THE proposed rare earth mining project at the Jelai forest in Pahang would be carried out by a company which was marred with allegations of graft in the past.
“The company was alleged to have engaged in corrupt practices involving officers from Pahang Department of Lands and Mines (JKPTG) back in 2009.
“Therefore, I urge the authorities to scrutinise the new deal thoroughly in the interest of transparency and accountability,” Parti Sosialis Malaysia central committee member Sharan Raj told FocusM.
Two days ago, Malaysiakini reported that the Pahang state government is mulling to embark on a rare earth mining project in the Jelai forest – spanning an area of 660 hectares – which is equal to 924 football fields.
The project is spearheaded by mineral mining company Aras Kuasa Sdn Bhd (AKSB).
According to its terms of reference (TOR), the mining site is an undeveloped land that has been “logged out”.
Three mining leases have reportedly been issued by the State Government for the land on condition that any forest excised must be replaced with another.
The TOR states that the area is currently classified as a Rank 2 environmentally sensitive area.
Protect Jelai forest, not exploit it
Voicing opposition to the project, Sharan said rare earth mining there would cause severe environmental damage to the forest despite the miner using the “in-situ leaching” method.
Elaborating further, the PSM leader said the method entails drilling deep holes to the mineral deposits, pumping in chemical fluid to dilute the mineral and pump it out for processing.
“Although the system looks good on paper, the method is actually intended for solid hard bedrock that is commonly used to mine plutonium and uranium,” revealed Sharan.
“The problem with ‘in-situ leaching’ is the pumping of chemicals into the soil part. The chemical will eventually dissipate into the soil, contaminate small streams, underground water reservoir and big rivers.
“Plus, Malaysia’s soil is the soft soil type which increases contamination chances as it moves around.”
On general terms, Sharan, who also heads PSM’s Environmental & Climate Crisis bureau, said the Pahang State Government should be gazetting the virgin green lung as a forest reserve instead of mining there.
“It’s an environmentally sensitive area. There are small streams there which are not captured even by Google Maps,” opined Sharan.
“Plus, there are many endangered species inhabiting the vast forest area such as tapir, Malayan tigers, panthers, elephant and exotic birds unique to our country.” – March 15, 2021.
