Omni Bridgeway to fund AVZ Minerals Limited shareholder class action

Omni Bridgeway has agreed to fund claims by shareholders of AVZ Minerals Limited (ASX:AVZ) (AVZ) against AVZ. The class action will be run by law firm Johnson Winter and Slattery.

The class action relates to the Manono Project in the DRC, which is one of the largest lithium-rich LCT (lithium, caesium, tantalum) pegmatite deposits in the world. The Manono Project is 100% owned by Dathcom Mining SA (Dathcom). AVZ (via a wholly-owned subsidiary) holds its stake in the Manono Project by holding equity in Dathcom. Two other entities also hold (or at relevant time held) equity in Dathcom: (1) a company called Dathomir Mining Resources SARL (Dathomir); and (2) a DRC government entity called La Congolaise D’Exploitation Minière (Cominière).

The claim alleges that, among other things, AVZ failed to disclose: (1) a decision by a tribunal in the DRC in respect of a claim by Dathomir regarding the validity of a share certificate and an extract of a shareholders’ registry from Dathcom (Dathomir Claim); and (2) a claim that Cominière had transferred a 15% interest in Dathcom to Jin Cheng Mining Company Limited (Cominière Transfer Claim), and that certain AVZ shareholders have suffered loss or damage as a result.

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