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Chapter 1

Introduction to the geology of Myanmar

KHIN ZAW1*, WIN SWE2, A. J. BARBER3, M. J. CROW4 & YIN YIN NWE5 1CODES ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 126, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia 2Myanmar Geosciences Society, 303 MES Building, Hlaing University Campus, Yangon, Myanmar 3Department of Earth Sciences, Southeast Asian Research Group, Royal Holloway, Egham TW20 0EX, UK 428a Lenton Road, The Park, Nottingham NG7 1DT, UK 5Myanmar Applied Earth Sciences Association (MAESA), 15 (C) Pyidaungsu Lane, Bahan, Yangon, Myanmar *Correspondence: [email protected]

Gold Open Access: This article is published under the terms of the CC-BY 3.0 license.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Pyidaungsu Tham- northern part of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Mottama mada Myanmar NaingNganDaw), formerly Burma, occupies (Martaban). The central lowlands are divided into two unequal the northwestern part of the Southeast Asian peninsula. It is parts by the Bago Yoma Ranges, the larger Ayeyarwaddy Valley bounded to the west by India, Bangladesh, the Bay of Bengal and the smaller Sittaung Valley. The Bago Yoma Ranges pass and the Andaman Sea, and to the east by China, Laos and Thai- northwards into a line of extinct volcanoes with small crater land. It comprises seven administrative regions (Ayeyarwaddy lakes and eroded cones; the largest of these is Mount Popa (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi (1518 m). Coastal lowlands and offshore islands margin the (Tenasserim) and Yangon) and seven states (Chin, Kachin, Bay of Bengal to the west of the Rakhine Yoma and the Anda- Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine (Arakan) and Shan). From man Sea in Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) (Hadden 2008). north to south Myanmar extends for some 2000 km from 28° N to 10° N, with the Tropic of Cancer (23°30′ N) dividing the country into a temperate to subtropical north and a tropical Tectonic setting of Myanmar south (Fig. 1.1). Although Myanmar is located within the Mon- soon Belt of Asia, the climate is influenced locally by geograph- Myanmar lies at the junction of the Alpine–Himalayan Oro- ical position and topography. During the winter the northern genic Belt and the Indonesian Island Arc System. In northern mountains are influenced by cold air masses from Central Myanmar, the orogenic belt is bent around the Eastern Himala- Asia and are covered in snow for two months of the year. The yan Syntaxis into a north–south direction and passes southwards mountains prevent cold air from spreading further south, so through the resource-rich Indo-Myanmar Ranges (Kyi Khin that most of Myanmar lies under the influence of the NE and et al. 2017a, b; Hla Htay et al. 2017; Barber et al. 2017) into SW monsoons. However, the north–south alignment of moun- the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Sumatra and the Sunda and tain ranges and valleys results in a pattern of alternating zones Banda arcs of Indonesia. The Himalayas and the mountain of high and low precipitation during both the NE and SW mon- ranges of northern Myanmar mark the collision between the soons. Most precipitation comes from the SW Monsoon. Myan- Indian subcontinent and the southern margin of the Eurasian mar has three seasons, including: a dry summer from March to continent. Detritus from the Himalayas, transported by the rivers mid-May; a monsoonal rainy season from mid-May to Septem- Ganges and Brahmaputra, has built an extensive delta into the ber; and a cool winter season from October to February. The Bay of Bengal on Indian Ocean crust. At the present day the western coast of Myanmar is subject to occasional tropical Indian Tectonic Plate, carrying India and the Indian Oceanic cyclones such as Cyclone Nargis (2008) which, together with Crust, is moving northeastwards at 5 cm a−1, and is moving a storm surge, inundated the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) Delta, past Myanmar on transcurrent faults. The collision between killing an estimated 140 000 people, and Cyclone Giri (2010), Indian continental crust and Eurasia continues at the Eastern which made landfall south of Sittway on the Rakhine coast, ren- Himalayan Syntaxis; to the south in Myanmar collision occur- dering tens of thousands of people homeless. red earlier in the Indo-Myanmar Ranges, resulting in the Patkai Topographically, Myanmar is composed of central lowlands Range and the Naga and Chin hills. Further south, the overlying surrounded by steep, rugged highlands (Fig. 1.2). The highest sediments of the Bengal Fan have been affected by transcurrent point is Mount Hkakabo Razi (5881 m) in the far north of Kachin faulting and transpression to form a fold-and-thrust belt in the State. From here mountain ranges generally trend north–south, Rakhine Yoma. Curray et al. (1979) defined a Burma (Myan- with the Patkai Range, the Naga Hills, the Chin Hills and the mar) Microplate, delimited to the west by the active Andaman Rakhine Yoma to the west along the borders with India and Ban- subduction zone and a major strike-slip fault between the Indian gladesh. Mountain ranges also form the eastern border with Plate and Myanmar, and to the east by the north–south-aligned China, passing southwards into the highly dissected Shan Pla- strike-slip Sagaing Fault. The Burma (Myanmar) Microplate is teau at an average elevation of 900 m in Shan State. Four main presently moving northwards at a rate of 18 mm a−1 relative to rivers draining the mountains, the Chindwin, Ayeyarwaddy Southeast Asia along the Sagaing Fault (Maurin et al. 2010). (2170 m long), Thanlwin and the Sittaung, flow southwards To the east of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges in Myanmar the through the central lowlands to form an extensive delta in the Central Lowlands (Naing Maw Than et al. 2017; Myint

From:BARBER, A. J., KHIN ZAW &CROW, M. J. (eds) 2017. Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48,1–17, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.1 © 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

2 KHIN ZAW ET AL.

indicated by fragments of high-grade metamorphic rocks brought up in the Mount Popa calc-alkaline volcano. The base- ment extends eastwards to include the Mogok Metamorphic Belt and the Slate Belt in the Shan Scarps area. This continental basement is considered to have been a separate crustal block during the Mesozoic, called Mount Victoria Land (Mitchell 1989) or the West Burma (Myanmar) Block (Metcalfe 1996). Mitchell (1993) suggested that a zone of ophiolites at the foot of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges, together with associated meta- morphic rocks occurring further east in the Jade Mines Belt of Kachin State, have been displaced dextrally by c. 300 m along the Sagaing Fault. The West Myanmar Block is considered to have formed part of the northern margin of the megacontinent of Gondwana, com- prising all the southern continents during the Proterozoic and Early Palaeozoic (Metcalfe 1996). The subsequent history of the West Myanmar Block is contentious. Audley-Charles (1988) suggested that this block, together with other crustal blocks, sep- arated from the northern margin of Gondwana in the region of north Australia during the Jurassic, and collided with eastern Myanmar in the Cretaceous. Sevastjanova et al. (2016) have shown by U–Pb analysis of detrital zircons in the Triassic Pane Chaung Formation that the West Myanmar Block was already attached to Southeast Asia by Late Triassic times. Stud- ies of detrital zircons from the Triassic Langjiexue Group in the Tethyan Himalaya have been found to have similar age spectra to that of the Pane Chaung Formation of Myanmar, suggesting that the latter unit was also deposited on the Indian Plate. Cai et al. (2016) suggest that the source of the detrital zircons in these Triassic sediments was West Papua, and Wang et al. (2016) suggest that it was the Gondwanide Orogen in SE Australia. Three suggestions have been made for the origin of the West Myanmar Block. It has been regarded: (1) as a western exten- sion of the Shan Plateau (Bender 1983; Searle & Morley 2011); (2) as an extension of the Lhasa Block in Tibet, through Tengchong and Baoshan in Yunnan (Shi Yukun & Jin Xiaochi 2015), rotated into its present position by the collision of India with the southern margin of Eurasia in the Late Mesozoic; or (3) from the similarity of Permian fusulinids (Thura Oo et al. 2002; Myint Thein 2015), having been separated from west Sumatra by the development of the Andaman Sea during the Miocene (Barber & Crow 2009). A re-examination of the Permian fusu- linid assemblage from Myanmar by Ueno et al. (2016) has con- firmed the resemblance to that of Sumatra. Eastern Myanmar, including the Shan Plateau, forms part of the Sibumasu (Sino- or Siam–Burma–Malaysia–Sumatra) Block, which extends southwards from Yunnan through Myan- mar to Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (Metcalfe 1996). The western margin of Sibumasu is a linear north– south belt between the dextral strike-slip Sagaing Fault and the Shan Plateau, known as the Shan Scarps. This area includes the Mogok Metamorphic Belt (Searle et al. 2017), containing a Fig. 1.1. Map showing states and regions of Myanmar (Div., divisions). variety of metamorphic rocks with the gemstones for which Myanmar is justly famous, and including marbles containing relict Carboniferous fossils (Maung Thein & Soe Win 1970). This has led to the suggestion that the Mogok Belt represents Thein & Maung Maung 2017), with a crystalline continental the deformed Precambrian basement and Palaeozoic cover of basement, are intruded by the Mesozoic–Cenozoic Wuntho- the Shan Plateau to the east. Salingyi-Popa Volcanic Arc (Myint Soe et al. 2017). The base- Further east, and extending southwards through Tanintharyi ment is overlain by Cenozoic sediments, divided between (Tenasserim) into Thailand, is the Palaeozoic Slate Belt (Mer- forearc and back-arc basins by a line of volcanic crater lakes gui Group) which contains diamictites. As suggested above, and eroded cinder cones with Mount Popa in the south and the Mogok Metamorphic Belt and the Slate Belt have been con- Taungthonlon in the north, representing part of a Quaternary sidered to form part of the Sibumasu Block; however, Mitchell volcanic arc which can be traced southwards through the Anda- et al. (2012) and Ridd (2017) suggest that they formed a sepa- man Sea in the Narcondam and Barren islands into the Sunda rate block, bounded to the east by a suture zone, representing a Volcanic Arc in Sumatra and Java. branch of the Tethys Ocean and marking the site of the Late Although the basement beneath the Central Basin of Myan- Jurassic collision of the West Myanmar Block and the Shan mar is not exposed, the basin is underlain by continental crust, Plateau. Baxter et al. (2011) found Upper Jurassic radiolarian Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 3

