DOE urged to explain why lanthanide mining in Perak to proceed
Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad yesterday reportedly said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the pilot project for mining “lintonite”, which he said is a rare earth mineral, was greenlit last week.
The Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue (Acid) said further...
The Department of Environment was urged to explain why a lanthanide mining pilot project will take place in a forest reserve in Hulu Perak.
Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad yesterday reportedly said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the pilot project for mining “lintonite”, which he said is a rare earth mineral, was greenlit last week.
The Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue (Acid) said further information should be published because mining can cause severe environmental damage.
“The critical nature of environmental issues in this country requires the Perak government to be more transparent about the nature of this mining activity even though it is in a pilot form,” Acid secretary Ronald Benjamin said.
Saarani yesterday said the mineral could be another source of revenue for the state and the pilot project on state land will determine if there will be harmful radioactivity from the mining.
Bernama reported him as saying that the EIA for a pilot project for “lintonite” mining was approved last week.
However, in a recording of the press conference screened by national broadcaster RTM, the menteri besar had said the project was to mine for lanthanide, not "lintonite".
Lanthanides are 15 elements in the periodic table referred to as rare earth, while litonite is a type of gemstone found in the US.
Rare earth is used to build components for electronic products.
Lanthanide mining EIA rejected
Although the MB said the EIA process has been completed, checks found no such approval for lanthanide mining in Hulu Perak.
In fact, according to the DOE’s EIA portal, the EIA for lanthanide mining in Hulu Perak was rejected.
When contacted, the MB’s aide confirmed that Saarani was referring to lanthanide, and not lintonite, but could not explain why the pilot project is going ahead even though the EIA for lanthanide mining was rejected by the DOE.
Threatened species
According to the rejected EIA, the proposed lanthanide mining was to take place in the Kenderong Forest Reserve, part of the Central Forest Spine - a network of key forests which act as corridors for protected species of flora and fauna.
It was proposed to be on 11 land parcels of 5,339 acres (2,161 ha) owned by MB Inc Perak, Majlis Daerah Gerik, Felcra Bhd, and Perak’s State Agriculture Development Corporation.
The area is home to 11 threatened wildlife species, including the endangered Malayan tiger, of which there are only 150 left in the wild.
It is also close to river tributaries and Orang Asli settlements.
Besides the rejected lanthanide mining proposal, there is also a proposal for tin mining in the same area.
The EIA for the tin mining project is still under review.
The project covers 245 hectares (605 acres) of forested land degazetted from the Kenderong Forest Reserve, while the mining lease is owned by MB Inc Perak.
It is opposed by environmental group Sahabat Alam Malaysia, who say it endangers nearly extinct wildlife and is close to tributaries which flow into Sungai Perak, a source of 45 percent of the state's potable water.
READ MORE: Perak rare earth mining pilot project gets greenlight
