Australian mining company Lynas said today it will begin a week-long Facebook campaign to rebut allegations that its rare earth processing plant in Gebeng, near Kuantan, is unsafe.

"Lynas believes statements made by opponents of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) contain fundamental factual errors which render many of the allegations invalid and may generate fear amongst the community.

anti lynas gathering 111211 4 "Throughout this week we will be posting a number of corrections to the false allegations we have come across," it said in a statement released in Facebook this afternoon.

The company, which has come under fire from environmental activists, acknowledged that the local community had a right to question it due to concerns to their health and is prepared to engage them.

"By discussing how Lynas will manage its operations so as to protect the community and the environment - now and in the future - will allow people to form a reasonable judgment on the safety of Lamp."

'Lynas adheres to Malaysian, Australian laws'

In its first round of postings, Lynas on its Facebook page published this:

Australian law restricts construction of such a plant within 35km radius of residential areas. This is false.

The fact: There is no such law under Australian or International law. The nearest town to Mt Weld is Laverton which is 35km away. This distance has been misquoted by the opposition as an Australian requirement.

There have been allegations that Lynas takes advantage of weaknesses in Malaysian law by proposing China standards. This is false.

The fact is: Lynas adheres to all Malaysian and Australian laws and International standards. NOT China’s standards. Malaysian law is equivalent to if not stricter than International law.

Despite several government-organised discussion sessions with the local community over the RM700 million project, Lynas has not taken part directly in the consultations.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee has criticised the company for its project, which he said was shrouded in secrecy and lacked transparency.

Once completed, Lamp will be the first of its kind outside China to be built in 30 years and is expected to produce one-third of the world's rare earth supply, excluding China's output.

Opponents of the project, such as Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL), Stop Lynas Coalition and Badan Bertindak Anti Rare Earth Refinery (Badar), are concerned about the storage of radioactive thorium in the slag, a by-product of the refining process.

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