World News

Australia ordered the shareholders linked to China to sell their stakes in Northern Minerals, a company that is developing a rare earth mine.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he had ‌issued ⁠orders following concerns that Chinese investors had tried to take control of Northern Minerals.

The Australia-based mining company is developing its Browns Range project in the far north of the state of Western Australia to mine significant reserves of dysprosium and terbium.

The six companies are to sell their stake within two weeks.

Chalmer's decision aims to protect the country's national interest and to ensure compliance with its foreign investment framework, he said in a statement.

"We operate a robust and non-discriminatory foreign investment ‌framework, and will take further action if required to ⁠protect our national interest in relation ⁠to this matter," he said.

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Dysprosium and terbium are heavy rare earth elements critical for heat-resistant high-performance magnets. These are used in clean energy applications, such as hybrid vehicles and wind turbines, as well as in specialist defense applications.

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