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MRC Global

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FY2019 Annual Report · MRC Global
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ANNUA L
RE POR T

2019

2

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
Contents

4 

5 

6 

Corporate directory

Competent person

Chairman’s report

11  Directors’ report

42 

Financial statements

47  Notes to the consolidated financial statements

95  Directors’ declaration

102  Statement of corporate governance

114  Shareholder information

The consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars (“$”), 
unless otherwise stated, which is the Company’s presentation currency.

3

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Corporate directory

Director

Mark Victor Caruso 

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Joseph Anthony Caruso 

Non-Executive Director

Peter Patrick Torre 

Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary

David Lewis Baker 

Independent Non-Executive Director

Debbie Ntombela 

Independent Non-Executive Director

Russell Gordon Tipper 

Independent Non-Executive Director

Principal registered office in Australia

39-43 Murray Road North  
Welshpool WA 6106 
Telephone:  +61 (8) 6253 1100 
Facsimile:  +61 (8) 9258 3601 
Email: 

info@mncom.com.au

Auditors

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd 
38 Station Street  
Subiaco WA 6008

Solicitors

Dominion Legal Pty Ltd 
17 Lacey Street  
Perth WA 6000

Bankers

Westpac Banking Corporation 
Level 3, Brookfield Place, Tower 2 
123 St Georges Terrace  
Perth WA 6000

Share registry

Link Market Services Limited 
Level 12, QV1 Building 
250 St Georges Terrace 
Perth WA 6000

Stock exchange listing

ENSafrica 
150 West Street 
Sandton 
Johannesburg 2196 
South Africa

The Company’s shares are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under ASX Code MRC

Website address

www.mineralcommodities.com 

4

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
Competent person

Tormin – The information in this report which relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves 
for Tormin is based on information compiled by Mr Bahman Rashidi, who is a member of the Australian Institute 
of Mining and Metallurgy (“AusIMM”) and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (“AIG”).  Mr Rashidi is the 
Exploration Manager and a full-time employee of the Company and has over 22 years of exploration and mining 
experience in a variety of mineral deposits and styles. Mr Rashidi has sufficient experience which is relevant to the 
style of mineralisation and types of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as 
a Competent Person in accordance with the JORC Code (2012). The information from Mr Bahman Rashidi was 
prepared under the JORC Code (2012).  Mr Rashidi consents to inclusion in the report of the matters based on this 
information in the form and context in which it appears.

Xolobeni – The information, if any, in this report which relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore 
Reserves for Xolobeni is based on information compiled by Mr Allen Maynard, who is a member of the AIG, a 
Corporate Member of the AusIMM and independent consultant to the Company. Mr Maynard is the Director and 
Principal Geologist of Al Maynard & Associates Pty Ltd and has over 38 years of exploration and mining experience 
in a variety of mineral deposit styles. Mr Maynard has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of 
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a 
Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, 
Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (“JORC Code (2004)”). This information was prepared and 
first disclosed under the JORC Code (2004). It has not been updated since to comply with the 2012 Edition of the 
Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (“JORC Code (2012)”) 
on the basis that the information has not materially changed since it was last reported. Mr Maynard consents to 
inclusion in the report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

Skaland – The information if any, in this report that relates to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled 
by Mr Ché Osmond, who is a Chartered Geologist (CGeol) of the Geological Society of London and Fellow of the 
Geological Society (“FGS”), a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO). Mr Osmond is Technical Director of 
Wardell Armstrong International (“WAI”), an independent consultant to Mineral Commodities Ltd. Mr Osmond has 
sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the 
activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code 
for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (“the JORC Code (2012)”). Mr Osmond 
consents to the inclusion in this report in the form and context in which it appears.

Munglinup – The information, if any, in this report which relates to Mineral Resources for Munglinup is based on 
information compiled by Mr Chris De Vitry, who is a member of the AusIMM and an independent consultant to the 
Company. Mr De Vitry is the Director and Principal Geologist of Manna Hill GeoConsulting Pty Ltd. Mr De Vitry has 
sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the 
activity he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code (2012). Mr De Vitry consents 
to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information, if any, in this report which relates to the Ore Reserve for Munglinup is based on information 
compiled by Mr Daniel Hastings, who is a member of the AusIMM. Mr Hastings is an employee of Hastings Bell Pty 
Ltd and a consultant to the Company. Mr Hastings has sufficient experience relevant to the type of deposit under 
consideration to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code (2012). Mr Hastings consents to the 
inclusion in the report of the matters based on the reviewed information in the form and context in which it appears.

5

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Chairman’s report

Dear Shareholders,

At the time of writing this address, the world finds itself in very challenging times in the midst of the COVID-19 
pandemic. We have all been affected either directly or indirectly, including your Company, Mineral Commodities Ltd 
(“MRC” or “the Company”). The Board is exercising full diligence throughout this period to ensure the risks to both its 
employees and the operations are mitigated in order to position the Company to benefit from the bright future of all 
of its operations.

We do however reflect on the 2019 financial year, and the many significant milestones that were achieved throughout.

The 2019 year provided MRC with record operational and processing performance while maintaining its socially 
responsible, culture-driven safety and environmental operating standards. 

Significantly for the Tormin Mineral Sands Operation (“Tormin Operation”), the Company was granted a further  
10-year extension to its mining rights and, subsequent to the end of the financial year in March 2020, received 
a positive appeal decision on the Integrated Environmental Authorisation (“IEA”) for expanded mining rights and 
downstream processing. The Company also progressively and successfully advanced its stated diversification into 
strategic battery minerals during the year through the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) on the 
Munglinup Graphite Project and the acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS. 

The entrained commitment to developing a safe working environment and culture is evident. This financial year saw 
the three-month rolling Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate start and finish the year at nil. Significantly, since 
the commencement of operations in late 2013, the Tormin Operation has incurred only one Lost Time Injury, in April 
2017. The Company achieved a further milestone during the year, recording over 1.3 million man hours worked since 
this incident. In excess of 3.1 million man hours have been worked at the Tormin Operation since its commencement.

As earlier indicated, the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the Company’s operating 
business. The Company has taken steps to ensure the health and safety of all employees and other stakeholders 
at its respective workplaces, including the implementation of control measures and protocols intended to minimise 
the risks arising from COVID-19. The Company continues to monitor the advice of governments within its operating 
jurisdictions and update protocols and people accordingly. The financial and social impacts of COVID-19 are under 
constant review by our Executive Management and Board, with the view to sustaining our ongoing businesses for as 
long as this pandemic continues. 

The Tormin Operation continued to generate positive cash flows, which were achieved through strong processing 
plant throughput and recoveries. This placed the Company in an enviable position of having fully funded 2019 
business development activities, including exploration programs, project feasibility studies, returns to shareholders 
through dividends and the acquisition of Norwegian graphite producer, Skaland Graphite AS.

During 2020, the Company is expecting positive outcomes from completion of the necessary regulatory approvals at 
Munglinup, Section 102 Expanded Mining Right Environmental Authorisation (where all grounds under the appeals 
have been dismissed and in the case of one appellant, dealt with by slight variation to the IEA) and continuation of 
the integrated downstream value-adding strategy for Skaland and Munglinup graphite products. This is expected to 
lead to formal project development declarations and full design and construction commitments.

The Directors’ Report, which follows in the financial statements, contains a full account of the financial and operating 
performance of the Company for the 2019 year, in addition to its diversification initiatives and mineral resources.

For the 2019 year the Company has reported total revenue of US$61.8 million, EBITDA of US$16.5 million, NPBT of 
US$11.9 million and NPAT of US$7.8 million.

In addition, the Company generated cash flow from operations of US$13.3 million for the 2019 year. This operating 
cash generation funded capital expenditure of US$5.0 million for the year, payment for the acquisition of Skaland 
Graphite AS of US$4.5 million, the repayment of approximately US$3.3 million of debt and US$3.8 million in 
dividends paid during 2019.

Cash on hand at year end decreased to US$8.1 million, down from US$12.4 million cash on hand at the 
commencement of the year but reflects the cash paid for the acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS, which management 
believe will generate significant long term value for shareholders.

6

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019The declaration of an interim dividend in 2019 of 0.6 Australian cents per share was in line with 2018 returns to 
shareholders. The Directors have resolved to not declare a final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 
2019 due to the current global uncertainty and potential impacts on cash flows. 

While financial performance and shareholder returns are significant Board considerations, of primary importance 
to MRC and the Board is the safety of its workers and its responsibilities to the environment and the communities 
in which we work. During the year, the Company conducted an independent Environmental Performance Audit 
Report. Results of this Report averaged 81% compliance with the regulatory operating conditions of the Company’s 
Environmental Authorisation and continued to show a commitment to responsible mining practices.

The Company continued its strong investment in, and commitment to, the social and economic upliftment of 
Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (“HDSA”) and the ongoing support of its Black Economic Empowerment 
(“BEE”) partners in the Tormin Operation and the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project. 

During the year, the Company spent over ZAR8.25 million on its HDSA Social Labour Plan, including through 
bursaries, scholarships, traineeships, apprenticeships, adult basic education programs, community-based enterprise 
and infrastructure support development and the sponsoring of full-time teachers at local schools. 

The Company completed an internal and external refurbishment and fit-out of the Nuwerus High School hostels. The 
fit-out included roof repairs, replacement of external doors and windows, new flooring, kitchen and plumbing repairs 
and new bedroom cupboards. The hostels will accommodate 60 more learners from neighbouring settlements. The 
total value committed to this project was ZAR2.1 million. 

Further to this, the Company’s BEE preferential procurement expenditure in 2019 was ZAR254 million, exceeding all 
targets set under the South African Mining Charter.

The Company submitted and received approval for its future 2019 – 2023 Social Labour Plan from the Department of 
Mineral Resources, which underpins the Company’s future commitment to local enterprise development, education 
and infrastructure projects. The total committed expenditure over five years is ZAR36.8 million.

Positive outcomes were advanced and achieved during the year in relation to the Company’s ongoing permitting 
applications for renewal of mining, expanded mining and prospecting rights. 

MRC considers the recent success in the granting of various mining and prospecting rights a significant turning point in 
the due process of permitting applications and approvals, which have historically encountered administrative delays. 

MRC’s mining rights (10107MR and 10108MR) were renewed at the Tormin Operation to allow the continuation of 
its existing mining operations for an additional 10 years. The renewal of existing Tormin Operation mining rights is a 
significant milestone that gives the Company security of tenure and is the cornerstone of the Company’s expanded 
mining right strategy which, in conjunction with the granted Section 102 Expanded Mining Right Environmental 
Authorisation (where all grounds under the appeals have been dismissed and in the case of one appellant, dealt with 
by slight variation to the IEA), will enable MRC to increase production and pursue the goal of sustaining long-term 
mining operations and downstream processing at Tormin. This will enable MRC to continue to deliver economic 
benefits to its South African partners, the local community and shareholders.

The Company was granted Environmental Authorisation (“EA”) for the Section 102 Expanded Mining Right in June 
2019. As is often the case with applications of this nature, it was subsequently appealed, with all grounds under 
the appeals dismissed and in the case of one appellant, dealt with by slight variation to the IEA. The Section 102 
Application and associated mining programs include a minimum 10 year mine life on expanded areas covered under 
the application, including the adjoining Northern Beaches and the Inland Strand areas located on the Company 
owned freehold farmland. On granting of the expanded right, the Company intends to adopt a phased development 
program with an initial increase in primary beach concentration capacity, followed by construction of a Magnetic 
Separation Plant (“MSP”) that will produce final products from the Company’s concentrates.

This includes an initial Phase 1, which will enable an increase in finished concentrate production to an annualised rate 
of circa 350,000 tonnes from the Northern Beaches and Inland Strand mining areas by mobilising one of the existing 
Primary Beach Concentrators (“PBC”) to the Northern Beaches mining areas whilst maintaining the operation of one 
PBC unit to process the Inland Strand material with the additional front-end crushing circuit being installed.

Phase 2 includes the construction of a 3.5mtpa PBC circuit with a new 500tph front-end feed, crushing and thickener 
circuit that will enable the processing of any Inland Strand and Northern Beaches areas contemporaneously.

Phase 3 includes the construction of a 450,000 –500,000 tonnes MSP to produce final ilmenite, garnet and 
zircon products.

7

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019CH A I R M A N’S R E P O R T

Each of the phases outlined above represent expected capacity only, with specific annual production guidance to be 
provided upon completion of the exploration programs and Tormin Expansion Pre-Feasibility Study.

In January 2020, the Company was granted prospecting rights over the Northern Beaches and Inland Strand 
application areas (WC 30/5/1/1/2/10261PR and WC 30/5/1/1/2/10262PR) and has commenced a resource definition 
program on both licences to prove up Measured and Indicated JORC 2012 compliant resources. 

Tormin hosts one of the highest grade mineral sands resources in the world. The recent granting and registration of 
the Northern Beaches and Inland Strand prospecting areas gives the Company a 41.4km semi-continuous inland 
geological setting which continues to build a significant exploration landholding tenure in a world-class mineral sands 
geological setting. The Company has a high degree of confidence in the historical data and current test results that 
underpin its confidence in its operating future through successful exploration and development.

In addition, the Company received the appeal decision on the De Punt prospecting area (10240PR), which remitted 
the approval of the EA to the DMRE pending the provision of further studies. The Company also has a number of 
prospecting right applications covering extended tenure to the current granted prospecting right applications at 
various stages of assessment and appeal.

Resource replenishment at the Tormin mining areas continued during 2019. Since commencement of operations 
at Tormin, the Company has mined in excess of 11.71 million tonnes. The tonnage mined is more than the original 
declared resource tonnage (2.70 million tonnes), which is indicative of the significant replenishing nature of the 
deposit where resource blocks are mined more than once per year. The Company is currently assessing its options 
with regard to the most appropriate mining rate in consideration of resource replenishment rates and subsequent 
to the positive appeal decision of the Company’s Section 102 Expanded Mining Right Environmental Authorisation 
application process.

The existing mining legislation was supplemented by the new Mining Charter 2018, which came into effect from 
September 2018. The changes include a provision for employee and community equity and/or equity-equivalent 
participation. Cognisant of this fact, the Company will embrace the new legislation and restructure its operating 
entity within South Africa accordingly.

During 2019, MRC continued to execute its jurisdictional and commodity diversification strategy.

During the year, the Company appointed Mondium, a joint venture between Monadelphous and Lycopodium, to 
undertake complete Value Engineering (“VE”) within the DFS phase, Front-End Engineering Design (“FEED”) and 
fast-track to the full design and construct phase of the Munglinup Graphite Project. The DFS was completed and 
announced to the market in January 2020. 

The DFS demonstrated robust economic outcomes of a concentrate only production scenario and confirmed the 
Company’s view that Munglinup will become a crucial asset in its overall strategy to supply natural graphite into key 
high-demand battery anode markets. The DFS further enhances the Company’s ambitions to build a global, vertically 
integrated carbon business based on two global strategic operating production centres in Tier 1 jurisdictions, 
Australia and Norway, producing sustainable natural graphite concentrate as a crucial raw material for the production 
of precursor and active anode materials.

The Munglinup Graphite Project DFS demonstrated the project’s potential as a robust, low capital and low operating 
cost operation, with a post-tax project NPV of US$111 million, IRR of 30% and average annual EBIT of US$31 million 
per annum generated over an expected minimum mine life of 14 years, producing an average annual production of 
52,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate.

An Ore Reserve of 4.24 million tonnes at an average grade of 12.8% Total Graphitic Carbon (“TGC”) was declared in the 
Munglinup DFS. The DFS also declared Mineral Resources of 7.99 million tonnes at an average grade of 12.2% TGC.

Munglinup’s graphite concentrate product is well suited for purification and spheronisation for use as a battery anode 
material for the electric vehicle market and as an expandable graphite predominately for the fire retardant market.

The Munglinup Graphite Project was referred to the Department of Environment and Energy (Federal) (“DoEE”) and 
the Environmental Protection Authority (State) (“EPA”) in November 2018 for assessment. Additional studies required 
by the EPA are underway with completion expected in the June quarter of 2020. 

Following the release of the positive DFS results and granting of the necessary approvals, the Company expects to 
acquire a further 39% joint venture interest in the Munglinup Graphite Project to bring its overall interest to 90%, and 
to then proceed to full project declaration shortly thereafter.

8

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019CH A I R M A N’S R E P O R T

On 7 October 2019, the Company announced it had completed the purchase of Skaland Graphite AS for the total 
consideration of US$8.7 million, comprising an initial cash consideration at settlement of US$4.5 million and a further 
US$4.2 million to be paid over five years.

Skaland operates the Trælen Graphite Mine and Skaland Processing Facility in Norway, which is the largest flake 
graphite producer in Europe and the highest grade flake graphite mine in the world, with mill feed grade averaging 
approximately 28% carbon. The acquisition of Skaland has fast-tracked MRC to be the largest graphite miner in 
Europe, improving the Company’s understanding of traditional graphite markets. Skaland also offers excellent 
geostrategic positioning to capitalise on the fastest growing electric vehicle market globally.

The Skaland Graphite Operation is considered to have significant potential to expand the current production profile. 
As part of the conditions precedent to the purchase, the Company was granted operational and discharge permits 
that enable MRC to increase production from 11,000 to 16,000 tonnes per annum, subject to a maximum process 
plant tailings limit of 40,000 tonnes per annum. 

Although Skaland has been in continuous operation since 2007, no JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource or Ore 
Reserve existed for the Trælen Deposit until MRC took ownership. On 12 March 2020, MRC announced the maiden 
JORC resource at the Skaland Graphite Operation for the underground Trælen Graphite Mine, estimated at 1.78 
million tonnes at 22% TGC in the category of indicated and inferred for 397Kt of contained graphite using a 10% 
cut-off. This JORC 2012 resource becomes the foundation of the Company’s plans to build on its existing graphite 
concentrate business and also underwrites its strategy to become Europe’s first vertically integrated producer of 
natural graphite anode material.

Both the acquisition of Skaland and its resource drilling program were funded using existing cash reserves of the 
Company and operating cash flows generated from Skaland.

The Company has continued to progress its downstream graphite processing opportunities and studies, including 
purification and spheronisation of its graphite concentrate for use in battery anode material for the electric vehicle 
market, and expandable graphite for the fire retardant and insulation markets. 

The Company’s purification development program is the cornerstone of the effective value-adding strategy, 
producing high grade coarser flakes (>99%) as well as battery anode grade (>99.95%) products. The Company 
partnered with CSIRO and Doral Fused Materials in an application for Australian Commonwealth Government 
funding under the Cooperative Research Centre Projects (“CRC-P”) program for a purification process that does not 
use toxic hydrofluoric acid. The application was successful and the project has identified a number of processing 
routes able to produce battery grades (>99.95% purity) as well as high quality expandable graphite (>99% purity). 
The project has a total budget of $2.61 million, with 31% contributed by the Commonwealth Government’s CRC-P 
program as cash funding, together with significant cash and in-kind contributions by the partners. The program will 
be advanced in 2020 with the objective of defining a single robust solution to take into pilot scale testing. 

Small-scale spheronisation tests were completed on Skaland material late in the year, with planning for larger scale 
vendor testing for scale-up underway. This will allow for selection of a single vendor for micronisation and spheronisation. 
Ownership of Skaland allows this work to be conducted at scale without excessive costs for sample generation.

Micronisation, spheronisation and purification form the cornerstone of the Company’s value-adding strategy for 
graphite. The Company aims to focus on these key components in 2020 at increasing scale. Purification also allows 
for production of high quality expandable graphite from coarser flake, further contributing to the Company’s  
value-adding strategy.

The Company released the results of its graphene development work with the University of Adelaide in the 
September quarter 2019. The program successfully identified proprietary methods to produce few layer graphene 
with high yields as well as functionalised graphene. Whilst the results are promising, the primary focus in 2020 will 
be on micronisation, spheronisation and purification of graphite rather than graphene as the development timeframe 
and market opportunities for the latter are expected to be longer. 

For Skaland, the process starts with increasing the quality of the concentrate produced, specifically increasing 
the recovery of coarse flakes in the concentrate and the grade of the fines in the concentrate. Testwork for these 
activities commenced under the due diligence investigations and were successfully completed at the end of 2019. 
The upgraded fines concentrate will be used for producing micronised and spheronised graphite at Skaland using 
low-cost hydroelectric power.

For Munglinup, the Company has also been focusing on the purification process within the CRC-P program as 
well as generating additional concentrate for downstream testwork. The Company is pleased by the potential for a 
common purification process for Skaland and Munglinup.

9

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019CH A I R M A N’S R E P O R T

The Company continued to pursue exploration opportunities in Western Australia, aligned with the Company’s  
long-term strategy of commodity diversification through exploration upside and targeting commodities crucial to 
battery technology.

The Company continued with its exploration programs within its portfolio of Western Australian projects. 

At Paynes Find, lithium exploration continues with a view to proving up the lithium potential of the pegmatite field, 
despite earlier exploration indicating that the visible lithium mineralisation was confined to small pods of  
lepidolite-zinnwaldite minerals rather than spodumene. Positively, the Company has received Program of Work 
(“POW”) approval to investigate the previously reported highly anomalous cesium (pollucite) grades associated  
within the fractional lithium-tantalum rich pegmatite. Accordingly, the Company intends to further define the  
lithium-tantalum potential through the excavation of exploration pits.

At the Doolgunna prospect, the near surface nuggety gold rich quartz lodes potential has been expanded with 
additional gold lodes identified. Application for large bulk sampling of these gold quartz lodes have been applied for 
and is subject to Native Title Party consent.

At the Harvey vanadium prospect, MRC has obtained a new POW and Disease Risk Area permit allowing for a 
planned RC drilling campaign to commence during 2020.

The Glen Florrie prospect was granted on 4 March 2020 and the Company intends to continue exploration and expansion 
of the historical channel-iron deposit resources identified and drilled in 2011 by the previous tenement holder. 

On behalf of the Board, I thank all our dedicated employees, our BEE Partners and contractors of the Company for 
their efforts and commitment throughout the year. These efforts have delivered another successful result for the year 
and have continued to provide returns to the Company’s shareholders. 

I thank shareholders for their support and anticipate 2020 will deliver another solid financial performance for the 
Company. The Company is well positioned in 2020 to become a significant player in the world graphite market 
through its Tier 1 graphite assets and significantly benefit from the life of mine current permit extension and Section 
102 expansion at Tormin. 2020 will see a continued successful delivery of our diversification and expansion strategy.

Mark V. Caruso 
Chairman

10

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Directors’ report

Your Directors present their report on the consolidated entity (referred to hereafter as the “Group”) consisting of 
Mineral Commodities Ltd (the “Company”) and the entities it controlled at the end of, or during, the year ended 
31 December 2019. The consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars (“$”), unless 
otherwise stated, which is the Company’s presentation currency.

Directors
The following persons were Directors of the Company during the whole of the financial year and up to the date of 
this report:

Mark Victor Caruso 

Joseph Anthony Caruso 

Peter Patrick Torre

David Lewis Baker (appointed as Director 28 August 2019)

Debbie Ntombela (appointed as Director 28 August 2019)

Russell Gordon Tipper (appointed as Director 28 August 2019)

Guy Redvers Walker (ceased as Director 30 May 2019)

Colin Ross Hastings (ceased as Director 30 May 2019)

Principal activities
The principal activities of the Group during the year were:

•  mineral sands mining and processing at the Group’s Tormin Mineral Sands Operation (“Tormin” or the  

“Tormin Operation”) in the Western Cape province of South Africa;

•  graphite mining and processing at the Group’s Skaland Graphite Operation (“Skaland” or the “Skaland 

Operation”) in northern Norway on the island of Senja;

• 

• 

undertaking exploration and evaluation for the future development of the Munglinup Graphite Project 
(“Munglinup” or the “Munglinup Project”) in the Great Southern region of Western Australia; and

investigations into other mineral resources, particularly through MRC Exploration Australia Pty Ltd, focused on 
several tenements within Western Australia.

Dividends
Unfranked and partially franked dividends paid or declared by the Company to members since the end of the 
previous financial year were:

Declared and paid during the year 2019

Final 2018 ordinary

Interim 2019 ordinary

Total amount

Australian Cents  
per share

Total amount 
A$

0.7

0.6

2,947,641

2,527,149

 5,474,790

Date of Payment

14 May 2019

14 October 2019

As the final 2018 ordinary dividend and the interim 2019 ordinary dividend were partially franked, there are income 
tax consequences for the owners of the Company relating to these dividends.

The Directors have deferred a decision on declaring a final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019.

11

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Review of operations

TORMIN MINERAL SANDS OPERATION

Mineral Commodities Ltd (“MRC” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update for the Company’s activities 
during the year ended 31 December 2019.

Tormin Operational and Financial Performance

The Company continued its strong operating performance during the year ended 31 December 2019. The following 
key production and sales metrics were achieved:

Garnet Stripping Plant/Secondary  
Concentrator Plant

Full Year to 
 31 December 2019

Full Year to 
 31 December 2018

Tonnes processed (dmt)

Tonnes produced (dmt)

Garnet concentrate (net)

Ilmenite concentrate (net)

Zircon/rutile concentrate

% zircon in concentrate

% rutile in concentrate

589,473

179,057

49,937

9,939

66.74%

15.36%

858,631

278,205

108,630

16,996

68.31%

17.43%

In June, the Company moved to a budgeted reduction in working hours across mining and processing operations 
due to permitting delays which caused postponement to the higher grade expanded mining right areas covered 
under the S102 Expanded Mining Right Application. The Company also implemented voluntary severance packages 
to address excess labour capacity prior to implementing a new 5.5 day working roster system. With the reduction 
in operational working hours of Primary Beach Concentrator (“PBC”) and Garnet Stripping Plant/Secondary 
Concentration Plant (“GSP/SCP”) processing plants, a throughput realignment occurred to the adjusted Run of Mine 
(“ROM”) production rate.

The optimisation of working hours and new site shift rostering ensured the resultant performance of mining and 
processing operations achieved real cost savings without compromising or impacting annualised production 
metrics significantly.

PBC ROM feed for the year was 2,400,341 tonnes at an average feed rate of 324tph and 90.31% plant utilisation, 
with the throughput in line with the previous year’s 2,433,801 feed tonnes.

HMC production from the PBCs produced 567,939 tonnes, compared to the prior year’s 678,938 tonnes, due to 
anticipated lower ROM grades. Mineral processing recoveries from the PBCs remained strong, with the plants 
recovering 92% zircon, 88% ilmenite, 88% garnet and 76% rutile.

GSP/SCP feed of 589,473 tonnes was below the prior year’s 858,631 tonnes but reflected full utilisation of available 
Heavy Mineral Concentrates (“HMC”) feedstocks. The prior year included 151,031 tonnes of garnet stockpile refeed. 
The GSP/SCP operated at 89% utilisation with an infeed throughput rate of 82 tonnes per hour to optimise product 
recoveries, which resulted in improved recovery for zircon, rutile and ilmenite in comparison to the previous year.

Finished concentrate production was impacted by expected lower mined Total Heavy Mineral (“THM”) ore grades 
and reduced GSP/SCP feed. Total final concentrates produced were 238,933 tonnes for the year, which was below 
the prior year’s 403,831 tonnes. In line with declining grades and reducing feed rates to optimise recoveries, the 
reduced final concentrate production for the year was circa 15% below budget expectations.

Sales (wmt)

Zircon/rutile concentrate

Ilmenite concentrate

Garnet concentrate

Full Year to 31 December 2019

Full Year to 31 December 2018

10,444

216,616

213,150

17,968

106,750

213,281

Sales revenue for the year was US$58.3 million for a total 440,210 wet metric tonnes sold, above the prior year’s 
revenue of US$53.5 million for 337,999 wet metric tonnes sold.

12

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019The increase in revenue was largely due to the strategic sale of an additional 109,866 wet metric tonnes of 
inventoried ilmenite concentrate. The Company achieved higher average ilmenite prices than in the previous year due 
to the tightening supply conditions and significantly improved customer demand. This was partially offset by lower 
zircon and rutile sales resulting from lower production volumes.

DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Mining Production

Tonnes (dmt)

Grade

Garnet

Ilmenite

Zircon

Rutile

Leucoxene

Full Year to  
31 December 2019

Full Year to  
31 December 2018

2,509,978

2,650,099

11.15%

7.53%

1.81%

0.42%

0.21%

1.18%

17.35%

12.55%

3.14%

0.55%

0.38%

0.73%

Mining and processing operations at the Tormin Mineral Sands mine were optimised to manage the current ROM 
THM beach grade and replenishment cycle. Mining and processing production has remained in line with the prior 
year to offset declining grades.

ROM mining production in 2019 was over 10% above the December 2018 inferred resource, which is supportive of 
the replenishing nature of the deposit where resource blocks are mined more than once a year. Higher mined tonnes 
in 2019, in comparison to the Resource Tonnes in the December 2018 Resource statement, were partially offset by 
the lower THM grade achieved in 2019 (11.15%), in comparison to the inferred resource grade (14.16%) reported in 
the December 2018 Resource Statement.

The following table summarises Tormin’s unit costs and revenues for the year to 31 December 2019:

Summary of Unit Costs & Revenues

Unit production cash costs per tonne of net final concentrate produced ($/dmt)

Unit cost of goods sold per tonne of final concentrate sold ($/wmt) (1)

Unit revenue per tonne of final concentrate sold ($/wmt)

Revenue to cost of goods sold ratio

Full Year to  
31 December 2019

Full Year to  
31 December 2018

84.40

89.27

132.13

1.48

57.68

110.08

156.95

1.43

(1) 

 Cost of goods sold includes production cash costs, product handling, transport and selling costs, royalties, stock movements, and depreciation and amortisation. Excludes 
corporate and financing costs. 

Unit production cash costs were impacted by the change in mined tonnes and grades, with the current year’s 
US$84.40/t for 238,933 final concentrate tonnes produced higher than the prior period’s US$57.68/t for 403,831 final 
concentrate tonnes produced. Production cash costs were 14% lower than in the prior period, but due to the lower 
net production of concentrate, as a function of the lower THM ore grade, unit costs were higher. Lower production 
cash costs in the current year reflect lower maintenance, equipment, labour and diesel costs. Maintenance and 
equipment hire costs were lower with the introduction of a new Articulated Dump Truck (“ADT”) fleet and capital 
substitution of hired equipment. Labour and diesel cost savings reflect switching from a 24/7 operation to a new 
mining and processing operations schedule implemented from June 2019, incorporating an effective average 
5.5 days per week working roster.

The total unit cost of goods sold of US$89.27/t for the year for 440,210 final concentrate tonnes sold improved 
on the prior year’s US$110.08/t for 337,999 final concentrate tonnes sold. The improved performance is driven by 
increased relative volumes of bulk shipment products.

Unit revenue per tonne of final concentrate sold for the year reflects the reduction in the proportion of zircon and 
rutile sales during the current year, partially offset by improved ilmenite pricing and sales.

Improved revenue to cost of goods sold ratio for the year in comparison to the prior period reflects lower unit costs in 
2019, partially offset by lower unit revenue.

