Hpakant– A horrific occurrence occurred in northern Myanmar when over 25 people are believed to have died from a landslide at a jade mine. This disaster occurred in the isolated town of Hpakant, the center of Myanmar’s illegal jade trade. In this region, scavengers routinely gamble with their lives, scouring through the treacherous rubble and earth upturned by mining operations in hopes of discovering fragments of the coveted semi-precious stone.
As reported, the landslide was so massive that it swept workers into a lake, and the collapsed waste heap was approximately 150 meters high. Hpakant has been a recurrent hotspot for mining disasters, with another landslide in 2020 claiming the lives of at least 170 people. Alarmingly, such incidents tend to impact independent miners predominantly. These miners are typically settlers near gigantic piles of discarded earth excavated by heavy machinery employed by mining corporations. Most of them scour for bits of jade in abandoned mining pits at the base of these unstable earth mounds.
Myanmar, responsible for producing roughly 90% of the world’s jade, has an industry valued at billions yearly. The nation’s jade sales significantly benefit Myanmar’s ruling military and business affiliates.