Fig. 1.2. Map showing physiography of Myanmar. Brown colour denotes land above 1000 m. fossils from the Naga ophiolite, northwestern extension of Mesozoic continental shelf (Aye Ko Aung & Cocks 2017; Indo-Myanmar Ranges of Myanmar. Ridd (2017) suggests Zaw Win et al. 2017) and Cenozoic terrestrial sediments. that a branch of the Tethys Ocean to the north passes south- The Sibumasu Block is considered to have formed part of the wards in Myanmar and Thailand into a major transcurrent megacontinent of Gondwana until the Early Permian. The fault. In Mitchell et al.’s (2012) interpretation, the Shan Plateau break-up of Gondwana began in the Devonian, with the separa- was thrust westwards over the eastern margin of the West tion of Indochina and the formation of the Palaeotethys. Sibu- Myanmar Block in the Early Cretaceous. masu is thought to have lain on the northern margin of The Shan Plateau, or the Eastern Highlands Province, is Gondwana, offshore Western Australia, until the Early Permian composed of a crystalline basement and a weakly metamor- when it separated by rifting with the opening of the Mesotethys phosed turbidite sequence of probable Late Precambrian–Early (Metcalfe 1996). During the Late Permian, Sibumasu moved Cambrian age, overlain by a thick sequence of Palaeozoic– northwards, due to the expansion of Mesotethys to the south Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

4 KHIN ZAW ET AL. and the subduction of Palaeotethys to the north, until it collided Burma was incorporated into the Indian Raj; the whole of with Indochina and the outlying Sukhothai Volcanic Arc in the Myanmar territory was then under British control and the prov- Triassic, resulting in the Indosinian Orogeny (Sone & Metcalfe ince of Burma became a part of British India. 2008). In northern Thailand the site of the collision between At this time, by compiling scattered geological data and Sibumasu and the Sukhothai Arc and Indochina is recognized using evidence from mining and other activities, the mineral as the Inthanon Zone (Barr & Macdonald 1991; Ueno 1999), and hydrocarbon potential of the entire country could be visu- where the intervening Palaeotethyan oceanic crust and associ- alized. For example, it was appreciated that there was excellent ated sedimentary units were thrust over sediments of the Sibu- oil and natural gas potential in the Tertiary basins of Central masu continental margin (Barber et al. 2011). Presumably the Myanmar and in the coastal areas along the Bay of Bengal, collision zone and the Sukhothai Volcanic Arc continued fur- the Andaman Sea and the offshore islands. There were good ther north in the eastern Shan States of Myanmar, but they mineral prospects for tin and tungsten in Kayah and Tanin- have not yet been convincingly described from this region tharyi, for gems in the Mogok area, for lead, zinc and silver (Gardiner et al. 2015). Tectonic developments in the Myanmar in the Shan Plateau, for gold in the Wuntho Massif in the Cen- Region occurred throughout the Phanerozoic as a result of the tral Belt and in Kachin State, as well as other different metals long history of Gondwana break-up, rifting, subduction and and minerals in other parts of the country. post-collision processes. These tectonic processes associated In the early part of the twentieth century, prior to the Second with semi-continuous sedimentation, magmatic and metamor- World War, GSI geologists carried out a comprehensive pro- phic events have made the Myanmar Region highly prospective gramme of regional surveys and mineral exploration throughout for metalliferous ores and gem deposits (Khin Zaw 2017). the country. Particularly noteworthy are reports on the Northern Molnar & Tapponnier (1975) proposed that the collision of Shan States by La Touche (1913), the Mergui District by Rau the Indian continental crust with the southern margin of Eurasia (1930), the Southern Shan State by Brown & Sondhi (1933), the since Cretaceous (Baxter et al. 2016; references therein) resulted Kayah State by Hobson (1941), parts of the Minbu, Myingyan, in the eastwards extrusion of continental blocks along major Pakokku and Lower Chindwin districts by Cotter (1938), the strike-slip transcurrent faults, together with the clockwise rota- Cretaceous and associated rocks of Myanmar by Clegg (1941) tion of the whole of Southeast Asia. Two of the major strike-slip and the Mogok Stone Tract by Iyer (1953). Articles on the min- faults, the Papun (Mae Ping) Fault Zone and the Three Pagodas eral resources of Myanmar were published by Penzer (1922) and Fault Zone in Mon and Kayin states, extend from the Sagaing Clegg (1944). All the available geological information on India Fault southeastwards into Thailand. The Sagaing Fault is a and Myanmar up to the outbreak of the Second World War was major continental-scale right-lateral transcurrent fault, which included in the three volumes of Pascoe’s (1950, 1959, 1964) A has a potential for geohazards and fatal earthquakes in Myan- Manual of the Geology of India and Burma. mar, and played an important role in the Cenozoic tectonic evo- lution of the whole of Southeast Asia (Myint Thein 2017; Soe Thura Tun & Watkinson 2017). Development of geosciences education in Myanmar

The University of Rangoon (Yangon) was founded in 1920; Commencement of geological studies in Myanmar shortly afterwards, in 1923, the Department of Geology and Geography was established with the appointment of Dr Lau- Scientific observation concerning the geology of Myanmar rence Dudley Stamp, who had worked previously as an oil geol- commenced only after the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824– ogist in Burma, as Professor and Head of the department. An 26, when the British annexed the coastal provinces of Rakhine Indian geologist, Dr H.L. Chhibber, joined the department in (Arakan) and Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) (Win Swe 2009). The the following year. Chhibber (1934a, b) published two volumes earliest records contain information about mineral and petro- on The Geology of Burma and The Mineral Resources of leum occurrences in these two provinces of Myanmar, which Burma, exhaustive compilations of the geology and resources were already being exploited by the inhabitants. Most of the of Myanmar as far as they were known up to 1933. papers are published in journals of the Asiatic Society of Bengal During the Japanese occupation in the Second World War and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1826, shortly after the the University of Rangoon was closed; it reopened in 1946 First Anglo-Burmese War, John Crawford was sent by Lord with the appointment of Dr Tha Hla as Professor and Head of Amherst, Governor General of India, as an envoy on a mission the Department of Geography and Geology. Dr Tha Hla had to the Court of Ava in Upper Burma. Crawford travelled up the graduated in Chemistry (Honours) from Rangoon University Irrawaddy by paddle steamer. On the return journey Crawford before the war and was granted a government scholarship to (1829a, b) collected fossils north of Magway on the left bank study for a BSc (Honours) degree in geology at King’s College, of the river, including the jaw of Stegolophodon latidens London; he further studied for a PhD degree in geology at the (Clift 1829). Also included in Crawford’s report is an account Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (Tha of the finds of fossil bones and wood examined by Dr William Hla 1945, 1946). Buckland (Oxford). In 1826 after the First Anglo-Burmese Up until that time there had been no qualified professional War, Lower Burma (Pegu) was also annexed to the British Myanmar geologists, although the subject of geology had Raj. Subsequently D’Amato (1833) published an account of been offered in the Department of Geology and Geography the ruby mines of Burma and Captain Low (1829) compiled a since 1923. In those days, Myanmar students were more inter- list of the tin mines of the Tanintharyi (Tennasserim) region. ested in the prestigious and lucrative legal and administrative When the Geological Survey of India (GSI) was established professions. The study of geology also required extensive peri- in 1851, just before the commencement of the Second Anglo- ods of physically demanding work in the field, not an attractive Burmese War in 1852, Thomas Oldham was appointed as prospect for educated people in Myanmar. Greater numbers of Superintendent. The remit of GSI also included British- students were attracted to geography rather than to geology, to controlled territories in Burma. Oldham accompanied Arthur the point that the name of the department was changed to the Phayre, the British Commissioner for the annexed territories, Department of Geography and Geology. A separate Depart- as part of the Yule Mission to the Court of Ava in 1855. In ment of Geology was established in Rangoon University only an appendix to Yule’s report of this mission, Oldham (1858) in 1948, with the aim of producing professional geologists to contributed a comprehensive account of the geology of Central guide exploration and exploitation of natural resources for the Burma. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, Upper newly independent nation. Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 5

