For over 40 years the U.S. Bureau of Mines has issued an annual summary of mining activity in Burma which is now available on-line. These useful reports include information about surveying, mapping, exploration, concession grants, mineral exports and imports and the operations of major mining companies, as well as a valuable five year tonnage table for all major mineral products. The reports cover a wide range of mine products including base metals, precious metals, non-metallic minerals and petroleum. Cement and steel products are also covered. The focus of these reports is on large-scale mining operations and they tend to leave out of consideration the activities of smaller national companies and the mining ?rushes? that occur from time to time, attracting the participation of thousands from around the country. There is little emphasis on the environmental concerns associated with mining activities in Burma. Burmese government reports provide the major sources for the information provided in these reports, but, particularly in recent years, they have also included information from the section on Burma (Myanmar) in the Mining Annual Review produced by the Journal of Mining. The reports are usually a year out-of-date by the time are made available on-line. In 2002, the gross domestic product (GDP) for Burma grew by 5.5%, which was about one-half the growth achieved in 2001 (10.5% revised) (International Monetary Fund, 2003§). Flooding during 2002 and agricultural shortages of, for example, fertilizers and pesticides affected the agricultural output, which accounted for more than 40% of the country?s GDP, thus causing a significant decrease in GDP when compared with that of 2001 (Asian Development Bank, 2003§). In 2002, the mining sector represented only 0.8% of the GDP; in 2001, it had represented 2%. The decrease was principally a consequence of a decline in foreign investment for exploration and mining projects (Than Htay, 2002). Price inflation dropped to below 4% in 2001 after an economic slowdown during fiscal year 2000, but it increased rapidly, and by the end of December 2002, inflation had risen to 56.8%. The main reason for the high rate of inflation was the increase in salaries of public sector employees, which was financed by the Central Bank (Asian Development Bank, 2003). According to the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration (DGSME), which reports to the Ministry of Mines of Burma, only four foreign exploration companies remained in Burma and invested $217,0003 during fiscal years 2001 and 2002. In general, mineral production in 2002 was lower than that of 2001.