KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Malaysia has a great potential in the downstream rare earth elements (REE) industry as a super magnet producer, particularly to support the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing industry, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the latest REE roadmap, which covers the entire supply chain including the upstream, midstream and downstream stages, has been tabled at the sixth National Economic Action Council meeting of 2024 chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently.
He said the study on the proposed business model for the REE industry, looking at the total ecosystem, was conducted by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
“Malaysia has a huge potential to be involved in this industry, especially at the downstream level to be a producing country supporting the growth of the EV manufacturing industry.
“However, the ecosystem needs a local intermediate industry for processing REE raw materials in the form of rare earth carbonates that are produced by local mines,” he said in winding up the policy-level debate on the Supply Bill 2025 on behalf of his ministry.
Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi said rare earth-mining company Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd is prepared to process the country’s REE.
“The REE process in Australia differs from that in Malaysia. Lynas has given its commitment to open another line to process REE from our country,” he said.
The minister, however, said the company must comply with strict environmental, health and safety requirements.
“Lynas requested for a long (operating) licence period, and this matter is being openly discussed for evaluation. This is because opening a new line requires a large investment, and if this application is not approved, there is no future for them here,” Nik Nazmi said.
At present, Lynas processes raw materials from Australia and ships to countries such as Vietnam and Japan.
— Bernama
