"Rare earth mining expands into Laos, threatening entire Mekong River", 27 October 2025

New data show a recent proliferation of rare earth mines across river basins in Laos, potentially posing a transboundary water pollution threat to Vietnam and the entire Mekong River system. The new findings suggest that Chinese demand for rare earth minerals has led to the industry’s expansion into Laos, even though rare earth mineral extraction is currently illegal there.

Research from U.S.-based think tank the Stimson Center has identified 27 rare earth mines that have opened across river basins in Laos …, including seven identified via satellite imagery analysis as having opened this year. Twenty-three of these mines appear to be in protected areas, but it’s unclear whether or not they’re operating with permission from officials…

Testing supported by the Mekong River Commission in Laotian waters … suggested that elevated levels of arsenic contamination originated from “possible sources beyond national boundaries” — likely a reference to the spillover of toxic wastewater from mines in Myanmar that has already contaminated the Kok, Sai and Ruak rivers that empty into the Mekong at the Thai-Laos border.

A spokesperson for the Mekong River Commission said it doesn’t independently conduct contamination assessments specifically linked to mining activities, but provides technical support and encourages member countries — Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — to conduct regular testing throughout the lower Mekong Basin.

“If unchecked, pollution from mining and other industrial activities, especially when contaminant levels exceed standard limits, could harm public health, reduce biodiversity, disrupt aquatic ecosystems, and threaten the livelihoods of people who depend on the Mekong River,” the Mekong River Commission’s spokesperson told …

Unreported and unregulated

But whether Laos’s rivers are being polluted by mines in Myanmar or not, its own domestic mining sector has already created problems for riverine communities.

…, rare earth mining chemical spills and river pollution in Laos’s northeastern provinces of Houaphanh and in Luang Prabang prompted government intervention after high levels of cyanide and acidity found in two rivers led to a widespread fish die-off, affecting 36 villages. Chinese company representatives reportedly agreed to meet with community members to discuss compensation, while local officials conducted more testing until the water was found to be safe again…

Troubling the water

… The number of legal mining operations in northeastern Laos is, according to the source, dwarfed by the number of illegal ones. The products of these illegal mines, including rare earth minerals, are transported overland directly to China or through Vietnam to be shipped to China by sea, meaning the real value of Laos’s rare earth industry may be much higher than officially reported.

The proliferation of rare earth mines — as opposed to existing gold, copper, tin or potash mines — has become more visible in the past 12 months, ….

“Rare earth mining is the most impactful for the communities,” the source said…