Reuters reported that Lynas’ shares today went up by 10%, its best daily performance in two months before paring some gains to trade up 8.5% this morning.
Yesterday, news portal Malaysiakini cited sources as saying that the Cabinet had agreed in principle to grant a three-year extension for Lynas to run its rare earths processing plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.
On Aug 15 last year, Putrajaya agreed to renew its licence to operate in the country for another six months subject to several conditions.
These included building a cracking and leaching facility outside Malaysia within four years of the renewal and identifying a permanent disposal facility with written approval from the relevant authorities.
Lynas had been embroiled in controversy for several years, with environmentalists and Pakatan Harapan politicians protesting against its plant in Kuantan, Pahang, on health grounds and calling for its closure.