The metallogenic provinces of Myanmar

Myanmar contains important deposits of tin, tungsten, copper, gold, gemstones, zinc, lead, nickel and silver. It has one of the most diverse and richly endowed collections of natural resources in Southeast Asia, largely reflecting a geological history stretching from the Late Triassic to the Miocene. At least three world class deposits include Bawdwin (lead-zinc-silver), Monywa (copper) and Mawchi (tin-tungsten). Myanmar can be divided into three principal metallotects: the Wuntho-Popa Arc, comprising subduction-related granites with associated porphyry-type copper-gold and epithermal gold mineralisation; the Mogok-Mandalay-Mergui Belt hosting both significant tin-tungsten mineralisation associated with crustal melt granites, and key orogenic gold resources; and the Shan Plateau with massive sulphide-type lead-zinc deposits. Myanmar as a jurisdiction remains poorly understood and underdeveloped with regards its natural resources. We have built a Geographic Information System database of known Myanmar deposits, outcrops and mineral occurrences as a tool for exploration targeting.