Rare earths processing – a dirty business, as Lynas has found out
Ores containing these rare earths typically contain radioactive material like thorium. To be useful for industrial purposes, rare earths must be isolated from raw ore through a complex chemical process that leaves behind radioactive waste. “Other countries have been fairly happy to let China take on all that processing,” Rasser says. “It’s a dirty business.”
One of the few rare earth processing facilities outside of China is the Australian owned Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Malaysia. The facility has long been controversial, though the Malaysian government recently said it will renew Lynas’ license to operate. A prior processing facility shuttered in 1992 due to health and environmental concerns.
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ARE RARE EARTHS THE NEXT PAWN IN THE US-CHINA TRADE WAR? https://www.wired.com/story/rare-earths-next-pawn-us-china-trade-war/ 17 June 19, SINCE THE TRUMP administration blocked sales by US companies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei last month, the world has waited for Beijing to retaliate.Previously, the trade conflict between the US and China centered on escalating tariffs. While tariffs make things more expensive; they don’t cut off supplies entirely. But when the US Department of Commerce effectively forbade US companies from providing US-made technologies, including chips and crucial software like the Google Play app store, to Huawei, it was a major blow to one of China’s highest-profile companies.
One possible arena for retaliation, in the minds of analysts: rare earth elements. China is the leading producer and processor of rare earths, with about 37 percent of the world’s reserves, according to a US Geological Survey report. The substances are used in a wide range of products including smartphones, airplanes, and medical devices, as well as military gear such as stealth technologies, radar, and night vision goggles. Neodymium, for example, is used to make magnets found in smartphone speakers and haptic feedback devices, while terbium is used to make solid state hard drives. There’s not a lot of money in the rare earth trade. The Geologic Survey report put the value of US imports at $160 million in 2018. But their key role in many products means China could strike a blow against the US without great harm to its own economy. “From a purely dollar standpoint, these exports don’t generate a lot of revenue, so Beijing might be calculating that they could do some harm to the US economy,” says Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow at the think tank Center for a New American Security. Continue reading |
Malaysian MP insists that Lynas rare earths processing has contaminated grounwater
Contradicting Xavier, Fuziah insists groundwater near Lynas plant contaminated, The Star, 10 Jun 2019, by ong han sean KUANTAN: Staunch Lynas opponent Fuziah Salleh nsists that groundwater near the rare earth refinery contains toxic elements.The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said elements detected in the groundwater contamination monitoring data from the 2015-2016 Health Impact Assessment provided by Lynas to the executive review committee included nickel, lead and chromium.
“It is ironic that in Malaysia, Lynas has persistently denied that it is the source of serious heavy metal contamination, even though data taken over a 12-month period from September 2015 from its own groundwater monitoring stations have shown otherwise, apart from the month of April,” Fuziah said in a statement on Monday (June 10).
She said groundwater contamination detection required a protracted, regular and technically reliable independent monitoring strategy, and a conclusion could only be made with a high level of statistical confidence based on multiple and repeated samples taken across seasons.
The Kuantan MP said this kind of pollution had very serious public and environmental health implications in the long run.
“Of course, Lynas would never have admitted to the contamination because if it does, then it will be liable for this pollution. As a speculative rare earth junior mining company, its future lies in its ability to mask the real problems it is facing in Malaysia.
“Simply branding people who have raised concerns about its pollution and waste as activists is underestimating the many experts from different fields whom I have met over the years.
“These are highly skilled educated professionals with postgraduate qualifications from various reputable universities in Malaysia and from advanced industrialised countries overseas.
“They have given their pro-bono professional advice out of their sense of duty to the country and for our rakyat, and because they feel that Malaysia deserves the truth and environmental justice,” she said.
Fuziah’s statement is in stark contrast with a recent announcement by Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar that the groundwater around the Lynas refinery was no longer polluted by heavy metals as shown by the latest tests conducted in the surrounding area there.
Lynas subsequently issued a statement expressing disappointment that anti-Lynas activists were using misleading and false information about groundwater in an attempt to create fear in the local communities……….
Fuziah added that Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin was planning to personally visit Australia later this month to negotiate the return of Lynas’ NORM waste to its mine pit in Mount Weld in Western Australia.
“Lynas had given two undertakings back in 2012 to remove its NORM waste to get its operating licence.
