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12/26/2017 Chapter 1 Introduction to the geology of Myanmar | Geological Society, London, Memoirs

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Chapter 1 Introduction to the geology of Myanmar


Khin Zaw, Win Swe, A. J. Barber, M. J. Crow and Yin Yin Nwe
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 1-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.1

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The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Pyidaungsu Thammada Myanmar NaingNganDaw), formerly Burma, occupies the northwestern part of the
Southeast Asian peninsula. It is bounded to the west by India, Bangladesh, the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, and to the east by China, Laos 
and Thailand. It comprises seven administrative regions (Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) and
Yangon) and seven states (Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine (Arakan) and Shan). From 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 south (Fig. 1.1). Although
Myanmar is located within the Monsoon Belt of Asia, the climate is influenced locally by geographical position and topography. During the winter the
northern mountains are influenced by cold air masses from Central Asia and are covered in snow for two months of the year. The mountains prevent cold
air from spreading further south, so that most of Myanmar lies under the influence of the NE and SW monsoons. However, the north–south alignment of
mountain ranges and valleys results in a pattern of alternating zones of high and low precipitation during both the NE and SW monsoons. Most
precipitation comes from the SW Monsoon. Myanmar has three seasons, including: a dry summer from March to mid-May; a monsoonal rainy season
from mid-May to September; and a cool winter season from October to February. The western coast of Myanmar is subject to occasional tropical cyclones
such as Cyclone Nargis (2008) which, together with a storm surge, inundated the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) Delta, killing an estimated 140 000 people,
and Cyclone Giri (2010), which made landfall south of Sittway on the Rakhine coast, rendering tens of thousands of people homeless.

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Fig. 1.1.

Map showing states and regions of Myanmar (Div., divisions).

Topographically, Myanmar is composed of central lowlands surrounded by steep, rugged highlands (Fig. 1.2). The highest point is Mount Hkakabo Razi
(5881 m) in the far north of Kachin State. From here mountain ranges generally trend north–south, with the Patkai Range, the Naga Hills, the Chin Hills
and the Rakhine Yoma to the west along the borders with India and Bangladesh. Mountain ranges also form the eastern border with China, passing
southwards into the highly dissected Shan Plateau at an average elevation of 900 m in Shan State. Four main rivers draining the mountains, the
Chindwin, Ayeyarwaddy (2170 m long), Thanlwin and the Sittaung, flow southwards through the central lowlands to form an extensive delta in the
northern part of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Mottama (Martaban). The central lowlands are divided into two unequal parts by the Bago Yoma
Ranges, the larger Ayeyarwaddy Valley and the smaller Sittaung Valley. The Bago Yoma Ranges pass northwards into a line of extinct volcanoes with
small crater lakes and eroded cones; the largest of these is Mount Popa (1518 m). Coastal lowlands and offshore islands margin the Bay of Bengal to the
west of the Rakhine Yoma and the Andaman Sea in Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) (Hadden 2008).

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Fig. 1.2.

Map showing physiography of Myanmar. Brown colour denotes land above 1000 m.

Tectonic setting of Myanmar



Myanmar lies at the junction of the Alpine–Himalayan Orogenic Belt and the Indonesian Island Arc System. In northern Myanmar, the orogenic belt
is bent around the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis into a north–south direction and passes southwards through the resource-rich Indo-Myanmar Ranges (Kyi
Khin et al. 2017a, b; Hla Htay et al. 2017; Barber et al. 2017) into the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Sumatra and the Sunda and Banda arcs of
Indonesia. The Himalayas and the mountain ranges of northern Myanmar mark the collision between the Indian subcontinent and the southern margin of
the Eurasian continent. Detritus from the Himalayas, transported by the rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra, has built an extensive delta into the Bay of
Bengal on Indian Ocean crust. At the present day the Indian Tectonic Plate, carrying India and the Indian Oceanic Crust, is moving northeastwards at 5
cm a−1, and is moving past Myanmar on transcurrent faults. The collision between Indian continental crust and Eurasia continues at the Eastern
Himalayan Syntaxis; to the south in Myanmar collision occurred earlier in the Indo-Myanmar Ranges, resulting in the Patkai Range and the Naga and Chin
hills. Further south, the overlying sediments of the Bengal Fan have been affected by transcurrent faulting and transpression to form a fold-and-thrust
belt in the Rakhine Yoma. Curray et al. (1979) defined a Burma (Myanmar) Microplate, delimited to the west by the active Andaman subduction zone and
a major strike-slip fault between the Indian Plate and Myanmar, and to the east by the north–south-aligned strike-slip Sagaing Fault. The Burma
(Myanmar) Microplate is presently moving northwards at a rate of 18 mm a−1 relative to Southeast Asia along the Sagaing Fault (Maurin et al. 2010).

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To the east of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges in Myanmar the Central Lowlands (Naing Maw Than et al. 2017; Myint Thein & Maung Maung 2017), with
a crystalline continental basement, are intruded by the Mesozoic–Cenozoic Wuntho-Salingyi-Popa Volcanic Arc (Myint Soe et al. 2017). The basement is
overlain by Cenozoic sediments, divided between forearc and back-arc basins by a line of volcanic crater lakes and eroded cinder cones with Mount Popa
in the south and Taungthonlon in the north, representing part of a Quaternary volcanic arc which can be traced southwards through the Andaman Sea in
the Narcondam and Barren islands into the Sunda Volcanic Arc in Sumatra and Java.

Although the basement beneath the Central Basin of Myanmar is not exposed, the basin is underlain by continental crust, indicated by fragments of high-
grade metamorphic rocks brought up in the Mount Popa calc-alkaline volcano. The basement 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 metamorphic 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, comprising 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, separated 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. Studies 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 extension 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 fusulinid assemblage from Myanmar by Ueno et al. (2016) has confirmed
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 Myanmar 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 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 the deformed
Precambrian basement and Palaeozoic cover of the Shan Plateau to the east.

Further east, and extending southwards through Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) into Thailand, is the Palaeozoic Slate Belt (Mergui Group) which contains
diamictites. As suggested above, the Mogok Metamorphic Belt and the Slate Belt have been considered to form part of the Sibumasu Block; however,
Mitchell et al. (2012) and Ridd (2017) suggest that they formed a separate block, bounded to the east by a suture zone, representing a branch of the
Tethys Ocean and marking the site of the Late Jurassic collision of the West Myanmar Block and the Shan Plateau. Baxter et al. (2011) found Upper
Jurassic radiolarian fossils from the Naga ophiolite, northwestern extension of Indo-Myanmar Ranges of Myanmar. Ridd (2017) suggests that a branch of
the Tethys Ocean to the north passes southwards in Myanmar and Thailand into a major transcurrent fault. In Mitchell et al.’s (2012) interpretation, the
Shan Plateau was thrust westwards over the eastern margin of the West Myanmar Block in the Early Cretaceous.

The Shan Plateau, or the Eastern Highlands Province, is composed of a crystalline basement and a weakly metamorphosed turbidite sequence of probable
Late Precambrian–Early Cambrian age, overlain by a thick sequence of Palaeozoic–Mesozoic continental shelf (Aye Ko Aung & Cocks 2017; Zaw Win
et al. 2017) and Cenozoic terrestrial sediments.

The Sibumasu Block is considered to have formed part of the megacontinent of Gondwana until the Early Permian. The break-up of Gondwana began in
the Devonian, with the separation of Indochina and the formation of the Palaeotethys. Sibumasu is thought to have lain on the northern margin of
Gondwana, offshore Western Australia, until the Early Permian when it separated by rifting with the opening of the Mesotethys (Metcalfe 1996). During
the Late Permian, Sibumasu moved northwards, due to the expansion of Mesotethys to the south and the subduction of Palaeotethys to the north, until it
collided with Indochina and the outlying Sukhothai Volcanic Arc in the Triassic, resulting in the Indosinian Orogeny (Sone & Metcalfe 2008). In northern
Thailand the site of the collision between Sibumasu and the Sukhothai Arc and Indochina is recognized as the Inthanon Zone (Barr & Macdonald 1991;
Ueno 1999), where the intervening Palaeotethyan oceanic crust and associated sedimentary units were thrust over sediments of the Sibumasu
continental margin (Barber et al. 2011). Presumably the collision zone and the Sukhothai Volcanic Arc continued further north in the eastern Shan States
of Myanmar, but they have not yet been convincingly described from this region (Gardiner et al. 2015). Tectonic developments in the Myanmar Region
occurred throughout the Phanerozoic as a result of the long history of Gondwana break-up, rifting, subduction and post-collision processes. These tectonic

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processes associated with semi-continuous sedimentation, magmatic and metamorphic events have made the Myanmar Region highly prospective for
metalliferous ores and gem deposits (Khin Zaw 2017).

Molnar & Tapponnier (1975) proposed that the collision of the Indian continental crust with the southern margin of Eurasia since Cretaceous (Baxter et al.
2016; references therein) resulted in the eastwards extrusion of continental blocks along major strike-slip transcurrent faults, together with the clockwise
rotation of the whole of Southeast Asia. Two of the major strike-slip faults, the Papun (Mae Ping) Fault Zone and the Three Pagodas Fault Zone in Mon
and Kayin states, extend from the Sagaing Fault southeastwards into Thailand. The Sagaing Fault is a major continental-scale right-lateral transcurrent
fault, which has a potential for geohazards and fatal earthquakes in Myanmar, and played an important role in the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the
whole of Southeast Asia (Myint Thein 2017; Soe Thura Tun & Watkinson 2017).

Commencement of geological studies in Myanmar



Scientific observation concerning the geology of Myanmar commenced only after the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824–26, when the British
annexed the coastal provinces of Rakhine (Arakan) and Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) (Win Swe 2009). The earliest records contain information about mineral
and petroleum occurrences in these two provinces of Myanmar, which were already being exploited by the inhabitants. Most of the papers are published
in journals of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1826, shortly after the First Anglo-Burmese War, John Crawford was
sent by Lord Amherst, Governor General of India, as an envoy on a mission to the Court of Ava in Upper Burma. Crawford travelled up the Irrawaddy by
paddle steamer. On the return journey Crawford (1829a, b) collected fossils north of Magway on the left bank of the river, including the jaw of
Stegolophodon latidens (Clift 1829). Also included in Crawford's report is an account of the finds of fossil bones and wood examined by Dr William
Buckland (Oxford). In 1826 after the First Anglo-Burmese War, Lower Burma (Pegu) was also annexed to the British Raj. Subsequently D'Amato (1833)
published an account of the ruby mines of Burma and Captain Low (1829) compiled a list of the tin mines of the Tanintharyi (Tennasserim) region.

When the Geological Survey of India (GSI) was established in 1851, just before the commencement of the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852, Thomas
Oldham was appointed as Superintendent. The remit of GSI also included British-controlled territories in Burma. Oldham accompanied Arthur Phayre, the
British Commissioner for the annexed territories, as part of the Yule Mission to the Court of Ava in 1855. In an appendix to Yule's report of this mission,
Oldham (1858) contributed a comprehensive account of the geology of Central Burma. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, Upper Burma was
incorporated into the Indian Raj; the whole of Myanmar territory was then under British control and the province of Burma became a part of British India.

At this time, by compiling scattered geological data and using evidence from mining and other activities, the mineral and hydrocarbon potential of the
entire country could be visualized. For example, it was appreciated that there was excellent oil and natural gas potential in the Tertiary basins of Central
Myanmar and in the coastal areas along the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and the offshore islands. There were good mineral prospects for tin and
tungsten in Kayah and Tanintharyi, for gems in the Mogok area, for lead, zinc and silver in the Shan Plateau, for gold in the Wuntho Massif in the Central
Belt and in Kachin State, as well as other different metals and minerals in other parts of the country.

In the early part of the twentieth century, prior to the Second World War, GSI geologists carried out a comprehensive programme of regional surveys and
mineral exploration throughout the country. Particularly noteworthy are reports on the Northern Shan States by La Touche (1913), the Mergui District by
Rau (1930), the Southern Shan State by Brown & Sondhi (1933), the Kayah State by Hobson (1941), parts of the Minbu, Myingyan, Pakokku and Lower
Chindwin districts by Cotter (1938), the Cretaceous and associated rocks of Myanmar by Clegg (1941) and the Mogok Stone Tract by Iyer (1953). Articles
on the mineral resources of Myanmar were published by Penzer (1922) and Clegg (1944). All the available geological information on India and Myanmar
up to the outbreak of the Second World War was included in the three volumes of Pascoe's (1950, 1959, 1964) A Manual of the Geology of India and
Burma.

Development of geosciences education in Myanmar



The University of Rangoon (Yangon) was founded in 1920; shortly afterwards, in 1923, the Department of Geology and Geography was established
with the appointment of Dr Laurence Dudley Stamp, who had worked previously as an oil geologist in Burma, as Professor and Head of the department.
An Indian geologist, Dr H.L. Chhibber, joined the department in the following year. Chhibber (1934a, b) published two volumes on The Geology of Burma
and The Mineral Resources of Burma, exhaustive compilations of the geology and resources of Myanmar as far as they were known up to 1933.

During the Japanese occupation in the Second World War the University of Rangoon was closed; it reopened in 1946 with the appointment of Dr Tha Hla
as Professor and Head of the Department of Geography and Geology. Dr Tha Hla had graduated in Chemistry (Honours) from Rangoon University before
the war and was granted a government scholarship to study for a BSc (Honours) degree in geology at King's College, London; he further studied for a
PhD degree in geology at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (Tha Hla 1945, 1946).

Up until that time there had been no qualified professional Myanmar geologists, although the subject of geology had been offered in the Department of
Geology and Geography since 1923. In those days, Myanmar students were more interested in the prestigious and lucrative legal and administrative
professions. The study of geology also required extensive periods of physically demanding work in the field, not an attractive prospect for educated
people in Myanmar. Greater numbers of students were attracted to geography rather than to geology, to the point that the name of the department was

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changed to the Department of Geography and Geology. A separate Department of Geology was established in Rangoon University only in 1948, with the
aim of producing professional geologists to guide exploration and exploitation of natural resources for the newly independent nation.

Dr Tha Hla was the first fully qualified Myanmar geologist and became the founder of the geological profession in the country. Initially, he was assisted by
Indian geologists on short-term contracts. One of them was Bhimal Prasad Dey, who first identified the Sagaing Fault in Central Myanmar which he
named the ‘Hninzee Fault’. In 1956 and 1957 Dr Tha Hla was joined by his first batch of students, notably Dr Nyi Nyi and U Ba Than Haq on their return
from further studies in Britain, and U Saw Clarence Thacpaw on his return from studies in the USA. At that time, several geology graduates were selected
for the university and other geological organizations in Myanmar, and were sent overseas for further studies in the various branches of geology.

In order to further expand training in the geological profession, a Department of Geology was established at Mandalay University College, Upper Myanmar
in 1953. In the first year, the department was guided by U Ko Lay, the College Principal, assisted by U Thein Maung, the Head of the Geography
Department and by Professor Dr Tha Hla of Rangoon University. In the following years, Indian geologists were engaged on short-term contracts. They
were led by Mr D. Sarin, who remained as Head of Department for about ten years. Sarin was assisted occasionally by visiting expatriate professors,
Professor Edward (Florida), Dr Anderson (UK) and Mr T.O. Morris (UK), supported by the Colombo Plan and Fulbright Scholar Program. Mandalay
University College became the separate Mandalay University in 1958. Dr Tin Aye, a former graduate of the Mandalay Agricultural College who had later
obtained a degree and a MSc in geology at the University of Iowa and a PhD at the University of Illinois in the USA (Tin Aye 1958), returned to Burma
(Myanmar) to join the Geology Department; in 1961 he was appointed the first Professor of Geology at Mandalay University.

The departments of geology at Yangon and Mandalay universities are now well able to conduct teaching and research in the various specialized fields of
the geosciences led by Myanmar geologists, many of whom have advanced degrees from overseas universities. Masters degrees in the various disciplines
of the geosciences have been offered by both universities since the late 1960s; in the 1990s, the universities of Yangon and Mandalay offered doctorates.
Like other major subject fields, the teaching of the geological sciences leading to Bachelor degrees has been extended to newly established colleges at
Moulmein (Mawlamyine), Magway, Bassein (Pathein), Myitkyina and Taunggyi, all of which became universities in the 1990s.

Over the early years, notable contributions to the geology of Myanmar were made by geologists from the universities of Yangon and Mandalay. These
include: ‘A note on the petrology and provenance of the Webu and Marble (Alabaster) Inscription Stones of the Kyaukse area’ by Tha Hla (1959); ‘The
Mogok Belt of Burma and its relationship to the Himalayan Orogeny’ by Searle & Ba Than Haq (1964); ‘The Pre-Paleozoic and Paleozoic stratigraphy of
Burma’ by Maung Thein & Ba Than Haq (1970); and ‘A preliminary synthesis of the geological evolution of Burma with reference to the tectonic
development of Southeast Asia’ by Maung Thein (1973). More recently, the work of young Myanmar geologists has significantly improved our knowledge
of the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Shan Plateau, and our knowledge of the strike-slip activity, earthquake hazard and
disaster potential of the Sagaing Fault from the Hukawng valley to the Andaman Sea. In addition, since the 1990s international attention has been
focused on the primate fossils of the Eocene Pondaung Formation, known to be among the earliest in the world, due to the collaboration of Myanmar and
international scientists with the support of the Government of Myanmar. These studies date back to Cotter (1914) in the pre-WWII period, in the 1970s
by Myanmar and American geologists, in the 1980–90s by Myanmar and French geologists/primatologists and in the 1990–2000s by Myanmar and
Japanese geologists/primatologists (e.g. Zin Maung Maung Thein et al. 2017). Recent LA-ICP-MS geochronology and U–Pb dating demonstrates that
the earliest anthropoids originated in Asia rather than in Africa (Khin Zaw et al. 2014).

In 1967 the most significant development for teaching and research on gem and jade deposits in Myanmar was implemented with the support of
UNESCO. The project was led by Mr E.A. Jobbins, Keeper of Minerals and Gemstones in the Geological Museum, South Kensington, London on
secondment from the Institute of Geological Sciences. The objective was to provide training and research for gemmological studies at university level and
to generate a new breed of gemmologists/geologists of international standard capable of exploration, exploitation and marketing, thereby contributing to
the development of Myanmar's rich gemstone potential (Jobbins 1968). This project had a great impact and, in 1968, produced the first batch of 15
graduate diplomas of the Gemmological Society of London (FGA Lond.). These students included Dr Yin Yin Nwe (UNICEF) and Professor Khin Zaw
(CODES ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Australia). The project had laid the foundation for the currently flourishing
training and gemstone testing by private companies and universities in Myanmar, including research on gem materials (e.g. Kyaw Thu 2007; Khin Mar
Phyu 2009; Yin Yin Myint 2009; Nwe Nwe Oo 2010; Win Win Htay 2010; Khin Zaw et al. 2015; Kyaw Thu & Khin Zaw 2017; Thet Tin Nyunt et al.
2017).

At the request of the Myanmar Government, the UNESCO project was followed by a major UNDP/UN-funded project to upgrade the technical ability of
Myanmar geologists and to develop modern analytical facilities. In 1972 the ‘Post Graduate Training Programme in Mineral Exploration’ was established at
the Arts and Science University, Yangon. This project employed several overseas mineral geologists from Canada, UK, USA and Belgium as counterpart
experts for teaching courses in Mineral Exploration and Applied Geology. Notable overseas geoscientists included Professor E. Hale from Canada and Dr
P.J. Goossens from Belgium. Young Myanmar geologists were sent to overseas universities for training in mineral exploration, later replacing the expert
expatriates. This project made a profound contribution by producing Myanmar geologists with diplomas in applied geology, exploration geochemistry,
geophysics and mining. Most are now employed in government ministries. A fluid-inclusion laboratory was established under the UNDP scheme, and ore
geneses and mineral parageneses of a variety of ore deposits in Myanmar were studied (e.g. Khin Zaw 1978, 1984; Khin Zaw & Khin Myo Thet 1983;
Goossens 1978). However, due to international sanctions and political isolation Myanmar geoscience has stagnated since 1988. It will require a huge
injection of funds for the up-skilling of the current work force and the training of the younger generation of geoscientists. Some progress has been made:
there are now 29 universities in Myanmar offering bachelor's degrees in geology, and several other colleges teaching geology as a subsidiary subject.

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Myanmar Geological Survey Department



British Burma was administered separately from British India in 1937 and, in 1938, the Burma Geological Department (BGD) was established on
the same lines as the Geological Survey of India (GSI) with the transfer of several GSI geologists, led by E.L.G. Clegg. However, the Second World War
soon intervened and all geological work was suspended. In 1946 the BGD was re-established with E.J. Bradshaw as Director. Surprisingly, although a few
students had graduated with degrees in geology from the University of Rangoon before the war, there were no Myanmar geologists in Yangon University,
GSI, BGD, the Burmah Oil Company (BOC) or any of the oil or mining companies at that time. The only qualified geology graduate was U Soe Thein. He
had reputedly obtained a MSc degree in Mining and Geology from Stanford University, California, USA and worked with BOC for a while. He was a leader
of the General Council of the Burmese Association (GCBA) in the 1920s, and then became immersed in national politics (Maung Maung 1969; Khin Maung
Gyi 1973). Dr Ba Thi, a chemistry graduate from the University of Rangoon before the war, returned from studies in petroleum chemistry overseas to join
BGD in 1946. When Myanmar became independent in 1948 he was appointed as the first Director, initially supported by several Indian geologists
employed on short-term contracts.

Mineral Resources Development Corporation (MRDC)



The Mineral Resources Development Corporation (MRDC) was founded in 1952 with the aim of exploration and development of the mineral
resources in the newly independent Myanmar. MRDC was administered by a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Mines. U Ba Tun, formerly of the
Burma Civil Service, was appointed as Secretary to the Board and became the first Director General. Technical management of the MRDC was by U Minn
Din (micropalaeontologist) and U Saw Aleric (mining geologist). The MRDC offered scholarships to outstanding students of geology at the University of
Rangoon, with the possibility of employment in the Corporation on graduation. Subsequently, many geology graduates were employed by the Corporation
in the Mines Department.

Between 1959 and 1977 the Burma Geological Survey Department and the Mineral Development Corporation were assisted by the Colombo Plan, the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Yugoslavia, supporting expatriate geologists
working in Myanmar.

Colombo Plan geosciences projects (1968–76) were financed by the Ministry of Overseas Development of the UK, and provided scientists from the
Institute of Geological Sciences who were seconded to or worked with counterparts from the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration.
Geochemical exploration and geological mapping in the Nayyaungga and Ye-ngan areas were reported by Garson et al. (1972, 1976). The latter included
the subdivision of the Plateau Limestone in the Southern Shan State into three lithological units, which is still recognized today. Similar integrated
surveys were conducted in the Seikphudaeng–Padatgyaung area (Bateson et al. 1972), Yadanatheingi and Kyaukme–Longtawkno area (Mitchell et al.
1977), and Mount Popa area (Amos et al. 1981; Marshall et al. 1983; Stephenson et al. 1983). Geochronological age dates of samples provided by these
projects were reported by Brook & Snelling (1976), and the samples collected in 1977 by Dr R.D. Beckinsale were analysed later by Darbyshire &
Swainbank (1988). A geophysical survey by Greenwood & Thomas (1973) located what later became known as the Lepadaung copper ore body at the
Monya Mine, currently the largest exploited copper deposit in Southeast Asia.

Gradually a national geological organization was developed in Myanmar, similar to the Geological Survey of India and other national geological
organizations throughout the world. This organization is known as the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration (DGSE), and employs the
largest number of geologists in Myanmar. Many of these geologists have received specialist training overseas in the various branches of the geosciences,
for example: geophysics, geochemistry, micropalaeontology, photogeology, remote sensing, hydrogeology, engineering geology, petroleum geology,
mining geology and laboratory techniques, etc. The DGSE, now under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, provides
Myanmar with a service in the geosciences equal to that of other geological survey organizations elsewhere in the world.

