Malaysia bauxite mining ban extended till end of this year

The moratorium on bauxite mining in Malaysia's Pahang has been extended till end of this year. The government said if the current high ore stockpiles were not cleared by December 31, it would extend the ban for another six months.

Bauxite mining industry in Malaysia, though largely unregulated, has boomed in the last two years on the back of steady demand for the ore from the largest aluminium producing country China. Earlier, it would import bauxite mainly from Indonesia. Ever since exports were banned in Indonesia, the procurement process took a sharp turn. It was during this time that Malaysia shot to prominence as a bauxite supplier. But the random pace of mining that followed thereafter took a serious toll on the region's environment and public health forcing government to take punitive steps against the bauxite miners. The result was a three-month ban on mining the commodity that commenced in January this year.

What followed was lying down of a series of corrective policies to lessen the effect of unregulated bauxite mining on Pahang's environment. Stockpiles of the ore lying in Kuantan Port were cleared to a certain extent. Yet, till now 4.13 million tonnes of stockpiles remain to be cleared in three sites around Kuantan.

"If come December 31 and the stockpiles are not cleared, I'm going to ask for (another) six months’ moratorium," said Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Malaysia's natural resources and environment minister.

Last year, China imported nearly 24 million tonnes of bauxite from Malaysia. But the region's exports slipped since the time moratorium has commenced on bauxite mining. During January to July period, bauxite exports fell to 5.4 million tonnes, almost half of the volumes shipped to China a year ago.

It is expected, the extended ban on bauxite mining will give both the industry players as well the authorities time to comply with improved regulations and take further steps to mitigate pollution caused by unregulated mining, the environment ministry said in a statement.  

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