TL;DR 2 guys, fame-ish not famous. It shows A side of us, and we're hoping to show another side with you guys. So Literally Ask US Anything, we can't spoil the upcoming season, but anything else is fine. There are so many ways to help in Africa, but we are shining a light on the problem of clean water in Africa along with http: We are going to keep this open.

So if you ask us a question, we'll get you answered. This was a good start. It's September 18th , I just went through and caught up with most of the questions here. Keep 'em coming if you have them. We do answer questions and stay in touch here: Why is mining for gold better in your opinion than taking your initial capital and investing it wisely?

When I watch the gold mining shows especially the Alaska one it seems no different to me than simply taking the money to Vegas and playing blackjack. Good question, for us this was nothing more than the right opportunity at the right time.

We initially we went to Africa with the last of our cash to flip gold, arbitrage, we hoped to buy it low and sell it for a bit more and create some velocity with that initial capital secured by a real asset the entire time. This was met with disappointment in the first 5 days of our trip to Africa because it's not even CLOSE to easy to get cheap gold in Africa, they know the price of Gold better than anybody!

We saw mining as an opportunity and used our cash to purchase some equipment. George is a little wordy, here's the short answer. Gold prices were high, getting equipment was cheap. It was that simple. Did Ghana ever try to arrest you two as indicated in this article on Ghana Web? I am guessing season two would have already been recorded when this article came out. The robbery scene was intense but definitely felt like the video was pulled off a little too well.

Big props to the crew if they really risked themselves like that to get the footage. Watch part 1 unfold here: Hey guys i heard that their are NO more chinese people who are searching for gold. Well, I hope that all the miners that were there illegally are gone. We kind of shed a pretty big spotlight on the activities of illegal miners in Ghana. And yes, I have heard many of them are gone. A lot of questions have been asked in Ghana about how, and why so many illegal miners were allowed to mine in Ghana without paperwork for so long.

I don't watch the show, but I'm curious if it makes an attempt to discuss the environmental impacts bulldozing forests, polluting water with mercury and arsenic, etc. Do you guys take any measures to minimize your impact?

When the show gets edited they are continually making editing choices between our daily life choices and events. What shocked me is how much seemingly relevant content never gets used. Our cutting room floor can have its own AmA! Last year we were forced to use mercury which was really hard for a lot of people. It was shown because it's the main way of gold recovery in Africa, what they didn't show in the show was us trying to get our workers to wear gloves, our seeking for other separating methods that ultimately we didn't have money for at the time etc.

Not to mention that the gold isn't all ours, what we pull out the local land owners and chiefs have a say in that and sadly, due to tradition and lack of education, people INSIST on using mercury.

We never used arsenic. Also, reclaiming and replanting was mentioned and shown, but sadly not near enough, like a 8 seconds. FYI, for our show specifically, it is hours of content for 43 minutes if show. Have you ever seen the show 'Gold Rush'? If so, what do you think of those guys up in Alaska? He went to a meeting but he'll be back I'm sure. I have never seen the show. I'm honestly not a fan of Reality tv at all, I want to watch good scripted shows with compelling stories.

I can say this, the head guy on Gold Rush hates us and we don't know why? It's really frustrating because we have the same production company and we hear all sorts of stories about him, but all I know of him is the first tweet I sent to him when our show started was a thank you, "thanks for forging the way in gold show so that our story and show could have a shot, thank you!

Just that fast, he blocked me and Scott and never gives an ounce no pun intended of support. We just like to do our thing, it's all we can do really. I can say that Parker is a cool kid, he's been supportive to us and so has Fred. Class acts the two of them.

Todd was a jerk to that dude Dorsey from season 1. I can see this happening. My Dad has an excavation company and I grew up around it, so when sorta know that business Well your welcome for the entertainment! I am a horrible excavator operator so you should get a few more kicks this year. I almost killed a crew member this year while operating while knocking down a tree. I also got hit by a tree and it knocked my A out cold! We have an operator that came out with us, he's the smoothest operator I've ever seen.

Spoiler Alert, yeah, can't answer that, we were there for 4 months about. Ask something else I can answer. How did he come to acquire his assets? Was he born into wealth or was it his own accomplishment? You were slightly mislead. Watch the Run For the Border episode. They explain better he is a broker. Not a land owner. I thank my parents. Please subscribe here for answers, 1st video released today: Same here, it completely went down hill with all of the reality shows.

To me, reality shows are like watching professional wrestling. So what do you watch instead? Sorry we ruined Discovery Channel for you. I saw Tickle hit the front page today, that is pretty silly. We met that guy a few weeks back. Reddit's favorite TED talk is the introverts one.

Reddit is full of shy people that don't understand anything and everything about specific things, but choose to yap about anything you throw at them like they have a PhD on the topic. Well I've been a redditor for almost a year, my cake day is just around the corner, I was a solid lurker for 6 months before that.

I get it, more than anything I admire the atmosphere and community here so much that I wanted to at least give the opportunity to Reddit to maybe find out more about how reality tv works, and what it's like working in a somewhat controversial industry in Africa.

The day before our AmA started I saw on the front page a complain that DC gave a new show to the redneck Tickle from Moonshiners and DC is "doing it wrong" I knew then that we were going to have a bad time.

But It's still been a good experience and the questions we've had have been good. So now I'm just leaving this thing open and making it the longest AmA ever. The most profit for the least amount of investment that'll garner the largest audience. People watching that channel love the programming that's on it now and the programming that's on it now is much cheaper to make then it use to be.

