7 questions asked at 2023 Mt Gibson Iron AGM
November 24, 2023
Below is the text of the 7 written questions lodged at the 2023 Mt Gibson Iron hybrid AGM held on November 15, along with a summary of the answers and some video grabs. Watch the 71 minute webcast. There was a 23.4% protest against long serving director Alan Jones.
Q1. The annual report notes that we have $1 billion in accumulated losses and net assets of $539 million, against a current market capitalisation of $674 million. This suggests that shareholders collectively have lost around $900 million supporting this company's endeavours. How much of that loss was suffered by our major shareholder APAC Resources and could chair Lee Seng Hui clarify what their average entry price is?
Answer:
Q2. Could Alan Jones and the chair comment as to why he is listed as an independent director when they both sit on the board of Allied Group in Hong Kong. Doesn't that make them associates? Could Alan please clarify his full history with our two largest shareholders. Also, as the longest serving director who joined the board in 2006, wasn't 17 years enough? Most independent directors retire after 9-12 years. Did any of the proxy advisers release reports ahead of today's AGM and did any of them recommend against Mr Jones's re-election, similar to what happened last year when there was a 28% vote against the chairman's re-election?
Answer:
Q3. The recent Voice referendum was a difficult time for Indigenous Australians. Could long serving director Ding Rucai and the CEO comment on how the board approached the referendum. Did we take a position like the major iron ore miners BHP and Rio Tinto? Also, what percentage of our workforce is Indigenous and what is the history of our agreements with the traditional owners of our Koolan Island mine site? Are we paying royalties to any Aboriginal Corporations?
Answer:
Q4. There was a 28.7% vote against the re-election of our chairman Lee Seng Hui at last year's AGM. Was this partly due to the lack of diversity on our board with Evian Delfabbro the first female director we've ever had and who was only appointed in August this year. Could Evian comment on what it has been like being the only female director in the room and whether she supports a second female director joining the board before next year's AGM. Did any of the proxy advisers recommend against any of directors up for election today?
Answer:
Q5. Which are the major shipping companies taking our product to China and which Chinese ports are we mainly servicing. Compared to other iron ore miners how do we compare in terms of what we do in-house versus what we out-source? Are we looking to make any changes to these arrangements after the recent fire? Do our major Hong Kong-based shareholders provide any services to the business or are they just passive shareholders?
Answer:
Q6. Thank you for offering shareholders a hybrid AGM this year and will you commit to keep doing this in future years to maximise shareholder participation? Big companies like BHP, Boral, Commonwealth Bank, Fortescue Metals, Harvey Norman, Origin Energy, Ramsay Healthcare, Rio Tinto, Seven Group and Whitehaven Coal all banned online questions and voting in 2022, so well done for showing them up. What was the experience like from your end and do you know how many shareholders are currently in the room and participating online?
Q7. Given that we have sold our original assets associated with the Mt Gibson region, have we given any thought to changing our name to something like Koonan Island Iron Ore?
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