Australia orders China-linked investors to sell stakes in rare earths firm

Lead

Australia has ordered six China-linked shareholders to sell their stakes in Northern Minerals, a rare earths mining company, citing the need to protect the country's national interest. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers issued the divestment orders on Monday, following concerns that Chinese-backed investors were attempting to gain control of the company, which is developing a key rare earths project in Western Australia.

The investors, which include Hong Kong Ying Tak Ltd, Real International Resources Ltd, Qogir Trading & Service Co Ltd, Chuanyou Cong, Vastness Investment Group Ltd, and Zhongxiong Lin, hold around 17% of the company and must sell their holdings within two weeks, as reported by ABC Australia.

Coverage Comparison

The story was covered by ABC Australia, Deutsche Welle, and The Hindu, each offering a slightly different focus. ABC Australia emphasized the government's intervention in foreign investment and the broader US-Australia efforts to break China's grip on critical minerals. Deutsche Welle framed the move as Australia protecting its national interest, while The Hindu highlighted Australia's challenge to China's dominance in rare earth production.

All three outlets reported that Treasurer Jim Chalmers issued the orders, citing the need to protect the national interest and ensure compliance with Australia's foreign investment framework. The companies are required to divest their stakes within two weeks, a detail carried by both ABC Australia and Deutsche Welle.

Key Claims

The core facts are consistent across the three sources. Australia ordered the divestment to protect national interest and ensure compliance with its foreign investment framework, as stated by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. The target company, Northern Minerals, is developing the Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in Western Australia, aiming to mine dysprosium and terbium—critical elements for high-performance magnets used in clean energy and defense applications.

China dominates the global dysprosium market, mining around 60% of raw materials and refining an estimated 95%-98% of global supply, giving it a near monopoly on processed commercial dysprosium, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

The six investors hold around 17% of Northern Minerals and must sell within two weeks, according to ABC Australia. The list includes Beijing-based Vastness Investment Group, which held more than six percent and earlier this year attempted to replace the company's chairman before withdrawing its bid, as detailed by ABC Australia and The Hindu. Hong Kong-based Qogir Trading and Service Company separately holds almost 5% of the company.

Northern Minerals is seen as a key player in US-Australia efforts to diversify critical supply chains, with the company already on track for about $500 million in funding from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, as reported by ABC Australia. The company's rare earths are slated to be processed at a new refinery being built in Australia, which would make Australia the first significant non-Chinese source of processed dysprosium, according to Deutsche Welle.

Australia has a history of using foreign takeover laws to pry Northern Minerals away from Chinese investors, having forced a different group of Chinese investors to sell shares in 2024, as noted by The Hindu and ABC Australia.