Wollongong Coal’s executives had to explain in person how they planned to improve the fortunes of the company’s shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.
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The company’s top executives slipped in unseen to the meeting, held at a Towradgi hotel, avoiding the media and a group of protesters outside. In previous years they have walked in through the front door.
CEO Milind Oza has been in the job barely 12 months but it has been a year that saw the Russell Vale mine closed, legal action on several fronts, and scores of redundancies.
Wollongong Coal has also re-opened its Wongawilli pit using contract mine operator Delta SBD.
But the share price has been on the retreat once again, with 4.5 million shares sold in the past week sending the stock price down to 0.7c. It is likely these are the shares recently handed to Bellpac, a company in liquidation which sued for the stock it was owed.
Outside the meeting a protest organised by the group Illawarra Residents for Responsible Mining heard speakers saying the Planning Department must not allow the Russell Vale mine expansion because the risk to the water catchment was too great.
The results of the meeting were posted on the ASX less than 90 minutes after the meeting started.
None of the motions were in doubt, with controlling shareholder Jindal Steel and Power using its voting power to approve the executive remuneration report, re-election of two directors, and approval of the issue of equity securities up to 10 per cent.