KIO controlled area, Kachin State. Ban Maw District It is reported that the residents of Mansi Township protested against the preparation of rare earth mining by a Chinese-owned company near Imbapa village.
On January 13th, Kachin Baptist religious leaders from the Catholic Church in Imbapa Village and Din Seinpa Village and more than 300 local residents protested against a company preparing to mine for rare earth minerals. The company is backed by the Chinese, but locals say they don’t know the company’s name yet.
The leading protestors, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said they would protest until the mining of rare minerals in the Imbapa and Din Seinpa regions is completely stopped. He said that this protest is not against KIO, but because rare earth mining is dangerous for local people.
Last December 14, 2022, religious leaders and residents from eight churches in the vicinity of Imbapa village, including Imbapa village, sent a letter of protest to the KIO to stop the preparations for the mining of rare earth in the vicinity of Imbapa village. A Chinese-owned company to mine rare earths in this area arrived on September 21, 2022, after making an initial visit and testing, and then entered the area with complete equipment at the end of 2022.
Residents also said that large-scale mining of rare earth minerals is also taking place with the permission of KIO in Ma Thang Village and Ja District Village, near In Gaung Par War Refugee Camp in Mai Jar Yan Region, which is controlled by KIO. A mining industry expert said that when mining rare earths, five types of strong acids such as oxalic acid and ammonium bi-carbonate are injected into the mountains and the ground that may contain minerals.
United States of America, according to the data of The Harvard International Review, a magazine published by Harvard University, from May 2017 to August 2021, Myanmar produced more than 140,000 tons of rare earth metals, and 284 million tons of hazardous waste (overall toxic waste) was released. 0.14 million tons of radioactive waste and 495 billion gallons of hazardous gas were released.
An environmental activist in Kachin State said that the mining of bare earth is dangerous and needs to be stopped. Due to the demand of China, which manufactures a lot of electrical equipment, the rare earth metal known as Rare Earth is found in Chifu, Kachin State.
According to a Global Witness report on August 9, 2022, Chinese companies are coming to dig in the Panwa area and more than 2,700 strong acid liquid ponds are found in 300 blocks. According to the United States Geological Survey USGS, in 2021, 280,000 tons of rare earth minerals were produced worldwide, of which China was the first with 168,000 tons. The United States is second with forty-three thousand tons. Myanmar is mining the third largest with twenty-six thousand tons.
