Malaysia: Rare earths refinery operator confident of opening Kuantan plant on time

SINGAPORE- Lynas, the company behind the proposed rare earths refinery to be build near Kuantan, said it is confident that the start-up of the facility will not be delayed.

The Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) is scheduled to open in the Gebeng Industrial Estate, in Pahang, this September.

Lynas also said it welcomes Malaysia announcement on Friday that it is setting up of a panel of independent international experts to conduct a one-month review of the health, safety and environmental aspects of the RM700 million (S$287 million) facility.

The Sydney-based company said in a media statement: "Lynas continues to work with the Malaysian authorities, including the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the Department of Environment, to ensure that the project construction continues to meet all requirements and adheres to international standards.

"When completed, the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant will be a first-class rare earths processing facility which incorporates state-of-the-art technology and sets new benchmarks in safety, environmental performance and shared value across the supply chain for a sustainable future.

"Lynas is confident the review will reconfirm that the plant is safe and presents no hazard to the community or Lynas workers. Lynas trusts that this independent review will help to address public concerns expressed in recent times about the health, safety and environmental aspects of this important project.

"Lynas understands that the review will be completed within a month and as such believes the review will have no impact on the anticipated completion date of the project.

"Lynas and its people share a strong set of values, which include operating in a safe, honest and transparent manner, as well as always to respect and contribute to the communities in which we operate."

Rare earth plant study to go on
The Star 26 Apr 11;

KUANTAN: The Pahang Bar Committee is going ahead with its plan to study safety, health, environment and legal matters involving the licensing aspect of Lynas Corporation's rare earth processing plant in Gebeng.

Bar committee chairman Hon Kai Ping said the committee had started grassroots work by meeting some of the residents living near Gebeng over the weekend.

He said the residents' worries were not limited to the safety and health aspects relating to the Lynas project but also other plants operating in the industrial site.

Hon said that although the International Trade and Industry Ministry had said an independent panel comprising international experts would review the health and safety aspects, the committee felt many questions were still not answered.

Hon said there were some nagging questions about the panel and the proposed review.

“Even a baseline study on health and safety will take at least six months and as such, we are interested to know the terms and conditions used for the review. Otherwise, a lot of questions will remain unanswered,” Hon said.

The Pahang Bar Committee held an extraordinary general meeting last Thursday, and resolved to provide legal representation for residents in the event of any litigation.

Hon said that the committee and public should have access to the review and its details so they could fully understand the project.

Lynas has invested up to RM700mil in the construction of the plant expected to be in operation in September. The plant will process rare earth extracted from material mined at Mount Weld in Western Australia.

The refined product will then be exported to be used to manufacture goods such as smart phones, flatscreen TVs, hybrid cars and even weaponry, potentially earning RM8bil a year from 2013 based on current prices.