Namtu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Namtu () is a town situated in northern
Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
. It is famous for Bawdwin and Namtu
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
mines. NamTu River is flowing across in the middle of town and the transportation from Namtu to Lashio or Namtu to
Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...
is by bus.


History

The Namtu Bawdwin Mines were the world's largest source of
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
, and one of the world's largest sources of silver before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Before the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
arrived in the 1880s, the Saopha of Tawngpeng controlled the mines at Namtu, although the
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
work was undertaken not by the Palaung but by the Chinese from
Yunnan Province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
across the border. The mines fell into disuse when the
lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fracture (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from th ...
was followed to the
ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...
level. They were revived by the British and the largest mines were operated by the Burma Corporation at the beginning of the 20th century. Today the Namtu mines are under state control, known as No 1 Mining Enterprise and run by the Ministry of Mines. Lead,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
and
nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
are also produced by the mines. Zinc was bought mainly by
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and the other minerals sent to Namtu for
smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...
before being marketed abroad. In February 1998, 3,000 workers went on
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
for better
working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions: Legislation * See :Labour law * Collective ...
and increase in
wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...
for underground
miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
. A Chinese company won the contract in 2002 for the construction of a
zinc oxide Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the Chemical formula, formula . It is a white powder which is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, Zinc metabolism, food supplements, rubbe ...
plant at Namtu, processing 50,000 tonnes of zinc
slag The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...
annually and the zinc oxide to be exported to a
smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...
in Yunnan. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) captured the town from the
State Administration Council The State Administration Council (; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, February 2021 c ...
(SAC) on 28 December 2023 following a fight that lasted 4 days.


Geology

In 1904,
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
, representing Bewick, Moreing and Company, visited the mines upon the urging of A.C. Martin. Martin was building the railway from Mandalay to Lashio and owned the lease. Hoover arranged capital to develop the mines and agreed to invest some of his own savings in what he called "the largest chance of my life." The capital was also used to link the mines via rail to the main line and erect a smelter in Mandalay to melt the slags. The initial promise of financial return from the abandoned copper-lead mine was in the enormous lead left behind in the surface
slag The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...
. The mines had been worked by the Chinese from 1400 until 1850, mainly for silver. However, after separating the silver via
cupellation Cupellation is a refining process in metallurgy in which ores or alloyed metals are treated under very high temperatures and subjected to controlled operations to separate noble metals, like gold and silver, from base metals, like lead, co ...
, the lead was left behind. The Chinese left "hundreds of dumps and tunnels, extending over nearly three miles." One
open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...
was a thousand feet long, five hundred feet wide, and three hundred feet deep. Lead production began in 1908, the same year Hoover became managing director of Burma Mines. The "Chinaman Tunnel" was completed in 1910. Hoover became chairman of the board in 1914. The two mile long "Tiger Tunnel" gained access to "one of the largest and richest lead-zinc-silver
ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
bodies ever discovered." Production of that ore started in 1916 after the construction of mills and hydroelectric plants. In 1911, the smelter was moved to Namtu and monthly lead production was 1000 tons and 22,000 ounces of silver. Total production from 1909 through Oct. 1915 was 66,000 tons of lead and 1,432,000 ounces of silver from 158,000 tons of slag and 35,000 tons of ore. In 2018, ASX listed Myanmar Metals bought out a majority 51% participating interest in the Bawdwin Project in joint venture with its two local project partners, Win Myint Mo Industries Co. Ltd. (WMM) and EAP Global Co. Ltd. (EAP) who each hold 25% of the Bawdwin mine. PFS done in 2019 resulted in Phase 1 of mining operations at Bawdwin, a 13 year Starter Pit, will set Bawdwin up to be a world leading producer of lead and silver as well as a significant zinc producer. In steady state production, Bawdwin’s Starter Pit would be the 3rd largest-producing lead mine in the world, the 10th largest-producing silver mine in the world, as well as being a globally significant zinc producer. Updated resource estimates on 8 August 2019 returned indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate rises to 100.6Mt at 4.0% Pb, 3.1 Oz/t (97 g/t) Ag, 1.9% Zn and 0.2% Cu.


Politics

The Shan State Army (SSA-North)'s Third Brigade has been active in Mongmit, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Namtu and Lashio. It reached a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military government (SLORC) in 1989, and its activities have been severely curtailed. The Palaung State Liberation Organization, also active in the region and another one of the cease-fire groups, announced a ban on the cultivation of the
opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...
in the area under their control. They had alleged that the
Burmese military The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence (Myanmar), Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air For ...
was levying a
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
on the poppy farmers.


References


External links


Satellite map
Wikimapia
Shan State map: 8= Namtu
''Asterism''

{{Shan State Township capitals of Myanmar Populated places in Shan State