Illegal gold mining has increased tenfold in Kachin state since the coup in Myanmar

Illegal gold mining has increased tenfold in Myanmar’s Kachin state since the military seized power in a coup more than two years ago, according to a new report and sources, amid a decline in federal oversight in mining. region.

Illegal mining for gold, as well as jade and rare earth minerals, is rampant in Kachin state, where successive governments have failed to regulate the industry for generations. However, the number of unauthorized operations has skyrocketed since the military’s takeover on February 1, 2021 amid conflict between junta troops and armed resistance forces in the region.

The number of gold mining rigs on the Ayarwaddy River in Kachin’s Myitkyina Township increased to more than 1,000 in 2021 and more than 800 in 2022 from just over 70 in 2020, according to a report published Sunday by the group of Kachin State Accountability Resource Governance, or K-SAG, which began monitoring resource use in the state before the coup.

“There were not many, but some arrests and inspections were carried out (mainly) in the Puta-O municipality before the coup,” K-SAG’s head of investigation, who gave her name as Alice, told RFA Burmese.

However, in the 26 months since then, authorities have yet to conduct an inspection or make an arrest in connection with illegal mining in Kachin, allowing the problem to proliferate in the region, he said.

“Now that illegal gold mining has increased more than 10 times, the situation here is very bad,” Alice said. “Businessmen who started illegal mining in 2021 as a test for the legal system under the new military regime are now digging freely and avidly. The situation worsened in 2022 and we sympathize with the voices of local residents.”

Without measures to combat the problem, it will only get worse in 2023, he said.

Increase in the exploitation of resources

The report, which was released based on surveys and interviews with 330 residents of nine Kachin townships between June and November last year, found that exploitation of natural resources, including rare earth minerals, amber, gold and timber, had increased. in general in the State since the coup.

“Areas of Hpakant (municipality) were already damaged (by mining) even before the military coup, but since then, all the remaining areas have also been damaged,” the report says. “Before the coup, both private and large-scale mines operated there, but according to government guidelines. These days, they operate without following any regulations or guidelines, which is the reason for the destruction.”

Despite the general increase in resource exploitation in Kachin, gold mining had seen the largest increase since the takeover, K-SAG said, noting that such operations are approved and taxed by the Kachin Independence Army, the military regime and the local anti-junta paramilitaries. groups, depending on the faction that controls the territory.

According to K-SAG, entrepreneurs setting up a one-acre gold mining operation can expect to pay fees of 5 million kyat (US$2,380) each to KIA and local paramilitary groups and 4 million kyat (US$1,900 ) to the board each season. , in addition to the fees for machinery.

By comparison, entrepreneurs who purchase a 100-square-foot plot to mine jade in the Kachin township of Hpakant must pay 150-200 million kyat (US$71,400-95,200) to KIA and 200-300 million kyat ($95,200 to $142,800) to the board, the report said.

According to the Kachin State Mining Department, authorities collected more than 500 million kyats ($238,000) in taxes in 2020. However, while the number of mining operations in Kachin has skyrocketed, authorities collected only 238 million kyats. kyat ($113,300) in 2021 and 325 million kyat ($154,700) in 2022, the report says.

loose regulations

Win Ye Tun, the junta’s social affairs minister and Kachin state spokesman, confirmed to RFA that no official mining rights had been granted since the military takeover.

“The government has not officially allowed any mining rights for natural resources such as jade and raw earth minerals,” he said.

But he rejected K-SAG’s claim that the board failed to police the industry in Kachin.

“Since the number of illegal mining operations has increased, the government continually makes arrests and takes legal action (against violators),” he said.

Residents and environmental activists told RFA that mining companies pay bribes to both the junta and the rebel Kachin Independence Organization to look the other way while operating illegally.

Colonel Naw Bu, the information officer for the KIO’s armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army, also took issue with the K-SAG findings, telling RFA that resource extraction in Kachin State is ongoing.” according to the regulations” established by Kachin Independence. Political group organization.

“They prohibit mining in populated areas, on civilian farms, and on historic sites,” he said. “The KIC (Kachin Independence Council) has set guidelines. Local administrations have to decide whether or not to grant mining permits in accordance with those guidelines.”

chinese businessmen

The K-SAG report also found that the gold mining industry in Kachin state, which borders China’s southwestern Yunnan province, has become increasingly driven by Chinese businessmen since the coup. He said that around 19% of gold mining in the region is now controlled by Chinese interests.

A resident of Chipwi township, one of Kachin’s five townships, along with Shwegu, Myitkyina, Wingmaw and Tanai, with the highest concentration of Chinese-run mining operations, told RFA that gold mining is largely uncontrolled in the region.

“Mines are digging in areas too close to the city along the May Kha river, something that has never been done before,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “The number of illegal mining operations has skyrocketed since the military coup.”

The resident said businessmen and experts in gold mining in the area “are Chinese nationals,” adding that rare earth mining had also increased in Chipwi since the takeover.

According to statistics released by the China Customs Department in January 2023, the value of rare earth minerals exported from Myanmar to China increased to more than US$800 million in 2021 from just US$387 million the previous year. , before declining to over US$600 million in 2022.

Alice, a researcher at K-SAG, told RFA that resource exploitation in Kachin is in “urgent need of regulation” by any party that receives money to approve it, in order to stop environmental degradation in the region.

“The (board) and all the other stakeholders are responsible, in my opinion,” he said. “People here want to protect the environment, but they are not in a position to do so, and even areas that previously benefited from regulation are now at risk.”

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.