Question marks have emerged over why work appeared to have commenced at a site in Hulu Perak near Gerik over a year before the rare earth mining project was approved.
Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad on May 23 said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was approved a week prior.
However, satellite images reviewed by Malaysiakini reveal what an environmentalist suspects are evidence of ongoing mining operations at the site.
The site has been earmarked for the mining of lanthanides, which are 15 chemical elements, commonly known as rare earth, and are used to make electronics.
"It is questionable how the mining operations could start before the EIA report was approved.
"Checks on Google Maps (above) show there are already land works done and pregnant solution collection pond structures at the proposed project site," said Sahabat Alam Malaysia field officer Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman.
Pregnant solution ponds are used to store chemical solutions in the mining process.
Malaysiakini’s further checks of other publicly available satellite imagery found signs of land clearing on the site as early as December 2019.
About a year later in December 2020, apparent structures started showing up in satellite imagery of the site.
The images were cross-referenced with coordinates for the project provided in the EIA report displayed by the Department of Environment (DOE).
The project is located in an ecological corridor connecting the Kenderong Forest Reserve and Bintang Hijau Forest Reserve which is home to endangered wildlife including the Malayan tiger.
The EIA report was put on public display in July 2021 before receiving the DOE’s approval on May 11 this year.
Besides the Malayan tiger, the EIA states that the area is also home to the Asian elephant and Malayan tapir.
The project sits 500m north of salt licks which are visited by elephants, tapirs, and sun bears.
It was also noted that active logging has been happening in the area.
Permanent loss of habitat
Environmentalists oppose the project because it is located on the Central Forest Spine which runs down the length of Peninsular Malaysia.
The Central Forest Spine is a network of ecological corridors that allow wildlife to move from one forest complex to another. This helps especially with the conservation of threatened and near-extinct species.
The project area is also in an Environmentally Sensitive Area Level 1 which, according to the National Physical Plan, are areas that cannot be used for anything but low-impact tourism, education, and research.
It is estimated there are fewer than 150 Malayan tigers, 3,100 wild elephants, 1,500 tapirs, and 500 sun bears in the wild in Malaysia.
"The EIA clearly states that land works can cause direct and indirect impact on wildlife, especially large mammals and aquatic life, and can potentially cause species extinction.
"The EIA does not provide any mitigation measures to overcome this loss of wildlife habitat, so this means the destruction of wildlife habitat is permanent," Meor Razak said.
He added that the mining period of 12 years, plus a 30-year mining licence, is likely to cause irreversible damage and obliterate wildlife habitats.
The Perak government has said the mining will be a pilot project to determine if lanthanides could be a new source of income for the state.
According to the EIA, the mining will be conducted through in-situ leaching by constructing seven hydrometallurgical plants as well as establishing injection holes and piping systems.
The project covers 11 land parcels of 5,339 acres (2,161 ha) and is owned by Menteri Besar Incorporated Perak (MB Inc Perak), Majlis Daerah Gerik, Felcra Bhd, and the Perak State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC).
This is equivalent to about 3,026 football fields. -Mkini
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