Dr Tha Hla was the first fully qualified Myanmar geologist geologists, in the 1980–90s by Myanmar and French geolo- and became the founder of the geological profession in the gists/primatologists and in the 1990–2000s by Myanmar and country. Initially, he was assisted by Indian geologists on short- Japanese geologists/primatologists (e.g. Zin Maung Maung term contracts. One of them was Bhimal Prasad Dey, who first Thein et al. 2017). Recent LA-ICP-MS geochronology and identified the Sagaing Fault in Central Myanmar which he U –Pb dating demonstrates that the earliest anthropoids origi- named the ‘Hninzee Fault’. In 1956 and 1957 Dr Tha Hla nated in Asia rather than in Africa (Khin Zaw et al. 2014). was joined by his first batch of students, notably Dr Nyi Nyi In 1967 the most significant development for teaching and and U Ba Than Haq on their return from further studies in Brit- research on gem and jade deposits in Myanmar was imple- ain, and U Saw Clarence Thacpaw on his return from studies in mented with the support of UNESCO. The project was led by the USA. At that time, several geology graduates were selected Mr E.A. Jobbins, Keeper of Minerals and Gemstones in the for the university and other geological organizations in Myan- Geological Museum, South Kensington, London on second- mar, and were sent overseas for further studies in the various ment from the Institute of Geological Sciences. The objective branches of geology. was to provide training and research for gemmological studies In order to further expand training in the geological profes- at university level and to generate a new breed of gemmolo- sion, a Department of Geology was established at Mandalay gists/geologists of international standard capable of explora- University College, Upper Myanmar in 1953. In the first tion, exploitation and marketing, thereby contributing to the year, the department was guided by U Ko Lay, the College Prin- development of Myanmar’s rich gemstone potential (Jobbins cipal, assisted by U Thein Maung, the Head of the Geography 1968). This project had a great impact and, in 1968, produced Department and by Professor Dr Tha Hla of Rangoon Univer- the first batch of 15 graduate diplomas of the Gemmological sity. In the following years, Indian geologists were engaged on Society of London (FGA Lond.). These students included Dr short-term contracts. They were led by Mr D. Sarin, who Yin Yin Nwe (UNICEF) and Professor Khin Zaw (CODES remained as Head of Department for about ten years. Sarin ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tas- was assisted occasionally by visiting expatriate professors, Pro- mania, Australia). The project had laid the foundation for the fessor Edward (Florida), Dr Anderson (UK) and Mr T.O. Mor- currently flourishing training and gemstone testing by private ris (UK), supported by the Colombo Plan and Fulbright Scholar companies and universities in Myanmar, including research Program. Mandalay University College became the separate on gem materials (e.g. Kyaw Thu 2007; Khin Mar Phyu Mandalay University in 1958. Dr Tin Aye, a former graduate 2009; Yin Yin Myint 2009; Nwe Nwe Oo 2010; Win Win of the Mandalay Agricultural College who had later obtained Htay 2010; Khin Zaw et al. 2015; Kyaw Thu & Khin a degree and a MSc in geology at the University of Iowa and Zaw 2017; Thet Tin Nyunt et al.2017). a PhD at the University of Illinois in the USA (Tin Aye At the request of the Myanmar Government, the UNESCO 1958), returned to Burma (Myanmar) to join the Geology project was followed by a major UNDP/UN-funded project Department; in 1961 he was appointed the first Professor of to upgrade the technical ability of Myanmar geologists and to Geology at Mandalay University. develop modern analytical facilities. In 1972 the ‘Post Graduate The departments of geology at Yangon and Mandalay uni- Training Programme in Mineral Exploration’ was established at versities are now well able to conduct teaching and research the Arts and Science University, Yangon. This project in the various specialized fields of the geosciences led by employed several overseas mineral geologists from Canada, Myanmar geologists, many of whom have advanced degrees UK, USA and Belgium as counterpart experts for teaching from overseas universities. Masters degrees in the various dis- courses in Mineral Exploration and Applied Geology. Notable ciplines of the geosciences have been offered by both universi- overseas geoscientists included Professor E. Hale from Canada ties since the late 1960s; in the 1990s, the universities of and Dr P.J. Goossens from Belgium. Young Myanmar geolo- Yangon and Mandalay offered doctorates. Like other major gists were sent to overseas universities for training in mineral subject fields, the teaching of the geological sciences leading exploration, later replacing the expert expatriates. This project to Bachelor degrees has been extended to newly established made a profound contribution by producing Myanmar geolo- colleges at Moulmein (Mawlamyine), Magway, Bassein gists with diplomas in applied geology, exploration geochemis- (Pathein), Myitkyina and Taunggyi, all of which became uni- try, geophysics and mining. Most are now employed in versities in the 1990s. government ministries. A fluid-inclusion laboratory was estab- Over the early years, notable contributions to the geology of lished under the UNDP scheme, and ore geneses and mineral Myanmar were made by geologists from the universities of parageneses of a variety of ore deposits in Myanmar were stud- Yangon and Mandalay. These include: ‘A note on the petrology ied (e.g. Khin Zaw 1978, 1984; Khin Zaw & Khin Myo Thet and provenance of the Webu and Marble (Alabaster) Inscrip- 1983; Goossens 1978). However, due to international sanctions tion Stones of the Kyaukse area’ by Tha Hla (1959); ‘The and political isolation Myanmar geoscience has stagnated since Mogok Belt of Burma and its relationship to the Himalayan 1988. It will require a huge injection of funds for the up-skilling Orogeny’ by Searle & Ba Than Haq (1964); ‘The Pre-Paleozoic of the current work force and the training of the younger gener- and Paleozoic stratigraphy of Burma’ by Maung Thein & Ba ation of geoscientists. Some progress has been made: there are Than Haq (1970); and ‘A preliminary synthesis of the geolog- now 29 universities in Myanmar offering bachelor’s degrees in ical evolution of Burma with reference to the tectonic develop- geology, and several other colleges teaching geology as a ment of Southeast Asia’ by Maung Thein (1973). More subsidiary subject. recently, the work of young Myanmar geologists has signifi- cantly improved our knowledge of the Palaeozoic and Meso- zoic stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Shan Plateau, and Myanmar Geological Survey Department our knowledge of the strike-slip activity, earthquake hazard and disaster potential of the Sagaing Fault from the Hukawng British Burma was administered separately from British India valley to the Andaman Sea. In addition, since the 1990s inter- in 1937 and, in 1938, the Burma Geological Department national attention has been focused on the primate fossils of (BGD) was established on the same lines as the Geological Sur- the Eocene Pondaung Formation, known to be among the ear- vey of India (GSI) with the transfer of several GSI geologists, liest in the world, due to the collaboration of Myanmar and led by E.L.G. Clegg. However, the Second World War soon international scientists with the support of the Government of intervened and all geological work was suspended. In 1946 Myanmar. These studies date back to Cotter (1914) in the pre- the BGD was re-established with E.J. Bradshaw as Director. WWII period, in the 1970s by Myanmar and American Surprisingly, although a few students had graduated with Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

