Malaysia has dealt a blow to Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. by denying the Australian company’s request to keep running a facility that authorities want closed on environmental grounds.
(Bloomberg) — Malaysia has dealt a blow to Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. by denying the Australian company’s request to keep running a facility that authorities want closed on environmental grounds.
The largest producer of rare earths outside China got its operating license for its Kuantan plant renewed for three years starting July 1, but failed to get approval to keep running a unit that Malaysian authorities say generates radiocative waste.
“The government is committed to creating a business-friendly environment and understands the importance of the rare earth industry,” Malaysia’s Science and Technology Minister Chang Lih Kang said at a briefing Wednesday. “However, no party has the right to continuously produce radioactive waste in our homeland.”
Rare earths are used in electronics and clean energy, and are vital in the aerospace and defense industries. China dominates mining and production of the minerals, although the US and Australia, where there are significant deposits, are attempting to chip away at its stranglehold on the market.
See also: Breaking China’s Rare Earths Grip a ‘Pipe Dream,’ Australia Says
Lynas’ operating license in Malaysia came with conditions that prohibited the import and processing of lanthanide concentrate after July 1 this year, meaning the miner will have to close the cracking and leaching units of its facility in Kuantan.
The firm is already building a cracking and leaching plant in Australia, which is 80% completed and will likely be ready by July, Chang said. “If it is not ready, there are still avenues for them to appeal to extend” the deadline, he said.
Lynas will proceed with administrative and legal appeals, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
–With assistance from Ravil Shirodkar.
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