Pathfinder Minerals to relist in London after Britain steps into licensing row

Shares in Pathfinder Minerals, the Mozambique-focused miner which suspended trading in November, will relist in London today after an intervention by the UK Government.

The Aim-listed miner suspended trading after General Veloso, a retired minister of state security in Mozambique and a 10.6 per cent shareholder, resigned from the board and told the company that the two titanium licences which represented its sole asset didn't actually belong to it. Two weeks later, Pathfinder said that it had discovered the licences were then held by Pathfinder Mocambique, a separate company set up by General Veloso.

He could not be reached yesterday, although he is understood to have written a letter to the Aim regulation team in November, questioning Pathfinder's governance and challenging its ownership of the assets.

Pathfinder Minerals said yesterday it had been working to "regain control and ownership of its assets" through legal proceedings, discussions with General Veloso and political engagement.

Following a meeting at Downing Street last month between the President of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, the Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague, the company said yesterday it was confident of resolving the dispute "as there is evidence of a strong political will to resolve the position of Pathfinder".