He said the satellite images published with a news report were of an old structure during preliminary work to identify the presence of the rare earth metal there.

“These are old images before I took over. The former menteri besar during the previous government had announced the discovery of the metal,” he said today, Bernama reported.

He said excavation work had started on a small scale on land belonging to the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation.

“When I visited the location during the Mesra programme in Gerik (in March last year), it was found that the land had been excavated and was full of holes. We instructed the workers to stop work as no permit has been issued yet,” he told reporters in Ipoh today.

Saarani’s comments were in response to a media report of satellite images purportedly showing that mining had begun in Hulu Perak near Gerik though approval has yet to be granted.

Lanthanide is a rare earth element widely used as an alloy to impart strength and hardness to metals, and is also widely used for refining crude oil into petroleum products. Lanthanide oxide can fetch about US$1,500 per tonne on world metal exchanges.