Malaysia

2024 Report

Full data release with tables here.

Malaysia’s mining and quarrying sector extracted primarily metallic ores. The country also produced rare-earth compounds, mainly from rare-earth mineral concentrates imported from Australia. In 2023 (the latest year for which data were available), Malaysia was the fourth-ranked producer of smelted tin in the world, accounting for 5.8% of global output. In 2024, Malaysia was the world’s 10th-ranked producer of mined tin, accounting for 1.9% of global production. In 2024, the country’s other major mineral products included aluminum, bauxite, ferroalloys, gold, manganese (mined), rare earths (mined and processed), industrial sand, silver, titanium (mined mineral concentrates), and zirconium (mined mineral concentrates) (Friedline, 2025, 2026; U.S. Geological Survey, 2026, p. 41, 153, 165, 171, 195).  

Minerals in the National Economy 

In 2024, Malaysia’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) was \$422 billion. The real GDP increased by 5.1%. The mining and quarrying sector accounted for 6.0% of GDP; the output of this sector expanded by 0.9%. In 2023 (the latest year for which data were available), employment in the mining and quarrying sector represented about 0.6% of the total employment (15.8 million people) in the country (Ministry of Economy, 2025, p. 1, 7; World Bank, The, 2025).  

Government Policies and Programs 

Starting on January 1, 2024, the Government imposed a moratorium on raw rare earth exports to protect resources and promote the downstream industry. In accordance with the authority conferred by the Custom Act 1967, Malaysia prohibited the imports of 21 metal waste and scrap, effective May 1, 2024. These metals included cobalt, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, nickel, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, zinc, zirconium, and other metals. The order was cited as the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) (Amendment) Order 2024 (Federal Legislation, 2024; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, 2024).  

As part of National Mineral Industry Transformation Plan 2020­–2030, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (renamed from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change in 2023) designated five minerals as strategic (or critical) in 2021: bauxite, kaolin, nonradioactive rare-earth elements, silica sand, and tin ore. The strategic minerals were defined as materials critical to high-tech products, other sectors’ sustainability, and national security (Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, 2023, p. 119). 

The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Malaysia is provided by the Mineral Development Act 1994, the State Mineral Enactments, the Mineral Development (Licensing) Regulations 2016, and the Mineral Development (Effluent) Regulations 2016. More-extensive coverage of Government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Asia and the Pacific, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/asia-…;

Production 

Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). 

Structure of the Mineral Industry 

Most of Malaysia’s mines, quarries, and processing facilities were operated by private domestic companies and subsidiaries of foreign companies. Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (PETRONAS) was a state-owned company. With its subsidiaries, PETRONAS owned fertilizer companies. The mining and quarrying sector is regulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. The Department of Mineral and Geoscience undertakes mineral exploration and publishes the country’s minerals yearbook. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities. 

Mineral Trade 

In 2024, Malaysia’s total exports were valued at about \$330 billion,¹ of which the exports of metal ores and scrap from the mining and quarrying sector accounted for 0.7%. The exports of iron and steel, nonferrous metals, and products of metals and nonmetallic minerals from the manufacturing sector accounted for 7.1% of total exports. Malaysia’s total imports were valued at about \$299 billion, of which the imports of metal ores and scrap accounted for 1.5%. The imports of iron and steel, nonferrous metals, and products of metals and nonmetallic minerals from the manufacturing sector accounted for 7.9% of total imports (Department of Statistics, 2025, p. 46–48). 

Commodity Review 

Bauxite and Alumina and Aluminum.—Because of the lack of alumina refinery capacity, Malaysia exported all its bauxite production to China. In 2024, Malaysia imported 1.9 million metric tons of alumina for aluminum production, 66% of which was imported from Indonesia and 25% from Australia. Altech Batteries Ltd. of Australia placed the construction of the high-purity alumina plant in Johor on care-and-maintenance status, owing to the need for further capital to complete the construction of the plant (Altech Batteries Ltd., 2024, p. 32; Trade Data Monitor LLC, 2026). 

Ferroalloys.—Malaysia’s leading ferroalloy manufacturer, OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn. Bhd., operated 16 furnaces at the Sarawak plant, of which 8 units were allocated to produce manganese alloys, 6 units for ferrosilicon, and 2 units for silicon metal. Owing to the global oversupply and slowed demand for silicon metal, silicon metal furnaces at the plant were reallocated to produce ferrosilicon in 2024. OM Sarawak’s production of ferrosilicon in 2024 increased to about 191,000 metric tons (t) from 140,000 t in 2023, and production of manganese alloys increased to 318,000 t from 294,000 t. The increase in production was due in part to high utilization rates of 98% at the plant (OM Holdings Ltd., 2025, p. 3, 14, 15).  

