Canada extends security review of Chinese state firm's gold mine bid

Amid the tensions between the two countries, Canada has extended a security review of the Chinese takeover of a strategically important Canadian gold mining company worth USD 165 million.

Amid the tensions between the two countries, Canada has extended a security review of the Chinese takeover of a strategically important Canadian gold mining company worth USD 165 million. According to the South China Morning Post, the federal review of China's state-owned Shandong Gold Mining's takeover bid of TMAC Resources has been extended for another 45 days. TMAC Resources, which is currently struggling to stay afloat, operates in Nunavut, the country's strategic far north.

According to media reports, the area's strategic value and untapped potential led members of Canada's opposition and government officials to push Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to block the sale. According to the SCMP, if ratified, the agreement would give Chinese state-owned company control over TMAC's important asset 'Hope Bay gold project', which lies on the Northwest Passage, a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Arctic.

This route remains closed for the most part of the year, however, some scientists believe that climate change could open up the route for longer periods - leading to the opening of a shorter shipping path between Europe and Asia. This extension of review by Canada comes amid growing tension with China following the extradition case against Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

More recently, Canada's Communications Security Establishment (CSE) intelligence agency report had cited China and North Korea among several countries that pose the greatest cybersecurity threat to Ottawa through their state-sponsored programs. "We assess that almost certainly the state-sponsored programs of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea pose the greatest state-sponsored cyber threats to Canadian individuals and organizations. However, many other states are rapidly developing their own cyber programs, benefiting from various legal and illegal markets to purchase cyber products and services," the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) said in a report. (ANI)

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