VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Western Resources Corp. (TSX: WRX) (“Western” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that its shareholders approved all items put before them at the Company’s Annual General Shareholder Meeting (“AGM”) held today, March 10, 2023. The approved items are:
- Fixed the number of directors of the Company at 7;
- The election of Bill Xue, George Gao, Mark Fracchia, Justin Xing, Guy Bentinck, Andrew Hancharyk and Scott Nagel to the Board. A total of 328,893,991 common shares, representing 80.51% of the outstanding common shares of the Company as at the record date, were present in person or by proxy at the meeting. The approximate number of those votes “For” each director, the approximate "Percentage" of the total votes cast and the "Withheld/Abstain" votes for each director are shown as below:
| Director | For | Withheld/Abstain | Percentage | |
| Bill Xue | 290,562,409 | 281,780 | 99.90% | |
| George Gao | 290,563,629 | 280,560 | 99.90% | |
| Mark Fracchia | 290,647,637 | 196,552 | 99.93% | |
| Justin Xing | 290,649,317 | 194,872 | 99.93% | |
| Guy Bentinck | 290,646,287 | 197,902 | 99.93% | |
| Andrew Hancharyk | 290,648,837 | 195,352 | 99.93% | |
| Scott Nagel | 290,651,047 | 193,142 | 99.93% | |
3. The re-appointment of MNP LLP as auditors of the Company at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors, with 290,705,797 shares voted “For”, representing 99.95% of the outstanding common shares of the Company and 138,392 shares voted “Withheld”.
The new Board then re-elected Mr. Bill Xue as Chairman of the Company, with Mr. Justin Xing as Chair of the Executive Committee, Mr. Mark Fracchia as Chair of the Nominating and Assessment Committee, Mr. Guy Bentinck as Chair of the Audit Committee, Mr. Scott Nagel as Chair of the Compensation Committee and Mr. Andrew Hancharyk as Chair of the Corporate Disclosure Policy Committee. Mr. Shuai Wei and Mr. Owen Zhang are re-appointed as Board Observers.
The Company welcomes Mr. Scott Nagel to Western’s board. Mr. Nagel brings over 30 years of grain and fertilizer experience to the Company. He was President of the ADM Benson Quinn from 2008 until January this year when he retired. The Board is confident that Mr. Nagel will play an important role in helping the Company with its continued efforts in business marketing, project financing and company strategy.
Western’s Chairman Bill Xue said, “I am very pleased that we now have a very strong board in the Company’s history. The addition of Mr. Nagel to our board improves the board structure by adding additional depth, with the board members having experience in one or more of strategic, financial, technical, legal or corporate management. As the Milestone Project construction’s expected completion is in May, and with the progression of its mining development to a more advanced level, I expect Western to be able to deliver a successful and innovative potash project in the near future.”
About Western Resources Corp.
Western Resources Corp. (TSX: WRX) (“the Company”) and the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Western Potash Corp. are constructing Canada’s newest and most innovative, environmentally friendly and capital-efficient potash mine. This will be the first potash mine in the world that will leave no salt tailings at the surface, thereby reducing the water consumption by half as well as significantly improving energy efficiency.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bill Xue
Chairman
Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "expected", "intend", "may", "will", "project", "plan", "should", "believe" and similar expressions (including negative variations), or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is set out herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
