It has now been four months since the AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price has been seen in action.
The embattled lithium developer's shares have been suspended while it sorts out an ownership dispute.
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When will the AVZ share price return?
As things stand, the AVZ share price is scheduled to return to trade next week on Thursday 15 September.
However, the company has been pushing back its return date periodically over the last few months. In light of this, there's no guarantee that this will be the end of its hiatus.
Particularly given what was said in its latest update.
What's the latest?
After the market close on Friday, AVZ put out an update on the arbitration proceedings in the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) instigated by Jin Cheng Mining Company.
According to the release, the ICC has informed the two parties that it has appointed a sole arbitrator.
AVZ and Jin Cheng will be convened to a case management conference this month with a view to setting the timetable of the arbitral proceedings and the execution of the terms of reference. The specific timing of this conference is yet to be advised to the company.
So, this could mean there will still be some time to pass before the AVZ share price reappears for trade.
Short attack
In addition, the company hit back at a short seller attack by Boatman Capital. It commented:
The Boatman Report makes a large number of false, misleading and/or deceptive statements (including through omission) regarding AVZ and its ownership in the Manono Lithium and Tin Project (Manono Project), all of which are strongly refuted. In particular, the Boatman Report falsely seeks to contend that the Company does not hold legal title to a 75% interest in the shares in Dathcom.
Investors will just have to wait for the results of the arbitration to find out AVZ's ultimate ownership.
