Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has told Australian miner Lynas Corp to move its waste disposal site away from its rare earth refinery and residences in Gebeng.
While the prime minister said this did not mean that the rare earth project and the residue were harmful, his directive to Lynas was intended to reassure the local communities that were concerned with the rare earth mining operations there.
“The location is still being determined but it is going to be far away… we are also aware this issue have caused emotional and psychological concern among the people, and also that it has been politically exploited. Therefore, the government has decided to make this move,” he was quoted as saying here.
According to The Star, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), which gave a temporary operating licence to Lynas in February, the Australian miner has yet to submit to the government its permanent disposal facility.
“As long as it does not submit the permanent disposal facility plan and adhere to several other regulations, the government will not allow the company to begin operation even though a temporary licences has been issued,” AELB director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan was quoted as saying.
Lynas was supposed to begin operating last year, but was delayed following the government succumbing to public pressure that residue from the mining activities could be harmful to the residences there.
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