DAD'S BEST EVER NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Gold mining in Sarawak loses shine for now

KUCHING Dec 10 - It was nothing compared to the California gold rush but gold there was in Sarawak and between 1899 and 1921 a British company ran the biggest mine in the state in Bau.

The small district of Bau, 35km from here, produced some 1,000kg of gold a year between 1899 and 1921.

The lure of the shining ore saw the mushrooming of gold mining companies from 1921 and by the mid-80s, gold had been over-mined.

Sarawak has, in fact, stopped producing gold since 1997 when the Asian financial crisis started.

The state's gold production in 1996 was 272,005 grammes while production in 1986 and 1987 amounted to 540.94kg worth RM18.6 million.

There are no official statistics on gold production in the state in the 1990s but a local newspaper said mines in Bau alone produced gold worth RM125.7 million between 1990 and the middle of 1996.

Most of the gold produced in Sarawak is exported to Asian countries, especially Singapore.

Sabah and Sarawak Mines Department director Mohamad Noor Ayoob said the industry has lost its glitter in Sarawak due to high production costs and relatively low world prices for the commodity.

"Gold mining companies are lying low for the moment," he said.

"Most of them are likely to continue to hold back from investing in the industry if the world market price for gold remained low at the US$277 per ounce level." (US$1=RM3.80).

Still, he said studies conducted showed there are many areas in the state with potentially high gold deposits.

The areas identified are in Bau, Ladang Data Lundu and Tama in Kuching, Subang and Pedawan in Kota Samarahan, Marupi, Bukit Selanjau, Engkilili and Lubok Antu in Sri Aman, Upper Batang Baleh, Hose Mountain and Dataran Tinggi in Kapit and Selalang in Sarikei.

Gold deposits in Sarawak is estimated at 500,000 ounces.

A World Gold Council report in November said domestic demand for gold in Malaysia had recorded an increase of 19 percent to 5.1 tonnes in the third quarter of this year from the same period a year earlier.

It said of the total, 4.4 tonnes consisted of gold items much in demand during certain seasons such as weddings and sales.

The report however said gold demand in Southeast Asia fell 13 percent in the third quarter of this year to 60.3 tonnes, mainly on account of a drop in demand in Indonesia due to its economic and political problems.

On problems faced by gold mining companies in Sarawak, Mohamad Noor said the state government has provided various incentives to help them out such as stopping the collection of royalty payments.

He does not foresee the gold mining industry in the state turning active again in the short term, unless the world market price for gold rises to the US$350 per ounce level.

An official of a gold mining company here, when contacted, said his company was taking "a wait and see attitude" concerning further developments in the industry.

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