Challenges to Studying Mining in Burma

Most frequently, mining operations are divided by: 1) size (small, medium, or large); 2) relative formality (family-based, artisanal, registered company, multi-national corporations); and 3) regulatory status (legal or illegal).⁸ Alternatively, mining operations can be distinguished by the kinds of technologies that are used. Traditional methods for mining gem, gold, and other mineral deposits in Burma, for example, are labor-intensive, and use little more than picks, shovels, pans, and screens.⁹ By contrast, hydraulic mining and suction dredging, which are frequently used to extract gold from alluvial deposits, require significantly greater inputs of capital, materials, and labor to carry out. The heap-leach, solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) method used to extract copper in parts of Burma represents another level of technological sophistication altogether.¹⁰

The above categories are not terribly useful for studying mining in Burma, however. Our report, Capitalizing on Conflict, demonstrated that different kinds of mining operations, all using different kind of technologies, are almost always found side-by-side.¹¹ This situation reflects the fact that mining operations in Burma are overwhelmingly ad hoc ones. The weak regulatory environment in Burma makes it possible to open mines with no long-term plan for their development and little to no safety precautions to protect workers or the surrounding environment. This is especially true of artisanal mining, which, by definition, is characterized by rudimentary techniques that are often hazardous, labor-intensive, disorganized, and illegal.¹²

Additionally, the relationship between different types of mining and earth rights abuses is a close and often quite complicated one. In some instances, family-based and artisanal mining operations are permitted to find new deposits, especially gems and gold, which are then forcibly seized by larger companies. In other instances, armed groups openly fight one another in order to gain control of existing mining operations. In still other instances, the mining operations complement one another, and profits derived from mining concessions are used to purchase weapons and ammunitions used in conflict zones elsewhere in the country. But in all cases, civilian populations, especially women, are forced to provide food, labor, and their very bodies to satisfy the needs of armed men.¹³

Previous studies on mining in Burma have generally tended to overlook these complex dynamics, especially the interconnections between these different types of mining operations and earth rights abuses. Instead, most studies have focused their attention to joint ventures involving foreign companies, e.g. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and The Leeward Capital Corporation.¹⁴ While more information on these companies is certainly needed, narrow attention to their operations risks overlooking other kinds of mining in the country, which are often more dangerous and destructive, especially to women. The sections that follow highlight these problems in greater detail.