KUALA LUMPUR
\nMalaysia will develop a policy to ban exports of rare earth raw materials to avoid exploitation and loss of resources, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday, making it the latest country to restrict shipments of key minerals.
\nMalaysia is home to just a fraction of the world\u2019s rare earth reserves, with an estimated 30,000 metric tons, data from the United States Geological Survey in 2019 showed. China is the biggest source with an estimated 44 million tons of reserves.
\nThe decision, however, comes as the world looks to diversify away from China, the world\u2019s largest producer of the critical rare earth minerals that are used widely in semiconductor chips, electric vehicles and military equipment.
\nAnwar said the government would support the development of the rare earths industry in Malaysia and that a ban would \u201cguarantee maximum returns for the country\u201d.
\nHe did not say when the proposed ban would come into effect.
\nThe rare earth industry is expected to contribute as much as 9.5 billion ringgit ($2 billion) to the country\u2019s gross domestic product in 2025 and create nearly 7,000 job opportunities, Anwar said in parliament.
\n\u201cDetailed mapping of rare earth element sources and a comprehensive business model that combines upstream, midstream and downstream industries will be developed to maintain the rare earth value chain in the country,\u201d he said.
\nMalaysia\u2019s ban could affect sales to China, which imported about 8% of its rare earth ores from the Southeast Asian country between January and July this year, according to China customs data.
\nEarlier this year, China itself announced restrictions on exports of some metals used widely in the semiconductor industry, in a move seen as retaliatory measure for U.S. curbs on sales of technologies to China.
\nThe curbs triggered fears that China could also limit exports of other critical minerals including rare earths.
\nAnalyst David Merriman at Project Blue said the impact of a Malaysian ban was not immediately clear due to a lack of details, but a ban on rare earth ore could affect Chinese companies operating in Malaysia.
\n\u201cThe legislation could have some negative impacts on potential investment in Malaysia from Chinese parties, which have looked to other Asian nations to source unprocessed or mixed rare earth compounds as feedstock for (rare earth) processing facilities in southern China,\u201d Merriman said.
\nAustralia\u2019s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (LYC.AX), the biggest producer of rare earths outside China, has a plant in Malaysia to process concentrate that it gets in Australia.
\nIt was unclear if Malaysia\u2019s planned export ban will impact Lynas, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
\nMalaysia has imposed restrictions on some of Lynas\u2019 processing operations, citing concerns about radiation levels from cracking and leaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia will develop a policy to ban exports of rare earth raw materials to avoid exploitation and loss of resources, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday, making it the latest country to restrict shipments of key minerals. Malaysia is home to just a fraction of the world\u2019s rare earth reserves, with an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-355374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n