6 KHIN ZAW ET AL. degrees in geology from the University of Rangoon before the mining geology and laboratory techniques, etc. The DGSE, war, there were no Myanmar geologists in Yangon University, now under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmen- GSI, BGD, the Burmah Oil Company (BOC) or any of the oil or tal Conservation, provides Myanmar with a service in the geo- mining companies at that time. The only qualified geology sciences equal to that of other geological survey organizations graduate was U Soe Thein. He had reputedly obtained a MSc elsewhere in the world. degree in Mining and Geology from Stanford University, Cal- The Geological Survey Division of DGSE is the successor ifornia, USA and worked with BOC for a while. He was a leader of the BGD and has carried out integrated geological surveys of the General Council of the Burmese Association (GCBA) in and mineral exploration programmes over extensive areas of the 1920s, and then became immersed in national politics Myanmar, for example: the Geological Survey and Exploration (Maung Maung 1969; Khin Maung Gyi 1973). Dr Ba Thi, a Programme (GSEP) from 1974 to 1978 under the auspices of chemistry graduate from the University of Rangoon before joint DGSE-UNDP projects in the Wuntho-Bamauk area, the war, returned from studies in petroleum chemistry overseas parts of the Western (Indo-Myanmar) Ranges in Chin and to join BGD in 1946. When Myanmar became independent in Rakhine (Arakan) States and the western part of the Shan Pla- 1948 he was appointed as the first Director, initially supported teau; and departmental projects from 1974 to 1983 in Tanin- by several Indian geologists employed on short-term contracts. tharyi (Tenasserim), Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago, western Shan Plateau, Bago Yoma and the southern part of the Western Ranges in the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) Division and the Mineral Resources Development Corporation (MRDC) adjoining parts of Rakhine State. It is intended that the Geolog- ical Survey Division should extend this programme throughout The Mineral Resources Development Corporation (MRDC) Myanmar. At the same time the Mineral Exploration Division was founded in 1952 with the aim of exploration and develop- of DGSE, the successor of MRDC, has carried out explora- ment of the mineral resources in the newly independent Myan- tion of specific mineral occurrences in various parts of Myan- mar. MRDC was administered by a Board of Directors chaired mar. Integrated geological surveys have been conducted by by the Minister of Mines. U Ba Tun, formerly of the Burma DGSE in Kachin State since the year 2000, as well as con- Civil Service, was appointed as Secretary to the Board and tinuing exploration for specific minerals in different part of became the first Director General. Technical management of Myanmar. The results of these DGSE surveys were published the MRDC was by U Minn Din (micropalaeontologist) and U in annual progress reports for 1974–76 (DGSE 1975, 1976) Saw Aleric (mining geologist). The MRDC offered scholar- and several UNDP-DGSE reports (United Nations 1978a, b, ships to outstanding students of geology at the University of 1979a, b, c, d, e, f ). Mitchell (e.g. 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993) Rangoon, with the possibility of employment in the Corpora- has published several accounts of the regional geology of tion on graduation. Subsequently, many geology graduates Myanmar, based on his work with Myanmar geologists on were employed by the Corporation in the Mines Department. several projects funded by the Colombo Plan, UNDP and Between 1959 and 1977 the Burma Geological Survey Ivanhoe-Myanmar Holdings. Department and the Mineral Development Corporation were assisted by the Colombo Plan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Japan International Cooperation Other geological organizations in Myanmar Agency (JICA) and Yugoslavia, supporting expatriate geolo- gists working in Myanmar. By the 1960s several government ministries had established Colombo Plan geosciences projects (1968–76) were financed geological departments, including the Mineral Development by the Ministry of Overseas Development of the UK, and pro- Corporation (MDC) or Myanmar Mineral Development Corpo- vided scientists from the Institute of Geological Sciences who ration (MMDC) under the Ministry of Mines. These organiza- were seconded to or worked with counterparts from the Depart- tions employed most of the geologists in Myanmar, collecting ment of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration. Geochem- basic geological information and engaged in mineral explora- ical exploration and geological mapping in the Nayyaungga and tion. Mining Corporation 1 (lead-zinc–silver and copper), Min- Ye-ngan areas were reported by Garson et al. (1972, 1976). The ing Corporation 2 (tin–tungsten and gold) and Mining latter included the subdivision of the Plateau Limestone in the Corporation 3 (industrial raw materials) were established Southern Shan State into three lithological units, which is still under the Ministry of Mines. The Myanmar Oil Corporation recognized today. Similar integrated surveys were conducted (MOC), the successor of the Burmah Oil Company (BOC), in the Seikphudaeng–Padatgyaung area (Bateson et al. 1972), was purchased by the Myanmar Government for 63.5 million Yadanatheingi and Kyaukme–Longtawkno area (Mitchell Kyats in 1963. Since 1963 the petroleum industry has been et al. 1977), and Mount Popa area (Amos et al. 1981; Marshall managed by Myanmar nationals, U San Maung (General Man- et al. 1983; Stephenson et al. 1983). Geochronological age ager) and Dr Aung Khin (Exploration Manager), who were dates of samples provided by these projects were reported by instrumental in developing the Myanmar petroleum industry. Brook & Snelling (1976), and the samples collected in 1977 The MOC, now known as Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise by Dr R.D. Beckinsale were analysed later by Darbyshire & (MOGE), was administered under the Ministry of Mines until Swainbank (1988). A geophysical survey by Greenwood & 1976 when it was placed under the Ministry of Industry; a sep- Thomas (1973) located what later became known as the Lepa- arate Ministry of Energy was later established. The universities daung copper ore body at the Monya Mine, currently the largest of Yangon and Mandalay, previously semi-government insti- exploited copper deposit in Southeast Asia. tutes, were brought under the Ministry of Education in 1964. Gradually a national geological organization was developed In 1973 the Irrigation Department, which was under the Min- in Myanmar, similar to the Geological Survey of India and istry of Agriculture and Forests, established a badly needed other national geological organizations throughout the world. Engineering Geology Section headed by U Sann Lwin, a post- This organization is known as the Department of Geological Independence graduate of Rangoon University and formerly a Survey and Mineral Exploration (DGSE), and employs the geologist with DGSE. This section developed into the Engi- largest number of geologists in Myanmar. Many of these geol- neering Geology Division of the Department of Irrigation in ogists have received specialist training overseas in the various the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and now employs branches of the geosciences, for example: geophysics, geo- a large number of geologists. In addition several geologists chemistry, micropalaeontology, photogeology, remote sensing, are employed in the Engineering Geology Section of the Min- hydrogeology, engineering geology, petroleum geology, istry of Electric Power No.1, which is developing hydroelectric Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 7 power projects in Myanmar. Recently 16 engineering geolo- Crawford (Chhibber 1934b; Nyi Nyi 1964; Khin Maung Gyi gists became members of the Southeast Asian Geotechnical 1973). The first account of the geological setting of the petro- Society (SEAGS). leum occurrences in the Yenangyat area was published by Tho- Another major contribution to the geology of Myanmar was mas Oldham (1858), who noticed the relationship between made by the Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Roh- anticlinal structures and petroleum accumulations. In 1857 stoffe (BGR), also known as the Federal Institute for Geosci- crude oil from Myanmar was exported to England for the extrac- ences and Natural Resources, from the 1970s to the 1980s in tion of wax for candles, for use as a lubricant and in oil lamps for a technical cooperation programme involving geological map- lighting. Reportedly, some oil was shipped to New York in 1859 ping, hydrocarbon exploration and seismic surveys in Kachin (Anon 1946), the same year in which ‘Colonel’ Edwin Drake Sate and the Gulf of Martaban (e.g. Bannert 1980). The pro- demonstrated that oil could be extracted by drilling at Titusville, gramme also included mineral exploration of nickel laterite at Pennsylvania, regarded as marking the beginning of the modern Tagaung Taung, gold exploration at Kawlin, lead–zinc at petroleum industry. In 1871 much of Myanmar’s crude oil was Bawdwin and Quaternary alluvial gold–platinum in the Chin- sold to the Rangoon Oil Company (ROC), which established an dwin area (e.g. Unger et al. 1996) in a project named the East- oil refinery at Danidaw near Yangon for the production of wax ern Chin and Arakan Mineral Survey (ECAMS) under for candles, the separation of kerosene for lamps and of heavier Technical Service Corporation (TSC), then Ministry of Indus- fractions for use as lubricants and fuel oil. try No. 2. ECAMS produced several interim and final reports In 1866, immediately after the British annexation of Upper (e.g. ECAMS 1982, 1985) and also culminating in The Geology Burma, the Burmah Oil Company (BOC) was founded to be of Burma by ‘the German team’ of Bender (1983) and his asso- followed by many other smaller, short-lived oil companies. ciates, with the co-operation of Myanmar geologists headed by The BOC introduced cable tool and rotary drilling for extensive U Than Htay and U Soe Win. exploration in Central Myanmar in areas where local people In 1967 a national committee was set up to co-ordinate the had previously extracted oil from surface pools. Drilling was various geological organizations in Myanmar through the then extended to other areas in Central Myanmar. BOC bought UNESCO International Geological Correlation Programme up the ROC refinery at Danidaw, and subsequently established (IGCP). Field excursions have been organized annually to modern refineries in other parts of Myanmar. areas of geological interest under the auspices of the IGCP Noetling (1889, 1897), Pascoe (1912), Stamp (1927), Lepper National Committee, led by geologists of MOC, DGSE, Min- (1933) and Tainsh (1950) provided accounts of the geology of ing Corporations 1, 2 and 3, and Yangon and Mandalay univer- the areas of petroleum occurrences. Later comprehensive sities. In 1977 the Earth Sciences Research Division prepared accounts of the petroleum geology of Myanmar were provided and published the first edition of the 1:1 000 000-scale Geolog- by Aung Khin & Kyaw Win (1969), Bender (1983), most ical Map of the whole of Myanmar. recently by Racey & Ridd (2015) in the Geological Society Major contributions to our knowledge of the geology of of London’s memoir on the Petroleum Geology of Myanmar, Myanmar and adjacent territories have been made by the Geo- and Win Maw (2017) and Than Htut (2017) in this volume. dynamics of India/Asia Collision (GIAC) project funded by Within a few decades the petroleum industry in Myanmar international oil companies working in Myanmar, led by flourished and became one of the foremost industries in the TOTAL. This regional project was established to conduct fun- British Empire. In 1941, at the outbreak of war in the Pacific, damental research on geodynamics between the Indian and one of the main aims of the Japanese Government was to Asian plates. Other Southeast Asian countries have participated gain access to this petroleum resource. However, to deny access in this collaborative effort, led by French geologists and to the Japanese the British Government ordered the destruction co-ordinated by Claude Rangin (CRNS, Nice University). In of the oil wells and refineries in Burma. Myanmar, this project was joined by Myanmar geologists After the war and after independence the oil industry was from MOGE and the universities (GIAC 1999). Many valuable gradually re-established by the Burma Oil Company (1954) scientific papers have been published as the result of this project Ltd, a joint venture of the Myanmar Government and the oil in recent years (e.g. Bertrand et al. 2001; Bertrand & Rangin companies which had been operating in the country. However, 2003; Maurin & Rangin 2009; Maurin et al. 2010), and this pro- oil production never reached pre-war levels. Eventually in 1963 ject is still ongoing. the Myanmar Government purchased the shares of the British partners in BOC (1954) Ltd and renamed the company the Peo- ple’s Oil Industry (POI). Initially the POI was headed by U Sann Petroleum geology Maung and later by Dr Aung Khin, a geologist and former stu- dent of Professor Dr Tha Hla at Rangoon University, assisted by Natural oil from seepages and shallow pits at Beme and Twigon post-war graduates of the universities of Rangoon and Manda- in the Yenangyuang (=oil creek) in central Myanmar has been lay. The POI gradually expanded its activities, and is now rep- utilized by local people for medicine and preservatives from the resented by the MOGE and the Energy Planning Department as earliest times. From the eleventh century, in the time of the well as other enterprises under the Ministry of Energy. In joint Myanmar kings, oil was traded from the royal capital of ventures with international oil companies, MOGE has recently Bagan. The right to extract oil in the area was granted by the identified extensive gas reserves in the Myanmar offshore areas king to 24 heads of families, known as Twinzayos. Large quan- (e.g. Zawtika, Yetagun, Shwe, Mya and Shwe Phyu). tities of crude oil were extracted by local people from hand-dug Since the new democratic government took power in 2011, wells, some reaching depths of 130 m. Oil was also produced and with the partial lifting of sanctions, Myanmar has emerged from shallow pits or wells from Yanbye (Ramree), Man-aung as a leading exploration target for global and regional oil and (Cheduba) and Phayongar (Baronga) islands along the Rakhine gas explorers. Myanmar offered 30 offshore and onshore Coast. Crude oil was found to be useful in the preservation of blocks for oil and gas exploration under Production Sharing wood, bamboo and cane in buildings, carts, furniture and Contract (PSC) agreements in 2016 (Figs 1.3 & 1.4). Interest domestic utensils, protecting them from fungal and insect dam- with bidding has been shown by several major international age. It was also used for protecting Buddhist texts inscribed on companies such as Woodside, Daewoo, PTTE, Petronas, palm leaves. Total, Ophir, Unocal, Shell, PetroVietnam Chevron and BG The occurrence of petroleum in Myanmar was first reported with the collaboration of local partners. Most of these compa- in 1759 by Captain G. Baker, and later in 1800 by Major nies undertook extensive offshore seismic surveys during M. Symes, in 1825 by Captain H. Cox and in 1929 by John 2015–16. The Woodside Company of Australia recently Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

