We came to realize this was a perfect opportunity to show how foreigners can do business the right way in Ghana, Lomu told me. We partner with mines to digitize their precious elements. The series chronicles the continuing efforts of former real-estate dealers George Wright and Scott Lomu . Watch part 1 unfold here: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/jungle-gold/videos/run-for-the-border-part-one.htm. On the morning of May 9, hours before the first article ran, Wright was in Fahiakobo preparing for the days shoot when he received a disturbing call from Reece. Ensurge Inc. announced that Scott Lomu and George Wright have accepted positions as members of the company's management team. Alerted to the situation by Raw, series producer Christo Doyle set up a "war room" as the cameras rolled. In a surreal scene, Lomu jumps in the car with a gold bar he says is worth $75,000, before a masked man runs out of the jungle firing a machine gun, steals the gold and runs off. I guess this is what your generation who grew up in a fancy world is all about. He earned the money being a professional American Football Player. Months later, on March 6, 2013, Wright posted a photo on Instagram of Raw interviewing Lomu outside a Utah diner. The stars solved the dilemma by essentially pretending to mine, digging in the mud or washing gold by hand when a scene called for it. We were entirely without expectations, Wright told news.com.au. And I think thats evidenced as anything by the things that Scott and I have been doing. But we like to think our presence is making a difference. Class acts the two of them. They banned workers from touching mercury, paid workers twice the going rate and hired security. locations., Scott Lomu stated, George and I have been approached numerous times to Runtime. Jungle Gold. But they had not received permission from the Minerals Commission to film mining lands. They whine at how poor they are, yet no wife works (the husbands hardly do either) they live in big mansions, drive fancy cars? Viewers were shocked that Americans would broadcast illegal mining, and activists claimed throwing money at people unused to financial decision-making was a mistake. If so, what do you think of those guys up in Alaska? Petitions called for its cancellation and Wright and Lomu were attacked on social networks and in the media. By this time, Ghanas mining industry was in chaos, with Al Jazeera reporting on the dangers of illegal mining, fuelled by widespread corruption. 43 min. What the freak is this? Lomu shouted. Theres a lot of feedback we get where people are just really inspired by the idea that we have a goal and were willing to do whatever it takes to obtain that goal. First Aired. Maybe little Scottie will have a headache or a hang nail as his next excuse for constant failure. Discovery had ordered 12 episodes, Wright said, but their abbreviated stay produced only enough material for six. At any moment, a police vehicle, a military car, can come in and stop this plane, Lomu says in the finale. They just have to survive long enough to go back and tell the world, I guess. Gold miners George Wright and Scott Lomu sit down with THR to talk about the mistakes they tried not to repeat and why they keep returning to Ghana despite the life-or-death stakes. Nevertheless, the district officer demanded Raw visit the Minerals Commissions headquarters in Accra before they continued filming. And one of their original crew had taken his own life. | December 22, 2022 Searching to find out more about George Wright? If you take any human being out to a site where theres gold, and give him a shovel and they find gold there, theyll say, Give me more shovels, give me more people! Because its really quite addictive once you catch it. Those guys on the dredge they were having a really good time. He paused. . So Literally Ask US Anything, we can't spoil the upcoming season, but anything else is fine. It is really pathetic. ET) give the term gold diggers a literal spin with this reality show, now in its second season. Primary Income source American Football Player (profession). Read our interview with the Brown family. Clean-cut Lomu and Wright were working together in Utahs declining real estate industry when they heard Ghana was experiencing a modern-day gold rush and attracting overseas miners, mainly Chinese, to try their luck. In 2010, they and a friend, Wally Macias, invested in a small operation and took turns flying out to work there. It looked like we were being mocked, Donkor said. The entire landscape of the mining industry over the last year has changed dramatically, and so we encountered a lot this season. Content Rating. All were shocked to think Americans would film themselves engaging in illegal mining, let alone broadcast it. Gold dealing, they concluded, was a scam. The shows first season had been a hit, airing on Friday nights behind Gold Rush, Discovery Channels highest-rated show. But Wright doesnt regret fighting back. We have a full Biography, Photos, Theatre Credits, and more! In 2011, Scott Lomu saw the Discovery channel TV show Gold Rush and was perplexed that it was a hit. The Mormon miners submitted a proposal to Raw TV, the British company that produced the program, and waited. But he dropped out after a year to serve a Mormon mission in Buenos Aires. During a layover at JFK, he checked his voicemail and found it full of condolences from friends and family. His own face stared back. It shows A side of us, and we're hoping to show another side with you guys. Aboagye was shocked. By August 2012, more than two months into the shoot, the stars joint venture had found only a few ounces of gold. Public Relations and Scott Lomu as Vice President of Investor Relations. Tall, handsome, and half-Polynesian, he studied business at Arizona State University and did his Mormon mission in Indianapolis. We didnt think it would make us look cool and it certainly didnt.. It may have been their worst nightmare, but it made gripping TV. We didnt want them to present Ghana as a lawless place where foreigners can come and engage in illegal mining, he