Friday, November 16, 2012
Hundreds of people thronged the Bawlu creek, a tributary of Taninthayi River in southwestern part of the country, in search of gold.
According to the locals, around 10,000 people have gathered along the stream which is situated near Kyauklongyi village, a 12-hour boat ride from Taninthayi Township in Taninthayi Region, and flows to the Myanmar-Thai border.
Over 40 groups, each comprising around 20 young and middle-aged people, are currently working there in separate sections, it has been learnt.
“We have been working here for four months. We have found a lot of gold nuggets,” a local gold hunter said.
A woman from Kachin State has found a gold block weighing 1.6 kilogrammes, he said, adding: “Others have also found large pieces of gold.”
Most of the nuggets found along the creek are about the size sunflower seeds.
In Myanmar, 0.016 kg of gold costs around 700,000 kyats (US$833).
Gold hunters from outside have to pay the land owners about 1 million kyats to pan for gold, another local resident said.
“The locals, who earlier panned the area for gold in a manageable scale in the past, now do not have the chance to come to the creek,” he added.
Source: Eleven Media Group
Posted in: companies,industries,investment,markets,reports
