Canada’s federal government in Ottawa has ordered three Chinese firms to divest their stakes in some of the country’s lithium miners following the introduction of new foreign investment rules for the minerals sector.
Officials in Ottawa said that Sinomine Rare Metals Resources must divest from Vancouver-based Power Metals Corp. (PWM), while Chengze Lithium International must exit Calgary-based Lithium Chile Inc. (LITH) and Zangge Mining Investment Co. needs to divest from Ultra Lithium Inc. (ULT) based in Vancouver.
On October 28, the federal government issued new rules aimed at making it harder for foreign state-owned companies to target critically important minerals such as lithium, nickel, copper and uranium.
Foreign state-owned firms’ involvement in Canada’s minerals sector will be approved going forward “on an exceptional basis,” the government said in its new rules.
