Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Mineral Resources Ltd. said it paid rent to entities associated with its managing director Chris Ellison amounting to about A$32 million ($20.6 million) between 2007 to 2024, according to a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange.
Ellison, who has now resigned as New Zealand’s honorary consul to Western Australia, has been under scrutiny after the company that he founded launched an internal inquiry into what the board described as “profoundly disappointing” conduct. A separate investigation was launched by the corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, along with another line of inquiry by the ASX.
“Mr. Ellison holds varying interests in relation to the varying properties, along with others,” Mineral Resources’ board said in the statement released after markets closed on Thursday.
The company also engaged Ship Agency Services Pty Ltd., which is associated with Ellison’s daughter, as a “preferred” ship agency and afforded it with “rent relief,” according to the statement.
The board is expected to be grilled by disgruntled shareholders over the matter at its annual meeting on Nov. 21. Since this year’s peak in May, Mineral Resources’ market value has fallen by more than half.
After findings from the internal investigation, Ellison was fined A$8.8 million by the company and will forfeit his salary and other incentives worth as much as A$9.6 million. Mineral Resources also announced he would retire from his position within 18 months, a timeline that drew criticism from superannuation shareholder HESTA earlier this month.
The company’s internal probe into Ellison found that he did not act with integrity when he financially benefited from Mineral Resources’ payments made to companies owned by him.
On Friday, the New Zealand government confirmed he was no longer the honorary consular representative to Western Australia.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement it acknowledged Ellison’s dedication to the role since his appointment in 2012 and his contribution to supporting New Zealanders in the state.
Ellison has previously said he came from a poor, rural background on New Zealand’s South Island, and has maintained strong links to his country of birth.
Earlier this week, the Perth-based miner said it will immediately shut its Bald Hill lithium project, citing the crash in prices of the key battery material.
(By Paul-Alain Hunt)
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