Australia blocks Chinese investment in rare earths firm citing national interest -executive

SYDNEY : Northern Minerals Ltd on Tuesday said Australia's government has blocked the heavy rare earths producer's largest shareholder, China's Yuxiao Fund, from increasing its investment on grounds of national interest.

The fund is an investment vehicle of Yuxiao Wu who also owns miners in Mozambique supplying lower-grade rare earths to China, Northern Minerals Executive Chairman Nick Curtis told Reuters. Wu invested in Northern Minerals for financial reasons, not to supply China, and voted in favour of an exclusive supply deal with Australia's Iluka Resources Ltd last year, Curtis said.

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