13

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Tormin Safety, Environment and Community

The ongoing commitment to developing a safe working environment and culture continues. Encouragingly, this 
financial year saw the three month rolling Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate start and finish the year at nil. 
Significantly, since the commencement of operations in late 2013, the Company has incurred only one Lost Time 
Injury, in April 2017. The Company achieved a further milestone during the year by working over 1.3 million man 
hours since this LTI incident. In excess of 3.1 million man hours have been worked at the Tormin site since its 
commencement.

The Company continues to implement its Social Labor Plan (“SLP”) programs. During the year, in excess of ZAR8.25 
million was committed to these programs. Initiatives within the local Tormin community and workplace included 
bursaries, scholarships, traineeships, internships, apprenticeships and adult basic education programs. The 
Company’s learnership programs have seen participants advance their careers through education in engineering 
and business management courses. Bursaries support Tormin staff and community participants in furthering their 
education with courses such as, but not limited to, IT engineering, mechanical engineering, safety management, 
business management, law, mathematics and community development. Tormin currently has interns at the mine 
site integrated with geology, laboratory, finance, survey and environmental departments, providing on-the-ground 
experience and training for the community.

The Company also supports community-based enterprise and infrastructure support development, sponsoring of 
full-time teachers at local schools, distribution of food parcels with non-perishable foodstuffs delivered to elderly 
persons across the eight wards of the Matzikama municipal region and sponsorships in the form of attire, equipment 
and transport to local sporting clubs.

The Company completed an internal and external refurbishment and fit-out of the Nuwerus High School Hostels. 
The fit-out included roof repairs, external doors and windows replacement, new flooring, kitchen and plumbing 
repairs and new bedroom cupboards. The hostels will accommodate 60 more learners from neighbouring 
settlements. The total value committed to this project was ZAR2.1 million.

The year ended successfully with the reported attendance of 224 high school learners participating in the  
Company-sponsored Maths & Science Spring School during October and November. In addition to this, the 
Company collaborated with the Matzikama Local Municipality on phase one of the Doornbay Slipway Project, 
targeting the challenge of poverty in the small fishing town of Doornbay.

Tormin Permitting

Positive outcomes were advanced and achieved during the year in relation to the Company’s ongoing permitting 
applications for renewal of mining, expanded mining and prospecting rights. MRC’s mining rights (10107MR and 
10108MR) were renewed at the Tormin Mineral Sands Operation to allow the continuation of its existing mining 
operations for an additional 10 years. The renewal of existing Tormin mining rights is a significant milestone that  
gives the Company security of tenure and is the cornerstone of the Company’s expanded mining right strategy 
which, in conjunction with the granted Section 102 Expanded Mining Right Environmental Authorisation (currently 
subject to appeal), enables MRC to increase production and pursue the goal of sustaining long-term mining 
operations and downstream processing at Tormin. This will enable MRC to continue to deliver economic benefits  
to our South African partners, the local community and shareholders.

The Company was granted Environmental Authorisation (“EA”) for the S102 Expanded Mining Right in June 2019.  
As is often the case with applications of this nature, it was subsequently appealed. Due to the lower THM ore 
grades, the Company moved in June 2019 to a budgeted reduction in throughput across mining and processing 
operations. In conjunction with the budgeted reduction in mining, production through the PBC and GSP circuits were 
aligned to this new mining rate and the Company implemented voluntary severance packages to address excess 
labour capacity prior to implementing the new 5.5 day roster system.

The requisite responses to the appealing authority, the Department of Environmental Affairs (“DEA”), were submitted 
immediately. Notwithstanding the appeal response has gone beyond the 90 day prescribed statutory period, the 
Company foresees no major impediment in any of the appeal grounds presented and remains hopeful that the 
appeal will be dealt with in the March quarter 2020.

The S102 Expanded Mining Right Application and associated mining programs incorporate the adjoining Northern 
Beaches and the Inland Strand deposits located on the Company owned freehold farmland.

Ongoing engineering and design work is being finalised in anticipation of final permitting approvals and 
commencement in the June quarter 2020. The Company has adopted a phased approach to the S102 Expanded 
Mining Rights project development.

14

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

This includes an initial Phase 1 increase in finished concentrate production to annualised circa 350,000 tonnes 
from the Northern Beaches and Inland Strand mining areas by mobilising one of the existing PBCs to the Northern 
Beaches mining areas whilst maintaining the operation of one PBC unit to process the Inland Strand material with 
the additional front-end crushing circuit being installed.

Phase 2 includes the construction of a 3.5mtpa primary beach concentration circuit with a new 500tph front-
end feed and crushing and thickener circuit that will allow the processing of Inland Strand and Northern Beaches 
deposits contemporaneously.

Phase 3 includes the construction of a 450,000 – 500,000 tonnes Magnetic Separation Plant (“MSP”) to produce 
final ilmenite, garnet and zircon products.

Commencement of Phase 1, subject to permitting, should be in the June quarter 2020. The Phase 2 development is 
expected to commence construction in early 2021, allowing the completion and commissioning towards the end of 
2021. The Phase 3 MSP construction is anticipated to be completed by 2022.

Prospecting right appeals were dismissed in the second half of 2019 by the DEA, relating to the prospecting rights 
covering Tormin Inland Strand (10262PR) (“Inland Strand”) area on its Company-owned Geelwal Karoo farm and the 
Northern Beaches (10261PR) (“Northern Beaches”). 

The Northern Beaches incorporate ten beaches directly north and adjoining the current beach mining area at 
Tormin. The Northern Beaches prospecting area incorporates a semi-continuous tenement approximately 23km in 
length covering an area of 398 hectares of beach sands prospective for zircon, rutile, ilmenite, garnet, leucoxene 
and magnetite. Like the current beach mining area at Tormin, the Northern Beaches share similar placer style 
characteristics of deposition and replenishment.

The heavy minerals (“HM”) in the beach sands are constantly replenished by the transport of new sediment from deeper 
waters, much of which has been derived from the erosion of mineralisation deposits accumulated in the elevated historic 
beach terraces onto the present beach. This replenishment occurs as a result of the naturally highly dynamic nature of 
sediment transport processes on beaches in this area. The beaches were previously explored and drilled by Trans Hex for 
diamonds and heavy mineral sands, and the occurrence of heavy mineral sands is well understood.

These marine strandlines are characterised by an extremely high concentration of HM in distinct layers. The THM 
content has been reported by Trans Hex in an internal non-JORC compliant resource report (“Tormin Feasibility 
Study Report dated June 1992”) to be between 20% and 34% with a weighted average of 22% THM for 1.79Mt. 
Note that these grades have not been verified and are reported as Historical Foreign Estimates with Table 1 
exemption under Listing Rule 5.10 “referring to historical or foreign estimate of mineralisation for areas adjacent to 
or near to the entity’s mining tenements”.

Figure 1 - Northern Beaches area

The Inland Strand incorporates an area approximately 12km in length covering 1741 hectares of coastal area 
immediately adjacent to the existing mining operations on the Company-owned farm Geelwal Karoo 262. The inland 
palaeo strandline has been identified by geophysics and supplemented by historical sampling (Figure 2). There is 
also substantial data reflecting the presence of multiple palaeo strandlines running parallel to the coastline and within 
the current Inland Strand prospecting tenure. This deposit has undergone historical exploration since the 1930s 
(Haughton 1931, Toerien & Groeneveld 1957, Abele 1989, Swart 1990, Barnes 1998), with exploration drilling work 
undertaken by Trans Hex between 1989 and 1991.

15

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

During 1999, Trans Hex conducted additional onshore drilling of strandlines and identified the inland raised beach 
deposits containing heavy minerals.

Figure 2 – Inland Strand

In January 2020, the Company was granted prospecting rights over the Northern Beaches and Inland Strand 
application areas (WC 30/5/1/1/2/10261PR and WC 30/5/1/1/2/10262PR) and anticipates commencing a resource 
definition program on both licences. These include the De Punt area (10240PR) approximately 12.4 kilometres in 
length and covering approximately 4,495 hectares. The Company also has under application additional significant 
prospecting areas to the North and South of the recently granted Tormin Inland Strand and Northern Beach 
prospecting rights.

This area was the subject of a previously granted environmental authorisation which was appealed and, under the 
instruction of the DEA, required further technical studies to be conducted. These have now progressed to a Basic 
Assessment Review (“BAR”) inclusive of an Estuarine Biodiversity Impact Assessment due for final submission in 
March quarter 2020. Additionally, the Klipvley Karoo Kop area (10307PR) which is approximately 16km in length 
and covering approximately 3,970 hectares is undergoing final BAR submission to be finalised and submitted in the 
March quarter 2020. 

The Company cumulatively holds a continuous inland prospecting tenure granted, or under application, of 
approximately 41.4km in length and covering approximately 6,634 hectares. This is in addition to the current granted 
Tormin Mining Right area and the Northern Beaches prospecting tenure.

The Company also received advice on the Appeal lodged with the DEA in June 2018 regarding its De Punt 
prospecting right ((WC)30/5/1/1/2/10240PR) and inland area covering 13km in length by up to 4km in width 
immediately south of the current Geelwal Farm owned by MSR, on which it conducts its processing operations. 
Advice was also received that the Klipvley Karoo Kop prospecting permit (WC 30/5/1/1/2/10240) appeal was 
dismissed and as such, the Company has submitted another application in this area. 

Whilst the Company has a number of prospecting right applications in various stages of assessment and appeal, 
these prospecting rights applications are not core to, and will not affect, the planned expansion covered under the 
S102 Application.

MRC considers the recent success in the granting of various mining and prospecting rights as a significant turning 
point in the due process of permitting applications and approvals, which historically have encountered administrative 
delays. The existing mining legislation was supplemented by the New Mining Charter 2018, which came into effect 
from September 2018. The new changes include a provision for employee and community participation and equity. 
Cognisant of this fact, the Company will embrace the new legislation and restructure its operating entity within South 
Africa accordingly.

16

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Tormin Resource and Prospecting Activities

The annual Tormin Mineral Resource review was completed in February 2020, with results as follows:

Category

Indicated Resource – Dec 2013

Tonnes Mined – FY2014

Inferred Resource – Dec 2014

Tonnes Mined – FY2015

Inferred Resource – Dec 2015

Tonnes Mined – FY2016

Inferred Resource – Dec 2016

Tonnes Mined – FY2017

Inferred Resource – Dec 2017

Tonnes Mined – FY2018

Inferred Resource – Dec 2018

Tonnes Mined – FY2019

Inferred Resource – Dec 2019

Resource 
Million 
Tonnes

Total Heavy 
Mineral(1) 
(% in 
Resource)

Ilmenite  
(% in 
Resource)

Zircon 
(% in 
Resource)

Rutile  
(% in 
Resource)

Garnet 
(% in 
Resource)

2.70

1.07

2.70

1.62

2.70

1.81

1.80

2.05

1.80(2)

2.65

2.27(2)

2.51

2.40(3)

49.40%

53.83%

38.14%

49.57%

28.01%

45.97%

28.08%

27.57%

15.92%

17.35%

14.16%

11.21%

8.68%

10.60%

17.26%

10.05%

16.15%

6.97%

12.97%

6.15%

5.81%

2.72%

3.14%

2.30%

1.81%

1.03%

3.40%

4.76%

2.21%

3.88%

1.56%

2.78%

1.65%

1.10%

0.79%

0.55%

0.43%

0.42%

0.25%

0.70%

0.65%

0.46%

0.60%

0.55%

0.61%

0.53%

0.50%

0.43%

0.38%

0.19%

0.21%

0.10%

25.30%

31.16%

25.22%

28.94%

18.54%

29.21%

18.99%

19.40%

11.45%

12.55%

7.90%

7.53%

6.7%

(1) 
(2) 
(3) 

Includes other valuable heavy minerals e.g. leucoxene and magnetite
5% Heavy Mineral (“HM”) cut-off grade used
2% Heavy Mineral (“HM”) cut-off grade used

Since commencement of operations at Tormin, the Company has mined in excess of 11.71 million tonnes. The 
tonnage mined is more than the original declared resource tonnage (2.70 million tonnes), which is indicative of the 
significant replenishment nature of the deposit where resource blocks are mined more than once per year. 

Resource replenishment continues but at a rate slower than the mining rate. The Company is therefore unable to 
report a replenishment grade or quantity under the JORC Code (2012), however grade reconciliation and sample 
grading continues on a daily basis to correlate between the reported Mineral Resource and actual resource in terms 
of quantity, grade and replenishment.

The Company is confident that the grant, access and subsequent development of the additional identified Inland 
Strand and Northern Beaches mining will occur in the first quarter 2020, which will allow the current active Tormin 
beach mining area to satisfactorily replenish in the future.

SKALAND GRAPHITE OPERATION

Skaland Graphite AS Acquisition

On 7 October 2019, the Company announced it had completed the purchase of Skaland Graphite AS for the total 
consideration of US$8.7 million, comprising an initial cash consideration at settlement of US$4.5 million and a further 
US$4.2 million to be paid over five years.

Skaland operates the Trælen Graphite Mine and Skaland Processing Facility in Norway, which is the largest flake 
graphite producer in Europe and the highest grade flake graphite mine in the world, with mill feed grade averaging 
approximately 28% carbon. Skaland currently produces approximately 10,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per 
annum and accounts for around 2% of global natural flake graphite production. The Skaland Graphite Operation is 
considered to have significant potential to expand the current production profile. As part of the conditions precedent 
to the purchase, the Company was granted operational and discharge permits that enable MRC to increase 
production from 11,000 to 16,000 tonnes per annum, subject to a maximum process plant tailings limit of 40,000 
tonnes per annum.

MRC Graphite (Norway) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, acted as the sole contractual buyer of 
100% of the issued capital of Skaland, noting that a 10% interest is to be transferred at fair value to the facilitator of 
the transaction, BSG Mining LLC, an unrelated party to the Company.

17

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

The acquisition of Skaland has fast-tracked MRC to be the largest graphite miner in Europe, improving the 
Company’s understanding of traditional graphite markets. Skaland also offers excellent geostrategic positioning to 
capitalise on the fastest growing electric vehicle market globally. 

The Company has already evaluated several opportunities to optimise the current process plant in its due diligence 
studies and thereafter that will improve the quality of the concentrate produced at Skaland. It will move to implement 
these initiatives and thereafter increase production. The Company is also progressing downstream processing, value 
adding initiatives and is intending to move to producing battery anode material in the near term. This work leverages 
off the research and development conducted for the Company’s Munglinup project.

Norway is at the forefront of electric vehicle adoption and with world class infrastructure, provides an excellent 
environment to build a vertically integrated carbon supply business. The Company is in discussions with several 
parties on positioning Skaland as a provider of anode materials in Europe.

Skaland Operational and Financial Performance

The Company took control of Skaland Operations in October 2019. During the final quarter of 2019, concentrate 
production of 2,945t exceeded the quarterly budget of 2,732t by 7.7%. The plant treated 10,112t of ore, grading 
28.4% C, relative to a 10,884t budget. Higher than budget run hours and recoveries offset lower throughput.

Processing 

Ore Processed

Throughput (tph)

Ore Grade (%C)

C Recovery (%)

Concentrate Grade (%)

Concentrate Produced (t)

December 2019 Quarter Actuals

Year to Date 31 December 2019

10,112

6.9

28.4

93.3

90.7

2,945

37,088

7.8

26.1

91.7

91.2

9,780

Skaland produces a broad range of finished products including special grades to meet specific customer 
requirements. The coarser fractions are typically 95%-98%C, whilst the finest (powder) fraction is typically sub 90%. 
Previously identified optimisation initiatives, to improve the proportion of coarse flake in concentrate and improve the 
grade of the finer fractions in concentrate, are advancing on schedule.

Product Category (wmt)

Flake/Medium 

Fine-Medium/Powder

Total

December 2019 
Quarter

31 December 2019  
Year to Date

31 December 2018  
Year to Date

Sales 

776

1,231

2,007

PSD %

39%

61%

Sales 

2,467

4,808

7,275

PSD %

34%

66%

Sales 

3,087

6,226

9,313

PSD %

33%

67%

Sales revenue for the quarter was US$1.2 million for a total of 2,007 tonnes sold. This reflects transitioning customer 
relationships post-acquisition, which are anticipated to significantly improve in the March quarter 2020 as a result of 
Company initiated marketing activities. Also, low sales volumes in December, which is traditionally a slow month in 
key European markets, adversely affected quarterly sales of 2,007t. Total sales of 7,275t for 2019 reflect the change 
in ownership and the associated transition from an exclusive marketing arrangement – this adversely affected sales 
mid-year, prior to the closure of the transaction.

Importantly, Skaland remained profitable even after lower sales revenue for the quarter, compared to the prior year. 
Costs remained in line with prior performance and management expectations. Management believes operational 
improvements will generate improving profitability for the Skaland operation in the near term.

18

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Summary of Unit Costs & Revenues

Unit production cash costs per tonne of net final concentrate produced (US$/dmt)

Unit cost of goods sold per tonne of final concentrate sold (US$/wmt) (1)

Unit revenue per tonne of final concentrate sold (US$/wmt)

DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

December 2019 
Quarter

December 2019 
Year to Date

$405.18

$356.50

$582.48

$417.41

$476.28

$639.13

Note (1) – Cost of goods sold includes production cash costs, product handling, transport and selling costs, royalties, stock movements and depreciation and amortisation. Excludes 
corporate and financing costs.

Unit production cash costs for the December quarter are below YTD comparatives due to higher production in the 
current quarter in comparison to average YTD performance, partially offset by slightly higher production costs as 
Skaland transitioned to new ownership. Production in the December quarter 2019 is the highest quarterly production 
for the year.

Unit cost of goods sold for the December quarter 2019 was lower than the YTD comparative reflecting higher 
quarterly sales in the December quarter 2019, in comparison to the previous three quarters of 2019, and increasing 
inventory values.

Unit revenue per tonne of final concentrate sold for the quarter of US$582.48 compares to YTD US$639.13 with 
the weighted average price adjusted to enable the reduction of acquired stockpile inventory of Fine-Medium and 
Powder concentrates.

Skaland Safety, Environment and Community

MRC took control of the operation in October, and no Lost Time Injuries occurred in the operations subsequently. 
The Company conducted a safety audit of Skaland operations, which highlighted the workforce has a good 
knowledge base of safety requirements but safety systems need improvement to comply with Company standards. 
Improvement initiatives have subsequently commenced, including standardised safety performance reporting for the 
two operations.

Historically Skaland has maintained a solid safety performance, however the Company believes that operating within 
an internally recognised structured safety management system can only further enhance the Company’s ongoing 
OH&S compliance.

There was one minor environmental incident involving the release of a small amount of tailings with no environmental 
impact. Processing operations were briefly suspended. Options for online monitoring of the tailings system is 
under consideration as part of the incident investigation. In addition, the Company is evaluating options for further 
improving tailings treatment, with the associated testwork expected to commence in March 2020. This program has 
the potential to support a further increase in Skaland’s production in the future.

Skaland Permitting

The two permits required by Skaland Graphite AS to operate the mine and processing plant are the Operating 
Permit and the Discharge Permit. New permits were required (and granted) prior to the close of the acquisition to 
ensure that the operation was fully compliant with regulations and had the flexibility to increase future production to 
16,000tpa of concentrate, subject to a tailings disposal constraint of 40,000tpa.

The Company requested an extension to the delivery of an Operations Plan required under the Operating Permit for 
the Traelen mine from 1 February 2020 to 31 May 2020. The extension is required to conduct the detailed resource 
modelling, geotechnical and hydrology evaluation activities required to support an effective Operations Plan. The 
extension was granted subsequent to 31 December 2019.

The Discharge Permit requires the Company to implement additional environmental monitoring and control activities. 
Planning for these activities has commenced. 

MUNGLINUP GRAPHITE PROJECT

During the year, the Company appointed Mondium, a joint venture between Monadelphous and Lycopodium, 
to undertake complete Value Engineering (“VE”) within the Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) phase, Front-End 
Engineering Design (“FEED”) and fast-track to the full design and construct phase of the Munglinup Graphite Project. 
The DFS was completed and announced to the market. For more detailed information on the DFS outcomes we refer 
you to the ASX release “Robust DFS Allows MRC To Move To 90% Ownership Of Munglinup”, released 8 January 2020.

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MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Following the completion of the DFS, the Company intends to exercise its rights to increase its joint venture interest 
from 51% to 90% by:

•  paying AU$800,000 to Gold Terrace; and

• 

issuing Gold Terrace with 30 million fully paid ordinary shares in MRC.

The key results of the DFS were:

•  Post-tax - Net Present Value (“NPV”) US$111M (AU$160M)

•  Post-tax project - IRR 30%

•  Capex - US$61M (AU$88M)

•  Opex - US$491/tonne (FOB) (AU$720/tonne)

• 

• 

Life of Mine average EBITDA - US$31M pa (AU$45M)

Life of Mine net cash flow - US$240M (AU$352M)

•  Payback period - 2.7 years

• 

• 

• 

Life of Mine - 14 years 

Life of Mine processing throughput - Yr 1-6 400ktpa — Yr 7-14 500ktpa 

Life of Mine average graphite concentrate production - 52ktpa

•  Average concentrate grade - >95% TGC 

•  Ore Reserve - 4.24 million tonnes @ average grade 12.8% TGC

The DFS demonstrated robust economic outcomes of a concentrate only production scenario and confirmed the 
Company’s view that Munglinup will become a crucial asset in its overall strategy to supply natural graphite into key 
high-demand battery anode markets. The DFS further enhances the Company’s ambitions to build a global, vertically 
integrated carbon business based on two global strategic operating production centres in Tier 1 jurisdictions, 
Australia and Norway, producing sustainable natural graphite concentrate as a crucial raw material for the production 
of precursor and active anode materials.

The Munglinup Graphite Project was referred to the Department of Environment and Energy (Federal) (“DoEE”) and 
the Environmental Protection Authority (State) (“EPA”) in November 2018 for assessment. On 11 July 2019 the DoEE 
confirmed that the Federal assessment will be done under an accredited process by the EPA. 

Additional studies required by the EPA were:

• 

• 

Level 2 terrestrial fauna

Level 2 SRE (short range endemic fauna) assessment

•  Additional hydrology and hydrogeological assessment (including groundwater studies)

•  Supplementary flora assessment

•  Additional dieback assessment

•  Ecological linkage assessment

A work program is underway with completion expected in June quarter 2020. The Federal-based DoEE and 
State-based EPA will then consider these studies in their assessments of the project.

The Company intends to implement a vertically integrated development strategy that will provide a broader range of 
higher value products, which diversifies the risks associated with supplying the traditional natural flake graphite market.

The Company will continue ongoing testwork and comprehensive market analysis as part of a determined 
integrated downstream value-adding strategy focused on the production of precursor and active anode materials 
for consumption in the growing lithium-ion battery sector. The Company will continue technical and economic study 
work, considering the production of purified, micronised, spheronised and coated Munglinup Concentrate to identify 
the optimal economic outcome from the deposit.

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MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

DOWNSTREAM GRAPHITE PROJECTS

MRC’s downstream development strategy includes an incremental approach to value-adding at Skaland and an 
integrated approach for the Munglinup project.

For Skaland, the process starts with increasing the quality of the concentrate produced specifically increasing the 
recovery of coarse flakes in the concentrate and the grade of the fines in the concentrate. Testwork for these activities 
commenced under the due diligence investigations and was successfully completed at the end of 2019. Vendor proposals 
for equipment supply and engineering design are expected to be completed in the March quarter 2020.

The upgraded fines concentrate will be used for producing micronised and spheronised graphite at Skaland using 
low-cost hydroelectric power. Initial tests using vendor equipment have been completed and planning for additional 
testing is underway. It is necessary to select the correct equipment as the yields to the spheronised product are 
variable and impact on the characteristics of the spheronised graphite and the economics. The feed material for the 
testwork program is Skaland fines concentrate that is upgraded in a pilot plant in Australia.

Purification is the cornerstone of an effective value-adding strategy, producing high grade coarser flakes (>99%) as 
well as battery anode grade (>99.95%) products. Current practice is to purify graphite using hydrofluoric acid (“HF”) - 
an aggressive acid that is toxic to the environment if not effectively neutralised. HF purification is used in China where 
most natural graphite is purified. It will be difficult to obtain approvals for HF purification in other jurisdictions, thus a 
more environmentally sustainable purification process is required. Consequently, the Company formed a partnership 
with the CSIRO and Doral Fused Materials to submit an application for government funding for the development of a 
more sustainable process under the Commonwealth Government CRC-P Round 7 funding program. The Company 
was notified that the application was successful in July 2019.

The project has a total budget of $2.61 million, with 31% contributed by the Commonwealth Government’s CRC-P 
program as cash funding, together with significant cash and in-kind contributions by the partners. The program 
includes production of concentrate for use in the testwork program, evaluation of the performance of different 
reagents in removing impurities from the graphite, both individually and in series with other reagents, optimisation of 
reaction conditions and evaluation at PFS and DFS levels. It is a focused development program designed to deliver a 
commercial graphite purification process that does not use HF – examining a number of potential options.

The program commenced with the identification of impurities in Skaland concentrate to provide the baseline data 
for purification, Munglinup concentrate having been assessed previously by CSIRO outside the CRC program. Initial 
screening tests have been completed as well as first stage evaluation of a two multi-stage processes. Optimisation 
of the two stage processes is underway. External to the work at CSIRO, the program is evaluating an alternate 
purification route. The results from these tests are expected in the March quarter 2020, with the goal of selecting a 
preferred purification process for further development.

Outside its own purification process development, the Company has sent samples of unpurified spherical graphite (produced 
from upgraded Skaland concentrate) to potential customers for testing in their proprietary purification processes, with 
feedback expected in the March quarter 2020. This approach provides flexibility in fast-tracking purification.

For Munglinup, the Company has been focusing on the purification process within the CRC-P program as well as 
generating additional concentrate for downstream testwork. The Company is pleased by the potential for a common 
purification process for Skaland and Munglinup. 

The Company has commenced electrochemical testing of coin-cells using purified Munglinup graphite flake that has 
been micronised. This is the first step in evaluating performance as a battery anode material. Additional testwork 
using spherical graphite and coated spherical graphite from purified Munglinup concentrate is underway with results 
expected early in 2020. A similar program will be developed for Skaland in the March quarter 2020 to assess the 
performance of concentrate purified by non-HF methods.

Leading up to the completion of the Skaland transaction, the Company engaged with numerous Norway-based 
industry and government groups to assist in the development and promotion of the Company’s downstream strategy 
for Skaland concentrate. An early example of this engagement was the December announcement of an executed 
binding, non-exclusive MOU with FREYR Battery AS (“FREYR”). FREYR is a Norwegian-incorporated company 
developing a combined 2+32 GWh lithium-ion battery facility and a 600 MW onshore wind park in Rana and Nesna 
municipalities in Norway. MRC and FREYR have agreed to evaluate the manufacture and supply of sustainably 
sourced natural anode material from Skaland graphite concentrate for use in FREYR’s battery cells.

Where possible and permitted, the Companies have agreed to share information on the manufacture and production 
of energy storage systems to enable MRC to meet FREYR’s future demand requirements. MRC will also provide 
review and advice to FREYR on the raw material sector of the battery value chain.

21

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

AUSTRALIAN EXPLORATION

Lithium/Tantalum Prospect: Paynes Find

On 10 January 2019, the Company announced it had acquired a mining lease and had recently been granted 
exploration licences over known lithium-tantalum rich pegmatites, being the Mt Edon Felsic pegmatite suite and 
Wydgee Greenstone belt pegmatites located near Paynes Find, Western Australia.

This acquisition at Paynes Find complements MRC’s strategic focus on battery minerals, which includes 
development of the Munglinup Graphite Project located near Esperance and the recent acquisition of Norwegian 
graphite producer, Skaland Graphite AS.

The Mt Edon pegmatite field hosts numerous lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites and is strategically located close 
to existing infrastructure making it an excellent exploration and mine development target. The mining lease area 
hosts historical lithium rich zones associated with the pegmatites, as well as historical mining for tantalum, beryl 
and microcline feldspar. Historical reported lithium grades of up to 2.2% Li2O5 have been found on the granted 
mining lease.

The northern Wydgee tenement has had no lithium exploration work done on it but is a known beryl bearing 
pegmatite that was previously exposed and mined for beryl. 

The immediate exploration strategy for these Paynes Find tenements will be to identify albite-spodumene rich zones 
and verify the occurrence of anomalous lithium and tantalum within these targeted zones.

Site visits and field chip sampling of six selective pegmatites were undertaken on the Paynes Find, Mt Edon 
tenement during the year to determine the fractioned nature of the pegmatites for LCT minerals (Lithium-Cesium-
Tantalum). Based on positive results (two out of ten rock chips anomalous for lithium and tantalum) in the second 
half of 2019, additional site visits and field chip sampling (ten new samples) of the pegmatites were undertaken on 
the Paynes Find, Mt Edon tenement. Two of the six main pegmatites (1.2km and 1.2km long along strike) were found 
to host fractioned pods of lithium, cesium and tantalum (“LCT”) minerals. The visible lithium mineralisation consists 
of lepidolite zinnwaldite minerals and not spodumene. Four of the ten new rock chip samples were found to be 
anomalous for lithium, caesium and tantalum.

The Company received Programme of Work approval from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety 
(“DMIRS”) for tantalite exploration pits in Paynes Find to evaluate elluvial and alluvial potential along the valleys and 
drainage to confirm the historical non-JORC resources of 70,600t@190ppm Ta2O5 (Calderwood, 1979).

Exploration work is planned in the March quarter 2020.

The Yandeyarra Lithium prospecting applications were surrendered due to the inability to obtain access in a 
timely manner.

Copper/Gold Prospect: Doolgunna

Modelling and interpretation of the results from an 8,859m drill campaign during 2018 indicate a complex stockwork 
of gold lodes that are hosted within a broad, at least 320m wide, greenschist facies alteration system (the Revere 
Reef System) that is at least 5-6km long. Infill laboratory testing of drill samples during the first half of 2019 indicates 
that gold mineralised zones are continuous between drill holes and are not limited to just quartz reef lodes but 
are also within hydrothermally altered host rock e.g. siltstone and sandstone. The potential to develop the near 
surface ore bodies as a large open pitable resource is being investigated. Gold mineralisation has been intersected 
from surface to at least 130m below surface where RC drilling was abandoned due to high water inflows that 
compromised sampling integrity and recovery. Resource modelling results are very positive and encouraging, 
indicating a large, well developed mesothermal alteration zone in which the fluids during one of the episodic 
alteration events carried substantial gold bearing fluids. Width of the mineralised shear system is at least 320m wide 
along the Revere shear system and is still open at depth and width.

In addition to the Revere reef system two other well developed gold bearing shear zones have been identified: the 
Lucky Dog shear zone ~3km to the north and the King Reef system 1.6km to the south of the Revere Reef.

As the metalloid potential of these systems at depth (below zone of complete oxidisation) are currently unknown, a 
number of 300m deep diamond holes are planned to be drilled during June quarter 2020 to investigate the deeper 
copper-gold mineralisation potential of the systems.

The free gold mineralisation in the Revere System is extremely coarse and nuggety which is great for mine 
processing recoveries but can create low grade laboratory results during exploration due to the small drill sample 
size. A follow-up and larger bulk sampling campaign is therefore planned in and along the near surface mineralised 
gold quartz lodes intersected during drilling. 

