VietNamNet Bridge - Though the deadline is close, Mr. Tran Van Tiep, 97, has not yet discovered any traces of the 4,000 tons of gold on Tau Mount, in the central province of Binh Thuan.

97-year-old man searching for 4,000 tons of gold

The deadline for the exploration to find a treasure on the Tau Mount, in Phuoc The commune, Tuy Phong district, Binh Thuan province is October 10. Therefore, the half-life dream of Mr. Tiep has come to an end.

The Tau Mount on the last day was still cumbersome with machinery and equipment. After more than one year of exploration, the 2.400m2 on the mountain has been dug up. A lot of exploration holes of about 5 meter deep are close together but the door of the treasure has not appeared yet.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of Binh Thuan Province, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam told correspondents that the provincial government would not renew the permit to go on further exploration. The province’s licence to Mr. Tiep to search for the treasure throughout the last year is the local government’s last effort to help the old man fulfill his lifetime wish.

But Mr. Tiep told Thanh Nien that he would again ask the Binh Thuan authoritative to renew his permit. He said that if the proposal is approved, he would change the commander of the exploration.

Tiep also asserted that the there are 5,000 tons of gold, not 4,000 tons, in Tau Mount, as the press has reported. However, in many years, Tiep just gave some vague evidences, such as a hand-drawn diagram of unknown origin, an old sword, several Japanese banknotes, etc.

Tiep’s dream to find the treasure on Tau Mountain began when he happened to know about it from the wife of a senior officer of the Japanese army in Vietnam.

From 1993, Mr. Tiep has poured a lot of money and effort in the search. In 1993 alone, he spent around VND2 billion (hundreds of thousands USD). In the 3rd exploration, he invested around VND3.3 billion ($160,000).

To implement this project, Tiep had to deposit VND500 million ($25,000) to the local authorities.

D.Tam