“Both thorium and uranium radionuclides and the heavy metals present in Lynas’ waste are toxic. Many of these are cancer-causing substances and must be isolated from the biosphere, not left to pollute the environment.
“Thorium especially is a long-living low-level radioactive radionuclide which will remain hazardous forever, leaving a toxic legacy for current and future generations.
“I have a duty and responsibility as an elected representative of the people to raise my concern,” Fuziah said.
On May 30, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reportedly told the media in Japan that Malaysia would allow the Australian rare earths producer to continue operating its plant in Gebeng, Pahang.
However, in an interview with 8TV, Yeo said she was making plans to go to Australia to discuss the Lynas issue with government officials there.
She also said that the confirmation on whether the Malaysian government would give the green light to Lynas would only be decided after her trip. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/06/10/fuziah-contradicts-xavier-says-groundwater-near-lynas-plant-contaminated/
Lynas still struggling to deal with its Malaysian radioactive waste problem
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Don’t Panic About Rare Earth Elements, Scientfic American The materials used in iPhones and Tesla cars need not become a long-term casualty of a U.S.-China trade war, By Jeremy Hsu on May 31, 2019
As trade tensions rise between the U.S. and China, rare earth minerals are once again in the political spotlight. Today Chinese mines and processing facilities provide most of the world’s supply, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has hinted about using this as political leverage in trade negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. But in the long run, many experts say the global market involving these materials would likely survive even if China completely stopped exporting them. The 17 rare earth elements, which cluster near the bottom of the periodic table, play a vital role in several industries: consumer electronics including Apple AirPods and iPhones, green technologies such as General Electric wind turbines and Tesla electric cars, medical tools including Philips Healthcare scanners, and military hardware such as F-35 jet fighters. ……. In the event of a longer Chinese supply interruption, the U.S. rare earths mine at Mountain Pass, Calif., would likely become the first place to step up production, Gholz explains. The mine’s previous owner, Molycorp, spent approximately $1.5 billion building a new separation facility for producing rare earth concentrates. It did not, however, complete the downstream processing needed to produce purified rare earth materials before the company went bankrupt in 2015 because of Chinese competition. The mine’s new owner, MP Materials, plans to reactivate and complete the mothballed facility for fresh operation starting in 2020. Another alternative is Australian company Lynas Corp., the world’s only significant rare earths producer outside China. It currently operates a mine at Mount Weld in Australia, and sends ores to a separation facility in Malaysia that can purify the rare earth materials—but a complication has arisen from the fact that some ores contain radioactive thorium. Environmental concerns about low-level radioactive waste from the separation facility recently led Lynas to announce it will move some some of the “upstream” processing (which involves the radioactivity) back to Australia, while keeping “downstream” processing in Malaysia. The company has also announced it will work with Texas-based Blue Line Corp. to build a new separation facility in the U.S. for operations starting in 2022 at the earliest………https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dont-panic-about-rare-earth-elements/ |
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Need for awareness on what Lynas will do with its rare earths radioactive trash
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How Trump has accidentally helped Australian miner Lynas, SMH, By Elizabeth Knight, May 22, 2019 Wesfarmers’ attempt to buy Lynas Corp on the cheap appears to be dead after a combination of US President Donald Trump’s trade wars and the announcement of expansion plans by the rare earths group sent its share price soaring above the Perth-based conglomermate’s indicative offer price on Tuesday.
Lynas said it will spend $500 million by 2025 on value added processing in the US and Malaysia as well as setting up a processing plant in Western Australia, near its Mt Weld mine, to extract radioactive waste from its rare earths before it is shipped to Malaysia.
“Our plan is to invest in upstream processing close to our source (Mt Weld), with downstream processing close to our customers,” Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze said with reference to the Malaysian plant and expansion plans in the US announced on Monday. Lynas offered little clarity on whether this will ensure its Malaysian operations will be able to continue operating when its current licence expires in September, but it did not matter.
News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China. Lynas also indicated it can fund the expansion without raising money from investors…… News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China.
Lynas also indicated it can fund the expansion without raising money from investors……. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/lynas-trumps-wesfarmers-bid-with-its-expansion-plans-20190521-p51pic.html
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Lynas plans rare earths “upstream” processing in Australia and “downstream” processing in USA and Malaysia
Lynas expansion plans Trump Wesfarmers’ bid SMH, By Colin Kruger, May 21, 2019 Wesfarmers’ attempt to buy Lynas Corp on the cheap appears to be dead after a combination of US President Donald Trump’s trade wars and the announcement of expansion plans by the rare earths group sent its share price soaring above the Perth-based conglomermate’s indicative offer price on Tuesday.Lynas said it will spend $500 million by 2025 on value added processing in the US and Malaysia as well as setting up a processing plant in Western Australia, near its Mt Weld mine, to extract radioactive waste from its rare earths before it is shipped to Malaysia.
