Albert Applegath

The saying ‘there's one born every minute' has never been more appropriate than when applied to the plethora of investors who have lost their shirts gambling on companies that prospect for diamonds and gold in ‘them thar hills' of British Columbia, Canada. DAVID MARCHANT takes a look at an industry that has attracted substantial investment from Bermuda residents and scrutinizes the performance of the notorious Vancouver Stock Exchange, which helps firms raise money and which was described in Forbes magazine in 1989 as ‘The Scam Capital of the World'.