Jupiter Mines Limited (JMS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Annual General Meeting of Jupiter Mines Limited. My name is Brian Gilbertson, and I am the Chairman of the company. A quorum is present, so I declare the meeting open. I'd like to introduce my fellow directors. Priyank Thapliyal is Jupiter's Chief Executive Officer; Andrew Bell is an independent Non-Executive Director; Paul Murray is an independent Non-Executive Director; Mr. Yeongjin Heo is a Non-Executive Director; and Hans Mende, is a Non-Executive Director; and Brian Beem is a Non-Executive Director, who acts as alternate to Mr. Mende. Also present are Melissa North, the CFO and Company Secretary; and Brent Steedman, a partner from our auditors, Grant Thornton. This is a meeting of shareholders of Jupiter Mines Limited. Only shareholders, their appointed proxies or corporate representatives are entitled to ask questions and to vote. All other attendees are welcome as observers. Shareholders attending the meeting online will be able to cast the vote online. Prior to the voting, questions will be taken. The shareholders can click on the Ask Questions button, and these will be addressed during the questions and comments section. I will vote all proxies given to me as Chairman in favor of Resolutions 1, 3 and 4 and against Resolutions 2 and 5. And will abstain from voting on Resolution 6 or where I am submitted and instructed to do so. Finally, after any discussions and before a poll is taken, the number of valid proxies and the way in which they have been cast and directed will be displayed. These figures will be as at the receipt for proxies, which was at 4:30 Australian Eastern standard time on the 28th of July. The resolutions will be voted on by poll, which will be conducted at the end of the meeting. So ladies and gentlemen, I now invite Jupiter's Chief Executive, Priyank Thapliyal, to update shareholders on the activities of the company. Priyank, can I hand over to you?

