Malaysia's Mini Mining Boom Is Yet Another Headache for Najib
- Government imposes 3-month ban after pollution, graft reports
- Sales of aluminum-rich ore to China top $1.1 billion in 2015
Bauxite ore dust covers the road and vegetation near the Kuantan Port in Pahang.
Photographer: Sanjit Das/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Bauxite mining in Malaysia went on a tear after neighboring Indonesia banned exports, transforming an industry that hardly existed until 2013 into China’s biggest supplier.
In September alone, China bought a record 3.7 million metric tons of Malaysian aluminum-rich bauxite. It was a $170.8 million windfall for the oil-palm covered hills in eastern Pahang state, where dozens of companies have rushed in, paying smallholder-farmers for their land to be dug up.