Canada’s Justin Trudeau shuts out China again by rejecting Arctic gold mine deal
- Shandong Gold Ming Co. had planned to acquire Toronto-based TMAC Resources for about US$150 million
- The decision, made citing national security reasons, could inflame a diplomatic feud between the two countries over the arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government rejected a plan by China’s Shandong Gold Mining Co. to acquire a gold miner that operates in the Canadian Arctic, potentially inflaming a diplomatic feud.
TMAC Resources Inc. owns the Hope Bay gold mine in the northern territory of Nunavut, an operation that includes a port and air strips. Shandong, an acquisitive state-backed metal producer, agreed to buy the Toronto-based company for about $150 million in May. In October, TMAC received notice the government had ordered a national security review.
The Canadian miner said late on Monday that an order had been issued under the Investment Canada Act for Shandong not to proceed with the takeover. Shandong confirmed the rejection in a statement on Tuesday, citing a decision made for the “purpose of safeguarding national security”.
Officials in Trudeau’s office declined to comment on the move, which comes amid badly frayed ties between Canada and China over the 2018 arrest of a top Huawei Technologies Co. executive on a US extradition request.
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The Chinese embassy in Ottawa sees any politicisation of economic cooperation as wrong, a spokesperson said by email late on Tuesday, calling on the Canadian government to foster a fair market for all foreign investors.