2018-10-15 Lynas (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a refinery of Australian rare earth mining company Lynas Corpration in Kuantan, Malaysia, faces scrutiny from the Malaysian government due to disagreements over the disposal of radioactive waste. 

The review began on September 24 this year and will run for three months. Lynas CEO Amanda? Amanda Lacaze wrote an open letter on October 2 calling on the local government to conduct censorship fairly, objectively and transparently.

Amanda said in the open letter: "We operate according to the principle of no harm, and there will be no harm to workers, society and the environment. Independent testing confirms this."

Lynas received a provisional operating license from the Malaysian government in 2012. The government requires it to submit a detailed plan for the location and method of disposal of radioactive waste at the refinery within 10 months of operation.

However, the Lynas refinery and the Malaysian Atomic Energy Agency have not disclosed detailed plans including permanent waste disposal locations and facilities.

Lynas says the residue from its refineries is not waste and has the potential to be turned into a safe commercial product. Lynas processes the residue by dilution and obtains the finished product. The content of radioactive substances in the finished product is less than 1 becquerel/gram. In 2017, the IAEA approved the product for use as a soil enhancer at the Lynas refinery. However, opponents say recycling of radioactive waste by dilution is not allowed in other countries and impractical.

Lynas is the largest rare earths producer outside of China, so industry insiders are closely watching its latest developments, particularly concerns over the scrutiny and whether Lynas' output will be affected. "I heard that Lynas stopped production earlier this month due to radioactive waste disposal issues, and I don't know when it will resume production.

Lynas Corporation is listed on the ASX and its resource deposits are located at Mt Weld in Western Australia. The company mines rare earth oxides and conducts preliminary processing at the Weld concentrator before shipment to the industrial port in Kuantan, Malaysia, and then to Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Kuantan for processing. Reprocessing. Lynas products are currently mainly exported to Japan, China, the United States and Europe.

According to the second quarter report of Lynas this year, in 2018, the output of rare earth oxides produced by Lynas Advanced Materials Plant for sale increased by 10.91% year-on-year to 17,753 tons. Including 5444 tons of praseodymium neodymium oxide, the output increased by 4.23% year-on-year.