Australia weighs nationalising Northern Minerals after investors miss divestment deadline

Australia's resources minister has said nationalising Northern Minerals is one option as China-linked investors continue to defy orders to sell their holdings in the Perth-based rare earths company. The comments come as the government steps up its intervention in a dispute centred on a project seen as strategically important to critical mineral supply chains. Northern Minerals is developing the Browns Range project in Western Australia's east Kimberley region.

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Resources Minister Madeleine King said the uncertainty was holding up development of the project, which is intended to help build alternative sources of dysprosium and terbium. Those minerals are used in renewable energy infrastructure and advanced military technology. She told the National Press Club that nationalisation was an option, but said no decision had been made.

King also said the government was closely monitoring the situation. The dispute dates back to May, when Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered six investors holding about 17% of Northern Minerals to divest by 2 July. Northern Minerals later told the Australian Securities Exchange that the companies still held most of the shares they had been ordered to sell.

King also appeared to confirm that the investors had not paid fines imposed for non-compliance, although she did not give further detail. The case has wider significance because Northern Minerals is viewed as part of efforts by Australia and the United States to reduce dependence on China in the supply of critical minerals. The company is already on track for about A$500 million in funding from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

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That makes the project not only a commercial asset, but also a strategic one in the contest over supply chains for materials used in clean energy and defence industries. Heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium are difficult to source and are central to technologies that require high-performance magnets and other specialised components. Australia has been trying to expand its role in critical minerals production as governments and companies seek more secure alternatives to existing supply routes.

In that context, the government's willingness to consider nationalisation signals how sensitive the issue has become. What remains unclear is whether the government will pursue nationalisation, enforce the divestment orders more aggressively, or take another form of intervention. It is also not clear how quickly the Browns Range project can move forward while the ownership dispute continues.

The next developments are likely to depend on whether the investors comply, whether penalties are enforced, and whether ministers decide that direct state action is necessary.

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