Gold rush: Malaysia’s Kelantan to let poor residents dig for precious metal

Malaysia’s northeastern state of Kelantan plans to issue licences for small-scale gold panning, formalising a practice that has long existed on its riverbanks and promising a modest boost for low-income residents as gold prices hover near historic highs.\nThe state government opened applications for official licences on January 1, allowing residents to pan for gold manually in designated areas, according to state news agency Bernama.\nThe move targets daily wage earners and those in irregular work, a significant demographic in Kelantan, one of Malaysia’s poorer states with a largely rural population and a limited industrial base.\nKelantan, long governed by the Islamist opposition party Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), has frequently accused the federal government of neglecting its development, though Putrajaya says it has not sidelined the state.\nNik Raisnan Daud, the land and mines director of Kelantan, said the scheme aimed to balance economic relief with safety and environmental controls.\n“The state government believes low-income earners can still take part in this activity, especially those who depend on daily wages and irregular work,” he told local media. He said 916 gold – a common jewellery grade that is 91.6 per cent pure – was trading at about 565.77 ringgit (US$120) per gram recently, with prices fluctuating by up to about 11 per cent.\nIn the global gold market, the price of the precious metal surged by more than 60 per cent towards the end of last year to a record high of US$4,549 an ounce before falling after Christmas to about US$4,330 on December 31.\n\nUnder the rules being drafted, gold panning would be permitted only by hand, without large machinery, to limit environmental damage and reduce safety risks, he added. The state plans to gazette specific areas for the activity and screen applications, prioritising poorer households.\nLocal officials have identified Tanah Merah and Jeli as districts with potential, though final details of licensing conditions and approved sites are still being finalised.\nThe announcement follows a surge of viral videos posted by Malaysian social media users of Kelantanese residents showing how gold is panned.\nIn the clips, panners are seen shovelling riverbed sand with a shovel into a metal pan, adding water, and gently shaking the pan so lighter sediment spills away. As the mixture thins, the pan is tilted and rinsed repeatedly until heavier particles remain, with tiny gold flakes visible at the base and picked out by hand.\nKelantan sits on part of Malaysia’s central gold belt, with deposits concentrated in its interior.\nReviews by the Geological Survey Department of Malaysia in the 1980s and 1990s identified dozens of prospective gold zones in the state’s central region, where academic studies show small-scale panning has persisted for generations.\nIn 2019, local media reported that Universiti Malaysia Kelantan students panned nearly 44 grams of gold and gemstones worth an estimated 22,000 ringgit during a field exploration programme in Jeli.\n