Miner Lynas gets Malaysia rare earths plant approval

Published by MSN News on 5 September 2012.
http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/miner-lynas-gets-malaysia-rare-earths-plant-approval

Australian miner Lynas on Wednesday said it had secured a temporary operating licence for its delayed $800 million rare earths facility in Malaysia and will begin production in October. Receipt of the temporary licence will enable Lynas to commence the transport of rare earths concentrate and prepare for the first feed to kiln, which is expected in October, the firm said in a statement.

The plant in eastern Pahang state has been dogged by protests from environmentalists and residents over concerns of radiation for the past two years and they have threatened to organise a blockade of the refinery. It has also become a political issue in Prime Minister Najib Razak's home state ahead of elections that must be held by the middle of next year.

"Like everyone at Lynas, I am eagerly anticipating the safe commencement of operations at the LAMP (Lynas Advanced Materials Plant) and being able to supply our customers with product," executive chairman Nicholas Curtis said. The Lynas plant was ready to begin operations nine months ago but production was delayed due to strong public opposition with legal challenges by residents still pending.

Local MP and senior opposition figure Fuziah Salleh, who has driven the anti-Lynas movement, told AFP the move by the government showed complete contempt for the courts. "Even though it is not illegal, it is completely unethical as they are jumping the gun," she said.

Andansura Rabu, who leads the Stop Lynas Coalition of residents, said he was shocked by the decision given the next court date is on Monday. "We are thinking of that and will call a meeting on what to do next," he told AFP when asked if they would follow up threats of blockading the plant.

The refinery is set to become one of the few sites outside China to process rare earths -- metals used in high-tech equipment ranging from missiles to mobile phones. Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board granted the temporary licence for the plant to begin operations for an initial two-year period under strict safety requirements.

Related reports:
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=39225:big-trouble-for-bn-anti-lynas-groups-to-blockade-kuantan-port-pursue-injunction&Itemid=2

Anti-Lynas groups and critics rallied together to strongly condemn Prime Minister Najib Razak's government for giving a temporary operating licence to the Australian miner, allowing it to begin its rare earth refinery operations by October this year.

"Issuance of TOL showed complete disrespect to the decision of the court by the Minister. It looks like BN doesn't want to learn and Najib's 'People First' pledge is just lip service," PKR MP for Kuantan Fuziah Salleh told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Just days ago in Raub, also his home state mind you, 15,000 people came together to protest cyanide gold mining. But BN is still deaf and blind to the people's wishes. It still wants to pretend it is correct and everyone else in the nation is wrong."

In an immediate response, environmental action group Himpunan Hijau responded by vowing to blockade Kuantan Port if Lynas starts to ship ores into the country for processing at the controversial Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, Pahang.

“I will guarantee that their ore shipments will not slip past our blockade. We will mount the biggest civil disobedience event ever seen in the country and get all the groups together. The port of Kuantan will not be operational as long as the ore is there,” said Himpunan Hijau chairperson Wong Tack...

Meanwhile, the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) promised it would continue to seek an injunction to freeze the TOL issued earlier by this week by

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/09/05/lynas-gets-temporary-operating-licence/

The plant is considered important to efforts to break China’s grip on rare earths that are used in products ranging from smartphones to hybrid cars. In an immediate reaction, Kuantan MP and vocal opponent of the Lynas project Fuziah Salleh questioned the timing of AELB’s decision to issue the TOL to Lynas. She said that AELB should have waited first for the hearing of a related matter filed by concerned residents in the court. “The MOSTI minister whose decision is being challenged and is the basis for the judicial review should know better than to agree on the issuance of the TOL to Lynas,” she said in a statement.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/preventing-the-next-lynas-or-raub-mine

Development that happens without consultation is oppressive to communities. Discovering one fine day that there is highway about to plough its way through your house is upsetting.

Having your development project picketed, protested and pilloried in public is also a weight on developers. But that’s what happens when you don’t consult sufficiently with local people. That’s what happens when you think it is sufficient to secure “buy-in” at the political level in order to carry out your project.

Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is an approach outlined in international human rights law and declarations. It essentially upholds the right for project-affected peoples to be consulted by, and to negotiate with, project developers on the impact of a project on their community. Greater weight should be accorded to a community’s right to say “No” to a project.

At its heart is the idea that the pre-existing moral and property rights of residents should balance the privileges granted to the yet-to-be-constructed property of a private developer.

Instituting such rights within the EQA, or within an equivalent law, will not mean the end of development in Malaysia. It will mean that development planning will not be something that can simply be imposed from “on high”, rather it must be negotiated with affected peoples.

Implementing these two reforms would go far in improving the integrity and credibility of the EIA process and preventing, or at least reducing, instances where development projects are “sprung” on communities, which leads to campaigns, lawsuits and political problems.

Communities can feel much more secure in their rights to property, health, and a clean environment.

Developers should have greater confidence that their projects can proceed without significant interruption, delay or reputation problems following adequate consultation.