Massive jade stone to be sold in Myanmar

Nay Pyi Taw, Nov 24 : A 300-tonne massive jade stone, discovered in Myanmar's Kachin state and cut into pieces, will be sold at the Gem Emporium here in December, authorities said on Friday.

Local and foreign experts are being invited to assess the price of the jade stone, reports Xinhua news agency.

The stone was unearthed in October 2016 at the Mat Lin Chaung mine.

Stored in a warehouse in Nay Phi Taw under tight security, the jade stone is currently valued at over 10 billion kyats ($7.35 million), from which the government has collected over 2 billion kyats as extraction tax, the report said.

The profit will be shared between the government and the private company at a percentage of 25 and 75 respectively.

According to official statistics, Myanmar earned $23 million from export of jade in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2017-18, increasing by 746,000 dollars as compared with the same period in the last fiscal year.

The country also fetched $45 million in March when over 4,200 lots of raw jade were sold at a government-sponsored jade exhibition, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Myanmar jade is mainly exported to China and India, with Beijing being the biggest purchaser.

During the last fiscal year 2016-17, Myanmar exported over 11,000 tonnes of raw jade worth of $246.7 million to neighbouring markets.