Australian Rare Earths Limited (ASX:AR3) disclosed the issue of 279,952 unquoted zero exercise price options on 12 November 2026, following shareholder approval at the company's Annual General Meeting, according to an Appendix 3G filing lodged with ASX.

Key Points

  • 279,952 options with a nil exercise price were issued on 12 November 2026 under ASX security code AR3AA
  • The options expire on 29 July 2030 and are unquoted on ASX
  • The issue was made following shareholder approval at the company's AGM, under Listing Rule 7.2 exception 14
  • Following the issue, total AR3AA options on issue stand at 883,902
  • The company has 256,909,776 fully paid ordinary shares on issue

Zero Exercise Price Option Issue Details

Australian Rare Earths issued 279,952 options carrying a nil exercise price on 12 November 2026. The securities are classified under ASX security code AR3AA and are described as options expiring 29 July 2030 with a nil exercise price. The filing states the options were issued as an existing class of unquoted securities and were not issued for cash consideration. The issue was made pursuant to shareholder approval granted at the company's Annual General Meeting, with the filing specifying Listing Rule 7.2 exception 14 as the applicable basis, meaning security holder approval under Listing Rule 7.1 was not separately required.

Securities on Issue Following the Transaction

Following the issue of the 279,952 options, the total number of AR3AA options on issue stands at 883,902. The company's unquoted securities also include 33,058,179 performance rights, 18,189,194 options expiring 21 April 2029 at an exercise price of $0.2775, 15,569,695 options expiring 30 March 2029 at $0.10, and 3,000,000 options expiring 26 November 2028 at $0.325, among other classes. A further 1,062,894 nil-exercise-price options are on issue under the AR3AY class, expiring 30 September 2029. The company's quoted ordinary fully paid shares total 256,909,776.

AGM Shareholder Approval Basis for Issue

The filing states the options were issued following shareholder approval at the company's AGM, and identifies Listing Rule 7.2 exception 14 as the applicable exception under which the securities were issued. The notification was made as a new announcement via an Appendix 3G form, which applies to unquoted equity securities in a class that already holds an existing ASX security code. The filing confirms the securities rank equally in all respects from their issue date with existing issued securities in the AR3AA class. No cash consideration was received by the company in connection with the issue.