Rare Earths Miner Lynas Pushes A$25M Share Purchase Plan

Existing shareholders of Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp continued to express support to the mining company by agreeing to its share purchase plan even as its beleaguered processing plant in Malaysia continued to face strong opposition from the community on which the facility is located.

Lynas on Monday announced shareholders agreed to support the share purchase plan it announced last month, where it expects to raise A$25 million. The amount, the company said, will be used to support working capital requirements as well as general corporate purposes during the commissioning and ramp-up operations at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Malaysia.

Last week, the Australian rare earths mining company said its controversial plant is in the limelight after its main antagonist, the activist group Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL), again filed for a court application before the Malaysian Court of Appeal to stop Lynas from operating its $800 million rare earths processing plant in Kuantan, Malaysia.

SMSL had obtained a court date, set on December 19.

The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, Malaysia started its first feed to kiln in late November. It anticipates a ramp-up period of three to four months until first commercial sales and subsequent cash generation.

In early November, when the Malaysian High Court ruled in favor of Lynas, which ultimately released the controversial temporary operating license to the hands of the rare earths miner, it said that the arguments of SMSL of environmental hazards "are premature because the plant is not in operation yet."

SMSL had vowed to continue its fight against the rare earths miner and its processing plant.

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