“At best, AVZ faces months or years of legal fights” to block a claim by a Zijin subsidiary, Boatman said in the report. “At worst, AVZ will lose control of Manono.”
AVZ said Friday it extended the voluntary suspension of the trading of its stock on the ASX until June 1, having halted selling and buying of its shares May 9 as it waits for the Congolese government to complete its permit approvals for Manono. AVZ, with a market capitalization of about A$2.75 billion ($1.9 billion), had soared more than 400% over 12 months.
Congo is an important source of materials needed in the transition to clean energy. It’s the world’s largest producer of cobalt and holds vast deposits of lithium, both key ingredients in electric-vehicle batteries. Chinese companies have moved aggressively to secure supplies from the central African country, and now control about half of Congo’s cobalt output and approximately 70% of its copper…
