Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths said the R&D programme will be directed towards developing methods for removal of naturally occurring radioactive material from residues and will be overseen by the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB).
The Lynas R&D team will be fully engaged in this research programme, Lynas said in its quarterly report for the period ending Dec 31, 2023 released today.
On Oct 24 last year, the Malaysian government announced a variation to the operating licence issued to Lynas’ Malaysian subsidiary.
It said this has allowed for the continued importation and processing of lanthanide concentrate from its Mt Weld mine in Western Australia at the Lynas facility in Gebeng, Kuantan, until March 2, 2026.
“The amended operating licence was a welcome confirmation that the Lynas facility will continue full operations,” Lynas said.
Cracking and leaching operations at Lynas Malaysia’s plant were supposed to cease after July 1, 2023. However, science, technology and innovation minister Chang Lih Kang subsequently granted a six-month extension until Dec 31 last year to prevent any disruptions to the global rare earths supply chain.
In approving the variation to the operating licence, Chang said this was contingent on Lynas ensuring the radioactive content in water leach purification residue is below 1 becquerel (Bq) per gramme through a R&D programme supported by local experts.
During the quarter, the Lynas plant was temporarily shut down from mid-November until end of December, while works were completed to progressively increase separation capacity to approximately 10,500 tonnes per annum.
It said the upgrade work were the biggest changes to the facility since the initial construction of the Lynas plant. “The works saw 600 subcontractors mobilised on site,” it said, adding the plant restarted as planned on Jan 1.
Lynas posted sales revenue of A$112.5 million (RM350.27 million), reflecting the lower production levels for the quarter, the product sales mix, and ongoing low rare earths prices.