CALGARY — The RCMP have charged the former CEO of RPX Gold Inc., formerly known as Red Pine Exploration Inc, with fraud and forgery in connection with allegedly manipulating mining assay data.It is alleged that Quentin Yarie, the company’s former CEO, altered assay results concerning the Wawa gold project in northern Ontario over multiple years, which resulted in RPX reporting an overstatement in their 2023 Technical Report of between 62,000 and 87,000 gold ounces in their resource.The Northern Miner reports that RPX first alleged in 2024 that Yarie had changed 532 out of 98,000 assays by being the sole recipient of emailed results from a third-party lab.At the time, Red Pine stated that Yarie had left the company for separate reasons.The company appointed a new CEO, then drilled additional assays to replace the allegedly fabricated ounces in a new resource in August 2024, which significantly expanded the Wawa project..Coeur to spend $7B to acquire New Gold, creating all North American mining powerhouse .Following the announcement of these alleged irregularities on May 1, 2024, when RPX first released the assay inconsistencies to the public, the company’s stock price plummeted from 21 cents to 8 cents.Shares in RPX have been as high as 27 cents apiece in Toronto this year, but have flattened to 17 cents as of Wednesday.The investigation into the matter was first initiated in 2024 by the Toronto Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) as part of its mandate to monitor capital markets activity in Canada and involved a comprehensive review of corporate records and laboratory data, digital forensic analysis, and witness statements.“Canada’s capital markets rely on accurate and truthful disclosure to maintain investor confidence,” Staff Sergeant Tony Gollob of IMET said.“Allegations of this nature undermine the integrity of the marketplace, and the RCMP remains committed to investigating and holding accountable those who are suspected of manipulating or misrepresenting material information.”Yarie is now scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on June 5.
