Mongolia has threatened to suspend the mining licence of a key Gobi desert coal mine that is the subject of a Chinese takeover attempt, a move that could potentially derail China’s biggest investment to date in its resource-rich neighbour.
The move by Mongolia comes amid a global burst of resource nationalism this month, with Argentina nationalising 51 per cent of the oil groupYPF and Indonesia threatening to impose punitive export taxes on commodities from thermal coal to copper.
Mongolia’s mining authorities have threatened to suspend some of the licences of SouthGobi Resources, a mining company listed in Toronto and Hong Kong, because Chinese metals company Chalco intends to purchase a majority stake in the company, SouthGobi said late on Monday night.