I'm a fan of the Smithsonian Channel, it reminds me of what DC once was. I still love DC programing, I'm just not a huge reality tv guy. Believe me, I wake up several times a week still not believing I'm actually in a reality tv show, so it has changed my perspective on reality tv a little.

But my favorite tv shows are still documentaries about people and historical events. How does it feel to go to the poorest continent on the planet with the goal to take as much of the little wealth they have left? That's a great question, we get it a lot. The first thing George and I thought when we landed in Ghana was, "I thought WE had problems". It's humbling to see the poverty that exists there. But we like to think our presence is making a difference. We split the gold with the village, the farmers make a ton of money from us, we employ many, many locals, paying them 10X what they would normally make, we pay taxes, and contribute a ton to the local economy.

Unfortunately, most locals can't afford to mine the gold, they need outside investment. We hope it's a win-win. I have been lucky enough to travel to a few places around the world, when I was 19 I lived in Argentina for a full 2 years, and no Bs. As, but like the 'campo', in small towns, humble towns, and there is a recurring theme that I have seen in poorer countries, They are so content and happy.

This I see as a double edged sword. At times I deeply envy their ability to be so content with so little. What an extraordinary feat to be able to just be happy with 4 mud walls and a water well within 1 mile of your home. So many people are just genuinely and purely happy with that.

I want that some times. I've been infected with Lamborghini and Mansions, I want more than I should at times, and it's not healthy a lot of the time. But it also drives me as a person, to learn new languages, instruments, nun-chuck skills etc. I feel like I'm my best when I'm remembering my family. I'm content to have them and only them by my side, however, I do want more, but for them. So I speak spanish to my children, I try and afford them opportunities that complacency can't allow in most cases.

It's tough, I've got 4 small kids and our youngest is having some challenges right now. Our wives are very supportive of what we are doing, but it weighs on them.

I hope the support lasts a little longer: Both of our wives are absolute warriors, the bravest of us all. Marie, my wife has been pregnant through months of absence, she's pregnant again, but we take solace in the fact that we are making this decision together and that we are fighting for our family, her at home and me abroad. Do you think ther is any chance you can get back at the guys that screwed you over at the end of last season?

Ha ha, we hope so, but as of yet we have nothing solid. One of the producers was on a flight from the capitol out to our mining town when he overheard a guy laughing about the robbery and saying he knew they guys that did it. We had the police follow up but nothing came of it.

Look, it was a stupid decision, we knew better. Plus we are a big target having the camera crew following us, so I can't saw it was all that shocking when it happened. I can't give you the trommel brand names, because it's a big point in the show, excavators is a tricky one two Episode 1 of this season is called: Deal with the Devil. OK I have one you guys CAN answer. It's about last season. Even if you had gotten a site, how would you have gotten the equipment from them to mine it all?

I CAN answer that It wasn't legal and it was a breach of contract. So one what planet can they take it. Hey guys I was a big fan of season 1. You both came off as incompetent morons but it's really cool how well you deal with it.

Jungle Gold: Discovery Channel show scandal in Ghana | Scott Lomu, George Wright

Big ups on answering all the questions here too. The Hoffman Crew can suck it, they can't handle the jungle as well as you guys did. My only question is, weren't you bugged out to use mercury? That stuff is super toxic. I think it's best just to leave Gold Rush alone, we both mine gold, but we are nothing alike, I don't believe as people and certainly not as a tv show. Mercury, it's serious stuff man, but I have held it, I have always said that I won't have any of our workers do something that I won't do myself, so I have held the stuff in my hands before, but it is scary, and the more I learn the scarier it gets.

We really have tried to prevent people from using it or at least use some sort of protection against it, but you're fighting against generations of conditioning and nobody believes us. It's really a struggle. Love all the questions, wishing there were more! We are actually trying to change the culture of mercury use.

We had an amazing company out of Utah donate a gold separating table to us. The plan is to offer free gold separating to anyone gold mining in the area. Unfortunately like George said, not many locals will use it. But fortunately mercury will be banned in Ghana in Glad the show is back! What a great first episode, when buddy was loading up the excavator I was about to shit, I thought he would lose that baby for sure I bet you guys had to flip him a fresh pair of undies after he got it on the low-boy Speaking of the excavator, they look so f'ing whooped, do you guys run regular maintenance on them?

How many hours are on that beast? I know I would be If you lose that iron, it would suck to have to bust out a shovel Looking forward to more episodes! Thanks for watching man, yeah our equipment is beat to hell! Chris and Singh had our machines, and I doubt they did anything maintenance wise. Should be a crazy season!

We're around, so Reddit it on! I work around some big iron and I know it can take a "licking" and am looking forward to seeing the rest of this season! I'm rooting for you guys! Maybe you'll even get around to kicking Chris and Singh in the balls for beating on your equipment so much! I also think it's cool that you guys take the time and answer us fans back on Reddit! I'll make sure to keep an eye out for more AmA!

Well I'm a redditor, so happy to be here. My cake day is just around the corner. So, you have questions, we're here. There was a clip on Discovery's page for Jungle gold under "Beyond The Jungle" about you guys trying to get new capital money. Was that from this season, or was that a bonus clip from the 1st season? It mentioned George going to a friend, and them meeting Scott and saying he said no, and Scott replied "Bud said no, too". Yeah, my buddy, long time friend, they even filmed with him a bit, but he said no, just couldn't risk yet, wants to see a track record.

Guys, right behind Breaking Bad your show is my favorite. My whole family roots for you two. I am in a similar situation than you. Had tons of money before and then when the market collapsed I lost it all. Trying to fight my way back. Good luck and keep strong, guys! Thank you for replying to my comment. Breaking Bad and Jungle Gold.

