MARK COLVIN: The head of BHP Billiton, Marius Kloppers, says he cannot guarantee that the company will redevelop the Olympic Dam mine in the future.
Kuala Lumpur: 10,000 march for 13 days, rally against Lynas rare earths processing plant.
The rally is a culmination of a 13-day march against the plant’s opening
Kuala Lumpur: 10,000 protest rare earth plant over health concerns Environmental activist group Himpunan Hijau organized the rally against the opening of rare earth company Lynas’ new plant. Global Post,Talia Ralph November 25, 2012 early 10,000 people took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur Sunday to protest the opening of Australia-based mining company Lynas’ new rare earth plant. Continue reading
Malaysians and Australians in protest rally outside Lynas AGM
Protesters rallied outside the Lynas AGM to voice their opposition to the miner’s processing plant. Source: AAP http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/activists-protest-miner-lynas-agm/story-fn3dxiwe-1226520502080 20 Nov 12, PROTESTERS outside the annual general meeting of rare earths miner Lynas in Sydney have vowed to maintain their opposition to the company’s controversial Malaysian plant.
The small band of 19 Malaysians flew to Australia over the weekend to stage Tuesday’s demonstration against the company’s rare earths processing plant currently under construction near Kuantan on the country’s east coast. Continue reading
Lynas Corporation did apply to Australian regulators for shipping radioactive waste back to Australia
Lynas defends Malaysia project amid ongoing protests Australia Network News, 19 Nov 12 By Canberra correspondent Stephanie March “….Members of the Malaysian Stop Lynas Save Malaysia movement have also met with members of the minority Greens Party.
The Greens are concerned not only about the development in Malaysia but also the possibility of radioactive waste from the plant being shipped back to Australia.
Lynas has applied to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), a regulatory authority, for a permit to send the by-product back. “I think it is a ruse. I think the company has no intention,” said Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, the member for the area in Western Australia where the material would most likely be shipped back to.
“It is an alarmingly bad idea and I object to the idea they can hoodwink local residents that they have a safe dumping strategy for Australia, which we know would be difficult.” Continue reading
BHP Billiton should have a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for controversial heap leach uranium mining
“No approval is sought to implement these initiatives at this stage” [original EIS] ”
“He has given environmental approval for one type of mining process, and has now said he will allow that approval to stand for a completely different processing technique using a novel technology that has yet to be invented, without any further assessment”. “It is simply outrageous that BHP Billiton is not being asked to seek further approvals for this completely different mining method. “
The Greens will move today to disallow the extension of the Olympic Dam Indenture approval until October 2016.
New Roxby method needs a new Roxby EIS Greens Parliamentary Leader Mark Parnell has questioned whether Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis has the capacity to do his job, and has demanded a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assessment of the proposed brand new processing option of ‘acid heap leaching’ at Olympic Dam be conducted before the project is allowed to commence.
The call comes in response to Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis’s false claims on ABC 891 radio this morning that it was always BHP Billiton’s intention to shift to the ‘heap leaching’ process and this had been covered in the EIS:
(David Bevan: But if they’re looking at a new technology, a new way of doing this, won’t you need a new Environmental Impact Statement?) Koutsantonis: Well, no, because BHP has foreseen that in the next, you know, five to six to seven years they may have been switching to this technique. (Abraham: Was that covered by the Environmental Impact Statement?) It was, yes.
Yet in over 7,000 pages of the original EIS, the Supplementary EIS and the Government’s response to the EIS, the only mention of heap leaching is:
The feasibility of heap leaching of the lower-grade ore at Olympic Dam is under investigation. At this early stage, recoveries of copper and uranium from heap leaching appear too low, but this option continues to be investigated. Continue reading
New ultrafast transmission technology is a boon for renewable energy
Capable of carrying electricity over long distances much more efficiently than alternating current (AC), HVDC transmission is seen as a way of transporting renewable energy from remote utility-scale locations — such as desert solar power facilities and offshore wind farms — to consumption centers at much lower cost than existing transmission infrastructure.
Big boost for renewable energy: ABB’s game changing hybrid, REneweconomy, By Cleantechnica 12 November 2012 Solving a problem that has handicapped use of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) in transmission lines, networks, and power grids for more than 100 years, multinational power engineering giant ABB has announced that it has designed and developed a hybrid DC breaker capable of interrupting DC power flows “equivalent to the output of a nuclear power station within five milliseconds… as fast as a honeybee takes per flap of its wings.”
The hybrid DC breaker combines “advanced ultrafast mechanical actuators with ABB’s in-house semiconductor IGBT valve technologies or power electronics.” ABB management deems it a “game changer.” Continue reading
New “solar smoothers” solve problems of “intermittent’ renewable energy
Innovative solar smoother manages fluctuations from alternative energy sources http://www.pacetoday.com.au/news/innovative-solar-smoother-helps-manage-fluctuatio 9 November, 2012 Kevin Gomez Western Australia’s Horizon Power recently released new specifications that have a major impact on the renewable energy industry.