22

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

An application for two 45,000 tonne bulk sampling excess tonnage authorisations over tenements E51/1766 and 
P51/2787 were submitted to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety on 18 June 2019. These 
applications are now on hold subject to Native Title Party consent.

Vanadium Prospect: Harvey

This Mining Lease (M70/888) has historical shallow prospecting and vacuum drilling work done on it that have 
produced magnetic concentrates with 1.53% to 1.65% V2O5 grades and silica levels of less than 0.5%.

MRC has obtained new POW and Vegetation Clearance permits to allow deeper exploration drilling. Access 
negotiations with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (“DBCA”) are ongoing.

A new Dieback Survey over the drill lines has been completed and an updated dieback management plan and 
environmental management documents were prepared and submitted to the DBCA on 11 October 2019. 

Exploration drilling is expected to start in the second half of 2020.

XOLOBENI MINERAL SANDS PROJECT

The Xolobeni permitting process remains under a DMR mandated moratorium. The third visit to Xolobeni by the 
Mining Minister, Gwede Mantashe, occurred on 16 January 2019. The Minister inspected amongst other things the 
Kwanyana prospecting area of the proposed Xolobeni mining project. The Minister declared that an independent 
survey would be held to determine the future right of mining in the area.

The Company’s Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project on the Eastern Cape of South Africa remains a world class mineral 
sands deposit with a JORC compliant resource of 346Mt at 5% THM. 

Whilst the Company has entered into an agreement to divest its interest to its project BEE partners, which is 
currently under suspension due to the moratorium, it continues to consider that the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project 
has compelling socio-economic benefits for the area and can be developed in conjunction with the eco-tourism and 
agricultural initiatives that are being put forward by various stakeholders.

IRAN

The Company is moving to divest its exploration interest in Iran during 2020.

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS AND FINANCIAL POSITION

Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation for the Group (“EBITDA”) were $16.5 million (2018: 
$14.7 million), a 12% increase on the prior year. The higher overall sales volumes and revenue (including Skaland), 
in conjunction with lower corporate overheads, translated into the higher reported EBITDA for the 2019 year when 
compared to 2018 results. 

Revenue for the year was $61.8 million (2018: $55.4 million), a 12% increase on the prior year. Higher sales revenue 
was due to the first year introduction of Skaland sales (US$1.2 million), and additional Tormin revenue (US$5.2 million). 
Higher Tormin revenue was due to a 103% (109,866 tonnes) increase in ilmenite concentrate volumes shipped during 
the current year, partially offset by a 41.87% (7,524 tonnes) decrease in zircon and rutile volumes shipped, lower garnet 
transport revenue due to 95,833 less garnet tonnes shipped and lower zircon and rutile pricing achieved in 2019.

Gross profit margins were generally maintained at Tormin, with the revenue to cost of goods sold ratio for the year of 
1.48 (2018: 1.43), as the impacts of decreasing mine grades and production cash cost increases were mostly offset 
by improved processing plant performance and higher sales prices achieved for the Company’s zircon, rutile and 
ilmenite concentrates.

Corporate administration and share incentive expenses for the year of $5.5 million (2018: $7.4 million) were incurred, 
with the decrease over the prior year a result of foreign exchange gain, corporate cost savings in lower travel costs 
and streamlining support services.

Net finance income for 2019 of $0.2 million (2018: $0.1 million net finance costs) were reported, reflecting interest 
income on cash held during 2019.

The profit before income tax expense (“NPBT”) was $11.9 million (2018: $10.4 million), a 14% increase on the prior 
year, reflecting the improved sales performance at Tormin and lower administration costs in 2019.

The profit after expense (“NPAT”) for 2019 was $7.8 million (2018: $8.8 million), an 11% decrease on the prior year. 
The main contributor towards the decreased NPAT when compared to 2018 results was the increase in the effective 
tax rate for the current year to 34% (2018: 15%), with the Group transitioning into a tax payable position in 2019, 
meaning past available capital losses that lowered the effective tax rate in the prior year have been fully utilised.

23

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

At 31 December 2019, the Company had $8.1 million in cash (2018: $12.4 million), with trade and other receivables of 
$9.5 million (2018: $6.0 million).

Net working capital as at 31 December 2019 was $8.1 million (2018: $13.4 million).

Borrowings as at 31 December 2019 were $7.7 million (2018: $5.1 million). The increased borrowings reflect 
additional debt of US$4.2 million obtained in the acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS, partially offset by $1.5 million 
in repayments against the facility previously provided to finance Tormin’s garnet stripping plant and $1.0 million in 
repayments for six Articulated Dump Trucks acquired in 2018 for the Tormin operation.

Net assets of the Group as at 31 December 2019 were $46.0 million (2018: $42.1 million). The increase in reported 
net assets reflects Group profitability in 2019, offset by dividend distributions to shareholders.

Strong net cash inflow from operating activities for the year of $13.3 million (2018: $14.5 million) continued to fund the 
Company’s significant investment program and dividend distributions.

Net cash investments in acquisitions, exploration, feasibility studies, mine development, property, plant and 
equipment during 2019 totalled $10.0 million (2018: $9.4 million).

The Company’s dividend payment strategy to provide cash returns to shareholders continued, with a further $3.8 
million (2018: $3.8 million) distributed in dividends during 2019. The Board of the Company was pleased to declare 
and pay during the year a 0.7 Australian cent per share final dividend in respect of the 2018 year, followed by an 
interim dividend for the half year ended 2019 of 0.6 Australian cent per ordinary share.

The Directors have deferred a decision on declaring a final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019.

The current and expected future cash position and earnings of the Company are expected to continue to provide for 
the payment of future dividends as part of the Company’s overall capital management strategy.

The Company continues to actively pursue business development opportunities in the industrial minerals, base 
metals and precious metals sectors, in accordance with the Company’s strategy to diversify both in commodities 
and jurisdictions.

OUTLOOK

Tormin operations will continue to focus on optimising the mining and processing value chain to deliver results in 
line with 2019 figures. MRC’s mining rights (10107MR and 10108MR) were renewed at the Tormin Mineral Sands 
Operation to allow the continuation of its existing mining operations for an additional 10 years. In addition, a 
concerted effort will continue to be made to secure the full granting of the Company’s S102 Expanded Mining Right 
Application and its prospecting right applications.

Until such time that additional permitting is granted, allowing an expansion and access to the Inland Strand and 
Northern Beaches resources, the Company recognises it will need to continue to address issues surrounding mining 
a replenishing beach and the uncertainties relating to replenishment quantities and grade. Mitigation management 
includes the adjustment of mining rates to allow sufficient time for the active beach mining areas to replenish, which 
may result in the scaling back of operations at various periods throughout the year and increasing production from 
the amphibious excavator that will allow access to the previously unmined portions of the resource which sit within 
the perimeter of the lower tidal boundaries and surf zone.

Skaland’s first full year of operations in 2020 will be focused on stabilising operations and improving safety 
standards, while investing in mining equipment substitution, additional development work to ensure continued ore 
supply and plant optimisation to improve grade and coarse/fine fraction product distribution.

After delivery of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Munglinup Graphite Project on 8 January 2020, management 
continues to expedite the requisite studies and regulatory approvals to fast-track this project to development.

The advancement of the permitting process in South Africa for the expansion of the Tormin mining operation, 
acquisition and consolidation of Skaland, combined with the progress of the tier 1 jurisdiction Munglinup Graphite 
Project, sees the Company well positioned in 2020 to deliver on its stated expansion and diversification business 
development strategy.

24

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Significant changes in the state of affairs
Details of the year’s operational performance and the resulting financial impact is set out in the review of operations 
above.

No event or transaction has arisen in the interval between the end of the financial year and the date of this report of a 
material and unusual nature, other than what has been disclosed elsewhere in this financial report, in the opinion of the 
Directors of the Company, to affect significantly the operations of the Group, the results of those operations or the state 
of affairs of the Company or the Group in future financial years unless otherwise disclosed in this Directors’ Report.

Events since the end of the financial year
Other than disclosed in the review of operations above, there have been no other material matters arising 
subsequent to the end of the financial year. 

Likely developments and expected results of operations
Likely developments in the operations of the Group that were not finalised at the date of this report are included in 
the review of operations above and as detailed in the Outlook section.

The Board continues to review other projects and opportunities in the interests of increasing shareholder value.

Environmental regulation
The Group is subject to various environmental regulations in respect to its exploration, development and production 
activities.

In the course of its normal mining and exploration activities, the Group adheres to all environmental regulations 
imposed upon it by the relevant regulatory authorities, particularly those regulations relating to ground disturbance 
and the protection of rare and endangered flora and fauna.

Greenhouse gas and energy data reporting requirements
The Directors have considered compliance with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 which 
requires entities to report annual greenhouse gas emissions and energy use in Australia. For the measurement 
period, the Directors have assessed that there are no current reporting requirements, but may be required to do so 
in the future.

25

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Schedule of mining and prospecting tenements
Mining and prospecting tenements currently held or under application by the Group are:

Country

Location

Right/Tenement Number/
Operating Licence

Type of 
Right/
Tenement/
Licence

Status

Registered 
Interest 
(Beneficial 
Interest)

South Africa

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

162 & 163

Expansion

Granted – subject to appeal

(WC)30/5/1/2/2/162 MR

(WC)30/5/1/2/2/163 MR

Mining

Mining

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10036 PR

Prospecting

Renewal Granted

Renewal Granted

Granted – subject to 
renewal application

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10199 PR

Prospecting

Granted

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10240 PR

Prospecting

EA appeal upheld and 
decision to approve EA 
remitted to DMR

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10261 PR

Prospecting

(WC) 30/5/1/1/2/10262 PR

Prospecting

Granted

Granted

(WC) 30/5/1/1/2/10307 PR

Prospecting

Under Application

(WC) 30/5/1/1/2/10308 PR

Prospecting

Under Application

Xolobeni - 
Kwanyana block

EC30/5/1/1/2/10025 PR

Prospecting

Xolobeni

EC30/5/1/1/2/10025 MR

Mining

Subject to moratorium - 
converting to Mining Right

Subject to moratorium - 
under Application

Australia

Doolgunna

E51/1766

Exploration

Granted

Doolgunna – Bone

E51/1770

Exploration

Granted

Doolgunna – 
Lucky Dog

Doolgunna – 
Lucky Dog

P51/2787

Exploration

Granted

P51/2788

Exploration

Granted

Glen Florrie

ELA08/2963

Exploration

Under application

Harvey Vanadium

M70/888

Mining

Granted

Paynes Find

M59/714

Mining

In Transfer

Paynes Find 
– Wydgee 
Pegmatites

Munglinup

E59/2326

Exploration

Granted

M74/245

Mining

Granted

Munglinup

E74/505

Exploration

Granted

Munglinup

E74/565

Exploration

Granted

Norway

Trelle

Gnr./bnr.6/1,6/2 and 7/1 in Berg  Expropriation of 

Granted

Mining Rights 
in specified 
land parcels

26

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

 100%

 100%

100%

100%

0% (Option 
to earn-in to 
90%)

0% (Option 
to earn-in to 
90%)

0% (Option 
to earn-in to 
90%)

0% (Option 
to earn-in to 
90%)

100% (90%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in up  
to 100%)

0% (Option 
to earn-in to 
90%)

100% (90%)

51% (Option to 
acquire 90%)

51% (Option to 
acquire 90%)

100%

100%

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Information on Directors

Mark Victor Caruso 

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 

Age 58

Experience and expertise

Mr Mark Caruso has extensive experience in mining, earthmoving and civil engineering construction earthworks. 
He has been a Director of the Company since September 2000. He was previously Chairman of Allied Gold Mining 
PLC (“AGMP”), responsible for the delivery of the Gold Ridge Project in the Solomon Islands and the Simberi Gold 
Project in Papua New Guinea. After resigning from AGMP, he transitioned into the position of Executive Chairman 
of the Company in August 2012. 

Other current directorships

Connexion Telematics Ltd 

Former directorships in the last 3 years

Perpetual Resources Limited

Special responsibilities

Chairman of the Board 
Chief Executive Officer

Interests in shares and options

79,514,228 ordinary shares in the Company –  
indirect holding 1 
15,784 ordinary shares in the Company – direct holding

Joseph Anthony Caruso 

Non-Executive Director 

Age 74

Experience and expertise

Mr Joseph Caruso was appointed as Non-Executive Director of the Company in September 2000. He is a 
Director of Zurich Bay Holdings Pty Ltd and Construction Manager of Simto Australia Pty Ltd, both of which are 
involved in mining, earthmoving and civil engineering construction earthworks. He has considerable experience in 
managing and administration of engineering, mining, raw materials production operations, earthmoving and related 
infrastructure utilities services resource contracts. 

Other current directorships

Special responsibilities

None

Member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee

Former directorships in the last 3 years

Interests in shares and performance rights

None

78,007,485 ordinary shares in the Company ¹

Peter Patrick Torre CA, AGIA, MAICD 

Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary 

Age 48

Experience and expertise

Mr Torre was appointed Company Secretary of the Company in July 2006, and as a Director of the Company on 
1 April 2010. He is a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Secretary and a member of the Australian Institute of 
Company Directors. He was previously a partner of an internationally affiliated firm of Chartered Accountants.  
Mr Torre is the Company Secretary of several ASX listed companies. 

Other current directorships

Volt Power Group Limited 
VEEM Ltd 
Zenith Energy Ltd

Former directorships in the last 3 years

None

Special responsibilities

Company Secretary

Interests in shares and performance rights

1,625,000 ordinary shares in the Company

1 

 J A Caruso and M V Caruso are both directors of and have a relevant interest in Zurich Bay Holdings Pty Ltd, which holds 78,007,485 shares in the Company. Mr Mark Caruso 
also holds shares indirectly through Regional Management Pty Ltd and Property and Equity Nominees Pty Ltd.

27

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

David Lewis Baker 

Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 28 August 2019) 

Age 63

Experience and expertise

Mr Baker is an investment banker and corporate lawyer with extensive experience in governance, leadership, asset 
financing, acquisitions and divestments. His governance and corporate leadership experience includes roles as 
the Chair, Non-Executive and Executive Director and Managing Director of two ASX listed companies and a major 
independent private school in Sydney. He has also held management roles in developing, financing, managing and 
operating resource projects in new technologies (magnesium, coal seam gas extraction) and emerging and remote 
mining jurisdictions (Philippines, Eritrea).

Other current directorships

Special responsibilities

None

Former directorships in the last 3 years

Strike Energy Limited

Chairman of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee 
and member of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee

Interests in shares and performance rights

Nil ordinary shares in the Company

Debbie Ntombela 

Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 28 August 2019) 

Age 66

Experience and expertise

Ms Ntombela is a lawyer in South Africa with an in-depth knowledge of the mining sector, specifically regarding 
regulatory compliance from previously working at and with the Department of Mineral Resources and the mining 
industry in South Africa. She specialises in applications for prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits and 
all related mining and exploration documentation. She is currently a Partner in the law firm Shepstone & Wylie in 
South Africa.

Other current directorships

Special responsibilities

None

Former directorships in the last 3 years

None

Member of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee 
and member of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee

Interests in shares and performance rights

Nil ordinary shares in the Company

Russell Gordon Tipper 

Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 28 August 2019) 

Age 66

Experience and expertise

Mr Tipper is a mining engineer with considerable senior executive, mining and project level experience having held 
a number of senior executive positions with mining companies over the years, including group treasurer for a large 
miner for four years. He has delivered feasibility studies and project proposals for major mining and infrastructure 
projects such as the Hope Downs Iron Ore Project and the Karara Magnetite Project. Mr Tipper has also been 
instrumental in debt restructuring and capital raisings, along with providing leadership in the revision of work 
practices at mining operations.

Other current directorships

Special responsibilities

None

Former directorships in the last 3 years

None

Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee and member of the Audit, Compliance and 
Risk Committee

Interests in shares and performance rights

Nil ordinary shares in the Company

28

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Guy Redvers Walker  BCA, CA, CFA, CMInstD 

Non-Executive Director (resigned 30 May 2019)  Age 50

Experience and expertise

Mr Walker is a highly accomplished director and senior investment management executive with over 22 years’ 
financial markets experience. He currently and in the past has sat on the boards of listed mining companies including 
exploration, development and production companies. He has extensive experience in capital raising through both 
traditional banks and alternative lenders.

Other current directorships

Metals Exploration plc

Former directorships in the last 3 years

None

Special responsibilities

Chairman of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee 
and member of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee (resigned 30 May 2019)

Interests in shares and performance rights

1,200,000 ordinary shares in the Company at the time  
of resigning as a Director

Colin Ross Hastings  BSc (Geology), MSc (Economic Geology), MAusIMM 

Age 69

Independent Non-Executive Director (resigned 30 May 2019) 

Experience and expertise

Mr Ross Hastings was appointed as a non-executive Director in April 2015. He is a geologist with over 32 years’ 
experience in mining and exploration, project generation and project development, covering Australia and overseas. 
He has a strong geotechnical background with 10 years’ experience in this field and has extensive experience in 
mining related disciplines and processes. From 1996 to 2014, Mr Hastings was involved with Allied Gold PLC’s 
Simberi Gold Project where his roles included management of exploration and the feasibility and pre-development 
studies for mine construction. Mr Hastings then progressed to General Manager Resource Development and 
concluded his tenure at St Barbara subsequent to the merger between it and Allied Gold Mining PLC.

Other current directorships

Special responsibilities

None

Former directorships in the last 3 years

Perpetual Resources Limited

Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee and member of the Audit, Compliance and 
Risk Committee (resigned 30 May 2019)

Interests in shares and performance rights

1,150,000 ordinary shares in the Company at the time  
of resigning as a Director

29

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Directors and Key Management Personnel Shareholdings
The relevant interest of each Director and key management personnel in the share capital of the Company, shown 
in the Register of Directors’ and Key Management Personnel’s Shareholding at the date of the Directors’ Report is 
as follows:

Balance as at  
1 January 2019

Received as 
remuneration

Increase as 
a result of 
performance 
rights exercised

Purchased on 
market

• Indirect

• Direct

Mark Caruso

Joseph Caruso

Peter Torre

David Baker

Debbie Ntombela

Russell Tipper

Guy Walker1

Ross Hastings1

Adam Bick

Surinder Ghag

Bahman Rashidi

Fletcher Hancock

79,514,228

15,784

78,007,485

1,625,000

-

-

-

1,200,000

1,150,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Balance as at 
31 December 
2019

79,514,228

15,784

78,007,485

1,625,000

-

-

-

1,200,000

1,150,000

-

-

-

-

1 

Mr Walker and Mr Hastings resigned as directors on 30 May 2019. Their balances as at 31 December 2019 reflect shareholdings at resignation date.

Meetings of Directors
The number of meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors and each of the Board committees held during the 
year ended 31 December 2019, and the number of meetings attended by each Director were:

Name

Directors’ Meetings

Meetings of committees

Audit, Compliance and Risk

Remuneration and Nomination

Mark Victor Caruso

Joseph Anthony Caruso

Peter Patrick Torre

David Lewis Baker

Debbie Ntombela

Russell Gordon Tipper

Guy Redvers Walker

Colin Ross Hastings

A

10

10

10

2

2

2

5

5

B

10

10

10

2

2

2

5

5

A being total of meetings eligible to attend 
B being total of meetings actually attended

A

1

1

4

1

1

1

2

2

B

1

1

4

1

1

1

2

2

A

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

3

B

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

3

Other matters of Board business have been resolved by circular resolutions of Directors, which are a record of 
decisions made at a number of informal meetings of the Directors held to control, implement and monitor the 
Company’s activities throughout the year.

30

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Remuneration report (Audited)
This remuneration report sets out the remuneration information for the Company’s non-executive Directors,  
executive Directors, other key management personnel and the key executives of the Group and the Company.  
The remuneration report is set out under the following main headings:

A.  Principles used to determine the nature and amount of remuneration

B.  Details of remuneration

C.  Service agreements

D.  Share-based compensation

E.  Additional information

F.  Other transactions with key management personnel

A.  PRINCIPLES USED TO DETERMINE THE NATURE AND AMOUNT OF REMUNERATION

In order to retain and attract executives of sufficient calibre to facilitate the efficient and effective management of the 
Company’s operations, the Board reviews the remuneration packages of all key management personnel, if any, on an 
annual basis and makes recommendations. Remuneration packages are reviewed with due regard to performance 
and other relevant factors.

Remuneration packages may contain the following key elements:

(a)  Directors’ fees;

(b)  Salary and consultancy; and

(c)  Benefits, including the provision of a motor vehicle and superannuation.

Fees payable to non-executive Directors reflect the demands which are made on, and the responsibilities of, the 
Directors. The Board reviews Non-Executive Directors’ fees and payments on an annual basis. The Non-Executive 
Directors fee pool was set at $500,000 on 30 May 2008 at the Annual General Meeting. Non-Executive Director 
fees are paid with an aggregate limit (currently $500,000) which is approved by the shareholders from time to 
time. Non-Executive Directors serve in accordance with a standard letter of appointment which sets out the 
remuneration arrangements.

Executives are offered a competitive base pay which is reviewed annually to ensure the pay is competitive with 
the market.

There were short term cash incentives provided to the Executive Chairman, Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), Technical 
Services Manager (“TSM”), Exploration Manager (“EM”) and Group Legal Counsel (“GLC”). Long-term incentives are 
provided to Directors and other key management personnel to incentivise them to deliver long-term shareholder returns.

These are determined based on what the Board views as reasonable based on market conditions. Any grant of 
securities to Directors of the Company must be approved by shareholders in a general meeting.

The Directors are not required to hold any shares in the Company under the constitution of the Company; however, 
to align Directors’ interests with shareholders’ interests, the Directors are encouraged to hold shares in the 
Company.

As at 31 December 2019, the short term cash bonus incentives are up to 25% of base pay calculated on Company 
performance and other key performance indicators. Directors’ fees are fixed.

Profit /(loss) for the year after tax (USD)

Closing share price (AUD)

Dividends paid (AUD)

2019

7,828,231

28.0 cents

5,474,790

2018

8,823,231

17.0 cents

5,431,140

2017

9,932,930

13.0 cents

6,884,012

2016

3,777,834

13.0 cents

4,049,416

2015

10,576,785

10.0 cents

-

31

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

VOTING AND COMMENTS MADE AT THE COMPANY’S 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Company received more than 25% votes against the approval of the Remuneration Report, and as such 
recorded its second successive strike in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001. A Company is required to put 
to its shareholders a resolution proposing the calling of another meeting of shareholders to consider the appointment 
of directors of the company (“Spill Resolution”) if, at consecutive annual general meetings, at least 25% of the votes 
cast on a remuneration report resolution are voted against adoption of the remuneration report and at the first of 
those annual general meetings a Spill Resolution was not put to vote. 

A Spill Resolution was put to vote at the 30 May 2019 annual general meeting and (with Key Management Personnel 
and their Closely Related Parties excluded pursuant to the Corporations Act) more than 50% of votes cast were in 
favour of the Spill Resolution. Consequently, the Company convened a Spill Meeting on 28 August 2019.

The Vacating Directors were Joseph Caruso, Peter Torre, Colin Hastings and Guy Walker. Peter Torre and Joseph 
Caruso remained in office until the Spill Meeting, whereas Colin Hastings and Guy Walker no longer remained in 
office due to retirement and non-election, respectively.

The Vacating Directors who remained in office ceased to hold office immediately before the end of the Spill Meeting 
but stood for re-election at the Spill Meeting.

The business of the Spill Meeting was to put to vote resolutions to appoint persons to offices vacated by the 
Vacating Directors.

The Directors note that the Government’s stated intention of the “two strikes rule” was to empower shareholders to 
constrain remuneration arrangements that were clearly excessive. The Directors do not consider this to be the case 
for the Company.

At the General Meeting held 28 August 2019, Mr Joseph Caruso and Mr Peter Torre were re-elected as Directors of 
the Company and Ms Debbie Ntombela, Mr Russell Tipper and Mr David Baker were also elected to the Board.

B.  DETAILS OF REMUNERATION

The key management personnel of the Group are:

• 

the Directors of the Company;

•  Mr Tony Sheard, the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) (resigned 5 June 2019);

•  Mr Adam Bick, the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) (appointed 5 June 2019);

•  Mr Surinder Ghag, the Technical Services Manager (“TSM”);

•  Mr Bahman Rashidi, the Exploration Manager (“EM”); and

•  Mr Fletcher Hancock, the Group Legal Counsel (“GLC”).

The amounts disclosed are applicable for the Company.

Details of the remuneration of Directors and the key management personnel (as defined in AASB 124 Related Party 
Disclosures) of the Company are set out in the following tables. Non-cash benefits in the form of performance rights 
were provided to Directors during the 2016 financial year, to the previous CFO in the 2017 financial year and to the 
TSM and EM in the 2018 financial year. The current CFO received performance rights in the 2018 financial year in his 
previous role as Group Financial Controller with the Company. The following fees are applicable to Directors and key 
management personnel of the Company.

32

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019-

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MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Other short and long term benefits forming part of the service agreements are detailed below.

Cash bonus

The Executive Chairman was entitled to an annual bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration, measured against the 
following criteria, 20% weighting for each:

1.  Mine production against budget;

2.  Positive progress towards the review of the Tormin Mining Rights, including Mining Rights for the Northern 

Beaches and Geelwal Karoo Inland Mining Area;

3.  Conclude Skaland acquisition;

4.  Achieving Budget Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (“EBITDA”) taking into account 

uncontrollable variables at the discretion of the Board; and

5.  Munglinup project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables, including delivery of a Definitive 

Feasibility Study

Future bonuses of the Executive Chairman will be at the sole discretion of the Board.

The measurable objectives were chosen to ensure the Executive Chairman was incentivised to meet budgeted 
production and EBITDA, to secure further mining and prospecting tenure for the Company’s Tormin operations and 
to progress the Company’s strategy of diversifying from its mineral sands projects in South Africa.

The Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee assessed the performance of the Executive 
Chairman and reviewed his performance against the above set measurable objectives, taking into account other 
mitigating factors throughout the year. The Remuneration and Nomination Committee has reviewed the assessment 
and awarded 98% of the full bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration.

In 2019, pursuant to the provisions of the Executive Chairman’s executive service agreement, the Board used its 
discretion to award the Executive Chairman an additional one-off special bonus of A$530,000 (2018 A$550,000) 
in recognition of his performance in generating the uplift in the Company’s share price during 2019, resulting in the 
increased market capitalisation and individual shareholder value created.

The CFO, Adam Bick, was entitled to an annual bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration, measured against the 
following criteria:

1.  Performance against scope of services set out in the employment contract at the sole discretion of the Executive 

Chairman -70%;

2.  Board Reporting within set timing each month -10%; and

3.  Achieving EBITDA against budget taking into account uncontrollable variables at the discretion of the Board -20%.

Future bonus of the CFO will be at the sole discretion of the Board.

The measurable objectives were chosen to ensure the CFO was incentivised to meet budgeted EBITDA; to ensure the 
CFO performed each of the tasks outlined in his employment contract which are typical of that for a CFO position, and 
timely reporting to the Board to ensure business decisions can be made on a timely and informed basis.

The Executive Chairman assessed the performance of the CFO against the above measurable objectives and 
awarded 93% of the full bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration.

The Technical Services Manager, Surinder Ghag, was entitled to an annual bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration, 
measured against the following criteria:

1.  Tormin project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -10%;

2.  Tormin HMC expansion progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -25%;

3.  Munglinup project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -10%; 

4.  Skaland acquisition and project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -20%

5.  Graphite downstream project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -15%

6.  Achieving EBITDA against budget taking into account uncontrollable variables at the discretion of the Executive 

Chairman -20%.

34

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

Future bonus of the Technical Services Manager will be at the sole discretion of the Board.

The measurable objectives were chosen to ensure the Technical Services Manager was incentivised to meet 
budgeted production and EBITDA, to progress the Company’s strategy of diversifying from its mineral sands 
projects in South Africa and to ensure the Technical Services Manager performed each of the tasks outlined in his 
employment contract which are typical of that for a Technical Services Manager position.

The Executive Chairman assessed the performance of the Technical Services Manager against the above 
measurable objectives and awarded 92% of the full bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration for the year.

The Group Legal Counsel, Fletcher Hancock, was entitled to an annual bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration, 
measured against the following criteria:

1.  Legal project progress against agreed project plan and deliverables -80%;

2. 

 Achieving EBITDA against budget taking into account uncontrollable variables at the discretion of the Executive 
Chairman -20%.

Future bonus of the Group Legal Counsel will be at the sole discretion of the Board.

The measurable objectives were chosen to ensure the Group Legal Counsel was incentivised to ensure legal and 
statutory compliance and EBITDA, and to ensure the Group Legal Counsel performed each of the tasks outlined in 
his employment contract which are typical of that for a Group Legal Counsel position.

The Executive Chairman assessed the performance of the Group Legal Counsel against the above measurable 
objectives and awarded 60% of the full bonus of 25% of the Base Remuneration on a pro rata basis for the year.

Relative proportions of fixed versus variable remuneration expense

The following table shows the relative proportions of remuneration that are linked to performance and those that are 
fixed, based on the amounts disclosed as statutory remuneration expenses in the previous table:

Fixed Remuneration

At Risk - STI

At Risk - LTI

2019

2018

2019

2018

2019

2018

Name

Directors

Executive Chairman

Mark Caruso

Non-Executive Directors

Joseph Caruso

Peter Torre

David Baker

Debbie Ntombela

Russell Tipper

Guy Walker

Ross Hastings

47%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Other Key Management Personnel

Tony Sheard (resigned  
5 June 2019)

Adam Bick (appointed  
5 June 2019)

Surinder Ghag

Bahman Rashidi

Fletcher Hancock

100%

62%

64%

68%

71%

50%

57%

74%

-

-

-

60%

63%

52%

-

75%

54%

82%

53%

50%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

20%

15%

0%

10%

0%

0%

-

-

-

0%

0%

10%

-

17%

0%

18%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

18%

21%

32%

19%

0%

43%

26%

-

-

-

40%

37%

38%

-

8%

46%

0%

35

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

C.  SERVICE AGREEMENTS 

Mark Caruso

Commencement date

Term

6 August 2012

No fixed term

Total Remuneration package

A$600,000 per annum (inclusive of statutory superannuation), effective from

Termination benefits

12 months’ base salary plus any payment in lieu of notice

12 September 2014, and cash bonus as set out above 

Peter Torre

Commencement date

1 November 2012

Term

No fixed term

Total Remuneration package

A$150,000 per annum

Termination benefits

12 months’ base salary plus any payment in lieu of notice

Adam Bick

Commencement date

Term

Total Remuneration package

5 June 2019

No fixed term

A$250,000 per annum (inclusive of statutory superannuation) and cash bonus 
as set out above

Termination benefits

Nil unless constructive redundancy in which case 12 months’ salary

Surinder Ghag

Commencement date

4 September 2017

Term

No fixed term

Total Remuneration package

A$300,000 per annum (inclusive of statutory superannuation) and cash bonus 
as set out above

Termination benefits

Nil unless constructive redundancy in which case 12 months’ salary

Bahman Rashidi

Commencement date

Term

1 October 2017

No fixed term

Total Remuneration package

A$200,000 per annum (inclusive of statutory superannuation) 

Termination benefits

Nil unless constructive redundancy in which case 12 months’ salary

Fletcher Hancock

Commencement date

Term

11 May 2018

No fixed term

Total Remuneration package

A$230,000 per annum (inclusive of statutory superannuation) 

Termination benefits

Nil unless constructive redundancy in which case 12 months’ salary

There are no other service agreements.

