Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) shares are soaring after the company announced a major win for its Malaysian facility.
It's now allowed to keep operating the facility's cracking and leaching plant until the start of 2024.
However, the rare earths producer's battle to remove the recently-imposed restrictions entirely is still ongoing.
Right now, Lynas shares are trading at $7.37 apiece, 12.01% higher than the stock's previous close.
Let's take a closer look at what's going on with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rare earths stock on Monday.
Image source: Getty Images
Lynas announces extension on Malaysian ban
The Lynas share price is taking off on news the company will be allowed to continue importing and processing lanthanide concentrate in Malaysia until 1 January 2024. That's six months later than its previous cut-off – 1 July 2023.
That means a shutdown of the entire Malaysian plant will be avoided, with the company using the extra time to secure new feedstock.
Lynas's Malaysian facility is the world's largest single rare earths processing plant.
The company's licence to operate in Malaysia was renewed by the country's Department of Atomic Energy in February. However, a condition that it may not import and process lanthanide concentrate – announced in 2020 – remained. The ban was imposed amid concerns about radioactive waste.
The rare earths producer previously said the ban would force it to temporarily shut down the entire Malaysian facility from July as it transitioned to using feedstock from its up-and-coming Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility.
Lynas appealed to the Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) to overturn the ban in February. Aside from extending the cut-off date, the MOSTI Minister has dismissed the company's appeals.
Lynas notes Malaysia offers legal avenues to review the licence conditions. It plans to seek a review into such avenues to ensure it's "treated fairly and equitably as a Foreign Direct Investor and as a significant employer and contributor to the Malaysian economy".
Lynas Rare Earths share price snapshot
The Lynas share price is having a rough slog as of late.
Even with today's big jump, the stock has slumped 6% so far this year. It's also 18% lower than it was this time last year.
For comparison, the ASX 200 has risen 4% year to date and 2% over the last 12 months.