8 KHIN ZAW ET AL.

Fig. 1.3. Map showing petroliferous basins and petroleum and gas tenders for Production Sharing Contract (PSC) agreements in Mynmar (map courtesy of Lynn Myint 2016). announced the discovery of a gas play in the Shwe Yee Htun-1 Chrysoberyl cat’s eye) and topaz (although coral and pearl are exploration well in Block A-6 in the Rakhine Basin in the west- not strictly minerals). In addition to these mystical nine gems, ern offshore area of Myanmar. The well intersected a gross gas tradition also recognized other gemstones such as jade, tourma- column of approximately 129 m. Approximately 15 m of net line, spinel, garnet and peridot, all of which have indigenous gas pay is interpreted within the primary target interval (ASX Myanmar names. The largest Myanmar pearl (104.39 carats) listing, 4 January 2016). came from the Mergui (Myeik) Peninsula. Among the beads Myanmar has a total of 19 sedimentary basins including 15 found from the ancient Pyu people of Central Mynmar are onshore (e.g. Central Myanmar, Chindwin and Salin basins) and amber and jade. Myanmar amber, known as Burmite, of 4 offshore basins (e.g. Moattama, Mergui and Rakhine). Albian–Cenomanian age from Mongkweng, Kachin State con- Although Myanmar has a long history of oil production since tains some of the world’s oldest insects, including bees. 1886, only one-third of the hydrocarbon-bearing areas has been Ruby and sapphire have been the best-known Myanmar explored using modern techniques; the actual potential for oil gems for their quality since the earliest times. The extreme and gas reserves of Myanmar is unknown. Currently, hydrocar- value of a Myanmar ruby is recorded in an inscription on bon exploration is focused only on the Tertiary system; the pre- stone at the Manuhar Pagoda in Bagan, erected during the Tertiary systems are virtually untested (Lynn Myint 2015a). reign of King Anawrahta (AD 1044–77). Western merchants, such as the Genoese Hieronimo de Santa Stefano who travelled in Myanmar and visited Pegu (Bago) and Ava (Inn-wa) in 1496, Gem and jade industry commented on the abundance of rubies and other precious stones. The Bolognese Ludovico di Varthema visited Tenas- The gem and jade industries, involving both the government serim and Pegu around 1505–06. He described the king in and the private sector, were previously controlled by the Min- Pegu as wearing rubies to the value of a large city (Myo Min istry of Mines, now the Ministry of Natural Resources and 1947). Caesar Fredericke, who visited Pegu in 1569, reported Environmental Conservation, through the Myanmar Gems that there was a brisk trade in rubies and that the King of Enterprise. At the time of the Myanmar kings, it was decreed Burma at Hanthawaddy was ‘The Lord of Mines of Rubies, that gemstones of any size belonged rightfully to the king. Tra- Safires and Spinels’. He added that the king was so rich that ditionally, nine different variety of gems (Nawarat Koe Pa) the ‘idols’ in the court were decorated with the ‘rarest rubies were reputed to have mystical value in Myanmar: ruby, dia- and safire’ (Chhibber 1934b). Ralph Fitch, who was the first mond, sapphire, emerald, zircon, pearl, coral, cat’s eye (usually Englishman to visit the Kingdom of Pegu in 1586, reported Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 9

Fig. 1.4. Map showing offshore and onshore blocks for oil and gas exploration concessions and pipelines in Myanmar (map courtesy of Lynn Myint 2016). Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

