When the BC NDP government decided to embrace the mining industry late last year, Premier David Eby leaned heavily on the importance of critical minerals extracted by a world-leading company headquartered right here in Vancouver called Teck Resources.

Local jobs produced by a B.C.-based firm made the idea of endorsing open-pit mining a little bit more palatable to New Democrats still worried about protecting the environment.

But that landscape is changing, with news late Monday that Teck intends to “merge” with London-based firm Anglo American.

The new company, Anglo Teck, would become one of the world’s largest mining companies—majority owned by Anglo, with global headquarters in Vancouver and corporate offices in London.

The deal requires regulatory approval by the federal government. Ottawa, along with B.C., will have many questions about provincial and national economic security.

No longer would a wholly Canadian firm run the largest copper mine in the world—Highland Valley in B.C. at Logan Lake. No longer would Canada hold key access to the rare mineral called germanium, which is refined at the Teck smelter in Trail, B.C., and is coveted by the U.S. military for night vision applications. Germanium is in scarce supply after China cut off exports.

“If the United States doesn't get this metal from the Teck smelter in Trail,........

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