“Our plan is to invest in upstream processing close to our source (Mt Weld), with downstream processing close to our customers,” Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze said with reference to the Malaysian plant and expansion plans in the US announced on Monday.
Lynas offered little clarity on whether this will ensure its Malaysian operations will be able to continue operating when its current licence expires in September, but it did not matter.
News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China. Continue reading
It’s not clear what will be done about Lynas’ radioactive wastes in Malaysia, as Lynas plans rare earths processing also in Texas
Lynas’ US plans no threat to Wesfarmers interest, Malaysian problems, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/lynas-us-plans-no-threat-to-wesfarmers-interest-malaysian-problems-20190507-p51kx2.html. By Colin Kruger – May 20, 2019 Lynas Corp’s plans to establish processing operations in the US are not expected to pose a threat to Wesfarmers’ interest in the rare earths group, but it won’t offer a Plan B for its Malaysian problems either.Lynas told the ASX on Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with one of its US customers, Blue Line Corp, for a joint venture to separate medium and heavy rare earths elements in Texas. Lynas said it would be the majority owner of the venture…….
The company declined to comment further but Ms Lacaze will front investors on Tuesday and is expected to clarify plans to invest in processing infrastructure in Western Australia where it mines the rare earths at Mt Weld.
This will offset the sovereign risk of its billion-dollar Malaysian operations, which could be forced to close in September if Lynas does not remove more than 450,000 tonnes of low level radioactive waste.
The company had been in talks with Wesfarmers about a processing joint venture in WA last year which led to a controversial $1.5 billion bid by the conglomerate in March. Continue reading
Australian rare earths company Lynas is determined to keep its radioactive trash in Malaysia
Lynas backs Malaysian waste solution despite removal order, Fin Rev Brad Thompson 6 May 19, Lynas Corporation is pushing ahead with plans to build a permanent disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste in Malaysia despite a contested ultimatum to export about 450,000 tonnes of residue already stockpiled by September.
The Wesfarmers takeover target said on Monday it was confident of meeting conditions outlined by Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to ….. (subscribers only) ..https://www.afr.com/business/mining/rare-earths/lynas-backs-malaysian-waste-solution-despite-removal-order-20190506-p51kh2
Lynas’ rare earths miner: its troubles are a reminder that even renewables technologies involve radioactive trash
 Toxic waste: Lynas Corporation and the downside of renewable energy, Independent Australia, 28 April 2019 In some cases, renewable energy can have profoundly harmful environmental effects if not managed correctly, writes Noel Wauchope.AUSTRALIA’S LYNAS CORPORATION is currently under the business and political spotlight. The current controversy over Lynas rare earth elements company is a wake-up call to an area of vulnerability in renewable technologies – the radioactive pollution produced by developing the rare earth elements essential for today’s hi-tech devices. Electric cars, batteries, energy efficient lighting, smartphones, solar panels, wind turbines and so on all need some of the 17 mineral elements classed as rare earth. The mining and processing of this produces radioactive trash.
