Former WA attorney general Cheryl Edwardes has become the latest board member set to leave uranium aspirant Vimy Resources, announcing her resignation ahead of the company’s closed-door AGM today.
Former WA attorney general Cheryl Edwardes has become the latest board member set to leave uranium aspirant Vimy Resources, announcing her resignation ahead of the company’s closed-door AGM today.
Ms Edwardes leaves Vimy as it works to get the Mulga Rock uranium project up and running, with the company in the middle of a strategic review and without a permanent chief executive officer or chief financial officer.
Her departure adds to a string of board changes at the company this year, including the company’s longstanding managing director Mike Young and non-executive director and Wyloo Metals head, Luca Giacovazzi.
The meeting falls exactly a week after Vimy knocked back a $687 million merger proposal from Deep Yellow, after which Vimy declared it would start a strategic review.
Deep Yellow claims there was no "meanginful engagement" by Vimy on the deal, but Vimy retorts that the proposal was "unsolicited" and "unconventionally structured."
Commenting on her decision to retire in early 2022, Ms Edwardes said the company remained in very good hands.
“My confidence in Vimy’s future success remains as high as ever and I thank shareholders for their unwavering support – and patience – over the years as we stuck to our goal of delivering on Mulga Rock’s potential,” she said in a statement.
“It is therefore the right time for me to help the Board undertake a global search to identify the next chair before I hand over the baton to my successor early next year.”
Mulga Rock, which is one of a handful of uranium projects in WA with environmental approval, has been subject to ongoing campaigns from Conservation Council of Western Australia.
The group made an appearance at the company’s AGM today, from which non-shareholders were excluded.
Business News understands Upurli Upurli Native Title Claimant Debbie Carmody spoke at the meeting and claimed that Vimy had not consulted or conducted hertiage surveys with Upurli Upurli on the project.
The group also opposes the project over claims that clearing land for the project is “irresponsible” and threatens the habitat of species in the area.
In some respite for Vimy, the company announced today that it had managed to meet a fast-approaching environmental approval deadline due to expire next month for Mulga Rock.
Vimy needed to ensure it had substantially commenced works at the project by December 16 or its ministerial approval from 2016 would have expired.
“Since receiving ministerial approval in 2016, Vimy has diligently progressed the project and undertaken significant work at Mulga Rock,” the company said in a release.
This includes starting its early works programme, under which it says it has cleared approximately 143 hectares of land since September and 162 hectares cumulatively.
But a final investment decision is yet to be made on the project.
Meanwhile, fellow uranium aspirant Manhattan Corporation also appears to have put its project on the table.
The company announced today that it was starting a strategic review on its Ponton uranium project, which lies some 40 kilometres away from Mulga Rock, after extending its exploration licence at the project for another two years.
Manhattan said an uptick in uranium prices had contributed to the decision.
“This increased interest has resulted in MHC receiving numerous inbound approaches with regards to what commercial opportunities may be available with the Ponton Uranium Project,” it said in an ASX release.
“As a result, the MHC Board will undertake a strategic review to assess this inbound interest and or what value MHC can add itself to the Project.”
