Lynas currently has a concentration plant under construction at Mount Weld in Western Australia as well as an advanced materials plant in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Last month, Lynas secured a victory when the High Court in Kuantan dismissed protesters' allegations that Malaysian authorities improperly awarded the firm an operating license.
He and the other protesters hadn't taken much of an interest in environmental issues until Lynas began building its plant at the Gebeng industrial estate near Kuantan.
Kampung Kuantan, a sleepy hollow in Kuala Selangor, 75 km north of the capital, is famed for its firefly "show": thousands of the winged beetles appear each night along the Selangor River, flashing their glowing tails.