Mineral Commodities reviewed salary benchmarking during 2019 of its key management personnel and other 
employees, provided by Cornerstone HR, to ensure that salaries remain competitive and the Company is able to 
both attract and retain talent.

36

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

D.  SHARE BASED COMPENSATION

Employee Options

No options were granted as remuneration during the year ended 31 December 2019 or in the prior year. No options 
vested during the year or in the prior year.

Grant of Performance Rights

The issue of Performance Rights was approved by shareholders at a general meeting of the Company held on  
25 May 2016. The Incentive Performance Rights Plan is designed to provide long-term incentives for senior 
managers and above (including directors) to deliver long-term shareholder returns. Performance Rights granted 
under the plan carry no dividend or voting rights.

The following performance rights were issued to the key management personnel during the year:

Fletcher Hancock

Grant Date

13 June 2019

Expiry Date

13 June 2022

Barrier Price 
(A$) ^

No of Performance 
Rights

26 cents

1,000,000

^ 

Rights will convert to shares if the Company’s share price exceeds the Barrier Price for thirty consecutive days.

Each performance right issued to Mr Hancock was valued at A$0.13, with 500,000 rights vesting on both 14 May 
2020 and 14 May 2021 once the share price exceeds the Barrier Price for thirty consecutive days.

Details of performance rights over ordinary shares in the Company provided as remuneration to key management 
personnel are shown below:

Balance as at  
1 Jan 2019

Received as 
remuneration

Performance 
rights vested 
and exercised

Balance as at  
31 December 
2019

Performance 
rights vested 
and not 
exercised

Joseph Caruso

Peter Torre

Guy Walker

Ross Hastings

Tony Sheard (resigned 5 June 
2019)

Adam Bick (appointed 5 June 
2019)

Bahman Rashidi

Surinder Ghag

Fletcher Hancock

Total

-

-

-

-

-

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

-

3,000,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,000,000

1,000,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

4,000,000

500,000

666,666

500,000

-

1,666,666

E.  OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

Mine Site Construction Services (“MSCS”), a company associated with Mr Mark Caruso and Mr Joseph Caruso has 
provided the followings services to the Company during 2019:

•  Provision of executive services.

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $208,657 (2018: 
$224,340), which reflects part of the remuneration paid to the Executive Chairman. This is considered to be an 
arm’s length commercial consultancy contract at normal commercial rates. 

•  Provision of office space.

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $143,851 (2018: 
$148,625). This is considered to be an arm’s length commercial rent. There is a formal sub lease in place.

37

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

•  Provision of technical staff.

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $280,715 (2018: 
$236,880). The amounts payable have been in respect to the provision of technical staff at the Group’s head 
office and at the Tormin project and have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at normal commercial rates. 

•  Others

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $131,340 (2018: 
$337,253). The amounts payable have been in respect of telecommunication charges and miscellaneous 
payments made by MSCS on behalf of the Company. The amount paid in 2018 included the acquisition of a 
new vehicle for the Executive Chairman. The amounts have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at normal 
commercial rates.

As at 31 December 2019, amount payable to MSCS is $53,463.

Ross Hastings, one of the Directors, has provided consulting services to one of the Company’s projects during 
the year ended 31 December 2018. The amount paid by the Company to Ross Hastings for the year ended 31 
December 2019 was $nil (2018: $8,209). The amounts payable have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at 
normal commercial rates.

Hastings Bell Pty Ltd, a Company associated with Daniel Hastings, the son of Ross Hastings, has provided business 
development consultancy services to the Company during 2019. The amount paid by the Company to Hastings Bell 
Pty Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $157,352 (2018: $305,734). This is considered to be an arm’s 
length commercial consultancy contract at normal commercial rates. 

Shepstone and Wylie, a company associated with Debbie Ntombela, one of the Directors from 28 August 2019, has 
provided legal services to the Company during 2019. This amount paid by the Company to Shepstone and Wylie for 
the year ended 31 Dec 2019 was $11,292.

End of the audited remuneration report

Insurance of officers
During the financial year, the Group has paid an insurance premium to insure the Directors and secretaries of the 
Company and its controlled entities. The provision of details in respect to the terms and conditions of the policy are 
prohibited from disclosure under the terms of the policy.

Proceedings on behalf of the Group
No person has applied for leave of Court to bring proceedings on behalf of the Group or intervene in any 
proceedings to which the Group is a party for the purpose of taking responsibility on behalf of the Company for all or 
any part of those proceedings.

Non-audit services
The Company may decide to employ the auditor on assignments additional to their statutory audit duties where the 
auditor’s expertise and experience with the Company and/or the Group are important.

Details of the amounts paid or payable to the auditor for audit and non-audit services provided during the year are 
set out below.

The Board of Directors has considered the position and, in accordance with advice received from the Audit, 
Compliance and Risk Committee, is satisfied that the provision of the non-audit services is compatible with 
the general standard of independence for auditors imposed by the Corporations Act 2001. The Directors are 
satisfied that the provision of non-audit services by the auditor, as set out below, did not compromise the auditor 
independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 for the following reasons:

all non-audit services have been reviewed by the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee to ensure they do not 
impact the impartiality and objectivity of the auditor; and

none of the services undermine the general principles relating to auditor independence as set out in APES 110 
Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.

• 

• 

38

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019DI R E C T O R S’  R E P O R T

During the year, the following fees were paid or payable for services provided by BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd and BDO 
Tax (WA) Pty Ltd, its related practices and related firms:

Non-audit services

Taxation, advisory and company secretarial (South African entities) 

BDO advisory

BDO Tax (WA) Pty Ltd

BDO Johannesburg South Africa

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

5,564

-

1,034

6,598

-

16,116

8,830

24,946

Auditor
BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd continues in office in accordance with section 327 of the Corporations Act 2001.

Auditor’s independence declaration
A copy of the auditor’s independence declaration as required under section 307C of the Corporations Act 2001 is set 
out on page 40 and forms part of this report.

This report has been made in accordance with a resolution of the directors.

Mark Caruso 
Executive Chairman

Perth, Western Australia,  
28 February 2020

39

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Tel: +61 8 6382 4600
Fax: +61 8 6382 4601
www.bdo.com.au

38 Station Street
Subiaco, WA 6008
PO Box 700 West Perth WA 6872
Australia

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY GLYN O'BRIEN TO THE DIRECTORS OF MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD

As lead auditor of Mineral Commodities Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2019, I declare that, to
the best of my knowledge and belief, there have been:

1. No contraventions of the auditor independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 in

relation to the audit; and

2. No contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit.

This declaration is in respect of Mineral Commodities Ltd and the entities it controlled during the
period.

Glyn O'Brien

Director

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd

Perth, 28 February 2020

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd ABN 79 112 284 787 is a member of a national association of independent entities which are all members of BDO Australia Ltd ABN 77 050 110 275, an Australian
company limited by guarantee. BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd and BDO Australia Ltd are members of BDO International Ltd, a UK company limited by guarantee, and form part of the international
BDO network of independent member firms. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

41

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Financial statements

Contents
43  Consolidated income statement 

43  Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 

44  Consolidated balance sheet

45  Consolidated statement of cash flows

46  Consolidated statement of changes in equity

47  Notes to the consolidated financial statements

95  Directors’ declaration

96 

Independent auditor’s report to the members

42

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Consolidated income statement
For the year ended 31 December 2019

Revenue from continuing operations

Sale of product

Other revenue

Expenses

Mining and processing costs

Other expenses from ordinary activities

Administration expenditure

Share based payment expenses

Financial income/(expenses)

Profit before income tax

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax

Profit is attributable to:

Owners of Mineral Commodities Ltd

Non-controlling interest

Earnings per share for profit from continuing operations 
attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company:

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Notes

2.2

2.2

2.3(i)

2.3(ii)

7.2

5.2

2.4(i)

2.5(i)

2.5(ii)

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

59,514,773

2,268,797

61,783,570

53,523,922

1,875,241

55,399,163

(44,593,585)

(37,501,716)

(5,219,587)

(261,810)

158,755

11,867,343

(4,039,112)

7,828,231

7,828,231

-

7,828,231

Cents

1.86

1.85

(6,913,831)

(441,253)

(102,756)

10,439,607

(1,616,376)

8,823,231

8,823,231

-

8,823,231

Cents

2.10

2.08

The above consolidated income statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 December 2019

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Notes

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

7,828,231

8,823,231

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

5.3(b)

Other comprehensive loss for the year, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year

Total comprehensive income for the year is attributable to:

Owners of Mineral Commodities Ltd

Non-controlling interest

(313,397)

(313,397)

7,514,834

7,514,834

-

7,514,834

(8,063,464)

(8,063,464)

759,767

759,767

-

759,767

The above consolidated statement of comprehensive income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying 
notes.

43

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
FI N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Consolidated balance sheet
For the year ended 31 December 2019

ASSETS

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Inventories

Other investments, including derivatives

Total Current Assets

Non-current assets

Trade and other receivables

Exploration expenditure

Mine development expenditure

Property, plant and equipment

Total Non-Current Assets

Total Assets

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Unearned revenue

Contract liability

Borrowings

Employee benefits

Current tax liabilities

Total Current Liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Provisions

Long term borrowings

Employee benefits

Deferred tax liabilities

Total Non-current Liabilities

Total Liabilities

NET ASSETS

Equity

Contributed equity

Reserves

Retained earnings/(accumulated losses)

Parent entity interest

Non-controlling interest

TOTAL EQUITY

Notes

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.2

3.1

3.2

3.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

5.1

7.1

3.5

5.1

7.1

2.4(ii)(b)

5.3(a)

5.3(b)

5.3(c)

5.3(d)

8,092,614

8,027,372

21,943,331

777,253

38,840,570

1,513,268

18,271,033

10,412,610

17,830,604

48,027,515

86,868,085

4,716,742

72,375

18,099,115

3,611,778

661,266

3,568,791

30,730,067

253,968

4,115,217

126,795

5,653,489

10,149,469

40,879,536

45,988,549 

64,927,687

(21,499,253)

2,446,476

45,874,910

113,639

45,988,549

12,410,510

5,166,481

25,756,725

753,796

44,087,512

856,715

15,369,068

5,240,911

15,320,565

36,787,259

80,874,771

7,066,484

1,670,100

18,098,880

2,277,728

355,057

1,263,859

30,732,108

247,834

2,788,682

99,024

4,955,747

8,091,287

38,823,395

42,051,376

64,919,201

(21,439,180)

(1,542,284)

41,937,737

113,639

42,051,376

The above consolidated balance sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

44

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019FI N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 December 2019

Notes

31 Dec 2019 
$

31 Dec 2018 
$

Cash flows from operating activities

Receipts from customers (inclusive of goods and services tax)

Payments to suppliers and employees

Income tax paid

Net cash inflow from operating activities

4.1(ii)

57,407,422

(42,522,306)

(1,615,171)

13,269,945

55,216,674

(40,585,762)

(128,299)

14,502,613

Cash flows from investing activities

Payments for exploration expenditure

Payments for property, plant and equipment 

Payments for investments

Acquisition of exploration assets

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment

Advance (to)/from third parties

Interest received

Payment for acquisition of business – Skaland Graphite AS

Payment for development expenditure

Net cash outflow from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Dividends paid to shareholders

Proceeds from borrowings

Repayment of borrowings

Interest paid on borrowings

Net cash outflow from financing activities

2.6

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of financial year

Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at end of financial year

4.1

(3,228,848)

(1,737,532)

-

-

-

(398,056)

128,103

(4,544,087)

(170,207)

(9,950,627)

(3,839,471)

-

(3,298,883)

(228,241)

(7,366,595)

(4,047,277)

12,410,510

(270,619)

8,092,614

The above statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

(4,612,163)

(4,141,718)

(174,812)

(676,765)

9,467

91,180

122,378

-

-

(9,382,433)

(3,831,078)

2,974,756

(2,114,387)

(186,751)

(3,157,460)

1,962,720

10,975,817

(528,027)

12,410,510

45

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019-

-

-

-

-

-

7,828,231

(313,397)

7,514,834

-

261,810

(3,839,471)

FI N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Consolidated statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 December 2019

Contributed 
equity 
$

Reserves 
$

Retained  
earnings/ 
(accumulated  
losses) 
$

Non-controlling 
interest 
$

Totals 
$

Total  
equity 
$

For the year ended 31 December 2019

64,919,201

(21,439,180)

(1,542,284)

41,937,737

113,639

42,051,376

At 1 January 2019

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income 
for the year

Total comprehensive 
income for the year

-

-

-

-

7,828,231

7,828,231

(313,397)

-

(313,397)

(313,397)

7,828,231

7,514,834

Transaction with owners in their capacity as owners:

Conversion of unlisted 
performance rights

Share based payments

Dividends paid

8,486

-

-

(8,486)

261,810

-

-

-

261,810

-

(3,839,471)

(3,839,471)

Balance at the end of the year

64,927,687

(21,499,253)

2,446,476

45,874,910

113,639

45,988,549

Contributed 
equity 
$

Reserves 
$

Accumulated 
losses 
$

Non-controlling 
interest 
$

Totals 
$

Total 
equity 
$

For the year ended 31 December 2018

At 1 January 2018

64,420,299

(13,116,794)

(5,488,768)

45,814,737

113,639

45,928,376

Adjustment to opening retained 
earnings

-

-

(1,246,942)

(1,246,942)

-

(1,246,942)

Adjusted 1 January 2018

64,420,299

(13,116,794)

(6,735,710)

44,567,795

113,639

44,681,434

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income 
for the year

Total comprehensive 
income for the year

-

-

-

-

8,823,231

8,823,231

(8,063,464)

-

(8,063,464)

(8,063,464)

8,823,231

759,767

Transaction with owners in their capacity as owners:

Conversion of unlisted 
performance rights

Share based payments

Transfer to retained earnings 
on expiry of unlisted options

Dividends paid

498,902

-

-

-

(498,902)

441,253

-

-

-

441,253

(201,273)

201,273

-

-

(3,831,078)

(3,831,078)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

8,823,231

(8,063,464)

759,767

-

441,253

-

(3,831,078)

Balance at the end of the year

64,919,201

(21,439,180)

(1,542,284)

41,937,737

113,639

42,051,376

The above statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

46

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Notes to the consolidated financial 
statements

1.  BASIS OF PREPARATION

This section provides information about the overall basis of preparation that is considered to be useful in 
understanding these financial statements. Accounting policies specific to the various components of the financial 
statements are located within the relevant section of the report.

1.1  Corporate information

Mineral Commodities Ltd (the “Company”) is a company limited by shares, domiciled and incorporated in Australia. 
Its shares are publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”). The nature of the operations and 
principal activities of the Company and its controlled entities are described in the Directors’ Report and in the 
segment information in Note 2.1.

The financial report of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2019 was authorised for issue in accordance 
with a resolution of directors with effect on 28 February 2020.

1.2  Basis of accounting

These general purpose financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting 
Standards and other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the 
requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. Mineral Commodities Ltd is a for-profit entity for the purpose of preparing 
the financial statements.

(i)  Compliance with IFRS

The consolidated financial statements of the Group also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).

(ii)  Historical cost convention

The financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis, except for the following:

• 

financial assets and liabilities

(iii)  Presentation currency

The consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars (“USD”), which is the Company’s 
presentation currency.

1.3  Comparative Information

Certain comparatives have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

1.4  Principles of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the parent entity, Mineral Commodities 
Ltd, and its controlled entities (together referred to hereafter as the “Group”). A list of significant controlled entities is 
presented in Note 6.1.

Control is achieved when the Group is exposed, or has the rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the 
investee and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the investee. The Group reassesses whether 
or not it controls an investee if facts and circumstances indicate that there are changes to one or more of the three 
elements of control. Specifically, the Group controls an investee if, and only if, the Group has all of the following:

•  power over the investee (i.e. existing rights that give it the current ability to direct the relevant activities of the 

investee);

• 

• 

exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee; and

the ability to use its power over the investee to affect its returns.

Non-controlling interests in the results and equity of the entities that are not controlled by the Group is shown 
separately in the Income Statement, Statement of Comprehensive Income, Balance Sheet and Statement of 
Changes in Equity respectively.

47

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

1.5  Foreign currency

(i)  Functional and presentation currency

Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the 
primary economic environment in which the entity operates (‘the functional currency’). The consolidated financial 
statements are presented in United States dollars, which is the Company’s presentation currency.

• 

• 

• 

assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented have been translated at the closing rate at the date of 
balance sheet;

results for the cash flow statement were translated at average daily exchange rates from 1 January 2019 to 
31 December 2019; and

exchange differences on translating income, expenses and movements in equity and reserves at annual 
average exchange rates and assets and liabilities at closing exchange rates from functional currency to 
presentation currency are taken to the foreign currency translation reserve in the equity section and under 
other comprehensive income/(expense) in the statement of comprehensive income.

(ii)  Transaction and balances

Foreign currency transactions are translated into functional currency using the exchange rates at the dates of the 
transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the 
translation of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at year end exchange rates are 
generally recognised in profit or loss. They are deferred in equity if they relate to qualifying cash flow hedges and 
qualifying net investment hedges or are attributable to part of the net investment in a foreign operation.

Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings are presented in the income statement, within 
finance costs. All other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented in the income statement on a net basis 
within other income or other expenses.

Non-monetary items that are measured at fair value in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rates 
at the date when the fair value was determined. Translation differences on assets and liabilities carried at fair 
value are reported as part of the fair value gain or loss. For example, translation differences on non- monetary 
assets and liabilities, such as equities held at fair value through profit or loss, are recognised in profit or loss as 
part of the fair value gain or loss and translation differences on non-monetary assets, such as equities classified 
as available-for-sale financial assets, are recognised in other comprehensive income.

(iii)  Group companies

The results and financial position of foreign operations (none of which has the currency of a hyperinflationary 
economy) that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the 
presentation currency as follows:

• 

• 

assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that 
balance sheet;

income and expenses for each income statement and statement of comprehensive income are translated at 
average exchange rates (unless this is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates 
prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the dates of the 
transactions); and

• 

all resulting exchange differences are recognised in other comprehensive income.

On consolidation, exchange differences arising from the translation of any net investment in foreign entities, 
and of borrowings and other financial instruments designated as hedges of such investments, are recognised 
in other comprehensive income. When a foreign operation is sold or any borrowings forming part of the net 
investment are repaid, the associated exchange differences are reclassified to profit or loss, as part of the gain 
or loss on sale.

Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign operation are treated as assets and 
liabilities of the foreign operation and translated at the closing rate.

48

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

1.6  Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Value Added Tax (VAT)

Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST and VAT except where the GST and VAT 
incurred on a purchase of goods and services is not recoverable from the taxation authority, in which case the GST 
and VAT is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of the expense item as applicable; 
and where receivables and payables are stated with the amount of GST and VAT included. The net amount of GST 
and VAT recoverable from, or payable to, the taxation authority is included as part of receivables in the consolidated 
balance sheet. Cash flows are included in the statements of cash flows on a gross basis and the GST and VAT 
component of cash flows arising from investing and financing activities, which is recoverable from, or payable to, the 
taxation authority, are classified as operating cash flows. Commitments and contingencies are disclosed net of the 
amount of GST and VAT recoverable from, or payable to, the relevant taxation authority.

1.7  Critical accounting estimates and judgements

The Group makes significant estimates and judgements concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates 
may not equal the related actual results. The estimates and judgements that have a significant risk of causing a 
material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed 
below.

The directors evaluate estimates and judgements incorporated into the financial report based on historical 
knowledge and best available current information. Estimates assume a reasonable expectation of future events and 
are based on current trends and economic data, obtained both externally and within the Group.

Significant judgements, estimates and assumptions made by management in the preparation of these financial 
statements are found in the following notes:

Note 2.2: Revenue recognition

Note 2.4: Recognition of deferred taxes

Note 3.1: Exploration and evaluation expenditure 

Note 3.2: Development expenditure

Note 3.3: Property, plant and equipment 

Note 3.5: Rehabilitation provisions

Note 6.3: Business combinations

1.8  Application of new and revised Australian Accounting Standards

A new standard became applicable for the current reporting period and the Group had to change its accounting 
policies and make adjustments as a result of adopting the following standard:

•  AASB 16 Leases

The impact of the adoption of these standards and the new accounting policies are disclosed below.

AASB 16 Leases

AASB 16 supersedes AASB 117 Leases, Interpretation 4 Determining whether an Arrangement contains a Lease, 
Interpretation 115 Operating Leases-Incentives and Interpretation 127 Evaluating the Substance of Transactions 
Involving the Legal Form of a Lease. The standard sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, 
presentation and disclosure of leases and requires lessees to account for all leases under a single on-balance 
sheet model.

The Group adopted AASB 16 using the modified retrospective method of adoption with the date of initial application of 
1 January 2019. Under this method, the standard is applied retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying 
the standard recognised at the date of initial application. The Group elected to use the transition practical expedient 
allowing the standard to be applied only to contracts that were previously identified as leases applying AASB 117 and 
IFRIC 4 at the date of initial application. The Group also elected to use the recognition exemptions for lease contracts 
that, at the commencement date, have a lease term of 12 months or less and do not contain a purchase option  
(‘short-term leases’), and lease contracts for which the underlying asset is of low value (‘low-value assets’).

49

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The effect of adoption of AASB 16 as at 1 January 2019 (increase/(decrease)) is as follows:

Assets 

Mine development expenditure

Property, plant and equipment

Total assets

Liabilities

Borrowings

Total liabilities

1 Jan 19 
$

(220,874)

1,368,235

1,147,361

1,147,361

1,147,361

(a)  Nature of the effect of adoption of AASB 16

The Group has lease contracts for various items of plant, machinery, vehicles and other equipment. Before the 
adoption of AASB 16, the Group classified each of its leases (as lessee) at the inception date as either a finance 
lease or an operating lease. A lease was classified as a finance lease if it transferred substantially all of the risks and 
rewards incidental to ownership of the leased asset to the Group; otherwise it was classified as an operating lease. 
Finance leases were capitalised at the commencement of the lease at the inception date fair value of the leased 
asset or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments. Lease payments were apportioned between 
interest (recognised as finance costs) and reduction of the lease liability. In an operating lease, the leased asset was 
not capitalised and the lease payments were recognised as rent expense in profit or loss on a straight-line basis 
over the lease term. Any prepaid rent and accrued rent were recognised under prepayments and trade and other 
payables, respectively.

Upon adoption of AASB 16, the Group applied a single recognition and measurement approach for all leases, except 
for short-term leases and leases of low-value assets. The standard provides specific transition requirements and 
practical expedients, which has been applied by the Group.

Leases previously classified as finance leases

The Group did not change the initial carrying amounts of recognised assets and liabilities at the date of initial 
application for leases previously classified as finance leases (i.e. the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities equal the 
lease assets and liabilities recognised under AASB 117). The requirements of AASB 16 was applied to these leases 
from 1 January 2019.

The Group also applied the available practical expedients wherein it:

•  Used a single discount rate to a portfolio of leases with reasonably similar characteristics

•  Relied on its assessment of whether leases are onerous immediately before the date of initial application

•  Applied the short-term leases exemptions to leases with lease term that ends within 12 months at the date of 

initial application

•  Excluded the initial direct costs from the measurement of the right-of-use asset at the date of initial application

•  Used hindsight in determining the lease term where the contract contains options to extend or terminate the lease

Based on the foregoing, as at 1 January 2019:

•  Right-of-use assets of $4,106,736 (net) were recognised and presented separately in the property, plant and 

equipment note. This includes the lease assets recognised previously under finance leases of $2,959,375 that 
were reclassified from property, plant and equipment.

•  Additional lease liabilities of $1,147,361 (included in Borrowings) were recognised.

50

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The lease liabilities as at 1 January 2019 can be reconciled to the operating lease commitments as of 31 December 
2018 as follows:

Operating lease commitments as at 31 December 2018

Less:

Commitments relating to short-term leases

Commitments relating to leases of low-value assets

Add:

Commitments relating to leases previously classified as finance leases

Payments in optional extension periods not recognised as at 31 December 2018

Lease liabilities as at 1 January 2019

(b)  Summary of new accounting policies

$

1,177,186

(29,826)

-

2,819,875

-

3,967,235

Set out below are the new accounting policies of the Group upon adoption of AASB 16, which have been applied 
from the date of initial application:

Right-of-use assets

The Group recognises right-of-use assets at the commencement date of the lease (i.e. the date the underlying asset 
is available for use). Right-of-use assets are measured at cost, less any accumulated depreciation and impairment 
losses, and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease liabilities. The cost of right-of-use assets includes the amount 
of lease liabilities recognised, initial direct costs incurred, and lease payments made at or before the commencement 
date less any lease incentives received. Unless the Group is reasonably certain to obtain ownership of the leased 
asset at the end of the lease term, the recognised right-of-use assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis over 
the shorter of its estimated useful life and the lease term. Right-of-use assets are subject to impairment.

Lease liabilities

At the commencement date of the lease, the Group recognises lease liabilities measured at the present value of lease 
payments to be made over the lease term. The lease payments include fixed payments (including in-substance fixed 
payments) less any lease incentives receivable, variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, and amounts 
expected to be paid under residual value guarantees. The lease payments also include the exercise price of a purchase 
option reasonably certain to be exercised by the Group and payments of penalties for terminating a lease, if the lease term 
reflects the Group exercising the option to terminate. The variable lease payments that do not depend on an index or a 
rate are recognised as expense in the period on which the event or condition that triggers the payment occurs.

In calculating the present value of lease payments, the Group uses the incremental borrowing rate at the lease 
commencement date if the interest rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable. After the commencement date, 
the amount of lease liabilities is increased to reflect the accretion of interest and reduced for the lease payments made. 
In addition, the carrying amount of lease liabilities is remeasured if there is a modification, a change in the lease term, a 
change in the in-substance fixed lease payments or a change in the assessment to purchase the underlying asset.

Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets

The Group applies the short-term lease recognition exemption to its short-term leases of machinery and equipment 
(i.e. those leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less from the commencement date and do not contain a 
purchase option). It also applies the lease of low-value assets recognition exemption to leases of office equipment 
that are considered of low value (i.e., below $5,000). Lease payments on short-term leases and leases of low-value 
assets are recognised as expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Significant judgement in determining the lease term of contracts with renewal options

The Group determines the lease term as the non-cancellable term of the lease, together with any periods covered 
by an option to extend the lease if it is reasonably certain to be exercised, or any periods covered by an option to 
terminate the lease, if it is reasonably certain not to be exercised.

51

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The Group has the option under some of its leases to lease the assets for additional terms. The Group applies 
judgement in evaluating whether it is reasonably certain to exercise the option to renew. That is, it considers all 
relevant factors that create an economic incentive for it to exercise the renewal. After the commencement date, the 
Group reassesses the lease term if there is a significant event or change in circumstances that is within its control 
and affects its ability to exercise (or not to exercise) the option to renew (e.g. a change in business strategy).

The Group did not include the renewal period as part of the lease term for leases of property as renewal was not 
considered probable.

(c)  Amounts recognised in the statement of financial position and profit or loss

Set out below are the carrying amounts of the Group’s right-of-use assets and lease liabilities and the movements 
during the period:

Right-of-use assets 2019

Balance at 1 January

Additions

Depreciation charge for the year

FX

Balance as at 31 December

Lease liabilities 2019

Balance at 1 January

Additions

Interest expense

Payments

FX

Balance as at 31 December

$

4,106,736

-

(1,390,737)

62,345

2,778,344

$

3,967,235

-

335,206

(1,943,841)

52,736

2,411,336

The Group recognised rent and equipment hire expenses from short-term leases of $735,784 for the 12 months 
ended 31 December 2019.

2.  FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

This section highlights key financial performance of the Group for the reporting period including, where applicable, 
the accounting policies applied and the key estimates and judgements made.

2.1  Segment information

(i)  Description of segments

Operating segments are reported in a manner that is consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief 
operating decision maker. The chief operating decision maker has been identified as the board of directors that 
makes strategic decisions.

There is no goodwill attaching to any of the segments. There has been no impact on the measurement of the 
assets and liabilities reported for each segment.

The chief operating decision maker has identified five reportable segments to its business, being:

1.  Mineral Sands mining and production (Tormin Mineral Sands project) – South Africa;

2.  Mineral Sands exploration (Xolobeni Mineral Sands project) – South Africa;

3.  Graphite mining and production (Skaland) – Norway;

4.  Exploration activities - Australia;

5.  Exploration activities - Iran; and

6.  Corporate (management and administration of the Company’s projects and marketing and sales of finished  

products) – Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Iran.

52

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

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(

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

(iii)  Reconciliation of EBIT (segment result) to profit before tax

Adjusted EBITDA reconciles to operating profit before income tax as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA

Interest income/(expense)

Depreciation and amortisation

Operating profit before income tax

2.2  Revenue

Accounting Policies

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

16,483,385

158,755

(4,774,797)

11,867,343

14,653,190

(102,756)

(4,110,827)

10,439,607

Revenue is recognised when the significant control of products has been transferred to the customer, recovery of the 
consideration is probable, the associated costs and possible return of goods can be estimated reliably, there is no 
continuing management involvement with the goods and the amount of revenue can be measured reliably. Revenue 
is measured net of returns, trade allowances, rebates and amounts collected on behalf of third parties.

The timing of the transfer of control varies depending on the individual terms of the sales agreement. Generally for 
the Group, this is based on free-on-board (“FOB”) sales where transfer of control passes at port of origin or cost, 
insurance and freight (“CIF”) sales where control passes at port of destination. Sales revenue is recognised for FOB 
and CIF sales on bill of lading date. Sales revenue comprises gross revenue earned from the provision of product 
to customers. Sales are initially recognised at estimated sales value when the product is delivered. Adjustments are 
made for variations in metals price, assay, weight and moisture content between the time of delivery and the time of 
final settlement of sales proceeds.

The majority of the Group’s revenue is derived from product sales with revenue recognised at a point in time when 
control of the goods has transferred to the customer.

Revenue from the sales of garnet product has two performance obligations, sale of product and transportation 
services, both of which are satisfied at a point in time. Revenue from the stockpiling of goods is deferred until final 
sale of product when control of product is finally transferred.

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

59,514,773

53,523,922

1,211,899

1,056,898

2,268,797

1,776,071

99,170

1,875,241

From continuing operations

Sales revenue

Sale of product

Other revenue

Stockpile area maintenance fee

Other income

54

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

2.3  Expenses

This note provides an analysis of expenses by nature.

(i) Mining and processing costs

Mining and processing costs include the following material expenditure items:

Transport of product

Fuel

Wages and salaries

Repairs and maintenance

Depreciation and amortisation – mining and processing assets

(ii) Administration expenses

Administration expenses include the following material expenditure items:

Directors and key management personnel remuneration

Depreciation – corporate assets

2.4  Taxation

(i) 

Income tax expense
Accounting Policies

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

12,997,993

5,574,168

6,648,477

3,544,891

4,705,351

13,638,210

6,723,039

6,216,226

4,565,983

4,020,769

2,079,840

69,446

2,476,421

90,058

The income tax expense for the period is the tax payable on the current period’s taxable income based on 
the applicable income tax rate for each jurisdiction adjusted by changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities 
attributable to temporary differences and to unused tax losses.

