The big score

Voisey's Bay is the site of a massive nickel deposit whose vast potential has riveted the attention of the international business world. The discovery of the deposit in Labrador, the struggles for controlling interest in it, and especially the extraordinary players involved drive this amazing business story, which often reads like a suspense novel. At the centre is Robert Friedland, an ex-hippie and disgraced Vancouver stock promoter, who by sheer luck ended up holding all the cards in a high-stakes poker game that pitted some of the world's most powerful and conservative mining companies against each other. When news of the Voisey's Bay motherlode began to circulate, nickel giants such as Inco and Falconbridge were swept up in the excitement, competing in a series of takeover bids for control of Diamond Fields, the company that controlled the find. It all culminated in Inco's winning $4.3-billion offer, the largest takeover price ever paid for mining property. But was the deal one of the riskiest gambles in business history? From Namibia and Singapore to the boardrooms of Toronto and Vancouver, The Big Scoreuncovers the big money deals, the power struggles, and the hype in an immaculately researched and compelling drama of international intrigue.