Mining Firm, Ex-Teacher Battle Over Rare Earths
In the Internet era, even a 64-year-old retired math teacher can become a threat to a large company.
That, at least, is the experience of Lynas Corp. For over a year, the Australian rare-earths mining company has come under fire from Tan Bun Teet and his band of tech-savvy campaigners on Malaysia's South China Sea coast.
The group, called Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, has disrupted Lynas's plans to open a refinery with a nimble, Internet-based campaign, drawing nationwide support through regularly updated blogs, Twitter feeds and a Facebook page. In a recent interview, Chief Executive Officer Nick Curtis said Lynas underestimated the extent to which the protesters had enlisted the organizing power of the Web, forcing the company to delay the opening of the plant until this past November, a full year behind schedule, and to raise money it didn't initially plan for.
Sydney-based Lynas, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with a market value of 1.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.24 billion) appeared to be onto a winner when it broke ground for a new plant in Kuantan nearly five years ago. Global demand for materials such as lanthanum and neodymium was surging as the world's appetite for hybrid cars, wind turbines and ever-faster phones with better screens increased.
The prospect of weakening China's chokehold on 95% of the world trade in these critical elements helped convince Malaysia's government that the project would be a success. It offered the firm a 12-year tax holiday to set up shop in Pahang, the home state of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Instead, construction of the $800 million Lynas refinery kicked off a debate with local residents about how to handle the low-grade radioactive waste that comes from processing rare-earth elements. The company and the Malaysian government say the plant is safe.
The clash is also now spilling over into national politics, as opposition firebrand Anwar Ibrahim incorporates the cause in his bid to topple the coalition that has governed this predominantly Muslim nation since independence from Britain in 1957. Elections are expected to be called this spring.
'If we can't challenge the government in the courts, then perhaps the election will change the game,' says Mr. Tan, a wiry, methodical 64-year-old.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements valued for their magnetic and conductive properties. While harmless by themselves, they are frequently found mixed with potentially dangerous radioactive ores such as thorium. Separating and refining them can be complex and messy.
That has raised alarm among Malaysians who fear the government hasn't done enough to ensure the safety of the Lynas plant. 'We can't trust them to do what's right,' said Yu Siew Hong, a young mother who lives near the new facility.
Last month, Lynas secured a victory when the High Court in Kuantan dismissed protesters' allegations that Malaysian authorities improperly awarded the firm an operating license. The company's stock is also regaining interest among investors: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. upgraded its recommendation on the shares to 'buy' from 'hold' in recent weeks.
The company's stock has continued to drift south, underscoring the difficulties still facing Lynas's plans to become a breakthrough player in the global rare-earths market. Lynas's shares fell 2.4%, to 61 Australian cents, on Monday.
Among other things, the company still faces another judicial review sought by Mr. Tan's group.
The upshot: Lynas's outlook 'is still very uncertain,' said Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Terry.
Mr. Tan, who serves as Save Malaysia Stop Lynas's spokesman, isn't your common variety of eco-warrior. He and the other protesters hadn't taken much of an interest in environmental issues until Lynas began building its plant at the Gebeng industrial estate near Kuantan. Unlike groups such as Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, the group didn't have experience in organizing protest campaigns.
Their emergence is part of a trend of smaller and smaller groups targeting corporations and markets, rather than governments, to achieve their goals, sometimes with spectacular effects.
In an extreme recent example, Australian activist Jonathan Moylan organized a hoax in early January in which he and his cohorts temporarily wiped $315 million off the market value of Whitehaven Coal. Mr. Moylan issued a statement, purportedly from the company's bank, saying it had withdrawn funding over concerns about environmental damage. The shares later recovered and Australian market regulators are now investigating the matter. Mr. Moylan couldn't be reached for comment, but local media have quoted him as saying he issued the statement.
Mr. Tan and his friends, for their part, filed a series of actions specifically aimed at damaging Lynas's ability to secure additional funding and force it to give up.
