Confusing messages about where Lynas will put its rare earths radioactive wastes
Lynas had denied reports that the Western Australian government had refused to accept the radioactive waste from the miner’s RM2.5 billion rare earth plant in Malaysia.
“If the (Australian) government accepts waste, why not they (Lynas) stay in own country?” Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack asked. Wong said Lynas Corp was “clearly taking advantage” of Malaysia’s
“loose environmental laws” and “non-functioning administration”.
Australia: No request from Lynas to accept waste http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/australia-no-request-from-lynas-to-accept-waste By Lisa J. Ariffin March KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Canberra
has yet to receive any request from Lynas Corp to accept radioactive waste from the Australian miner’s controversial rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan that will be ready this June.
“Australia has not received any request to import residues from the plant,” an Australian High Commission spokesman told The Malaysian Insider when contacted today. Continue reading
Easy to see why Australian company Lynas puts its rare earths plant in Malaysia
Let’s de-politicise the Lynas issue — Stop Lynas Coalition, The Malaysian Insider March 21, 2012 “…….Lynas loves to boast that their project is approved in Australia also. Given Australia’s high environmental standard, if it is approved in Australia, why would Malaysians reject it? However, Lynas hid from the public that the Australian proposal was approved under extremely stringent conditions.
The table shows the conditions under the Australian proposal [6] compared to LAMP.
Regardless of what justification the government gives, any person of general intellect can deduce that LAMP is shifted to our shores because Lynas wants to dump its waste here. How can our government inflict such indignity on the very people it is elected to protect?…
[6] “Proposed rare earths mining and beneficiation at Mt Weld, Laverton and secondary processing at Meenaar, near Northm”, Ashton Rare Earths Ltd, August 1992. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/lets-de-politicise-the-lynas-issue-stop-lynas-coalition
Bullying of whistleblowers at Australia’s nuclear reactor
In their statement to Comcare’s investigator, Mr Howe and Mr Bourke said that while they had been reinstated, they were still being harassed.
The case follows that of David Reid, a former staff-elected health and safety officer who was suspended in June 2009 and sacked last June. He had also raised concerns about contamination in the ARI.
Lucas Heights nuclear reactor bullying exposed, BY: LEIGH DAYTON, The Australian March 16, 2012 ADMINISTRATORS at Australia’s only nuclear reactor facility used findings of an inaccurate, biased and partially fabricated in-house report as the pretext to suspend – and recommend the dismissal of – two employees who raised health and safety concerns over the mishandling of radioactive materials. Continue reading
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Evacuation plans last year, as Fukushima crisis occurred
Mr McLean revealed that Australia and other nations began compiling elaborate evacuation plans amid growing concern and uncertainly as the Fukushima plant began to explode.
The former ambassador confirmed Australia had evacuation plans in place but voiced the uncomfortable truth that, in reality, greater Tokyo (population 35 million) would have been almost impossible to evacuate.
Ex-ambassador frustrated by post-tsunami silence BY: RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT The Australian March 10, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S former ambassador to Japan has told of his frustrations with the Japanese government for keeping its close partners in the dark about the extent of the damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant at the height of the crisis almost one year ago. Continue reading
World’s biggest man made hole – BHP ‘s uranium mine, might not go ahead
Reuters report on mining conference in Canada Mar 6, 2012 By Euan Rocha TORONTO, March 6 – The Anglo-Australia mining giant, which already operates an underground mine at the site, has yet to sign off on the budget for
the open pit…. but BHP may opt to delay taking on the heavy financial burden that could easily be in the $10 billion to $20 billion range…..
…. PDAC, the mining industry’s largest annual gathering. The convention, organized by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, opened in Toronto on Sunday.
Even though Olympic Dam, located 550 km (345 miles) north of Adelaide, is one of BHP’s biggest growth prospects, the cost of
digging the massive pit may prove prohibitive.
Last month the company reported a profit decline, and it struck a cautious tone on its expectations for growth in China, one of its
biggest markets. That has led some to speculate that the miner may delay spending on capital-intensive projects such as Olympic Dam and the Jansen potash project in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
In late 2011, BHP finalized state approvals to begin construction work on the open-pit phase of the Olympic Dam project, but the agreement would lapse around December if BHP delays its decision on proceeding.
“We want to see a board decision before the end of the year about substantial works beginning. If not, the approvals run out and BHP know this,” said Tom Koutsantonis, minister for mineral resources and energy for the state of South Australia.” I’m not in the business, and no government should be in the business, of allowing anyone to have massive tenements that they don’t develop …”-
A spokesman for BHP declined to comment on the remarks.
MASSIVE SCALE The sheer scale of the open-pit project is formidable. BHP will have to shovel rock for five to seven years before it reaches the Olympic Dam ore body, discovered in the mid-1970s….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/canada-mining-pdac-olympicdam-idUSL2E8E60E220120306
Malaysia’s weaker environmental laws led Australian company to set up rare earths plant there
ANAWA and EDO strongly believed that Lynas had chosen to move its operations to Malaysia because of the heavy metals and radioactive waste involved in the processing. “We believe Lynas picked Malaysia to save money and enable it to operate under less stringent laws,”
“The biggest concerns about the processing are the storage and waste management issues which are made more difficult in Gebeng which we understand to be wetlands.”
“There is no way it could operate the way it is in Malaysia over here,” he said. “Australia’s laws are much more stringent.”
Aussie NGO: Gebeng not part of Lynas’ blueprint, Free Malaysia Today News, Stephanie Sta Maria | March 6, 2012 Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) claims that Lynas’ massive changes to its plan has resulted in its plant being built in Gebeng where laws are looser and labour is cheaper. PETALING JAYA: The Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) has revealed that Lynas Corporation Ltd was supposed to build its plant in Western Australia and not Malaysia. Continue reading
Australian government remains firmly opposed to nuclear power
Despite pro nuclear Bob Carr joining the Ministry, the Australian Government opposes nuclear power plants. The Prime Minister was quoted in an article in 9 News, Mar 6 2012 By Julian Drape “…….The prime minister was also quizzed on Tuesday about incoming foreign minister Bob Carr’s stated support for nuclear power.
In response she said Labor’s policy was to oppose nuclear power plants in Australia “and it won’t be changing”.
“Our future as a country … is in making the best of our natural assets as well as continuing to use traditional sources of energy.
“We are a country with abundant sunshine. We are a country with a very, very, very long coastline which gives you access to tidal power.” Ms Gillard added that hot rocks energy could also be brought on stream.
Lynas ordered to relocate its proposed radioactive waste site
Malaysia Upholds Decision on Lynas; but Wants Relocation of Residue Disposal Facility, International Business Times, By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | March 5, 2012 The Malaysian government continues to uphold Australian miner Lynas Corp., and its beleaguered Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) after it directed the Australian company to relocate its earlier proposed residue disposal facility to a site that is far from the LAMP location in Gebeng, Kuantan province.
Malaysian news agencies reported over the weekend it was Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who specifically ordered the rare earths miner to locate an alternative location for its residue disposal facility that is away from Gebeng and its residential communities.
Suffice to say, this could mean Lynas Corp.’s assurance of a winning edge over its detractors who have turned the business investment into a political mill. The Lynas plant would remain at its present location, Mr Najib was quoted as saying by www.asiaone.com. The new location of the residue disposal facility would be announced later……
On Feb. 17, Gebeng residents filed a case against Lynas Corp., as well as an application for leave for judicial review, over the temporary operating licence it received from the AELB and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) issued end January.
The High Court Apellate and Special Powers Judge Justice Rohana Yusuf had scheduled Mar. 20 as initial hearing.
Hackers break into Lynas’ website, while Malaysian court case continues
Australian miner hacked, WA Today, Rania Spooner February 27, 2012 In a show of opposition to a near-complete rare earths processing plant in Malaysia, the website of Australian miner Lynas Corporation has been hacked. WAtoday.com.au understands the miner’s website was brought down on Sunday as reports emerged of more than 5000 protestors converging on the seaside city of Kuantan, near the site of the controversial facility.
The Lynas website was still down at 7.30pm (EST) Monday, with a message from the company advising: “We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties at the moment. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
A hacker, using the name “4z1″ and claiming to be a Malaysian citizen, has taken credit for bringing the site down in a statement on a personal blog.
In a rough translation of 4z1′s statement from Chinese into English, internal Malaysian race issues and fear of radiation from the plant was the explanation for the hacking….
A group of Kuantan residents have launched court proceedings against Malaysia’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board, the Malaysian Department of Environment and Lynas Malaysia over the plant, the company reported on Thursday. The group has sought a review of the plant’s temporary operating license granted by the AELB early this month and a halt to the commencement of operations, due in the coming weeks, while such a review is undertaken….
The plant would be used to process concentrate from the Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia’s Goldfields region, believed to be the largest of its kind in the world. The company previously announced plans to transport the concentrate from Mount Weld to Malaysia via road and sea. http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/australian-miner-hacked-20120227-1tyn0.html#ixzz1o5i4ZS2d
Giant uranium miner BHP challenged by Aboriginal elder
‘Tiny voice’ of elder takes on Olympic Dam BY: SARAH MARTIN, SA POLITICAL REPORTER The Australian February 22, 2012 BHP Billiton’s proposed $20 billion Olympic Dam mine expansion, to create the world’s largest open-cut mine, will be challenged in the Federal Court after an application was lodged by Aboriginal elder Kevin Buzzacott.
Mr Buzzacott, who is known as Uncle Kevin, is being represented by the Adelaide-based Environmental Defenders Office. The office claims the mine expansion has been approved unlawfully under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act by federal Environment Minister Tony Burke.
Among the claims are that much of the environmental assessment and decision-making was based on plans and studies that have not yet been prepared and that the minister did not properly consider impacts from the above-ground storage of radioactive tailings waste, the export of uranium and on groundwater resources, including the Great Artesian Basin.
Mr Buzzacott, an elder from Arabunna land in South Australia’s remote north, is known for his anti-uranium campaigning, and in 2007 was awarded an Australian Conservation Foundation award recognising his protest work. The EDO filed an application on his behalf in the Federal Court yesterday, saying his “tiny voice” was prepared to take on the giant……
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/tiny-voice-of-elder-takes-on-olympic-dam/story-e6frgczx-1226277611443
Australian government’s special laws for the benefit of uranium mining company
Olympic Dam mine is a dam designed to leak an average of three million litres of liquid radioactive waste a day from the tailings storage facility through decades of mining up to 2050.
The federal and SA governments agreed to surface dumping of the tailings rather than to require best practice disposal into the pit.
Our uranium fuelled Fukushima, David Noonan, The Guardian, 22 Feb 12, Australian uranium fuelled the Fukushima nuclear disaster yet our governments have just approved the world’s largest uranium project in BHP Billiton’s proposed new pen pit mine at Roxby Downs. “We can confirm that Australian obligated nuclear material was at the Fukushima Daiichi site and in each of the reactors – maybe five out of six, or it could have been all of them; almost all of them”.
This frank smoking gun admission by Dr Floyd, the Director-General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade came some seven months after the Fukushima crisis had started to unfold. It is quite likely this Australian uranium came from Roxby Downs in SA.
Denial runs deep in the nuclear industry Continue reading
Energy efficiency program by Australian government
New Australian government energy efficiency programs opened Eco Business, February 9th, 2012 By : Energy Matters The Gillard Government has just announced the opening of series of energy efficiency initiatives and assistance targeted towards business, local government, households and communities.
A joint statement from Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government Simon Crean; and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus states these programs will make it easier for regional communities and smaller councils to access assistance and support in the transition to a low carbon future.
The programs include:
Community Energy Efficiency Program – $200 million
To assist local government, not-for-profit and community organisations to undertake energy efficiency upgrades to community infrastructure, including council buildings, stadiums, education facilities, town halls and nursing homes. Continue reading
Astroturf in Australia – fake citizen action by fossil fuel lobby
Faked “citizen action” was the brainchild of PR heavyweight Burson Marsteller, whose leaked email “Doubt is our Product” laid bare the ruse behind tobacco’s denial campaign during the tobacco wars.
The same ruse has been used for the last decade by the mining industry to create doubt about global warming….
a cynical campaign run by ideological advocates Americans for Prosperity, funded by “free marketeer” mining billionaires — the Koch Brothers.
Deception is our product Independent Australia 9 Feb 2012, Environment editor Sandi Keane exposes the shadowy world of PR, where astroturfing and propaganda is used to coerce the public into sacrificing their own interests for those of big corporations.
Deceiving the public these days is a lucrative industry. Experienced PR practitioners now coerce you through astroturfing and other socially engineered forms of brainwashing to sacrifice your interests for those of their clients – especially those with the biggest war chest – the fossil fuel industry…. Continue reading
Australia’s ailing uranium industry
In short, the deal with India is seen by some as little more than a short term means to prop up an industry breathing its last gasp……
[For uranium explorers] the 52 week highs and lows paints the same picture as we saw for the producers – market participants doubt the viability of exploring for a product whose demand may be in jeopardy.
Share market participants have spoken and they clearly doubt the future of nuclear energy.
URANIUM STOCKS HIT HARD BUT BULLS ARE BELLOWING, The Bull, By Bob Kohut | 30.01.2012 As the dismal trading in 2011 global share markets ground down to its agonising year-end finish, some Australian investors were heartened by the news that our government was about to lift the ban on uranium sales to India.. Continue reading
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