I watched episodes of these “TV shows” last night-the Alaskan Gold Miners look like they at least know what they are doing…but the guys in West Africa? They “double down” and decide to take a local miner’s word for it “this is good territory”-and get swindled by some Chinese suppliers (of rock crushers)-whilst leaving the chinese establishment, they get pulled over by some local cops who want a bribe. Then its off to the jungle-where they “think” there “might” be some gold. After diiging a hole (which promptly floods), the recover…8 grams of gold (using the poisonous, polluting mercury amalgamationn process). So these two turkeys have blown through >$1 million, looking for gold, while getting swindled by the local shrapies. Sounds like a successful TV series? I’m waiting for them to get arrested ny GreenPeace (for the mercury pollution thing). Anyway, are we supposed to believe all this? Are gold miners actually that stupid?
To the OP. Yes I believe to a certain extent Jungle Gold HAS to be fake/scripted. But the method they use with the mercury is the only inexpensive way to do it. 90% of the gold mining operation’s down there use that method. Including the chinese miners. Its the cheapest way down there. They dont have the resources to do what the american gold miners are able to do, and by NO means am I’m saying its OKAY or fine just bc that is the cheapest way to do it. Its not whatsoever, its horrible. But if they are going to “arrest or fine” them that mean they will be arresting 90% of the operations in Africa. But the Alaskan gold miners are 100% real. Nothing “fake” about them. Check out their mining website ‘316 mining’. Idk how many episodes you have watched of the Alaskan gold mining but if you watch it enough you will see that it is real and is not fake. Their whole operation is real. Everything from the claims, machines, to the crew, and most important the GOLD.
By no means am I disputing what you are saying about Jungle Gold and other fake TV shows now a days or trying to dismiss your opinion bc *everyone * is entitled to their own views. And Especially Jungle Gold, that show has to be bullshit. They are so dumb. Keep trying to do shortcuts to try and make a fast buck. Jumping from claim to claim trying to get what little gold they can. And just last night they got “stopped” by a road block that wasnt there 10 mins prior to them making the “deal” (which in itself was sketchy) and they get “robbed/held up” for almost 40 g’s… Just so stupid, like so stupid it HAS to be FAKE.
TLC’s been running as for a new show called Amish Mafia.
I caught half an episode of Jungle Gold on accident one day and totally agree that it’s just fake as hell. No actual business person talks like those guys talk or does the things they do.
Stupid business people act like that all the time. They are a couple of morons who speculated on real estate during the boom and lost it during the bust who now are getting capital from people they know from church. The only smart thing they have done is get the money for the reality series.
I saw that! What an idiotic idea! Do Amish mafiosos have names like “Jacob the pig” and “Abraham the fat man”?
The Alaska show also has people in Canada mining for gold. It’s the 3rd season. For year 1 they were really bad, they got very little gold. In year 2 they did better and now there are 3 different groups mining, 2 in Alaska, 1 in Canada. They are all doing a lot better now in season 3. One of the Alaska groups is led by a kid who is 17 with help from his grandfather who owns the mine.
Nah, just sounds like what has always happened to people who think they are smarter than they are. I’ve never seen it but I don’t have to because it’s a classic case of marks going someplace new carrying a big “Rob Me” sign.
My favorite “fake show” is Duck Dynasty. Those guys look like rejects from Deliverance. Willie, the long-suffering CEO of a company, Duck Commander that makes duck whistles; has to contend with idiot family members, employees, etc., but always has time to deliver a heartfelt speech at the end of each show that reinforces family values. I wonder how much they get paid per episode.
I always figure those business reality shows are all a 50/50 deal. Yes, they may have a business but they also are the stars of a television series. So figure half of what you see them doing is for the sake of their supposed business and the other half of what you see them doing is for the sake of being interesting on television. If the cameras weren’t there, the amount of stupidity and weirdness you see would be greatly reduced because it would have no point.
The Alaskan/Canadian gold miners (Todd’s crew) may not be faked, but I think they’re certainly heavily subsidized by Discovery Channel. Their first year their total revenue was what, $25k? Then the next year they’ve got $500k minimum worth of new equipment. The find $160k worth of gold, and they’ve got yet ANOTHER $500k-1million worth of more new equipment this year. Either they’ve got the most gullible investors ever, or Discovery is banking them to keep the show going.
And what about the environmental damage they are doing? That have flooded the streams nearby with silt and debris-destroying salmon spawning grounds. They also have ripped away the topsoil to get to the gold-bearing gravel-do they have to replace it at some point?
I’ve known a few people who were basically recreational gold miners out here in Montana and in Idaho. They have some old claims in historic mining districts and some used equipment they picked up for a song. They make enough to support their hobby, but not enough to quit their day jobs. From the couple of episodes of the first season of the Alaska show, that seemed pretty similar to the setup they had.
Yeah, there has to be a core of some kind, like a successful business. If you go full retard (i.e. Princes of Malibu), you won’t last.
Keep in mind we’re talking about “The Discovery Channel” not NBC, CBS et al.
TDC doesn’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to sink into original programming. So yes these guy’s will get some money from TDC, but not enough to “get rich”.
The clowns on “Jungle Gold” are stupid on an epic scale.
On the first episode they said they had mined gold in Ghana the year before with a third guy from Utah. They basically didn’t make any money and when they returned to the states the third guy committed suicide. If you didn’t take anything away from an experience like that I have no sympathy for these idiots!
As an outsider looking in to the Ghana gold industry, it really couldn’t get much sketchier! These guys should have just built a bush-league dredge and went for gold ala “Bering Sea Gold” way.
That way they’re on 'Merica soil, they don’t have to worry about Chinese miners stealing their claim or getting shot by masked gunmen!
MtM
Just watched the episode where the jungle gold guys got robbed. I have absolutely no sympathy for either one of these losers. This show is so obviously faked, it is not even worth watching…
I’m surprised “Meteorite Men” don’t just fake it all…with their newfangled equipment, finding the same 3 ton rock buried in every episode/location, that 1000’s of people missed over the years. 
I liked Fact or Faked where they examine some mermaid footage. They went to the same location, made a suit, tried to replicate the scene… I googled and found the “mermaid” in 2 minutes. She’s not hoaxing, she just likes swimming as a mermaid and has gotten pretty good at it in her suit.
Wonder how much that episode cost.
“‘Storage Wars’ star Dave Hester says show is fake, suing, report says”
Interesting that Dave has confirmed what we’ve speculated about here. That interesting items are put in the lockers before the cameras roll.
I’ve suspected that Pawn Stars occasionally rigs there show too. Sometimes you’ll see someone come in with an oddball item that has little hope of selling. Rick will make a half ass offer thats quickly rejected. They don’t even waste time negotiating. It just seems like the whole transaction was a setup to feature the weird item.