'Refining rare earths is a dirty business and we want people to know what it involves. We might not win in the courts, but whatever action we take, it bleeds Lynas a little bit more and makes it more difficult for them to raise money,' says Mr. Tan. The group's flurry of writs delayed Lynas obtaining a temporary operating license until this past November, a full year behind schedule, driving a decline in the company's share price from A$1.59 in February 2012 to the 61 Australian cents now, and forcing Lynas to raise more money to keep going.
'We've raised 175 million [Australian] dollars more than we wanted. It's cost our shareholders,' Mr. Curtis, Lynas's chief executive, said. 'It's not acceptable, but it is what it is.'
The government is taking notice of the protesters' pull, too. In December, four cabinet ministers warned in a joint statement that Lynas must export all waste material from its plant or see its operations suspended.
Lynas says it intends to process the radioactive waste into other materials, such as road surfacing, diluting it. The company plans to export the material to comply with Malaysia's requirements.
Analysts say the obstacles Lynas has faced in Malaysia prevented it from enjoying a boom in rare-earths prices. The plant is finally operating, but prices for some rare-earth elements are now 80% off their peaks.
Lynas's Mr. Curtis concedes the opportunities lost but views the market as now being on a more sustainable growth path.
'Hopefully, when the election is out of the way, we'll be able to get down to business,' he said.
JAMES HOOKWAY
That, at least, is the experience of Lynas Corp. For over a year, the Australian rare-earths mining company has come under fire from Tan Bun Teet and his band of tech-savvy campaigners on Malaysia's South China Sea coast.
The group, called Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, has disrupted Lynas's plans to open a refinery with a nimble, Internet-based campaign, drawing nationwide support through regularly updated blogs, Twitter feeds and a Facebook page. In a recent interview, Chief Executive Officer Nick Curtis said Lynas underestimated the extent to which the protesters had enlisted the organizing power of the Web, forcing the company to delay the opening of the plant until this past November, a full year behind schedule, and to raise money it didn't initially plan for.
Sydney-based Lynas, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with a market value of 1.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.24 billion) appeared to be onto a winner when it broke ground for a new plant in Kuantan nearly five years ago. Global demand for materials such as lanthanum and neodymium was surging as the world's appetite for hybrid cars, wind turbines and ever-faster phones with better screens increased.
The prospect of weakening China's chokehold on 95% of the world trade in these critical elements helped convince Malaysia's government that the project would be a success. It offered the firm a 12-year tax holiday to set up shop in Pahang, the home state of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Instead, construction of the $800 million Lynas refinery kicked off a debate with local residents about how to handle the low-grade radioactive waste that comes from processing rare-earth elements. The company and the Malaysian government say the plant is safe.
The clash is also now spilling over into national politics, as opposition firebrand Anwar Ibrahim incorporates the cause in his bid to topple the coalition that has governed this predominantly Muslim nation since independence from Britain in 1957. Elections are expected to be called this spring.
'If we can't challenge the government in the courts, then perhaps the election will change the game,' says Mr. Tan, a wiry, methodical 64-year-old.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements valued for their magnetic and conductive properties. While harmless by themselves, they are frequently found mixed with potentially dangerous radioactive ores such as thorium. Separating and refining them can be complex and messy.
That has raised alarm among Malaysians who fear the government hasn't done enough to ensure the safety of the Lynas plant. 'We can't trust them to do what's right,' said Yu Siew Hong, a young mother who lives near the new facility.
Last month, Lynas secured a victory when the High Court in Kuantan dismissed protesters' allegations that Malaysian authorities improperly awarded the firm an operating license. The company's stock is also regaining interest among investors: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. upgraded its recommendation on the shares to 'buy' from 'hold' in recent weeks.
The company's stock has continued to drift south, underscoring the difficulties still facing Lynas's plans to become a breakthrough player in the global rare-earths market. Lynas's shares fell 2.4%, to 61 Australian cents, on Monday.
Among other things, the company still faces another judicial review sought by Mr. Tan's group.
The upshot: Lynas's outlook 'is still very uncertain,' said Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Terry.
Mr. Tan, who serves as Save Malaysia Stop Lynas's spokesman, isn't your common variety of eco-warrior. He and the other protesters hadn't taken much of an interest in environmental issues until Lynas began building its plant at the Gebeng industrial estate near Kuantan. Unlike groups such as Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, the group didn't have experience in organizing protest campaigns.
