K'tan iron ore exports fuelling environment damage, affecting Orang Asli's health
S Vinothaa
Published: Dec 13, 2024 4:34 PM
Summary:
- Despite destruction to the rainforest and Orang Asli native land, iron ore mining continues near Kampung Kelaik, Kelantan.
- Iron ore, needed for steel production, is a key export for Malaysia worth billions, with Switzerland and Japan among the top buyers.
- Kampung Kelaik iron ore is traced to a public-listed firm which exports steel products to China and Australia, among others.
At a spot along the quiet Gua Musang-Cameron Highlands highway, raw iron ore - dark and gritty like coarse sand and almost black colour - lies in heaps awaiting collection.
“These heaps remain untouched until the company receives an order, which can take up to six months.
“We know the iron is transported to Prai (in Penang), but we don’t know exactly where,” said Ahak Uda, the leader of the Kampung Kelaik action committee.
The ore comes from two mines near Kampung Kelaik, a Temiar Orang Asli village in the hinterlands of Gua Musang, which have been ravaged after more than a decade of mining.
There, the rivers have turned a rusty red, while what was once a thriving rainforest has turned into a muddy wasteland.
The two mines are Redstar Capital, which started in 2009, and Aqua Orion, which began operations in 2015.
Buyer is public-listed firm
Documents sighted by Malaysiakini show at least one mine is part of a global supply chain, leaving the devastation faced by the once secluded, quiet community in the hands of decision-makers oceans away.
The document showed 37,660kg of iron ore collected by Ann Joo Integrated Steel Sdn Bhd from Redstar Capital’s office in Taman Gunung View, Perak, a residential area.
Although the iron ore came from the mine in Kampung Kelaik, the documents indicate they are from Ipoh, Perak.
Mining destroyed the forest near Kampung Kelaik in Kelantan
Locals say the same truck that collects the iron ore produced by Redstar also collects ore produced by Aqua Orion. As such, they suspect both mines supply to the same factory in Prai, but Malaysiakini could not obtain documentation to verify this claim.
Ann Joo Integrated is a subsidiary of Ann Joo Resources Berhad, a listed company, whose 2023 annual report is ironically titled “Casting Sustainability Into The Steel Business”.
The firm has a steel-making plant and four rolling mills in Penang, including one on a 237.448-acre industrial lot in Prai.
Ann Joo Integrated is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of iron and steel products, with an annual iron production capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes.
Malaysiakini has contacted Ann Joo for comment.
Destinations - Australia, China, Switzerland
Although the company did not disclose specific customers in its public statements, it highlighted a “major customer” in its 2022 reports, which generated RM433.22 million in revenue - 14.3 percent of Ann Joo’s total income.
This unnamed trader exported Ann Joo’s products internationally, primarily from its upstream steel segment.
However, in 2023, revenue from this customer declined to RM254.6 million, representing 10.2 percent of total revenue.
One of Ann Joo’s export destinations is Australia, where in 2015 it was investigated by Australian authorities for the dumping of rebars.
In 2020, it said it had “moved aggressively to export to China to cater to strong steel demand, boosted by fast-track infrastructure investments”.
At 7.5 million tonnes of crude steel a year, Malaysia is the 23rd largest exporter of iron and steel globally, with an export size of about RM7.48 billion, even bigger than Australia’s.
Switzerland has also recently emerged as a fast-growing market for Malaysian iron ore exports, particularly due to global shifts in supply chains and demand.
Other top importers of Malaysian iron ore are China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.
Booming iron ore exports
The plight of the Temiar of Kampung Kelaik was first highlighted by Malaysiakini in 2012, when it was reported that the river was so tainted that rice cooked with its water also emerged with a rusty red tint.
But as the iron ore sector grew into a major contributor to Malaysia’s export economy, the natives’ concerns over the years have fallen on deaf ears.
Ann Joo Integrated is a subsidiary of Ann Joo Resources Berhad, a listed company, whose 2023 annual report is ironically titled “Casting Sustainability Into The Steel Business”.
The firm has a steel-making plant and four rolling mills in Penang, including one on a 237.448-acre industrial lot in Prai.
Ann Joo Integrated is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of iron and steel products, with an annual iron production capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes.
Malaysiakini has contacted Ann Joo for comment.
Destinations - Australia, China, Switzerland
Although the company did not disclose specific customers in its public statements, it highlighted a “major customer” in its 2022 reports, which generated RM433.22 million in revenue - 14.3 percent of Ann Joo’s total income.
This unnamed trader exported Ann Joo’s products internationally, primarily from its upstream steel segment.
However, in 2023, revenue from this customer declined to RM254.6 million, representing 10.2 percent of total revenue.
One of Ann Joo’s export destinations is Australia, where in 2015 it was investigated by Australian authorities for the dumping of rebars.
