AFR MISREPRESENTATION

[MoneyBags1348]

12/04/2023

Will edit this over time…. but I thought would add this post from @Doc in here for it’s relevance

The Journalist Code of Ethics (https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/) states that journalists should “scrutinise power” and commit themselves to “honesty, fairness, independence”, they must not “give distorting emphasis” and must have a “respect for truth”.

12/94/2023

ASX suspends AVZ for non-compliance with listing rules​

The Australian Securities Exchange sin binned lithium explorer AVZ Minerals for non-compliance with its listing rules after it told the market operator it cannot disclose all material information related to its fight to control the Manono lithium project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ASX’s decision to suspend AVZ for non-compliance under listing rule 17.3.1 leaves shareholders trapped in the stock. AVZ responded to 20 questions from the ASX about its disclosure of Manono-related ownership disputes and capital raisings in 2021.

AVZ told the ASX its failure to “fully comply” with the key listing rule is partly because its confidential and legally privileged information has been reported by The Australian Financial Review, which revealed on February 8 that it paid a Congo middleman $US1 million cash to help it secure its mining licence from the DRC government.

Shares in the Perth-headquartered explorer raced to a near $4.6 billion valuation in April 2022 as it snagged a place in the S&P/ASX 200, before the run turned sour when it first disclosed ownership disputes last May and entered a lengthy and ongoing trading halt.

ASX scrutiny​

In Wednesday’s response to an ASX letter dated February 10, AVZ said it didn’t disclose a May 2021 letter from a DRC entity named Dathomir that terminated AVZ’s agreement to purchase a 15 per cent stake in Manono because Dathomir didn’t have valid legal grounds to scupper the deal.

AVZ added it believed Dathomir’s letter purporting to terminate the sale would not have materially affected the price of its shares if disclosed to the market at the time.

The embattled explorer also claimed it didn’t need to disclose that it knew a DRC-state backed mining body named Cominiere had agreed to transfer a separate 15 per cent ownership interest in Manono to Chinese mining group Zijin Mining in November 2021.

AVZ didn’t disclose the Zijin transfer because it was so uncertain or indefinite that it was not market sensitive, and a reasonable person would not expect the news to materially affect its sharemarket price, it argued.

It added that the 15 per cent stake in question related to AVZ’s right of first refusal to buy it under the terms of the joint venture agreement it entered with Cominiere and Dathomir, which is abbreviated as the Dathcom JV.

Chinese miner Zijin is a powerful operator in the resource rich DRC where it operates one of the world’s largest copper mines and now competes with rival Chinese interests and AVZ for control of Manono’s lithium deposits.

AVZ and Zijin are set for a legal clash at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris on April 23 over the 15 per cent stake, which Zijin says DRC share registry records show it legally bought from Cominiere.

AVZ is applying to have the dispute thrown out on the basis the ICC has no jurisdiction to investigate the dispute. It also faces an ICC dispute with Dathomir over the separate 15 per cent stake.

The Australian explorer maintains it legally owns 75 per cent of Manono, although 30 per of that interest is under dispute and its mining licence linked to the project was cancelled by the DRC government on January 28.

AVZ disclosed the ministerial decree cancelling the license on February 6, one day after being emailed questions about the order by the Financial Review.

In its response to the ASX it said it became aware its own mining licence had been cancelled six days after the January 28 DRC government order issued February 3.

The ASX also queried AVZ over its cleansing notices after it raised $40 million in July 2021 and $75 million in December 2021. The notices stated no information had been excluded from investors.

AVZ also faces a class action funded by Australian law firm Omni Bridgway that closed for applications on March 31. The compensation claim, to be run by lawyers Johnson Winter Slattery, will allege AVZ failed to adequately disclose information when making positive statements about its ownership rights to Manono, and accordingly engaged in conduct that was misleading or deceptive. AVZ will defend the claim.

Tom Richardson writes and comments on markets including equities, debt, crypto, software, banking, payments, and regulation. He worked in asset management at Bank of New York Mellon in London

Connect with Tom on Twitter.
Email Tom at tom.richardson@afr.com

ASX suspends AVZ for non-compliance with listing rules

The lithium explorer that reached a near $4.6 billion valuation told the ASX it didn’t disclose ownership disputes as they were immaterial or not legally valid.

www.afr.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

13/04/2023

Zijin Mining attacks AVZ’s $1.5m Mihigo deal, ICC hearing delayed​

Chinese miner Zijin Mining has piled up the pressure on AVZ Minerals by claiming that the latter’s $US1 million ($1.5 million) cash payment to Congo middleman Marius Mihigo is unacceptable and against the rules of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining framework

Marius Mihigo. LinkedIn

The broadside fuels a sprawling barney between Chinese, Australian, and DRC stakeholders over ownership rights to potentially the world’s most valuable untapped lithium project named Manono in the southeast of the resource-rich country.

