"Residents oppose push to expand rare-earth mining near Chipwi Town", Burma News International, 25 Jun 2026

Residents are opposing an attempt to expand rare-earth mining operations to an area near Chipwi Town in Kachin State’s Chipwi District, where Chinese business operators are leading efforts to launch a new extraction project.

Villagers from Jeitlwal [...] said they are resisting a plan to mine rare-earth minerals near their village out of concern that it would damage the environment and threaten their livelihoods. They have also appealed to the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) to intervene and resolve the dispute.

Around two miles from Jeitlwal lies the old Sheezaw village site, where villagers had previously lived. Chinese operators are now planning to open a rare-earth mine at that site.

According to locals, Chinese businessmen are pressuring other villagers to sign consent forms through two Sheezaw residents with whom they have already reached an agreement.

“Out of 32 households, 30 completely reject it. But they are threatening people and trying to collect signatures of support from villagers. The two men acting on behalf of the Chinese businessmen have told villagers that even if people object, they will make the mining project go ahead anyway. They’ve also threatened that families opposing the project will not be hired as workers once operations begin. For now, they’ve already put up temporary tarpaulin tents at the old village site. Once they get all the villagers’ signatures agreeing to it, they will start the mining,” [...].

Jeitlwal villagers said they fear that if rare-earth mines are established near their community, local water sources, grazing land and farmland will be damaged or lost. At present, residents in the rural areas around Chipwi Town rely mainly on mountain streams for drinking water.