THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF BURMA (MYANMAR)—19987.2
ceramic products. The state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas
Enterprise (MOGE), under the Ministry of Energy, produced,
processed, and marketed crude petroleum, natural gas, and
refined petroleum products.
In chromite mining, the Yangon-based Science and
Technology Advisory Group (STAG) Ltd. began operations in
1998 under a production-sharing contract with ME 3 at
Tagaungtaung in Thabeikyin Township, about 320 kilometers
(km) north of Mandalay. Under the contract signed with ME 3
in 1994, STAG was to mine 5,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of
chromite ore, averaging 48% Cr
2
O
3
, with a 30-70
Government/STAG split. In mid-1998, 5,000 metric tons (t) of
chromite ore was loaded onto a ship at No. 1 Sule Wharf in the
Yangon Port. The chromite ore was sold to Kinsho Mataichi
Corp., the Tokyo-based trading company (Myanmar Business,
1998f).
In copper mining, the Myanmar Ivanhoe Copper Company
Ltd. (MICCL) completed construction of an open pit mine,
crushing facilities, heap leaching pads, and a solvent
extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) recovery plant in Salingyi
Township, about 15 km west of Monywa in west-central
Myanmar in 1998. In March, MICCL started mining
operations at the rate of 12,000 metric tons per day (t/d) from
the Sabetaung and Kyisintaung (S & K) Mines at an elevation
of 75 to 100 meters. The mined ore, grading 0.97% copper,
was placed on the leaching pads at the rate of 375,000 metric
tons per month (t/mo). Active leaching began in August but
actual production of copper cathode at the SX-EW recovery
plant was delayed until early in November because of the late
arrival of machinery, equipment, and parts (Mining Journal,
1998).
The first full month production of copper cathode in
December totaled 2,117 t, slightly higher than the 2,083-t/mo
or 25,000-t/yr capacity. The average cash cost, including
shipping and marketing fee, was $0.42 per pound or about
$0.92 per kilogram. The minable ore reserves of the S & K
Mines were estimated at 155 million metric tons (Mt) grading
0.47% copper (Indochina Goldfields Ltd., 1998). According to
the company’s August 1998 study, the copper resources of the
Sabetaung, Sabetaung South, and Kyisingtaung Mines, with a
cutoff grade of 0.15% copper, were estimated at 560 Mt,
averaging 0.32% copper. The construction costs of the Phase 1
S & K project totaled $118 million, of which $28 million in
cash was contributed by Indochina Goldfields Ltd. (IGL), and
the remaining $90 million in loan was provided by a Japanese
consortium, led by Marubeni Corp. and Nissho Iwai Corp.
IGL planned to initiate an expansion program of the S & K
Mine to increase capacity by 10,000 t/yr to 35,000 t/yr of
copper cathode with an additional cost of about $7.5 million in
1999. MICCL is a 50-50 joint venture of the state-owned ME
1 and IGL’s subsidiary, Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings Ltd.
(Engineering and Mining Journal, 1999).
In June, Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings signed another contract
with the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral
Exploration to explore for gold and copper in Block 12 in the
Myesaytaung area of Letpadan Township in Bago Division.
Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings previously had signed two
contracts with the Government. The first contract was for
production of copper from the S & K Mines in 1994, and the
second contract was for development of a copper mine at the
Letpadaung concession area in 1995 (Myanmar Business,
1998e).
In lead, silver, and zinc mining, ME 1 operated the Bawdwin
and Yadanatheingi Mines in Shan State. The Bawdwin Mine
comprised an open pit mine, an underground mine, and two
concentrators with a total capacity of 1,500 t/d of ore. The
Yadanatheingi Mine is a small underground mine. ME 1 also
operated a lead-silver smelter at Namtu, near the Bawdwin
Mine, for production of refined lead, silver metal, and
byproducts, such as antimonial lead, copper matte, and nickel
speiss. Metal production of lead and silver was about 2,000 t/yr
and 5,000 t/yr, respectively. Byproducts production of
antimonial lead, copper matte, and nickel speiss totaled about
160 t/yr. Zinc concentrate estimated at 1,500 t/yr was exported.
Mandalay Mining Co. NL (MMC), a subsidiary of
Diversified Mining Co. of Australia that signed a production-
sharing contract with ME 1 in July 1996, had completed a
feasibility study for mine development, ore processing, and
marketing of lead, silver, and zinc from the Bawdwin Mine and
nearby Namtsu region in late 1997. MMC was seeking a
partner to participate in the project because of the large capital
requirement. In late 1997, ME 1 signed a joint-venture
production-sharing contract with Tarfu Mining Ltd., a local
company, to develop a lead and zinc deposit in the Panlon area
of Hopang Township in Shan State (Mining Annual Review,
1998). For metal production of antimony, the MOM and
Mayflower Mining Enterprise, a local company, were planning
to renovate an old antimony smelter in Kalaw Township, near
Thazi in Mandalay Division (Myanmar Business, 1998c).
In gold mining, ME 2 operated the Kyaukpahtoe Mine in
Kawlin Township, Sagaing Division and the Phayaungtaung
Mine in Patheingyi Township, near Mandalay. In July 1996,
ME 2 signed a joint-venture agreement with the Newmont
Mineral Exploration BV, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining
Corp. of the United States, for exploration, development, and
production of gold from the Kyaukpahtoe area. However, after
spending $6 million for 10 months in exploration, including
drilling, systematic geochemical sampling, and other geologic
surveys, Newmont had withdrawn from the Kyaukpahtoe gold
project in late 1997 because of the less than expected ore
reserves and the low ore grade in the area (Mining Annual
Review, 1998). The East Asia Gold Corp., which signed an
agreement with the Department of Geological Survey and
Mineral Exploration in August 1995 for exploring gold and
copper in Thabeikyin Township, reported discovery of new gold
targets at Suboktaung in its Block 14 concession area and at the
Set Ga Dome in its Block 4 concession area (East Asia Gold
Corp., 1998).
In October, ME 2 signed a production-sharing agreement
with the Myanmar Gold Point Family Co. Ltd., a local
company, for gold mining at Phayaung Hill in Patheingyi
Township of Mandalay Division (Myanmar Perspective,
1998a). In November, the Department of Geological Survey
and Mineral Exploration signed an agreement with the
Liaoning Jin Di Construction Co. Ltd. of China to conduct a
feasibility study and explore for gold and copper in northern