Lynas rues being ‘singled out’, says many will lose jobs

Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd decries being singled out by the government despite complying with regulations.

It said hundreds of jobs will be lost as a direct result if it is forced to close its cracking and leaching facility, and thousands more in the surrounding community will be affected too.

“We do not understand why Lynas has been singled out by the minister when the (Atomic Energy Licensing Board, AELB) regulates many companies in Malaysia who, like Lynas, process minerals containing naturally occurring radioactive material (Norm) and manage the resulting residues,” said the company’s radiation safety general manager, Ismail Bahari.

He pointed out that other industries that involve in the handling of Norm include the mining of tin and mineral sands, the processing of amang (tin tailings), and oil and gas.

“In addition, four scientific reviews, including two reviews by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and former Pakatan Harapan minister Yeo Bee Yin’s 2018 Executive Review Committee (ERC), have found Lynas to be low risk and compliant with regulation.

“The Harapan ERC did not recommend the closure of the cracking and leaching plant,” he said in a statement.

Ismail was responding to Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang’s assertion that “no party has the right to continuously produce radioactive waste in our homeland”.

On Tuesday, the AELB has reportedly agreed to renew Lynas’ license for three years beginning March 3, but the agency would not remove conditions in place since March 2020 under the Harapan government.

The most contentious of these four conditions is the prohibition on the import and processing of lanthanide concentrate after July 1, 2023 - which effectively forces that component of Lynas’ refinery in Gebeng, Pahang, to shut down.

This is despite lobbying by Lynas and foreign powers to allow Lynas to continue operating the facility, which is the largest outside China, as rare earth elements grow in geopolitical significance as a key material for many high-tech components.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | From total closure to partial closure - Lynas, 11 years on

Minister Chang had said Lynas’ licence may be revoked if it fails to relocate its cracking and leaching facility before the July 1 deadline.

While Chang acknowledged that “some jobs” could be lost if the cracking and leaching facility is closed, Lynas said the minister’s comment suggests he does not fully appreciate the consequences of such a move.

“The closure of Lynas Malaysia’s cracking and leaching plant will result in the loss of hundreds of direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs and affect our communities. Once they are gone, these jobs and intellectual property will be lost to Malaysia forever.

“It is incorrect to suggest this is a choice between the economy or the environment as evidence of the safe operation of Lynas is clear and validated by four separate reviews by expert scientists,” said Lynas Rare Earths CEO Amanda Lacaze.

She appealed to the government to treat Lynas fairly as a foreign direct investor, and for decisions to be made based on scientific evidence.

Lacaze said Lynas has complied with the conditions under which it was invited to invest in Malaysia, including by employing a workforce that is 99 percent staffed by Malaysians.

“However, the deadline was arbitrarily applied to the licence conditions without regard to the time required to construct and ramp-up to full production a facility of this size and complexity, particularly during a global pandemic,” she said.

READ MORE: Yeo: Lynas disposal facility a ‘national monument of shame’

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