PENDING CASES
Guinea
Guinea faces an unprecedented cluster of arbitration proceedings arising from the military government's 2025 mining permit revocations. The most significant is Axis International v. Guinea, in which the UAE-based bauxite producer seeks USD 28.9 billion — a sum exceeding Guinea's annual GDP — after revocation of what it describes as the country's second-largest operating bauxite mine. The other cases concern graphite (Falcon Energy Materials), gold (Nimba Investment), and bauxite (Nomad Bauxite) projects.
⚖ Axis International (UAE) v. Guinea ICSID Case No. ARB/26/3 • Registered Jan. 16, 2026 |
INSTRUMENTS LAWYERS TRIBUNAL |
⚖ Falcon Energy Materials (UAE) v. Guinea ICSID Case No. ARB/26/13 • Registered March 31, 2026 |
INSTRUMENT LAWYERS TRIBUNAL |
⚖ Nimba Investment (UAE) & others v. Guinea ICSID Case No. ARB/25/56 • Registered Dec. 22, 2025 |
INSTRUMENT LAWYERS Respondent: Unconfirmed TRIBUNAL |
⚖ Nomad Bauxite (Singapore) & Mynbayev (Kazakhstan) v. Guinea ICSID Case No. ARB/25/48 • Registered Nov. 18, 2025 |
INSTRUMENT LAWYERS Respondent: DLA Piper (Paris, New York) TRIBUNAL |
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Australian company AVZ Minerals is pursuing parallel ICSID and ICC proceedings over the revocation and reallocation of its rights to the Manono lithium deposit, one of the world's largest hard-rock lithium projects (see Deals & Projects).
The ICSID arbitration against the DRC was suspended until February 2026 in connection with US-brokered mediation efforts. It is now expected to resume. In March 2026, the DRC mining registry reportedly cancelled an additional permit held by AVZ Minerals Limited, citing alleged non-compliance with financial obligations, including the payment of surface rights.
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