It is known from the locals that although the renewal of jade mining operations in the Hpakant region of Kachin State has been suspended, the jade mining operations have not stopped, and the machinery is still being operated and mined only at night.
The residents confirmed to the MPA that the jade mining operations in the Hpakant region have been operating since 6 months after the coup. The jade-mining machinery normally starts operating in the evening and stops in the morning.
The mining operation was made at night before, but after the Military coup, mining operation has become more common at night. The old companies are also working together with the Military seized the power as well as some are working together with the local forces.
Since the term the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 2016, the new licenses for jade and gem mining in Hpakant region have been suspended to issue and the renewal of licenses also have been suspended.
The Myanmar Jewelry Trading Operation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has also released that jade-ore mining operations in Onnkhin, Hpakant, Mawlue and Mawhan region in Kachin State will not be allowed to continue since March 2021. However, six months later, excavations of mining are still operating.
It is reported that now, not only the expiring companies, but those who have money, are working the mining operation by cooperating with the SAC military as well as the Kachin independence Army (KIA) that have distributed share-areas. Among them, after the Military seized the power, the companies controlled by the military of the SAC are increasing the speed of jade mining.
The residents said that there are waste samples from the excavation nearby villages. So, they are worried about the landslide risk when the rainy season comes due to such dumping.
Especially, during the rainy season, hundreds of people have died under the collapse of the waste land due to the large amount of rainwater entering between the cracks in the Hpakant area, and it has been heard that there are incidents of rainwater entering and overflowing the large silt ponds near the workplaces and causing deaths almost every year.
The political analysts say that after the military coup, the illegal mining operations have increased more in the areas where natural resources are produced in Myanmar, so it is a serious breakdown in the management of natural resources.