“The agreement to pay such fees to middleman Mr Mihigo remains shrouded in secrecy and is of great concern to Zijin Mining,” said Chen Chen, a lawyer for Zijin. “The DRC has a comprehensive mining legal framework, which does not require any additional fees or lobbying by agents to obtain a mining licence. This conduct is unacceptable and contrary to Zijin Mining’s philosophy.”

The lawyer said a planned International Chamber of Commerce arbitration hearing in Paris between its legal team and AVZ on April 23 was postponed for unspecified reasons.

On Wednesday, the Australian Securities Exchange suspended AVZ for non-compliance with its listing rules after the former S&P/ASX 200 member said it could not disclose all information to the market. It also claimed it did not disclose Manono ownership disputes in 2021 as they were not material to its operations.

Updated: Apr 13, 2023 – 7.42pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.​

Since The Australian Financial Review reportedthat Mr Mihigo accepted a $US1 million cash payment from AVZ, the consultant has denied any unacceptable conduct and claimed in London’s Financial Times, French public broadcaster France 24 and DRC media that Zijin was behind an “orchestrated misinformation campaign” to defame him and AVZ.

However, Ms Chen rejected these allegations. “As a paid consultant, Mr Mihigo’s comments are inherently biased,” she said. “These slanderous claims have been made without any evidence. Zijin Mining rejects all claims by AVZ and Mr Mihigo.”

Mr Mihigo has complained in public about the reporting of AVZ’s proposed plan to pay him an additional success fee of $US3 million and $US2 million in shares to total $US5 million if the mining licence was awarded.

On June 2, AVZ’s board agreed to hire lawyers DLA Piper to conduct a review of its plan to offer the $US5 million success fee. DLA Piper later advised against agreeing to pay the success fee, which was scrapped.

At the expected ICC hearing later this year, AVZ will seek to have Zijin’s claim to a 15 per cent ownership right in Manono thrown out on the grounds the tribunal has no jurisdiction.

Zijin claims it bought a 15 per cent stake in Manono in November 2021 for $US33.4 million from Congo-state-backed mining body Cominiere. However, AVZ has repeatedly rubbished the claim as “spurious”, with no legal authority.

The Perth-headquartered miner says it still owns 75 per cent of Manono as the 15 per cent transfer is a breach of a joint venture agreement with the vendor Cominiere.

Zijin says its ownership interest was recorded in the Manono project’s public DRC share registry in November 2021 and is legally valid. Ms Chen has again attacked AVZ for seeking to have the registry amended.

“Allegations that AVZ agent, Mr Mihigo, was tasked to alter Dathcom’s business records to remove Zijin Mining’s legal ownership in the joint venture is also of great concern,” she said. “It’s noteworthy this news echoes a past attempt by an AVZ agent to use unlawful means to influence this project and alter records.”

AVZ also faces a legal fight with another joint venture partner named Dathomir and class action lawyers Omni Bridgeway. The Australian miner has repeatedly blamed its problems and 11-month trading halt on hostile third parties.

Zijin Mining attacks AVZ’s $1.5m Mihigo deal, ICC hearing delayed

Zijin Mining says the legal arbitration against AVZ scheduled for April 23 has been postponed, and it has hit out at the Australian miner’s claims against it.

www.afr.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

13/04/2023

Thought I would add this post from @Doc in here for it’s relevance

The Journalist Code of Ethics (https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/) states that journalists should “scrutinise power” and commit themselves to “honesty, fairness, independence”, they must not “give distorting emphasis” and must have a “respect for truth”.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02610017-6A1127392?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4

 

[Winenut]

Nice one MB

Might be useful with each post to add some short commentary as to why the article is bullshit, biased and misrepresents the facts

Like this one where they used an emotional image which has absolutely nothing to do with and is completely unrelated to AVZ and Manono

 

[MoneyBags1348]

13/04/2023

Here’s the latest rubbish from the AFR.