The State-owned regional utility required a smoothing device to be installed on every new solar power system to help with power fluctuations. Horizon Power’s infrastructure was having difficulties coping with the unstable power, due to injection of solar energy from private systems.
The utility operates WA’s remote electricity supply systems and some local generation facilities and retails electricity to almost 30,000 customers in the Kimberley, Gascoyne, Mid West and southern Goldfields.
Horizon Power generates some electricity from renewable sources, including wind power in coastal areas and small scale solar power schemes. Currently there are too many solar panels feeding into generator-based mini-grids in some towns in rural WA. When the mini-grid experiences large changes in the injection of solar power, for example on cloudy
days, the generators have to work hard to keep up. If a large cloud passes by, then the solar power injection level will
suddenly drop and generators will need to work hard to keep the power flowing.
Horizon Power has introduced the changes to ensure that these “black holes” of power are avoided. This is achieved via a “solar smoothing” equipment. The smoothing device will provide back-up power to the grid while the generators ramp up and down – reducing the long term wear and tear of the equipment.
The introduction of the specifications will ensure that Horizon’s infrastructure is protected, whilst also allowing space for new solar farms, where the hosting capacity has been reached. Continue reading
Court decision for Lynas rare earths plant, but the legal fight will continue
The federal opposition MP for Kuantan, Fuziah Salleh, who has led protests against Lynas for over two years, says the fight is far from over
The hearing of an application for a judicial review into the granting of the licence is expected in a few months.
Malaysian court approves Lynas rare earths plant
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-08/an-lynas-gets-go-ahead-for-rare-earths-mining-in-malaysia/4361554 Kate Arnott, 9 Nov 12, A court in Malaysia has paved the way for an Australian company to fire up its controversial rare earths plant in eastern Malaysia. Continue reading
More delay and uncertainty for Australian company Lynas’ rare earths project in Malaysia
Activists and local residents have vowed to shut the plant – the biggest outside China – which has emerged as a controversial issue in the country’s national elections
opposition politicians and environmentalists have expressed fears that radioactive waste it produces can seep into the ground and water, harming the environment and people’s health.
Hearing on Lynas Malaysia plant postponed http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/hearing-on-lynas-malaysia-plant-postponed/story-fn3dxix6-1226488399907 THE AUSTRALIAN AAP October 04, 2012 A MALAYSIAN court has postponed until next week a hearing on a temporary operating licence granted to Australian miner Lynas Corp for a rare earths plant, an activist says.
Thursday’s decision to postpone hearing to next Wednesday further delays the start of operations at the $US800 million ($A786.82 million) facility, which has been dogged by environmental protests and concerns about radiation.
Lynas secured the operating licence in early September but Kuantan High Court in eastern Pahang state, where the plant is based, put it on hold later that month after an appeal by activists. Continue reading
No 21st Century medical isotope production for Australia: it’s “On with the nuclear!”
Australia to expand isotope production World Nuclear News 03 
October 2012 The Australian government is expanding the country’s production of medical radioisotopes and constructing a demonstration waste treatment plant for managing the subsequent radioactive by-products.
Minister for science and research Chris Evans recently announced a A$168 million ($172 million) investment plan to construct a nuclear medicine manufacturing plant at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (Ansto’s) Lucas Heights site near Sydney, where the low-enriched uranium Open Pool Australian Lightwater (Opal) reactor is in operation.
The nuclear medicine manufacturing plant will mainly produce molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), the source of technetium-99 (Tc-99), which is used for diagnosis of heart disease, cancers, and kidney and gastrointestinal tract disorders…… Continue reading
Spread of nuclear weapons now likely,if SILEX laser uranium enrichment goes ahead
U.S. Nuclear Agency OKs License for Laser Enrichment, Despite Worries NTI Sept. 25, 2012
By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Tuesday issued the first U.S. commercial license ever for a process in which uranium is enriched by laser, opening what many issue experts have warned could be a new chapter in the global proliferation of sensitive atomic materials.
“This is going to further validate a new enrichment technology when we’re trying to get countries to restrict the old enrichment technologies, because they’re dangerous enough,” said one House aide, describing a concern held by several members of Congress. “How is this a positive for nonproliferation?”
Under the new permit, nuclear energy giant GE-Hitachi can construct and operate what it calls a “Global Laser Enrichment” facility in Wilmington, N.C., that would produce atomic fuel for reactors worldwide. The commercial consortium has said initial tests of the technology have been successful, potentially laying the groundwork for a more cost-effective method of enrichment than today’s centrifuge approach.
Smaller facility space and less energy consumption make lasers an appealing tool for commercial uranium enrichment, but might also prove attractive to a handful of nations around the globe interested in the illicit production of weapon-grade uranium, according to nonproliferation specialists.
Critics have said any U.S. action to approve laser enrichment domestically would be likely to spur new research on the technology abroad — both for commercial and clandestine use.
Based on such concerns, the American Physical Society in 2010 petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin requiring proliferation assessments as part of its licensing process for any new uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing technologies.
Experts subsequently asked the five NRC commissioners to postpone the agency’s decision on the GE-Hitachi laser enrichment license until they could decide the matter of whether such permit requests should undergo appraisals for their potential proliferation ramifications.
However, an NRC decision on mandating such analyses is not expected until November at the earliest.
“The petition review package is due to the Office of the Secretary by Oct. 31,” NRC spokesman David McIntyre said on Tuesday. “It should reach the commission a few days after that.”
By regulation, the NRC staff had 10 days to issue the laser enrichment operating permit following Atomic Safety and Licensing Board approval on Sept. 19.
Led by Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane, the NRC commissioners have not actually voted on whether to approve the GE-Hitachi license, according to McIntyre. Rather, the NRC spokesman said, “the commission was notified verbally that staff was prepared to issue the license, and since the commission did not direct otherwise, the staff proceeded.”
Now that staff has approved the permit, the commissioners have 120 days to revisit the licensing board’s findings and potentially put the brakes on the laser enrichment effort, if they see fit. Such NRC reviews are “rare but not unheard of,” McIntyre said…….
there could still be enough time to revisit the laser enrichment license approval even after the NRC commissioners’ anticipated consideration this fall of the American Physical Society petition on proliferation assessments……. The pending American Physical Society petition “offers the commission a second opportunity to take a stance on proliferation matters, for which I am optimistic,” said Kemp, now an assistant professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “However, whether the commission will have the high-mindedness and public spirit to revisit the [laser enrichment] decision at that time remains an open question.”http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/us-nuclear-agency-oks-license-laser-enrichment-despite-worries/
Lynas has applied to Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) to import radioactive waste
Lynas: People before corporate greed, who will pay the TOL? Concerned Sydney activists in support of Malaysians are gathering at Lynas Corporations head office on Pitt St in Sydney’s CBD at 12:30pm today, to express their dissent over the companies plan to export rare earths to Malaysia for processing.
Lynas Corporation has recently received a two year temporary operations license (TOL) from the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), as of the 5th of September. This is an issue of significance to Australians, as the ore to be processed at the plant will come from Mount Weld rare earths deposit in Western Australia. The Lynas Applied Materials Plant (LAMP) hasn’t even submitted an environmental impact assessment to begin operations of one of the worlds largest rare earth refineriery located on the east coast of Malaysia in the Pahang state at Gebeng, Kuantan.
Tully McIntyre from Friends of the Earth stated “Lynas plans to export 22,000 tonnes of ore annually to Malaysia for processing, which risks polluting important mangrove coastal ecosystem and major sources of livelihoods for local people in Malaysia. There are well over 700,000 people living in a 30 km radius of LAMP.”
“These people were not consulted about the refinery, or a proper environmental impact statement carried out for LAMP.”
The Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia stated last week Lynas had submitted an application to Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) to import waste back to Australia, if so Australians are wondering where it would be stored.
Miss McIntyre went on to say “Australian activists are calling for more stringent research to be carried out in Australia and abroad before proceeding further, Malaysians do not want LAMP and an Australian company should not be forcing the project on an unwilling international community. The campaign against Lynas in Malaysia is the biggest environmental campaign in Malaysian history. Australian activists will remain to show strong support with the Malaysians to stop Lynas exporting this toxic legacy.”
Greens MP Jamie Parker NSW will address the concerned activist at the lunch time protest.
For more information or media comment contact: Tully McIntyre (Friends of the Earth, Melbourne) 0410 388 187 Peter Boyle (Malaysian activist) 0401 760 577
Disposal of rare earths’ radioactive wastes: Lynas mucked this up
Christina Macpherson, 15 Sept 12, It’s Lynas’ own fault. Hastening to set up rare earths 
reprocessing in Malaysia, with no plan for disposal of radioactive wastes. They could have been smart, like Globe Metals and Mining, who are sending their rare earths to China for reprocessing. China, having learned the hard way, is now the expert on rare earths reprocessing. Lynas didn’t bother to take note of Malaysia’s disastrous history.
Unfortunately, rare earths are needed, even for the cleaner, renewable energy technologies. Preferable to nuclear power, but still, disposal of end radioactive wastes is a challenge.
Lynas wants Western Australia to overturn law against importing radioactive wastes
Lynas left holding the baby, Aliran, 14 September 2012 If Lynas Corporation thinks that Western Australia will take its radioactive waste, it can think again, asserts Robin Chapple. Lynas has now submitted an application to the regulator, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), to import radioactive waste from Malaysia,” an Australian High Commission spokesman told The Malaysian Insider today.