Their emergence is part of a trend of smaller and smaller groups targeting corporations and markets, rather than governments, to achieve their goals, sometimes with spectacular effects.
In an extreme recent example, Australian activist Jonathan Moylan organized a hoax in early January in which he and his cohorts temporarily wiped $315 million off the market value of Whitehaven Coal. Mr. Moylan issued a statement, purportedly from the company's bank, saying it had withdrawn funding over concerns about environmental damage. The shares later recovered and Australian market regulators are now investigating the matter. Mr. Moylan couldn't be reached for comment, but local media have quoted him as saying he issued the statement.
Mr. Tan and his friends, for their part, filed a series of actions specifically aimed at damaging Lynas's ability to secure additional funding and force it to give up.
'Refining rare earths is a dirty business and we want people to know what it involves. We might not win in the courts, but whatever action we take, it bleeds Lynas a little bit more and makes it more difficult for them to raise money,' says Mr. Tan. The group's flurry of writs delayed Lynas obtaining a temporary operating license until this past November, a full year behind schedule, driving a decline in the company's share price from A$1.59 in February 2012 to the 61 Australian cents now, and forcing Lynas to raise more money to keep going.
'We've raised 175 million [Australian] dollars more than we wanted. It's cost our shareholders,' Mr. Curtis, Lynas's chief executive, said. 'It's not acceptable, but it is what it is.'
The government is taking notice of the protesters' pull, too. In December, four cabinet ministers warned in a joint statement that Lynas must export all waste material from its plant or see its operations suspended.
Lynas says it intends to process the radioactive waste into other materials, such as road surfacing, diluting it. The company plans to export the material to comply with Malaysia's requirements.
Analysts say the obstacles Lynas has faced in Malaysia prevented it from enjoying a boom in rare-earths prices. The plant is finally operating, but prices for some rare-earth elements are now 80% off their peaks.
Lynas's Mr. Curtis concedes the opportunities lost but views the market as now being on a more sustainable growth path.
'Hopefully, when the election is out of the way, we'll be able to get down to business,' he said.