That makes for a great back to back viewing fun. Judging from the videos, it looks like there will be a season 3, that's awesome. I'll admit that watching at times is like watching a car wreck in slow motion, you just can't look away. How much does discovery channel assist you with your trip? Well when we first talked to the production company, we were under the impression that people on tv got paid and were rich. While that is true with many show's, it is not entirely true with us. We were already mining for 2 years before the camera's came along.

The production company said that filming us would change things for us and make our job harder. They also said we could not go home as frequently due to filming requirements.

So they agreed to help with some things, like a trip home to see our family, and a few other small things. But George and I are not even close to financially stable because of the show. Will that change down the road?

Damn, I hope so. But as of today, no way. I was a fan of the show until I started to pick up some suspicious acting throughout the dialog. Especially when you were robbed and lost everything. What is your response to something like this. You weren't honestly in danger were you? That is the question we get the most, so thanks for asking it.

Of coarse it's a tv show and things will get overly dramatized. As far as the dialogue, there are times when the camera will ask us to say something again, or rephrase something so that it makes sense. We have to film for about hours to make one 43 minute episode. George and I are not trying to make a tv show, we are just trying to mine. But like I said, at times, things are dramatized, but everything you see is real. Scott said it right, we're not actors, and we're SO SO sorry for the times when a camera battery or microphone battery goes out or a bird squawks ad nauseum and ruins a real conversation, for these things we have to repeat stuff at times.

There are cameras following us so they can get plenty of angles out of us which is helpful at times, especially when things go sideways, which is pretty frequent. In regard to the dramatizing, I always explain it like this. Imagine a classroom in high school, there's a CCTV camera that the NSA is monitoring nice try NSA but that camera is showing such a broad view of the classroom and no 1 thing in particular, it would seem somewhat boring if we're being honest right?

You cut that together, and bam, it's gonna seem like The Wire in that classroom. I will also add. I have felt at times that the camera missed how scary and dangerous things were, it just couldn't do it justice.

I'm seriously loving this! It's really funny because I know Scott so well and this is just the funniest thing in the world.

Nice, I knew I'd get that question, ha ha. For the record, I have never even seen cocaine. I was having a really bad allergy attack that day, I probably sneezed a hundred times during filming, but of coarse a sneeze doesn't work on camera, so they were edited out. I swear on all that is Holy, I have never done drugs, dude not even weed. Todd Hoffman from Gold Rush had the same thing happen to him and he went and got a drug test. But I'm not that paranoid, people will believe me, or they won't.

Either way I don't really care. And yes, I couldn't afford it anyway, ha ha. Just got done watching the season finale. And to be honest I hope it is the searies finale. This show took what coulda been a very good show and fake drama'ed it up so badly. So many discrepancies with this 2 hour long episode. First if your gona take a helicopter somewhere don't you just take it to another airport or another city or country? Certainly not the city that has everyone that is looking for you.

You would think if the entire country was after you two that they would have. Told the airport in the city that all of it came from? Why does discovery think they have to make fake shows to get ratings I had to laugh about the "whole country" looking for them, yet they clear through customs no problem.

Reminded me of Argo, except nobody gave a shit about them. We made the decision to go and started planning for it in December of '09, we arrived on May 15th of , so the price hasn't even gone beneath that, even in the dips, that being said, we are always concerned about, that we're not gonna be where we want to be in time. I do have a feeling and Scott is with me on this, with the way the economy is, I realize that's a generality, but, I believe it is fragile and that gold has a strong future.

The drop of price, IMO, as proven by us is that a lot more people are getting involved in Gold Mining, it just so happens that they are better at it than us. TL;DR It does worry us, but not enough to cut our losses yet. Thanks for the feedback fellas.

Now that the Discovery Season has ended and we the fans are awaiting the show itself. Whats next for you two? And if any fans wanted to meet the legends in Utah, whose brewing the coffee ;.

Just saw that now.. Well, different question, did you guys expeirence any regret? And if so how soon after you landed in Ghana? Well it's real, and please ask us questions about things you are questioning the veracity of. Regret is an interesting thing There are very few things I really truly regret in life. I always say 'Live life with passion and no reason to regret it. So this, no regrets, but there are instances when I wish I wasn't in the place I was in, but in those moments I start being awesome instead of slinking down into it.

Our 3rd partner was a guy names Wally, him and Scott had known each other since they were 14, and he was the third leg to our tripod, well Wally died in the middle of all of this struggle and stress the day before Discovery responded to our tv idea.

And in that despair Scott and I swore to do better than we had ever been doing. And I'm not saying it's fake, I personally believe it's real, but i doubted it at some points because of the really shitty luck you guys had out there. Bro, tell us about it. Honestly, if it wasn't happening to us, I would call bs so fast! OK one last one from me, haha.

In the first episode of Season one, the narrator claimed you mined with 3 Excavators in the first season. You eventually got 2 of them.

What happened to the 3rd? Did it just get abandoned forever? The 3rd one you never saw was actually the land owner we were with before the show came. When we went to new land for filming, he kept his, that was the 4 months we'll never forget, it's what gave us our gold fever. Most of that went to the investors and was actually stolen by our local partner 60k he stole it was nuts, but yeah, that should answer your question. No, but the guys are from around here and they gave us a couple watches and shirts.

Wearing there shirts all the time pissed a lot of people off at Discovery, but they are really comfortable shirts, so we found out who they were getting the shirts from and make ours with the same company.

Good watches, not time pieces, but watches. I noticed those t-shirts watching the show and thought, "damn those look comfortable. How has this show changed your white collar american lives? Going from a somewhat posh career of real estate and investment related ventures to hard labor has likely been a life changing experience. How has it affected you physically and emotionally and has it modified your character? I've always been a 'work smart, not hard' guy.

But, I know the value of self-discipline. So I remember going into this in the beginning I was nervous but also thrilled to be able to do something that was going to be much more physical. Once the hard work came it was humbling. I knew I could do it, but I didn't want to do it if that makes sense, but it has to be done and if not me then who and if not now then when?

So it was a hard transition but I have learned new skills because of it, I can operate an excavator, not well but I can do it. I can weld, pan, cut with a cutting torch. This goes on, and ultimately that is so rewarding. It can't not be. One of my favorite quotes is from Hemingway; "There's nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man.

True nobility is being superior to your former self. At least I hope we have. The last decade before the real real estate crash was really good to me.

I made good money doing what I loved. It allowed me to be home a lot with my wife and kids, and to give them the life I didn't have when I was young. Gold mining wasn't the first thing I did when I lost everything. I did whatever it took, including working in a call center, working for my father-in-law, any odd job that would keep us alive.

When the opportunity to mine came along, I knew it would be hard, but it didn't matter, I didn't hesitate. If providing for your family means digging holes all day, then that's what you do. My dad died when I was 14 leaving my mom alone to raise 8 kids. I have been working everyday since then, literally.

So I learned at a young age to work hard. I think most of life's problems can be solved with hard work. When things are hard and you don't know what to do, get to work and a solution will present itself, even if it means turning that white collar blue. You have balls of gold for trying to do a shady deal with those shady dealers lol. I look forward to the upcoming season! Thanks man, I think. It's one of the stupidest things I've ever done. Driven by money, the show, trying to do something that would be "cool" except, oh wait I always wondered why you wouldn't work with South Africans to kick the Chinese claim jumpers out.

If Ghana is such a lawless place why play clean when the opposition plays dirty? So what was the craziest thing that happened off camera or which we didn't get to see?

I really enjoyed the show, keep it up: Most of the exciting stuff happens off camera. Believe it or not, the production crew doesn't show a lot of the drama because it would make Ghana look really bad.

We only have 43 minutes per episode, so there is not a lot of time to explain why certain things are happening, so many of the crazy things that happen to us would be taken out of context. So rather than explain why the cops are shaking us down, why we've been arrested, why the village is having riots, etc, we just leave it out. If we showed everything that happened to us, the show would be even less believable than it already is.

B ut all the things that happen to us are real. I remember when we bought our first piece of equipment, it was a grizzly with shakers and a 30 foot sluice, well, the guy an American we bought it from double crossed us and sold it to somebody else after we basically spent the last of our money buying it.

I had to fly into the country 1 week before I told him I would, track down the 1 cab driver that took us to the steel worker that was making the machine about 6 weeks before.

I knew where we picked the cab driver the first time, and usually they hang in the same area, and I found him. He remembered me and where the place was and took me. I spoke with the steel worker as if everything was fine and I would be in to pick up the machine the next day. I had to be confident enough to appear that I was suppose to be there, but not overbearing to the point that he called the guy that was double crossing us. Next morning I brought a big shipping truck with a crane and everything and with the paint still wet on the machine loaded it up as the sun was rising.

The journey after all of that cloak and dagger stuff was pretty intense also, because that truck broke down, about 2 hours outside of Accra, the company sent a new truck, and then the road trip started again. Among other things, we were crossing a narrow bridge and I remember watching out the passenger window and looking down and couldn't see any bridge under the front right tire! Screamed for the driver to stop and him, his assistant and my all bailed out of the cab for fear of the truck tipping to the right.

He checked it all, got back in, backed up slowly and then I walked across the bridge guiding him, this was well after sunset and pitch black. Just a scary ordeal, the whole thing. This was about 18 months before the cameras got involved at all. Not sure when it will air in the Netherlands yet, but if you follow us on twitter or check our Facebook.

We just want to be secure and take care of our families. But even if we took a job like that, we would always be looking for a project to work on.

At what point do you put the camera down and engage? At what point to do you realize that you're not a camera man but a person?

I've had a lot of really good answers from that. So I think it really depends if it's in their interest or not, which is frustrating, but true. Hand guns are illegal in Ghana unless you have a ton of permitting, we have looked into the permitting but it's a long process and you have to be in Accra the capital to get it processed and we can't spend all that time there. Shotguns are easier but again when we get there, we are in such a hurry to get our operation running that we don't spend the days in the capital it would take to get the shotgun.

I wish we would have. Thanks for the questions. Being local Utah County-ites, have you ever approached the dudes at Vivint to sponsor some of your other ventures in Ghana? I actually know Todd Pederson pretty well, known him since I was in high school, great guy.

But no, never talked to any of those guys, or Todd for that matter. Not sure if it's their cup of tea. Africa is a whole other ball game. Just saw the first episode of season 2. Me and my wife are big fans.

I can join you on your next adventure? Yes, we have considered many options. We are always looking for the place that makes the most sense. It's always tricky with a production crew, since they need permission from each country to film. Plus the show has aired all over the world, countries I think.

So some countries will be less likely to allow filming due to what has already been shown on tv. We are always looking for qualified people to help us out! We have considered mining in other countries. Before the discovery Channel thing happened we even went and looked at 3 operations in Colombia, and a project in Mexico.

We've been to Sierra Leone as well. Happy to look into you. Was that your trommel on Chris and Sing's site? Do you guys ever get the second excavator back too? It was the trommel we bought in season 1, but to settle some debt with Chris and Singh we gave it to them As for the 2nd excavator You'll have to wait and see. I guess my question is this, you guys go around begging investors for mineing money Discovery had to pay you guys to do this show. So on those grounds alone, before all the questionable content.

You obviously got paid a lot of money to do this show, so why are you asking investors to get involved The question you pose is predicated on the idea that Discovery pays us a "lot of money". This is where you're wrong.

Furthermore, the equipment we have is expensive. I wish we were paid the kind of money that could support a mining operation. I hope that answers your question. The first season ok I can give you that's maybe a start up show to see how it did Here's how I look at it you two, what you are doing is simply amazing, your leaving your babies your kids to go to a world that could kill you, just so they can have a better life.

And the way discovery fake dramas it up really takes away from that. Again, you assume that because they call season 1 by that name and season 2 as such that we were on season 2. Discovery ordered 16 episodes for season 1. We got robbed and they pulled the plug. When we went back for more, we continued on that original order.

Again, you could never have known that, but that's the facts. In regard to the drama. I would like to know what you think was manufactured drama, I would be happy to answer your questions. Keep in mind this explanation I gave also: How much money did you guys make the first time you went to ghana?

The time that we never got to see. We had a couple instances where things sort of worked out. I say sort of because we were renting a ton of equipment on top of the equipment that's "ours", our investors rather. We pulled out k in about 10 weeks, but 60k got stolen by one of the Ghanaian partners, and the majority of the money that didn't go toward fuel for so much equipment went to the renting of that much equipment.

Had we owned the equipment it could have been better, but the investors took what was left of that money. It did allow us to see what is possible if you're in a better ownership position So what happened to the blue trommel, which you had to abandon in the first TV season? I think they'll go over it tomorrow on the show, but the blue trommel basically sat under the 'protection' of Chris and Singh for months on end, in which time was picked to pieces, engine, water pump, etc.

After doing the gold hustle with the Chinese miners, you were nervous about transporting the gold into town. I was wondering why this might be riskier than finding gold on your own claim in the process of mining, and bringing it in.

I'm guessing it's the whole "news travels fast," issue. In any case I love the show, and appreciate the honest answers here. Wish you guys all the best. George here, 1st, having gold or cash is always a risk period.

I was nervous in particular this time round because the Chinese have a big staff, and people cant help but talk. Imagine, no tv's out in these remote villages, almost no tv's, some radios So I knew people would talk, I just didn't think that fast. I heard people, then gun shots, which was to scare me off, with the hope I would leave the gold.

The only difference I would say is, when we find gold, or even have cash, it's fairly isolated. We are the only ones who know. And even then, it's risky. Does that answer the question? Hey George, first off, thanks for the awesome and in depth reply! It really means a lot that you take the time to respond to your fans. I think you explained the situation perfectly, and I can't imagine how terrifying it must have been to be in the middle of nowhere knowing someone is out in the bush with a gun!

That's like Blair Witch x right there. I think what you said about employing a lot of the locals holds a lot of weight. Trying to get anything done in Africa sounds like quite the feat, but it's definitely a place I'd love to see someday. Anyway, looking forward to the episode this weekend, keep up the good work guys! Make that ground give up the gold! Are the locals accepting of your gold mining project?

Are the locals friendly towards you and your crew? From your experiences, is Ghana a safe country? I hope to hear back from you guys! I really enjoy your show, and I hope you guys strike millions of dollars in gold! A lot of miners, not to name any 1 group in particular that may or may not eat a lot of rice with chopsticks, but it's rare to find a legit operation out there playing by the rules. So yes, widely accepted.

As for safety, I always say this: Everything is fine out there I suppose that's true everywhere right? Everything will be fine driving to the store But, dealing with Gold and being in the more remote areas does make things more dangerous. The big thing is desperation, over the past year, more and more local and foreign miners are mechanizing their operations Robberies are on the rise, it's ridiculous actually.

So if you have gold literally untraceable when un-minted or cash things can get dicey. Crew is treated well for the most part with us. They are really great to the people of Ghana, sometimes too nice actually and create problems. If you're going to go to Ghana NOT for business. It's the safest place you can be. Scott I noticed you wearing an ASU shirt in one of the episodes.

Did you attend Arizona State? I'm a huge Devils fan! No I only kid about BYU. Both of my parents went there and you have to love the rivalry between them and the U. I love the show guys!

I used to be a hug gold rush fan but now I'm honestly bored. They can't compete with the excitement in ghana.

With all the illegal miners being run out of the country, is it easier to do gold flips? It seems like the ones left would jump at an opportunity to sell their gold. How do you think I was able to do the deal I did. Chinese didn't want to go into the city to sell it on their own.

I just saw that episode this evening after I asked the question. Trying to get caught up before the finale. I sure hope you guys will be back I have a bad feeling about this finale being moved up. I'm hoping its just the rainy season and too wet to mine but guess ill see tonight. Just 1 more question; do you guys ever get offers from investors due to the show? I'm surprised some old rich guy hasn't offered to back you two yet. I think you would be shocked at how many people are pulling for y'all after season 1.

Thanks for the replies guys. I wish you the best. I started watching the show because of your struggle and fight to save your family. Without getting the gold, losing thousands in cash, getting robbed and tonight, leaving behind brand new equipment and tons of expensive non-essentials, I have just one question: I don't care about the lack of gold, but I was routing you guys on, hoping that you and the show at least made money. I really wanted to see a success story of you risking it all for the ones you love, which I think you did.

Having the show is almost like you having a second gold mine. We are compensated somewhat by Discovery, but no where near enough to clear debts and set us on the right track. Will there be another season? I just watched the double episode last night at 4 am in the morning and was upset. And yes, that was some Argo shit! I was hoping that there would be successes that allowed you to secure funding to continue mining. I don't really care if anything was fake because I felt invested in the show - I wanted you guys to succeed because you got yourself in a hole quite literally and no one actively wants someone to fail.

How much of your guys' financial troubles were overblown by editing? Is it really as dire as editing and your guys' portrayal made it out to be?

I know it's personal, sorry! Last question for now - if you had to mine anywhere else in the world for another season, where would it be? Other than Ghana, of course. Are you allowed back yet? Our financial strifes are slightly overblown, but I mean ever so slightly. I think they say around 1. It's not quite a million, but It's pretty close to be honest, and furthermore since being run out of the country We are in some serious problems as we speak.

I went back 7 weeks ago. One of the scariest times of my life since being run out of there. In the end we realize that basically Ghana doesn't want the show to be filmed in Ghana.

We were legal in Ghana. But I went back to start tying up loose ends, and we have just that. Hi guys, love d the show. When you had that run in with Dave regarding the license to mine, the show had you going to a govt place to sort out the license.

You seemed to return from that with license to mine. So what was that all about? Shortly afterwards the entire country goes ape on hunting you down and throwing you in jail? So what exactly did you do with this so called 'license' you got? Surely that would give you authority to mine, right? Or did you just trigger something that had them coming after you outright and lying to you that it was ok for you to mine?

The whole thing doesn't make sense to me. We all had our suspicions about DT throughout the show. He's a slime-ball to say the least. But what have you learned since about the backroom deals that were going on that brought on your exodus? And what came of DT's buddy who was so called Machete'd in the back, yet is talking to you on the phone like he's just a little pissed off from the experience?

Was that all BS too? Was he doing a deal with the vigilantes to have them pillage your camp and run you out of town also? We can't know for sure but it's our suspicion that after that final paperwork being settled, it was connected to the higher ups, again, there is a separation between the land and natural resources and the minerals commission, so when we went into the minerals commission and got things settled, we were on the top of a stack of papers so to speak, more visible, and then someone put it together I'm sure that we were the same guys from the tv show that had just finished airing the first season there in Ghana.

I don't believe that David sold us out, he had nothing to gain. Scott and I explain a bit more on this with our YouTube Channel here: Terrified of being identified as a fugitive miner, but wearing a gold miner t-shirt through customs?

This isn't definitive but it raises questions. Your PSD man looked competent, but that should have never come close to happening. When we were evacuated from our camp because of the shooting in Romaso, we thought we would be back to our site. We packed an overnight bag. I had 2 shirts and Scott had 2 shirts. We only had our mining shirts. Let us not forget also, that while the symbol of the shirts may seem ubiquitous those episodes and therefore the shirts we wore in them had not been broadcast anywhere at all.

They were not symbols yet inextricably connected to Scott and I. We are grateful they are now. Amazing how quickly things changed on such a broad scale. I think Ghana officials should crack down on illegal miners, that's only right. But to issue an arrest warrant before diving into the first single fact is really scary. Every job comes with effort and takes heart, you guys have both and best of luck to you no matter what you do, you will succeed.

Scott, I recently received news that my son was not autistic following several tests and just preparing for prospect was one of my worst nightmares. I feel your pain and really hope for the best for him and your family. Sorry, I don't have a question for you - just wishing you luck. Scott and George, you are both so brave to go to Ghana.

I read on the Internet that Chinese miners in Ghana were arrested. The Chinese say their govt. All of you, including the whole American Discovery film crew, were able to avoid arrest and secure safe passage back to the U. Did you have the American Embassy help you get back into the U. In order to ensure your safe return? Just found this AMA so I hope you guys are still checking this.

Big fan of the show. I didn't realize that you guys went to mine two years before the show ever began. Frankly all we have seen from you guys in the first two seasons is series of unfortunate events and failures. So my question is, how did you guys make it two years without the help of discovery?

Where you successful before the cameras started rolling? We weren't wildly successful no, but we were finding gold here and there, enough to continue doing it! It was never easy, but we saw some things and had some good experiences that proved to us that gold mining in Africa isn't as crazy as people may think! Glad you found our AMA.

We have kept it open and answer when we can. After the season finale of season 2 we got inundated with comments and questions and our ability to answer them all are left wanting. Thanks for your response! Ill be rooting for you guys.

Is season 3 confirmed yet. One other question, in real life is Dave Thomas really like a a James Bond villain? Because that's exactly what he seems like on the show. I'm confused as to how you end up going from the permitting office feeling like it was all going to work out to being wanted "criminals'?

Was that one of the the situations you speak about that was edited together strangely? Do you feel like your trip to the permit office had anything to do with the warrant being issued?

If not why do you think the government decided to come after you then? They were obviously upset about the previous seasons episodes.

Were those airing while you were in Ghana filming what became the second season? Big thanks to you guys for sharing your world with us. It sure seems like it's led to a huge sacrifice for you both.

Is there anything that might make you guys give up? Anything that might be "too much" and you just wanna go home? What would you guys do for work in that kind of situation? Also have you considered moving your families closer, maybe not ghana, but somewhere on the continent at least?

Last one, i know you guys are mormons, have you tried to spread the word of god whie in ghana, trying to convert the locals? These are good questions. I think there are a couple things that would make us give up, not sure what they are per se, I suppose we haven't hit our limits and until we do we can't be sure what they are. We'll keep you posted. We have looked at moving families closer, perhaps Spain or Dubai, but in the end, that's a big money commitment.

We have been fortunate enough to save our homes for the moment, we want to keep them if we can. Both Scott and I were missionaries, I served in Argentina and Scott in Indianapolis, and once missionaries always missionaries. So yes, we have had a lot of people that we have talked about the church to. I'll tell you who gets it a lot now a days is the camera crew, we end up having a conversation about our church to everybody on the crew, haha!

It's an ongoing joke now. The other aspect of being Mormon LDS and having the show is in our opinion it's unique opportunity to be representatives of the church so to speak, and in the end we continually hope that we do more good than bad. Unfortunately I don't always put the best foot forward, but it's good, it helps me grow I think faster than I would otherwise if that makes sense? Idk, I watch shows like ax men and other shows on discovery and this show I guess it was just a coincidence that a camera was taped right beside it when it went off I really like the show, but the fake dramA just sucks.

The show could and would carry on its on weight, plainly because people believe that Americans can still get that dream. There is no need for stupid drama. Just let the show be what it is.

I really do enjoy watching you two tho. The honest truth is, that tire fell off the day before. We ran out of time to go after our equipment that day and the driver assured us that he would drive his low-boy up to Kumasi 4 hours one way get the tire fixed and meet us at a designated place first thing in the morning.

He showed up in the morning along with another low-boy we had 2 excavators MIA And they did put a camera on that tire, I'm sure to say, "it was this same tire that flew off yesterday while driving and caused delays for Scott and George, Hopefully this time it can make the journey.

We left the low boy behind and went to get at least 1 of our excavators. That is the honest truth. The more outlandish things seem Scott and I always get so frustrated that people are missing the mark entirely on that stuff. I think people just need to be there to believe this stuff. I don't blame them. Let me just clarify that I DO NOT think you are fake I see it in your eyes when you go home. Or when you talk to your kids, if you are actors you should be in movies because that is some good acting And I admire the hell out of that.

However do I believe that to spice things up discovery want make fake drama? No I watch a lot of the shows on discovery.. Guys I'm saying if they are faking it up tell them your fans want it natural. The show is amazing with just you guys trying to make an impossible situation a solution. I'm enjoying the show, I haven't seen the previous seasons but still not bad to watch.

I think its a bit over dramatized though but I'll take it for what it is. Just got done watching the latest episode with moving big trommel, it seemed liked Scott was starting to get pretty agitated towards Dave Thomas and am wondering, what was the relationship like off the camera between Dave and yourselves during the whole process? And how much actual help and advice does Dave and Alan actually provide as part of the deal? Also, based on how far you've gotten in what's aired so far, what would you do differently?

It seems the biggest one to me is inspecting that your gear overseas is all good before going so far, did this cross your minds? Do you eat the local cuisine or do you plan your food well ahead? This show is crazy as hell. I'm having a really hard time believing that the robbery was real though. Why would he not just jack you when you were down the shady trail alone with the money? Doesn't make sense why he would set up the barrier and go through all that risk. Of course there is no way you can admit that it was staged but I have to admit I have been pretty entertained so far.

What were your first thoughts when DC wanted to make you guys into a TV show? Has having a TV show changed how you work? It's been one of the most amazing and hard experiences of lives. We are so grateful to have the show but by the same token it does effect the work quite a bit Man, I feel like I can answer this question a thousand times I'm jumping over to the computer, I went to my phone to answer while Scott hacked away at his keyboard. So slow I swear!

Even though they claimed it was their retirement site. There was however some VERY interesting things that happened in this season in Romaso. It's crazy actually, the cameras missed most of it, but you hear about it plenty. Were either of you at any time tempted to knock boots with one of those hot Ghana women?

Don't lie because you have wives. Have you seen our wives. They're crazy hot and keep us plenty happy. And I don't think we are in the places down there that women can even approach us, most of the time we are out in the middle of nowhere, and that kind of stuff happens in the cities, either Kumasi or Accra. I can say that we were in Accra on our way out of the country once and the production company had PLENTY of temptation!

It was basically the Ghana Anonymous Walk of Shame because nobody knew anybody's name. Scott and were already done with breakfast as the hilarity ensued. So I suppose it happens, but no not to us, not our scene really. Unfortunately this is my throwaway account so no confession bears from us, but honestly we are both genuinely happy with our wives.

It's a valid question, but pointed to 2 mormons who are mormony mormons. There was plenty of temptation even though it looked like you guys were trying to fee the country as quickly and unnoticed as possible? I was referring to last season. A bunch of crew were walking with bushels of shame I wish I would have had my camera at the time. It was pretty funny! You remember that scene from Lord of War when Nic Cage goes into his hotel room and there are 2 smoking hot women waiting for him?

He ends up booting them from his room. Well I have pretty much had to do the exact same thing, not because I am scarred of disease, but because I am faithful to my wife. That's just not my thing here at home or in Africa. We are doing all this for our wives and kids, so it would be pretty jacked up if all I brought home from Africa was a love child. From what it appears from the show, you guys are in more debt now than you were to begin with It's true our debts have increased while we have been filming, but we are doing things when the camera's stop rolling.

We are working on some other things in Ghana to help bring in a little money, off camera. But the reality is, we are still in a very difficult spot. Our fortunes truly do rest upon our ability to find gold. I think that's what makes our story so authentic, we have not become rich off a tv show or endorsements.

