
← Money of Mine30 sept. · 49 min
If You Don't Pay a Dividend, You're Not in Business (Tony Kiernan)
<p>Tony Kiernan has chaired more WA miners into the big leagues than just about anyone.</p><p><br></p><p>He was founding chair of BC Iron when it listed at around $12m, chaired Pilbara Minerals from lithium hopeful to the ASX 50, chaired Saracen through the Super Pit deal and Northern Star merger, and has chaired Genesis from about $330m to a gold producer worth more than $8B+.</p><p><br></p><p>He's a former lawyer from a trucking family, and his father's line stuck: "If you don't pay a dividend, you're not in business, son." </p><p><br></p><p>Decades of shareholder letters show a philosophy that has barely moved.</p><p><br></p><p>We wanted to understand how he does it.</p><p><br></p><p>Tony covers:</p><p><br></p><p>• The three rules he gives anyone trying to make it in mining• Why cash in the bank beats accounting profits, and how much he always keeps in reserve</p><p>• Stories from BC Iron, Pilbara, Saracen, Genesis and selling an Eritrean gold mine to the Chinese• How he sizes up MDs, and why he rates CFOs so highly</p><p>• The Altura deal and backing lithium when nobody else would</p><p>• Proxy advisors, executive chairs and what makes a good director</p><p>• Why six is the right number of directors</p><p><br></p><p>…………… </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>TIMESTAMPS </strong></p><p>(0:00) Tony Kiernan's Business Philosophy</p><p>(08:15) The Drilling Business and Eritrea</p><p>(14:27) How to Chair a Board</p><p>(19:25) Pilbara Minerals and Lithium</p><p>(24:05) Dealmaking and the Altura Acquisition</p><p>(30:19) Proxy Advisors</p><p>(35:46) What It Means to Be a Director</p><p>(41:55) Lachlan Star</p><p>…………… </p><p> </p><p>Join 19k+ subscribers to the <a href="https://www.moneyofmine.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Director’s Special</a>:one daily email with all the news that matters in mining </p><p>…………… </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>PARTNERS </strong></p><p>Thank you to the mining services businesses that make this content possible: </p><p>• <a href="https://www.rocktechnology.sandvik/en/products/ground-support/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sandvik Ground Support</strong></a> – The only ground supportyou’ll ever need</p><p>• <a href="https://www.titanrecruitment.com.au/contact" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Titan Recruitment</strong></a> – Specialists in engineering and te