AVZ Discussion 2022

Samus · Sep 19, 2023

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.
Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.
- A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.
- We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."
- We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.
- We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.
A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.
- According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.
Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.
- On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.
- In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.
- The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.
There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.
- The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.
There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.
- In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.
International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.
- This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸ in 241 Investor-State Cases:
  - of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;
  - of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;
  - the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and
  - in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

TDITD · Sep 19, 2023

Oversee said:
I cannot believe we have not received an update on the status of the Jin Cheng arbitration hearing. On 21 June 2023 - being 3 months ago - it was announced that the sole arbitrator had granted a short adjournment and the parties should agree on a “tight” procedural calendar bearing in mind that the hearing should be held in September and not later than early October.

Well early October is only 2 weeks away and we haven’t heard anything since that June announcement. I’m well aware of the rationale for keeping confidential things that are confidential, but a basic update on the arbitration proceedings and whether there is to be a hearing, and when, should be provided to us long suffering and neglected shareholders.

I'm guessing we have not heard anything, as AVZ have very likely not heard anything from Zijin who are probably carrying on in the very same vein as they have been all along and dragging their tiny little feet. Replying to correspondence at the very last second and even then, its covered in ambiguity. (So maybe they will get an email back 2 weeks into Oct)

I've long since kissed away the 'Sept and not later than early October' suspect idiocy from limp-dick at the ICC, talk about giving Zijin a free hit.
Nov-Dec, which probably means Jan-Feb thanks to the delay tactics and ICC spineless arsewipe.

Hopefully this BS has no bearing on the ML, but what's it looking like so far.

I see Fuckers. Fuckers. Fuckers everywhere.

#FUCKZIJIN

Doc · Sep 19, 2023

Sammael said:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.

Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.

A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.

We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."

We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.

We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.

A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.

According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.

Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.

On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.

In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.

The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.

There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.

The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.

There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.

In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.

International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.

This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸in 241 Investor-State Cases:

of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;

of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;

the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and

in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

Did they get their kids to sign the document?

MoneyBags1348 · Sep 19, 2023

Sammael said:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.

Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.

A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.

We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."

We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.

We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.

A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.

According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.

Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.

On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.

In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.

The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.

There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.

The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.

There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.

In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.

International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.

This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸in 241 Investor-State Cases:

of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;

of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;

the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and

in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

They can’t even sign there own names clearly. By the way..,, trolls starting to appear again!

MoneyBags1348 · Sep 19, 2023

Sammael said:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.

Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.

A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.

We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."

We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.

We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.

A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.

According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.

Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.

On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.

In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.

The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.

There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.

The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.

There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.

In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.

International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.

This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸in 241 Investor-State Cases:

of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;

of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;

the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and

in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

Remember the lies these arseholes we’re spreading on three media sites last week. Easily proved deceptive misinformation….

1) Shareholders are not meeting to appoint three directors. AVZ is having it’s AGM and have directors already

2) The relationship between AVZ and state mining company Cominiere was affected by i) Cominiere not granting AVZ the first right of refusal to buy 15% of Dathcom shares as was agreed to in signed contracts and ii) Cominiere illegally and fraudulently selling 15% of Dathcom shares to Zijin. This sale of shares to Zijin was done at $120 million below the value of the shares, the proceeds of which were also squandered and the undeniable evidence Celestin Kibeya Kabemba took a $2 million dollar bribe in the process.

3) AVZ Minerals raised the funds to develop the project which had no financial effect on Cominiere, as Cominiere were incapable of raising funds.

4) The article states that AVZ stopped work on the ground (when clearly drilling and plant construction continued into 2023).

5) The reason the PR was not transferred into a PE was because the previous DG of CAMI wouldn’t issue the surface rights fee for AVZ to pay them. The fact is that AVZ fulfilled all obligations to receive the PE and was awarded the ministerial decree to issue the PE.

