News

March 28, 2008

No News Is Good News At Frontier Mining’s AGM

By Alastair Ford

Perhaps it’s not in the first rank of issues and problems that mining company executives need to address, but getting people to attend an annual general meeting (AGM) is more than just a matter of updates, beer and sandwiches. Under most legal regimes there needs to be a quorum of some sort, in order that the necessary motions, re-elections, and resolutions can get passed – or indeed obstructed – and the company can continue its existence as a legally constituted entity. Failure to secure such a quorum leads to a sort of legal limbo, in which it becomes the first priority of directors to secure one in order that their company stays within the bounds of company law. And company law, however odious to anyone who actually attempts to read up on it, is one cornerstone of a successful capitalist system.

Although the quorum requirement is general in most jurisdictions, there are variations. For a company incorporated in the US state of Delaware, like Frontier Mining is, the requirement isn’t for physical attendance at the AGM itself, but that a majority of the issued shares have to vote. Shareholders can thus make their wishes known through the medium of the US postal service, although by reputation that service doesn’t always deliver, so in terms of ensuring votes are cast there’s nothing like...