The Geological Survey Division of DGSE is the successor of the BGD and has carried out integrated geological surveys and mineral exploration
programmes over extensive areas of Myanmar, for example: the Geological Survey and Exploration Programme (GSEP) from 1974 to 1978 under the
auspices of joint DGSE-UNDP projects in the Wuntho-Bamauk area, parts of the Western (Indo-Myanmar) Ranges in Chin and Rakhine (Arakan) States
and the western part of the Shan Plateau; and departmental projects from 1974 to 1983 in Tanintharyi (Tenasserim), Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago,
western Shan Plateau, Bago Yoma and the southern part of the Western Ranges in the Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) Division and the adjoining parts of
Rakhine State. It is intended that the Geological Survey Division should extend this programme throughout Myanmar. At the same time the Mineral
Exploration Division of DGSE, the successor of MRDC, has carried out exploration of specific mineral occurrences in various parts of Myanmar. Integrated
geological surveys have been conducted by DGSE in Kachin State since the year 2000, as well as continuing exploration for specific minerals in different
part of Myanmar. The results of these DGSE surveys were published in annual progress reports for 1974–76 (DGSE 1975, 1976) and several UNDP-DGSE
reports (United Nations 1978a, b, 1979a, b, c, d, e, f). Mitchell (e.g. 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993) has published several accounts of the regional geology of
Myanmar, based on his work with Myanmar geologists on several projects funded by the Colombo Plan, UNDP and Ivanhoe-Myanmar Holdings.

Other geological organizations in Myanmar



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By the 1960s several government ministries had established geological departments, including the Mineral Development Corporation (MDC) or Myanmar
Mineral Development Corporation (MMDC) under the Ministry of Mines. These organizations employed most of the geologists in Myanmar, collecting basic
geological information and engaged in mineral exploration. Mining Corporation 1 (lead-zinc–silver and copper), Mining Corporation 2 (tin–tungsten and
gold) and Mining Corporation 3 (industrial raw materials) were established under the Ministry of Mines. The Myanmar Oil Corporation (MOC), the
successor of the Burmah Oil Company (BOC), was purchased by the Myanmar Government for 63.5 million Kyats in 1963. Since 1963 the petroleum
industry has been managed by Myanmar nationals, U San Maung (General Manager) and Dr Aung Khin (Exploration Manager), who were instrumental in
developing the Myanmar petroleum industry.

The MOC, now known as Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), was administered under the Ministry of Mines until 1976 when it was placed under the
Ministry of Industry; a separate Ministry of Energy was later established. The universities of Yangon and Mandalay, previously semi-government
institutes, were brought under the Ministry of Education in 1964.

In 1973 the Irrigation Department, which was under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, established a badly needed Engineering Geology Section
headed by U Sann Lwin, a post-Independence graduate of Rangoon University and formerly a geologist with DGSE. This section developed into the
Engineering Geology Division of the Department of Irrigation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and now employs a large number of geologists.
In addition several geologists are employed in the Engineering Geology Section of the Ministry of Electric Power No.1, which is developing hydroelectric
power projects in Myanmar. Recently 16 engineering geologists became members of the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS).

Another major contribution to the geology of Myanmar was made by the Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), also known as the
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, from the 1970s to the 1980s in a technical cooperation programme involving geological
mapping, hydrocarbon exploration and seismic surveys in Kachin Sate and the Gulf of Martaban (e.g. Bannert 1980). The programme also included
mineral exploration of nickel laterite at Tagaung Taung, gold exploration at Kawlin, lead–zinc at Bawdwin and Quaternary alluvial gold–platinum in the
Chindwin area (e.g. Unger et al. 1996) in a project named the Eastern Chin and Arakan Mineral Survey (ECAMS) under Technical Service Corporation
(TSC), then Ministry of Industry No. 2. ECAMS produced several interim and final reports (e.g. ECAMS 1982, 1985) and also culminating in The Geology
of Burma by ‘the German team’ of Bender (1983) and his associates, with the co-operation of Myanmar geologists headed by U Than Htay and U Soe
Win.

In 1967 a national committee was set up to co-ordinate the various geological organizations in Myanmar through the UNESCO International Geological
Correlation Programme (IGCP). Field excursions have been organized annually to areas of geological interest under the auspices of the IGCP National
Committee, led by geologists of MOC, DGSE, Mining Corporations 1, 2 and 3, and Yangon and Mandalay universities. In 1977 the Earth Sciences Research
Division prepared and published the first edition of the 1:1 000 000-scale Geological Map of the whole of Myanmar.

Major contributions to our knowledge of the geology of Myanmar and adjacent territories have been made by the Geodynamics of India/Asia Collision
(GIAC) project funded by international oil companies working in Myanmar, led by TOTAL. This regional project was established to conduct fundamental
research on geodynamics between the Indian and Asian plates. Other Southeast Asian countries have participated in this collaborative effort, led by
French geologists and co-ordinated by Claude Rangin (CRNS, Nice University). In Myanmar, this project was joined by Myanmar geologists from MOGE
and the universities (GIAC 1999). Many valuable scientific papers have been published as the result of this project in recent years (e.g. Bertrand et al.
2001; Bertrand & Rangin 2003; Maurin & Rangin 2009; Maurin et al. 2010), and this project is still ongoing.

Petroleum geology

Natural oil from seepages and shallow pits at Beme and Twigon in the Yenangyuang (=oil creek) in central Myanmar has been utilized by local
people for medicine and preservatives from the earliest times. From the eleventh century, in the time of the Myanmar kings, oil was traded from the royal
capital of Bagan. The right to extract oil in the area was granted by the king to 24 heads of families, known as Twinzayos. Large quantities of crude oil
were extracted by local people from hand-dug wells, some reaching depths of 130 m. Oil was also produced from shallow pits or wells from Yanbye
(Ramree), Man-aung (Cheduba) and Phayongar (Baronga) islands along the Rakhine Coast. Crude oil was found to be useful in the preservation of wood,
bamboo and cane in buildings, carts, furniture and domestic utensils, protecting them from fungal and insect damage. It was also used for protecting
Buddhist texts inscribed on palm leaves.

The occurrence of petroleum in Myanmar was first reported in 1759 by Captain G. Baker, and later in 1800 by Major M. Symes, in 1825 by Captain H. Cox
and in 1929 by John Crawford (Chhibber 1934b; Nyi Nyi 1964; Khin Maung Gyi 1973). The first account of the geological setting of the petroleum
occurrences in the Yenangyat area was published by Thomas Oldham (1858), who noticed the relationship between anticlinal structures and petroleum
accumulations. In 1857 crude oil from Myanmar was exported to England for the extraction of wax for candles, for use as a lubricant and in oil lamps for
lighting. Reportedly, some oil was shipped to New York in 1859 (Anon 1946), the same year in which ‘Colonel’ Edwin Drake demonstrated that oil could
be extracted by drilling at Titusville, Pennsylvania, regarded as marking the beginning of the modern petroleum industry. In 1871 much of Myanmar's
crude oil was sold to the Rangoon Oil Company (ROC), which established an oil refinery at Danidaw near Yangon for the production of wax for candles,
the separation of kerosene for lamps and of heavier fractions for use as lubricants and fuel oil.

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In 1866, immediately after the British annexation of Upper Burma, the Burmah Oil Company (BOC) was founded to be followed by many other smaller,
short-lived oil companies. The BOC introduced cable tool and rotary drilling for extensive exploration in Central Myanmar in areas where local people had
previously extracted oil from surface pools. Drilling was then extended to other areas in Central Myanmar. BOC bought up the ROC refinery at Danidaw,
and subsequently established modern refineries in other parts of Myanmar.

Noetling (1889, 1897), Pascoe (1912), Stamp (1927), Lepper (1933) and Tainsh (1950) provided accounts of the geology of the areas of petroleum
occurrences. Later comprehensive accounts of the petroleum geology of Myanmar were provided by Aung Khin & Kyaw Win (1969), Bender (1983), most
recently by Racey & Ridd (2015) in the Geological Society of London's memoir on the Petroleum Geology of Myanmar, and Win Maw (2017) and Than
Htut (2017) in this volume.

Within a few decades the petroleum industry in Myanmar flourished and became one of the foremost industries in the British Empire. In 1941, at the
outbreak of war in the Pacific, one of the main aims of the Japanese Government was to gain access to this petroleum resource. However, to deny access
to the Japanese the British Government ordered the destruction of the oil wells and refineries in Burma.

After the war and after independence the oil industry was gradually re-established by the Burma Oil Company (1954) Ltd, a joint venture of the Myanmar
Government and the oil companies which had been operating in the country. However, oil production never reached pre-war levels. Eventually in 1963 the
Myanmar Government purchased the shares of the British partners in BOC (1954) Ltd and renamed the company the People's Oil Industry (POI). Initially
the POI was headed by U Sann Maung and later by Dr Aung Khin, a geologist and former student of Professor Dr Tha Hla at Rangoon University, assisted
by post-war graduates of the universities of Rangoon and Mandalay. The POI gradually expanded its activities, and is now represented by the MOGE and
the Energy Planning Department as well as other enterprises under the Ministry of Energy. In joint ventures with international oil companies, MOGE has
recently identified extensive gas reserves in the Myanmar offshore areas (e.g. Zawtika, Yetagun, Shwe, Mya and Shwe Phyu).

Since the new democratic government took power in 2011, and with the partial lifting of sanctions, Myanmar has emerged as a leading exploration target
for global and regional oil and gas explorers. Myanmar offered 30 offshore and onshore blocks for oil and gas exploration under Production Sharing
Contract (PSC) agreements in 2016 (Figs 1.3 & 1.4). Interest with bidding has been shown by several major international companies such as Woodside,
Daewoo, PTTE, Petronas, Total, Ophir, Unocal, Shell, PetroVietnam Chevron and BG with the collaboration of local partners. Most of these companies
undertook extensive offshore seismic surveys during 2015–16. The Woodside Company of Australia recently announced the discovery of a gas play in the
Shwe Yee Htun-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the Rakhine Basin in the western offshore area of Myanmar. The well intersected a gross gas column of
approximately 129 m. Approximately 15 m of net gas pay is interpreted within the primary target interval (ASX listing, 4 January 2016).

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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).

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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).

Myanmar has a total of 19 sedimentary basins including 15 onshore (e.g. Central Myanmar, Chindwin and Salin basins) and 4 offshore basins (e.g.
Moattama, Mergui and Rakhine). Although Myanmar has a long history of oil production since 1886, only one-third of the hydrocarbon-bearing areas has
been explored using modern techniques; the actual potential for oil and gas reserves of Myanmar is unknown. Currently, hydrocarbon exploration is
focused only on the Tertiary system; the pre-Tertiary systems are virtually untested (Lynn Myint 2015a).

Gem and jade industry



The gem and jade industries, involving both the government and the private sector, were previously controlled by the Ministry of Mines, now the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, through the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. At the time of the Myanmar kings, it was decreed
that gemstones of any size belonged rightfully to the king. Traditionally, nine different variety of gems (Nawarat Koe Pa) were reputed to have mystical
value in Myanmar: ruby, diamond, sapphire, emerald, zircon, pearl, coral, cat's eye (usually Chrysoberyl cat's eye) and topaz (although coral and pearl
are not strictly minerals). In addition to these mystical nine gems, tradition also recognized other gemstones such as jade, tourmaline, spinel, garnet and
peridot, all of which have indigenous Myanmar names. The largest Myanmar pearl (104.39 carats) came from the Mergui (Myeik) Peninsula. Among the
beads found from the ancient Pyu people of Central Mynmar are amber and jade. Myanmar amber, known as Burmite, of Albian–Cenomanian age from
Mongkweng, Kachin State contains some of the world's oldest insects, including bees.

Ruby and sapphire have been the best-known Myanmar gems for their quality since the earliest times. The extreme value of a Myanmar ruby is recorded
in an inscription on stone at the Manuhar Pagoda in Bagan, erected during the 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, commented on the abundance of
rubies and other precious stones. The Bolognese Ludovico di Varthema visited Tenasserim and Pegu around 1505–06. He described the king in Pegu as
wearing rubies to the value of a large city (Myo Min 1947). Caesar Fredericke, who visited Pegu in 1569, reported that there was a brisk trade in rubies
and that the King of Burma at Hanthawaddy was ‘The Lord of Mines of Rubies, Safires and Spinels’. He added that the king was so rich that the ‘idols’ in
the court were decorated with the ‘rarest rubies and safire’ (Chhibber 1934b). Ralph Fitch, who was the first Englishman to visit the Kingdom of Pegu in
1586, reported that the ruby mines were in the district of ‘Caplan’ (Kyatpyin), six days journey from Ava in the Kingdom of Pegu (Nyi Nyi 1964). None of
these foreign visitors to Pegu were permitted to visit the mining areas.

At the present time, rubies, sapphires and other less valuable gemstones such as spinel, garnet, peridot, apatite, feldspar and felspathoids are mined
mainly in the Mogok area where the gems are found in marble and syenite, and as placer deposits (Hughes 1997; Kyaw Thu & Khin Zaw 2017). More
recently, previously unknown or little-known areas such as Pyenglong, Mong Hsu, Namsa-hka and Nanyazeik have been actively mined and have
produced considerable quantities of inferior-quality gemstones.

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Burma Ruby Mines Ltd was established in 1887 by a British jeweller, Edwin Streeter, under exclusive license with the Indian Government. The company
intended to develop both underground and open-cast mechanized mining and the washing of placer deposits throughout the Mogok Stone Tract. A
hydroelectric generating plant, the first in Asia, was built in 1898 to power some of the machinery. Flooding of the workings during the rainy season was
a major problem until a tunnel was drilled 30 m below the workings to carry away the water. The business was highly lucrative until 1908, when gem
prices began to fall due to the arrival of synthetic gemstones on the market. Ruby prices were further depressed during the First World War; after the war
the company was badly managed and made unwise decisions. Eventually it was decided that mechanized mining was too expensive; the company went
into voluntary liquidation in 1925 and was declared bankrupt in 1931. Mining then reverted to indigenous mining using traditional methods. In 1969 the
gem mining industry was nationalized and independent mining and trading of gems was made illegal. The government established the Myanma Gems
Enterprise for gem mining by government-owned and local companies using mechanized mining; today the industry is flourishing. Myanmar rubies and
sapphires have the reputation of being of the finest quality in the world and Myanmar has proudly produced the largest pieces of uncut ruby (2145
carats), 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 since antiquity. The art of carving and polishing of jade was developed in China; for a long
time it was not appreciated that much of the raw material for the jade ornaments and jewellery sold in China originated in Myanmar. Jadeite (part of the
pyroxene group) occurs in only a few localities in the world, for example Myanmar, Tibet, South China, Japan, Guatemala, New Zealand and Mexico (Shi
et al. 2008).

Jadeitite dykes occur cutting serpentinite in the Hpakant area of Kachin State in northern Myanmar. Jadeite also occurs as boulders dispersed in the Uru
Boulder conglomerate, poorly consolidated Plio-Pleistocene alluvial deposits, in the Hpakant Basin, tilted and uplifted to more than 300 m, and are found
scattered along all the recent drainage systems in the area (Chhibber 1934b). The largest piece of jade found measured 21.34 m × 9.14 m × 4.9 m, with
an estimated weight of 3050 metric tonnes (Tin Kha 2001). The Hpakant Basin is the most important jade locality in the world and is now worked
extensively, using heavy machinery (Kyaw Thu & Khin Zaw 2017).

Lead–zinc–silver

Several lead–zinc occurrences are known in Myanmar, and a few of them contain significant amounts of silver. Reportedly, the famous Ming
Dynasty silver was mined in part from Myanmar Territory. Silver was mined by the Chinese for a period of 450 years from the early part of the fourteenth
century at the world-renowned Bawdwin Mine in Northern Shan State until mining was terminated around AD 1850 due to the Panthay Rebellion against
the Manchu Government (1856–73) by Chinese Muslims (Hui) and other minority ethnic groups in Yunnan. Slag left by the old miners can still be found at
several localities in the country at the present day.

The abundance of old workings in the Bawdwin area attracted the attention of mining companies, and in 1891 a British company formed the Burma Mines
Development and Agency, obtaining a lease in the area which covered four square miles. The enterprise changed hands several times before being taken
over by the Burma Corporation Ltd (Chhibber 1934b). Initially the company smelted slag left by the old miners at Mandalay, but also conducted intensive
exploration in the Bawdwin area. Ore was discovered at deeper levels and the company developed a successful modern mine at Bawdwin, with an ore
dressing plant and smelter in the Namtu area. Before the Second World War the mine became the most important in Myanmar and in the whole of the
British Indian Empire. Production ceased during the earlier part of the war, but the Japanese reopened the mine until the concentrator plant was severely
damaged by allied bombing. After the war the mine was rehabilitated by the Burma Corporation (1951) Ltd. However, production never reached pre-war
levels, due to the lack of an adequate concentrator plant. The Bawdwin Mine was nationalized in 1965. Oxidized near-surface ore is now being mined
because the rich underground ore at Bawdwin has declined gradually in reserve and grade.

In addition to lead and silver, the Bawdwin ores contain zinc, copper, antimony and nickel. Old slag containing zinc still remains at the smelter site and
the original copper-rich portion of the ore body remains in place at depth in the mine. The administration of the mining and extraction of lead, zinc, silver
and copper is the responsibility of the No. 1 Mining Enterprise of the previous Ministry of Mines. The geological setting, exploration and mining of the
Bawdwin Mine is described by Gardiner et al. (2017) and the history and origins of the other lead–zinc–silver deposits in Myanmar are discussed by
Than Htun et al. (2017a).

Copper

Several copper occurrences are known in Myanmar (Khin Zaw et al. 2017); the most important is the high-sulphidation copper deposits on the
west bank of the Chindwin River, opposite Monywa City (Myint Soe et al. 2017). Attempts had been made to mine this deposit from the time of the
Myanmar kings but this low-grade, large-tonnage high-sulphidation copper type of mineralization requires the use of heavy mining equipment and
modern metal extraction techniques, requiring substantial investment for the development of a successful mining operation. This type of deposit occurs in
magmatic arcs all around the Pacific Rim and along the Alpine–Himalayan Tethyan Orogenic Belt. Successful methods for the exploitation of these
deposits, in contrast to the rich ores of lode type, were only developed at the beginning of the twentieth century. It has taken some time for mining of
the Monywa deposit to be developed successfully.

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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 and DGSE geologists with the support of the Colombo Plan, UNDP, JICA and Yugoslavia, and the assistance of expatriate
geologists. Mining became fully operational in 1986 and pure metallic copper has been extracted since 2000. The ore deposit fortunately contains the
minerals chalcocite and covellite, which are soluble in acid and amenable to solution with the electrolytic extraction (SX-EW) of pure copper. The Ivanhoe
Mining Company reported that this deposit is of world class, and forms the second-largest source of copper in Southeast Asia. The deposit was sold
recently by the Ivanhoe Mining Company and is currently operated by the Wabao Company of China.

Chromite-nickel ± platinum

Myanmar has sizeable nickel-chromite ± PGE deposits associated with three north-south-trending ophiolitic belts of Jurassic to Cretaceous-Eocene
age: the Western Ophiolitic belt (WOB); the Central Ophiolitic belt (COB); and the Eastern Ophiolitic belt (EOB) (Hla Htay et al. 2017; Khin Zaw et al.
2017). Chromite mineralization occurs as pods and disseminations in serpentinized dunite and peridotite. The most significant lateritic nickel deposits
occur at Tagaung Taung and Mwetaung. The Tagaung Taung nickel deposit is in the Tigyaing township (Htigyaing township), Katha district, Sagaing
division in the EOB of northern Myanmar and the mine is currently operated by the China Nonferrous Metal Mining (CNMC) Group. The Mwetaung lateritic
nickel deposit is in weathered peridotite and serpentinite of WOB in the Chin State. The feasibility studies was completed in 2014 by a joint venture of
Jinshan (Hong Kong) International Mining Company (100% subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group), China North Industries Corporation and Myanmar
Government. Secondary PGE-Au mineral occurrences are also found in Quaternary placers in the Upper Chindwin and Uyu rivers and in the area around
Lake Indawgyi.

Tin and tungsten



Tin and tungsten minerals occur in pegmatite and quartz veins along the margins of granitic bodies and in sedimentary rocks close to intrusive
granite contacts (Mi Paik 2017; Than Htun et al. 2017b). Primary tin and tungsten, and associated detrital and placer deposits, have long been known
to occur in a linear belt extending northwards from Tananitharyi (Tenasserim) along the western margin of the Shan Plateau to the Yamethin area,
forming the northern branch of the Southeast Asian Tin belt, which continues southwards through Peninsular Thailand and Malaysia to the Indonesian
islands of Bangka and Billiton. Mining and smelting of tin was carried out by local people in Myanmar long before the arrival of the British. In 1599 an
English traveller, Ralph Fitch, reported that there were great stores of tin in Tenasserim, which supplied the whole of India. In the 1930s the Mawchi Mine
in Kayah State (Aung Zaw Myint et al. 2017) was the most important source of tungsten in the world; during the First World War, and again in the
Korean War, the Mawchi Mine and other tungsten-rich mines made huge profits when tungsten prices were unusually high.

Placer tin is being mined north and east of Dawei (Tavoy) in the Tanintharyi Region, near offshore in the Kanbauk Basin and onshore in the Heinda Basin,
by No. 2 Mining Enterprise and by several private companies. UNDP-assisted project BUR/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 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 tonnes and P-3 category tin ore reserve of 1805 tonnes were
estimated in five potential offshore areas (Than Htun et al. 2017b). There are still potential tin mining prospects offshore in the southern portion of the
Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago.

Gold

Gold occurs in placer deposits and in unconsolidated or poorly consolidated Quaternary–Recent detrital sediments and as primary deposits in
quartz veins in igneous and metamorphic rocks in many parts of Myanmar (Ye Myint Swe et al. 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 Quaternary gravels of
the Momeik-Bamaw tract. Indigenous mining has been conducted in several areas since the time of the Myanmar kings, when the local people paid an
annual tribute to the king in gold. As placer gold is so widespread, primary gold deposits can be expected in the upper reaches of the river drainage
basins.

Quartz veins with gold mineralization are widespread in the Wuntho volcanic-plutonic region and on the western margins of the Shan Plateau in the Slate
Belt and the Mogok Metamorphic Belt (MMB). Mining of primary gold deposits has been conducted at Kyaukpazat to the north of Wuntho since before the
First World War, and continues at a small scale today by a local company. Private companies are also working presently in the Wuntho-Bamauk area and
in several areas along the western margin of the Shan Plateau, including Modi Taung, east of Tatkon and Phayaung Taung, NE of Mandalay. Most of the
primary gold deposits are mesothermal orogenic mineralization, but the Kyaukpahto gold ores in the Kawlin area are Carlin-like sediment-hosted deposits
in Eocene turbiditic sandstones and are found to be highly refractory (Khin Zaw 2008; Ye Myint Swe & Cho Cho Aye 2009). Gold mineralization in the
MMB occurs as skarn-type or as orogenic gold-quartz veins in marbles, calc-silicates and gneisses (e.g. Thabeikkyin-Kwinthonze area). Gold mining,
together with tin and tungsten mining, was previously administered by the Ministry of Mines but now by No. 2 Mining Enterprise of the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environmental Conservation.

Antimony

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Antimony is currently a ‘critical metal’ in the world economy and in 2014 Myanmar became the second largest producer of antimony ores in the
world, after China (Toe Aung Kyaw 2017). Antimony deposits are widely distributed in Kayah, Kayin and Mandalay Region of Myanmar. The 
majority of antimony deposits in Myanmar are formed as shallow, low-temperature hydrothermal deposits filling fissures, joints, shear zones and
selectively replacing rocks, showing preference for massive carbonates. The antimony minerals in Myanmar are stibnite, senarmontite, valentinite,
cervantite, kermesite and rarely native antimony. The Palaeozoic stratabound antimony deposits are the most important style of mineralization in
Myanmar (e.g. Tha Byu and Natsan). At Lebyin, the stibnite veins are hosted in greywacke, quartzite and shales of possible Carboniferous age and closely
associated with Mesozoic granite intrusion; antimony may be accompanied by arsenic and gold. The geological settings, classification, distribution and
origins of the antimony ores in Myanmar are described by Toe Aung Kyaw (2017).

Geological hazards

Myanmar, situated in a tectonically active zone of continental collision, oceanic subduction and strike-slip faulting, is a highly seismic zone and is
extremely earthquake prone with many recorded earthquakes (Oldham 1833; Brown & Leicester 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 earthquakes with Mw ≥ 1.5 were
recorded in 2014. Notable historical earthquakes occurred in 1839 at Inn-wa, in 1930 at Bago, in 1975 at Bagan and in 2003 at Taungdwingyi. However,
not all instrumentally recorded earthquakes produce significant effects such as the destruction of buildings or other infrastructure or deaths in the
population. These effects depend on the magnitude of the earthquake, its depth, the amount of movement, the nature of the substrate (with the effects
being less on solid rock and greatest on soft alluvial sediments) and on the density of the population in the affected area.

