End-2010 start-up for Lynas' plant in Gebeng

Salam,

LYNAS kini telah memperoleh satu suntikan dana yang baru melalui satu syarikat Cina CNMC berjumlah AUD400 Million. Membawa maksud bahawa kilang ini akan terus menggugat keselamatan penduduk Balok secara khususnya serta penduduk Kuantan secara amnya. Kami masih lagi berusaha utk membantah, walau pun nampak tipis.Apakah yang boleh kita lakukan demi memastikan projek ini tidak mendatangkan mudharat kepada manusia serta alam sekitar yang bakal kita wariskan kepada anak cucu kita. Semoga kes Bukit Merah tidak berulang. Kepada Allah kita berserah.

Dibawah ialah kenyataan Media oleh LYNAS bertarikh 1 Mei 2009

LYNAS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian mineral sand miner Lynas Corp Ltd, expects to start production at its RM1.2 billion lanthanides processing plant in Gebeng, Pahang, by the end of next year.

Executive chairman Nicholas Curtis said construction work on the plant, which was halted after the company encountered financial problems, is expected to resume by the end of 2009.

The processing plant will initially produce 10,500 tonnes of lanthanides in the first phase, before doubling the figure once it is fully operational.

Curtis said the plant will become the world's largest producer of lanthanides besides China, and would generate over RM880 million in annual revenue.
Total world production of lanthanides stands at 120,000 tonnes per year, with over 95 per cent produced by China.

At a media briefing in Kuantan recently, Curtis explained that site construction activities were halted when a Lynas bondholder withheld funding for the project due to the global financial crisis.

He said the company now has a new shareholder in China Non-ferrous Metals Co, which is a company with substantial international assets in mineral processing.

The transaction is awaiting approval from the Australian and Chinese authorities, which is due in the next few months.

Once operational, Curtis said, the plant will employ around 350 skilled and semi-skilled workers.

The 100ha plant in the Gebeng Industrial Estate will process lanthanide ores to be shipped from Lynas' mine at Mount Weld in Western Australia and turned into purified lanthanides, which are then used to develop green technologies.

Lynas owns the richest deposit of rare earth in the world at Mount Weld. This rare earth is used in products such as energy-saving light bulbs, iPods, MP3 players, catalytic converters, plasma screens, hard-disk drives.

It is also used in technologies that enable weight reduction in cars, higher yields from oil refineries and in diesel additives.

Curtis said the RM1.2 billion plant has obtained environmental approval from the Department of Environment and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board.

Curtis gave his assurance that the ores are not radioactive and will not pose a danger to workers and the public as the company has taken steps to comply with the conditions set by the authorities in controlling water discharges, noise level and emissions into the atmosphere.