News Summary: Malaysia rare earth plant readied
Tuesday - 6/19/2012, 11:19am ET
(AP) - READY TO RUN: Australian miner Lynas Corp. hopes to start a plant in Malaysia to process rare earths _ materials critical for high-tech products _ now that a parliamentary panel has ruled the project safe.
RESIDENTS OVERRULED: Residents near the plant and civic groups have protested, worried about potential leaks of radioactive waste. Lynas says its plant, the first rare-earths refinery outside of China in years, has state-of-the-art pollution controls. China has a third of the world's rare earth reserves.
CRITICAL COMPONENT: Rare earths are used to make hybrid cars, weapons, flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, mercury-vapor lights, and camera lenses.
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