LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Investors are the real victims of salting

I must comment on a recent editorial (“Exporting Expertise” in T.N.M., Oct.

21/96) in order to prevent any misunderstandings about the quality of analyses in our FILAB laboratories, which carried out the analyses of Timbuktu Gold’s samples.

Part of the editorial reads: “Canadian assay laboratories are also expanding into new international markets, much to the relief of securities regulators who want to avoid any repeats of the Timbuktu salting fiasco.” No one has questioned the quality of the analyses performed on those samples at our laboratories: initial assays were confirmed and auditors took from our laboratory the samples in question to be analyzed at another laboratory. Our data were confirmed. The only question involves the origin of the gold found in our samples.

FILAB has been carrying out commercial geochemical and assay grade analyses for projects in Europe and Africa since the late 1980s. Our clients include many of the top companies in the business. Many of these are Australian-based companies that require us to perform well in that country’s GEOSTATS round robin, which includes 70 commercial and mine control laboratories. FILAB results have been consistently very good, and our clients continue to be pleased with the quality of our analyses.

Salting fiascos hurt all of us in the exploration business, but the investor more. Considering the dramatic rise of Timbuktu’s shares, to $30 from 46 cents, based on very little information, the question again arises as to why those shares were not halted earlier by the securities regulators in order to protect investors.

Laboratory accreditation has increasingly been urged and could be relatively easily implemented using a high-quality, monthly round robin. In order to be effective, companies would only quote assays produced, or at least checked, by accredited laboratories. This, however, will not prevent salting.

Gordon Walker

Manager, Mineral Services

FILAB, France