04
Axiom Mining Limited
Stephen Williams
Chairman
The legal battle over our flagship Isabel
Nickel Deposit in the Solomons Islands
and the ongoing volatility of the global
economic climate made 2012 quite a
challenging period for Axiom. However,
I am pleased to report that these
obstacles did not deter us in the pursuit
of our overall Company objectives. We
exploited the difficult conditions to our
advantage and focused on building a solid
foundation for the business. This has now
set the stage for the Company to undergo
a significant transformation in 2013.
After approximately 18 months of protracted litigation
with a subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.,
Ltd (Sumitomo) over the Isabel Nickel Deposit in the
Solomon Islands, it was a big step forward for us
when the Court of Appeal decided to expunge the
adverse rulings against our subsidiary, Axiom KB
Limited. Instead, it was directed that all outstanding
issues would be determined through an expedited
trial in 2013. We hope that the trial will finally bring
favourable closure to the dispute and we look forward
to vindicating our rights over this world-class project.
While the global mining industry faced challenges
and uncertainty in 2012, in fact in some areas it
was contracting, I am pleased to say that Axiom has
continued to swim against the tide. Our business grew
in 2012 with new projects added to our portfolio and
additional personnel coming on-board. We successfully
secured two new assets in the Solomon Islands –
a move that has the potential to add significant
shareholder value and further cements our position
as an emerging force in the South Pacific region.
Our expanding operations in the Solomon Islands,
coupled with our assets in Vietnam and Australia,
mean that we now have an enviable, diversified asset
portfolio, in terms of both geographical location and
from a commodity class perspective. Encouragingly,
we also have a pipeline of projects to maintain strong
long-term growth momentum.
It has been a successful period for our Australian
assets. Both our drilling program on the Cardross
Mining Lease and collaborative work with a nearby
producer have put us well on track to deliver a maiden
JORC Resource Estimate for this copper-gold prospect
in 2013. A Joint Venture agreement, a tenement
consolidation application and several key technical
appointments have also accelerated the progression
of our Queensland tenement portfolio towards
becoming a commercial reality.
Overall, Axiom has managed to achieve a number of
significant milestones in 2012, including the strategic
and timely expansion of our asset base, the raising
of additional capital and encouraging progress across
our exploration programs.
Chairman’s Report