The Government of Canada has ordered the divestiture of the following investments by three Chinese companies in Canadian critical mineral companies:

• Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources Co., Limited is required to divest itself of its investment in Power Metals Corp. Power Metals Corp is a Canadaian mining company exploring and developing cesium, lithium and tantalum assets in Canada.

• Chengze Lithium International Limited—China’s second-largest lithium processor—is required to divest itself of its investment in Lithium Chile. Calgary-based Lithium Chile has ownership in the largest high-grade lithium reserves in the world comprising 79,900 hectares in Chile and 23,300 hectares in Argentina. Lithium Chile also owns 5 properties, totaling 22,429 hectares, that are prospective for gold, silver and copper.

• Zangge Mining Investment (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. is required to divest itself of its investment in Ultra Lithium. Ultra Lithium is a Canadian publicly traded acquisition and resource development company holding all three major types of lithium projects and 16 gold projects in Argentina and Canada.

The government’s decisions are based on facts and evidence and on the advice of critical minerals subject matter experts, Canada’s security and intelligence community, and other government partners.

—François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Chinese companies have invested more than $4 billion in overseas lithium projects since 2021, with more than $1 billion of this for Canadian companies, according to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence. The action brings Canada more closely in line with the US, which won’t give electric vehicle tax credits under the “Inflation Reduction Act” to automakers if any material is sourced from Chinese companies .