LEGISLATION: The shadow of the IGF and Alingete hangs over Zijin at Dathcom Mining
July 3, 2023 Abel
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Jin Cheng (Zijin) Further Postpones the Hearing of His ICC Arbitration Case Against AVZ International
By means of a press release, a copy of which reached the media including Mining News Magazine, AVZ Minerals Limited referred to the evolution of the CCI 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), regarding a 15% stake that Jin Cheng allegedly 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 ICC dated May 5, 2023.
The Sole Arbitrator determined that a short extension was appropriate, strictly limited to addressing the issues raised in the IGF report, and that the parties should discuss and agree to a "narrow" procedural timeline in 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 AVZI 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.
Furthermore, considering that AVZ Minerals violated the joint venture agreements (Dathcom JVA), COMINIERE and ZIJIN seized the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) to claim damages, provisionally estimated at US$850 million for Jin Cheng . (ZIJIN) and US$566 million for COMINIERE , for a total of US$1,416,000,000, on a value of the Manono lithium project which they estimated at US$5.66 billion.
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 COMINIERE include the Chinese group ZIJIN in the joint venture DATHCOM, if the sale of 15% of COMINIERE 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 $US for the 15% in the illegal purchase, is now asking for 850 million $US for the same shares, so the Chinese group should make profits of more or less 817 million US dollars with this transaction?
Isn't this a kind of plunder from the Congolese people, ask Kiki Kitenge and Kongopress?
''It appears at first glance that the amount of the damages claims is based on the fact that Jin Cheng holds a 15% stake and COMINIERE a 10% equity stake in DATHCOM, which suggests that the claimants assess the entire ownership of DATHCOM's Manono project, at US$5.66 billion ,” reads a press release from the AVZ Minerals group.
By Perfect Barack and The Editor.
And the US$5.66 billion is based on prior new drilling results and updated DFS information!!!!
