Rinehart-backed Vulcan launches legal action over report

Perth-based lithium explorer Vulcan Energy Resources has won a Federal Court bid to temporarily prevent the republication of a report criticising the ASX-listed company.

Vulcan launched legal action against US-based shortsellers J Capital Research and its co-founder Timothy Murray late last week over a report titled 'Vulcan: God of Empty Promises', published late last month.

In the report, Mr Murray alleged the company had been overly optimistic in the presentation of its zero carbon lithium mine in Germany and cast doubt whether its green lithium plan would ever come to fruition.

The Gina Rinehart-backed Vulcan responded the following day by rebutting the claims via a statement on the ASX before entering a trading halt.

On Sunday, Vulcan, together with its managing director Francis Wedin, chair Gavin Rezos, chief operating officer Thorsten Weimann and executive director Horst Kreuter, lodged an injunction application with the Federal Court to prevent further publication of the report.

In an urgent hearing held on Monday, Federal Court justice Katrina Frances Banks-Smith granted Vulcan an order restraining Mr Murray and J Capital from disseminating, publishing or republishing the contents of the report.

According to documents published by the court, any breach of the order may result in imprisonment or another punishment deemed appropriate by the court.

That order is in place until 4pm next Tuesday, November 16, when the matter is next due before the court.

Vulcan, which listed on the ASX as Koppar Resources in 2018, is based in Perth and has about 80 staff.

The company’s shares are up more than 80 per cent in the past six months, closing at $10.91 this afternoon.