Vulcan gets apology, settlement from JCap, Murray

US short-seller J Capital and author Timothy Murray have paid a price and apologised for “damage, distress and embarrassment” caused to Vulcan by a damning report in late October.

ASX-listed lithium miner Vulcan Energy has scored a victory in its court fight against US short-seller J Capital Research and Timothy Murray, the author of a JCap report in October, which described the Aussie company’s German project as a ‘non-starter’.

In a statement issued late on Wednesday, Vulcan Energy said that it had “concluded an out of court settlement” with Mr Murray and J Capital on December 15.

The settlement terms include permanent restraints preventing J Capital and Mr Murray from disseminating, publishing or republishing any matter of and concerning Vulcan, and its directors and officers.

In addition, J Capital and Mr Murray provided an open apology to the company, Vulcan managing director Francis Wedin, chairman Gavin Rezos, chief operating officer Thorsten Weimann and co-founder and board adviser Dr Horst Kreuter.

The apology by JCap and Mr Murray covered their reports ‘Vulcan: God of Empty Promises’ and ‘Nothing New Here: J Capital Research responds to Vulcan Energy Resources’, a related online video, two YouTube videos, statements on CNBC Online and various Twitter posts, court orders released with Vulcan’s update to investors show.

“While J Capital and Mr Murray may have different views about the potential of Vulcan’s Zero Carbon lithium project, J Capital and Mr Murray apologise for the allegations regarding Vulcan’s board and management.

“J Capital and Mr Murray sincerely apologise for any damage, distress and embarrassment caused to Vulcan’s board and management, in particular to Dr Wedin, Mr Rezos, Mr Weimann and Dr Kreuter.”

The orders do not prevent the parties from defending any future legal proceedings or regulatory investigations.

Vulcan, whose major shareholders include big institutional investors and rich-listers Gina Rinehart and John Hancock, did not reveal the settlement amount.

Vulcan’s plans to build a “green” lithium mine in Germany, powered by geothermal energy and supplying to European battery makers, has rocketed it from a small-cap 16c/share business in January 2020 to its market capitalisation of $1.4bn.

In September, it raised $220m for its proposed lithium production hub in Germany, which was followed by JCap’s report that accused Vulcan of basing its pre-feasibility study on “highly optimistic assumptions”.

“In effect, management is low-balling the costs and overstating the quality of its resource. They have pushed down discount rates to make the project look profitable,” the report claimed.

Shares in Vulcan closed up 3.9 per cent at $11.89, still sharply down from the $14.99 price between October 26 and 28 when JCap’s first report was released.