By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 26: The Sarawak government is in the process of drafting a new mining policy that focuses on sustainability and the use of modern technology and plans to introduce it by 2026.
In a TVS report, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the policy is vital in ensuring that mining activities no longer negatively impact the environment as seen with the opencast mining method used previously.
“In Canada, there are many models that we can emulate. I was informed by (Deputy Premier) Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and his delegation that they had visited a mining area that looked like new land.
“If you looked at it from an aeriel view, it looks like an undisturbed area. This is a new approach to digging and extracting mineral resources without affecting the original geological structure of the area,” he said.
He said this at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development (MUDeNR) appreciation dinner here on Friday night (April 25).
Abang Johari, who is also the Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Sarawak, said that by using mining technology that is less invasive, Sarawak will formulate policies to manage mineral resources such as nickel, lithium, and uranium in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, thereby reducing dependence on oil and gas resources.
In a related development, he also shared about his meeting with Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, who is interested in establishing cooperation in the minerals and energy sectors.
He revealed that Uganda also sees Sarawak’s potential as a strategic partner in gas management and related engineering development. — DayakDaily
