Sri Lanka to conduct aerial mapping of mineral resources

The Government has hired a South African company to conduct an aerial survey of its mineral resources for the first time in 56 years.

Sri Lanka, which is best known for its gems, has tapped into all its mineral resources that are close to the surface, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau chairman Dr. M.J. Wijayananda told reporters.

Therefore, the Government has decided to use a low-flying aircraft to map out mineral deposits and record new areas that could be mined.

“During the war there was a serious security threat to low flying aircraft in the north and east. Therefore, this project has been postponed since 1995,” he said.

The last time the entire country was surveyed was in 1956. The cost is expected to be around US$ 17 million and the project will start in January 2013. It is expected to be completed in one-and-a-half years.  

In Sri Lanka the resource potential in minerals, such as gemstones, graphite, ilmenite, iron ore, limestone, quartz, mica, industrial clays, and salt, is large, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Small but commercially extractable amounts of nonferrous metals and minerals like titanium, monazite, and zircon are contained in the beach sands of a few localities, it added.  

Since the end of the three-decade war in 2009, an Indian company has started oil exploration off the north western coast of the country and discovered two sizeable gas deposits last year. Their financial viability is being assessed at present.