ENS2159: Engineering Innovation and Ethics
Assessment 1
Ethical Examination of the Bre-X Mining Scandal
By:
Student Name
Student Number
Department of Engineering
Edith Cowan University
Date of Submission: 21 March 2022
Your title page does not need
to be set up exactly like this,
but needs to include the
elements shown here.
NOTE: The example given in this exemplar is based on a past student paper. It is presented to show you a standard
report layout, and give you examples of the structure of relevant sections (the Executive Summary, Introduction,
Conclusion, and basic paragraph structures) only. It should be used in conjunction with the academic skills resources
provided. The headings, information layout in the body sections, and detail given in this document are not exhaustive,
and are presented as examples to display good practice. You should use your own judgement about headings and how to
present your knowledge in a logical manner. The text in the red boxes is added to help you, and would not be present in
a regular report.
If you are unfamiliar with formatting in word, see the “Getting Started
with Microsoft Word” resources.
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Executive Summary
Ethical engineering practice is governed by industry codes which model behaviours aimed to
maximise public interest in areas such as safety and sustainability. The use of such codes is deemed
necessary in order to better regulate industrial incidents. The Bre-X mining scandal is one such
incident, which involved the intentional deceit of investors around the presence of gold in an
Indonesian mining site. This report examines the causes of this incident and analyses the company
behaviours as compared to the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics in order to provide
recommendations for better ethical practice in the future.
It is shown that Bre-X violated multiple aspects of the ethical code. In particular … Bre-X violated
these codes by… Evidence shows they were motivated by greed, the potential closure of the site, and
pressures from upper management.
The implications of the unethical behaviours were widespread investor fraud, … Possible actions to
combat the behaviours of the company include… This could lead to… Compliance with the Code of
Ethics could mean that… Thus it is recommended that…
The Executive Summary is placed directly after the Title Page and before
the Table of Contents. It is placed on its own page. For information on page
breaks see: Page breaks.
Note the background information is summarised in general terms
as compared to the Introduction. The information is rephrased, not
repeated. As it is more general, it does not need to be referenced
again, as long as the original information has been cited in the
Introduction or other background sections.
The executive summary should be roughly 10% of the word count. Note
where “…” has been utilised, this indicates more information would be
present here (specifics eliminated in this example).
The executive summary should cover: background, purpose, goal, results
and recommendations. For further information and another example of an
Executive Summary, access the Report writing resources.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….ii
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
2. The Bre-X Mining Scandal……………………………………………………………………………………………….2
3. Factors leading to the Bre-X Mining Scandal………………………………………………………………………3
3.1 Departure from Standard Industry Practice……………………………………………………………….3
3.2 Motivations and Pressures leading to the Scandal ……………………………………………………..3
3.3 Violations of the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics ………………………………………………..3
4. Suggested Actions to Counter Unethical Behaviours ……………………………………………………………4
5. Recommendations for Future Practice………………………………………………………………………………..5
6. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
The Table of Contents is placed on its own page.
Word can create the Table of Contents automatically
for you, provided you use Heading Styles. See:
Headings created with styles and Table of contents.
Note it is possible to manually edit your table if
necessary.
If you are writing a technical report where you must
include your own headings, make sure they are an
accurate description of the content in that section.
Find out more about writing descriptive headings in
the report resources.
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1. Introduction
Ethical practice is a fundamental concept which underpins the expectations of professional engineers.
Moral and social responsibilities in engineering began to be considered more formally as a
professional concern in the 1970s, when ethical codes began to be introduced, primarily focused on
public interest and the importance of safety and environmental protection (Weil, 1984). In Australia,
Engineers Australia (EA) abides by a Code of Ethics which models leadership, competency,
sustainability, and integrity in an ethical engineering practice (Engineers Australia, 2019). As
engineers are often exposed to multifaceted projects that require regulatory approval and involve
crucial interactions with between communities and relevant stakeholders, the success of engineering
projects is inherently tied to adherence of these ethical codes (National Society of Professional
Engineers, 2019). Adherence to these codes by engineers, however, can often be tested by factors
such as poor communication, moral dilemmas and managerial influence which prioritises profit.