6) Cominiere has put the joint venture in it’s name and claims AVZ has no ownership in the JV project, but the ICC has made it clear that Cominiere cannot do this.

7) The article admits that AVZ was in charge of managing Dathcom and goes on to say that work was done on only a third of the concession. An unbelievably ignorant statement and relates again to the fourth lie (listed above) given AVZ raised capital to carry on drilling and having core samples assayed which in turn produced further results to be added to the original DFS, and is the reason Cominiere and Zijin have embezzled money and tried to steal the project from AVZ.

8) The article then goes on to accuse AVZ of opacity, when AVZ has been open about all it’s capital raises and how the funds were used to pay the agreed contract prices for the shares it purchased in Dathcom.

TDITD · Sep 19, 2023

Doc said:
Did they get their kids to sign the document?

and write it

TDITD · Sep 19, 2023

Sammael said:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.

Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.

A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.

We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."

We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.

We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.

A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.

According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.

Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.

On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.

In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.

The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.

There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.

The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.

There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.

In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.

International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.

This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸in 241 Investor-State Cases:

of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;

of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;

the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and

in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

Funny and Disgraceful at the same time.

I wonder how much damage the mole did to AVZ?

Any legal minds out there know if once this shitshow is dealt with if we can go after this prick for the damage he (and others) has undoubtably caused?

Charbella · Sep 19, 2023

Doc said:
Did they get their kids to sign the document?

Sammael said:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF AVZ MINERALS LIMITED ("AVZ" or "the company")

Dear Shareholders
Three highly credentialed, independent, non-executive directors have been nominated to the Board of AVZ because they share the same concerns as many AVZ shareholders have expressed regarding the company’s current position.
The nominated directors seek appointment to the Board to improve corporate governance, restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders. They have the skills and experience necessary to execute this.
Constructive engagement has been sought with the company through its Chair, Mr John Clarke, to expedite the appointments. Disappointingly, this has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to address all AVZ shareholders in an effort to communicate the urgent need for change and to ask for your support.
Our Concerns
The nominated directors are concerned about AVZ's past corporate governance practices and the effect this has had on the company, its stakeholders and the Manono Project. There are a number of matters which highlight the need for improved corporate governance in future, including but not limited to the following:

It has become apparent that the breakdown in relations with the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom), including La Congolaise d'Exploration Miniere SA (Cominière) and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir), and the Government of the DRC, was far more serious and evident than AVZ shareholders were informed ¹.

Based on publicly available information, AVZ's subsidiary Dathcom is no longer the registered holder of Exploration License PR 13359, and AVZ have failed to disclose this change.

A recent search of DRC Cadastre Minier (CAMI)- (drclicences.cami.cd/EN/) confirms the fact that PR 13359 (the exploration license for the Manono Project), is no longer registered in the name of Dathcom, but is now registered in the name of Cominière. This is a significant change in the registered ownership and legal title of the company's key exploration tenement, and is material, given AVZ and its subsidiaries are involved in various ongoing disputes with Cominière, and that Cominière purportedly terminated the Dathcom joint venture. The search of the CAMI on line register also states PR 13359 expired on 27 December 2021. It does not disclose a new expiry date, and does not specifically state that the license has been renewed beyond that expiry date. The rights of renewal presumably attach to registered holder, Cominière, not Dathcom or AVZI. AVZ, again has not disclosed if PR 13359 has been renewed or otherwise.

We note that the company's previous disclosure, including for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.3.3 in its last annual report, describes the company as having "a 75% interest in the Manono Project". However, in AVZ's March and June Quarterly Reports, different disclosure appears which now states that AVZ has "a 75% legal interest in the Manono Project."

We believe the reason for this change in description should be clarified by AVZ, as the disclosure of AVZ's beneficial / economic interest in the Manono Project is now unclear.

We also believe any change in registered ownership of PR 13359, and the risks flowing there from, are material and should be disclosed to shareholders, particularly given AVZ and Cominière are now locked in significant litigation, and Cominière's interests are hostile to the interests of AVZ.

