KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government could save millions of ringgit by using Lynas' Neutralisation Underflow Residue (NUF) to replace the gypsum material that the country has been importing for the construction industry, says Lynas Malaysia managing director Datuk Mashal Ahmad.
In a statement Tuesday (May 7), Mashal said that, according to the Statistics Department, in 2018, Malaysia imported more than one million tonnes of gypsum material at a cost of US$31.061mil (RM128mil).
"One of Lynas Malaysia's by-products is NUF, a magnesium-rich synthetic gypsum which is non-radioactive, non-toxic and non-hazardous and chemically equivalent to the material imported into Malaysia (gypsum).
"By utilising the gypsum produced locally by Lynas, the government will be able to deliver economic value to the country and reduce the dependency on other countries in importing the material," he said.
Mashal said research and development had also identified various applications for NUF, and Lynas has been approached by companies in Malaysia regarding commercial use of the NUF material.
This is consistent with the 11th Malaysia Plan 2016-2020, which looks at "managing waste holistically" and encourages using waste as a resource that gives it economic value thus diverting it from landfills towards more productive use, he added. - Bernama
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