"Rare Earth Mining in Myanmar Expands to TNLA-Held Territory", Stimson Center, 20 July 2026

For the first time, rare earth mines are emerging in territory controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), close to the border with China, in Myanmar’s Shan State. This revelation builds on work undertaken by the Stimson Center over the past year to document and geolocate thousands of mines across mainland Southeast Asia, including over 600 rare earth mines in Myanmar.

[...] the TNLA agreed to return Mogoke to the Myanmar military as a part of its October 2025 bilateral ceasefire. [...] It was at about this time that infrastructure related to rare earth mining began to appear in TNLA-held territory. Satellite imagery analysis over the past seven months in northern Shan State’s Mantong Township shows the development of at least 12 rare earth mines and new corresponding roads connecting these mines to established roads leading towards the Chinese border. Collection pools, where heavy rare earth-laden slurry accumulate through the extraction process and clear markers of rare earth mining in Myanmar, appear in TNLA territory as early as December 2025. While it is difficult to determine the current stage of these developments, the leaching process in general takes 150-400 days, which suggests exports to China may have already begun. 

[...] Over time, the TNLA may be able to rebuild its financial and military strength, in part through revenues from rare earth mines, to once again challenge the Myanmar military in northern Shan. [...]

[...] the continued expansion of mining and other extractives comes with negative environmental impacts. [...].