RARE-EARTHS miner Lynas has scored another win in its list of court battles over its Malaysian processing plant, with key opponents losing an appeal to stop it operating the facility.
The Save Malaysia Stop Lynas group had appealed against a decision to grant Lynas a temporary operating licence for the plant, which processes material from its West Australian mine.
The activists had applied last month for an injunction against the licence as they pursue a judicial review in a bid to stop the plant from processing material they claim could be harmful to human health.
That request for an injunction was denied by the Kuantan High Court in Malaysia. The group then appealed.
Lynas said yesterday that the Malaysian Court of Appeal dismissed the latest appeal with costs in its favour. A judicial review of the miner's operations is still set to be heard by the Kuantan High Court in February but Lynas is free to keep operating its plant.
Shares in Lynas closed 4.24 per cent higher yesterday at 61.5c.
"There is no injunction or stay preventing Lynas from carrying out its operations at its Malaysian plant," the company said.
The Malaysian government signed off on a temporary operating licence for the plant in September, seven months after it first received the all-clear from the Atomic Energy Licensing Board.
Lynas achieved first feed to kiln at the plant in Gebeng in Malaysia earlier this month, after repeated legal challenges.
