MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today in Labor History April 23, 2019: The Hpakant jade mine collapsed in Myanmar, killing four miners and two rescuers. Hpakant is the largest jade mine on Earth. Jade pickers are often migrants from other parts of the country. They live in dilapidated shacks and work as “freelancers,” scavenging through the tailings for small pieces of jade. On July 2, 2020, a landslide at the mine killed 174 miners. The landslide was the worst mining disaster in the nation’s history. The value of Myanmar’s jade industry is over $30 billion per year. </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>mining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workplaceinjury" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workplaceinjury</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workplacesafety" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workplacesafety</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/myanmar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>myanmar</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/immigrant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>immigrant</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/shanty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shanty</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/poverty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>poverty</span></a></p>