A comprehensive and timely report of the ruling of The Lubumbashi High Court's findings on December 24, 2021, and the potential impact on AVZ's interest was and has not been provided to shareholders to consider.

According to an Africa Intelligence Report published on April 26, 2022², the ruling included an order for the confiscation and destruction of AVZ's 75% share certificate in Dathcom and a finding that AVZ's Technical Director, Mr Graeme Johnston, had engaged in forgery. It was also reported that the Court requested his arrest. AVZ referred to recent press articles (which presumably included the Africa Intelligence Report) as 'Media Speculation' in an announcement dated May 4, 2022³, considering it 'spurious and immaterial'. The nominated directors do not suggest that the Africa Intelligence Report or the ruling itself was correct. However, given the nature of the allegations, they consider that the board of AVZ should release the aforementioned judgement in full so that shareholders can be accurately and fully informed about its content and implications.

Sales of shares by some directors and officers of AVZ are of concern.

On 21 January 2022⁴ (a short period after the reported Lubumbashi High Court judgement referred to above), an Appendix 3Y Notice was filed on behalf of Mr Johnston, disclosing the sale of 753,000 shares at an average price of $0.865. This sale occurred before AVZ made any announcement regarding the High Court's ruling. Separately, AVZ’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jan de Jager, sold all of his AVZ shares (1,917,500⁵) during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022. This must have occurred prior to AVZ's shares ceasing to trade on May 9, 2022.

In its response to the ASX aware letter dated 11 April 2023 AVZ confirmed at point 1.4 that it was aware of the High Court application and judgement mentioned above prior to the judgement being made in December 2021.

The Nominated Directors do not suggest that the sale of shares by either Mr Johnston or Mr de Jager breached any laws.

There appears to have been a failure to disclose the true extent and nature of the relationship breakdowns with the key joint venture partners in Dathomir and Cominière (an agency of the Government of the DRC), including, but not limited to the reported letter by Dathomir dated May 14, 2021, (when the share price was 14.5c), in which Dathomir terminated the share purchase agreements, and the Cominière letter dated July 2021 (when the share price was 19.5c), disclosing Zijin Mining's interest in the Manono Project.

The materiality of these relationships is borne out by the reference in AVZ's 4 May 2022 ASX⁶ announcement to the Ministerial Decree requiring "a harmonious and healthy cooperation between the shareholders of Dathcom as a precondition to [progressing] the development of the Manono Project" and the acknowledgment reported by AVZ in that Decree that:

"… ongoing disagreements, conflicts and differences between the shareholders […] have stalled the development of the Manono Project [with] the resulting deadlock [preventing] the State from benefiting from the development of PE 13359."

The Zijin Announcement (dated May 9, 2022)⁷, stated “Cominière agreed to transfer 15% in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining and a transfer agreement was signed.” Yet AVZ’s ASX Announcement (dated May 4, 2022) appears to contradict this statement and states that “AVZ is in advanced discussions with the DRC Government regarding the purchase of Cominière’s remaining 15% interest in Dathcom". Page 5 of AVZ’s December 31, 2022, Interim Financial Report, later confirms that Cominière concluded a Share Transfer Agreement with Jin Cheng for 15% in Dathcom, on September 10, 2021. It appears difficult on the face of this, to reconcile these conflicting statements.

There has been a failure to disclose the nature and full extent of the litigation AVZ and its subsidiaries have and are engaged in and the materiality of these proceedings.

In addition to the 5 international arbitration cases, it is understood that AVZ and its subsidiaries, including Dathcom, are or have recently been parties to many additional and separate cases in-country.

International Arbitration is often regarded as a highly risky action.

