Cash-hungry Canadian miners test anti-China M&A rules

Aerial view of the Northern Graphite mine in Lac-des-Iles, Quebec. — AFP

TORONTO: Nearly two years after Canada moved to restrict foreign investment in the country’s mining sector, mineral explorers and developers are testing the limits of those rules.

The Canadian government cracked down on mining deals involving foreign state-owned entities in 2022 in a move widely seen as targeting China’s influence in the global critical minerals supply chain, but which threatens to deprive smaller miners and developers of a key source of financing.