State govt requests Putrajaya for moratorium to continue exporting REE

IPOH: The Perak government has requested the Federal Government for a moratorium to continue exporting raw rare earth elements (REE), says Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.

The Perak Mentri Besar said Perak is the only state in the country with permission to mine non-radioactive REE (NR-REE)

"We were given a permit to do so as a pilot project and have been mining it accordingly to standard operating procedures and sell it," he said in a press conference after the opening of the Kinta Valley Geopark 5th anniversary celebration and International Geopark Run by Perak Raja Muda, Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa here on Sunday (Oct 22).

"We have asked to be given a moratorium to sell the REE until the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry comes out with a decision or a rule for the whole country.

"We need to sell the raw rare earth elements. If not, it'll go to waste.

"And if we don't sell, we will have to process it ourselves, but we do not have such (processing) plants yet", he added.

PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had, during a press conference on the sidelines of PAS' 69th Muktamar at the IDCC Convention Centre on Saturday (Oct 21), questioned Perak's act of exporting REE despite a policy banning it.

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In September, during the 12th Malaysia Plan (MP12) mid-term review presentation in Parliament, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was reported to have announced the policy to ban the export of REE.

The move, Anwar said, would avoid exploitation and loss of resources and guarantee maximum returns for the country.

Perak was reported to have received about RM16mil in royalty payments from the export of rare earth carbonate (REC) to China since early this year.

The lanthanide rare earth mining project in the Kenering sub-district, Gerik, started in October last year.

Saarani said the announcement by Anwar came after Perak started mining and exporting the REE.

"We started to sell in January, and there was no announcement from the PM yet.

"We have not done anything wrong, so Tuan Ibrahim has nothing to worry about," he added.