Gold Rush Alaska

[G2Rad]

After watching all episodes of Gold Rush Alaska on Discovery, I've been contemplating the results.

The season ended in miserable failure.

$280,000 in investment produced only $20,000 in return.

Why that happened?

I think because the team believed that gold, being at all-time high will be the magic bullet that will make things happen.

The reality is, that gold may be at all time high, but so is food, so is fuel and so are the materials.

Since mining involves running machines, mining is converting energy (gasoline) into gold.

In 1999 oil was at $25, now it is at $100.

The team mined 12 ounces of gold in return for $280,000 spent on fuel and equipment, mining on one of Alaska's richest claim.

They could have done much better by spending the same $280,000 on buying gold bullions.

Bottom line: "Gold at all-time high" is a baloney, mirage. Gold is cheap.

[crazychicken]

They suffered failure partially because they were quite unprepared.

Ask anyone who has really mined, not just panned anywere, particularly in Alaska.

In my opinion they got away damned cheap.

CC

[MNeagle]

But wasn't most of it in their initial start-up costs? Perhaps they need to continue mining? Or did they give up entirely?



(Thanks for the recap. No cable here.)

[SHTF2010]

when i saw Jack ( No Guts, No Glory ) first jump into the excavator
and start digging for glory holes right away, i figured this wouldn't have a happy ending

the story of the rabbit and the turtle comes to mind

slow and steady wins the race


the rich guy across the creek ( Schnobel ? ) was probably laughing his ass off all summer

[osoab]

That show was a joke. For some reason, I think it was used to make "gold-lovers" look like total loons and dumbasses.

FYI, all the main characters got paid per episode. Can't find an exact number. I have seen up to 5000 an episode estimates. I do believe also that the guy who constructed the camp had off camera help.

Who in the hell would drag their whole family with little kids up into BFE to "mine" for gold? Seriously?

Look at the old man in the first episode or two. Runs the high-hoe into the truck and then proceeds to start digging holes everywhere. Every other word out of his mouth was "We going to be rich!" "Look at all that gold"
The old man actually seemed like the quintessential old geezer miner. Annoying voice, short stature, white hair, and glasses to boot.

I have never mined for gold, but I would think that I would be more prepared than those douches. I would expect that 85% of GSUSers could do better than these idiots.

Out of the few parts that I watched, the mining camp next door seemed level headed. I liked when the 15 yo kid from the other mining camp shows up to tell them how to fix their machine. In the same segement, he says straight up that that with the 1/8 oz(my estimate) of gold unrefined, was a far cry from paying all of their expenses.

"We're going to be RICH, I tell ya!" :lol

[osoab]

when i saw Jack ( No Guts, No Glory ) first jump into the excavator
and start digging for glory holes right away, i figured this wouldn't have a happy ending

the story of the rabbit and the turtle comes to mind

slow and steady wins the race


the rich guy across the creek ( Schnobel ? ) was probably laughing his ass off all summer


Did you notice that they really forced the term Glory Hole? I may have a sick perverted mind, but I think some of that was written in intentionally.

[G2Rad]

But wasn't most of it in their initial start-up costs? Perhaps they need to continue mining? Or did they give up entirely?

(Thanks for the recap. No cable here.)


Hoffmans dug up a huge hole trying to get to the bedrock.

finaly, in the last two days they started getting gold-rich material when cold weather forced them to end the season

weeks later the claim owner's guy who was brought into the team late-season, announced that next season he wants to bring on his own team to mine the claim

Looked like Hoffmans were getting ditched after they spent all those money opening up the hole ( for somebody else lol )

[mightymanx]

The way it really works is from talking with one of my best buds that was on Treasure Quest. Discovery probably gave them $250k-350k ish for the series and for that money they demand lots of drama with emotional highs and lows like sending the familys home etc etc.

Yes it is all a lie.

This is why they are moving to a new location so they get all the jucy set up drama again.

[bellevuebully]

Reality tv. Yah. Ok. :P

[keehah]

http://www.goldminingrealityshow.com/?category_name=gold_rush_alaska

Many plots I internalized and it actually became an actuality for me because I felt I could not really act. I had to believe the lines that they were feeding me to be able to say them without sounding scripted. The 72 hours became a week which was going on a month and then I felt compelled to actually leave the mine to fulfill the prophecy that I spoke into existence in the hours of interviews about the deadline. Here is where truth and fiction meet in a world called Reality TV.”

Jimmy Dorsey, January 30th 2011 | Posted in Behind the Scenes, Gold Rush Alaska

[Uncle Salty]

Looks like next season there will be two mines that will be filmed.

The glory hole and the new claim.

I loved the show. Yeah, it's reality t.v. and yeah, it's manipulated, but still, it was cool to see the dig unfold.

I suspect the glory hole is going to have much gold in it.