It is estimated that 3 cm of the average 5 cm annual movement between the Indian Plate and Southeast Asia is taken up by strike-slip and thrust
motions, distributed along numerous faults in the Indo-Myanmar Ranges of Myanmar. The remaining 2 cm is taken up along the Sagaing and associated
strike-slip faults further east (Vigny et al. 2003). Earthquakes of Richter magnitude 4.3–4.5 are extremely frequent in the India–Myanmar border region
and along the Rakhine Coast, with 12 events in the first 5 months of 2012. The depth of earthquake hypocentres related to the eastwards subduction of
the Indian Plate beneath Myanmar increases from >50 km along the Rakhine Coast to c. 250 km beneath the Central Lowlands (Satyabala 2003). Further
east, a concentration of shallow hypocentres is related to strike-slip movements along the Sagaing Fault and related faults, extending northwards from
the Ayeryarwaddy Delta into the Central Lowlands. In 1975 a magnitude 6.5 earthquake on the Richter scale occurred near Bagan, the ancient capital of
Myanmar. Fortunately, the earthquake occurred in a sparsely populated area and only one person was killed; several ancient monuments were, however,
damaged, in particular near the Ayeyarwaddy River, and three production rigs in the Chauk oilfield were toppled. The cost of the damage was estimated
at $500 000. According to the Myanmar Director of Archaeology, this was the worst earthquake recorded in Bagan over the last 900 years.

Hurukawa & Maung Maung (2011) relocated six historical earthquakes of Mw ≥ 7.0 which had occurred since 1918 along the Sagaing Fault. They
identified two seismic gaps along which earthquakes of up to Mw 7.9 may be expected in the near future. This is significant since the trace of the fault
passes through Nay Pyi Taw, the recently established capital of Myanmar. The Myanmar Earthquake Committee (MEC) in collaboration with the Earth
Observatory of Singapore (EOS), Nanyang Technological University commenced a research programme along the Sagaing Fault in 2010, establishing
Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) adjacent to the fault to monitor present-day movements. The group is excavating trenches along the trace of the
fault to determine the timing and slip rate of past phases of movement along the fault, in collaboration with Japanese universities, EOS and Royal
Holloway University of London (e.g. Than Tin Aung et al. 2006; Tsutsumi & Sato 2009; Wang et al. 2011, 2014; Soe Thura 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 related to strike-slip movements in
the central part of Southeast Asia, extending into China. In 2011 an earthquake of magnitude Mw 6.8 occurred in eastern Shan State near Tachileik,
adjacent to the borders with Thailand and Laos. A total of 73 people were killed and houses, government buildings, Buddhist monasteries, roads and
bridges were damaged.

Myanmar is also exposed to other natural hazards, especially storms, cyclones, floods and landslides, often leading to disasters that affect many more
people than earthquakes. For example, earthquake-related disasters have led to 812 reported deaths since 1930, while floods and landslides resulted in
145 598 deaths over the same period (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters 2017). Floods in 2015 affected 12 out of 14 states and
regions, displaced over 1.6 million people, and directly affected more than 5 million people in terms of damage to livelihoods, public and private
infrastructure and extensive impacts on the agriculture sector. Losses to the economy due to these floods and landslides were estimated at about 1.7% of
2014 gross domestic product (Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2015). The worst-hit areas were in the central and western part of
the country, based on rainfall and river discharge data provided by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. The department conducted
hydrological simulations over the period 1979–2015 using satellite-derived data, and performed extreme-value analysis (Gumbel). These analyses
characterized the 2015 floods as a rare event, one with an estimated return period of 20–50 years depending on the location within the Ayeyarwady
subcatchments (Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2015).

The floods also caused morphological changes leading to river bank erosion, newly eroded river channels and landslides in mountainous areas. In Hakha
Township in the Chin State, unprecedented rainfall caused devastating landslides. During the last week of July 2015, over 30% more rain fell on Hakha
than in any other month over the past 25 years. The monthly rainfall of July 2015 measured at the weather station in Hakha would be equal to a 1-in-

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1000-years rainfall. This, combined with the nature of mudstone, shale and colluvial deposits around Hakha, explains the widespread and devastating
landslides and, in particular, the reactivation of a large, old and deep-seated landslide on which parts of Hakha had been built, as revealed by a detailed
geological and geo-engineering study (Win Myint et al. 2015). The massive landslide affecting Hakha was known locally as the Rung Taung Landslide and
has elsewhere been called the Tonzang Landslide, the largest non-seismic landslide for a decade. Satellite and seismic data showed that the landslide
measured 5.9 km from the crown to the toe of the deposit, with a mass of 395 million tonnes (Ekstrom & Stark 2013). The Rung Taung and other
landslides caused extensive destruction to roads and homes; in Hakha, hundreds of houses were relocated to a safer area.

The huge tsunami generated by the December 2004 earthquake, with an epicentre off the coast of Sumatra, caused considerable destruction and loss of
life in eight countries around the Indian Ocean. In Myanmar, with 71 fatalities (Satake et al. 2006), the tsunami was much less destructive than in
Sumatra, Thailand and Sri Lanka, but life in low-lying coastal communities in Rakhine State and parts of Ayeyarwaddy and Tanintharyi regions suffered
major disruption, with the loss of livelihoods due to the destruction of fishing boats and fishing nets. Unfortunately these same areas were more severely
affected a few years later by cyclone Nargis in 2008; the 4 m high wall of water left at least 140 000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, with rice
fields inundated and rendered unproductive by the influx of salt water.

Environment and sustainability of resources



Myanmar is endowed with abundant natural and mineral resources. However, as in many other developing countries, Myanmar is suffering from
environmental degradation as a result of deforestation with concomitant soil erosion and the release into the environment of waste materials containing
deleterious chemicals from mining, industrial processes and modern agricultural practices.

Environmental degradation and social impacts have increased in recent years due to the application of unregulated methods in mining and processing to
increase productivity. The growing trend towards new mining methods, particularly the shift from underground to open-cut methods and to mining and
processing of low-grade ores, will contribute to the generation of large volumes of waste rock and tailings; these present a major challenge for disposal,
particularly in the Jade mining area of Phakant, northern Myanmar (Kyi Htun 2014). The absence of an efficient legal framework for artisanal and small-
scale mining (ASM) for gold and gemstones, together with the application of mechanized mining, contribute to the adverse environmental and social
impact of mining operations. Myanmar's newly promulgated environmental law (2012) provides no details on environmental and social impact
assessment or the participation of communities in the conservation of the environment. Efficient guidelines are needed, and continuous monitoring and
life-cycle assessment (LCA) are essential for the greening of Myanmar's mining sector.

Despite the fact that Myanmar is endowed with world-class resources, the mineral industry is still in its infancy due to several decades of isolation. As the
extractive industry in Myanmar (including the energy and mineral sectors) is now in a renaissance stage, transparent management plans/programmes for
training, community engagement and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are critically important for the sustainability of the industry. Strict
environmental guidelines need to be established and implemented for mineral and energy exploration and mining and processing to avoid pollution, acid
mine drainage and cyanide, mercury and arsenic contamination. By doing so, revenues from the mining and extractive industries can benefit future
generations and the development of the country without the ‘curse’ of polluting resources in the future (Khin Zaw 2015a, b, 2016).

In order to achieve sustainable development, all the PSC operators have to conduct Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessments related to
petroleum operations, and submit specific environmental management plans before the start of work programmes. PSC operators should also be required
to submit a CSR programme throughout the period of exploration and production. With huge untapped oil and gas reserves and a strategic location
adjacent to the giant energy consumers of China, India and Thailand, Myanmar has recently become a ‘hot spot’ in the Southeast Asia region for
international petroleum players (Lynn Myint 2015b).

Sustainable growth and development is an essential requirement, not only for the extraction of the mineral and energy resources of Myanmar, but also
for the protection and preservation of the country's geoheritage with the establishment of well-regulated geoparks, geo-ecotourism and agritourism.
Within the framework of the UNESCO GeoPark program (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth-sciences/unesco-global-
geoparks/), Myanmar is on the verge of joining the UNESCO Global Geoparks network (U Than Htun, pers. comm. 2017). Myanmar has internationally
significant monumental geosites suitable for the establishment of geoparks, such as Mt Popa Volcano near the cultural city of Pagan, which has a
geological as well as a national/historical heritage, and the Hukuang Valley in Kachin State. Other potential sites include the Padaukpin Coral Reef in
Northern Shan State, which is world-renowned as a site with a diverse Palaeozoic fossil assemblage. This site contains a marine biota that flourished in
the Palaeotethys Ocean, similar to the present-day diverse faunal and floral community around the Galapagos Islands. In addition, there are many caves
throughout the country and also gem and jade mining areas in northern Myanmar. All these sites are currently being badly exploited and maintained;
they are rapidly disappearing and the environment is becoming hugely degraded. If these assets are not properly managed and regulated, there will be
nothing left for future generations to enjoy.

© 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London

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

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Geological Society, London, Memoirs

Volume 48, 2017


Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics
A. J. Barber, Royal Holloway University of London, UK
Khin Zaw, University of Tasmania, Australia and
M. J. Crow, Nottingham, UK

Table of Contents
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 About this title ‐ Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics


Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, NP, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48

Foldout map

 Geological map of Myanmar


Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, NP, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.33

Articles

 Chapter 1 Introduction to the geology of Myanmar


Khin Zaw, Win Swe, A. J. Barber, M. J. Crow and Yin Yin Nwe
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 1-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.1

 Chapter 2 Active tectonics of Myanmar and the Andaman Sea


R. A. Sloan, J. R. Elliott, M. P. Searle and C. K. Morley
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 19-52, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.2

 Chapter 3 Active and recent tectonics of the Burma Platelet in Myanmar


Claude Rangin
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 53-64, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.3

 Chapter 4 Geological and tectonic evolution of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR) in the Myanmar region
Kyi Khin, Khin Zaw and Lin Thu Aung
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 65-79, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.4

 Chapter 5 Arakan Coastal Ranges in western Myanmar, geology and provenance of Neogene siliciclastic sequences: implications for the tectonic
evolution of the Himalaya–Bengal System
Kyi Khin, T. Sakai and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 81-116, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.5

 Chapter 6 The mafic–ultramafic (ophiolitic) rocks of Myanmar


Hla Htay, Khin Zaw and Than Than Oo
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 117-141, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.6

 Chapter 7 Cretaceous geology of Myanmar and Cenozoic geology in the Central Myanmar Basin
Naing Maw Than, Kyi Khin and Myint Thein

http://mem.lyellcollection.org/content/48/1 1/4
12/26/2017 Table of Contents — January 01, 2017, 48 (1) | Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 143-167, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.7

 Chapter 8 The Eastern (Back-arc) Basin of Central Myanmar: Basement rocks, lithostratigraphic units, palaeocurrents, provenance and
developmental history
Myint Thein and Maung Maung
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 169-183, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.8

 Chapter 9 Review of the investigation of primate fossils in Myanmar


Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein, Thaung-Htike, Aung Naing Soe, Chit Sein, Maung-Maung and Masanaru Takai
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 185-206, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.9

 Chapter 10 Historical review of the contribution of geophysics to petroleum discoveries in the Tertiary basins of Myanmar
Win Maw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 207-218, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.10

 Chapter 11 Myanmar petroleum systems, including the offshore area


Than Htut
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 219-260, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.11

 Chapter 12 Tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the Mogok Metamorphic and Jade Mines belts and ophiolitic terranes of Burma (Myanmar)
M. P. Searle, C. K. Morley, D. J. Waters, N. J. Gardiner, U. Kyi Htun, Than Than Nu and L. J. Robb
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 261-293, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.12

 Chapter 13 Jadeitite and other high-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Jade Mines Belt, Tawmaw area, Kachin State, northern Myanmar
Thet Tin Nyunt, Hans-Joachim Massonne and Tay Thye Sun
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 295-315, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.13

 Chapter 14 Cambrian–Devonian stratigraphy of the Shan Plateau, Myanmar (Burma)


Aye Ko Aung and L. Robin M. Cocks
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 317-342, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.14

 Chapter 15 Sedimentary facies and biotic associations in the Permian–Triassic limestones on the Shan Plateau, Myanmar
Zaw Win, Kyi Kyi Shwe and Ohnmar Soe Yin
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 343-363, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.15

 Chapter 16 Karen–Tenasserim Unit


Michael F. Ridd
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 365-384, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.16

 Chapter 17 Geochemistry and geochronology of granites hosting the Mawchi Sn–W deposit, Myanmar: implications for tectonic setting and
emplacement
Aung Zaw Myint, Khin Zaw, Ye Myint Swe, Kotaro Yonezu, Yue Cai, Takayuki Manaka and Koichiro Watanabe
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 385-400, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.17

 Chapter 18 Geochemistry and geochronology of granitoid rocks in the Mawpalaw Taung area, Thanbyuzayat Township, southern Myanmar: their
petrogenesis and tectonic setting
Mi Paik
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 401-412, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.18

 Chapter 19 The Sagaing Fault, Myanmar


Soe Thura Tun and Ian M. Watkinson
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 413-441, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.19

 Chapter 20 Current tectonic activity along the Sagaing Fault, Myanmar indicated by alluvial fans
Myint Thein
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 443-452, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.20

 Chapter 21 The Kyaukkyan Fault, Myanmar


Soe Min, Ian M. Watkinson, Soe Thura Tun, Win Naing and Tin Lwin Swe
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 453-471, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.21

 Chapter 22 Remote sensing and GIS studies of alteration and predictive mineral exploration in the Central Volcanic Arc, Myanmar

http://mem.lyellcollection.org/content/48/1 2/4
12/26/2017 Table of Contents — January 01, 2017, 48 (1) | Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Myint Soe, Isao Takashima, Khin Zaw and Ye Myint Swe
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 473-496, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.22

 Chapter 23 Gem deposits of Myanmar


Kyaw Thu and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 497-529, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.23

 Chapter 24 Overview of mineralization styles and tectonic–metallogenic setting in Myanmar


Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 531-556, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.24

 Chapter 25 Gold deposits of Myanmar


Ye Myint Swe, Cho Cho Aye and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 557-572, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.25

 Chapter 26 Copper deposits of Myanmar


Khin Zaw, Ye Myint Swe, Tin Aung Myint and J. Knight
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 573-588, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.26

 Chapter 27 Lead–zinc–silver deposits of Myanmar


Than Htun, Aung Kyin and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 589-623, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.27

 Chapter 28 Tin–tungsten deposits of Myanmar


Than Htun, Than Htay and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 625-647, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.28

 Chapter 29 Antimony deposits of Myanmar


Toe Aung Kyaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 649-668, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.29

 Chapter 30 The Bawdwin Mine, Myanmar: a review of its geological setting and genesis
Nicholas J. Gardiner, Laurence J. Robb, Michael P. Searle, Kyi Htun and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 669-686, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.30

 Chapter 31 The pre-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of Myanmar


A. J. Barber, Khin Zaw and M. J. Crow
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 687-712, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.31

 Appendix Geochronology in Myanmar (1964–2017)


M. J. Crow and Khin Zaw
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 713-759, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.32

Erratum

 Karen–Tenasserim Unit
Michael F. Ridd
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 1, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.16err

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Chapter 1 Introduction to the geology of Myanmar

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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
1
CODES ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 126, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
2
Myanmar Geosciences Society, 303 MES Building, Hlaing University Campus, Yangon, Myanmar
3
Department of Earth Sciences, Southeast Asian Research Group, Royal Holloway, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
4
28a Lenton Road, The Park, Nottingham NG7 1DT, UK
5
Myanmar Applied Earth Sciences Association (MAESA), 15 (C) Pyidaungsu Lane, Bahan, Yangon, Myanmar
*Correspondence: khin.zaw@utas.edu.au

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 December 24, 2017

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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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).
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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
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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 drainage basins.
belt (EOB) (Hla Htay et al. 2017; Khin Zaw et al. 2017). Chro- Quartz veins with gold mineralization are widespread in the
mite mineralization occurs as pods and disseminations in ser- Wuntho volcanic-plutonic region and on the western margins
pentinized dunite and peridotite. The most significant 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
Htun et al. 2017b). 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
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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
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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)
the participation of communities in the conservation of the Gondwana and Tethys. Geological Society, London, Special Pub-
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037.01.07
monitoring and life-cycle assessment (LCA) are essential for
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-
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In order to achieve sustainable development, all the PSC ical Exploration of the Chindwin Basin, Burma. Unpublished
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sciences/unesco-global-geoparks/), Myanmar is on the verge of Padatgyaung area of Central Burma. Institute of Geological Sci-
joining the UNESCO Global Geoparks network (U Than Htun, ences, Overseas Division Report 25.
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has a geological as well as a national/historical heritage, and the
NGAI CHAN, G. 2016. Detrital chrome spinel evidence for a
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the Padaukpin Coral Reef in Northern Shan State, which is Paleocene. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 128, 90–104.
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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-
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  

Chapter 2 Active tectonics of Myanmar and the Andaman Sea


R. A. Sloan, J. R. Elliott, M. P. Searle and C. K. Morley
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 19-52, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1144/M48.2

 Previous Next 

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Burma (Myanmar) is situated along the obliquely colliding eastern margin of the Indian Plate (Fig. 2.1). It connects the ongoing India–Asia collision
along the Himalayan Range in the north to the newly formed oceanic crust in the Andaman Sea in the south, via the active plate margin along the 
dextral Sagaing Fault and subduction along the Burma Seismic Zone. The active tectonics of Myanmar are controlled by the combination of: (1) the
continuing northwards penetration of India into Asia, ongoing since the initial collision and closing of the Tethyan ocean c. 50 Ma; (2) the active dextral
shear along the right-lateral Sagaing strike-slip fault, and region to the west across the Indo-Burma Ranges or Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR); (3) the
active eastwards-dipping Burma Seismic Zone that indicates subduction of a downgoing plate to depths of >150 km; (4) the clockwise rotation around
the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis and a series of arcuate strike-slip faults (e.g. Nanting and Wanding faults) in the northern Shan Plateau; and (5) the
active extensional and strike-slip tectonics in the back-arc Andaman Sea. In this paper we review the active tectonics of this region and discuss the
interactions and driving mechanisms of deformation in and around Myanmar.

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Fig. 2.1.

Seismotectonic map of Myanmar (Burma) and surroundings. Faults are from Taylor & Yin (2009) with minor additions and adjustments. GPS vectors show velocities relative to a
fixed India from Vernant et al. (2014), Gahalaut et al. (2013), Maurin et al. (2010) and Gan et al. (2007). Coloured circles indicate Mw > 5 earthquakes from the EHB
catalogue. Grey events are listed for depths <50 km, yellow for depths of 50–100 km and red for depths >100 km. The band of yellow and red earthquakes beneath the Indo-
Burman Ranges represents the Burma Seismic Zone. The dashed black line shows the line of the cross-section in Figure 2.13. ASRR, Ailao Shan-Red River Shear Zone.

The northwards motion of India relative to Eurasia resulted in the closing of the intervening Neotethyan Ocean at c. 50 Ma (Green et al. 2008) and
formation of the Himalayan mountain range. In this time, India–Eurasia convergence has slowed from c. 15 cm a−1 to c. 4 cm a−1 (Molnar & Stock 2009;
Copley et al. 2010). GPS velocities show that convergence along a NNE azimuth continues to this day north of the Himalaya, with a significant shift to
more easterly directed shear in NE and eastern Tibet (Gan et al. 2007). GPS relative motions and the traces of active faults show a major curvature
around the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis region that involves clockwise crustal rotations in Yunnan and northern Myanmar. Since the initiation of the

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dextral Sagaing Fault, the eastern plate margin of India has shown an oblique convergence direction with transpressively uplifted mountain ranges and
transtensional sedimentary basins to the west of the fault (e.g. Pivnik et al. 1998; Bertrand & Rangin 2003).

The Sagaing Fault is the major active structure in Myanmar, accommodating right-lateral motion at current rates of c. 18–22 mm a−1 (Vigny et al. 2003;
Maurin et al. 2010). In the north, the fault splays into several strands that bound transpressively uplifted mountain ranges composed of the Katha-
Gangaw and Tagaung-Myitkina metamorphic belts (Searle et al. 2007). In the south the Sagaing Fault extends into the Andaman Sea, where it eventually
connects to the present-day back-arc spreading centre (Curray 2005; Morley 2012).

The presence of ongoing subduction of an Indian slab beneath Myanmar is controversial. Seismological evidence has been cited both in support of (Stork
et al. 2008; Hurukawa et al. 2012) and against (Kundu & Gahalaut 2012; Rangin et al. 2013) ongoing subduction at the present day. This debate has
important implications for our understanding of the seismic hazard and tectonics of the region. The petrology and geochemistry of andesites, dacites and
rhyolites erupted from three Pliocene-active calc-alkaline volcanoes above the Burma Seismic Zone suggests that they were derived from melting above a
subducting slab of oceanic lithosphere (Stephenson & Marshall 1984).

With respect to the progression of deformation through time, a number of tectonic features (such as the Tripura Fold Belt, uplift of the Shillong Plateau
and the onset of the Sagaing Fault) appear to have initiated quite late in the history of the Indian–Eurasian collision (within the last c. 20 Ma; e.g. Clark &
Bilham 2008; Maurin & Rangin 2009). Additionally, some major faults (such as the Wanding, Menglian and Menxing faults) appear to have reversed their
sense of slip during this time (e.g. Lacassin et al. 1998). Understanding this reorganization is an important step in understanding the dynamics that
drives the deformation and development of active structures in this complex system.

Central Burma Basin and the Sagaing Fault



Central Burma Basin

The Central Burma Basin (CBB) represents a relatively aseismic sliver of material set within an extremely tectonically complex region (Figs 2.1 and 2.2).
The CBB lies between the Sagaing Fault and the Indo-Burman Ranges. The CBB is affected by the Indian Plate (which is moving rapidly northwards
relative to stable Eurasia) and the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, where material is moving southeastwards relative to stable Eurasia, driven
by the extrusion of Tibetan material between the Eastern Syntaxis and the Sichuan Basin. Consequently the CBB lies at the centre of a region undergoing
intense right-lateral shear. Much of this strain is being accommodated by the north–south-striking Sagaing Fault (18–22 mm a−1). This fault has
dominated the historical and instrumental records of seismicity in Myanmar, and we describe it in more detail below. The majority of other seismicity
recorded beneath Myanmar occurs within the subducted Indian Plate, at depths of up to 160 km (e.g. Stork et al. 2008). These earthquakes form the
Burma Seismic Zone, which is discussed in detail in the section ‘Seismicity within the downgoing Indian plate’. First we briefly discuss the tectonics and
seismicity of the lowlands of Myanmar west of the Sagaing Fault.

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Fig. 2.2.

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Seismotectonic map of Myanmar (Burma). Faults are from Taylor & Yin (2009) with minor additions and adjustments. GPS vectors show velocities relative to a fixed Eurasia
from Maurin et al. (2010). Slip rate estimates on the Sagaing Fault are given in blue and are from a, Bertrand et al. (1998); b, Vigny et al. (2003); c, Maurin et al. (2010); and
d, Wang et al. (2011). Major earthquakes (Ms ≥7) are shown by yellow stars for the period 1900–76 from International Seismological Centre (2011) and by red stars for the
period 1836–1900 from Le Dain et al. (1984). The location and magnitude of the Mb 7.5 1946 earthquake is taken from Hurukawa & Maung Maung (2011). Earthquake focal
mechanisms are taken from the GCMT catalogue (Ekström et al. 2005) and show Mw ≥5.5 earthquakes, listed as being shallower than 30 km in the period 1976–2014. IR,
Irrawaddy River; CR, Chindwin River; HV, Hukawng Valley; UKS, Upper Kachin State; SF, Sagaing Fault; KF, Koma Fault. The inset panel is an enlargement of the area within
the dashed grey box. It shows the dense GPS network in this area.

Southern Central Burma Basin

South of 23° N the CBB underwent dextral transpressional deformation during the Late Miocene–Recent, creating a series of en echelon folds and some
thrusts which form the hilly Pegu Yoma region and the larger, more widely spaced structures of the western Central Burma Basin (e.g. Pivnik et al. 1998;
Bertrand & Rangin 2003) (Fig. 2.3). These latter structures include the major fold-and-thrust hydrocarbon traps. Overall the structural style corresponds
well with the classic strike-slip structural styles described for California (e.g. Harding & Lowell 1979; Sylvester 1988). Anticlines are commonly related to
thrust fault development, but are also strongly compartmentalized by normal and oblique-slip faults that trend at high angles to the fault axis, a style
more typical of strike-slip deformation (e.g. Harding & Lowell 1979) than compressional fold-and-thrust belts. Further east, structures are generally
larger and simpler and become intense and complex passing eastwards towards the Sagaing Fault in the Pegu Yoma area. Perhaps as much as 18 km
thickness of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks is present in parts of the Central Basin (Pivnik et al. 1998). Consequently, deformation of such thick sequences
does not permit the development of simple fault systems traversing the entire sedimentary sequence. Multiple detachments and different levels of folding
and thrusting have developed within the basin. The shortening may also be driven by the gravitational energy contrast between the Central Burma Basin
and the Shan Plateau in the east, caused by the extrusion of Tibetan material around the Eastern Syntaxis (see ‘Eastern Syntaxis to the Shan Pleateau’
section below).

