Expert: Steven Taylor - 5/26/2009

Question
Steven can you give me any info on Invincible Resources. They are supposedly a Vancouver based group that made a tentative agreement with the Autonomous Bougainville Government for 70% of mineral, forestry and fishing rights. Lindsey Semple is the name of the Invincible Resources contact.

Answer
Mary, there is not much information available, as Invincible is a private company. There is quite a bit of information in the media regarding their payment to the former Bougainville leader for the supposed resource rights, though. There is also some information available on Lindsey Semple, who has been an officer and director of Vancouver based junior public companies from the 80's until about 2004, but nothing really recent.

I don't know how familiar you are with Bougainville, but the history of the island from World War II to the present reads like an incredible fast-paced thriller novel. The wars, the mercenaries and rebels, the political intrigue, and now the lawsuits - its all there. The Invincible portion is just one more in a list of cloudy chapters in the island's recent history.