Jade Miners from Hpakant Don’t care about Landslide

Hundreds of people were still working yesterday in the jade mines of Hpakant, Kachin State, despite continuing downpours that had triggered a lethal landslide on May 23.

Local resident U Kyaw Myint said that nearly 300 itinerant workers were mining yesterday morning in the immediate vicinity of the deadly landslide, which killed at least 14 miners and left at least 200 missing.

“People were mining at the place where the landslide occurred,” he said yesterday. “I was amazed. They were digging at the top of the landslide area. We cannot ban them. There is no one to ban them.”

Myanmar Ministry to Inspect Hpakant Jade Mine

Supervision of jade mining in Hpakant is to be stepped up with regular engineering and pollution checks following a visit to the controversial and deadly wasteland by U Ohn Win, Union minister for natural resources and environment.

U Win Htein, Ministry of Mines director general said that the disposal system will be given  air and water pollution checks weekly or monthly.

He said the area, which resembles a desolate lunar landscape, had no systematic system of excavation and that incorrect mining had caused landslides. “Random digging of mines … causes landslides,” he said.

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More than 100 migrant workers scavenging for jade in giant piles of tailings were killed in a single accident last November when one of the heaps collapsed. Locals say that many people have died in similar but smaller accidents since then.