INTREPID RECEIVES $80M SETTLEMENT PAYMENT

UPDATED: INTREPID Mines Limited (ASX: IAU) has received the consideration payable to it of US$80 million today, following shareholder approval of the settlement.

Shareholders approved the financial settlement over an ownership dispute, with a landslide vote in favour at a meeting yesterday.

The company has endured a lengthy court battle to recover lost capital, after losing control of the Indonesian Tujuh Bukit copper-gold site in 2012.

Managing director Scott Lowe says the formal acceptance at today’s meeting means the company can move forward and consider investment opportunities.

“We are very pleased that the shareholders have endorsed the board’s recommended commercial settlement of the Indonesian dispute.

“It is particularly encouraging that the vote for the resolution is the highest in the company’s history. We now look forward to presenting shareholders with a choice regarding the deployment of the funds,” he says.

There were almost 400 million proxy votes in favour of the deal, compared to just over one million against.

The formal transaction is expected to be completed tomorrow, with funds transferred to Intrepid in coming days.

Chairman Ian McMaster addressed the meeting, saying the money could be reinvested in a number of ways.

“The company has been assessing investment options for some time and we believe there are some attractive investment opportunities in the resources sector, one of which we expect to be able to outline in some detail shortly.

“However above all else we believe that the choice about the future of the company belongs to the shareholders, not to the board, and we have already committed not to take any decisions that pre-empt that shareholder choice,” he says.

McMaster says the surplus cash could be returned to shareholders resulting in a wind up of the company or invested into another business.

Intrepid will host a series of meetings to determine the company’s future, including the annual general meeting in late May.

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