www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/...97,25084364-643,00.html
Respected mining industry veteran and former chairman of BHP, WMC and Alcoa of Australia, Arvi Parbo, said the Chinese were no different from anybody else if they behaved as commercial investors.
"If there is a possibility that a foreign investor, whether Chinese or anybody else, may behave in a non-commercial manner, possibly against Australia's interest, this would be a matter for concern," he said.
"To determine whether this is likely or not, and advise the Government accordingly, we have the Foreign Investment Review Board. We will have to wait and see what these experts and the minister conclude."
Sir Arvi notes that foreign interests have been part of the Australian minerals sector since the industry started.
"There was a period during the Whitlam government in the early 1970s when the minister for minerals and energy, Rex Connor, wanted to restrict foreign ownership," he said.
"Since then the industry has gone the other way and become globalised.
"The Australian minerals industry today is a geographical concept, with shareholders in companies all over the world, many of the companies working all over the world, and management including people of many nationalities."
The deals with the mining giants might make more noise in the halls of Canberra, but at the junior end of the once-vibrant sector, an endless list of agreements have been signed with the Chinese to ensure continued development in the industry.
Rare earths hopeful Arafura Resources' tie-up with the Chinese may not have got the attention that Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals did with their significant foreign plays, but its chairman said the company would be placing its operations on care and maintenance without China's support.
"We tried going to our shareholders last October, who have been great in the past, but we wanted $26 million and only got $7 million," Ian Laurance said.
"We looked all over the world for support and the only place we could get any from was China.
"There was some interest from brokers in New York, but when we asked them where the money was coming from, they said China.
"For us it was simply the choice to move ahead with China because no one else was prepared to support us."
Perth-based Arafura Resources has struck a deal with Jiangsu Eastern China Non-Ferrous Metals Investment Holding Co, a subsidiary of the East China Exploration and Development Bureau.
The Chinese company will inject up to $8 million in return for a potential 25 per cent stake in the rare earths hopeful.