Australian heavy rare earths-focused company Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: NTU) notes the orders made by the Federal Court of Australia on 30 January 2026 in proceeding NSD1066/2025 against Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company Ltd (Indian Ocean) and its sole director and shareholder, Ms Jing Tian (Ms Tian) (a citizen of China) for contraventions of section 89(1) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (FATA).
These proceedings are a consequence of regulatory investigation and action by the Commonwealth following Northern Minerals’ original referral of certain matters to the Foreign Investment Division of the Department of Treasury (FIRB) in October 2023 – as referred to in the Company’s ASX announcements dated 30 October 2023 and as referred to in the Company’s 27 June 2025 ASX announcement (2023 Referral). These proceedings are separate to the most recent matters referred to in Northern Minerals’ ASX announcement on 21 November 2025 (discussed below).
The Federal Court declared that Indian Ocean contravened section 7 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers (Disposal of Interests in Northern Minerals Limited) Orders 2024 (Cth) (Disposal Order) by disposing of its 168,046,469 shares in Northern Minerals to Ms Tian, and that Ms Tian was knowingly concerned in those contraventions in breach of section 89(1) of FATA. The Court ordered Indian Ocean to pay a pecuniary penalty to the Commonwealth of $10 million and Ms Tian to pay a pecuniary penalty of $4 million to the Commonwealth. A copy of the Federal Court orders can be found here.
Northern Minerals was not a party to these proceedings.
However, the Company’s actions, by referring certain matters to FIRB in 2023 to ensure full and proper transparency of its shareholder base in order to protect the interests of all Northern Minerals shareholders, led to the Federal Treasurer, the Hon. Dr Jim Chalmers MP, initiating legal action against Indian Ocean and Ms Tian.
Northern Minerals remains fully committed to complying with all rules and regulations including those pertaining to its ASX listing governance structures and the safe and responsible development of Browns Range, which is a globally significant heavy rare earths project located in the Tier 1 jurisdiction of Western Australia.
The Company’s commitment extends to ensuring the interests of all Northern Minerals shareholders are protected and reporting any concerns about potential breaches of Australian laws and regulations to relevant authorities.
As previously announced on 21 November 2025 (available here), the Company referred certain matters to FIRB that could indicate a possible breach of the Disposal Order, the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers (Prohibition of Proposed Action) Order (No. 1) 2023 (Cth) (Prohibition Order), or FATA (Relevant Matters). The Company considered it appropriate, and in the best interests of its shareholders, to refer these matters to FIRB so as to ensure that no breaches of the Disposal Order, Prohibition Order, or FATA, or any Australian law have occurred.
As noted in the Company’s ASX announcement on 28 January 2026 (available here), Northern Minerals has not received any indication that FIRB has completed its consideration of the Relevant Matters.
The Company will keep shareholders updated on any material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.
