The mystery of the man embroiled in a gold scam
By Lucy Wallis
A mining company’s claim that it had discovered a huge deposit of gold, deep in the Indonesian jungle, led to a scramble to invest in the firm. But all that glittered was not gold, as a new podcast series reveals, and questions remain about the mysterious death of the company’s chief geologist.
On the morning of 19 March 1997, Michael de Guzman, chief geologist at Canadian mining company Bre-X Minerals, boarded a helicopter flight to travel to a remote jungle site in Indonesia.
De Guzman was born in the Philippines on Valentine’s Day, 1956. An apt birthday, as he was often in love. He had three, possibly four, wives all at the same time across different countries.
In April 1993, Felderhof struck a deal with David Walsh, Bre-X Minerals’ CEO. Walsh was to sell the dream to potential investors of a site laden with buried treasure.