JAMES HOOKWAY
馬來西亞退休教師的環保之戰
互
聯網時代，一位64歲的退休數學教師都能對一家大公司構成威脅。這正是萊納斯公司(Lynas Corporation)的遭遇。一年多以來，居住在馬來西亞南中國海（中國稱南海）海岸的陳文德(Tan Bun Teet)和他那群精通技術的活動家不斷抨擊這家澳大利亞稀土開採公司。
這 個名叫“拯救大馬委員會”(Save Malaysia Stop Lynas)的團體發起一場基於互聯網的靈活運動，通過經常更新博客、推特(Twitter)和Facebook頁面吸引了全國的支持，從而打亂了萊納斯 公司開一家精煉廠的計劃。萊納斯公司首席執行長柯蒂斯(Nick Curtis)前不久接受採訪時說，公司低估了抗議者利用互聯網組織力量的程度，不得不將工廠開工推遲到2012年11月，比原計劃晚了整整一年，同時不 得不籌措原先沒有打算籌措的資金。
Bloomberg News
去年11月，來自“拯救大馬委員會”的抗議者在澳大利亞悉尼的一家酒店外進行抗議活動。
中國佔據這些關鍵元素世界貿易量的95%，在發現有望削弱中國這一地位之後，馬來西亞政府相信上述項目將會大獲成功。為讓萊納斯公司在總理納吉布(Najib Razak)老家彭亨州開廠，馬來西亞政府給出了12年的稅收優惠期。
結果萊納斯公司這座8億美元精煉工廠的建設，引起當地居民對於如何處理加工稀土元素所產生低等級放射性廢料的爭論。萊納斯公司和馬來西亞政府表示這座工廠是安全的。
現在這場沖突還波及到了全國政壇。喜歡煽風點火的反對黨黨首安華(Anwar Ibrahim)已將這件事情納入他推翻現行執政聯盟的行動。從1957年脫離英國實現獨立以來，人口主要為穆斯林的馬來西亞一直是現在的執政聯盟執政。預計選舉將在今年春季舉行。
身材瘦削、條理清楚、現年64歲的陳文德說，如果說我們不能在法庭上挑戰政府，那麼或許這次選舉會改變眼下的局面。
稀土包括17種元素，因其磁性和導電性而受到重視。雖然本身無害，但它們常常與釷之類的放射性礦石混合，這些礦石有可能造成危險。分離和提煉有時候非常復雜、非常棘手。
這引起一些馬來西亞人的擔憂。他們擔心政府沒有採取足夠措施保証萊納斯公司工廠的安全。居住在新工廠附近的年輕媽媽Yu Siew Hong說，我們無法相信他們做了應該做的事情。
萊納斯公司上個月取得了一次勝利。當時關丹高等法院駁回了抗議者有關馬來西亞有關部門向該公司發放運營牌照失當的指控。該公司股票也在重新贏得投資者的興趣：近幾周摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)將其評級從“持有”上調為“買入”。
James Hookway/The Wall Street Journal
陳文德（中）
該公司仍然面臨著陳文德的組織要求的另一次司法審查以及其他麻煩。
德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)的分析師特裡(Chris Terry)說，總之，萊納斯公司的前景仍然非常不確定。
陳 文德是拯救大馬委員會的發言人，他並不是通常意義上的生態鬥士。在萊納斯公司開始關丹附近的格賓(Gebeng)工業區建設自己的工廠之前，他和其他抗議 者對環境問題沒有表現出太大興趣。與綠色和平(Greenpeace)和地球之友(Friends of the Earth)等組織不同，拯救大馬委員會在組織抗議活動方面並沒有經驗。
抗議活動的出現在一定程度上代表了一種趨勢，即規模較小的組織為了達成自己的目標會以企業和市場為目標，而不是以政府為目標，並且有時會取得可觀的成效。
最 近的一個極端的例子是，1月初，澳大利亞活動人士莫伊蘭(Jonathan Moylan)組織了一場騙局，他和他的同伙令懷特黑文煤炭公司(Whitehaven Coal)的市值短暫縮水了3.15億美元。莫伊蘭以銀行的名義發表聲明說，由於擔心對環境造成破壞，該銀行撤回了對懷特黑文的注資。懷特黑文的股價後來 恢復到了原先的水平，澳大利亞市場監管機構目前正在調查這件事。記者無法聯系莫伊蘭置評，但是據當地媒體報道，莫伊蘭承認這份聲明是自己假借銀行的名義發 出的。
陳文德和他的朋友們提起了一系列訴訟，這些訴訟旨在破壞萊納斯公司獲得更多注資的能力，迫使萊納斯公司放棄原來的計劃。
陳 文德說，精煉稀土會造成很大的污染，我們希望人們知道這一點；我們可能不會贏得訴訟，但是無論我們採取何種行動，都會讓萊納斯公司多承受一些損失，讓它更 難籌集資金。該組織的一系列行動導致萊納斯公司直到去年11月才獲得臨時運營許可，比原計劃晚了一年，也使萊納斯公司的股價從2012年2月的1.59澳 元下降到了現在的0.61澳元的水平，迫使其為維持運營籌措更多資金。
萊納斯公司的首席執行長柯蒂斯說，我們籌集的資金比預想的多了1.75億澳元，這讓我們的股東承受了損失，這不是可接受的，但事實就是如此。
政府也注意到了抗議者的影響力。去年12月，四位內閣部長在一份聯合聲明中警告說，萊納斯公司必須將工廠的所有廢料出口，否則將中止運營
萊納斯公司說，該公司打算把放射性廢料加工成其他材料，比如用來舖路，或是對其進行稀釋。公司計劃出口這些材料，以滿足馬來西亞政府的要求。
分析人士說，萊納斯公司在馬來西亞面臨的障礙使其未能享受稀土價格上漲帶來的好處。雖然工廠現在終於可以運營了，但是一些稀土元素的價格比峰值時期低了80%。
柯蒂斯承認失去了一些機會，但是他認為該市場將實現更加可持續的增長。
他說，希望在大選結束後我們能夠腳踏實地開展業務。
JAMES HOOKWAY
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