Fuck me, I just read this bullshit article and this clown is printing so much misleading and deceptive information that surely AVZ investors on tse could start our own class action against him

Zijin Mining attacks AVZ’s $1.5m Mihigo deal, ICC hearing delayed

Zijin Mining says the legal arbitration against AVZ scheduled for April 23 has been postponed, and it has hit out at the Australian miner’s claims against it.

www.afr.com

Zijin Mining attacks AVZ’s $1.5m Mihigo deal, ICC hearing delayed​

Chinese miner Zijin Mining has piled up the pressure on AVZ Minerals by claiming that the latter’s $US1 million ($1.5 million) cash payment to Congo middleman Marius Mihigo is unacceptable and against the rules of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining framework

Marius Mihigo. LinkedIn

The broadside fuels a sprawling barney between Chinese, Australian, and DRC stakeholders over ownership rights to potentially the world’s most valuable untapped lithium project named Manono in the southeast of the resource-rich country.

“The agreement to pay such fees to middleman Mr Mihigo remains shrouded in secrecy and is of great concern to Zijin Mining,” said Chen Chen, a lawyer for Zijin. “The DRC has a comprehensive mining legal framework, which does not require any additional fees or lobbying by agents to obtain a mining licence. This conduct is unacceptable and contrary to Zijin Mining’s philosophy.”

The lawyer said a planned International Chamber of Commerce arbitration hearing in Paris between its legal team and AVZ on April 23 was postponed for unspecified reasons.

On Wednesday, the Australian Securities Exchange suspended AVZ for non-compliance with its listing rules after the former S&P/ASX 200 member said it could not disclose all information to the market. It also claimed it did not disclose Manono ownership disputes in 2021 as they were not material to its operations.

Updated: Apr 13, 2023 – 7.42pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.​

Since The Australian Financial Review reportedthat Mr Mihigo accepted a $US1 million cash payment from AVZ, the consultant has denied any unacceptable conduct and claimed in London’s Financial Times, French public broadcaster France 24 and DRC media that Zijin was behind an “orchestrated misinformation campaign” to defame him and AVZ.

However, Ms Chen rejected these allegations. “As a paid consultant, Mr Mihigo’s comments are inherently biased,” she said. “These slanderous claims have been made without any evidence. Zijin Mining rejects all claims by AVZ and Mr Mihigo.”

Mr Mihigo has complained in public about the reporting of AVZ’s proposed plan to pay him an additional success fee of $US3 million and $US2 million in shares to total $US5 million if the mining licence was awarded.

On June 2, AVZ’s board agreed to hire lawyers DLA Piper to conduct a review of its plan to offer the $US5 million success fee. DLA Piper later advised against agreeing to pay the success fee, which was scrapped.

At the expected ICC hearing later this year, AVZ will seek to have Zijin’s claim to a 15 per cent ownership right in Manono thrown out on the grounds the tribunal has no jurisdiction.

Zijin claims it bought a 15 per cent stake in Manono in November 2021 for $US33.4 million from Congo-state-backed mining body Cominiere. However, AVZ has repeatedly rubbished the claim as “spurious”, with no legal authority.

The Perth-headquartered miner says it still owns 75 per cent of Manono as the 15 per cent transfer is a breach of a joint venture agreement with the vendor Cominiere.

Zijin says its ownership interest was recorded in the Manono project’s public DRC share registry in November 2021 and is legally valid. Ms Chen has again attacked AVZ for seeking to have the registry amended.

“Allegations that AVZ agent, Mr Mihigo, was tasked to alter Dathcom’s business records to remove Zijin Mining’s legal ownership in the joint venture is also of great concern,” she said. “It’s noteworthy this news echoes a past attempt by an AVZ agent to use unlawful means to influence this project and alter records.”

AVZ also faces a legal fight with another joint venture partner named Dathomir and class action lawyers Omni Bridgeway. The Australian miner has repeatedly blamed its problems and 11-month trading halt on hostile third parties.

Video of Zigin retracting their claim by Jens on 21/10/2022

 

[MoneyBags1348]

On 24/10/2022 AFR Reported

Suspended lithium play AVZ Minerals has conceded a Congo court ordered its payments to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in the Manono Project be suspended, after it was questioned about the September 20 court ruling by The Australian Financial Review.
AVZ Minerals CEO Nigel Ferguson is disputing claims that a Chinese company owns 15 per cent of AVZ’s lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. David Rowe

On Thursday last week, AVZ told the market only a properly constituted arbitration tribunal has jurisdiction to overturn an acquisition it says it executed with Dathomir in August 2021 for $US21 million

In September 2021, AVZ announced a separate agreement with Chinese investor Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies to sell a 24 per cent equity interest in Manono for $US240 million, which by proxy valued the project at $US1 billion.

