Whose the stupid ones ? We were like, well show them the failures, the terrible, horrible stuff. As Wrights four children bounced on a giant trampoline in the backyard, the men explained that they had returned to Ghana several times since the evacuation, mainly to recover the thousands of dollars in equipment theyd left behind. In the final episode of the seven-part series, the struggling pair are offered the chance to work on a large-scale operation for a rich Ghanaian, if they can raise $15,000. One day in Ghana is more dramatic than this entire freaking episode!. By this time, Ghanas mining industry was in chaos, with Al Jazeera reporting on the dangers of illegal mining, fuelled by widespread corruption. Near the bottom, he noticed a message from his brother Bill. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Discovery was so impressed by the clips they upped the season from 10 episodes to 16. Now, as he scanned his iPhone, Wright saw that he and his co-star, Scott Lomu, were also facing government accusations of illegal gold mining. They have to prove the new claim is stacked with gold or their investors will pull funding. Follows Americans George Wright and Scott Lomu, two hard working men who risk it all to strike it rich as part of a golden plan to recover from losing everything in the real estate crash of 2008. By August 2012, more than two months into the shoot, the stars joint venture had found only a few ounces of gold. (The news site had failed to provide attribution for the murder accusation.). Gold miners George Wright and Scott Lomu sit down with THR to talk about what their wives think of their adventures, whether they watch "Gold Rush" and what they have to say to people w By the time the season ended, three Change.org petitions had called for the shows cancellation, drawing a total of 3,000 supporters from the U.S., Europe, South America, Australia, and across West Africa. Alan Tay, Wright and Lomus handyman, was doing something similar. We were entirely without expectations, Wright told news.com.au. become affiliated with a public mining company. Nevertheless, the district officer demanded Raw visit the Minerals Commissions headquarters in Accra before they continued filming. Scott receives life-changing news that could change their gold mining futures. I Am A, where the mundane becomes fascinating and the outrageous suddenly seems normal. Website: www.ensurgegold.com, Ensurge, Inc.Clint Mishleau, 702-728-5187ensurgeinfo@gmail.com, Internet Explorer presents a security risk. What is behind the allure of gold mining? Interview: Scott Lomu and George Wright of "Jungle Gold". And yes, I have heard many of them are gone. It brought back a lot of stressful memories, Wright said. Missionaries first arrived in Ghana in the 15th century, but the Mormon church was not established in West Africa until 1978, when it reversed a long-standing policy barring black men from the priesthood. Read Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper Archives, Feb 15, 1862, p. 2 with family history and genealogy records from chicago, illinois 1860-1945. But their new status as wanted men made riveting TV with little effort. George: When we first originally went to Africa gold was actually lower than it is today, even though its taken a hit over this last year. While Ghanaians in the diaspora were railing against Jungle Gold online, members of Ghanas Minerals Commission were quietly fuming about its existence. 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.) Scott Lomu and George Wright buying supplies during an episode of Jungle Gold. They watched as the title card flashed onscreen to the sounds of an explosion and a screeching howler monkey. Yeah, I just about hate the leads of #JUNGLEGOLD 8 min in. George: We met him towards the end of our last little stint out there. We work really hard and its really dangerous at times. This was never a get-rich-quick scheme. But we were willing to wear our heart on our sleeve.. I feel like its actually underappreciated and underdemonstrated in any medium. Prior to the fight, locals had regarded the cast and crew with friendly curiosity. This was a good start. The series chronicles the continuing efforts of former real-estate dealers George Wright and Scott Lomu . A decade later, Mormonisms rapid growth and displays of wealth led the Ghanaian government to ban all Mormon activities, suspecting the church was a front for the CIA. The men expected to make easy money in Ghana. George Wright. 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. understanding of conducting mining operations in underdeveloped Genre Man vs. Then the Joy News team got ahold of Inusah Fuseini, Ghanas minister of lands and natural resources. Also, reclaiming and replanting was mentioned and shown, but sadly not near enough, like a 8 seconds. 