Perak MB: Satellite images show efforts to locate rare earth, not mining
Instead, he was cited by Bernama as saying that the imagery showed works being carried out to identify whether there was rare earth at the site.
Saarani (above) said today that work at the site...
Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad said satellite imagery of a site in Hulu Perak near Gerik dating back to 2019, does not show rare earth being mined before the project was approved.
Instead, he was cited by Bernama as saying that the imagery showed works being carried out to identify whether there was rare earth at the site.
Saarani (above) said today that work at the site began even before he took office.
"This matter was from before I became menteri besar two years ago. The menteri besar from the previous government had said that there was a discovery of minerals," he was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Saarani's predecessor was Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who served as menteri besar from May 2018 until Dec 2020 under both the Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional state governments.
Saarani was responding to a Malaysiakini report, reviewing satellite images dating back to Dec 2019, of what environmentalists suspect is evidence of ongoing mining operations at the site.
The Hulu Perak site has been earmarked for the mining of lanthanides, which are 15 chemical elements, commonly known as rare earth, and are used to make electronics.
Saarani had on May 23 this year said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was approved a week prior.
However, Sahabat Alam Malaysia field officer Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman said checks on Google Maps showed that pregnant solution pond structures were erected before the EIA was approved.
Pregnant solution ponds are used to store chemical solutions in the mining process.
According to Saarani, work had been carried out at the site in small stages, although he conceded that some digging had been carried out prematurely.
"(Work) had begun in small stages at the site owned by the Perak State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC).
'But when I did a programme in Gerik, it was found that some earth had been dug up and there were holes.
"We ordered them to stop because approval had not been granted," he said.
Source of income
The Perak government has said the rare earth mining in Hulu Perak will be a pilot project to determine if lanthanides could be a new source of income for the state.
According to the EIA, the mining will be conducted through in-situ leaching by constructing seven hydrometallurgical plants as well as establishing injection holes and piping systems.
The project covers 11 land parcels of 5,339 acres (2,161 ha) and is owned by Menteri Besar Incorporated Perak (MB Inc Perak), Majlis Daerah Gerik, Felcra Bhd, and the Perak SADC.
This is equivalent to about 3,026 football fields.
Environmentalists oppose the project because it is located on the Central Forest Spine which runs down the length of Peninsular Malaysia.
The Central Forest Spine is a network of ecological corridors that allow wildlife to move from one forest complex to another. This helps especially with the conservation of threatened and near-extinct species.
The project area is also in an Environmentally Sensitive Area Level 1 which, according to the National Physical Plan, are areas that cannot be used for anything but low-impact tourism, education, and research.
It is estimated there are fewer than 150 Malayan tigers, 3,100 wild elephants, 1,500 tapirs, and 500 sun bears in the wild in Malaysia.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.