David Catsoulis bounces back from bankruptcy with mystery mining project

Twice bankrupt mining promoter David Catsoulis has another project on the go which is ‘one of the world’s richest precious metals deposits’, but denies it even exists.

David Catsoulis pictured in Papua New Guinea sometime around 2019. Picture: Instagram

Twice bankrupt mining promoter David Catsoulis – who was previously promoting a trillion-dollar opportunity in Queensland which came to nothing – has another project on the go which is “one of the world’s richest precious metals deposits”, but denies it even exists.

Catsoulis’s company AU Finance is looking to raise $US300m ($477m) for a “hi-tech refinery project” which will refine tens of millions of tonnes of ore, containing more than $1bn worth of gold and precious metals, sources have told The Australian.

The supposed payback is five times the initial investment just in the first year.

“Au Finance Private Ltd controls one of the world’s richest precious metals deposits in SW Queensland, Australia,’’ its website says. The website logo spells out “AU Fiance”, instead of the company’s actual name.

Catsoulis has previously raised investor money through Warwick Gold Holdings and Impact Gold – both now in liquidation – promising spectacular returns for a supposed trillion-dollar precious metals project in Queensland and a multibillion-dollar gold project in Papua New Guinea.

Neither project came to fruition, with Warwick Gold stripped of its mining tenements in Queensland after its application was deemed deficient by the state government regulator.

Mr Catsoulis told The Australian at the time that the Queensland government backed him “100 per cent’’, which the government emphatically denied.

AU Finance is now promoting a project which sounds similar to the Warwick Gold project, promising massive returns from an unidentified project in Queensland.

Queried via text message about the project in recent days, Catsoulis said: “Not sure about new venture your (sic) talking about. Send me the details. Anything else is speculation on your behalf.’’

The AU Finance website lists Catsoulis is a director and shareholder of the company. On the website he rails against being the “target of a relentless and unjust media campaign that led to significant financial and personal setbacks’’, and claims credit for being the “founding force” behind $3bn ASX-listed National Storage, run by Andrew Catsoulis who is understood to be his brother.

National Storage was contacted for comment but did not reply.

“David’s ability to transform obstacles into stepping stones is nothing short of inspiring,’’ the website says. “Armed with the lessons learned from his past, he is now embarking on a bold new venture – one that is even bigger, more impactful, and more ambitious than anything he has undertaken before.

“This new project is an inspiration and testament to his unwavering ingenuity, intellect and commitment to proving his biased media critics wrong and his determination to make an even more significant mark in his field as one of the great earth scientists of his generation in Australia.’’

The website lists Mumbai-based Kamal Kumar Karia as chief executive and Catsoulis as “chief managing director’’.

The website claims Mr Karia has significant global business expertise and also “is revolutionising global finance with the creation of Zenga Gold Coin (ZGC), a blockchain-backed cryptocurrency linked directly to investment-grade gold’’.

The Australian could find no evidence of the existence of the cryptocurrency online, or any substantial presence of Mr Karia’s company, Tectron Global Media, which the website says is “a global media technology firm focused on digital platforms and content creation’’. Indian company records indicate the company does exist.

Mr Karia has been contacted for comment.

Queensland man Peng Yang is also a director and shareholder in AU Finance, and a director of Impact Gold. Mr Yang could not be contacted.

Originally published as David Catsoulis bounces back from bankruptcy with mystery mining project