YOURSAY | 'We already have rare earth mined with much adverse environmental impact.'

Kedah to tap RM62 billion rare earth deposits, not RM43 trillion

Environmentalists demand answers from Kedah MB over rare earth projects

Dr Raman: Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (photo, above) announced the discovery of rare earth in Kedah, which will rake in a lot of money.

But something is very wrong and fishy here. It is rare earth but not radioactive, and the MB did not name the rare earth mineral.

There is no mining (digging) involved but these minerals are found deep inside the earth. So, what kind of extraction work/technology is to be used?

Newday: @Dr Raman, maybe he was just referring to an exploration licence when he stated no mining?

Anyway, his presser was convoluted. I don’t think he knows one end of a prospecting pick from the other. The 'no mining' bit was a fascinating statement.

Billions, or trillions, is irrelevant, apart from the obvious greed. What is relevant is the MB’s apparent gross ignorance of what constitutes rare earth minerals.

MB, please name at least one that does not have a measure of radioactivity? Just one will do. No? That’s because there is none.

You want the federal government to do what? Formulate a suitable policy for mining? Where have you been? There is much legislation regarding the regulation of mining exploration.

We already have rare earth minerals mined with much adverse environmental impact. What more do you need for guidance? Maybe you prefer a policy that states - “Go for it and mine the stuffing out of the state.”

After all, this is serious big bucks, we don’t want a small matter like community health, maintenance of water resource quality and environmental protection to get in the way of some good old-fashioned mining entrepreneurship, do we?

BlueBison5323: The 17 rare earth elements are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and yttrium (Y).

They are often found in minerals with thorium (Th), and less commonly, uranium (U). This is what rare earth plant Lynas is doing in Kuantan and even today it has difficulty in processing the waste.

For the Kedah MB to say the environment will not be affected is a foolish statement to the people of Kedah and Malaysians. Not a single mining operation has been shown not to affect the environment.

Malaysia lacks the enforcement to ensure the safety of such mining and the government is staring at a potential environmental disaster in the next five years if the project is allowed.

Apanama: When talking about rare earth elements, the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) in Bukit Merah, Perak, comes to mind. One can see the side effects even today, though the company ceased operation in 1994.

The 1982 Bukit Merah radioactive pollution is still fresh in my mind whenever the rare earth issue appears in the press.

I would like to suggest Malaysiakini send its journalists to Bukit Merah and collect information on the well-being of residents there, especially those near to the closed ARE plant. You would find something interesting to highlight to the public.

For those who do not know, this was a venture with a Japanese company during the first term of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Remember one thing - rare earth is rare earth. It is deep inside the earth. Most of these rare earth elements are linked to thorium and uranium, which have a half-life. They would keep on emitting radioactive rays for many centuries to come.

Whether it was in 1900 or even 2099, let these elements 'sleep' peacefully under the earth. Why do you need to 'disturb' them?

Freethinker: One would wonder if indeed the value of the mineral is so high in Kedah (or anywhere in Malaysia), and if the company handling the mineral mining is not done by a government-linked company (GLC) but awarded to a company with no prior experience, which would be mind-boggling.

Often, local companies will subcontract the job to a foreign company after taking a cut of the project, the latter will do most of the mining works and ship it to other countries.

Such money never flows into government pockets but a few cronies’ companies with little to no expertise in such a project.

To make matters worse, if the person handling such a project is in a position to grant/approve the project, effectively lining their own pockets.

Sadly, the rakyat never get to benefit from the natural resources of the country.

Sinan Belawan: Malaysia does not have the kind of rare earth reserves like China, Vietnam, Brazil, Russia, India and Australia.

Mining for a little rare earth will cause massive damage to the people and the environment. People and the environment will be severely impacted.

Both the health and environmental costs will be enormous, with serious consequences for future generations and the environment. Leave rare earth untouched.

Quo Vadis Malaysia: So, where exactly is the mineral that does not need to be mined in order to extract it?

Knucklehead: @Quo Vadis Malaysia, I think the whole of Gunung Jerai is made out of these non-radioactive minerals which are super valuable rare earth and it is just sitting there. Therefore, you can drive there, collect it and sell it without any mining activities.

All you need is a changkul (shovel).

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.