Myanmar resistance forces seize gold mine owned by junta crony

A gold mine partly owned by Maung Ko, the former junta-appointed chief minister of Mandalay Region, was captured by the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) on Tuesday, according to a statement from the group. The Phayaung Taung mine, located about 14 miles northeast of Mandalay in Patheingyi Township, is a joint venture between Maung Ko’s Myanmar Golden Point Family Co., Ltd. and the military-controlled Mining Enterprise No. 2. The mine site, which covers an area of 5,400 acres, is less than two miles from the Alpha Cement Factory, which was captured by the MDY-PDF in mid-July. A resident of the area told Myanmar Now that MDY-PDF troops took control of the mine after using drones to drop bombs on a nearby army outpost manned by around 30 soldiers. “A junta unit led by a lieutenant used to guard some buildings on the mountainside that were used to store explosives, but they fled after some of them were severely injured,” he said. Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) troops (AFP) Later the same day, the regime carried out airstrikes on the village of Phayaung Taung, killing seven civilians and injuring many others, according to the MDY-PDF. Resistance force based in the nearby village of Htee Taw Moe responded by firing artillery at the junta’s positions, the group said. An official from Myanmar Golden Point Family Co., Ltd. told Myanmar Now on Wednesday that around 100 mine employees were still trapped at the site. “We are working to get them out of there. As far as I know, there have been no more battles since yesterday’s chaos. I haven’t heard of any significant clashes since then, as mobile service has been disconnected,” he said. Mining Enterprise No. 2 operated the Phayaung Taung mine from 1996 to 1998. It later signed a contract with Myanmar Golden Point Family allowing the company to run the mine for 25 years. Last year, the contract was extended by another five years. An estimated 120 tons of ore are excavated daily from the open-pit mine, producing at least 1.5kg of gold each month, according to a report submitted by the regime’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation in early 2023. An aerial view of buildings at the Phayaung Taung mine site, seen in 2023 (Department of Mines) The ministry receives a third of the mine’s total output, making it a significant source of revenue for the junta. Gold prices have risen sharply in Myanmar since the coup in February 2021. Although production at the mine has been halted for more than a year due to construction and negotiations to extend the contract, it was expected to resume again in the near future, according to the official from Maung Ko’s company. For now, it is unclear when it will be able to reopen, he added. “The area needs to be peaceful for the project to fully resume. We don’t know at this point if staff members will be willing to return. But as long as raw materials are available and a stable electricity supply can be maintained, it is ready to restart,” he said. In January 2021, Maung Ko was awarded the honorary title of Wunna Kyaw Htin by the civilian government that was ousted by the military less than a month later. After the coup, he was appointed chair of the Mandalay Region State Administration Council. The regime later made him chief minister of the region, a position he held until February 2023. He was then appointed to the State Administration Council, as the coup regime calls itself. Maung Ko has been a target of US government sanctions since December 2021, when he and three other junta-appointed chief ministers were named “Specially Designated Nationals” by the US Treasury Department. In addition to heading Myanmar Golden Point Family Co., Ltd., Maung Ko is also chair of the Htar Wara group of companies, which operates in the gold industry and other business sectors, and is a shareholder in the Glory Farmer Development Bank, or G Bank, which received its banking licence in 2018. Last year, the director of two of his companies, Maung Latt, donated 70 million kyat (US$21,500) to the construction of a massive Buddha statue erected in Naypyitaw by coup leader Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing. Maung Ko’s Htar Wara Mining Company also runs a gold mine in Sagaing Region’s Kawlin Township, in another joint venture with Mining Enterprise No. 2. Until the coup, the Kyaukpahto mine yielded more than 11kg of gold per month. He also owns several gold mines in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township, where fighting has also been intense in recent months.

Myanmar resistance forces seize gold mine owned by junta crony

Maung Ko, the US-sanctioned businessman whose company operates the mine, also served as the junta’s chief minister for Mandalay Region until last year

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