Myanmar is the world’s third-largest producer of rare earths and a critical supplier for neighboring China. But rebels have recently taken control of most of the country’s mines — creating a complicated situation for Beijing and for global supply chains. 

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and reporter Timothy McLaughlin discuss the Kachin Independence Organization’s newfound control of a majority of Myanmar’s rare-earth mines, how the change is shifting Myanmar's political dynamics and what the group’s growing influence could mean for the future of rare earths. 

Read more: A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China’s Border

Myanmar is the world&rsquo;s third-largest producer of rare earths and a critical supplier for neighboring China. But rebels have recently taken control of most of the country&rsquo;s mines &mdash; creating a complicated situation for Beijing and for global supply chains. 
On today&rsquo;s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and reporter Timothy McLaughlin discuss the Kachin Independence Organization&rsquo;s newfound control of a majority of Myanmar&rsquo;s rare-earth mines, how the change is shifting Myanmar's political dynamics and what the group&rsquo;s growing influence could mean for the future of rare earths.&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-07-18/as-us-and-china-feud-over-rare-earths-rebels-control-myanmar-s-mines">A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China&rsquo;s Border</a>

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

Big Take Asia

The Rebel Army Behind One of the World’s Major Rare-Earth Supplies

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/941c3c5c-4302-470b-8a3e-b33e01637801/transcript