Malaysians looking at the ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES regarding Rare Earth Processing are looking for information on:
- How the concentrate from Australia is being transported to Kuantan, Malaysia
- What are the Radioactive products and by-products - type of products and radioactive levels, health concerns, etc
- How and where the radioactive waste is to be stored and Disposed - Not Australia according to Auatralian Parliment! But also not in Malaysia too according to AELB (Malaysia)!!??
1) Thorium: Rare Earth Liability or Asset? - Mon, Mar 14, 2011 Feature Articles, Rare Earth Articles By Michael Montgomery—Exclusive to Rare Earth Investing News
...................The production of rare earth oxides comes attached with a major problem: radioactive waste. The mining of the rare earths and the processing of the various elements produces large amounts of thorium as a by product. This material is radioactive and dangerous to human health. In China, lax environmental laws have allowed the country to build a monopoly in the market. However, now the country is looking to mitigate environmental damage from the production of rare earths, shutting down small mining operations, and raising environmental standards. This has had a dramatic effect on the price of these elements, which is why western companies are looking to produce on their deposits. One such company, Lynas Corporation is building a processing plant in Malaysia that is coming under fire as concerns about the disposal of thorium and the effects on the local population mount. There is a possibility that this liability could become a resource of rare earth mining companies, as thorium can be used as fuel for nuclear power.
..................The concentration plant that Lynas is building in Malaysia is planned to be finished in September and has the ability to process 11,000 tonnes of oxide per year. Residents in the area around the plant are concerned that the plant may have the same devastating effects as the Mitsubishi rare earth plant, which has been attributed to Leukemia outbreaks. Mitsubishi is now engaged in a $100 million dollar cleanup of the site. ................more HERE
2) The Issue of Residual Thorium & Uranium From Rare-Earth Ore Processing
by Jack Lifton on March 11, 2011
In the rare-earths sector a very important and under-reported story is coming to the surface. A senior executive at a rare-earth junior said to me at PDAC in Toronto earlier this week that the 800-pound gorilla in every rare-earth venture’s room, was the radioactive thorium- and/or uranium-bearing waste that will be generated by the extraction, separation, and refining operations that are the supply chain steps immediately following mining and mechanical concentration.
............the major advantages of Lynas’ original plan was that any radioactive residue would have been a Chinese disposal problem, and in those days the Chinese were more flexible about that than they have now become.
The story upon which I am commenting is not going to go away, and in order to estimate the probability of success of any rare-earth mining or processing project, it is necessary to decide what weight to give to the problems arising from the necessity to obtain a legal permit to dispose of or store radioactive waste in the country involved. One should not be fooled by the idea that some countries are ‘third world’ (refering to Malaysia???) and so care little for the health of their citizens, when measured against jobs to be gained from a project. This is no longer true!
I believe that thorium is going to be an asset not a liability as the public realizes that uranium-enhanced thorium reactors (the real name of the so-called ‘thorium’ reactor fuel) can be brought into operation and sharply reduce or eliminate the ability of the end-user of such a reactor from building fission based nuclear weapons.
Source: www.techmetalsresearch.com/
Disposal problems
3) Australian state rejects Lynas waste from Malaysia - April 12, 2011
4) Expert: Lynas will be far worse than Bukit Merah April 18, 2011 -
The on-going Lynas Advanced Material Plant project will produce 20,000 tonnes of radioactive waste a year once it becomes operational.
This will be 10 times more than the controversial Asian Rare Earth factory that was closed down in Bukit Merah 20 years ago, public health expert Dr T Jayabalan said. ..........more HERE
5) Lynas cannot store waste onsite, says AELB - Date: Apr 18, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Malaysian regulators have denied approving Lynas Corp’s plans to store radioactive waste in its Kuantan rare earth plant indefinitely, insisting the Australian miner will not be allowed to keep the thousands of tonnes it still deems as safe. Lynas has invested RM700 million in a…more