Environmentalists, in their enthusiasm for renewable energy, seem unaware of this fact, while they rightly condemn coal and nuclear power, for their toxic by-products. Australia’s Lynas Corporation has two major rare earth facilities — mining at Mount Weld, Western Australia, and processing at Kuantan, Malaysia. For years, there’s been a smouldering controversy going on in Malaysia, over the radioactive wastes produced by the refining facility at Kuantan. Now, this has come to a head. On 17th April, the Malaysian Government insisted that Lynas Corp must remove more than 450,000 tonnes of radioactive waste from the country, for its licence to be renewed in September. Australian Government legislation and policy prohibits the import of radioactive waste. However, some categories of radioactive waste are exempt from this law, if they contain very low levels of radioactivity. Here’s where it all gets terribly complicated. Wesfarmers wants to take over Lynas. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is examining this, and especially Wesfarmers’ involvement with the Malaysian government. The Age on 16 April, reported that Prime Minister Mahathir, following discussions with Wesfarmers, announced that a company interested in acquiring Lynas had promised to extract the radioactive waste before exporting the ore to Malaysia. All this raises the question of exactly what would an Australian company, such as Wesfarmers, do with that radioactive waste? This is a thorny problem. And what would Lynas do about their current problem?…… It is complicated to grasp the methods used and just what is required for the proper cleanup of the Lynas rare earth elements refining. Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze maintains that the wastes left behind are only marginally radioactive. …… culture and history really have their impact, precisely in Malaysia’s experience of rare earth processing. Even if the Lynas waste really is only slightly radioactive, Malaysians remember the environmental and health disaster of Bukit Merah; where, early this century, rare earth processing left a toxic wasteland. China’s rare earth element processing disaster in Inner Mongolia is better known, an environmental catastrophe from the 1960s which lingers today. Modern processing has improved safety in waste management. In relation to nuclear power, there is an abundance of information on radioactive waste management, for China and for other countries. However, there’s little or no information that’s easily available to specifically discuss radioactive waste from rare earth processing. Australia does have another, smaller, rare earth elements mining and processing operation, Arafura Resources, in Central Australia. The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (EPA) found this acceptable….. What is clear, is that the production of the world’s hi-tech devices is not a simple matter as far as the environment goes. Climate change activists, anti-nuclear activists and environmentalists in general can keep on promoting renewable energy and electric cars. But they seem to be blind to the total picture, which includes the downside. Obviously, it is necessary to ensure safer disposal of the trash from rare earth mining and processing. A better idea is to develop the design of devices so that the minerals can be retrieved from them and recycled, thus greatly eliminating the need for mining rare earth. And this is beginning to happen. ….. Energy conservation is the biggest factor in the change that is needed. Social change, however difficult that will be, is going to be the most important answer — the transition from a consumer society to a conserver society. The Lynas radioactive trash controversy is not going to go away quickly, however much governments and corporations want to keep it under wraps. And it also could be a catalyst for discussion on that downside of renewable and hi-tech devices. This is something to think about as we throw away last year’s iPhone in favour of the latest model. https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/toxic-waste-lynas-corporation-and-the-downside-of-renewable-energy,12619#disqus_thread |
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Lynas rare earths corporation still struggling with its tricky problem of radioactive wastes
Record result but still no breathing space for Lynas, The Age, Colin Kruger, April 20, 2019
It should have been a great week for Lynas Corp….. Despite soft prices in the rare earths market – and a forced shutdown of its operations in Decemberdue to a local Malaysian government cap on its production limits – Lynas reported a 27 per cent jump in revenue to $101.3 million in the March quarter……
the company was still “seeking clarification” on comments earlier this month by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, which appeared to solve the problem of the licence pre-condition that Lynas says it cannot meet – removal of the radioactive waste by September 2.
Mahathir said Lynas – or any potential acquirer (without explicitly naming Lynas’ estranged suitor, Wesfarmers, whose $1.5 billion indicative offer for the group was rebuffed in March) – would be able to continue to operate in Malaysia if it agreed to extract the radioactive residue from its ore before it reached the country.
Despite two cabinet meetings since that announcement, Mahathir has failed to clarify his comments, or confirm whether it means Lynas might not need to move the existing mountain of radioactive waste that has been accumulating at its $1 billion, 100-hectare processing facility in Kuantan province.
Malaysian government insists that Lynas must remove its 450,000 tonnes of radioactive waste from the country
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Lynas still has to move a radioactive mountain, say Malay officials, SMH, By Colin Kruger, April 18, 2019 Malaysian Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin accused Lynas Corp of putting its bottom line before the environmental concerns of local Malays in a letter to the company’s employees last year, and it appears that her hard line stance against the controversial rare earths group is prevailing.Malaysian Government officials told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Ageon Wednesday that Lynas Corp still needs to remove more than 450,000 tonnes of radioactive waste from the country for its licence to be renewed in September.