10 KHIN ZAW ET AL. that the ruby mines were in the district of ‘Caplan’ (Kyatpyin), mining was terminated around AD 1850 due to the Panthay six days journey from Ava in the Kingdom of Pegu (Nyi Nyi Rebellion against the Manchu Government (1856–73) by Chi- 1964). None of these foreign visitors to Pegu were permitted nese Muslims (Hui) and other minority ethnic groups in Yun- to visit the mining areas. nan. Slag left by the old miners can still be found at several At the present time, rubies, sapphires and other less valuable localities in the country at the present day. gemstones such as spinel, garnet, peridot, apatite, feldspar and The abundance of old workings in the Bawdwin area felspathoids are mined mainly in the Mogok area where the attracted the attention of mining companies, and in 1891 a Brit- gems are found in marble and syenite, and as placer deposits ish company formed the Burma Mines Development and (Hughes 1997; Kyaw Thu & Khin Zaw 2017). More recently, Agency, obtaining a lease in the area which covered four square previously unknown or little-known areas such as Pyenglong, miles. The enterprise changed hands several times before being Mong Hsu, Namsa-hka and Nanyazeik have been actively taken over by the Burma Corporation Ltd (Chhibber 1934b). mined and have produced considerable quantities of inferior- Initially the company smelted slag left by the old miners at quality gemstones. Mandalay, but also conducted intensive exploration in the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd was established in 1887 by a British Bawdwin area. Ore was discovered at deeper levels and the jeweller, Edwin Streeter, under exclusive license with the company developed a successful modern mine at Bawdwin, Indian Government. The company intended to develop both with an ore dressing plant and smelter in the Namtu area. Before underground and open-cast mechanized mining and the wash- the Second World War the mine became the most important in ing of placer deposits throughout the Mogok Stone Tract. A Myanmar and in the whole of the British Indian Empire. Pro- hydroelectric generating plant, the first in Asia, was built in duction ceased during the earlier part of the war, but the Japa- 1898 to power some of the machinery. Flooding of the work- nese reopened the mine until the concentrator plant was ings during the rainy season was a major problem until a tunnel severely damaged by allied bombing. After the war the mine was drilled 30 m below the workings to carry away the water. was rehabilitated by the Burma Corporation (1951) Ltd. How- The business was highly lucrative until 1908, when gem prices ever, production never reached pre-war levels, due to the lack of began to fall due to the arrival of synthetic gemstones on the an adequate concentrator plant. The Bawdwin Mine was market. Ruby prices were further depressed during the First nationalized in 1965. Oxidized near-surface ore is now being World War; after the war the company was badly managed mined because the rich underground ore at Bawdwin has and made unwise decisions. Eventually it was decided that declined gradually in reserve and grade. mechanized mining was too expensive; the company went In addition to lead and silver, the Bawdwin ores contain zinc, into voluntary liquidation in 1925 and was declared bankrupt copper, antimony and nickel. Old slag containing zinc still in 1931. Mining then reverted to indigenous mining using tra- remains at the smelter site and the original copper-rich portion ditional methods. In 1969 the gem mining industry was nation- of the ore body remains in place at depth in the mine. The alized and independent mining and trading of gems was made administration of the mining and extraction of lead, zinc, silver illegal. The government established the Myanma Gems and copper is the responsibility of the No. 1 Mining Enterprise Enterprise for gem mining by government-owned and local of the previous Ministry of Mines. The geological setting, companies using mechanized mining; today the industry is exploration and mining of the Bawdwin Mine is described by flourishing. Myanmar rubies and sapphires have the reputation Gardiner et al. (2017) and the history and origins of the of being of the finest quality in the world and Myanmar has other lead–zinc–silver deposits in Myanmar are discussed by proudly produced the largest pieces of uncut ruby (2145 carats), Than Htun et al. (2017a). sapphire (6300 carats) and peridot (up to 1000 carats), all of which came from the Mogok area. Jade, utilized for its strength and durability, has been mined Copper since antiquity. The art of carving and polishing of jade was developed in China; for a long time it was not appreciated Several copper occurrences are known in Myanmar (Khin Zaw that much of the raw material for the jade ornaments and jew- et al. 2017); the most important is the high-sulphidation copper ellery sold in China originated in Myanmar. Jadeite (part of deposits on the west bank of the Chindwin River, opposite the pyroxene group) occurs in only a few localities in the Monywa City (Myint Soe et al. 2017). Attempts had been world, for example Myanmar, Tibet, South China, Japan, Gua- made to mine this deposit from the time of the Myanmar temala, New Zealand and Mexico (Shi et al. 2008). kings but this low-grade, large-tonnage high-sulphidation cop- Jadeitite dykes occur cutting serpentinite in the Hpakant area per type of mineralization requires the use of heavy mining of Kachin State in northern Myanmar. Jadeite also occurs as equipment and modern metal extraction techniques, requiring boulders dispersed in the Uru Boulder conglomerate, poorly substantial investment for the development of a successful min- consolidated Plio-Pleistocene alluvial deposits, in the Hpakant ing operation. This type of deposit occurs in magmatic arcs all Basin, tilted and uplifted to more than 300 m, and are found around the Pacific Rim and along the Alpine–Himalayan scattered along all the recent drainage systems in the area Tethyan Orogenic Belt. Successful methods for the exploitation (Chhibber 1934b). The largest piece of jade found measured of these deposits, in contrast to the rich ores of lode type, were 21.34 m × 9.14 m × 4.9 m, with an estimated weight of 3050 only developed at the beginning of the twentieth century. It metric tonnes (Tin Kha 2001). The Hpakant Basin is the most has taken some time for mining of the Monywa deposit to be important jade locality in the world and is now worked exten- developed successfully. sively, using heavy machinery (Kyaw Thu & Khin Zaw 2017). Since 1952 when the MRDC was formed, the huge Monywa deposit has been explored by drilling and studied for resource assessment. These studies have been carried out by MRDC Lead–zinc–silver and DGSE geologists with the support of the Colombo Plan, UNDP, JICA and Yugoslavia, and the assistance of expatriate Several lead–zinc occurrences are known in Myanmar, and a geologists. Mining became fully operational in 1986 and pure few of them contain significant amounts of silver. Reportedly, metallic copper has been extracted since 2000. The ore deposit the famous Ming Dynasty silver was mined in part from Myan- fortunately contains the minerals chalcocite and covellite, which mar Territory. Silver was mined by the Chinese for a period of are soluble in acid and amenable to solution with the electrolytic 450 years from the early part of the fourteenth century at the extraction (SX-EW) of pure copper. The Ivanhoe Mining Com- world-renowned Bawdwin Mine in Northern Shan State until pany reported that this deposit is of world class, and forms the Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 11 second-largest source of copper in Southeast Asia. The deposit primary deposits in quartz veins in igneous and metamorphic was sold recently by the Ivanhoe Mining Company and is cur- rocks in many parts of Myanmar (Ye Myint Swe et al. rently operated by the Wabao Company of China. 2017). Placer deposits are well known in the Central Myanmar Belt in the Chindwin, Upper Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) and – Sittaung valleys, the Wuntho volcanic-plutonic region and in Chromite nickel ± platinum Quaternary gravels of the Momeik-Bamaw tract. Indigenous mining has been conducted in several areas since the time of Myanmar has sizeable nickel-chromite ± PGE deposits associ- the Myanmar kings, when the local people paid an annual trib- ated with three north–south-trending ophiolitic belts of Jurassic – ute to the king in gold. As placer gold is so widespread, primary to Cretaceous Eocene age: the Western Ophiolitic belt (WOB); gold deposits can be expected in the upper reaches of the river the Central Ophiolitic belt (COB); and the Eastern Ophiolitic et al. et al. drainage basins. belt (EOB) (Hla Htay 2017; Khin Zaw 2017). Chro- Quartz veins with gold mineralization are widespread in the mite mineralization occurs as pods and disseminations in ser- fi Wuntho volcanic-plutonic region and on the western margins pentinized dunite and peridotite. The most signi cant lateritic of the Shan Plateau in the Slate Belt and the Mogok Metamor- nickel deposits occur at Tagaung Taung and Mwetaung. The phic Belt (MMB). Mining of primary gold deposits has been Tagaung Taung nickel deposit is in the Tigyaing town- conducted at Kyaukpazat to the north of Wuntho since before ship (Htigyaing township), Katha district, Sagaing division the First World War, and continues at a small scale today by a in the EOB of northern Myanmar and the mine is currently oper- local company. Private companies are also working presently ated by the China Nonferrous Metal Mining (CNMC) Group. in the Wuntho-Bamauk area and in several areas along the west- The Mwetaung lateritic nickel deposit is in weathered peridotite ern margin of the Shan Plateau, including Modi Taung, east of and serpentinite of WOB in the Chin State. The feasibility stud- Tatkon and Phayaung Taung, NE of Mandalay. Most of the pri- ies was completed in 2014 by a joint venture of Jinshan (Hong mary gold deposits are mesothermal orogenic mineralization, Kong) International Mining Company (100% subsidiary of but the Kyaukpahto gold ores in the Kawlin area are Carlin-like Zijin Mining Group), China North Industries Corporation and – sediment-hosted deposits in Eocene turbiditic sandstones and Myanmar Government. Secondary PGE Au mineral occur- are found to be highly refractory (Khin Zaw 2008; Ye Myint rences are also found in Quaternary placers in the Upper Chin- Swe & Cho Cho Aye 2009). Gold mineralization in the MMB dwin and Uyu rivers and in the area around Lake Indawgyi. occurs as skarn-type or as orogenic gold-quartz veins in mar- bles, calc-silicates and gneisses (e.g. Thabeikkyin-Kwinthonze Tin and tungsten area). Gold mining, together with tin and tungsten mining, was previously administered by the Ministry of Mines but now by Tin and tungsten minerals occur in pegmatite and quartz veins No. 2 Mining Enterprise of the Ministry of Natural Resources along the margins of granitic bodies and in sedimentary rocks and Environmental Conservation. close to intrusive granite contacts (Mi Paik 2017; Than et al. b Htun 2017 ). Primary tin and tungsten, and associated Antimony detrital and placer deposits, have long been known to occur in a linear belt extending northwards from Tananitharyi (Tenas- Antimony is currently a ‘critical metal’ in the world economy serim) along the western margin of the Shan Plateau to the and in 2014 Myanmar became the second largest producer of Yamethin area, forming the northern branch of the Southeast antimony ores in the world, after China (Toe Aung Kyaw Asian Tin belt, which continues southwards through Peninsular 2017). Antimony deposits are widely distributed in Kayah, Thailand and Malaysia to the Indonesian islands of Bangka and Kayin and Mandalay Region of Myanmar. The majority of Billiton. Mining and smelting of tin was carried out by local antimony deposits in Myanmar are formed as shallow, low- people in Myanmar long before the arrival of the British. In temperature hydrothermal deposits filling fissures, joints, 1599 an English traveller, Ralph Fitch, reported that there shear zones and selectively replacing rocks, showing prefer- were great stores of tin in Tenasserim, which supplied the ence for massive carbonates. The antimony minerals in Myan- whole of India. In the 1930s the Mawchi Mine in Kayah mar are stibnite, senarmontite, valentinite, cervantite, kermesite State (Aung Zaw Myint et al. 2017) was the most important and rarely native antimony. The Palaeozoic stratabound anti- source of tungsten in the world; during the First World War, mony deposits are the most important style of mineralization and again in the Korean War, the Mawchi Mine and other tung- in Myanmar (e.g. Tha Byu and Natsan). At Lebyin, the stibnite sten-rich mines made huge profits when tungsten prices were veins are hosted in greywacke, quartzite and shales of possible unusually high. Carboniferous age and closely associated with Mesozoic gran- Placer tin is being mined north and east of Dawei (Tavoy) in ite intrusion; antimony may be accompanied by arsenic and the Tanintharyi Region, near offshore in the Kanbauk Basin and gold. The geological settings, classification, distribution and onshore in the Heinda Basin, by No. 2 Mining Enterprise and origins of the antimony ores in Myanmar are described by by several private companies. UNDP-assisted project BUR/ Toe Aung Kyaw (2017). 73/017 ‘Offshore Exploration for Tin’ with the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration was conducted from 1975 to 1979 in the Mergui Archipelago, covering the Geological hazards area between Ye River in the north and the Victoria Point in the south. A total of P-4 category tin ore reserve of 29 244 Myanmar, situated in a tectonically active zone of continental tonnes and P-3 category tin ore reserve of 1805 tonnes were collision, oceanic subduction and strike-slip faulting, is a highly estimated in five potential offshore areas (Than Htun et al. seismic zone and is extremely earthquake prone with many 2017b). There are still potential tin mining prospects offshore recorded earthquakes (Oldham 1833; Brown & Leicester in the southern portion of the Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago. 1933; Chhibber 1934a; Thawbita 1976; Win Swe & Win Naing 2008; Than Tin Aung et al. 2008; Wang Yu et al. 2011, 2014; Rangin 2017; Sloan et al. 2017). A total of 44 Gold earthquakes with Mw ≥ 1.5 were recorded in 2014. Notable his- torical earthquakes occurred in 1839 at Inn-wa, in 1930 at Gold occurs in placer deposits and in unconsolidated or poorly Bago, in 1975 at Bagan and in 2003 at Taungdwingyi. How- consolidated Quaternary–Recent detrital sediments and as ever, not all instrumentally recorded earthquakes produce Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

