Calling JJ a "miner" is another term that is open to interpretation or misinterpretation, whatever the case may be. IMO, a "miner" to the Gold Rush audience probably invokes a guy with a hardhat and a pickaxe. However, I don't believe that is an accurate depiction of JJ...whether it be intentional or not on the show's part or Hoffman's use of the word.
I know there are properties in JJ's name since the 1970s which can be researched on the www.sernageomin.cl website. So at the very least he has been a property owner of mining claims in Chile for over 30 years. Some of the mining properties have had exploration work performed on them...maybe all of them had. I'm not sure which properties he purchased which were already explored versus properties that were explored under his ownership. You'd have to go down to Santiago to get the details of the exploration work on his properties though. Whether mining production occurred on any of his properties is another question, but again that might only be verified via public records (which aren't available online that I know of) in Santiago.
So to call JJ a "miner" for 37 years may or may not be accurate. Calling JJ a mining property owner/explorer/prospector for 37 years might be a more accurate description.
However, I don't put any weight (and little care) into flip descriptions that are loose on their specificity and/or accuracy made by the Hoffmans in a "reality" TV show seeking as much ratings as possible.
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