Doubts over China takeover
Investors have recently speculated on the ASX Hot Copper forum about a bidding war for AVZ among Chinese investors, or even a takeover.
But that outcome was not immediately likely, said Platinum Gate’s Robert Swarbrick, who has extensive experience launching and running mines in Asia.
The fact that the potential deal was with a
trading company rather than a state-owned business or blue-chip miner was a red flag, he said.
Mr Eckhof does have a history of delivering for shareholders though, selling a gold mine in 2009 to AngloGold Ashanti.
It was also unlikely mine development could start as early as next year, Mr Swarbrick said.
“
At best they are three years away from production. It’s impossible it will start next year because they
haven’t even started doing feasibility studies,” he told *.
The fact that the project is in the DRC was also a challenge.
Major tech
companies such Apple have indicated they don’t want to buy lithium or cobalt from Africa, preferring “safe jurisdictions”, he said.
Mr Swarbrick says it’s
unlikely a project in the Congo would be able to secure the kind of funding new lithium mines require. In a safe country like Australia lithium mine development financing runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
All of which made a takeover an unlikely outcome, he said.
https://unauthorised investment adv...mou-keeps-flirting-chinese-battery-companies/
