Lynas says Aussie eco group’s allegations unfounded
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — Lynas Corp has denied allegations by an Australian ecological group that claimed the rare earth producer failed to manage and store its radioactive waste from mined ore at its Mount Weld site.
"The report released by the National Toxics Network [NTN] today (yesterday) on the operations of Lynas is both inaccurate and misleading.
"The report contains fundamental factual errors which render the conclusions drawn in the report as invalid and without foundation," the Sydney-based company said in an emailed response to The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
Earlier yesterday, NTN had in a statement accused the mining giant of exploiting a regulatory loophole to truck 1,000km through Western Australia and ship out, what it insisted was radioactive ore, to the RM1.5 billion Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Pahang.
A protest by the residents of Kuala Kelantan against the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in May. — file pic
Lynas, which is to hold its annual general meeting in Sydney tomorrow, maintained its rare earth concentrate has been assessed and approved by Western Australia's departments of health; environment and conservation; transport; and mines and petroleum.
" Lynas plans to ship rare earth concentrate to Malaysia while the tailings from the concentration process will remain in Australia," it clarified.
"The make-up of the rare earth concentrate has been clearly identified and provided to the Malaysian regulatory authorities who assessed and approved the import of the rare earth concentrate," it said, adding the process has been peer reviewed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which found Lynas to be safe and compliant with regulations.
The miner also said its tailings pond "will be continually hydrated and then capped at the end of its life to prevent dust emissions", contrary to NTN's claims.
It added that its radiation exposure rate was 50 times less than the permitted limit of one milisievert a year(mSv/year) while the lining on its tailings ponds at the mine site will prevent any radioactive elements from leaching into the surrounding environment.
It pointed out that such information was contained in the Lynas Radiation Management Plan prepared and assessed by international experts in radiation safety, compared to the National Toxics Network's report which it said appeared to have been authored by someone with only a "Bachelor Masters of Arts".
It highlighted that the highest radiation exposure recorded at Lynas' Mount Weld mine site was 0.47 mSv/year, from a surveyor who spends his day working on top of the rare earth stockpiles.
According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the global dose for an average human being is about 2.4 mSv a year.
"Attempts to portray the material as radioactive are alarmist and either mischievous or ill-informed," Lynas said.
It clarified that Lynas has "re-engineered the tailings dam design" to reduce the water permeability levels before the start of operations and not as a result of Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) order as claimed.
All the tailings are currently stored in dams that are found to have met Western Australia's standards, Lynas said adding the concentration plant is continuing to operate under the terms of the state's licence.
It added the leakage NTN referred to in its report "is the normal water seepage permitted by the Department of Environment and Conservation" and that the thorium and uranium content "is not soluble under these conditions and remain with the solid residues contained in the Dam".
Lynas said it has no official correspondence from the NTN but has held many briefings with Australian authorities from the federal, state and local levels, including with members of the opposition, staff of independent parliamentarians and members of the community.
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