Citing the need to “protect our national interest,” Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered six shareholders with connections to China to sell their shares in the rare earths miner Northern Minerals on May 18, 2026.
The following six organizations have been compelled to sell their shares:
Vastness Investment Group Ltd., registered in Beijing
Ying Tak Ltd. of Hong Kong
Real International Resources Ltd., registered in the British Virgin Islands
Hong Kong-registered Qogir Trading & Service Co. Ltd.
Chuanyou Cong, a citizen of China
Zhongxiong Lin, a citizen of China
They collectively own about 1.68 billion shares of Northern Minerals, which is worth about A$40.4 million and accounts for about 17.6% of the business.
⏳ Details of Divestment
Legal Framework: Based on recommendations from the Treasury and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the order was made under Australia’s Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act.
Deadline: The impacted investors have 14 days to sell their shares to an unaffiliated third party by July 2, 2026.
Background: Semiconductors and military hardware depend on the rare earths generated at Northern Minerals’ Browns Range operation. The goal of Western governments is to become less dependent on China’s near-monopoly on these resources.
Reactions
The decision is “entirely consistent with advice from Treasury and FIRB,” according to Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who cautioned that Australia “will take further action if required” to safeguard its national interest.
Northern Minerals: The business has taken note of the ruling and is “currently considering the new disposal orders,” stating that it “will make a further announcement” following its examination.
China rejects the overuse of the national security concept, according to China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, who also called on Australia to respect Chinese investors’ legitimate rights and interests and to create a fair, transparent, and nondiscriminatory business environment.
Not the Initial Intervention
Australia has previously forced investors with ties to China to sell their shares in Northern Minerals. Five more parties with ties to China were ordered to sell their shares by the government in 2024 using the same foreign takeover legislation. This second batch of orders was prompted by certain investors who seemed to have transferred shares to Hong Kong-based firms in attempt to get around the regulation. A Chinese-affiliated corporation was fined A$14 million by the Federal Court in a related case for disobeying a previous divestiture decision.