Thank you, Brian. If I may have the next slide, please. So as I think everyone is aware, the primary challenge, which most of the industry faced and Tshipi was not immune was the challenge posed by the pandemic. While the lockdown in South Africa was short-lived, it did have longer repercussions. There were substantial hiccups on account of the rail and the port transmit because of the lack of availability of the operators. And then along with that, we had some unseasonal amount of substantial rain, which led to the pit dewatering issues and that also posed some mining challenges. So while these challenges were there, the team basically worked up solution and they were able to achieve the business plan and the costs which we have flagged to the market. So for the financial year 2021, even though the manganese prices were fairly low, Jupiter was able to declare a dividend of close to $60 million, which equated to a 10% yield. During its life as a listed company since April 2018, we have had 3 financial years, over which we have distributed $300 million to our shareholders as dividend, which reinforces the fundamental IPO promise we made at the time of the listing that Jupiter was being presented as a very high dividend-yielding payout company, and the Board is delighted that we have been able to deliver that as promised to our shareholders. The other thing which we were able to achieve was to spin off our iron ore project into a company called Juno. Those projects were sterilized within Jupiter because of our promise to our shareholders at the time of the listing. But under Juno with a separate management team and a separate Board, they will have the life of their own with the primary target being to bring Mount Mason into production by first quarter of 2022. I think the latest issue which has been dogging the industry has been the unrest in South Africa. Most of that unrest has been around Durban and Johannesburg. Our mine is in the Northern Cape, and it has been pretty much immune to any of these rioting and looting issues within South Africa. Lately, those issues have died down. But again, Tshipi and his management team remains vigilant. The safety of our employees, our contractors is the prime responsibility of the management team and the Board of Tshipi. But for the time being, there have been no disruptions to the operations. And if any time in the future, anything like that does arise as part of our continuous disclosure policy, we will promptly make announcements to the market. As I think I have mentioned on numerous occasions, our primary port through which the Tshipi product goes is Saldanha, Port Elizabeth and Luderitz in Namibia. Durban is the only port which has been a target of this rioting and looting, but our shipments from Durban are around 12,000 tonnes per month. So in the grand scheme of things, it's close to 4% to 5% of our annual business plan. So Saldanha and Port Elizabeth and Luderitz are working as per our business plan. And our business plan target of 3 million tonnes plus for financial year '22 still remains in place. Just a couple of words on the manganese market. We are seeing the manganese prices close to $3 per dmtu. That said, on a CIF basis, prices for our semi-carbonate ore is close to $4.50 CIF landed into China. The freight rate is very high. And that we do not see changing over the next few months, primarily for 2 reasons: firstly, the ore stockpile in China is in excess of 6 million tonnes with approximately half of that being the semi-carbonate ore from South Africa. The other thing which is also happening in China is that there have been severe electricity restrictions, which are hampering some of the ferroalloy producers. So the demand from them from the old perspective is subdued. And the third factor, which is also coming into play is that there is a price differential between the stock available at the port and the FOB price for seaborne traded market of approximately $0.15 to $0.20 per dmtu and that we do not see changing over the next few months. So in our judgment, the price at the current level is what we are planning -- our business plan for the next few months. So if we look at our financial performance over the course of 2021, despite the challenges, which I have highlighted earlier, we were still able to achieve second highest exports from the life of Tshipi mine 5, 6 years of production. We were the single largest producer, again, out of South Africa as a mine. And despite these challenges, we were able to hold our costs at the $2.20, $2.30 targets, which we have repeatedly flagged to the market, which I think is a tremendous achievement by the Tshipi management team [ actor ] in the [indiscernible] escalation, which is part of the mega Transnet contract, which is almost 55% of our cost of production and the labor costs. If we now come to the next slide, it's fair to say that the safety of our employees, health and safety, ESG remains our top priority. A certain percentage of our profit is going into the community for schools, for water, for better facilities for the local people. And some of the projects which we have spent -- a percentage of our profit are captured in the slide, waste management, water management, we have to suppress the dust. As most of you are aware, we are tracking substantial amount of tonnes now along with our mega allocation. So maintenance of the roads and the suppression of the dust is a prime responsibility of the management team. So we are able to achieve all that as part of our ESG plans. So I think the last thing which I would like to spend a couple of the seconds is on what is our target. And our target is pretty much what we have repeatedly flagged to the market that being a commodity business, the 2 things, which we cannot deviate our attention from is productivity in terms of volume and controlling our costs. Last year was a challenging year in which we were able to hold our costs and the plans which we have in place for the financial year 2022, we are substantially on target to achieve $2.20, $2.30 cost estimates on a FOB basis. Apart from the COVID and the rainfall, mining was a substantial challenge for us, the last financial year. So we have made that as a top priority for the management team. They are going to look at the inefficiencies which have crept into the mining, so that needs to be resolved, and we are working up ways to do that. We are also looking at equipment availability, the breakdowns, the work culture, absenteeism has been a major issue because of COVID. So all those issues will be looked at and entered to the Tshipi Board over the course of the next month or 2. And we are also in discussion with [ Mount Mason ] mining contractor about bringing new equipment on site. They have earmarked ZAR 100 million for that. So if we can firstly resolve the inefficiencies and the cultural issues, then we will in parallel be looking at bringing in new equipment so that we can improve the productivity on the mining side. If we are able to do that and achieve 1.5 million bcm run rate on a 3-month consistent basis, then at that time, the Tshipi Board will convene to take a decision on the expansion to go from our 3.5 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes capacity. So that is, again, one of the key targets for the Board and the management team. We have the barrier pillar, which is advancing very well, but that barrier pillar can be expanded. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, the strip ratio of the barrier pillar is substantially lower than the life of mine strip ratio for the Tshipi mine. So we are in discussions with Mamatwan to extend that beyond the current footprint, which will lead to cost savings both for Tshipi and for the Mamatwan mine. And last but not the least, the consolidation of the Tshipi mine. Bringing everything together is something which we keep an eye on. But as I have said on numerous occasions, it has to be on the right commercial terms for the Jupiter shareholders. As all of us know, Jupiter is a very liquid Australian-listed company. So proper commercial terms have to be negotiated before we can provide the liquidity to our BEE partners who have tried a few times to do that on their own and failed. So as and when we are able to reach any solution on that, we will again come and present it to the Board for their approval. So that, I think, Brian, in a nutshell is what financial year 2021 has posed in terms of challenges that we have been able to achieve as a management team and what we have set as targets for the management team for financial year 2022. With that, I would like to pass it back to you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Priyank, for that overview. I will now move on to the formal business of the meeting. The notice of the meeting was sent to shareholders on the 20th of June. If there are no objections, I propose that the notice of the meeting be taken as read. The annual report for the financial year ended 28th of February 2021. It contains the 2021 directors report and the financial report and the independent audit report. The financial statements have been approved by the directors and they have been audited by Grant Thornton. As required by Section 317 of the Corporations Act, these reports are tabled. I now invite any questions or comments on the financial reports or any other general matters. Brent Steedman, a partner from auditor, Grant Thornton, is also available to answer any specific questions that you may have. Please note that only shareholders of Jupiter Mines may ask questions or make comments. Melissa, are there any questions that have come in?