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Fig. 2.3.

Regional setting, and fault geometries and uplift distribution associated with the Sagaing Fault.

A number of shallow events reported by the GCMT catalogue (Ekström et al. 2005) suggest that these structures may still be active. GCMT centroid
locations have been shown to have large uncertainties (up to c. 30 km, Elliott et al. 2010; up to c. 60 km, Weston et al. 2011), but at least two moderate
earthquakes are likely to have occurred on structures other than the main mapped Sagaing Fault. The Mw 6.6 2003 Taungdwingyi earthquake most likely
occurred on a north–south-trending right-lateral strike-slip fault, parallel to the Sagaing Fault, to the west of the Pegu Yoma region (Fig. 2.2). Damage
from this earthquake is reported in the town of Taungdwingyi (Thein et al. 2009), so is unlikely to have occurred to the east of the Pegu Yoma range. This
earthquake suggests that some of the right-lateral shear is distributed on structures other than the Sagaing Fault (also see Maurin & Rangin 2009). There
is also some evidence for active transpressive shortening with the 2007 Mw 5.6 NW–SE-striking thrust earthquake that occurred on the western flank of
the Pegu Yoma structure.

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In the SW of Myanmar, the historical record includes a cluster of earthquakes in the period 1843–58 around the city of Pyay, 50–150 km west of the
Sagaing Fault (Fig. 2.2; Le Dain et al. 1984). Eyewitness reports stated that the 1858 earthquake caused flow in the Irrawaddy to reverse in this region
(Oldham 1883), and Wang et al. (2014) suggest that this may be because the earthquake uplifted an anticline that crosses the river in this area. Again
this earthquake emphasizes the possibility of large events occurring away from the Sagaing Fault, in this case on a blind thrust beneath the anticline.

Northern Central Burma Basin

In northwestern Myanmar the Chindwin Basin shows evidence of thrusting between the Late Eocene and Early Miocene, as well as later thrusting with
Eocene rocks thrust over the Irrawaddy Formation (Pivnik et al. 1998). The major thrusts in the Chindwin Basin trend NE–SW, closely parallel to the trend
of the eastern margin of the Indo-Burman Ranges. Assuming a NE–SW maximum horizontal stress direction for stresses associated with dextral strike-
slip faulting on the north–south-striking Sagaing Fault, we would expect to see compressional structures trending NW–SE. The NE–SW-trending major
thrusts in the Chindwin Basin are therefore at about the worst orientation for thrust reactivation associated with strike-slip deformation. These structures
also lie at a high angle to the NNW–SSE-trending thrusts and faults in the Central Basin further south. It is therefore probable that the deformation in the
Chindwin Basin is much less associated with strike-slip deformation than the Central Basin south of 23° N, and is more related to thrusting and folding in
the Indo-Burman Ranges.

Sagaing Fault

The Sagaing Fault is over 1500 km long and runs from south of the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis in the north to the NE Andaman Sea in the south. It
exhibits large-scale splay geometries in its northern and southern segments (Fig. 2.3). Onshore for about 600 km, the Sagaing Fault is a strikingly
narrow, linear feature (Figs 2.2 and 2.3) and is clearly visible on satellite images. The fault zone curves gently into a more northerly oriented trace
passing northwards. Locally along the linear 600 km long segment there are splays, small bends and small jogs in the fault trace, but these are
comparatively minor features. There are no large-scale bends, giving rise to clear pull-apart or releasing bend geometries, possibly due to smoothing of
the fault trace due to large displacement, as demonstrated by analogue modelling of stepping geometries in strike-slip faults (e.g. Dooley & McClay
1997).

The northern part of the Sagaing Fault displays strongly splaying segments with associated uplifted ranges (Fig. 2.3). The displacement on the fault zone
appears to be dissipated in part into the Himalayan structures but also in part into local zones of uplift, folding and thrusting around the splaying fault
region, which covers a distance from north to south of >400 km. A small number of NW–SE-striking thrust-faulting earthquakes are recorded by the
Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) catalogue which likely reflects this distributed shortening, though these earthquakes have not been studied in
detail. The southern margin of the Naga Hills may also play a role in absorbing this shortening. GPS data suggest that there is c. 12 mm a−1 of
shortening in the ranges between the Hukawng Valley and Upper Kachin State (Fig. 2.2). Wang et al. (2014) did not find convincing evidence of recent
rupture on the southern boundary of the Naga Hills, and there is little recent instrumental evidence for significant thrusting on this boundary. The
International Seismological Centre (ISC) reports two major earthquakes in this area in 1906 and 1908 (Ms 7.0 and 7.5, respectively). It is not known
whether these events represent strike-slip failure on the northernmost section of the Sagaing Fault, or reflect shortening at its termination. Building of
the town of Naypyitaw (Fig. 2.3) and of various large construction projects, such as dams west of the Yangon–Mandalay Expressway, have created a
whole series of new exposures in predominantly Late Miocene–Pleistocene sediments that reveal details of the structural style and timing of deformation
adjacent to the Sagaing Fault. For a considerable distance along the highway, from about 17° 42′ 00″ N, the surface trace of the Sagaing Fault lies west
of the highway. The trace is seen clearly as a prominent linear feature on satellite images, and commonly on the ground as a pressure ridge. Within the
pressure ridge faulted sandstones and chaotic blocks, including sandstone blocks showing extensive cataclasis, can be found (Fig. 2.4). In some places
recent sedimentation has covered the trace of the fault (e.g. south of Naypyitaw). The construction projects of Naypyitaw have cut into rolling hills, and
revealed the deformation style around the Sagaing Fault as it affects the Irrawaddy, Obogon and Kyaukkok formations. Steep-splaying, north–south-
trending strike-slip faults have offset and juxtaposed shale and sandstone-dominated units, and caused tight folding in places (Fig. 2.5). One outcrop
revealed two angular unconformities that showed similar stages of deformation to that described by Pivnik et al. (1998) for the Salin sub-basin, which
comprise an angular unconformity between the Late Miocene Obogon Formation and the Pliocene Irrawaddy Formation (Fig. 2.6). A second angular
unconformity occurs within the fluvial sand-dominated Irrawaddy Formation (Fig. 2.6). In another outcrop in Naypyitaw, evidence for transmission of
overpressured fluids was found where, adjacent to a small subvertical strike-slip fault, a sandstone rich in calcite cement has been intruded or injected
into a sandstone bed (Fig. 2.7).

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Fig. 2.4.

Pressure ridge west of the Yangon–Naypyidaw–Mandalay Expressway, south of Naypyidaw (18.479680° N, 96.373367° E): (a) view of the ridge; (b) more coherent boulders in
rubble matrix; (c) sandstone boulder showing extensive cataclastic deformation bands.

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Fig. 2.5.

Road cut in NW suburbs of Naypyidaw, illustrating strike-slip faulting and folding affecting Miocene Kyaukkok and Obogon formations. Shale-prone sequences are abruptly
juxtaposed by faulting with folded sandstones. Location: 19.773024° N, 96.048629° E.

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Fig. 2.6.

(a, b) Road cut in NW suburbs of Naypyidaw (same road, in a cutting west of Fig. 2.5), illustrating two unconformities related to transpressional deformation associated with
the Sagaing Fault. Irrawaddy Formation (Pliocene or possibly Late Miocene) overlies steeply dipping Obogon Formation (Miocene) unconformably. An internal unconformity also
exists within the Irrawaddy Formation. Location: 19.77087° N, 96.042968° E.

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Fig. 2.7.

(a) Outcrop evidence of overpressure along the Sagaing Fault: sandstones injected into a bedded Miocene sandstone. NW suburbs of Naypyidaw. Location: 19.474959° N, 96.
077197° E. (b) Thin-section of sandstone with cataclastic texture with clay matrix, indicating overpressure.

Geodetic and geological slip rates

GPS campaigns of sections of the Sagaing Fault have been conducted by Vigny et al. (2003) and Maurin et al. (2010). Maurin et al. (2010) occupied 12
GPS sites at the northern end of the fault in 2005 and 2008, and showed that slip is predominantly localized along a single fault trace (the Koma Fault)
(Fig. 2.2). They also reoccupied earlier sites from Vigny et al. (2003). They found a largely consistent slip rate along the 400 km of fault north of
Mandalay in the range of 18–22 mm a−1 (Fig. 2.2). Maurin et al. (2010) also noted that the locking depth of the Sagaing Fault, inferred from two-
dimensional elastic modelling of GPS profiles, appears to decrease from c. 20 km in its central part to c. 6–8 km in the north. They acknowledge that the
data scatter in central Myanmar means that a number of different models are possible, although it is clear that a relatively large locking depth is
required.

Few other estimates of the slip rate of the Sagaing Fault have been made. Measurements on the southern segment of the Sagaing Fault from the offset of
a sixteenth-century fortress wall, yielded a rate of 11–18 mm a−1 (Wang et al. 2011). Over a somewhat longer term, a slip rate estimate based upon
offsets of the Singu basaltic flows (22.7° N) dated at 0.25–0.31 Ma (40K–39Ar) yields 10–23 mm a−1 of dextral motion (Bertrand et al. 1998). Based on
these few measurements, the slip rate appears to be largely constant through time over the past few hundred thousand years and along-strike for almost
1000 km.

The overall relative India-Sunda motion is 35 mm a−1 in a N10° direction at the latitude of Myanmar (Socquet et al. 2006) and the whole country is
caught between this relative right-lateral shear. The Sagaing Fault appears to accommodate just over half of this motion, and consequently represents
the dominant active tectonic feature of the area.

Instrumental and historical seismicity

A number of large earthquakes occurred on the Sagaing Fault in the first half of the twentieth century (International Seismological Centre 2011) (Fig.
2.2). A pair of large earthquakes (each Mw 7.3) occurred, seven months apart, at the southern onshore end of the fault in 1930 (International
Seismological Centre 2011). Analysis of the tectonic geomorphology and historical accounts from the 120 km long fault zone (Tsutsumi & Sato 2009)
indicate faulting through the deltaic lowland with fault scarps, pressure ridges and significant offsets of >3 m.

At the other end of the Sagaing Fault, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake ruptured the northernmost part of the fault in December 1931 (Fig. 2.2). Next, two
earthquakes struck north of Mandalay in September 1946 on adjacent fault segments, three minutes apart (Mb 7.5 and Ms 7.8; Hurukawa & Maung
Maung 2011). In this same area, three Mw > 6 earthquakes occurred in 1991, 1992 and 2012. Finally, in 1956 the next segment failed in a Ms 7.0 event

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(International Seismological Centre 2011). In the pre-instrumental period there are descriptions of a very destructive earthquake in March 1839 (Le Dain
et al. 1984), just south of Mandalay. The temporal clustering of large earthquakes on adjacent fault segments is commonly observed on large strike-slip
faults (e.g. the North Anatolian Fault, Stein et al. 1997) and is thought to be caused by coseismic and postseismic stress changes associated with the first
earthquake bringing adjacent portions of the fault closer to failure.

While the southern and northern parts of the Sagaing Fault appear to have failed in large earthquakes during the instrumental period, it is noticeable that
there is a significant seismic gap on the Sagaing Fault. The >200 km long section running between the second and third largest cities in Myanmar,
Mandalay and the new capital Naypyitaw has no clear instrumental or historical record of rupture. Wang et al. (2014) suggest that a large earthquake in
1839 may have ruptured all or part of this section, although this has not been confirmed. The lack of a record of large earthquakes on this segment
suggests that it is either slipping aseismically, or that it fails in large earthquakes and has been accumulating elastic strain for some time. Wang et al.
(2014) estimate that if this segment were to fail in a single event then it would be capable of producing a Mw 7.8–7.9 earthquake. The repeat time for
such an event would be c. 500 years, which is longer than the reliable historical record in this region.

Timing and total displacement

Most of the folding and thrusting of the Central Basin between about 17° N and 22° N occurred during the deposition of the Irrawaddy Formation, which
is of Plio-Pleistocene age according to Pivnik et al. (1998). This in turn suggests that activity of the Sagaing Fault occurred mainly during the Plio-
Pleistocene which, by extrapolation of modern displacement rates, requires displacements no greater than 100 km (Bertrand & Rangin 2003). However,
the age of the base of the Irrawaddy Formation appears to be strongly diachronous (Plio-Pleistocene in some places further east in the basin, as
suggested from the biostratigraphy in wells) and in some places as old as Middle Miocene (Chavasseau et al. 2006). Much more precision is therefore
needed about which parts of the Irrawaddy Formation section are used to date structural events onshore.

Offshore to the south in Thailand waters along the projected trace of the Sagaing Fault there is a strike-slip fault zone of Early Miocene age, whose
activity is clearly sealed by Middle Miocene sediments. Passing northwards, this fault zone could easily as be linked with the Shan Scarp. Bertrand &
Rangin (2003) suggested that this Late Oligocene compressive structure may also have had a strike-slip component. Offshore the Sagaing Fault runs into
the Gulf of Martaban, a region that during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene was affected by extensional deformation. Subsequently, in some basins in
the western part of the Gulf during the Middle–Late Miocene, considerable inversion occurred (perhaps related to subduction processes). The Sagaing
Fault Zone, which is composed of two main strands (east and west) and a smaller central fault, enters the margin at the transition region between more
east–west-trending rift structures to the west and the more north–south-oriented structures to the east. It is therefore difficult to determine whether the
Sagaing Fault initiated the north–south-trending basins, or is just superimposed upon them. However, there appear to be three different stages of
development present in the northern Gulf of Martaban: (1) Late Oligocene–Early Miocene synrift extension independent of the Sagaing Fault; (2)
probable Late and possibly Middle Miocene transtensional expansion of section towards early-stage East and West Sagaing Fault strands; and (3) a Late
Miocene or base Pliocene change in structural style that resulted in local uplift, folding and inversion along parts of the splaying fault zone. Regional
subsidence continued during this time, and local folds are covered by Plio-Pleistocene deposition. The offshore data suggest there is a Miocene history to
the Sagaing Fault Zone, at least along its southern portion. There was, however, a significant change in behaviour of the fault zone towards a more
transpressional style around the end of the Miocene and the beginning of the Pliocene. Further offshore, however, the fault zone shows no strong
indications of transpression and exhibits a major horse-tail-splaying style in a very thick (>6 km) Pliocene depocentre as the fault transfers displacement
to structures in the central Andaman Sea.

The timing of displacement on the Sagaing Fault has proven controversial for three main reasons: (1) estimates of the amount of displacement (the
greater the displacement, the older the fault needs to be); (2) extrapolation of recent displacement rates to the past; and (3) the timing of the change
from extension to inversion in the Central Basin. In one model, over 400 km of displacement has been proposed for the Sagaing Fault (Mitchell 1993;
Mitchell et al. 2012). Conversely, Bertrand & Rangin (2003) proposed that the cessation of subduction along the Andaman Trench around the Middle–Late
Miocene boundary resulted in a change from oblique extension to strike-slip-dominated deformation in the Central Basin. The result was the formation of
the Sagaing Fault and the extensive thrusting, folding, inversion and strike-slip deformation of the Central Basin. These authors suggest that total
displacement on the Sagaing Fault is closer to 100 km.

Looking at the outcrop patterns in northern Myanmar, it is possible to correlate potential marker units across the fault (Fig. 2.8) and restore them. In
particular, ophiolite belts and putative fragments of the Mogok Metamorphic belt can be correlated and restored (Fig. 2.8), which suggests a displacement
in excess of 400 km on the Sagaing Fault (e.g. Mitchell 1993; Mitchell et al. 2012). There are several issues with this interpretation. (1) The current
displacement rate on the fault is about 1.8 cm a−1 (Vigny et al. 2003; Maurin et al. 2010), hence considerably higher displacement rates (>4 cm a−1)
are required earlier in the fault history to achieve 400 km offset if the fault was initiated in the Late Miocene. With slower strain rates and 400 km offset,
the history of fault activity must date back to the Early Miocene or Oligocene. (2) The details of how 400 km of Late Miocene–Recent displacement could
be accommodated by folds and thrusts in the Himalayas are not well established. (3) The correlations of the offset ophiolites are not based on well-
established piercing points; instead, they are based on subjective correlation of lithological units. In the simple restoration (i.e. progressively working
westwards on different fault strands and restoring dextral offset) the Jade Mines Belt lies south of the join between the ophiolites (points 1a and 1b, Fig.
2.8), and hence still requires a second ophiolite trend to be present. Consequently the simple restoration does not resolve the ophiolites into a single
trend. In addition, if the current geochemical and dating work is accepted, there are at least four ophiolites with different characteristics present in
Myanmar and the Andaman Islands (Gardiner et al. 2015); a simple correlation of ophiolites as a single trend therefore cannot be considered reliable.

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The offset of the Neotethys suture through the Tagaung-Myitkyna Belt by the Sagaing Fault (Mitchell 1993; Mitchell et al. 2012) is an attractive
interpretation which simplifies some of the ophiolite relationships in the north.

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Fig. 2.8.

(a) Simplified geological map modified from Mitchell et al. (2012). Possible pinning points for restoration are numbered. (b) Restoration of the map in (a) with about 400 km
displacement, showing how the Tagaung–Myitkina Belt ophiolites restore as a continuation of the Neotethys, Western Belt ophiolites. In this scenario the location of the Jade
Mines Belt ophiolites remains problematic.

Another candidate for an offset marker may be found in the major rivers of this region. It has been suggested that the Irrawaddy River once flowed along
the course of the present-day Chindwin River, and that movement on the Sagaing Fault led the Irrawaddy to abandon the course of the Upper Chindwin
River and instead to join the central section of the Chindwin (Maung 1987) (Fig. 2.2). This implies c. 360 km of total cumulative displacement; this offset
is, however, also speculative. The Irrawaddy could have been diverted onto a more easterly path due to uplift associated with the northern termination of
the Sagaing Fault, rather than by simple right lateral displacement. A detailed fluvial sediment provenance study in the upper reaches of the Chindwin
River or thermochronological study of the ranges associated with the termination of the Sagaing Fault could potentially resolve this issue.

In later sections we note that rapid right-lateral strike-slip faulting in the Indo-Burman Ranges appears to either be very young or to have recently
accelerated. The onset of faulting in the Shillong Plateau (described in ‘Shillong Plateau’ section below) may also have allowed right-lateral shear to be
taken up through the rotation of the Brahmaputra Valley. It is therefore possible that the Sagaing Fault did take up a larger component of the India–
Sunda shear in the past, and that a proportion of this shear has now shifted to structures in the west. This would still require at least 10 Ma to
accumulate 360 km of cumulative displacement, indicating a Middle Miocene or earlier initiation of the fault.

Eastern Syntaxis to the Shan Plateau



Kinematics

The SE margin of the Tibetan Plateau is marked by a complex network of faults. Researchers have found that the style of deformation varies dramatically
both temporally and spatially. This variation has made it a proving ground for various models of distributed continental deformation (Searle & Morley
2011; Searle et al. 2011). The interpretation of the dynamics of this region remains a topic of active debate. Earthquake focal mechanisms, mapped
active structures and GPS vectors are summarized in Figure 2.9 to illustrate the current kinematics of the zone.

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Fig. 2.9.

GPS vectors, faults and earthquakes to the east of Myanmar. GPS vectors are shown relative to stable Eurasia and are taken from Gan et al. (2007). In the second panel
earthquake focal mechanisms are taken from the GCMT catalogue and coloured by mechanism (red for thrust events, blue for normal faulting events and grey for strike-slip
faulting). Only Mw ≥ 5.5 events with a greater than 75% double component are shown. Faults are taken from Taylor & Yin (2009) with minor additions. ASRR, Ailao Shan–Red
River Shear Zone; LS, Longmen Shan; SB, Sichuan Basin; XF, Xianshu-ihe Fault; GFZ, Gaoligong Fault Zone; WF, Wanding Fault; MF, Mengxing Fault; NMF, Nam Ma Fault; MPF,
Mae Ping Fault; SF, Sagaing Fault.

In the north, strike-slip faults such as the right-lateral Gaoligong Fault in the west and the left-lateral Xianshuihe Fault in the east curve around the
Eastern Syntaxis, translating material from the interior of the Tibetan Plateau SE between Myanmar and the Sichuan Basin. These fault systems were
mapped by Wu (1991) and Wang & Burchfiel (1997). Major earthquakes have occurred on the Xianshui-he Fault including the Mw 7.5 1973 Luhuo
earthquake on the northern part of the fault (Zhou et al. 1983) and the Mw 6.8 2010 Yushu earthquake on the sub-parallel Garze-Yushu segment (Li et
al. 2011). South of 28° N the Xianshui-he splits into a number of separate c. north–south-trending strands. The southern end of this fault system ends at
the NW–SE-striking Red River Fault, and a number of short right-lateral strike-slip faults parallel to the Red River Fault (Wang et al. 1998). One of these
short right-lateral faults (the Qujiang Fault) was the source of the Mw 7.3 1970 Tonghai earthquake (Zhou et al. 1983). The Gaoligong Fault represents a
long-lived shear zone that has significant but unquantified geological displacements. It has been suggested that this fault once formed the main boundary
between the Indian Plate and Southeast Asia (Wang & Burchfiel 1997). Despite this, there has been little instrumentally recorded seismicity. Right-lateral
offsets of stream courses suggest the fault is still active (Wu 1991). The 1979 Lung-Ling earthquake sequence occurred where the Gaoligong Fault meets
the Nanding Fault in the south, and one event in this sequence has been attributed to right-lateral failure on the southern section of the Gaoligong Fault
(Holt et al. 1991). Between the Gaoligong and Xianshui-he strike-slip systems, earthquake focal mechanisms indicate extensional faulting. In the north,
east–west-aligned normal faulting earthquakes indicate north–south-aligned extension. The associated faults are not well expressed in the landscape,
perhaps masked by rapid erosion. In the south (<27° N) there are north–south-directed graben with associating normal faulting earthquakes and east–
west-aligned extension (Copley 2008).

South of 25° N the tectonic regime changes again. In the west deformation is dominated by NE–SW curved left-lateral strike-slip faults such as the
Wanding, Nanting and Mengliang faults. In the east there is a series of NW–SE right-lateral strike-slip faults, most prominently the Red River Fault. The
left-lateral faults in the west are generally thought to be accommodating north–south-aligned right-lateral shear through clockwise rotations about a
vertical axis. This interpretation is consistent with both geological observations (Wang & Burchfiel 1997) and the GPS velocity field (Shen et al. 2005;
Copley 2008). Clockwise rotation would result in north–south shortening and east–west extension.

There are a number of unusual hair-pin river bends associated with the NE–SW left-lateral strike-slip faults, including the Wanding, Menglian, Menxing
and Nam Ma faults (Lacassin et al. 1998), the latter most recently rupturing in the 2011 Mw 6.8 earthquake (Feng et al. 2013). These faults are currently
left-lateral strike-slip faults, associated with 5–24 km cumulative displacements. Once these recent offsets have been restored, 50–60 km right-lateral
displacements are then needed to return the rivers to their original straight course (Lacassin et al. 1998) (Fig. 2.10). This implies that these deeply
incised rivers represent extremely persistent geomorphological markers that record a long-lived and complicated history of deformation, including an
inversion of the sense of slip. The timing of this inversion is not well constrained. Lacassin et al. (1998) suggest that it probably occurred during 20–5 Ma,
primarily by comparison with similar inversions on other nearby faults such as the Red River Fault. Just south of the Myanmar border in Northern Thailand

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lies the ENE–WSW-trending Mae Chan Fault. This fault connects with the north–south-trending border fault system to the Oligocene–Miocene Fang Basin.
In order to open the basin, the Mae Chan Fault must have been active with left-lateral motion (Morley 2007). Significant right-lateral motion would have
closed and inverted the basin. Consequently, passing south it seems probable that the ENE–WSW-trending faults have experienced different stress
histories from those in the north, and the observations made by Lacassin et al. (1998) do not necessarily apply to all the faults in the system, particularly
those in the south.

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Fig. 2.10.

