malaysian article re lamp today, page-9

ausheds wrote:If this is such a good deal, why not do it in Australia? The answer is simple, the Australians will never let Lynas set up a refinery there. ....
Let's look into Lynas itself and you will see that it has zero experience in rare earth mining or refining...or even for the matter any sort of mining activities. We are not talking about Rio Tinto here, this is a speculative start up company.

ausheds,
We bought Lynas because we believe in the company. Both you and I have an environmentalist stripe to be sure. So I understand the concern. Frankly, I don't like the thorium reef pillars myself. I liked it better when we were told they were working with researchers on the issue. The reef pillars are the only time I have felt like Lynas had a weak plan. And I think we will improve this issue along the way.
But that is the point. Lynas has had a sensible well thought out plan every step of the way. These guys are no imperialists. Honestly, I owned Rio for years. They are great geologists, but I think Lynas is better run. Lynas does not cut corners. They do not have accidents. And they are acting like a damn responsible company.
As I told the protestors on facebook, there will be hazardous material in that industrial park, who do you want to handle it? Do you want a flake like Mark Smith with a corner cutting pump operation and a bad safety record? Or do you want a company that is careful to limit its thorium content in raw materials; plans and is transparent about operations and goes above and beyond Oz or Malaysian regs in its approach?
We have had to believe in Lynas' plan to get this far. I am still believing in that plan. And it is nothing like imperialism to bring Lynas to Malaysia. There are few responsible high tech employers that can go to that industrial park. I think Lynas going there is a win win for all sides. And Lynas' continued development of the LAMP is a progress to be appreciated.
Thank God these people can get a good education and work a skill job in stead of continuing to fish. I can tell you my relatives celebrated the day when my family could first go to college. My immigrant relatives farmed and worked in the ice and coal business. They were very smart people in simple jobs at the time. And while they sacraficed their lives they literally cried when my mom and dad graduated. Keep those common stories in the developed world in mind when you look at the developing world. These Malaysians are not going to a sweat shop. They are chemists with specialized education. And they will get paid respectfully for it.
And while I support environmentalism. I also know it is better to live in a world of frontier and developing markets in places where Sally Struthers and other in my childhood use to tell me about starvation, disease and zero hope.
Lynas is not imperialism, they are opportunity where there was little before. And as long as Lynas is responsible, it is our moral obligation in the developed world to share this opportunity. In economics and in quality of life it is how we all grow the pie.