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<br />L<tl>and<lB> <B>mine<IB>
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<br />Then, seemingly out of the blue, Bechtel Corp" the giant construction
<br />company. took an interest in Summitville,
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<br />Friedland, who was deposed in December, said he doesn't know why
<br />Bechtel became interested, Bechtel might have seen the company's press
<br />releases or been tipped off by others in the industry, he said,
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<br />"But I do know what I do know, which is that one day there came a knock at
<br />my door and a delegation from Bechtel appeared in our offices on the ninth
<br />floor of the Marine building here in Vancouver," Friedland recalled,
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<br />The Bechtel officials offered to build the mine and turn it over to Galactic for
<br />a fixed fee,
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<br />"The whole nine yards is being proposed to be encompassed in this
<br />preliminary agreement," Friedland said.
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<br />"And to my knowledge, no one had seen anything like this before up here in
<br />Vancouver, between Bechtel and a young start-up company,"
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<br />Before construction began in 1985. Bechtel backed away from its initial offer
<br />to build the entire mine, The San Francisco-based construction giant let
<br />another company dig the pit that would contain the ore and the cyanide
<br />solution. as well as erect the dike that was supposed to contain it.
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<br />A Bechtel spokesman, Jeff Berger, denies the company ever agreed to build
<br />the entire mine and turn it over to Galactic, Berger says Galactic selected
<br />another company, Industrial Constructors Corp, of Montana, to build the
<br />cyanide leaching system,
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<br />Friedland has since sued Bechtel, blaming the company for problems at the
<br />mine, Bechtel denies any wrongdoing,
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<br />But in the spring of 1985, Galactic was basking in the glow of a partnership
<br />with the most prestigious construction company in the world - the company
<br />from which President Reagan had drawn two of his most powerful Cabinet
<br />members,
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<br />Suddenly, the Bank of America - also under the impression Bechtel had
<br />agreed to build the entire mine - was interested in Galactic, With gold
<br />prices flying high in the early '80s, bank officials saw a chance to develop a
<br />niche market among start-up mining companies, according to court
<br />documents.
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<br />The bank offered $25 million to finance the mine, asking that Galactic put up
<br />$8 million. to be raised from stock sales,
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<br />What the bank wanted to see in return was a business plan showing that the
<br />loan could be repaid.
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<br />But the cost figures geologists and mining experts were sending to Galactic
<br />headquarters in Vancouver told a different story, recalled Roger Leonard,
<br />the mine manager at the time.
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<br />In response, Ed Roper, Friedland's mining expert, was dispatched to
<br />Colorado, On a snowy day in May 1985, he met with the Summitville crew at
<br />the company's office in Del Norte, according to Leonard.
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<br />"Basically, Ed says .., 'You guys are too high. Let's just cut 20 percent.' I
<br />don't remember if it was exactly 20 percent, 'let's cut it arbitrarily,''' said
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<br />http://www.denver-rmn.com/news/0507smmtl.shtrnl
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<br />5/7/00
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