Canada’s government will buy stockpiled rare earth materials from Vital Metals Ltd. in a deal that prevents the company from selling its production to a Chinese buyer.

The small Australian firm, which mines rare earths in Canada’s Northwest Territories, will sell its stockpiled rare earth material to the Saskatchewan Research Council for $3 million. The arrangement, facilitated by Canada’s federal government, keeps Vital from moving forward on a plan it started in December to sell that same stockpile to China’s Shenghe Resources Holding Co. for $2.4 million.

Canada recognizes the rare earths mine as a “strategic asset that contributes to the country’s prosperity and critical mineral goals,” Vital Metals said Monday.

The intervention is part of a wider push to block Chinese firms from delving further into Canada’s critical minerals sector.
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