• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

As Burma Opens Up, Miners Weigh Potential Versus Risk

Jared Ferrie by Jared Ferrie
January 7, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
As Burma Opens Up

A man picks up rubies at a ruby mine in Mogok February 27

2.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — With abundant mineral wealth from jade and rubies to copper and coal, Burma ought to be looking forward to a mining boom as it opens up its economy. But long-running insurgencies and a murky regulatory framework are holding back all but the intrepid.

Foreign investment in the Southeast Asian country as well as home-grown development were held back by 49 years of military rule that ended when a quasi-civilian, reformist government took office in 2011 and started courting investors.

The security and regulatory risks remain daunting, however, and although 69 foreign firms have registered to work in Burma’s mining sector, only 11 are operating.

RelatedPosts

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

June 13, 2025
25
March Quake to Drive 2.5% Drop in Myanmar GDP, Says World Bank

March Quake to Drive 2.5% Drop in Myanmar GDP, Says World Bank

June 13, 2025
46
Air India Flight Crashes in Ahmedabad with 242 Aboard

Air India Flight Crashes in Ahmedabad with 242 Aboard

June 12, 2025
88

One of them, Asia Pacific Mining Ltd (APML), has been granted an exploration license covering 650 square km (250 square miles) in restive Shan State, where it hopes to find deposits of lead, zinc and silver.

On Jan. 5, APML announced that its first month of exploration had yielded “significant discoveries of massive sulfide silver-lead-zinc mineralization” and said it expected to start exploratory drilling by April.

APML’s concession surrounds the Bawdwin mine, which CEO Andrew Mooney said was the world’s largest source of lead and zinc in the 1930s.

Despite its prospects, Burma’s risks will probably deter big firms from investing any time soon, Mooney told Reuters.

“[Myanmar’s] been off the radar since the 1960s,” he said.

“In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the major mining powerhouse. I think Myanmar has the potential to overtake it.”

A tumble in commodity prices may also deter some. Silver has lost two-thirds of its value since 2011 and zinc has shed almost 20 percent since then.

Wildcats

Burma’s government cannot put a precise figure on its potential mineral wealth and is unable to provide data on the sector’s worth before 1989.

Isolation under military rule plus international sanctions hampered exploration work.

With US$2.86 billion in foreign investment since 1989—an annual average of just $114 million—its mining sector is tiny compared to that of Indonesia, where coal exports alone generate revenue of over $25 billion a year, even at current low prices.

The limited surveying work done suggests large resources. “Judging by the size of its mineral deposits, you would expect a bonanza,” the Oxford Business Group, an investment and economic consultancy, said in its 2014 report on Burma.

Yet for now, Burma is the domain of small, wildcat companies specializing in high-risk frontier investment.

Conflicts between the military and numerous ethnic minority armies have flared since the 1950s and much of the mineral wealth is in areas controlled by insurgents keen to get a share of the spoils under any peace deals.

Underlining the risks, fighting was reported near APML’s concession area three days after it announced its license in October.

And earlier this month, a woman was killed and about a dozen other people were wounded when police and villagers clashed in central Burma during a protest over the expansion of a copper mine owned by a Chinese firm and a Burma company controlled by the military.

Legal hurdles are a problem, too: a new mining law has been held up in Parliament for more than a year. The bill in its initial form did not inspire confidence among investors.

It lacks guarantees for firms to develop and exploit minerals found through exploration, said Vicky Bowman, a former Rio Tinto executive who is now director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business.

“The law has got stuck in Parliament. It’s been through various committees,” she said. “But I think now people are realizing that the current draft, if adopted, would mean an opportunity to bring the sector up to international standards had been wasted.”

Your Thoughts …
Jared Ferrie

Jared Ferrie

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.2k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.8k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.6k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Sri Lanka Monitor Accuses Ruling Party of Violating Election Rules

Sri Lanka Monitor Accuses Ruling Party of Violating Election Rules

Thai PM Urges Action on Human Trafficking as US Deadline Looms

Thai PM Urges Action on Human Trafficking as US Deadline Looms

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
901

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Reinforces Kyaukphyu as AA Nears China-Backed SEZ Hub

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.