This compares to the $US21 million AVZ said it paid Dathomir for a 15 per cent stake just a month before in August 2021 in a transaction the Congolese mining group has now had a court rule as suspended.

In May 2022 another Chinese mining group named Zijin Mining announced it had signed a separate legal deal with the Congo government’s Cominiere to acquire a 15 per cent stake in the Manono Project for $US33.4 million.

Fortune-500 company Zijin said the deal was struck in September 2021 and the Commercial Court of Lubumbashi rejected AVZ’s attempt to have the deal thrown out in November 2021 and January 2022.
In May, Zijin also applied to the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) to force AVZ to recognise its claim to 15 per cent in the Manono project.

“Zijin Mining confidently looks forward to the ICC hearing in April 2023 and expects AVZ’s abuse of Zijin Mining’s 15 per cent stake in the Manono project as alleged will be addressed,” Zijin’s in-house legal counsel Sun Kuiyuan said on Thursday.

“Zijin Mining is disappointed with AVZ’s lack of cooperation with the minority shareholders of the Manono project.
“Zijin is surprised that AVZ has not supported its participation in the Manono project, which brings substantial capital and expertise to the benefit of all stakeholders and the DRC.”

Zijin refused to comment further. It previously said the separate sale between Dathomir and AVZ had been legally terminated to mean AVZ only had legal ownership of 60 per cent of the project, with Zijin at 15 per cent, Dathomir at 15 per cent, and the Congo government under Cominiere at 10 per cent.

It also said if AVZ proceeded with the 24 per cent sale to CATH Technologies its stake would drop from 60 per cent to 36 per cent to mean AVZ “will no longer have an absolute controlling interest” in Manono.

Company secretary Ben Cohen said AVZ would only respond further with its lawyers present due to unspecified allegations on social media that Financial Review reporter Tom Richardson is connected with a short selling group named Boatman Capital, which chose to publish mistruths.

London-based short side research firm Boatman Capital has followed Zijin in claiming AVZ’s stake will fall from 60 per cent to 36 per cent if the deal to sell to CATH goes ahead, which theoretically means AVZ would own less of the project than Chinese interests.

On September 9, AVZ issued a statement attacking Boatman for publishing alleged mistruths around the Congo courtroom barneys and reiterated its position that it still owns 75 per cent of Manono.

In response, Boatman instructed lawyers Grosvenor Law to demand both the ASX and ASIC investigate AVZ for allegedly misleading the market and failing to follow its disclosure obligations.

Boatman has also submitted court documents and made unreported allegations to Australia’s regulators it said supported its statements.

Tom Richardson writes and comments on markets including tech, crypto, software, small caps, banking, payments, and regulation. He worked in asset management at Bank of New York Mellon and is a member of the CFA Society of the UK as an IMC graduate

Connect with Tom on Twitter.
Email Tom at tom.richardson@afr.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

24/10/2023

NEWSECONOMYINTERNATIONAL

Accusations by journalist Tom Richardson and the Boatman at AVZ Minerals about Manono's lithium project?​

October 24, 2022
Kiki Kienge

Did AVZ Minerals accept the court's sentence that would deprive it of 15% of the shares in Manono's lithium project?

It is in an article published on October 24, 2022 on the Financial Review that journalist Tom Richardson accuses the Australian multinational, AVZ Minerals of having acknowledged the sentence of the Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo on September 20, before the International Court of Arbitration on the sale price of 15% in the Manono project with Dathomir of Chinese citizen Cong Mao Huai known as SimonCon

The article notes accusations that AVZ Minerals speculating on the lithium boom on the stock exchange, stating that the Manono project was the world's largest lithium deposit of this ore, to reach a value of $4.5 billion.

Tom Richardson writes in particular, indicating to the London research company Boatman Capitale this:

"In response, Boatman asked Grosvenor Law lawyers to ask ASX and ASIC to investigate AVZ for allegedly misleading the market and failing to comply with its disclosure obligations. ”

Recall that Dathomir had signed a 15% sale agreement with AVZ Minerals for an amount of US$21 million. But Cong Mao Huai said SomonCong reportedly retracted after seeing the increase in the value of the Manono project following the publication of the final feasibility study by AVZ Minerals.

According to journalist Tom Richardson, the recognition of AVZ Minerals' sentence that would cancel the sale of 15% of Dathomir, would bring the distribution of shares in the Manono project to this:

1. AVZ Minerals with 60%
2. The Chinese group Zijin with 15%.
3. Dathom with 15%.
4. The COMINIERE of the Congolese government with 10%.

