Abstract: Soils surrounding rare earth mining areas are strongly acidic and are accompanied by severe heavy metal pollution and fertility depletion. This study aims to investigate the status and sources of heavy metal pollution around the mining areas. Soil samples from the surrounding areas of the Ganzhou rare earth mining area were collected and analyzed. Heavy metal content was measured using methods such as the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. Based on local literature and available monitoring data, heavy metals were assessed and their sources were traced using methods such as spatial interpolation, Meta-analysis, and principal component analysis. The results showed that there was widespread heavy metal exceedance in the soils of the study area, with Pb and Cd exceeding standards at rates of 93.6% and 35.48%, respectively. The overall ecological risk of the soil was at a high level, with Pb and Cd as the main influencing factors, Pb mainly distributed around the mining areas, and Cd distributed in the navel orange planting areas. Mining significantly increased the heavy metal content in soils. Principal component analysis and correlation analysis indicated that the pollution sources of eight heavy metals in the mining area were from three main origins: Pb pollution mainly came from mining activities; Zn, Cd, and Hg pollution mainly originated from agricultural activities; Ni, Cr, As, and Cu pollution were mainly caused by the weathering and leaching of local parent rock. Although heavy metal pollution in the entire region is at a controllable level, the stricter management should be enforced in the mining areas and navel orange planting areas to ensure the safety of residents and agricultural products.