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Bundit Pantarakon stands along the Sai river in Mai Sai, where the Thai Army is building flood control barriers along the river that forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar.

Michael Sullivan for ReadNOW

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Michael Sullivan for ReadNOW

Bundit Pantarakon stands along the Sai river in Mai Sai, where the Thai Army is building flood control barriers along the river that forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar.

Michael Sullivan for ReadNOW

China has nearly cornered the market in rare earth minerals, which are a necessary component to much of our technology today. But China sources some of those rare earths and other heavy metals from neighboring Myanmar. And the ramped up in production there is causing downstream environmental concerns in Thailand. We go to Thailand to understand the issue.