It warned that any transaction on the sale of shares between shareholders who have discussions outside the company violated corporate governance, the joint venture agreement and the statutes of the company. "AVZ Minerals hereby notifies you of its willingness to receive the benefit of the right of first refusal, which according to our statutes requires that the shares be first offered and then sold to the shareholders, but this is also in accordance with the agreements between the parties in the Joint Venture agreement of 2017," AVZ said in its letter to Cominiere. "Having received the green light from the board of directors and the general assembly of Cominiere shareholders to start negotiations with this group, we held a meeting with Zijin on July 14, 2021, during which Zijin expressed its willingness to enter the capital of our joint venture with at least 15 per cent of the share capital," the letter said.ĪVZ replied a few weeks later, opposing the move to sell shares to an outsider and saying it was interested in buying the stake. In a letter dated July 21, 2021, Cominiere director general Athanase Mwamba Misao wrote to AVZ telling it Zijin had expressed interest in acquiring at least 15 per cent of the share capital. Zijin reportedly paid US$33.4 million for the Cominiere share, well above AVZ's counter-offer of US$15 million. Photo: AFP alt=Lithium is essential in making rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. Lithium is essential in making rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. "Zijin Mining's purchase price for its 15 per cent stake in the Manono project was at fair market value and includes other provisions that benefit the local community and the DRC," Sun Kuiyuan, Zijin's in-house legal counsel, said. Zijin said Cominiere agreed to transfer a 15 per cent interest in Dathcom to Jin Cheng, and the two companies set up a joint venture, Katamba Mining, to explore and develop two greenfield projects at the periphery of the Manono mine. Zijin says it bought the stake from Cominiere, the DRC's state-owned mining company, which had 25 per cent of Dathcom under a 2017 deal.Īs part of the deal, AVZ had a 60 per cent equity stake, while Dathomir Mining Resources (Dathomir) had the remaining 15 per cent. Zijin claims that through its DRC subsidiary Jin Cheng Mining it bought a 15 per cent stake in Dathcom, a joint venture established in 2016 that owns 100 per cent of the Manono lithium mine.
The main fight pits AVZ against Chinese mining giant Zijin Mining in a case in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration. But infighting and legal battles among shareholders for control of the Manono site is putting the project on hold. The stakes are huge and the rewards are great. Lithium is essential in making rechargeable batteries for phones and electric vehicles, and is in high demand as countries around the world make the shift to green energy.ĭo you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The discovery of a gigantic deposit of lithium had raised hopes for the sleepy town of Manono in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a tin boom went bust years earlier.Īustralia-based AVZ Minerals announced in 2019 that the Manono lithium-tin project in the DRC probably had the world's largest untapped lithium deposit, with estimates of 400 million tonnes of lithium ore.
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