Minister Yeo laid down the law in a letter to Lynas employees in December just days after her ministry effectively ordered the company to remove 450,000 tonnes of low level radioactive waste. As of now, there is no viable near-term solution to manage the accumulated residue, which is stored at the open landfill temporary site,” Minister Yeo said in the letter. “The risks to the surrounding communities and environment increases with the increasing amount of accumulated residue as it is exposed to the threat of natural disasters such as major flooding.” The officials, who are not authorised to speak on behalf of the government on this subject, confirmed that the original conditions that the Environment ministry introduced in December remain in place. In the Lynas employee letter, which was posted to her official Facebook page, Minister Yeo emphasised that the government was holding Lynas to its promise of removing the waste from Malaysia and seized on Australian analyst reports indicating that the cost of removing the residue could be as low as $60 million…….. Lynas, and its estranged suitor Wesfarmers, both welcomed comments this month from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that appeared to give a green light to Lynas continuing its operations if it agreed to extract the problematic radioactive residue before the ore was shipped to Malaysia. While still seeking further clarification from the government on his comments, it was suggested that the radioactive waste no longer needs to be exported. ” … they can continue if they promise that the raw material from Australia would be brought here only after, what they call, cracking and cleaning it up,” Dr Mahathir told a local press after his cabinet had met to discuss Lynas following public disagreement among his ministers…… https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/lynas-still-has-to-move-a-radioactive-mountain-say-malay-officials-20190417-p51f1k.html |
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Kevin Rudd, as Foreign Minister in 2011, aware of Lynas’ probable radioactive wastes problem
Malaysian concerns over Lynas raised with Kevin Rudd in 2011, https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/malaysian-concerns-over-lynas-raised-with-kevin-rudd-in-2011-20190415-p51ebx.html, By Colin Kruger, April 16, 2019, Former prime minister Kevin Rudd warned in 2011 that Australian companies needed to operate to high environmental and safety standards in their overseas operations after being alerted to Malaysian concerns about the radioactive waste produced by rare earths group Lynas Corp.
This was around the same time that ASX-listed Lynas was being warned, in a confidential report it commissioned, that it had failed to engage with the Malaysian community, which could jeopardise its operations in the country.
A letter obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age details a response from Mr Rudd, who was foreign minister at the time, to Senator Doug Cameron, who had met with a delegation of Malaysian citizens expressing their concerns about Lynas’ $1 billion operating plant in Kuantan.
“The Australian government expects Australian companies to operate to high environmental and safety standards in their overseas operations, as they would in Australia,” said the letter from Mr Rudd dated July 20, 2011.
“While ultimately Malaysian law governs the management of residues from the plant, the Australian government has welcomed the Malaysian government’s decision to establish the independent expert panel as an open and transparent response to community concerns.”
Mr Rudd noted that the Lynas plant, once completed, would be the “largest single investment in Malaysia and as such, the government is taking a close interest in the project”.
The plant’s importance went beyond Australia’s relationship with Malaysia.
At the time, there was significant global concern about the fact that China dominated the supply of rare earths – a group of 17 elements crucial to the manufacture of hi-tech products like digital cars, smart phones and wind turbines. Despite the name, the elements are not actually that rare, but they are environmentally hazardous to extract.
In 2010, the then Japanese foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, raised the issue with Mr Rudd during trade talks in Canberra.
Mr Rudd said at the time that Australia “understands the significance of rare earths globally” and “Australia stands ready to be a long-term, secure, reliable supplier of rare earths to the Japanese economy”.
It was shortly after that trade visit that a deal was unveiled under which $US250 million in Japanese government agency financing was made available for an accelerated expansion of Lynas’s Mount Weld rare earths mine in Western Australia, and its associated processing facilities in Malaysia.
Mr Rudd is understood to have played a key role. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Senator Cameron were approached for comment.
Lynas, which is being pursued by former Coles owner Wesfarmers with a potential $1.5 billion indicative offer, faces closure of its Malaysian operations by September if it cannot comply with new conditions introduced in December due to the environmental concerns. These currently include the removal of more than 450,000 tonnes of residues containing low-level radiation.
Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last month to discuss the regulatory issues faced by Lynas.
The following day, Dr Mahathir announced that a company interested in acquiring Lynas had promised to extract the radioactive waste before exporting the ore to Malaysia.
Wesfarmers has denied any impropriety in its meetings with the Malaysian government.
This month, Australian regulators confirmed they had requested detailed information from Lynas and Wesfarmers about communication between the companies before the public announcement of the takeover bid on March 26.
Earlier last month, four Lynas directors had acquired shares during a designated trading window.
A Lynas spokesman said the company had “no reason to believe that Wesfarmers had an ongoing interest in the company at the time the shares were purchased. The purchases were made in a designated trading window”.
Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze will update the market on the company’s operational performance for the March quarter on Tuesday.
