BAUXITE MINING ONLY BY YEAR END
Bauxite operators must follow new SOP, says ministry
IT will be much later than sooner for bauxite mining’s comeback in Pahang. Despite the moratorium on bauxite activities ending yesterday, it was learnt that mining will only resume by year end.
“The moratorium ends today (yesterday), but that does not mean the operators can start mining or transporting bauxite immediately.
“It cannot be immediate as everything had been reset to zero.
“Everybody (bauxite operators) will have to apply for the licence anew and must follow a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for bauxite mining.
“The process to get the licence will take several months and it starts with the state government, where they (operators) have to get the licence to mine.
“In fact, if they were to start applying tomorrow (today), they can probably start mining only in November or December.
“Many people have this misconception that mining will resume as usual by tomorrow (today), but it is definitely not the case,” said an official from the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.
The moratorium on bauxite mining in the state was first enforced on Jan 15, 2016.
Meanwhile, on the draft SOP, which was published on the ministry’s website yesterday, the official said the public and stakeholders had two weeks to give their feedback.
“We have issued a draft on our website of what we have put in the SOP, which we think is good enough for it to be applied.
“Should the public or the stakeholders have anything that they want to add, please feel free to give your input on the SOP.
“On April 14, there will be a public hearing that will be conducted solely by an independent committee,” the official said, adding that the committee would gather the feedback and decide whether to include suitable public recommendations in the SOP.
The official said the SOP was expected to be finalised by the end of this month.
The draft SOP covers mining rights application planning, bauxite mining site management, stockpile and port management, transportation and enforcement methods, and bauxite exportation procedures.
Under the new SOP, a minimum of 20.2ha is required for mining lease or proprietary mining lease application and it can be applied individually or through a combination of lots.
“Consideration will only be given to applicants who are competent technically and financially.
“Technical competency means they have a permanent mining engineer and safety, health, occupational and environment officer.
“Financial competency means they must have the capital and suitable mining equipment, along with public liability insurance of at least RM1 million.”
The SOP also requires new and existing mining and stockpile sites to obtain Environmental Impact Assessment approval and it must include the Health Impact Assessment, Social Impact Assessment and Traffic Impact Assessment.
Also needed is a complete Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan.
A guaranteed bond of at least RM1 million will be imposed on mining leaseholders for every application before the mining can take place.
“This bond will be used to pay for any environmental damage due to mining, the failure of the miners to take corrective action or recovery as directed by the state government,” stated the draft SOP.