(a) Active fault map and hill-shaded DEM of Indo-China, highlighting the series of left-lateral strike-slip faults between the major right-lateral Saigon and Red River faults. Inset
boxes indicate location of river offsets. Faults are from Taylor & Yin (2009). (b) Landsat false colour mosaic (RGB 752) of the Nam Ma and Mengxing Faults. The Nam Ma Fault
has a current 11 km left-lateral displacement in the river, consistent with recent earthquake focal mechanisms, but overall has c. 31 km of offset in a dextral sense (Lacassin et
al. 1998). (c) Landsat false colour mosaic (RGB 752) of the Wanding Fault with a current 10 km left-lateral offset of the Salween River, but overall a right-lateral offset of 33–54
km (Lacassin et al. 1998).

In the east the Red River Shear Zone (RRSZ) is also thought to have undergone a slip inversion. This fault, and the associated Ailao Shan Shear Zone,
has been identified as a major Cenozoic left-lateral shear zone, interpreted as accommodating the large-scale (c. 1000 km) extrusion of Tibetan and SE
Asian material out of the path of the Indian indenter (e.g. Tapponnier et al. 1986, 1990; Leloup et al. 1993, 1995, 2001). Searle (2006) and Searle et al.
(2010) questioned the geological features used in these reconstructions, and suggested that none of them provide precise pinning points to determine
offsets accurately. These authors further showed that all the metamorphism, and most of the fabrics in the RRSZ in the Ailao Shan, Diancang Shan and
the Day Nui Con Voi Massif in Vietnam, occurred prior to strike-slip shearing. There have been no large earthquakes on the RRSZ for at least 300 years,
but geomorphological evidence, such as stream and river offsets, and displaced Quaternary river terrace gravels, indicate that it is currently active and
has a right-lateral sense of motion (Allen et al. 1984). Maximum right-lateral offset estimates range from 5.5 km (Allen et al. 1984) to c. 40 km (with 16
km of offset since the Pliocene) (Schoenbohm et al. 2006a).

The timing and amount of deformation on the RRSZ are controversial.

Leucogranites associated with the shear zone are thought by some to be syntectonic, created due to shear-heating associated with left-lateral motion on
the fault (e.g. Leloup et al. 2007). Searle (2006) and Searle et al. (2010) argued that the magmatism was predominantly pre-strike-slip faulting.
Monazite Th–Pb ages range back to c. 74 Ma in the Ailao Shan region and as long ago as 220 Ma in northern Vietnam (Gilley et al. 2003), considerably
prior to shear zone activity. Ductile left-lateral shear fabrics in the granites typically overprint two earlier phases of deformation, again suggesting the
granites are pre-tectonic (Searle et al. 2010). A small number of late granitic dykes do show evidence of syn/post-tectonic emplacement and are dated at
24 Ma (Sassier et al. 2009). Earlier pre-tectonic granites are dated at 32 Ma, bracketing the onset of left-lateral shear (Searle et al. 2010). Seismic
profiles in the Gulf of Tonkin at the southern end of the RRSZ show evidence for left-lateral motion during 30–5 Ma. After 5 Ma the stratigraphy is
undisturbed, suggesting both that the left-lateral motion had ceased and the reactivation as a right-lateral shear zone did not occur in the south (Rangin
et al. 1995).

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Other major Cenozoic strike-slip faults affecting the Shan Plateau are those known from Western Thailand, notably the Three Pagodas and Mae Ping fault
zones (Morley 2004; Morley et al. 2007). The Three Pagodas Fault is known as the Moulmein Fault in Myanmar. Important NW–SE-trending strands of the
Mae Ping Fault Zone in Myanmar are the Papun and Toungoo (or Patun) faults. These faults form an extensive network, and are not just single discrete
major faults. In the part of Myanmar to the west of Thailand, these faults generally trend NW–SE but tend to splay and have north–south-trending
segments; strike-slip duplex geometries are common (Morley 2004; Morley et al. 2007). Further north the NNW–SSE trends become dominant. On the
western side of the Shan Plateau is a major NNW–SSE-trending fault: the Panlaung, Paungluang or Shan Scarp Fault (e.g. Garson et al. 1976; Bertrand
et al. 2001; Morley 2004). It separates the Slate Belt to the west from the Paunglaung-Mawchi zone to the east (e.g. Mitchell et al. 2004). The Shan
Scarp Fault links up with strands of the Mae Ping Fault Zone. Another NNW–SSE fault, branching off the Mae Ping Fault, is the Kyaukkyan Fault. This
segmented fault zone is over 600 km long, has been recently active (Mw 7.7 earthquake in 1912), and has the potential for a large-magnitude
earthquake along one or more of its segments (Wang et al. 2014). Ridd & Watkinson (2013) speculated that large dextral motion on a north–south-
trending Panluang-Ranong Fault Zone occurred in the Late Cretaceous–Palaeogene. Better established is that the largest displacement on the Three
Pagodas and Mae Ping faults occurred during the Eocene and Early Oligocene (prior to 30 Ma), and was left-lateral (Lacassin et al. 1997). There is good
evidence from basins at releasing bend geometries that subsequently, during Late Oligocene–Recent times, there was highly episodic right-lateral motion
(Morley 2002, 2004; Morley & Racey 2011). The most continuous and largest dextral displacements seem to have occurred on the western side of the
Shan Plateau. There, Bertrand et al. (2001) identified major right-lateral transtensional unroofing around the Shan Scarp during the Late Oligocene–Early
Miocene. Subsequent dextral activity appears to have migrated to the adjacent Sagaing Fault to the west and, to a much lesser extent, the Kyaukkyan
Fault to the east.

Dynamics

The dynamics of deformation within regions with distributed faulting are often explained using models that describe the lithosphere as a fluid, in which
deformation is controlled by gradients in gravitational potential energy (England & McKenzie 1982). This framework, developed for Tibet, can successfully
reproduce the style of deformation and long-wavelength GPS-derived velocity fields in many actively deforming areas when appropriate boundary
conditions are applied (e.g. Floyd et al. 2010).

The gradual topographic slope extending from the plateau to the lowlands of Thailand in the south contrasts sharply with the steep range front separating
the plateau from India in the west (the Himalaya) and the Sichuan Basin (Longmen Shan) in the east. Workers have therefore sought physical
explanations for this variation in plateau margin morphology. Clark & Royden (2000) influentially suggested that deformation could be described by the
gravitationally driven ductile flow of lower crustal Tibetan material, within a low-viscosity channel between rigid upper crust and upper mantle layers. If
the viscosity of the lower crust within India and the Sichuan Basin is taken to be relatively high, it would then resist and laterally divert Tibetan lower
crustal flow, resulting in the passive uplift of the upper crust and the development of a steep plateau margin. The gentle gradient of the SE margin of the
plateau between India and the Sichuan Basin can then be explained if the lower crust there has a lower viscosity, allowing Tibetan lower crustal material
to flow outwards from the plateau, escaping hundreds of kilometres to the south (Clark & Royden 2000; Clark et al. 2005a). The lower-crustal-flow model
is distinct from the Miocene mid-crustal channel-flow model in the Himalaya (Searle et al. 2011). In the Himalayan channel-flow model, the low-viscosity
channel of Indian Plate metamorphic rocks, migmatites and leucogranites is bounded by brittle upper crust above, and underthrust rigid Indian lower
crust below. Consequently, rather than shortening occurring entirely within a lower crustal layer, hidden beneath a rigid upper crust, the Himalayan
channel flow model results in the exhumation of material which formed part of the channel at the range front.

Copley & McKenzie (2007) and Copley (2008) showed that the horizontal GPS velocities (Shen et al. 2005) and topography in the region between the
Sichuan Basin and the central Myanmar lowlands are consistent with a slightly modified lower-crustal flow hypothesis. They also demonstrated that these
observations can be explained by a model (resembling that of England & McKenzie 1982) in which deformation takes the form of pure shear, with
material flowing out over a stress-free lower boundary. In contrast to the lower-crustal-flow model, this model requires the entire vertical thickness of the
lithosphere to be shortening or extending at the same rate. Copley & McKenzie (2007) suggested that the crust of the Indian Plate and Sichuan Basin was
much stronger; they therefore modelled deformation at these margins as a gravity current of weaker Tibetan material, flowing out over a rigid
deformable base. With a suitable choice of rheology, this then results in the steeper range fronts observed. This difference in boundary condition (a rigid
deformable base representing strong Indian and Sichuan material, or a stress-free lower boundary resulting in pure shear in southeastern Tibet) can
produce the contrasting topographic characteristics of these margins.

At the southeastern margin of Tibet, both models represent the Sichuan Basin and central Myanmar lowlands as relatively high-viscosity regions, acting
as ‘gate posts’ bounding the southwards flow of Tibetan material. This causes southwards velocity to decrease towards these regions, imposing an n-
shaped velocity profile on material flowing out of the central plateau. Both models involve the flow of material in the direction of topographic slope, with
the rate of flow being controlled by the steepness of the slope. This property predicts both north–south extension in the north where the plateau begins
to slope towards the SE and east–west extension after Tibetan material has passed between the Sichuan Basin and the Eastern Syntaxis, allowing it to
flow outwards to the east and west. The westward flow may drive bending of the Sagaing Fault, and uplift and compression in the Central Burma Basin
and Indo-Burman Ranges in the west (Rangin et al. 2013). Consequently, both models account for the style of faulting found in this region. The two
models (lower crustal flow and pure shear) represent end-members of a range of possible solutions, with differing amounts of coupling between the lower
and upper crust. They differ principally in the presence or absence of shortening within the upper crust of the Tibetan margins (Copley & McKenzie 2007).

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Tomographic studies of the region reveal that there is a low-shear-wave-velocity layer within the mid-lower crust of the plateau (e.g. Liu et al. 2014).
There is also evidence for low electrical resistivity at these depths (Bai et al. 2010; Zhao et al. 2012). The orientation of azimuthal anisotropy also varies
between the crust and upper mantle in SE Tibet, suggesting that these two layers may be decoupled (e.g. Yao et al. 2010). These observations all
support the existence of a relatively weak layer in the mid-lower crust, perhaps containing partial melt, although the extent to which it is interconnected
and able to act as a channel remains unclear. The fact that areas of low velocity in the lower crust appear to be truncated by major strike-slip faults, such
as the Xianshui-he Fault, suggests that deformation in the lower crust is in some way connected to brittle deformation in the upper crust (Yao et al. 2010;
Liu et al. 2014).

Past deformation

A variety of low-temperature thermochronometry studies report the onset of rapid river incision in SE Tibet between the Sichuan Basin and the Eastern
Syntaxis during the Miocene. The timing is generally found to be c. 13–9 Ma (e.g. Clark et al. 2005b; Ouimet et al. 2010); however, older ages have been
reported at some localities (e.g. 15–22 Ma near Daocheng, Tian et al. 2014). The more recent increase in incision is typically interpreted as the onset or
acceleration of uplift in this area; however, climatic variation, or river catchment reorganization, could also play a role. It has been suggested that the
earlier dates reflect the true onset of regional uplift, while the younger increase in exhumation may reflect the intensification of the monsoon around this
time (Tian et al. 2014). The uplift of this region, driven by the gravitationally driven lateral escape of Tibetan material from the India–Eurasia collision,
may have caused the tectonic reorganization described above. A number of authors have speculated on how this change in the distribution of
gravitational energy may have effected deformation in this region, including Schoenbohm et al. (2006b) who linked the southeastwards propagation of
uplift to the waning influence of the left-lateral Red River–Ailao Shan Shear Zone. These suggestions certainly seem plausible, and as more constraints on
the timing of deformation become available it may be possible to quantitatively explore how the system has evolved.

Lithospheric thickness maps, derived from surface wave tomography, indicate that the thick lithosphere underlying the Tibet Plateau extends to c. 25–27°
N in this area (Priestley & McKenzie 2013) (Fig. 2.11). Interestingly, this coincides with an abrupt change in seismic anisotropy from c. north–south to the
north of 26° N to c. east–west in the south (e.g. Flesch et al. 2005; Sol et al. 2007). It should be remembered that although the lithosphere thickness
map produced by Priestley & McKenzie (2013) is calculated on a 2° by 2° grid, it is derived from surface wave tomography with c. 250 km lateral
resolution, which can produce smearing of sharp boundaries in lithospheric thickness. North of 26° N directions of seismic anisotropy parallel GPS vectors
and fault orientations, whereas south of 26° N deformation is dominated by the NE–SW left-lateral strike-slip faults, cutting across the seismic anisotropy
directions at a steep angle. In addition, the low-shear-velocity mid-crustal layer is present in the north but not in the south (Agius & Lebedev 2014).

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Fig. 2.11.

Lithosphere thickness and seismic anisotropy. Lithosphere thickness values are taken from Priestley & McKenzie (2013). Values are calculated on a 2° by 2° grid and the model
has c. 300 km horizontal resolution and c. 30 km vertically. Areas with lithosphere thicknesses of less than c. 100 km can be identified as thin, but cannot be further
differentiated. Yellow lines indicate the fast polarization direction of the seismic anisotropy measured by Flesch et al. (2005) and Sol et al. (2007). Yellow dots indicate lower
crustal earthquakes identified by Mitra et al. (2005) and Chen & Molnar (1990) in the vicinity of the Shillong Plateau (SP). The Indian Shield, and potentially the Sichuan Basin,
are most likely underlain by ancient stable thick lithosphere, whereas the lithosphere beneath the Tibetan Plateau was most likely thickened by the ongoing collision. Faults map
is taken from Taylor & Yin (2009) with minor alterations.

This abrupt change in lithospheric thickness, seismic anisotropy and style of faulting may not be a coincidence. One possibility is that north of 26° N long-
term deformation has been characterized by the large-scale bulk southwards flow of Tibetan material, driven by gravitational stresses associated with

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gradients in the topography of the surface and the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. The anisotropy in the north would therefore reflect
crystallographic alignment associated with this bulk flow, whereas to the south it may reflect other processes which are potentially (given that they do
not agree well with the orientations of GPS vectors or active faults) no longer active. The presence of thick lithosphere beneath areas thought to have
been uplifted in the last c. 10 Ma also suggests that thickening in this area has not just occurred within the mid-lower crust, as the strictest interpretation
of the channel flow hypothesis would imply.

Northern India, Bangladesh and the Indo-Burman Ranges



Shillong Plateau

The Shillong Plateau stands over a kilometre above the surrounding sediments of the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta (Fig. 2.12). The plateau and its
surroundings are the most seismically active part of the Indian Shield. Small-to-moderate earthquakes are commonly detected in this region, and great
historical earthquakes are thought to have occurred on faults bounding the plateau. The great Assam earthquake of 1897, which caused damage across
northeastern India (including Dhaka), has been associated with a blind thrust fault on the northern edge of the Plateau (Bilham & England 2001). A
reanalysis of seismograms suggests that this earthquake had a surface-wave magnitude of Ms 8.0 ± 0.1 (Ambraseys 2000). Bilham & England (2001)
used trigonometric surveys from the Indian Survey (Bond 1899; Wilson 1939) to infer that the earthquake occurred on a south-dipping reverse fault on
the northern side of the Shillong Plateau. They named this previously unidentified structure the Oldham Fault.

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Fig. 2.12.

Earthquakes and GPS data west of Myanmar. GPS velocities relative to stable India taken from Maurin et al. (2010), Gahalaut et al. (2013) and Vernant et al. (2014) and
converted to a consistent reference from Vernant et al. (2014). Coloured dots indicate earthquake locations from Stork et al. (2008). Black circles indicate depths <20 km, blue
dots depths of 20–60 km, yellow dots depths of 60–100 km and red dots >100 km. Earthquake focal mechanisms are shown in bold colours when obtained through body-
waveform modelling (Chen & Molnar 1990; Mitra et al. 2005) and faint colours when taken from the GCMT catalogue with depths constrained by Stork et al. (2008) or depth-
phase modelling by Copley & McKenzie (2007). The dark-grey low-angle thrust was found to lie at 5 km by both Copley & McKenzie (2007) and Stork et al. (2008). Light-grey
earthquakes were selected from the GCMT catalogue because their mechanisms match the shortening direction of the anticlines. No conclusive depth identifications have been
made for these events. Im, Imphal; CMF, Churachandpur-Mao Fault; TCF, Thahtay Chaung Fault; CI, Cheduba; RI, Ramree Islands; SP, Shillong Plateau; IBR, Indo-Burman
Ranges; NH, Naga Hills; TFB, Tripura Fold Belt; GBD, Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta. The inset panel is an enlargement of the area within the dashed grey box, and shows the
topography of the TFB after high-pass filtering with a 40 km threshold to pick out the anticlines. RA, Rashidpur Anticline; SE, Srimangal Earthquake.

The inferred coseismic model is remarkable for a number of reasons. The fault slip (25 ± 5 m) exceeds that normally observed in intraplate continental
earthquakes, as does the maximum depth of rupture (>35 km, compared to 15–20 km in most actively deforming regions). The unusual length, amount
of slip and associated high stress drop are probably the consequence of the unusually large seismogenic thickness (extending throughout the crust),
which is consistent with the geodetically inferred maximum rupture depth and the depth of modern earthquakes observed within this area and across the
northern Indian Shield (Mitra et al. 2005; Lasitha 2007; Sloan et al. 2011; Kumar et al. 2015). These characteristics allow the occurrence of unusually
large intraplate events (Mw 8+). Similar rupture characteristics have been observed in northwestern India in the 2001 Bhuj earthquake and inferred from
prehistoric surface ruptures on the Tapti Fault (Copley et al. 2011, 2014). The fact that the entire crust appears to be seismogenic in these regions is
commonly attributed to unusual lower-crustal compositions, perhaps due to the absence of small amounts of hydrogen ions dissolved in the crystal lattice

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of nominally anhydrous minerals, which can greatly increase the strength of rocks (e.g. Jackson et al. 2008). Such earthquakes also have a spatial
correlation with areas of thick stable lithosphere (Sloan et al. 2011).

The Shillong Plateau is one of the few compressional structures bounded by faults capable of lower crustal seismicity that are moving at geodetically
appreciable rates. Recent lithospheric thickness maps obtained from surface-wave tomography (Priestley & McKenzie 2013) suggest that both the Bhuj
and the Shillong Plateau earthquakes occurred near the edge of the region of thick lithosphere, perhaps explaining why these areas are deforming
comparatively quickly. This rationale was also used to explain the location of an upper mantle earthquake beneath the Arafura Sea (Sloan & Jackson
2012). The presence of an unusually thick seismogenic layer, and the potential for extremely large intraplate earthquakes south of the Shillong Plateau,
has important implications for seismic hazard.

Most previous workers placed the 1897 earthquake on a north-dipping thrust fault on the southern side of the Shillong Plateau. In contrast to the north,
the southern side of the plateau is bounded by the well-known active Dauki Fault, which has a very clear geomorphic expression. Despite the geodetic
evidence presented by Bilham & England (2001), some authors have continued to question their interpretation, favouring the Dauki Fault or an
alternative south-dipping fault projecting to the surface further north (e.g. Rajendran et al. 2004; Morino et al. 2011). None of the proposed alternatives
can explain the geodetic constraints (Bilham & England 2001; England & Bilham 2015). Additionally, the observation of 11 m of down-to-the-west
coseismic deformation on the Chedrang Fault, near the NW of the plateau (Oldham 1899), is consistent with rupture in the region of the proposed
Oldham Fault if this slip was driven by coseismic elastic stresses acting on a frictionless plane (Bilham & England 2001). It is not clear how such
displacement could be driven by failure of the other proposed fault planes. It may be surprising that such a large earthquake did not produce clear
surface ruptures, but it is not unprecedented (e.g. the Mw 7.6 Bhuj earthquake, Copley et al. 2011 and the Mw 7.8 Gorka earthquake, Elliott et al. 2016)
and the geodetic data show that the rupture stopped 9 km below the surface. Clark & Bilham (2008) observed that river slopes steepened above the
inferred fault, but acknowledged that the total cumulative slip on this fault appears to be minor relative to the Dauki Fault in the south. A sharp increase
in incision is also observed immediately south of the surface projection of the Oldham Fault further confirming that this structure exists and is active
(England & Bilham 2015).

The receiver function analysis of Mitra et al. (2005) revealed that there is a sharp step in Moho topography associated with the southern margin of the
Shillong Plateau. The Moho is c. 6 km shallower beneath the plateau than beneath the Indian Shield to the south, which lies at a depth of c. 42 km. A
similar deepening of the Moho is also seen to the north (Mitra et al. 2005; Borah et al. 2016). The abruptness of this step, over a distance of c. 50 km, is
further evidence that the lower crust in this region is relatively strong. If it were not capable of supporting large stresses over geological time, the lower
crust would have been able to flow under gravity, smoothing out the topographic step.

A recent GPS survey of NE India has shown that the horizontal shortening rate across the Shillong Plateau is 3–6 mm a−1, increasing to the east (Vernant
et al. 2014). This increase is mirrored by a decrease in shortening rate across the Himalaya (Vernant et al. 2014). Geological uplift rates have been
estimated at 0.7–1.4 mm a−1 in the eastern part of the fault (Clark & Bilham 2008), where the GPS constraints suggest a shortening rate of 5–7 mm a−1
(Vernant et al. 2014). These values are irreconcilable, unless (1) the Dauki Fault has an exceptionally low dip, in which case it would intersect the Oldham
Fault in a physically unrealistic way (Bilham & England 2001), and contradict the recent receiver function analysis that suggests its dip to be c. 30° (Singh
et al. 2016); (2) the geodetic rates are increased relative to the long-term shortening rate due to long-lasting post-seismic deformation associated with
the 1897 earthquake; or (3) the shortening rate has increased dramatically over the plateau's history, perhaps because of the evolving stress state as the
Plateau approached the Himalayan Arc (Najman et al. 2016). Clark & Bilham (2008) have proposed a structural model in which the structure mapped as
the Dauki Fault is in fact a fold axis, propagating above a north-dipping master fault at depth. This model still results in a contradiction between long-
term geological uplift rates and the most recent GPS measurements (Vernant et al. 2014).

The timing of the onset of surface uplift has only recently been revealed. A marine transgression at the Oligocene–Miocene boundary has been linked to
the onset of flexure, associated with uplift on the Dauki Fault (Alam et al. 2003), but the associated sediments do not thicken towards the plateau
(Johnson & Alam 1991). The fluvial Tipam Group, deposited between 3.5 and c. 2 Ma, does thicken towards the Shillong Plateau (Johnson & Alam 1991;
Najman et al. 2012, 2016) and likely indicates the onset of surface uplift (Najman et al. 2016).

Thermochronological data have been interpreted as indicating an increase in exhumation at 15–8 Ma (Biswas et al. 2007; Clark & Bilham 2008). This
coincides approximately with a dramatic slowing of exhumation within the Bhutan Himalaya to the north, during 10–5 Ma (McQuarrie et al. 2014)
indicating a major southward shift in the accommodation of India--Eurasia convergence. The contrast between the onset of exhumation and the
beginning of surface uplift suggests that erosion of Cenozoic sediments initially kept pace with rock uplift, and surface uplift only occurred once the
Precambrian basement was exposed (Biswas et al. 2007). Together these indicate a major southwards shift in the accommodation of India–Eurasia
convergence.

Tripura Fold Belt

The Tripura Fold Belt (TFB, sometimes referred to as the Outer Indo-Burman Ranges) is a fold-and-thrust belt consisting of a series of arcuate anticlines
running for 400 km between the coast and the eastern Shillong Plateau. Seismic reflection studies show that these anticlines are underlain by imbricate
thrust faults, soling into a low-angle detachment. Seismic and borehole data suggest that this detachment is an under-compacted over-pressured shale
layer within the sediment pile (e.g. Lohmann 1995; Sikder & Alam 2003). Available seismic data suggest that this detachment occurs at c. 4 s two-way
travel-time, corresponding to c. 5 km depth (Sikder & Alam 2003).

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Most of the instrumentally recorded seismicity below the TFB occurs within the downgoing Indian Plate (Chen & Molnar 1990; Copley & McKenzie 2007;
Stork et al. 2008; Kumar et al. 2015) (Figs 2.12 and 2.13). There is some evidence for earthquakes occurring within the overlying sediments. The 2003
Mw 5.6 Barkhol earthquake is reported to have produced surface ruptures (Steckler et al. 2008), suggesting a shallow depth. The 1999 Mw 5.2
Maheshkhali earthquake was also associated with extensional fracturing on the crest of an anticline (Ansary et al. 2000), potentially indicating the rupture
of a shallow thrust beneath the structure (Steckler et al. 2008). Finally, a 1997 Mw 5.2 earthquake that occurred near the India–Myanmar border had a
well-determined 5 km centroid depth (Copley & McKenzie 2007; Stork et al. 2008). This earthquake appears to be a low-angle north–south-striking
thrust, and could have occurred on a subhorizontal overpressured detachment within the sediment pile, similar to those imaged in seismic reflection
profiles. A small number of other low-angle thrusts are listed in the GCMT catalogue, but these earthquakes lack good depth control. All of these events
are thrusts, taking up shortening perpendicular to the local trend of the Indo-Burman Ranges. They have very different mechanisms from events within
the underlying plate, which tend to have steep focal planes and north–south to NNE–SSW P-axes (Chen & Molnar 1990). The orientations of these focal
planes are inconsistent with the orientation of the anticlines in the TFB (Chen & Molnar 1990; Baruah et al. 2013). This suggests that these anticlines are
either currently inactive, or that there is a pervasive detachment within the area (Chen & Molnar 1990). A small number of earthquake mechanisms
within the shallow sedimentary pile is consistent with the orientation of the anticlines, and is further evidence that these structures are active and that a
detachment exists between these levels. The P-axes within the basement match the shortening direction expected from the northwards movement of the
Indian Plate. The east–west shortening within the shallow sedimentary layers may be related to the gravitational collapse of the high topography of the
Indo-Burman Ranges to the east (Copley & McKenzie 2007).

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Fig. 2.13.

(a) GPS summary diagram showing the spatial variation in GPS vectors in this region. GPS velocities are taken from Maurin et al. (2010), Gahalaut et al. (2013) and Gan et al.
(2007) and converted to a consistent reference frame by Vernant et al. (2014). Vectors show velocities relative to stable India. (b) Locations of the GPS stations used in (a).
The colour changes with longitude, chosen to emphasize major tectonic features. Stations in the southern part of the area are surrounded by a black line in both panels.
Dashed line marks the line of the cross-section in (c–e). (c) GPS velocities with respect to India oriented towards 190° (the opposite direction to India–Sunda Plate motion at
the latitude of the TFB) in red, and 280° (perpendicular to plate motion) in black. SFZ and CMFZ mark the Sagaing and Churachandpur-Mao Fault Zones. VA, the volcanic arc in
central Myanmar. (d) Topography of the Indo-Burman Ranges, Tripura Fold Belt and Myanmar Central Basin. (e) Earthquake focal mechanisms are shown as Northern
Hemisphere projections. These mechanisms are taken from Chen & Molnar (1990), Mitra et al. (2005) or from the GCMT catalogue when the earthquakes have depth
constraints from Stork et al. (2008). Red dots represent earthquakes from Stork et al. (2008) for which focal mechanisms are not available. The oval surrounds earthquakes
that appear to occur above the subducting Indian Plate, apparently within the upper mantle or lower crust of the Myanmar Central Basin. Further study is needed to confirm
these observations.

Folding in the western part of the range appears to be very recent, developed in the last 2 Ma, and propagating westwards at c. 10 cm a−1 (Maurin &
Rangin 2009; Najman et al. 2012). Shortening reconstructions based on the seismic profiles show that 11 km of shortening has been taken up by thin-
skinned deformation within the TFB. This corresponds to 5.5 mm a−1 if deformation is taken to have begun at 2 Ma (Maurin & Rangin 2009). Recent GPS
results suggest there is c. 10 mm a−1 of range-perpendicular shortening in the northern TFB. This deformation occurs at a high angle to the direction of
India-Sunda relative plate motion (Gahalaut et al. 2013) (Figs 2.12 and 2.13). The recent onset and rapid propagation of folding requires an explanation.
If deformation reflects gravitationally driven movement on a weak (effectively stress-free) low-angle detachment (e.g. Rangin et al. 2013), then
disequilibrium compaction from rapid sediment burial may have resulted in high overpressures (Zahid & Uddin 2005), which facilitated movement on the
detachment. The onset of folding might mark the time when the build-up of overpressure was sufficient to permit sliding on the detachment.

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There also appears to be evidence in the GPS data of c. 10 mm a−1 of right-lateral shear in the direction of plate motion accommodated across this area.
Maurin & Rangin (2009) identified the Chittagong Coastal, Kaladan, Lelon and Kabaw faults as the main structures that could be accommodating the
oblique dextral motion (Fig. 2.14), although other, as yet unidentified, faults are almost certainly present.

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Fig. 2.14.

Regional tectonic setting of the Andaman Sea Region modified from Morley (2017). See text for explanation of labels A–E. The locations of Figures 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 are
indicated.

While there have been very few earthquakes within the shallow sedimentary pile in the instrumental record, it seems likely that some small-to-moderate
earthquakes do occur in the upper 5–10 km of the sedimentary layer, and it is appropriate to consider what earthquake hazard is associated with these
shallow structures. The casualties and significant structural damage caused by the relatively small Mw 5.6 2003 Barkhol earthquake emphasizes that
earthquakes within the wedge overlying the plate interface still pose a significant risk in a country with an exceptionally vulnerable population.

The possible presence of a pervasive detachment within the sediment pile has important implications for seismic hazard. A recent assessment of seismic
hazard in this area used the lengths of the anticlines as proxies for fault length, and then used empirical fault-length–magnitude relationships to infer the
possible size of earthquakes in the region (Wang et al. 2014). Many of these anticlines are 40–100 km long; if this scaling holds true, these are
considered to be associated with potential earthquakes with magnitudes of up to Mw 7.7.

Comparison with earthquakes in similar tectonic settings suggests that such large earthquakes would cause devastation over large areas of NE India and
Bangladesh. These Mw > 7 potential magnitudes may overestimate the earthquake hazard associated with these particular structures (although
earthquakes of this magnitude do occur in the area).

In the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran we see a similar fold style associated with a thick sedimentary succession, with low-angle detachments in salt
and shale layers (Nissen et al. 2011; Elliott et al. 2015). In the Zagros, weak sedimentary layers at 10–15 km depth appear to limit the downdip extent
of rupture. This then restricts the size of most earthquakes in the region to Mw < 6. In a few specific locations, where highly asymmetric anticlines
expose lower Mesozoic/Palaeozoic strata, faults cross this downdip barrier (perhaps because the detachment layer is absent). In these areas faults cut
through both cover and basement down to c. 20 km and earthquakes of magnitude up to Mw 6.7 occur (Nissen et al. 2011).

In the Zagros Mountains anticlines commonly have lengths of more than 70–110 km, but there is no evidence that this leads to Mw c. 8 earthquakes.
Ramsey et al. (2008) analysed modern and relict drainage patterns to infer that the long anticlines are actually composed of many small segments that
have coalesced. Uplift patterns derived from InSAR studies indicate that there is no simple direct relationship between long-term anticlinal uplift and the
pattern of uplift associated with individual earthquakes (e.g. Nissen et al. 2007, 2010; Roustaei et al. 2010). Nissen et al. (2011) suggest that the
presence of weak layers within the sedimentary succession plays an important role in limiting the size of earthquake rupture.

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A potential counter-analogy is the 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan. Taiwan lacks the concentric pattern of short-wavelength relatively
symmetric anticlines found in the Zagros and the TFB; however, a pervasive very shallowly dipping detachment at c. 6 km has been identified on seismic
reflection data which did not prevent the occurrence of a large shallow earthquake. The hypocentre, aftershock depths and coseisimic GPS data all
suggest that the Chi-Chi earthquake initiated at c. 12 km depth, below the shallow detachment, and either ruptured through the detachment (Kao &
Chen 2000) or involved failure with a more complex geometry within the shallow detachment itself (e.g. Yue et al. 2005). Regardless of which
interpretation is correct, the example of the Chi-Chi earthquake emphasizes that very large shallow earthquakes are possible in areas with a pervasive
near-horizontal detachment if the detachment itself is capable of seismogenic failure, or if rupture propagates through the detachment.

Large earthquakes do occur beneath the TFB. The 1918 Srimangal earthquake is reported to have been Mw c. 7.1–7.5. Macroseismic reports suggest that
this earthquake occurred close to the Rashidpur Anticline (Stuart 1920) (Fig. 2.12 inset), and Wang et al. (2014) suggest that the event ruptured a fault
associated with the anticline. If correct, this attribution would call into question the analysis above. It seems unlikely that this earthquake did occur on a
structure corresponding to the Rashidpur Anticline. Macroseismic studies produced at the time (Stuart 1920) and a detailed analysis of historical records
(Ambraseys & Douglas 2004) both show isoseismals elongated in an east–west direction, whereas the Rashidpur Anticline axis strikes north–south. The
largest earthquake within the TFB in the recent instrumental period (Mw = 5.9, 8th May 1997) is a strike-slip earthquake that occurred at 30 km depth
and had a WSW–ENE nodal plane (Mitra et al. 2005).

Stuart (1920) also reports on a levelling line from Silchar to Comilla, which was reoccupied after the 1918 earthquake. Comparison with earlier
occupation showed no sign of uplift in the epicentral area, even where it crossed the Rashidpur Anticline. Instead they found a c. 45 km wide zone of up
to 9 inches (c. 23 cm) of subsidence from the eastern side of the Rashidpur Anticline to Shaistaganj and Sahaji Bazar. Occasional subsidence extended
even further from the epicentral area. It seems likely that the 1918 Srimangal earthquake actually occurred within the Indian Basement, below the
Tripura Fold Belt. If so, it probably had a strike-slip mechanism similar to those modelled by Mitra et al. (2005), which were found to have centroid
depths of 27–45 km (Fig. 2.12). As noted above, the unusually large seismogenic thickness in this area allows such large earthquakes to occur on
intraplate faults.

The seismic hazard posed by shallow structures in the Tripura Fold Belt is currently unclear. Further analysis of the structural relationship between the
folds and underlying faults may help to resolve this question. It is, however, clear that very large earthquakes may occur within the Indian Plate beneath
the shallow low-angle detachment. This is partly a consequence of the very high seismogenic thickness of this area, which increases the potential rupture
area and is often associated with relatively high earthquake stress drops. While deeper earthquakes have lower peak shaking intensities, a Mw 7+
earthquake beneath the upper sedimentary layers would still cause devastation over a wide area. It is unfortunate that the principal seismic hazard in
this area may be posed by deformation occurring below a shallow detachment, severely limiting our ability to assess seismic hazard through surface
observations.

The arcuate shape of the Tripura Fold Belt has been explained as a response to the impedance provided by Shillong Plateau (e.g. Wang et al. 2014).
Alternatively, the curved shape of the range may have arisen as a natural consequence of gravitationally driven flow (Copley & McKenzie 2007; Copley
2012; who also suggest the curvature of the entire Indo-Burman Range may arise through this process). If this process occurred over a stress-free
boundary, such as a very-low-viscosity over-pressured shale layer, then it would account for the gentle topographic slope across this range and the recent
rapid westwards propagation of deformation described by Maurin & Rangin (2009). A similar mechanism has recently been proposed for the morphology
of the Sulaiman Ranges in the west in Pakistan (Reynolds et al. 2015). The northern part of the IBR, the Naga Hills, lacks the broad fold-and-thrust belt
and low-angle long-wavelength topographic slope. More work is needed to explore the effect of lateral variations in structure and material properties in
the development of this and other mountain ranges.

Indo-Burman Ranges (IBR)

Little instrumental seismicity has been recorded within the IBR, except for relatively deep earthquakes within the Indian Plate (e.g. Copley & McKenzie
2007; Stork et al. 2008; Kyi Khin et al. 2017) (Figs 2.12 and 2.13). A recent example was the Mw 6.7 2016 Tamenglong earthquake, which took place 55
km below the IBR (Gahalaut et al. 2013; Parameswaran & Rajendran 2016). Wang et al. (2014) suggests that there may be ongoing shortening
immediately to the east of the range on an east-dipping structure, although there is no seismic or geomorphic evidence for active shortening in the
higher part of the range. Instead, active deformation appears to occur on a number of dextral strike-slip faults within the high Indo-Burman Ranges
(Wang et al. 2014). This suggests that a significant part of the oblique motion between Indian and the Sunda plates may be taken up in this area (Maurin
& Rangin 2009; Rangin et al. 2013). In the south, the 160 km long Thahtay Chaung Fault has produced c. 11 km right-lateral offsets on a number of river
canyons. These offsets reduce to 5 km in the north, before becoming indistinct. No direct constraints on slip-rate are available, but if the drainage system
is assumed to have developed at around 5 Ma then this would provide a slip rate of around 2 mm a−1.

In the north, the 170 km long Churachandpur-Mao Fault follows the western edge of the Imphal Valley (Wang et al. 2014). This fault has produced right-
lateral stream offsets of up to 3 km, and again becomes more indistinct to the north and south. The sharp change in topography associated with the fault
also suggests that it is, or has been, associated with vertical movement. GPS constraints in this area suggest that up to 16 mm a−1 of right lateral motion
occurs between Imphal and India. It is not clear how much of this localized on the Churachandpur-Mao Fault rather than in oblique slip on the interface
between India and the Indo-Burman Ranges or other cryptic faults within the ranges. The most detailed fault map of the region available was based
principally on the analysis of SRTM 90 m topography (Wang et al. 2014), and distributed strike-slip faulting could be difficult to observe. Gahalaut et al.

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(2013) suggested that all 16 mm a−1 of motion may be taken up by this fault, and observed a very sharp c. 6 mm a−1 discontinuity in the fault-parallel
GPS velocities across the structure. The sharpness of the discontinuity suggests that the fault may be slipping aseismically at shallow depths. It seems
most reasonable to assume that c. 6 mm a−1 is associated with this fault and the remainder is taken up on other structures, as suggested by Maurin &
Rangin (2009). The observed stream offsets could be explained with just 0.5 Ma of slip at this rate, suggesting that this fault may be very young or has
accelerated recently. Unlike the Tripura Fold Belt, there is little sign of systematic range-perpendicular shortening between GPS sites in the high Indo-
Burman Ranges (Gahalaut et al. 2013) (Fig. 2.13).

Seismicity within the downgoing Indian Plate

A number of moderately large earthquakes within the downgoing Indian Plate have been modelled to determine their focal mechanism and centroid depth
(Chen & Molnar 1990; Mitra et al. 2005; Copley 2008; Kumar et al. 2015) (Fig. 2.13). Earthquakes within the Indian Plate have been relocated by Stork
et al. (2008) and Hurukawa et al. (2012). Stork et al. (2008) focused on a smaller number of events, and attempted to use depth phase identification to
give better depth resolution in the absence of local seismometers. All these studies found that most seismicity beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges takes
place within the subducting plate, and that the plate steepens sharply beneath the eastern edge of the IBR. This steepening is significantly more
pronounced in the north. Earthquake focal mechanisms suggest that the recorded events occurred on steeply dipping planes within the downgoing plate,
not on the plate interface (Hurukawa et al. 2012; Kundu & Gahalaut 2012). Interestingly, within the western part of the central Myanmar lowlands, both
Stork et al. (2008) and Hurukawa et al. (2012) found evidence for lower crustal or upper mantle earthquakes above the slab. If these depths are correct,
it would suggest that this region is relatively strong, and would explain why it has remained relatively low, potentially able to transfer large stresses as a
relatively rigid body. Russo (2012) interpreted the locations obtained by Stork et al. (2008) as revealing a number of vertical tears through the slab. This
interpretation most likely arises from the relatively small number of events studied by Stork et al. (2008). There is no evidence for this in the larger
dataset of Hurukawa et al. (2012), who favour a continuous smoothly curving slab.

Rangin et al. (2013) reviewed the evidence against an active megathrust, and noted that the earthquakes within the downgoing plate have
predominantly T-axes pointing down the dip of the slab (indicating downdip extension) and P-axes oriented along the strike of the slab (approximately
parallel to Indian Plate motion with respect to the Sunda Plate) (Fig. 2.13). There are, however, a number of active subduction zones that have similarly
oriented earthquakes within their slabs, for example the Hellenic subduction zone in the Aegean where ongoing subduction of the Nubian Plate is
undisputed (Shaw & Jackson 2010). Downdip extension is a common feature of subducted slabs that have not reached the 660 km discontinuity, and
reflects extension driven by the weight of the cold, dense slab below (Isacks & Molnar 1971). The north–south orientation of P-axes may reflect
shortening associated with the northwards motion of the Indian Plate, or alternatively may be related to the curvature of the downgoing plate (as
suggested in the strongly curved Nubian slab beneath the Aegean subduction zone; Shaw & Jackson 2010). The amount of seismicity in the slab is
elevated beneath the easternmost IBR and the Chindwin Basin, where the slab bends sharply as it steepens. This seismicity may be at the result of local
bending stresses within the slab (Fig. 2.13).

Continent–ocean transition

One question of particular interest relates to the nature of the crust beneath the sediments of the Bengal Basin. The boundary between the oceanic crust
of the Indian Ocean, subducting beneath the Andaman Islands to the south, and the continental material to the north is difficult to pinpoint. A hinge zone
(dotted grey line in Fig. 2.12) is commonly identified as the Eocene palaeoshelf edge, marking the boundary of the thick sediment pile and associated
with a sharp increase in depth of the shallow-water Sylhet Limestone (Alam 1989; Alam et al. 2003). Deep seismic sounding lines crossing the hinge line
confirm that the crust thins sharply here but it is concluded that, close to the hinge line, the evidence is consistent with thinned continental crust rather
than with true oceanic material (Kaila et al. 1992). Receiver functions sampling the crust immediately to the south of the Shillong Plateau also support
this conclusion (Mitra et al. 2005).

Unfortunately both these studies sample crust only close to the inferred palaeoshelf edge. Consequently, there is little solid evidence for the location of
the continental–oceanic transition beneath the Bengal Basin. Mitra et al. (2008) present a receiver function in the Eastern Bengal Basin at Argatala, which
has a 6 km thick high-velocity layer in the lowermost crust, and suggested that this may represent oceanic crust. This would require a 30 km thick
sedimentary layer, with very high velocities in the lowermost 10 km of the sediment pile. Recent work, involving a joint inversion of P-receiver functions
and Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion, suggests that the sediment–basement transition may occur at the much larger velocity discontinuity
observed at 18–20 km, and that the crust here is likely to be thinned continental material rather than true oceanic crust (Mitra et al. 2014). Similarly
Singh et al. (2016) found that receiver functions from Dhaka revealed evidence for a relatively thin (c. 16 km) crystalline basement, and suggested that
this may represent oceanic crust that was thickened due to the activity of the Kerguelen plume. These results suggest that much of the Bengal Basin is
underlain by thinned continental material, or thickened oceanic material, which may extend further east beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges. In the
northern Bay of Bengal, Mitra et al. (2011) determined that surface-wave dispersion patterns are consistent with oceanic crust, overlain by an extremely
thick and actively metamorphosing pile of sediments. They suggested that the earlier conclusion that this area was underlain by thinned continental crust
(Brune & Singh 1986) was a misinterpretation of unusually high velocities within the highly metamorphosed base of this exceptionally thick sediment pile.
However, recently multi-channel seismic data from the offshore northern Bay of Bengal have been interpreted as indicating 15 km thickness of thinned
continental crust injected by Mesozoic volcanism (Sibuet et al. 2016; Rangin & Sibuet 2017). Talwani et al. (2017) argue that these data should again be
interpreted as thickened oceanic crust. Rangin & Sibuet (2017) and Sibuet et al. (2017) suggest that the observed velocities are too low for this

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interpretation, and can only be explained as thinned continental crust intruded by sills as found in areas such as the northern margin of the South China
Sea.

The character of the Indian crust currently beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges is of great importance, because the density difference between continental
and oceanic crust may play an important role in controlling the tectonics of this region (Clark & Bilham 2008). The presence of a seismically active slab,
extending to depths of c. 160 km beneath the central Myanmar lowlands, suggests that the downgoing plate is oceanic at this point. The ability of
continental lithosphere to be subducted to these depths is controversial as, unlike oceanic lithosphere, it would be expected to be positively buoyant.
Note that some workers have suggested that continental material is subducted to great depths beneath the Hindu Kush (e.g. Searle et al. 2001;
Schneider et al. 2013). The presence of Pliocene–Recent calc-alkaline volcanism near the Sagaing Fault (Mounts Popa, Taungthonlon and Mount Loimye;
Stephenson & Marshall 1984) confirms that the Indian slab is oceanic at depth. It is tempting to place the transition between continental and oceanic
lithosphere beneath the high Indo-Burman Ranges where earthquake locations indicate that the slab abruptly steepens (Fig. 2.13); however, this remains
a matter of conjecture.

The plate boundary

The main sources of seismic hazard in NE India and Bangladesh remain uncertain. Vast amounts of sediment (>1 Gt a−1) are transported from the
Himalaya and Indo-Burman Highlands by the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers and deposited in the Bengal Basin (Milliman & Syvitski 1992). The
accumulated post-Eocene sediments are over 20 km thick in places, and shroud the surface expression of the active tectonics (Alam et al. 2003; Steckler
et al. 2008). The continuation of the plate boundary between the Indian and Eurasian continents must pass beneath this cover, probably projecting to the
surface near eastern Dhaka, but the position and nature of this boundary remains an issue of active debate.

On Boxing Day 2004 the Mw 9.2 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake ruptured 1300 km of the Indian Ocean plate boundary, immediately to the south of
Bangladesh and Myanmar. This devastating earthquake and the associated tsunami killed more than 280 000 people and caused widespread destruction
(Lay et al. 2005). The stress changes associated with the 2004 earthquake will have loaded the northwards extension of the plate boundary fault,
potentially bringing it closer to seismogenic failure. If the extension of the megathrust beneath Bangladesh (the Dhaka segment) is capable of rupturing
in large events, then it could easily produce the most devastating earthquake in history. Extreme population densities, the vulnerability of the existing
building stock, the potential for liquefaction and seismic-wave amplification within the thick sediment pile and the low seismic attenuation of the Indian
Shield (which would result in greater shaking intensities over wider areas) combine to produce extremely high earthquake vulnerability. It is, therefore,
particularly important to determine whether this plate-boundary fault ruptures in large earthquakes or slips aseismically, either continuously or in periodic
slow-slip events.

Within the northernmost SW–NE-trending part of the Indo-Burma Ranges, the Naga Hills GPS data indicate slow (1–4 mm a−1) ongoing convergence
(Vernant et al. 2014). Here, the underthrust Indian Plate is continental. Ophiolite obduction onto the eastern margin of India is sealed by the Late
Eocene–Oligocene Jopi Formation, suggesting that oceanic subduction on the northernmost side of the Indo-Burma Ranges may have ceased by this time
(Ghose & Chatterjee 2014). Further south, it is clear that subduction of an oceanic plate has occurred in the recent geological past because there is a
continuous dipping plane of earthquakes observed in earthquake relocation studies, and because there is Pliocene–Recent calc-alkaline volcanism above
the Burma Seismic Zone (Stephenson & Marshall 1984; Stork et al. 2008; Hurukawa et al. 2012). However, there is an active debate about whether
continental material is now being thrust beneath the Tripura Fold Belt, and even the existence of an active megathrust in this region is disputed.

Some workers view the Tripura Fold Belt as the expression of an active accretionary prism associated with ongoing subduction beneath the Indo-Burman
Ranges (e.g. Steckler et al. 2008; Wang et al. 2014). Others suggest that subduction beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges has now completely ceased and
that the shortening associated with the TFB is related to the gravitational collapse of Tibetan material in the east, transmitted through the relatively rigid
Myanmar Central Basin (Rangin et al. 2013). Alternatively, the gravitational driving force could simply be provided by the pre-existing topography of the
adjacent Indo-Burman Ranges (Copley & McKenzie 2007). It is, of course, possible, even expected, for gravitational collapse to be partially driving
deformation in an area with an active subduction zone. For example, this is currently occurring in the Aegean (e.g. Floyd et al. 2010).

There is no clear evidence in the instrumentally recorded seismicity of rupture on the subduction zone interface in this area (Kundu & Gahalaut 2012;
Rangin et al. 2013). As discussed above, the only low-angle thrust with a well-determined centroid depth is too shallow to be located on the plate
interface. This absence of identified interface seismicity cannot rule out an active interface conclusively. Convergence could be accommodated
aseismically, or the interface could fail only in very large and infrequent earthquakes and be currently locked and accumulating strain.

The historical record

We now consider evidence for large pre-instrumental earthquakes in the area (Fig. 2.12). The rapid sedimentation rate in this area might be expected to
obscure the geomorphic signature of even large earthquakes quickly, although there is a reasonably long historical account of major events. The 1762
Arakan earthquake is thought to have ruptured the megathrust beneath the Bay of Bengal. This earthquake uplifted a number of islands along the Arakan
coast and caused extensive damage as far north as Chittagong (Cummins 2007). Wang et al. (2013) collected extensive field data for coastal uplift
associated with this earthquake on Cheduba and Ramree islands. They inferred that 9–16 m of slip occurred beneath the islands corresponding to an Mw
8.5 earthquake, and suggested that the repeat time of such an earthquake would be 500–700 years. The double-humped pattern of uplift beneath the
two islands led them to conclude that slip on the megathrust was transferred, in part, to two steeper imbricate faults associated with the long-term

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anticlinal growth of the two islands. A repeat of this earthquake would have regionally devastating societal effects, especially if it were associated with a
tsunami.

