“Jadeite Stone” mining Landslide in Myanmar

The landslide at the jade stone mining site, Hpakant in Myanmar killed more than 100. Hpakant is the largest jade mine in the world where the landslide occured. Myanmar Jade stone trade is more than 30 billion USD per year.

Jade Trade

The Jadeite deposits found in Myanmar are of the highest quality in the world. The stone has great significance in Chinese culture. Chinese believe that the stone is the link between heaven and hell.

Chinese and Jade Trade

After the military coup in Burma in 1962, many of jade mines were nationalized. This forced the jade traders to flee Burma and settle in Thailand. Due to this, even today, jade stone from the mines of Myanmar is exported to China. They are exported from Thailand to Hong Kong. Hong Kong acts as a gateway for the stones to reach China.

Role of Hong Kong

As Jade trade, there are several industries that are using Hong Kong as Gateway to increase their trade with China. This is one of the reasons for the Chinese to impose the recent National Security Law on Hong Kong.

About Jade Stone

The Jade stones are extracted from the mineral called Jadeite. It is a silicate of sodium and aluminium. Jadeite is found in pink, green, orange, lavender and brown colours. However, the green varieties are popular.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020