TORONTO, July 4 (Reuters) - Canada on Thursday put the

mining industry on notice that any major deals targeting the

country's producers of critical minerals would only be approved

under "the most exceptional circumstances".

The announcement by Industry Minister Francois-Philippe

Champagne came as he imposed strict conditions with the approval

of Glencore's ( GLCNF ) $6.93 billion acquisition of Teck

Resources' ( TECK ) steelmaking coal business.

The government has identified 31 minerals, including

copper, lithium and nickel, that it considers critical for their

strategic uses in modern technology and the energy transition,

such as in electric vehicle batteries.

Under the Investment Canada Act the government can approve

or reject mergers and acquisitions based on their net benefit to

the country.

Champagne said the government would now set a high bar when

assessing the net benefits of any deal involving critical

minerals producers, adding this reflected how important it was

to protect what it considers a strategic sector.

"Henceforth, such transactions will only be found of net

benefit in the most exceptional of circumstances," he said.

Some of the country's largest mining companies

are copper producers, which means any foreign investment

involving those miners would face intense scrutiny.

Canada in the last two years has taken a tough stance on

foreign investments in the critical minerals space, specifically

from China where it has asked investors to divest from Canadian

companies due to their Chinese involvement.