Lynas disappointed over govt’s decision to maintain licence conditions

KUANTAN: Lynas Rare Earths Ltd has expressed disappointment over the government's decision to maintain the conditions applied to its Malaysian operation's 2020 licence.

Its chief executive officer and managing director Amanda Lacaze said the latest renewal of Lynas Malaysia's operating licence was its sixth and the four licences granted prior to 2020 did not include these conditions.

"While these conditions do not come into effect until July 1, they are inconsistent with the conditions upon which Lynas was invited to invest in Malaysia and the recommendations of four independent scientific reviews, each of which has found our Malaysian operations to be low risk and compliant with regulations," she said in a statement.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said Lynas had been informed of the decision by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), where its request to drop four conditions related to cracking and leaching activities, the generation of water leach purification (WLP) residues and the importation of lanthanide concentrates from Australia was not considered.

This meant Lynas would no longer be allowed to carry out activities that would produce radioactive waste in Malaysia after July 2023.

The current three-year term of Lynas Malaysia's operating licence is set to expire in March.

Lacaze said Lynas would now proceed with administrative and legal appeals to ensure that Lynas was treated fairly and equitably as a foreign direct investor and a significant employer and contributor to the Malaysian economy.