Illustration of the National Flag of the Chinese People's Republic and the place of mining.
Craig Hastings Moment Getty images
Beijing increases control over the export of rare lands, causing global deficiencies and exposing the dependence of industries from Chinese supply chains.
However, in recent years, China has consisted of providing the land from an unexpected source: a relatively small and war -torn economy of Myanmar.
While China is the best producer of rare lands in the world, it still imports raw materials containing the desired metals from abroad.
Last year, Myanmar accounted for about 57% of the total import of rare lands in China, Gracelin Bascarn, director of the Minerals Critical Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said CNBC.
According to Chinese customs data, the export of Myanmar Rzorów land to China increased significantly in 2018 and reached the peak of almost 42,000 metric tons to 2023.
Bascarate added that imports from Myanmaru are also particularly high in the heavy content of the rare soil element, which are usually less abundant in the crust of the earth, increasing their value and deficiency.
“Myanmar production significantly strengthened China's dominant position, effectively giving Beijing a de facto monopoly over the global supply chain of heavy rare lands – and a significant part of the lever he has today.”
The country has become a key source of two highly sought after heavy rare lands, disposal and terbum, which play a key role in the production of advanced technologies, including in the defense sector and military, aviation and renewable energy sources.
“This dynamics caused the creation of a supply chain, in which the extraction is concentrated in Myanmar, while the processing and adding of further values takes place mainly in China,” said Baskan.
Why Myanmar?
Myanmar is home to deposits that usually have higher heavy content of rare lands, said David Merriman, research director at Project Blue, said CNBC.
These “ionic adsorption clays” or IAC deposits are used by leaching methods that use chemical reagents to clay – and which are associated with high environmental costs.
According to Merriman, the vast majority of IAC operations in the world were in southern China at the beginning to mid -2010. But when Beijing began to implement new ones environmental controls and standards In the rare land industry, many of these projects began to close.
“Myanmar, especially north of the country, was seen as a key region that had similar geology to many areas of IAC deposits in China,” said Merriman.
“You began to see a fairly quick construction of new IAC mines in Myanmar, basically replacing domestic Chinese production. There was a great involvement of Chinese business in the development of these new IAC projects.”
River herb separated by these IAC miners in Myanmar are then sent to China mainly in the form of “rare earth oxides” for further processing and refining, said Yue Wang, a senior consultant of rare lands in Wood Mackenza, said CNBC.
In 2024 report From a global witness, a non -profit organization focused on abuses regarding environmental rights and man, she said that China effectively commissioned a significant part of their rare earth extraction to Myanmar “after terrible costs for the environment and local communities”.
Rare Chinese risk
Experts say that China's rely on Myanmar for rare lands also opened it at the risk of a supply chain.
According to Global research, the majority of heavy rare lands from Myanmaru come from the northern state of Kachin, which borders with China. However, after the violent military assassination of Myanmar in 2021, Junta Military fought for control over the territory among the opposition from public and armed groups.
“Myanmar is a risky jurisdiction that you can rely on, taking into account the ongoing civil war. In 2024, Kachin Independence Army (Kia), a group of armed rebels, took places responsible for the hard production of rare lands in the world,” said Baskan CSIS.
Since the attachment, there have been reports of supply disturbances causing the increases in the prices of some heavy rare lands. According to Reuters The report, Kia tried to use resources as a lever against Beijing.
Chinese customs data show that the import of rare earth oxides from Myanmaru fell by more than a third in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year.
“If Myanmar ceased all exports of rare earth feeding resources to China, China would have difficulty satisfying their demand for heavy earthly lands in a short period,” said Merriman Project Blue.
It is not surprising that Beijing wanted to diversify his sources of heavy rare lands.
According to Merriman in nearby countries, including Malaysia and Laos, there are IAC deposits in which some projects were created with Chinese commitment.
He notes, however, that environmental standards should be higher in these countries, which is challenges for rare miners.
China's decision to reduce their own extraction of heavy elements of rare lands can serve as a warning to other countries about the costs of developing such projects. AND report Through the Chinese group of media, Caixin in 2022 documented how the old IAC operations in southern China left toxic water and contaminated soil, harming the sources of income for local farmers.