The federal cabinet has ordered a national security review of the pending sale of TMAC Resources to Shandong Gold Mining, a state-owned company based in China.
The Government of Canada reserves the right to conduct national security reviews on foreign investments in Canadian assets that "could be injurious to national security."
TMAC Resources operates the Hope Bay gold mine in the Kitikmeot region, 125 km southwest of Cambridge Bay.
The two companies involved agreed on terms of the sale on May 8. More than 97 per cent of TMAC shareholders voted to support the deal in June.
"Both TMAC and Shandong believe the transaction has a strong overall net benefit to Canada and does not pose a security risk," TMAC Resources stated in a news release on Thursday morning. "Given the extended timelines under the Investment Canada Act, the company expects closing of the transaction to occur in the first quarter of 2021."