But now, after a movement of Congolese NGOs asking the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo S. E. Félix Tshisekedi, the IGF (General Inspectorate of Finance) which works on behalf of the Presidency of the Republic, had published a report on the COMINIERE that had been transmitted to the Court of Appeal of the Gombe in Kinshasa. This report states that the sale of 15% of the COMINIERE sold to the Chinese group ZIJIN was in violation of the provisions of the law of the Democratic Republic of Congo. So illegal, something that will have to be confirmed by the Court of Appeal of the Gombe.

Sun Kuiyuan, internal legal advisor to the Chinese group Zijin Mining, said that Zijin Mining is waiting for the 15% participation of Zijin Mining in the Manono project to be discussed in the ICC hearing in April 2023, so that the abuse of Avz Minerals is sanctioned.

Recently, unless journalist Tom Richardson and Boatman Capital do not know it, in a meeting with the Minister of the portfolio, Adèle Kahinda Mahina in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, representatives of the Chinese ZIJIN Mining group proposed to return the 15% to the Congolese State and not to claim the price attached to it, asking to conclude a new partnership in the thermal baths to This following the report of the IGF (General Inspectorate of Finance), which would in fact cancel the purchase of 15 of ZIJING from COMINIERE, agreeing with AVZ Minerals, which would keep the 75% in the Manono project.

Des accusations du journaliste Tom Richardson et de la Boatman à AVZ Minerals sur le projet lithium de Manono ? - Kongo Presse

Par Kiki Kienge AVZ Minerals a-t-il accepté la sentence du tribunal qui le priverait de 15% des parts dans le projet lithium de Manono ? C’est dans un article publié…

kongopress.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

14/04/2023

Exclusive: AVZ wins embassy support in DRC mine stoush
Tom Richardson Markets reporter and commentator

Embattled lithium explorer AVZ Minerals said it met with Australia’s ambassador designate to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and received a commitment to work with the miner in its efforts to obtain a mining license in the resource rich African nation. The request for government support comes as the Albanese government signalled its critical minerals strategy will push back against Chinese investors’ dominance of clean energy supply chains.

AVZ said it met Minoli Perera, Australia’s ambassador to Zimbabwe at an unspecified location. Ms Perera has accreditation to the DRC where Australia has no official embassy in a country that has significant political instability and security risks.

The Perth-headquartered miner is locked in a battle with Chinese and DRC stakeholders for control of potentially the world’s most valuable untapped lithium deposit named Manono, after its mining license was cancelled by the DRC government in January. If AVZ cannot obtain a new mining license its shareholder base of institutional Chinese investors and Australian retail investors face a potential $2.7 billion paper wealth wipeout.

AVZ said “no comment” to questions around claims from a DRC source that its chief executive Nigel Ferguson is currently in the country seeking to meet with its minister for regional planning Guy Loando. The minister is a senior member of the government of President Felix Tshisekedi.
The source claimed Minister Loando may arrange a meeting for Mr Ferguson with President Tshisekedi, who is regarded as the ultimate power broker to resolve the dispute between warring stakeholders. AFR Weekend is unable to verify the claims Mr Ferguson is in the DRC.

Sharemarket limbo​

On Wednesday in an announcement to the sharemarket, AVZ said it couldn’t comply with listing rules around disclosure partly because the DRC is a “challenging” mining jurisdiction and the intention of its government is too unclear to warrant disclosure. A potential International Chamber of Commerce dispute between AVZ and rival Chinese miner scheduled for April 23 has also been postponed for unspecified reasons, fuelling speculation some movement is expected to resolve the deal. AVZ claims it has valid legal title to 75 per cent of the project and has regularly rubbished claims by rival stakeholders Dathomir and Zijin Mining over ownership interests totalling 30 per cent of the Manono project.

The Perth-based miner’s agent in the DRC, Marius Mihigo, again used Twitter on Thursday to accuse Zijin of underhand payments in acquiring its stake. Mr Mihigo added “Zijin will not succeed in stealing the project.” Zijin has denied the accusations. Fortescue Metals Group has also partnered with the DRC to develop hydroelectric power at the Grand Inga Project, although news wire Africa Intelligence said on April 11 that the project has been plagued by delays.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

12/12/2022

This article is from the December 12 issue of Australian Financial Review Digital Edition. To subscribe, visit https://www.afr.com.
Tom Richardson

The details of the dispute with Congo state-owned miner Cominiere and China’s Zijin Mining reveal AVZ actively sought to dissuade Cominiere from selling the 15 per cent stake to Zijin in a battle for control of what may be the world’s largest lithium deposit.

