Page 27 - Sundance Resources 2014 Annual Report

SUNDANCE RESOURCES LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2014 25
CORPORATE
Appointments to the Board
During the year, Sundance announced the addition of two new
Non-Executive Directors to the Sundance Board.
In September 2013, Sundance announced that Mr David
Southam was appointed to the Sundance Board as a
Non-Executive Director. Mr Southam is a Certified Practicing
Accountant with more than 20 years’ experience predominantly
in the resources industry but also in accounting, banking
and finance. He brings significant expertise in the key areas
of project finance, equity capital markets and commercial
negotiations at a time when the Company is establishing its
funding and development plan for the Mbalam-Nabeba Iron
Ore Project. He is currently also an Executive Director of the
ASX200-listed nickel miner Western Areas.
In May 2014, the Company announced that former Leighton
Holdings Chief Executive Mr Wal King was appointed as
Non-Executive Deputy Chairman. Mr King joined Leighton
in 1968 and was appointed chief executive in 1987. Under
his leadership, Leighton grew from an organisation with
annual revenue of $1 billion to one of the world’s leading
contracting, services and project development organisations.
During this time, Mr King gained enormous experience in
planning, funding, constructing and operating worldscale
projects, including many in the resources sector. His skills and
experience such as in planning and building major international
infrastructure projects, commercial acumen and his extensive
global network in the building and construction industry, will be
of significant benefit to Sundance as the company transitions
the Mbalam-Nabeba Project into the development and
construction phase.
Retirement of Chairman
In September 2014, Mr George Jones advised he will
retire as the Company’s Chairman at the conclusion of the
Annual General Meeting of Sundance shareholders which is
scheduled to take place on 27 November 2014. Mr Jones
has been Chairman of Sundance since September 2006
and held the position until he resigned for health reasons in
August 2009. He resumed the Chairmanship in July 2010
following the plane crash in which the entire Sundance Board
died. Mr Jones played a leading role in re-building Sundance
in the wake of the crash, taking it to the point where it is now
preparing to enter the construction phase at its Mbalam-
Nabeba Iron Ore Project in Africa. Mr Jones will be succeeded
as Sundance Chairman by Mr Wal King.
New Chief Financial Officer
On 1 July 2014, Mr Alan Rule commenced in the role of Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) for the Company. Mr Rule is a highly
regarded executive with extensive experience of over 17 years
in the Australian mining industry. He joins Sundance from ASX
listed African uranium producer Paladin Energy Limited, where
he was the Chief Financial Officer since July 2012. His previous
positions have also included CFO of Mount Gibson Limited,
CFO of Western Metals Limited and CFO of St Barbara Mines
Limited. Mr Rule has considerable experience in international
financing of mining projects, implementation of accounting
controls and systems and mergers and acquisitions. He is a
Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and
a Bachelor of Accounting degree.
Capital Raisings
In October 2013, Sundance signed agreements to raise A$40
million through the issue of convertible notes and options
to Noble Resources International Pte Ltd and the investor
consortium of Blackstone Alternative Solutions, L.L.C., the D.
E. Shaw Group and Senrigan Capital (Investor Consortium).
Please refer to Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements for a description of the details of the agreements
between Sundance and the investors.
In September 2014, Sundance signed an agreement to raise
a further A$40 million through the issue of convertible note to
Mr Gennady Bogolyubov. Mr Bogolyubov made the investment
through his vehicle Wafin Ltd, a Jersey, UK-based investment
holding company. Mr Bogolyubov is a strategic investor with a
broad range of private industrial business interests, including
across all parts of the steel and ferroalloys value-chain, which
operate throughout the world including Australia, Africa, the
Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe and North
America. Mr Bogolyubov is the ultimate beneficial owner
of Consolidated Minerals Limited, a major manganese ore
producer with operations in Western Australia and Ghana. Funds
were received by the Company on 23 September 2014. Please
refer to Annexure A of the ASX release dated 3 September 2014
for a full description of the details of the agreements between
Sundance and Wafin Ltd.
Hanlong Convertible Note
The Maturity Date for the A$5 million convertible note with
Hanlong (Africa) Mining Investment Limited was extended from
30 June 2014 to 31 December 2014. For further details of the
terms and conditions of the convertible notes please refer to
Annexure B of the Notice of Meeting for the Company’s 2013
AGM, released to ASX on 29 October 2013.
Shareholding Structure
As at 30 June 2014, Sundance Resources had 3,082,028,456
ordinary fully paid shares on issue held by 21,854 individual
shareholders. There were 33,220,935 unlisted performance
rights, 460,502,000 unlisted options and a total of 5,200,001
convertible notes on issue. The Top 20 shareholders held 47 per
cent of the total issued capital.