bauxite in malaysiaf.pptx

8/15/2019 Bauxite in Malaysiaf.pptx

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35340528

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Bauxite in Malaysia Theenviron!ental cost o" !ining

• 19 Januar 201!

• "rom the section#sia

Bauxite !ining has beco!e a controversial political issue in Malaysia# As thegovern!ent i!ple!ents a te!porary ban on extracting the alu!iniu! ore$ BBC

South%East Asia correspon&ent 'onathan Hea& visits the !ost%a(ecte& area#

#mid the monotonous dar$ %reen lines o& 'alasia(s endless palm oil plantations) there arenow *i*id red %ashes in the hills behind the east coast town o& +uantan.

,hese ha*e appeared onl in the past 18 months) as a &ren o& open-cast bauite minin%%ripped ahan% pro*ince.

,onnes o& bauite are bein% transported out o& the re%ion. t is the world(s main source o&aluminium so is *ital &or the construction o& e*erthin% &rom airplanes to saucepans andcoo$in% &oil.

,he numbers are sta%%erin%.

#nnual output o& bauite ore has increased &rom a little o*er 200)000 tonnes in 2013) tonearl 20 million tonnes last ear. 'alasia is now the world(s top producer) accountin% &ornearl hal& o& the suppl to hina(s massi*e aluminium industr.

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ma%e copri%ht,, '#

What is bauxite)

t is an aluminium ore and the world(s main source o& aluminium.

6ot a mineral itsel&) it is a roc$ comprised mostl o& aluminium hdroide) tpicall

alon%side small amounts o& silica) iron oide and other impurities.

t is used mostl to ma$e aluminium but other uses include ma$in% sandpaper)

polishin% powders) and in hdraulic &racturin%) or 7&rac$in%7) %as and oil &rom shale roc$.

,here are plenti&ul reser*es o& it) which should allow hundreds o& ears( more use e*en

be&ore recclin% is ta$en into account.

,he top producers are #ustralia) hina) rail and ndia.

ommonl &ound near the sur&ace) it is tpicall strip-mined - a practice sometimescriticised &or its en*ironmental impact.

,he subseuent production o& aluminium in*ol*es electrolsis and is usuall located in

countries where electricit is cheap) such as celand.

'alasia has a lon% histor o& minin%) especiall tin) but until *er recentl it scarcelre%istered on %lobal mar$ets as a source o& bauite. ,hat chan%ed suddenl in Januar 2014)when) in an attempt to boost its own aluminium-smeltin% industr) ndonesia banned eportso& bauite ore.

p to that point ndonesia had been hina(s ma;or supplier.

e*eral ndonesian minin% companies then started loo$in% at the hills abo*e +uantan) wherethe plenti&ul bauite was o& a lower ualit than that a*ailable in ndonesia and #ustralia.


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ma%e caption"leets o& lorries ha*e been abandoned as the ban on minin% ta$es hold

*Ma& rush*

'uch o& the land in ahan% pro*ince has been redistributed to settlers so the could culti*ateit with rubber) palm oil or &ruit orchards. o all the companies had to do was approach

smallholders whose properties contained bauite) and o man did not.

7t became a whole mad rush)7 sas the opposition member o& parliament &or +uantan) "uiah

alleh. 7,here were 44 companies with eport licences) and the were all rushin% to %et asmuch as the could %et &rom anbod who was willin% to sell their raw ore.

7,he %reed) the need) o& certain people) outwei%hed wel&are o& the common people and theauthorities allowed it. #nd thin$ there is a lesson to be learned.7

ma%e caption?pposition politician "uiah alleh) seen here with her constituents) sas therewas a 7mad rush7 &or bauite ore

,he lesson has perhaps been learned. ,he &ederal %o*ernment has ordered a halt to all minin%while it rethin$s the re%ulation o& the industr. e*en people ha*e been detained on suspiciono& corruption. ut the dama%e to the en*ironment and &uture health ris$s remain un$nown)and worrin%.

How ba&ly has bauxite pollute& the water)


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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35340528 watched a team &rom the 'alasia 6ature ociet @'6A ta$in% samples &rom the a%uBi*er) at the point where water is pumped out &or +uantan(s domestic suppl.

,he collected bottles o& water and tras o& allu*ial mud) and analsed them to detect thepresence o& hea* metals) arsenic and mercur) which tpicall eist in bauite sediment.

o*ernment oCcials are alread doin% similar tests) but the &ailure to re%ulate the bauiteindustr has dama%ed public trust in its e the '6 *olunteers said the wanted to dothe tests themsel*es to ascertain how badl polluted the water suppl is.

'arine scientists ha*e also warned o& possible catastrophic dama%e to the ecosstem o< thecoast o& ahan%.

ma%e captionDolunteers test water pollution near mines) instead o& trustin% %o*ernmentreadin%s

,he oCcial who ultimatel bears responsibilit &or what has happened in ahan% is the state(shie& 'inister #dnan aacob. # *eteran politician &rom the rulin% '6? part) he has been inthe ;ob &or 1! ears) and under 'alasia(s &ederal sstem chie& ministers wield a lot o& power.

Ee turned down the (s reuest &or an inter*iew. ut he has since ac$nowled%ed that thestate %o*ernment &ailed to control bauite minin%) and that he had not sou%ht central%o*ernment help because he belie*ed he could handle the situation locall.

+e!an&ing co!pensation

he Fon% bin he #li is one o& the residents in the bauite one who re&used to lease out hisland) where he culti*ates &ruit trees. Ee worries about the impact on the health o& &uture%enerations.

ut his house is ri%ht net to one o& the roads used b the ore lorries> e*erthin% inside andoutside his home was co*ered b a thic$ Glm o& red dust) and the trees started to die.

Ee be%an stoppin% the lorries and demandin% compensation paments &rom them.

Ee too$ me to what had been a durian orchard a &ew hundred metres down the road. ,hehome o& the orchard-owner now lies abandoned and propped up on a hi%h slab o& red-brownearth.

#ll around) the eca*ators ha*e du% out a desolate moonscape o& earth piles and %apin%

holes.


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ma%e captionhe Fon% bin he #li on the site o& what used to be a durian orchard but thathas now been du% apart b eca*ators

7,his has not helped us)7 he told me.

7 am not an%r with the bauite industr. $now it brin%s income &or the %o*ernment) but itmust &ollow proper re%ulations. Hon(t pollute our roads) don(t pollute the ri*ers.

7# hand&ul o& people en;o the proGts) but in &uture man people could su

bauxite in malaysiaf.pptx

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