Irrawaddy-Oct 23
China’s rare earth imports rose sharply in September to 5,021 tons, up 23 percent from August, according to data from the Shanghai Metals Market. Shipments from Myanmar accounted for 70 percent of the total, while arrivals from Laos fell to 1,369 tons. Cumulative imports for January–September were up 14 percent year on year. Meanwhile, recent U.S. reengagement with Naypyitaw has fueled speculation that rare earth competition is driving Washington’s policy recalibration.
Regime supporters are now boasting that the embattled junta has a “rare earth card” to play in its bid for international recognition, pointing to parallel interest from India. Yet, although Myanmar is home to around 600 rare earth mines primarily feeding China’s supply chain, almost all of them lie beyond the regime’s territorial control. Rare earth elements (REEs) are indispensable for high tech industries, serving as raw materials for magnets in electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and defense systems. China dominates global mining and refining, producing nearly 70 percent of rare earth oxides and controlling more than 85 percent of refining capacity. Yet its domestic deposits are dominated by light REEs, leaving it reliant on Myanmar’s northern mining belt. Myanmar produces roughly half the world’s heavy rare earths (HREEs), including strategically scarce dysprosium and terbium used in powerful magnets crucial to China’s AI ambitions. Kachin State, which borders China and India, hosts nearly 80 percent of over 600 rare earth mines identified by satellite imagery across northern Myanmar, with the highest concentration clustered in Chipwi and Momauk. These two townships alone contain over 370 active mining sites featuring more than 2,700 active leaching pits, according to data from the Stimson Center and Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar. Read more at:
