Gold Rush Alaska

[libertydave]

I'm certain that by now many of you have seen the new Discovery TV Show "Gold Rush Alaska". It is a 10 part series about a group of people from NW Oregon, many unemployed and facing the challenges from the economic downturn, that join as a group and travel to a Porcupine Creek claim to go mining. Only the father of one of the group has had previous mining experience. The others are along to learn while they work. They have pooled their resources and have acquired some large scale equipment for their enterprise.

I've heard from many who have seen the first two parts and comments have been both positive, for reflecting upon the gold rush legacy, and negative, that these people should not have attempted their gold mining effort.

If you have seen any of this series I was wondering what you think of the Discovery "Gold Rush Alaska" series.

Liberty Dave

[russau]

Dave i like the show dispite my comments of how it is comeing about. looking at todays ecconomy, i think they did the only thing they could do to save whatever they have. the old man needs to settel down and do as his son asked him todo and stop doing whatever he wanted todo instead. the realator needs to watch his mouth or just pack it up and go home! their safty man isnt doing his job, or nobdy is listening to him.on their first attempt to set up camp, they shouldnt of brought the kids along, they were to young! someone needs to keep a eye on them youngsters for their own good. the old mans son is supposed tobe the "leader" but people arent listening to him. i thought he said he had mined before?? i would have loved to be out there with them but they needed todo a better job of planning everything our before they bought equipment and moved up to AK. you do a Alaska trip every year to the pertersburg area dont you? youve done the learning curve from the first year to now. what do you see that catches your eye as far as "what they should have done" kinda things? some of this is rerlly frustrating to watch, but thats mining for ya! and theres always a newbe in the crowd! id sure like the Discovery channel to pay for my trip to Alaska! i could show them the how-not-to-do-it seris! my oldest son (whos out of work) asked me today if id go up there with him and teach him how to get some gold.

[mark pa]

This sums it up

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/10 ... -mentality?

With the rash of reality shows it certain stupidity and drama queens sell.

But then again they are in Alaska chasing gold and we ain't

[CalGoldDredger]

They should hang out with their neighbors more seems that they know how to do it. Then maybe the TV audience won't come off thinking all miners are idgets.
I know the Alaska folks probably don't want a whole bunch of idiots like them coming up next season, can't say I blame em.

I will keep watching it for the sake of comedy and entertainment. No different than any other reality type show I suppose.
Might have to head that way myself soon just so I can dredge. Thanks to Mr. Stopper.

[misterbigtoe]

There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. If you have equipment that needs to cross a bridge call AKDOT. Call AKDFG and get the crossing permit as a backup plan. Permit was for a 2009 stream crossing which was not needed as we got the D8T over the bridge on a lowboy. Picture was my permitted stream crossing from 2008. The 345 was too big to fit through the bridge without taking off the stick and disconnecting the boom cylinders.

Alaska is probably the last place in the US with manageable mining regs..............for now! All that is needed is a herd of wannabe's spending network bucks to wantonly disregard the regs and any semblance of responsible behavior for ratings and thereby giving the general public the idea that this is normal operating procedure!

IMHO it hurts everyone from the commercial operator to the recreational dredger to have a bunch of clowns doing things like I saw on the first episode. Won't watch the show again and you know the greenies are watching it! The footage from that show is ready made to open a righteous can of worms with EPA, DOT, AKDFG, OSHA, MSHA and the fricking 7 dwarves!

just my borrowed two cents worth

MBT eric

[Tanqd]

Well said Mark and Eric.

The real story should've been "what happens when a father/son team actually invest their $250,000 into something worthwile instead of squandering every penny and conning a bunch of family guys into a ton of work and risking their lives without getting paid a dime."

It's going to be a shame if this batch of Jamokes actually finds any gold.

[misterbigtoe]

Hey Erik!

Sensationalism Sells!

Mark posted a link to an article in the Fairbainks Daily News Miner and the quote that got my attention was this:


Steve Borell, the executive director of the Alaska Miners Association tells the reporter;“The group seems to have a chip on their shoulder against government and seemed to be looking for a confrontation.”

“In at least one instance the camera party sought such confrontation with an ADF&G (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) biologist but he did not bite. I learned about it from the ADF&G Commissioner’s office and I fully support what I was told the agency response was at the time,” he said

Well, this heres America, not Rome. We ain't got no coliseum or Caligula.............but we do have cable tv and reality programming is essentially the same as gladiator battles we can sit and watch from the comfort of our couches.. Spectacle and sensation while the barbarians gather at the gates!

MBT eric

[RiverGold]

Having been to Alaska once to dredge gold, It is entertaining for me in the middle of winter to watch some other people mining and facing the challenges of Alaska. Like the original Klondike Gold Rush, we are seeing many would-be miners who have little practical knowledge of what they are getting in to. So many greenhorns starved and froze in the the first year of the Klondike rush that the Canadian Mounties, who controlled access, restricted access to prospectors with at least 1,000 lbs of equipment and provisions. Unfortunately, then as now, there was no requirement for intellgence or experience in mining. Many of those Klondike prospectors left professions as barbers, bakers, sailors and bank tellers. The ones who survived either found knowledgeable people to help them or they learned the hard way, like these guys. Like the other comments above, I think their biggest problem on Gold Rush is poor leadership, lack of planning, and a stubborn refusal to listen to good advice when they have it available.

It could have gone better. I know of seven local business school students who put together a plan and went to Alaska ten years ago for a summer to mine gold. They had a similar lack of experience, but they did their research, rented their equipment in Alaska and recovered about $100,000 in gold in three months. After expenses, they cleared bout $35,000. Not bad pay for a summer job and they probably had great time doing it. But, they put the time and effort into learning what they needed to do. Of course, ten years ago, it was probably easier to rent equipment and lease a good gold claim, too.

[misterbigtoe]

Unfortunately, then as now, there was no requirement for intellgence or experience in mining.

Unfortunately now unlike then, miners have myriad federal and state agencies breathing down our necks. There is a requirement for responsibility. Do we, based on the example of this show want to see a new law passed requiring intelligence or experience? These agencies are constantly under pressure from radical and quasi- mainstream environmental groups to seriously curtail, more tightly regulate or eliminate mining completely. Giving these wacko groups ammunition delivered through the boob tube by a herd of bad examples like this is not a good thing for miners whether commercial or recreational. Say that the "People for the Liberating of the living Earth from Evil Miners" takes this video footage and says look at this and this and that too, look what miners are doing to the pristine environment they are driving through the river and killing fish. The evil miners are going to kill one of their employees because of being wantonly negligent. they are making the water muddy, killiing the trees and eating the bears, yadda yadda yadda. We all know the difference, but the idiots that we elect to office and the idiots that get appointed to the bureaucracy dont............they see this and they think that this is mining.

Anyone from Kalifornia want to chime in on how ridiculous regulation gets passed against miners because of false or misleading "Science". After all, this is reality TV right......these are real guys doing what miners do right????? And how is the dredging in Kalifornia now because of some muddy water!?

MBT eric

[Sean C]

Its funny because the same people who would cry wolf at the miner's tractor being briefly driven across the river are the same people who approve of the tractor work on the lower American River by the Bureau of Reclamation.

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline ... completion

Whats even more "entertaining" is all the studies they did on this gravel project which concluded that it would have no significant impact. You can look over the reports here:

http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projde ... ct_ID=3202

It looks like all you need to do to be able to dig in the river with a tractor is make yourself a flashy powerpoint presentation complete with pictures of happy fish and diagrams