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Australian mining company Lynas is said to be asking the government to waive important conditions in operating licenses for them that will expire in March 2023.

The condition set by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government is to move the operating facility to process leachate radioactive waste - known as cracking and leaching which produces water leachate purifier (WLP) waste - out of Malaysia before July 2023.

However, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) told Malaysiakini that so far no application has been received from Lynas to renew the license.

“The conditions for the Lynas license remain the same as before. There are no changes to the requirements, including additional conditions that require Lynas to carry out the cracking and leaching process overseas, "he said.

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The development came after sources revealed that Lynas had made a request on the condition to the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Adham Baba before Aidilfitri.

Lynas stated that the condition should be set aside because Malaysia is facing the problem of losing highly skilled workers and experiencing economic problems.

Malaysiakini has contacted Adham and Lynas for comment.

However, Adham's secretary said the question should be referred to AELB, while Lynas had yet to answer Malaysiakini's question.

Since Lynas set up the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in 2012, the radioactive waste generated by the company has caused concern among the local community.

In August 2019, the PH government agreed to extend the Lynas license for another six months with three conditions, including the requirement to relocate the cracking and leaching facility overseas.