OTTAWA | Russia’s richest man invests in Canada in a project to mine uranium, an essential element for nuclear weapons, in partnership with a Chinese state company.
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Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov owns a minority stake in the Fission Uranium project in Saskatchewan through his investment firm Aterra Capital.
Uranium is used as fuel in nuclear power plants, in the production of medical isotopes, in depleted uranium shells, in tank armor and in the manufacture of the nuclear bomb.
The European Union has frozen Mordashov’s assets because of his ties to Vladimir Putin. But in Canada it is not on the list of some 500 sanctioned Russian entities.
Nevertheless, foreign investment in our strategic sectors should undergo national security scrutiny, says Shuvaloy Majumdar, a researcher at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute and adviser to the office of the foreign minister and prime minister between 2011 and 2015.
Controlled by China
In addition to funds from the wealthy Kremlin ally, Fission’s main shareholder is CGN Mining, a division of the China General Nuclear Power Corporation.
In 2016, CGN committed to purchase up to 35% of the mine’s annual production. Last November, it held 14.61%, which puts it “in a position to affect governance and operations”, reads a recent communication to investors.
“China and Russia are militarizing their investments in critical minerals and they are partners, especially in the Arctic. We have to take this seriously,” said Majumdar.
Risks on the economy
The Journal explained a few days ago that Russia is massing troops in the Arctic along the polar maritime routes and the hydrocarbon and mineral deposits it exploits.
Mr. Majumbar stresses that, beyond economic sanctions, the Canadian government must ensure that the risks that foreign investments pose to the economy and national security are eliminated. This involves tracking, categorizing and evaluating all Russian and Chinese investments in the country.