The Myanmar government will soon issue a wave of mining permits to foreign investors as it seeks to revitalize the industry. Starting in 2020, foreign firms will be allowed to explore and mine large-sized tracts of 500,000 acres, according to the Myanmar Times. The government will also issue permits for large, medium and small-size tracts to local companies.

Mining, especially for jade and gemstones, has been one of Myanmar’s most lucrative but troubled industries. Under the military regime, it developed a reputation for corruption, with valuable sites passed off to crony capitalists in favor of kickbacks and favors to government officials. Even in the democratic era, the industry has been notorious for low wages, poor working conditions and employer-sanctioned drug addiction. Thus, Western investors have largely shied away. The vast majority of foreign investors in the mining industry are Asian, especially from China.

However, the Ministry of Resources and Environmental Conservation (MREC) is seeking to flip the script. In 2018, it lifted a 2016 freeze on new mining permits, and in 2020 two Australian companies will begin exploration activities. They have also offered to invest USD 3 million in social and environmental impact surveys, the Myanmar Times Reported.

Working with the new Western investors could be a step towards restoring the industry’s image. In October, industry watchdog Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative praised Myanmar for “unprecedented disclosures of extractives data in a country with a nascent democratic process and recent history of economic liberalization.” However, the body said Myanmar remains weak in transparency surrounding license allocations, the activities of state-owned enterprises and gemstone production figures.