BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
AUSTRALIA-LISTED mining concern, Prospect Resources (Prospect) has resolved to repay its employees who took salary cuts to reduce overall business costs as the COVID–19 scourge hit the globe last year.
In April 2020, all Prospect employees, including board members, agreed to take a significant reduction in salaries.
But Prospect, whose flagship operation is Arcadia lithium mine in Zimbabwe, has said having achieved significant cost savings through the action and with declining uncertainty in the global economic outlook, the board resolved to revert all salaries to precrisis levels.
“At this time, the Prospect board also expressed the intent to reimburse the full value of the foregone salary to all employees, and resolved to seek advice on the best approach to adopt,” the company said.
As a result, the Prospect board recently resolved to formalise a mechanism whereby contractual rights for all employees, exclusive of non-executive directors, would be amended to incorporate the payment of a salary sacrifice recognition.
The total of all potential salary sacrifice recognition payments is approximately US$565 065, inclusive of the amounts payable to Prospect managing director Sam Hosack and executive director, Harry Greaves.
Hosack and Greaves will now be entitled to the payment of a salary sacrifice recognition amount totalling US$128 424 and US$91 731, respectively.
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The company said all other remuneration components for both Hosack and Greaves remained unchanged.
Commenting on the matter, Prospect’s non-executive chairman, Mark Wheatley said: “On behalf of the board, I am pleased that we have been able to approve a mechanism that fairly repays Sam, Harry and all employees that took significant pay reductions at a time that helped the company reach it’s much stronger position today.
“These conditional payments and equity incentives approved during the year are strongly aligned with the interests of shareholders.”
Prospect is one of four key lithium developers that have taken an interest in the country’s resource.
Development has been boosted by a boom on the international market where lithium has gained significance in the production of batteries for the auto-mobile industry.
Most of the demand has come from Chinese markets.
The company appears to be putting more effort in developing its multimillion lithium mine at Arcadia, about 60 kilometres north east of Harare, for now.
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