Lynas C&L stays six more months

KUANTAN: Lynas Rare Earths Ltd claims its licence to import and process lanthanide concentrate at its Malaysian operation is now valid until Jan 1 next year.

The Australian rare earth materials producer said the change was made by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang in response to the appeals filed by Lynas under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984.

However, Lynas said the minister had otherwise dismissed its other appeals.

“The licence variation allows the Lynas Malaysia cracking and leaching (C&L) plant to continue to operate until Jan 1, 2024, and will remove the requirement for a shutdown at the Lynas Malaysia plant before Jan 1, 2024.

“Lynas had applied to the minister for the removal of the conditions that limit operations at the facility, as they represent a significant variation from the conditions under which Lynas initially decided to invest in Malaysia.

“The conditions do not follow the recommendations of the Malaysian government’s 2018 executive review committee report on Lynas Malaysia’s operations, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board’s audits of Lynas Malaysia’s operations or any of the three prior independent expert scientific reviews of Lynas Malaysia’s operations,” the company said in a statement yesterday.

Lynas previously said it was planning for either a temporary shutdown of its operation or a period of deficient production, if licence conditions prohibiting the importing and processing of lanthanide concentrate remain effective on July 1.

This was after Chang announced in February that Lynas had been informed of the decision by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board, where its request to drop four conditions related to cracking and leaching activities, the generation of water leach purification (WLP) residues and the import of lanthanide concentrates from Australia was not considered.

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

On Sunday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reportedly confirmed that the government had provided Lynas Malaysia with a six-month extension to fulfil the conditions of its operating licence in the country.

Meanwhile, Lynas said Malaysia offers legal avenues for reviewing the licence conditions.

“Lynas has made significant investments in its Malaysian facility and will seek review through these processes regarding the conditions to ensure that Lynas is treated fairly and equitably as a foreign direct investor and as a significant employer and contributor to the Malaysian economy,” it added.