MinRes board rocked as two governance directors resign

Shares in Australia’s Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) dropped 9% on Wednesday after two board members who also sat on the corporate governance committee set up to investigate the conduct of the company’s founder resigned.

The iron ore and lithium miner said that Susie Corlett and Jacqueline McGill, were leaving the board, without given further details. They were two of the three-member ethics and governance committee formed after an internal probe found that outgoing managing director Chris Ellison had withheld details about personal transactions, causing what the company described as a “significant reputational impact.”

Independent director Denise McComish remains the sole member of the three-person committee.

Chairman James McClements, who is also set to depart in the coming months, thanked Corlett and McGill for their efforts. “Susie and Jacqui have dedicated substantial time and effort over recent months in our efforts to improve governance and procedures across the business, whilst navigating their significant other professional commitments,” he said in the statement. 

It is unclear whether Corlett and McGill, who were privately the most critical of Ellison’s conduct, will be replaced.

Mineral Resources’ stock closed at A$16.61 in Sydney on Wednesday. The company has lost more than 52% of its value since the start of the year and now holds a market cap of A$3.3 billion ($2.1 billion), well below its gross debt of A$5.8 billion.

Ellison, a self-made billionaire from New Zealand who left school at 15, has vowed to quit the company by next year. He admitted to participating in an offshore tax scheme that benefited him and others at the company’s expense.

MinRes has been struggling financially, particularly in its lithium division, where low prices led to the shutdown Bald Hill, near Kalgoorlie. The company has also scaled back iron ore production, suspended dividends and is facing a class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Additional pressure has come from unexpected costs related to repairs on its Onslow iron ore haul road.