Over 20 years of existence to soon be worth around half a cent and 3.5b shares.
Hardly a ringing endorsment by all who have steered the good ship Padbury.
Bring Dr John back. At least he was independent. For a short time PDY had a capable board but that changed a few months ago.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT released in the Annual Report on 19/10/2011
I am pleased to present the 2011 Padbury Mining Limited Annual Report.
While the past year delivered more than its fair share of challenges for Padbury, not least the extremely volatile investment market, it was also one in which the Board and management delivered substantially on project milestones to put the Company on a solid footing for future growth and development.
In just 12 months, we have undertaken major drilling work, delineated a maiden magnetite resource, identified a highly prospective Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) target, undertaken preliminary baseline environment and heritage studies and started work on concept mining studies. From a corporate perspective, Padbury has appointed a well-respected in-house geologist and attracted two new Board members in Garret Dixon and David Southam to help drive the Company’s new strategic focus.
Garret and David are highly experienced in developing greenfield magnetite/hematite iron ore projects and dealing with Chinese investors. This experience will be invaluable for Padbury as we move into DSO exploration, expand and upgrade our resource results and start pre-feasibility studies at Peak Hill.
TAKEOVER ATTEMPT The beginning of the financial year was a particularly difficult time, with a hostile below market target bid by Fe Limited creating an unwanted diversion from the real business of developing our Peak Hill Iron Project.
This action, which lasted just over four months, was eventually defeated with acceptances of less than 1.5% from our shareholder base. Since the takeover bid closed on 22 November 2010, the focus for the Board and management has been on consolidating Padbury’s position as a prospective iron ore miner and knuckling down to the work necessary for the Company to achieve its key project milestones.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION While the Company has delineated a significant maiden magnetite resource, and further drilling is planned with the objective of extending and upgrading this resource, it has a strategic focus over the coming months to establish a DSO source. To this end, on 27 September 2011, the Company started its first drill program targeting a DSO exploration target of 10-55Mt at 55-58% Fe’.
The Board and management are very enthusiastic about this program and Peak Hill’s prospects for DSO.
FINANCES I am pleased to report the Company’s finances are in excellent shape, with a solid cash-in-bank position and no debt. This gives Padbury an enviable capacity to finance the necessary next phases of project work as we move towards development of the Peak Hill Iron Project.
PROJECT MILESTONES On 29 March 2011, we were pleased to announce a maiden inferred JORC compliant resource at our flagship Peak Hill Iron Project of 850Mt delineated from 4km of a 10km strike length. These initial JORC results are highly encouraging, with an average grade of 27.3% Fe in total, which includes 425Mt at 29.9% Fe. Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) testing has demonstrated the potential for high-grade concentrate production.
However, more exciting for the project is the discovery of potentially significant hematite (Direct Shipping Ore – DSO) deposits at Mt Padbury, for which an exploration target has been defined of 10-55 million tonnes at 55-58% Fe. Work at the Telecom Hill tenement has also been promising, with rock chip samples returning grades of 60-65%Fe.
Together, these resources make our Company a highly prospective Mid West iron ore junior, with potential for early DSO cashflow underpinning a large and valuable magnetite deposit, producing export product that will ultimately have easy access to the proposed Mid West rail and Oakajee port infrastructure.
INFRASTRUCTURE It is no secret that the development of the Mid West’s significant iron ore resources depends on the timely construction of the crucial Oakajee Port and associated rail network to service the mines of the region’s north and south.
While there is some capacity at Geraldton port to handle smaller tonnages in the short to mid-term, this is in no way sufficient to support the mine expansions and new developments proposed. The difficulties being experienced by current Oakajee Port proponent OPR have led to public speculation – and indeed acknowledgment by the WA Premier - that the project cannot proceed in its current form.
It was to mitigate against difficulties with the infrastructure development that Padbury purchased the intellectual property (IP) developed by Yilgarn Infrastructure Ltd (“Yilgarn”) for its investor-backed proposal to build a deepwater Port and Oakajee and an open access, multi user rail network to service the mines of Western Australia’s Mid West region.
While this proposal was not the one chosen by the WA Government, the IP contains valuable data including project definition documents, financial modelling, Chinese investment agreements, financing term sheets and associated legal documents and a viable, low-cost, service-based commercial model for the carriage of ore from the various proposed mining operations to Oakajee. The IP has been vested in a wholly owned Padbury subsidiary Midwest Infrastructure Pty Ltd.
The purchase of this material gives Padbury a viable option to move forward, with the capacity to contribute to an infrastructure solution for the entire Mid West, should the current infrastructure proponent be unable to proceed with its proposal in its current form.
LOOKING FORWARD An increased focus for the 2011-2012 Financial Year is increasing discussions with a range of potential funding partners to help support the Company’s development strategy.
The ultimate objective for our Company – and for me as your Chairman – is to continue to build value in Padbury for shareholders. You are our most important stakeholders.
In order to do this, we are working hard not just on exploration and project development, but on building our value proposition, brand reputation and profile within the wider market, with government and other key stakeholders.
While we are unlikely to see any significant improvement in market volatility in the near future, Padbury is well placed to build on the foundations laid over the past months to increase value for shareholders through the continued exploration and strategic development of the Peak Hill Iron Project.
I have great confidence in Padbury’s potential and its capacity to achieve success for its shareholders and I thank you for your continued support as we work to achieve our project and strategic Company objectives.
Dr John Saunders Chairman Perth, 30 September 2011
And this taken from the 2011 Annual Meeting on 28/11/2012
In my view, we are now able to move forward aggressively to develop the Peak Hill Project under the guidance of a strong, experienced Board of four, including new independent directors Garret Dixon and David Southam, and a strengthened management team led by Gary Stokes.
Then,
19/12/2011
Board Changes Announced
Padbury Mining Ltd (ASX: PDY) Directors David Southam and Garret Dixon have resigned their positions on the company board effective immediately. The Board thanked Mr Southam and Mr Dixon for their efforts and contributions to the Company and wish them well for the future.
And,
19/12/2011
Board Appointments Announced
Padbury Mining Ltd (ASX: PDY) is pleased to announce the appointment of Terry Quinn to the company Board of Directors.
Mr Quinn has accepted the role of Non-Executive Chairman, replacing Dr John Saunders, who tendered his resignation effective close of business today to take on a new position as Non-Executive Chairman of Padbury’s wholly-owned subsidiary Midwest Infrastructure Pty Ltd.
Midwest Infrastructure holds the Midwest rail and Oakajee Port intellectual property (IP) purchased by Padbury from Yilgarn Infrastructure.
Dr Saunders’ role will focus on the promotion of the IP, in particular its commercial modeling, to various interested parties as a potential means of contributing to a solution to the development of viable port and rail infrastructure to service the emerging mines of Western Australia’s Mid West region.
Mr Quinn is Padbury’s major shareholder and Managing Director of 30% joint venture partner Aurium Resources. He has 20 years experience in the retail and resources sectors and has had broad exposure and experience with overseas investors based in China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Mr Quinn is a committee member of the WA Mining Club and an affiliate of the Securities Institute of Australia. The Board thanks Dr Saunders for his contribution as Chairman over the past 18 months and looks forward to continuing working with him in his new role. Further inquiries:
Gary Stokes Managing Director T: +61 8 6460 0250 Media Inquiries
So PDY loses 3 of their directors including the Chairman not long after the big Annual Report and AGM spiels.
These were the people lauded just a few weeks before as the team to take PDY forward.
They almost got it right for a short time.
PDY Price at posting:
0.6¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
