The PM has lost his way

SMSL is appalled by the Prime Minister’s apparent ignorance of the scientific and engineering facts related to the Lynas rare earth refinery project in Gebeng, near Kuantan.

Mr Tan Bun Teet, SMSL spokesperson say, “We noted with extreme regret that until this day the Prime Minister has either not been officially informed of all the facts that we Save MALAYSIA Stop Lynas(SMSL) has submitted through ministerial hearings and publications on our website findings by various institutions like CAP, MMA and the Bar Council or he is practicing selective denial. Is the PM following the footstep of the President of MCA - we sent the latter volumes of scientific facts and evidences on harms that a rare earth plant can cause to the environment and the people living nearby?”

We are not opposed to the economic development that foreign investments can bring to our nation. To allow Lynas Advance material Plants (LAMP) to proceed when Lynas has NOT presented a safe plan as yet on how its radioactive waste will be dealt with in the long term and it has only done a sketchy preliminary environmental impact assessment will certainly confirm that Malaysia has a third world industrial safety and environmental standard.

“For the PM to dismisse concerns of thousands of tax paying rakyat right after over 20,000 people braved themselves to say “NO” to the Lynas project at Dataran merdeka yesterday is a slap in the face of democracy and an insult to the PM’s much promoted motto of “Rakyat didahulukan!”. This Government has lost its credibility and citizens will organized to vote BN OUT.” Remarks Haji Ismail Abu Bakar

SMSL has received quality advice from different experts based on science and sound engineering practices. There are serious concerns with regard to Lynas’ management of its waste and radiation safety of its workers.

An independent assessment by the reputable and renowned Oeko Institute (http://www.oeko.de/the_institute/dok/594.php) in Germany is near completion. Preliminary findings have found Lynas not to adhere to safe international practices and that no licence should have been approved for its construction given the design fault let alone the issuing of a temporary operating licence which the Malaysian Government has so carelessly done.

A Kuantan resident Ram Ponusamy comments, “We the rakyat were made to believe that Malaysia could be a developed nation by 2020. We have seen now how our government has FAILED us in this important development goal by reducing our industrial safety and environmental standard to that of a dysfunctional third world country. We are ashamed of this government and we have only one choice – that is to VOTE IT OUT!!”

“Has the PM done the proper thing by getting an independent engineering audit following the New York Times revelation that there were serious structural problems with the plant? Why wasn’t a detailed EIA been ordered by the government in light of the LAMP being the world’s largest rare earth plant outside of China and there has not been any best practice rare earth plant available to date? Where is the government’s duty of care to its own tax payers and rakyat??” asks Mr Tan.

SMSL vowed to continue to campaign to oppose the plant and to VOTE OUT a government that is deaf and blind to the wishes of its people!

“Enough said and we will continue to fight this plant till the end to safeguard our basic rights to live in a hazard-free environment for our family and the future generations. The government can ignore the rakyat’s wish at its own perils!” Warns Mr Tan, Haji Ismail and Ram on behalf of SMSL

The number of men, women, and children supporting the cross-country 300km (Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur) Green Walk had swollen tremendously on the 13th day, with estimates putting the crowd at more than 20,000 on Nov 25, joined in with the core group of roughly 70 led by Himpunan Hijau chairperson Wong Tack.

The Secret Business of Lynas Corporation

PRESS STATEMENT

Friday 23 November 2012

The Secret Business of Lynas Corporation

Why ship its ore concentrate in such secrecy and at night using police escort??

Kuantan| Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) is appalled by the secrecy surrounding the Lynas ore concentrate shipment into the Kuantan port last night.  This is despite Lynas and the Malaysian Government making public announcements that it will adhere to the recommendations of the IAEA to be transparent and open with information to the public.  Lynas has just done the complete opposite.

Mr Tan Bun Teet, SMSL spokesperson who has just returned from a 4-day Australian campaign trip said,”Lynas must be desperately worried to be doing this secretly. At its AGM on Tuesday in Sydney I was there just to hear its Executive Chairman Nick Curtis told its shareholders that the Stop  Lynas campaign in Malaysia consist of just 10 people!  If we are so weak and ineffective, why try to gag us through a defamation action, why ship its ore concentrate in such secrecy and at night using police escort??”

