By Balqis Jazimah Zahari
Photo by SUK
IPOH: Perak is currently exploring the latest mineral industry technology in China that could benefit the state, which has the potential to become a hub for industrial development in the country.
This is one of the objectives of the state of Perak and the Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, who is also leading a delegation to the city of Nanning, China to visit the rare earth separation plant of China Rare Earth Group Co. Ltd (CREG).
Saarani stated that the visit to the city known as the ‘Green City’ is not only seen as an effort to strengthen bilateral relations between Malaysia and China but also in response to an invitation extended by CREG to the Perak State Government last September.
“In addition to exploring potential investments in Perak, this visit aims to inspect the latest mineral industry technology in China that can be utilized by Perak.
“This visit also allows the Perak State Corporation (MB Inc) as the main driver of the mineral industry in Perak to strengthen strategic relationships in the use of technology, especially in the safe and responsible extraction of rare earth elements,” he said in a statement here.
Also present on the visit were the State Secretary, Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim; the Tourism, Industry, Investment, and Perak Corridor Development Exco, Loh Sze Yee, representatives of State Government-linked Companies (GLCs), including MB Inc and the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation, as well as representatives of state technical agencies.
He mentioned that this enables ongoing efforts to improve the mineral industry development strategy after the successful implementation of In-situ Leaching (ISL) techniques, which are the safest, environmentally friendly, and sustainable methods for lanthanide mining.
“This working visit is significant as Perak has successfully carried out a pioneering lanthanide mining project in Mukim Kenering, Hulu Perak District, resulting in approximately RM16 million in royalties to the State Government as of last July.
“During the working visit, the Perak State delegation was provided with information related to site preservation after the extraction of rare earth elements by the Managing Director of CREG (Guangxi) Rare Earth Co. Ltd, Mr. Zhang Xinguang, in addition to a tour of the company’s rare earth separation plant,” he said.
