A B.C. uranium company’s plan to sell to an Australian energy firm is being blocked by its largest shareholder, a Chinese state-owned company with significant shares.
Fission Uranium Corp., based in Kelowna in B.C.’s southern interior, announced in June that it had entered into an agreement to sell all of its issued and outstanding shares to Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy Limited. On Sept. 9, Fission shareholders voted in favour of the all-stock transaction, valued at roughly $1.14 billion, with 67.9 percent voting for and 32.10 percent voting against.
However, one of Fission’s investors, CGN Mining Company Limited, took Fission to court to block the sale. Fission announced Sept. 15 that the hearings before the B.C. Supreme Court to approve the proposed deal with Paladin began Sept. 13 and will continue on Sept. 26.
CGN is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp. (CGNPC). It holds 11.26 percent of Fission’s outstanding common shares, making it the largest shareholder.
Canada is the world’s second-largest producer of uranium, accounting for around 15 percent of total global output in 2022, according to the World Nuclear Association. The country follows Kazakhstan, which produced the world’s largest share (43 percent) of the key fuel from mines in 2022. The world’s third-largest producer is Namibia, with an 11 percent share.
The Epoch Times contacted Fission for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
China has been actively acquiring stakes in uranium and other critical mineral companies worldwide, including in Canada, as part of a broader strategy to secure dominance in global supply chains for these essential resources. This includes CGN’s acquisition of a nearly 20 percent stake in Fission in 2015, marking the first time a Chinese company had directly invested in a Canadian uranium company.
In 2019, China National Uranium Corporation Limited, another state-owned enterprise, acquired Rio Tinto’s Rössing uranium mine in Namibia for a total of over $100 million.
In 2021, an agreement was signed between China’s CGNPC and Kazakhstani uranium company Kazatomprom that included CGNPC or its affiliates acquiring a 49 percent interest in Kazatomprom’s wholly owned subsidiary Ortalyk LLP.
China has also been active in establishing a foothold in Canada’s critical mineral sector, raising national security concerns due to the resources’ use in key industries such as technology, renewable energy, and national defence. Last December, Conservative MPs called for a national security review of Chinese company Shenghe Resources’ plan to acquire substantial shares in Canadian rare earths mining company Vital Metals.
In November 2022, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne directed three Chinese resource companies to sell their stakes in Canadian lithium firms.
Fission fully owns the Patterson Lake South uranium property—a proposed high-grade uranium mine and mill in northern Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, Paladin holds a 75 percent ownership stake in the Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia.
If the Fission-Paladin deal receives final approval from the B.C. Supreme Court, Paladin is projected to have a value of US$3.5 billion (approximately C$4.7 billion), making it the third-largest publicly traded uranium producer in the world, according to Mining.com.
