The AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price has been frozen since May amid a legal dispute that is holding up mining at its lithium and tin project in Africa.

The lithium developer first requested a trading halt in relation to a legal wrangle on 9 May.

The dispute is delaying the finalisation of the mining and exploration rights for the Manono Lithium and Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

As my Fool colleague James reported in May, the issue centres around AVZ’s ownership of the project.

Briefly, the Manono Lithium and Tin Project is owned by a company called Dathcom Mining SA.

AVZ Minerals owns 75% and Dathomir Mining Resources SARL, otherwise known as La Congolaise D’Exploitation Miniere SA (Cominiere), owns 25%.

Part of the deal for gaining a mining licence was Dathomir ceding 10% of its interest to the DRC Government.

AVZ believed it had first right of refusal to buy the remaining 15% owned by Dathomir, in accordance with binding contracts signed by both parties in 2019 and 2020.

However, in May 2021, Dathomir sent a letter to AVZ Minerals terminating the agreement. AVZ Minerals maintains this was unlawful.

In August, AVZ Minerals executed their rights under the agreement to purchase the 15% stake and made payment for it.

Dathomir is purported to have transferred its remaining 15% interest to China’s Jin Cheng Mining Company Limited. Jin Cheng is a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited (HKG: ZJM0W).

AVZ is now fighting to claim ownership of that 15%.

What’s happening with the AVZ share price today?

In short, absolutely nothing. The saga simply continues but AVZ Minerals has made a statement today.

AVZ has informed ASX investors that on 1 December, it filed the first of two arbitrations against Dathomir with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

In its statement, AVZ Minerals said:

The purpose of the Dathomir Arbitrations is to seek a declaration affirming [AVZ’s] legal title to the 15% stake in the Manono Project …

AVZ is already in the midst of separate ICC arbitration proceedings brought by Jin Cheng.

Jin Cheng wants the ICC to recognise that it is now the owner of the 15% stake in Dathcom.

AVZ Minerals said:

The Company considers it has strong prospects of success in the Dathomir Arbitrations and Jin Cheng
ICC Arbitration Proceedings and will vigorously pursue its claims to vindication.

What now for AVZ Minerals shareholders?

It continues to be a waiting game for AVZ Minerals shareholders.

However, those invested in the company for the long haul are probably looking on the bright side.

As my Fool colleague Brooke recently reported, AVZ Minerals is one of three ASX mining shares that have turned a $10,000 investment made 10 years ago into $500,000 today.

The AVZ Minerals share price is up a grand total of 7,700% over the past decade.

The post AVZ Minerals share price remains halted amid fresh legal action appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2025
• AVZ Minerals trading halt extended again. What is going on?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had another shocker today, notching up its third loss in a row for the week. The index finished up at 7,175.5 points, down 0.75% for the day. Since Monday, the ASX 200 has already lost a nasty 2%.

These losses were led by ASX 200 energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) ended up falling by a nasty 2.42%, led by Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) falling by almost 3.7%. Leading coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) was down by 2.59%.  

This was induced by sharp falls in energy and commodity prices. Oil is now back under US$80 a barrel, with WTI crude down 3.48% to US$74.25 a barrel on the latest numbers.

Meanwhile, the best-performing sector today was utilities, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) rising 0.97%. In total, only three of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors were in the green today.

Countdown to the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Thursday

Our top-performing ASX 200 share today was Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN), which finished the session up a healthy 13.11% at $6.30 a share. This came after the miner indicated that it has uncovered some new copper and nickel reserves at its Julimar Project in Western Australia.

Here are the top ten shares from this Thursday’s trading session:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)	$6.30	13.11%
West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF)	$1.13	4.65%
Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR)	$1.34	3.88%
Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS)	$0.99	3.68%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$2.90	3.57%
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)	$0.64	3.23%
Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)	$12.77	2.98%
Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)	$0.19	2.78%
TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)	$13.79	2.53%
Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF)	$6.35	2.42%

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why Air New Zealand, Chalice, Evolution, and Origin shares are rising today
• It’s not all bad news on the ASX All Ordinaries today. Here are 3 big winners
• 3 ASX gold shares rocketing higher on Thursday
• Chalice Mining share price surges 11% on new copper and nickel find

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Technology One. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It’s certainly been a wild year for ASX shares as inflation prints and interest rate hikes have pulled markets in every direction.

Despite a recent rally, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down around 7% since the start of 2022.

Amidst the volatility and uncertainty, investors have been flocking to defensive ASX shares, along with those that pay a dividend.

But high dividend yields don’t necessarily have to come with modest capital growth.

Here are three high-flying ASX All Ords shares that have delivered juicy dividends and big share price gains in 2022.

New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)

New Hope has been one of the best-performing ASX All Ords shares this year. With the New Hope share price currently fetching $5.64, shares have sky-rocketed 153% in the year to date.

The ASX 200 coal miner has been a major beneficiary of sky-high coal prices, which have surged on the back of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In FY22, New Hope’s revenue soared by 143% to $2.6 billion. Meanwhile, profit went through the roof, rocketing 1,139% to $983 million. 

This came despite New Hope producing 18% less saleable coal compared to the prior year. It was all made possible by record-high coal prices, with New Hope’s average realised prices surging from $101.36/tonne in FY21 to $281.84/tonne in FY22. 

These booming results helped New Hope to crank up its annual dividends by 681%, declaring fully franked dividends of 86 cents per share. At current prices, this puts New Hope shares on an eye-watering trailing dividend yield of 15.2%.

