Irrawaddy-Mar 15
There has been a rapid expansion in illegal gold mining in Kachin State since the Myanmar military’s 2021 coup, with illicit gold mines operating around Myitsone, the confluence of the Mali and N’mai rivers, as well as along those two rivers and in Sumprabum and Putao, the northernmost towns in Myanmar. Kachin State is increasingly suffering from environmental degradation and contamination since the military takeover, as the junta and its cronies mine gold, jade and rare earth minerals on a wide scale, according to the Kachin National Forum, a network of 12 Kachin civil society organizations. Gold mines using China-made machinery have been operating day and night at the confluence of the Mali and N’mai rivers, north of the Kachin capital Myitkyina, since late last year. In some areas, miners are digging 300 feet beneath the river bed, said Myitkyina residents. Locals said that miners are now mainly using machinery to dig for gold, unlike in the past. Myanmar’s military regime has told some media agencies that it has not permitted the mining of gold, jade and rare earth minerals in Kachin State, and that it is taking action against illegal miners. Business owners persuade locals to allow gold mining near their villages by doing development work for them such as repairing and building roads and bridges, added activists.
In a statement released March 4, the Kachin National Forum called for an immediate cessation of gold mining and for the protection of natural resources in ethnic areas, saying overexploitation of resources in Kachin will result in negative environmental impact in the future. Read more at:
