https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
SRG Mining announced this week that it was putting an end to Carbon One New Energy Group’s proposed $16.9-million investment in the Canadian miner. Although the company did not officially say so, the belief is that a national security review by the federal government was going to scupper the transaction between SRG and C-One of China.
Under the Investment Canada Act, the federal government has the right to review foreign investments in Canadian companies to protect our national security. One of the factors used by the government when assessing national security implications, as per the Guidelines on the National Security Review of Investments, is “the potential impact of the investment on critical minerals and critical mineral supply chains.”
In SRG’s case, the company’s sole activity at the present time is the development of a mine (known as the Lola graphite project) in Guinea. The deal would have given C-One a 19.4-per-cent stake.
SRG’s goal, according to Tuesday’s press release, is to “develop a fully integrated source of battery anode material to supply the European lithium-ion and fuel cell markets.” C-One’s investment and technical expertise in supplying anode materials was seen as strategic in achieving this goal.
For the rest of this column: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-srg-mining-critical-minerals-chinese-investments/