The Australian-based mining company Zanex, paid
magician and mentalist Uri Geller $US250,000 (over
$A350,000) for his advice on where to look for gold in
the Solomon Islands and near Maldon in Victoria.
He was also granted an option to take up 1,250,000
Zanex shares at 20c each by 5th June, 1987.
Zanex brought Uri Geller and his assistant Schipi
Strang to Australia in October, 1985. He was taken to
the old gold mining town of Maldon in central Victoria
by Zanex director, Peter Sterling.
There Geller had long discussions with Zanex
geologist Alan Svansio it is believed Geller did not
reveal anything about the Maldon area not already
known by geologists.
Geller then visited the Solomon Islands for the
opening of Zanex's Mavu gold mine in November last year.
Zanex brought a twin-engine plane to the Solomon
Islands at considerable expense to fly Geller over the
Solomon Islands. Geller indicated three areas which
he believed had potential.
Uri Geller has no qualifications as a geologist but is
a talented magician with a reputation for being able to
convince people he has psychic powers.
Uri Geller made international news in the early 1970s
with demonstrations of spoon bending, watch starting,
and alleged extra-sensory perception.
Since then magicians such as James Randi have
shown his supposed metal bending abilities are merely
tricks accomplished by sleight of hand, his claims of
having been tested under rigorous scientific conditions
are false, and that his claimed "telepathic" abilities are
merely well-known magician's "mentalist " tricks.
Psychologists such as Professor David Marks and
Richard Kammann have shown that Uri Geller has
the same sensory powers as any other normal human
being, but state he is trickier than most people in the
way he uses them.
The latest book on Uri Geller was written by
Australian Skeptics magic consultant, Ben Harris.
Titled "Gellerism Revealed", its photos and
accompanying text teach the reader how to do Geller's
tricks.
In the past couple of years,
the media has carried articles
on Geller's latest claims of
psychic prospecting.
After reading one of these
articles, Zanex director Peter
Sterling met Uri Geller in
London in May, 1985. He was
impressed by Geller and later
in 1985 watched Geller
perform on stage at the Young
President's Club in San Diego.
About the same time,
Geller's stage act was
observed by the Bay Area
Skeptics (San Francisco).
After the performance Bay
Area Skeptics magician Bob
Steiner met Geller, and the
two magicians posed for this
photo.
The Bay Area Skeptics then
watched Bob Steiner repeat Geller's act and explain how the tricks were done.
The Skeptics were not impressed with Geller's claim.
Peter Sterling was impressed with Geller however,
and negotiated a fee of $US250,000 for Geller to come
to Australia and the Solomon Islands.
Geller came to the Solomon Islands after Zanex
had already located a potential gold mining area
downstream from Gold Ridge on Guadalranal Island
in the Solomons.
At the opening of Zanex's mine, Geller entertained
the guests with magic tricks and even bent a spoon
being held by the Prime Minister of the Solomon
Islands, Sir Peter Kenilorea.
Another Australian Skeptics magic consultant,
professional magician Tim Ellis, was briefed on the
matter. Tim was winner of the close-up magic award
at the twentieth Australian Convention of magicians
in June this year.
Tim spent two hours with Peter Sterling showing
how Geller's tricks were only magic, but could not
persuade Sterling to his viewpoint.
Gary Wiseman in "People" magazine wrote that
Geller has located minerals for Britain's Rio-Tinto Zinc
Corporation (RTZ), and John Pinkney claimed that
Geller's biggest client was RTZ.
RTZ have informed the Australian Skeptics in
writing that Geller has not been employed by them in
any capacity.
The financial newspapers are reporting that several
large shareholders are seeking to have two of the
current Zanex directors replaced and another three
elected.
One wonders if Geller foresaw these developments.