AVZ Map, page-14

I was searching earlier to see if MMCS Strategic 1 had released any details about their legal claim over Manono. I couldn't find much about them, except that they're based in Mauritius and headed by Deans Tommy Lo Seen Chong:

- Co-founder & COO of Intercontinental Trust Ltd (Mauritius)
- CEO of Capital Markets Brokers Ltd (Mauritius)
- Non-Executive Director of 4 Africa Exchange Pty Ltd (South Africa)
- Charted Accountant (England & Wales)
- Licenced stockbroker (Stock Exchange of Mauritius)
- Average golfer (80th place - M: Rotary of Curepipe Fundraising Golf Competition 2015)

I could also only find one article on the legal story (http://www.miningnews.net/people-policy/legal/eckhof-lithium-dispute-in-drc/). I had to subscribe to access it, so I'll paste it here:

Eckhof lithium dispute in DRC

ANOTHER patch of lithium dirt appears set to be the subject of a legal brouhaha, with some faceless US investors out of Mauritius effectively claiming Monaco-based resource sector entrepreneur Klaus Eckhof and his ASX-listed company AVZ Minerals don’t have rights to the Manono project in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Michael Quinn 14 Feb 2017 4:37 News


The old plant site at Manono.

In essence, Mauritius-registered private investment firm MMCS Strategic 1 claims the 2016 cancellation of a licence involving the Manono ground by the DRC Mining Registry was invalid.

DRC government-owned Cominiere SA is said to have been in joint venture with MMCS, and is also AVZ’s joint venture partner in the new venture.

When announcing the deal earlier this month, AVZ said “the Manono licence has been recently awarded as a Research Permit PR 13359 issued on the 28th December 2016 and valid for five years”.

Cominiere is to be paid $US6 million in instalments by AVZ, with the DRC firm to retain a 30% stake.

MMCS has appointed a legal firm said to have expertise in investor-state disputes.

For its part, AVZ has completed raising $A2.5 million from investors for work at the DRC venture, and says it expects to complete the Manono transaction late next month.

Eckhof, who is AVZ’s managing director and a facilitator of the Manono-AVZ transaction, should know his way round the DRC very well having operating there for some 20 years and having a big success with Moto Goldmines last decade.

Shares in AVZ were up 17% to 2.8c in last trade, capitalising the company at $20.3 million.

The stock dropped last week from a high of 3.2c to close Friday at 2.3c, with news of the dispute breaking that same day.

The shares in the completed AVZ raising were priced at 2.5c.

The DRC lithium dispute comes as ASX-listed companies Kidman Resources and Marindi Metals legally battle it out over the rights to the “world-class” deposit outlined by the former in Western Australia.