Contested Rare Earth Frontiers in the Myanmar–China Borderlands: Extraction, Conflict and Uneven Development

This research paper examines the rare earth corridor linking Kachin State in northern Myanmar with Yunnan Province in China, where extraction has become increasingly important to global critical mineral supply chains. It explores the environmental and social harms concentrated in the region, alongside the conflict, fragmented authority and war economies shaping extraction. Focusing on developments since late 2024, when the Kachin Independence Army took control of major rare earth mining areas, the paper shows how extraction is continually shaped by competing interests, territorial struggles, livelihoods and local contestation. It argues for a deeper understanding of the political and social relations underpinning critical mineral frontiers.

Dr Patrick Meehan (University of Manchester)

Dan Seng Lawn (KRC)

Dr Xu Peng (Manchester / SOAS CIVAD )

Professor Jonathan Goodhand (SOAS University of London)

October 2026