Stone Formation Found At Gua Tempurung May Be 1.5 Billion Years Old

IPOH (Perak, Malaysia), Feb 25 (Bernama) -- The Perak government is to carry out a study on a stone formation believed to be 1.5 billion years old discovered at Gua Tempurung, a limestone cave near Gopeng, south of here. State Industry, Investment, Entrepreneur Development, Tourism and Women's Affairs Committee chairman Hamidah Osman said a proposal for the study has been submitted to the Perak Minerals and Geoscience Department. "If the proposed study can determine the age of the stone, we should then know the actual age of Gua Tempurung," she told Bernama. Hamidah said a professor in geology from China who visited Gua Tempurung recently claimed that the cave contained a stone which usually takes about 1.5 billion years to form. She said studies conducted thus far have found Gua Tempurung to be 400 million years old. Hamidah said the stone formation is set to become a new attraction at Gua Tempurung. "People can come and see for themselves the uniqueness of Gua Tempurung," she said, adding that attractive packages are available for nature lovers who want to explore the beauty of the cave. Gua Tempurung is a cave in Gopeng, northern Perak state in Peninsular Malaysia. It is popular among spelunkers, or caving enthusiasts. More than 3 km long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. Part of it has been developed as a show cave with electric lighting and walkways and there are a range of tours of different lengths and difficulty. A fine river cave, the river passage runs about 1.6 km through the hill. There are three very large chambers and some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. -- BERNAMA