AVZ Minerals, the embattled lithium miner that has been suspended from trading for nearly a year, claims it won interim orders to prevent a former Congolese joint venture partner from terminating their deal or taking further legal action for now, in an ownership tussle over a lithium deposit.

The company is in an ongoing fight to control the Manono lithium deposit in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo with the DRC-backed mining body Cominiere and entity Dathomir. The pair sought to terminate a deal for AVZ to buy 15 per cent of the so-called Dathcom joint venture, in favour of a large Chinese miner, Zijin, in 2021.