, I'm not going to do that.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11There's a tiny, tiny little piece there.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14I call that a lot of hard work for next to nothing.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19It's the moment of truth.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23If Craig won't go down the hole,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26he'll never make it as a Mongolian miner.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Do I want to do it?
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Do I really want to go in and do it?
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Ah, I'm still unsure about it, but I'm going to do it,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46I think I want to do it.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47I owe it...
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I owe it to them to go down and have a look.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52If there's a problem, look out, cos I'll be out like a shot.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53I'm ready to go.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59OK?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06It's like going into your own bloody tomb. Yeah.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Give me a line, give me a line. I'm going now.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17This is Victorian mining.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20This ain't right. There's no props, no supports or nothing.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23It really is awful. It's really bad, that's really bad.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25You never run a hole this far
0:19:25 > 0:19:28without setting any kind of supports up.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30This is what's... I can't get my head around it.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33I mean, how far is he going to go before he puts a support in?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36How far is he going to go before it all comes in on him?
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Jesus Christ.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39We seriously need to talk.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Fucking hell, here we go! This has just come in down my back.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's just coming down around you.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Um... It's not... I'm going to come out.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51This is fucking gung ho mining, this is. It's really dangerous.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52Really dangerous.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Back home, Craig works in mine safety,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and now he's desperate to try and improve things
0:19:57 > 0:20:00for Sukhbaatar and his family.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Sukhbaatar, I'll show you a drawing of what we use in the UK.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08That's a prop, we call that a tree.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Yeah? A prop. This is wood.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Have you ever used anything like that before?
0:20:23 > 0:20:28My head...my head's telling me that, you know, it should be shut down.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30They've had people killed here.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32There are accidents waiting to happen.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Most of the valley has been excavated.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39It's now a warren of underground tunnels.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40Bloody hell.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44The risk of collapse gets worse with every new shaft.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Collapsed, collapsed...collapsed.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51There could be tunnels going all over the place,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and if they start to break into one of them tunnels,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57they're not going to know about it until it's on top of them.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58I think there's a tunnel here.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Here and over here.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04No support, the whole lot's come in. five to ten tonnes of soil here.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06You ain't getting out alive at all,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09and by the time someone's dug you out, you're dead.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15Back home, it's easy, we'll just get someone in touch with the inspectors
0:21:15 > 0:21:16and we'll get someone to shut it down.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21Here, there's nothing, they're on their own and that's it.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Back at the house, Sukhbaatar's daughter Eggi and her husband Anga
0:21:29 > 0:21:33are preparing Craig his first traditional Mongolian meal.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Is he a good father-in-law?
0:21:35 > 0:21:37CRAIG LAUGHS
0:21:39 > 0:21:45So, we've got beef, noodles, potato... Is that carrots?
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Is there a name for this dish?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52THEY ALL LAUGH
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Spending the day with the family
0:21:57 > 0:22:01has made Craig determined to try and change things.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04'Hopefully I can show him, you know, I can prove to him'
0:22:04 > 0:22:08that putting a bit of wood in there is going to save his life.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Just a piece of wood.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12I've got to do something, I've got to try and show him.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17'It frightens me and it upsets me that people are working like that.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Today, Craig is starting out as a miner in his own right.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30He's got just eight days to dig his own hole and strike gold.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32So whereabouts are we going to dig, then?
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Any ideas?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Choosing the right place to sink the shaft is crucial.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Get it wrong and days of digging can go to waste.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47Here?
0:22:49 > 0:22:52One, two, three, four.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Why do you think it's here, then? Why do you think it's better here?
0:22:58 > 0:23:01I think what it is, you just chuck it up in the air...
0:23:01 > 0:23:03it's a six, we'll go over here and that's...
0:23:03 > 0:23:05There ain't no science to it.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07They don't bounce radars down and back up, and find out...
0:23:07 > 0:23:09do some drills, you know?
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Take some core samples like we do back home, core samples...
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Nothing, it's just...like that.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21Christ Almighty!
0:23:27 > 0:23:28Solid.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30It really is rock hard.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36That's got to be half a metre.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Thank you very much.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53It's hard graft!
