Australia treasurer orders six shareholders to divest from Northern Minerals (updated)

Northern Minerals

18/05/2026 24:25

Adds context in paragraphs 2 and 5-9

MELBOURNE, May 18 (Reuters) - Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Monday he had issued orders for six shareholders to divest their holdings in Northern Minerals NTU.AX, following concerns that Chinese parties had tried to take control of the rare earths miner.

Northern Minerals is developing the Browns Range heavy rare earths project in Western Australia at a time when Western governments are seeking to loosen China's stranglehold over the sector. Heavy rare earths are vital in industries such as semiconductors and defence.

The decision aims to protect the country's national interest and to ensure compliance with its foreign investment framework, Chalmers 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 in the statement.

A spokesperson for Northern Minerals had no immediate comment.

The company has been the subject of several government interventions in recent years regarding its shareholder base, with the first in 2024 requiring five Chinese parties to dispose of their shares in the miner on national interest grounds.

Some of those parties at the time sold to a related party, Hong Kong-based investor Ying Tak, Australian authorities found. Treasurer Chalmers placed an interim order in April on Ying Tak, which restricted it from voting at Northern Minerals' annual meeting and selling its shares.

The Treasurer's announcement on Monday did not name any of the six investors.

Reuters was not able to reach Ying Tak, which has no phone number or email listed on Hong Kong's companies registry, for comment.

 (Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Sonali Paul)

 ((Alasdair.Pal@thomsonreuters.com; +61 291 717 228; Reuters Messaging: alasdair.pal.reuters.com@reuters.net))