Another Gold Firm Warns
Of Tampering in Samples
An INTERACTIVE EDITION News Roundup
Hard on the heels of the collapse of Bre-X Minerals
Ltd., another Canadian mining concern, Delgratia
Mining Corp. said a consultant's report concluded
that its Nevada Project contained insignificant
amounts of gold and that early samples had been
tampered with.
Delgratia's shares were halted in Nasdaq for trading
on the news on Monday, where it had last traded at
$12.
Charles A. Ager, Delgratia's chairman and
president, said that the evidence of tampering with
samples from the Nevada site requires the company
to disregard earlier tests. He said the consultants
have identified the likely source of the tampering,
"and it does not involve anyone from the company or
Cactus Mining," Delgratia's partner in the project. "It
is now clear that the company has been the victim of
data falsification," he said.
Mr. Ager added that, "accordingly, the company is
taking steps to notify law enforcement authorities in
the United States of the reported tampering and
request that they investigate the possibility of
criminal wrongdoing."
In light of the conclusions stated by the independent
consultants in their letter, Delgratia said it has
suspended all work and commitments to work at its
Nevada Project, pending its receipt and review of
the consultants' complete report.
In March, Delgratia announced positive drill results
from its Josh gold prospect and its shares more than
doubled from $15.50 to $34.75.
In late March, Bre-X announced its Busang gold
deposit was likely a bust, and independent
consultants said fraud was involved. The revelation
sent junior mining stocks like Delgratia's into a
freefall that -- in Delgratia's case -- accelerated when
a Vancouver newspaper reported that Delgratia's
original assays were performed by an allegedly
unlicensed assayer who was convicted of securities
fraud in the 1970s.
Outraged shareholders sued the company after that
report came out, alleging it made "false and
misleading statements" about the Nevada project. |
