Sale was completed to vulcan. 2018 Annual Report
The 2018 financial year was a pivotal period for Intrepid Mines Ltd (“Intrepid”). While the board was presented with many challenges, it was able to execute and finalise a number of key initiatives during the year which have placed Intrepid in a position to potentially exploit opportunities in the near future. Many of these initiatives were flagged at the time the current board was appointed in late 2015 and have been progressing since then and include, among others:
a) Return of Capital: During the year, the board approved a return of capital to shareholders of $0.75 per share. On 18 February 2019, that payment (aggregating $10,339,494) was made to shareholders.
b) AIC Resources Takeover: In September 2018, Intrepid and AIC Resources Limited (“AIC”) announced they had entered into a takeover implementation deed in respect of an off-market takeover offer made by Intrepid for all the issued shares of AIC. Unfortunately, as was announced on 5 February 2019, that bid was unsuccessful. The parties have, however, entered into a revised agreement which has been announced to the market. If the takeover is successful, the combination of these two entities will be value enhancing and will provide the future direction of Intrepid.
c) Doolgunna Station: Intrepid entered into a Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with Ausgold Limited to earn up to 80% interest in the Doolgunna Station Project. During the year, Intrepid commenced exploration activities at the Doolgunna Station Project.
d) Sale of Kitumba: On 12 December 2017, Intrepid announced the sale of the Kitumba Project to Weatherly International. Unfortunately, that contract could not be completed. Subsequently, the board undertook another process to find a buyer for the asset and entered into an agreement with Vulcan Copper Limited to sell the asset for USD $5,000,000. In some respects, the failure of the Weatherly transaction was fortuitous as the purchase price under the Vulcan transaction was at a premium compared to the earlier Weatherly transaction. On 14 February 2019, Intrepid successfully completed the Vulcan transaction. Intrepid has received USD $1,000,000 of the purchase price and there remains USD $4,000,000 to be paid.
e) Share Buy-Back: During the year, Intrepid purchased and cancelled 3,281,865 shares at an average price of $1.16 per share (the total cost was $3,797,234 excluding transaction costs).
f) Appointment of New Chairperson: It was my honour to be appointed as the Chairperson of Intrepid on 2 March 2018. It was with a great deal of disappointment that the board had to make redundant the Acting CEO, Mr Tony De Santis, during the year. Tony had been a great asset and played a key role in allowing Intrepid to execute on many of the initiatives listed above. With the sale of the Kitumba Project, unfortunately, there was no role left for Tony. The board appreciate his service and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.
With the sale of the Kitumba Project and the AIC takeover, Intrepid is well positioned for the future. AIC’s assets are a perfect fit with the Doolgunna Station Project as it provides for the consolidation of a large contiguous land holding in Western Australia which is highly prospective for gold and copper. The merged companies will benefit from a stronger balance sheet which will be the foundation for future growth. Furthermore, the management team led by Aaron Colleran as Managing Director and CEO and Josef El-Raghy as Chairman, Brett Montgomery, Tony Wolfe and myself will ensure that all potential opportunities are identified and pursued for the benefit of shareholders. I would like to thank the members of board and management for all their hard work, dedication and commitment. Finally, I would also like to thank our shareholders for their ongoing support.
Expand
(20min delay)