The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said Thursday that the design and planned operations policies of a giant rare earth refinery being built in Malaysia met international standards.

But the agency also made 11 recommendations, including the drafting of a detailed plan for long-term disposal of the refinery’s radioactive waste, and suggested that the agency, an arm of the United Nations, do a follow-up review on compliance with these recommendations in a year or two.

The Malaysian government announced that Lynas, the Australian mining company that is building the facility, would need to comply with all of the recommendations from the agency before the refinery would be allowed to start operations.

Nicholas Curtis, the executive chairman of Lynas, welcomed the agency’s report. “Today the IAEA validated Lynas’ fundamental approach to put community and operational safety first in everything we do,” he said.

Curtis said that while considerable work would need to be done, he said that he believed that Lynas could meet the agency’s recommendations.

Two Malaysian ministers said in a statement that Lynas would not be allowed to start up the refinery until a long-term waste disposal and refinery decommissioning plan was in place.