The current income tax charge is calculated based on the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the end 
of the reporting period in the countries where the Company’s subsidiaries and associates operate and generate 
taxable income. Management periodically evaluates positions taken in tax returns with respect to situations in 
which applicable tax regulation is subject to interpretation. It establishes provisions where appropriate based on 
amounts expected to be paid to the tax authorities.

Deferred income tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between the 
tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements. However, 
deferred tax liabilities are not recognised if they arise from the initial recognition of goodwill. Deferred income 
tax is also not accounted for if it arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than 
a business combination that at the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit/loss. 
Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted or substantially enacted by 
the end of the reporting period and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realised 
or the deferred income tax liability is settled.

The Company and all its wholly-owned Australian resident entities are part of a tax-consolidated group under 
Australian taxation law. Mineral Commodities Ltd is the head entity in the tax-consolidated group. The head 
entity and the controlled entities in the tax-consolidated group continue to account for their own current and 
deferred tax amounts. Current tax liabilities and assets and deferred tax assets arising from unused tax losses 
and tax credits of the members of the tax-consolidated group are recognised by the Company (as head entity in 
the tax-consolidated group).

The Company and the other entities in the tax-consolidated group have entered into a tax funding agreement 
and a tax sharing agreement.

55

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NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The following provides an analysis of the Group’s income tax expense, shows what amounts are recognised 
directly in equity and how the tax expense is affected by non-assessable and non-deductible items. It also explains 
significant estimates made in relation to the Group’s tax position.

The components of income tax expense comprise:

Current tax

Deferred tax

Adjustments for current tax of prior periods

Income tax expense is attributable to:

Profit from continuing operations

Aggregate income tax benefit

Deferred income tax expense included in income tax expense comprises:

Decrease in deferred tax assets

Decrease/(increase) in deferred tax liabilities

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

3,873,170

607,977

(442,035)

4,039,112

1,373,645

660,212

(417,481)

1,616,376

4,039,112

4,039,112

1,616,376

1,616,376

7,387

600,590

607,977

798,802

(138,590)

660,212

Numerical reconciliation of income tax expense to prima facie tax expense

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

11,867,343

10,439,607

3,560,202

(237,546)

3,322,656

7,984

953,385

3,811

84,164

77,896

-

124,922

(93,671)

(442,035)

4,039,112

3,131,882

(49,803)

3,082,079

5,999

(1,319,065)

12,410

92,076

132,376

528,700

1,186

(501,904)

(417,481)

1,616,376

Profit from continuing operations before income tax expense

Prima facie tax payable on profit from ordinary activities before at a rate of 30% (2018: 30%)

Foreign tax rate differential

Tax at consolidated amount

Tax effect of:

Entertainment

Foreign exchange

Donations

Amortisation of exploration and evaluation asset

Share based payment

AASB15 adjustment to opening retained earnings

Other non-assessable items

Utilisation of income tax losses/capital losses

Adjustment for current tax of prior period

Income tax expense

56

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

(ii)  Deferred tax assets and liabilities

Accounting Policies

Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary differences and unused tax losses only if it is 
probable that future taxable amounts will be available to utilise those temporary differences and losses. Deferred 
tax liabilities and assets are not recognised for temporary differences between the carrying amount and tax 
bases of investments in foreign operations where the Company is able to control the timing of the reversal of the 
temporary differences and it is probable that the differences will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets 
and liabilities and when the deferred tax balances relate to the same taxation authority. Current tax assets and 
tax liabilities are offset where the entity has a legally enforceable right to offset and intends either to settle on a 
net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Significant Judgement – deferred taxes recognised

Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary differences only if the Group considers it is 
probable that future taxable amounts will be available to utilise those temporary differences and losses. The 
Group has $6,411 (2018: $10,656) of tax losses carried forward. These losses relate to subsidiaries that have 
a history of losses, do not expire, and may not be used to offset taxable income. The Group considers it is 
probable that future taxable amounts will be available to utilise those temporary differences and losses. On this 
basis, the Group has determined that it can recognise deferred tax assets on the tax losses carried forward.

The Group operates in a number of tax jurisdictions. Transactions between jurisdictions are subject to transfer 
pricing requirements which can require modification as the Group’s operations evolve.

(a)  Deferred tax assets

Recognised deferred tax assets

Tax losses

Lease liability

Provisions/accrued expenditure

Unrealised foreign exchange loss

Business related expenditure and borrowing costs

Set-off against deferred tax liabilities

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

6,411

675,174

534,659

2,352

68,493

1,287,089

(1,287,089)

-

10,656

-

251,780

-

221,495

483,931

(483,931)

-

57

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Lease 
Liability 
$

Provisions/ 
accrued 
expenditure 
$

Unrealised  
foreign  
exchange 
loss 
$

Business related 
expenditure and  
borrowing costs 
$

Total 
$

-

251,780

-

221,495

483,931

675,174

675,174

282,879

534,659

2,352

2,352

(153,002)

803,158

68,493

1,287,089

Tax 
losses 
$

7,274

3,382

10,656

Trade 
and other 
receivables 
$

Provisions/ 
accrued 
expenditure 
$

Business related 
expenditure and  
borrowing costs 
$

Total 
$

6,450

175,029

39,690

228,443

(6,450)

-

76,751

251,780

181,805

221,495

255,488

483,931

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

-

4,779,254

71,984

3,500

2,085,840

6,940,578

(1,287,089)

5,653,489

112,619

4,094,683

16,224

-

1,216,152

5,439,678

(483,931)

4,955,747

Movements

At 1 January 2019

(charged) / credited

- 

to profit or loss

At 31 December 2019

Tax 
losses 
$

10,656

(4,245)

6,411

Movements

At 1 January 2018

(charged) / credited

- 

to profit or loss

At 31 December 2018

(b)   Deferred tax liabilities

Unrealised foreign exchange gain

Property, plant and equipment

Prepayments

Provisions

Exploration expenditure

Set-off against deferred tax assets

Movements

At 1 January 2019

(charged) / credited

Unrealised 
foreign 
exchange 
gain
$

Property, plant 
and equipment
$

Prepayments
$

Provisions
$

Exploration 
expenditure 
$

Total
$

112,619

4,094,683

16,224

-

1,216,152

5,439,678

- 

to profit or loss

(112,619)

684,571

At 31 December 2019

-

4,779,254

55,760

71,984

3,500

3,500

869,688

1,500,900

2,085,840

6,940,578

Unrealised foreign 
exchange gain
$

Property, 
plant and 
equipment
$

Prepayments
$

Exploration 
expenditure 
$

Total
$

692,237

3,610,792

30,417

-

4,333,446

Movements

At 1 January 2018

(charged) / credited

- 

to profit or loss

(579,618)

483,891

At 31 December 2018

112,619

4,094,683

(14,193)

16,224

1,216,152

1,216,152

1,106,232

5,439,678

58

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

2.5  Earnings per share

(i)  Basic earnings per share

Accounting Policies

Basic earnings per share is determined by dividing the profit after income tax attributable to members of the 
Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the financial year.

From continuing operations attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company

Total basic earnings per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company

(ii)  Diluted earnings per share

Accounting Policies

2019
US Cents

2018
US Cents

1.86

1.86

2.10

2.10

Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures used in the determination of basic earnings per share by taking 
into account amounts unpaid on ordinary shares and any reduction in earnings per share would arise from the 
exercise of options outstanding at the end of the financial year.

From continuing operations attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company

Total diluted earnings per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company

(a)  Reconciliation of earnings used in the calculation of earnings per share

Basic earnings per share

Profit attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company used in

calculating basic earnings per share:

From continuing operations

Diluted earnings per share

Profit attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company used in

calculating diluted earnings per share:

From continuing operations

(b)  Weighted average number of shares used as the denominator

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used as the denominator in 
calculating basic earnings per share

Adjustment for calculation of diluted earnings per share:

-  Options

-  Performance rights

Weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary 
shares used as the denominator in calculating diluted earnings per share

2019
US Cents

2018
US Cents

1.85

1.85

2019
$

2.08

2.08

2018
$

7,828,231

8,823,231

7,828,231

8,823,231

2019 
Number

2018 
Number

421,146,913

419,708,741

-

(1,947,802)

2,111,324

6,078,434

423,258,237

423,839,373

59

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The table below details the number of performance rights that have been granted and are on issue as at 31 
December 2019. These potential ordinary shares have been included in the determination of dilutive earnings per 
share as vesting conditions have been met. 

Number

500,000

500,000

666,666

500,000

Type of Security

Performance Rights

Performance Rights

Performance Rights

Performance Rights

Exercise price

AUD $nil

AUD $nil

AUD $nil

AUD $nil

Expiry date

31 May 2020

31 May 2021

1 Oct 2021

30 Sept 2021

2.6  Dividends

Accounting policies

Dividends are recognised as a liability at the time the Directors resolve to pay or declare the dividend.

Dividends recognised during the year

2019

Final 2018 ordinary

Interim 2019 ordinary

2018

Final 2017 ordinary

Interim 2018 ordinary

Dividend per share  
US Cents

0.49

0.42

0.49

0.43

$

2,067,181

1,772,290

3,839,471

2,048,898

1,782,180

3,831,078

3.  CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, OPERATING ASSETS AND REHABILITATION OBLIGATIONS

This section includes information about the assets used by the Group to generate profits and revenue, specifically 
information relating to its exploration and evaluation assets, mine development expenditures, property, plant and 
equipment, associated rehabilitation obligations, and commitments for capital expenditure not yet recognised as 
a liability.

3.1  Exploration and evaluation assets

Accounting Policies

Exploration and evaluation expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the Group is accumulated separately for each 
area of interest. Such expenditure comprises direct costs and does not include general overheads or administrative 
expenditure not having a specific nexus with a particular area of interest.

Exploration expenditure for each area of interest is carried forward as an asset provided the rights to tenure of the 
area of interest are current and one of the following conditions is met:

•  The exploration and evaluation expenditures are expected to be recouped through successful development and 

exploitation of the area of interest, or alternatively, by its sale; or

•  Exploration and evaluation activities in the area of interest have not, at the reporting date, reached a stage which 
permits a reasonable assessment of the existence or otherwise of economically recoverable reserves, and active 
and significant operations in, or in relation to, the area of interests is continuing.

Exploration expenditure is written off when it fails to meet at least one of the conditions outlined above or an area of 
interest is abandoned.

When a decision is made to develop an area of interest, all carried forward exploration expenditure in relation to the 
area of interest is transferred to development expenditure.

No amortisation is charged during the exploration and evaluation phase.

Please refer to note 3.4 for the Group’s accounting policy on impairment of exploration and evaluation assets.

60

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Significant judgement

The carrying value of exploration assets is reviewed on an area of interest basis. Exploration in Australia, excluding 
Munglinup, and Iran is in its infancy stages and are being carried forward on the basis that these areas have not, 
at the reporting date, reached a stage which permits a reasonable assessment of the existence or otherwise of 
economically recoverable reserves, and active and significant operations in, or in relation to, the area of interests is 
continuing.

Recoupment of the capitalised exploration and evaluation expenditure of the Xolobeni Mineral Sands area of interest 
in South Africa is dependent on either the successful development and commercial exploitation or the settlement 
of the proposed transaction, as announced to the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) in July 2016, to divest of 
the Company’s interest in Transworld Energy and Resources (SA) Pty Ltd (“TEM”), which owns the Xolobeni Mineral 
Sands Project. The Xolobeni exploration asset is being carried forward on that basis.

The proposed transaction has not resulted in Xolobeni being classified as held for sale in accordance with AASB 5 
as at 31 December 2019, as it is not highly probable that the transaction will complete due to required regulatory 
approvals, stage of negotiation of the consideration and involvement of a third party who holds shares in TEM.

Note

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

15,369,068

11,200,454

26,082

3,202,766

-

(326,883)

18,271,033

676,765

4,612,164

562,532

(1,682,847)

15,369,068

As at 1 January

Acquisition of exploration asset

Expenditure during the year

Re-classification: transfer from property, plant and equipment

3.3

Exchange differences

As at 31 December

3.2  Development expenditure 

Accounting Policies 

Development expenditure

Development expenditure represents the accumulated exploration, evaluation, land and development expenditure 
incurred by or on behalf of the Group in relation to areas of interest in which mining of a mineral resource has 
commenced.

When further development expenditure is incurred in respect of a mine property after commencement of production, 
such expenditure is carried forward as part of the development expenditure only when substantial future economic 
benefits are thereby established, otherwise such expenditure is classified as part of the cost of production.

The estimated recoverable reserves and life of the mine and the remaining useful life of each class of asset 
are reassessed at least annually. Where there is a change in the reserves/resources amortisation rates are 
correspondingly adjusted. Refer to the table in note 3.3 for basis of amortisation rates used.

Refer to note 3.4 for the Group’s accounting policy on impairment of development expenditure.

Significant judgement

Reserves and Resources

In order to calculate ore reserves and mineral resources, estimates and assumptions are required about a range 
of geological, technical and economic factors, including quantities, grades, production techniques, recovery 
rates, production costs, transport costs, commodity demand, commodity prices and exchange rates. The Group 
estimates its ore reserves and mineral resources based on information compiled by Competent Persons (as defined 
in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 
as revised in 2012 (the JORC code).

61

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

As economic assumptions used to estimate reserves change and as additional geological data is generated during 
the course of operations, estimates of reserves and mineral resources may vary from period to period. Changes in 
reported reserves and mineral resources may affect the Group’s financial results and financial position in a number of 
ways, including the following:

•  Asset carrying values may be affected due to changes in estimated future cash flows;

•  Depreciation and amortisation charges in profit or loss may change where such charges are determined by the 

units of production basis, or where the useful economic lives of assets change; and

•  Restoration and rehabilitation provision may be affected due to changes in the magnitude of future restoration 

and rehabilitation expenditure.

As at 1 January

AASB 16 Adoption

Acquisition of a subsidiary (note 6.3)

Additions

Amortisation expense

Exchange differences

Carrying value assessment

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

5,240,911

(220,874)

5,020,037

6,032,998

170,207

(1,125,315)

314,683

10,412,610

7,306,979

-

7,306,979

-

-

(1,138,527)

(927,541)

5,240,911

MRC has made a S102 Expanded Mining Right Application for access to the Northern Beaches and the Inland 
Strand. The Company has received its Environmental Impact Assessment approval during the year, which is subject 
to Appeal.

During the year ended 31 December 2019, the Tormin mining rights were extended for an additional 10 year period. 

Mining grades at Tormin have remained steady throughout 2019. 

EBITDA and EBIT for 2019 are higher than 2018.

The Company has undertaken as assessment of impairment indicators and concluded that there are not indicators 
of impairment of the Tormin assets as at 31 December 2019.

3.3  Property, plant and equipment

Accounting Policies

Property, plant and equipment

Each class of property, plant and equipment is carried at cost or fair value less, where applicable, any accumulated 
depreciation and impairment losses.

Items of plant and equipment are initially recorded at cost and include any expenditure that is directly attributable to 
acquisition of the items. Subsequent costs are included in the assets carrying amount or recognised as a separate 
asset as appropriate. All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the profit for the year in which they are incurred.

De-commissioning assets relates to capitalised restoration costs expected to be incurred.

The assets residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at each reporting date. An 
asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the assets carrying amount is 
greater than its estimated recoverable amount.

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Depreciation and amortisation is provided to expense the cost of property, plant and equipment, and de-
commissioning assets and development, over its estimated useful life on a straight line or units of usage (activity) basis.

The basis of depreciation and amortisation of each asset is reviewed annually and changes to the basis of 
depreciation and amortisation are made if the straight line or units of production basis is no longer considered to 
represent the expected pattern of consumption of economic benefits. 

62

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

The reserves and life of each mine and the remaining useful life of each class of asset are reassessed at regular 
intervals and the depreciation and amortisation rates adjusted accordingly on a prospective basis. The estimated 
useful lives for the main categories of assets are as follows:

Fixed Asset Category

Mine properties and development

Land

Mine buildings

Estimated Useful Life

The shorter of applicable mine life or generally 10 years

Not depreciated

The shorter of applicable mine life or generally 10 years

Excavators and loaders working in significant salt exposed conditions

Generally 12,000 hours’ operation

All other heavy earth moving vehicles

Light and other mobile vehicles

Generally 18,000 hours’ operation

Generally 5 years

Mine specific machinery, plant and equipment

The shorter of applicable mine life or generally 10 years

Other machinery, plant and equipment

Computer hardware

Software acquisitions and development

Office leasehold fit-outs

Other office furniture and fittings

Generally 10 years

Generally 4 years

Generally 3 years

Generally lease term, including extensions

Generally 10 years

Note: For assets under a finance lease, if there is no reasonable certainty that the lessee will obtain ownership by the end of the lease term, the asset shall be fully depreciated over the 
shorter of the lease term or its useful life.

Note: “Generally” implies that if a specific asset’s or class of assets’ useful life is reasonably able to be determined as less than that stipulated above, then the applicable lower 
estimated useful life is to be used.

Disposal of assets

The gain or loss on disposal of assets is calculated as the difference between the carrying amount of the asset at the 
time of disposal and the proceeds on disposal and is included in profit for the year of disposal.

Significant judgement

Estimation of useful lives of assets

The Group determines the estimated useful lives and related depreciation and amortisation charges for its property, 
plant and equipment and finite life mine development assets which requires significant estimation and judgement. 
The depreciation and amortisation charge will increase where the useful lives are less than previously estimated lives, 
or technically obsolete or non-strategic assets that have been abandoned or sold will be written off or written down.

The estimated recoverable reserves and life of the mine and the remaining useful life of each class of asset is 
reassessed at least annually based upon latest resource information and replenishment rates. In circumstances 
where conversion of resources into reserves is expected, applicable resources are included in life of mine 
assessments and reassessments. In circumstances where there is reasonable evidence of natural replenishment 
of resources, the applicable natural replenishment resource estimates is included in the life of mine assessments 
and reassessments. 

Where the lives of the assets are shorter than the mine life, their costs are amortised based on the useful life 
of the assets. Where there is a change in the estimated life of mine, amortisation rates are correspondingly 
adjusted which may change the depreciation and amortisation charges in the statement of profit or loss and other 
comprehensive income.

63

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

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64

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

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65

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

3.4  Impairment of non-current assets

Accounting Policies

The carrying amounts of the Group’s exploration and evaluation assets, development expenditure and property, 
plant and equipment are reviewed at each reporting date to determine whether there is any indication of impairment. 
Where an indicator of impairment exists, a formal estimate of the recoverable amount is made.

Indicators of impairment – exploration and evaluation assets

The carrying amounts of the Group’s exploration and evaluation assets are reviewed at each reporting date, to 
determine whether any of the following indicators of impairment exists:

(i) 

(ii) 

 Tenure over the licence area has expired during the period or will expire in the near future, and is not expected to 
be renewed; or

 Substantive expenditure on further exploration for, and evaluation of, mineral resources in the specific area is not 
budgeted or planned; or

(iii)   Exploration for, and evaluation of, resources in the specific area have not led to the discovery of commercially 
viable quantities of resources, and the Group has decided to discontinue activities in the specific area; or

(iv)   Sufficient data exists to indicate that although a development is likely to proceed, the carrying amount of the 
exploration and evaluation asset is unlikely to be recovered in full from successful development or from sale.

Impairment testing – other assets

Other assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying 
amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying 
amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs 
of disposal and value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for 
which there are separately identifiable cash inflows which are largely independent of the cash inflows from other 
assets or groups of assets (cash-generating units).

Non-financial assets other than goodwill that suffered an impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the 
impairment at the end of each reporting period.

Refer note 3.2 – Carrying value assessment for further details of the assessment of Tormin assets.

3.5  Rehabilitation provisions

Accounting Policies

Provisions for environmental rehabilitation are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive 
obligation as a result of exploration, development and/or production activities undertaken and it is probable that an 
outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the amount can be reliably estimated.

The estimated future obligations include the costs of removing facilities and restoring the affected areas and is the 
best estimate of the present value of the future expenditure required to settle the environmental rehabilitation at 
reporting date, based on current legal requirements. Any changes in the estimate are reflected in the present value 
of the environmental rehabilitation provision at the reporting date, with a corresponding change in the cost of the 
associated asset.

Significant judgement

A provision has been made for the present value of anticipated costs for future rehabilitation of land explored or 
mined. The Group’s mining and exploration activities are subject to various laws and regulations governing the 
protection of the environment. The Group recognises management’s best estimate for assets retirement obligations 
and site rehabilitations in the period in which they are incurred. Actual costs incurred in the future periods could 
differ materially from the estimates. Additionally, future changes to environmental laws and regulations, life of mine 
estimates and discount rates could affect the carrying amount of this provision.

Non-current

Environmental rehabilitation provision

66

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

253,968

247,834

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3.6  Commitments for expenditure

The Group has the following commitments for expenditure for which no liabilities have been recorded in the financial 
statements as the goods or services have not been received, including non-cancellable operating lease rentals:

a)  Capital commitments 

Committed at the reporting date but not recognised as liabilities, payable:

Property, plant and equipment

b)  Operating lease commitments 

Accounting Policies

-

-

Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are not transferred to the Group as 
lessee are classified as operating leases. Payments made under operating leases (net of any incentives received 
from the lessor) are charged to profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

Lease income from operating leases where the Group is a lessor is recognised in income on a straight-line basis 
over the lease term. The respective leased assets are included in the balance sheet based on their nature.

Non-cancellable operating leases contracted for but not capitalised in the accounts:

Within one year

Later than one year but no later than five years

Greater than 5 years

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

36,098

8,898

-

44,996

671,868

505,318

-

1,177,186

Operating lease commitments include contracted amounts for offices and plant and equipment under non- 
cancellable operating leases expiring within one to five years with, in some cases, options to extend. The leases 
have various escalation clauses. On renewal, the terms of the leases are renegotiated.

4.  WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

This section provides information about the Group’s working capital balances and management, including cash flow 
information.

4.1  Cash and cash equivalents

Accounting Policies

Cash and cash equivalents includes cash on hand, deposits held at call with financial institutions, other short-
term, highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less that are readily convertible to known 
amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value, and bank overdrafts.

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents represent fair value. Bank balances and deposits held at call 
earn interest at floating rates based upon market rates.

Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities in the balance sheet.

Cash assets

Cash at bank and in hand

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

8,092,614

12,410,510

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(i) 

Interest rate risk exposure
The Group’s exposure to interest rate risk is discussed in note 5.4(a)(ii).

(ii)  Reconciliation of profit after income tax to cash flow from operating activities

Profit for the year

Adjustments for:

Depreciation and amortisation

Loss on disposal of asset

Impairment loss

Net finance costs

Share based payments

Net exchange differences

Change in operating assets and liabilities:

(Increase) / decrease in trade debtors

(Increase) / decrease in prepayments

(Increase) / decrease in inventories

(Decrease) / Increase in trade payables and unearned revenue

(Decrease) / increase in income tax payable

Increase in provisions

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

7,828,231

8,823,231

4,774,797

4,110,827

-

-

(128,103)

261,810

176,978

(2,770,383)

(196,087)

5,495,330

(4,634,030)

2,304,932

156,470

13,269,945

-

-

(122,378)

441,253

(853,165)

(107,332)

48,464

(529,471)

3,251,928

(657,482)

96,738

14,502,613

(iii)  Non-cash investing and financing activities

There was no plant and equipment acquired by finance leases in 2019. Plant and equipment acquired by finance 
leases in 2018 of $2,849,774 was receipted by the Company and immediately repatriated to the supplier. These 
cash inflows and outflows have therefore been recognised in the 2018 cashflow statement.

(iv)  Net debt reconciliation

This section sets out an analysis of net debt and the movements in net debt for each of the periods presented.

Cash and cash equivalents

Borrowings – repayable within one year (including overdraft)

Borrowings – repayable after one year

Net debt

Cash and cash equivalents

Gross debt – variable interest rates

Net debt

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

8,092,614

(3,611,778)

(4,115,217)

365,619

8,092,614

(7,726,995)

365,619

12,410,510

(2,277,728)

(2,788,682)

7,344,100

12,410,510

(5,066,410)

7,344,100

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Other assets

Liabilities from financing activities

Leases due 
within  
1 year 
$

Leases due 
after  
1 year 
$

Borrowings due 
within  
1 year 
$

Borrowings 
due after  
1 year 
$

Cash 
$

Total 
$

10,975,817

(566,550)

(8,721)

(1,505,770)

(2,125,000)

6,769,776

1,849,687

(211,178)

(2,154,961)

5,770

1,500,000

989,318

(414,994)

-

-

-

-

(414,994)

12,410,510

(777,728)

(2,163,682)

(1,500,000)

(625,000)

7,344,100

-

(540,706)

(606,655)

-

-

(1,147,361)

12,410,510

(1,318,434)

(2,770,337)

(1,500,000)

(4,047,277)

(104,390)

1,703,097

875,000

(625,000)

625,000

6,196,739

(948,570)

-

(270,619)

-

-

-

-

(1,563,954)

(3,047,977)

(4,611,931)

-

-

(270,619)

8,092,614

(1,422,824)

(1,067,240)

(2,188,954)

(3,047,977)

365,619

Net debt as at  
1 January 2018

Cash flows

Foreign exchange 
adjustments

Net debt as at  
31 December 
2018

AASB 16 
adoption

Adjusted  
1 January

Cash flows

Acquisitions

Foreign exchange 
adjustments

Net debt as at 
31 December 
2019

4.2  Trade and other receivables

Accounting Policies

Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method, less provision for impairment.

Loans and receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently at amortised cost using the effective 
interest rate method. They are included within current assets, except for those with maturities greater than  
12 months after the reporting date which are classified as non-current assets.

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

Current

Trade receivables

Less: Provision for impairment of receivables

Other receivables (i)

Prepayments

Non-current

Security deposits (ii)

Advance to Blue Bantry (iii)

Other receivables

2,627,977

-

2,627,977

5,136,452

262,943

8,027,372

469,764

998,599

44,905

1,513,268

1,890,032

-

1,890,032

3,222,371

54,078

5,166,481

204,779

575,065

76,871

856,715

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(i) 

Includes $1,638,116 (2018: $1,374,248) of VAT refundable from the South African Revenue Service.

(ii)  A secured deposit of $469,764 (2018: $204,779) with FirstRand Bank Limited held as security for a performance 
guarantee issued by the Bank in favour of the South African Department of Minerals and Energy in respect of 
Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd obligations under the Tormin Mining Rights.

(iii)  An amount of ZAR 14 million (2018: ZAR 8.25 million) has been advanced to the BEE partner, Blue Bantry (refer 

note 8.2 for further details). 

Impairment of receivables

No impairment of receivables has been recognised by the Group for the year ended 31 December 2019. Refer to 
Note 5.4(a)(iv) for impairment & credit losses of receivables.

Fair values and credit risk

Due to the short term nature of these receivables the carrying values represent their respective fair values as at  
31 December 2019 and 2018. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying amount of 
each class of receivables disclosed above. The non-current trade receivables have a fair value of $Nil as at  
31 December 2019, compared to a carrying amount of $Nil (2018: fair value of $Nil and carrying amount of $Nil).

The fair values were calculated based on cash flows discounted using a current lending rate. Refer to note 5.4 for 
more information on the risk management policy of the Group and the credit quality of the entity’s receivables.

Foreign exchange and interest rate risk

Information about the Group’s exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risk in relation to trade and other 
receivables is provided in note 5.4.

Recoverability of receivables

The group has amounts due from various counterparties as a result of its operations in a number of jurisdictions.  
The recoverability these amounts which include certain input taxes and rebates is subject to interpretation of 
legislation and judgement on the credit risk of the counterparty.

Rebate & Indirect Taxes

The Group is eligible to claim and recover various indirect taxes and rebates from various taxation authorities where it has 
operations. The estimation of the amounts to which the Group is entitled to receive and will ultimately recover requires 
interpretation of legislation, compliance with administrative obligations and judgement on the credit risk of the counterparty.

4.3  Inventories

Accounting Policies

Raw materials, stores, ore stockpiles, work in progress and finished stocks are physically measured or estimated 
and valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Net realisable value less costs to sell is assessed annually 
based on the amount estimated to be obtained from sale of the item of inventory in the normal course of business, 
less any anticipated costs to be incurred prior to its sale.

Weighted average cost comprises direct materials, direct labour and an appropriate proportion of variable and fixed 
overhead expenditure and depreciation and amortisation relating to mining activities, the latter being allocated on 
the basis of normal operating capacity. As a result of mineral sands or graphite products being co-products from 
the same mineral separation process, costs are allocated to the various finished products on the basis of the relative 
sales value of the finished goods produced. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course 
of business, less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. 

Inventories of consumable supplies and spare parts expected to be used in production are valued at the lower of 
weighted average cost, which includes the cost of purchase as well as transportation and statutory charges, or net 
realisable value. Any provision for obsolescence is determined by reference to specific stock items identified.

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Raw materials at cost

Finished product at cost

Spare parts and consumables at cost

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

329,291

19,171,494

2,442,546

21,943,331

355,364

23,202,679

2,198,682

25,756,725

The costs of individual items of inventory are determined using weighted average cost. 

4.4  Trade and other payables

Accounting Policies

Trade and other payables are recognised originally at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate method. Trade and other payables represent liabilities for goods and services provided to 
the Group prior to the end of each reporting period that are unpaid and arise when the Group becomes obliged to 
make future payments in respect of the purchase of goods and services. Trade and other payables are presented as 
current liabilities unless payment is not due within 12 months from the reporting date.

Trade payables

Other payables and accruals

(i)  Fair values and credit risk

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

2,062,482

2,654,260

4,716,742

5,310,043

1,756,441

7,066,484

Due to the short term nature of these payables the carrying values represent their respective fair values as at 31 
December 2019 and 2018.

(ii)  Foreign exchange and interest rate risk

Information about the Group’s exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risk in relation to trade and other 
payables is provided in note 5.4.

4.5  Unearned revenue

Accounting Policies

Unearned revenue is recognised originally at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest rate method. Unearned revenue represents revenue that has been received by the Group for 
requested goods where control has not yet been transferred as the goods have not been substantially provided. 
Unearned revenue is recognised as revenue subsequent to this in accordance with the Group’s revenue recognition 
policy (refer note 2.2). Unearned revenue is presented as current liabilities unless product delivery is not due within 
12 months from the reporting date.

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

Unearned revenue

72,375

1,670,100

71

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(i)  Fair values and credit risk

Due to the short term nature of unearned revenue, the carrying values represent their respective fair values as at 
31 December 2019 and 2018.

(ii)  Foreign exchange and interest rate risk

Information about the Group’s exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risk in relation to unearned 
revenue is provided in note 5.4.

4.6  Contract Liabilities

Accounting Policies

Contract liabilities are recognised originally at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. Contract 
liabilities represent revenue that has been received by the Group per the Amended and Restated Garnet Offtake 
Agreement where control has not yet been transferred. Contract liabilities are recognised in accordance with the 
Group’s revenue recognition policy (refer note 2.2).

