Lynas to withdraw court challenge over operating conditions

Lynas intends to withdraw its judicial review over its operating conditions in Malaysia, following the firm having obtained renewal to import and process rare earths until 2026.

Before the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning, the rare earth producer’s legal team informed judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh of their intention to discontinue the legal action.

When contacted, senior federal counsel Sallehudin Md Ali confirmed what transpired during case management today.

Sallehudin - who is acting for the two respondents namely the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) - said that Lynas’ intention to withdraw hinged on the ministry having renewed the company’s operating licence until March 2026.

On whether Lynas has filed its notice of discontinuance, Sallehudin said they have yet to do so as they are still looking into the terms of withdrawal.

He added that the civil court has set Nov 14 for the next case management to update on the status of the intent to withdraw.

On July 27 via a media statement, Lynas said the legal challenge was filed to quash the conditions barring the import and processing of lanthanide concentrate after Jan 1 next year.

“The licence conditions which limit operations at the Lynas Malaysia facility represent a significant variation from the conditions under which Lynas decided to invest in Malaysia,” Lynas’ statement read.

“Further, the conditions do not follow the recommendations of the Malaysian government’s 2018 executive review committee report on Lynas Malaysia’s operations, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board’s (AELB) own audits of Lynas Malaysia’s operations or any of the other three prior independent expert scientific reviews of Lynas Malaysia’s operations,” it said.

Appeals dismissed by govt

Lynas said the legal action targets the decisions made by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang, who dismissed the company’s two appeals.

On May 9, Free Malaysia Today reported Chang (above) as saying he would not change his decision to deny Lynas’ appeal to remove the four licensing conditions imposed by the AELB.

The minister added that the six-month extension given to Lynas to continue cracking and leaching activities was final.

On April 28, the ministry held a closed-door tribunal to discuss the company’s appeal to remove the four conditions introduced in March 2020, which had barred the import and processing of rare earth elements.

The primary term is that Lynas must relocate the cracking and leaching of lanthanide concentrate to a location outside Malaysia and to only refine intermediate materials at its facility in Gebeng, Pahang, by July 1 this year.

The appeal was over the licensing board’s earlier refusal to remove the four conditions.

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