When people hear of Southern Mongolia, they may picture vast grasslands, yurts, and herding communities. But beneath those sweeping plains lies a deeper truth — one of immense mineral wealth exploited by the Chinese state. For decades, Southern Mongolia has been mined for coal, rare earth elements, and other natural resources, yet the profits seldom remain. They are transferred east and south — to Beijing, Shanghai, and the coastal provinces — while our people are left with polluted land, displacement, and deepening inequality.

A land of riches

Southern Mongolia produces more coal than any other region in China, contributing over 26% of the nation’s coal output. It is also home to the Bayan Obo mine, the world’s largest deposit of rare earth elements — minerals essential for smartphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and military technologies.

These resources power the Chinese economy. Industries in the Pearl River Delta, skyscrapers in Shanghai, and tech firms in Beijing are all built on the backs of our land. But we do not share equally in that success.

Who truly profits?

Studies show that while Southern Mongolia provides the raw materials, the economic benefits overwhelmingly go to other regions:

• The majority of coal and electricity produced is exported to other provinces, with only a fraction remaining for local use.
• Employment created by Southern Mongolia’s coal supports over five times as many jobs outside the region as within it.
• Profits from rare earth mining are controlled by state-owned enterprises headquartered in other parts of China, and revenues are rarely reinvested into Southern Mongolian communities.
  

In short, our homeland is treated as a resource colony — a place to extract from, not invest in.

Our people, marginalised

While the rest of China prospers from our minerals, what do the people of Southern Mongolia face?

• Severe environmental destruction: ruined grasslands, poisoned rivers, and desertification.
• Forced relocation: herders removed from ancestral lands under the guise of “ecological protection”.
• Cultural loss: as people are pushed into urban areas and separated from traditional ways of life, our language and customs face extinction.
  

All of this is justified by the Chinese authorities through slogans about “development” and “modernisation”. But in reality, it is cultural erasure and ecological exploitation — carried out with total disregard for the rights of Southern Mongolians.

A demand for justice

We are not against progress — but we are against theft. Southern Mongolia’s resources should benefit Southern Mongolians. The land must be protected, not plundered. Our people must have a say in their future, not be treated as obstacles to someone else’s profit.

It’s time to expose the truth: while China grows wealthy off our land, our communities are left in the dust. But we are not powerless. Through resistance, storytelling, and international solidarity, we will defend our homeland — and demand the justice that has long been denied.

Image Source: The Sunday Guardian