In Malaysia, a snag in US search for alternative to Chinese rare earths

The US-China trade war has fuelled American fears that Beijing may take advantage of its position as the world’s primary producer of rare earths, and consequently a rush has begun for alternative sources.

But the extraction of these important elements is a dirty business that brings environmental damage many countries are unwilling to tolerate, and the squabbles born from this “not in my backyard” attitude are being seen in Malaysia.

The country’s new Pakatan Harapan government has threatened to discontinue the operating licence of Australian miner Lynas Corporation unless it adheres to strict conditions for its rare earth refinery in Kuantan, which it has run since 2012. These include orders to remove and dispose of more than 451,000 tonnes of water leach purification residue, a radioactive substance produced in the mining process. The firm has been given a September deadline.

Lynas has responded by threatening legal action against the Malaysian government, but Yeo Bee Yin, the minister for energy, science, technology, the environment and climate change, has insisted the restrictions on the facility are within the nation’s sovereign rights.