Lawyer Cecil Abraham informed Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh  the science, technology and innovation ministry had renewed Lynas’s operating licence until March 2026.

The renewal, made last month, will allow Lynas to continue importing and processing rare earths for a two-year period.

The withdrawal did not take place today after the parties could not agree to the terms of a proposed consent order to be recorded by the court.

Abraham told Wan Ahmad Farid he had prepared a draft of the order but was informed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), appearing for the minister, Chang Lih Kang, and the government, could not agree to its terms.

Federal counsel Sallehuddin Md Ali told the court the government could only agree to one term, namely the withdrawal of the application with no order as to costs.

The matter was then fixed for case management on Nov 14 to allow the parties to come to a full agreement of the terms.

In August, the court granted Lynas leave to pursue a judicial review of the government’s decision to impose several conditions on its operating licence.

The Australian rare earths producer wanted to challenge conditions prohibiting the importation and processing of lanthanide concentrate from Jan 1, 2024.

Chang had rejected Lynas’s appeal to have four licensing conditions, set by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board in March 2020, dropped following a hearing on April 28.

Cracking and leaching operations at the plant in Gebeng, Pahang, were supposed to have ceased after July 1, but Chang said Lynas was granted a six-month extension until Dec 31 to prevent any disruptions to the global rare earths supply chain.

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