today's news in malaysia

Lynas awaits Aussie approval to restart work on RM1.2bil plant
By SHARIDAN M. ALI


PETALING JAYA: Australia-based Lynas Corp Ltd expects to resume the construction of its RM1.2bil lathanide plant in Kuantan by as early as September if the Australian government approves the entry of a new major shareholder from China into Lynas Corp in the next three weeks.

The construction was suspended early this year when the company’s bondholders withdrew funds worth US$95mil (RM337.4mil) due to the global economic downturn.

But in May, Lynas Corp managed to get China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co Ltd (CNMC) to come in as an investor, which would help complete the building of the Kuantan plant.

The proposed facility is capable of producing 21,000 tonnes of lathanide a year.

In return, CNMC will control 51.6% of Lynas Corp, which is listed on the Australian stock exchange.

Lynas Corp’s operations in Malaysia come under wholly-owned unit Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Lynas Corp executive chairman Nicholas Curtis is confident the approval will come soon.

“The continuation of the project is also pending the approval from the Chinese government and our shareholders and that also should not be a problem,” he told reporters at a briefing session on Monday here with the Department of Environment (DOE), Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and Nuclear Malaysia.

Curtis said if all the approvals were in place as expected, the project was slated for completion in the fourth quarter of next year. Lynas Corp had invested RM500mil so far in the Kuantan project.

Lathanide is a type of “rare earth” used in energy-saving systems and products.

Examples of products that use lathanide are hybrid cars, energy-saving light bulbs, flat panel displays and catalytic converters in cars, among others.

The world production of lathanide has reached about 120,000 tonnes per year with over 95% coming from China.