Man scavenging for jade shot dead by security guard at Myanmar mine, triggering uproar and arson
- The victim was a mine worker hoping to supplement his income by searching for jade fragments to sell – a common practice that is typically allowed
- About 400 fellow scavengers working in the area reacted angrily to the incident by burning a car and a building on site
Many on the hunt for jade in Myanmar’s Kachin state scavenge deep into the night on land owned by mining companies for fragments of the stone, coveted as a sign of luck and wealth in neighbouring China.
Companies typically allow illegal scavengers to enter concessions after the massive machines have finished combing through the mountains of earth for large jadeite stones, in what has become an informal arrangement.
Myanmar is the world’s biggest source of jadeite and finding a piece missed by company miners can reward scavengers with a small fortune. But conditions at the mines are treacherous. Dozens of workers die each year in landslides, while clashes with security guards working for mine companies are common.
On Monday, a worker from Myanmar’s restive and poor Rakhine state was shot dead near a mine in Hpakant, the main jade town of Kachin state.