0:23:53 > 0:23:57After two hours of back-breaking work, Craig has hit a problem.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01That's solid, that is, it's solid packed.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03It's rock hard!
0:24:04 > 0:24:07It's just like hitting a piece of granite.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10This is permafrost -
0:24:10 > 0:24:13a layer of permanently frozen soil under the surface of the earth.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18For the miners, it's an impenetrable barrier between them and the gold,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21but they've found a familiar solution...
0:24:21 > 0:24:22dung.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27What's the fire? What's it do?
0:24:31 > 0:24:32God, there's a lot of shit!
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Like that.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48That's going to set fire, melt the ice, the ice is going to melt
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and this is going to be smoking like that.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Happy days, happy days.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57It's been a good first day of digging,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00but there's a long way to go before he'll get anywhere near the gold.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Like most Mongolians, Sukhbaatar and his family are Buddhists.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Every couple of weeks Gansuvd visits a monastery on the edge of town.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22Peaceful...I've never been to a temple before.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So why do you come here? Is there a reason for coming today?
0:25:34 > 0:25:36MONKS CHANT
0:25:38 > 0:25:40This is amazing.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Mongolians have a deep connection with the land.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Digging it up to make money runs counter to many of their beliefs.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56In return for a small donation, the monks here will chant sutras,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59or prayers, for forgiveness.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02THEY PLAY PIPES, BELLS AND DRUMS
0:26:05 > 0:26:09The feeling, when it's the chanting, like a rhythm...
0:26:09 > 0:26:12It's ever such a weird feeling. It's like you're being drawn in.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15They feel bad for digging holes in their soil.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I hadn't really thought about it until now.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20They need to find the gold to survive,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25but, on the other term, they feel guilty and bad for digging the holes.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27CRAIG ROARS
0:26:33 > 0:26:35So, if you wasn't mining
0:26:35 > 0:26:38and you moved to the countryside, what would you do?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Would you be farming?
0:26:45 > 0:26:46OK.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56Bloody hell.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00It must be terrible to watch your animals die.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Oh, dear.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10It's really difficult to take in, this is.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Until a couple of years ago,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Gansuvd and Sukhbaatar were nomadic herders -
0:27:16 > 0:27:18tending Yaks, goats and horses...
0:27:20 > 0:27:23..but in recent years, freak weather conditions
0:27:23 > 0:27:26have devastated Mongolia's livestock herds.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Severe summer droughts followed by long harsh winters, known as Zuds,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33killed an estimated eight million animals
0:27:33 > 0:27:35and threatened the ancient way of life on the steppe.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Like thousands of other herders,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Sukhbaatar and his family were forced off the land.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50How long ago was this?
0:27:57 > 0:27:58That's you?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Happy times?
0:28:04 > 0:28:07You've got a smile on already.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36So everything that you ever knew,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41everything that you ever done had just been taken away from you?
0:28:48 > 0:28:52And you have to ride past them every day going to that place.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Maybe one day, you may be able to do it.
0:28:54 > 0:28:55If you find that one piece of gold
0:28:55 > 0:28:58that's going to earn you enough money to get your cattle,
0:28:58 > 0:29:03and you can take your family back to the countryside and be happy.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I hope and I pray, I hope and I pray it comes true.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12'The family that I thought I knew over a few days...
0:29:12 > 0:29:14'I didn't know at all.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18'I can't take it in. I can't hold it in my head.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20'It's tragic.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23'He's got to work at that little mine he's got
0:29:23 > 0:29:26'to support his family, and it's killing him.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28'That's not him. He's not a miner. He's not a miner.'
0:29:28 > 0:29:30He must be going crazy.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33His mind must be in turmoil all the time
0:29:33 > 0:29:36'about where he should be and why he isn't there.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39'It's so sad...'
0:29:39 > 0:29:40So sad.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50Breaks me heart.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52I want to pick 'em up and take 'em...
0:29:52 > 0:29:54somewhere where they're going to be safe,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56where they ain't got to do anything stupid,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58like go in them shitty little pits.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Overnight, the dung fire has melted the frozen earth
0:30:11 > 0:30:13in Craig's new mine shaft.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16It's like when you clean your BBQ out.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Getting down to the gold seam could take days,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and once you reach it, you're lucky to earn £5 a day.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26These are poor people...
