South African mining company claims its share price is being manipulated

South African mining company Mantengu claims its share price is being manipulated downwards, and it is pursuing both civil and criminal legal action.

Mantengu is a resource investment company focused on unlocking new value in the mining, mining services, and energy sectors.

The company aims to be a next-generation conglomerate “because its funding, empowerment, and business models transcend the typical extractive models”.

On Thursday, 24 October 2024, the company released a trading statement in which it addressed its significant trading discount.

The company’s share price is down 97% since it was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) two years ago.

The Mantengu board said it was convinced its shares are being manipulated downwards. It followed a similar claim in February 2024.

The company said it was pursuing both civil and criminal legal action related to the share price manipulation.

Mantengu explained that its wholly owned subsidiary, Langpan Mining, has a valuation of R851 million using December 2021 market prices.

“We disclosed in our audited financial statements for the year ended February 2024 that the fair value of the Langpan mineral reserve was R1.7 billion,” it added.

“This computes to R3.88 per Mantengu share and excludes Mantengu’s recent acquisitions of Meerust Chrome and Blue Ridge Platinum,” it added.

The company argued that it makes no sense that the share price was trading at approximately R0.80 cents per share considering its mining assets.

It said the value of the mining assets should approximately double the theoretical share price above of R3.88.

The market liked what it heard from Mantengu on Thursday, and the share price jumped by 22% on the trading statement.