A bit over a week and a half ago we sent a combined effort letter to the AFR regarding the biased and compromised reporting of Tommy the twat and the serious errors and omissions in his articles regarding AVZ
Thank you to all who made contributions and suggestions for the content and also those who reviewed the various drafts....very much appreciated everyone
The letter was signed off by myself, ptlas and Dazmac66
For the record we received no response from the AFR so one can assume they couldn't give a rats or didn't want to acknowledge the issues raised
For those that are interested a copy of the letter is posted below
Feel free to use all or parts of the letter for your own purposes if it is helpful in any way
Cheers
Sent to the editor of the AFR:-
Dear Sir / Madam,
We would like to make a formal complaint about Tom Richardson of the AFR and his recent articles regarding AVZ Minerals. The 'stories' are extremely one sided, overly suggestive and have a number of factual errors or omissions.
For background AVZ Minerals (AVZ) is an Australian domiciled company that through its subsidiary AVZ International Pty Ltd holds a majority interest in the entity Dathcom Mining which has rightfully and legally secured tenement PE 13359 in the region of Manono in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The tenement PE 13359 in Manono contains what is currently considered to be the world’s largest, known, hard rock, Lithium resource.
AVZ and its management have worked extensively to legally obtain the mining rights in relation to PE 13359 working closely with the DRC government, all relevant authorities, always adhering to the DRC mining code and at all times applying the provisions and guidelines of the DRC anti-corruption policy throughout its dealings and operations in country.
We would specifically like bring to your attention that over the last 6 years in the DRC, AVZ (in relation to the development of the Manono Lithium resource) has carried out the following activities:
- Soil Sampling
- Field Mapping
- Consulting
- Drilling
- Metallurgical Testing
- Completing a FEED Study
- Environmental Study and Impact Assessment Reports including Groundwater Management
- Completion of a 160 page Definitive Feasibility Study
- Liaising with the DRC Government with respect to a Special Economic Zone (“SEZ”) Agreement
- Tendering for Mining Infrastructure
- Legally Obtaining and Paying for an Increased Share of Dathcom Mining
- Obtaining Several Offtake Agreements for both Lithium and Tin
- Raising Capital, Negotiating Funding with Pan African DFI’s and a Funding and Offtake Agreement with CATH
- Presenting at the Battery Minerals Conference
- Legally Fulfilling all Requirements to Obtain the Mining License via Dathcom Mining
- Including Receiving the Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining License and producing an 85 page Sustainability Report
- Investing over $100 million dollars in furthering the project; and
- Supporting the Local Community
Additionally, we note that the DRC state owned company, Cominiere, is working with the Minister of Mines, the Minister of Portfolio and the Director General of the DRC Mining Cadastre (CAMI) to effectively deny granting AVZ Minerals a mining license through its majority interest in Dathcom Mining held by its subsidiary AVZ International Pty Ltd.
The actions these participants are currently undertaking are explicitly in non-compliance with the DRC mining code and are blocking the rightful issue of the mining license. It should be noted that via official ministerial decree the mining license has effectively already been granted to AVZ, again this is through the majority interest in Dathcom Mining held by its subsidiary AVZ International Pty Ltd.
The actions of these participants has also allowed a Chinese company "Zijin" to fraudulently acquire 15% of Dathcom Mining for a fraction of its determined value as stated in the DRC Inspector General of Finance report released by the 'Inspection Générale des Finances' (IGF) headed by Jules Alingete.
The detailed accomplishments by AVZ and the results of the DRC Inspector General of Finance report were not commented on by Tom Richardson in any of his articles, to allow readers a fair and un-biased view of the Company.
We note the recent ruling against the AFR for very similar reporting where Justice Anna Katzmann found that the articles were "spiced with an account of suspicious circumstances" against a politician. And that, "The ordinary reasonable reader is prone to loose thinking and reads between the lines. And that is precisely what the respondents encouraged them to do. This article was awash with innuendo."
While we encourage the truth to be reported about ongoing events, we would expect these reports to be factual and unbiased without leading the readers to a specific view or opinion – including a fact-check and review on the sources/tip offs that journalists may receive.
Additionally, it has come to our attention that there may be a relationship between Tom Richardson and short sellers that could well be considered as colluding. The concern is that the journalist may be using their position and influence to benefit the short sellers and negatively impact the companies or assets they are reporting on. This type of behaviour raises serious ethical questions and could lead to the dissemination of false or misleading information.
Furthermore, we are concerned about the lack of disclosure of this relationship between Tom Richardson and the short sellers. Financial journalists have a duty to disclose any conflicts of interest to ensure that their reporting is impartial and trustworthy. The lack of disclosure in this case could be interpreted as an attempt to conceal the relationship and further undermine the credibility of financial journalism.
In relation to the preceding disclosure matters it has become abundantly clear through the content of Tom Richardson’s articles that there is an undeniable connection between the material he uses as reference and information published/provided/leaked by the veiled and secretive short selling entity Boatman Capital. The complete lack of disclosure regarding this connection and the serious implications contained therein are inherently disturbing.
We note that our concerns are in accordance with the following paragraphs of the Charter of Editorial Independence, as noted on the AFR’s website:
- That Nine publicly declare a commitment to the fundamental and longstanding principle of editorial independence.
- That Nine acknowledges that journalists, artists and photographers must record the affairs of the city, state, nation and the world fairly, fully and regardless of any commercial, political or personal interests, including those of any proprietors, shareholders or board members.
- That the editors must at all times carry out their duties in a way that preserves the independence and integrity of the mastheads.
We respectfully request the AFR investigate and review the serious matters raised in this letter.
Regards,
