Mineral Resources board shake-up with two new directors Ross Carroll, Lawrie Tremaine appointed
Mineral Resources has added some financial talent to its board as the company looks to reduce a $5.4bn net debt pile.
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Embattled West Australian miner Mineral Resources has put the focus on balance sheet repair and potential asset sales as two new directors join its governance rehabilitation mission.
New board recruit Ross Carroll said he wanted to improve the standard of oversight and strengthen the balance sheet of the company which was rocked by a series of scandals last year involving outgoing managing director Chris Ellison.
Mr Carroll, the former boss of mining contractor Macmahon Holdings, is one of the new faces elevated to a director’s seat alongside former Origin Energy chief financial officer Lawrie Tremaine.
Their appointments on Monday come less than a week after Malcolm Bundey took over as chair and two months after the resignations of three independent directors – Jacqueline McGill, Susie Corlett and Denise McComish.
The three women were all members of the MinRes ethics and governance committee set up after revelations about Mr Ellison’s involvement in a tax evasion scheme, misuse of company resources and related party transactions involving members of his family.
Mr Tremaine and Mr Carroll will join the new-look ethics and governance committee alongside Mr Bundey and former cricketer Justin Langer, who has been an independent non-executive director since 2023. Mr Carroll will chair the committee.
MinRes said the of appointment of Mr Carroll and Mr Tremaine demonstrated a commitment to renewal, strengthened governance and financial oversight.
MinRes is considering assets sales, The Australian’s DataRoom column reported, as it teeters under $5.4bn net debt pile.
JPMorgan last week valued MinRes’s stake in the Wodgina lithium mine at $1.19bn and its half-share in the Mt Marion lithium mine at $161m. The broker put a nil valuation on the mothballed Bald Hill lithium mine, also owned by MinRes.
The company last week sold mothballed iron ore operations in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia for an immaterial amount.
Mr Tremaine was CFO at Origin for seven years until 2024, and is credited with refining the electricity and gas company’s capital management strategy in the role.
He was previously CFO at Woodside Energy and also spent 17 years at Alcoa. Mr Tremaine is currently chair of private fintech MoneyCatcha.
Mr Carroll was most recently chief executive of Toronto-listed junior miner Commerce Resources and was CFO of Hong Kong-listed MMG Limited from 2015 to 2024. During his tenure, MMG acquired the $US1.9bn Khoemacau copper mine in Botswana.
Critically, Mr Carroll led ASX-listed Macmahon through a period of asset sales and cost reduction from 2012-2015, and he too is a former Woodside CFO.
Mr Bundey said the appointments reflected his immediate priorities as chair: to strengthen the board, beef up corporate governance and focus on the balance sheet repair.
He signalled more board changes, saying the pair were a “major first step” in renewal and in creating a “strong, capable and independent board”.
“I acknowledge that regaining trust takes time, sustained effort and delivery of performance outcomes, but I am confident our new directors will greatly assist the MinRes board and executive in ensuring we deliver on our commitments,” he said.
Mr Carroll said MinRes had an entrepreneurial spirit behind its mining services, iron ore, lithium and energy divisions.
“I look forward to working with the board and the entire MinRes team to improve management and governance processes and strengthen the balance sheet, with the aim of regaining market confidence and increasing shareholder value,” he said.
The MinRes board is capped at nine members and was down to six after the departure of former chair James McClements on June 30. Mr Ellison, who remains the biggest shareholder, has said he is committed to departing the company before next April.
The other current board members are Mr Langer, businesswoman Xi Xi, Indigenous leader and former public servant Colleen Hayward and Zimi Meka, founder of the Ausenco engineering business.
MinRes forecast $340m in capital expenditure expected in the three months to June 30. The company is in the final stages of making repairs and upgrades to a 150km-long haul road, at a cost of $230m, connecting the Ken’s Bore iron ore mine to Port of Ashburton.
Its first $US700m 8.125 per cent bond matures in May 2027. The company has had the option to refinance at no pre-payment premium since May.
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Originally published as Mineral Resources board shake-up with two new directors Ross Carroll, Lawrie Tremaine appointed
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