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

Contract liabilities

18,099,115

18,098,880

(i)  Fair values and credit risk

Due to the nature of the contract liability, the carrying values represent their respective fair values as at  
31 December 2019.

(ii)  Foreign exchange and interest rate risk

Information about the Group’s exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risk in relation contract liabilities is 
provided in note 5.4.

72

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5.  FUNDING AND RISK MANAGEMENT

This section provides information relating to the management of capital, credit, liquidity and market risks and the 
policies for measuring and managing these risks.

5.1  Interest bearing loans and borrowings

Accounting Policies

All loans and borrowings are initially recognised at cost, being fair value of the consideration received net of issue 
costs associated with the borrowing.

After initial recognition, interest bearing loans and borrowings are subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate method. Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any issue costs, and any 
discount or premium on settlement.

Gains and losses are recognised in the income statement when the liabilities are derecognised and as well as 
through the amortisation process.

Borrowings are classified as current liabilities unless the Group has an unconditional right to defer settlement of the 
liability for at least 12 months after the reporting periods.

Details of the contractual maturities can be found in Note 5.4.

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

Current

Long term borrowings – unsecured (6)

Amounts due under equipment acquisition agreements (1), (2), (4), (5)

Long term borrowings – secured (3)

Non-current

Long term borrowings – unsecured (6)

Long term borrowings – secured (3)

Amounts due under equipment acquisition agreements (1), (2), (4), (5)

1,442,444

1,422,824

746,510

3,611,778

2,877,396

170,581

1,067,240

4,115,217

-

735,382

1,542,346

2,277,728

-

704,189

2,084,493

2,788,682

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

 The Group entered into Master Rental Agreements to acquire mobile mining equipment and generators. Under 
the terms of these agreements, there was an option to purchase which the Group exercised for the mobile 
mining equipment.

 The Group entered into Instalment Sales Agreements to acquire mobile mining equipment and other 
equipment. Under the terms of these agreements, the Group will become the owner of the mobile mining 
equipment on final payment under the agreements.

 The Group entered into a $4.5 million financing arrangement with GMA for its Garnet Stripping Plant (“GSP”) 
expansion. Under the terms of the agreement, the borrowing is charged at Libor + 2% and repaid over three 
years from the repayment commencement date. The borrowing is secured by a special notarial bond over the 
GSP. Repayment commenced in June 2017. Repayments of US$0.125 million per month commenced in June 
2017, with US$0.625 million principal owing at 31 December 2019.

 The Group entered into Commercial Loans and Chattel Mortgages for motor vehicles. Under the terms of these 
agreements, the Group will become the owner of the motor vehicles on final payment under the agreements.

 The Group entered into a Master Finance Lease to acquire mobile mining equipment. Under the terms of these 
agreements, the Group will become the owner of the mobile mining equipment on final payment under the 
agreements.

 The Group entered into a Loan Agreement with the previous owners as a part of the acquisition of Skaland 
Graphite AS. The interest rate is NIBOR +2% and is repaid quarterly.

73

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(a)  Lease liability commitments

Accounting Policies

Refer to Note 1.8(b) for accounting policy for leases.

Commitments in relation to minimum lease repayments under equipment acquisition agreements:

Within one year

Later than one year but no later than five years

Greater than 5 years

Minimum lease payments

Less: Future Finance Charges

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

1,612,614

1,130,946

-

2,743,560

(253,498)

2,490,062

926,223

1,928,972

-

2,855,195

(443,479)

2,411,716

Finance lease commitments include contracted amounts for various plant and equipment with a written down 
value of $2,706,338 (2018: $2,959,377) secured under finance leases expiring within one to five years. Under the 
terms of the leases, the Group will become the owner of the leased assets on the final payment under instalment 
sale agreements.

5.2  Net finance costs

Accounting Policies

Interest income is recognised as it accrues on a time proportion basis using the effective interest method.

Borrowing costs incurred for the construction of any qualifying asset are capitalised during the period of time that is 
required to complete and prepare the asset for its intended use or sale. Other borrowing costs are expensed.

Finance income

Interest Income

Total finance income

Finance costs

Interest paid to third parties

Net change in fair value of financial assets - derivatives

Total finance costs

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

128,103

128,103

228,241

(258,893)

(30,652)

122,378

122,378

186,751

38,383

225,134

Net finance income / (costs)

158,755

(102,756)

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5.3  Equity

(a)  Contributed equity

Accounting Policies

Ordinary share capital is recognised at the fair value of the consideration received by the Company. Any 
transaction costs arising on the issue of ordinary shares are recognised directly in equity as a reduction of the 
share proceeds received.

(i)  Share capital

Ordinary shares

Fully paid

2019
Number of shares

2018
Number of shares

2019
$

2018
$

421,191,571

421,091,571

64,927,687

64,919,201

(ii)  Movements in ordinary share capital

Details

At 1 January 2019

Conversion of performance rights

At 31 December 2019

Transaction costs arising on share issue

At 31 December 2019

(iii)  Ordinary shares

Number of shares

421,091,571

100,000

421,191,571

$

64,919,201

8,486

64,927,687

-

-

421,191,571

64,927,687

Ordinary shares entitle the holder to participate in dividends and the proceeds on winding up of the 
Company in proportion to the number of and amounts paid on the shares held. On a show of hands every 
holder of ordinary shares present at a meeting in person or by proxy, is entitled to one vote, and upon a poll 
each share is entitled to one vote.

(iv)  Capital risk management

The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard their ability to continue as a going concern, 
so that they can continue to provide returns to shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to 
maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital.

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may issue new shares or sell assets in order to 
maintain sufficient funds necessary to continue its operations.

75

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(b)  Reserves

The following table shows a breakdown of the balance sheet line item ‘other reserves’ and the movements in these 
reserves during the year. A description of the nature and purpose of each reserve is provided in the table below.

At 1 January 2018

Share based payments

Transfer to retained earnings on expiry of unlisted 
options

Conversion of performance rights

Exchange differences on translation of foreign 
operations

General 
reserve
$

1,363,393

-

-

-

-

At 1 January 2019

1,363,393

Share based payments

Conversion of performance rights

Exchange differences on translation of foreign 
operations

-

-

-

Financial 
asset 
revaluation 
reserve
$

Foreign 
currency 
translation 
reserve
$

Share 
based 
payment 
reserve
$

Total
$

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(15,108,264)

628,077

(13,116,794)

-

-

-

441,253

441,253

 (201,273)

 (201,273)

(498,902)

(498,902)

(8,063,464)

-

(8,063,464)

(23,171,728)

369,155

(21,439,180)

-

-

261,810

(8,486)

261,810

(8,486)

(313,397)

-

(313,397)

At 31 December 2019

1,363,393

-

(23,485,125)

622,479

(21,499,253)

Nature and purpose of reserves

General reserve

The General reserve arose from the issue of shares in MRC Resources Proprietary Limited to an entity outside 
the economic entity.

Financial asset revaluation reserve

The financial asset revaluation reserve arises from the revaluation at reporting date of available-for-sale financial 
assets.

Foreign currency translation reserve

The foreign currency translation reserve records the unrealised foreign currency differences arising from the 
translation of operations into the presentation currency of the Group.

Share based payment reserve

Records the amounts received in a prior year together with the amounts amortised for employee options in the 
current year from the issue of listed options and performance rights.

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(c)  Accumulated losses

At 1 January

Profit for the year

Adjustment to accumulated losses per AASB 15 adoption

Dividend Distribution

Transfer from reserves on expiry of unlisted options

At 31 December

(d)  Non-controlling interest

At 1 January

Movement for the year

At 31 December

5.4  Financial risk management

Accounting Policies

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

(1,542,284)

7,828,231

-

(3,839,471)

-

2,446,476

(5,488,768)

8,823,231

(1,246,942)

(3,831,078)

201,273

(1,542,284)

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

113,639

-

113,639

113,639

-

113,639

The Group classifies its financial instruments on initial recognition. The classification depends on the purpose for 
which the financial instrument was acquired.

(i)  Recognition and de-recognition

Regular purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on trade date; the date on which the Group 
commits to purchase or sell the asset. Investments are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs. 
Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the financial assets have expired or 
been transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership.

(ii)  Fair value

Fair value is determined based on current bid prices for all quoted investments. Valuation techniques are applied 
to determine the fair value of all unlisted securities, including recent arm’s length transactions, reference to 
similar instruments and other pricing models.

The Group uses derivative financial instruments such as forward foreign currency contracts to hedge its risk 
associated with foreign currency fluctuations. Such derivatives are stated at fair value. The fair value of forward 
exchange contracts is calculated by reference to current forward exchange rates for contracts with similar 
maturity profiles. Changes in the fair value of forward foreign currency contracts are recorded in profit or loss, 
together with any changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability that are attributable to the hedged risk.

(iii)  Financial Liabilities

Financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently at amortised cost, comprising original 
debt less principal payments and amortisation of transaction costs.

(iv)  Impairment

At each reporting date, the Group assesses whether there is objective evidence that a financial instrument has 
been impaired. Impairment losses are recognised in profit or loss. Impairment losses recognised on equity 
instruments classified as available for sale are not reversed through the income statement.

This note explains the Group’s exposure to financial risks and how these risks could affect the Group’s future 
financial performance. Current year profit or loss information has been included where relevant to add further 
context.

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The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks, as detailed in the below table:

Risk

Exposure arising from

Measurement

Management

Market risk 
– foreign exchange risk

Market risk 
– interest rate risk

Future commercial transactions

Cash flow forecasting

Foreign currency forwards and foreign 
currency options

Sensitivity analysis

N/A

N/A

Recognised financial assets and 
liabilities not denominated in USD

The Company’s long-term borrowings 
are at fixed interest rates, therefore it 
is not exposed to changes in variable 
interest rates. The Company’s 
long-term borrowings in Norway are 
at variable interest rates, subject to 
NIBOR interest rates.

Market risk 
– price risk

Investments in equity securities

Sensitivity analysis

N/A

Market risk 
– commodity price risk

Sale of products

Credit risk

Cash and cash equivalents and 
trade and other receivables

Liquidity risk

Borrowings and other liabilities

Cash flow forecasting

Sensitivity analysis

Monitoring the prevailing commodity 
prices and entering into longer term fixed 
price sales contracts

Aging analysis

Credit ratings

Rolling cash flow 
forecasts

Credit limits, retention of title over 
product sold and letters of credit

Availability of committed credit lines and 
borrowing facilities

The Group’s risk management is predominantly controlled by the finance department (“Treasury”) under policies 
approved by the Board of Directors. Treasury identifies, evaluates and hedges financial risks in close co-operation 
with the Group’s operating units. The Board provides written principles for overall risk management, as well as 
policies covering specific areas such as foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, commodity price risk, 
use of derivative financial instruments and non-derivative financial instruments, and investment of excess liquidity.

The Group manages foreign exchange risk through hedging the South African Rand and Australian dollar using 
foreign currency forwards and foreign currency options in line with its Treasury Policy. The mark-to-market position of 
the Group’s hedged position as at 31 December 2019 was:

Value of Hedges
contracted 
US$

2,500,000

1,000,000

3,500,000

Mark-to-market  
value of hedges 
US$

2,559,378

1,011,829

3,571,207

Mark-to-market 
hedge position 
US$

59,378

11,829

71,207

At 31 December 2019

South African Rand (ZAR)

Australian Dollars (AUD)

Total position

(a)  Market risk

1.  Foreign exchange risk

The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency 
exposures.

As detailed in note 1.2(iii), items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities are 
measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates (‘the functional 
currency’). The consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars, which is the Company’s 
presentation currency.

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Based on the financial instruments held at the reporting date, the sensitivity of the Group’s profits after tax for the 
year and equity at the reporting date to movements in the United States Dollar to South African Rand (“ZAR”), 
United States Dollar to Australian Dollars (“AUD”) and United States Dollar to Norwegian Kroner (“NOK”) were:

USD/AUD exchange rate – increase 10%

USD/AUD exchange rate – decrease 10%

USD/ZAR exchange rate – increase 10%

USD/ZAR exchange rate – decrease 10%

USD/NOK exchange rate – increase 10%

USD/NOK exchange rate – decrease 10%

2. 

Interest rate risk

Impact on 
post tax profits

Impact on other 
components of equity

2019 
US$

2018 
US$

2019 
US$

2018 
US$

279,218

424,975

(279,218)

(424,975)

211,901

2,775,789

(211,901)

(2,775,789)

(20,627)

20,627

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

The Group’s exposure to interest rate risk relates primarily to the Group’s floating interest rate cash balance 
which is subject to movements in interest rates. The Board monitors its cash balance on an ongoing basis and 
liaises with its financiers regularly to mitigate cash flow interest rate risk. Interest is charged on the loans from the 
parent company to the South African subsidiaries at rates permitted by the South African Reserve Bank. This 
interest is eliminated on consolidation. Interest on loans in Skaland Graphite AS are variable and denominated in 
Norwegian Kroner (“NOK”). Based on the loans with variable interest rates the sensitivity of the Group’s profits 
after tax for the year and equity at the reporting dates were: 

Sensitivity

Interest rate increase of 100 basis points

Interest rate decrease of 100 basis points

3.  Price risk

Impact on 
post tax profits

Impact on other 
components of equity

2019 
US$

(8,113)

8,113

2018 
US$

-

-

2019 
US$

-

-

2018 
US$

-

-

The Group has an exposure to equity securities price risk. This arises from investments held by the Group and 
classified on the balance sheet as at fair value through profit or loss (“FVTPL”). The Group’s investment in equity 
securities at FVTPL is $706,046 (2018: $674,751), which is monitored by the Board of Directors. Any investment 
in equity securities would require approval by the Board of Directors.

Price increase of 10%

Price decrease of 10%

Impact on 
post tax profits

Impact on other 
components of equity

2019 
US$

2018 
US$

49,423

47,233  

(49,423)

(47,233)

2019 
US$

-

-

2018 
US$

-

-

The Group is also exposed to commodity price risk as a result of fluctuations in the market price of commodities, 
however the commodities that the Company produces and sells are not quoted on any recognised exchange.

4.  Credit risk

Credit risk is managed on a group basis. Credit risk arises from cash and cash equivalents and deposits with 
banks, as well as credit exposures including outstanding receivables and investments in unlisted entities.

All cash balances held at banks are held at internationally recognised institutions. The Group has a strict code of 
credit and requires the majority of its customers to have letters of credit in place. The maximum exposure to credit risk 
at the reporting date to trade receivables is the carrying amount, net of any provisions for impairment of those assets, 
as disclosed in the balance sheet and notes to the financial statements. The Group does not hold any collateral.

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The Group has two types of financial assets that are subject to the expected credit loss model:

• 

trade receivables for sales of inventory, and

•  debt investments carried at amortised cost.

Trade receivables

The Group applies the AASB 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime 
expected loss allowance for all trade receivables.

To measure the expected credit losses, trade receivables have been grouped based on shared credit risk 
characteristics and the days past due.

The expected loss rates are based on the payment profiles of sales over a period of 36 months before 31 December 
2019 and the corresponding historical credit losses experienced within this period. The historical loss rates are adjusted 
to reflect current and forward-looking information on macroeconomic factors affecting the ability of the customers to 
settle the receivables. The Group has identified the GDP of the countries in which it sells its goods and services to be the 
most relevant factors, and accordingly adjusts the historical loss rates based on expected changes in these factors.

On that basis, the loss allowance as at 31 December 2019 was determined as follows for both trade receivables 
and contract assets:

At 31 December 2019

Expected loss rate

Gross carrying amount – 
trade receivables

Loss allowance

Current

0%

2,454,123

-

More than 30 
days past due

More than 60 
days past due

More than 90  
days past due

Total

0%

99,758

-

0%

-

-

0%

74,096

2,627,977

-

-

Trade receivables are written off when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery. Indicators that there is no 
reasonable expectation of recovery include, amongst others, the failure of a debtor to engage in a repayment 
plan with the Group, and a failure to make contractual payments for a period of greater than 120 days past due.

Impairment losses on trade receivables are presented as net impairment losses within operating profit. 
Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited against the same line item.

Other financial assets at amortised cost

Other financial assets at amortised include loans to directors and employees of subsidiaries, deposits and 
other receivables.

5.  Liquidity risk

Prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining sufficient cash to meet obligations when due. At the end 
of the reporting period, the Group held cash and cash equivalents totalling $8,092,614 (2018: $12,410,510). 
Management monitors rolling forecasts of the Group’s liquidity reserve (comprising cash and cash equivalents,  
note 4.1) on the basis of expected cash flows. This is carried out at the corporate level for all active companies of 
the Group in accordance with practice and limits set by the Group.

Financing arrangements

On 2 February 2016, the Company announced debt funding arrangements for its expansion initiatives relating to 
a GSP at its Tormin mine. Under the terms of the agreement, the borrowing is charged at Libor + 2% and repaid 
over three years from the repayment commencement date. The borrowings are secured by a special notarial 
bond over the GSP. Principal repayments of US$0.125 million per month plus interest charges against the facility 
commenced in June 2017.

On 4 October 2019, the Group acquired Skaland Graphite AS. As part of the consideration the Group agreed to 
pay an amount to Leonhard Nilsen & Sønner AS of NOK37,986,514 over 5 years, paid in quarterly instalments. 
The interest is charged at NIBOR +2%.

On 4 October 2019, the Group acquired Skaland Graphite AS. As part of the acquisition the Group consolidated 
the fair value of the loans from Innovation Norge. The borrowings at acquisition was NOK2,526,000. 
NOK1,000,000 is due in 2020, NOK1,500,000 is due in 2024 and NOK26,000 is due in 2020.

On 4 October 2019, the Group acquired Skaland Graphite AS. As part of the acquisition the Group consolidated 
the fair value of the loans from Flogas. The borrowings at acquisition was NOK26,000 and is due in 2020.

80

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  Maturity of financial assets

The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining sufficient cash reserves and through the continuous monitoring 
of budgeted and actual cash flows. At the reporting date there is no significant liquidity risk. The table below 
analyses the Group’s maturity of financial assets:

< 6 months
$

6 – 12 
months
$

1 – 5 years
$

5+ years
$

31 December 2019

Trade and other receivables

8,027,372

Trade and other receivables 
– non current

Derivatives – FVTPL

Inflow

(Outflow)

-

3,571,207

(3,500,000)

Total financial assets

8,098,579

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,513,268

-

-

1,513,268

-

-

-

-

-

< 6 months 
$

6 – 12 
months 
$

1 – 5 years 
$

5+ years 
$

Total 
contractual 
cash flows
$

Carrying 
amount
$

8,027,372

8,027,372

1,513,268

1,513,268

3,571,207

71,207

(3,500,000)

-

9,611,847

9,611,847

Total 
contractual 
cash flows 
$

Carrying 
amount 
$

31 December 2018

Trade and other receivables

5,166,481

Trade and other receivables – non 
current

Derivatives – FVTPL

Inflow

(Outflow)

-

2,579,045

(2,500,000)

Total financial assets

5,245,526

  Maturity of financial liabilities

-

-

-

-

-

-

856,715

-

-

856,715

-

-

-

-

-

5,166,481

5,166,481

856,715

856,715

2,579,045

79,045

(2,500,000)

-

6,102,241

6,102,241

The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining sufficient cash reserves and through the continuous monitoring 
of budgeted and actual cash flows. At the reporting date there is no significant liquidity risk. The table below 
analyses the Group’s maturity of financial liabilities:

< 6 months
$

6 – 12 
months
$

1 – 5 years
$

5+ years
$

31 December 2019

Trade and other payables

4,716,742

-

-

Borrowings excluding finance leases

1,409,394

779,560

3,047,977

Lease liabilities

960,453

462,371

1,067,240

Total financial liabilities

7,086,589

1,241,931

4,115,217

-

-

-

-

Total 
contractual 
cash flows
$

Carrying 
amount
$

4,716,742

4,716,742

5,236,931

5,236,931

2,490,064

2,490,064

12,443,737

12,443,737

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< 6 months 
$

6 – 12 
months 
$

1 – 5 years 
$

5+ years 
$

Total 
contractual 
cash flows 
$

Carrying 
amount 
$

31 December 2018

Trade and other payables

Borrowings excluding finance leases

Lease liabilities

7,066,484

776,052

465,597

-

-

773,520

707,564

460,626

1,928,972

Total financial liabilities

8,308,133

1,234,146

2,636,536

-

-

-

-

7,066,484

7,066,484

2,257,136

2,246,535

2,855,195

2,819,875

12,178,815

12,132,894

6.  Fair value hierarchy

To provide an indication about the reliability of the inputs used in determining fair value, the Group classifies its 
financial instruments into the three levels prescribed under the accounting standards. An explanation of each 
level follows underneath the table.

The following table presents the Group’s financial assets and financial liabilities measured and recognised at fair 
value at 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2018:

Level 1
$

-

24,545

-

24,545

Level 2
$

71,207

-

681,501

752,708

-

-

(7,726,995)

(7,726,995)

Level 3
$

Total
$

-

-

-

-

-

-

71,207

24,545

681,501

777,253

(7,726,995)

(7,726,995)

Level 2
$

Level 3
$

Total
$

Level 1
$

-

24,689

-

24,689

79,045

-

650,062

729,107

-

-

(5,066,410)

(5,066,410)

-

-

-

-

-

-

79,045

24,689

650,062

753,796

(5,066,410)

(5,066,410)

31 December 2019

Financial assets

Derivatives – FVTPL

Listed equity securities – FVTPL

Unlisted equity securities - FVTPL

Total financial assets

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Total financial liabilities

31 December 2018

Financial assets

Derivatives – FVTPL

Listed equity securities – FVTPL

Unlisted equity securities - FVTPL

Total financial assets

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Total financial liabilities

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Level 1: The fair value of financial instruments traded in active markets (such as publicly traded derivatives and 
equity securities) is based on quoted (unadjusted) market prices at the end of the reporting period. The quoted 
marked price used for financial assets held by the Group is the current bid price. These instruments are included 
in level 1.

Level 2: The fair value of financial instruments that are not traded in an active market (for example, over–the–
counter derivatives) is determined using valuation techniques. These valuation techniques maximise the use 
of observable market data where it is available and rely as little as possible on entity specific estimates. If all 
significant inputs required to fair value an instrument are observable, the instrument is included in level 2.

Level 3: If one or more of the significant inputs is not based on observable market data, the instrument is 
included in level 3. This is the case for unlisted equity securities.

Specific valuation techniques used to value financial instruments include:

•  The use of quoted market prices or dealer quotes for similar instruments;

•  The fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash flows 

based on observable yield curves;

•  The fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is determined using forward exchange rates at the 

reporting date; and

•  Other techniques, such as discounted cash flow analysis, are used to determine fair value for the remaining 

financial instruments.

6.  GROUP STRUCTURE

6.1  Consolidated entities 

Accounting Policies 

Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries are all entities (including structured entities) over which the Group has control. The Group controls an entity 
when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability 
to affect those returns through its power to direct the activities of the entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the 
date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date that control ceases.

Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between Group companies are 
eliminated. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the 
transferred asset. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency 
with the policies adopted by the Group.

Associates

Associates are entities over which the Group has significant influence but not control or joint control. This is 
generally the case where the Group holds between 20% and 50% of the voting rights. Investments in associates are 
accounted for using the equity method of accounting, after initially being recognised at cost.

Equity method

Under the equity method of accounting, the investments are initially recognised at cost and adjusted thereafter to 
recognise the Group’s share of the post-acquisition profits or losses of the investee in profit or loss, and the Group’s 
share of movements in other comprehensive income of the investee in other comprehensive income. Dividends 
received or receivable from associates and joint ventures are recognised as a reduction in the carrying amount of 
the investment.

When the Group’s share of losses in an equity-accounted investment equals or exceeds its interest in the entity, 
including any other unsecured long-term receivables, the Group does not recognise further losses, unless it has 
incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the other entity.

Unrealised gains on transactions between the Group and its associates and joint ventures are eliminated to the 
extent of the Group’s interest in these entities. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides 
evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred. Accounting policies of equity accounted investees have been 
changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the Group.

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The Group treats transactions with non-controlling interests that do not result in a loss of control as transactions with 
equity owners of the Group. A change in ownership interest results in an adjustment between the carrying amounts 
of the controlling and non-controlling interests to reflect their relative interests in the subsidiary. Any difference 
between the amount of the adjustment to non-controlling interests and any consideration paid or received is 
recognised in a separate reserve within equity attributable to owners of the Company.

Non-controlling interests

Non-controlling interests in the results and equity of subsidiaries are shown separately in the consolidated income 
statement, statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and balance sheet respectively.

The Company, via its wholly owned subsidiary MRC Resources Proprietary Limited (“MRCR”), has a 50% interest 
in the issued capital in Mineral Sands Resources Proprietary Limited (“MSR”). Whilst the Group controls 50% of the 
share voting power, it has been determined that the Group effectively has 100% control due to its control over the 
relevant activities for accounting purposes, controls the management of MSR, and also controls the Board of MSR 
due to provisions set out in the Shareholders Agreement entered into between the shareholders of MSR.

Therefore these financial statements include 100% of the results of MSR. In addition to the holding of the issued 
capital, the Group also holds Class A and B preference shares in MSR which effectively provides for the repayment 
of the capital investment and deemed investment by the Company’s Black Empowerment partner. Due to the terms 
attached to these A and B Preference Shares, they are categorised as an equity instrument. As the A preference 
shares and B preference shares would be redeemed out of distributable profits and net assets of MSR before 
all other ordinary shareholders, until such time as the net assets exceed the value of the unredeemed A and B 
preference shares, no value has been attributed to the non-controlling interest. Until that time, the non-controlling 
interest has no rights to the assets or results of the Company, and therefore has not been allocated any value in 
these financial statements.

The Company, via its wholly owned subsidiary MRC Graphite (Norway) Pty Ltd (“MRCGN”), has a 90% interest in the 
issued capital in Skaland Graphite AS (“SKA”). Whilst the Group controls 90% of the share voting power, it has been 
determined that the Group effectively has 100% control due to its control over the relevant activities for accounting 
purposes, controls the management of SKA, and also controls the Board of  SKA. The Group considers that 100% of 
the economic benefits will flow to the Group on the basis that there has been no contribution from the non-controlling 
interest. Therefore these financial statements include 100% of the results of SKA.

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(i)  Material subsidiaries

The Group’s principal subsidiaries at 31 December 2019 are set out below. Unless otherwise stated, they have 
share capital consisting solely of ordinary shares that are held directly by the Group, and the proportion of 
ownership interests held equals the voting rights held by the Group. The country of incorporation or registration 
is also their principal place of business.

Ownership interest  
held by the Group

Ownership interest held by 
non-controlling interests

Place of business
/ country of
incorporation

2019
%

2018
%

2019
%

2018
%

Name of entity

Rexelle Pty Ltd

MRC Trading (Aust) Pty Ltd

MRC Cable Sands Pty Ltd

Blackhawk Oil and Gas Pty Ltd

Queensland Minex Pty Ltd

Q Smelt Pty Ltd

Mincom Waste Pty Ltd

MRC Graphite Pty Ltd

MRC Exploration Australia Pty Ltd

MRC Graphite (Norway) Pty Ltd (1)

Skeleton Coast Resources (Pty) Ltd

Skaland Graphite AS (2)

MRC Resources Proprietary Limited

Mineral Sands Resources Proprietary Limited

Tormin Mineral Sands Proprietary Limited

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Namibia

Norway

South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

Nyati Titanium Eastern Cape Proprietary Limited

South Africa

MRC Metals Proprietary Limited

Skeleton Coast Mining (Pty) Ltd

Transworld Energy and Minerals Resources (SA) 
Proprietary Limited

Madan Rahjo Kanyab Company (Private Joint 
Stock)

Zamin Afzar Ofogh Company (Private Joint Stock)

South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

Iran

Iran

Mineral Commodities (UK) Ltd

United Kingdom

(1)  MRC Graphite (Norway) Pty Ltd was incorporated on 15 May 2019
(2) 

Skaland Graphite AS was acquired on 4 October 2019

100

100

100

100

100

90

100

100

100

100

100

90

100

50

50

100

100

100

56

100

90

100

100

100

100

100

100

90

100

100

100

-

100

-

100

50

50

100

100

-

56

100

90

100

-

-

-

-

-

10

-

-

-

-

-

10

-

50

50

-

-

-

44

-

10

-

-

-

-

-

-

10

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

50

50

-

-

-

44

-

10

-

85

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019NO T E S T O T H E C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

6.2  Parent entity financial information

The financial information for the parent entity, Mineral Commodities Ltd, has been prepared on the same basis as the 
consolidated financial statements, unless stated otherwise.

Accounting Policies

Interests in subsidiaries

Investments in subsidiaries are carried in the Company’s financial report at cost less any impairment losses. 
Dividends and distributions are brought to account in profit when they are declared by the subsidiaries.

Investments in associates

Investments in associates are accounted for in the parent entity financial statements using the cost method.

The individual financial statements for the parent entity show the following aggregate numbers:

Balance sheet

Current assets

Non-current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Shareholders’ equity

Issued capital

Reserves

Accumulated losses

Total equity

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

9,937,240

1,653,004

11,590,244

1,419,841

146,583

1,566,424

3,285,437 

60,958,480 

64,243,917

49,620,117

99,024

49,719,141

10,023,820

14,524,776

44,401,322

(34,981,725)

604,223

64,919,201

(29,935,009)

(20,459,416)

10,023,820

14,524,776

(Loss)/profit for the year

(832,144)

(2,164,488)

6.3  Business combinations during the period

On 4 October 2019 the Group acquired 100% of the voting equity instruments of Skaland Graphite AS, a company 
whose principal activity is mining and producing graphite. Post acquisition, 10% of the interest in Skaland is to 
be transferred to the facilitator of the transaction, BSG Mining LLC, an unrelated party to the Group, with the 
proportionate acquisition cost expected to be recouped by the Group. The purpose of the acquisition is to fast-track 
MRC to be the largest graphite miner in Europe, improving the Company’s understanding of traditional graphite 
markets. Skaland also offers excellent geostrategic positioning to capitalise on the fastest growing electric vehicle 
market globally.

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Details of the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired, purchase consideration are as follows (note 
that fair value was not used as the measurement basis for assets and liabilities that require a different basis, which 
includes employee benefits):

Cash

Trade and other receivables

Inventories

Other investments

Land & buildings

Plant & equipment

Mine development

Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Employee benefits

Total net assets

Fair value of consideration paid:

Cash

Loan to Leonhard Nilsen & Sonner AS

Total consideration

Goodwill

Fair value 
$

86,689

127,603

1,681,936

12,919

982,987

1,083,064

6,032,998

(686,598)

(430,341)

(177,510)

8,713,747

$

4,544,086

4,169,661

8,713,747

-

No goodwill was recognised in the business combination nor a gain from a bargain purchase. No acquisition costs 
arose as a result of the transaction. 

The fair values of land & building and plant & equipment are provisional and subject to third party expert valuation, to 
take place in 2020, and will be restated as per allowances in AASB 3 Business Combinations. The identifiable assets 
fair value assessment involved significant judgement. There were no acquisitions in the year ended 31 December 2018.

The revenue and profit contribution to the Group from the date of acquisition were $1,173,287 and $422,513 
respectively.

