Between 1994 and 1997, Canadian company Bre-X Minerals, sponsored and promoted to listings on the TSX and NASDAQ by JPMorgan, Lehman, BMO, and others, was exploring for gold on the Busang property on the Indonesian island of Borneo. Bre-X’s efforts bore the discovery of a lifetime: a mammoth deposit estimated to contain over 200 million ounces of easily extractable gold. The company’s stock exploded from 25 cents to over $270, effectively valuing Bre-X at over $6 billion and attracting the interest of major mining companies. Barrick, Placer Dome, and Freeport McMorran, all the major players at the time, started competing to develop the largest gold deposit ever discovered. In early 1997, Indonesian President Suharto and his government took control of the deposit by force and commissioned Freeport to build a mega mine. In the ensuing months, due diligence revealed that the deposit was a gigantic hoax! There was no gold in Busang. The principals of Bre-X were accused, but never convicted, of salting samples before sending them to labs. Michael de Guzman, a Filipino geologist who served as the project manager, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a helicopter into the abyss of Borneo’s jungle. Minorca Resources of Toronto were the financial partners of the Haji Sayakarani group of companies that owned Busang; Alfred Lenarciak was the chairman of Minorca at the time. In a strange twist of fate, in February 2012, Alfred had a chance encounter in Rome with a man by the name of Akiro Guzzo, who shared with him an amazing story about the life and death of Michael de Guzman, the creator of a fake gold mega deposit. Is this really a dead man’s story?

It was hailed as the biggest gold discovery this century, worth more than u15 billion, but it turned out to be a big mining scandal. This is an account of how, in 1995, Bre-X Minerals, a small Canadian mining company, shot to world fame and fortune after announcing the discovery of 71 million ounces of gold at the Busang site, on the island of Borneo, Indonesia. The value of Bre-X shares soared from $5 to $192.50 within minutes of listing in Toronto in 1996."

For 2 years, BRE-X was the darling of the world's stock markets. Millionaires were created over night; until the scam was uncovered.

The history books will add the Bre-X saga to other legendary frauds like the South Sea Bubble. When the Bre-X bubble burst, the stock that had soared from fifty cents in 1994 to the equivalent of $286 in 1996 was worth nine cents in May 1997, before trading halted forever. And the Busang deposit, supposedly as much as 200 million ounces of gold, worth about $70 billion U.S. - the biggest gold find in history - was actually the century's biggest fraud. How did this happen, right under the noses of the financial world? In this book the experienced investigative team from "The Globe and Mail's Report on Business that broke the story of Bre-X's troubles has combined forces to answer that question. With literally hundreds of Bre-X interviews behind them, and drawing on resources from several continents, they have been able to explain the twists and turns of this complex tale. The result is a fascinating true story that reads like the wildest fiction.

Between 1994 and 1997, Canadian-based Bre-X Minerals sponsored and enthusiastically promoted listings on the TSX and NASDAQ by JPMorgan, Lehman, BMO, Scotia as well as others, who were exploring for gold on the Busang property on the Indonesian island of Borneo. Their efforts bore the discovery of a lifetime: a mammoth deposit speculated to contain over 200 million ounces of easily extractable gold. The company's stock exploded from 25 cents to $270, giving them a valuation of over $6 billion. Major mining companies like Barrick, Placer Dome and Freeport McMoran started competing to develop the largest gold deposit ever discovered. In early 1997, Suharto and his Indonesian government took control of the deposit, by force, and commissioned Freeport to build a mega mine. In the ensuing months, due diligence revealed that the deposit was a gigantic hoax! There was no gold in Busang. The principals of Bre-X were accused (but never convicted) of salting (adding gold) the samples before sending them to the labs. Michael de Guzman, a Filipino geologist who served as the project manager, infamously jumped from a helicopter into the abyss of Borneo's jungle. Minorca Resources of Toronto were the financial partners of the Haji Saykerani group of companies who owned Busang. Alfred Lenarciak was the chairman of Minorca at the time. In a strange twist of fate, in February of 2012, Alfred had a chance encounter in Rome, Italy with a man named Akiro Guzzo, who shared with him an amazing story on the life and death of Michael de Guzman: is this really a dead man's story?

IT SEEMED TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE--IT WAS It was every investor's dream come true. Bre-X Minerals had made an incredible find in Indonesia; the richest gold mine ever! Almost overnight, Bre-X stock soared through the stratosphere. Then came the fall--literally--as the company's chief geologist tumbled to his death from a helicopter over the Borneo jungle. Soon there was even more shocking news. The Bre-X find was one of the biggest hoaxes in financial history. Best-selling author Diane Francis lays bare the details behind this stunning stock swindle. With revealing, all-new material drawn from a global network of business contacts and confidential sources. Francis exposes the glib promises, shady dealings, backroom manoeuverings, and sheer unadulterated greed behind a gigantic scan--a financial disaster that enriched a select few, ruined many, and sent shockwaves through the business community.