Malaysia set to be world’s

  second largest producer of

rare earth elements

KUALA LUMPUR (May 7, 2012): Malaysia is set to become the world”s second largest producer of rare earths element when the Lynas facility comes on stream this year.

 This translates to an annual revenue of USD400 million (RM1.52 billion). This disclosure was made at the First International Symposium on Rare Earths 2012 held here today.

International rare earth consultant who is also the founding principal of Technology Metals Research Jack Lifton in his keynote address entitled ‘The Supply and Demand of Rare Earth Now and in 30 Years’ said that the sheer presence of such a facility producing some 25,000 tonnes fo rare earth oxide will also serve to attract high technology industries to invest and setup plants in Malaysia to take advantage of the ready supply of such rare earth elements.

 

Lifton is also an author and a lecturer on the market fundamentals of the technology metals.

 

He is also the one who coined the word ‘technology metals’ specifically to describe those strategic rare metals who electronic properties make our technological society possible.

 “These include the rare earths, lithium and most of the rare metals,” said Lifton in his paper presented at the symposium.

Lifton was educated as a physical chemist specialising in high temperature metallurgy and started off as a researcher before becoming both a marketing and manufacturing executive before becoming a metal trader specialising in the field of technology metals and of rare metals.

 Lifton is among four international experts on rare earth who will be presenting papers with their views covering a broad spectrum of the rare earth processing industry at the  first International Symposium on Rare Earth here in Kuala Lumpur on May 7.

 

After 48 years of industry involvement, he advises both OEM high-tech industry and the global institutional-investment community on the natural resource issues that impact either a proposed business model or a high volume manufacturing plan for the mass market.

Lifton’s work today is principally as a due-diligence consultant for institutional investors, looking into opportunities where rare earth technology metals availability are a factor in determining the probability of commercial success of a metals-related venture.

 The symposium was themed ‘Rare Earth Industries: Moving Malaysia’s Green Economy Forward’, and was will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic ‘Should Malaysia Invest in Rare Earths?”

 The symposium was organised by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and National Professors’ Council (NPC) Working Group on Rare Earth aimed at disseminating factual information on rare earths processing and refining as well as exposing potential down-stream business opportunities.

Participants were exposed in face-to-face engagement with international rare earth experts where they could gain valuable information on safety, health and environmental impact of rare earth industry.

The symposium, which was chaired by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia working group on rare earth Datuk Dr Lee Yee Cheong, was also designed to act as a platform for rare earth experts to give a global supply and demand perspective and their many applications.

 

At present, the global demand for rare earth is expected to provide wide business opportunities for Malaysia especially in green technology industries. The day-long programme was held at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur.

 The other papers presented included those by the executive vice president of Dacha Strategic Metals Alastair S Neill entitled ‘Supply and Demand of Rare Earth and Human Resources Need’, Professor Chun-Hua Yan of Peking University on ‘The Processing and Refining Rare Earth in China’ and the head of analytical laboratories  - safety management department of Karlsruhr Institute of Technology Christoph Wilhelm on ‘Thorium and Uranium Radiation Safety Measures and Regulations’.

The sole speaker from Malaysian was the director of waste technology development of the centre of waste and environmental technology division Dr Mohd Abdul Wahab Yusof who will be presenting a paper entitled ‘Experiences Learnt From The Asian Rare Earth Industries.’  – Ends