Tigyit coal mine

The Tigyit coal mine produces about 2,000 tons of coal daily. The China National Heavy Machinery Corporation initiated the Tigyit project in 2002, about 16 miles from Inle Lake, in partnership with the Burmese companies Eden Group and Shan Yoma Nagar Company.

Background
When the project was started, 24 houses in Taung Po La and Likah villages were forcibly relocated by companies and local authorities. A 2011 report by the Pa-O Youth Organisation states that coal production from the mine has produced at least 100 tons of coal ash and coal waste, which is disposed of in a nearby coal-fired thermal power plant. The water flows into the second largest lake in Burma, Inle Lake, an Asean national heritage site. There are about 25 villages within a 5-mile radius of the project, which are home to about 11,592 people. The 2011 report found that the mine has created air and water pollution which has caused about 2,000 nearby residents to report skin diseases.

An article in the Democratic Voice of Burma stated that the China National Heavy Machinery Corporation Company (CHMC) is the main economic thrust behind Burma’s largest open-pit coal mine and coal-fired power plant in Tigyit, and that the 2000 tonnes of lignite coal mined each day is shipped to a nearby cement factory for use in dam construction.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Burma and coal

External resources

 * Pa’O Youth Organisation, Poison Clouds: Lessons from Burma’s largest coal project at Tigyit, Pa’O Youth Organisation, January 2011. (Pdf)