AVZ joins strategic battery council in DRC

AVZ Minerals has taken another step towards the development of its massive hard-rock lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or “DRC” joining the newly established DRC Battery Council at a presentation hosted by the DRC Government. AVZ was the only aspiring mining company invited to join the DRC battery council that is presided over by influential leaders including the President of the DRC. The DRC Battery Council was formed with the specific mandate to promote battery, electric vehicle and renewable energy sector development in the DRC and Africa. The Council is also designed to bring together a myriad of leaders within government and the green energy sectors to develop a sustainable battery value chain in the region. The creation of the DRC Battery Council was an important talking point at the recent DRC-Africa Business Forum hosted by Congolese Government officials over a two-day period in November. Influential leaders in attendance at the DRC-Africa Business Forum included the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the DRC’s Minister of Industry, multiple large-scale African banks, legal firms and financial institutions. It is expected the DRC-Africa Business Forum will assist in the establishment of regional value chains across the battery, electric vehicle and renewable energy sub-sectors within the DRC and other battery producing countries in Africa. The DRC Government says creation of the DRC Battery Council and a commitment to invest and build a battery minerals industry in the country are expected to enable the potential battery mineral value chains to be unlocked. The Corporate Affairs Director for AVZ Minerals’ subsidiary Dathcom Mining, Serge Ngandu, presented AVZ’s flagship Manono lithium and tin project to delegates at the DRC-Africa Business Forum. Following the presentation, the president presented an opportunity for government leaders to demonstrate their commitment to investing in the battery minerals industry in the DRC and other African nations. Congolese Government officials, along with other technical and financial partners, promptly signed commitments towards the development of a battery minerals industry in the DRC with AVZ invited to execute this agreement. Mission objectives of the DRC Battery Council agreed upon at the DRC-Africa Business Forum include leveraging partnerships to attract and promote investment for technology, accelerating intra-African trade and investing in research to unlock innovation. The Manono project houses a gigantic 400 million tonne mineral resource grading at a stella 1.65 per cent lithium, 715 parts per million tin and 34ppm tantalum. The JORC compliant mineral reserve at Manono boasts a massive 132 million tonnes at 1.63 per cent lithium. All the cards seem to be falling into place for AVZ. This latest commitment by the Congolese Government towards the creation of a dedicated battery council and supply chain security comes at a time when the price of lithium has been on a seemingly inexorable march skyward more than doubling in less than four months. Shares in AVZ have enjoyed the perfect storm conditions, rallying from $0.16 in June to a new $0.70 high this week. The company’s market cap has just breached $2 billion. With one of the biggest undeveloped hard-rock lithium deposits in the world, at one of the highest grades, AVZ is at the tip of the spear in the ballooning battery metals industry. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au