SUNGAI PETANI: The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry (NRES) will present a proposal on non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE) sites mapping to the National Economic Action Council (NEAC).
Its minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said the proposal would contain the exact mapping of the mineral deposit sites, contrary to the current rough estimation of NR-REE sites.
"Following the third National Mineral Council Meeting yesterday and a meeting involving the Economy Ministry, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, the NRES will present a proposal paper to the NEAC.
"The proposal, among others, will identify the exact locations to carry out NR-REE exploration as, for the time being, we have carried out a lot of surveys and basically assume the locations of the minerals.
"Secondly, (we) want to make sure that we will not just extract the raw minerals but also process some of them in our country. This is similar to what is being done at the Lynas plant for rare earth minerals from Australia, which is different from the resources found in our country," he said after leading raids under Op Patuh on two illegal factories here today.
Nik Nazmi said the proposal also aimed to ensure that mineral industry operations were done sustainably to avoid disputes.
"We also have to look into suitable technology, and make sure that the minerals that we extract could be processed in our country." He added that several companies had expressed their interest in setting up processing facilities for REE minerals extracted in Kenering, Hulu Perak.
"We are studying the best options since the matter involves huge investments and the companies are also seeking assurances from the government.
"As for rare earth minerals in Kedah, the standard operating procedure is complete, and the state government has been informed.
"It is just that we request for the forest to be spared and the exploration to be focused on other sites first," he said.