Despite the fact that they can both be said to exist, the bauxite industries in Australia and Malaysia couldn’t be more different.  In fact, they are directly at odds – Australia’s highly regulated and deeply-entrenched bauxite mining sector is being undercut by Malaysia’s quick and cheap exports. Both countries are…

Malaysia’s recent boom of poorly-regulated bauxite mining has resulted in what could easily be considered an environmental disaster.  Created during bauxite extraction, red dust laden with heavy metals and radioactive elements is washing into rivers, bogging up fields and blanketing cities with a rust-colored layer of fallen sediment. Already, doctors…

Residents of Bukit Goh, a city near Kuantan in Eastern Peninsular Malaysia, were given a jolt of excitement late last year when bauxite mining companies offered them between RM300,000 and RM800,000 (US$72,000 – $193,000) for every four hectares of their land that contained bauxite.  After mulling it over, about 200…

There’s a storm of controversy surrounding Malaysia’s recent rise as a major bauxite producer.  Bauxite mining has become a very profitable industry for the struggling country, but the pollution it creates is poisoning Malaysian citizens and ecosystems. About RM750 million (US$170.6 mil) has so far been generated from bauxite mining…