The normal time taken for Lynas ore to reach Kuantan from the Western Australian port of Fremantle is a month.  The Kuantan high court only just lifted the suspension of the temporary operating licence (ToL) on 8^th November – about two weeks ago.

Haji Ismail Abu Baker is one of the applicants who seeks a suspension injunction of the Lynas ToL.  He asked “Has Lynas and the WA government acted in contempt of the Malaysian court to allow the shipment to commence when a suspension order was still in place until 8^th November or has the Malaysian government granted the import licence in contempt of the court order?”

To date, Lynas still has no safe solution to its massive amount of radioactive waste and its plant’s safety concerns remain outstanding. SMSL has confirmation from Australia that Lynas will NOT be able to return its radioactive waste to Australia – see media release at bottom part of this posting and the statements from the Fremantle Senator Scott Ludlam, and also the ABC report http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-19/an-protesters-to-demonstrate-outside-lynas-agm-in-sydneyprotest/4380590

“We have had enough of this government here in Malaysia. Deploying public funded police force to escort Lynas a foreign company that pays no tax is an insult to injuries. When a government has reduced to doing this, we the rakyat have no choice but to vote it OUT!  Remarked Ram Ponusamy a Kuantan resident who was with SMSL for the Australian campaign visit.

SMSL is pursuing two judicial review cases at the Kuantan High Court and is awaiting a court date for its appeal against the 8^thNovember lifting of the ToL suspension through the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

A responsible corporation will wait for the final court decision before sending its raw materials over which risks being carted back to Australia or lay abandoned should SMSL succeed in its appeal and its judicial review to revoke the ToL. 

“Amidst falling stock value and credit squeeze, It is obvious that Lynas is so desperate it has to ship the ore in as fast as possible and in total secrecy – which reputable and respectable corporation will go so low to do that??” asked Mr Tan.

“The latest Lynas dirty tactic has only made us stronger and more determined to Stop Lynas.  SMSL together with other Stop Lynas groups and our supporters in Malaysia and overseas will fight hard.  We will campaign for the rakyat to vote this Government out in Malaysia and we will work with our international NGO network to target Lynas’ funders and customers.” Concluded Mr Tan.

Australian Greens Senators Joint Media Release 

Delegation from Malaysia speak out on Australian company’s controversial Malaysia project

19 November 2012

A Save Malaysia - Stop Lynas delegation from Malaysia will speak out today at the Senate Courtyard on the controversial rare earth processing plant of Australian company Lynas at 1.30pm.

The proposed plant has been the subject of mass protests and legal action in Malaysia.  The Australian Greens support Save Malaysia - Stop Lynas in their efforts.

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said “Thousands of Malaysians have taken a loud stance against the Lynas rare earth refinery and the radioactive legacy the plant would dump on local communities”.

“The refinery would create 320,000 tonnes of dry soil waste every year but Lynas has skimped on a full environmental impact assessment and local consultation has been sketchy at the best.  There is no social licence for the controversial processing plant to go ahead.”

“The Australian Greens are adding our voice to Stop Lynas campaign.  When Australian mining companies abuse local communities and the environment in other countries we have a responsibility to speak out.”

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said "In September Lynas submitted an application to ARPANSA to import radioactive waste from Malaysia.  The company intends to ship radioactive ores through Fremantle Port to export them to their plant in Malaysia, and are now pushing for the right to import the wastes of those ores back onto Australian soil.  I know the people of Fremantle won't stand for it”.

"Malaysia’s nuclear regulator Atomic Energy Licensing Board said Lynas was legally obliged to remove radioactive waste from its advanced materials plant and return the residue to Australia - under the conditions of the temporary operating licence.  This defies Australian Government policy, and indeed Western Australian law, which asserts that Australia does not accept or import radioactive waste from other countries.  The company knows it will not get permission to dump the waste in Australia and should come clean about its real intentions.  The people of Malaysia have a right to know."

Senator Ludlam will also comment on the Federal Government’s ongoing Muckaty nuclear waste dump debacle.

The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia

From Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka: The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia

By Boon Kia Meng

NOV 22 — Humans make history; but never in circumstances and situations of their own choosing. This insightful observation by Marx, as he watched over the social upheavals unfolding in Europe in the middle of the 19th century, is a timely expression on what is happening in Malaysia today. 

