Local press reports that Myanmar’s Parliament has passed new regulations for the gemstone sector. At the time of this writing no text in English in full is available online at governmental official websites while a draft was submitted for consideration in 2016 as part of a multi-stakeholder initiative. This draft, according to many commentators, may envisage significant changes in the mining industry management, mainly in production and exploration permits, land use, government oversight, royalties, penalties, environmental and social impact considerations and required compliance to Social Responsibility principles.
The mining sector of the country has separated laws, regulations, and contracts for jade and gemstones from those for other minerals. Jade is by far the gemstone that contributes most to the national wealth, in comparison with spinels corundums of the celebrated Mogok Valley. The world famous Burmese rubies of Mogok and Mong Hsu, suffering the fierce competition of the increasing production in Mozambique, are likely to be subject to studies to improve transparency of their supply chain. The new law’s passage is likely to restart gemstone permitting after a two-year interruption decided by the National League for Democracy (the party of Nobel Prize Aung San Suu Kyi) winner of 2015 elections. So the general climate of the country, in its transition towards democracy, seems to be suitable for significant political and economical changes attracting foreign investments, namely in the mining sector. It will be possible to make an assessment of how the reform will lead to a new arrangement of the mining industry only in the next months.
Gem News published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #6 – Spring 2019
