Lynas - is it really about the environment?

DISCLAIMER

Is the Lynas issue really all about the environment? Have a look at their facebook page - Lynas FB - and you tell me.



I have heard way before (sometime back in 2009) that this plant was going to be the beginning of the end of China's dominance in the supply of rare earth. With China controlling 97% of the world supply that just screams of monopoly all over. I have nothing against China personally but as a Malaysian i believe the economic importance of this project is good for the country as a whole. Its products are used in almost all the electronic products in the world right now. So it would be good for us to have a finger or two in this pie. At the moment China is choking the supply of rare earth to increase the price.
Basic law of demand states that decreasing supply would increase prices. The situation now is China is exercising Law of supply. Only if the world agrees to increase the price will they increase the supply. They are the supply curve for rare earth now..
If we (Malaysia) are able to supply to the world, we would assist in lowering the cost of rare earth, maybe even of better quality, for the basic materials for electronic products.

Why has China been able to control the market? Some alleged it's because of the lax controls they have in place. Source (1) Others say its because of the cheap labour and related costs.

Now, this plant being constructed in Gebeng was said to be poorly constructed. We have some of the best engineers in the world (i have faith in our engineers) and if they saw something was wrong, they would voice it out. With limited knowledge on the extraction process, i do know that it is subjected to high pressure/high temperature treatment somewhere in the process. Possibility for leakages were apparent.
The storage/disposal of the waste product is another issue that needed to be addressed. Thorium is one of the main "waste" products and from what i gather it is naturally radioactive. The thorium is naturally occurring in the raw rare earth and it is not going to be extracted. Seems fair enough. In pure thorium form, the alpha radiation that it emits is not strong enough to penetrate skin so should not cause cancer. The thorium here is still in the soil thus it should be stable and should be as dangerous to you as if you were walking through the Australian outback.
Some chemist/scientist out there could correct me on this.

I feel that the project is feasible and would bring another revenue source for the country.

I read somewhere one of the supporters against LAMP said we should not be like the Japanese case affecting people 30 years after the opening of the factory there. That particular case was known as the Minamata disease. The factory disposed of the waste directly into the waterways of their surroundings. The waste there contained mercury and that is highly toxic. Our Government won't be allowing that at all.

Now another source of revenue that the country is receiving and nobody seems to be making any noise about is the solar manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan. That has been approved for many years and nobody is talking about it. That plant should be the main focus as one of the main waste in the production of solar panels is MERCURY. Why doesn't anyone hold a Perhimpunan Hijau there?

Your guess is as good as mine.



السلام عليكم
Peace be unto you