agm and my report

Info gained at the AGM. I am now back in Brisbane.
The following is what I got from the actual meeting and informal conversation afterwards.

New announcements - none
Site construction - They would NOT have been ready even if power had been available. = raspberry !
General construction is advancing & slides were shown. Minimal electrical installation started.
Grid power. 132KV to site. Not there yet. then step down to 22kv with the last section by underground cable. The supply of this is late and took the board by surprise. It is a condition of their permit for it to be underground. They say overhead is not an option.
The provision of supply needs clearances from traditional owners and CMR is not allowed to talk to them directly. They must go through "Aboriginal Areas
Protection Association"
Mechanical Installation. RS reported Grinding mill close to completion, Leach Thickeners nearly up, Tanks are now prefabbed in Darwin, CCD Thickener now ready for lining then agitator & rake to be installed, SX/EW mostly in place with much of the piping connected.
We did not talk of the things that were of concern and no opportunity to ask.
My feeling (from Brisbane) is that there is still a long way to go with this construction and allowing a month minimum for testing, setting up and system control I find it difficult to see a start up in October.

Contracts. Mostly covered. Orica, Lime, Heating fuel, Soda Ash & reagents are signed. The mining contract will be finalised in June.

High Costs. RS was concerned he was having to pay $140/ hour for draftsmen with names changing constantly.

Metal Recoveries. They expected the following. Cu 90%,
Ni & Co 80+% Acid consumption depends on the host rock.

Neighbours. They have bought a lot of neighboring land
Negotiations continue with one farmer.

Definitive Feasability Studies. GT estimates it will take about 18 months for base metals and probably less for Uranium (Simpler)

Financing. Due diligence now under way for $100M Standby facility to cover any opportunities that may eventuate. They are looking at Africa, Namibia, Cameroon, Peru and Guyanne.

Offshore listing. Consideration is ongoing incl Toronto.
No one asked about the possible/probable ? need for additional liquidity. (Dilution ??)

Restructuring of equity. The board have thought this through very carefully. Presently moving along through Clayton Utz.
Why restructure? The board considers this will be in the shareholders' best interests. Also the big boys BHP,Rio, Xtrata etc trade at lousy market multiples.

Financial health of separate new companies. What if new discoveries are not forthcoming for the Exploration company ? Ans. It will take it's chances for $.
(BUT! - AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST BIT TO COME OUT OF THE MEETING for me > There is private excitement at the top about western NSW. There is a strong possibility that this will be HUGE! There are 2 rigs working there now.

Public Relations - Press reporting. I hit them hard on this one. Gt fully accepts the raspberry and promised to the meeting (& me after) that things were going to change and the publicity pace would pick up. They are going to use professionals and he agreed that Paladin were excellent on their PR.

Formal resolutions. Additional staff rewards. Both were carried - neither unanimously.
Annual senior staff caps have increased from $200K to $400K to now $750K plus of course the freeby options and now FPO's which GT reckons will result in less dilution.
GT says we must trust the board or sack them. So nothing we can do about it.

Present Chairman's Tenure. GT is 60 now. He would like to see his 5 year plan complete but would be unwilling to sign a 5 year contract.

Finally - The meeting was well attended +- 200?? including Josh Pitt and Alf Field.

I have probably missed some things. Westmoon.