This is borne out by Credibility International, who published a comprehensive Study of Damages Awards⁸in 241 Investor-State Cases:

of a total population of 241 cases, claimants only won 43 cases, or 17.8% of total cases;

of the 241 cases reviewed, only 29 related to Africa, and none from the DRC;

the Claimants spent an average of $12.3m and 4.4 years prosecuting their claims; and

in 18 mining cases analysed only 11 were successful with the amount awarded averaging on 34% of the amount claimed (averaging approximately $350m).

To the best of the Nominated Directors' knowledge, the only case in which an award against the DRC was made (Digoil) resulted in an award of approximately $619m in 2018 of which no funds have been recovered by Digoil to date despite seeking to enforce the arbitral award in the USA and Belgium.
Further to the above matters, it is instructive to note the share price of AVZ peaked at $1.33 on April 4, 2022⁹. Just 30 days later, on May 4, 2022, AVZ shareholders were reassured that everything was on track with the issuance of the Mining License for the Manono Project¹⁰. In fact, two full pages of this ASX Announcement were dedicated to conveying this impression. However, it seems that overwhelmingly, shareholders were not aware of how severely relationships in the DRC had deteriorated and the real and then present risk the company was facing in potentially losing the title to the Manono Project.
Only two trading days later on 9 May 2022, when Zijin made their Announcement¹¹, and the share price of AVZ had plummeted to 78c, the company requested an urgent trading halt followed by a long-term suspension, which has now lasted for well over a year, with no resolution in sight. This all occurred, from an all-time trading high to suspension, within 24 business days – with a resultant loss in value of approximately AUD$2 billion, which would certainly have been materially higher, but for the request for immediate suspension.
Critically, the disclosure on May 4, 2022 did not highlight any issues of significance commensurate with what had actually occurred during this period. In fact, the Board took the very opposite stance. The above ASX Announcement, in fact, emphasised (comprising nearly 80% of its content) that the mining license was on track and imminent, whilst simultaneously, dismissing any recent press reports, as ‘speculation" and "spurious and immaterial’.
It appears that AVZ shareholders were not provided with the full story, preventing them from fairly assessing, on a timely basis, the risks associated with losing the title to the Manono Project. Until a change of board is implemented, these sub-standard disclosure practices will not be remedied and we expect that the company will continue to be unable to comply with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 3.1 (which is the reason for its current suspension).¹²
Looking to the future
To restore critical stakeholder relations and rebuild value in AVZ for all shareholders, the nominated directors believe it is important for the company to be meticulously respectful of the people of the DRC, its duly elected Government, and its largest trading partner China and its nationals, (noting that the DRC's exports to China are close to ten times larger than its next biggest trading partner being the UAE). After all, the challenges the incumbent board of AVZ have faced are not altogether unusual in almost every developing country throughout the globe, and that is why maintaining good relations with all shareholders of Dathcom and AVZ was and is critical in managing risk. The current Board has singularly failed in this respect.
The nominated directors further consider that a reassessment of AVZ's current and ongoing litigation strategy and exposure needs to be undertaken urgently as part of AVZ's efforts to rebuild critical stakeholder relations, have the license reinstated (a result unlikely to be available through international arbitration) and restore value for the shareholders. The sheer volume of litigation, and its costs, are diminishing shareholder value at an astonishing rate with the latest quarterly cash statements showing corporate costs running at $4.1m and a cash balance of just under $19m. With no end in sight for the various court and arbitral proceedings, and in the absence of secured funding to proceed, it is likely that shareholders will soon be asked to bear the burden of this cost, in pursuit of uncertain outcomes.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that this is an appropriate juncture for new independent directors to be considered for appointment to the Board of AVZ as a matter of urgency.
You can add your voice to those asking for immediate change, by visiting our website at https://www.makemanonogreatagain.com/support and sending the prepared message directly to the Board of AVZ.
Yours sincerely,
The Nominated Directors of AVZ Minerals Limited

Peter Huljich

Michael J Carrick
Download a copy of the open letter to shareholders here.

