More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines

More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines

BANGKOK — New satellite data identified 513 sites of rare-earth mining that have cropped up across at least six key tributaries of the Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy rivers in Myanmar over the past 10 years. These include 40 believed to have opened this year alone, with the total marking a dramatic increase from previous estimates and suggesting the risk of transboundary river pollution is significantly higher than once thought. The new data and …