A group of disgruntled Intrepid Mines investors have moved to remove five of the company’s current directors and replace them with four new ones, blaming the board for the loss of around $1 billion in shareholder value since April 2011.
The shareholders said they were forced to act after a series of decisions over the past five years by the Intrepid board, which led to the company spending more than $100 million on exploration at the Tujuh Bukit copper gold project in Indonesia without ever securing a direct interest in the operation.
The shareholders represent five per cent of the company’s issued securities.
Intrepid was forced to vacate the Tujuh Bukit site last year when it was stripped of legal title and mining rights by the Indonesian government.
The company has since instigated court proceedings in Indonesia to attempt to secure a direct stake in the project.
Spokesperson for the shareholders, Quantam Pacific Capital managing partner Greg Mazur, said investors had worn significant losses already, and were facing the possibility of a complete loss of the project.
“The chairman and the board must be accountable to shareholders for the calamitous loss of shareholder value,” Mr Mazur said.
“The board’s litigation strategy of ‘no matter how long it takes’ placed Intrepid’s remaining $US100 million cash balance at great risk.”
Mr Mazur said the shareholders’ view was that the only way forward was to negotiate a binding legal agreement with the disputing parties.
“We have made contact with the new project owners and created an opportunity to resolve the current crisis,” Mr Mazur said.
The proposed new directors are Mr Mazur, banking industry veteran Paul Lim, corporate adviser Cliff Sanderson and Focus Minerals chief executive Campbell Baird.
The Intrepid directors in the firing line are Ian McMaster, Colin Jackson, Brad Gordon, Adrianto Machribie and Laurence Curtis, while Alan Roberts and Robert McDonald would be retained if the disgruntled group is successful.
At close of trade today, Intrepid’s stock had shed 6.3 per cent, trading at 22 cents. The shares were trading as high as 86 cents in March last year.
