Lynas wins a battle, but war with Malaysians who oppose rare earth plant goes on

Cecilia Jamasmie | April 12, 2012 | 12:35 pm Battery Metals Asia Australia Europe Rare Earth 

In what could be considered a slight victory for embattled Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC), the Malaysian High Court ruled today against a request to review a recent decision to grant the Lynas a temporary licence (TOL) for its processing plant.

Last week, Malaysia’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) decided to postpone a decision on a two-year operating licence for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP), until an outstanding appeal by residents to the science, technology and innovation minister has been completed.

In today’s decision Malaysia’s High Court said that since that appeal process is still unresolved, it would not be appropriate for the court to intervene in the matter.

The appeal to the Minister would be heard during this month.

While Lynas chairman Nicholas Curtis welcomed the decision, he said in a statement that the present controversy in Malaysia was undermining both the Lamp project and the country’s international investment reputation.

The company has been under attack from residents, environmentalists and even filmmakers since it started building the facility in 2010.

Political campaign

Critics of the project believe that allowing the US$230 million refinery will jeopardize Malaysian’s well being and the environment. Supporters, on the other hand, remark it is set to become one of the few sources outside China to process rare earths and produce metals used in high-tech equipment from weapons to cell phones.

“This concerted political campaign, which is based on misinformation, is sabotaging the science- based, regulatory process established in Malaysia and confidence in that process,” Curtis said.

He added that LAMP is “safe for everyone” and that his company looks forward to the day when that will be recognized.

Malaysia’s government recently instituted a Parliamentary committee in relation to the controversial plant, aimed at raising awareness of the project, rather than deciding on matters such as the approvals process and ongoing operations.

The group is expected to report by the end of June.

Currently, more than 90% of rare earths metals are processed in China. However, since the operations produce radioactive waste, Beijing has decided to restrict its rare earth mining.

LAMP was originally scheduled to start processing rare earths in the third quarter of 2011.

 

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4 Comments

  • aliowhk

    Even the Australian do not allow Lynas to process rare earth in their own land, let alone in
    other part of the world. They must be some corruption in the Malaysian state who approved
    LAMP in the first instance.
    I could imagine that China is supplying 90% of rare earth to the world for our computer gadget, and had polluted its own land, but yet the advanced countries led by US, & Japan are
    crying out loud all the way to WTO.
    We should appreciate China for supplying all the rare earth metals for our use.

    • justdafax

      1. Your plain WRONG! Lynas WERE in fact government approved to commence construction of their processing plant in Australia OK? Got that? It’s TRUE so accept it & get over it!! It’s Fact – unlike your Fiction.
      2. Congratulations come on down cuz you’re the 1 Millionth promulgator of the PKR party’s “Black Propaganda” DISINFORMATION campaign that I’ve called out over the last 12 mths. All created by the “Honourable” YB Fuziah Salleh MP for Kuantan with some help from her equally unscrupulous PKR backroom strategists, to gain votes for the “truth & justice” PKR party.(LOL) A strategy so effective it became irresistible to the ever-opportunistic Anwar Ibrahim who joined the orgy & said his PR coalition would shut Lynas down if they win the coming 13th General Election. Desperate Populist peanut. No wonder “RPK” in the UK said he was “unfit to be Prime Minister”
      3. The so called ‘toxic” radioactive (OMG did someone even utter the FEAR word ‘radioactive”??) by-product has about the same pissant “Becquerel/grm” radiation level as the Lite-salt people daily sprinkle on their food – real scary ‘glow in the dark’ stuff huh? (PKR advise inserting the words “Fukishima” & “Chernobyl” at this point)
      4. To add a little perspective, ALL food is naturally radioactive from the elements it take up from the earth. The Potassium-40 in bananas means they’re radioactive too – wanna ban them? UN-fissioned radioactivity is AS NATURAL AS LIFE ITSELF.
      5. Please ensure your brain knows the facts before putting mouth and fingers into gear. Otherwise you’re just another stooge working to perpetuate the ‘viral’ evil of the modern internet-empowered social-networked corrupt DISinformer. God help us all!

    • Max

      Arafura is building processing plant in Whyalla,”South Australia” It will start processing soon.

  • Martfer

    I’ve have no idea how the “country’s international investment reputation” can be harmed about the local citizens being worried about a hazardous substance being processed and the waste being dumped here. Isn’t it a natural reaction when the a hazardous process is located in someone else’s backyard?

    Please, such unintelligent comments can only make matter worse.

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