This revelation beggars belief as just a few days ago a two-year temporary licence to operate was granted to Lynas, who intend to ship radioactive ores through Fremantle Port to export them to their plant in Malaysia, now seem to be asserting that they should be able to import the wastes of those ores back onto Australian soil.
Malaysia’s nuclear regulator Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had said that the Australian miner was legally bound to remove radioactive waste from its Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) and return the residue to Australia under conditions of the temporary operating licence.
However, this news flies in the face of Australian government policy, and indeed Western Australian legislation, which asserts that Australia does not accept or import radioactive waste from other countries.
Robin Chapple MLC, Greens spokesperson for Mining Issues, commented on Lynas’ recent move: “It seems that again Lynas thinks it is outside the law as it is operating in Malaysia, and may be subject to less rigorous legal scrutiny. Well, it isn’t, and if it thinks that Western Australia will take this radioactive waste, it can think again.
“It didn’t consult with community on shipping its radioactive ores through Fremantle port, and it certainly hasn’t consulted on shipping back the radioactive waste. The WA Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act 1999 prohibits it here. Period!
But really, you have to laugh. Lynas has now been tripped up by its own lack of willingness to take heed of Australia’s expectations with respect to sustainable mining and environmental, social and legal standards, and hasn’t it got it’s come-uppance. Talk about being left holding the baby!… http://aliran.com/10198.html
BHP talking about leaching methods for Olympic Dam uranium mine
AUDIO No guarantee for Olympic Dam mine expansion ABC Radio P.M. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3581996.htm Nicola Gage reported this story Sept 3 2012,
“……NICOLA GAGE: Mr Weatherill says he was informed on the different technologies BHP are looking into. That included new forms of conveyor belts, and the potential use of heap leach technology.
JAY WEATHERILL: Which has been investigated in laboratories and is, over a period of six years, has been scaled up to a certain size in terms of tests, but needs to be tested further to see whether it can be brought to scale and be used for full production.
NICOLA GAGE: Heap leach technology was flagged as an alternative extraction option in BHP’s original environmental impact statement in May 2009. The company already uses it in South America.
Professor Bill Skinner specialises in environmental surface science at the University of South Australia.
BILL SKINNER: There is a precedent for heap leaching technology in Australia, so it’s not exactly a unique process in Australia.
NICOLA GAGE: While it might be considered a new technology in the public arena, the process has been around for years. But Professor Skinner says difficulties with constancy made it expensive.
BILL SKINNER: In the last few years, quite a lot more has been learned about the process that goes on inside a heap leach, and how one treats the ore in order to make sure that one heap behaves very similar to another, and sort of keep reproducibility up, because after all, that reproducibility of the process governs the constant, if you like, valuable recovery from those heaps.
NICOLA GAGE: Questions have been raised about whether another environmental impact statement would be needed with any future expansion. Premier Jay Weatherill.
JAY WEATHERILL: Because we don’t know what the technology is, it’s, it becomes difficult for us to make an assessment about whether there is any additional environment risk. We know that there are some leaching technologies that are used in different parts of the state, but on the face of it, yes, they do raise environmental issues. So, of course, there’s the feasibility of the technology, but then there’s the environmental approvals that may go with that.
NICOLA GAGE: The company’s 15,000-page environmental impact statement expires in 2016. …
How Lynas Corporation has mucked up its rare earths reprocessing project
The radioactive residue produced is the responsibility of the company and if necessary, it will be returned to its place of origin.
And what might be the place of origin’s attitude?
“National legislation stipulates,” the WA minister for mines and petroleum has stated, “that Australia will not accept responsibility for any waste product produced from offshore processing of resources purchased in Australia such as from iron ore, mineral sands, and the rare earths produced by Lynas Corporation”.
“The Malaysian finding that Lynas must take the radioactive waste back to Australia may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back with the Lynas effort. This slight detail requires the governments of both Australia and the state of Western Australia to acquiesce in taking the waste from a plant that should have been built in Australia in the first place but wasn’t
LAMP going out for Lynas, 9 News, by Greg Peel, As recent FNArena articles on the subject of the rare earth metals space have noted, the global race to compete with China on rare earth element (REE) production has now come down to a mere handful of names including two stand-outs, and a big chunk of daylight to third. (See, for example: Rare Earths Done And Dusted? No, It’s Xeno-Time). Those two companies are Molycorp in the US and Australia’s own Lynas Corp . A year ago, it looked like Lynas had moved ahead of Molycorp.
According to research and opinion from REE specialist Hallgarten & Company, that is certainly no longer the case. Indeed, Lynas shareholders may be in some trouble. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 