By Balqis Jazimah Zahari
Perak has not received any report regarding the stealing of non-radioactive rare earth element (NR-REE) ‘lanthanide’ resource in Mukim Kenering, Gerik like the case of mineral stealing that happened in Kedah recently.
Perak Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Saarani said, following the issue, he insisted that Perak has so far not received any reports related to attempts or activities to steal ‘lanthanides’.
“This is because we are the first state government to be licensed as a pilot project, where we make the project fully bound and subject to standard operating procedures (SOP).
“So there is no room for people to come in and do that work (steal) and there is not yet an SOP to sell the mineral,” he said.
In the same development, Saarani also commented on the viral news on social media that claimed the river turned green following the Lanthanide mining project.
“If there is a change in colour (turning green), it means the Department of Environment (DOE) and also the Ministry of Health will conduct a study on whether or not the water has changed colour due to Lanthanide mining.
“However, so far we can’t be sure and I haven’t received that information yet,” he said.
