Shares of Leo Lithium crashed 50 per cent on Monday as Mali’s military regime halted the miner’s plans to ship its first ore amid escalating problems engulfing its African lithium dream in the war-torn country.

The military-backed government of Mali asked United Nations peacekeepers to leave the country last month, amid a broader conflict involving jihadist insurgents. The Mali regime has turned to Russia’s mercenary Wagner group to help shore up its control over its territory, according to French newspaper Le Monde.