Lynas Rare Earths has announced the three-year renewal of its Malaysia operating license, but the news isn’t everything the company was hoping for.
Lynas Malaysia – a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths – received notice of the renewal from Malaysia’s Department of Atomic Energy.
Lynas was crossing its fingers for a change to license conditions prohibiting the import and processing of lanthanide after July 1 2023, which were first imposed on the license renewal of 2020.
However, these conditions remained unchanged in the latest renewal, much to the disappointment of the company.
The conditions of the license will require the closure of the cracking and leaching component of the Lynas Malaysia plant.
Cracking and leaching leaves behind low-level radioactive waste, as reported by the Australian Financial Review.
Lynas has been operating in Gebeng, Malaysia, for more than a decade and four independent scientific reviews, including two reviews by the International Atomic Energy Agency, have found the plant to be low risk and compliant with relevant regulation.
“After 10 years of safe operation in Malaysia we are disappointed that the conditions that were applied to our 2020 operating licence remain,” Lynas Rare Earths chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Amanda Lacaze said.
“While these conditions do not come into effect until 1 July 2023, 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.
“We will now proceed with administrative and legal appeals to ensure that Lynas is treated fairly and equitably as a foreign direct investor and a significant employer and contributor to the Malaysian economy.”
Lynas has recently released the results of its December quarterly, with the company enjoying a 14.8 per cent bump in revenue.