By Kantarawaddy Times
Nearly 30 years of small-scale Antimony mining in Khorba village tract, Hoya Township, Karenni State, have caused residents to lose farmland, damage livelihoods, and pollute water sources, according to a research paper.
Two female researchers wrote and presented the paper on September 12 at a high-level, multilingual research conference marking the third anniversary of the Karenni Interim Executive Council’s Department of Education.
The paper examines how small-scale Antimony mining in Khorba village from 2000 to the present has led to farmland loss, damaged livelihoods, greater difficulty making a living, unequal compensation, environmental degradation, and impacts on the local ecosystem.
“Because our hillside farmland has turned into mining pits, some people are struggling to get by. Because the water has become contaminated, crop yields have dropped. Some people who lost their land have ended up having to rent land from others,” the researchers said at the presentation.
From 2000 to 2021, an ethnic armed organization and the Thein Myat Lone Company reportedly carried out Antimony mining in Khorba village tract each year, extracting around 1,500 tons annually at a rate of 300,000 kyat per ton.
In the more than five years since the 2021 military coup, the Thein Myat Lone Company has reportedly stopped mining, but a local armed group has continued. The presentation did not name the local armed group.
The paper states that in the more than five years since the coup, around 150 tons of Antimony have reportedly been mined per year, at a rate of 3 million kyat per ton.
The paper says the mining has destroyed between 15 and 50 acres of residents’ hillside farmland and has also caused landslides.
The researcher said nearly 30 years of small-scale Antimony mining have caused soil and sand to flow into the streams and rivers of Khorba village tract, leading to fish scarcity and water pollution.
“As this kind of mining has increased across the country, we’ve found that ethnic communities’ traditional hunting grounds have been displaced, along with farming areas and sites used for spiritual practices, as well as environmental water pollution and the disappearance of traditionally recognized cultural sites,” the researcher said at the presentation.
A local man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said mining is currently confined to existing sites with no new sites being opened, and that he did not want to draw further attention to the issue since the harm to the environment and the local community had already been done.
“Right now, they (the armed group) haven’t bought any new sites, new hillside farmland like before. They’re still using the old sites they bought earlier. For some sites, they’ve stopped working. But it comes and goes for them: when it’s convenient, they work; when it’s not. Even if they’re not working, their comrades still guard the site,” he said.
He also said that in the past, a site for Antimony mining was exchanged between the company and the armed group for a motorcycle, and that some people also received cash payments.
In terms of large-scale mining in Karenni, Mawchi tungsten and Wolfram mining is taking place in the Maw Chi area of Hpasaung Township. Ongoing small-scale mining includes Antimony mining at Myin Ma Hti mountain on the Shan-Karenni border, and Antimony mining in Hoya Township.
The Karenni Interim Executive Council’s (IEC) 2025 fiscal year annual report also states that Antimony exports totaled 225 tons in 2025.
IEC Joint Secretary (2) U Ba Nyar said that policy preparations regarding mining operations during the interim administration period are gradually getting underway, but did not provide details.
Before the coup, there were reportedly 10 companies holding licenses for small-scale Antimony mining in Karenni State. Since the coup, some of these licenses have expired, the researcher said.
