From Axinocapital:
07/29/2022
Trading suspension and agreement with Suzhou CATH Energy extended
AVZ Minerals Ltd stock (ASX: AVZ, FSE: 3A2) has been suspended from trading for weeks and will remain so for the time being as the company has again applied to the Australian Stock Exchange for an extension of its trading suspension. At the same time, AVZ Minerals announced that the agreement in place with Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies to complete the acquisition of the Manono Lithium Tin Project is also extended.
Neither extension comes as a surprise, as no new information has emerged in the past two weeks that the ongoing dispute over ownership of Dathcom Mining SA has been resolved.
Against this background, it makes sense for AVZ Minerals to apply to the Australian Stock Exchange for an extension of the trading suspension. This was initially applied for by August 15 and it can be expected that the stock exchange will also comply with this request.
This is unsatisfactory for the invested shareholders, but probably the best solution given the current situation. It is also unsatisfactory that no news has been released about the further progress of the negotiations. But this is not surprising either, since AVZ Minerals is obliged to remain silent about the status of the negotiations during the ongoing arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies extends acquisition agreement with AVZ Minerals
On the other hand, it is gratifying that the partner Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies is firmly at the side of AVZ Minerals. Although both partners are hampered by the legal dispute in the further development of the Manono project, Suzhou CATH knows the background to the dispute and also knows that it was not initiated by AVZ Minerals.
As such, Suzhou CATH has no reason to question its own contractual arrangements with AVZ Minerals. The fact that the timetable for the planned steps in the takeover has to be repeatedly postponed is annoying, but by far the lesser evil, so that the current agreements stipulate that the date for the completion of the intended work will be pushed back to the end of September 2022.
In view of the continuing muddled and for an outsider also quite confusing situation, the long-suffering AVZ Minerals shareholders have little choice but to be patient and hope that the dispute will be resolved later in the summer with a favorable solution for AVZ Minerals can be terminated.