Myanmar junta gains hold on jade profits as fighting flares

Independent researchers say the military takeover in Myanmar has given the junta full control of the country’s lucrative and conflict-ridden jade mining

BANGKOK -- The military takeover in Myanmar has given the junta full control of the country’s lucrative and conflict-ridden jade mining, providing it with profits and leverage for consolidating power, researchers said Tuesday. A flareup in fighting around the mines in Hpakant, in remote Kachin state, also is adding to instability in the border region, independent research group Global Witness said in its report. Army and ethnic guerrilla forces have been fighting in Kachin for years. But they had largely cooperated to share in profits from mining of the world's richest jade deposits, making the industry a hotbed for corruption instead of a national asset that could be invested for the public good. Global Witness estimates the annual losses in the tens of millions of dollars.