NST Online: Topnews
NST Online: Topnews |
| Lynas fulfills all requirements: Moore Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:31 PM PDT PERTH: Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore says there is no concern by the Australian government in respect to any operations of Lynas Corporation Ltd as the company has fulfilled all the requirements. The Minister also voiced his pleasure in the company's involvement in developing its Mount Weld rare earth project as it has given Western Australia a chance to be a part of the world's rare earth business. Moore, who is responsible for initiating the single biggest overhaul of Western Australia's mining industry's occupational health and safety system, also assured Malaysians that the level of radioactivity attached to the product from Mount Weld was very low, that it was not considered as dangerous goods from the point of transportation regulations.
Lynas is building a RM700 million rare earth processing plant in Gebeng, Pahang, using raw materials sourced from its Mount Weld mine, to produce rare earth products essential for making hi-tech gadgets. From the mine, the raw materials are taken to its concentration plant within the site and processed into concentrates before they are shipped from Port of Fremantle to Malaysia to be processed into rare earth products at its Gebeng plant.
"As you are aware, there is severe competition in the world. The Chinese government has almost a monopoly with respect to rare earth, so we are aware that other countries would like to have access to rare earth and as such, we are very keen for this project to go ahead," he added. Meanwhile, China, whichproduces 95 per cent of the world's rare earth, has been cutting its export quota, causing a global shortage of rare earth.
As for opposition by some Green Party members in Australia to Lynas' Malaysian project, he said, products using rare earth were also green-related. "Ironically, the products that used rare earth are in fact related to the things like wind turbines that the Greens might be supportive of developing because they are looking for renewable energy sources," he said. Moore said he did not understand why they should oppose to a plant being developed in Malaysia which would provide employment and opportunities for the Malaysian people, adding that it was unfortunate for them to be also involved in Malaysian politics and the exaggerated circumstances surrounding the Gebeng plant. "I must confess I don't understand the politics of Malaysia at the moment. I understand you are in an election mood and I can understand Green Group seeking to take advantage of the opportunities to promote the green agenda but I think it is unfortunate that the Australian Green should involve themselves in Malaysian politics, particularly these days, to be exaggerating the circumstances surrounding the project," he added. Moore said the mining and transportation of the rare earth products from Mount Weld would be done under strict regulations in Western Australia and processing in Malaysia would be done under Malaysian laws which were rigorous as that of Australia's. -- BERNAMA |
| Lawmakers show it’s never too late to learn Posted: 11 Sep 2011 10:18 AM PDT 2011/09/12 KUALA LUMPUR: Our lawmakers are proving that age and work commitment are no barriers to pursuing their education at a higher level. It is learnt that 25 of them, including six deputy ministers, are pursuing studies in various postgraduate programmes conducted by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
Asked how she would divide her time between her family, her ministerial work and her constituents in Papar, Sabah, she said she had to thank UUM for its flexible hour s.
Rosnah is working on her thesis and she expects to complete her studies by next year.
However, he admitted that he felt "awkward " when attending classes with students half his age.
If I don't get to attend classes because of this, I will just replace the credit hours later." Kamalanathan said he was waiting for the university to approve the draft of his thesis so that he could continue his research, a process that could take up to 1½ years.
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