And so it goes. The issuance of the controversial temporary operating licence (TOL) for the Malaysian rare earths processing plant of Lynas Corp. continues to hang.

On Tuesday night, the Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB), the agency that granted the highly controversial TOL to the Australian rare earths producer, said it had received instructions from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) to defer the actual release of the licence pending its decision on an appeal filed before the ministry.

"Pending decision on the appeal, the minister had instructed the board to defer issuing the TOL to Lynas," Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, AELB director general, said in a statement.

In February, three residents living near the Kuantan area where the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) facility is located, along with two other parties, filed an appeal before the MoSTI questioning the authenticity of the TOL as well as the authority of the AELB to issue the said license.

The MoSTI, led by Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, heard the appeals on April 17.

"(But) until a decision has been finalised by the minister, the order to suspend the TOL to Lynas continues to be in force," Adnan said.

Mr Ongkili said the ministry needs to first study all the documents and testimony presented during the appeal hearing before issuing a decision. It is not clear if any timeframe was given as to when the decision will come out.

The rare earths processing plant is ready to fire up, having been already 98 per cent completed. But it could not pursue operations until Lynas Corp. actually receives the TOL in its hands.

"I am not going to say how long we can last, but it has a very adverse impact," Datuk Mashal Ahmad, managing director of Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd, was quoted as saying by The Malaysian Insider.

Mr Ahmad noted further delays in the plant's start-up operations correspond to "very serious consequences" as orders for rare earths placed with the Australian miner have been sold out for the next 10 years, the Malaysian Insider reported.

The TOL remains as the final stumbling block to ignite the plant's operations. The Malaysian plant will process the rare earths minerals extracted from Lynas Corp.'s Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia.

Once in full operation, Lynas Corp. may account for 39 per cent of the world's supply outside of China, the world's stronghold of rare earths, supplying more than 90 per cent of global output.

Japan, already without nuclear power, is counting on Lynas Corp. to supply 8,500 tonnes a year of rare earths by early 2013 to the country.

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