Australia’s corporate regulator said on Tuesday it has sued AVZ Minerals and two of its directors, alleging the miner failed to disclose an escalating legal dispute with the Democratic Republic of the Congo over its stake in a lithium project.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) accused the Perth-based company of breaching disclosure obligations and engaging in “misleading and deceptive conduct” by withholding information about the dispute.
AVZ holds a 75% stake in the Manono lithium project through its subsidiary, Dathcom Mining. It has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the DRC government since 2022 over ownership rights to the project, which comprises the world’s largest deposits of hard-rock lithium.
The watchdog also alleged that managing director Nigel Ferguson and technical director Graeme Johnston breached their director duties by authorizing exchange filings that were “false or misleading, or omitted matters” relating to the dispute.
“We allege Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Johnston failed to inform investors of the ongoing issues in this matter for nearly 12 months,” ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said in a statement.
“The pair allegedly failed to take reasonable steps to ensure AVZ complied with its continuous disclosure obligations and that statements to the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) were not misleading or deceptive.”
AVZ went on a halt in May 2022 and was delisted from the ASX in May 2024. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(By Sherin Sunny; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