North of the Arakan segment, as the plate boundary continues onto land, there is no unambiguous historical record of megathrust rupture and even the
precise location of the fault becomes controversial. Steckler et al. (2008) reviewed the location and nature of this plate boundary. They suggested that in
the south the westernmost expression of the plate boundary may be the Comilla Terrace, which has been uplifted by 3–4 m relative to the rest of the
delta. North of Dhaka the location of the fault is less clear. Most workers suggest that it most likely follows the trend of the Tripura fold belt and curves
east, passing to the east of the Shillong Plateau (e.g. Wang et al. 2014). Steckler et al. (2008) suggest that it may continue to the NW, meeting the
western edge of the Shillong Plateau.

Steckler et al. (2008) suggest that a major earthquake, reported to have caused damage across a wide area from Sylhat to Chittagong in the south in
1548, may have occurred on the section of the megathrust east of Dhaka. This earthquake is more commonly associated with faults further to the north.
Morino et al. (2011) found palaeoseismic evidence for a significant rupture on the Dauki Fault with an age consistent with the 1548 rupture. OSL dating
of sand pipes in the Brahmaputra Valley in the NE also provides dates consistent with the suggestion that this earthquake may have occurred on the
northern margin of the Naga Hills (Thomas et al. 2007). The attribution of this earthquake to a specific fault would be an important step in the analysis of
seismic hazard in this area. If it did occur on the megathrust, it would reveal the nature of this important plate boundary. However, unlike the 1762
earthquake, the evidence remains circumstantial.

Geodesy

India–Sunda plate motion is highly oblique to the plate margin in this region (e.g. Socquet et al. 2006; Banerjee et al. 2008). The Indian Plate is moving
NNE relative to Sundaland. This means that there is a significant component of convergence (although still oblique) across the Arakan segment of the
subduction zone, which strikes NW. On the other hand, as the subduction zone curves round in the north the overall plate motion becomes increasing
hyper-oblique, and it becomes less clear whether active subduction may be expected to occur. Some workers have suggested that the motion between
the Indian Plate and Sundaland is taken up by strike-slip faults, such as the Sagaing Fault in the East and the Churachandpur-Mao Fault in the high Indo-
Burma Ranges, rather than through slip on a subduction zone interface (e.g. Socquet et al. 2006; Gahalaut et al. 2013).

Recent GPS measurements from the Tripura Fold Belt show c. 10–13 mm a−1 of east–west shortening within the TFB (Fig. 2.13) (Gahalaut et al. 2013;
Steckler et al. 2016). It is therefore clear that, despite the hyper-oblique plate convergence, significant east–west shortening is occurring in this area.
Steckler et al. (2016) have also demonstrated that the distribution of this shortening is consistent with the accumulation of elastic stresses on a locked
plate interface. The geodetically measured rate of shortening is consistent with a Mw 8.5 earthquake every c. 500 years if the plate boundary is locked
(although this estimate of the repeat time is dependent on poorly constrained parameters such as the geometry and locking depth of the plate
boundary). This means that if the 1548 earthquake did occur on the plate boundary then shortening could be taken up predominately elastically on the
fault and, furthermore, this section of the fault could be due for another major earthquake in the near future. Further work is needed to examine if this
east--west shortening could instead be explained by gravitationally-driven largely aseismic folding and pressure solution creep within shallow water-
saturated sediments.

A number of authors have suggested that subduction zones characterized by the huge quantities of sediment and associated high pore-fluid pressures
may limit the strain-weakening behaviour required for great earthquakes (e.g. Pacheco et al. 1993). However, as Steckler et al. (2008) point out, major
events do occur in high-sediment-input systems such as the 1964 Alaskan earthquake (Ruff 1989, 1992), and the high geothermal gradients associated
with thick sediment piles may actually promote stick-slip behaviour at relatively shallow depths. Wang et al. (2013) confirmed that slip did occur on the
megathrust interface on the Arakan segment beneath the offshore extension of the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta in the Bay of Bengal, suggesting this
sediment-clogged system is capable of failure. The fact that slip in the Arakan earthquake appears to have been transferred from the megathrust onto
imbricate faults within the accretionary prism (Wang et al. 2013) supports the suggestion that severe damage was not reported in western cities such as
Dhaka after the 1548 earthquake, due to a similar process (Steckler et al. 2008). Steckler et al. (2008) suggest that this behaviour may occur because
the burial of the tip of the accretionary prism beneath the sediments of the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta promoted the transfer of megathrust slip onto
imbricate thrusts to thicken the deforming wedge.

Nowhere else are such large populations exposed to so potentially high, yet so uncertain, seismic hazard. There is an urgent need to further investigate
how the c. 13 mm a−1 of shortening observed in GPS studies is accommodated, and to better determine the geometry of the system. Some workers have
suggested that the plate boundary is unlikely to be an active, seismogenic megathrust in its onshore section, and consequently conclude that the seismic
hazard in this area may be low. Even if this section of the megathrust is aseismic, the Arakan segment, the Shillong Plateau and faults within the Indian
Plate buried beneath the thick sedimentary pile are all proven and potentially devastating sources of hazard.

Andaman Sea

The northern and northeastern part of the Andaman Sea lies within Myanmar (Fig. 2.14). However, to understand the tectonic development of the
area it is necessary to view the region as a whole and discuss areas that lie in Indian, Indonesian and Thai waters. The region is located along a highly
oblique subduction margin (north–south-trending trench, NNE–SSW motion of the India Plate relative to Sundaland) where a back-arc spreading centre
(Central Andaman Basin) has developed in a pull-apart setting between the Sagaing Fault to the NE, and the West Andaman–Sumatra Fault Zone to the

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south and SW (Fig. 2.14). Instantaneous motions from GPS data along the Sagaing (1.8 cm a−1) and Sumatra fault zones (2.3 cm a−1; Genrich et al.
2000; Maurin et al. 2010) are sufficiently similar to support the regional linkage of the fault systems.

The Andaman Sea can be divided into six distinct tectonic regions. (1) First is the trench-accretionary prism complex (Andaman, Nicobar, Coco Islands) in
the west (location A in Fig. 2.14). (2) Immediately to the east of the accretionary prism complex lies a region dominated by active transtensional to
strike-slip faults (particularly the Sumatra Fault Zone and the West Andaman Fault) and some east-vergent folds and thrusts in sedimentary basins. The
Andaman Sea exhibits considerable bathymetric relief, with long, linear submarine ridges (Curray 2005; Cochran 2010) (location B in Fig. 2.14). (3) East
of the strike-slip faults are the rugged, relatively high areas of the Alcock and Sewell rises. The rises are separated by the deep, NNE–SSW-trending
Central Andaman Basin, which is interpreted as a spreading centre (Curray et al. 1979; Raju et al. 2004) (location C in Fig. 2.14). (4) East of the rises is
a north–south- to NNE–SSW-trending sediment-filled deep-water trough called the East Andaman Basin. This basin has been the focus of Pliocene–Recent
sedimentation in the eastern part of the Andaman Sea (location D in Fig. 2.14). (5) Passing up the continental slope to a drowned shelf in the southern
and central part of the eastern Andaman Sea, a basement high called the Mergui Ridge is encountered. East of the ridge lie Cenozoic rift basins including
the Mergui Basin (Thailand), the North Sumatra Basin (Indonesia) and a number of less well-developed rift basins are present on the shelf in Myanmar,
including the North and South Mali basins and the Taninthari basin (location E in Fig. 2.14). Unlike other parts of the Andaman Sea, this shelf has not
been the site of significant Pliocene–Recent tectonic activity although a few faults, such as the Ranong Fault, do appear to have undergone minor
reactivation during this time. (6) North of the Alcock Rise lies the slope and shelf region of the Gulf of Martaban (Fig. 2.14). This region is the southerly
extension of the Myanmar Central Basin, and also contains the offshore extension of the Sagaing Fault. The Gulf has been affected by Eocene and Early
Oligocene rifting, localized Miocene inversion, and the Pliocene–Recent or Late Miocene–Recent strike-slip fault activity.

Trench and accretionary prism

The Indo-Burma Trench has been surveyed by the Andaman Cruise (Nielsen et al. 2004), Scripps cruises from 1963 to 1979 (Curray 2005), Lamont-
Doherty Earth Observatory, the US Navy and NOAA (Cochran 2010), as well as by some petroleum industry seismic surveys including a 2500 km survey
by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (India; Goli & Pandey 2014). According to Nielsen et al. (2004), the upper plate at the trench is marked by
the West Burma Scarp which links the 3000 m deep Bengal Basin to the west to the Coco Ridge to the east (Fig. 2.15). Typical accretionary prisms have a
relatively low taper slope to the top of the wedge (1–7°) which contains extensive large folds, thrusts and ponded basins (e.g. Dahlen 1990; Morley et al.
2011). The width of the deforming part of the accretionary prism narrows from 80–100 km along the southern part of the Andaman Trench to c. 40 km
between 10° N and 11° 30′ N (Cochran 2010). The unusually steep (12–15°) and narrow West Burma Scarp is interpreted to be a strike-slip-dominated
margin (Nielsen et al. 2004). This interpretation fits the NNE motion of the Indian Plate relative to Eurasia. North of the Andaman Islands the change
from a north–south to N40° E trend is associated with a change from transpressional convergence to pure dextral strike-slip (Nielsen et al. 2004). The
NE-trending part of the margin is associated with multi-scale en echelon folds, with axes trending N10° E to N35° E, and rhomboidal fault patterns (Fig.
2.16). There is a gradual change northwards towards more north–south-trending segments that show mixed NE–SW-trending strike-slip faults and north–
south- to NNW–SSE-trending thrusts (Nielsen et al. 2004).

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Fig. 2.15.

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Regional cross-section through the northern area of the Andaman Sea, offshore Myanmar, partially based on unpublished seismic reflection data. See Figure 2.14 for location.

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Fig. 2.16.

Map view and cross-section characteristics of the NE–SW-trending trench segment SW offshore Myanmar (modified from Nielsen et al. 2004). See Figure 2.14 for location.

West Andaman Fault Zone

The duration of activity of the major strike-slip faults is difficult to establish. The West Andaman Fault and other faults (e.g. Diligent Fault, Eastern Margin
Fault) on the western margin of the Andaman Sea (Fig. 2.14 in location B) are major geomorphological features and were clearly very important fault
zones during the Pliocene (Curray 2005; Cochran 2010). The considerable topographic relief and c. 70° dip of the West Andaman Fault zone (Goli &
Pandey 2014) suggests there is a considerable extensional component to the displacement. Between the fault-bounded highs are basins several
kilometres deep, thought to be filled with Miocene–Recent sediments. Seismic reflection data along the southern portion of the West Andaman Fault Zone
suggests that it was only active since the Middle Miocene or younger (depending upon how unconformities on the seismic data are correlated; Berglar et
al. 2010). Further north, however, long-distance extrapolation of horizons on seismic data from shallow-water wells east of the Andaman Islands suggests
that fault activity may extend back to the Early Miocene or even the Oligocene (Goli & Pandey 2014).

Barren Island and Narcondam Island are subaerial volcanic edifices west of the main Sewell Rise, forming seamounts within the region of strike-slip-
transtensional faulting. The lavas are calc-alkaline and subduction-related, with the Narcodam lavas exhibiting a contribution from thinned continental
crust and/or sediments from the downgoing slab (Streck et al. 2011). Earthquake swarms to depths of about 35 km, associated with the volcanoes, are
interpreted by Špičák & Vaněk (2013) to be related to the intrusion of magma.

Plagioclase xenoliths from the Barren Island lavas have been 40Ar/39Ar dated at 106 ± 3 Ma by Ray et al. (2015). They infer, based on dating, isotope
compositions and mineralogy, that the xenoliths are derived from a lower oceanic crust gabbro that is genetically linked with the 95 Ma Andaman
ophiolite. However, there is a problem with inferring an oceanic crust basement to the Andaman Islands. The shear wave velocity structure of the
Andaman islands from joint inversion of teleseismic receiver functions and Rayleigh wave group velocity measures indicates the following layers are
present: 2-6 km v. c. 1.3-2.5 km/s (Andaman flysch sediments); 12-14 km v. c. 3.5 km/s (silicic material), 8-12 km mafic layer (v. c. 4.0 km/s). Hence
the crustal thickness is around 24-32 km, with a structure akin to continental crust (Gupta et al. 2016). Consequently, the xenoliths from Barren Island
indicate oceanic crust that is too old to be part of the Central Basin, and there is continental as well as ophiolitic basement underlying the Andaman
Islands. Instead the Barren Islands appear to be underlain by Upper Cretaceous oceanic crust trapped between regions of continental crust to the west
(Andaman Islands) and continental crust or Neogene oceanic crust to the east (Alcock, Sewell Rises, Central Basin, see following section).

Alcock and Sewell rises

Understanding the crustal structure and geological evolution of the Alcock and Sewell rises is the key to understanding the development of the Andaman
Sea. The rises are separated by the ENE–SWS-trending Central Andaman Basin, discussed in the following section. Seismic reflection data across the
rises indicate they have a thin covering of sediment in places to virtually no sediment. They have a very irregular topography, attributed to a mixture of

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volcanic cones, normal faults and strike-slip faults (Srisuriyon & Morley 2014). Curray (2005) noted the occurrence of dredged tholeiitic basalts dated at
c. 20 Ma from the Alcock Rise, which he associated with the formation of back-arc crust in the Andaman Sea.

Interpretation of gravity data suggests the crust beneath the Sewell and Alcock rises varies considerably in thickness, but may be in the order of 15–20
km in many places (Radhakrishna et al. 2008). It can be argued that the relatively thick oceanic crust is due to the effects of magmatic underplating and
volcanism. However, gravity modelling of Seasat data suggests the rises are composed of thinned continental crust (Morley & Alvey 2015).

East Andaman Basin

The East Andaman Basin is a large sedimentary basin on the eastern side of the Sewell Rise, downfaulted against the rise, and lies between the rise to
the west and the Mergui Ridge to the east. In the southern part of the basin two main sedimentary packages are present: a lower package that is
intensely faulted by predominantly ENE–WSW-trending normal faults and occasional north–south-trending strike-slip faults (Morley et al. 2011); and an
upper package that is much less affected by faulting. The upper package overlies, and seals, most of the faults in the lower package. The age of this
event is early Middle Miocene (by regional correlation on seismic lines to the Mergui Basin). The underlying sequence can be thick in places (>4 km) and
has not been drilled, but is probably of Oligocene–Lower Miocene age.

Further north the Middle Miocene–Recent section, overlying the Middle Miocene event, is found within a west-thickening basin that is extensively affected
by normal faults (Fig. 2.17). The predominantly Late Miocene–Recent sediments infilling the basin are present both north and south of where the ENE–
WSW-trending Central Andaman Basin intersects the East Andaman Basin (Figs 2.14 and 2.18). Considerable extension of the area north and south of
the Central Andaman Basin during the Late Miocene–Recent is implied.

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Fig. 2.17.

Schematic cross-section from the eastern Alcock Rise across the East Andaman Basin, SE offshore Myanmar. The section illustrates a model for hyper-extended continental
crust flooring much of the East Andaman Basin. See Figure 2.14 for location.

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Fig. 2.18.

Geometry and key elements of the Central Andaman Basin and East Andaman Basin. The strike-slip fault geometry on the eastern side of the basin and linkage with the
Sagaing Fault is based on Diehl et al. (2013). This interpretation contrasts with the spreading-centre geometry of Curray (2005), which is superimposed. The figure is also
based on data in Raju et al. (2004) and Morley (2013).

Central Andaman Basin

The Central Andaman Basin (CAB) is generally accepted to be underlain by back-arc oceanic crust (e.g. Curray et al. 1979; Raju et al. 2004; Curray
2005; Diehl et al. 2013). In his regional plate reconstructions, Hall (2002) showed the prevailing view at the time that the Andaman Spreading Centre
opened during the Middle Miocene (following Curray et al. 1979). However, the geophysical study of the Central Basin by Raju et al. (2004), including
reappraisal of the magnetic data, indicated the basin has formed by continual spreading from c. 4.0 Ma to the present. This interpretation is supported by
Curray (2005). The eastern half of the CAB is covered by a blanket of sediment (Fig. 2.18) however, and only in the western part, in a region 60 km
wide, have poorly constrained oceanic-crust-type magnetic anomalies been interpreted (Raju et al. 2004).

Curray et al. (1979) and Curray (2005) reported data acquired over the eastern Central Basin that showed the presence of sediment up to the axial
trough, and recognized the sediments could indicate that spreading was episodic rather than continual. However, they ultimately favoured a continuous
spreading model. Raju et al. (2004) interpreted the magnetic anomalies as showing initial slow spreading rates of 1.6 cm a−1 beginning at c. 4 Ma, that
increased to 3.8 cm a−1 from anomaly 2 to the present (i.e. the past 0.7 Ma).

The CAB is characterized by extensional earthquakes (e.g. Raju et al. 2004; Diehl et al. 2013). Earthquake activity indicates that only 10% of the long-
term spreading rate of 3.0–3.8 cm a−1 is accounted for by extensional faulting, and modelling of the earthquake swarms suggests the presence of
intrusive dyke activity (Diehl et al. 2013). Consequently, these authors concluded that igneous intrusions account for 90% of current extension.

Srisuriyon & Morley (2014) and Morley & Alvey (2015) argued that the geometry of sediments (Fig. 2.19) and their thickness (up to 1 km within the
central trough) around the eastern half of the CAB indicate that continuous spreading was not possible. Instead, they suggest episodic spreading with a
probable Late Miocene–Early Pliocene phase of spreading followed by a hiatus, then very recent renewed spreading or extension in the trough, perhaps
only beginning in the last several tens of thousands of years.

Jourdain et al. (2016) provide details about the spreading centre geometry from 2D seismic reflection data. They suggest that the spreading centre is
composed of oceanic crust, and they show some younging of deeper sediments towards the spreading centre. Yet the central problem on the seismic
reflection data remains explaining the thick sedimentary section that occupies the central trough in terms of active spreading (Morley & Alvey 2015). One
atypical feature of the spreading centre is the apparent absence of extrusive basalt, which instead is replaced by a sill-sediment sequence of c. 50%
sediment and 50% igneous material (Jourdain et al. 2016). However, sills do not accommodate crustal extension in the same way as dykes (sills enlarge
vertically, dykes horizontally). Hence, perhaps the sills also indicate a quiescent phase in the spreading centre development.

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Fig. 2.19.

Line drawing interpretation of a seismic line across the Central Andaman Basin, and putative spreading centre (original seismic line in Raju et al. 2004). See Figures 2.14 and
2.18 for location.

Gulf of Martaban

The offshore area in the Gulf of Martaban shows two main stages of structural development: Oligocene–Early Miocene rift development; and Late
Miocene–Recent rapid subsidence, accompanied by extensional and strike-slip faulting in the eastern half of the area (Figs 2.15 & 2.20). Evidence for
Middle–early Late Miocene deposition is sparse for a variety of reasons (well locations on highs or in areas of very thick Late Miocene–Recent sediments),
but is also due to the lack of sediments reaching the offshore area during this time, particularly in the western gulf.

In southern onshore Myanmar, and offshore in the Gulf of Martaban, this basinal area becomes much wider and deeper (Fig. 2.20). Offshore, the Sagaing
Fault comprises three and, further south, two north–south-trending main fault traces or principal displacement zones that lie at the deepest part of a
synformal depocentre (Figs 2.15 and 2.20). This strike-slip basin, located predominantly offshore, is remarkable in that its axis lies parallel to the
Sagaing Fault Zone, and there is no obvious releasing bend geometry to explain the location of the basin. The basin depocentre is not confined to one
side of any of the principal displacement zones, but overall the basin is thickest west of the strike-slip faults (Figs 2.15 and 2.20). This basin represents
the northern extension of the East Andaman Basin.

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Fig. 2.20.

Map of the main basins and tectonic features in the northern part of the Andaman Sea.

There are several factors contributing to the location and the high rate of subsidence in the basin. First, the north–south-trending Peninsular Thailand
margin underwent oblique extension/transtension from the Late Eocene–Early (or in places Middle) Miocene (Morley & Racey 2011; Morley et al. 2011).
This extension evolved into a thermally subsiding north–south-trending passive margin segment. The second factor is the later offshore east–west-
trending Miocene–Recent rifting of the Alcock and Sewell rises and the Central Basin (Fig. 2.3). The east–west segment is also now in the early stages of
post-rift subsidence, and intersects the older north–south rift trend in the vicinity of the Sagaing Fault Zone. Third, the Sagaing Fault Zone is an
important fault zone, accommodating about half of the northwards motion of India relative to Indochina (Vigny et al. 2003). Since it is effectively a plate
boundary, the fault zone is likely to be of lithospheric extent (e.g. Searle & Morley 2011; Searle et al. 2011). Such a fault zone in the context of isostatic
modelling would have greatly weakened and considerably reduced the effective elastic thickness of the crust in comparison with adjacent areas. The
fourth factor is the very high sediment supply, focused along the synformal trough by the Sittoung and Salween rivers. A rough estimate of the modern
sediment supply to the eastern Gulf of Martaban by these rivers is around 240 million tons/year and for the Irrawaddy River about 364 ± 60 million
tons/year (Robinson et al. 2007). This represents 20% of the total flux of material from the Himalayan–Tibetan orogeny (Robinson et al. 2007). This
combination of deep-water passive margin segments, high sediment supply, low effective elastic thickness and a north–south-trending strike-slip fault
zone served to focus sediment along a north–south-trending synformal basin, where offshore the Pliocene–Recent section can exceed the 6 s two-way
travel time on the 2D seismic record (i.e. thicknesses exceeding c. 8 km).

Offshore, the Miocene–Recent fault pattern in the Gulf of Martaban can be related to a combination of three factors: crustal extension; delta-type gravity
tectonics; and localized strike-slip faulting (particularly along the Sagaing Fault) (Fig. 2.15). The two principal displacement zones that comprise the
Sagaing Fault Zone offshore are narrow, vertical features that pass up to the sea floor. Close to the principal displacement zones (i.e. about 1–2 km on
either side) there is intense deformation, uplift of beds and formation of pressure ridges, well exposed in places onshore. Locally, accompanying the fault
zone, there are overpressured fluids (onshore these are manifest as sand and shale injection features). More than a few kilometres away from the
principal displacement zones there is a general absence of any faults that could be described as R (Riedel) or P shear trends (i.e. faults oriented at an
acute angle of about ±16° to the master strike-slip fault) (Fig. 2.20). Instead, the offshore fault pattern is dominated by ENE–WSW-trending extensional
faults and north–south-trending strike-slip faults (Figs 2.3 and 2.20). This pattern is broken passing towards the tips of the strike-slip fault trends where
a fanning, horse-tail pattern of faults has developed.

These east–west- to ENE–WSW-trending faults are not associated with significant seismicity and many appear to have a listric fault shape, suggesting
that they detach within the sedimentary section. The density of growth faults for a deltaic depocentre is, however, unusual. Typically deltas become
organized into systems of large growth faults with widely spaced (15–20 km) depocentres, bounded by large-displacement growth faults (commonly 2
km to >6 km offset) (e.g. Morley 2003). This organization is seen on the west side of the Late Miocene–Recent basin, but is lost passing eastwards
towards the depocentre. There the faults are more closely spaced (averaging 1.5 km apart), and large displacement faults are lacking. Throws on most
faults are in the range of tens to hundreds of metres. The structural style comprises conjugate convergent sets of faults associated with broad synformal
and antiformal geometries. The fault pattern probably reflects the effects of delta loading, overpressure, weak sediments and growth faulting, interacting
with the large-displacement, seismically active Sagaing Fault. The western principal displacement zone of the Sagaing Fault dies out north of the eastern
principal displacement zone, and it is the eastern one that transfers its displacement onto structures in the central Andaman Sea (Figs 2.3 and 2.20).

Models for the tectonic development of the Andaman Sea

The widely accepted model for the Andaman Sea is that a highly segmented spreading centre has operated since the Early Pliocene and exhibits a series
of left-stepping jumps, separated by transform faults, passing eastwards towards the Sagaing Fault (Raju et al. 2004; Curray 2005). Current spreading
rates based on magnetic data are estimated at 3.8 cm a−1 (Raju et al. 2004). However, this model may need revision.

