SEREMBAN, Jan 15 — The Negeri Sembilan Land and Mines Office (PTG) and the state’s Department of Minerals and Geoscience have been instructed to investigate claims of a gold discovery in an area in Lenggeng, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.

Aminuddin said that he was previously informed only about soil erosion repair works in the area, which had no connection to gold mining activities.

"I have instructed the minerals department to investigate the area to verify if there is gold. If gold is present, we will explore mining it as a potential new source of state revenue. I thank the informant for bringing this to our attention.

"To my knowledge, the works carried out are by a company that owns the land, which has experienced soil erosion. The owner and developer are sand soil operators on their property, with no connection to gold mining activities,” he told a press conference at Wisma Negeri here today.

However, Aminuddin disclosed that there was an application for a gold mining licence in Gemas last year, though mining activities there have not commenced yet.

"Last year, a mining licence was issued in Gemas, Tampin. However, work has not started. The company had conducted exploration and reported the presence of gold in the area, after which they applied for a mining licence, and we approved it,” he said, denying allegations that he and local representatives held shares in gold mining activities in Negeri Sembilan.

Earlier, claims of gold mining activities in Lenggeng involving the Menteri Besar and local representatives went viral on TikTok. — Bernama