Australia orders China-linked investor to sell Northern Minerals stake

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Monday that he has 'ordered six shareholders to sell their shares in Northern Minerals, after a 'concern about Chinese parties attempting to control the rare earths mining company.

Northern Minerals has developed the Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in Western Australia, at a moment when Western governments seek to loosen China’s stranglehold on?the industry. Heavy rare earths play a vital role in industries like semiconductors and defense.

Chalmers stated in a press release that the?decision is intended to protect national interests and ensure compliance with its foreign investment framework.

He said that "we operate a robust, non-discriminatory framework for foreign investment and will take additional action to protect our national interest in this regard."

Northern Minerals spokesperson had no immediate comment.

In recent years, the government has intervened on several occasions in relation to the company's shareholder base. The first intervention was in 2024 when five Chinese parties were required to sell their shares of the miner for national interest reasons.

Australian authorities found that some of these parties sold shares to a related party at the time, Hong Kong based investor Ying Tak. Treasurer Chalmers issued an interim order to Ying Tak in April, which prohibited it from voting at Northern Minerals annual meeting or selling its shares.

The announcement made by the Treasurer on Monday did no name the six investors.

Ying Tak's phone number and email address are not listed in Hong Kong's company registry. Reporting by Melanie Burton and Alasdair Pala in Melbourne; Editing by Himani Sarakar and SonaliPaul

(source: Reuters)