The OMH business was established in 1994 by the OMH Executive Chairman Mr Low Ngee Tong, a Singapore trained engineer with many years of experience in steel, ferro alloy and building material businesses in Asia. Several multinational companies in the steel and minerals industry supported the business and these companies continue to be active trading partners of OMH. OMH was incorporated in Bermuda on 20 November 1997. Trading in OMH shares on the ASX commenced on 19 March 1998.

The initial objective for growth of OMH was to build upon the expertise and relationships forged by its key management team within the People’s Republic of China, thereby developing its market niche in the specialised metal materials market.

In 2001 the OMH Group via its wholly owned subsidiary OM (Manganese) Ltd (formerly Bootu Creek Resources Pty Ltd) expanded its activities to include exploration for manganese. This decision was rewarded almost immediately with the discovery of the Bootu Creek Manganese Project in the Northern Territory of Australia and the entering into a joint venture arrangement with Groote Eylandt Mining Company Pty Ltd (“GEMCO”) whereby GEMCO sole funded A$3 million to earn a 25% interest in the joint venture.

OMH’s outstanding track record of exploration success and growth continued with the project being developed and simultaneously in December 2004 the acquisition of GEMCO’s 25% interest was completed. This strategic acquisition controlling 100% of the Project further accelerated the discovery of new high grade manganese deposits, which complemented the mine plan and extended the life-of-mine. The land position and its prospectivity provides ongoing opportunities to confirm that the mine and surrounding areas are uniquely high grade and suggestive of a significant manganese system. The Project commenced production in late 2005. The initial plant design capacity rate was 550,000 tonnes per annum but numerous plant modifications were made during 2007 which aided the throughput and availability rates and increased production capability to an annualised rate of 700,000 tonnes per annum. The OMH Group is actively examining the possibility of further extending the production target to 1,500,000 tonnes per annum. This is further supported by the success of the 2008 exploration programs which extended the life-of-mine plan based on the Mineral Resource inventory to over 13 years, based on the actual 2008 ore mining rate of 2 million tonnes per annum and proven production capacity of 700,000 tonnes of manganese product per annum. The Bootu Creek Manganese Project’s Mineral Resources (including Ore Reserves) at 31 December 2009 stand at 32.9 million tonnes at 23.1% Mn, with Ores Reserves having increased to 20.5 million tonnes at 21.4% Mn.

In 2005 OMH commissioned its ferro alloy production facility, warehouse and distribution facility in the port city of Qinzhou, south west China. This investment was supported by the outlook for global steel production remaining very robust in the medium term. The Qinzhou operation will be further enhanced in Q4 2009 upon commissioning of a dedicated sinter ore plant. The market outlook for manganese continues to be buoyant with the key drivers being sustainable high levels of production in China and improving demand from other major steel producing economies. China remains the largest steel producing and consuming economy in the world and is expected for the foreseeable future to remain the major force driving the growth in demand for materials such as manganese.

Additionally, looking to the medium and longer term, OMH is also identifying and assessing other strategic growth opportunities which it will actively pursue.

• [Editor:Sophie]