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's humbling to see the poverty that exists there. There were reports of armed robberies in Chinese mining camps as locals and foreign rivals fought for land. Once the show ended, they pursued a few of the offers, but nothing came of them. WHEN two Mormons from Utah signed up to star in a reality show about gold mining in Ghana, they had no idea what they were getting into. The site itself was a wide clearing in the jungle scarred by gaping 20-foot pits, where Ghanaian laborers wrangled the equipment in pools of coffee-colored mud. When Lomu suggested removing the miners by force, a chief replied: If you attempt it, they will kill you! The crew captured everything on film and loved it. It sounded like they were the target. So they turn to other means. They abandon $20-60 thousand dollar machines, ( 2 excavators, and a wash plant) in the jungle while they fly back and forth to Utah for two years to whine and complain about how bad there lives are and to beg more money from really stupid investors. Scott Lomu and George Wright, hapless heroes of Discoverys Jungle Gold, finally had to flee the country by plane to escape arrest and the armed militia who seemed to be pursuing them. That summer, the men resumed their former routine, traveling to Ghana in shifts. If you havent seen the show, its a doozie. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Only the most coldhearted, inhumane person could spend more than an hour in Ghana and think to do that.. There were more tweets during our reruns that Sunday [during a Season 1 marathon] than we got all of last year. It was a life or death situation.. Oh my word, they think I killed him, he said. But what you do with that really defines who you are.. Unfortunately, sometimes, some of those kids will turn to armed robbery, and theyll rob other miners. And its worked up to this point. Now, it seemed, Ghana was taking its revenge. believe Ensurge has the potential to grow into a significant junior George Wright and Scott Lomu, former real estate investors that lost everything in the 2008 crash, make the life-altering decision to travel to Ghana in West Africa to hunt for gold. Ask something else I can answer. Months before the shoot, Lomu had paid a village chief $12,500 of his Utah investors money to secure a 25-acre plot of land an hour outside the town of Dunkwa, the epicenter of Ghanas gold rush. How could I not show that?. We are Scott Lomu & George Wright, We can't speak to other reality shows but are happy to share about ours and what it's been like. 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!" According to Wikipedia, Forbes, IMDb & Various Online resources, famous American Football Player George Wright's net worth is $1-5 Million at the age of 72 years old. According to Lomu, Raw had replied that Discovery could not pull the show from Ghana without pulling it from DStv altogether. By announcing gold existed in Fahiakobo on an international TV network, Tay believed Jungle Gold would attract other law-abiding American and European gold miners, slowly lifting the village out of poverty. Wed put our last $50,000 into that site, Wright said. We just wanted to show what its like in Guyana from our perspective, Wright said. Language. It mostly comes down to the bravest of us all which is our wives they support us 100 percent. We really liked the people of Ghana, the people we worked with. We were hemorrhaging money, Wright told me. I like him every once in a while (laughs) its just really hard to trust him. *Discovery Channel has been pushing this as a new season, though the May 29 new episode is listed as Season 2, Episode 9. Months after the evacuation, I found him playing cards beside one of Wright and Lomus $2,000 canvas tents, which hed been living in since they left. He was standing on his bed in boxer briefs as his wife lay beside him and laughed. It could be a painful reality but that's the way it is. They had paid locals well, contributed to the local economy, and obeyed Ghanas mining laws, they said. As methodical and reserved as Wright is impulsive and outspoken, Lomu, eight years Wrights senior, was raised outside Phoenix. Todd Hoffman, Tony Beets, and Parker Schnabel in Gold Rush. The production team swore to take a different approach to the second series. Season 1 Ep 11. Etc. 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://www.worldserveintl.org and http://www.peoplewater.com So please donate to World Serve if you are so moved to help this amazing organization. Their wives are also dedicated to the idea of not just funding their own families but making sure Wallys kids and wife are taken care of. The Jungle Gold guys had remedied this problem by obeying the law. The network had green-lit a second season that February. The new operation went as poorly as the first. Jungle Gold is back, having started Season 2 on Aug. 11 (now . 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. Of course theyre concerned for us, of course they worry about our safety. Two guys lose their shirts when the real estate bubble bursts and decide to do the logical thing hunt for gold in Ghana! To me, reality shows are like watching professional wrestling. Villagers set up roadblocks and demanded hundreds of dollars. But that doesnt tell the full story. They forfeited the cash and moved to a less profitable site. Scott Lomu and George Wright join our company. (Raw refused to comment on Aboagyes claim.) Since Jungle Gold aired, small mining companies from around the world have contacted Wright and Lomu through Facebook to propose mining partnerships. Afterward, the farmer said, people viewed them more cautiously. Within months of Jungle Golds U.S. premiere in October 2012, they had become the face of Ghanas foreign mining community, which many blamed for destroying the countrys environment