AGM...

I just returned from attending the annual general meeting (AGM) in Sydney and I must admit I was blown away by the discussions I had with many of the senior staff about the various issues currently facing Lynas…

I would like to start with a bit of sad news in that Kathleen Conlon will be moving on. Kathleen was the chairman of the board after serving more than 10 years with Lynas during the key development stages. She also was the driving force in the recruitment of Amanda and along with Amanda she has helped establish Lynas as the ROW (rest of the world) leader in rare earths…

I was also able to have dinner with a fellow investor and Hot Copper local RVR the evening before the meeting. We had great discussions on virtually every aspect of Lynas and the general consensus is that Lynas as a company had arrived and is positioned to make great inroads in the coming year…

I have said many times that I primarily evaluate companies on the quality of management. It is this subjective analysis of the key personnel that leads me to conclude that the best of times lie directly ahead as Lynas continues to forge ahead in the execution of Amanda’s aggressive business plan. I have never seen a group of people work so well together while actually having a great time…

The AGM is a great forum to be able to meet and discuss issues with the administrators of the company. To that end, I was able to talk with most of the senior staff before and after the meeting. The bottom line is that these people are committed to a team effort and they share the strong work ethic that continues to position Lynas as the leader in the RE industry today. What is unusual is that they are clearly having fun with the day to day operations while building one of the best run companies I have ever encountered…

I must admit I had some trepidations about the current state of the many projects and improvements that define the path forward. My fears were allayed with discussions about the progress at Kalgoorlie. Amanda told me that the kiln is hot and turning with the refractory issues now resolved. In other words the heavy lifting is complete, waiting only for final approval from the inspection process…

Amanda commented that she is amazed at the progress in Mt Weld and she noted that it looks different every time she visits the site. Of course, Mt. Weld is a crown jewel in the operation and has proved to be one of the worlds richest high grade rare earth deposit. In my opinion, Mt. Weld could be a stand alone company commanding a hefty price on its own…

While I had discussions with most of the senior staff present at the meeting, this year I had the chance to meet Mimi Afzan Afza who is Vice President of People and Culture. As we all know Lynas is operating in a country that is not always congenial to our efforts and Amanda needed someone within the company to understand and manage the social impact Lynas is having on Malaysia (and vice versa)…

I found Mimi to be articulate and very outgoing as she described her management strategy. She emphasized that she does not micro manage instead letting her people carry out their own duties on a day to day basis. I was impressed with her qualifications and good natured manner as she described the current political situation in Malaysia and how Lynas is gaining acceptance within Malaysia government and the local community…

Mimi feels that 2024 will be a watershed year for Lynas as the Malaysian government begins to shift from a contentious policy to one where Lynas is considered to be a true asset. While there is some speculation about developing Lynas as a downstream “magnet maker” it is my opinion that Amanda will continue to focus on RE mining and separation by offering things like “boutique” products for custom applications…

To conclude, I found this to be the most encouraging “report” of the current state of the company and how Lynas is moving forward in virtual every aspect of operation. While there are challenges going forward, it is pretty clear that these challenges will be resolved in a timely manner. As Amanda summed it up, “we are doing things better than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow”…