Ty Ludbrook
1 Australian Financial Review 12.12.2022, "From $4.6b to suspension: would-be lithium giant hid dispute.”
2 https://www.africaintelligence.com/...or-giant-manono-lithium-project,109780529-evg
3 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
4 https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/avz/1f63ab0a-7a8a-11ec-b4cf-6eeaf7b2618c.pdf
5 https://AVZ_Annual Report_2022 (see Note 13(f), page 29)
6 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20220504/pdf/458nzgkw14n1z3.pdf
7 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
8 https://www.credibilityinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Study-Damages-Awards-2.pdf
9 https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/chart?p=AVZ.AX#finance.yahoo.com/quote/AVZ.AX/Chart?p=AVZ
10 https://AVZ Announcements - Ministerial Decree to Award the Mining Licence Manono Lithium & Tin Project
11 ZijinMining-World-class Manono Lithium Mine in the DRC to be Developed Soon, Zijin Holds a 15% Interest
12 https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20230412/pdf/45nl0f6mvs54l7.pdf

Paid propaganda and sponsored by Zijin.

Manook · Sep 19, 2023

Now Leo lithium getting the African deal. New 2023 mining code.

Hodlandwin69 · Sep 19, 2023

To be fair, I didn't know the Dan sold all his shares

Cumquat Cap · Sep 19, 2023

The Dan as in Jan, that would be very disappointing if true - shares a job with Ben and makes a million plus a year risk free whilst we're all losing sleep

Stockinvesting · Sep 19, 2023

I read that FT is in NY.

That makes sense?

Yep, the president can't even put in an appearance at a "Come see us, we're open to the world...." forum.
If I'm not mistaken, it's not the first time this has happened.

WHAT A FUCKING JOKE.

MoneyBags1348 · Sep 19, 2023

Just having a look at the latest offerings by these self appointed nominees

1) They say they are highly credentialed but they are unreliable and untrustworthy

2) They say they were nominated, but who nominated them…. appears they have nominated themselves

3) They say they share shareholders concerns, but not the following….

i) Cominiere illegally refusing our ROFR

ii) Cominiere illegally and fraudulently selling shares in Dathcom ti Zijin at $120million below value and accepting a bribe in the process

iii) Cominiere depriving AVZ of its value in the project after AVZ spent 6 years and $millions developing the project, producing the DFS, Sustainability Report and close relationship with the local population

iv) Cominiere attempting to steal AVZ’s rights to the project tenement, license and ownership

v) Cominiere holding up construction and tax benefits to the DRC

4) They say they will rebuild value in AVZ but we can only take this as being a lie as they seek to undermine all the rights and value the company has been fighting for.

5) They say they have the skills and experience but their track records prove this is another lie. Shareholders here already putting together the track records of these three have uncovered evidence of them selling off assets cheaply and making false claims.

They then go on to question AVZ corporate governance, but AVZ has said a number of times that they have operated within the laws, the ICC has banned Cominiere from refusing AVZ its joint venture rights and AVZ have sought arbitration through the ICSID due to the corruption it has been fighting.

Apart from the above, any intelligent shareholder is aware of the corruption we are up against, and knows that someone previously employed by AVZ (probably, but not limited to Peter Huljich) has been leaking confidential information.

The latest scam offering from the self appointed nominees, obviously there’s more bullshit to go through. I have had several private conversations with shareholders who have information on these three nominees as well as who is behind them.

TDITD · Sep 19, 2023

Stockinvesting said:
I read that FT is in NY.

That makes sense?

Yep, the president can't even put in an appearance at a "Come see us, we're open to the world...." forum.
If I'm not mistaken, it's not the first time this has happened.

WHAT A FUCKING JOKE.

Yea mate, there for the UN General Assembly

You are definitely not mistaken, this shits a given. But rest assured they are open for business and if you show him the crime he will deal with it, or some tired tedious bollocks to that effect.

