Lynas Malaysian Plant Cleared, Wins High Court Approval
Australian miner Lynas Corp. can finally proceed in finishing the construction of its rare earths processing plant facility in Malaysia after a High Court ruled out the complaint filed by Malaysian activists against the plant.
On Thursday, the High Court said it will not stop Lynas to use its already awarded temporary operating license (TOL) to start the plant at Kuantan.
"The court ruled that our fears are premature because the plant is not in operation yet," coalition leader Tan Bun Tet told The Associated Press. "We are disappointed with the decision but we will appeal. We will fight to the end."
The Malaysian activists filed the application in the High Court on grounds of possible health and environmental hazards that the plant can give off to the local immediate community and residents, despite numerous recommendations and support that the plant will not be hazardous to them.
First granted by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board in February this year, Lynas got hold of the highly controversial TOL in September after paciffying a wave of opposition from concerned sectors. When the TOL was released in June, local activists sought another legal action, which is a judicial review of the approval's legality.
"There is no injunction or stay preventing Lynas from carrying out its operations at its Malaysian plant," the rare earths miner said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday.
Shares of Lynas were earlier placed in a trading halt pending an announcement regarding the High Court decision. It last traded at 72 cents.
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