Sahabat Alam Malaysia calls for transparency over govt’s U-turn on Lynas operating licence

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has sought clarification from Putrajaya regarding its plans to reduce the radioactive content resulting from the mining of rare earth minerals by Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd, subsequent to the government’s decision to extend the company’s operations until March 2026.

Mageswari Sangaralingam, the organisation’s secretary-general, expressed scepticism about the reversal of the decision allowing Lynas’s Cracking and Leaching activities to continue, subject to the condition that Lynas ensures that the radioactive content in the Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue is below 1 Bq/g (one becquerel) through a research and development programme led by local experts.

“The current level of the radioactive component is at 6-7 Bq/g and how local experts are going to get this down to below 1 Bq/g is quite baffling and questionable. It seems the decision of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) was based on the findings of a laboratory level preliminary study which showed that the radioactive material from thorium can be extracted from the WLP residue until this residue no longer needs to be regulated under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984.

“No explanation has been given on how the radioactive level is going to be brought down. Does the local experiment include the CondiSoil research which was rejected before or is there another yet-to-be-proven laboratory experiment.

“SAM is most baffled by this explanation and calls for more transparency and public disclosure on what this study is about and its details. A reversal of the government decision based on this preliminary study does not at all sound convincing or assuring from a public health and environmental standpoint,” she said in a statement today.

Earlier today, the AELB updated Lynas’s rare earths production licence, allowing its local division to import raw naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) until the expiration of its contract in March 2026.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang made the announcement, affirming that Lynas Sdn Bhd would be permitted to sustain its cracking and leaching operations provided it adheres to the specified conditions.