Jade market is stable although the government stopped granting gemstone mining licenses

Despite the govern­ment not granting gemstone mining licenses, a negative im­pact on the jade market hasn’t been felt, according to Kachin State Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association (KSGJEA).

“I think the government will introduce a new sys­tem, which should have been implemented long ago. We have to carefully consider the process of granting large scale min­ing licenses. Even though granting mining licenses has been restricted, there is still enough supply in the market,” said U Zay Lwan, the chairman of Kachin State Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneur As­sociation.

There are 19,000 jade mining plots in Myanmar, according to the 2015 Global Witness report, and all licenses will expire before 2021.

Almost 10,000 jade mining plots in Phakant, Kachin State alone will close this year, after the new government changed the policy on gem and mineral mining, accord­ing to KSGEA.

Approximately 50 com­panies are still operating over 3,000 mining plots in Phakant but their li­censes are slowly expir­ing.

“The government needs to address the is­sue of gemstones being smuggled through illegal routes. Government tax on gemstones smuggled through illegal routes is lost,” he added.

After passing the My­anmar Gemstone Law, the government, he con­cludes, will oversee gem­stone mining, including granting new permits for inactive mines and re­newing expired permits.

Licenses for over 8,000 jade and gemstone mines located in Lonkhin, Pha­kant, Khantee, Mong Hsu, Mogoke, Monyinn, and Nantyar expired within 17 months after the new government came into power from April 2016 to August 2017, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environ­mental Conservation.

The Myanmar Gem­stone Law enacted in 1995 by State Law and Or­der Restoration Council (SLORC) — which ruled from 1988 to 1997 — was previously amended four times. This new law will be the fifth amendment, a source familiar with the matter, said.

“There are two options now. The first is to re­move all current permits so that after the new law is enacted, we can easily manage all of the mines. The other one is to extend the permits of the expired licenses according to the new law. But we haven’t decided which to apply yet,” Dr. Thein Soe, Dep­uty Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natu­ral Resources and Envi­ronmental Conservation, said.

The size of each min­ing area will be granted according to the new amended law when it is enacted. At that time the respective governments of state and region will be given the mandate to manage the gemstone mining plots.

(Myanmar Business Today: https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/jade-market-stable-despite-licenses-expiring )

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