Kuantan bauxite mining moratorium extended by three more months

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who made the announcement today, said the Cabinet decided on the extension.

The extension was to enable, among others, the bauxite stockpile of almost four million tonnes to be exported or cleared, he told a press conference at the ministry here.

"The ministry will facilitate the process by issuing AP export permits according to the monthly capacity of the port," he said.

The federal government imposed the moratorium on Jan 15 over fears of environmental pollution and potentially hazardous side effects.

Wan Junaidi said bauxite was stockpiled at three places, namely Kuantan Port (28,905 tonnes), outside Kuantan Port (1.31 million tonnes) and in the mines (2.30 million tonnes).

He said the stockpile had to be removed to enable cleaning to be carried out to check environmental pollution.

He also said that the entrepreneurs had to abide by guidelines, such as using fully covered lorries and obtain a special licence from the Land Public Transport Commission to transport bauxite from the stockpile area to Kuantan Port or Kemaman Port in Terengganu.

"So, if anyone spots lorries sending bauxite to the ports, they are not committing an offence because they are licensed to clear the bauxite stockpile," he explained.