Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this general meeting of Arafura Rare Earths Limited. It is now 10:00 A.M. Australian Western Standard Time. The appointed venue for the holding of the meeting, and I'm advised that the necessary quorum is present. I therefore declare the general meeting open. My name is Ian Murray, and I'm the Non-Executive Director of Arafura. Now I've been appointed chair for this meeting. I'm accompanied by Non-Executive Directors Michael Spreadborough , our Managing Director Darryl Cuzzubbo, and company secretaries Lewis Lowe and Matthew Foy. Non-Executive Directors Cathy Moises, Mark Southey , and Roger Higgins join us online via the teleconference. In addition, representatives from the company's share registry, MUFG Corporate Markets, are also in attendance, and they will assist with the whole voting process. Before we proceed with the meeting, I have a couple of quick housekeeping points.
I would appreciate it if all mobile phones could be turned into silent mode. Recording devices and cameras must not be used during this meeting. In the event of an emergency, please follow the emergency exit signs and the instructions from the venue staff. We will now move into the formal part of the meeting. The notice of meeting dated 5 November 2025, together with an explanatory memorandum, was circulated to shareholders and contains four resolutions. Unless there are any objections, I propose to take the notice of meeting as read. Thank you. Before moving to the various resolutions to be considered today, I will now briefly outline the procedures for today's meeting. When you registered for today's meeting, you should have received either a yellow, blue, or red attendee card. If you have not received this card, please go to the registration desk outside this meeting room.
If you have a yellow voting card, you are a voting shareholder, proxy holder, or corporate representative and have chosen to vote using a paper voting card. You are also entitled to speak at this meeting. If you have a blue card, you are a non-voting shareholder. While you are entitled to ask questions and make comments, you are not entitled to vote at this meeting. If you have a red card, you are a visitor and you are not entitled to speak or vote at this meeting. If anyone with a yellow or blue card wishes to speak, please raise your card at the appropriate time and identify yourself to me before asking your questions. Shareholders were encouraged to submit their questions before this meeting. We have received some pre-submitted questions for this general meeting that relate directly to the proposed resolutions.
These will be addressed when each corresponding resolution is put to the meeting. Out of fairness to everyone present, I ask that you limit your questions to one at a time and also to restrict your questions and comments to the resolutions being considered. I reserve the right as chair to rule questions as not pertaining to the general meeting or out of order. As there may be some shareholders present at the meeting today who have not submitted their votes by proxy, and as a matter of good corporate governance, the company will conduct a poll for all resolutions. Voting the resolutions by poll will provide transparency and ensure that the intentions of those attending the meeting, as well as those who have voted by proxy, are reflected in the results for each resolution. The results of the polls will be declared and released on the ASX later today.
I will read out each resolution and then ask shareholders whether they have any objections in relation to each of these resolutions. If you have a question, please state your name in full and affiliation, and then put your questions to me as Chair. Please note that only shareholders who have a yellow voting card or blue non-voting card are able to ask questions at this meeting. As Chair of the meeting and as detailed in the Notice of Meeting, I will vote where authorized, all undirected proxies in favor of each resolution. I may ask appropriate persons to respond to your questions. We will present the proxy results for each resolution on the screen. At the conclusion of this process, I will ask the company secretary to provide instructions for the conduct of the poll for the four resolutions presented in the Notice of Meeting.
There are four resolutions put before the meeting. We will discuss and vote on each resolution in turn. Please keep your questions about specific resolutions until the time we consider that resolution. I'll now move on to the resolutions. Resolution one is a ratification of previous issue of shares under tranche one of the placement. The resolution and a summary of the proxies received is displayed on the screen. That technology is working. I propose the motion for specific proxies that are held as chair of this meeting. Is there any discussion in respect of this motion? Are there any questions regarding this resolution? There being no further discussion, I put the resolution to a poll, which will be taken once all resolutions have been tabled at the meeting. Resolution two is the issue of shares under tranche two of the placement.
