Lynas Corp must shift waste disposal site, says PM

March 02, 2012

Najib said the waste storage site will be “far away” from Gebeng. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Australian miner Lynas Corp has been told to relocate its waste disposal site away from its Gebeng rare earth refinery and local communities, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The prime minister said this did not mean that the rare earth project and its residue are harmful. Two days ago, Najib said the Lynas refinery was scientifically and factually safe.

But he said the directive was made after taking into consideration the psychological and emotional effects on the community.

“The location is still being determined but it is going to be far away. We have studied the Lynas project and we have come out with scientific evidence endorsed by local and international experts, that the Lynas plant and rare earth residue are safe.

“But 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,” Najib told reporters at Wakaf Mek Zainab in Kota Baru.

The government has been under pressure from groups, most recently Himpunan Hijau 2.0, to shut down the rare earth project over safety fears. But Putrajaya has stood its ground on the project that was first earmarked for Terengganu.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told the Sin Chew Daily yesterday that Lynas will have to send the waste back to Australia even though the Western Australian government has said it will not take back the residue from the ore mined from Mount Weld in the state.

Putrajaya has been adamant about the plant that will employ up to 400 workers. Lynas will also get a 12-year tax holiday for the facility.