However, the stock’s suspension since May points to questions around AVZ’s journey into the Congo, where political instability makes for regular disputes over rights to vast deposits of clean-energy resources nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium.
Chinese state-backed miners dominate the control of supply from the Congo, although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited in August to pitch US interests.

On August 4 last year, AVZ’s lawyer in Kinshasa wrote to Cominiere to urge it to abandon negotiations to sell a 15 per cent interest in Manono to state-owned Chinese miner Zijin.

However, the plea fell on deaf ears. Zijin said it lawfully registered its 15 per cent stake at Congo’s commerce registry in November last year in exchange for a $US33.4 million payment.

Congo’s Commercial Court of Lubumbashi rejected AVZ’s attempt to have the deal thrown out in November 2021 and January 2022, Zijin said later.

It can also be revealed that Cominiere first wrote to AVZ at its Perth headquarters on July 21 last year to inform it Zijin sought 15 per cent of the Manono project.
The Zijin dispute is set for arbitration in May. AVZ is in another legal fight against a company called Dathomir Mining in the Congo.

Dathomir is reported to have obtained Congo court orders in December last year to have a deal annulled in which it sold a separate 15 per cent interest in Manono to AVZ for $US20 million in August last year.
A further Congo court order in September also favoured Dathomir: it suspended the roughly $US20 million payment until the matter could be resolved by more arbitration.

Last week the findings of a Congo government audit by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF). The report concluded Zijin had paid below the market value for its stake in Manono.

Zijin said the finding was incorrect because it did not account for the lower spot price of lithium at the time, or a price adjustment clause to allow the seller (the Congo government) to be properly compensated.

Another revelation is the finding that AVZ’s original agreement to acquire its 60 per cent stake in the Manono project from Dathomir was in violation of a governing joint venture agreement.

The IGF audit also found three Manono region mining tenement licences (titled 12436, 12449 and 12450) were illegally transferred by Dathomir as Manono’s holding company some time after 2017.

In April this year, investigative media group Africa Intelligence said the Manono site in the remote southeast of Congo had long been the stronghold of the Kabila family.

Dathomir’s owner, Simon Cong, is a Chinese businessman believed to be close to Zoe Kabila, the sister of Joseph Kabila, as Congo’s long-serving ruler until January 2019, Africa Intelligence said.

Copyright © 2022 Australian Financial Review

From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute

Shares in lithium explorer AVZ Minerals raced to a near-$4.6 billion valuation in April before trading was suspended. New information suggests it concealed an ownership dispute from investors.

www.afr.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

15/12/2022

AVZ's clarifications to the allegations of the Australian Financial Review article​

December 15, 2022
Kiki Kienge

By Kiki Kienge
This is the response of the Australian company, AVZ, to the Australian Financial Review article of December 12, 2022, written by journalist Tom Richardson, who says that AVZ failed to disclose to investors the conflicts over the sale of the 15% between the Cominiere and Zijin in Dathcom:

• AVZ confirms that it has complied with the Company's disclosure obligations under the Corporation Act and the ASX rating rules. The Company considers that the article of the AFR was written without a competent understanding of the material facts (...) is likely to mislead.
• AVZ did not hide the title conflict or fail to disclose the
  dispute during the period between July 2021 and May. See the ASX announcements dated May 4, May 11, June 17, September 9, October 20 and December 6, 2022. "The Company examined in detail the request for the transfer of Cominière and considered it to be misleading in nature, unfounded, containing fundamental errors and fundamental and material errors"
• AVZ dissuaded the Cominière from selling its 15% stake in #Zijin. The Cominière was reminded of AVZI's pre-emption rights around July/August 2021, preventing any sale in violation of the company's contractual rights. The transfer of the 15% has never been concluded and is now the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, initiated by Jin Cheng/Zijin against the company, invoking an abuse of a majority.
• The purchase by AVZ of the 15% to US$21 million of Dathomir's shares in Dathcom, the court's orders invoke by AFR, do not refer to AVZ's 75% participation in the Manono project. The sales and purchase agreements under which AVZ acquired the 75%, were duly executed, completed and were not cancelled or terminated by any court order, letter or other. The AFR article says that Dathomir reportedly obtained orders from the Congo court last December to cancel the agreement by which she sold a 15% stake in Manono to AVZ for $20 million in August 2021.
• AVZ began in 2021 and will soon begin arbitrations against Dathomir, to confirm AVZI's acquisition of the 15% in the Manono project in order to end Dathomir's claims once and for all and recover the losses incurred.

