The mess that is the Lynas rare earths project in Malaysia
First of all – then world does need rare earths. They are needed for wind turbines, electric cars, mobile phones, and many other smart things that mean progress in the 21st Century.
So – where’s the problem? Well it seems to me that there is a cloud of secrecy and deception surrounding Australian Corporation Lynas and its rare earths project in Malaysia.
Doubletalk is going on as we see in news items lower on this page.: Western Australia ‘would not accept responsibility for any waste produced by Lynas Malaysia ‘ ‘the Western Australian government does not support the import and storage of other countries’ radioactive waste.’
But the Malaysian Government ‘ is satisfied there will be no radioactive residue produced during the plant’s operation, we have ordered Lynas to guarantee and plan the provision of a permanent waste disposal facility far from human population as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency’.
Why did the IAEA want the waste far away if it isn’t radioactive?
It would seem to me that if rare earths are so necessary for renewable energy, some way should be found to process them. But, unfortunately, rare earths have a sordid history of mismanagement and radioactive pollution in China and Malaysia. Meanwhile Lynas Corporation is simply behaving the way mining corporations have to – their focus is narrowly on profit, just like all the other Ugly Australian mining corporations abroad.
Also unfortunately, the nuclear lobby is watching the Lynas radioactive wastes saga, – as a prelude to nuclear power taking off in South East Asia.
And how long can Australia get away with exporting minerals with complete disregard of the environmental consequences abroad?
Doubts over whether or not BHP’s new big Olympic Dam uranium mine will go ahead
Reuters report on mining conference in Canada Mar 6, 2012 By Euan Rocha TORONTO, March 6 – The Anglo-Australia mining giant, which already operates an underground mine at the site, has yet to sign off on the budget for
the open pit…. but BHP may opt to delay taking on the heavy financial burden that could easily be in the $10 billion to $20 billion range…..
…. PDAC, the mining industry’s largest annual gathering. The convention, organized by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, opened in Toronto on Sunday.
Even though Olympic Dam, located 550 km (345 miles) north of Adelaide, is one of BHP’s biggest growth prospects, the cost of
digging the massive pit may prove prohibitive.
Last month the company reported a profit decline, and it struck a cautious tone on its expectations for growth in China, one of its
biggest markets. That has led some to speculate that the miner may delay spending on capital-intensive projects such as Olympic Dam and the Jansen potash project in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
In late 2011, BHP finalized state approvals to begin construction work on the open-pit phase of the Olympic Dam project, but the agreement would lapse around December if BHP delays its decision on proceeding.
“We want to see a board decision before the end of the year about substantial works beginning. If not, the approvals run out and BHP know this,” said Tom Koutsantonis, minister for mineral resources and energy for the state of South Australia.” I’m not in the business, and no government should be in the business, of allowing anyone to have massive tenements that they don’t develop …”-
A spokesman for BHP declined to comment on the remarks.
MASSIVE SCALE The sheer scale of the open-pit project is formidable. BHP will have to shovel rock for five to seven years before it reaches the Olympic Dam ore body, discovered in the mid-1970s…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/canada-mining-pdac-olympicdam-idUSL2E8E60E220120306
Australian Labor government will not change its policy of opposition to nuclear power
Despite pro nuclear Bob Carr joining the Ministry, the Australian Government opposes nuclear power plants. The Prime Minister was quoted in an article in 9 News, Mar 6 2012 By Julian Drape “…….The prime minister was also quizzed on Tuesday about incoming foreign minister Bob Carr’s stated support for nuclear power.
In response she said Labor’s policy was to oppose nuclear power plants in Australia “and it won’t be changing”.
“Our future as a country … is in making the best of our natural assets as well as continuing to use traditional sources of energy.
“We are a country with abundant sunshine. We are a country with a very, very, very long coastline which gives you access to tidal power.” Ms Gillard added that hot rocks energy could also be brought on stream.
A criminal claim in Japan- that nuclear power is clean, safe and cheap
Radiation is still venting into the air around Fukushima.
Noda says the entire Japanese establishment had been taken in by the “myth of safety” and it’s all a do-over. At the same time, that establishment also propagated the now laughable argument that nuclear power is clean, safe and cheap…..
