Jean-Paul Turcaud ( 1940–2020) was a French

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

pioneer, and one of many claimants to the discovery of the Telfer Mine in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, for a time

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largest

gold mine Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more comple ...

. The discovery of this prospect was attributed by

Newmont Mining Newmont Corporation is an American gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it holds ownership of gold mines in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the D ...

to David Tyrwhitt in 1972.The Golden Riddle: Finder's Keepers?

ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

, produced by Bronwyn Adcock, broadcast: 6 June 1999, accessed: 27 January 2010

Early life

Jean-Paul Turcaud arrived in Australia as a young immigrant from France in the late 1960s. He had served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

as a Second Lieutenant in

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Turcaud's claim

There are many prospectors who claim to have discovered the mine. However, in this case, the officially recognised claimants do not deny that Jean-Paul Turcaud, after having spent a considerable amount of time searching

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

, was the first prospector to find the mineral deposit that eventually became the Telfer Mine. Turcaud claims he found the Telfer deposit two years before Newmont did and fought Newmont in legal battles throughout the 1970s without an outcome. Eventually, Turcaud left Australia, exhausted from the emotional and financial strain, while the Telfer Mine was opened by Newmont in 1977. In the early 1980s, Turcaud reached a settlement, accepting $25,000 from Newmont's head office in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

but continued his claim, demanding a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

into the matter.

Counter claim

The counter claim by Newmont Mining, the project was later spun off into

Newcrest Mining Newcrest Mining Limited is an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and the froth flotation product, gold-copper concentrate. It is Australia's leading gold mining company and its o ...

, was that discovery of a mineral deposit does not, in and of itself, constitute recognition of that discovery. They argue that discovery of a prospect usually goes to those who physically peg the area and correctly identify the mineable minerals in the deposit. Jean-Paul Turcaud, for various reasons and in contradiction to the Mining Act, failed to do either of these. Whilst there is little argument that Turcaud was prospecting in the area and that he did find and identify mineralised

gossan Gossan (eiserner hut or eisenhut) is intensely oxidized, weathered or decomposed rock, usually the upper and exposed part of an ore deposit or mineral vein. In the ''classic'' gossan or iron cap all that remains is iron oxides and quartz, often ...

s, he failed to identify the project as being prospective for gold. On several occasions he attempted to interest local mining companies, like

WMC Resources WMC Resources Limited was an Australian diversified mining company. History Western Mining Corporation (WMC) was formed in 1933, when William Robinson, the Australian-born London-based managing director of Broken Hill Associated Smelters, wa ...

and Anglo American, in the tenements based on its

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

(primarily copper) potential. David Tyrwhitt, the recognised discoverer of Telfer, stated in an interview that while he did not think Turcaud deserved any credit for his claimed discovery, he did admire the man's pioneering spirit, going out into the desert alone. Tyrwhitt eventually rose to the position of a director of Newmont.

Later life

Turcaud continued to sign posts to newspapers in regards to

Global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

as the ''Discoverer of the Telfer and Nifty Mine''. Turcaud operated an Internet website called, in reference to Telfer, ''The Greatest Australian Mining Covered up Swindle of the 20th Century.'' He died at home at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

in south-western France on 20 August 2020.

References

External links

Australia's Largest Gold Mine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turcaud, Jean-Paul 1940 births 2020 deaths Prospectors Australian gold prospectors French businesspeople