KUALA LUMPUR: The new standard operating procedures for bauxite mining may have been drawn up, but are the operators ready to toe the line?
Former natural resources and environment minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar believed that the government’s decision to lift the moratorium, imposed in 2016, might have come too soon.
He said the previous federal government had drafted new rules and regulations for mining operators to comply with.
This, he said, was done after establishing a multi-departmental committee, which featured representatives from the police, local councils, Road Transport Department, Pahang government and various teams from the ministry, including legal and geo-science units, to formulate the necessary laws.
The moratorium, he said, was introduced not only to stop environmental degradation, but also to study and prepare for full-fledged rules and regulations for the industry, which at the time was non-existent.
“The whole idea behind the moratorium was not to stop the industry, but to stop it from polluting the environment… it was bad, everything — houses, fields, rivers, roads and schools — were turning red.
“After consulting stakeholders, as well as the Pahang palace, we agreed to impose the moratorium to clean and revive Kuantan, and, at the same time, draw up the rules and regulations for the industry,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said among the items the team came up with was specific routes lorries could use to and from the site and Kuantan Port, the exact times and the types of lorries that could be used.
The lorries, he said, were required to have their cargo bays closed at all times and could only be opened at the mining site and the port.
The committee also underlined the need for mitigation plans in the event of heavy rain and floods, common in the east coast, which would lead to bauxite seeping and polluting waterways.
Wan Junaidi said the stumbling block was not the lack of regulations, which they had drawn up, but the readiness of the operators to comply.
“The rules and regulations were prepared during the moratorium period, but the industry did not complete their part, such as getting the correct lorries, preparing mitigation plans for stockpile sites, as well as the port and mining sites. It was not done.”
He said RM10 million was allocated to ensure that the port complied with the new regulations, but the changes were not completed.
“As far as I’m concerned, once the ministry lifts the moratorium, the operators and industry players must comply with the SOP. Otherwise, we will face the same problem we did back in 2014 to 2016.”
Ministry confident that industry players will comply with new SOP
The Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry is keeping a positive outlook that bauxite mining industry players will comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) when the moratorium is lifted in April.
“We are confident and hopeful that industry players will adhere and abide by the SOP once the moratorium is lifted. Enforcement bodies, such as the Department of Environment and the Pahang Land and Mines Office, must play their part as well to ensure the industry is environmentally sustainable,” its minister, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, told the New Straits Times.
On why the federal government was lifting the ban and whether it was driven by commercial demand, Xavier said it was never the government’s intention to shut down the industry.
“When the ban was imposed, the main issue was the environmental damage during the transportation process of unprocessed bauxite as well as poor enforcement.
“The issue of stopping the entire industry due to this did not arise following discussions with stakeholders, including local political leaders and the state government. Besides, all agreed that the commercial demand for bauxite benefits the state and the industry as a whole.”
Xavier said sustainable mining practices would be put in place to avoid a repeat of environmental transgressions in the past.
He said the SOP standards being adopted were derived from Australian and Canadian sustainable mining practices, which were globally recognised.
“The ministry’s collaboration with all relevant parties resulted in the creation of a new SOP. It contains four important aspects, namely bauxite extract management, transportation and enforcement, storage area and management at the ports and the export of bauxite.
“I expect all miners to adhere to the terms and conditions we had specified,” he said, adding that failure to abide by the SOP would result in the moratorium being brought back in future.