Press statement by SMSL/PSHK on 15th August 2014

PSHK/SMSL is organizing a public rally to present memorandum to all the Pahang State Assemblymen on the 17th August at the MPK Padang 1 starting 8.00 am. This is to provide the people a chance to participate in a gathering where they can get to know the people whom we elect to safeguard our well beings.

It is also an opportunity for people to voice out their concerns about the operation of Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) which has evidently been causing anxieties among the residents. The people are concerned that the issue has been so politicized that it could never again be rationally discussed in the State Assembly. It has practically strained the bond between the people and the government! This is something that will not bode well for the good of the state!

Lynas brought in more than RM2 billion to invest in Malaysia. While its economic contribution to our economy is still debatable, the fact that it has been in operation without the social contract for almost 2 years and had generated a lot of solid wastes including that of radioactive WLP waste is undeniable. Despite the fact the Government has granted it a 2 year Temporary License, people’s immediate concern is whether this plant’s operations had been monitored adequately and the radioactive wastes generated managed safely.

In its latest quarterly report Lynas has proposed to the Department of Environment to allow them to build a road in Malaysia using the recycled radioactive WLP waste. It did not declare where it will build it. We hold the view that Lynas should have built the pilot plant which it didn’t and carried out all tests and assessments regarding the recycling of its wastes before it set up LAMP here!

CERRIE (Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters) Report came to the conclusion that there is no safe level of radiation while the OEKO Report stated that the practice and recycling of radioactive wastes by dilution is not practised anywhere internationally and even if it is diluted to below 1 BQ/gm, it will still be way above the BRC (Beyond Radiological Concern) level!

Should this be allowed it will turn our beloved country into Lynas’ experimentation station for recycled radioactive wastes! So is the proposal to recycle the NUF wastes into another synthetic product!

We would like to urge all our state assemblymen to take note of this matter and debate with sense and sensibility in the Dewan to ensure that all the Pahang State residents are fully protected. We are not advocating NIMB (Not In My Backyard) policy but to remind the elected people’s representative that they have a sworn duty to protect the State and the people living in Pahang.

We hereby urge all Kuantan, Balok and all residents living nearby to come out to attend the rally and serve as witnesses to an event that will refocus on treating issues that affect people’s lives as matters that deserved to be discussed rationally and resolved in the State Assembly in the best interests and benefits of the citizens!

We welcome all residents irrespective of political affiliations or inclinations to attend this rally. Your active participation is to safeguard the long term interest of our future generations.

We look forward to your presence on the 17th August 2014 at the MPK Padang 1 starting 8 am.

 For further details, kindly please contact SMSL hotline 012 982 3302

MEMORANDUM HANDOVER ON THE 14TH AUGUST (THURSDAY)

1) LYNAS MONITORING COMMITTEE (LMC)

AtomicLevel 20 -West Wing, Menara MATRADE, Jalan Khidmat Usaha off Jalan Duta, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Time: 9.30am

2) ATOMIC ENERGY LICENSING BOARD (AELB)

Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi,
Batu 24, Jalan Dengkil, 43800 Dengkil, Selangor.
Time: 11am

3) Department of Environment (DOE)

Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar
Aras 1 - 4, Podium 2 & 3, Wisma Sumber Asli No.25, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 4,Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62574 Putrajaya.
Time: 12noon

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KATA TIDAK KEPADA PEMBAHARUAN LESEN TOL LYNAS!
Lynas perlu membaharui lesen sementaranya sebelum 2hb Sept 2014. Semua penduduk di sekitar Kuantan harus mengutarakan kebimbangannya terhadap ketiadaan lokasi PDF dan pengurusan sisa yang selamat.

Kami akan menghantar memorandum kepada LMC, AELB & DOE pada 14hb Ogos mengenai perkara ini. Kami menyeru semua turut serta & hubungi talian kami 012 9823302(SMSL) utk pendaftaran pengangkutan percuma dari Ktn ke KL. Sebarkan!

关丹县乡亲父老：莱纳斯稀土厂的临时营运执照将于今年9月2日届满。由国会遴选委员会建议下成立的 LMC （莱纳斯运作监督委员会）将在8月14日举行最后一次会议，并将做出一份报告交给MOSTI部长，让他决定是否应更新莱纳斯的临运执照。而原能局 （AELB）也将在接获该份报告后进行讨论并建议部长是否应更新该执照。

8月14日早上，我们将前往吉隆玻3个地点提呈备忘录：1）LMC 2）AELB 3) DOE。呼吁所有关心此课题的关丹居民一同参与。我们将为您提供免费来往交通工具，让您一齐出席提出关丹居民的诉求，让政府看到我们并没有放弃反莱纳斯。 坐位有限，欲参与者请尽早报名＞ 联络热线 012 982 3302 (SMSL)。传！

〜ＳＴＯＰ ＬＹＮＡＳ 〜 Lynas' TOL is due for renewal on 2rd Sept 2014. The LMC (Lynas' operations Monitoring Committee) set up under PSC will be holding its last meeting on 14th Aug. to prepare a report for the Mosti Minister. AELB will then hold a meeting to decide on d renewal.