explained. Do you guys take any measures to minimize your impact? In many ways, the cast and crew reminded Tay of the Chinese miners, whod come to the area three years earlier and boosted demand for taxis, food, clothing, and bottled water. But after Missing the warning signs of a real estate market about to crash and burn, both men lost everything. One Ghanaian commenter wrote, This is a disgrace for a brand such as the Discovery Channel to glorify what these bandits are doing in our country.. The Chinese miners remained on the site, and Lomu forfeited the money he paid for it. Messrs Lomu and Wright starred in the popular television show Jungle As the coastline faded in the distance, Wright leaned across the aisle. Though it was never confirmed who the men were or why they had attacked the miners, Wright and Lomu quickly concluded that the militia was looking for them. One op-ed, titled Jungle Gold: A Case Study in the Exploitation of Africa, captured the collective indignation that greeted the series. Language. We do answer questions and stay in touch here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDu1cQjqGaj-3wBYavW1Hg/videos. Lomu had heard that Americans could expect to buy gold in Ghana and resell it in the U.S. for a profit approaching 20%. The spinoff series follows the miners from the jungles of South America, to the mountains of Alaska, to the Klondike. Not that Id recommend it, but theyre pretty sure they can school any critics. (The agency did not respond to questions about the status of its investigation.). But Raw believed they could meet the challenges of filming a gold-mining operation in Ghana; in the Season 1 synopsis, they noted that their contributors would be paragons of responsible mining. Discovery, which had green-lit the show in March, had insisted Wright and Lomu hire locals, replant cocoa crops on mined land, and abide by the rules of Ghanas Environmental Protection Agency. Take a good look, Scottie, he said. Yeah, I just about hate the leads of #JUNGLEGOLD 8 min in. Fortune seekers George Wright and Scott Lomu know there are no rewards without risks, but even the gold-mining stars of "Jungle Gold" weren't prepared for the danger they and the show's crew faced . Why is mining for gold better (in your opinion) than taking your initial capital and investing it wisely? Can you talk about your new colleague Dave Thomas? But the sight of two white guys standing by as a half-dozen Ghanaians labored in the heat created a disquieting visual reminder of Ghanas years as a British colony. It was a humbling experience. Not everyone celebrated their departure. If the global gold price plummeted, many more would leave Ghana voluntarily, depriving poor mining villages of what had become a crucial source of support. But its neocolonial echoes had caused Ghanaians at home and abroad to accuse Wright and Lomu of exploiting Africa for their personal gain. Interview: Scott Lomu and George Wright of "Jungle Gold". Theres a lot of hostility we ran into this year; quite a few from locals, from other miners, and, unfortunately, from higher authorities, and well just leave it at that. And George and I think as a direct result of the show there are a lot of government and military raids on illegal mining camps, and there are a lot of robberies happening. Then the Joy News team got ahold of Inusah Fuseini, Ghanas minister of lands and natural resources. I have never seen this dude, Marie remembers thinking. Discovery was so impressed by the clips they upped the season from 10 episodes to 16. In perhaps the best-known episode from Jungle Gold, an excavator is ripping up an acre of cocoa trees when an irate cocoa farmer named Akwesi emerges from the bush, machete in hand. But regardless of their portrayal onscreen, Wright and Lomu believed they had done more good than harm in Ghana. What would they film if the stars couldnt mine? So, gold fever its addictive. George Wright has been appointed as Vice President of Public Relations and Scott Lomu as Vice President of Investor Relations. It mostly comes down to the bravest of us all which is our wives they support us 100 percent. They found almost no gold, sinking the last of their cash into the failed enterprise. They have hatched a radical plan to turn things around; mining for gold. The next day, Joy FM dispatched its Kumasi correspondent, Erastus Asare Donkor, to gather reactions to the story in the citys streets and markets. George Wright has been appointed as Vice President of Public Relations and. Villagers set up roadblocks and demanded hundreds of dollars. Upon arrival, the cast and crew had paid the landowner $50,000 and set up camp on the villages perimeter. Weary of small-scale mining, the men enthusiastically agreed. Gold, which ran two seasons on the Discovery Channel. Life saving hugs or to provide tissues for his whiny wife? While the landowner applied for a large-scale license, Raw had paid dozens of local men 40 cedis per day (around $20 in 2013, more than twice the standard rate) to dig 8-foot holes in search of gold deposits, a process known as prospecting. For a split second, in between the man hug you could see blonde dude thinking WTF! Jed Lipinski is a staff writer for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. What do they think of this? entertaining gold mining program `Jungle Gold,' they have an Lomu and Wright sat in the back and ducked. I talked with Scott and George by phone recently about Jungle Gold, a few days after the Season 2 premiere. Its very easy to lose your temper, it very easy to feel like everybodys trying to take advantage of you and trying to take your land. A lot of people are like, Oh theres a camera, well act like this, said Wright. How, in less than a year, did its cast and crew get accused of everything from manipulating Ghanaians to murdering them? Check out George Wright's Bio Now Wright, 32, a mixed martial arts enthusiast with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, grew up in California before moving to Utah at 16. The people are very friendly and non aggressive. Two weeks later, before the commission had a chance to review