Vientiane: Independent media websites reported today that new information has found that rare earth mining is occurring along various river basins in Laos, posing a risk of transboundary water pollution to Vietnam and the entire Mekong River.
According to Thai News Agency, Mongabay, an independent, non-profit media organization focused on reporting on environmental and global issues through a network of local journalists, cited research from the Stimson Center, a US-based research organization, as finding that as of 2022, 27 rare earth mines had been operating along river basins in Laos. Ten of these were located on the Hou and San rivers in the Ma basin, which flow through Laos and Vietnam. Fifteen were located in the Mekong basin, with 12 on the Khan River and three on the Ngiep River. The 4,900-kilometer Mekong River originates in Tibet, flows through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, before emptying into the South China Sea. The basin is a biodiversity hotspot, providing food, water, and livelihoods for more than 50 million people.
Mongabay said rare earth mining in Myanmar has sickened downstream communities in Thailand, prompting investigations and exposure of the toxic impacts of unregulated mining along the river. Meanwhile, in Laos, press freedom and public assembly are tightly controlled, and new mines are unregulated and complaints are rarely heard. A July river audit, supported by the Mekong River Commission, indicated that elevated arsenic levels likely originated from sources outside its borders. This likely refers to wastewater from Myanmar's rare earth mines that has polluted the Kok, Sai, and Ruak rivers in Thailand and flowed into the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border.