Most of the world's best quality jadeite is mined in Hpakant -- a once lush region that has been carved into a barren moonscape.- AFP
Yangon (AFP) - At least five people were killed and 20 injured after Myanmar police opened fire on an armed mob of jade seekers that tried to enter a mine in the far north, state media reported Friday, the latest deadly incident in a murky multi-billion-dollar industry.
The violence erupted after police blocked around 50 jade scavengers from accessing an industrial plot owned by "111 Company" in Kachin State's Hpakant -- the hub of a lucrative trade beset by worker unrest, deadly landslides, corruption and drug abuse.
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