A view shows a concentrate brine pool of Albemarle Chile lithium plant placed on the Atacama salt flat Ultra Lithium Inc., one of three Canadian miners left to find new backers after Ottawa’s snap decision to block Chinese investment in the critical minerals industry, said it avoided a “crisis situation” by finding an alternative source of funding — six months after it was forced to cut ties with Qinghai-based Zangge Mining Co. Ltd. Afzaal Pirzada, Ultra Lithium’s vice-president of exploration, called the China order a “setback.” After much deliberation, Vancouver-based Ultra decided to sell its Laguna Verde lithium brine project...