The company’s results for the December quarter were affected by a temporary shutdown of its operations after Lynas failed to receive approval to lift the approved limit for processing lanthanide concentrate.
Lynas shares closed 6¢ lower at $2 on Monday.
In 2011, secret report warned of dangers of Lynas’ rare earth’s wastes in Malaysia
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Secret report: Lynas told of Malaysia risks in 2011, The Age,By Latika Bourke, April 15, 2019, Lynas management was warned eight years ago that the rare earths miner had failed to “engage meaningfully” with Malaysia and its operations in the country could be jeapordised if it did not change the way it dealt with environmental concerns and the government.The Herald and Age have obtained a confidential report delivered to Lynas in 2011 by Australian advisory firm Futureye that concluded the company was in “urgent need” of winning the local community’s support for the Malaysian operations’ future.
The report warned that failure to win local support would not just jeopardise the company’s Malaysian business but also call its reputation as a good corporate citizen into question at home in Australia. Lynas is fighting off a $1.5 billion takeover bid from Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers with the viability of its operations now hinging on a decision by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The company continues to face major concerns about its 100 hectare materials plant in Kuantan, with community groups stepping up pressure on the government to suspend its operating license. The Wesfarmers takeover has been mired in allegations of aggressive tactics and has caught the attention of the corporate regulator………. Another condition — something the company [Lynas] has previously said was unfeasible — was the removal of more than 450,000 tonnes of low-level radioactive waste from the country by September. Lynas’ auditor Ernst & Young said in February that if the company could not successfully negotiate with the Malaysian government about its processing plant, there was “a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the consolidated entity’s ability to continue as a going concern”. The confidential 2011 report by Futureye appears to anticipate some of these issues. ….
Lynas’ failure to “engage meaningfully” in the two years it had been in Malaysia meant “community outrage is escalating at a time when Lynas is awaiting its pre-operating licence”. Unless Lynas began immediate engagement, the report argues, the issue would grow beyond the company’s control. The 2011 document also warned Lynas about its reliance on an administration headed by then prime minister Najib Razak, Mr Mahathir’s political rival who is now being investigated for corruption. “Corruption (or suspected corruption) is a serious issue that requires proactive management by Lynas … whether there is a direct allegation of any corrupt practice in relation to the project or not, it is essential that Lynas publicly commits to non-corrupt practices.”……. https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/secret-report-lynas-told-of-malaysia-risks-in-2011-20190412-p51der.html |
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Malaysian environmentalists and consumer groups dispute Lynas’ claims about radioactive wastes
Lynas is being unscientific, not SAM or CAP https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/471173 SM Mohamed Idris 6 Apr 2019 Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) refer to the letter by Lynas Malaysia reported in Malaysiakini on 5 April 2019, which says that our recent statements about the plant’s wastes are “false and ignore scientific fact.”
The controversy is over the definition of wastes from the Lynas’ water leach purification (WLP) process, which contains thorium and uranium.
Lynas claims that the wastes are naturally-occurring radioactive material (called NORM), while we claim that the wastes are not naturally-occurring, but have been technologically-enhanced and should be called technologically-enhanced naturally-occurring radioactive material known as TENORM.
Citing “two eminent scientists”, Lynas states as fact that “the small amount of thorium and uranium in the WLP generated are not man-made but naturally occurring radionuclides found in soil, water and in food.”
Lynas is clearly distorting the facts.
First of all, the thorium and uranium containing wastes generated by Lynas are not found to naturally occur in the Gebeng area, where the plant is located. On the contrary, the raw material which is processed by the Lynas plant is lanthanide concentrate that contains the thorium, uranium and the rare-earth.
This raw material is processed and imported from the Mount Weld mine in Australia and is brought to Malaysia. It is then subject to further processing in Gebeng by Lynas.
Therefore, how can it be said that say that the thorium and uranium are naturally occurring in the soil, water and in food when they were not there before in the Gebeng area, if not for the Lynas operations?
Moreover, what is even more significant is that we are talking about the generation of an accumulated amount of more than 450,000 metric tonnes of radioactive wastes from the Lynas operations thus far. To call this naturally-occurring radioactive material is indeed unscientific.
Secondly, the wastes that Lynas has generated from the WLP process clearly falls within the definition of TENORM, as defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as: “Naturally occurring radioactive materials that have been concentrated or exposed to the accessible environment as a result of human activities such as manufacturing, mineral extraction, or water processing.”
