Mandalay Region, Myanmari

Regional Level Types
Mandalay Region	Region
Myanmar	Country

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Mandalay Region is an administrative region in central Myanmar, covering approximately 37,900 km². It borders Sagaing Region to the north and west, Shan State to the east, Magway Region to the west and south-west, and Bago Region to the south. The regional capital is Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and a major cultural, economic, and transport centre situated on the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River.

Geographically, Mandalay Region spans the transition between the Central Myanmar Basin and the western margin of the Shan Plateau. The western and central parts are dominated by lowland plains and broad river valleys associated with the Irrawaddy system, while the eastern and north-eastern parts rise into rugged hills and uplands. The climate is tropical monsoonal, but much of the region lies within Myanmar’s Dry Zone, characterised by relatively low annual rainfall and high summer temperatures.

Geologically, Mandalay Region is highly significant and diverse. Much of the region is underlain by Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Central Myanmar Basin, including sandstones, shales, siltstones, and conglomerates deposited in fluvial and deltaic environments. In contrast, the north-eastern part of the region, including the Mogok area, exposes older high-grade metamorphic rocks—gneisses, marbles, amphibolites, and schists—forming part of the Mogok Metamorphic Belt (MMB). This belt represents deeply exhumed continental crust affected by multiple metamorphic and tectonic events related to the India–Asia collision and earlier orogenic phases.

Mandalay Region is world-renowned for its gemstone deposits, centred on the Mogok Stone Tract, one of the most famous gem localities on Earth. Mogok has produced exceptional ruby, sapphire, spinel, peridot, tourmaline, zircon, scapolite, moonstone, and many other gem and collector-quality minerals for centuries. Gem mineralisation is primarily hosted in marble and associated metamorphic rocks, with both primary deposits and extensive alluvial placers. The Mogok area remains a benchmark locality in mineralogy and gemology.

In addition to gemstones, Mandalay Region contains gold, base-metal, and industrial mineral occurrences. Gold is found mainly in alluvial deposits along rivers and in small-scale hard-rock occurrences. Limestone, marble, sand, gravel, and clay are widely quarried for cement, building stone, and construction materials, particularly outside the gem-bearing zones.

Historically, Mandalay Region has played a central role in Myanmar’s political and cultural development. The city of Mandalay was founded in 1857 as the last royal capital of the Konbaung Dynasty before British annexation. Mogok and its gem fields have been known and worked for at least a millennium, with systematic exploitation expanding during the Burmese kingdoms, the British colonial period, and continuing into the modern era.

Administratively, Mandalay Region is subdivided into districts and townships, including Mogok Township, which is internationally recognised for its gem deposits. The combination of basin sedimentation, high-grade metamorphism, and intense tectonic reworking makes Mandalay Region one of Southeast Asia’s most important areas for understanding metamorphic gem formation, orogenic processes, and the long-standing relationship between geology and mineral wealth.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

175 valid minerals. 4 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals. 2 erroneous literature entries.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities