OUR rare earth (RE) industry is rarely a newsmaker. And when it does so, like now, it is for all the wrong reasons.
We were told by the unlikeliest of sources — the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission — that Malaysia lacks standard operating procedures (SOPs) for RE mining.
Puzzlingly, the RE industry is more than half a century old. Add to this puzzle is the fact that Malaysia has been a mining nation for the longest time.
Certainly, tin and coal mining aren't the same as RE or rare earth element (REE) mining, but the SOPs for them share common concerns: safeguarding the earth, the environment and the people.
In British Malaya of the 1820s, when tin was first mined in Perak and Selangor, there was nothing comparable to what we now call operating procedures. To be brutally frank, the British weren't at all concerned about our native land or its "natives".
But Malaysia of the 21st century can't afford to be without SOPs for RE or REE. It is hard to forget how unregulated bauxite mining in 2016 turned Pahang village houses, roads and rivers into red, the colour of bauxite. Yes, it was a dirty-red story this newspaper highlighted.
Then there is the shocking news of a Chinese national on a tourist visa turning into an REE miner in Kedah two years ago. It looks like the Immigration Department, too, needs an SOP, given the number of times it has gotten bad press lately.
MACC is right in pushing the states where the minerals are found to put in place robust SOPs to avoid theft and misuse. MACC, quite rightly, stopped at theft and misuse because that is as far as its ambit takes it.
The state and federal authorities must do the rest, including safeguarding the environment and the people. The dirty-red story of 2016 and 2022 must not be repeated. There is economics at play, too. Commerce and policymaking seem to converge on taking the REE industry from an upstream operation further downstream to processing and manufacturing of high-value materials.
Better income for the nation and more jobs for the people are two arguments made for advancing such a national course. The National Mineral Industry Transformation Plan 2021-2030 (NMITP) values the country's mineral resources at RM4.1 trillion, with metallic minerals worth RM1 trillion and non-metallic minerals worth RM3 trillion.
Non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE), bauxite and REE make the list with the former two as strategic minerals and the last as a game-changer in the NMITP. Kelantan, Kedah and Perak are said to have abundant reserves of REE.
The key is for policymakers to ensure that sustainable mining practices get done. Challenges are aplenty. Laws and regulations need refinement. NMITP itself acknowledges the lack of sustainable mining practices..
Little wonder, MACC has added its voice to this. Deforestation is an issue. Much of the NR-REE is near or in high-carbon stock areas. Another challenge is the way the federal and state authorities view sustainability practices.
Economics is fine, but greedy economics is a no-no. The latter cares nothing about SOPs. Such crass commerce is all about putting profit before people and the planet. Malaysia must have nothing to do with such unbridled capitalism.