THE High Court today granted leave to Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas Malaysia) to initiate two judicial reviews against the government over its operating licence conditions that prohibited the import and processing of lanthanide concentrate after January 1, 2024. 

The decisions were delivered by Justices Amarjeet Singh and Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh in two separate courts today following no objections raised by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). 

Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the AGC while Lynas was represented by Cecil Abraham. 

During proceedings before Justice Wan Ahmad Farid, Abraham said the Australian rare earth mining company would file an application for both judicial reviews to be heard before the judge.  

With leave granted, the court would later fix a hearing date to hear oral submissions on the merits of the judicial reviews.  

In July, Lynas Malaysia filed two separate judicial reviews, naming the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) and the Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB) as respondents. 

Lynas, in a media statement, said the legal challenge was filed to quash the conditions barring the import and processing of lanthanide concentrate after January 1 next year. 

On May 9, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said the government was not shutting down Lynas’s operations but would not allow it to carry out “cracking and leaching” (C&L) activities in the country after December 31. 

He said the government’s decision to extend the period to carry out C&L activities by another six months was to avoid affecting the global supply chain of rare earth.  

Previously, Mosti announced that Lynas’s appeal against dropping four licensing conditions set by the AELB was rejected after a hearing was held on April 28. – Bernama, August 22, 2023.