Capital Metals shares jumped on Tuesday after the company confirmed Sri Lanka had expelled a minister at the heart of the decision to cancel Capital Metals mining licenses.
Capital Metals shares were 58% higher at the time of writing on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has determined the expulsion of Naseer Ahamad from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to be legally valid and he will lose his parliamentary seat and position as Minister of Environment overseeing the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.
Ahamad was the minister involved in cancelling Capital Metals’ Industrial Mining Licences. Both Mr. Ahamad and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Chairman he appointed are now under investigation for alleged misappropriation.
Capital Metals is disputing the cancelled licences and the expulsion signals a potential shift in approach by Sri Lankan authorities to mining activities.
Greg Martyr, Executive Chairman of Capital Metals, commented:
“This is a positive development resulting in the removal from office of the minister we believe to be primarily responsible for the illegal interference with our licences. This, together with the recently approved change in mineral licensing procedures, which transfers certain responsibilities to the Board of Investment, should bode well for our situation but also more generally for the country as it takes steps to improve governance.
“We continue to await the outcome of our statutory appeal against the attempted cancellation of our licences which was heard by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment two weeks ago and are confident of a positive outcome.”