KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government would be able to save millions by using the Neutralisation Underflow Residue (NUF) being produced locally by Lynas Malaysia to replace the gypsum material which the country has been importing for the construction industry.
Lynas Malaysia managing director Datuk Mashal Ahmad pointed out, according to the Department of Statistics in 2018 Malaysia imported over one million tonnes of gypsum material at a cost of US$31,061,000 (RM128 million).
“One of Lynas Malaysia’s by-products is NUF, a magnesium rich synthetic gypsum which is non-radioactive, non-toxic and non-hazardous and chemically equivalent to the material imported into Malaysia (gypsum).
“By utilising the gypsum produced locally by Lynas, the government will be able to deliver economic value to the country and reduce the dependency on other countries in importing the material,“ he said in a statement today.
Mashal said research and development have also identified various applications for NUF, and Lynas has been approached by companies in Malaysia regarding commercial use of the NUF material.
This is consistent with the Eleventh Malaysia Plan 2016-2020 which looks at ‘managing waste holistically’ and states using waste as a resource that gives it economic value thus diverting it away from landfill towards more productive use, he added.
Besides NUF, the Lynas plant also produces the Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue. As of December 2018, WLP waste accumulated at the Lynas facility was 451,564 metric tons while NUF waste, 1.113 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Mahsal commented on media reports that the Western Australian government would not accept the import of Lynas’ WLP into Western Australia due to laws that rule out accepting mine waste from overseas.
“It is incorrect to suggest that the Western Australian government’s decision is related to Lynas material only, or that Australia will not allow Rare Earths processing plants,“ he said.
Lynas recently stated it was considering alternative cracking and leaching processing close to its mine in Western Australia, and the company had previously received approval to process its material in Australia, he said. — Bernama
