The time: 12:40 a.m., Jan. 20, 1986. Two men pulled their half-ton truck off of Hwy. 101, east of Timmins, Ont., on to a snow-covered gravel road leading to the Asarco mine property. With the help of the lone security guard, they broke into the small office and stole 369 lb. of gold concentrate in six 5-gallon metal pails. Three of the pails were removed through a hole that was cut through the bottom of a safe.
The concentrate, $342,000 worth, was freshly milled under contract to the Asarco mine from the nearby Hoyle Pond gold property of Kidd Creek Mines.
Once they had the gold, the two men tied the guard and left. The guard, Andre Lamothe, 21, managed to free himself about a half hour later to call the police.
Lamothe, of course, gave several false statements about the break-in.
Eventually, the Ontario provincial police arrested four men, including Lamothe, and charged each of them with the robbery.
Lamothe entered an early guilty plea in return for a rather light 90-day prison term and a promise to testify against the others for the crown attorney.
On April 9, 1986, several months before the preliminary hearing got under way, 260 lb. of the concentrate was returned to Kidd Creek Mines by an ex- OPP Gold Squad officer who arranged, through an intermediary, to buy the concentrate with the company’s insurance money.
A little more than 100 lb., valued at $97,000, was never recovered.
The three men, the two alleged thieves and an accomplice who allegedly arranged the theft with the security guard, were committed to stand trial.
During the trial, the crown’s star witness, the security guard, developed an acute case of amnesia. His testimony included admissions he knowingly perjured himself during the preliminary hearing.
The case was immediately dismissed.
The missing gold was never recovered. No one else was ever charged.
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