Bre-X Geologist Denies Involvement

Bre-X Minerals Ltd.’s John Felderhof broke three months of silence to clarify his role and knowledge of what transpired at the world’s biggest gold mining fraud.

Felderhof, from his Cayman Islands estate in the Caribbean, issued a five-page statement to stem the deluge of media reports speculating on his involvement at the company’s Busang property on the Indonesian island of Borneo. An independent audit of assays from the site, released May 4, revealed that what was touted as the biggest gold discovery in history was a scam.

Shares of Calgary-based Bre-X, which were once valued as much as $202 apiece before a 10-for-1 stock split, are now delisted and worthless.

“I did not participate in any tampering,” Felderhof said. “I was not aware of any tampering with Busang core samples.”

The geologist also said he continues to believe there is “a significant amount of gold at Busang” based on its structure, geology and mineralogy.