Have Malaysians ever heard of a group of ordinary, fellow Malaysians — our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our children — marching slowly but surely, on foot, all 300 kilometres of it, rain or shine, from Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka? All united in a common cause: to stop any further environmental degradation in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, where stopping the Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng, and the Murum and Baram dams in Sarawak, constitutes a fundamental demand.

These Malaysian citizens chose to embark on this journey (dubbed “Langkah Lestari”) because for far too long we have collectively as a nation allowed indiscriminate “development” and rapacious capitalistic resource extraction to go on, all in the name of economic growth and wealth creation. 

Just witness the rapid decimation of our natural forestry and the displacement of our fellow indigenous Malaysian communities in Sabah/Sarawak and the peninsula. These have become common phenomena and Malaysians know deep inside that the present state of affairs cannot go on indefinitely without irreversible consequences to our common habitat.

It was their spirit and determination that drew me and my friends to join them in their walk for environmental justice. Donning green shirts and a peasant farmer’s hat, we experienced first-hand what ordinary Malaysians can achieve when they organise themselves, a trend that typifies the sea change in people’s attitude and participation in citizenship activism since 2008. 

Ordinary mothers arrange lodgings and food distribution, grandpas and grandmas providing moral support with their feet and encouraging words, fathers managing logistic details, while the young, even little children, learn to take their first baby steps in authentic environmentalism and love for the country. 

In other words, “Langkah Lestari” epitomises what has been truly essential in any democratic movement for bringing real social change: the twin values of self-organisation and mutual aid. Against these values, no authoritarian state or oppressive regime can stand a chance. Ordinary citizens, learning to organise themselves, little by little, will win the hearts and minds of the majority of the populace.

Make no mistake. The detractors and spokespersons for corporate and vested interests, such as Lynas Corp, will try to justify the viability of their operations on the grounds of economic development and job creation. Malaysian citizens have to judge for themselves whether this “win-win” deal is really beneficial for the country, especially for the residents in Gebeng/Kuantan. 

What are Malaysians getting in exchange for the 12-year tax holiday given to Lynas, estimated at RM1.8 billion per annum, not to mention the billions of ringgit of revenue Lynas will generate from these operations? In reality, this is a classic case of neoliberal capitalism in action: the privatisation of profits, whilst socialising the costs, both human and environmental. 

In the Lynas case, it is even more farcical, where we have a case of a foreign mining corporation, which is reaping stratospheric profits as a result of the Western Australian mining boom, deciding to externalise its social costs to another country. Instead of acting as protector and guardian of her citizens’ security and well-being, the Malaysian government has abdicated that role for the sake of endless capital accumulation.

It is no wonder that people from all walks of life are seeing through the lies of neoliberal ideology and deciding to leave the sidelines and join this struggle. The patronising dogma of big business that preaches wealth trickling down to the masses is increasingly hollow and losing its ideological hold on the people. 

Try telling the Orang Asal brothers and sisters from Sarawak, who are marching daily with their Semenanjung compatriots, on the merits of an unfettered, free market economy that promises prosperity for all. Our indigenous brothers and sisters will tell you about the true face of “economic development”, where countless thousands of them have experienced forced displacement, land grabbing and environmental destruction. 

Politicians from both sides wax lyrical about the need for more development and allocation funds for Sabah and Sarawak. They fail to see that uneven development and destruction of traditional forms of living have led to increasing proletarianisation (making them wage-earners, instead of their traditional self-sufficient farming existence) of our indigenous peoples, precisely what a capitalist economy cannot fail but generate. 

These are the hard truths made visible by this 300km walk. It forces us to confront the dark, hidden side of our exploitative economy and its unsustainable ecological trajectory.

This brings us back to the significance of this Sunday, November 25, in the history of this nation. The marchers have decided to occupy Dataran Merdeka once they reach there, awaiting the presence of the prime minister and Members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide the very next morning. 

Again ordinary Malaysians like them face the arbitrary exercise of state power in the hands of City Hall and the police when the mayor of KL said that no gathering in Dataran is allowed without an application for permit. We know that the upsurge of participation of Malaysians in public protests since Bersih 3.0 is no historical accident. The momentum of people’s movements will only grow stronger and stronger by the day and “Himpunan Hijau 2.0: Langkah Lestari” in Dataran Merdeka this Sunday will be no different. Thousands upon thousands of Malaysians will be there, come what may.

