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‘Bait and switch’: House Committee asks AG to investigate alleged Pebble deception ALASKA Lithium Chile’s Salar de Helados lithium brine project in Chile. LITHIUM CHILE
Feds crack down on Chinese critical minerals investing in Canada FOREIGN INVESTMENT
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| Three Chinese firms targeted in divestment push
BY COLIN MCCLELLAND
he federal government has been getting tough with some Chinese companies, forcing some foreign owners of Canadian critical mineral projects to divest their holdings in the name of national security. On a Nov. 2 list of forced divestitures were Sinomine Rare Metals Resources’ holdings in Vancouver-based Power Metals (CVE: PWM), which has projects in Canada; Chengze Lithium International’s investment in Calgary-based Lithium Chile (CVE: LITH), whose projects are in South America; and Zangge Mining Investment’s stake in Vancouver-headquartered Ultra Lithium (CVE: ULT), which has projects in Argentina, Canada, and the U.S headquartered in Vancouver. The junior companies’ assets are focused on lithium, cesium and tantalum. “We will act decisively when investments threaten our national security and our critical minerals supply chains, both at home and abroad,” François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said in a news release. “Foreign investments are subject to review for national security concerns, and certain types of investment—such as those in the critical minerals sectors—receive enhanced scrutiny.” China responded by saying Canada was using national security as a pretext to block trade in a move that’s against international commerce rules. “China urges Canada to stop unreasonably targeting Chinese companies (in Canada) and provide (them) with a fair, impartial and
Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. FRANCOISPHILLIPPE CHAMPAGNE
non-discriminatory business environment,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Nov. 2. Ottawa issued new guidelines for foreign investment in the critical minerals industry last month after announcing a $3.8 billion critical minerals strategy in April to help develop the mining and energy industries needed for a transition to green power in vehicles and electrical grids targeting net-zero emissions goals. China already controls large amounts of the rare earth elements that are among critical minerals needed for modern technology such as mobile phones, EV batteries and wind turbines. Colin Hamilton, an analyst based in London for BMO Capital Markets, noted China supplies up to 80% of critical metals to the global market. “Over the last year we have seen a slew of activity intended to bolster and diversify domestic supply chains for materials critical to the
energy transition, with the United States, Canada and other major economies establishing a new partnership to this effect in June,” he wrote in a Nov. 3 research note. Canada aims to assess the benefit of a foreign investment by considering the power of a state over the company, and the amount of competition and foreign ownership in the sector, according to the federal guidelines announced Oct. 28 by Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Agencies will also consider company governance and reporting standards, product destinations, and how much investment the company needs to stay competitive. National security concerns about investments include the company’s size, the strategic value of its output and the amount of control the foreign state could exert, according to the guidelines. Champagne said the Nov. 2 list was based on security and intelligence scrutiny. Further foreign direct investment is encouraged from partners who share Canadian interests and values, he said. “Increasing demand for these all-important minerals are presenting Canada with a generational economic opportunity,” he said. “We are committed to seizing that opportunity while delivering on the country’s ambitious climate goals.” Spot prices of lithium, used in batteries for electric vehicles and other modern technologies to reduce emissions causing climate change, have tripled in the last year because of supply shortages. Companies such as tech giant Tesla are racing to secure supplies See INVESTMENT / 8
| EPA due to decide project’s fate
BY HENRY LAZENBY
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orthern Dynasty Minerals (TSX: NDM; NYSEAM: NAK) has expressed its “extreme disappointment” at a U.S. Transportation and Infrastructure House Committee report that recommends asking the attorney general to investigate alleged false statements by the company to Congress. The Canadian proponent of the controversial Pebble copper-gold project in southern Alaska said in a statement on Oct. 31 that any suggestion that it tried to mislead regulators in any way is “categorically wrong and misinformed of the realities of the Pebble permitting process.” “Here we go again with politics replacing ‘reality, science and facts,” said Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen in a statement. In releasing their report on Oct. 28, Democratic Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Grace Napolitano of California, announced they sent evidence of false statements to the U.S. attorney general’s office based on the report’s findings. The report was leaked to the Associated Press ahead of publication. The report uses internal company documents and communications to demonstrate “clear-cut deception” from Pebble L.P. in their push to build an open pit mine in the world’s largest salmon habitat at Bristol Bay. The chairs will also ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to revise their regulations and guidelines to crack down on sham permitting and project segmentation. According to the committee, its investigation uncovered alleged evidence of Pebble L.P. intending to build a mine with a life span of longer than 20 years; former Pebble LP CEO Tom Collier lying to Congress that Pebble L.P. had no intention of expanding the mine beyond 20 years; and that Pebble L.P. deliberately sought to mislead regulators regarding the mine’s
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planned scope to circumvent the Clean Water Act. “This report exposes in damning detail how Pebble L.P. tried to use a ‘bait and switch’ sham permitting scheme to sneak an environmentally disastrous pit mine project past Congress, regulators, and the Native Alaskans whose ancestral land and way of life would be devastated by their greed,” Chair DeFazio said in a statement. “The report confirms that Pebble LP CEO Tom Collier was lying in his statement to our subcommittee concerning the scope and scale of the project, as evidenced by contradictory leaked audiotapes. The truth is, the Pebble L.P. executives deliberately sought to See PEBBLE / 8
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