7.  PEOPLE

This section provides information in relation to the Group employee benefits, share-based payment schemes and 
related party transactions.

7.1  Employee Benefits

Accounting policies

Provision is made for the Group’s liability for employee entitlements arising from services rendered by employees 
to reporting date. These benefits include annual and long service leave. Sick leave is non-vesting and has not been 
provided for.

Employee entitlements expected to be settled within one year have been measured at the amounts expected to be 
paid when the liabilities are settled and are recognised in other payables.

The contributions made to defined contribution superannuation funds by entities within the consolidated entity are 
charged against profits when due.

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Current

Annual leave provision

Non-current

Long service leave provision

7.2  Share based payments

Accounting policies

31 December 2019
$

31 December 2018
$

661,266

355,057

126,795

99,024

Equity-settled share-based compensation benefits are provided to certain senior employees.

Equity-settled transactions are awards of options over shares that are provided to employees in exchange for the 
rendering of services.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is measured at fair value at grant date. The cost of equity-settled transactions 
is recognised as an expense with a corresponding increase in equity over the vesting period. The cumulative change 
to profit or loss is calculated based on the grant date fair value of the award, and then amortised over the vesting 
period. The amount recognised in profit or loss for the period is the cumulative amount calculated at each reporting 
date less amounts already recognised in previous periods.

a)  Employee Options

The issue of employee options was approved by shareholders at a general meeting of the Company held on  
21 December 2012. The employee option plan (“the Plan”) is designed to provide long-term incentives for senior 
managers and above (including directors) to deliver long-term shareholder returns. Options granted under the 
plan carry no dividend or voting rights. When exercisable each option is convertible into one ordinary share at the 
predetermined exercise price.

No options were granted under the Plan in 2019.

Set out below are summaries of options under the Plan that vested in the financial year ended 31 December 2018.

Grant 
date

Expiry 
date

27 May
2015

30 May
2018

7 Sept
2015

31 March
2018

Average 
Exercise
price

Fair Value
at grant 
date

Options at 
the start of 
the year

Granted 
during 
the year

Exercised
during the 
year

Forfeited 
during the 
year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Balance at 
the end of 
the year

Vested at 
the end of 
the year

20 cents

4.90 cents

5,000,000

20 cents

5.40 cents

1,000,000

6,000,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,000,000

1,000,000

6,000,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

The weighted average remaining contractual life of options outstanding at end of period is Nil years (2018: Nil years).

Fair value of options granted

The assessed fair value at grant date of options issued in the prior period was independently determined using a 
Black-Scholes option pricing model that takes into account the exercise price, the term of the option, the impact of 
dilution, the share price at grant date and expected price volatility of the underlying share, the expected dividend 
yield and the risk free interest rate for the term of the option. The total share based payment expense related to 
options for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $Nil (2018: $Nil). 

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b)  Performance Rights

The issue of Performance Rights was approved by shareholders at a general meeting of the Company held on  
25 May 2016. The Incentive Performance Rights Plan is designed to provide long-term incentives for senior 
managers and above (including directors) to deliver long-term shareholder returns. Performance Rights granted 
under the plan carry no dividend or voting rights. 

On 16 August 2017, the Board approved the issue of 2,000,000 Performance Rights to the former CFO, Tony Sheard. 
These performance rights are exercisable on or before 31 May 2020 with 1,500,000 vesting upon the closing share 
price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above $0.20 for a period of 5 consecutive trading days. The remaining 
500,000 will vest 12 months from date of issue and upon the closing share price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or 
above $0.20 for a period of 5 consecutive trading days. These Performance Rights were fully exercised in 2018.

On 16 August 2017, the Board approved the issue of 500,000 Performance Rights to senior managers. These 
performance rights are exercisable on or before 31 May 2020, vesting on 31 May 2018 and upon the closing share 
price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above $0.20 for a period of 5 consecutive trading days.

On 16 August 2017, the Board approved the issue of 450,000 Performance Rights to employees. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 31 May 2021, vesting at a rate of 150,000 per annum on 31 May 2018 to 2020 
inclusive and upon the closing share price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above $0.20 for a period of  
5 consecutive trading days. 250,000 of these Performance Rights have been exercised and 100,000 have been 
forfeited.

On 22 May 2018, the Board approved the issue of 1,000,000 Performance Rights to Executives. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 31 May 2021, vesting at a rate of 333,333 per annum on 1 October 2018 to 2020 
inclusive and upon the closing share price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above $0.20 for a period of  
30 consecutive trading days.

On 22 May 2018, the Board approved the issue of 1,000,000 Performance Rights to Executives. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 25 June 2020, with 500,000 vesting on 25 June 2019 and 500,000 vesting on 
25 June 2020 and upon the closing share price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above $0.20 for a period of 5 
consecutive trading days.

On 25 September 2018, the Board approved the issue of 1,000,000 Performance Rights to Executives. These 
performance rights are exercisable on or before 30 September 2020, with 500,000 vesting on 11 October 2019 and 
500,000 vesting on 11 October 2020 and upon the closing share price reaching $0.20 and remaining at or above 
$0.20 for a period of 5 consecutive trading days.

On 28 May 2019, the Board approved the issue of 1,000,000 Performance Rights to Executives. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 14 May 2022, with 500,000 vesting on 14 May 2020 and 500,000 vesting on  
14 May 2021 and upon the 30 Day Volume Weighted Average Price (“VWAP”) being at or above $0.26. 

On 28 May 2019, the Board approved the issue of 100,000 Performance Rights to employees. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 28 February 2023, with 33,333 vesting on 28 February 2020, 33,333 vesting on 
28 February 2021 and 33,334 vesting on 28 February 2022 and upon the 30 Day VWAP being at or above $0.26. 
These Performance Rights were forfeited in 2019.

On 28 May 2019, the Board approved the issue of 150,000 Performance Rights to employees. These performance 
rights are exercisable on or before 28 February 2023, with 50,000 vesting on 28 February 2020, 50,000 vesting on 
28 February 2021 and 50,000 vesting on 28 February 2022 and upon the 30 Day VWAP being at or above $0.26.

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Set out below are summaries of all Performance Rights granted under the Plan and unexpired at 31 December 2019:

Grant date 

Expiry date

16 Aug 2017

31 May 2020

16 Aug 2017

31 May 2021

22 May 2018

31 May 2021

22 May 2018

1 Oct 2021

25 Sept 2018

30 Sept 2021

28 May 2019

14 May 2022

28 May 2019

28 Feb 2023

28 May 2019

28 Feb 2023

Fair 
Value 
at grant 
date

Rights at 
the start 
of the 
year

Exercise 
price

Granted 
during 
the year

Exercised 
during the 
year

Forfeited 
during 
the year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Balance 
at the 
end of 
the year

Vested at 
the end of 
the year

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

11.8 cents

500,000

11.8 cents

300,000

28.0 cents

1,000,000

28.0 cents

1,000,000

13.6 cents

1,000,000

-

-

-

-

-

13.4 cents

13.2 cents

13.2 cents

-

-

-

1,000,000

100,000

150,000

-

-

100,000

100,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

100,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

500,000

500,000

100,000

-

1,000,000

500,000

1,000,000

666,666

1,000,000

500,000

1,000,000

-

150,000

-

-

-

3,800,000 1,250,000

100,000

200,000

- 4,750,000

2,166,666

Set out below are summaries of all Performance Rights granted under the Plan and unexpired at 31 December 2018:

Grant date 

Expiry date

25 May 2016

30 May 2019

16 Aug 2017

31 May 2020

16 Aug 2017

31 May 2020

16 Aug 2017

31 May 2021

22 May 2018

31 May 2021

22 May 2018

1 Oct 2021

25 Sept 2018

30 Sept 2021

Fair 
Value 
at grant 
date

Rights at 
the start 
of the 
year

Exercise 
price

Granted 
during 
the year

Exercised 
during the 
year

Forfeited 
during 
the year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Balance 
at the 
end of 
the year

Vested at 
the end of 
the year

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

11.3 cents 4,000,000

11.8 cents 2,000,000

11.8 cents

500,000

11.8 cents

450,000

-

-

-

-

4,000,000

2,000,000

-

150,000

28.0 cents

28.0 cents

13.6 cents

-

-

-

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

-

-

-

6,950,000 3,000,000

6,150,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

500,000

500,000

300,000

1,000,000

-

-

1,000,000

333,333

1,000,000

-

- 3,800,000

833,333

Fair value of Performance Rights granted

The assessed fair value at grant date of the Performance Rights issued during the period ended 31 December 2019 
was determined using a trinomial option pricing model that takes into account the performance conditions (e.g. 
share price reaching A$0.20 per share for five consecutive days), the term of the Performance Right, the impact of 
dilution, the share price at grant date and expected price volatility of the underlying share, the expected dividend 
yield and the risk free interest rate for the term of the Performance Right. The total share based payment expense 
related to performance rights for the period ended 31 December 2019 was $261,810 (2018: $441,253).

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The model inputs for Performance Rights granted during the period, as well as prior periods, included:

(a) Number of Rights 

2,000,000

500,000

450,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000

100,000

150,000

issued

(b) Exercise price 

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

0 cents

(AUD)

(c) Share price barrier 

20.0 cents 20.0 cents 20.0 cents 20.0 cents 20.0 cents 20.0 cents 26.0 cents 26.0 cents 26.0 cents

(AUD)

(d) 5 day VWAP of 

13.5 cents 13.5 cents 13.5 cents 28.0 cents 28.0 cents 17.5 cents

-

-

-

underlying security

(e) 30 day VWAP of 

underlying security

(f) Grant date

(g) Risk-free interest 

rate

(h) Expiry date

-

-

-

-

-

- 26.0 cents 26.0 cents 26.0 cents

16 Aug
 2017

1.98%

16 Aug 
2017

16 Aug 
2017

1.98%

1.98%

22 May
 2018

2.20%

22 May
 2018

2.20%

25 Sept
 2018

28 May 
2019

28 May 
2019

28 May 
2019

2.15%

1.12%

1.12%

1.12%

31 May
2020

31 May 
2020

31 May 
2021

31 May 
2021

1 Oct 
2021

30 Sept
 2021

14 May
2022

14 May 
2022

14 May
2022

(i) Share price at 

13.5 cents 13.5 cents 13.5 cents 28.0 cents 28.0 cents 17.5 cents 19.5 cents 19.5 cents 19.5 cents

grant date (AUD)

(j) Expected price 
volatility of the 
shares

90%

90%

90%

85%

85%

85%

85%

85%

85%

(k) Expected dividend 

8%

8%

8%

5.67%

5.67%

7.6%

6.67%

6.67%

6.67%

yield

The expected price volatility is based on the historic volatility and the general trend in share prices of the companies 
in similar businesses and trading on the ASX over the past 12 months.

7.3  Related party transactions

(i)  Parent entity

Transactions between the Company and other entities in the Group during the years ended 31 December 2019 
and 31 December 2018 consisted of loans advanced and payments received and made on inter-company 
accounts. These transactions were made on normal commercial terms and conditions and at market rates.

(ii)  Key management personnel disclosures

Compensation

The aggregate compensation made to Directors and other members of key management personnel of the Group 
is set out below:

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

Short-term employee benefits

Post-employment benefits

Long-term benefits

Share-based payments

1,805,174

78,743

-

195,923

2,079,840

Detailed remuneration disclosures are provided in the remuneration report in the Director’s Report.

1,948,747

80,217

-

447,457

2,476,421

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(iii)  Transactions with other related parties

Mine Site Construction Services (“MSCS”), a company associated with Mr Mark Caruso and Mr Joseph Caruso 
has provided the following services to the Company during 2019:

•  Provision of executive services

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $208,657 (2018: 
$224,340). This is considered to be an arm’s length commercial consultancy contract at normal commercial 
rates. This amount is included in Mark Caruso’s salary in the Remuneration Report.

•  Provision of office space

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $143,851 (2018: 
$148,625). This is considered to be an arm’s length commercial rent. There is a formal lease in place.

•  Provision of technical staff

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $280,715 (2018: 
$236,880). The amounts payable have been in respect to the provision of technical staff at the Group’s head 
office and at the Tormin project and have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at normal commercial rates. 

•  Others

The amount paid by the Company to MSCS for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $131,340 (2018: 
$337,253). The amounts payable have been in respect of telecommunication charges and miscellaneous 
payments made by MSCS on behalf of the Company. The amount paid in 2018 included the acquisition of 
a new vehicle for the Executive Chairman. The amounts have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at 
normal commercial rates.

Ross Hastings, one of the Directors, has provided consulting services to one of the Company’s projects during 
the year ended 31 December 2018. Mr Hastings ceased as a Director on 30 May 2019. The amount paid by 
the Company to Ross Hastings for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $Nil (2018: $8,209). The amounts 
payable have been reimbursed on an arm’s length basis at normal commercial rates.

Hastings Bell Pty Ltd, a Company associated with Daniel Hastings, the son of Ross Hastings, has provided 
business development consultancy services to the Company during 2018. The amount paid by the Company to 
Hastings Bell Pty Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $157,352 (2018: $305,734). This is considered 
to be an arm’s length commercial consultancy contract at normal commercial rates.

Shepstone and Wylie, a company associated with Debbie Ntombela, one of the Directors from 28 August 2019, 
has provided legal services to the Company during 2019. The amount paid by the Company to Shepstone and 
Wylie for the year ended 31 December 2019 was $11,292.

(iv)  Receivable from and payable to related parties

The following balances are outstanding at the reporting date in relation to transactions with related parties:

MSCS

8.  OTHER

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

53,463

126,284

This section provides information that is not directly related to the specific line items in the financial statements, 
including information about contingent assets and liabilities, other commitments, events after the end of the financial 
year, remuneration of auditors and changes to accounting policies and procedures.

8.1  Contingent assets and contingent liabilities

a)  Contingent liabilities

Bank guarantees

FirstRand Bank Limited has issued a Bank Guarantee, in favour of the South African Department of Mineral 
Resources, in respect of MSR’s obligations under the Tormin Mining Right for an amount of ZAR2,628,000 
(US$187,551) (2018: ZAR2,628,000 (US$182,551)).

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FirstRand Bank Limited has issued a Bank Guarantee, in favour of the South African Department of Mineral 
Resources, in respect of MSR’s obligations under the De Punt Prospecting Right Application for an amount of 
ZAR320,000 (US$22,779) (2018: ZAR320,000 (US$22,228)).

FirstRand Bank Limited has issued a Bank Guarantee, in favour of the South African Department of Mineral 
Resources, in respect of MSR’s obligations under the Tormin Mining Right for an amount of ZAR1,474,989 
(US$104,994) (2018: ZAR1,474,989 (US$102,458)).

FirstRand Bank Limited has issued a Bank Guarantee, in favour of the South African Department of Mineral 
Resources, in respect of MSR’s obligations under the Tormin Prospecting Rights for an amount of ZAR400,000 
(US$28,473) (2018: ZAR400,000 (US$27,786)).

Guarantees

Guardrisk has issued a Guarantee, in favour of the South African Department of Mineral Resources, in respect 
of MSR’s obligations under the expanded Tormin Mining Rights for an amount of ZAR15,200,000 (US$1,081,981) 
(2018: Nil).

Subordination of Shareholders Loan

With effect from 26 March 2015, MRC Resources Proprietary Limited (“MRCR”) has subordinated 
ZAR90,000,000 (US$ 6,406,469) (2018: ZAR90,000,000 (US$ 6,251,746)) of its inter-company loan account to 
FirstRand Bank Limited for the due payment by MSR of all monies owed to FirstRand Bank Limited.

Suretyship

With effect from 26 March 2015, MRCR has provided a surety to FirstRand Bank Limited of ZAR45,000,000 
(US$ 3,203,235) (2018: ZAR45,000,000 (US$3,125,873)) for the due payment by MSR of all monies owed to 
FirstRand Bank Limited.

With effect from 15 September 2016, MSR has provided a surety to FirstRand Bank Limited of ZAR4,614,788 
(US$ 328,494) (2018: ZAR4,614,788 (US$320,561)) for the due payment by Z Square M.P. Empowerment 
Company (Pty) Ltd of all monies owed to FirstRand Bank Limited.

Others

In the first half of 2019 the Company received a letter of demand for up to ZAR32,268,000 (US$2,296,933) plus 
penalty interest of ZAR4,307,083 (US$306,591), total ZAR36,575,083, relating to DFR claimed from its mining 
activities over several years. The Company is of the view, based upon independent legal advice obtained, the 
Company has been compliant with the respective legislation and therefore the Company does not consider it 
had a present obligation with respect to this claim. Accordingly, no provision or liability in relation to the claim 
was recognised on the date of the letter of demand in the financial statements. The Company will be pursuing 
legal proceedings and is confident in defending the claim. 

Other than those mentioned above, there have been no other changes to contingent assets or liabilities since 31 
December 2019. 

8.2  Other Commitments

Blue Bantry funding support

The Company, via MRCR, and Blue Bantry are both 50% shareholders in MSR, the entity which owns the Tormin 
Project. 

The Company agreed to provide Blue Bantry access to an amount of funding to support the original Tormin Project 
objectives by advancing through a loan, certain benefits Blue Bantry would expect to receive from the Tormin 
Project. Blue Bantry will repay the ZAR14,000,000 loan from dividend distributions that it will receive in the future 
from MSR. 

8.3  Events since the end of the financial year

There have been no material matters arising subsequent to the end of the financial year. 

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8.4  Remuneration of auditors

During the year, the following fees were paid or payable for services provided by BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd, BDO Tax 
(WA) Pty Ltd, and their related practices and related firms:

31 December 2019 
$

31 December 2018 
$

Audit services

Audit and review of financial reports

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd

BDO Johannesburg South Africa

Non-audit services

Taxation, advisory and company secretarial (South African entities)

BDO advisory

BDO Tax (WA) Pty Ltd

BDO Johannesburg South Africa

8.5  Accounting Policies

a)  New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

86,554

30,440

116,994

5,564

-

1,034

6,598

57,391

14,319

71,710

-

16,116

8,830

24,946

The Group has not elected to apply any pronouncements before their effective date for the annual reporting 
period ended 31 December 2019.

A number of new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are effective for annual period 
beginning on or after 1 January 2020, and have not been applied in preparing these consolidated financial 
statements. The most significant of these are:

• 

IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates 
and Errors (Amendment – Definition of Material)

• 

IFRS 3 Business Combinations (Amendment – Definition of Business)

•  Revised Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

No other standards, interpretations or amendments which have been issued are expected to have an impact on 
the Group.

94

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Directors’ declaration

THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY DECLARE THAT:

1. 

 The financial statements, comprising the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income, consolidated balance sheet, consolidated statement of cash flows, consolidated 
statement of changes in equity and accompanying notes, are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 
including;

(a) 

 complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001 and other 
mandatory professional reporting requirements; and

(b)   give a true and fair view of the consolidated entity’s financial position as at 31 December 2019 and of its 

performance for the year ended on that date.

 The Company has included in the notes to the financial statements an explicit and unreserved statement of 
compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

 In the Directors’ opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts 
as and when they become due and payable.

2. 

3. 

The Directors have been given the declarations by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer required by 
section 295A of the Corporations Act 2001.

Signed in accordance with a resolution of the Directors:

Mark Caruso 
Executive Chairman

Dated at Perth, Western Australia  
this 28th day of February 2020

95

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
Tel: +61 8 6382 4600 
Fax: +61 8 6382 4601 
www.bdo.com.au 

38 Station Street 
Subiaco, WA 6008 
PO Box 700 West Perth WA 6872 
Australia 

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT 

To the members of Mineral Commodities Ltd

Report on the Audit of the Financial Report

Opinion

We have audited the financial report of Mineral Commodities Ltd (the Company) and its
subsidiaries (the Group), which comprises the consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2019, the
consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of other comprehensive income, the
consolidated statement of changes in equity and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year
then ended, and notes to the financial report, including a summary of significant accounting policies
and the directors’ declaration.

In our opinion the accompanying financial report of the Group, is in accordance with the Corporations
Act 2001, including:

(i)

Giving a true and fair view of the Group’s financial position as at 31 December 2019 and of its
financial performance for the year ended on that date; and

(ii)

Complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.  Our responsibilities under
those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the Financial
Report section of our report.  We are independent of the Group in accordance with the Corporations
Act 2001 and the ethical requirements of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board’s
APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) that are relevant to our audit of the
financial report in Australia.  We have also fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance
with the Code.

We confirm that the independence declaration required by the Corporations Act 2001, which has been
given to the directors of the Company, would be in the same terms if given to the directors as at the
time of this auditor’s report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our opinion.

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in
our audit of the financial report of the current period.  These matters were addressed in the context of
our audit of the financial report as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide
a separate opinion on these matters.

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd ABN 79 112 284 787 is a member of a national association of independent entities which are all members of BDO Australia L td ABN 77 050 110 275, an Australian 
company limited by guarantee. BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd and BDO Australia Ltd are members of BDO International Ltd, a UK company limited by guarantee, and form part of the international 
BDO network of independent member firms. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

 
 
 
Accounting for the acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS 

Key audit matter  

How the matter was addressed in our audit 

During the year ended 31 December 
2019, the Group completed the 
acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS. As 
outlined in note 6.3 of the financial 
report the acquisition accounting 
remains provisional as permitted by 
Australian Accounting Standards. 

Accounting for the acquisition of a 
business can be complex and accounting 
standards required the Group to identify 
all assets and liabilities of the newly 
acquired business and estimate the fair 
value of each item.  

This is a key audit matter given the 
complexity of business combinations 
and significant judgement and 
estimation involved in assessing the fair 
value of assets and liabilities acquired. 

Our procedures included, but were not limited to the 
following: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

reviewing the share purchase agreement to 
understand the key terms and conditions and 
evaluating management’s application of the 
relevant Australian Accounting Standards; 

evaluating the Group’s determination of the 
purchase consideration with reference to the 
underlying share purchase agreement and cash 
consideration paid; 

agreeing and substantiating assets and liabilities 
recognised to supporting documentation; 

evaluating the methodology and assumptions 
utilised to identify and determine the fair value of 
the assets and liabilities acquired; and 

assessing the appropriateness of related 
disclosures in note 6.3 of the financial report. 

 
 
 
Existence and Valuation of Inventory 

Key audit matter  

How the matter was addressed in our audit 

Note 4.3 of the financial report 
discloses the carrying value of the 
Group’s inventory. 

Inventory was identified as a key audit 
matter due to the judgements by 
management in allocating costs to 
various products of the mining process 
and the significant balance of spares 
and consumables at the mine site. 

Our procedures included, but were not limited to the 
following: 

  BDO network component auditors attending 

inventory counts at the Tormin mine site and 
counting a sample of inventory items and 
comparing the quantities/volumes counted to the 
quantities/volumes recorded; 

  BDO network component auditors observing for 

potential obsolete or damaged items; 

  obtaining and reviewing third party survey reports 
of stockpiled finished goods and compared to 
volumes recorded. This included assessing the 
competence and objectivity of the expert used 
and the adequacy of their work; 

 

reviewing management’s inventory model which 
allocates mining costs to finished product and 
assessing the methodology and comparing to the 
accounting policy adopted by the Group; 

  obtaining third party confirmation for inventory 

held at external warehouses; 

 

 

 

re-performing the calculation and reconciling 
inputs used in the inventory model to survey 
results, production reports, mining costs and sales 
contracts;  

testing a sample of finished product to assess 
whether they were recorded at the lower of cost 
and net realisable value; and  

assessing the adequacy of the related disclosures 
in Note 4.3 to the financial report. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Other information  

The directors are responsible for the other information.  The other information comprises the 
unaudited information contained in Directors’ report for the year ended 31 December 2019, but does 
not include the financial report and our auditor’s report thereon, which we obtained prior to the date 
of this auditor’s report, and the Annual report, which is expected to be made available to us after that 
date. 

Our opinion on the financial report does not cover the other information and we do not express any 
form of assurance conclusion thereon.  

In connection with our audit of the financial report, our responsibility is to read the other information 
identified above and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent 
with the financial report or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially 
misstated.  

If, based on the work we have performed on the other information that we obtained prior to the date 
of this auditor’s report, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, 
we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.  

When we read the Annual report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are 
required to communicate the matter to the directors and will request that it is corrected.  If it is not 
corrected, we will seek to have the matter appropriately brought to the attention of users for whom 
our report is prepared. 

Responsibilities of the directors for the Financial Report  

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a 
true and fair view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001 
and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the 
financial report that gives a true and fair view and is free from material misstatement, whether due to 
fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial report, the directors are responsible for assessing the ability of the group to 
continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the 
going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the Group or to cease 
operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.  

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Report  

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report as a whole is free 
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that 
includes our opinion.  Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an 
audit conducted in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards will always detect a material 
misstatement when it exists.  Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material 
if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of this financial report.  

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial report is located at the 
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board website (http://www.auasb.gov.au/Home.aspx) at:  

http://www.auasb.gov.au/auditors_responsibilities/ar1.pdf 

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

 
Report on the Remuneration Report

Opinion on the Remuneration Report

We have audited the Remuneration Report included in pages 31 to 38 of the directors’ report for the
year ended 31 December 2019.

In our opinion, the Remuneration Report of Mineral Commodities Ltd, for the year ended 31 December
2019, complies with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001.

Responsibilities

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the
Remuneration Report in accordance with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001.  Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on the Remuneration Report, based on our audit conducted in accordance with
Australian Auditing Standards.

BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd 

Glyn O'Brien 

Director 

Perth, 28 February 2020

 
 
 
 
 
 
101

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Statement of corporate governance

The Board of Directors (referred to hereafter as the “Board”) of Mineral Commodities Ltd (referred to hereafter as the 
“Company” or “MRC”) is responsible for the corporate governance of the Company. The Board guides and monitors 
the business and affairs of the Company on behalf of the shareholders by whom they are elected and to whom they 
are accountable. The Statement of Corporate Governance was approved by the Board on 27 April 2020.

In accordance with the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) Corporate Governance Council’s (“CGC”) “Principles 
of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations”, the Corporate Governance Statement must 
contain certain specific information and must disclose the extent to which the Company has followed the guidelines 
during the period. Where a recommendation has not been followed, that fact must be disclosed together with the 
reasons for the departure.

The Company’s corporate governance practices were in place throughout the year ended 31 December 2019 and 
are compliant, unless otherwise stated, with the Corporate Governance Council’s principles and recommendations 
(3rd Edition), which are noted below. 

Principle 1.

Principle 2.

Principle 3.

Principle 4.

Principle 5.

Principle 6.

Principle 7.

Principle 8.

Lay solid foundations for management and oversight

Structure the Board to add value

Act ethically and responsibly

Safeguard integrity in corporate reporting

Make timely and balanced disclosure

Respect the rights of security holders

Recognise and manage risk

Remunerate fairly and responsibly

A summary of the corporate governance policies and practices adopted by MRC is set out below.  

Role of the Board of Directors
The Board of MRC is responsible for setting the Company’s strategic direction and providing effective governance 
over MRC’s affairs in conjunction with the overall supervision of the Company’s business with the view of maximising 
shareholder value. The Board’s key responsibilities are to:

(a)  chart the direction, strategies and financial objectives for MRC and monitor the implementation of those policies, 

strategies and financial objectives; 

(b)  monitor compliance with regulatory requirements, ethical standards and external commitments; 

(c)  appoint, evaluate the performance of, determine the remuneration of, plan for the succession of and, where 

appropriate, remove the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) if in place or similar person acting in the executive 
capacity; and

(d)  ensure that the Board continues to have the mix of skills and experience necessary to conduct MRC’s activities, 

and that appropriate directors are selected and appointed as required. 

In accordance with MRC’s Constitution, the Board delegates responsibility for the day–to–day management of MRC  
to the Executive Chairman and CEO (subject to any limits of such delegated authority as determined by the Board from 
time to time). Management as a whole is charged with reporting to the Board on the performance of the Company.

All directors have unrestricted access to the Company Secretary, all employees of the Group, and, subject to the law, 
access to all Company records and information held by Group employees and external advisers. The Board receives 
regular detailed financial and operational reports from senior management to enable it to carry out its duties. 

Each director may, with the prior written approval of the Chairman, obtain independent professional advice to assist 
the director in the proper exercise of powers and discharge of duties as a director or as a member of a Board 
Committee. The Company will reimburse the director for the reasonable expense of obtaining that advice. 

102

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019The Company Secretary is accountable directly to the Board, through the Chairman, on all matters to do with the 
proper functioning of the Board. The role of the Company Secretary includes:

•  Advising the Board and its Committees on governance matters;

•  Monitoring that Board and Committee policy and procedures are followed;

•  Coordinating, in unison with the Company, the timely completion and despatch of Board and Committee papers;

•  Ensuring that the business at Board and Committee meetings is accurately captured in the minutes; and

•  Helping to organise and facilitate the induction and professional development of directors.

Board structure and composition
The Board currently comprises six directors, three of which are independent non–executive directors. The three 
independent non-executive directors were appointed on 28 August 2019. Up until that point, the Board consisted 
of five directors, only one of which was considered to be an independent non-executive director. Details of each 
director’s skill, expertise and background are contained within the directors’ report included with the Company’s 
annual financial statements.

Independence, in this context, is defined to mean a non–executive director who is free from any interest and any 
business or other relationship that could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with the director’s 
ability to act in the best interests of MRC. The definition of independence in ASX Recommendation 2.3 is taken into 
account for this purpose. 

The Board will continue to assess its makeup and will ensure that it continues to have the mix of skills and experience 
necessary to conduct MRC’s activities, and that appropriate directors are selected and appointed as required. 

The following table sets out the mix of skills and diversity that the Board currently has:

Expertise

Senior Executive Experience

Governance

Financially Knowledgeable

Mining 

Contracting

Technical (Geological/Engineering)

Mergers and Acquisitions

In-Country Experience

Resource Development

Competencies

Strategic Leadership

Vision and Mission

Governance

 No of 
Directors

3

3

3

4

2

1

4

4

3

6

6

6

Details of directors’ shareholdings are disclosed in the directors’ report and financial report. There are no retirement 
schemes other than the payment of statutory superannuation contributions.

Any equity-based compensation of directors is required to be approved in advance by shareholders.

103

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
 
 
 
ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

Presently, the roles of Chairman and CEO have not been separated. The roles were separated up to 12 September 
2014 at which time the CEO resigned and Mr Mark Caruso, the Chairman of the Company, was appointed to the 
role of CEO. The Remuneration and Nomination Committee and Board consider that Mr Caruso’s experience in the 
industry and in managing mining operations position him well to manage the affairs of the Company. The Board will 
further assess its governance structure to mitigate any potential issues with the one person fulfilling the dual roles 
of Chairman and CEO, particularly in light of the appointment of the additional independent non-executive directors.
The present Chairman of the Company is not considered to be an independent director. Notwithstanding this, all 
directors of the Company are, and were during the reporting period, independent in character and judgment.

The CEO is responsible for supervising the management of the business as designated by the Board. 

The Company’s non-executive directors may not hold office for a continuous period in excess of three years or past 
the third annual general meeting following their appointment, whichever is longer, without submitting for re–election. 
Directors are elected or re-elected, as the case may be, by shareholders in a general meeting. Directors may offer 
themselves for re-election. A director appointed by the directors (e.g. to fill a casual vacancy) will hold office only until 
the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of MRC but is eligible for re–election at that meeting.

