The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection recently issued a notice stating that, for more than 400 jade mining sites—including the Longchin and Padaung jade mining areas in Kachin State—whose mining rights have expired, the government will no longer extend the mining rights for these sites. Instead, the mining sites will be reclaimed and treated as vacant mines.

Jewelry and jade merchants in the Padaung region say that most of these jade mines officially began operations after obtaining mining rights in 2010 and 2012. However, some mines in Padaung have been closed for extended periods due to regional security concerns and other factors, preventing them from carrying out full-scale mining activities.

It is understood that during the fiscal year 2016-2017, there were over 2,000 jade mining sites whose mining rights had expired. Among these, the government granted extensions to more than 1,600 mining sites, while the remaining 400 sites will be treated as vacant and will be reclaimed by the government.

After the announcement was made, some companies that had invested heavily began to panic and rushed to submit applications to the government, stating that if mining were suspended, a large number of investors would face severe losses and requesting an extension of their mining rights.

Wu Hanwen Ang, CEO of the Patakan Jade Jewelry Association, said that while mining sites in other regions have been granted full-term mining rights, the government plans not to renew the mining rights for sites in the Patakan region. In response, miners have expressed that they have suffered significant losses.

As everyone knows, the quality of Burmese jade is beyond reproach. Yet behind the world-famous jewelry made from Burmese jade lie tens of thousands of mines and the hard work of countless people. Over the past several centuries, the number of mines has grown from a handful to more than 16,000 today. The mountains are now scarred and ravaged, exposing mottled wounds gouged open by “monstrous hands.” The jade deposits, relentlessly exploited over the years, are now facing the grave threat of exhaustion. These are all pressing issues that need to be addressed.

Should mining continue or should development be slowed down? Should mining concessions whose terms are expiring be granted extensions? And how can we protect the increasingly scarce jade resources? These are pressing issues facing the Myanmar government.