MR Michael Wymes (54), the managing director of Bula, who is a qualified veterinary surgeon and barrister, was described by Mr Justice Lynch as a man "utterly convinced of the justice of his cause and that Tara had been intent on destroying him and his colleagues..."

The judge said Mr Wymes was not only convinced of these ideas but was truly obsessed by them to the extent that he had spent the last nine or 10 years of his life pursuing this litigation.

He had become more and more obsessed with detail and had become a living example of a person who could not see the wood for the trees.

Mr Wymes as a witness was very difficult to control, the judge said. He disregarded rulings and relevance and indulged in long speeches in answer to questions which he was not asked.

"Mr Wymes quite often says whatever at the particular moment of answering seems to him to suit his claims," the judge said.

Mr Wymes contended the Minister had obligations to proceed to develop and exploit the Bula mine but the judge said he had heard little or nothing about the obligations of Bula personnel.

"Having listened to and observed Mr Wymes in the witness box for 146 days and throughout the trial I have come to the conclusion that he is an unreliable witness," said Mr Justice Lynch.

It did not seem to cost Mr Wymes a thought to make the most serious allegations against all and sundry and then if his allegations were shown to be utterly groundless this did not seem to bother him either and he just moved on to the next point, added the judge.

Speaking of Mr Richard Wood, the other Bula director suing Tara and the Minister, the judge said Mr Wood was completely under the influence of and had been effectively brainwashed by Mr Wymes.

By contrast, the judge said he found the witnesses from the Department of Energy to be careful, accurate and reliable. He also found the evidence of Tara witnesses to be preferable to that adduced on behalf of Bula.