A Malaysian court denied an appeal on Monday by a group of 10 anti-Lynas activists to obtain a judicial review of the controversial Lynas rare-earth refinery’s temporary operating license. Upholding a previous 12 April High Court ruling, the three-judge panel said the activists should first lodge an appeal with the science and technology minister and ensure that all relevant facts were “crystallized”.
On Thursday, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) granted a temporary license for the refinery for two years to evaluate the plant’s safety procedures before issuing a permanent license. The Lynas Corporation plans to import rare earth minerals from Australia for procressing at the $200 million plant in Kuantan in Malaysia, but activists claim the company has no viable plan for any radioactive waste it might generate.
Rare earth minerals, whose unique magnetic properties make them useful for a wide range of applications - from defence missiles to electric vehicles to wind turbines - have become highly politicized. China controls about 90 per cent of the world’s supply since other nations shut down their rare earth facilities due to high levels of pollution from some types.
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