Rohan Gunasekera
Mining of a rich mineral sands deposit on a beach in north-eastern Sri Lanka is to be ramped up to pre-war levels with a $500m. investment in new plant and machinery.
State-owned Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd., which owns and operates the Pulmoddai mine, is also keen on a joint venture with an international partner to make value-added products.
No bulk shipments of minerals sands have been completed since Tamil Tiger guerrillas sank a bulk carrier loaded with ilmenite sand off Pulmoddai in 1997. Instead, product is shipped in containers through Colombo port on the west coast.
Towards the latter stages of the war, which ended in 2009, the company had been producing minimum volumes just to keep the plant in good condition.
“But after the end of the war we started producing all the minerals although not at full capacity,” said S....