Uncovering the secrets of jade mining

The jade industry is Myanmar's main source of fiscal revenue, accounting for as much as one-third. The annual industry value is over 200 billion. Behind this huge industry value is the story of the blood and sweat of Myanmar's grassroots jade workers.

This is the real workplace of Myanmar miners, high and dangerous cliffs, no insurance and no protection, waving shovels, working hard all day just for a few dollars a day.

Guarding 200 tons of jadeite raw stones worth 120 million yuan, these workers actually have meager wages and cannot even support their families after a day's hard work.

All the jade mines are contracted by big bosses. The huge profits go into the pockets of these bosses, and ordinary miners can only barely earn a meager income.

Apart from selling their physical labor to mine, many Burmese people have no other options. Once you start working in a mine, your life and death are determined by fate, your wealth is in the hands of God, there is no insurance, and you are responsible for any death or injury.

More Burmese people went to search through the slag dumped from the mines, hoping to pick up one or two pieces of jade that had escaped the net, but the probability of doing so is extremely low. The place where slag is dumped is extremely dangerous, and there have been incidents of collapse and deaths.

The extremely heavy physical strain forces many Burmese miners to seek some mental numbness, and drugs are their choice. This short-lived spiritual happiness brought about a vicious cycle. This white liquid took away their physical health and even their lives.

The environment in the jade mining area is harsh, the roads are muddy and slippery, and the temperature is extremely hot. Staying there for a long time is like purgatory.

These are the selected jadeite ores, waiting for buyers to come and inspect them.

While the men are mining in the mining area, the women are also busy, doing jade-related work.

Jadeite sold in shopping malls costs thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. Behind the gorgeous appearance, each piece is actually a story of blood and sweat.

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