KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- A leading rare earth expert from Canada
has advised all parties currently engaged emotionally in the rare earth issue of
Lynas Advanced Material Plant in Gebeng, Pahang to discuss the issue based on
facts.
Alastair S. Neil, who is also the executive vice-president of Dacha
Strategic Metals, said "the Lynas plant is a chemical factory, and not a nuclear
factory, which is a completely different operation".
Neil, who presented a paper on ''Supply and Demand in Rare Earth and
Human Resource Need'' at the First International Symposium on Rare Earth held
here, recently, suggested that monitoring and reporting of current and future
information on the radiation levels by a third party would be beneficial to
overcome the misconception.
"The open discussion on this plant and rare earth was encouraging, and it
was obvious from the questions asked, that this is an emotionally-charged
issue," he said in a statement issued, here, today.
Early this month, Neil with other international experts visited the plant in
Gebeng, in conjunction with the First International Rare Earth Symposium,
organised by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM).
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Neil said Malaysia had a tremendous opportunity to take part in the high
and green technology market segment growth.
He commended the Academy Sciences of Malaysia for assembling a superb team
to present and review the issues related to rare earth processing, and in
particular the Lynas facility, near Kuantan.
Impressed with the knowlege and skills of the team, he said: "This is an
important factor to the success of any plant. This is a speciality chemical
business and they have assembled a very strong group of people with chemical
industry operating background and knowledge.
"Furthermore, Malaysia will be the second largest producer of rare earth in
the world after China, once the Lynas Advanced Material Plant is in operation.
"The potential spin-off for Malaysia could be very significant. Companies
are looking for a base outside China to expand manufacturing. This would allow
the new generation an opportunity to bring Malaysia to the forefront of high
technology research and development."
Neil was also impressed with Lynas and has described the plant as one of the
top state-of-the-art rare earth plants in the world, which was of world-class
standard.
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CS HS MO