The Rebel Army Behind One of the World’s Major Rare-Earth Supplies

Myanmar is the world’s third-largest producer of rare earths and a critical supplier for neighboring China. But rebels have recently taken control of most of the country’s mines — creating a complicated situation for Beijing and for global supply chains. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and reporter Timothy McLaughlin discuss the Kachin Independence Organization’s control of a majority of Myanmar’s rare-earth mines, how the change is shifting Myanmar's political dynamics and what the group’s growing influence could mean for the future of rare earths. Read more: A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China’s Border

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