and harming its people. We encountered a lot of stuff thats never been shown on TV. But in Ghana, as in other former colonies, a strong aversion to neocolonialism endures. Weary of small-scale mining, the men enthusiastically agreed. Broke and demoralized, the three men abandoned their nascent mining operation in October 2010. Don't miss the season finale of Jungle Gold on Discovery, featuring Food Insurance friend's Scott & George Shining Dawn- Jungle Gold's Scott Lomu & George Wright They just have to survive long enough to go back and tell the world, I guess. Wright quickly ends the fight by locking the farmer in a chokehold, causing him to pass out. So Literally Ask US Anything, we can't spoil the upcoming season, but anything else is fine. As Richard Bushman, a professor emeritus of history at Columbia University, put it: Mormons think things will work out for the best.. miners were regularly killed or injured thanks to unsafe practices, Queen: Fans fall in love with MAFS wife, MAFS husbands vile boys night act exposed. 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. Filming at home. George Wright and Scott Lomu, former real estate investors that lost everything in the 2008 crash, make the life-altering decision to travel to Ghana in West Africa to hunt for gold. Then the Joy Midday News came on TV. Did Ghana ever try to arrest you two as indicated in this article on Ghana Web? http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=273569. They hired a former special services agent to beef up security and instituted a no-mercury policy, barring laborers from handling the toxic liquid. The Ghanaian government permitted Mormon activities to resume 18 months after the ban. I can say this, the head guy on Gold Rush hates us and we don't know why? Months later, on March 6, 2013, Wright posted a photo on Instagram of Raw interviewing Lomu outside a Utah diner. Scott Lomu is VP:Investor Relations at Ensurge Inc. See Scott Lomu's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. But Alan Reece, a Guyanese mining foreman the men had befriended, discovered a promising alternative in the nearby village of Fahiakobo, a hilltop settlement of around 30 mud huts flanking a red dirt road. It looked like we were being mocked, Donkor said. Unfortunately, most locals can't afford to mine the gold, they need outside investment. Villagers routinely set up roadblocks and demanded hundreds of dollars to pass. Messrs Lomu and Wright starred in the popular television show Jungle Large-scale licenses begin at around $3 million, putting them out of Wright and Lomus price range. The cast and crew hid at a nearby compound, where they discovered Wright was suspected of murder and the authorities wanted them arrested. Not everything works out how you want it to, said Wright. Wright and Lomu have a plan for a new reality show, about mining and selling gold and their home lives. As a nationwide manhunt ensued, Discovery ordered Wright, Lomu, and the shows 20-person British film crew to evacuate Domenase and head to the airport in the capital city of Accra. George Wright and Scott Lomu filming in Ghana for Jungle Gold. 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. He earned the money being a professional American Football Player. We kind of shed a pretty big spotlight on the activities of illegal miners in Ghana. Really angry that certain things would happen here on our soil. Many thought the stars had killed a man a rumor based on a YouTube clip of Wright choking out the cocoa farmer. Sat 30 Apr PG-VL. 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1975th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 975th year of the 2nd millennium, the 75th year of the 20th century, and the 6th year of the 1970s decade. They whine at how poor they are, yet no wife works (the husbands hardly do either) they live in big mansions, drive fancy cars? As Brigham Young understood, gold mining is an inherently unstable profession. We met that guy a few weeks back. (It has since been clarified in the wake of Jungle Gold.) We hope it's a win-win. The two Americans will be tracked down and arrested, a Ghanaian official declared. Who gave you permission to work here? Akwesi demands, before tackling the crews Ghanaian security guard. 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. People were actually angry! Donkor told me. BLOCK! While Lomu and Wright couldnt tell me too much about whats coming in season two, what they did say sounded intriguing. Wrights wife, Marie, sat in amazement as her unflappably nice Mormon husband imitated Rambo: shouting orders, grimacing at the camera, and heaving logs out of the road, his every flippin' and shoot bleeped out to create a bawdier impression. All the details of the secret MAFS boys night are spilt at a boozy dinner party that shocks the experts. How is the discovery of Autism an emergency? In the most cases they also have children. IE 11 is not supported. Focused on the action, the show failed to explain the complicated licensing process, causing many to assume they were mining illegally. But the optimistic, God-fearing pair are now back in the game, trying their hand at mining in Guyana, on South Americas Caribbean coast, posting hair-raising videos on Instagram. For former real-estate entrepreneurs, George Wright & Scott Lomu, the answer was Ghana. The Guyana operation was expanding, and Mishleau valued Wright and Lomus years of mining experience in Ghana. They had brought in work and money after all. In April, Ensurge hired both men: Wright as vice president of public relations, Lomu as vice president of investor relations. To ensure the most secure and best overall experience on our website we recommend the latest versions of, Internet Explorer is no longer supported. There was also an image problem. Fri 1 Jul 2022 13.18 EDT. The holes revealed a high concentration of gold in the ground. In the Season 2 synopsis, Raw admitted the first season had produced disastrous results. But lessons had been learned. 