Lynas Malaysia and the rare earth controversy

Two decades ago, Mitsubishi Chemical established a rare earth plant in an area called Bukit Merah west of the city of Ipoh in Malaysia. And for the last two decades, both Mitsubishi and Malaysia have been paying the price.

It has cost RM300 million (US$99.2 million) so far to clean up the closed plant, and the cleanup has not been completed yet. The dea…