NORTH EAST COASTAL COMMUNITY ... - Neccdep.com

An Evaluation of Minerals in the Eastern Province – Study 16 Final Report – September ‘10The balance comprises of quartz sand, garnet, monazite and Sillimanite. The TiO 2 content ofthe ilmenite at Pulmuddai is about 52 – 53% which makes it one of the best deposits in theworld (P.G. Cooray, 19984).A lesser known deposit, but similar, occurs at Thirukkovil, which was estimated to have 50%Ilmenite some years ago. In between these two deposits are smaller black sand deposits.These are recorded in Annexes I, II, and III. A summary is given below for the 03 annexes(Table 2).Table 2: Distribution and Status of Mineral SandsStatus and mining Trincomalee Batticaloa AmparamethodDistrict District DistrictTOTALExisting4 - - 4Mining by SLMSLEconomically potential - - 3 3(as a high grade)Potential for scraping 7 2 8 17(about 0.3m annually)TOTAL 11 2 11 24Source: Field Observation, 20106.1.1 The Pulmuddai DepositThis mineral sand deposit was worked on under a state-sponsored body established in1957, named the Ceylon Mineral Sands Corporation which is now known as “Sri LankaMineral Sands Ltd” (SLMSL). According to the SRI LANKA MINERALS YEAR BOOK –2009, published by the GSMB, the production of separated mineral sand fractions (Table 3),are recorded along with local sales, exports and the income generated (Table 4 and Table5). Please refer Annex VIII for Production and market of the other mining production.Table 3: Production of Minerals (Tones)Commodity 2007 2008Ilmenite 70,728 56,824Rutile 4,607 3,405Zircon 381 1,447Source: Sri Lanka Minerals Year Book – 2009Table 4: Local Sales of Mineral Sands (Tones, Rs. Thousands)2005 2006 2007 2008Commodity Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value Qty ValueIlmemte - - 3 33.10 0.06 0.48 1 940 1 874.76Rutile 3 222.72 0 1.60 1 65.90 2 63.00Zircon 0.3 23.42 0 2.60 0.3 24.20 6 3.95Source: Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd.Table 5: Export of Mineral Sands (Tones)RutileYear Country Qty. Value ($)2005 AustraliaChinaU.K.IndiaIndonesiaItalyMalaysiaNetherlands220633826063620010820160125 800.001 924 790.00135 720.00355 564.00103 400.00105 840.0010 440.0083 520.00GreenTech Consultants (Pvt) Ltd. Page 23 of 55