Alert: Russian company to dig for gold in Burma

Dear Fellow Kachin Nationals,

(1) Condenm "Russia" as a " Gold-Digger"
(2)Protect the natural resources from our land
(3)Drive out gold- diggers from our land and give them a lesson

Overseas Kachin Nationals (OKN)

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Rangoon (dpa) - The Burmese military regime has agreed to let Russia's Glory International Pte Ltd search for gold and other minerals in the country's northern Kachin State, which borders China, state media said Saturday.

The exploration agreement was signed between Win Ti, Director-General of Burma's Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration Department, and Krivoshey Pavel, Chairman of Victorious Glory International Pte on Friday in Naypyitaw, the country's new capital.

Under the agreement, Glory International will be allowed to search for gold and other minerals along the Uru River between Phakant in Kachin State and Homalin of Sagaing Division, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Although Glory International claims to be a Russian firm, its parent firm Chandwin Projects Pte Ltd, also headed by Mr Pavel, actually was incorporated in Singapore only last year.

At the firm's website, registered in Singapore, Mr Pavel is described as a professional mining engineer with over 20 years of experience in mine development and mine management. Chandwin's mission is defined simply as "discovering, acquiring, developing, producing and marketing mineral resources at a profit."

It lists two offices in Singapore, and none in Russia, although it claims to have staff based in Russia. The backers of the firm are described as "Switzerland partners," with no names provided.

Some consider that Burma, a former socialist country that closed its doors to the outside world between 1962 to 1988, is one of Asia's last treasure troves for untapped minerals.