Standard Lithium Responds to Short Seller Allegations, Stocks Rebound

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Hindenburg, who did not disclose the size of his short position, alleged that Standard’s technology was “struggling” and was based on patents that had previously been rejected by US officials.

The short seller also alleged that Standard was part of a “long-running stock promotion scheme” by its chief executive Robert Mintak, who previously ran another lithium company that failed to market its ” proprietary DLE technology”.

“Standard Lithium appears to us to be a regurgitation of Mintak’s former company, Pure Energy Minerals, using the same Vancouver stock book as Mintak’s many other failed ventures,” the report added.

Standard shares fell 27% during Thursday’s session, wiping more than $300 million off the company’s market value. According to Refinitiv data, about 2.6% of Standard’s 154.4 million shares outstanding were used to sell short.

Pushing back against those claims, Standard said it has operated a pilot facility in Arkansas to test its technology for more than 20 months and receives regular public updates.

Standard added in a statement that it is “confident in its lithium mining technology” and that all of its patent applications are “active and continue to be pursued in the ordinary course.”

He also defended Mintak in his press release, saying its chief executive “has built a large and dynamic team with a broad and diverse skill set.”

The company said it believed the report was “clearly designed to benefit Hindenburg”, which itself revealed it was likely to profit if Standard’s share price fell.

Since Standard released its statement, the stock has rebounded strongly, up 14.7% on the TSX Venture Exchange as of 12:45 p.m. ET Friday.

Koch Industries, which invested $100 million in Standard last fall and is its largest shareholder, also defended the company’s technology and disputed Hindenburg’s allegations. The short seller claimed Koch had “missed red flags and failed in due diligence in his rush to deploy capital.”

“We conducted extensive due diligence and found Standard Lithium’s technology to be a promising bright spot on the path to lithium production here in the United States,” a spokesperson for Koch told Reuters.

Last November, short seller Blue Orca also released a similar report casting doubt on Standard’s technology, allegations the company categorically denied at the time.

(With files from Reuters)

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