"Although long considered a rich mineral region, Burma re-mained only a small producer in 1964, with its mineral industry output worth on the order of $45 million, slightly less than that of neighboring Thailand. Oil was the mainstay, but even that fell short of supplying domestic energy demands. Oil production, dropping in 1964, could not keep pace with consumption, and the lack of new discoveries made the outlook discouraging. The future for base metals and tin-tungsten mining was somewhat poorer, because efficient extraction had been abandoned for highgrading practices, thus hastening early depletion. Compared with agriculture, minerals had a small place m the economy, but contributed about 3.5 percent to the gross national product. Several thousand of the country?s 24 million people were involved in mineral extraction, with facilities concentrated at only a few sites. Oil exploration was stepped up in 1964, largely with Rumanian help; expanded operations at the Syriam refinery made crude imports necessary, indicating the shortcomings in domestic supply. Burma Railways? dieselization was nearly complete, reducing demand for imported coal but increasing diesel oil requirements. A tender was issued for construction of a Government fertilizer plant; meanwhile drilling to find adequate natural gas for the proposed plant proceeded in the Chauk area. Burma Corp., the big nonferrous metal producer, was seeking exemptions from taxation and stringent Government controls. Surveys at the company?s Bawdwin mines had disclosed large tonnages of lower grade multimetal ores, and plans were being made to expand output. The Mawchi tin-tungsten mines and Kalewa coal mines were small-scale developments in progress, and a large iron deposit near Pangpet was being studied. Gem mining was hard hit by insurgency. To stimulate the gem trade, the Government tried to take the traditional role of Hong Kong dealers in jade purchases but with little success. Offerings under Government supervised sales at the Rangoon Gem Fair in December fell short as producers balked at the new controls..."