As I sat in the room with our fellow marchers, listening to the children of Bentong sing a song dedicated to their struggle, I felt strangely emotional. It was as if their voices helped us peer into a future of a new Malaysia that is taking shape right before our eyes. Of its shape and detail, no one could tell with any certainty. But one thing is for sure. It will be a Malaysia very different from the present one, burdened by her heavy history of class and environmental exploitation, and ethnic-based political ideologies.

“Those who do not move, do not notice their chains,” the radical democrat Rosa Luxemburg once said. Thank you, participants of Langkah Lestari, for walking and making Malaysians conscious of the shackles that are enslaving us. Thank you, Saudara Wong Tack (the organising chairperson), for reminding all Malaysians that true emancipation lies in our very own hands: “Pilihan di tangan kita!”

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

LYNAS – THE JOURNEY TO NOWHERE

WHY the CEO sold so much of his own shares in LYC last year if its such a lucrative company ?

Here is of a piece of comment shared by rare earth market analyst:  

 

LYNAS – THE JOURNEY TO NOWHERE

1murf on 16/10/2012 — Leave a Comment

Back in January this year, investors were becoming dispirited with progress on LAMP completion.  I wrote an article for this site called “Where Lynas is at”.  My final summation was:

“Clearly, Lynas will no longer be the same company after POL approval.  It should be one heavily in demand.  At a time when investors are looking for a safe place to invest, yet one with outstanding returns, many will want to be a part of it.”

The article was premature and I strongly regret writing it.  10 months later, the LAMP has been completed  less than 2 months, the Pre-Operating Licence has been approved, issued and then suspended.  It remains suspended.

Along the way, I have seen countless strong supporters of the company lose most of their assets as the continued delays and uncertainties have allowed the big players to control the market and manipulate the share price as low as 56 cents.

The uncertainties have been greatly assisted by the poor flow of, at times misleading, information from the company.  I will detail what the company has done, how it has poorly informed the market over a considerable period.  It has been the light on the hill on a dark night, enticing us to stagger to the top only to see that light extinguished and another one to appear on the next hill.  And so on.

The LAMP was originally scheduled to be in production by 30/06/11.  Not only is it still not producing, there is not one iota of confidence that it will ever produce.

In my view, the situation has now become so bad that a Trading Halt should be imposed until the market is once again fully informed that the LAMP can either operate or it can’t.

Just follow this timeline of company announcements and see if you agree with me about how the market has been misled:

Sojitz Funding announcement 30/3/11

Budgeted Phase 1 construction costs are fully funded

•The Mount Weld Concentration Plant is completed and is ready for the first feed of ore. Lynas is working on satisfying the final requirements of the WA Department of Environment, which are taking longer than expected to satisfy. Lynas expects to satisfy those requirements within 3 to 4 weeks, and Lynas understands that start up of the Mount Weld Concentration Plant will occur upon satisfaction of those requirements

•The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) is due to be commissioned in 3Q 2011

•All approvals in Australia and Malaysia are in place to complete construction of processing plants

•All major equipment procured

•Lynas has signed six supply contracts and two letters of intent in relation to future production

(The market has now been informed that 30^th June completion will not be achieved.  Completion is now going to happen some time during the next 3 months.  Deliberately not very precise?  This advice is from experts in construction of such plants who not so long before were assuring us that completion would be by 30/6! A later announcement was more precise and used a September date for completion.  Couldn’t be October because that was in the 4^th quarter, wasn’t it, and the Company didn’t want to let on just yet that the 3^rd quarter wasn’t going to be achieved.)

5 Million Hours LTI Free Achieved at Lynas Advanced Materials Plant 30 September 2011

Lynas Corporation Limited (“Lynas”) (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) is pleased to announce a major milestone in achieving 5 million hours Lost Time Injury (“LTI”) free in the development and continuing construction of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in the Gebeng Industrial Estate, near Kuantan, Malaysia.

The Concentration Plant in Western Australia commenced feed of ore on 14 May 2011 and is performing well. First feed of concentrate at the LAMP is scheduled to be achieved in the fourth quarter of 2011. Lynas has received all required approvals to construct the LAMP, and is in the process of applying for all pre-operation and operation approvals.

(Ah, the 30^th of September has now come, so the Company has to announce a later completion date.  Again, it is unhelpful to the market by advising an imprecise time of “fourth quarter of 2011”.  Some investors were able to imagine a possible date of 31/10, some, no doubt were more careful and thought 30/11 more likely, and the rest had every right to believe 31/12/11 was as late as it could go.  Weren’t we all sadly mistaken?!

