The Malaysian Government's apparent inability to clarify whether...

The Malaysian Government's apparent inability to clarify whether a review will be conducted into Lynas Corporation's rare earths refinery has prompted the miner to write an open letter seeking information and fair treatment from the Asian nation.
Media reports in Malaysia have been speculating about a review of the refinery for months since the election of a coalition government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and those reports have intensified in recent weeks with a long-standing opponent of the refinery declaring that she will lead the review.
In a letter to the people of Malaysia and their government on Tuesday, Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze appealed for a fair go.
"To date, Lynas has seen media reports about this review committee, however we have not been notified of the membership of this review committee, the scope of the review or the terms of reference for this committee," said Ms Lacaze.

"The Malaysian government and the people of Malaysia expect high standards of fairness and openness in all aspects of public life, as seen in other recent initiatives of the new government.

"I am appealing to the government to apply those same high standards - to be fair and just and to be objective and scientific - in any review of Lynas Malaysia."
The bout of sovereign risk comes six years after Lynas faced major protests in Malaysia and Australia during construction of the refinery, which receives rare earths mined in Western Australia and upgrades them into higher value materials for use in the manufacturing of industrial magnets.
It has also caught the attention of short sellers, with bets on Lynas shares falling rising from 0.28 per cent in May to 5.66 per cent in recent days, with the bulk of the increase occurring in recent weeks.
Shares in the miner have fallen from $2.89 to $1.63 over the same period, a fall that some analysts believe is overdone.