Also doing my weekly chinese media scan, there's only a few new news about manono project, most are neutral, one is extremely biased (towards to Zijin of course), i'm posting the translation below for entertainment, it has mentioned something i didn't know before e.g. (HSBC (third largest holder on T20) actually holds shares on behalf of a Chinese battery company, which is Tianhua Times, a joint venture between Ningde Times (aka CATL) and Tianhua New Energy.)
Original Link -
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1763402759154195871&wfr=spider&for=pc
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More drama! One of the world's largest undeveloped lithium deposits is about to change!
Mining Exchange
2023-04-17 20:00
Hebei
On April 12, 2023, the owner of the Manono project, the third largest lithium mine in the world, the Australian AVZ company was "forced to suspend trading" by ASX. Before that, AVZ had been in a state of "voluntary suspension".
From voluntary suspension to forced suspension, AVZ not only fell into the "mud", but also made it difficult for its shareholders. According to the official release of AVZ, 49.53% of its shares are in the hands of 20 major shareholders, the largest three of which are Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry (6.73%), Huayou International Mining (6.14%) and HSBC Australia Branch (5.99%). The first two are Chinese-funded companies, and HSBC actually holds shares on behalf of a Chinese battery company, which is Tianhua Times, a joint venture between Ningde Times and Tianhua New Energy. AVZ was forced to suspend trading, and the investment of Ningde Times, Tianhua New Energy, and Huayou Cobalt may be "in vain"!
The main business of AVZ Minerals is mineral exploration in Africa, including copper, vanadium, lead, zinc, lithium, tin and gold. The Congo (Kinshasa) Manono project owned by it is one of the hard rock lithium deposits with the largest reserves and the highest grades discovered so far. According to the feasibility study report of AVZ Company in July 2021, the ore reserves of the Manono project are 131.7 million tons, and the average Li2O The grade is 1.63%, equivalent to 5.36 million tons of LCE. If it is compared horizontally with the current spodumene project, its resources are second only to Pilbara Pilgangoora and Thaleson. The latter's resources are equivalent to 6.93 million tons and 6.9 million tons of LCE respectively, making it the third largest lithium mine project in the world.
According to the feasibility report released by AVZ in April 2020, the designed production capacity of the Manono project includes an annual output of 700,000 tons of lithium oxide, and the design life is 20 years. According to the follow-up purchase agreement, the project will supply up to 160,000 tons/year to Ganfeng Lithium; Shengxin Lithium will purchase 160,000 tons in each contract year (+/ -12.5%); Tianyi Lithium’s initial purchase period is 3 years from the date of AVZ Mining’s supply. After the expiration, the buyer can choose to extend it for another 2 years, and purchase about 200,000 (+/-12.5%) dry metric tons per year Spodumene concentrate of...
Although the Manono lithium mine has not yet been developed, its production capacity seems to have been divided up by various companies, which shows its "hotness".
According to AVZ Mining Company's plan for the Manono lithium project in the next three years, the Manono lithium mine project is expected to be completed and put into production in 2023, the first batch of lithium concentrate products will be shipped in the first quarter of 2023, and the first batch of lithium sulfate will be shipped in the third quarter product.
But now it seems that putting into production in 2023 has become a luxury! Even the ownership of the Manono lithium project has become a suspense!
The fate of AVZ is inseparable from its own violations of laws and contracts, reselling of shares, false publicity and other behaviors!
AVZ is the original developer of the Manono lithium project. It has formed a joint venture with the Congo (Kinshasa) national mining development company COMINIERE and a company called Dathomir Mining Resources Company (Dathomir) to develop lithium mines. AVZ owns 60% of the shares of Dascom, and the latter two companies own 25% and 15% respectively. AVZ had sought to acquire a 15% stake in the Manono lithium project held by Dathomir, but the transfer of the shares was flawed and terminated on May 14, 2021.
In 2021, AVZ falsified shareholder certificates and shareholder registers, deleted 15% of Dathomir's shares, and changed AVZ's shareholding ratio to 75%, raising funds based on false information. According to the judgment of the Court of Grand Instance (TGI) RP 14944, Graeme Johnson, General Manager of Dathcom appointed by AVZ, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the above-mentioned offenses.
Zijin Mining acquired a 15% stake in the Manono Lithium Project on November 20, 2021. In 2022, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review, AVZ instructed its intermediary to amend its business registration records with the intention of deleting Zijin Mining’s legal holdings in the Manono Lithium Project. share information.
On December 6, 2022, COMINIERE, a state-owned enterprise in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formally sent a letter to the Ministry of Mines, exposing a large number of breaches of contracts and illegal activities of the Australian mining company AVZ, and asked the Ministry of Mines to revoke the signed Ministerial Order PE13359, that is, revoke AVZ Mining Manono Lithium Mining License obtained by the company.
On January 28, 2023, the Ministry of Mines issued a ministerial-level decree, and the Manono lithium mining license was officially withdrawn.
At present, the Congo (Kinshasa) National Mining Development Corporation (COMINIERE) still holds 25% of the Manono lithium mine project, Zijin Mining holds 15%, Tianhua Times acquires 24% of the shares, and AVZ’s shareholding has dropped to 36%. The biggest "instigator" of mining rights being revoked! The relationship between AVZ and Congo (Kinshasa) has fallen into a "freezing point".
In order to ensure the smooth construction of the mine, the Congolese (Kinshasa) government is likely to find "takers" from other shareholders. On the one hand, it can reduce the number of shareholders and avoid conflicts of interests and conflicts among shareholders; In terms of popularity and attractiveness, other shareholders are undoubtedly the best candidates, and the rest of the Chinese shareholders may come to the fore.
) has more teeth than the IGF who caught out MOP and Cominiere but suspiciously bare minimum happened. Even if Manono/Dathcom/Cominiere was first on the IGM list it will take 6-9months for a full investigation, then we hit DRC time on what decade they feel like releasing it and then acting on this with maxmium docility.
