Sean Smith: Mineral Resources faithful hail King Ellison, but what is yet to come as board probe continues?

For all the damage his personal dealings have inflicted on Mineral Resources’ shares, Chris Ellison still has his supporters among the small shareholders enriched by his stewardship of the mining and services company. There were at Mineral Resources Park on Thursday, sprinkled among the nearly 300 shareholders and visitors who turned up at the West Coast Eagles’ headquarters for the annual meeting, those expressing their support via online questions. These faithful don’t want Ellison to go, at least not in the next couple of years, for what they reckon were “some mistakes” that have now been dealt with and punished. To others it’s all a media beat-up against a self-made entrepreneur who “has seen the error of his ways”. “He deserves another chance,” one shareholder said to applause from the meeting. “It saddens me that the media has conducted their own trial, and there was a genuine desire to bash a tall poppy,” said another, again to applause. However, despite their backing for the chief executive, there was no escaping that this is a company under pressure. A sombre chair James McClements often stonewalled critical questions or read from prepared responses. And he appeared stumped when some shareholders asked him to explain the “materiality” threshold for disclosing related-party dealings. Darren Lewsen from MinRes’ auditor, EY, also appeared lost for answers when quizzed about why the board probe into Ellison was not disclosed in the accounts. Ellison, having apologised again for his behaviour, wasn’t called on outside his chief executive’s presentation, despite some shareholders specifically addressing questions to him. And he was gone almost immediately after the meeting, apparently making a quick getaway via a rear entrance to avoid waiting media while his shareholders enjoyed refreshments. There were a few new admissions, and you have to wonder just how much the MinRes board is still keeping up their sleeves. For one, not before time, the company is unwinding Ellison’s personal and family dealings with MinRes. And it has also hired former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick to carry out a cultural review of its senior staff. Meanwhile, the board probe continues. And there’s no guarantee that there’s no other damaging disclosures around the corner.