Hpakant

Hpakant is a town in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, at the centre of the world's largest deposits of high-quality jadeite. Jade from the area was traded to China from at least the 18th century, through the Shan state of Mogaung. The mines, many of them now vast open pits, are a major source of wealth and conflict, and landslides at the waste heaps have killed hundreds of miners.