Malaysia confirms licenses for Lynas´waste disposal project

Malaysia has approved the application by Australian rare earth mine operator Lynas Corp (ASX: LYC) to build a permanent disposal facility for waste treatment, a minister said Tuesday. The miner, the world's only major rare earth producer outside of China, can now proceed with construction of the waste facility at a location designated by the Pahang state government, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin told The Edge Markets. In August last year, the Sydney-based company was able to extend the operating license for its Malaysian processing plant by six months, on condition that, among other things, a location for a permanent facility for the storage of its low-level radioactive waste is determined. Lynas was also asked to submit a plan to build a fission and leach facility overseas within four years of the license renewal. The company said it selected Kalgoorie in Western Australia as the location to build the facility, with the first stage of concentrate processing expected in 2021. The cracking and leaching plant is expected to be completed in late 2022 or early 2023. Lynas said at the time that she intends to explore opportunities for the next stage of rare earth processing (upstream solvent extraction) in the same state as the Mt Weld mine. The company, which controls just over 10% of the global rare earths market, secured US government funding last week to design an A $ 50 million ($ 36 million) processing facility in Texas. The deal came amid growing concerns in Washington that China could use its dominance in the rare earths supply chain to put pressure on US arms suppliers. Beijing threatened sanctions against US aerospace, defense, weapons and security provider Lockheed Martin in July. The facility would be the world's only major producer of separate medium and heavy rare earth products outside of China, which currently accounts for 70% of global production. China also controls more than 60% of a $ 14 billion global market for materials used in magnets and motors for phones, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and military equipment.