0:30:26 > 0:30:30so the showy new visitor to the site is looking a bit out of place.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35Sukhbaatar, who's the fella in the nice and shiny jeep?
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Sukhbaatar has got a small amount of gold to sell
0:30:42 > 0:30:44from yesterday's mining.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Gold buyers like these tour the mine sites across Mongolia.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Operating on the fringes of the law,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54they buy gold at source and sell it on for profit,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56often on the black market.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01At the bottom of the chain, Sukhbaatar has no choice
0:31:01 > 0:31:04but to accept whatever price these middle men give him.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09How much did you make, Sukhbaatar?
0:31:11 > 0:31:13That's about £8.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Is that good, are you happy with that?
0:31:24 > 0:31:27How can you try harder? You're working really hard as it is.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29I don't know how you can work any harder.
0:31:32 > 0:31:38Sukhbaatar's gold is now making its way 300 miles north to the capital,
0:31:38 > 0:31:39Ulaanbaatar.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Here, a vast market in copper, gold and coal
0:31:43 > 0:31:48has made this country the fastest growing economy in the world.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Billion dollar contracts are up for grabs.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55Luxury cars and designer brands, signs of the astonishing boom...
0:31:57 > 0:32:00..but despite the wealth, over a million Mongolians
0:32:00 > 0:32:03still live in acute poverty,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06their traditional way of life under threat.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14Halfway through his trip
0:32:14 > 0:32:19and Craig is still determined to help Sukhbaatar work safely.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21We're going to the mine today.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Can we...maybe try and build...
0:32:27 > 0:32:31Can we try and do our supports like we talked about?
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Would you like me to show you today, or not?
0:32:38 > 0:32:40They nick it, so...
0:32:41 > 0:32:44You're screwed every way you look at it.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Wood is expensive here.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Sukhbaatar can't afford to leave it at the mine to be stolen,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54but there's a more serious problem that he's been keeping from Craig.
0:33:20 > 0:33:26So, I'm now being part of an illegal mining, er...job.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34So, yeah, all right, erm...
0:33:36 > 0:33:37..happy days.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42For Craig, illegal mining is a serious issue.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44He's from a world of regulations,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48where health and safety comes first, and illegal pits are shut down.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52He's just decided to tell me that it's an illegal pit.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57So I'm not very happy, cos...
0:33:57 > 0:33:59that's not what I'm about.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02We go into mines that are licensed...
0:34:03 > 0:34:05..they're safe.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Obviously, if there's an incident, there's different levels of safeness,
0:34:10 > 0:34:11but this...
0:34:15 > 0:34:17You know, if the police come, they have to run to the hills.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20What the fucking hell is that all about?
0:34:21 > 0:34:24It needs bringing together, the government need to be here.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28It needs formalising, it needs things in place to protect the workers.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30At the minute, they've got nothing.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Oh.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47The government in this part of Mongolia
0:34:47 > 0:34:51refuses to issue mining licences to people like Sukhbaatar,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54claiming that they damage the environment,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58but, further up the valley, big companies have been granted licences
0:34:58 > 0:35:00to mine gold on an industrial scale.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05They have pledged to make good the environmental damage
0:35:05 > 0:35:07once they have finished mining the area.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Sukhbaatar has friends who live and work on the fringes
0:35:13 > 0:35:15of one of these legal mines.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Thank you very much, sir, thank you.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23The ger's selling beer and everything else,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26and there's a pool table slapped outside it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Bit surreal.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30CRAIG CHUCKLES
0:35:30 > 0:35:32It just doesn't make sense.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52In just 20 years of mining,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55the Ongin River has all but dried up.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Heavy machines have carved up the land
0:35:57 > 0:36:02and water guns are draining the last of the valley's natural supplies.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Do you think they will put it back to how it was
0:36:05 > 0:36:07or just move on to another valley?
0:36:20 > 0:36:23They're just bastardising the land, and what you're doing is nothing,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25you're not doing anything of the sort.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28You're doing it to survive, these are doing it for profit.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38It's always the same, the big boys, the fat cats, they get richer,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41and the small fry, you know, the little fish,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43they get fucked over all the time.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48Sukhbaatar's not...a bad man.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50He's far from it, he's anything but.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53He doesn't want to be down a little pit like that...
