Canadian lithium developer Lithium Ionic Corporation says it has become aware of a group claiming to be "significant shareholders" of Canada-based but Spain-focused explorer Emerita Resources Corporation which applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for leave to start a lawsuit on behalf of Emerita against Lithium Ionic and others.

The application has been launched in the name of "PM Super Fund", which claims to be an Australian trust.

According to a June 8 press release issued by the Emerita shareholder group, the application is premised on an Application for Enforcement Proceedings started by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on April 9 against Emerita, certain former directors of Lithium Ionic, and others.

Lithium Ionic is not a respondent to the OSC proceeding, and no orders have been sought by the OSC against Lithium Ionic. Lithium Ionic, did, however, announce in April the resignation of its directors David Gower, Lawrence Guy and Hélio Diniz, as well as corporate secretary Damian Lopez, in 'the best interest of the company' in response to the proceeding initiated by OSC on April 9.

The OSC announced enforcement proceedings against Emerita, and five of its directors and officers related to alleged misconduct. The OSC alleges that several of Emerita’s directors, including Gower, Guy, Diniz and Lopez participated in actions which ultimately diverted lithium mining claims in Brazil, known as the Falcon project.

Meanwhile, the application that may or may not be brought against Lithium Ionic stems from a small group of Emerita shareholders which must first obtain permission from the court before it can sue on behalf of Emerita.

The Emerita shareholder group has acknowledged that its application has been brought contrary to the express request of the special committee of the board - the special committee of independent directors was established in response to the OSC proceeding.

Based on the allegations made by the OSC, and facts known to Lithium Ionic, even if the Emerita shareholder group obtains permission from the court to sue Lithium Ionic in a derivative action, Lithium Ionic does not believe a court will find that Lithium Ionic holds the Bandeira project, in Brazil, in trust for Emerita, or order that the Bandeira project be transferred to Emerita.

Lithium Ionic intends to take all steps necessary to protect its interest in the Bandeira project, including by responding to any lawsuits initiated against Lithium Ionic in relation to the project.

Lithium Ionic remains focused on responsibly advancing its 100%-owned Bandeira project. The development to date, including all drill campaigns, engineering studies and project development, has been funded by Lithium Ionic shareholders, who are responsible for generating the current value of the project.

The company says its binding multi-year offtake agreements with leading global lithium producers, including one of the world’s largest lithium hydroxide producers, reflect the quality of the asset and the confidence of sophisticated commercial counterparties in its development.