Gold mining in Alaska has been the subject of several recent reality TV shows -- but how real are they?
Some gold miners in the Fairbanks area take issue with the depiction of mining safety on the Discovery Channel show "Gold Rush Alaska," as well as its effects on real miners.
Dexter Clark, who prospects outside of Fairbanks, said at first he laughed when he saw the show.
"Anybody for the next year, year and a half, asked me about that program and I laughed," Clark said. "Then a year ago everybody started talking about the mine safety."
Clark said after the world got a glimpse of how the miners in that show were working, it translated into tougher restrictions and more oversight for smaller miners.
"I don't mind anything up to the point they started completely ignoring the rules," Clark said about the miners on the show.
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