He said the decision to allow the factory to carry out C&L activities for another six months was to avoid affecting the supply chain of rare earths at the global level.

The extension was also to give Lynas time to complete the company’s C&L plant in Australia which was still under construction.

“Their plant in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, is almost ready and the extension accounts for the possibility that (the plant) isn’t completed before July,” he told reporters after the closing of the NGO@Makerthon programme at the Muhibbah Community Complex, here.

Previously, the ministry announced that Lynas’ appeal to remove the four licensing conditions set by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had been rejected.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that the government had given Lynas an extension of six months to allow the company to meet licensing requirements to operate in the country.