Perak gets approval to build non-radioactive rare earth elements lab

 

The Perak government received the approval of the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, during the National Mineral Council Meeting on Monday, to build a laboratory for non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE) or lanthanides in the country.

Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad revealed this in his speech at the Perak Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) annual dinner, in conjunction with its 55th anniversary, yesterday.

"The laboratory will be built together with Perak's investment arm, Menteri Besar Incorporated (MB Inc Perak), the Perak State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC) and Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNP).

"We will be a pioneer in the construction of the first laboratory in Malaysia that conducts tests involving REE. So, any parties from other states who do exploration and want to carry out tests will have to come to Perak to use our laboratory," he said.

Also present at the event were FMM president Soh Thian Lai and Perak FMM chairperson Chua Kay Lin, as well as the Perak government's state executive council line-up.

Saarani said the state government, through the meeting with the ministry, had requested that Perak explore the opening of factories producing intermediate and downstream materials (end products) of NR-REE.

“The ministry also agreed to allow Perak to expand the operations of the NR-REE mining area as we requested before.

"In fact, we want to respond to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's suggestion that all minerals be processed in the country before being exported, so we ask to further develop prospects in downstream products," he added.

According to Saarani, as of July, the NR-REE mining pilot project operations in Mukim Kenering, near Gerik, managed to generate almost RM16 million in royalties for the state government through the export of rare earth carbonate.

He also said the pilot project proved that REEs were not radioactive, and extraction through the in situ leaching method was the best one, which also did not pollute the environment.

- Bernama