As a reminder, the IGF (General Inspectorate of Finance) report did not refer in any way to the legality or not of the purchase by AVZ of the 15% of Dathomir's shares in the Manono lithium project, which allowed AVZ to have 75% in Dathcom. The report criticizes the sale of the 15% of the Cominiere to the Chinese Zijin group, which it considers to be a sale of Congolese State assets, US$33 million than US$150 million.

Clarifications de AVZ aux allégations de l'article de Australian Financial Review - Kongo Presse

Par Kiki Kienge Voilà la réponse de la société Australienne, AVZ à l’article du média Australian Financial Review du 12 décembre 2022, écrite par le journaliste Tom Richardson, qui affirme…

kongopress.com

 

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[JAG]

 

[MoneyBags1348]

07/05/2023

https://resourcecontracts.org/contract/ocds-591adf-7746690811/download/pdf

 

[MoneyBags1348]

 

[MoneyBags1348]

08/05/2023
Carlos Posted

Der Les just posted a translation of the letter to the President of the Commercial Court of Lubumbashi from the pineapple brigade in Feb 2022. If legit it is an insight to the clown show that the bod are having to deal with. Most of it is batshit insane drivel but it does give references for the correspondence around the FROR.

@9cardomaha any chance you can get your hands on CEM/DG/051/amm/2021 and / or CL/098/MMA/08/2021 ?

Franck Fwamba sang a very different tune about the content of those documents. And while I'm 99.9% sure who's telling the truth it would be amazing to have them so we can confirm what happened and then use the proof to rub the haters noses in it.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

10/06/2023

Former AVZ chairman slams ‘racist’ shareholders, plots new Manono deal​

Tom Richardson
Jul 10, 2023 – 5.00am

Klaus Eckhoff, the former chairman of AVZ Minerals and architect of its deal to acquire the Manono lithium project in 2017, has slammed “racist” shareholders for inflaming tensions between the suspended lithium miner and its partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He doubts AVZ has a future in the West African country, although he is no longer close to the business.

Klaus Eckhoff the founder of AVZ Minerals’ Manono Project said it’ll be “very difficult” for the miner to operate in the DRC now.
Shares in AVZ Minerals have been suspended since May 2022 leaving around $2.7 billion in paper wealth trapped, after the DRC government refused to award the ASX-listed explorer a licence to mine the Manono Project, and cancelled its operating permits in January 2023.

The veteran mining entrepreneur said an online campaign by AVZ’s retail shareholders that insulted its government officials and Mr Eckhoff had damaged AVZ’s reputation in the DRC.

“Look at hotcrapper, Twitter, all the racist comments and pictures there,” Mr Eckhoff said, speaking from his base in St Tropez, France. “The government officials they speak French, but they can read English too and they understand and think that’s coming from Australia. It contributes to the perception, which is a problem.”

Shares in AVZ Minerals raced to a $4.6 billion valuation and membership of the S&P/ASX 200 in April 2022 as it boasted of a 75 per cent ownership interest in potentially the world’s largest hard rock lithium deposit in Manono.

However, a horror run has since landed it with a sharemarket suspension. The group faces a class action fight in Australia, a legal spat with the author of a short report in London, questions from the market regulator, legal disputes with its joint venture partners in the DRC and in Paris, and a plan to take the DRC government to arbitration in Washington DC to seek remedies for alleged unlawful conduct.

Mr Eckhoff resigned as chairman of AVZ in 2018 and said his Canadian-listed explorer, AJN Resources, has been awarded a new licence to explore parts of the Manono region for lithium and gold, after an invitation to do so from the DRC government.

The politically connected geologist who has lived in the DRC on-and-off since 1999 and developed numerous successful projects in the country including tin miner Alphamin and Moto Goldmines said he now doubts AVZ has a future in the DRC.

“It’ll be very difficult for them [AVZ] to operate there now under the current management, but who knows, I stay out of it and don’t have much to do with it. I just know they cancelled all their licences,” he said.

“You have to communicate with your partners and go there every month, and if nobody shows up for two years and only lawyers come in, it doesn’t augur well.

“Now you’ve a situation where the company [AVZ] takes everybody inclusive of the state to court, and how does that go in the country? They didn’t get along with their partners and people who live in the country who have a certain influence. If you’re not there, it’s going to be difficult.”

Mr Eckhoff added he felt the Manono deposit will “definitely be developed” by unspecified parties, but that he resigned from AVZ in 2018 as he is an “exploration geologist and not a developer of mines”.