An intentional breach of ethical codes has frequently been pointed to in the wake of industrial
accidents or incidents. The study of previous incidents and the actions and decisions made by
engineers is important to understand how ethical decision-making affects the public interest. This
report will examine the ethics surrounding the Bre-X mining scandal, in which investors lost billions
of dollars due to fraudulent claims of the discovery of large gold deposits in Canada. A brief overview
of the scandal will be provided, followed by a discussion of the motivations and unethical behaviours
demonstrated in this incident. These will then be analysed against the EA Code of Ethics which will
inform discussion into how such incidents can be approached ethically. Finally, recommendations for
future practice will be presented.
Headings and sub-headings
should be numbered, starting
with the introduction.
The length of your introduction should generally be about 10% of your total
word count (this one is short and presented to show you the correct structure
only), so may include multiple paragraphs with differing levels of detail.
The introduction follows the structure:
• Context
• Focus
• Summary of Structure
For further information and another example of an Introduction, access
the Report writing resources.
Integrating others’ research into your writing is an important skill, as is
learning to paraphrase effectively to avoid academic misconduct.
Access resources on integrating research, academic integrity and referencing.
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2. The Bre-X Mining Scandal
Bre-X Minerals was a Canadian mining exploration company. In 1995, Bre-X Minerals announced
the discovery of gold in Indonesia, which caused their shares to rise to a $6 billion market value
(Partridge, 2019), and triggered one of the largest financial frauds in mining industry history. Bre-X’s
claims “convinced 40,000 investors they’d struck an underground fortune” (Wilton, 2007, para. 5),
when there was actually little to no gold. To support their claims, Bre-X tampered with drill samples
to fraudulently increase the apparent gold-content of the mining site. After a series of events which
hindered investigations into the site, news was released about the tampering incident and stocks
crashed in 1997.
A timeline of the history of the Bre-X Scandal can be seen in Figure 1. Over two and a half years, de
Guzman, a geologist working on the Busang site, fraudulently salted the samples taken from the site
with alluvial gold (Desjardins, 2015). After selling $100 million of stock options after stock prices
peaked in 1996, events finally led to de Guzman allegedly committing suicide before stock prices
crashed in 1997. Bre-X later confirmed that tampering occurred at their Busang site (Desjardins,
2015). In short, Bre-X falsified gold samples and analysis results, which was a violation of the
Engineer’s Australia Code of Ethics.
Figure 1. Timeline of the Bre-X Scandal (adapted from Desjardins, 2015)
[note this is an example only and there may be more text in this section]
Note the use of the TEEL structure in these academic
paragraphs. The topic sentence establishes the point of the
paragraph, this is then discussed in further detail, with evidence
presented. The last sentence of the previous paragraph has
linked the ideas mentioned in both.
Each major section/heading of
the report starts on a new page.
Refer to Page breaks.
Note the formatting of captions needs to be consistent
and use title case. The citation is included, with full
reference in the end text reference list.
In this case, as the graph has been made from
external data “adapted from” is used.
Word should be used to insert caption numbers both in text and in
the figure or table caption. These caption numbers automatically
update, so if you place a new figure into the middle of a report,
you do not need to manually change the captions. See: Captions
and cross referencing.
Figures and
tables are
good ways to
show relevant
information in
reports. They
should always
be mentioned
and explained
in the text.
Ensure you
understand
how to
include data
in your
reports and
how to
caption
figures and
tables in the
report writing
resources.
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3. Factors leading to the Bre-X Mining Scandal
Examining the factors that led up to and contributed to the Bre-X mining scandal will assist in
understanding the violations in ethical behaviours displayed by the company. This section will outline
the deviations from standard industry practice, how these behaviours were affected by both internal
and external motivations and pressures and detail how the company violated the EA Code of Ethics.
3.1 Departure from Standard Industry Practice
Bre-X departed from standard industry practice in the management of their Busang site in a
number of different ways. As most of the behaviours can be linked to intentional fraudulent
activities, it can be concluded that these behaviours violated the EA Code of Ethics, and
directly led to the scandal and its implications. The main ways in which Bre-X departed from
standard industry practice were
• Using non-standardised drill samples
• Illegally tampering with drill samples
• Intentionally misleading investors
3.1.1 Non-standardised Drill Samples
…
3.1.2 Illegal Tampering of Drill Samples
…
3.1.3 Misleading of Investors
…
3.2 Motivations and Pressures leading to the Scandal
…
3.3 Violations of the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics
…
Bullet points are a great way to present information
in reports, but need to be grammatically correct and
presented consistently as part of a paragraph.
