ABN 14 000 317 251
MARKET RELEASE 15 December 2016
AGM Presentations
CuDeco Limited (ASX:CDU) provides the attached Chairman's address and a Presentation on the Company to be presented at today's Annual General Meeting.
ENDS
Head Office
Suite 11A, Level 11, 100 Edward Street, Brisbane, 4000 Australia Tel.+61 7 3210 5900
Email [email protected] www.cudeco.com.au
Cloncurry Operations
Corella Park Road, Cloncurry Queensland 4824 Australia
P.O. Box 530, Cloncurry, QLD 4824 Tel.+61 7 4742 4800 Email [email protected] www.cudeco.com.au
Chairman's address to the AGM of CuDeco Limited 15 December 2016
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon, and thank you for your attendance today.
Probably all the shareholders gathered here have been involved with CuDeco for longer than I have. My involvement commenced at the start of this year when I was asked to consider joining the Board of Directors as Chairman. I was appointed to that position on 29 January 2016, and since that time I have learned quickly about the challenges, and also the opportunities we face at Rocklands.
The challenge has been to turn the Company around to get it running properly. We have had to implement the systems, processes and structures necessary for our evolution from an exploration company to a miner and producer.
The opportunities we have are many, but they are based on using the Company's assets to make CuDeco a genuine "New Force in Copper." This is not a simple or easy process, but one we are committed to achieving for the benefit of all shareholders.
The focus of current management has been on getting the processing plant working, and then to recommence mining. Starting up a new processing plant normally takes at least a year and requires 10 to 15 per cent of the construction cost to get it operating at design capacity.
We began feeding ore into the Rocklands plant in late May. Just over six months later, we have achieved daily design capacity for 36 hours and are achieving 65 per cent of monthly design capacity this month, and we expect further improvement.
This is an excellent achievement, particularly since feed ore that has been sitting in stockpiles for some time always behaves differently than fresh ore. So to any fair-
minded person, what we have achieved in production is remarkable. Production of fresh ore will commence in early 2017.
Financial pressures throughout this process have been severe, but thanks to the support of our major shareholders, we have come through this difficult period. Without them, we would not have achieved the milestones we have achieved recently, such as the successful completion of Rocklands' construction and commissioning, and our first exports of concentrate.
The process of starting a new mine is complex and difficult. First you must discover a resource, then assess it, and prove up reserves. You have to design and build a processing plant that is suitable for the peculiarities of your ore, and then get it to work. Finally, you must overcome all the many obstacles, whether people, money or technology, to come to production, and you still need to deal with fluctuating metal prices and exchange rates. It is always difficult.
Most of you have driven on country roads, where there are long tiring distances of rocks, potholes, corrugations and dust. Then suddenly in the distance you see the bitumen and you know the ride will soon be smoother. In CuDeco we are still on the rocky road, but we can see the bitumen not far ahead. We are all eager to get onto the bitumen, with a smoother ride, where we can plan our journey with confidence.
Make no mistake, every shareholder, big or small, the directors and the entire management and operations team in CuDeco, want the same things: we want a successful, productive, profitable company that rewards all its shareholders with dividends and a share price that reflects the true value and performance of the Company. We cannot change the past, but we can change the Company's future, and change it for the better, and that is what we are determined to do.
Now our Managing Director, Dr Dianmin Chen, will outline what has been achieved in the past year. He will tell you where we are now, and our plans for our future.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING PRESENTATION
THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER 2016
ASX: CDU
www.cudeco.com.au
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