Looking ahead, Morgans believes New Hope’s dividends will head further north in FY23. The broker is forecasting annual dividends of $1.00 per share, which spins up a forward dividend yield of 17.7%. Morgans currently has an add rating on New Hope shares with a 12-month price target of $6.80.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS)

Next up, Woodside is another ASX 200 share that’s delivered lucrative dividend income this year in tandem with bumper share price gains.

With Woodside shares last changing hands at $34.45, its shares have punched 57% higher since the beginning of 2022.

Woodside has been another big winner from record-high oil and gas prices. The company’s financial year runs until 31 December, so it’s yet to hand in its FY22 report. 

But Woodside’s strength was on full display in its first-half results, delivering a 132% increase in operating revenue which came in at US$5.8 billion. Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) enjoyed an even bigger boost, leaping 414% to US$1.8 billion.

This was largely thanks to higher realised prices, which more than doubled year-on-year to US$96.40 per barrel of oil equivalent.

Woodside’s multi-billion-dollar merger with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)’s oil and gas portfolio was completed on 1 June 2022. So, these assets had one month’s contribution to Woodside’s first-half results.

As part of the deal, Woodside received a merger completion payment of around US$1.1 billion in cash.

In August, Woodside declared an interim dividend of US$1.09. This payout was based on 80% of underlying NPAT plus 80% of the merger completion payment adjusted for working capital.

Excluding the merger completion payment, Woodside’s ordinary interim dividend came in at 76 US cents, up 153% from the 30 US cent interim dividend declared in 1H21.

Over the last 12 months, Woodside has dished out fully franked dividends of US$2.14. As a result, Woodside shares are currently printing a trailing dividend yield of roughly 8.9%.

Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)

Turning our attention away from ASX resources shares, Myer has been a surprise packet this year.

Consumers have been feeling the pinch of rising interest rates and cost of living, which has made life difficult for ASX retail shares.

But while most ASX retail shares flounder, the Myer share price has defied gravity, shooting up 56% this year to perch itself at 70 cents.

Myer is delivering on its turnaround, recently recording its highest second-half profit result in nearly a decade.

In FY22, the ASX retailer achieved comparable store sales growth of 15% while underlying NPAT doubled to $60 million.

Myer’s bottom line has been bolstered by strong multi-channel execution, particularly from its online business.

It appears momentum is only gathering pace, with the first six weeks of FY23 seeing Myer achieve its best sales start to a financial year since 2006.

In terms of dividends, Myer shelled out an annual payment of 4 cents per share in FY22, fully franked. This translates to a trailing dividend yield of 5.7%, which grosses up to 8.2% including franking credits.

This is a marked turnaround for a company that, prior to this year, hadn’t paid a dividend since 2017.

The post 3 high-yielding ASX dividend shares that have surged more than 50% this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Oil price slides again. How are ASX 200 energy shares holding up?
• The Woodside share price is down 6% in December. What’s next?
• Woodside share price slides as oil sinks to 2022 low
• 10 ASX shares to buy in 2023
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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ASX shares that pay dividend income are a great place to look if you’re after passive income. ASX shares will pay you dividends whether you work or not, whether you are old or young, sick or healthy. But there are hundreds to choose from on the ASX. So which should an investor seeking passive income choose?

When it comes to picking dividend shares, it can be a good idea to look for shares that have a big yield, or else have a strong record of increasing their payouts over a long period of time. Or perhaps even both. So here are three ASX dividend shares worth considering using these criteria today.

3 ASX dividend shares that can help build passive income

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Westpac is an ASX share that needs little introduction. It is of course one of the big four major ASX banks in Australia. Westpac is also one of the oldest companies in the country, having started out as the Bank of New South Wales back in 1817.

Westpac’s dividends have been recovering nicely since the COVID-induced drought. It is on track to pay out $1.25 in dividends per share this year, which is a nice increase over 2021’s $1.18. These dividends come with full franking too. Today, Westpac shares offer a trailing dividend yield of 5.36%.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)

ASX investing conglomerate Soul Patts is next up. This company is a rather unique one on the ASX. Most of its business involves investing in a portfolio of other ASX 200 shares for the benefit of its shareholders.

Soul Patts’ dividend credentials are unbeatable. It is the only ASX share that has a 21-year streak of increasing its annual dividend payments. That is a mighty helpful trait to have in a passive income portfolio. As such, this is another share well worth considering today.

Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is another ASX 200 dividend share worth a look at. Brickworks, as its name implies, is in the business of providing bricks and other construction materials. But it also has a few other revenue avenues.

It has made a profitable habit out of leasing out unused land after it is finished using it for manufacturing, which often happens to be in great locations. Brickworks also has an investment portfolio as well, dominated by a massive stake in none other than Washington H. Soul Pattinson shares.

Brickworks also has an enviable dividend record to boast of. It has not yet achieved a 21-year streak of annual rises like Soul Patts. But it hasn’t cut its dividend in more than four decades. As such, it’s an ideal candidate for ongoing passive income today.

Right now, Brickworks shares have a fully franked trailing yield of 2.86%

The post 3 passive income ASX 200 dividend shares that can help make you richer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Morgans names 2 more of the best ASX shares to buy in December
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that could provide a lifetime of passive income
• Will the RBA raise rates again next week? Here’s what Westpac expects
• Buy Westpac and this ASX dividend share: broker

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Washington H. Soul Pattinson And. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson And. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson And. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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