KUANTAN: Illegal gold miners who have been extracting gold nuggets within their housing settlements at Kampung Kechau near Lipis have been instructed to cease operations until they secure licences from the authorities.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said stern action has to be taken to avoid the situation from getting out of hand which could result in losses to the state government and untoward incidents including pollution.
"Although the villagers claim they are extracting the gold nuggets found within their own land but it is already against the law. They have breached rules and regulations for doing so without approval as the minerals are under the jurisdiction of the state government.
"I urge the villagers who have been mining illegally to immediately stop their activities and seek permission from the district Land and Mines Office. The authorities have conducted several operations and seized machineries at illegal mining sites in the district but some remain stubborn," he told reporters after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 inoculation at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Silver Jubilee Hall here today.
Yesterday, it was reported that villagers in Kechau had earned lucrative returns after discovering gold within their housing settlements and many have started to carry out mining activities using excavators.
When asked if the move by the state government to stop the mining operations was seen as "cruel", Wan Rosdy replied the decision has to be made to safeguard the others living in the vicinity.
"We have to be reasonable and look into other aspects as well. If there are reports of water pollution resulting from the mining activities, then the government will have to take stern action and we do not want things to worsen or impact the environment," he said.
Meanwhile Wan Rosdy said the state government will implement the small scale mining scheme or Skim Pelombong Kecil for mining activities on land measuring 10 acres or 4.05ha, and below.
"Due to the strict mining regulations, lengthy processing time, high operations and environmental impact, the state government has introduced the scheme led by the Pahang Mining Corporation (PMC) Sdn Bhd. It will help the villagers to be involved in legal mining activities and stop leakages in state revenues.
"PMC will identify the lands suitable for mining or the landowners can submit applications to PMC. Environment friendly and well-coordinated mining activities can be carried out in groups (include neighbouring lands) and the operating cost will be much cheaper," he said, adding PMC will begin operations starting June.