The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) has developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) Mining in Malaysia to regulate mineral mining activities. The SOP provides orderly procedures for activities in pre-mining, during mining and post-mining.
Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat today (Nov 22) that in order to ensure that non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) mineral mining activities are carried out in a responsible and sustainable manner, the government is also still refining the idea of NR-REE mining in HSK because of its implications.
This SOP has been agreed to be used by the Mineral Industry Development Coordination Committee Meeting (JKPPIM) dated 2 October 2023 which was attended by the Minister, Menteri Besar, Chief Minister and Exco-Exco of the State Government who are responsible for mineral management in their respective states.
In reply to a question raised by Tan Kar Hing [ Gopeng ] in the August house today, on the Ministry’s plan to ensure the NR-REE mining industry does not leave an impact on environmental sustainability and social impact on the population, Nik Nazmi said the SOP emphasises important matters that often cause concern regarding the impact of mining activities on the environment and the biodiversity ecosystem.
These include:
(i) the determination of NR-REE mining from ion adsorption clay (ion adsorption clay) to produce RE Carbonate that does not involve the production of radioactive materials;
(ii) the use of in-situ leaching (ISL) mining methods that do not involve the opening of large areas as is commonly the case in other mineral mining activities that use the open pit method;
(iii) setting regular and periodic monitoring methods, including the construction of monitoring wells to detect any pollution to underground water sources; and
(iv) the need for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before approval to carry out mining activities can be granted.
This SOP has been developed based on the NR REE Mining SOP in the State of Perak which is used for the development of the NR-REE Mining Pilot Project in Kenering Mukim, Hulu Perak District. Based on the audit conducted, it can be concluded that this SOP is able to regulate NR REE mining activities well in addition to dealing with social impact.
In addition, the Ministry will also examine requirements from existing legal aspects such as the Environmental Quality Act 1974 [Act 127], the National Forestry Act 1984 [Act 313], the Mineral Development Act 1994 [Act 525] and the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 [ Act 716] in addition to examining the Implementation Procedures for Self Regulatory Auditing for Responsible and Sustainable Mining Industry (Self Regulatory Auditing for Responsible and Sustainable Mining Industry).
