IPOH: A tin rush has started in Perak, with former miners clamouring for licences and the state government looking for new grounds to revive the once ailing sector.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the state government has approved the applications of several companies to start their tin mining operations again.
Many companies had applied to mine tin after prices soared to an all-time high of US$26,900 (RM94,150) per tonne in October last year, he said. Tin prices fell many years ago and many operators were forced to close shop.
"Now that the price has gone up, they are applying for licences," he told reporters after receiving new Perak police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan at the Mentri Besar's office here yesterday.
Dr Zambry said many former mining companies had applied for licences and the state government has given approval to several to revive their operations.
Dr Zambry added, however, the tin mining sector was no longer as lucrative as it used to be.
"Malaysia is contributing only 2% of the global tin production," he said.
"It is getting smaller and smaller but we have an opportunity and we also have the expertise in reviving the sector," he added.
Dr Zambry said the Perak government had begun its search for new tin mining areas in its bid to revive the sector.
"We have identified several potential areas outside the Kinta Valley. The relevant departments are conducting environmental impact assessment at the sites," he said.
He, however, declined to name the sites.
"We want to grab every opportunity available but we also do not want to sacrifice the environment," Zambry said, adding that there were no new sites within the Kinta Valley, which once had the richest tin deposits in the world.
An International Tin Research Institute survey in 2006 found that half of the world's tin produced was used in solder.
The rest was for tin plating, tin chemicals, brass and bronze, and other us
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