Sydney, June 24, 2026, 05:04 (AEST)
Mineral Resources Limited dropped again Tuesday, down 2.5% at A$64.95, bringing the loss for the past two sessions to 6.1%. The company put out a succession update that did not specify who will replace Managing Director Chris Ellison or when he will leave. Shares moved between A$64.00 and A$67.86.
Why it matters now: Chair Malcolm Bundey listed governance reform, completion of Onslow Iron, and building a stronger balance sheet as top priorities in a presentation. The document was made for meetings this week with investors and proxy advisers, who advise shareholders how to vote.
Bundey’s presentation said MinRes screened outside candidates and assessed internal execs against a CEO profile. The process was “open to all candidates,” according to the slides, but it said MinRes “preferred an internal candidate” because of the company’s business and how it runs.
Chief Operating Officer Darren Killeen is now under scrutiny. Killeen, a 17-year MinRes veteran, handled Onslow Iron’s design, build and commissioning. The Australian said Monday he’s favored to take over from Ellison, but so far, MinRes hasn’t named a successor.
Tech and mining stocks pulled on the market, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.33% to 8,787. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said a stronger U.S. dollar left materials “particularly exposed.” Asian iron-ore futures fell 0.6% to US$97.65 a tonne, the lowest in four months. News
Fortescue fell 1.7% and BHP gave up 0.7%. Rio Tinto ended about unchanged. MinRes was the group laggard. Iron-ore peers didn’t drop as much.
MinRes said in its governance update that it’s finished 80% of the Mallesons review’s top recommendations. The company reported changes to 22 policies and procedures, plus new rules for conflict-of-interest and related parties. The last steps are expected to wrap up by the end of 2026.
MinRes said again it sees net debt dropping below two times EBITDA soon. That ratio is a common way to measure debt pressure against earnings. The company expects to get US$765 million from its POSCO deal in the first half of fiscal 2027. In April, MinRes refinanced US$1.3 billion in bonds.
Onslow Iron is running at a 35-million-tonne yearly pace. MinRes says it plans to use two extra transhipment vessels to take installed capacity closer to 40 million tonnes and add redundancy. The company reported no damage to main infrastructure from two cyclones and increased its fiscal 2026 volume guidance.
But there are risks in both directions. Picking someone from inside keeps operating know-how, but some investors may want a cleaner break in governance. Debt could take longer to fall if the leadership transition drags, iron-ore or lithium prices slip, POSCO deal cash is late, or Onslow stumbles again. That could threaten the leverage goal of under two times.
ASX cash market is shut, set to open again at 10:00 AEST. Focus now is on outcomes from Bundey’s investor meetings—traders want to see if he outlines clearer succession plans or gives more details before the session restarts.
