YANGON, Aug. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar has started building an underground museum to display its world's largest jade stone in the country's northernmost Kachin state, a local news journal reported Wednesday.

    The giant jade stone, measuring 21 meters long, 4.8 meters wideand 10.5 meters high, and weighing about 3,000 tons, was discovered in 2000 in Kachin state's Phakant area at a depth of 12meters underground.

    The museum is being so built on the spot underground where the jade stone was found as it is hard to move for its size and weight,said the 7-Day journal, quoting the Ministry of Mines.

    The jade stone was unearthed and donated to the government by agem and jade company run by the Pa-O ethnic group, a former anti-government ethnic armed group who have made peace with the government.

    The underground jade museum, which will be the first of its kind ever in the world, represents Myanmar's reputation and a tourist attraction, the report claimed.

    The jade stone will be exhibited in the 30-meter deep underground museum at the same depth where it was found, the report added.

    Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, has also claimed that it owns the world's largest ruby weighing 21,450 carats, the largest star sapphire weighing 63,000 carats, the biggest peridot weighing 329 carats and the biggest pearl weighing845 carats.

    There are six mining areas in Myanmar under gems and jade exploration operation, namely, Mogok, Mongshu, Lonkin/Phakant, khamhti, Moenyin and Namyar.

    To develop gem mining industry, Myanmar has enacted the New Gemstone Law in 1995, allowing national entrepreneurs to mine, produce, transport and sell finished gemstone and manufactured jewelry at home and abroad.

    Since 2000, the government has started mining of gems and jade in joint venture with 10 private companies under profit sharing basis.

    Meanwhile, Myanmar holds gems emporiums annually beginning 1964to put on sale its precious gems, jade, pearl and jewelry mainly through competitive bidding and tender system. Besides the annual events, it introduced the mid-year ones in 1992 and since then the emporiums have become the biannual events. Ever since the first emporium, the country has earned a total of 453.6 million US dollars from the sale, according to official statistics. Enditem¡¡