Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six foreign NTU shareholders to dispose of shares, escalating the long-running rare earths standoff.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six foreign Northern Minerals shareholders to dispose of almost 1.68 billion shares within 14 days, marking the second forced divestment in under two years.
The orders, registered under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 on Monday, cover close to 18 per cent of the WA-based rare earths pundit.
Five of the six holders are registered in China or Hong Kong, while the sixth is in the British Virgin Islands.
They are Hong Kong Ying Tak Limited (95.3 million shares), Real International Resources Limited (619 million), Qogir Trading & Service Co. Limited (523.5 million), Beijing-based Vastness Investment Group Limited (271.3 million), and Chinese citizens Chuanyou Cong (130 million) and Zhongxiong Lin (39.7 million).
Northern Minerals halted trade pending the announcement. After resuming trade, shares dropped 6.25 per cent to change hands at 23 cents each.
The new orders sit on top of interim directions issued on April 1, which froze the voting and transfer rights attached to a further 361.5 million Hong Kong Ying Tak-held shares, or roughly 4 per cent of Northern Minerals.
Combined, more than a fifth of the ASX-lister’s share register is now under restriction.
Northern Minerals owns the Browns Range project in the East Kimberley. It’s home to the Wolverine deposit, which is thought to be Australia's highest-grade dysprosium and terbium ore body.
Both elements feed the permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced defence systems, a supply chain that’s traditionally dominated by China.
The company is in line for up to $US250 million ($387 million) from the US Export-Import Bank, plus separate support from Export Finance Australia, with output earmarked for Iluka Resources' $1.65 billion refinery under construction at Eneabba.
Monday's orders extend a campaign that began in June 2024, when the treasurer directed five China-linked entities and Singapore-registered Yuxiao Fund to sell a combined 613.6 million shares on national security grounds.
The deadline passed in September 2024 with 165 million shares unsold.
In January, the Federal Court fined Chinese-linked Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company $10 million, and director Jing Tian $4 million, for transferring shares between related parties rather than divesting — the first penalty pursued by a Treasurer under the 1975 Act.
Vastness Investment Group, Northern Minerals' largest shareholder, withdrew a January bid to remove executive chair Adam Handley in March, days before an extraordinary general meeting.
The company's twice-postponed AGM must now be held by June 30.
Northern Minerals said it was "currently considering" the new orders.
Back in November, Mr Handley said the company remained fully committed to "full transparency with government agencies, both in Australia and overseas".
"As a listed company, Northern Minerals cannot control who acquires shares in the company, though we pursue regular engagement with our shareholders as well as the relevant regulatory authorities," he said.
