KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd received a three-year licence renewal last month to operate until March 2026 — provided the rare-earth company moves out all activities that produce radioactive wastes from the country by July this year.
Should it fail to fulfil this and other conditions, the government will revoke the licence, said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tanjung Malim.
Chang said Lynas could appeal to extend the July deadline.
“Following the three years' licence extension, Lynas must comply with the conditions imposed since March 2020 so that cracking and leaching (C&L) activities that produce radioactive wastes will be conducted in Australia and no C&L activities will be carried out at LAMP [Lynas Advanced Materials Plant] in Gebeng, Pahang after July 2023.
“Other activities that do not involve the production of radioactive wastes are allowed to continue operating,” said the minister. “The Unity Government is committed to creating a business-friendly environment and understands the importance of the rare earth industry. However, no party has the right to continuously produce radioactive wastes in our homeland,” he added.
Other conditions under the licence include building a Permanent Disposal Facility (PDF) to store radioactive waste and prohibition from importing lanthanide concentrates from Australia.
Chang said the PDF is 32% built and is expected to be completed within three years to house the radioactive wastes, which now weighs 1.08 million metric tons, having accumulated at LAMP in Gebeng since it started operations in 2012.
Lynas’ radioactive wastes are a result of the management of water leach purification (WLP) residue and C&L activities at LAMP.
By July, Chang said the radioactive wastes would increase to an estimated 1.2 million metric tons.
He deems the 32% completion of the PDF “on track” and “reasonable” given the circumstances.
“This PDF condition was [fixed] in 2020. So, of course, we know (between) 2020 to 2023, they [Lynas] have located (to) one place, but [was] not approved, then after that they shifted to another place and then after that Covid, so I think 30% completion...the progress is on track...is reasonable,” he said.
Chang revealed that the PDF location is now within Gebeng itself, “just beside the Lynas plant”.
As the construction of the PDF is still in progress, Chang said he is unsure whether areas surrounding Lynas are safe for human habitation, also given that the radioactive wastes are now stored in a place shaded by a roof instead of an enclosed space.
“Now, I am not sure, (but) according to [the readings] we have now, it [radiation level] is still within the safe level. So far, because Gebeng is an industrial area, not many people stay in that area,” he observed.
As for the new C&L facility in Kalgoorlie, Australia, which is meant to replace Malaysia’s radioactive-related manufacturing processes, Chang said it is now estimated to be 80% completed after the ministry made a verification visit there to assess the progress.
“The visit confirmed that the construction of the C&L plant is at 70% to 80% completion and is expected to be operational by July 2023,” Chang told reporters in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 15).
Chang also said that none of his ministry officials will be held accountable for approving Lynas' production of radioactive wastes in the country on a tax-free basis for more than a decade, as it was a decision made by the then government of the day.
“There are no criminal elements here, no officials will be charged or held accountable, it was a decision by the government of the day,” he said, adding that Lynas had been given a tax exemption to operate in Malaysia over the past 12 years.