Documents relating to Lynas Corporation’s application to the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) for a temporary pre-operating licence at the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Malaysia, will remain on public display this week.
The AELB provided the documents, which include a detailed waste management plan and safety case, on January 3, 2012 for public comment. The board will meet at the end of the month to make a decision on the temporary licence, with the decision to be tabled to a full session of the Malaysian cabinet.
The Australian-based company says the temporary two-year licence will allow Lynas to commission the rare earth processing plant and progressively ramp it up to capacity. If the company complies with the licence requirements during its tenure, a permanent operating licence may be issued.
Lynas executive chairman Nicholas Curtis says, “The Malaysian regulatory authorities have put in place a comprehensive process to monitor and evaluate our compliance with the highest international standards and our responsibility to operate the plant in a safe and sustainable manner.
“Lynas maintains a deep commitment to the communities in which it operates as well as ongoing communication with interested parties to reinforce the facts about the safety of the plant.”
The company became the first to provide a new source of rare earths supply outside of China from its Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia in 2011. This deposit will feed the state-of-the-art processing plant near Kuantan in Pahang, Malaysia.
The readily available industrial infrastructure and sources of gas, water and electricity, as well as a nearby container port have all helped fast-track construction of the plant. The region also hosts much technical expertise, chemical industry experience and trade skills. Lynas says once the processing plant is operating, the company will be able to provide the full production process from mine through to market.