The process for retirement by rotation and re-election of a director is set down in the Company’s Constitution. If a 
retiring director nominates for re-election, the Board, through the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, will 
assess the performance of that director in their absence, and determine whether the Board will recommend that a 
shareholder vote in favour of the re-election, or otherwise. 

Details of each director standing for re-election, including their biographical details, relevant qualifications, 
experience and the skills and other material directorships they bring to the Board are provided to shareholders to 
assess prior to voting on their re-election. 

For new appointments, the Board, through the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, identifies candidates with 
the appropriate expertise and experience, having regard to the weighted list of required directors’ competencies as 
maintained by the Company. The Board will appoint the most suitable candidate, but the shareholders at the next 
annual general meeting of the Company must ratify the appointment. Shareholders are provided with all material 
information in the Notice of Annual General Meeting relevant to a decision on whether or not to elect or re-elect 
a director.

The Board will ensure appropriate checks are undertaken prior to making any new Board appointments. These will 
include checks as to the person’s character, experience, education, criminal record and bankruptcy history.

The key terms, conditions and requirements are set out in a standard letter of appointment. New directors will be 
provided with an induction program specifically tailored to the needs of individual appointees. The program includes 
meetings with major shareholders, one-on-one meetings with the members of the management team and visits to 
key sites. 

Directors are also encouraged to participate in continual improvement programs and are expected to highlight areas 
of activity that could potentially be improved. 

Under MRC’s Constitution, voting requires a simple majority of the Board. The Chairman holds a casting vote. 

The Company has procedures enabling any director or committee of the Board to seek external professional advice 
as considered necessary, at the Company’s expense, subject to prior consultation with the Chairman. A copy of any 
advice sought by a director would be made available to all directors.

Board and management effectiveness
Responsibility for the overall direction and management of the Company, its corporate governance and the internal 
workings of the Company rests with the Board notwithstanding the delegation of certain functions to the Executive 
Chairman and CEO and management generally (such delegation effected at all times in accordance with the 
Company’s Constitution and its corporate governance policies).

An evaluation procedure in relation to the Board, individual directors, Board Committees and Company executives 
has been adopted by the Board. An evaluation procedure did not take place during the year given there was 
significant change in the make up of the Board with the appointment of three independent non-executive directors. 
The evaluation of the Board as a whole is facilitated through the use of a questionnaire required to be completed by 
each Board Member, the results of which are to be summarised and discussed with the Chairman of the Board and 
tabled for discussion at a Board Meeting. Similarly, each individual director is required to self-assess his performance 
and to discuss the results with the Chairman. The same procedure is undertaken for the Audit, Compliance and Risk 
Committee and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

104

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

To ensure management, as well as Board, effectiveness, the Board, through the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee, has direct responsibility for evaluating the performance of the CEO. A formal evaluation of the CEO was 
undertaken in respect to the 2019 financial year. The review was undertaken by the Chairman of the Remuneration 
and Nomination Committee and involved the review of the CEO’s performance against set criteria and discussed 
with the CEO. The results of the review were then tabled at a meeting of the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee and a summary provided to the Board of the Company.

Financial Reporting, Internal Control and Risk Management
The Board has overall responsibility for the Company’s systems of internal control. These systems are designed to 
ensure effective and efficient operations, including financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, with 
a view to managing risk of failure to achieve business objectives. It must be recognised however, that internal control 
systems provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against the risk of material loss.

The Board reviews the financial position of the Company on a monthly basis. For annual and half yearly financial statements, 
the CEO and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) are required to state in writing that the Company’s financial reports:

•  present a true and fair view, in all material respects, of the Company’s financial condition and operational results 

in accordance with the relevant accounting standards; and 

• 

are founded on a system of risk management and internal compliance and control and the Company’s 
risk management and internal compliance and control system is operating efficiently and effectively in all 
material respects.

Management reports to the Board on the effectiveness of the Company’s management of material business risk 
through the provision of regular risk reports to the Board via the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee. Each 
reportable risk is discussed ensuring appropriate mitigation strategies are implemented by the Group. Management 
and the Board interact on a day to day basis and risk is continually considered across the financial, operational and 
organisational aspects of the Company’s business. The Company considers the overall risk framework at each Audit 
Compliance and Risk Committee Meeting and will continue to monitor, assess and report its business risks.

The following are key risk areas that could have a material impact on the Company and its ability to achieve its 
objectives. These are not the only risks associated with the Company and there may be others from time to time that 
may also adversely affect future performance.

•  Country Risk: The Company’s current primary assets are located in South Africa and Norway. Potential changes 
in fiscal or regulatory regimes in South Africa and Norway may adversely affect the Company. The Company must 
also comply with local laws and administrative processes, which are subject to potential amendments from time to 
time. The Company adopts processes to mitigate these risks and continues to explore other opportunities in other 
jurisdictions to diversify its asset holdings.

•  Business Continuance Risk: Various circumstances may arise which may lead to shut downs in operations, 

including plant failure, industrial action, in-country unrest, natural disasters, pandemics such as COVID-19 and 
continuance of licences. Management and the Board continually assess these risks and ensure all appropriate 
mitigating actions are put in place. This is underpinned by various policies currently in place, and in respect to 
licences, continued stakeholder engagement.

• 

Financial Risks: Like all mining entities, the Company faces risks relating to movement in interest rates, foreign 
exchange rates and access to funds. The Company maintains tight treasury controls and budget processes.  
Other financial risks are reported in the financial statements.

•  Product Risk: The pricing of the Company’s products are subject to many global factors. The Company actively 

markets its products itself in order to achieve the maximum possible value based on the prevailing market conditions. 
The Company is also assessing investment in downstream processing to add value to its concentrate products. 

•  Development Risk: The Company continues to assess other projects. A failure to develop a project or seek 
alternate projects could impact the long-term profitability and financial position of the Company. The Board 
continues to assess the progress of the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project, will continue with its intention to develop 
the Munglinup Graphite Project and will continue to review other opportunities in order to extend the Company’s 
operations beyond the existing assets.

The Company does not presently have an internal audit function. This is mitigated by the Board through the Audit, 
Compliance and Risk Committee implementing the matters set out above in respect to risk and management, and 
having a primary responsibility to ensure that: 

• 

the Company presents and publishes accounts which present a true and fair view of its results and 
financial position;

105

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

• 

• 

the accounting methods adopted are appropriate to the Company and consistently applied in accordance with 
relevant accounting standards and the applicable laws; and

the appointment and performance of the external auditor is appropriately monitored to ensure independence 
and the serving of the interests of shareholders. 

This requirement is assisted by the formal sign off from the CEO and CFO, as noted above.

Committees of the Board of Directors
The Board established two permanent Board committees in February 2013 to assist the Board in the performance  
of its functions:

(a) 

the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee; and

(b)  the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Each committee has a charter, which sets out the Committee’s purpose and responsibilities. The Committees are 
described further below. 

AUDIT, COMPLIANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE

The purpose of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee is to provide assistance to the Board in its review of:

(a)  MRC’s financial reporting, internal control structure and risk management systems; 

(b)  the internal and external audit functions; and

(c)  MRC’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in relation to the above. 

The Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee has specific responsibilities in relation to MRC’s financial reporting 
process; the assessment of accounting, financial and internal controls; the appointment of an external auditor; the 
assessment of the external audit; the independence of the external auditor; and setting the scope of the external audit.

The Company’s external auditor is required to attend the Company’s annual general meeting and make themselves 
available to answer questions from security holders relevant to the audit.

The Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee Charter provides that the Committee must comprise at least three  
non-executive directors that have diverse, complementary backgrounds, with two independent non-executive 
directors. The Charter also provides that the Chairman of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee must be an 
independent non-executive director. 

The members of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee are: Mr Baker (Chairman), Mr Tipper, Ms Ntombela and 
Mr Joseph Caruso. Until 28 August 2019, the members of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee were  
Mr Walker (Chairman), Mr Hastings and Mr Torre. Given the independent status of Mr Walker changed throughout 
the 2017 period, the Committee did not have two independent directors or an independent Chairman until that point, 
however this did not affect the operations or performance of the Committee from that or any other period.

REMUNERATION AND NOMINATION COMMITTEE

The purpose of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee is to discharge the Board’s responsibilities relating to 
the nomination and selection of directors and the compensation of the Company’s executives and directors.

The key responsibilities of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee are to:

(a)  ensure the establishment and maintenance of a formal and transparent procedure for the selection and 

appointment of new directors to the Board; and

(b)  establish transparent and coherent remuneration policies and practices, which will enable MRC to attract, 

retain and motivate executives and directors who will create value for shareholders and to fairly and responsibly 
reward executives. 

The Remuneration and Nomination Committee Charter provides that the Committee must comprise at least 
three non–executive directors, two of which must be independent non–executive directors. The Chairman of the 
Remuneration and Nomination Committee must be an independent non–executive director.  

The members of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee are: Mr Tipper (Chairman), Mr Baker and  
Ms Ntombela. Until 28 August 2019, the members of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee were:  
Mr Hastings (Chairman), Mr Walker and Mr Joseph Caruso. With the change in Mr Walker’s status during the year,  
the Committee did not have two independent directors until that point, however this did not affected the operations 
or performance of the Committee from that or any other period.

106

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

The remuneration policy, which sets out the terms and conditions for the CEO and other senior executives, is set out 
in the Remuneration Report included in the Directors’ Report.

TIMELY AND BALANCED DISCLOSURE

The Company is committed to promoting investor confidence and ensuring that shareholders and the market have 
equal access to information and are provided with timely and balanced disclosure of all material matters concerning 
the Company. Additionally, The Company recognises its continuous disclosure obligations under the ASX Listing 
Rules and the Corporations Act. 

The Company’s shareholders are responsible for voting on the appointment of directors. The Board informs 
shareholders of all major developments affecting the Company by:

•  preparing half yearly and annual financial reports and making these available to all shareholders;
•  preparing quarterly activity reports;
• 

advising the market of matters requiring disclosure under Australian Securities Exchange Continuous 
Disclosure Rules;

•  maintaining a record of significant ASX announcements on the Company’s website;
• 

submitting proposed major changes in the Company’s affairs to a vote of shareholders, as required by the 
Corporations Act; 
reporting to shareholders at annual general meetings on the Company’s activities during the year. All 
shareholders that are unable to attend these meetings are encouraged to communicate issues or ask questions 
by writing to the Company; 
security holders are given the option to receive communications from, and send communications to, the 
Company and its share registry electronically; and
undertaking various presentations to discuss the Company’s activities.

• 

• 

• 

The Company has adopted a formal disclosure policy. The Board and management are aware of their responsibilities 
in respect of identifying material information and coordinating disclosure of that information where required by the 
ASX Listing Rules.

Ethical and responsible decision–making

CODE OF CONDUCT

The Board has created a framework for managing the Company including internal controls, business risk 
management processes and appropriate ethical standards. The Board recognises that its operations have direct and 
indirect social and environmental impacts.

The Board has adopted practices for maintaining confidence in the Company’s integrity including promoting integrity, 
trust, fairness and honesty in the way employees and directors conduct themselves and MRC’s business, avoiding 
conflicts of interest and not misusing Company resources. A formal Code of Conduct was adopted in February 2013.

SUSTAINABILITY

The Board is committed to supporting the sustainability of the natural environment, the people who rely on that 
environment and to ensuring the health and safety of our workforce and the communities in which we operate.

Our responsibility is to conduct business in a manner that uses best practices to minimise the effects of our 
operations on the environment, to actively promote the sustainability of local communities and to provide a safe 
workplace for all employees, contractors and visitors.

Our goal is to manage these impacts so we can better manage the risks and enhance our company’s reputation in 
environmental sustainability.

DIVERSITY

The Company employs a broad mix of individuals reflecting its philosophy of hiring the best candidate for all positions 
at all levels irrespective of race, religion or gender. In terms of the composition of the Board and Board nominations, 
the Board considers the Australian Securities Exchange Corporate Governance Principles as part of the overall 
Board appointment process of determining the composition of the Board that is the most appropriate for the Group.

The Company has implemented a diversity policy. The objective of the policy is for the Company to embrace the 
diversity of skills, ideas and experiences of an individual and recognise that a workforce is made up of people with 
differences in age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or national origin or social origin which contributes to 
MRC’s success and organisational strength. It ensures all employees are treated with fairness and respect.

107

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

MRC is committed to embedding a corporate culture that embraces diversity through:

• 

recruitment on the basis of competence and performance and selection of candidates from a diverse pool of 
qualified candidates;

•  maintaining selection criteria that do not indirectly disadvantage people from certain groups;
•  providing equal employment opportunities through performance and flexible working practices; 
•  maintaining a safe working environment and supportive culture by taking action against inappropriate workplace and 
business behaviour that is deemed as unlawful (discrimination, harassment, bullying, vilification and victimisation);

•  promoting diversity across all levels of the business;
• 
• 
• 

undertaking diversity initiatives and measuring their success;
regularly surveying our work climate; and
the Board establishing measurable objectives in achieving gender diversity.

The Company currently employs 206 staff, with 61 females, representing 29.61%. There is one female director. The 
Company has not yet set any measurable objectives however it has an extensive Social and Labour Plan (“SLP”) 
in South Africa which addresses these diversity objectives. 

The development of people is the fundamental principle; enshrined in the business strategy. The Company provides 
opportunities and resources for employees to be fully developed in job disciplines that form part of the occupational 
structures of the operating subsidiaries. These opportunities pervade throughout and are not limited to a specific 
department or level.

The Company ensures that the highest calibre of management is of great importance to sustain the business. 

The Company will assist employees in achieving their potential by supporting and mentoring them in their 
development. At the same time, meticulous attention is given to the requirements of the legislation applicable thereto.

REGIONAL AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd (“MSR”), is committed to contributing 
to the socio economic activities of the immediate community and the region. Although the primary objective is to 
mine heavy mineral sands from the Tormin Mineral Sands Operation for the international and local markets, the 
business is managed in a manner that embodies value-added compliance with all relevant legislative requirements 
and socio economic responsibilities.

MSR’s management will always endeavour to offer job opportunities to the local community and the labour sending 
area from which labour is sourced, Xolobeni, by the creation of direct and indirect jobs wherever the required skills 
and experience are present or developed. MSR will continue to afford job opportunities to the members of the local 
community and the labour sending area where such individuals meet the necessary recruitment criteria.

The promotion of local and Xolobeni sustainable development is a core objective of MSR’s SLP and, as such, may 
be used as a general indicator of the success of this SLP. This performance indicator should focus particularly on 
the prevalence of livelihood opportunities for local people and Xolobeni people after mine closure, compared with the 
situation before the commencement of the operation.

The Company’s Skaland Operation has had an historical regional operational continuance for over 100 years. The 
social economic benefits of the mine are integral to the local community’s sustainability, and as such, the Company 
is committed to investing in local employment and continuous training and upskilling to ensure ongoing balanced 
viability of the mine’s future operations and the local community.

SECURITIES TRADING POLICY

A Securities Trading Policy has been adopted by the Board to set a standard of conduct, which demonstrates the 
Company’s commitment to ensuring awareness of the insider trading laws, and that employees and directors comply 
with those laws.

The Securities Trading Policy imposes additional share trading restrictions on directors, the Company Secretary, 
executives and employees involved in monthly financial accounting processes (“specified persons”). 

Under the Securities Trading Policy, specified persons are only permitted to buy and sell securities if they do not 
possess non–public price sensitive information and trading occurs outside of specified restricted periods. These 
periods are the periods commencing on the first day of the month before the end of the half–year or full year period 
and ending on the next business day after the announcement of the results for that period. In addition, before a 
specified person can deal in the Company’s securities they must obtain clearance from the appropriate officer, 
confirming that there is no reason why they cannot trade.

108

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

OTHER INFORMATION

The ASX guidelines also prescribe that the Company should maintain a dedicated corporate governance information 
section on its website. Such a dedicated information section is available on the Company’s website.

MINERAL RESOURCE STATEMENT

MINING AND PROSPECTING RIGHTS

The Company holds the following mining and prospecting rights:

Country

Location

Right/Tenement Number/
Operating Licence

Type of Right/
Tenement/
Licence

Status

South Africa

Tormin

162&163

Expansion

Granted – subject to appeal

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

Tormin

(WC)30/5/1/2/2/162 MR

(WC)30/5/1/2/2/163 MR

Mining

Mining

Renewal Granted

Renewal Granted

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10036 PR

Prospecting

Granted – subject to renewal 
application

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10199 PR

Prospecting

Granted

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10240 PR

Prospecting

EA appeal upheld and decision 
to approve EA remitted to DMR

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10261 PR

Prospecting

(WC) 30/5/1/1/2/10262 PR

Prospecting

Granted

Granted

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10307 PR

Prospecting

Under Application

(WC)30/5/1/1/2/10308 PR

Prospecting

Under Application

Xolobeni - 
Kwanyana block

EC30/5/1/1/2/10025 PR

Prospecting

Xolobeni

EC30/5/1/1/2/10025 MR

Mining

Subject to moratorium - 
Converting to Mining Right

Subject to moratorium - 
Under Application

Australia

Doolgunna

E51/1766

Exploration

Granted

Doolgunna –  
Bone

Doolgunna – 
Lucky Dog

Doolgunna – 
Lucky Dog

Glen Florrie

Harvey 
Vanadium

E51/1770

P51/2787

P51/2788

E08/2963

M70/888

Exploration

Granted

Exploration

Granted

Exploration

Granted

Exploration

Mining

Granted (1)

Granted

Australia

Paynes Find

M59/714

Mining

In Transfer

E59/2326

Exploration

Granted

Paynes Find 
– Wydgee 
Pegmatites

Munglinup

M74/245

Mining

Granted

Munglinup

E74/505

Exploration

Granted

Munglinup

E74/565

Norway

Trelle

Gnr./bnr.6/1,6/2 and 7/1 in 
Berg

Granted

Granted

Exploration

Expropriation of 
Mining Rights 
on specified 
land parcels

(1) 

Exploration Licence granted on 4 March 2020

Registered 
Interest 
(Beneficial 
Interest)

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

0% (Option to 
earn-in to 90%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in to 90%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in to 90%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in to 90%)

100% (90%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in up to 
100%)

0% (Option to 
earn-in to 90%)

100% (90%)

51% (Option to 
acquire 90%)

51% (Option to 
acquire 90%)

100%

100%

109

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

MINERAL SANDS RESOURCES

The Company reviews its resources as at 31 December each year.

The Company considers any additional exploration or depletion of its resources that would have a bearing on the 
total resource reported.

The Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project is located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa approximately 
300km north of East London and 200km south of Durban.

No exploration or production activity has been carried out at the Xolobeni Minerals Sands Project during the year. 
The Company is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information presented herein 
and confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in relation to 
the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project continue to apply and have not materially changed. There were no additional 
Resources added to Xolobeni during the year. As such, the mineral resources for Xolobeni as at 31 December 2019 
remain consistent with 31 December 2018.

The Tormin Mineral Sands Operation is located on the west coast of South Africa, approximately 400km north of 
Cape Town.

The Company is mining a Heavy Mineral Sands (“HMS”) deposit located in a dynamic and actively changing coastal 
beach environment. Due to the constant wave action and high tidal flooding of the mining areas, replenishment of 
HMS material is taking place in mined and disturbed areas.

Mining has now been ongoing for six years and a total of 11.71 million tonnes of material has been processed. 
The tonnage processed is more than the declared resource tonnage, which is indicative of the replenishing nature 
of the resource where resource blocks are mined more than once per year. As the mining rate is faster than the 
replenishment rate, the resource grade has been steadily diminishing over the past six years.

Updated Tormin Resource Table

Resource
Million Tonnes

Total Heavy 
Mineral(1)
(% in Resource)

Ilmenite
(% in HM)

Zircon
(% in HM)

Rutile
(% in HM)

Category

Indicated Resources – Dec 2013

Tonnes Mined – 2014

Inferred Resources – Dec 2014

Tonnes Mined – 2015

Inferred Resources – Dec 2015

Tonnes Mined – 2016

Inferred Resources – Dec 2016

Tonnes Mined - 2017

2.70

1.07

2.70

1.62

2.70

1.81

1.80

2.05

Inferred Resources – Dec 2017

1.80(2)

Tonnes Mined - 2018

Inferred Resources – Dec 2018

Tonnes Mined – 2019

2.65

2.27

2.51

Inferred Resources – Dec 2019

2.40(3)

(1) 
(2) 
(3) 

Includes other valuable heavy minerals e.g. leucoxene and magnetite
5% Heavy Mineral (“HM”) cut-off grade used
2% Heavy Mineral (“HM”) cut-off grade used

49.40%

53.83%

38.14%

49.57%

28.01%

45.97%

28.08%

27.57%

15.92%

17.35%

14.16%

11.21%

8.68%

21.46%

32.06%

26.35%

32.58%

24.88%

28.21%

21.90%

21.07%

17.09%

18.10%

16.24%

16.14%

11.86%

6.88%

8.84%

5.79%

7.83%

5.57%

6.05%

5.88%

3.99%

4.96%

3.17%

3.03%

3.74%

2.88%

1.42%

1.21%

1.21%

1.21%

1.96%

1.33%

1.89%

1.81%

2.70%

2.19%

1.34%

1.87%

1.15%

Garnet
(% in HM)

51.21%

57.89%

66.12%

58.38%

66.19%

63.54%

67.63%

70.37%

71.92%

72.33%

55.79%

67.17%

77.18%

A table that provides a summary of important assessment and reporting criteria used for the Tormin Mine, in 
accordance with the Table 1 checklist in The Australian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral 
Resources and Ore Reserves (The JORC Code, 2012 Edition), was included in the Company’s ASX release on  
28 February 2020 entitled “MRC Annual Resource Update - Tormin Mine Mineral Resource Audit”.

The December 2019 inferred resource is based on the reasonable prospect for the economic extraction of the 
material, as has occurred over the past six years. Note that individual minerals are reported as a percentage of the 
total heavy mineral concentration (HM assemblage).

The inferred resource is 2.4 million tonnes. Resource replenishment is occurring but at a rate that is slower than 
the mining rate. The Company is unable to report a replenishment grade or quantity under the 2012 JORC code. 

110

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

The Company continues to conduct grade reconciliation and sample grading on a daily basis as part of the mining 
operation to correlate between stated resource and actual resource in terms of quantity, grade and replenishment.

The resource grade has diminished since the December 2018 reported resource. The nature of the resource 
replenishment is typical of modern day beach placer deposits found along the West Coast of South Africa and the 
southeastern Tamil Nadu coast of India.

The Tormin and Xolobeni Mineral Resources are based on mined material reconciliation as at 31 December 2019.

PROJECT

Tormin

Xolobeni

Total Xolobeni

Total MRC

Category

Inferred

Measured

Indicated

Inferred

Resource 
Million Tonnes

Total Heavy 
Mineral %

Ilmenite  
(% in HM)

2.4

224

104

18

346.0

348.4

8.68%

11.86%

5.7%

4.1%

2.3%

5.0%

5.02%

54.5%

53.7%

69.6%

54.0%

53.7%

Zircon 
(% in HM)

2.88%

Rutile 
(% in HM)

1.15%

Garnet  
(% in HM)

77.18%

GRAPHITE RESOURCES AND RESERVES

Munglinup Graphite Project

The Munglinup Graphite Mineral Resource and Reserves were announced to the ASX on 8 January 2020, reported 
as part of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Munglinup Graphite Project (JORC 2012 compliant) and an 
Addendum to that release announced on 17 January 2020.

The Mineral Resource Model was completed by Manna Hill Geoconsulting Pty Ltd in April 2019, with exploration 
drilling undertaken during 2018 and 2019. At a 5% cut-off, a total resource of 7.99 million tonnes @ 12.2% TGC  
(Total Graphitic Carbon) exists. Increasing the cut-off to 10% and 15% respectively results in 4 million tonnes  
@ 14.5% TGC and 1.42 million tonnes at 19% TGC.

The Ore Reserves were completed by Hastings Bell Pty Ltd during 2019, and are estimated at 4.24Mt @ 12.8% TGC, 
based on the Manna Hill Geoconsulting Resource Model. Also reported are in-pit resources (inferred resources that 
will be mined as part of the design but do not constitute part of the ore reserves) of 2.75 million tonnes @ 11.1% TGC.

111

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

A table which provides a summary of important assessment and reporting criteria used for the Munglinup Graphite 
Project, in accordance with the Table 1 checklist in The Australian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, 
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (The JORC Code, 2012 Edition), was included in the Company’s ASX release 
on 8 January 2020 and an Addendum to that release on 17 January 2020.

Mineral Resource1

Ore Reserve2

Category

Measured

Indicated

Inferred

Total

Mt

4.49

3.50

7.99

TGC (%)

13.1

11.0

12.2

Category

Proven

Probable

Total

Ore Reserve3

Mt

4.24

4.24

TGC (%)

12.8

12.8

Flake Size

Sieve Size (µm)

Mass (%)

TGC Grade (%)

Jumbo

Large

Medium

Small

Fine

300 – 500

180 - 300

150 - 180

75 - 150

< 75

In Pit Resources4

Category

Inferred

6.5%

16.9%

8.0%

29.8%

38.8%

Mt

2.75

95%

95%

95%

95%

95%

TGC (%)

11.1

1. 
2. 
3 
4. 

Mineral Resource estimated at a 5% TGC cut-off
Ore Reserve uses a variable cash flow cut-off grade
Ore Reserve flake size distributions are for recovered graphite product
In-Pit Resources comprise Inferred material inside the designed pit designs using a variable cash flow cut-off grade and do not constitute part of the Ore Reserves 

Skaland Graphite Operation

On 4 October 2019, the Company completed acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS in Norway. No previous JORC 
Resource estimation has been undertaken for the Skaland or Trælen deposits. The Company has undertaken a  
re-evaluation of the mineral resources in the Trælen Graphite Mine by re-logging, re-sampling, and re-assaying of 
drilling core to build a 3D block model of the deposit. 

The maiden Skaland JORC Resource was completed by Wardell Armstrong International and announced to the ASX 
on 12 March 2020 in accordance with the Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources 
and Ore Reserves, (“JORC Code (2012)”) and is estimated at 1.78 million tonnes at 22% TGC in the category of 
indicated and inferred for 397Kt of contained graphite using a 10% cut-off.

A table which provides a summary of important assessment and reporting criteria used for the Skaland Graphite 
Operation, in accordance with the Table 1 checklist in the JORC Code (2012), was included in the Company’s ASX 
release on 12 March 2020.

Project

Skaland

Total Skaland

Munglinup

Total Munglinup

Total MRC

Category

Resource (Mt)

Grade (TGC%)

Contained Graphite (kT)

Indicated

Inferred

Indicated

Inferred

0.40

1.37

1.78

4.49

3.50

7.99

9.77

26%

21%

22%

13%

11%

12%

14%

106

291

397

588

385

973

1,370

Mineral Resource estimated at a 10% TGC cut-off.

112

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
ST A T E M E N T O F C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

MINERAL RESOURCE AND ORE RESERVE GOVERNANCE

Mineral Resources and where applicable, Ore Reserves, are estimated by suitably qualified MRC personnel in 
accordance with the JORC Code, using industry standard techniques.

All Mineral Resource estimates and supporting documentation are reviewed by external Competent Persons. Any 
amendments to the Mineral Resource Statement to be included in the Annual Report are reviewed by a suitably 
qualified Competent Person.

The Mineral Resource estimations previously reported under JORC 2004 for the Tormin Resource, are re-presented 
with updated disclosure of Table 1 from JORC Code (2012).

113

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019Shareholder information

Additional information required by the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd Listing Rules and not disclosed elsewhere 
in this report. This information is current as at 3 April 2020.

Twenty Largest Shareholders

Rank

Name

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

14

15

16

16

17

18

18

18

18

19

20

AU MINING LIMITED 

HSBC CUSTODY NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 

CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED 

ZURICH BAY HOLDINGS PTY LTD 

ZURICH BAY HOLDINGS PTY LTD 

GOLD TERRACE PTY LTD 

MRS KATHRYN ELIZABETH STRICKLAND 

INTERNATIONAL MINING SERVICES PTE LTD 

J P MORGAN NOMINEES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 

MR JONATHAN COLVILE 

MR ANTHONY DAVID SHEARD 

MR ROBERT CAMERON GALBRAITH 

REGIONAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD 

INTERNATIONAL MINING SERVICES PTE. LTD 

MR CHRISTOPHER VICTOR CARUSO 

BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD 

ZURICH BAY HOLDINGS PTY LTD 

SPRING HARVEST PTE LTD 

MR GRANT MENHENNETT 

MRS KATALIN ILONA TORRE 

MR WILLIAM DAVIDSON MEEK 

MR GUY REDVERS WALKER 

MR JOSEPH ANTHONY CARUSO 

PROPERTY & EQUITY NOMINEES PTY LTD 

MR KEVIN ANTHONY LEO & MRS LETICIA LEO 

03 Apr 2020

114,284,535

76,359,435

62,347,704

50,000,000

25,757,485

9,100,000

6,342,000

5,906,875

5,462,007

3,742,219

2,000,000

1,660,346

1,546,540

1,500,000

1,500,000

1,491,330

1,250,000

1,250,000

1,172,728

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

1,000,000

960,214

950,000

%IC

27.13

18.13

14.80

11.87

6.12

2.16

1.51

1.40

1.30

0.89

0.47

0.39

0.37

0.36

0.36

0.35

0.30

0.30

0.28

0.24

0.24

0.24

0.24

0.23

0.23

Total

Balance of register

Grand total

378,583,418

42,608,153

421,191,571

89.88

10.12

100.00

Distribution of equity security holders

Range

100,001 and Over

10,001 to 100,000

5,001 to 10,000

1,001 to 5,000

1 to 1,000

Total

114

Securities

405,478,525

13,172,690

1,383,995

1,121,493

34,868

421,191,571

%

96.27

3.13

0.33

0.27

0.01

100.00

No. of holders

115

367

174

337

132

1,125

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019 
Marketable Parcels
Number of shareholders holding less than a marketable parcel of ordinary shares is 201.

Voting Rights
Every ordinary shareholder present in person or by proxy at meetings of shareholders shall have one vote for every 
share held. 

Option and Performance Rights holders have the right to attend meetings but have no voting rights until the options 
or performance rights are exercised.

Substantial shareholders
The following shareholders are considered substantial shareholders:

• 

• 

• 

Au Mining Limited

Zurich Bay Holdings Pty Ltd

Tormin Holdings Limited

•  M&G Investment Management Limited

•  Mr & Mrs Anthony C Lowrie

Restricted securities
There are no restricted securities.

Share buy backs
There is no current on market share buyback.

114,284,535

77,007,485

60,018,408

35,808,750

26,904,733

27.13%

18.28%

14.3% 

8.5%

6.4%

115

MINERAL COMMODITIES LTD  |  Annual Report 2019M

R

C

A

N

N

U

A

L

R

E

P

O

R

T

2

0

1

9

39-43 Murray Road North 
Welshpool WA 6106 
Telephone: +61 (8) 6253 1100 
Facsimile: +61 (8) 9258 3601 
Email: info@mncom.com.au

 
 
 
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A
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U
A
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2
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