Kenmare group chief seeks removal of audit chairman

Kenmare Resources chairman Charles Carvill has called a special board meeting today to remove businessman Donal Kinsella as chairman of the audit committee at the mining and exploration group.

Mr Kinsella, who is deputy chairman of Kenmare's board of directors and chairman of contract upholstery business Trimproof, last night questioned the motivation behind the move.

Kenmare said the motion to remove Mr Kinsella as chairman arose from an "incident" on May 9th at its titanium mine at Moma in Mozambique. The incident prompted a complaint against Mr Kinsella from company secretary Deirdre Corcoran, who is also secretary to the audit committee.

Mr Kinsella apologised after Kenmare's solictors O'Donnell Sweeney Eversheds conducted an investigation into the matter.

However, Kenmare said the incident made it impossible for Ms Corcoran to work effectively with Mr Kinsella. Mr Carvill - who is father of company managing director Michael Carvill - sought Mr Kinsella's voluntary resignation from the committee, but it was not forthcoming.

Mr Kinsella last night acknowledged there had been an incident but said no harm was done. "An incident certainly occurred during the course of the night for which I apologised. The report that was commissioned exonerated me from any harm," he said.

"I have for some time now as audit committee chairman been investigating certain procedures which I feel may not be in the very best interests of good goverance. There is an agenda for the next committee meeting, which I have called, which highlights the subject of these concerns."

He declined to specify the nature of his concerns but said he was certain that the company would outline them.

Kenmare Resources last night declined to comment on any aspect of Mr Kinsella's remarks and said it had nothing to say beyond a statement it issued shortly before 8pm last night.

The statement said: "There was an incident on 9th May, 2007, at Kenmare's Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique. On foot of this incident, a complaint was made by the company secretary, Miss Deirdre Corcoran, against Mr Donal Kinsella.

"Mr Charles Carvill requested that the company solicitors, O'Donnell Sweeney Eversheds, conduct an investigation and prepare a report on the incident for his consideration. This report was completed and presented to Mr Charles Carvill on 20th June."

It went on: "Mr Charles Carvill then sought and received a written apology from Mr Donal Kinsella to Miss Deirdre Corcoran. The incident made it impossible for Miss Deirdre Corcoran, as secretary to the audit committee, to work effectively with Mr Donal Kinsella as chairman of the audit committee."

"Mr Charles Carvill therefore asked for Mr Donal Kinsella's resignation as chairman of the audit committee. [ This] has not been forthcoming. The chairman has now called a special meeting of the board at which Mr Donal Kinsella's removal as chairman of the . . . committee will be proposed."