"Appraisals" of mining properties are fraudulent everywhere. It is not just Canada that is going after bogus mining property appraisals.
The SEC and DOJ have gone after bogus mining appraisals for public companies. The DOJ is current prosecuting one right now - Petro America. They claimed their worthless Arizona properties were worth billions, all supported by bogus "appraisals". And several years back the State of Utah ran an appraiser out and stripped him of his "credentials" for fabricating valuations on worthless mineral properties which had one purpose and one purpose only - to be used in mining frauds.
All mineral property appraisals are fraudulent. A 1-8 page "appraisal" cannot even come close to defining a mineral property's value. The only valid method for determining quantity of in-ground metals AND the cost of extracting those metals (and thus, by extension, value) is though a bankable feasibility study, which takes years to prepare by numerous qualified professionals using specific scientific methods and costs many millions of dollars.
And for those that argue an "appraisal" is valid and common, it isn't. Where are Barrick's property "appraisals"? How about Goldcorp's - where are their "appraisals"? And, show me ONE property in the West that has an appraisal certificate that is in commercial production. One.
