Govt sees dollar signs in rare earth, but minister admits lack of expertise

PARLIAMENT | The government hopes to capitalise on Malaysia’s rare earth elements (REE) reserves; however, Johari Abdul Ghani has admitted that the country lacks the expertise to expedite development in the strategic sector.

The acting natural resources and environmental sustainability minister told the Dewan Rakyat this morning that Malaysia faces challenges as it lacks the technology to conduct such mining on a commercial scale.

Malaysia also lacks a processing plant that can commercially separate high-value REE and comprehensive data on REE reserves, which require an in-depth study, he said.

Additionally, he cited government policies preventing such mining in permanent forest reserves, water catchment areas and other environmentally sensitive areas.

“(This policy) limits the choice of suitable locations for the development of this industry.

“This move is important to ensure environmental safety, but at the same time, requires a careful approach to balance industrial development and the preservation of natural resources,” he said.

He later said that about 94 percent of REE reserves were located in permanent forest reserves.

Johari was responding to a question from Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu), who asked about the challenges faced in advancing the industry as well as the government’s plan to unlock the resource’s estimated potential value of RM747 billion.

China investment

On Nov 11, Bernama reported Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as saying that he had proposed the acceleration of Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s investment with China in the development of REE to tap the potential in the strategic sector.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, had told the Dewan Rakyat that he had voiced the suggestion to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang.

In October, Reuters reported that China and Malaysia were holding preliminary discussions on a project to process REE and that Khazanah was likely to partner with a Chinese state-owned company to build a refinery in Malaysia.

Reporting by Alyaa Alhadjri, Zarrah Morden, Shakira Buang

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