Malaysia Tightens Ree Management, Wants A Full Value Chain ​​to Be Developed In The Country - Johari

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The development of the rare earth element (REE) industry will go through a strict engagement process at the federal and state government levels to ensure that the REE value chain is developed domestically.

Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani explained that the federal government will take into account environmental aspects and the export of REEs, while the state government is directly involved in granting permission to mine the mineral.

“We want to ensure that these REEs are not exported arbitrarily because we want to ensure that upstream, midstream and downstream REE activities are developed within the country.

“REE development cannot be done quickly because Malaysia does not yet have the expertise and technology on a commercial scale to carry out REE mining,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in reply to a question from Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu) on the development of REEs.

Commenting on concerns about the risk of 'modern colonisation' through foreign interest in the country’s REE resources, Johari, who is also the acting Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, stressed that the country has a strong legal structure and approval process.

"Investors must go through our process. We will look at the location, reserve value, potential for factory construction, job opportunities and revenue for the state. We are a sovereign country and we defend our rights," he said.

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Touching on the constraints facing the country, Johari explained that the lack of expertise in developing the REE industry has forced Malaysia to rely on external technology to carry out REE development activities.

"Malaysia does not yet have a processing plant capable of separating high-value REEs commercially and currently, the global value chain for REE processing and separation is dominated by China, and it also controls the export of REE-related technology," he said.

Taking the example of mining in Perak, Johari said that local companies have partnered with companies from China for mining and the minerals are brought to China for processing.

"The state government only gets tribute, we do not want that to happen again," he added.

​Johari said the constraints faced by the country make it difficult for Malaysia to develop the entire value chain from mining, processing and production of value-added products.

He stressed that Malaysia also faces the issue of a lack of comprehensive data on the location, quantity and grade as well as land use status of REE resources.

“The initial estimate of REE by the Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia is still at the inferred resource level and requires further detailed studies to determine the actual amount that can be mined economically and sustainably,” he added.

Johari said that due to constraints in developing the REE industry, the government has formulated a strategy for developing the rare earth industry in phases covering the short term from 2025 to 2027, the medium term from 2027 to 2030, and the long term after 2030.

“In the short term, the moratorium policy on crude exports is maintained to encourage investment and also refining, separation and production of value-added products in the country," he said.

Earlier it was reported that the country's non-radioactive REE (NR-REE) resources are found in 10 states, namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu.

-- BERNAMA