[7] Drowning often occurs as mining operations are typically based on rivers to capture gold and diamond-laden sediments.
[8]: 40 Success demands conspicuous displays of generosity, giving the miner social prestige and inject money into the isolated economies.
The Akawaio people have experienced land disputes with pork-knockers and have been adversely affected by a rising cost of living.
[8] There are Guyanese folk songs influenced by pork-knocker culture, often addressing the danger of the occupation and the hope of finding gold.
[11] Guyana-born author Jan Carew's 1958 novel Black Midas involves a boy leaving his coastal village to become a pork-knocker.
[14] In 2010, Guyanese artist Barrington Braithwaite released a comic book Illustrated History of the Porkknocker as a collaboration with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.