The AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price remained frozen at 78 cents today after the company requested an extension to its voluntary trading halt, last extended on Monday.
The ASX lithium share has asked for a voluntary suspension until the start of trade on 15 November 2022, or earlier if an announcement is made.
The company is involved in proceedings regarding its mining and exploration rights for the Manono lithium and tin project located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa.
The reason for the latest extension is that "the subject of the initial trading halt request remains incomplete". This refers to its previous voluntary trading halt extension request dated 10 October.
Indeed, the halt has been extended multiple times as the company attempts to finalise an ownership dispute with China's Jin Cheng Mining, which claims to own a portion of the Manono lithium and tin project.
AVZ has denied the claim, leading to a protracted arbitration proceeding between the two companies.
A second company has also made a claim to Manono, this time coming from Dathomir Mining Resources. A DRC tribunal granted Dathomir's request to suspend the sale of a 15% stake in Manono to AVZ, which makes the ongoing ownership dispute all the more complicated.
AVZ issues company updates
While all these disputes are going on, AVZ posted a number of company updates to the market on Monday, including its quarterly activities report.
One highlight is that an International Chamber of Commerce arbitrator has been appointed to hear proceedings in the Jin Cheng Mining dispute. A case management conference is due to be held between the two companies.
AVZ also said it's having "high-level discussions" with DRC officials regarding its mining and exploration rights in the country.
Its update also included initial results from its Roche Dure drilling program. The drill holes were said to have uncovered "high-grade spodumene lithium mineralisation including 226.8m @ 1.67% Li2O & 307 ppm Sn and 226.8m @ 1.67@ Li2O".
