Vault Minerals Ltd.

Vault Minerals Ltd. is a mid-tier gold producer headquartered in South Perth, Australia, operating primarily in Australia. The company's portfolio consists of 4 projects, comprising 3 operating mines and 1 suspended project. Key assets include King Of The Hills (Leonora). The business model is that of a diversified intermediate producer, formed through a June 2024 merger that combined a strategic long-life asset base with the financial capacity and operational history of a complementary portfolio. This integration created an entity with an organic pipeline of low-capital-intensity growth and life-extension options, supported by sector-leading financial capacity for internal funding of investment opportunities. The company's philosophy, reflected in its corporate name, is to be a profitable, financially disciplined, and returns-focused producer, acting as a secure store of value. A core tenet of its operational approach is the prioritization of a strong balance sheet to maintain financial flexibility and execute its strategy without being constrained by short-term market fluctuations. The resulting enterprise is positioned to generate significant free cash flow, leveraging the complementary nature of its constituent businesses and the strength of the consolidated portfolio. Risk management includes the use of forward contracts to provide price certainty over a fixed portion of future production.

The organization's strategy is anchored in being a successful multi-operational exploration and mining company. Near-term priorities for fiscal year 2025 include executing a plant optimization study at a key operation to increase throughput and improve free cash flow, alongside investing in high-priority exploration activities to accelerate underground drilling. Further objectives involve harvesting free cash flow from another operation by introducing a new mining front and converting additional resource development opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure. The capital allocation approach prioritizes a strong balance sheet to internally fund these investments, ensuring flexibility without reliance on external markets. A longer-term growth avenue is a substantial brownfield restart option that leverages an existing defined deposit and installed processing capacity, thereby avoiding the costs and risks of greenfield development. This diversified portfolio provides an organic pipeline of low-capital-intensity growth and life-of-mine extension opportunities, driven by a refreshed leadership team.

The board of directors is composed of 8 members, including a non-executive chairman and 1 executive director, ensuring a strong independent oversight structure. Board governance is facilitated through 3 primary committees: Audit, Remuneration and Nomination, and Sustainability. Following a significant merger in June 2024, a new executive leadership team was appointed, headed by a Managing Director with over 38 years of experience in the minerals and mining industry. This new team is focused on transitioning the combined business to consistent and mature systems and processes. The remuneration framework is designed to attract and retain key talent by targeting compensation in the middle to upper quartile of the relevant market and aligning at-risk rewards with the achievement of challenging short-term and long-term performance targets. A formal governance framework is in place for the estimation and reporting of mineral resources and ore reserves, involving internal reviews by a technical team of competent and qualified professionals to ensure compliance with industry codes.

The organization's sustainability framework is built on environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and ethical governance. Environmental management includes mandatory reporting of emissions, with one operation undergoing an emissions intensity audit to identify reduction opportunities after exceeding a national safeguard mechanism threshold. Water management practices focus on optimal use, with dewatered groundwater primarily reused in processing and for dust suppression. The company is committed to minimizing the clearing of native vegetation and engages in progressive rehabilitation aligned with approved mine closure plans. Social initiatives emphasize workplace health and safety, with a revised management system implemented to meet new legislation. The company fosters community relations through local sponsorships and engagement with traditional owners to protect cultural heritage sites. Governance structures are designed to prevent unethical practices, and during fiscal year 2024, there were no fines, penalties, or serious environmental incidents.

The company's current structure is the result of a merger implemented in June 2024, through which it acquired 100% of Silver Lake Resources Limited via a scheme of arrangement. As part of the transaction, the company issued 3,284,722,929 new shares to the shareholders of the acquired entity. Subsequently, on September 25, 2024, the company changed its name from Red 5 Limited to Vault Minerals Limited. A Deed of Cross Guarantee is in place between the parent entity and key operational subsidiaries, including Opus Resources Pty Ltd, Darlot Mining Company Pty Ltd, Greenstone Resources (WA) Pty Ltd, and several entities acquired in the merger. The group also holds interests in several unincorporated joint ventures with partners such as Ardea Exploration Pty Ltd, South Darlot Mines Pty Ltd, and Panaust Limited. As of September 2024, substantial shareholders included Van Eck Associates Corporation (9.27%), UBS Group AG (6.63%), Regal Funds Management Pty Limited (6.19%), and The Vanguard Group, Inc. (5.00%). Following the merger, the company sold 411.7 million of its own shares it had acquired an interest in, completing the sale in August 2024.