0:36:53 > 0:36:55but it's a means to an end.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59He has to do it to try and get those scrappy little bits of gold together
0:36:59 > 0:37:02for somebody at the top end of the market to make...
0:37:02 > 0:37:04ultimately, millions of pounds.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07How much more can I take of this? How much more can I take of this...
0:37:08 > 0:37:11..shit that these people have to live through?
0:37:11 > 0:37:12Another day.
0:37:14 > 0:37:15Another day in Mongolia.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25I've been trying to hold off for ages.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27I'm going to have to go...
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and use the long drop.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32But, yeah, it's not going to be good.
0:37:35 > 0:37:36Wish me luck.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41Oh, dear!
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Alone with his thoughts, Craig has had a brainwave.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50'I spoke to Sukhbaatar around the shaft today,
0:37:50 > 0:37:51'about putting planks in.'
0:37:53 > 0:37:55I said to him about boarding out,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58and he said it weren't worth it but he's just done it here.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Be brave, you can see inside. It's all boarded out.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04He's got boards at the back, there, to hold back.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07He's even put, you know, a framework around it,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09a wooden framework around it to support everything.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12He's even got them in the bottom, there, planks in the bottom.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14So he knows about boarding out,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17but he just chooses not to do it at his shaft side.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22I just can't understand why... CRAIG COUGHS
0:38:22 > 0:38:26..why he wouldn't do it. It just doesn't make sense.
0:38:32 > 0:38:33Craig's mind is made up.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37He's on a mission to prove that mining here can be made safe,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39shoring up his own hole
0:38:39 > 0:38:42using planks that are removed at the end of the day.
0:38:44 > 0:38:45Let me show you.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51The deeper you go, the lower your boards.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Keep putting them lower. It holds the sides in.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00He thinks it's a toilet.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08You protect your toilet from collapsing,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10but you don't protect you from it collapsing.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12I just can't get my head around it.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Support the toilet so it doesn't cave in on itself.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16This, it's a life, isn't it?
0:39:16 > 0:39:19It might not be a bloke, it could be a kid down there, with Mum.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26It's got 16 and a bit stone on it...
0:39:26 > 0:39:27It's going nowhere!
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Quick simple supports. If they build it all the same every time,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32they've just got to knock 'em out and back in again.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38In...bucket...out. Easy!
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Yeah, plenty of room at the bottom
0:39:45 > 0:39:50because...here, if it comes in, we pull you up.
0:39:50 > 0:39:51If it comes in here...
0:39:55 > 0:39:58He's interested. He's interested.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02Bucket, please.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06With his mine shaft supported, Craig can get back to digging.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10It's solid now, we're at the ice bed again.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13There's still at least two more metres to dig
0:40:13 > 0:40:15before he can hope to strike gold,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19but it looks like he might be digging in the right place.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Wow, look at all that!
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Bloody hell, that's a lot of gold there.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30How much do you think that's worth, Sukhbaatar?
0:40:40 > 0:40:43And where's that mining from?
0:40:43 > 0:40:44There...
0:40:46 > 0:40:48..there...there.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53With the promise of a big strike,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55there's just one more layer of permafrost to melt.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Oh, wasn't as grand as the other day, was it?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Craig's been mining for more than a week.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Today, he's heading out onto the Mongolian steppe
0:41:11 > 0:41:13with Sukhbaatar and his family.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Sukhbaatar, two minutes out of the town,
0:41:17 > 0:41:18it's absolutely beautiful out here.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20You've got horses running around,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24the landscape is absolutely...breathtaking.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34They have come to visit Gansuvd's brother,
0:41:34 > 0:41:38who still lives the nomadic lifestyle of a Mongolian herder.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Gambold was lucky.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53Unlike Sukhbaatar, much of his herd survived the terrible winters.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54How many horses do you have?
0:41:59 > 0:42:00They're a bit lively!
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Whoa!
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Giving me the eye!
0:42:07 > 0:42:10This is getting a bit... Aye-aye!
0:42:14 > 0:42:15Woah, look at that!
0:42:17 > 0:42:19How easy was that?