12 KHIN ZAW ET AL. significant effects such as the destruction of buildings or other sector. Losses to the economy due to these floods and land- infrastructure or deaths in the population. These effects depend slides were estimated at about 1.7% of 2014 gross domestic on the magnitude of the earthquake, its depth, the amount of product (Government of the Republic of the Union of Myan- movement, the nature of the substrate (with the effects being mar 2015). The worst-hit areas were in the central and western less on solid rock and greatest on soft alluvial sediments) and part of the country, based on rainfall and river discharge data on the density of the population in the affected area. provided by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. It is estimated that 3 cm of the average 5 cm annual move- The department conducted hydrological simulations over the ment between the Indian Plate and Southeast Asia is taken period 1979–2015 using satellite-derived data, and performed up by strike-slip and thrust motions, distributed along numer- extreme-value analysis (Gumbel). These analyses character- ous faults in the Indo-Myanmar Ranges of Myanmar. The ized the 2015 floods as a rare event, one with an estimated remaining 2 cm is taken up along the Sagaing and associated return period of 20–50 years depending on the location within strike-slip faults further east (Vigny et al. 2003). Earthquakes the Ayeyarwady subcatchments (Government of the Republic of Richter magnitude 4.3–4.5 are extremely frequent in the of the Union of Myanmar 2015). India–Myanmar border region and along the Rakhine Coast, The floods also caused morphological changes leading to with 12 events in the first 5 months of 2012. The depth of river bank erosion, newly eroded river channels and landslides earthquake hypocentres related to the eastwards subduction in mountainous areas. In Hakha Township in the Chin State, of the Indian Plate beneath Myanmar increases from >50 km unprecedented rainfall caused devastating landslides. During along the Rakhine Coast to c. 250 km beneath the Central the last week of July 2015, over 30% more rain fell on Hakha Lowlands (Satyabala 2003). Further east, a concentration of than in any other month over the past 25 years. The monthly shallow hypocentres is related to strike-slip movements rainfall of July 2015 measured at the weather station in along the Sagaing Fault and related faults, extending north- Hakha would be equal to a 1-in-1000-years rainfall. This, com- wards from the Ayeryarwaddy Delta into the Central Low- bined with the nature of mudstone, shale and colluvial deposits lands. In 1975 a magnitude 6.5 earthquake on the Richter around Hakha, explains the widespread and devastating land- scale occurred near Bagan, the ancient capital of Myanmar. slides and, in particular, the reactivation of a large, old and Fortunately, the earthquake occurred in a sparsely populated deep-seated landslide on which parts of Hakha had been area and only one person was killed; several ancient monu- built, as revealed by a detailed geological and geo-engineering ments were, however, damaged, in particular near the Ayeyar- study (Win Myint et al. 2015). The massive landslide affecting waddy River, and three production rigs in the Chauk oilfield Hakha was known locally as the Rung Taung Landslide and has were toppled. The cost of the damage was estimated at elsewhere been called the Tonzang Landslide, the largest non- $500 000. According to the Myanmar Director of Archaeol- seismic landslide for a decade. Satellite and seismic data ogy, this was the worst earthquake recorded in Bagan over showed that the landslide measured 5.9 km from the crown to the last 900 years. the toe of the deposit, with a mass of 395 million tonnes Hurukawa & Maung Maung (2011) relocated six historical (Ekstrom & Stark 2013). The Rung Taung and other landslides earthquakes of Mw ≥ 7.0 which had occurred since 1918 caused extensive destruction to roads and homes; in Hakha, along the Sagaing Fault. They identified two seismic gaps hundreds of houses were relocated to a safer area. along which earthquakes of up to Mw 7.9 may be expected in The huge tsunami generated by the December 2004 earth- the near future. This is significant since the trace of the fault quake, with an epicentre off the coast of Sumatra, caused con- passes through Nay Pyi Taw, the recently established capital siderable destruction and loss of life in eight countries around of Myanmar. The Myanmar Earthquake Committee (MEC) in the Indian Ocean. In Myanmar, with 71 fatalities (Satake collaboration with the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS), et al. 2006), the tsunami was much less destructive than in Nanyang Technological University commenced a research pro- Sumatra, Thailand and Sri Lanka, but life in low-lying coastal gramme along the Sagaing Fault in 2010, establishing Geo- communities in Rakhine State and parts of Ayeyarwaddy and graphical Positioning Systems (GPS) adjacent to the fault to Tanintharyi regions suffered major disruption, with the loss monitor present-day movements. The group is excavating of livelihoods due to the destruction of fishing boats and fishing trenches along the trace of the fault to determine the timing nets. Unfortunately these same areas were more severely and slip rate of past phases of movement along the fault, in col- affected a few years later by cyclone Nargis in 2008; the 4 m laboration with Japanese universities, EOS and Royal Hollo- high wall of water left at least 140 000 dead and hundreds of way University of London (e.g. Than Tin Aung et al. 2006; thousands homeless, with rice fields inundated and rendered Tsutsumi & Sato 2009; Wang et al. 2011, 2014; Soe Thura unproductive by the influx of salt water. Tun & Watkinson 2017; Soe Min et al. 2017). Earthquakes with scattered hypocentres occur in eastern Shan State near the borders with China, Laos and Thailand Environment and sustainability of resources related to strike-slip movements in the central part of Southeast Asia, extending into China. In 2011 an earthquake of magni- Myanmar is endowed with abundant natural and mineral tude Mw 6.8 occurred in eastern Shan State near Tachileik, adja- resources. However, as in many other developing countries, cent to the borders with Thailand and Laos. A total of 73 people Myanmar is suffering from environmental degradation as a were killed and houses, government buildings, Buddhist mon- result of deforestation with concomitant soil erosion and the asteries, roads and bridges were damaged. release into the environment of waste materials containing del- Myanmar is also exposed to other natural hazards, espe- eterious chemicals from mining, industrial processes and mod- cially storms, cyclones, floods and landslides, often leading ern agricultural practices. to disasters that affect many more people than earthquakes. Environmental degradation and social impacts have For example, earthquake-related disasters have led to 812 increased in recent years due to the application of unregulated reported deaths since 1930, while floods and landslides methods in mining and processing to increase productivity. resulted in 145 598 deaths over the same period (Centre for The growing trend towards new mining methods, particularly Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters 2017). Floods in the shift from underground to open-cut methods and to mining 2015 affected 12 out of 14 states and regions, displaced and processing of low-grade ores, will contribute to the gener- over 1.6 million people, and directly affected more than 5 mil- ation of large volumes of waste rock and tailings; these present lion people in terms of damage to livelihoods, public and pri- a major challenge for disposal, particularly in the Jade min- vate infrastructure and extensive impacts on the agriculture ing area of Phakant, northern Myanmar (Kyi Htun 2014). The Downloaded from http://mem.