AIM and Media Release
26 November 2021
BASE RESOURCES
LIMITED
Chair’s Address to the Annual General Meeting
Friday, 26 November 2021,
11.00am (AWST)
African mineral sands producer, Base Resources Limited
(ASX & AIM: BSE) (Base Resources or the Company)
advises that the following address was delivered by Base Resources’
Chair at the Company’s Annual General Meeting held today at
11.00 am (Perth time) in Perth, Western
Australia and online via the Lumi software platform.
Management also delivered a presentation at the Annual General
Meeting. A copy of that presentation is available from the
Company's website: www.baseresources.com.au.
Chair’s AGM Address
Ladies and gentlemen
In another operationally and financially successful year, Base
Resources continued to deliver robust results at our Kwale
Operations in Kenya while working
to progress development of the world class Toliara Project in
Madagascar.
Base Resources continued to closely manage the risks associated
with the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite these challenges, Kwale
Operations maintained full production, achieved guidance and met
shipping schedules throughout the 2021 financial year.
After some early volatility, markets for mineral sands products
were remarkably resilient and finished the year very tight, with
customer demand exceeding the Company’s ability to
supply.
Our strong operational performance, combined with a robust
pricing environment, allowed the Company to record revenue of
US$198.2 million. This result,
along with a continued focus on efficiency, drove EBITDA of
US$94.6 million and a net profit
after tax of US$11.0 million.
Strong underlying cashflow enabled the Company to end the year with
US$64.9 million net cash, after
paying out an aggregate of US$56.4
million in dividends over the course of the financial
year.
Following another year of strong cash generation, the Board was
pleased to determine a final dividend of AUD 4.0 cents per share. Together with the AUD
3.0 cents per share paid in March,
total distributions to shareholders in respect of the financial
year were AUD 7.0 cents per share,
unfranked.
On site, the Company maintained its uncompromising focus on
safety, health and wellbeing with no lost time or medical treatment
injuries during the financial year. Kwale Operations also
continued to set a benchmark for sustainability in mining project
implementation and operation with a wide range of activities
focused on our people, community and environment.
To build on the Company’s long history of sustainable
operational practice, an Environment, Social and Ethics committee
of the Board was established in the financial year. The
Committee oversees development and implementation of the Company’s
ESE strategy and reporting mechanisms, with the objective of
enhancing and cementing the Company’s reputation for excellence in
the full lifecycle of mining.
The Company remains intensely focused on extending Kwale mine
life to maximise the value created by the Kwale development for
shareholders, employees, the community and the nation of
Kenya. Subsequent to the year end, the Kwale South Dune Ore
Reserves estimate was updated and the Kwale Special Mining Lease
extension was finalised, extending mine life to December
2023. The outcomes of the Bumamani PFS were also released,
with the study concluding that higher grade subsets of the North
Dune and Bumamani deposits can be economically mined, supporting an
extended mine life to mid-2024 1.
We are also further expanding our exploration tenure in the
Kuranze region of Kenya, with a
number of prospecting licence applications moving through the
regulatory approval process, and we secured adjacent prospecting
licences in Tanzania and have
commenced our exploration program there.
The Toliara Project in Madagascar continues to represent a
significant and attractive growth opportunity for the Company and,
during the 2021 financial year, meaningful progress was made in
discussions with the Government of Madagascar about the fiscal terms applicable
to the project. More recently, the Company updated the Ranobe
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates and released an
enhanced DFS which significantly increases the scale and economics
of the Toliara Project.
As we proceed through the 2022 financial year, we remain highly
optimistic for the future of Base Resources and the value we can
create for all stakeholders, especially against a backdrop of
strong commodity markets with fundamentals that are calling forward
new supply.
As previously announced, I am retiring from the Board at the
conclusion of this AGM. It has been an honour to Chair the
Board since 2015, during which time we achieved many significant
milestones of which I am very proud. It has been my absolute
pleasure to serve with my fellow directors and to work with such a
high-quality management team.
Mr Stirzaker will take up the role of Chair at the conclusion of
the AGM. A director of Base Resources since 2014, and with
over 30 years of commercial experience, Mr Stirzaker is well
placed to take Base Resources into its next phase of
development.
In closing, I would like to thank my fellow directors for their
support and wisdom, the Base Resources team for their enduring
focus on excellence, and our shareholders for your ongoing belief
in the Company.
[Note (1): Refer to Base
Resources’ market announcements on 3
September 2021 “Bumamani PFS supports extension of Kwale
mine life to mid-2024” and “Further supporting information for
Bumamani PFS” (Bumamani PFS Announcements) for the material
assumptions and underlying methodologies adopted for deriving the
summary outcome of the Bumamani PFS disclosed above. Base
Resources confirms that all the material assumptions underpinning
the production information and forecast financial information
disclosed in the Bumamani PFS Announcements continue to apply and
have not materially changed.]
ENDS.
For further information contact:
James Fuller, Manager Communications
and Investor Relations |
UK Media Relations |
Base Resources |
Tavistock Communications |
Tel: +61 (8) 9413 7426 |
Jos Simson and Gareth Tredway |
Mobile: +61 (0) 488 093 763 |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 920 3150 |
Email:
jfuller@baseresources.com.au |
|
About Base Resources
Base Resources is an Australian based, African focused, mineral
sands producer and developer with a track record of project
delivery and operational performance. The company operates
the established Kwale Operations in Kenya and is developing the Toliara Project in
Madagascar. Base Resources is an ASX and AIM listed
company. Further details about Base Resources are available
at www.baseresources.com.au
PRINCIPAL & REGISTERED
OFFICE
Level 3, 46 Colin Street
West Perth, Western Australia, 6005
Email: info@baseresources.com.au
Phone: +61 (0)8 9413 7400
Fax: +61 (0)8 9322 8912
NOMINATED ADVISOR
RFC Ambrian Limited
Stephen Allen
Phone: +61 (0)8 9480 2500
JOINT BROKER
Berenberg
Matthew Armitt / Detlir Elezi
Phone: +44 20 3207 7800
JOINT BROKER
Canaccord Genuity
Raj Khatri / James Asensio /
Patrick Dolaghan
Phone: +44 20 7523 8000