How war in Myanmar is driving a deadly rare earth mining boom

Rare earth elements, the 17 minerals used in wind turbine and electric vehicle magnets, are increasingly coming from Myanmar, a country in the middle of a long civil war. Workers there dig on unstable mountain slopes for mining operations run by Chinese companies in partnership with armed groups that control the border region with China. The work pays far more than most other jobs available in the war-torn country, but it has cost lives: local media have documented at least five fatal landslides at these sites in recent years.

The mining method used for Myanmar's "heavy" rare earths — a category especially valuable for the powerful magnets used in wind turbines and EVs — involves pumping acid and chemical solvents through mountains. That process has poisoned rivers, killed off wildlife, and left farmland too contaminated to sell crops from, according to environmental groups and journalists who have reported from the region. A human rights group also reported forced and trafficked labor at one mining site this year. China restricted its own heavy rare earth exports last year, pushing global buyers, including the U.S., to look for alternative sources, with Myanmar's supply drawing new attention.

None of this changes what rare earth magnets do inside a wind turbine or an EV motor, and there's no indication yet that it affects pricing or availability for home energy equipment. But it is a reminder that the raw materials behind clean energy technology often carry a human and environmental cost far from where that equipment ends up installed.