Market Leader of Myanmar’s Mining Industry Seeks International Partnerships

Emphasizing the company’s focus on modernizing Myanmar’s mining sector and unleashing its potential, Ding Ying, who has extensive experience in mining and mineral production and serves as Delco’s Chairman since 2007, points out, “Delco is continuously striving to improve on quality, technical know-how and cost effectiveness, while ensuring safety and sustainable development. To deliver effective return on investments and contribute towards sustainable economic development, we are working to build efficient and responsible approach to our operations. This requires developing robust, resilient and cost-effective projects, which can grow while providing competitive returns”.

With headquarters in Yangon, Delco employs more than 400 people and operates one of Myanmar’s biggest mining sites, Kanbauk Mine Sitewhich has been operational for more than a century, located in Kanbauk, Yay Phyu Township, Dawei District of Tanintharyi Division in the southern part of the country. Out of the 33 companies working in the region, 51.7% of the production comes from Delco. “Expert reports show that our mine has the potential to become one of the largest tin-tungsten mines in the world, with a capacity to increase production up to 150,000 tonnage deposits untapped yet,” the Chairman points out, adding that the company easily surpasses the production targets set by the government. They are currently selling only mixed ore, but there are plans for investing in a system for separating tin and tungsten. Furthermore, Delco is the only company in Myanmar which invests in mining tin-tungsten explorations, with overall investments in exploration surpassing US$35 million.

Currently, Delco’s main clients are from China and Canada, but the company plans on expanding to other markets, including the EU and the US, through their office in Singapore. “We are trying to reach the Vietnamese market, where we expect to participate in tenders. Currently we are cooperating with the Canadian experts in Vietnam, where they discovered one of the world’s largest mine sites”, Ding Ying says, adding that the company also plans to list in the Singapore stock exchange.

Under the Myanmar Mining Act, Delco was granted permission to operate large scale mining, with specialized product groups including tin-tungsten with concentration made to tin due to its versatile applications in electronics and hi-tech goods. The manufacturing and development process of their products are supported by their innovative exploration and technology partners, and all products are quality controlled by imported processing plants. “Our export goods are strictly regulated by the government’s import/export laws and regulations. We have been exporting since 2007, when we modernized our system, and we are working to increase our annual production and export volume”, Ding Ying emphasizes.

Myanmar has the highest taxes for the mining sector on a global scale. The mineral production tax is 32.8%, and Delco has paid US$7.46 million to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation in the period 2007-2017. “The taxes are too high, which is why the Myanmar Mining Federation, where I serve as Vice President, has submitted a proposal for a new mining law, and we expect it to be confirmed within three months”, Ding Ying says.

Delco reinvests significant portion of its revenue into the company, and its Chairman highlights the importance of attracting foreign investors who are willing to explore the extraordinary potential of Myanmar’s mining sector. “Myanmar is a country rich in reserves and mine deposits, and we need investments especially for mining explorations. We have a lot of environment regulations that are modernized to meet western standards and we are looking for foreign investors and experts interested in exploring our country’s potential, possibly also through joint ventures. Delco is open to establishing international partnerships and cooperation with foreign investors”, Ding Ying concludes, hoping that the government will adjust its policies regarding foreign investments and that it will focus more on assisting the companies within the mining sector.