• Burmese
Thursday, July 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °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 News Burma

Letpadaung Copper Mine to Resume Operations

Lawi Weng by Lawi Weng
July 26, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Letpadaung Copper Mine to Resume Operations

A copper mine excavation about 24 km (15 miles) from Monywa in Sagaing Division. Farming families from 26 villages have lost land for the Letpadaung copper mining project. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

7.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NAYPYIDAW — The controversial Letpadaung copper mine is set to resume operations, a union minister said on Thursday, following the signing of a new contract that gives the government a large share of the mine’s profits.

Hla Tun, a union minister from the President’s Office who chairs the Letpadaung mining project implementation committee, said 1,300 employees would soon return to work at the mine in northwest Burma’s Sagaing Division.

“The mining project will start in the next two months,” he told reporters at a press conference in Naypyidaw, adding that the project would be a model for other foreign companies seeking to invest in the country.

RelatedPosts

Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

July 16, 2025
355
Rogue Sagaing Resistance Fighters Held Over Robbery Gone Wrong

Rogue Sagaing Resistance Fighters Held Over Robbery Gone Wrong

July 16, 2025
188
Myanmar Junta Recaptures Nawnghkio After Months-Long Counteroffensive

Myanmar Junta Recaptures Nawnghkio After Months-Long Counteroffensive

July 16, 2025
385

Burma’s government and the Chinese-backed Wanbao Mining Ltd signed a new contract this week with amendments to the former contract, which was signed during the previous military regime.

Operations at the mine have been suspended since November, following a brutal police crackdown on peaceful protesters who opposed the project’s environmental and social impact on local communities. The crackdown left dozens of people injured and prompted the government to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate the project’s viability.

Wanbao pledged in the new contract to meet international environmental standards and to give jobs to local people, while also investing in education, health care and community development.

“Our project will benefit the community,” Geng Yi, manager of Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd, told reporters. “People in the community will see improvements in education and health care.”

Burma’s deputy minister of religious affairs, Soe Win, said the project would affect local Buddhist sites.

“All pagodas at the mining site need to be relocated because it is not suitable to keep them in the mining area,” he said. “We have already talked to other senior monks about this.”

The new contract was signed on Wednesday by the government and Wanbao without prior consultation with the public.

“In the past there were problems because they signed the contract without informing the public,” said Khin San Hlaing, a lawmaker and member of the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the mining project after the crackdown. “Now they have done it again, failing to inform the public.”

“I only learned about this a day ago when they came to explain in Parliament,” she added. “Even then, they did not explain the details.”

Wanbao says it has invested US $600 million in the project and the company intends to produce 40,000 tons of copper monthly.

Thant Shin, a minister from the President’s Office, said local communities had become critical of the project due to influence from activists who oppose it for political reasons.

“There are people who want to paint [the situation] in a different color, for political motivations, to stop this project, and they are feeding the wrong message to the people,” he said.

According to the new contract, Burma’s government will have a 51 percent stake in the mine, while Wanbao and its business partner, the military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), will retain 49 percent ownership. Previously, Wanbao and UMEHL held complete control.

The amendments include legal requirements that 2 percent of net profits be allocated for corporate social responsibility projects, with a focus on communities affected by the mine.

Through the commercial production period of the project, Wanbao is also required to pay $2 million per annum to ensure international standards in environmental protection are met.

Wanbao views the agreement as “heralding a new dawn in the relationship between mining companies and their host countries,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, citing a press release.

Your Thoughts …
Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

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
98.5k

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
90.3k

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
87.1k

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
47k

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
44.8k

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

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post

Business Roundup (July 27, 2013)

‘Why Don’t Men Need to Be Virgins?’

‘Why Don’t Men Need to Be Virgins?’

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

5 days ago
701
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

1 week ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    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.