the seven-page document, Aboagye said, Jungle Gold premiered in the U.S. One of the biggest lessons weve learned is dealing with people. Under Ghanaian law, Wright and Lomu could not physically mine. It was time to bail out. At the moment I jumped in, he was right over [our security guard] and was going to push his head underwater. The California gold rush of the mid19th century coincided with the Mormon pioneers arrival in Utah. On Oct. 26, 2012, the night of the U.S. premiere, Wrights extended family gathered around the TV in his living room in Eagle Mountain, Utah, a predominantly Mormon town an hour outside Salt Lake City. Jungle Gold. I got a chance to talk with the pair about how the show came about, how they feel about those that accuse them of faking and what their wives really think of what theyre doing. George Wright in 'Jungle Gold' Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel. [], On May 1 one day before the first anniversary of Operation Neptune Spear, the special operations mission that led to the killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden Discovery Channel will premiere the one-hour special Secrets of Bin Ladens Lair. But where? The next morning, Wright searched his iPhone for news of the incident. That Mormons would choose to deal gold in West Africa may seem odd, but the pursuit of gold carries historical significance in the Mormon church. Under the section Danger and Risk, Raw wrote: It would be easy to paint Ghana as a dangerous and risky environment, and by our audiences standards it certainly is. They hired a former special services agent to beef up security and instituted a no-mercury policy, barring laborers from handling the toxic liquid. Back at Discoverys headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, the channel was enduring its own crisis. When Doyle learned the arrest warrant had been extended to the crew, he called for an immediate evacuation. When I visited Romaso months after Wright and Lomu fled, a cocoa farmer whod witnessed the fight told me it had been painful to watch. It could be a painful reality but that's the way it is. (George: 100 duck sized horses for sure, Scott: 1 duck sized horse) (Will do videos for Karma), Jungle Gold on Discovery Channel this Sunday's 10/9c after Breaking Bad on AMC. Scott and I know we could have done better. In the five years it takes a cocoa tree to fruit, he said, they often make poor decisions that cause them to be economically or physically displaced. The lure of foreign wages, he added, can incentivize village youth to drop out of school. We also discussed the fact that they initially started out with another partner who committed suicide just one day before they got the call from Discovery. Same here, it completely went down hill with all of the reality shows. When I asked them about this, they said the thought had not occurred to them. Second Point, the amount of catastrophic failures the show incures is absurd, there are moments in the show a viewer can easily spot a setup. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . (A spokesperson for Raw would not comment on whether the farmer was paid.) But what you do with that really defines who you are.. We split the gold with the locals, & they of themselves dnt [sic] have the machines to get to the gold, Wright wrote to one skeptical American viewer on Twitter who had suggested they mine in the U.S. instead, before softening her opinion. As far as they knew, they said, Raw had all the required permits. We thought we could explain any misunderstandings to the government, Wright said. Wright and Lomu had never imagined they would end up mining for gold in Ghana. Scott receives life-changing news that could change their gold mining futures. Lomu peeked out the compounds window, half expecting a military convoy to break down the gate and haul them away. In this weeks episode, the pressure continues to mount. Laborers were shown polluting water bodies with mercury, which is used to recover gold from other minerals. But the. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has over 62,000 members in Ghana, the second-highest membership in Africa behind Nigeria. The influx of Chinese miners had triggered a rise in armed robberies of Chinese mining camps. He was crushed to learn I was not. Focused on the action, the show failed to explain the complicated licensing process, causing many to assume they were mining illegally. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. When I visited Aboagye in his cluttered office the following year, he told me hed requested a synopsis of the program the crew planned to make. Now, it seemed, Ghana was taking its revenge. Instead, the men joined a mine support company, run by a fellow Mormon, in the nearby village of Romaso. Brigham Young, the president of the church, was nervous about it, criticizing it as a tenuous and irregularly profitable profession. Such sermons did little to dissuade Mormons, whose trademark optimism stems from a belief that God is on their side. For former real-estate entrepreneurs, George Wright & Scott Lomu, the answer was Ghana. A theatrical streak led him to join his high schools cheerleading squad senior year, and he wound up with a cheerleading scholarship to the University of Utah. We never used arsenic. In 2009, when Lomus father-in-law, a wealthy lawyer in Salt Lake City, suggested Lomu try dealing gold in Ghana, he latched onto the idea. In the most cases they also have children. We were in panic mode. Wright found work translating Spanish for an Arizona-based equipment supplier bidding for contracts in Colombias mining sector. Both men had worked in Utah's real estate market, had young families to support and debts piling up. I feel that resonates with people on a pretty personal level. According to Lomu, Raw had replied that Discovery could not pull the show from Ghana without pulling it from DStv altogether. Aboard a two-story mining dredge as it plies the brown waters of the Amazon jungle, he captures Guyanese miners laughing and telling jokes over lunch. 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