Lynas Corporation, Australia Rare Earth Refiner, Granted Malaysia License

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia on Wednesday granted a license for an Australian mining company to operate the first rare earths plant outside China in years, despite public protests over fears of radioactive contamination.

Lynas Corp. says its refinery could meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China. It also may curtail China's stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making high-tech goods, including flatscreen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and weapons.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board said it would grant Lynas a license that could be withdrawn if any of its conditions are broken. Lynas must submit plans for a permanent disposal facility within 10 months and make a $50 million financial guarantee with the government.

The board also said "the residue that is produced is the responsibility of the company and if necessary, will be returned to its source" in Mount Weld, Australia. The board can evaluate Lynas' compliance at the company's cost.

The $230 million (700 million ringgit) plant in central Pahang state has been the subject of heated protests over health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste.

Malaysia's last rare earth refinery by Japan's Mitsubishi group, in northern Perak state, was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia's largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Lynas says its plant is equipped with state-of-the-art pollution controls and targets to start operations in the June quarter.

The Lynas plant will refine slightly radioactive ore from its Mount Weld mine. Lynas has said the radioactive element, thorium, in its raw material was 50 times lower than those in Perak. Lynas also said waste products with low levels of thorium could be converted into safe byproducts such as cement aggregate for road construction.

Malaysia, which granted tax breaks and other incentives to Lynas, hopes the facility will spur growth.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team last year assessed the Lynas project and told the Malaysian government that the project lacks a comprehensive long-term waste management program and a plan to dismantle the plant once it is no longer operating.

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Comments

[ibsteve2u]

12:54 AM on 02/02/2012

Seeing as average annual income in the city (which means Kuala Lumpur) is about 4500 ringgit while rural income is half that (and the exchange rate is about 3 ringgit to the US dollar) then not running a clean plant and safely disposing of wastes at those labor prices would equate to premeditated murder for money in my mind.

I'd note that "the West" will continue to enjoy a declining standard of living and uncertain futures until such time as currency exchange rates reflect local cost of living rather than arbitrary numbers designed to make it possible to play one nation's labor force against another's.

[mjegan59]

12:38 AM on 02/02/2012

I doubt $50 million will be enough to cover the clean up and decomissioning costs. just thinking out loud here.

[Genders]

09:00 PM on 02/01/2012

Ask the pro nukers, radiation is good for ya.

[alvdh1]

06:05 AM on 02/02/2012

I am glad to see you make a simple and predictable statement about the nuclear trolls who have invaded HP.

[MrBIgp]

02:20 PM on 02/01/2012

The thorium produced as a bi-product in the rare earth mines could provide ALL of the energy the world needs.

It would take about 10 million pounds of thorium to equal the radiation of one pound of radium.

[Jtt]

12:48 PM on 02/01/2012

Its a shame they are not harvesting the thorium for energy production.

[mhh310351]

11:40 AM on 02/01/2012

For a little more fair reporting read:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/01/australia-lynas-malaysia-idUSL4E8D15KQ20120201?type=companyNews

Excerpt - "TERMS OF OPERATION

The plant on Malaysia's east coast will process rare earths mined in Australia at Lynas' Mount Weld project with the company responsible for managing residue, including "returning waste to its original source if necessary," the statement said.

The company would also have to submit a plan for a permanent disposal facility for residue within 10 months and pay $50 million to the Malaysian government as a financial guarantee.

The atomic board would also have the right to select an independent consultant to assess Lynas' adherence to the conditions, the statement said.

Lynas received a favourable report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but the world body told it to provide a long-term waste management and safety plan.

Lynas says that its plant is safe and is not comparable at all to a rare-earths plant in Malaysia that was shut by a unit of Mitsubishi Chemicals in 1992, after residents there blamed the plant for birth defects and a high rate of leukemia cases."

I find the HP report to be misleading.

[June25]

01:14 PM on 02/01/2012

Well that's what they're here for.

[mhh310351]

03:48 PM on 02/01/2012

A SENSE OF HUMOR.

[Sheng Paule]

11:17 AM on 02/01/2012

But they're building it despite the lack of disposal and decommissioning plans

[JScott]

10:12 AM on 02/01/2012

So either Australia doesn't want it, and push the polluting process to 'somewhere else' with tax disincentives etc. or Malaysia is a low cost processor------ain't the free market great :(

[Aquest]

04:26 PM on 02/01/2012

Its both.