KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Malaysia cannot force rareearths miner Lynas Corp to leave despite oppositionfrom some people who fear the risk of radioactivity from wasteat the firm's processing plant, the nation's state news agencycited the prime minister as saying.
The Australian company has been running the plant inMalaysia since 2012 using rare earths mined from Mount Weld inWestern Australia. The Malaysian government is expected to makea decision on renewing its operating licence by mid-August.
Talking to reporters on Thursday during a visit to Japan,Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the 600 Malaysian employeesat the plant in the state of Pahang were not afraid to keepworking there, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.
"We invite them and then we kick them out. Others will saythe country made a promise but, when there is a problem, we kickthem out ... we cannot do that," he was quoted as saying byBernama.
Lynas shares were up 3% at A$2.89 on Friday.
Reuters reported on Monday, quoting two sources with directknowledge of the matter, that the Malaysian government plannedto extend Lynas' licence to operate the plant by a Sept. 2deadline, though it could be for a shorter duration than theusual three years.
A decision to renew the licence is important for the marketfor rare earths, as Lynas is the biggest producer outside China.Beijing has in the past tightened supply of the materials, usedin everything from military equipment to high-tech consumerelectronics.
Mahathir said expert studies had indicated that the wastewas not hazardous to health and that he believed there was a wayto further reduce radioactivity, without giving further details.
"There are quarters who do not accept the experts'decision," Mahathir said. "This poses a problem, if we ask theexperts to make the study, but we reject it. What is the purposeof asking the experts to make the study?"(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Joseph Radford)