Our story is very real, so are our financial problems. Agh, things are really rough out there with equipment. So, what "happens" at Romaso this year, you mentioned that earlier Any news now that the season is rolling? Oh yeah- When do you get the second BL back?

I am amazed at your perseverance. I started watching last year and look forward to each week. I was so angry at the Chinese that stole your one claim. With all of the bad luck you have had, I am amazed at your still trying. I probable would have ran home with the first major scare since there is so little law there. I think your show is great! I hope Discovery keeps it going. Don't listen to the negative stuff. I am sure most of it is from people who are pissed off at the world for no real good reason.

I am from Minnesota and you have a-lot of people who watch your show. Being a disabled veteran, I have some extra time here and there for television.

I have always wanted to do something like you guys. I can't now, so watching is the next best thing. The only thing good about the Hoffman Crew is the background speaker. Todd is an ass. The young Kid is interesting to watch. Were you able to sell back the steel from the failed Chinese Wash? How much did you get? I think you may have to adjust the contract a-little, especially if your partner comes up with more equipment. What do you think? I will keep watching and will have more questions as the show rolls along!

Take care of yourselves and especially your families! Maybe this has been asked before but why after being robbed the first season, chased down while sleeping and now with a militia potentially on your doorstep would you not hire armed security?

Seems that would be the first order of business. You are mining gold in one of the poorest areas in the world. Even the chinese miners were armed and had security. What do you think of the animals in Guyana as compared to those back in the U. S and are there any in particular you dread? They were in Ghana Africa. I think you are getting your TV shows mixed up.

So Ghana is cracking down on illegal mining? The town people were upset about equipment ruining roads. Kinda like "Fracking" that is now coming in towns near us. We actually talk about Dave and what happened with the 50k on a couple videos on our YouTube Channel. Start with this one, and then check the other one out that talks about the 50k. You've just been had.

Dave Thomas scammed you out of 50K then thru you under the bus. And you bought that fake phone call he made to yah? Come on guys you look smarter than that. We verified it got to the real land owner.

I follow your show regularly, I can totally relate to the persistance you both have, the only way to really loose, is to not try! But, I have to ask, why Africa?

Why not in Alaska? I understand the short season is a deturant but, I am sure in many ways it would be more feasible? I know Scott answered this somewhere but the short answer is, we chose Africa, because it really chose us. It was an opportunity that came to us through Scott's father in law, Bud, he told us about Ghana and the opportunity to buy gold.

Matthew McConaughey's movie is based on jungle gold rush | Daily Mail Online

We went and independent from Bud, we began mining. It wasn't until a year later that we started working with Bud, and then after that, the tv show came along. Oh, I do have a question. Why was Dave Thomas not a part of the arrest warrant? He and Alan were your partners too. I think the crux of the witch hunt is linked to the television show. Scott and I had targets on our backs because the week that all went off, the 1st season of Jungle Gold just finished airing in Ghana.

We were high profile targets, perfect to be made examples of. You'll see in this article they even claim that we were stealing land and The authorities were only reacting to Season 1 of the show—remember, they mentioned that the guys were working near Romaso season 1 claim rather than Fahiakobo season 2 claim.

So they wouldn't have known that the guys had subsequently entered into a partnership with Dave Thomas. Can you explain the laws and licensing you had to go through to mine there? What do you do with the gold once you mine it? Foreigners must mine on Large Scale Mines. We have brought gold in to the US before, I walked 48k worth of gold into the country and claimed it at customs Just inspect it, and let you walk in.

Welcome to the USA! Hello there, I love your show and I was wondering since season two is done if there will ever be a season three somehow somewhere? Also, if there was one thing you could bring with you to Ghana what would it be? Hey I'm a fan from Singapore! Really admire both of you guys! A real inspiration to me, all the best in whatever you do! Go get that gold!! George, it was mentioned in on episode that you were an experienced MMA fighter, is that true and if so how long have you been involved in MMA?

Just logged back on here to reddit and saw a few posts. Thanks for the support and thanks for sharing. We really do appreciate our fans like you. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms and that you have read our Privacy Policy and Content Policy. Log in or sign up in seconds. Submit a new text post. IAmA subscribe unsubscribe 16,, readers 2, users here now Submit an AMA Request an AMA Hide AMA Requests Please check out our Rules and FAQs Click here to request being added to our calendar. Click here to search AMAs by category! AMAs are scheduled in Eastern Time GMT Date Time Person Description 21 Jun 1pm Brennen Smith Lead Systems Engineer at Speedtest by Ookla 22 Jun 1pm Ryan J.

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I am also a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band Tonic. I am Jonas Odland, Master Blender for Swedish aquavits. We've just opened our new distillery. I am Benjamin Lowry. I served in the Navy, had 3 deployments to Afghanistan, set the military sit-up record in Florida, graduated Army Airborne School, tried out for a D1 football team as a veteran, applied to Y-Combinator and co-founded a tech startup for customizable workout supplements.

AMA with the journalist behind "Rigged," a USA TODAY Network investigation into worker exploitation in the port trucking industry. This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment. Keep up the good work. I meant we watch Gold Rush to laugh I like your show, haha. Either way works, but we do appreciate your support! If you cannot answer that for Spoiler reasons, how many months were you in Ghana for, this year? I have no idea why this didn't garner more attention.

George, your writing skills are impeccable. History channel sucks just as bad too. Also, what brand is your Trommel?

I love Breaking bad! Been a long time fan. Now that I know that, I'll probably tune in again. And dont tell me you werent high! I'm not buying this sh! It's entertaining, real or not. When's the next season? And bring some guns would you? I'd like to pick one up to support the guys.