Kuan, and 2 co-authors, reported in 2016 that in Malaysia, there were two rare earths processing plants namely Asian Rare Earth (ARE) and the Malaysian Rare Earth Corporation Plant (MAREC) in Perak, which were operated until 1992 and were subsequently closed due to problems pertaining to disposal of large amount of radioactive waste. Recently, Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) has become one of the largest rare earths processing plant in the world producing rare earth elements (REE) in Gebeng, Pahang. The primary raw material is lanthanide concentrate (LC) which is imported from Mount Weld mine in Australia and shipped to Malaysia. LC is produced from lanthanide ore after mining and mineral processing.
The ore has a lower impact than Bayan Obo, Mountain Pass and adsorbed clay deposits, given the small footprint of the mine itself and the remoteness of the location. The type of ore being mined (rare earth phosphates: carbonatite, monazite) may have higher thorium content than bastnasite ore from the Chinese or American mines but still far below radiation concerns. This paper was written to review the processing flowsheet at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP), the environmental impact associated with the processing of the said ores and the sustainability of the operation.
The authors concluded that the future goals of Lynas operations in a developing economy such as Malaysia lie in the integration of sustainable production and environmental management policy. Conducting continuous current and future impact assessment analyses which aim to reduce environmental impact at LAMP, as well as contributing towards new policy actions, would be a great place to start. With leading sustainability performance, the industry could be a good example for other industries in Malaysia with similar or more severe environmental impacts such as bauxite extraction.
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