Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six companies to divest their holdings in Northern Minerals, a rare earths mining company, within the next two weeks. This directive marks the Australian state's third intervention over ownership concerns tied to Chinese-linked investors, directly serving to protect and secure critical resources for Western capital accumulation and military-industrial interests.
The six investors, identified as Hong Kong Ying Tak Ltd, Real International Resources Ltd, Qogir Trading & Service Co Ltd, Chuanyou Cong, Vastness Investment Group Ltd, and Zhongxiong Lin, collectively hold approximately 17 percent of Northern Minerals.
Northern Minerals is actively developing its Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in the East Kimberley, with the stated aim of producing significant quantities of dysprosium and terbium. These elements are critical for the magnets utilized across military, computing, and so-called 'clean energy' technologies.
The company is positioned as a key player in efforts by both the United States and Australia to dismantle what they term China's 'stranglehold' on the global critical minerals supply chain. Northern Minerals is already slated to receive approximately $500 million in funding from the Export Import Bank of the United States, underscoring the financial backing for this strategic resource control.
The State as Capital's Enforcer
A spokesman for Mr. Chalmers asserted that the divestment decision was "entirely consistent with advice from Treasury and the Foreign Investment Review Board" and was made to "protect the national interest and ensuring compliance with the foreign investment framework." The spokesman added that the government operates a "robust and non-discriminatory foreign investment framework," while simultaneously vowing to "take further action if required to protect our national interest in relation to this matter."
This latest order follows previous state actions. In the third year prior, Mr. Chalmers blocked a Chinese-linked investment vehicle, Yuxiao Fund, from increasing its stake in Northern Minerals. In the second year prior, he ordered another five China-linked companies to divest from the company.
Earlier this year, the Foreign Investment Review Board communicated with Northern Minerals, stating its belief that three of the previously blocked investors had breached the earlier divestment order. These investors allegedly transferred their shares to Hong Kong Ying Tak Ltd, one of the six companies now ordered to divest.
John Coyne from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute commented that the government "appears to have concluded" that several China-based investors have "ignored repeated direction, and it has acted accordingly and appropriately." He further stated that this action "sends an important signal that Australia is far more willing to use investment policy as a tool of economic security."
Dr. Coyne explicitly linked critical minerals to broader imperial competition, noting that "Australia has been very clear for several years that critical minerals are no longer simply a commercial issue. They now sit at the centre of strategic competition, industrial resilience and economic security."
Contesting Capitalist Control
Amidst these state interventions, internal struggles among capitalist factions have also emerged. The Beijing-based Vastness Investment Group, one of the Chinese investors now ordered to sell its shares, attempted to remove the company’s chairman before abandoning its bid earlier this year.
Northern Minerals has responded to the government's orders by delaying its annual meeting as it seeks to clarify the identity of its shareholders. The company has also entered a trading halt and issued a statement to the ASX, indicating it is considering the treasurer’s orders and will make a further announcement.
The ABC reported its attempts to contact the six investors ordered to divest their shares were unsuccessful.