The Australian federal government is considering nationalising Perth-based rare earths developer Northern Minerals as China-linked investors continue to defy federal orders to divest their stakes in the sensitive miner.
Resources Minister Madeleine King acknowledged that government nationalisation remains “one option” to protect the critical asset, ABC News reported.
The minister’s comments follow a refusal by foreign shareholders to sell down their holdings in the company, which is developing the heavy rare earths Browns Range project in Western Australia’s East Kimberley region.
“It is one of the most significant heavy rare earth deposits on the face of the Earth, so it means a lot to us and our national interest and national security,” King told the National Press Club.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers had previously ordered six foreign investors holding approximately 17 per cent of Northern Minerals to sell their shares by 2 July.
However, the company subsequently informed the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that the entities still retained the vast majority of those shares.
The deposit is considered vital to Western efforts to diversify global supply chains away from Chinese dominance.
The site contains critical quantities of dysprosium and terbium, elements required for both advanced military technologies and renewable energy infrastructure.
Due to its value, the project is already on track to receive approximately AU$500 million in funding support from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
King confirmed that the ongoing foreign ownership dispute was actively delaying progress at Browns Range. She also indicated that the non-compliant entities had failed to pay federal fines, describing the refusal to respect Australian government decisions as a “very serious matter”.
The standoff is the latest in a series of regulatory interventions involving Northern Minerals. Previous attempts by China-linked funds to increase ownership or alter board management have been repeatedly blocked, with regulators recently flagging attempts by blocked investors to transfer shares to circumvent divestment orders.