Quarterly Report 31/10/11

Slight delays in final procurement packages and associated delays in construction and contractor resourcing means it is likely that  first feed to kiln will not occur until early Q1 2012.

For once the company didn’t wait till 31/12 to announce they were wrong – they strung us out that little bit further with “early Q1 2012”.  Now, you could think that might be early January or even early February but certainly not early March.  In any case, whatever you thought that announcement meant, you would have been wrong.

The Chairman, Nick Curtis, gave his address at the AGM on 30/11/11 and said:

 “This time next year I will not be reporting to you the sales we are about to achieve, but rather celebrating with you the reality of our production and sales, and speaking again of the huge potential of our business.”

He also said the LAMP was 78% complete as at 30/9/12.  He didn’t say that with 22% still to go, there was no chance of the deadline of early first quarter 2012 being met.  That was his opportunity to confess to the delays but he said nothing.  Nothing other than that ridiculous statement above which is also clearly false.

Early first quarter 2012 was almost past before he announced as part of the Mt Kellet funding announcement:

“Additional engineering completion requirements and consequential delays in procurement, as well as the recent monsoon season, are the primary causes of the delay for LAMP Phase 1. Based on the latest information from the construction manager, Lynas anticipates first feed to kiln and first production during the second quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory compliance and issuance of the pre-operating licence for the LAMP.”

2 months had gone by during which it must have been clear to all in the Company that the previous deadline of early quarter 1 2012 would not be met.  Why did he wait so long before informing the market?

Another month passed before the next announcement.  It was the Investor Presentation 14/02/12

“LAMP construction: 91% complete

Ready-for-Start-Up program (operational preparedness): 91% complete

Malaysia headcount: 236 (now at 85% of total expected workforce)

Pre-commissioning test packs: 33% complete

Temporary Operating Licence for the LAMP approved

Lynas is on track for first feed to kiln and first production in Q2 2012.“

This was fantastic news.  All the market could think of was that TOL had been approved.  In the euphoria and with the lack of Company explanation, the market believed “TOL approved” meant production could start as soon as the LAMP was ready.  Not so, not so.

30/04/12

“On 1 February, Malaysia’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) announced its approval of the Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) for the LAMP in Gebeng, Malaysia. The AELB’s approval decision came after a thorough and extensive review of the project by the Malaysian Government regulatory authorities. An appeal in respect of the AELB’s decision has been lodged with the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. The Minister’s decision is expected shortly.

As at the end of the period, construction of Phase 1 of the LAMP was 98% complete and pre-commissioning test-packs were more than 85% complete. Lynas is on track for first feed to kiln in Q2, subject to the issuance of the TOL. “

3 months after approval, we were informed that TOL still had to be ISSUED.  “Approved” didn’t mean approved at all.  Production couldn’t start till TOL was ISSUED.  Oh, shit.  In the midst of that disappointment, the Company lifted our spirits by claiming it was on track “for first feed to kiln in Q2”.  Clearly, the LAMP at “98% complete” was going to ready to go by 30^th June.

“PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE IN MALAYSIA UPDATE 20 June 2012

Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) advises that the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) established in relation to the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) was debated in the Malaysian Parliament on 19 June 2012.

As previously announced on 19 March 2012, the Malaysian Government established the PSC with the purpose of helping to raise public awareness concerning the LAMP.

In tabling its report, the PSC makes clear that it has taken into consideration a broad range of issues raised by concerned citizens, special interest groups and NGOs relating to public health and environmental safety, and subjected the LAMP to intense independent, expert scrutiny.

The report recommends that the Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) be issued for the LAMP. In addition, the report notes that Lynas has complied with the standards and laws in Malaysia, which are in line with international standards.”

This again showed that the government believed the TOL should be ISSUED.  Why then, did the AELB not issue it right there and then?  Of equal importance, why did Lynas not use the opportunity to tell the market its 30^th June deadline for completion in only 10 days time was not going to be met?!

Quarterly Activities Report 31/7/12

“The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) Phase 1 construction project in Malaysia was completed Lost Time Injury (LTI) free. The project involved a total of 8,690,000 hours worked without an LTI. Subsequent to the end of the reporting period Lynas Malaysia remains LTI free.