The resolution and a summary of the proxies received is displayed on the screen. I propose the motion on the specific proxies that are held as chair of the meeting. The company received two questions prior to the meeting relating to the resolutions. The first question reads, "Post this capital raising, is the board considering a share reconstruction to reduce the number of shares on issue as if to help in reducing the large number of short sellers in the market in the stock?" The board and management routinely assess all aspects of our capital structure, including the optimal number of shares on issue, to ensure we are best positioned to achieve our strategic objectives. Any decisions regarding a stock consolidation will be undertaken only after a thorough evaluation and will be formally announced to the market and put to a shareholder vote if required.
At this point of time, our focus remains squarely on the completion of the cornerstone and public markets capital raise. The second question reads, "After the approval of this capital raise, assuming it is approved, is it correct to say the company is 90% or more of the capital? The company has 90% or more of the capital it was aiming for to start development of the line and FID approval. If so, the company has indicated that the construction budget and funding package include a significant contingency. Does this mean the funds required to develop the project have effectively already been raised if the contingency was reduced? I understand the board has taken a very conservative stance on the fundraising and announcing FID to date, and I applaud the board for this.
But if we have 90% of the funds secured and are confident of getting the balance very soon, why not announce FRD now and get on with the development of the mine with the smaller contingency? We have approved Hatch as our EPTM already, which means I would think we are ready to go." My answer to that is, "You are correct. Subject to a favorable outcome today, we will have secured or have received conditional approval for approximately 90% of the total required funded capital. FRD will only be announced once we are fully funded, including funding of the current level of contingency, which has been agreed with our lender group. This is a disciplined and prudent approach before committing to main construction expenditure. As announced at our EGM, the appointment of Hatch as EPTM ensures that project execution readiness is an immediate priority.
Together, Hatch and our internal owners team are establishing the foundation that will support FRD and allow us to hit the ground running once FRD is announced. Is there any other discussion in respect of this motion? Are there any questions on this resolution? There being no further discussion, I put the resolution to a poll, which will be taken once all resolutions have been tabled at this meeting. Resolution three is the issue of shares under the SPP, including under the SPP shortfall offer. The resolution and a summary of proxies received is displayed on the screen. I propose the motion from specific proxies that are held as chair of the meeting. Is there any discussion in respect of this motion? Are there any questions regarding this resolution?
There being no further discussion, I put the resolution to a poll, which will be taken once all resolutions have been tabled at the meeting. As I have an interest in resolution four, I will hand over the chair of the meeting to Matthew for resolution four.
Thanks, Ian. Resolution four is the issue of shares to directors under the SPP. The resolution and a summary of the proxies is displayed on the screen. I propose a motion from the specific proxies that are held as chair of the meeting. Is there any discussion with respect to the motion? Are there any questions regarding the resolution? There being no discussion, I put the resolution to a poll, which will now be taken. I'll pass the chair back to Ian to run through the procedure for the poll.
Thank you, Matthew. I direct that a poll be taken in respect of all the resolutions. Persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives, and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders who hold the yellow voting card. If you are here in more than one of those capacities, you will have been issued with as many yellow voting cards as you have separate capacities. If there are any aspects regarding the voting on which you are uncertain, please do not hesitate to ask the share registry staff. We will be circulating the ballot box. Shareholders and proxy holders are now asked to complete the ballot box. The representative from the share registry will then collect the papers, which will be verified against the register of members. Would you please indicate by raising your hand if you require more time to complete and lodge your voting papers?
Anybody need a hand?
Anybody else that's not yet completed the form or handed the form in? One step. Are there any more cards coming? I think third time in two months, I think shareholders are very good at completing their forms now. It appears as though the voting process has been completed. I therefore declare the poll closed. The results of the poll will be announced to the ASX following the meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of the formal business of the meeting. Thank you for your attendance today, and I thank you for your support as a shareholder. And now I declare this meeting closed.