Treasurer orders six foreign investors to divest Northern Minerals

The Australian Treasurer has issued new disposal orders targeting six foreign investors holding a combined 17.58% stake in Northern Minerals (ASX:NTU).

The heavy rare earths-focused company confirmed it has reviewed the mandates, which require the unnamed foreign entities to divest a total of 1,678,895,780 shares by July 2.

The enforcement action follows an ongoing investigation by the Foreign Investment Division of the Department of Treasury into beneficial ownership matters first flagged in November 2025.

The latest orders mark an escalation from interim directions issued in April under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.

At that time, the Treasurer intercepted an illicit stake-building attempt, revealing reasons to believe Hong Kong Ying Tak had covertly acquired 361,538,264 shares—approximately 3.79% of the company's registry—in direct contravention of prior disposal orders.

Exercising robust statutory powers under the FATA, the government’s latest sweep aims to neutralise non-compliant foreign influence over the critical minerals producer.

Northern Minerals, which operates out of West Perth, has appended the complete disclosure, detailing the specific entities and the exact volume of shares each must liquidate.

At the time of reporting, Northern Minerals’ share price was $0.027.