Most Japanese don’t want a nuclear future, yet they’re being strong-armed into submission. If that’s not a crime, I’m not sure what is
Pesek: Japan Nuclear Mobsters Don’t Share Pain, Bloomberg, By William Pesek Mar 6, 2012 A year after an earthquake in Japan (JGDPAGDP) touched off the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, here’s the question on my mind: Who’s going to jail? The news media are asking the obvious and safe questions ahead of March 11: Continue reading
Lynas moved its rare earths processing to Malaysia because of Malaysia’s less stringent laws
ANAWA and EDO strongly believed that Lynas had chosen to move its operations to Malaysia because of the heavy metals and radioactive waste involved in the processing. “We believe Lynas picked Malaysia to save money and enable it to operate under less stringent laws,”
“The biggest concerns about the processing are the storage and waste management issues which are made more difficult in Gebeng which we understand to be wetlands.”
“There is no way it could operate the way it is in Malaysia over here,” he said. “Australia’s laws are much more stringent.”
Aussie NGO: Gebeng not part of Lynas’ blueprint, Free Malaysia Today News, Stephanie Sta Maria | March 6, 2012 Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) claims that Lynas’ massive changes to its plan has resulted in its plant being built in Gebeng where laws are looser and labour is cheaper. PETALING JAYA: The Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) has revealed that Lynas Corporation Ltd was supposed to build its plant in Western Australia and not Malaysia.
According to ANAWA, Lynas’ 14-year-old blueprint indicated that the Australian mining giant had orginally planned to build its processing plant in Meenar a decade ago. But until today there had been no signs of any development on the intended site.
ANAWA spokesperson Marcus Atkinson told FMT that the orginal approvals were given by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for Lynas to ship rare earth to buyers and confirmed that he had viewed these relevant documents firsthand.
However, he said that Lynas had since made numerous alterations to its operations to the point that its rare earth refinery had now landed in Malaysia. “Instead of transporting processed rare earth, it is now shipping a concentrate which contains thorium and other radioactive material with more heavy metals,” he told FMT. Continue reading
Malaysia considering sending Lynas’ radioactive waste back to Western Australia
No decision yet on sending Lynas waste to Western Australia The Star, Malaysia, KUALA LUMPUR, 7 March 12, : The Cabinet has not decided on a proposal asking Lynas Corp rare earth waste material to be sent back to Western Australia, said Green Technology, Energy and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin.
He said Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore was entitled to his view that Australia would not accept responsibility for any waste produced by Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd. “Our Cabinet has not made a decision on the matter. Wait for it to be announced,” he said after the launch of the National Energy Security Conference 2012 yesterday.
Moore told the Australian parliament that the Western Australian government does not support the import and storage of other countries’ radioactive waste.
PKR MP Fuziah Salleh had proposed that the rare earth waste material for Lynas be returned to Australia. ….
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/29/nation/10825847&sec=nation
Lynas Corporation agrees to sending rare earths residue away from Malaysia
Lynas to send residue abroad if no suitable disposal site found in Malaysia The Star, Malaysia, By ONG HAN SEAN KUANTAN, March 6, 2012: Lynas Corp has already submitted a letter of undertaking to send its rare earth processing residue abroad if it cannot find a suitable waste disposal site in Malaysia. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the move was taken as an assurance to the people’s psychological and emotional safety.
“Even though the Government is satisfied there will be no radioactive residue produced during the plant’s operation, we have ordered Lynas to guarantee and plan the provision of a permanent waste disposal facility far from human population as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Failing which, Lynas has already expressed willingness to take the residue out of Malaysia,” said Mustapa in a joint statement with Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob here Tuesday.
He said the Government had also announced the setting up of an independent monitoring panel to audit the plant’s construction as an additional measure. On the residue’s radiation monitoring, Mustapa said the plant had yet to start operation and the Government had not appoint independent experts to analyse the radiation level of the residues produced by the
plant….. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/6/nation/20120306154934&sec=nation
Another anti Lynas rally planned for Malaysia
Shut down or there’ll be another anti-Lynas rally, Govt told http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/28/nation/10818800&sec=nation The Star, Malaysia, 6 March 12, KUANTAN: Another anti-Lynas rally will be held if the Government does not shut down the rare earth refinery project in Gebeng, said the Himpunan Hijau committee which organised the first protest on Sunday.
