Saturday March 3, 2007
RAUB: A new technology which promises a yield of up to six times more than traditional methods is set to revive the golden era of Raub.
The residue – or tailings – left behind by earlier miners who used the conventional method to tap gold, will be replaced by a state-of-the-art technology from South Africa where the richest gold fields are found.
A company here will build a RM60mil gold processing plant which can potentially produce an annual yield of about 708.7kg of gold, worth about RM53.2mil at current prices.
“The advantage of the new technology is that it can recover up to 85% of gold from the tailings, compared with 15% using traditional gravity methods,” said Peninsular Gold Limited chairman Datuk Seri Andrew Kam.
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Mining technology: Adnan (centre) and Raub MP Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen examining core samples from diamond drilling after the ground-breaking ceremony in Raub yesterday, as Peninsular Gold non-executive director Dr Yves Cheze (left) looks on. |
“Raub is synonymous with gold mining in Malaysia and has a history dating back some 200 years.
“The tailings are present in an area of approximately 202.34ha in Raub.
“The plant should be ready in a year's time,” Kam told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony by Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaacob at Bukit Koman here yesterday.
Peninsular Gold Limited will build the plant through its wholly-owned subsidiary Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd.
Before the event, about 100 placard-carrying villagers gathered at a road leading to the mine, protesting against the plant, which would be using cyanide in the gold processing.
Adnan later met several representatives of the villagers at the Raub Rest House and received a memorandum which called for safe health and environmental measures.
The mentri besar said the villagers had made four requests, which he found reasonable.
The villagers asked for independent expert opinion and data on the project; an assurance that public safety is taken into account when cyanide is used, an updated environmental impact assessment report and safety precautions the company would take.
Speaking at the ground-breaking earlier, Adnan said the plant would create some 140 related economic activities.
Meanwhile, residents' spokesman Hue Fui How, 61, told reporters that they were not against commercial ventures but wanted the environment kept safe.
“It is not about my generation any more. It is about ensuring that future generations are safe,” he added.
1 comment:
RAUB AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINING using cyanide for gold extraction process not only influence bukit koman village, but is whole Raub underground water. Recently Pahang state government proposed role as the provider of water under the RM3bil Pahang-Selangor Inter-State Raw Water Transfer (ISRWT) project - Klau dam. This Klau dam is under Raub county, we affraid that leakage of cyanide will effect the Raub underground water and also Klau dam water supply. Hope that Pahang state and Selangor state government make a prufence consider.
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