More talk, less walk.......official campaign slogan

https://actualite.cd/2023/09/18/fel...la-monusco-enjeux-electoraux-et-tensions-dans

wombat74 · Sep 19, 2023

Schemozzle said:
When we’re going to court no one will see a cent. Digoil fighted 13 years in several courts and now trying to fight in the courts to seizure anything because the drc don’t pay anything of the 700 million back. Getting money back through a win in courts is fantasy, the drc is bankrupt and this will not change in the near future. Especially because of the that bad current government.

The Icsid is to make pressure and force them to the table. To get international attention and hopefully enough pressure to force them to do the right thing, if not they give a fuck about their reputation.

A lot things have happened behind the scenes, I know they are waiting for something, but that something should had been done some weeks ago, so I share the concerns from doc that it just could be a stalling tactic or a try to foolish us.

To see money back the only way is to sell it to someone the drc want to, but I highly doubt this will happen because they had enough time for a deal and I know they didn’t talked about that scenario with officials yet.

I hope they stand to their word and something good happen in the near future. In my opinion only a agreement and relationship with a ML will let us see a cent again and start a fruitful future for the drc and us. The remove of the cami head was important for it, hopefully new cami is making it better.

The ICC ruled in Dig Oils favour which the DRC gov ignored . Dig Oil then took them to court in the USA and the DRC gov wouldn't show up losing the case again this time by default . No point showing up or paying lawyers in a case you can't win .

After which:
"The government of President Felix Tshisekedi decided in May 2020 “to negotiate formally” with DIG Oil and both sides “approved in principle” a draft deal in December, she said. Many months later, “we have been very disturbed that no settlement agreement has been signed”, Brown said.

Contracts mean sh1t in the DRC . AVZ has been ripped off and is now being ignored . Apparently Nigel is sorting it out .

BEISHA · Sep 19, 2023

MoneyBags1348 said:
Just having a look at the latest offerings by these self appointed nominees

1) They say they are highly credentialed but they are unreliable and untrustworthy

2) They say they were nominated, but who nominated them…. appears they have nominated themselves

3) They say they share shareholders concerns, but not the following….

i) Cominiere illegally refusing our ROFR

ii) Cominiere illegally and fraudulently selling shares in Dathcom ti Zijin at $120million below value and accepting a bribe in the process

iii) Cominiere depriving AVZ of its value in the project after AVZ spent 6 years and $millions developing the project, producing the DFS, Sustainability Report and close relationship with the local population

iv) Cominiere attempting to steal AVZ’s rights to the project tenement, license and ownership

v) Cominiere holding up construction and tax benefits to the DRC

4) They say they will rebuild value in AVZ but we can only take this as being a lie as they seek to undermine all the rights and value the company has been fighting for.

5) They say they have the skills and experience but their track records prove this is another lie. Shareholders here already putting together the track records of these three have uncovered evidence of them selling off assets cheaply and making false claims.

They then go on to question AVZ corporate governance, but AVZ has said a number of times that they have operated within the laws, the ICC has banned Cominiere from refusing AVZ its joint venture rights and AVZ have sought arbitration through the ICSID due to the corruption it has been fighting.

Apart from the above, any intelligent shareholder is aware of the corruption we are up against, and knows that someone previously employed by AVZ (probably, but not limited to Peter Huljich) has been leaking confidential information.

The latest scam offering from the self appointed nominees, obviously there’s more bullshit to go through. I have had several private conversations with shareholders who have information on these three nominees as well as who is behind them.

And all of that info needs to be fired back to the " self appointed nominees " come the AGM.......

MoneyBags1348 · Sep 19, 2023

BEISHA said:
And all of that info needs to be fired back to the " self appointed nominees " come the AGM.......

Most of it was to sow seeds of doubt in shareholders minds BEISH.

