FINAL VERSION FOR APPROVAL - Sdn Bhd - WWF Malaysia

Gunung Stong State Park Preliminary Management Plan
1.5.6 Geology
Generally, the highlands west, south, and east in Kelantan are granitic in origin, characterised
as the Main Range granite, Stong Igneous Complex, Ulu Lalat (Senting) granite, Boundary
Range granite, and Kemahang granite. The northern plain or the Sg. Kelantan delta, is
covered by alluvial sediment, while the coast is sediment overlaid by sand derived from
marine sources.
Central and south Kelantan is composed of Triassic rocks interspersed with Permian rocks.
The Triassic rocks consist of interbedded sandstone and siltstone, shale, with some volcanic
intercalations, while the Permian rocks are of phyllite, slate, shale and limestone (Rishworth,
1974, in Chu et al., 1982).
In the extreme south-east, overlying the Boundary Range granite, are Cretaceous-Jurassic
rocks mainly of continental deposits. These continental rocks are the youngest in the State,
and overlay the Boundary Range granite, and Triassic sediments in the tri-state border region
of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang, within Taman Negara.
The oldest rocks in the State are in the foothills of the Main Range (with a northwards
trending belt), which are Lower Palaeozoic in age, consisting of metapelites, with lesser
amounts of volcanic fragmentals, and arenaceous intercalations (MacDonald, 1967, in Chu et
al., 1982).
1.5.7 Minerals
Gold in Kelantan are of two types, alluvial gold, and lode gold, with the former being more
widespread, particularly in the Sg. Galas, Sg. Pergau, and Taku Schist region, at Sg. Sokor,
Sg. Wias, and at Kg. Pulai, while lode gold is mostly in Gua Musang and Sokor. Gold in Pulai
was mined as early as the 18 th century, from alluvial gold obtained from hydrothermal quartz
veins (MacDonald, 1967, in Chu et al., 1982), but production has stopped due to subeconomic
quantities of gold. Through an agreement with the Sultan, Duff Development had
played an important role in mineral prospecting in Kelantan since 1903.
In terms of gold production, Tanah Merah is the most productive district, with 88,288 g of
gold produced in 2001, followed by Jeli (12,485 g), Kuala Krai (8,353 g), and Gua Musang
(2,770 g), with much of the gold from the Sokor-Taku region (Dept. of Minerals and
Geoscience, Kelantan, 2001, in UPEN Kelantan, 2002).
Iron is located at several locations in the State, but the most economically viable was at
Temangan, made of secondary limonite, hematite, and goethite over primary siderite
occurring along faulted contact between the Taku Schist and adjacent shales (MacDonald,
1967, and Bean, 1969, in Chu et al., 1982). However, the mine, operational in 1819, has
since closed.
Barite, as hydrothermal veins capped by hematite, occurs at Sg. Perdah and Bt. Pencuri, in the
Gua Musang area. These two barite outcrops are located within arenaceous and argillaceous
sediments of the Permian age. Production was at 716.25 tonnes in 1999, 1816.40 tonnes in
2000, and 649.10 tonnes in 2001 (Kelantan Dept. of Minerals and Geosciences, 2001, from
UPEN Kelantan, 2002).
1.5.8 Forest Resources
Some 60% (894,271 ha) of the land area of Kelantan is under forest, of which, 629,687 ha
(70%) is under Permanent Reserved Forests (PRFs), 108,783 ha (12%) is under Taman
Negara, and 155,801 ha (18%) is under state land (Jabatan Perhutanan Negeri Kelantan,
undated). PRFs are managed by the Kelantan State Forestry Department, Taman Negara is by
DWNP, while state land is under the respective land offices. In terms of conservation, only
the forest under Taman Negara is fully protected.
12