- 01Mike Jones steps down; adviser role.
- 02Jim McKerlie to lead; CEO search.
- 03Ingram and Bierlein not seeking re-election.
- 04Rights issue raised ~A$2.21m; 68.9m shares.
Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has begun a board and leadership transition after managing director Dr Mike Jones stepped down for health reasons, effective 25 September, after 20 years with the company.
Jones, who founded Impact and led it from inception, will remain with the business in an advisory role to support continuity through the transition.
Executive chair Jim McKerlie will lead Impact while it searches for a chief executive officer to take the company through development of its high-purity aluminium (HPA) production business.
The changes come shortly after Impact completed a $2,205,263 renounceable rights issue, providing additional funding as it advances its Alluminous and Lake Hope HPA pathways.
Leadership Transition Underway
Mr McKerlie, who joined the board in June with a mandate to drive Impact into its new direction, is overseeing a comprehensive strategic review.
Dr Jones has been responsible for leading Impact’s HPA strategy and will remain close to the business as an adviser while the board undertakes the executive search.
“The company has entered an exciting new chapter, and we are repositioning and building an organisation that can take full advantage of the exciting HPA opportunities,” Mr McKerlie said.
“On behalf of the board, I thank Mike for 20 years of service to Impact Minerals—I am pleased he will remain close to the business in an advisory role.”
Directors Paul Ingram, who has served for 15 years including one as chair, and Frank Bierlain will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual general meeting.
Rights Issue Complete
Impact launched the renounceable rights issue on 17 August and completed it on 18 September, with shareholders taking up $1,000,789 of entitlements and the shortfall contributing a further $1,204,475.
The raising resulted in about 68.9 million new fully paid ordinary shares and 45.9 million new options, while Impact’s major shareholder—a family office based in Germany—took up its entitlement.
The new options are exercisable at $0.06 each and expire on 17 March 2029, with a further 22,052,630 options to be issued to lead manager and underwriter Mahe Capital.
Impact intends the funding to accelerate both HPA development pathways, with piloting of the Lake Hope process underway and commissioning of the Alluminous pilot plant continuing as it works towards producing material for customer qualification and demonstrating the technologies at scale.
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