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https://thewest.com.au/business/min...utting-ties-with-mineral-resources-c-17774044

Board is backing me’: Chris Ellison leaves lingering questions about his future at battered Mineral Resources

Adrian RausoThe West Australian
Wed, 19 February 2025 1:00PM


Mineral Resources - Mark Wilson and Chris Ellison Credit: supplied/supplied

Chris Ellison urged MinRes shareholders to move on from his various misdeeds, refused to rule out maintaining strong links to the firm he founded once his time as chief executive is up, and contradicted a past statement he made about leadership succession.
Mr Ellison fronted analysts and shareholders on Wednesday morning with MinRes’ share price in free fall after revealing a whopping $807 million half-year loss on Tuesday evening.
The company will also have to spend more than $200m to repair and resurface its damaged haul road in WA’s north. The miner’s stock finished down more than 20 per cent to $24.18 — the lowest point since October 2020.

MinRes’ woeful financial state has been compounded by the well-publicised corporate governance failures of Mr Ellison, which included the MinRes chief running a tax evasion scheme and misusing company resources for his own benefit.

The Kiwi native on Wednesday tried to consign his “issues” to the past.
“Look for me, personally, the issues that I’ve faced over the last six months, we’re done on them,” Mr Ellison said.
“They’re behind me and I’m finished, they’re behind the business . . . I don’t think we can be any more clearer.

“They (the MinRes board) are backing me to move the business forward, and the board and I are clearly in lockstep our focus on creating value for our shareholders alone.”

After the corporate governance scandal first came to light in October, MinRes said Mr Ellison would step down as managing director by the middle of next year.
But rumours have swirled that Mr Ellison, who is the largest shareholder, will remain at the company he founded in some leadership capacity.

When quizzed by analysts if he planned to stay on at MinRes in some substantive capacity, Mr Ellison appeared to confirm he was keen to remain involved.
“My intention is to retain my shareholding once we do the (CEO) transition,” he said.
“I believe strongly in this business. I love it. I started at my lounge room, and I’ve said openly, I’m available to the board to support this business in whatever way necessary going forward. I mean, I’m dedicated to it.
“Subject to all things being normal and people getting positive on us again, I’ve put the past behind me, and the board has clearly outlined where this business is heading and I’ve told you operationally where I’m taking it.

But the MinRes founder then seemed to change his tune when asked about the succession plan during a media call.
“Look . . . let’s get the new chairman on board, and let’s go through the process and just see what they think is necessary,” he said.
“You know, sometimes having an ex-MD hanging around is more interference than good.
“I’m available to support that (CEO) transition in whatever way.”

Mr Ellison also inferred a succession plan for his job had been in place prior to the scandal emerging in October.
“We’re all getting old, and there’s been a plan in place that we’ve been working through,” he said.
He told The West Australian in May MinRes had a succession plan in place, but he did not expect to leave anytime soon.
“I gave my board a 10-year commitment last year, so we do have succession planning in the business,” he said at the time. “But I don’t expect to go anywhere in the next 10 years. This is my hobby.”


Problems pile up

MinRes also had a “tough” six months on an operational level, Mr Ellison lamented on Wednesday, before adding all the “negative talk” about the business was “annoying”.
He said lithium prices were “in the toilet”, which has gutted MinRes’ profitability.
On top of the lithium woes, festering problems at the 147km privately-owned haul road that links the company’s most important iron ore mining operation to port is making investors even more nervous.

Heavy rainfall in the Pilbara over the past month has forced MinRes to resurface the whole road at a cost of $230 million, adding more strain to the company’s debt-laden balance sheet and forcing an export cut from the Onslow Iron operation.

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Mr Ellison said MinRes had got Onslow Iron “95 per cent” right and blamed bad luck with Mother Nature for the haul road’s latest issues.
“I mean, we’ve had no cyclones last year, this year as luck would have it . . . we’ve had five, how lucky can you get?” he said sarcastically.
“We have the solution (to the haul road) and we are building it. So please don’t turn into civil engineers and panic, just stay out there as analysts and we’ll be able to do what we always do.”
He said analysts should instead help MinRes pump up its share price.
“If I could get you (analysts) to more focus on the share price, if you could get that up, that would get my debt ratio down — that’s your part.”