Rare Earths.—The country’s sole miner of rare earths, MCRE Resources Sdn. Bhd. in Perak started operations in 2022. MCRE Resources was estimated to ramp up production to about 5,000 t of rare-earth-oxide (REO) equivalent in 2023–24. Lynas Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. of Australia, Malaysia’s sole rare-earth refiner, continued to import rare-earth concentrate from Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.’s Mount Weld Mine in Australia. Lynas Malaysia was the largest producer of separated rare earths outside of China. In 2024, the company’s REO production decreased to 11,072 t from 14,000 t in 2023, owing to the preventative 10-year maintenance of the plant. Of the total output, light rare earths, neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) production made up 56% (or 6,200 t); the output of Nd-Pr products was mostly exported to Japan according to the priority supply rights valid until 2038. Lynas Malaysia reformed an existing solvent extraction circuit to produce separated heavy rare-earth oxides, such as dysprosium and terbium. First production was expected in 2025 (Production table; Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., 2024, p. 5, 6; 2025, p. 15, 96). 

Tin.—Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd. (MSC), through its subsidiary Rahman Hydraulic Tin Bhd. (RHT), operated Malaysia’s leading tin mine, the RHT hard rock open pit mine, at Klian Intan, Perak. In 2024, the MSC produced about 2,520 t of tin (Sn content) at the RHT Mine. The MSC received more than 15% of its smelting input from the RHT Mine and the remaining were from domestic artisanal tin miners, Australia, and countries in Africa. The company’s production of refined tin decreased to about 16,300 t in 2024 from 20,700 t in 2023, making it the world’s fifth-ranked producer. The decrease was due to the scheduled annual maintenance for 2 months and lower feedstock of tin ore. The MSC exported 8,900 t of refined tin; Japan and China were the leading recipients, accounting for 40% and 20%, respectively (International Tin Association Ltd., 2025; Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd., 2025, p. 19, 205).  

Production table

(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)

References Cited 

• Altech Batteries Ltd., 2024, Annual report 2024: Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia, Altech Batteries Ltd., October 14, [78] p. (Accessed December 17, 2025, at https://webservices.weblink.com.au/article.aspx?articleID=Vi3bJMaVROwwA…;

• Department of Statistics, 2025, Final external trade statistics 2025: Putrajaya, Malaysia, Department of Statistics, July, 290 p. (Accessed December 2, 2025, at https://www.dosm.gov.my/uploads/release-content/file_20250729105822.pdf.) 

• Federal Legislation, 2024, Customs (Prohibition of imports) (Amendment) Order 2024: Putrajaya, Malaysia, Federal Legislation, February 27, 5 p. (Accessed March 31, 2026, at https://lom.agc.gov.my/ilims/upload/portal/akta/outputp/2038250/P.U.%20….) 

• Friedline, C.A., 2025, Tin [2023 tables–only release], in Metals and minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2023, v. I, 10 tables. (Accessed December 22, 2025, at https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/….) 

• Friedline, C.A., 2026, Tin: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 194–195. 

• International Tin Association Ltd., 2025, Global tin production falls in 2024 on supply disruptions: Frogmore, United Kingdom, International Tin Association Ltd., March 13. (Accessed December 18, 2025, at https://www.internationaltin.org/global-tin-production-falls-in-2024-on….) 

• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., 2024, Annual report FY2024: Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., October, 113 p. (Accessed December 18, 2025, at https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/LYC/02865113.pdf.) 

• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., 2025, Appendix 4E: Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., August 27, 121 p. (Accessed December 18, 2025, at https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/LYC/02985262.pdf.) 

• Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd., 2025, Annual report 2024: Pulau Indah, Selangor, Malaysia, Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd., April, 213 p. (Accessed December 18, 2025, at https://ir2.chartnexus.com/msmelt/docs/ar/ar2024.pdf.) 

• Ministry of Economy, 2025, The Malaysian economy in figures 2024: Putrajaya, Malaysia, Ministry of Economy, February 28, 60 p. (Accessed December 12, 2025, at https://ekonomi.gov.my/sites/default/files/2025-04/MEIF_2024.pdf.) 

• Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, 2023, New industrial master plan 2030: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, 187 p. (Accessed April 22, 2026, at https://www.nres.gov.my/ms-my/pustakamedia/Penerbitan/Kerangka%20Pelan%….) 

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, 2024, [Ministerial Question Time]: Putrajaya, Malaysia, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, March 12, 10 p. (Accessed December 19, 2025, at https://www.nres.gov.my/Parlimen/MQT/MQT%20%E2%80%93%20YB%20TUAN%20LEE%….) [In Malaysian.] 

• OM Holdings Ltd., 2025, Annual report 2024: Singapore, OM Holdings Ltd., April, 197 p. (Accessed December 16, 2025, at https://www.omholdingsltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/OMH-AR2024_low….) 

• Trade Data Monitor LLC, 2026, Global trade data statistics: Trade Data Monitor LLC. (Accessed January 27, 2026, via https://www1.tdmlogin.com/tdm/default.asp.) 

• U.S. Geological Survey, 2026, Mineral commodity summaries 2026: U.S. Geological Survey, 222 p.  

• World Bank, The, 2025, Malaysia—Overview: Washington, DC, The World Bank. (Accessed November 25, 2025, at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=MY.)