Lynas boss "patronizing" "self-serving", Fuziah unveils comparative data

PKR MP for Kuantan Fuziah Salleh, who has been at the center of the Malaysian campaign to stop the Lynas rare earth refinery, ticked off Nick Curtis, the Aussie miner's executive chairman for "patronizing" comments that a "concerted political campaign" was being waged against his company.

"It is not for him to speak on behalf of other investors too. Just because Lynas gives a certain percentage of its profits to the Malaysian government (AELB), that does not provide it the legitimacy to patronize Malaysians in general," Fuziah said in a statement to Malaysia Chronicle.

"Concerted political campaign" harmful to Malaysia, says Curtis

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had ruled in favor of the Australian firm on Thursday, rejecting a challenge by a group of Gebeng residents to the temporary operating licence granted to Lynas. Malaysian environmental groups have slammed the ruling as biased and politically motivated.

The Lynas plant, denied permission by Canberra, is trying to start a RM700mil rare earth plant in Gebeng, Pahang state. But the residents there fear radioactive contamination and potential health hazards as has been experienced by the residents at another rare earth plant established by Japan's Mitsubishi in Bukit Merah, Perak state.

Lynas has however rejected comparison with Bukit Merah, insisting its rare earths ore, mined from Mount Weld in Western Australia, was different from the material produced at Bukit Merah.

In the wake of the latest court decision, Curtis also issued his own statement. According to Curtis, despite the favorable ruling the anti-Lynas campaign was hurting not only its project but Malaysia’s draw as an investment hub.

He urged Putrajaya to "provide certainty to Malaysian and international businesses that they will not be frustrated by a campaign of delay once those companies have completed the pre-defined and rigorous Malaysian Government regulatory approvals process."

“This concerted political campaign, which is based on misinformation, is sabotaging the science based, regulatory process established in Malaysia and confidence in that process,” said Curtis.

Curtis is self-serving, says Fuziah

Fuziah dismissed his comment as self-serving and aimed to hide the fact that Lynas was trying to take advantage of Malaysians' lack of awareness on environmental issues ni general, plus the BN government's tendency to hammer through deals that made profit for its officials at the expense of the people's well-being.

"We welcome foreign investors and development plans, but it must be in the form of sustainable development and Lynas certainly does not fall in that category," said Fuziah.

"I would also like to assert too that foreign companies such as Lynas are not welcomed to practice double standards and are expected not to take advantage of the loopholes in the Malaysian law. Lynas must have the decorum to implement here the same stringent standards that they have to practice in Australia."

Comparison

She pointed to a best practices comparative study compiled by independent experts (scroll below), comparing Lynas' Gebeng plant with similar refineries Molycorp, Arafura and Ashton.

According to the study, Lynas planned liquid discharge from the Gebeng refinery of 500 tonnes per hour into the Balok river. Whereas in similar refineries in Molycorp and Arafura, there was zero discharge while in another plant in Ashton, an estimated 10% leached into the ground.

As for disposal of radioactive waste, Lynas had "no concrete radioactive waste management plan". It claims to be able to "store waste onsite forever" and also claims to have "completed research to commercialize the radioactive waste from the various waste stream".

This contrasted with the solutions at Molycorp and Arafura, where radioactive waste would be sent back to the respective mines. In Ashton, the "radioactive waste to be sent back to Mt Weld" and a "maximum duration for the radioactive waste to be kept on site for only 8 days".

Growing awareness of the environment's importance

Gebeng is a small town and the main industrial area for Kuantan, the capital of Pahang. Fuziah, Gebeng residents and green activists have organized several public rallies that have enjoyed enormous public support.

The crowds at each of its previous 2 main Himpunan Hijau ralliers surpassed all expectations. The last held in March was attended by more than 30,000 but the official count as report by the government-controlled media was only 6,000.

The anti-Lynas campaigners are due to hold their third rally Himpunan Hijau 3.0 in Kuala Lumpur and plan to march from the National Mosque to Dataran Merdeka to join the Bersih 3.0 rally held the same, but to demand free and fair elections.

"Lynas can accuse of us politicizing. But in Malaysia, throughout the country, there is a social awareness thing going on - an awakening. It is actually long delayed but thank God, we are starting to wake up. What we are accusing Lynas of is trying to unfairly benefit and make money out of Malaysia aided by our own corrupt BN government. We will not stop until the project is completely dropped," said Fuziah.

BEST PRACTISE FOR RARE EARTH REFINERY

Attached is a comparative study on the various contemporary rare earth refineries and issues regarding best practice in the rare earth refinery industry. Also included is a comparison of Lynas against Ashton (a company that Lynas bought over together with a license to deal in rare earth).

"I hope that it will assist you in the comparison of international best practice of rare earth refinery and Lynas's standards," said Fuziah.

COMPARING THE VARIOUS CONTEMPORARY RARE EARTH REFINERY PRACTICES	LYNAS	MOLYCORP Mt Pass, California Under Construction (Previously Unocal. Unocal was closed in 1998 due to 60  unreported cases of leakage involving radioactive waste)	ARAFURA Whyalla, Southern Australia To be completed 2013	ASHTON (1992) Lynas bought over from Ashton Rare Earth and inherited the license for a secondary benefication plant in Meenar.
Type of Ore	Lathanite Ore Concentrate	Bastnite Ore Concentrate Molycorps rare earth ore and concentrate contains similar ppm thorium and uranium compared to Mt Weld’s ore		Same source as Lynas’s Ore
Disposal of Radioactive Waste	No Concrete Radioactive Waste Management  Plan Lynas claims can store waste onsite forever Lynas claims to have completed research to commercialize the radioactive waste from the various waste stream	Radioactive Waste to be sent Back to the Mine	Radioactive Waste to be sent Back to the Mine	Radioactive Waste to be sent Back to Mt Weld Maximum duration for the radioactive waste to be kept on site for only  8 days
Liquid Discharge from the Refinery	500 tonnes per hour into the Balok River	Zero liquid discharge	Zero Liquid Discharge	Estimated 10% will leach into the ground
Choice of Site for Refinery	On Swampy Land Peat Soil 2 kms from the nearest residents 5 kms from the river and the sea	Arid Climate Away from residents	Arid  Climate Sparsely populated area	Arid Climate Sparsely populated area
Presence of Underground Water	Water table 1 metre underground	No Presence of Groundwater for at least 10 metres	No Presence of Groundwater for at least 10 metres
Public Consultation Process	No Public Consultation Process prior to the issuance of the Siting License and License to Construct	Rigorous Public Consultation Process PRIOR to Construction of Plant	Rigorous Public Consultation Process PRIOR to Construction of Plant	Public Consultation prior to issuance of the license

Malaysia Chronicle

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