Malaysia to Extend the Date of Bauxite Mining Ban

At a news conference on Wednesday, Malaysia announced the bauxite mining ban will be extended from September 14 to December 31, and said if the current high inventory cannot be used out by December 31st, they may extend the date about six months. The extension of ban will affect the export volume of bauxite.

At the end of last year, the excessive exploitation of bauxite in Malaysia caused serious environmental pollution, which also caused strong dissatisfaction of general public. And then the government announced bauxite mining ban, which went into effect since January 15. Before the ban to cancel, miners in Malaysia, will have to give priority to the inventory.

The data from National Bureau of Statistics show that since the ban was carried out, China's bauxite imports were also decling monthly from 40% of the total imports in January, and the proportion was only 4.2% in July.

In addition, affected by the ban and exchange rate, the total imports of domestic bauxite also fell sharply this year, and in July, it was decreased by 32% from January.

It is reported that recently bauxite trade has relatively been active than ever in Malaysia, but as a result of the relationship between their export license, traders and miners, the export ability is limited. What’s more, they will enter the rainy season next, so it is difficult to rise sharply in the export volume.