By Divya Rajagopal
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada on Thursday put the mining industry on notice that any major deals targeting the country’s producers of critical minerals would only be approved under “the most exceptional circumstances”.
The announcement by Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne came as he imposed strict conditions with the approval of Glencore (LON:)’s $6.93 billion acquisition of Teck Resources’ steelmaking coal business.
The government has identified 31 minerals, including , lithium and nickel, that it considers critical for their strategic uses in modern technology and the energy transition, such as in electric vehicle batteries.
Under the Investment Canada Act the government can approve or reject mergers and acquisitions based on their net benefit to the country.
Champagne said the government would now set a high bar when assessing the net benefits of any deal involving critical minerals producers,…