0:42:19 > 0:42:23Sukhbaatar's the daddy on that. He was straight on, hooked it on.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26He's loving every minute of this.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Sukhbaatar! Hey!
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Sukhbaatar hasn't lost his skills as a herdsman,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34passed down to him through generations...
0:42:34 > 0:42:39but working at the mines, he hasn't had the chance to teach his son.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Oh, look at this, now they're taking it.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45His dad's teaching him, teaching him the ways so he don't forget it!
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Look at 'em. Big smiles on their faces!
0:42:47 > 0:42:49That's brilliant, isn't it?
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Trying to keep them in touch with what the family used to be.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55That's lovely. It's absolutely lovely.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Thank you very much.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Craig's being given a job
0:43:06 > 0:43:09that's a bit less glamorous than horse wrangling.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12This is a job for the ladies, not for the boys.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15CRAIG GIGGLES
0:43:15 > 0:43:18They're big. Listen to them. YAKS GROWL DEEPLY
0:43:24 > 0:43:27She's going in sports mode now.
0:43:27 > 0:43:28Be good.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Woo-hoo-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Oh, it's ever so warm.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36HE LAUGHS
0:43:41 > 0:43:45I'm only good with one hand! HE LAUGHS
0:43:46 > 0:43:48With one hand, I'm exceptional!
0:43:50 > 0:43:52It's very difficult.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56As a coal miner, I don't get to milk many yaks.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Ah, yak's milk!
0:43:58 > 0:44:01I've got a fair bit off one, bless her.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11As night falls, it's back to the ger for a hearty Mongolian feast.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21I'm a little bit nervous about what we're eating at the minute. Um...
0:44:31 > 0:44:35I don't eat intestines. The liver, kidneys...
0:44:37 > 0:44:38Happy days.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43Not sure about the fat.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Fuck it, in for a penny.
0:44:58 > 0:44:59Different.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10Please help.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15They've done all this. It's really, really nice, really kind of them.
0:45:15 > 0:45:16There's just so much of it!
0:45:16 > 0:45:20'Sukhbaatar, today, has really let his hair down.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24'He's so proud of his history, what he is.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26'And he's a farmer, he's not a miner.'
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Cor!
0:45:28 > 0:45:33'His heart's here. I just wish he could stop here with his family,
0:45:33 > 0:45:35'where he needs to be, where he should be.'
0:45:35 > 0:45:36THEY LAUGH
0:45:37 > 0:45:41He's more than somebody who scraps around in bloody little holes.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44This bloke has got a world of knowledge. He's intelligent.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48You know, he knows the land, he knows animals.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57HE SINGS
0:46:15 > 0:46:18WHOLE FAMILY SINGS
0:46:37 > 0:46:39While they have been away in the country,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42disaster has struck at the mine.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51He's annoyed, he needs to come out. He needs to come up.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Thieves have raided Sukhbaatar's mine.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Other miners have broken into Sukhbaatar's tunnels
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and taken out all the gold.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06A week spent digging down to the seam has gone to waste.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Fucking hell.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20The family that have dug that hole have broke in here,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22the family that dug that hole have broke in here,
0:47:22 > 0:47:24the family that dug that hole have broke in here.
0:47:24 > 0:47:29So, basically, he's been shafted by one, two, three families.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Well, if it was me, Sukhbaatar, I know what I'd do.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34I'd get a shovel and I'd fill their fucking holes in for them.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35Make them dig a new hole.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40I'm fucking fuming. I'm fuming.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I'd fill that hole in, I'd fill that hole in, and I'd fill that hole in,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45and I'd sit here all night and wait for them to come back,
0:47:45 > 0:47:47and I'd kick the shit out of them.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49That's bang out of order.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51It's took him a week to dig this.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53He's shagged, he's got no money now.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03That's some friend, that is.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07I'm looking at every one of them now, thinking, "Is it them, is it them?"
0:48:07 > 0:48:10And I shouldn't do that, I shouldn't do that. It's making me really angry.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13HE EXHALES
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Slimy bastards! They are really slimy bastards for doing that.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Look at him. His fucking shoulders have dropped.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21You ain't got to look at his face. You know.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26I know what he's thinking, "What am I going to do?"
