Two questions asked at 2023 Rio Tinto AGM
May 4, 2023
Here is the text of the two online written questions asked at the 2023 Rio Tinto Ltd hybrid AGM held on May 4 in Perth, along with videos of the responses.
1. What is the full history of our dealings with Rusal and its controlling shareholder, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. What has happened to his 20% stake in the Gladstone bauxite refinery which we used to operate for his and Rusal's benefit before sanctions after the Ukraine invasion effectively saw the asset confiscated by the Australian government. Have the cash profits from this stake been ring-fenced and where are these monies currently sitting? Please provide an update on any litigation involving this asset and a prediction as to the likely outcome. Shouldn't we just buy out Rusal at a fair price or would this breach the sanctions because the asset has been confiscated?
Answer: watch video of response via Twitter. The chair pushed it off to a lawyer who didn't really answer the question.
2. Why don't we just make a generous mop-up bid for ERA and be done will all this wrangling with independent directors and minority shareholders. The last year at ERA has been a farce and all this could have been avoided if the 10,000 retail shareholders and other minorities such as Packer were taken out of the game with a generous mop up bid. In hindsight, do you agree it was a mistake to leave ERA as a standalone public company which is now farcically issuing 18.5 billion new shares at 2c to fund the $2 billion remediation plan at Ranger.
Answer: watch video of full exchange via Twitter. The CEO is clearly determined to prevent the Jabiluka deposit from being developed, plus also refuses to waste shareholder funds paying minorities in a company which only has cash out-flows.
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