KUALA LUMPUR: Despite ongoing protests against Australia's Lynas Corporation over its Malaysia rare earths refinery, the company is remaining obstinate in the face of the ongoing pressure. On Tuesday, the company in a stock exchange filing, said that its license to run the refinery in Malaysia will remain issued and valid. They added that “no legal impediment to Lynas carrying out its operations at the plant” has occurred. It also said that the plant, despite environmental activists countering the company, is not a threat to local communities or the environment. Lynas must export by-product created by operations at the Malaysian plant or risk having its operating license revoked, four Malaysian ministers were quoted as saying on Monday. Activists said over the weekend that they would continue their action against the company. Malaysia activists have said that if the government is unwilling to act on a controversial rare earths refinery in the country established by Australia's Lynas Corporation, activists will ensure that the plant is booted from Malaysian soil. “Lynas' admission that rare earth waste will remain and not exported out of Malaysia presents a rare opportunity for the Malaysian government to cancel the Kuantan rare earth facility for breach of compliance without needing to pay compensation," said Lim Guan Eng, the DAP secretary-general and MP for Bagan. “Mashal had confirmed that Lynas have no plans to export the rare earth wastes because Lamp needed to abide by international conventions which prohibit the export of toxic wastes to overseas countries," Lim continued. The DAP and other groups have said the government and Lynas have handed down empty promises and have not listened to the population over the refinery. If they fail to do so, Lim and others told Bikyamasr.com they would make certain that the plant will be shut down. “If BN refuses to defend the interests of the people's health and the environment by cancelling the Lynas plant for breach of compliance, then Pakatan will do so when we take over Putrajaya as the plant can now be cancelled for breach of compliance without needing to pay a single sen in compensation," added Lim. Ongoing protests and attacks against the establishing of the rare earths facility have seen the Australian company go to court to force critics and villagers to be silenced, but the court in late July ruled that it would not end the debate over the safety of the plant. Lynas's plans to process ore from its West Australian mine at the $200 million advanced materials plant in Malaysia are strongly opposed by community groups over fears of a repeat of the health problems associated with a Mitsubishi refinery at Bukit Merah that was closed in 1992.
