Chairman’s  Letter For personal use only Chairman’s Letter I am pleased to present the 2014 Annual Report to  shareholders. Business performance was sound during the year with  new work being introduced in traditional Build, Own,  Operate (BOO) contracting areas as well as in mine  development. Divestment opportunities for our plants and  operations at Christmas Creek and Woodie Woodie also  contributed solid gains. This performance produced an outstanding financial  outcome for Mineral Resources with record profitability and  cash generation placing the balance sheet in the strongest  position ever. It is also reflected in Total Shareholder Returns  (TSR) which increased by $1.96 per share, or 22%, over the  period. Achieving this performance was particularly pleasing  as the price achieved for our major product, iron ore, reduced  substantially during the second half of the year and continues  to decline in real terms.  Further to the improved TSR, the Company has produced  another record result in the underlying result with a 45% (1) increase in Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and  Amortisation (EBITDA) and a 27% increase in Earnings  Per Share. Cash generated from Operating and Investing  activities was $686 million (2) , allowing debt to be retired and  providing capacity for the Group to seek opportunities to  capitalise on its unique ”pit to port” business formula. The year was marred by the tragic death of one of our  CSI employees, Kurt Williams. While the safety of every  employee has always been a key management focus and  our systems and processes provided robust results, this  event has certainly brought about a renewed focus on  managing safety throughout the Group. Safety initiatives  implemented, including the alignment with a DuPont safety  management style, have assisted us to do even better. The  Group’s 12 month rolling Total Recordable Injury Frequency  Rate (TRIFR) was reduced to a record low of 7.16 in June  2014, a 51% reduction for the year. Mining Services continues its excellent performance with  BOO contracts delivering exceptional results for our clients.  New work won in FY2014 will increase our crushing capacity  in FY2015. Growth of this area is a key management objective  and there are a number of opportunities to increase capacity  in the short to medium term. Nammuldi Below Water Table  EPC project is progressing well, with the programme for  delivery of the plant to our customer projected to be on  budget and on schedule.  I look forward to your attendance at this year’s annual  general meeting in November 2014, where we will take the  opportunity to provide shareholders with an update on the  business environment. In closing, I would like to once again take the opportunity to  acknowledge the contribution of all customers, employees  and contractors in supporting our activities and achieving  our target of being recognised as the contractor of choice  throughout our industry.  To facilitate the future growth and development of the  Company, the MRL Board is currently evaluating a number  of business opportunities, made possible by the strong  balance sheet, available funding facilities and capacity. These  opportunities will allow MRL to express its talent for cost  effective and efficient development and operation of unique  bulk materials handling solutions and create substantial  opportunities to generate shareholder value. The strong financial performance ensured our ability to meet  the ongoing commitment to shareholders, by distributing  50% of FY2014 profits as fully franked dividends.  Mining activities provided a record 10.4 million tonnes  export result, an 88% increase over FY2013, with both the  Pilbara and Yilgarn regions delivering expected results.  Development of the Iron Valley project continues as the next  primary source of supply for the Pilbara operations, while  recent approvals for J4 will enable the Yilgarn operations  to continue at targeted levels. A number of operational and  efficiency measures were implemented throughout the  mining operations over the year which will reduce the cost  base during FY2015. The purchase of MRL’s own rail fleet and  on site efficiencies such as in-pit dumping are examples of  some of the measures implemented. Mineral Resources Limited Annual Report 2014  3  Yours Sincerely Peter Wade Chairman (1) before recognition of $18 million capital writedown on the Aquila Resources shares (2) including cash from post year end sale of Aquila Resources shares