n.
fraud (frôd)
1. a. An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented.
b. The act of inventing such a creation or pretense.
2. A lie.
n.
Excerpt from the STATEMENT OF STIPULATED FACTS attached as Annex "A" to the proposed settlement agreement:
1. A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain.
2. A piece of trickery; a trick.
3. a. One that defrauds; a cheat.
b. One who assumes a false pose; an impostor.
"...the Provincial Government of Marinduque has determined to be in the best interest of its people, and in order to facilitate the Province in moving forward, the undersigned stipulates to and admits the following facts:
(i) Placer Dome Inc. ("PDI") did not at any time or in any manner conduct or transact business in the Republic of the Philippines;
(ii) Marcopper Mining Corporation ("Marcopper") and PDI were at all times entirely separate and completely independent legal entities and at no time was Marcopper an alter ego or instrumentality of PDI;
(iii) Barrick Gold Corporation has not at any time or in any manner conducted business in the Republic of the Philippines;"
Placer Dome's involvement with Marcopper was long standing and core to decision making at the mine.
* From the start of mining by Marcopper in Marinduque, in 1969, Placer Dome has owned 39.9% of the shares in Macopper, the maximum amount of shares that could, until recently, be legally held by a foreign country in the Philippines.
* Placer Dome managed the two Marcopper mines on the island. All Presidents and Resident Managers of Marcopper from 1969 until 1997 (when Placer Dome divested) came fom Placer Dome. This was established in the agreements Placer Dome had with the banks whose loan Placer Dome guaranteed. It made sense, as Placer Dome was the only partner in Marcopper with any mining expertise.
* Placer Dome guaranteed the loans for successive Marcopper mines on the island.
* Placer Dome provided the technical expertise for the two mines.
* Placer Dome was the only mining company involved in Marcopper from 1969-1994. Placer Dome's secret partner in the mine (50%) until 1986, was President Ferdinand Marcos. After 1986, Marcos' shares were taken over and held by the Philippine government until 1994, when they were privatized.
Source: Placer Dome Case Study: Marcopper Mines, Coumans, April 2002.