Nearly three decades of small-scale antimony mining in eastern Myanmar’s Karenni (Kayah) State have severely degraded farmland, polluted vital water resources, and disrupted local livelihoods, according to recent research presented by local scholars.

The study, presented at an education conference organized by the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), details how mining operations in Khorba village tract, Hoya Township, have destroyed up to 50 acres of hillside farmland and triggered severe landslides since 2000.

Before the 2021 military coup, private firm Thein Myat Lone Company and an ethnic armed organization jointly extracted roughly 1,500 tons of antimony annually. 

After the coup, the private company suspended operations, but an unnamed local armed group has continued extraction at existing sites, producing about 150 tons per year at significantly higher market prices.

Runoff from the mining pits has contaminated local streams with sand and heavy soil, causing severe fish scarcity and reducing crop yields for downstream farming communities. Researchers noted that the mining expansion across the region has also displaced traditional hunting grounds and sacred cultural sites.

Antimony extraction remains active across Karenni State, including operations at Myin Ma Hti mountain along the Shan–Karenni border, alongside major tungsten and wolfram mining in Hpasaung Township’s Mawchi area.

In its 2025 fiscal report, the IEC recorded 225 tons of antimony exports. IEC Joint Secretary U Ba Nyar confirmed that interim administration officials are currently drafting regulatory policies to oversee mining operations during the political transition.