Miners Unearth 11,000-Carat Ruby Near Mogok in Burmese Country
Miners in burmese country have uncovered an 11,000-carat ruby near Mogok in the upper Mandalay region, a rough stone weighing 2.2 kilograms and 4.8 pounds. State media said the ruby was found in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival, and it was later examined by Min Aung Hlaing and his Cabinet in Naypyitaw.
Mogok ruby discovery
The stone is described as the second-largest by weight ever found in Myanmar, a country that produces as much as 90% of the world’s rubies. Its purplish-red hue with yellowish undertones, high-quality color grade, moderate transparency and highly reflective surface place it among the most notable rough stones to emerge from Mogok, the heartland of the country’s gemstone industry.
Min Aung Hlaing, who serves as president and army chief, viewed the ruby at his office in Naypyitaw. The public showing gives the find an official profile beyond the mine site itself, turning a discovery that began near Mogok into a state-level display in the capital.
Myanmar mines and fighting
The ruby comes from a region that has been pulled into Myanmar’s wider civil war. Mogok was captured in July 2024 by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, before control of the mines was eventually transferred back to Myanmar’s army as part of a China-mediated ceasefire agreement concluded late last year.
That sequence leaves the gem trade tied to a place where fighting has shaped who controls the mines. The discovery also revives a long-running comparison: a 21,450-carat stone was found in Myanmar in 1996, making the new ruby smaller but still exceptional by national standards.
Naypyitaw display
State-run Global New Light of Myanmar said, “the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival.” That timing places the find immediately after a major holiday period, when the mining sector’s latest output was being presented to the country’s top leadership.
For Myanmar, the immediate consequence is simple: the discovery is now part of the official record of a gemstone industry that remains central to the country’s export identity and to the struggle over who benefits from mineral wealth in Mogok. The next public milestone is likely to come through further state handling of the stone, after its display to Min Aung Hlaing and his Cabinet in Naypyitaw.
