Northern Minerals rejects Chinese investor’s bid to open books, oust chairman

Northern Minerals has rejected a banned Chinese investor’s bid to inspect the company’s books amid a battle for control of a critical minerals operation in WA.

Northern Minerals chairman Nick Curtis. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

Critical minerals player Northern Minerals has rejected an attempt by a Chinese fund to inspect the company’s books and oust executive chairman Nick Curtis, amid a battle for control of the company’s key critical minerals operation in Western Australia.

The Yuxiao Fund, which controls a near 10 per cent stake in Northern Minerals, last week requisitioned the company to call a general meeting to consider a resolution that would remove executive chairman Nick Curtis from the board, and a second resolution that would enable the fund to inspect the company’s books, and “review the legality and compliance of Nicholas Curtis’s conduct in the performance of his duties as a director and an officer”.

However on Thursday Northern Minerals confirmed it had dismissed the request following a review into the validity of the resolutions that were being proposed.

“The company has now completed its review of the Section 249D Notice and has concluded that it is not valid and, accordingly, the company is not required to convene the general meeting contemplated by the Section 249D Notice provided,” the company said in a statement to the ASX.

“The company has communicated this to Yuxiao Fund. The Company will keep all shareholders updated on any material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.”

The Yuxiao Fund - controlled by China-based businessman Wu Tao - has been accused of covertly attempting to take control of Northern Minerals and its Browns Range project in Western Australia, which contains the world’s largest known inventory of dysprosium and terbium used in the manufacture of high-performance magnets, batteries and defence technologies.

In February this year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers blocked the Singapore-registered fund from ­increasing its stake in Northern Minerals past 9.98 per cent, on national interest grounds.

Northern Minerals later referred to the FIRB what it suspects was an ­attempt by Mr Tao to secretly seize control of the ­company through associated Chinese ­entities including his Yuxiao Fund.

The company’s annual meeting has been postponed to February 29, pending the outcome of the FIRB review.

The meeting was initially due to take place on Thursday, at which time Yuxiao Fund was seeking to have Mr Wu appointed as a director of the company, along with two other director nominations potentially connected with Yuxiao Fund and Mr Wu.

The Browns Range operation is considered a globally strategic operation and there would be significant risk to national security should the Northern Minerals board effectively become Chinese-controlled.

Iluka Resources, which is building Australia’s first fully integrated rare earths refinery with $1.25bn federal government funding, is helping to finance development of the project.

Northern Minerals was concerned that the appointment of Mr Wu as director would place Yuxiao in a position to influence or participate in the central management and control of the company.

Last month the company said it had been probing “recent share buying activities by certain other persons who may have links to Mr Wu and/or Yuxiao Fund”, and was also examining the two other candidates for board seats “to understand whether there are links between these individuals and other shareholders in the company”.

Those investigations have been referred to the FIRB for further review.

Northern Minerals shares were trading 2.9 per cent lower on Thursday at 3.4c.

Northern Minerals has been contacted for further details about the grounds on which Yuxiao Fund’s meeting request was denied.

Originally published as Northern Minerals rejects Chinese investor’s bid to open books, oust chairman