Myanmar Builds Underground Museum For World's Largest Jade Stone

August 04, 2004 16:49 PM

Myanmar Builds Underground Museum For World's Largest Jade Stone

YANGON, Aug 4 (OANA/Xinhua) -- Myanmar has started building an
underground museum to display its world's largest jade stone in the
country's northernmost Kachin state, a local news journal reported
Wednesday.

The giant jade stone, measuring 21 metres long, 4.8 metres wide and
10.5 metres high, and weighing about 3,000 tons, was discovered in
2000 in Kachin state's Phakant area at a depth of 12 metres
underground.

The museum is being built on the spot underground where the jade stone
was found as it is hard to move for its size and weight, said the
7-Day journal, quoting the Ministry of Mines.

The jade stone was unearthed and donated to the government by a gem
and jade company run by the Pa-O ethnic group, a former
anti-government ethnic armed group who have made peace with the
government.

The underground jade museum, which will be the first of its kind in
the world, represents Myanmar's reputation and a tourist attraction,
the report claimed.

The jade stone will be exhibited in the 30-metre deep underground
museum at the same depth where it was found, the report added.

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, has also claimed
that it owns the world's largest ruby weighing 21,450 carats, the
largest star sapphire weighing 63,000 carats, the biggest peridot
weighing 329 carats and the biggest pearl weighing 845 carats.

There are six mining areas in Myanmar under gems and jade exploration
operation, namely, Mogok, Mongshu, Lonkin/Phakant, khamhti, Moenyin
and Namyar.

To develop its gem mining industry, Myanmar has enacted the New
Gemstone Law in 1995, allowing national entrepreneurs to mine,
produce, transport and sell finished gemstone and manufactured jewelry
at home and abroad.

Since 2000, the government has started mining of gems and jade in
joint venture with 10 private companies under profit sharing basis.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has held gems emporiums annually beginning 1964 to
put on sale its precious gems, jade, pearl and jewellery mainly
through competitive bidding and tender system.

Besides the annual events, it introduced the mid-year one in 1992 and
since then the emporiums have become biannual events.

Since the first emporium, the country has earned a total of US$453.6
million from the sales, according to official statistics.

-- OANA/Xinhua
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