Sconi battery metals proponent to settle ASIC case

Australian Mines says it has reached an agreement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to settle civil proceedings launched over announcements regarding North Queensland's Sconi project. The settlement proposed will cost the company more than $500,000 in fines and costs. It comes after ASIC commenced civil penalty proceedings against the company in May for allegedly breaching its continuous disclosure obligations and against former managing director Benjamin Bell for allegedly breaching his directors’ duties. The proceedings relate to company announcements in the first half of 2018 regarding an offtake agreement with SK Innovation. "The company and ASIC have agreed, subject to approval by the Federal Court, to settle the proceedings by the company making certain admissions of contraventions of its continuous disclosure obligations," Australian Mines stated in an announcement to the ASX today. "The company and ASIC will also make a joint submission to the Federal Court that the appropriate penalty is $450,000. The company will also pay ASIC’s costs in the amount of $55,550." In February 2018, Australian Mines announced to the ASX that it had entered a term sheet for an offtake agreement with SK Innovation for the expected cobalt and nickel product from North Queensland’s Sconi project. ASIC took action over Mr Bell's presentation at mining investment conferences in Hong Kong and London between April and May 2018 when it said he: – falsely claimed that Australian Mines had secured funding from SK Innovation for its construction of a plant for the Sconi Project, expected to cost $500 million or more, when in fact no one had offered or agreed such funding, and – misleadingly stated that the value of the offtake agreement was $5 billion when the terms of the agreement included a potential buyer’s discount of 15 per cent. ASIC further contended that Mr Bell’s $5 billion valuation did not comply with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code). On its dedicated Sconi website, Australian Mines describes the $1.5 billion Greenvale project as a world-class, low-cost, sustainable and ethical source of advanced battery materials. "When Sconi is expected to come online in 2024, it will meet surging demand through the supply of its high-quality battery-grade nickel and cobalt materials to LG Energy Solution, the world’s largest producer of advanced batteries for the electric vehicle industry," the website states. The proposal includes a 2Mtpa ore processing plant for mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and is expected to support 800 jobs (in construction and operation) and increase Gross Regional Product by $2.2 billion over its 30-year life.

Sconi battery metals proponent to settle ASIC case

Industry Queensland

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