0:48:28 > 0:48:31For Craig mining has always been a brotherhood
0:48:31 > 0:48:34but it seems that in Mongolia's gold rush you can trust no-one.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39In England we say, "Bastards".
0:48:39 > 0:48:42See this one, I'm going to dig it deeper, and quicker,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45and you can take this one cos that you ain't going to use any more
0:48:45 > 0:48:46but this one is your new hole, yeah?
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Once I've finished digging it you've got it, it's yours, yeah?
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I can't do anything else.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53I don't know what else I can do.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Ooh, it's nice and warm in here!
0:49:01 > 0:49:02Oh, that fire's lovely.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13'This afternoon I didn't know what to do with myself
0:49:13 > 0:49:15'and I don't know what to do with myself now.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18'I still feel shell shocked. I feel like I've been robbed.'
0:49:18 > 0:49:22With Sukhbaatar's mine gone, tomorrow they need to find gold
0:49:22 > 0:49:25in the hole that Craig has spent days digging.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27'We have got to dig deep and fast.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30'This family is going to starve if we don't get that hole dug.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33'That puts a whole different bag of pressure on my shoulders.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35'This place ain't going to beat me.'
0:49:35 > 0:49:37I'm not going to let his family down.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39So I'm going to dig that hole until it's deep enough
0:49:39 > 0:49:43and they do find gold, and I'll keep digging until they've got it.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Judgement day today.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55That's my biggest fear. We've spent all that time digging that hole
0:49:55 > 0:49:57and I'm not going to find gold.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59That's my biggest fear because what then?
0:50:06 > 0:50:10Today, riding out one final time across the Mongolian steppe,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14British Miner Craig Notman is a man in search of gold.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I shall do my very best, Sukhbaatar,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38to try and put some gold in this pot for you.
0:50:39 > 0:50:40Are you doing the boards today?
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Good answer.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44Good answer. Come on, then.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45Yeah.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47Spot on.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48No dramas now. He's left us to it.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Obviously, thinks he can trust us to do it
0:50:51 > 0:50:54so just want to crack on and get it completed now.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02It's been five days of hard graft, digging through the stony soil
0:51:02 > 0:51:05and melting the permafrost with dung fires.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Bucket, please!
0:51:08 > 0:51:10Now, five metres below the surface,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Craig hopes he has finally hit the gold seam.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18If you notice the soil, the colour's changing.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20It's getting more and more orange.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Yes...yes...
0:51:26 > 0:51:28yes...
0:51:28 > 0:51:30oh, fucking yes!
0:51:31 > 0:51:32What's this, here?
0:51:34 > 0:51:35Gold!
0:51:41 > 0:51:42I'm trying to be Mr Cool.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46I don't want all these lot to see that I'm buzzing me boobs off!
0:51:46 > 0:51:48I'm chuffed to bits. I am happy.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52But the real work has only just begun.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59I'm wet through with sweat, the hole's red hot.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01This is the toughest I've ever had to work.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03If you've got to start a new hole after you've dug one
0:52:03 > 0:52:05and you've found nothing
0:52:05 > 0:52:07the thought of having to crack on and dig another hole,
0:52:07 > 0:52:11it breaks your heart it, really does, it's a killer.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14After digging and panning for two more hours,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Craig is finding just a few grains of gold.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20This is the reality of life for a Mongolian gold miner.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26I'm getting more frustrated.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28In a minute that's going to go about 800 yards down there.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30I'm just going to fling it.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35It's a lot of graft for nothing, really.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36Pennies.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40We've had buckets with nothing in, pans with nothing in.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44When we first found some it was brilliant,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46I thought, "Here we go, happy days,"
0:52:46 > 0:52:48but it's just been so bloody difficult.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50So hard to try and get it out.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52How much do you think we've got up to now?
0:52:52 > 0:52:55HE SPEAKS IN DIALECT
0:52:55 > 0:52:58That's £1.50.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01That 's not enough, we've got to keep going, haven't we?
0:53:01 > 0:53:03Come on, we can't sit around. Let's go and do some more.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15'You know, I've put myself in Sukhbaatar's position.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17'You know, it's my family that's sitting there
0:53:17 > 0:53:19'waiting for me to bring money home.'
