I must admit that I was the one to query the MD departure at the...

I must admit that I was the one to query the MD departure at the AGM and while the reason for departure was not explained (on the premise that the hiring agreement precludes this) there could be a number of reasons including breaching confidentiality through to failing to agree/work cooperatively with the Board). There was an assurance from the Chair that the departure and the poor cost performance on the 2 major projects (Roy Hill and Hunter Valley) were totally unrelated. While i do not fully understand exactly what went wrong on these projects the Hunter Valley project was subject to flood issues - these acts of god are not always kind to results and share prices - ask BHP about that.

I was also concerned about dividends reducing dramatically or at worst being suspended. While there are never gaurantees the response from the Chair suggested that there was a strong Board focus that divvies would be maintained at or close to current levels. That is yet to be proven but IMHO I think it is unlikely that holders for dividend yield will be disappointed going forward.