PUTRAJAYA: The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry (NRES) has currently no intention to develop any specific standard operating procedures (SOP) relating to the exportation of rare earth elements (REE) as the existing procedures are adequate.
The ministry also stressed in a statement today that REE exploration is under the jurisdiction of state authorities.
"The ministry has previously prepared SOPs for non-radioactive REE (NR-REE) mining in Malaysia and distributed it to state governments through a letter dated Dec 20, 2023.
"The SOP includes aspects of pre-mining, mining and post mining, including how to conserve former mining sites and exportation. The ministry would like to state, however, that the SOP's implementation is still being considered by the Kedah state government," the ministry said.
The letter also contained the implementation of a moratorium of exporting raw REE as an initiative to develop mid-stream industries.
The NRES also clarified that lanthanide was included in a group of 15 elements categorised REE and that according to records of the Kedah/Perlis/Penang Department of Mineral and Geoscience, there was no company with approval using the word lanthanide in Kedah.
The ministry added that for Kedah, REE exploration was an activity governed under Section 41 of the Kedah Minerals Enactment 2004.
It also said that the operator of the REE pioneer project in Kenering subdistrict, Hulu Perak district being conducted in partnership with the Perak state govemment previously, had approval to export raw REE in the form of rare earth carbonate (REC).
"The export approval was given to the company at this time was agreed by the Cabinet for a reasonable period of time. In addition, the ministry has never approved any exports as claimed," it added.