Large Chinese lead mine north of Myanmar’s Tachileik ‘releasing deadly toxins into Ruak tributary’

Mizzima

A large Chinese-owned lead mine in Mong Ko tract, 15 kilometers north of Tachileik town, is releasing toxins into the Nam Toon stream, a Ruak River tributary, with deadly impacts on local Akha, Lahu and Shan communities, according to the Shan Human Rights Foundation

21 October.

The Ruak River flows along the northern Thai border before joining the Mekong River at the Golden Triangle.

Lead mining began in this Burma Army-controlled area in 2021, next to existing manganese mines which had been operating since 2007 – and which SHRF previously reported were contaminating the Ruak River. Large amounts of manganese ore were transported each year by truck across the border into Maesai then to Thailand’s Laemchabang Port (over 135,000 tons in 2019), from where it was shipped to China.

According to Maesai customs records, lead ore started being imported into Thailand (from Mong Ko) in June 2023. Thai export data shows lead ore started to be exported from Thailand to China, Laos and Cambodia in 2023, with export amounts, mainly to these countries, increasing fivefold in 2025. It thus appears that the lead ore from Mong Ko has largely transited Thailand, but some may also have been used inside Thailand (where lead is needed to produce lead-acid batteries, a vital component of the automobile industry).

The lead mining at Mong Ko was originally carried out by two main companies with permission from Naypyidaw: Sai Wanna Company and Sein Naw Mining Company, but the former Sai Wanna mine (directly north of the Sein Naw mine) is no longer extracting lead, only manganese. The lead ore is thus now being extracted exclusively by Sein Naw Mining Company, and is being exported by truck to Thailand via the 2nd Maesai River Friendship Bridge.

Sein Naw Mining Company is headquartered in Tachileik, and has been registered as a domestic company with Burma’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration since 2011. The first official director was Eike Kyin, a United Wa State Army (UWSA) officer. The current managing director is Eike Kyin’s former Shan wife, Nan Shan Naw. However, the management and technical staff at the mining site are Chinese, and inside sources say the actual owners are from China.

Timelapse imagery shows the expansion of the Sein Naw Mining Company lead mine during the past six years. The imagery reveals that the Sein Naw mining site also contained a gold leaching facility, but this has fallen into disuse during the past few years.

Lead is being excavated at the Sein Naw site in underground tunnels, which reportedly stretch for 3 to 4 miles. Above ground, there are machines for crushing the lead ore, and chemical separation facilities. The machinery is powered by generators.

A Facebook post of a recent visit to the lead mine on July 24, 2026 by U Sai Khattiya, Chair of the Shan State Parliament’s Forestry, Minerals, Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation and Protection and Electricity Affairs Committee, showed photos taken at the site, including machinery. However, no tunnels were shown.

There are about 100 personnel employed at the site. The management and technical staff are Chinese, but the mine workers are from Burma. The monthly wage of a local mine worker is about 10,000 baht. The workers rotate in eight-hour shifts, throughout the day and night.

The mining site is guarded by security personnel of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and outsiders are strictly forbidden from entering.

In July 2026, locals say that a tunnel collapse caused the death of about 20 mine workers, but the incident was hushed up.

Lead ore is loaded into sacks at the mining site then transported in six-wheel trucks down to a village called Adin, four kilometers north of Tachileik town, where the ore is transferred onto 24-wheel lorries, which carry the ore across the 2nd Maesai River Friendship Bridge into Thailand. Locals say that the mineral depot at Adin is owned by the UWSA.