The hidden cost of Myanmar’s rare earth mines
Features The hidden cost of Myanmar’s rare earth mines As the U.S. races to bypass China, the global hunger for critical minerals is financing warlords and poisoning Myanmar’s borderlands. Grist / Machya; Getty Images Grist / Machya; Getty Images By Emily Fishbein and Jauman Naw 23 July 2026 This story was originally published by Grist, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, and republished by Rest of World. When Min left the hot, dusty plains of central Myanmar for its mountainous eastern border with China earlier this year, he had few options.
- ▪Features The hidden cost of Myanmar’s rare earth mines As the U.S. races to bypass China, the global hunger for critical minerals is financing warlords and poisoning Myanmar’s borderlands.
- ▪Grist / Machya; Getty Images Grist / Machya; Getty Images By Emily Fishbein and Jauman Naw 23 July 2026 This story was originally published by Grist, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, and
- ▪When Min left the hot, dusty plains of central Myanmar for its mountainous eastern border with China earlier this year, he had few options.
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Features The hidden cost of Myanmar’s rare earth mines As the U.S. races to bypass China, the global hunger for critical minerals is financing warlords and poisoning Myanmar’s borderlands. Grist / Machya; Getty Images Grist / Machya; Getty Images By Emily Fishbein and Jauman Naw 23 July 2026 This story was originally published by Grist, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, and republished by Rest of World. When Min left the hot, dusty plains of central Myanmar for its mountainous eastern border with China earlier this year, he had few options. A 2021 military coup had devastated the formal economy of the Southeast Asian country, and jobs were scarce.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Rest of World.
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