We are going to KL- LMC, AELB & DOE to hand in our memos on the 14 Aug Morning, to remind them NOT TO RENEW Lynas' TOL ! All Kuantan residents are welcome to participate in this expedition. Free transport will be provided. For further details pls contact our hotline : 012 982 3302(SMSL). Thank you.

SMSL/PSHK Press statement on the 2nd August 2014

Lynas Corporation has just released its quarterly reports ending 30th June 2014.

Based on the reports ending 30th June 2014, Lynas is financially in a critical state. SMSL hereby urge the government and the regulatory authority AELB NOT to extend or renew its TOL!

In its Cash Flow report, the quarter ended with a deficit of $A 23.775 millions while its previous quarter has a cash reserve of $A 23.359 millions! It raised $A 39.971 millions from a rights issue exercise and institutional placement of shares last May. It now has a cash balance of $A 38.144 millions, while the next quarter has a forecast outflow of $A 58.172 millions! This does not include the next principal repayment due under the Sojitz Facility of US$ 35.0 millions on 30th September 2014!

Though the quarter saw a production of 1,882 tonnes of REO, Lynas only sold 1,630 tonnes and grossed in A$26.495 millions which is equivalent to a basket price of A$16.254/kg. It is much lower than basket price of US$20.35/kg during the quarter on a China domestic basis. What this means is LAMP is operating on a loss accumulating basis. The market price for REO is continuing to experience the down trend and this will further exacerbate Lynas’ losses through a full operation ramp up as announced !

It is now clear that Lynas’ financial health is in ‘ICU’! Should it failed to get their creditor Sojitz/LOGMAC to agree to defer their repayments of A$ 215 millions in 6 monthly intervals till 31 March 2016, it will begin to default on their repayments starting September 30th this year and this could lead to dire and serious implications for the community here ! With the meagre sum of US$13.05 millions received as security deposits, would it be sufficient to dispose off thousands of tonnes of solid radioactive wastes left behind by LAMP safely?

The Government of Malaysia and the regulating authority AELB should exercise the Principle of Caution and reject Lynas’ application for the Full Operating Stage License (renewal of TOL)!

In its activities report ending 30th June 2014, Lynas revealed that it has submitted all documents required for the application for a Full Operating Stage License (FOSL) for LAMP to the AELB. It has also made an e-application as well and submitted a letter of intent to that effect. Lynas claimed that it has complied with all regulatory requirements and ALL conditions of the TOL since it was issued by the AELB in September 2012. (Source: Quarterly report ending 30th June 2014)

The residents of Kuantan and Balok hereby request AELB to confirm

1. that Lynas has identified a location for its PDF as required under the terms of the TOL.

2. that Lynas has successfully conducted tests on the recycling of solid wastes into Synthetic Mineral Products as claimed in their report and they are prepared to fulfill their undertaking of shipping them abroad to their potential buyers;

3. that AELB has certified the ROAD BASE material developed from water leach purification (WLP) as a Non –radioactive material and Lynas is seeking DOE’s approval for construction of a demonstration and assessment road using this material;

4. that the company has gained approval from a CUSTOMER (Is AELB aware of this?) and is preparing to make the first commercial trial export of neutralization underflow product (NUF).

5. that AELB has checked , agreed and approved all these alternatives to finding a PDF.

6. that the written undertaking by Lynas to ship all recycled products overseas will be adhered to as directed by the Malaysia Cabinet.

The residents are gravely concerned that both Lynas and the regulatory authority have not been fulfilling their pledge to inform and engage the local residents and communities on these matters. It is part of the IAEA recommendations that both Lynas and AELB should adhere to as a precondition to the issuance of TOL.

Lynas claimed that WLP wastes will be recycled as ROAD BASE material and the AELB has certified it as non-radioactive, we would like both Lynas and AELB to provide us with a sample so that independent experts can have a say over this. Meanwhile we urge the DOE NOT to approve the proposal from Lynas for the construction of a demonstration and assessment road using this material! Lynas should have done this before it built its plant here. Why should our land and environment be the experimental laboratory for Lynas’ radioactive wastes?

So is the claim by Lynas on the commercialization of NUF wastes. We demand that all information regarding the CUSTOMER and the trials that had been carried out be made available to the public so that a fair and independent opinion can be sought from the experts to appease the fears and concern of the people!

Contrary to what Lynas has claimed in their report regarding the fulfillment of ALL conditions under the TOL, it has failed to carry out what it promised in its written undertaking. AELB should under no reasonable circumstances allow the application for the Full Operating Stage License (FOSL) to be approved!

We as stakeholders have been bypassed and ignored when LAMP was built. We promise that we will not let this matter rest if proper observation of rules and regulations both by Lynas and the regulating authorities are not adhered to. We shall pursue through whatever means necessary to ensure that our environment is not sacrificed on the altar of foreign profits and the incompetence of our government officials!

For further information, please contact our Hotline 012 982 3302