Jade mining set to resume in four Kachin townships

On September 1 the government will allow jade mining to resume in areas of Kachin State where it has been suspended for two years due to armed conflict, an official from the supervisory work committee for jade plots said.

The resumption of jade mining in four townships in the state is intended to improve the socioeconomic welfare of its residents, the official said.

The mining will resume in Lonekhin, Phar Kant, Mawluu-Maw Han and Khanni townships, where it has been suspended since May 2012, the official said.

The resumption is possible because the Union Peace Working Committee has formed a negotiation team with representatives of the Kachin Independence Organisation, and its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army, to settle the conflict, the official said. The negotiation team is also discussing holding political talks in the state, the official said.

Myanmar earned more than US$1 billion from jade exports during the last fiscal year. Mineral resources, including jade worth more than US$65 million, have already been exported in the fiscal year beginning in April.

Jade is also being exported illegally. More than Ks 3.9 billion worth of jade and gems has been seized before being smuggled out of Myanmar between April 2011 and last month, officials said.

source: Eleven Myanmar

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