0:53:20 > 0:53:23If I don't do it my family don't get nothing.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27'We're going to crack on
0:53:27 > 0:53:29'and we're going to get it out, we're going to dig it out.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32'Just going to man up a bit and just get on and deal with it.'
0:53:34 > 0:53:36Finally, in the last buckets of the day,
0:53:36 > 0:53:38a few more flecks start to appear.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45You know, we've tried our best, we've worked hard and...
0:53:45 > 0:53:46I think Sukhbaatar will be happy still
0:53:46 > 0:53:49because don't forget I'm still a bloody novice at this mining.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00'It's the end of the day now. Everybody's packing up.'
0:54:00 > 0:54:05I know it's not a fortune but we've got gold out of the ground.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09I don't think we've done too bad but I'd just prefer to get a lot more.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11There.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23We've tried, we've done the best we can.
0:54:35 > 0:54:36Sorry.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38We tried our best but that's all we could get.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10You're my friend for ever, mate.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12Thank you. Thank you, as well.
0:55:18 > 0:55:19All these people!
0:55:21 > 0:55:25Sukhbaatar has invited friends and his family from the countryside.
0:55:25 > 0:55:30And on the menu is roasted goat - Mongolian style.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35They've got a blow torch out and just set fire to its skin.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Yeah, different, isn't it?
0:55:37 > 0:55:40'It's been one hell of a day, it's been mega hot.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44'It's the hardest graft I've had any day of my life
0:55:44 > 0:55:46'but it's been bloody worth it.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49'I've shown them about making the hole safe'
0:55:49 > 0:55:50and they are going to try and use it.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52They know now that they can set it up
0:55:52 > 0:55:54and they can bring it back home with them
0:55:54 > 0:55:57so I'm chuffed to bits with that. I've got 100% now.
0:55:57 > 0:55:58I'm really happy.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20'Sukhbaatar is a really, really honest, hard working good bloke
0:56:20 > 0:56:22'and I totally respect him.'
0:56:22 > 0:56:26All he's after is to get money together
0:56:26 > 0:56:31to get his herd to go out in them bloody hills, right up there,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34and just live a peaceful, tranquil life.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40..Why's that?
0:56:40 > 0:56:45Back home and Craig's training British workers in underground safety.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49'It was difficult. It was hard, upsetting.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51'I think I went through every emotion and then some.'
0:56:51 > 0:56:53I'm still trying to come down from it now.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Clip 'em on, lock him on.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57Your life's hanging off this wire.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59'I miss Sukhbaatar and his family so much.'
0:56:59 > 0:57:03A really good man. An honest man. His heart's as big as a lion.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08I do class him as a very, very long distance friend now.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12If I could be a little bit more like him I'd be a happy man.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16Set number is 34...
0:57:16 > 0:57:17With help from the mining community,
0:57:17 > 0:57:22Craig is determined to raise money for the Mongolian gold miners...
0:57:23 > 0:57:24'A miner's struggling,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27'some other miner is going to help him.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29'That's what happening. It's a brotherhood.'
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Teams are coming together saying, "We'll do something, we'll help."
0:57:32 > 0:57:34and they've given up time to do it.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37And he's committed to helping his friend Sukhbaatar
0:57:37 > 0:57:42return to his nomadic life as a herder on the Mongolian steppe.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46I want to pull up outside his place, with a big lorry full of cattle,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49drive out into the countryside, park up, and that's it.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51And leave him to it. Leave him to where he should be.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54I will achieve that. We WILL achieve that.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58I'm looking forward to that day so much, yeah.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00I must admit, mate, it's nice to have you back.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02Yeah, you're full of shit. Come on then!
0:58:02 > 0:58:05After you, girls!
0:58:05 > 0:58:06Next time...
0:58:06 > 0:58:10Colin Window is swapping his 1,000 tonne London ferry
0:58:10 > 0:58:12for a tiny wooden boat in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16This is going to be a lot more involved
0:58:16 > 0:58:18than what I imagined, I tell you.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21He'll be working on the Buringanga river,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25where ferrymen take their lives in their hands every day.
0:58:25 > 0:58:30This would be a reportable near miss on the River Thames.
0:58:53 > 0:58:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd