Lynas saga: Suspense mounts; China restricts access to research & RE data; China H1 Quota for Heavy RE up 37%; India RE exploration; Pensana stock crash; Energy Fuels to produce NdPr end of 2023;
Rare Earth 5. April 2023 #116
If there is something that I should understand but don’t, then there is something wrong with it.
Herrman Schnabel (1921-2010)
//Politics
Give in or shut down: Wan Fayhsal urges govt to reconsider Lynas conditions
Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN) has opined that Australian rare earth miner Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd “might as well” shutter its factories in Malaysia if the government refuses to drop conditions for its operating licence.
It was reported last month that the ministry is considering a letter of appeal from Lynas to cancel the conditions for its operating licence, with its minister Chang Lih Kang stating that the government has not shut down Lynas.
This came about after the government rejected Lynas’ application to drop four licence terms related to the water leach purification residue after 2023, cracking and leaching activities at the Lynas advanced materials plant, and the importation of lanthanide concentrate from Australia.
The decision means that Lynas will not produce additional radioactive waste after July 2023.
Previously, a group of around 200 pro-Lynas supporters gathered to demonstrate their support for the company’s operations, claiming that Putrajaya’s conditional renewal of the company’s licence was “unfair” and “not based on facts”.
Lynas has claimed that it was being “targeted” by Putrajaya over radioactive waste concerns despite the company being regulated by a government agency, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board.
From what we hear Lynas are working hard to build up stock of product in the hope to bridge a period between July 1, 2023, when the renewed operating license kicks in with the no-radioactive materials clauses, and the time when Kalgoorlie has shipped the first quantities.
According to Lynas presentation of half year result, that may not happen before Q4 2023 “feed-on”:
However, Lynas may not be so successful in building the NdPr stock:
That drop in NdPr output in spite of Mrs. Lacaze saying that Lynas was mining a particularly rich part of Mount Weld CLD.
We think Lynas are with the back to the wall. The only workable solution would be a grace period from the Malaysian government until Kalgoorlie runs properly.
Meanwhile CEO Amanda Lacaze has exercised 147,000 employee performance rights, which cost her nil.
Lynas share price is down 42% year on year.
No appetite among top execs and directors for on-market purchase of Lynas shares?
A portal to China is closing, at least temporarily, and researchers are nervous
This week, research institutions around the world – including the University of California, San Diego, Kyoto University and the Berlin State Library – notified affiliates that they would indefinitely lose access to up to four databases provided by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) platform starting on April 1.
In a notice sent to affected institutions on March 17, CNKI’s operator – Tongfang Knowledge Network Technology – noted that the suspension was made in accordance with “the Measures of Data Cross-Border Transfer Assessment and relevant laws effective September 1, 2022”.
The regulation, finalised in July by the country’s top internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), requires security reviews of “important” and large data transfers from China to destinations outside its borders.
The suspension is the latest measure in a trend of academic and technological decoupling between China and the West. In recent years, academic and broader people-to-people exchanges have been constrained, in part due to Covid-19 restrictions but also due to rising political tensions.
For academics studying China, CNKI is an invaluable resource, particularly with the current uncertainty surrounding visits to China for field research.
So much about China’s much touted opening up.
We note that during the second half of last year the publication of rare earth related information has dropped, after “competent authorities” were reminded not to be generous with potentially national security relevant data.
While it save a lot of work to have data compiled by MIIT with an official seal of completeness, we can still create the many compilations directly from their sources.
China to ban exports of rare-earth magnet technology, a core component of EVs
The Chinese government is working to revise the "List of China's Export Prohibited and Export Restricted Technologies," a list of export restrictions on manufacturing and other industrial technologies. announced. High-performance magnets using rare earths such as "neodymium" and "samarium-cobalt" were added, and a ban on the export of "manufacturing technology" was newly included. The public comment period ended in late January, and the revision is expected to be adopted by the end of the year.
Japan Inc. does not read The Rare Earth Observer? Our post of February 2, 2023:
Of course they do.
Launching such articles all over the Japanese internet is Japan’s way of getting back at China after the “frank” meeting between Japan’s and China’s foreign ministers in Beijing, during which Japan was reminded “not to aid a villain” (=USA).
However, the untimely passing of famed Japanese composer, musician and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto 坂本 龍一, (“The Last Emperor”, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”) on March 28, 2023 united people of both nations in grief.
Even China’s foreign ministry acknowledged Mr. Sakamoto’s achievements and conveyed condolences.
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