BANGI: A comprehensive plan, which includes the standard operating procedure (SOP) on the mining of non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE), will be issued soon, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said.
He said the SOP was ready and the ministry was preparing a plan that included the development of NR-REE from the mining stage to the downstream stage.
"The discussions were held with the Economy Ministry; Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry; Plantation and Commodities Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.
"As a follow-up, a paper from the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry will be brought to the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) in the nearest time," he told reporters after attending Karnival Pekerjaan Hijau today.
Nik Nazmi added yesterday he visited a pilot project site for NR-REE inKenering district, Hulu Perak, Perak.
"I observed what they are doing there and one of the things I emphasised is that we believe NR-REE will play an important role, especially in terms of energy transition, and also ensure that mining is done responsibly to protect the environment.
"So, we will closely monitor this project," he said.
When asked if the SOP would be presented in Parliament, Nik Nazmi said; "It does not involve presentation in Parliament, but I will continuously respond to the issue when there are questions (from members of Parliament).
"This project was started by the previous government. So, I believe everyone is aware and there is interest from various states, but what we emphasise is compliance.
"There have been some cases of illegal NR-REE theft or mining happening in some states, but action has been taken by the authorities.
"We have also received some new reports, but we will follow up and discuss with the authorities," he said.
Regarding the carnival by the ministry organised via the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), Nik Nazmi said there are 30 training programmes on offer relating to energy management and green industry practices.
The programmes aim to produce a skilled workforce for the green technology sector.
He said the carnival, organised periodically by MGTC, also involved 50 corporate partners and government agencies, including the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso).
"This carnival also promotes the green job portal through greenjobsmalaysia.my which can be accessed for free. Currently, 962 companies are listing a total of 10,915 jobs through this portal.
"This effort is one of the ministry's commitments to support skill development initiatives for the green technology sector in line with the country's targets under the Green Technology Master Plan 2017-2030 (GTMP) and the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR)," he said.