Result of AGM

RNS Number : 0584U

GCM Resources PLC

20 December 2012

 



20^th December 2012

GCM Resources plc

(the "Company" or "GCM Resources")

(AIM:GCM)

Results of Annual General Meeting

GCM Resources plc, a London based resource exploration and development company, reports that at the annual general meeting held today, all of the ordinary and special resolutions as set out in the Notice of this meeting were duly passed. 

Proxy voting totals

The resolutions were all passed on the show of hands and no polls were taken.  The Chairman was appointed proxy for the following number of votes.

	Resolutions	Votes for	Discretion	Against	Withheld
1	To receive and adopt the Company's accounts	21,898,072	145	-	4,671
2	To reappoint Gerard Holden as a director	20,723,482	145	-	1,179,261
3	To reappoint Stephen Dattels as a director	21,897,822	145	250	4,671
4	To reappoint Gary Lye as a director	21,898,072	145	-	4,671
5	To re-appoint Ernst & Young as auditors	21,897,872	145	-	4,871
6	To authorise the company to purchase own shares	21,898,072	145	-	4,671
7	To authorise directors to allot shares	20,718,282	145	1,174,590	9,871
8	To disapply pre-emption rights	20,722,282	145	1,175,790	4,671

Chairman's statement

The following is the text of the Chairman's statement to the meeting.

As detailed in the Company's 2012 Annual Report, we have been pursuing approval of the Phulbari Coal Project by engaging directly with the Government of Bangladesh as well as developing and enhancing relations with the local community. 

Over the last nine months we have met with all the appropriate Government officials and potential coal customers in Bangladesh and are currently seeking an audience with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her capacity as Minister for Power, Energy and Natural Resources.

In the Dinajpur region, where Phulbari is located, the Company continues to open up new channels of communication with the local community. Focus group discussions and agriculture improvement workshops with farmers have taken place across the Project area, and surveys are nearing completion with the support of both the local administration and the Home Ministry.  We are committed to carrying out meaningful, culturally appropriate consultation with potentially affected people prior to development of the Project.

We are also committed to developing the Project to the highest international and national environmental and social standards.  To that end we engaged international consultants Environmental Resource Management to review the Project's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in light of the new performance standards released by the International Finance Corporation. Those "gaps" identified will be addressed in the coming months.

We understand from press reports today that complaints have been made about the development of the Phulbari Project to the OECD.  We have not received any OECD complaint and this is the first we have heard of it.  It is therefore hard to comment on the substance of this allegation. We stated at our AGM last year that we were available to meet with any group interested in a constructive dialogue and to discuss their concern but no group has taken us up on this offer.  We would therefore welcome the opportunity this process would provide to discuss the project and respond to the allegations and incorrect information being circulated. 

We are committed to developing the project and managing its social and environmental impacts to the highest international standards. Not only will the project address Bangladesh's energy needs, it will also deliver significant benefits for the local community.  These include an estimated 17,000 new jobs, improved living conditions and livelihoods for project affected people with approximately 40,000 progressively resettled as the mine develops (as opposed to the figure of 222,000 suggested); abundant high quality water for irrigation and drinking, and expected increased agricultural production from the excavated land which will be progressively rehabilitated

Over the last 12 months the Company's financial resources have been significantly impacted by the fall in share prices of the investments held, in line with other junior mining companies. However we continue to have sufficient resources for the foreseeable future.  GCM is in discussions to obtain further equity funding while management are undertaking a thorough review of operating costs.

The share price of GCM has fallen substantially since the last Annual General Meeting and we are aware of the frustration felt by shareholders.  We believe the fall in share price can mainly be attributed to the sale of shares by a large investor who are rebalancing their portfolio, and certainly does not reflect the progress we feel has been made in pursuing approval.

A developed Phulbari Coal Project in a responsible and sustainable way will generate the most benefit for shareholders, for the local Phulbari community and for the country.  Accordingly, our aim is to receive Project approval and then to commence mine development and the associated community programmes as soon as possible.

For further information:

GCM Resources plc Gerard Holden Non-Executive Chairman  [phone] Graham Taggart Finance Director [phone]	Pelham Bell Pottinger Lorna Spears / Joanna Boon [phone]
J.P. Morgan Cazenove Nominated Adviser Michael Wentworth-Stanley [phone]	Investec Investment Banking Chris Sim [phone]

GCM Resources plc
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]; www.gcmplc.com

 

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