Agreed, the New York Times did it again. In what seems to be...

Agreed, the New York Times did it again. In what seems to be their normal mode, they printed a reversed biased article to highlight the problems surrounding Lynas. While it does seem that on the surface Lynas faces a rough road ahead, in reality thereare some very encouraging quotes and facts presented that may indicate an OPERATING Lynas is coming soon to your theater.

The lead in is this;

"KUALA LUMPUR — A controversial rare earth metal refinery in Malaysia encountered further obstacles this week, with the country’s political opposition refusing to participate in a parliamentary committee set up to investigate the safety of the plant and with hints that the refinery could face further construction delays."

OK, the Rakyat has announced that they will boycott the committee that is being formed which is now old news. What is interesting is that near the end of the article it says:

"James Chin... said that under the rules of Parliament, the government could still proceed with the panel even if the opposition refused to take part."

In other words, the committee will proceed without the benefit of the opposition. This could make it a very productive committee… Hmmm...

Also, there are some very encouraging comments by Ms. Fuziah that appear to show capitulation of sorts...

For example:

"Fuziah Salleh, the opposition member of Parliament for Kuantan who has led the protest movement, said the opposition had decided not to take part in the committee because the government was using the panel to try to quell public worries. She contended that the government would allow the plant to go ahead regardless of the committee’s findings.

Also:

Ms. Fuziah said she had been hopeful that the opposition could participate in the committee but “finally we decided that it would be a waste of time because they have already decided.”

If this is correct reporting this would indicate that Fuziah herself has resigned to the fact that there will SOON be an OPERATING LAMP in Kuantan.

Another point, is that Ms. Fuziah said another rally was planned for next month.

This is true of course, but this rally is planned to be in a location just East of Kuala Lumpur. The last rally was held near the Lynas facility in Kuantan. It is quite possible that this will be a location that will not be quite as accessible to the protestors as it is on the other side of the peninsula.

The last items I would like to point out are the comments by a "engineer" apparently associated with the project.

As other posters have noted, this "engineer", who stated that certain electrical components would not be available until November, probably has no experience in expediting components from the OEM. Show me a component with a lead time of 6 months and I will show you a component that has yet to be invented... Ordered late?... Really?

"An engineer with a detailed knowledge of the project said Wednesday that another delay had come up in recent days. Complex electronic components that require a long time to manufacture were ordered late and will not be ready for the first phase of the refinery’s construction until November, said the engineer, who insisted on anonymity to avoid retaliation by Lynas in the close-knit mineral processing industry."

"Parts of the refinery can be commissioned without the components, including kilns for drying ore, but other sections of the production process require the components, the engineer said."

This engineer is obviously not involved with the process and could very well be speculating and down ramping Lynas as a whole…

At the end of the day we have an article that is clearly reversed biased against Lynas, yet provides some very encouraging underlying facts that when read between the lines. The New York Times seems to be committed towards down ramping Lynas however, in spite of the negative spin, there are some clear positives in the article.

A final quote from James Chin shows just how important government input will be in determining the future of Lynas.

“For the other members of the general public, it’s not really a big issue yet,” he said. “It has the potential of becoming a really big issue, so it depends on how the government handles it.”

Do you think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/business/global/political-and-construction-holdups-for-malaysia-rare-earths-plant.html?pagewanted=2