Theron20004
Emerged
At least the IGF report getting some more publicity in DRC
Lithium de Manono: stuck by the IGF report, Zijin requests a new postponement in arbitration in Paris
July 10, 2023 TIGHANA MASIALA 0
IGF boss Jules Alingete finally stripped Zijin of all defenses in arbitration
China's Jin Cheng (Zijin), which is still eyeing lithium from Manono (Tanganyika province) as part of the Dathcom Mining joint venture, is in serious trouble. In arbitration, on its own initiative, in Paris against the Australian AVZ Minerals, Zijin has, against all expectations, postponed the hearing of its case scheduled for July, sending it back to next September. In reality, Zijin is losing momentum, not knowing how to get rid of the heavy charges attributed to him in the last report of the IGF (General Inspectorate of Finances). Back on this epilogue with Mining News Magazine.
In a press release, a copy of which was sent to Mining News Magazine, AVZ Minerals Limited referred to developments in the ICC action brought against its subsidiary AVZ International Pty Ltd by Jin Cheng Mining Company (Jin Cheng), a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited (Zijin), concerning a 15% stake that Jin Cheng would have acquired from La Congolaise d’Exploitation Minière (Cominière) in Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom).
As noted in the company's April 17, 2023 announcement, the matter of the jurisdictional challenge of the arbitral tribunal hearing was scheduled to be heard in July 2023 after being postponed from its original date in April 2023.
Unfortunately, Jin Cheng (Zijin) argued that they need to postpone the hearing dates again, mainly because they require more time to respond to the allegations raised in the IGF report dated 30 November 2022 ("Conclusions de l'Inspection générale des finances de la RDC contre Cominière et Dathomir" dated December 6, 2022) which was referred to in the company's submission to the CPII, dated May 5, 2023. The
arbitrator sole determined that a short extension was appropriate, strictly limited to addressing issues raised in the IGF report, and that the parties should discuss and agree to a “narrow” procedural timeline bearing in mind that a hearing should be held in September and at the latest at the beginning of October.
Australian company AVZ Minerals is surprised and disappointed by plaintiff Jin Cheng's (Zijin) continued delaying tactics, but remains confident that her court challenge will be successful, confirming that Jin Cheng has no right to bring the ICC arbitration proceedings against AVZ because it is not a shareholder of Dathcom.
It was through an announcement authorized for publication by the board of directors of AVZ Minerals Limited that the Australian company informed the public on June 21, 2023.
Moreover, considering that AVZ Minerals has breached the joint venture agreements (Dathcom JVA), COMINIERE and ZIJIN have seized the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) to claim damages, provisionally estimated at 850 million USD for Jin Cheng (ZIJIN) and 566 million USD for Cominière, for a total of 1,416,000,000 USD, on a value of the Manono lithium project which they estimated at 5.66 billion USD.
The two groups are asking the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) for an order declaring the termination of the Dathcom joint venture.
How and by what magic can Cominière include the Chinese group ZIJIN in the Dathcom joint venture, if the sale of 15% of Cominière has not yet been validated, since the case is still in court? And if Zijin is in Dathcom to claim damages jointly with Cominière, why then are the two looking to saw off the board they're sitting on or kill their common golden-egg hen?
The Chinese group ZIJIN, which had paid a sum of 33 million USD for the 15% in the illegal purchase, is now asking for 850 million USD for the same shares, so the Chinese group should make profits of more or less 817 million USD with this transaction?
Kiki Kitenge and Kongopress wonders: Isn't this a kind of plunder to the Congolese people.
“It appears at first sight that the amount of the damages claims is based on the fact that Jin Cheng holds a 15% stake and COMI-NIERE a 10% equity stake in DATHCOM, which suggests that the claimants value the entire ownership of DATHCOM Manono project, at 5.66 billion USD,” reads a press release from the AVZ Minerals group.
Lithium de Manono : coincé par le rapport de l’IGF, Zijin sollicite un nouveau report en arbitrage à Paris - L'Info qui fait écho
Le Chinois Jin Cheng (Zijin), qui lorgne toujours le lithium de Manono (province du Tanganyika) dans le cadre de la joint-venture Dathcom Mining, est sérieusement…econewsrdc.com
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