It's a shame given that NSW has now 'opened up' that the Board has decided to have a virtual AGM (perhaps to protect themselves from SHs rather than Covid?)
Nevertheless there are important issues to consider like the role of the current Chairman who is up for re-election.
1) In 2014 when he was first brought in (by OCP?) the SP was between double and four times where it is now and this is despite over 50,000m of drilling since then which found substantial additional resource and also a major uplift in battery metal prices.
Now 7 years later in our opinion, the chairman has presided over a massive destruction of SH value.
2) However, despite this loss to the company, he seems to always look after himself.
2.1) He also signed on as a paid consultant to OCP, the biggest SH and creditor. Does anyone know of any other Director/Chairman of any other ASX company who has done this?
2.2) Despite the long-term decline in AML market value, he has increased his own AML remuneration (i.e. in addition to any consultancy payments) e.g. The annual report shows that in 2020 he was paid $180,000 salary plus incentive shares. Now in 2021 he is paid $218,475 salary plus shares valued at $298,828 for a total compensation package of $513,303.
Now bear in mind he is a non-executive chairman of an exploration company making compounded losses not profits who seems to be being rewarded for the going company backwards?
3) He had the opportunity for a massive windfall for AML SH's when MMG chose to offload their Century production plant and a package of leases, underground pipeline to coastal port etc etc.
The Century production plant alone was valued at $1 Billion+ and is only 100 kms from Walford Creek so would have saved AML the cost of construction and many years of wasted time.
Market commentators have reported that with this opportunity AML would have been worth well north of $1/share.
However, suddenly and without any warning or proper explanation, he suddenly announced he was walking AML away from the deal altogether.
This then gifted what has become known as "The Deal of the Century" to what is now NCZ on the ASX.
Attilla/NCZ picked up the whole package for virtually no cash outlay and now AML instead have to build a plant from scratch with a $Billion capex.
To add insult to injury, NCZ has consistently been valued on the ASX at 5 TIMES AML ever since then and the chairman has consistently refused to provide any explanation whatsoever.
4) In late 2019 (21/10/19) this same chairman authorised the release of a scoping study to the ASX which highlighted: "Walford Creek Project Highly Economic" and reported: "The analysis demonstrates that this world class asset has the clear potential to deliver highly attractive financial returns from a technically undemanding and readily executable project development".
Then it wasn't for another 18 months (15/4/21) that SHs were told that the information in the scoping study was wrong and AML had to start again with a whole new approach.
5) Lastly, from a SH relations/corporate governance perspective, the chairman consistently refused to answer questions from shareholders, then said he would only do so once a year at the AGM and then in reality not at all.
Therefore, as long-term shareholders we can not possibly see how continuing to have this person on the Board let alone as Chairman, is in the best interests of all shareholders?
OCP have always used their majority vote (45%) to back his every move. If they do so again it will further entrench some shareholders' view that OCP are deliberately trying to suppress the value of the company to suit their own possibly nefarious interests.
Unfortunately, Dan Simmons from OCP has also refused to answer any questions whatsoever.
So here we have the "world class" Walford Creek resource with Australia's highest grade cobalt deposit in addition to substantial copper (plus zinc, nickel and silver) languishing at less than $50m market cap whilst virtually every other battery minerals stock is at record highs. What should we do? How should we vote?
Expand