Its chairman Wong Tack said he was disappointed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s statement that the Government had to look for a solution that would be acceptable to the people without affecting investments. “We cannot accept his statement. Therefore, the Himpunan Hijau 3.0 rally is on – unless the project is cancelled,” Wong said at a press conference yesterday. The organisers had called on the Government to respond within 24 hours after the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally ended two days ago. Najib had said Lynas was looking for an uninhabited location to store the waste material from the plant, although it was scientifically safe. Wong said the committee would discuss with Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan on the possibility of holding a joint rally soon.
Prevention is the only option to deal with nuclear accidents
Radiation is silent and invisible and the potential for long-term serious health effects are concepts that are difficult to grasp by the lay person. The need to educate the public could undermine the, until now, strongly projected assurance by both nuclear operators and government agencies, that nuclear power is safe…..
RECOMMENDATIONS: According to the new PSR report: “The past experience with catastrophic nuclear accidents and their frequency indicates that no country is prepared physically or financially to deal with the short and long term effects. As opposed to natural disasters, experience has shown us that nuclear catastrophes do not remain isolated but tend to become global problems affecting us all. Such preparations in the U.S. will likely be useless if a similar accident happens in countries such as North Korea, Pakistan, or other countries that have nuclear power reactors but no emergency plans. In reality, there is no cure once these events have happened; the only options are mitigation and palliation. In the absence of a cure, prevention is the only option.”
Physicians for Social Responsibility PSR Report: U.S. First Responders, Medical Infrastructure not Prepared for Fukushima-Level Reactor Crisis in the United States Market Watch, WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012 — One Year After Japanese Disaster, Little or No Movement Seen in U.S. to Improve Response Capability; Complicating Factors: Growing Population Near Nuclear Sites, Aging Reactors & Lack of Gov’t Coordination.
One year after the Fukushima reactor crisis in Japan, no meaningful progress has been achieved in improving the ability of first responders and medical professionals to react to a disaster on a similar scale in the United States, according to a major new report from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). Continue reading
Mark Diesendorf refutes the pro nuclear Grattan Institute, on renewable energy
Grattan overlooks the research showing that current prices of fossil fuels are too low because they don’t take into account the environmental, health and economic damage produced….. current market prices of energy technologies are less important than future projections, taking into account externalities and relative risks. What would be the costs of insuring a nuclear power station properly against a rare but catastrophic accident such as experienced at Chernobyl or Fukushima? The Japan Center for Economic Research estimates the partial costs of the Fukushima disaster at $US71-250 billion, yet TEPCO was insured for only $US1.5 billion.
Grattan omits to cite, let alone discuss, the two studies that suggest that 100 per cent renewable electricity may be technologically feasible for Australia.
In 2010 the ‘Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan’ found that 100 per cent renewable energy is technically possible for Australia.
A peak at Australia’s energy future , Climate Spectator, Mark Diesendorf, 7 March, 12, A recent contribution to the debate over electricity futures for Australia comes from the Grattan Institute report “No quick fix for Australia’s future energy challenge’ Continue reading
7,200 jobs to be lost in Australian govt’s sudden closure of solar hot water rebate
GREEN DEALS: Solar surprise, Climate Spectator, Daniel Palmer, 7 March The federal government’s decision to abandon the solar hot water rebate (Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme) on Tuesday afternoon has been a major talking point, with manufacturers critical of the lack of consultation.
An initiative of the Coalition government in 2007, the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme offered rebates of up to $1,000 for households that installed solar hot-water systems. It was always slated to end after five years (i.e. 2012) but the exact date for its cessation was widely expected to be June 30, the end of the financial year (and basically five years from its beginning on July 17, 2007). Hence the move to end the offer for rebated as of close of business Tuesday was met with more than a hint of surprise from the industry.
The industry has said that as many as 7,200 jobs (1,200 in manufacturing and 6,000 in installation) could be at stake. It is a blow to the likes of Dux and Rheem, but Dreyfus indicated that the government would be offering no special assistance……http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/green-deals-solar-surprise
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Antinuclear 