Joseph Ogierman - The Discovery of Busang, Indonesia - The “Worlds Largest Gold Deposit”

Canadian junior BreX Minerals will “live in infamy” for undertaking corporate fraud on an unimaginable scale. Between 1994 - 1997 Bre-X reported discovering the largest gold deposit in history - 70+Mozs, in remote Bornean jungle, before its ignominious exposure following the “suicide” of its Exploration Manager. Globally, this fraud changed forever, the way mining and exploration companies operate. A little-known fact is the prospect was first discovered, 5 years before BreX arrived, by two geologists from Adelaide, South Australia.
This weeks talk outlines Joseph Ogierman’s involvement in the discovery of Busang in the late 1980s and then eyewitness accounts of what it was like to live in Indonesia during the “Busang Boom” of the mid-1990s when he returned to Indonesia to be tarred with the brush of “missing the greatest gold discovery ever”.
This is a tale of intrigue, adventure, danger, slander, greed, encounters with murderers, backstabbers and Nobel Laureates-to-be and best of all there is even some interesting geology.

[@felixwalraven7852]

Having lived through this scandal, I really enjoyed the backstory for a more behind the scenes look. What a story and well told! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@TanyaMatveeva-d7r]

such a special treat - to hear from a person who studied geology before the whole thing blew up, thank you Joseph, fascinating tale and additional facet to a story that gripped me many years ago when I was living in Alberta

[@peterjacobs355]

Great first hand account. I was working in Canada in the 90's when Bre X unfolded. This was the start of the 97 - 2002 crash (compounded with the first round of tech stocks sucking all the investment from the mining sector). Gotta love the "rotary lie detector" - when managed with honest oversight.

[@paulburrell4120]

Highly entertaining. Have sent the link to a driller friend who was on a rig at Busang during BreX time. He recalls the core looking pretty ordinary most of the time. Then the drills were suddenly shut down and drillers confined to camp.

[@matjumbo]

Very good and full with suspense twist

[@thetroyzernator]

I entered the industry almost twenty years after Bre-X and it's remarkable going back to the Cowboy days and seeing how far we've come as a profession.

[@alexstarboy537]

I met Joseph Ogierman in 1994 in Jakarta