• On 18 June 2012, Lynas announced that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili dismissed the appeal that was lodged under Section 32 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act in relation to the decision of the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) to approve the issuance of a Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) for the LAMP.

• Lynas also welcomes the findings of the Malaysian Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report on the LAMP which recommended that the TOL be issued for the LAMP. The report noted that Lynas has complied with the standards and laws of Malaysia, which are in line with international standards.

• Construction of Phase 1 of the LAMP was completed during the quarter and further progress was made on various pre-commissioning activities. Overall commissioning progress was 64% complete as at the end of the quarter. Construction of the Phase 2 expansion of the LAMP continued during the period and is on track for construction completion in early 2013.”

It waited a full month past the deadline before informing the market that in fact, the LAMP had been completed during June.  Right…so what was this next announcement about?

 “LYNAS Phase One LAMP complete 28 August 2012

Lynas Corporation Limited (Lynas) (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) has completed Phase One construction of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Malaysia.”

Clearly REAL completion did not occur till 28/8.  Or is it still not complete?  Who knows?  Not I.

“LYNAS RECEIVES TEMPORARY OPERATING LICENCE 5 September 2012

Lynas Corporation Limited (“Lynas”) (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) confirms that the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has today issued the Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP).”

So on 5/9/12, the TOL (already approved in February!) was finally issued.  The LAMP was ready to go, concentrate could be imported and production could start.  No, no, not quite.  Somehow, the TOL issue was able to be suspended.  So it is now an approved, issued but suspended licence.  I could ask in wonder, “Who is in charge of Malaysia?”  We all must wonder.

Meanwhile, Lynas has suddenly started informing the market of important developments.  Oh well, it did wait 5 hours before passing on the information about TOL issue being suspended but that didn’t surprise me one bit.  If these court decisions aren’t price sensitive then I know nothing.  Lynas should be in a Trading Halt while these cases run.  I don’t just mean the day of the court appearance, I mean until a decision is handed down.  A FINAL decision.  That is the only way to stop the manipulation of the share price by people who already know the outcome of the legal proceedings.

“UPDATE ON MALAYSIAN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS  25 September 2012

Further to Lynas Corporation Limited’s (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) announcement dated 10 September 2012, the Kuantan High Court has decided to hear on 4 October 2012 an application by parties associated with the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas group for an injunction in respect of Lynas’ Temporary Operating Licence (TOL). The injunction application is part of an application seeking judicial review in respect of the June 2012 decision of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology to affirm the approval of the TOL.”

MALAYSIAN COURT UPDATE  4 October 2012

Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) provides the following update to its ASX announcement dated September 25, 2012, relating to a judicial review of the company’s Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) in Malaysia. The Kuantan High Court has adjourned until 10 October 2012 an application by parties associated with the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) group who are seeking an injunction against the TOL.

The deferral of the matter arose from additional affidavits submitted by Lynas. The applicants requested a brief adjournment to respond to those affidavits.”

Lynas waited till the night before the hearing before supplying the affidavits.  It would have known that would cause a deferral.  You may ask why Lynas did that.  I do.

“MALAYSIAN COURT UPDATE 10 October 2012

Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC, OTC:LYSDY) provides the following update to its ASX announcement dated October 4, 2012. The Kuantan High Court has reserved its decision on an application by parties associated with the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) group who are seeking an injunction against Lynas’ Temporary Operating Licence (TOL).

The injunction relates to an application by SMSL for judicial review of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology’s decision in June to dismiss an appeal against the decision of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) to award the TOL.

The High Court is scheduled to deliver its decision on 8 November 2012. Until the decision is delivered, the interim order that was issued by the High Court on September 25, 2012 maintaining the status quo in respect of the TOL will remain in place.”

We are now in limbo till the 8^th of November when some decision will be handed down by the court.  Perhaps the TOL suspension will be lifted.  Perhaps not.

The situation is abysmal.  Lynas is trading in a vacuum.  Trading needs to be halted until a clear picture of the Company’s future is available.

The Company itself needs to drastically change its attitude to the way it informs the market.  It should give accurate deadlines which are met.  Failure to meet them without sufficient reason should come at a cost to those concerned.

Right now, Nick Curtis bears ultimate responsibility for what has happened.  He needs to be told to change his ways or “it’s the highway”.