For
those too young to remember the Bre-X gold mining scandal you might be in luck
– it could be coming soon to a theatre near you.
The
Northern Miner reported recently that
an upcoming major motion picture based on the Bre-X Minerals fraud is in the
final stages of financing and spoke with both the director and a producer who
confirmed they are in negotiations with one of Hollywood’s A-list actors to
play a lead role.
In
case you never heard of one of the biggest mining scandals in history,
Canada-listed penny stock Bre-X Minerals Ltd. purchased the Busang gold
property in Borneo, Indonesia in 1993 and by 1997 claimed that the
property contained about 70 million ounces of gold. Its stock price shot
up to $280 per share and the company had a market capitalization equal to
US$4.4 billion at the time.
Then,
things began to unravel in ways worthy of a Hollywood thriller. Bre-X’s chief
geologist Michael de Guzman died by falling from a helicopter in an apparent
suicide. After that an independent analysis by Strathcona Minerals
concluded that the Busang ore samples had been salted with gold dust, some
of which had been shaved off gold jewelry.
Bre-X
stock, which at this point was included in the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
Composite Index, plunged back to penny-stock territory and the company soon
declared bankruptcy. Some institutional investors and pension funds, which were
obligated to holding shares in all companies included in the TSX index, lost
tens of millions of dollars.
The
movie is being made by Cinema Veritas, a Los Angeles-based film company
co-founded by writer, director, and producer Scott Rosenfelt. Among some of
Rosenfelt’s earlier films are Home Alone, which grossed over US$1 billion
worldwide, and Mystic Pizza, in which actress Julia Roberts made her debut.
Toronto-based
Associate Producer and Gravitas Financial Analyst Stefan Muchal was quoted in
the Northern Miner article, saying he
believes the film about Bre-X has what it takes to do extremely well at the box
office.
“Bre-X
was an incredible series of events that change the mining world forever. It’s a
story that has to be told and I’m honored to be part of the production,” Mr.
Muchal told SmallCapPower.com.
Shooting
is expected to get underway as soon as the financing is closed and is expected
to take 45 days with 26 days in the Philippines and the remainder divided
between Calgary and Toronto. Post-production will be done in Toronto by Deluxe
Entertainment.
