Australia has revoked voting rights and shareholder privileges from several Chinese-linked investors who defied a government order to sell their stakes in rare earths developer Northern Minerals, escalating a dispute that tests the nation's approach to strategic supply chains.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered six shareholders to divest in May 2026, following a temporary ban on Ying Tak (Hong Kong) imposed in April. With most named investors refusing to comply as of July, the government moved to neutralize their influence. The company operates a heavy rare earths project at Browns Range in Western Australia, producing dysprosium and terbium critical for high-performance magnets in electric motors and defense systems.
The crackdown coincides with China tightening export controls on rare earths amid ongoing trade friction, with shipments to Japan falling sharply this year. Beijing controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing, prompting Western efforts to diversify supply, including the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act and Australia's push to build a mine-to-oxide vertical processing industry.