IPOH, May 28 — A study by the Department of Mineral and Geoscience (JMG) has shown that the country’s mineral resources are estimated to be worth RM4.1 trillion based on current prices.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the value of resources were derived from three main mineral categories, namely metallic mineral, non-metallic mineral, and coal.

"Besides that, JMG statistics revealed that last year, the nation’s mineral production amounted to RM6.32 billion, an increase of 6.4 per cent from RM5.94 billion in 2018.

"The gross domestic product (GDP) for the mining and quarrying industry (excluding oil and gas) was RM9.04 billion or 0.7 per cent of the country’s total GDP, through 155 mines and 397 active quarries nationwide,” he told a press conference during a working visit to Perak JMG Complex here, today.

Shamsul Anuar said the industry also provided some 15,275 jobs, of which 83.57 per cent or 12,766 comprised local residents.

Meanwhile, he said the ministry is striving to transform the development of the mineral mining industry to ensure it is profitable in terms of having a surplus in exports and opening more job opportunities in the future.

He said the transformation would be implemented by reactivating the mineral-based downstream industry, as well as forming a value chain and ensuring sufficient supply for domestic consumption.

"Development of mineral mining industry in the future will no longer use the mould and model that have been implemented previously, that is, production of raw materials for export directly to overseas markets,” he said.

The restructuring of organisations involving JMG and the Tin Industry (Research and Development) Board via the establishment of the Mineral Development Authority of Malaysia was also proposed to drive the growth of the mineral industry and regulate development activities so that they are implemented safely and sustainably.

Besides that, he said the ministry also implemented a specific study on the potential and development of minerals at selected areas nationwide based on an existing airborne survey,” he said.

He said based on the study that had been carried out, there are still a lot of potential areas with mineral resources that have not been explored and developed commercially, among them, the tin mining areas along the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, from Perlis to Muar, Johor. — Bernama