Ministry lists conditions for Lynas’s 10-year licence renewal

2026-03-02 - 08:34

Lynas will not be allowed to build new permanent disposal facilities for water leach purification residue exceeding control limits under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act. PETALING JAYA: Lynas Malaysia must cease producing radioactive residue within five years as part of the terms for its 10-year licence renewal, says the science, technology and innovation ministry. Another condition is that all radioactive residue generated in the next five years must be neutralised through thorium extraction or other approved treatment methods to a level under 1 becquerel (Bq) per gramme, it said. Items below 1Bq/g are not considered radioactive waste by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and do not come under the purview of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act. “This means there will be no continued accumulation of radioactive residue after the five-year period,” it said in a statement. The ministry also said Lynas will not be allowed to build new permanent disposal facilities for water leach purification residue exceeding control limits under Act 304. The renewed licence also imposes stronger research and development (R&D) commitments, including the requirement for Lynas to allocate 1% of its annual gross sales towards R&D. “Lynas must implement R&D outcomes that have succeeded at the laboratory level to the commercial and industrial stage. “The company must also strengthen collaboration with local research institutions and industry players.” The ministry said it recognised the strategic importance of the rare earths industry to the national economy but maintained that public safety and environmental sustainability remained the priority. “As a step to strengthen transparency and public confidence, the ministry and atomic energy department are providing open access to environmental radiation level data nationwide through the environmental radiation monitoring system,” it said. Earlier today, Lynas announced that the atomic energy department had renewed its operating licence for 10 years, allowing the company to continue importing raw materials with natural radioactive material and to process rare earths in Malaysia for the next decade. The company is the only commercial producer of both light and heavy rare earth oxides outside China.