KUALA LUMPUR: Australia has welcomed the latest report explaining the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) operations situation in Malaysia.
The Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Andrew Goledzinowski, in a tweet, said: "Finally, a very clear explanation of this long-running saga."
Referring to the New Straits Times (NST) report early this week, he described it as 'interesting' that Lynas broke China's monopoly on the rare earth industry.
NST’s report titled 'The clock is ticking', detailed the challenges facing Lynas especially in the extension of its licence in Malaysia as it is due for renewal on Sept 2 this year. Lynas has to renew its licence after it has fulfilled all conditions set by the regulators.
Among other things, the NST report on Wednesday said that the clock was ticking for the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP), which deals with rare earth in Pahang.
The plant, which promises lucrative returns for the state’s economy has challenged China’s dominance in the industry, despite the project being heavily criticised and protested since it started operations six years ago.
Malaysia’s foray into rare earth through Lynas has also stabilised the global prices of the much in demand product.
The latest obstacle facing Lynas is for it to export stockpiles of a waste product from its processing plant by Sept 2, when its licence is due for renewal. A recent report from the company’s head office in Australia indicated that it could not meet that timeline.
Lynas’ investment in research and development has also paid off when the company was able to find commercial applications using the waste as a multi-purpose fertiliser.
This is seen as paving the way for Lynas to be allowed to keep the waste here for agriculture use.
The main criticism about the Lynas is the radioactive residue produced, which poses a threat to humans if not handled properly.
China has for decades monopolised the rare earth processing industry, but poor regulation led to vast toxic and radioactive waste sites.
In the case of Lynas, however, safety standards have been set very high, and radiological experts, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have given their assurance that the project is safe. There were no reports of environmental and health problems since the plant began operating in 2012.
An online report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2012 defined "rare earth" as a group of 17 chemically similar elements crucial to the manufacturing of many hi-tech products.
“Despite their name, most are abundant in nature but are hazardous to extract. Most rare earth elements have uses in several different fields...,” the report said.
Rare earth is used for the manufacturing of catalytic converters, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, energy efficient electrical motors, electronics, energy efficient fluorescent lamps and MRI machines.