SHRF

 

 

A surge in Chinese-operated rare earth mines in eastern Shan State has triggered serious environmental and health concerns, according to a new report by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF). The group warns that nineteen mines—sixteen active and three under construction—are now operating in territory controlled by the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), with toxic runoff contaminating rivers that feed into the Mekong.

 

Satellite imagery and video footage reveal widespread use of “in-situ leaching,” a chemical-intensive method that injects ammonium compounds directly into mountain soil to extract minerals. SHRF says this process is devastating local ecosystems, with contaminated water draining into the Nap stream and Lwe River, threatening communities downstream.

 

“The soil remains poisoned for years, and people suffer from blood-related illnesses,” said SHRF spokeswoman Ying Leng Harn, citing a Thai university study on a former mining site in Kachin State. She added that arsenic levels in rivers along the Thai border have risen sharply.

 

The mines lie within Shan State’s Special Region 4, near the Chinese border, at altitudes of 4,000 to 5,000 feet. Forests have been cleared, hillsides riddled with boreholes, and thousands of chemical sacks spotted at the sites. Environmentalist Zung Ting described the landscape as “rats’ nests,” warning that acid water kills soil microbes, collapses food chains, and leads to landslides and floods.

 

SHRF also flagged similar operations in United Wa State Army (UWSA) territory, where rare earth mines have multiplied from three in 2015 to twenty-nine in 2025. Rivers in these areas are reportedly polluting Thai waterways.

 

In northern Kachin State, rare earth mining was curbed after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) took control in late 2024. Zung Ting, who supports a full shutdown, said: “The destruction is too severe. Water, land, forests, farming—everything becomes contaminated.”

 

Rights groups are now urging regional authorities to reconsider mining permits and rein in unchecked extraction. As China profits from the trade, local communities bear the cost in poisoned water, ruined farmland, and rising health risks.

 

-2025-09-02

The chinese dont give a dam, they get their rare earth minerals at any cost to the Burmese people. They now have their own solders stationed in Myanmar to protect their raping & pillaging whilst supporting a Junta, illegally instated against the will of the people! China will do what it takes to get what they want at any expense, Myanmar will always be a basket case because the rest of the world will do nothing to oppose this or join the raping & pillaging where they can!!