Green tick for $500m rare earths plant

Lynas Rare Earths is closer to building a processing facility in Kalgoorlie after the state’s Environmental Protection Authority recommended it for approval.

The $500 million plant is intended to treat rare earths from Lynas’ Mt Weld mine near Laverton, with the product then sent by rail to Fremantle Port for export.

The facility will be bult and operated on Great Eastern Highway, about seven kilometres from the town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Lynas had earlier leased 135 hectares of industrial-zoned land from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and raised $425 million to fund the plant’s construction, as well as upgrades to its Malaysian facility where it currently sends rare earths for processing.

The Kalgoorlie plant would require the clearing of 120 hectares of land, which the EPA said would be undertaken on a gradual basis to allow fauna to escape from site.

In its assessment, the EPA concluded that significant impacts to biological diversity and the ecological integrity of the area were unlikely, and that initial concerns over land clearing were no longer relevant since Lynas had withdrawn a plan for a nearby waste storage facility.

Lynas will instead return plant waste to Mt Weld for disposal.

EPA chair Matthew Tonts said air quality, human health and social surroundings were also taken into consideration during assessment of the project.

“The EPA has recommended a native vegetation buffer at least 30 metres wide to screen the facility from residents and the city’s entrance along Great Eastern Highway,” he said.

“Conditions have also been recommended for waste management to ensure the proponent disposes of waste to an appropriate location at its Mt Weld mine or finds an alternative use for the process-derived waste.”

The EPA’s report is open for a two-week public appeal period, which will close on November 3.

Lynas' shares have closed up 0.14 per cent to trade at $7.39.