Villagers want new EIA report for gold mine

Soon Li Tsin | Feb 8, 07 2:45pm

Villagers of Bukit Koman, Raub are shocked to find out that the approved project to mine gold in their area using cyanide was based on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted 10 years ago.

The residents’ action committee found out about this disturbing fact when Pahang Department of Environment sent a letter dated Jan 8 to environment watchdog Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM).

“The letter explained the mining project and gold processing of 300 acres on Bukit Koman by Raub Australian Mining Sdn Bhd was based on the EIA approved on Jan 13 1997.

“We are shocked because the EIA report made 10 years ago is based on completely different circumstances,”read the statement released yesterday.

The committee noted that in 1997, gold mining was done using gravity and chemical methods.

“Using cyanide is also very different from the use of gravity and chemicals and could potentially cause negative effects on the environment and the health of the villagers,” the statement said further.

Some 2,000 residents of Kampung Baru Bukit Koman have been questioning a state agency’s decision to allow the use of cyanide in a gold-mining operation in Bukit Koman since early this year.

The potential cyanide use in Bukit Koman was first discovered when letters of enquiry were exchanged between Pahang Mineral and Geoscience Department and SAM.

The correspondence revealed that the department had issued a letter of authority to the developer, Raub Australian Gold Mining dated Aug 21, 2006 permitting cyanide use to mine gold.

An estimated 70 percent of gold have been mined using gravity separation process. To extract the remaining gold, cyanide leaching, which involves using electrolysis, will be used.

The developer, a subsidiary of London-based Peninsular Gold Ltd, has been given the task to extract gold from tailings (waste material from previous mining) and oxide deposits.

It’s director Andrew Kam Tai Yeow could not be reached for comments.

Not available to public

The committee then said they had tried to acquire the 1997 EIA from both the Putrajaya and Pahang DOE offices.

“We have also gone to DOE in Putrajaya and called the DOE in Pahang in search of the EIA but both of them could not find that document,” it said.

Contacted, Azuri Azizah Saedon senior assistant director of Kuantan DOE said the document is not available to public. It can be acquired through a formal request to the director general.

The committee has also urged for the letter of authority to be retracted so to disallow any cyanide use in Bukit Koman.

Furthermore, the committee demands for a new EIA report be done.

“A new EIA must also be done. If possible, a detailed EIA should also be done to allow the public to provide feedback on this matter,” read the statement.