Beware overusing bullet points or placing too much
information in each point. They are designed to
emphasise and help communicate with clarity.
Find more information on bullet points in the report
writing resources.
Space above and below headings can be changed by
highlighting the heading, right click, select “paragraph”, then
spacing. To be consistent, you should then right click the
“style” used, and “update style to match selection” to update
all headings of the same level.
A brief introductory paragraph should be included in each
section before sub-headings are used. This could be longer if
you wish, but it is best practice to at least include what is
shown here.
4
4. Suggested Actions to Counter Unethical Behaviours
…
5
5. Recommendations for Future Practice
…
6
6. Conclusion
This report has explored the unethical actions that lead to the Bre-X mining scandal and the
motivations that led to these actions. Analysis of the event led to the presentation of suggested actions
to respond to the situation, as well as predicted outcomes. Leading up to the Bre-X mining scandal,
the company violated several codes in the EA Code of Ethics. Bre-X violated these codes by
departing from standard industry practices, illegally tampering with drill samples, and lying to
investors. Ethical code violations were prompted by greed, the potential closure of the site, and
pressures from upper management of the company. The result of these actions was widespread
investor fraud, with investors buying into the company based on the false premise of gold in
Indonesia. In an attempt to stop the unethical behaviour, the best action would have been to reason
with the Bre-X members involved in the scandal, and to consult high regulatory authorities until the
issue was resolved. It is likely that Bre-X and the community would have faced similar outcomes, but
if a similar issue occurred, compliance with the relevant Code of Ethics would allow for better control
of the situation, and reduced damages.
The conclusion follows the structure:
• Restate Focus
• Summarise key findings
• Relate to context
For further information and another example of a Conclusion, access the Report writing resources.
Note no new information is included in the conclusion.
Like the introduction, the conclusion should be roughly
10% of the word count. Note where “…” has been utilised,
this indicates more information would be present here.
Note the formatting used. Generally, a line spacing of 1.5
makes a report much easier to read. One line is used
between paragraphs. This is not compulsory, but whatever
spacing is used needs to be consistent.
A note about writing: technical writing needs to be as clear and concise as
possible, in order to communicate the facts to the reader easily. If you need help
with developing your writing in this style, or need help with grammar or English
Language skills, please see the resources on technical writing.
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References
Desjardins, J. (2015, January 23). Bre-X scandal: a history timeline. Visual Capitalist.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/bre-x-scandal-history-timeline/
Engineers Australia. (2019). Code of ethics and guidelines on professional conduct.
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ethics
National Society of Professional Engineers. (2019). NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.
https://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Ethics/CodeofEthics/NSPECodeofEthi
csforEngineers.pdf
Partridge, M. (2019, February 20). Great frauds in history: the Bre-X gold-mining scandal.
MoneyWeek. https://moneyweek.com/502188/great-frauds-in-history-the-bre-x-gold-miningscandal
Weil, V. (1984). The rise of engineering ethics. Technology in Society, 6, 341-345.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-791X(84)90028-9
Wilton, S. (2007, May 29). Back to Busang. Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/news/localnews/bre-x-the-real-story-and-scandal-that-inspired-the-movie-gold

Using APA 7th edition. Try
using the library quickguide.
There are a few different methods to prepare your references. Manually added your references or using EndNote are the
recommended options.
• If manually adding your references as you use them, Word has a function to arrange them alphabetically – the “A
→ Z” icon under “Paragraph”. Click this after highlighting the reference list. You also need to ensure you have
indented the following lines of a reference. Do this by highlighting the list, right click, select “paragraph”, then
under “indentation”, change “special” to “hanging”; or using “control/command T” as a keyboard shortcut.
• If using EndNote, you can download this software free from ECU. There are also resources and workshops to help
you use Endnote.
• NOTE: the inbuilt Word referencing system is not recommended, as it has not been updated for APA 7th edition.