Lynas will continue running rare earths plant, says PM

The Lynas rare earths plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

TOKYO: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that Malaysia will allow Australian rare earths producer Lynas Corp to keep operating a processing plant in the country.

“We think we’ll have to renew the licence,” Mahathir told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo.

Lynas operates a US$800 million (RM3.36 billion) plant in Malaysia that refines ore from a rare earths mine in Australia.

However, the facility’s future was unclear as Mahathir’s government had halted the process for renewing its licence because of waste disposal concerns.