There are no questions about the report at this time, Brian.

Thank you very much. So there are no questions to be addressed. So I will then now move to the resolutions. Resolution 1 is an ordinary resolution and advisory vote on the adoption of the 2021 -- sorry, 2021 remuneration report, which is -- was included in the notice of meeting, and I believe is now up on the screen. The directors recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. I note that the resolution is advisory only. However, the Board will consider the outcome of the vote when reviewing Jupiter's remuneration policies. And I note that shareholders who are members of Jupiter's key management personnel may not vote on this resolution. Melissa, any other questions at this point?

Yes, we have one question regarding Resolution 1 from [ Brendan Borg ]. This question is, has there been any dialogue with those voting against the Board as to what the issue is in their view?

Could I ask you just to repeat that question?

Sure. Has there been any dialogue with those voting against the Board as to what their issue is, in their view?

Well, there has been a fair amount of discussion, obviously, on these resolutions. And I think views just differ. Okay. If I may move on then, I come to Resolution 2, which is an ordinary resolution concerning the spill resolution, included on the screen and in the notice. Subject to Section 250W (sic) 250V(1), I believe, of the Corporations Act, if a company receives 25% or more votes against Resolution 1, then a Resolution 2 must be put to shareholders. The directors recommend that shareholders vote against the resolution. Any questions, Melissa?

No questions, Brian.

I move on then. This resolution will be put to shareholders as the company has received 25% or more votes against Resolution 1. Please note and select either for or against when you make your votes there. The Resolution 3 is an ordinary resolution to approve the reelection of Mr. Paul Murray, as a Director of the company. Also included in the notice of the meeting, and I believe up on the screen at the moment. All directors other than Mr. Murray, obviously, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Paul, I believe you're entitled to speak at this point if you so wish. Is there anything you wish to say in favor of your candidacy? It seems not. So we shall move on. Melissa, we've got any other questions at this point, in particular in relation to Resolution #4?

No. No questions.

Okay. So Resolution 4 is an ordinary resolution to approve the appointment, the reelection of Mr. Andrew Bell as the Director of the company. It is now included on the screen and it was in the notice of the meeting. And all directors other than Mr. Bell recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Andrew, if you wish to say anything at this point, you're welcome. Do you? No. Then there are no further questions on that resolution. Resolution #5 is an ordinary resolution to approve the election of Mr. Peter North as the Director of the company, and as was included in the notice of the meeting and is up on the screen. The directors, other than Mr. Mende, recommend that shareholders vote against this resolution. Mr. Mende recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution. Melissa, do you have any questions on that?

There are no questions, Brian.

Thank you very much. Then we move in -- move on. Resolution 6 is an ordinary resolution to approve the election of Mr. Scott Winter as a Director of the company, which was also included in the notice and is up on the screen. The directors, other than Mr. Mende, recommend that shareholders abstain on this resolution. Mr. Mende recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Do you have any questions, Melissa?

No questions, Brian.

Thank you. Then I move on. I do believe that we have come to the end of the meeting. And the shareholders participating in the virtual meeting, website should cast their votes as they submitted. The results will be announced on the ASX after the conclusion of the meeting. So ladies and gentlemen, there being no further business, I declare the AGM of Jupiter Mines closed. And I thank you for your participation today.