Miners in Myanmar have uncovered an enormous ruby weighing about 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or roughly 4.8 pounds), state media reported. The find, near the town of Mogok in the Mandalay region, is believed to be the second-largest ruby by weight ever discovered in the Southeast Asian nation.
According to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the rough stone was found in mid-April, shortly after the country’s traditional New Year festival. Though roughly half the mass of a 21,450-carat stone found in 1996, the newly discovered gem is considered more valuable because of its superior colour and overall quality.
Reporters describe the ruby as having a purplish-red hue with yellowish undertones, a high-grade colour, moderate transparency and a highly reflective surface—qualities that raise its market value despite its smaller size compared with the 1996 find.
Myanmar supplies a large share of the world’s rubies—estimates often put the figure as high as 90 percent—mostly from the Mogok and Mong Hsu mining areas. Gemstones, both through formal channels and smuggling, remain a major source of revenue for actors across the country.
Human rights groups and campaigners, including the Britain-based research organization Global Witness, have urged the global jewellery trade to avoid gems originating in Myanmar. They argue that the gemstone industry has long financed successive military governments and helped sustain conflict.
A new civilian administration was installed earlier this year after elections that critics described as illegitimate. The vote returned military chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing to power; state reports say he and members of his Cabinet viewed the giant ruby at his office in the capital, Naypyitaw.
Gem mining also provides income to ethnic armed organizations fighting for autonomy, contributing to the country’s prolonged internal conflicts. Security around mining regions remains unstable: Mogok was seized in July 2024 by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which represents the Palaung ethnic minority. Control of the area was later handed back to Myanmar’s military under a China-mediated ceasefire agreement reached late last year.
The discovery highlights both the geological riches of Myanmar’s ruby fields and the political complexities surrounding the trade in precious stones, raising questions about provenance and the ethical implications for buyers and the international jewellery market.