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? To raise the rest, they decided to deal gold in the jungle. He later learned Macias had become dependent on pain medication due to injuries he suffered in a roadside bomb attack. 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. If so, what do you think of those guys up in Alaska? It's Africa's second largest gold-producing country, so finding the precious metal isn't the hard part. Proof: https://twitter.com/JungleGeorgeVI/status/365907125215576064 https://twitter.com/JungleGoldScott/status/365907460332068864, Edit: We are going to keep this open. Season 1. The company owned a large mining operation in Guyana, a former British colony on the Caribbean coast of South America. Thats the last were going to see of Ghana.. What sort of feedback do you get from viewers about the show? Yet, at the same time, Ghanas small-scale mining sector had grown increasingly chaotic. Why is mining for gold better (in your opinion) than taking your initial capital and investing it wisely? They say theyve learnt from their catastrophic, ratings-winning sojourn in West Africa. Ghanas Minerals Commission had taken to decrying what it called the illegal mining menace., These controversies presented possible PR problems. Maybe Utah poor is different to my poor. it was rated as one of the top programs on the Discovery Channel. 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. The show not only increased the chances theyd be recognized, he thought, it also provided a detailed map to their Season 1 mining claim, which lay on the same road as Fahiakobo. "We didnt exploit anyone. Whether the Information Services Department had instructed Raw to seek the commissions approval is unclear; the permit protocol for foreign documentary film crews in Ghana was somewhat vague in 2012. We didnt exploit anyone, Lomu told me. is that truth, are they gone? Ref: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1124.html But its neocolonial echoes had caused Ghanaians at home and abroad to accuse Wright and Lomu of exploiting Africa for their personal gain. It shows A side of us, and we're hoping to show another side with you guys. George Wright: Theres a lot of entrepreneurs out there that get in touch with us. Contribute to changjiangsx/sbm development by creating an account on GitHub. The ratings fell. In Ghana, non-Ghanaians are allowed to mine on plots of more than 25 acres, known as large-scale concessions. Watch the Run For the Border episode. Upon meeting me, hed asked hopefully if I was with Raw, heralding the return of Jungle Gold. In Jungle Gold, Discovery Channel's hit reality series, George Wright and Scott Lomu try their best to climb out of a mountain of debt.Their loyal families wait at home while the two toil away in Ghana, hoping to strike gold and solidify their financial futures. According to Wright and Lomu, a top Discovery executive told them, Your show is so real it's unreal.. [], 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. 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. Press J to jump to the feed. The crew had received press accreditation from the Information Services Department, he said. provide mining consultation worldwide. That would be exporting it, as Wright and Lomu have to mine through such obstacles as armed locals and illegal miners . Lomu and Wright didnt head to Africa with dreams of reality TV stardom, and it seems having a camera crew around when youre trying to work is more of a pain than anything else. TV-PG. Only the most coldhearted, inhumane person could spend more than an hour in Ghana and think to do that. Weve learned the people of Ghana and weve always known this are great, humble people.. Anytime somebody felt we were taking advantage of them, even this idea of colonialism was so off our radar, it felt so out of left field.. The new reality show Jungle Gold started broadcasting across Africa on MultiChoice's DStv from the . Primary Income source American Football Player (profession). You would make a good politician though, you could go cry with Speaker of the House John Boehner about how tough it is to support your trophy wife. This, like so many other pathetic reality shows should go away forever. But on Macias and Wrights first trip in May 2010 (Lomu stayed behind in Utah), buying gold proved trickier than theyd anticipated. Despite the possibility of work in Accra, hed stayed in Fahiakobo after the cast and crew fled, guarding the stars tent and praying for their return. He found instead the two articles in My Joy Online ordering his arrest and accusing him of killing people.

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