In 2020, it said it had “moved aggressively to export to China to cater to strong steel demand, boosted by fast-track infrastructure investments”.
At 7.5 million tonnes of crude steel a year, Malaysia is the 23rd largest exporter of iron and steel globally, with an export size of about RM7.48 billion, even bigger than Australia’s.
Switzerland has also recently emerged as a fast-growing market for Malaysian iron ore exports, particularly due to global shifts in supply chains and demand.
Other top importers of Malaysian iron ore are China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.
Booming iron ore exports
The plight of the Temiar of Kampung Kelaik was first highlighted by Malaysiakini in 2012, when it was reported that the river was so tainted that rice cooked with its water also emerged with a rusty red tint.
But as the iron ore sector grew into a major contributor to Malaysia’s export economy, the natives’ concerns over the years have fallen on deaf ears.
The river at Kampung Kelaik turned rusty red, suspected to be due to mining effluents. But one of the mining operators, Redstar Capital, said it does not release effluents into the river
By 2013, the export of iron ore drove a 45 percent hike in the export value of metallic mineral ores and concentrates from Malaysia, totalling RM1.46 billion.
Today, iron and steel products are the eighth most exported products in Malaysia, with top importers including Hong Kong, China, South Korea, the United States, and Indonesia.
The growth spelt disaster for the Temiar tribe, as mining in Bukit Tambun intensified and by 2015, a second mine was opened - Aqua Orion.
Poisoning their blood
Returning more than a decade later, Malaysiakini had over the past months conducted multiple water and environment sampling at various points of the river, and on fish and ferns.
It also conducted tests on blood samples of six villagers who consented to have their blood tested for heavy metals.
Alarmingly, it found that one villager - Azlan Ahak, 19 - who spent the most time in the river daily, had chromium levels four times the normal range in his blood.
Chromium is a carcinogenic element sometimes referred to in headlines as the Erin Brockovich chemical, after the blockbuster film featuring the true story of a small town in California where residents fell ill due to chromium pollution in their water source.
READ MORE: Mining in Kelantan led to an Orang Asli patriarch's death, now it’s poisoning their children
Vivien How, a chemical health expert who reviewed the results, said Azlan 64,000 times more likely than a normal person to develop cancer in his lifetime.
She also estimated that six percent of villagers are likely to have the same risk as Azlan, but more testing is required on the others to identify the chromium levels in their bodies.
By 2013, the export of iron ore drove a 45 percent hike in the export value of metallic mineral ores and concentrates from Malaysia, totalling RM1.46 billion.
Today, iron and steel products are the eighth most exported products in Malaysia, with top importers including Hong Kong, China, South Korea, the United States, and Indonesia.
The growth spelt disaster for the Temiar tribe, as mining in Bukit Tambun intensified and by 2015, a second mine was opened - Aqua Orion.
Poisoning their blood
Returning more than a decade later, Malaysiakini had over the past months conducted multiple water and environment sampling at various points of the river, and on fish and ferns.
It also conducted tests on blood samples of six villagers who consented to have their blood tested for heavy metals.
Alarmingly, it found that one villager - Azlan Ahak, 19 - who spent the most time in the river daily, had chromium levels four times the normal range in his blood.
Chromium is a carcinogenic element sometimes referred to in headlines as the Erin Brockovich chemical, after the blockbuster film featuring the true story of a small town in California where residents fell ill due to chromium pollution in their water source.
READ MORE: Mining in Kelantan led to an Orang Asli patriarch's death, now it’s poisoning their children
Vivien How, a chemical health expert who reviewed the results, said Azlan 64,000 times more likely than a normal person to develop cancer in his lifetime.
She also estimated that six percent of villagers are likely to have the same risk as Azlan, but more testing is required on the others to identify the chromium levels in their bodies.
Azlan Ahak (sitting, right), 19, with his father Ahak Uda (sitting, left) and other residents taking a break while building a house
She also said that the source of chromium poisoning in Azlan is likely to be mining, given that the water sample near one of the mines - Aqua Orion - had high levels of chromium.
Met by Malaysiakini, Heath Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said he would instruct his ministry to conduct tests on the villagers to check for heavy metal poisoning.
Malaysiakini has also contacted the Department of Mineral and Geosciences, the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), mine operators Aqua Orion and Redstar Capital, and the Environment Ministry for comment.
Only Redstar Capital has responded so far.
Its administrative manager Julice Chu told Malaysiakini that media reports on the issue have been lopsided and that Redstar Capital follows all mining regulations.
Even though Malaysiakini saw water coming out of Redstar Capital’s mining ponds into streams, Chu insisted that the mine does not dump effluents into the river and that it reuses wastewater in its mining operation.
She added that it provides the JMG and the Department of Environment with water samples from rivers near the mine every month.
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