Skip to main content

AI assistant

Sign in to chat with this filing

The assistant answers questions, extracts KPIs, and summarises risk factors directly from the filing text.

SCIDEV LTD AGM Information 2010

Nov 17, 2010

65761_rns_2010-11-17_ab093431-0f9b-4ef7-bb61-6987ba898499.pdf

AGM Information

Open in viewer

Opens in your device viewer

ABN 25 001 150 849

Level 3 2 Elizabeth Plaza North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia PO Box 1507 North Sydney NSW 2059 Australia

Phone: 02-9954 7888 Fax: 02-8904 0334 Email: [email protected] Website: www.intec.com.au ASX code: INL

Companies Announcements Office 18 November 2010 Australian Securities Exchange

2010 Annual General Meeting Presentation

Attached are the Chairman's Prepared Comments and related powerpoint presentation covering the Formal Resolutions and my Review of Operations for shareholders at Intec's 2010 Annual General Meeting to be held at 2:00pm at the above address today.

Yours faithfully Intec Ltd

Philip R Wood Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

About Intec Ltd

Intec Ltd is an Australian company which owns the Intec Process for superior and sustainable metals production. The Intec Process comprises a set of patented chloride-based hydrometallurgical processes that have been demonstrated to produce high purity base and precious metals from concentrates of sulphide and oxide ores, tailings and industrial wastes. The Intec Process has substantial environmental and cost advantages over both the widely used conventional smelting and refining processes and other known hydrometallurgical processes.

Intec Ltd 2010 Annual General Meeting Chairman's Prepared Comments

The 2009-2010 reporting year for Intec should be viewed from both technical and corporate perspectives.

On the technical front, Intec has achieved some important successes. Much of our effort throughout the year has been devoted to the Galvanizing Spent Pickle Liquor Recycling Project. This is a collaborative project with our Victorian industry partner, GB Galvanizing Service Pty Ltd and EPA Victoria, through the HazWaste fund, which is supplying $780,000 of support funding to GBG. This pays for the first two stages of GBG's and Intec's multi-stage technology development programme.

The intent is then to build and operate a zero-waste Intec Process plant at GBG's Dandenong site, capable of recycling at least one million litres of spent pickle liquor per annum.

Intec is optimistic about the long-term value of this new application of our technology. The waste problems of the galvanising industry are pretty similar around Australia and internationally, and we hope to see a successful Victorian plant replicated across multiple project sites.

The ongoing commercial recycling operations at the Burnie facility have been another technical success during 2009-2010. The plant takes plating industry wastes and converts them to mineral product, and it has been widely recognised over the last two years as the winner and/or finalist for various awards.

In addition, Intec is continuing to work on options for the utilisation of its stockpiled resources – electric arc furnace dust and the Zeehan residues. We expect to be talking more about these during 2011.

From the metals price depths of 2008, Intec has seen a return of enquiries in relation to the minerals processing applications of the Intec Process. Intec is advancing a pipeline of projects on a funded basis, the most developed of which is currently an opportunity for zinc and lead production in the Middle East. All of these pipeline projects will take several years to develop and implement, but in the meantime Intec is ensuring that all resources devoted to these projects are fully costed and funded.

At our AGM a year ago we talked about our new technology collaboration in China, which we have pursued as a shareholder in, and technology provider to, Green Resources Asia Pacific. On this front, however, progress has been slow. Green Resources put a lot of its resources into a project opportunity in the city of Liuzhou, only to find that this opportunity became unviable as the head grades of the zincbearing feedstock dropped below economic levels.

However, we remain hopeful of Green Resources' future success in implementing Intec Process projects in China, noting that Green Resources' licence to use the Intec technology expires in two more years unless it is successful in doing so.

Turning to the corporate side of the business, this has been challenged throughout the 2009-2010 financial year.

As you already know, the Global Financial Crisis severely weakened our company. Intec was forced to sell key tangible assets in order to fully repay all bank debt. We did retain the intellectual property that we have worked so hard to develop and the core staff that continue to add value to that intellectual property, however we have to the present time always remained capital constrained.

Overwhelmingly, the biggest decision that has affected our Company's share price and has attracted the greatest comment from our shareholders is the decision to take up the two convertible notes provided by La Jolla Cove Investors in San Francisco. We have discussed this issue extensively in our various forms of shareholder communication, most particularly on the Intec Investor Q&A Forum on our web site, but the key point to the whole discussion is that the La Jolla finance has been the only money on offer during this time.

Your Board and Management are very aware of the dilutive effect that the conversion of this debt to equity has had on our existing shareholders, and the downward effect that sale of those INL shares on market has had on the share price. During this period, the Company continued to explore alternative sources of finance while maintaining access to necessary working capital.

The loss after tax attributable to members in the 2010 financial year was $1.78 million, compared to a loss of over $20 million in the previous financial year. The improvement was due to there being no further material asset impairments and the recognition of the value of the Hellyer royalty.

Viewed in detail, both figures are heavily influenced by the accounting treatment of various one-off items such as the Hellyer royalty, and impairments on the Hellyer assets as well as the environmental bonds. Underlying this, the reality is that the company has been unprofitable for the last couple of years.

The onus remains on the Board and Management of Intec to ensure that the projects in hand are delivered in a timely fashion, with a particular focus on maintaining and enhancing current and developing revenue streams. We can assure our shareholders that these considerations are at the core of the strategies currently being implemented.

Last night Intec released to the ASX details of an agreement with JX Nippon Mining & Metals. Philip Wood will elaborate further regarding this agreement during his Operations Report, but the key aspects of the agreement involve the cross licensing of technology between Intec and JX Nippon, as well as the payment of $5 million to Intec.

In expectation of completion of this agreement, the Board and senior management has commenced a broad review of Intec's strategies. This is an ongoing process and we will advise shareholders of the outcomes in due course.

In relation to the Hellyer royalty we expect payments will commence for the use of the Hellyer Mill by the third quarter of calendar 2011, payable at a rate of $2.50 per tonne of material processed through the mill.

In summary, Intec has had a successful year on the technical front. The Board would like to thank the Company's team of highly motivated and skilled senior executives and staff who provide a level of expertise which belies the modest capitalisation of our Company and who have in the past accepted salary cuts and worked hard through a very difficult year in order to secure the Company's future.

The corporate front, by contrast, has been very challenging throughout the year but is now improving, and we are looking forward to a much improved year in 2011.