New regulations for bauxite mining

SEPANG: The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has proposed new bauxite mining regulations to minimise pollution.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the new regulations were decided after a workshop in the Ministry from Jan 27 to 29.
"These procedures will cover all aspects including management of extraction areas, transport, stockpile management, and Export Permit (AP) procedures," Wan Junaidi told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after visiting the Kuantan Port earlier today.
These include dedicated bauxite transport roads, covering up bauxite transport lorries, a 60km/h speed limit for transport, and a centralised stockpile at the Kuantan Port.
Wan Junaidi said this is to minimise environmental pollution, especially air pollution in residential areas.
He said there was some resistance from the industry regarding the central stockpile but the government insisted on it.
However, Wan Junaidi said, it is possible that the 1.4 million metric tonne of bauxite stockpile left at the port may not be cleaned up before the moratorium ends on Apr 15.
"I cannot disagree (that it will not be cleaned on time), we had some technical hitches.
"And then during Chinese New Year, no ships from China came and all Chinese workers stopped work," he said.
Clearing the stockpile was one of the conditions to lift the moratorium, and Wan Junaidi said 1.5 million metric tonnes of bauxite have already been shipped to China.
He said he will be visiting the port again at the end of March and will table for an extension in the Cabinet if the stockpile at the port was not cleaned up by then.