The USEPA also states that “technologically enhanced” means that the radiological, physical, and chemical properties of the radioactive material have been concentrated or further altered by having been processed, or beneficiated, or disturbed in a way that increases the potential for human and/or environmental exposures.”
Indeed, Lynas seems to have forgotten that its own Radiological Impact Assessment of 2010 refers to the residues from its operations as TENORM.
Moreover, in a study co-authored by, Dr. Sukiman Sarmani (the “eminent scientist” that Lynas refers to in its letter) and three others (published in 2014 on the Lynas plant residue), shows that the WLP residue has a high radioactivity of Thorium 232 compared to the natural background levels of Malaysian soils and therefore comes under the purview of the regulatory authorities.
These facts fortify our position.
Lynas in its letter also refers to us as “unqualified people.”
For the record, SAM and CAP have very deep and detailed knowledge of how rare-earth plants can impact public health and the environment, having had years of considerable experience from being involved in the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) case in Bukit Merah, Ipoh.
We assisted the people of Bukit Merah over many years countering the claims of ARE, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board, the International Atomic Energy Agency and others.
This we did by being engaged and involved with many scientists and public health experts both from Malaysia and abroad, who helped the community battle in the courts, that finally led to its closure. We have over the years documented the serious health impacts suffered by the Bukit Merah community, that continue till today, due to the impacts of low-level radiation.
Surely our rich experience and knowledge cannot simply be dismissed by the likes of Lynas. SM MOHAMED IDRIS is president of both environmental movement Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and NGO Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).
Environment Minister Melissa Price confirms Malaysia’s request for Australia to take back Lynas’ radioactive trash
Minister confirms Malaysian request on Lynas waste, Fin Rev 2 Apr 19 Brad Thompson Environment minister Melissa Price has confirmed receiving a letter from her Malaysian counterpart requesting collaboration on the removal of low-level radioactive waste produced by Lynas Corporation.
Ms Price’s office said on Tuesday that it was premature to comment further until the request had been properly considered.
Malaysia wants Australia to accept 450,000 tonnes of waste created at the Lynas plant near Kuantan in the processing of rare earths from the company’s Mount Weld mine in Western Australia.
A spokesman for Ms Price said Australia’s Department of the Environment and Energy handled import permit applications for hazardous materials on a case-by-case basis.
Similarly, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency handled import permit applications for radioactive material on a case-by-case basis.
It remains unclear how the Lynas waste will be classified. It is understood West Australian authorities would also have to sign off on the transport of any waste within the state, possibly all the way back out to the remote Mount Weld mine.
Lynas refuses to concede it will have to find a way to remove low-level radioactive waste from Malaysia to keep its operations going, despite increasing political pressure.
The Wesfarmers’ takeover target said on Tuesday that it continued to engage productively with the Malaysian government over the waste issue.
Lynas remains optimistic it can resolve the issue within Malaysia despite an order to remove the waste by September if it wants to continue operating its $800 million Kuantan plant.
Lynas, led by Amanda Lacaze, declined to comment on the Malaysian minister’s formal request for the Australian government to collaborate on the waste removal………
Wesfarmers is reported to have told Lynas it is willing to build a first-stage processing plant at Kwinana, south of Perth, to overcome the waste issue. Connect with Brad on Twitter.Email Brad at bradthompson@afr.com.au https://www.afr.com/business/mining/environment-minister-confirms-malaysian-request-on-lynas-waste-20190402-p51a1x?fbclid=IwAR3P_yvHRTW0Z3LAj1bBwWTkFrfdiLP0S9wmykaxQoY-QZfymcRZXtG5U5g
Malaysia wants Australia to help remove Lynas’ radioactive trash from rare earths processing
Malaysia turns up heat on Australia over Lynas waste, Brad Thompson, Fin Rev, 1 Apr 19, A senior Malaysia politician says the Australian government has been asked to collaborate on the removal of low-level radioactive waste produced by Lynas Corporation’s rare earths processing operations.
Deputy environment and climate change minister Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis said an official letter requesting collaboration had been sent to the Australian government last month, in another sign Malaysia is determined to have the waste removed despite suggestions from Lynas it is close to …… (Subscribers only) https://www.afr.com/business/mining/history-stacks-up-against-wesfarmers-and-rare-earths-plant-20190401-p519q3
Antinuclear 