No competition, incredibly rich​

The DRC is incredibly rich in tin, lithium, gold, and copper deposits compared to Australia, he said.

“The geological risk in the Congo is virtually zero, compared to Australia, where it’s 99 per cent risk. You don’t chase soil anomalies in the DRC you can actually see the metal sticking out of the ground because nobody goes there. The copper belt you’re talking 4 per cent copper, 1 per cent cobalt, tin in Australia you’d be lucky to have 0.1 per cent and in the Congo you have 4.5 per cent. Lithium is the same.”

He conceded the DRC has a history of political roadblocks for overseas investors, which makes it a high-risk jurisdiction.

“The problem is if you find a world-class deposit then the Congolese people are very nationalistic, they look at it and think, why don’t we have that? But they forget that you have to spend $US250 million to find it and take the risk there’s nothing there, but it’s not portrayed in the press like that.”

Former AVZ chairman slams ‘racist’ shareholders, plots new Manono deal

The dealmaker credited with helping AVZ acquire its ownership rights to Manono has lashed its current predicament and its shareholders’ online activities.

www.afr.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

10/07/2023
MoneyBags1348 said:
For anyone here who posts on twitter, I don’t know if this profile SPEC Capital is tommy but whoever it is they know they are followed by Antoinette N’samba

11/07/2023
Fox Posted

I feel sorry for Scott, I COULD say so much more....BUT, best I leave this here ..... ASIC Current + Historical Company Extract 633248290 NOTE : This extract contains information derived from the Australian NOTE : Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC) database under NOTE : section 1274A of the Corporations Act 2001. NOTE : Please advise ASIC of any error or omission which you may identify. 633248290 SPEC CAPITAL PTY LTD Document_No ACN : 633248290 Registered in : New South Wales Registration Date : 03/05/2019 ACN/ABN : 52633248290 Review Date : 03/05/2023 Current Organisation Details Name : SPEC CAPITAL PTY LTD Name Start : 03/05/2019 Status : Registered Start Date : 03/05/2019 Type : Australian Proprietary Company Class : Limited by Shares Subclass : Proprietary Company Disclosing Entity : N Company Address

Type : Current Registered Office 0EKV83798 Start Date : 10/05/2019 Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234

Type : Ceased/Former Registered Office 0EKV81170 Start Date : 03/05/2019 End Date : 09/05/2019 Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234

Type : Current Principal Place of Business 0EKV81170 Start Date : 03/05/2019 Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234 Company Office Holder

Type : Current Director 0EKV81170 Appointment Date : 03/05/2019 Officer Name : NORTH SCOTT GORDON Born : 30/10/1989 SYDNEY NSW Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234

Type : Current Secretary 0EKV81170 Appointment Date : 03/05/2019

Information extracted from A.S.I.C. database at 15/07/2022 10:39

Officer Name : NORTH SCOTT GORDON Born : 30/10/1989 SYDNEY NSW Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234 Share Capital Note: For each class of shares issued by a proprietary company, ASIC records the details of the twenty members of the class (based on shareholdings). The details of any other members holding the same number of shares as the twentieth ranked member will also be recorded by ASIC on the database. Where available, historical records show that a member has ceased to be ranked amongst the twenty members. This may, but does not necessarily mean, that they have ceased to be a member of the company.

Type : Current Class Code : ORD Class Title : ORD Number of Shares/Interests Issued : 12 Total amount paid/taken to be paid : $ 12.00 Total amount due & payable : $ 0.00 Members 0EKV81170

Type : Current Class Code : ORD Number Held : 12 Benificially Owned : Y Fully Paid : Y Member Name : NORTH SCOTT GORDON Member Address : 9 COWPER PLACE BARDEN RIDGE NSW 2234 Joint Holding : N Document List Form : 484 Pages : 2 Received : 03/05/2019 Processed : 03/05/2019 Effective : 03/05/2019 [484B] Change to Company Details Change of Registered Address Form : 201 Pages : 3 Received : 03/05/2019 Processed : 03/05/2019 Effective : 03/05/2019 [201C] Application For Registration as a Proprietary Company Contact Address 0EKV81170 0EKV83798 0EKV81170 A contact address is the address to which communications and notices are sent from ASIC to the company.

Type : Current Contact Address for ASIC use only Start Date : 03/05/2019 Address : PO BOX 522 SUTHERLAND NSW 1499 End of Extract

Information extracted from A.S.I.C. database at 15/07/2022 10:39

 

[MoneyBags1348]

04/09/2023

MMGA

www.makemanonogreatagain.com