Eightfold rise in rare earth mining under UWSA control threatens locals’ socio-economy
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Htet Nadi/ Pearl (NP News)
The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) has released a report along with some aerial photographs showing that rare earth mining has increased eightfold in Mong PawkTownship, which is controlled by the UWSA near the Shan-China border, threatening the socio-economic well-being of local residents.
In 2015, there were only three landslides in the area, but in February 2025, satellite images showed more than 26 landslides spread across the hills south of the city, with three of the landslides only three to four kilometers from the city, according to the SHRF.
One of the land reclamation projects, which began in 2022, is located three kilometers south of Mong Pawk, next to the Phai Creek, which flows north through the town through farmland. The creek and nearby groundwater are likely to be contaminated, threatening the health of thousands of town residents.
The circular production ponds in the mine near Mong Pawk resemble the pattern of rare earth mining operations in Kachin State, where the method of “in situ leaching” is used, and a video shared online by local workers near Mong Pawk clearly shows the use of the “in situ leaching” method, the SHRF said.
The “in situ leaching” process involves pouring chemicals through pipes into the hillsides to extract rare earth minerals, then piping the chemical solution into tanks where additional chemicals are added to extract the rare earth minerals.
The SHRF statement also stated that such mining activities have a serious impact on the natural environment, polluting surface and groundwater resources, and threatening the health and livelihoods of local people living below the mining sites.