First scientific findings on Myanmar's mine landslide disaster in 2020

For the first time after more than a year from the deadly jade mine landslide that occurred in Myanmar, scientists reveal data from a systematic investigation of the incident suggesting that poor planning and human errors led to the collapse.

In the morning of July 2, 2020, a rainfall-induced landslide struck an open-pit jade mine located in northern Myanmar. The ground failure swept through the site carrying debris and water that had filled the mine due to prolonged precipitation turning it into a "lake", killing at least 172 jade miners. An investigation conducted after the incident suggests that rainfall water has infiltrated the ground through cracks in the rock formations and led to pore-water pressure build-up that eventually destabilized the landslide mass sending a large volume of quarry material downslope. The devastating landslide and the generated wave of debris and water were caught on camera (click the video in the Media section below to watch the footage).

The government of Myanmar had ordered the closure of mining facilities the previous day due to the high risk of landsliding, however, illegal miners had occupied the place despite the warnings. Unfortunately, illegal jade mining in Myanmar is very common with people trying to assess mines in hazardous periods and with little equipment.

The new study, published in ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, utilized satellite and remote-sensing data to assess the conditions under which the landslide occurred. The team's purpose was: 1) to shed light on the circumstances that controlled the ground failure, and 2) document the failure and provide significant data and insights towards avoiding similar disasters in the future. Their findings suggest that, despite common assumptions that mainly put the blame on the heavy precipitation for the landslide, there were subsequent parameters (poor design and mismanagement) that also contributed to the event.

In particular, using the satellite imagery data, the team found that the mine walls were steeper than they should be taking into consideration the weak nature of the mine's rock material. This practically means that the slopes' factor of safety was already low before the heavy rainfalls strike. In fact, images showed that periodic landslides occurred in the mine between 2013 and 2020. Creating steeper slopes allows jade to be extracted more quickly but obviously compromises the safety of the mine.

Moreover, the study mentions that there was a fatal error associated with the storage of mine waste. Mine waste was deposited very close to the mine and due to its increased permeability, it absorbed a large amount of rainwater that eroded the walls of the open pit and potentially contributed to its failure. A mining geology consultant in Myanmar stated that, indeed, poor site conditions and steep slope formations could have played an important role in the incident, emphasizing that the mine design has not been conducted properly.

The study proposes more conservative slope designs for the open-pit jade mines in Myanmar: "Beyond the scope of a case study, we expect the technical developments and research findings to facilitate better site planning and landslide mitigation for on-going and future open-pit mines," the team concludes. 

The authors also indicate that their analysis is conducted purely from a scientific point of view and does not comprise a criminal investigation.