The two most northeasterly left-stepping jumps of the spreading centre east of the Alcock Rise depicted in Curray (2005) are not supported by
unpublished, petroleum industry seismic data. However, inversion of gravity data suggests that there is a small patch of oceanic crust east of the Alcock
Rise (Fig. 2.18). A speculative, schematic cross-section from the Mergui Shelf to the Alcock Rise is shown in Figure 2.17. The section is based partially on
seismic reflection data, and shows that the north–south-trending East Andaman Trough is possibly underlain by hyper-extended continental crust. A thick
section of Late Miocene–Recent sediments overlies the area of thinnest crust, and is offset westwards from earlier rift basins.

It is far from clear whether the 3.8 cm a−1 modern spreading rate proposed by Raju et al. (2004) is reasonable for the tectonic model for the region. A
rate of 3.8 cm a−1 implies that the West Andaman and Sagaing faults are transform faults driven by seafloor spreading; 1.8 cm a−1 occurs when the
West Andaman and Sagaing faults are transcurrent faults driven by strain partitioning and/or drag by the northwards motion of India, and in their zone of
overlap have caused a pull-apart basin to form. Indeed, published tectonic models interpret the West Andaman and Sagaing faults as the result of strain

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partitioning and drag associated with the northwards motion of India (e.g. McCaffrey et al. 2000; Maurin & Rangin 2009; Rangin et al. 2013).
Consequently there is a paradox in accepting these tectonic models along with 3.8 cm a−1 spreading in the CAB.

We suggest that the tectonic development of the CAB is not yet fully understood, and that further investigations are required to determine the nature of
the crust in the Alcock and Sewell rises and even in the area presently thought to represent a spreading centre. The spreading rate of 3.8 cm a−1
determined for the last 2 Ma of activity by Raju et al. (2004) is faster than that required by strain partitioning models for the Sumatra–West Andaman–
Sagaing faults. Sedimentation patterns within and adjacent to the central trough indicate that episodic extensional activity, not continuous spreading, has
occurred. The episodic spreading of the Red Sea, where around 24 Ma extension shifted from the ridge axis to the continent–ocean transition zone before
spreading renewed at c. 5 Ma (Almalki et al. 2014), is possibly an indication of how extension has changed location in the Andaman Sea with time.

Discussion

Understanding the dynamics of continental-scale deformation is a challenging task. Experimental studies can provide important insights, but
natural processes necessarily operate on very different time and length scales. The Myanmar region is particularly interesting because a dramatic
reorganization of deformation has occurred over the last 15 Ma, providing an example of a system evolving due to changing stresses and material
properties. If these changes can be untangled, then it may be possible to gain a new quantitative insight into the parameters that control continental
deformation. In the sections above, we have discussed the recent tectonic history of this region. This reorganization is summarized in Figure 2.21. The
timing of many of these changes remains poorly constrained, and it is still not clear what processes have driven this reorganization.

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Fig. 2.21.

Overview of major tectonic changes in the last c. 20 Ma discussed in the text. Red faults are from Taylor & Yin (2009) and thick grey dashed lines indicate the 150 km and 200
km contours of lithosphere thickness modelled by Priestley & McKenzie (2013). TFB, Tripura Fold Belt; CBB, Central Burma Basin; SF, Sagaing Fault and RRFZ, Red River Fault
Zone; RL, right-lateral and LL, left-lateral respectively.

One interpretation could be that these changes represent an ongoing westwards shift of the left-lateral shear associated with the eastern flank of the
Indian indenter. Over the course of the collision, eastern Myanmar and the Indo-Burma Ranges have rotated clockwise due to the northwards indentation
of the Indian Plate. Originally, shear may have been taken up by oblique slip on the more SE–NW orientated Indo-Burma Ranges boundary and right-
lateral slip on the Wanding, Nanting and Mengliang faults (which would have trended closer to north–south), before being transferred to the Gaoligong
Shear Zone in the north. This would have resulted in shortening in the area currently NE of the Wanding, Nanting and Mengliang faults. This clockwise
rotation would have resulted in increasingly oblique subduction. This may have resulted in increased partitioning of shear strain away from the plate
boundary. At the same time, the southeastwards extrusion of Tibetan material between the relatively rigid Sichuan Basin and central Myanmar lowlands
would have resulted in the suppression of right-lateral slip on SW–NE strike-slip faults, due to compression from the NE. This may have triggered the
reversal in the sense of slip of these strike-slip faults and the accommodation of right-lateral shear through clockwise rotations of left-lateral faults.
Surface-wave tomography suggests that the thick lithosphere beneath Tibet extends to the vicinity of the northern boundary of these faults, but no
further. The southeastwards flow of Tibetan material may also have controlled the reversal or cessation of activity on the Red River–Ailao Shan Shear
Zone, which lies at a high angle to the direction of inferred crustal flow.

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During the Pliocene some of the shear seems to have been focused onto the Sagaing Fault in central Myanmar. This requires significant shortening to be
taken up to the north of the western sliver of the Myanmar Central Basin. It is not clear how this shortening is being accommodated, especially as the
crust of both the central Myanmar lowlands and the Brahmaputra Valley are likely to be relatively strong. If the total displacement estimates of 300–400
km are taken as accurate, and these are far from certain, the present-day slip rate on this fault is likely to be slower than it was in the past. The difficulty
of absorbing this deformation in the north may be driving the rapid right-lateral shear currently observed within the Indo-Burman Ranges in the GPS
velocity field.

The GPS velocity field in the east shows that Tibetan material spreads outwards to the east and west after passing between the Eastern Syntaxis and the
Sichaun Basin. This westwards component of motion could have contributed to the c. east–west component of shortening within the Myanmar Central
Basin during the Late Miocene. The development of the Shillong Plateau, and the associated clockwise rotation of the Brahmaputra Valley, may also
represent a westwards shift in this shear, and may in part be driven by compression associated with the northern termination of the Sagaing Fault. The
development of the Shillong Plateau may also have triggered an acceleration of deformation within the recently developed Tripura Fold Belt. There is no
reason to believe that the Indian Plate has begun to move increasingly eastwards relative to the Sundaland during the last 2 Ma, and so the development
of the fold belt may instead be the result of rapid deposition of large amounts of sediment in the flexural accommodation space, associated with the
growth of the Shillong Plateau. This rapid sedimentation may have allowed the development of a very weak, shallowly dipping detachment, allowing
gravity-driven deformation (associated with the topography of the Indo-Burma Ranges in the east) to trigger shallow folding. It is not clear if the rotation
of the plate boundary may have led to the recent cessation of subduction beneath the northern Indo-Burman Ranges, and this remains controversial.

Conclusions and outstanding questions



1. Much of the right-lateral shear associated along the eastern margin of India is localized on the Sagaing Fault. The rest of this shear is distributed
across a wide area, including poorly known faults in the interior of the Myanmar Central Basin, major structures in the high Indo-Burman Ranges such
as the Churachandpur-Mao Fault (which are currently only known in discontinuous sections) and beneath the Tripura Fold Belt. Many of the structures
taking up this shear are not well described, and the possible role of oblique-slip on a subduction interface remains controversial.

2. Estimates of the total geological offset on the Sagaing Fault are not currently based on secure pinning points. It has been suggested that the total
offset may be on the order of 400 km; however, this would require a significant slowing of the fault slip rate over its history, or a much older age of
initiation than is suggested by the timing of deformation in the Myanmar Central Basin. One possibility is that deformation on the Sagaing Fault began
in the Late Miocene (as suggested by marine data on the southern extension of the fault), and that the structure took up a larger proportion of the
overall right-lateral shear in the past.

3. The location of the transition between continental and oceanic crust beneath NE India remains unknown. Extended continental crust appears to underlie
the greater part of the Bengal Basin and may extend well beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges. Oceanic material must be present in the steeply dipping
BSZ east of the Indo-Burman Ranges, due to the existence of recent calc-alkaline volcanism above the downgoing slab. While most workers assume
that the ocean–continent transition occurs west of the Indo-Burma Ranges at the hinge-line shown in Figure 2.12, here we suggest (in line with Rangin
et al. 2013) that thinned continental material may extend beneath most of the Indo-Burman Ranges where the Indian Plate remains shallowly dipping.

4. There are large uncertainties concerning the seismic hazard in Bangladesh and easternmost India. Recent work suggests that there may be a
megathrust interface elastically accumulating strain beneath the Tripura Fold Belt. Significant subduction, although oblique, most likely does occur on
the southern Arakan section. Further north, where overall Indian Plate motion suggests little convergence, there is nevertheless significant east–west
shortening as observed in local GPS studies. There is an urgent need to better understand how deformation is taken up in this region.

5. Regardless of the status of the plate boundary, the unusually high seismogenic thickness of the underlying Indian Plate means that it is capable of
failing in extremely large events. Such events have most likely occurred in the past, but the high sedimentation rates of the area mean that it is very
difficult to constrain this hazard using surface observations.

6. The tectonics of this region have changed dramatically over the last c. 10–20 Ma, providing an opportunity to test theories about how actively
deforming areas evolve. More work is needed to determine the precise timing of these changes. The relative importance of the changing distribution of
gravitational potential energy and the stresses associated with the Indian Plate boundary remain controversial. The ongoing extrusion of material out
from the SE margin of Tibet may be a principal control on these changes.

7. Complex deformation processes are operating offshore. In the Gulf of Martaban we need to understand how the fault and fold pattern in the Miocene–
Recent sediments has evolved as an interaction of basement-involved rifting, strike-slip movement and gravity-driven deformation as a consequence of
rapid sediment loading. In the Andaman Sea the timing of seafloor spreading and extent and age of oceanic crust remains uncertain.

8. A simple strike-slip faulting model which relates pull-apart in CAB with the Andaman–Sagaing Fault Zone predicts that the Sagaing Fault should
accommodate most of the 3.8 cm a−1 differential motion between India and SE Asia. The reality (from GPS observations) is that the Sagaing Fault
accommodates only half the motion, and the rest of the motion is distributed north of the spreading centre. This indicates that the simple model does
not work. The proposal that the main timing of spreading was Middle–Late Miocene (Morley & Alvey 2015) fits better with the distributed strike-slip
deformation observed onshore than a Pliocene–Recent spreading model.

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© 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved

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

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Chapter 1 Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of Myanmar


Michael F. Ridd and Andrew Racey
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 45, 1-6, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/M45.01

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Before the birth of the modern, mechanized, petroleum industry, Myanmar (formerly Burma) was an exporter of oil products from its hand-dug wells in
the centre of the country. It is now an important exporter again, but of gas from its offshore fields, and the international petroleum companies are keen
to obtain acreage both onshore and offshore; in the lead-up to the 2013 offshore round no fewer than 60 companies pre-qualified with the Ministry of
Energy of the Myanmar government.

Past petroleum studies



It was not until the incorporation of Burma into British India in 1885 that extensive geological research was initiated in the country, with many of
these articles (up to independence in 1948) being published in reports of the Geological Survey of India. Historically important publications by their
geologists included a study of the all-important Tertiary rocks by Noetling (1895) followed by his account of the country's petroleum occurrences
(Noetling 1897). A more detailed study followed, covering the core petroleum-bearing area (what we now call the Salin Basin in the Central Burma
Depression, Fig. 1.1) by Grimes (1898). As a modern petroleum industry became established following the formation of the Burmah Oil Company in
1886, the Geological Survey of India (Pascoe 1912) published a major update of what the author described had become ‘… .one of the most important
industries of the Indian Empire.’ Accounts of the oil fields by industry geologists included those by Stamp (1927), Evans (1941) and Tainsh (1950);
meanwhile, a major study of the wider geology of Burma was published by Chhibber (1934a) and of its mineral resources by the same author (Chhibber
1934b). In many respects those works by Chhibber remain standard references on Burmese geology, as does the later study by Pascoe (1950–1964).

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Fig. 1.1.

Myanmar, the largest country in mainland SE Asia, with main rivers and administrative states shown in various tones. The longest river is the Thanlwin (formerly the Salween),
one of the great rivers which rises on the Tibetan Plateau, reaching the sea in the Gulf of Moattama. Note that some of the states of the Central Burma Depression are small in
area and have been omitted.

Most geological fieldwork since independence has focused on mineral exploration, with systematic mapping of selected areas only starting in the late
1960s. Some of that information is in reports which have limited availability, such as the study of the Shan scarps region by the United Nations
Development Programme (1978); that which is more widely published tends to be on metallogenesis, tectonics and local gravity surveys. A series of
papers was published between 1968 and 1971 on petroleum geology in the Union of Burma Journal of Science and Technology. Further publications have
come from bilateral development projects with Australian, British, French and German government bodies. The latter gave rise to what is still the current
authority on the geology of Burma as a whole (Bender 1983), which contains an exhaustive bibliography.

Mention should also be made of Mitchell who, although not a petroleum geologist, has done more than most to stimulate discussion of the tectonic
history of Myanmar. Mitchell (1986) coined the term Victoria Land for the Gondwana-derived platelet which forms the eastern belt of the Indo-Burman
Ranges, and other notable contributions include Mitchell (1981, 1992) and Mitchell et al. (2007, 2012).

Pascoe (1950–1964) and Bender (1983) include brief sections on petroleum geology in their wide-ranging geological accounts of the country, but
understandably they were unable to include the offshore geology. Since then papers have been published on particular aspects of onshore and offshore
petroleum geology but, to our knowledge, none on Myanmar's overall petroleum geology. The present account therefore seeks to provide such an
overview, using as data sources published papers, information gathered from companies’ websites and Powerpoint presentations, in particular those by
Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the instrument of the Myanmar government for petroleum exploration, development and production.

Current oil and gas production



Oil and gas are produced in Myanmar from Cenozoic sedimentary rocks that occur in the 1200 km-long Central Burma Depression as well as in the
three areas into which the Ministry of Energy has divided its offshore territory (Fig. 1.2). The onshore Rakhine coastal strip (R in Fig. 1.2) saw minor oil
production from hand-dug wells in the past and is included in this study for completeness. However, MOGE's presentation material states that basins on
the Shan Plateau (Namyau, Hsipaw-Lashio and Kalaw basins) and at the northern end of the Tanintharyi peninsula (Mawlamyine and Mepale basins) (Fig.
1.2) also have petroleum potential, but they have seen little or no exploration and available geological data are limited. These frontier basins are
discussed in Chapter 5.

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Fig. 1.2.

The petroliferous areas of Myanmar. The onshore Central Burma Depression is gas and oil bearing whereas the offshore area is mostly gas bearing, with some condensate. The
boundaries of the offshore area with neighbouring Thailand, India and Bangladesh are approximate. Bathymetric contours greater than 1000 m have been omitted. R is the
onshore Rakhine coast where minor oil occurrences have been produced in the past from hand-dug wells. Questionable onshore basins considered by MOGE (e.g. Tin Maung
Yee 2012) also to be prospective are N (Namyau), H-L (Hsipaw-Lashio), K (Kalaw), Mp (Mepale), S (Sittaung Valley) and M (Mawlamyine). Basins within the Central Burma
Depression are shown in red, the boundaries between them being arbitrary or marked by subtle structural highs.

While oil continues to be produced onshore from a number of small- to medium-sized fields, it is the discovery and production of offshore gas and
associated gas-liquids which have transformed the country's petroleum prospects and economy, as shown in Figure 1.3. In June 2013 the Ministry of
Energy announced that onshore oil production was averaging 7500 b/d and gas 65 MMcf/d (the Ministry's daily gas production figure in 2013 compares
with MOGE's figure of 56 490 MMcf/d in 2014; Kyaw Kyaw Aung 2014); offshore production was around 10 000 b/d of gas-liquids and oil and 1.4 Bcf/d of
gas. MOGE's estimate of proven (?remaining) reserves in 2006 was 115.116 MMbbls oil and 0.309 Tcf gas (onshore) and 100.892 MMbbls condensate and
15.845 Tcf gas (offshore).

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Fig. 1.3.

(a) History of Myanmar oil and gas-liquids production to 2013. (b) History of gas production in Myanmar to 2012. The offshore Yadana gas field was discovered in 1983 and
came into production in 2000. Yetagun was discovered in 1992 and also came into production in 2000; other offshore fields followed, including the Shwe fields in 2004 and
Zawtika in 2005. From MOGE (Zaw Aung 2012; Kyaw Kyaw Aung 2014).

Independent estimates of the country's proven gas reserves by BP have varied year by year as more data have become available. For example, at end-
2009 BP's estimate of proven reserves was 20.1 Tcf; by end-2010 reserves had dropped to 11.8 Tcf; and by end-2011 it had fallen again to 7.8 Tcf. This
figure was adopted again for end-2012, before rising to 10 Tcf at end-2013 (BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
For comparison, the United Kingdom's proven gas reserves at end-2013 are stated by BP to be 8.6 Tcf. BP does not provide an estimate of Myanmar's oil
reserves, but we estimate the proven reserves, including condensate, to be in the hundreds-of-millions of barrels range rather than billions. For the US
Geological Survey, Wandrey (2006) estimated undiscovered resources (50% probability) onshore and offshore at 624 MMbbls oil, 17.976 Tcf gas and 669
MMbbls of natural gas-liquids.

Physiography and drainage



Myanmar is the largest country in mainland SE Asia, with a land area of some 676 577 km2 and a continental shelf area of 229 754 km2 down to
the 200 m isobath (510 335 km2 to the 200 km territorial limit from the shoreline). The shoreline has a total length of 2052 km (Figs 1.1 & 1.4).

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Fig. 1.4.

(a) Digital elevation model (DEM) of Myanmar and surrounding region (courtesy of NASA and the US Geological Survey). (b) Simplified key to principal geographical features
of the DEM; approximate outlines of upland areas are shown in pale brown.

The country comprises five main topographic regions: (1) the Kachin Ranges (part of the greater Sino-Burman Ranges) in the north; (2) the Indo-
Burman Ranges in the west, the coastal Myanmar portion of which is referred to as the Rakhine Yoma (formerly Arakan Yoma); (3) the Shan Plateau in
the east; (4) the Central Burma Depression in the middle which is the habitat of most of the onshore petroleum; and (5) to the WSW the Rakhine Coastal
Lowlands where oil and gas are present and have been produced on a small scale hitherto.

The Indo-Burman Ranges extend some 1300 km to the southern tip of the Rakhine (Arakan) Peninsula, and their geological analogue reappears 1700 km
further south as the Andaman Islands. The ranges form the border between India and Myanmar in the north while in the south they separate the Rakhine
Coastal Lowlands from the Central Burma Depression. The southern, peninsular, portion of Myanmar adjoining Thailand is Tanintharyi Province (previously
Tenasserim), comprising mountains and narrow coastal plains.

The Central Burman Depression comprises a complex of basins straddling a partly concealed volcanic arc which appears most prominently at Mt Popa
(1518 m) and Taungthonlon (1708 m, 340 km north of Mandalay) (Fig. 1.5). The southern part of the depression is divided unequally into the
Ayeyarwady (formerly Irrawaddy) valley in the west and the smaller Sittaung Valley in the east adjacent to the Shan Plateau, and are themselves
separated by the Bago Yoma range of hills (formerly the Pegu Yoma). The deltaic lower portions of the Ayeyarwady and Sittaung valleys cover a level and
low-lying delta-plain of some 31 000 km2 which is prone to flooding; wide areas were devastated by the tsunami resulting from the 26 December 2004
Great Sumatra earthquake.

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Fig. 1.5.

Digital elevation model (DEM) of part of the Central Burma Depression; the E–W width of the area covered is c. 125 km. The Indo-Burman Ranges are in the SW corner and the
Shan Plateau in the east. Mt Popa is the conspicuous cone in the top-centre. The western part of the depression comprises the Cenozoic petroleum-bearing Salin Basin, the
steeply dipping western flank of which is the belt of ridges termed the Western Outcrops. The hilly ground forming a NNW–SSE belt east of Mt Popa is the Bago Yoma, an
anticlinorium of Ceonozoic sediments, bounded on the east by the nearly N–S dextral Sagaing Fault. A distinct WNW–ESE lineament crosses almost the entire width of the
Central Burma Depression just below the centre of the image, and is inferred to be a fault.

Two large tropical Neogene deltas drain into offshore Myanmar. The Ganges/Brahmaputra at the head of the Bay of Bengal is responsible for the Bengal
Fan which has an offshore area in Myanmar of 171 361 km2 and a Miocene–Pleistocene sediment thickness of up to 20 km. The Ayeyarwady Delta is
prominent onshore, but offshore its sediments were deflected eastwards into the Martaban Basin where they cannot easily be distinguished from input
from the Sittaung and Thanlwin rivers.

The principal drainage system onshore Myanmar comprises the north–south-flowing Ayeyarwady River and its associated tributaries, which drain around
66% of onshore Myanmar with the main part of the Ayeyarwady system emptying into the Andaman Sea. The Chindwin River drains the northwestern
part of the country before joining the Ayeyarwady downstream of Mandalay. The much smaller Pathein River drains the southeastern Rakhine Yoma and
the Rangoon River drains the southern Bago Yoma, both joining the network of waterways which is the Ayeyarwady Delta. The Shan Plateau in the east is
drained by the Thanlwin (Salween) River which enters the Gulf of Martaban south of the Sittaung River and is one of the great rivers which rise on the
Tibetan Plateau. These rivers contributed most of the clastic sediment-fill observed offshore in the Gulf of Moattama Basin, much of which is of Pliocene
age. Along the Rakhine Coastal Lowlands short rivers flowing westwards into the Bay of Bengal provided a significant portion of the Plio-Pleistocene
sediment-fill in the offshore Rakhine Basin, while the Brahmaputra river system (as part of the Bengal Fan) provided sediment input into the Rakhine
Basin from the north throughout the Neogene. The hill country of peninsular Myanmar (Tanintharyi) is drained by short rivers flowing westwards into the
Gulf of Moattama and the Tanintharyi Shelf area.

A notable feature of Myanmar's rivers is the extent to which they follow the structural grain of the underlying rocks. In places this involves a large change
in the direction of flow, for instance the Moei River that partly forms the border with Thailand doubles back from NW-flowing to SSE-flowing where it joins
the Thanlwin River at about latitude 17°N. River capture may have played a part in the development of the country's drainage pattern through the
Cenozoic, as suggested by Robinson et al. (2014).

An excellent and easily obtained topographic map of Myanmar at 1:1 200 000 scale is published by Freytag and Berndt of Vienna (ISBN 3-7079-0652-3;
www.freytagberndt.com).

Seismicity

Myanmar is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. The country's seismicity reflects the continued northwards collision of the
Indian Plate with Eurasia, the Burma Platelet being the buffer zone between the two (see Chapter 2). The crustal reaction to that oblique convergence
has been widespread earthquakes which are related to: (1) the subduction of the India Plate beneath the Burma Platelet (although Rangin et al. (2013)
argue that the western boundary of the Burma Platelet north of the Andaman Islands has not been subducted since the Mesozoic, the seismicity in that
northern zone therefore resulting from ongoing detachment and sinking of an old slab); (2) right-lateral movement on mostly N–S or NW–SE wrench
faults with accompanying thrusting; and (3) left-lateral movement on wrench faults with WSW–ENE trends, caused by the clockwise flow of the
lithosphere as it is displaced under gravity from beneath the eastern Himalaya syntaxis. A study of the neotectonics of Myanmar has been carried out by
Wang et al. (2014) from satellite imagery and fieldwork, and their simplified map is provided in Figure 1.6.

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Fig. 1.6.

Simplified neotectonic map of Myanmar and surrounding areas, showing active faults (including inferred faults) and anticlines and also the epicentres of the twentieth and
twenty-first century earthquakes of M>6.5. Modified from Wang et al. (2014).

It is not clear the extent to which recent movements, for example on faults, have affected the petroleum trap potential of structures. There is a risk that
pre-existing traps might have been breached and allowed oil or gas to escape, and any prospect which is dependent on sealing by a still-active fault
might have an extra degree of risk because of it. However, Curiale et al. (1994) argue that (onshore at least) generation and migration are still
continuing, tending to keep traps topped up as they may become modified by young structural deformation. Another consequence of the seismicity of
Myanmar and surrounding regions is the risk that it poses to operations, including the risk of structural damage to buildings, roads, railways, dams and
pipelines. An equally serious risk is that of flooding of lowland coastal areas by tsunamis generated offshore; as mentioned above, much of coastal
Myanmar was devastated by the tsunami caused by the Boxing Day 2004 Sumatran earthquake. Landslides can also be triggered by earthquakes, both
onshore and offshore, and it is thought that major submarine slides which fan out into deep water off the Rakhine coast were triggered by such seismic
shocks.

© 2015 The Authors. Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved

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12/26/2017 Chapter 1 Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of Myanmar | Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Volume 45
2015
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