A government spokesman says there’s no evidence that valuable metals were taken from the M-V Miner during a salvage operation off Cape Breton last fall.

The company committed to dismantling the stranded ship is accusing another firm hired to remove loose items, such as furniture, of stripping the vessel of its precious metals.

Bruce Nunn, a spokesman for Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Department, says government employees oversaw the work done last year and there’s no evidence that metals were taken.

When asked if it’s possible someone went on the ship to take the metals, Nunn replied that the vessel has been unsecured for more than seven months.