Govt evicts Nansibon jade mine scavengers
Jade scavengers who have allegedly overrun mines operated by private companies in Hkamti township have been ordered to move out by the government, with a combat police battalion standing by to enforce the ban. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation gave the itinerant workers until January 5 to relocate from the Nansibon jade mine in Sagaing Region. “With effect from January 5, it has been declared that they are not allowed to enter into the fenced off compounds owned by private mining companies, or into the debris piles of cuttings and jade washing racks,” said U Tun Wai, assistant director of the ministry’s Jade Mining Department. He added that since May 2016, the itinerant scavengers have been running rampage over the private property, climbing through tailings deposited by the companies, and also aggressively targeting the mining firms by shooting at bulldozers and excavators with wooden catapults, setting fire to fuel storage warehouses and stealing fuel from tanks. He said numerous incidents were reported to the ministry, forcing the officials to take punitive action.
