Topic analysis

Australia orders firms to sell stakes in rare earths miner

Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six China-linked companies to divest their stakes in Northern Minerals, an Australian rare earths miner developing the Browns Range project in Western Australia, within two weeks to protect national interests. This action follows prior 2024 and 2025 measures to limit Chinese investment in the company, which aims to become the first significant non-Chinese source of processed dysprosium—a critical element for clean energy and defense applications currently dominated by China.