Bre-X Minerals was a mining firm founded by David Walsh in 1989, and originally listed on the Alberta Stock Exchange (it later moved to the Toronto Stock Exchange). In 1993 Walsh bought land in the Philippines on the advice of geologist John Felderhof (pictured). In 1995 Michael de Guzman, who oversaw the project, announced he had discovered gold in the area. This caused the firm's shares to rise by the summer of 1996 to a peak of nearly 1,000 times from their original flotation level (adjusted for stock splits), giving the former penny stock a market capitalisation of $6bn.
What was the scam?
What happened next?
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