That’s going to be the best they’ve got that they came out with today, they have given it all they have

None of what they said will affect our arbitration cases and notice how they tried to completely ignore the Chinese and other corruption we have been fighting, which Huljich has been part of this whole time

Low life wannabe self appointed usurpers of AVZ

Cumquat Cap · Sep 19, 2023

I have major concerns Felix will continue to kick out case down the road under the guise of 'ongoing negotiations' until we're out of money and completely fucked.

MB, great assessment above but the fact management managed a few sells in there working off information we weren't privy to is inexcusable and downright disrespectful. Jan and Graeme have done their entire team a disservice there and are sleeping well at night no doubt

mikejoho · Sep 19, 2023

MoneyBags1348 said:
Just having a look at the latest offerings by these self appointed nominees

1) They say they are highly credentialed but they are unreliable and untrustworthy

2) They say they were nominated, but who nominated them…. appears they have nominated themselves

3) They say they share shareholders concerns, but not the following….

i) Cominiere illegally refusing our ROFR

ii) Cominiere illegally and fraudulently selling shares in Dathcom ti Zijin at $120million below value and accepting a bribe in the process

iii) Cominiere depriving AVZ of its value in the project after AVZ spent 6 years and $millions developing the project, producing the DFS, Sustainability Report and close relationship with the local population

iv) Cominiere attempting to steal AVZ’s rights to the project tenement, license and ownership

v) Cominiere holding up construction and tax benefits to the DRC

4) They say they will rebuild value in AVZ but we can only take this as being a lie as they seek to undermine all the rights and value the company has been fighting for.

5) They say they have the skills and experience but their track records prove this is another lie. Shareholders here already putting together the track records of these three have uncovered evidence of them selling off assets cheaply and making false claims.

They then go on to question AVZ corporate governance, but AVZ has said a number of times that they have operated within the laws, the ICC has banned Cominiere from refusing AVZ its joint venture rights and AVZ have sought arbitration through the ICSID due to the corruption it has been fighting.

Apart from the above, any intelligent shareholder is aware of the corruption we are up against, and knows that someone previously employed by AVZ (probably, but not limited to Peter Huljich) has been leaking confidential information.

The latest scam offering from the self appointed nominees, obviously there’s more bullshit to go through. I have had several private conversations with shareholders who have information on these three nominees as well as who is behind them.

All in my opinion,

As stipulated by MB, this statement is not balanced and it doesn’t provide a clear path forward. It is just basically a winge fest with no guidance as to what influence the three can have. If we wanted world champion wingers on the board then we might as well vote ‘Tolate’ to the position of Chariman. It is one thing to point fingers and throw stones but what would they do differently?

To not acknowledge the wrong doing from Cominere and Zijin, and then to support them in the final paragraph is virtually a vote for corruption. How do they intend on being ‘meticulously respectful’ to Cominere and Zijin? I’m sure the ASX and ASIC would be interested. What is their plan?

The reality is there is no plan. There are no intended actions. This thing has been a parody from the start, with a ridiculous name and an embarrassment to the individuals involved. Unfortunately, the lesson for the three is that their reputations are now shredded and this latest letter has the smell of adhering to, and abetting corruption.

To be clear, that is a NO vote for me.

MoneyBags1348 · Sep 19, 2023

Cumquat Cap said:
I have major concerns Felix will continue to kick out case down the road under the guise of 'ongoing negotiations' until we're out of money and completely fucked.

MB, great assessment above but the fact management managed a few sells in there working off information we weren't privy to is inexcusable and downright disrespectful. Jan and Graeme have done their entire team a disservice there and are sleeping well at night no doubt

I’m not going to argue with you about your second opinion that’s for sure, but I’m not going to dwell on it because it’s obviously a scomo type diversionary attempt by the self appointees to distract us from the real fight.

I think most agree Felix won’t be wanting to go through arbitration and have you noticed…. He’s down in the polls and there’s talk Lukonde getting the boot. I haven’t followed up on those stories so can’t be sure because I’m too busy focused on helping AVZ

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