A Chinese-owned company is forcibly purchasing residents’ houses and only offering minimal compensation of 500,000 MMK per house in Kyunsu Township, Tanintharyi Region, so that it can expand its lead mining operations.

The Chinese-owned Golden Sea Company wants to expand its existing lead mining operations into an area where villagers live, in Kyunsu Township’s Yamon Village. It is only offering the affected  villagers 500,000 MMK for their houses and it has threatened to just destroy their houses if they do not accept this offer, which is well below the market value.

A 40-year-old resident of Yamon Village said: “The company gave residents a deadline to move by the end of April, offering only 500,000 MMK per house. It warned that any remaining homes would be demolished using backhoes. The payment was so low, it felt like nothing more than pocket money. The whole process felt like a strategy of intimidation.”

Though the relocation deadline has passed, as of 4 May 2025, approximately 30 homes on the outskirts of Yamon Village have yet to comply with the eviction order and no further action has, so far, been taken by the Golden Sea Company.

U Than Htike, the local manager of the Golden Sea Company, who has strong connections to junta troops and the junta-aligned Pyu-Saw-Htee militia, is the key figure behind the pressure to evict residents for just 500,000 MMK in compensation, according to Yamon villagers.

In 2024, there were approximately 320 lead mining sites in Yamon Village, but with the depletion of deposits, only around 150 sites now remain operational, locals told NMG.

Numerous lead mining operations have opened up in Tanintharyi Region following the February 2021 coup. Most of them are informally paying junta soldiers and junta-aligned Pyu Saw Htee militia members so that they will allow their mines to operate.