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 13 absence of an efficient legal framework for artisanal and small- Taungni Hill and of the area between Mt. Popa and Taungdwin- scale mining (ASM) for gold and gemstones, together with the gyi, Northern Pegu Yoma, Burma. Institute of Geological Sci- application of mechanized mining, contribute to the adverse ences, Overseas Division Report 38. environmental and social impact of mining operations. Myan- AUDLEY-CHARLES, M.G. 1988. Evolution of the southern margin of mar’s newly promulgated environmental law (2012) provides Tethys (North Australian Region) from Early Permian to Late no details on environmental and social impact assessment or Cretaceous. In:AUDLEY-CHARLES, M.G. & HALLAM, A. (eds) Gondwana and Tethys. Geological Society, London, Special Pub- the participation of communities in the conservation of the – // / / environment. Efficient guidelines are needed, and continuous lications, 37,79100, https: doi.org 10.1144 GSL.SP.1988. monitoring and life-cycle assessment (LCA) are essential for 037.01.07 AUNG KHIN &KYAW WIN 1969. Geology and hydrocarbon propect of the greening of Myanmar’s mining sector. Burma Tertiary Geosyncline. Journal of Union Burma Science & Despite the fact that Myanmar is endowed with world-class Technology, 2,53–81. resources, the mineral industry is still in its infancy due to sev- AUNG ZAW MYINT,KHIN ZAW,YE MYINT SWE,KOTARO YONEZU,YUE eral decades of isolation. As the extractive industry in Myan- CAI,TAKAYUKI MANAKA &KOICHIRO WATANABE 2017. Geo- mar (including the energy and mineral sectors) is now in a chemistry and geochronology of granites hosting the Mawchi renaissance stage, transparent management plans/programmes Sn-W deposit, Myanmar: Implications for tectonic setting and for training, community engagement and corporate social emplacement. In:BARBER, A.J., KHIN ZAW &CROW, M.J. (eds) responsibility (CSR) are critically important for the sustain- Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics. Geological Soci- ability of the industry. Strict environmental guidelines need ety, London, Memoirs, 48, 385–400, https://doi.org/10.1144/ to be established and implemented for mineral and energy M48.17 exploration and mining and processing to avoid pollution, AYE KO AUNG &COCKS, L.R.M. 2017. Cambrian–Devonian stratigra- acid mine drainage and cyanide, mercury and arsenic contam- phy of the Shan Plateau, Myanmar (Burma). In:BARBER, A.J., ination. By doing so, revenues from the mining and extractive KHIN ZAW &CROW, M.J. (eds) Myanmar: Geology, Resources industries can benefit future generations and the development and Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, of the country without the ‘curse’ of polluting resources in the 317–342, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.14 future (Khin Zaw 2015a, b, 2016). BANNERT, D. 1980. Petroleum Project Burma: A Concept for Geolog- In order to achieve sustainable development, all the PSC ical Exploration of the Chindwin Basin, Burma. Unpublished operators have to conduct Environmental, Social and Health Report 36. BGR, Hannover. Impact Assessments related to petroleum operations, and sub- BARBER, A.J. & CROW, M.J. 2009. Structure of Sumatra and its impli- mit specific environmental management plans before the start cations for the tectonic assembly of Southeast Asia and the Island Arc 18 – of work programmes. PSC operators should also be required destruction of Palaeotethys. , ,3 20. BARBER, A.J., RIDD, M.F. & CROW, M.J. 2011. The origin, movement to submit a CSR programme throughout the period of explora- and assembly of the pre-Tertiary tectonic units of Thailand. In: tion and production. With huge untapped oil and gas reserves RIDD, M.J., BARBER, A.J. & CROW, M.J. (eds) The Geology of and a strategic location adjacent to the giant energy consumers Thailand. Geological Society, London, 507–537. of China, India and Thailand, Myanmar has recently become a BARBER, A.J., KHIN ZAW &CROW, M.J. 2017. The pre-Cenozoic tec- ‘ ’ hot spot in the Southeast Asia region for international petro- tonic evolution of Myanmar. In:BARBER, A.J., KHIN ZAW & leum players (Lynn Myint 2015b). CROW, M.J. (eds) Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics. Sustainable growth and development is an essential require- Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 687–712, https:// ment, not only for the extraction of the mineral and energy doi.org/10.1144/M48.31 resources of Myanmar, but also for the protection and preserva- BARR, S.M. & MACDONALD, A.S. 1991. Towards a Late Palaeozoic– tion of the country’s geoheritage with the establishment of well- Early Mesozoic tectonic model for Thailand. Journal of Thai regulated geoparks, geo-ecotourism and agritourism. Within Geoscience, 1,11–22. the framework of the UNESCO GeoPark program (http:// BATESON, J.H., MITCHELL, A.H.G. & CLARKE, D.A. 1972. Geological www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth- and Geochemical Reconnaissance of the Seikphudeng- sciences/unesco-global-geoparks/), Myanmar is onthevergeof Padatgyaung area of Central Burma. Institute of Geological Sci- joining the UNESCO Global Geoparks network (U Than Htun, ences, Overseas Division Report 25. pers. comm. 2017). Myanmar has internationally significant BAXTER, A.T., AITCHISON, J.C., ZYABREV, S.V. & ALI, J.R. 2011. Upper Jurassic radiolarians from the Naga Ophiolite, Nagaland, north- monumental geosites suitable for the establishment of geoparks, – such as Mt Popa Volcano near the cultural city of Pagan, which east India. Gondwana Research, 20, 638 644. has a geological as well as a national/historical heritage, and the BAXTER, A.T., AITCHISON, J.C., ALI, J.R., SIK-LAP CHAN,J.&HEUNG NGAI CHAN, G. 2016. Detrital chrome spinel evidence for a Hukuang Valley in Kachin State. Other potential sites include Neotethyan intra-oceanic island arc collision with India in the the Padaukpin Coral Reef in Northern Shan State, which is Paleocene. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 128,90–104. world-renowned as a site with a diverse Palaeozoic fossil assem- fl BENDER, F. 1983. Geology of Burma. In:BANNERT, D. (ed.) Beiträge blage. This site contains a marine biota that ourished in the zur Regionalen Geologie der Erde, Band 16. Gebrüder Born- Palaeotethys Ocean, similar to the present-day diverse faunal traeger, Berlin, 1–261. fl and oral community around the Galapagos Islands. In addition, BERTRAND,G.&RANGIN, C. 2003. Tectonics of the western margin of there are many caves throughout the country and also gem the Shan plateau (central Myanmar): implication for the and jade mining areas in northern Myanmar. All these sites India-Indochina oblique convergence since the Oligocene. Jour- are currently being badly exploited and maintained; they are rap- nal of Asian Earth Sciences, 21, 1139–1157. idly disappearing and the environment is becoming hugely BERTRAND, G., RANGIN, C., MALUSKI, H., BELLON, H. & GIAC SCIEN- degraded. If these assets are not properly managed and regu- TIFIC PARTY 2001. Diachronous cooling along the Mogok Meta- lated, there will be nothing left for future generations to enjoy. morphic Belt (Shan Scarp, Myanmar): trace of the northward migration of the Indian syntaxis. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 19, 649–659. References BROOK,M.&SNELLING, N.J. 1976. K/Ar and Rb/Sr Age Determina- tions on Rocks and Minerals from Burma. Report of the Isotope ANON. 1946. The Burma Petroleum Industry, Burma Pamphlets, No. Geology Unit 76/12. Institute of Geological Sciences, Keyworth, 10. Burma Research Society, Longmans, Green & Co., London. Nottingham, UK. AMOS, B.J., MARSHALL, T.R., STEPHENSON, D., AUNG KYI,BA THAW & BROWN, J.C. & LEICESTER, P. 1933. 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