Regional Government in Myanmar’s Sagaing Rethinks Support For Chinese Copper Mine
The Sagaing regional government in northwestern Myanmar on Monday cancelled permission for a Chinese company to conduct inspections for a new copper mine project following a protest by local residents in the capital Monywa.
Hundreds of local residents staged a morning protest opposing the granting of permission for Chinese company Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd. to do ground studies for a proposed project in the Wazeintaung area of Yinmabin township.
Chinese-operated copper mine projects in the resource-rich region have generated controversy among locals, especially in the town of Letpadaung where China’s Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. and the Myanmar military-owned conglomerate, Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (UMEHL), operate a large mine.
