The highly debated rare earths processing plant of Lynas Corp. in Malaysia was never part of the Australian miner's overall blueprint submitted and approved a decade ago. In fact, according to the original plan, the now known Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) should have been erected at Meenar, Western Australia.

In Lynas Corp.'s original proposal submitted and approved 14 years ago by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), not a slight hint was made that the Australian rare earths miner will build its rare earths processing plant outside of Australia.

Marcus Atkinson, spokesperson of Australian non-government organization Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA), said in the Free Malaysia Today he saw the documents Lynas submitted more than a year ago, plus the corresponding safety approvals that the EPA issued and released to the rare earths miner.

Mr Atkinson said their group just took a particular interest on Lynas when the Malaysia controversy started. He admitted it was only then that they took time to look again into the blueprint and safety approvals altogether.

"This is a complete change to the original project hence why we are urging the EPA to review Lynas' approvals," Mr Atkinson told Free Malaysia Today, noting Lynas could have possibly made several revisions to its operations that is why its rare earths processing plant had been constructed in Malaysia.

"We believe Lynas picked Malaysia to save money and enable it to operate under less stringent laws," the ANAWA spokesperson said.

"There is no way it could operate the way it is in Malaysia over here," Mr Atkinson said. "Australia's laws are much more stringent."

Meanwhile, reports in Malaysia came out that the Malaysian government has reportedly eyed Sungai Lembing as the potential waste dump that would accommodate Lynas Corp.'s radioactive waste from its LAMP rare earths processing facility.

But anti-Lynas protesters said the suggestion seeks to destroy Sungai Lembing when it had already been able to rebuild itself from mining doom into a tourist destination.

This, as the Australian miner on Wednesday issued a letter of undertaking assuring the Malaysian government it will send its rare earth processing residue overseas in the event a suitable site cannot be found within Malaysia.

However, such a move is illegal and runs opposite the regulations imposed under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Basel Convention, theSundaily.my reported, which ironically, both Malaysia and Australia are signatories.

The Basel Convention is an international agreement designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed nations. It sets guidelines for transboundary movements of hazardous waste and its disposal. It prohibits the transport of one country's waste to another country. The Convention was enforced on May 5, 1992.

Sungai Lembing is a tin mining town located 42 kilometres northwest of Kuantan, site of Lynas Corp.'s highly controversial $200-million worth LAMP facility. Sungai Lembing was a major producer of underground tin, considered the largest and deepest in the world, until the 1970s. The pit mines closed in 1986 due to high operational costs and low yields spurred by the collapse of global tin prices.

Once the richest town in Pahang, Sungai Lembing is now in decline. Many of the wooden shoplots have closed, prompting people to relocate. What's left is a museum that depicts the glorious days of the tin mining industry. Opened in 2003, the museum is housed in an old bungalow once used by the mine manager housing a collection of mining artifacts.

Read more:

Lynas' Mt Weld Rare Earths Mines Safety Permits Outdated

Malaysia Upholds Decision on Lynas; but Wants Relocation of Residue Disposal Facility

Lynas to Pay $18M in Yearly Taxes for Mt Weld Rare Earths Operations