Myanmar is a country vastly rich in gold, silver, base metals, tin–tungsten, gems and hydrocarbons and is one of the last exploration frontiers remaining in the world. Tectonically Myanmar lies at the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountain Chain and over the last 50 Ma has been profoundly affected by the collision between India and Eurasia, which is still ongoing, with frequent destructive earthquakes. Recent advances have been made in understanding the results of the collision, through the study of geochronology, seismicity, stratigraphy and structure. The development of a systematic mapping programme has been restricted by problems of access, due to limited infrastructure and armed insurgencies, meaning that large areas of the country have not been explored adequately. Recent political changes and reforms, with reconciliations with various ethnic groups, however, will permit access to large areas in Kayin, Kayah, Shan and Kachin States, enabling further research and exploration in new crustal blocks and terranes. In this Memoir a group of Myanmar and international geologists have combined to include all that is currently known about the geology of Myanmar, its mineral and energy resources and its tectonic development.

The nature and origin of the small-scale volcanic systems, generally referred to as 'monogenetic', have enjoyed an elevated level of interest during the past decade. There has been recognition that their ostensibly simple volcano types are a window into the nature of explosive volcanism, landscape evolution and the processes of magma generation in the Earth’s upper mantle. In the past few years, major conferences have offered specialized technical sessions dealing with monogenetic volcanism and there have been thematic conferences, such as the IAVCEI International Maar Conference series, which have provided a focus for discussion of volcanological and geochemical aspects of small-scale basaltic volcanism. Many new aspects of monogenetic volcanism have emerged and have clearly demonstrated that this volcanism can be very complex on a fine scale. This book is a collection of papers arising from two recent Maar Conferences (the fifth in Queretaro Mexico and the sixth in Changchun, China) and serves as a snapshot of current research on monogenetic volcanism.

International Kimberlite Conferences (IKCs) are special events that are held across the world once in four to five years. IKC is the confluence platform for academicians, scientists and industrial personnel concerned with diamond exploration and exploitation, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics and origin of the primary diamond host rocks and their entrained xenoliths and xenocrysts (including diamond) to get together and deliberate on new advances in research made in the intervening years. Ever since the organization of first IKC in 1973 and its tremendous success, the entire geological world eagerly look forward to subsequent such conferences with great enthusiasm and excitement. The scientific emanations from IKCs continue to make significant impact on our understanding of the composition, nature and evolution of the planet we live on. The previous conferences were held at Cape Town (1973), Santa Fe, New Mexico (1977), Clermont-Ferrand, France, (1982). Perth, Western Australia (1987), Araxa, Brazil (1991), Novosibirsk, Russia (1995), Cape Town (1998), Victoria, Canada (2003) and Frankfurt, Germany (2008). The tenth IKC was held at Bangalore, India between 5th and 11th February 2012. The conference was organized by the Geological Society of India in association with the government organizations, academic institutions and Indian diamond mining companies. About 300 delegates from 36 countries attended the conference and 224 papers were presented. The papers include 78 oral presentations and 146 poster presentations on following topics: Kimberlite geology, origin, evolution and emplacement of kimberlites and related rocks, petrology and geochemistry of metasomatised lithospheric mantle magmas, diamond exploration, cratonic roots, diamonds, diamond mining and sustainable developments and policies and governance of diamond exploration. Pre- and post-conference field trips were organized to (i) the diamond bearing kimberlites of Dharwar Craton in South India, (ii) lamproites of Bundelkhand Craton in northern India and (iii) diamond cutting and polishing industry of Surat, Gujarat in western India. A series of social and cultural programmes depicting cultural diversity of India were organized during the conference. The Kimberlite fraternity enjoyed yet another socially and scientifically successful conference.