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| Sunday, 26 January 2003 |
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Geological survey of Sri Lanka gemstones by Elmo Leonard A geological survey of gemstones in Sri Lanka, the prime source of coloured precious stones in the world, will be undertaken shortly, in a bid to tap the unlimited resource of gemstones and boost the economy of the nation. It is initiated by the Ministry of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, under Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris. The entire island of Sri Lanka is known to be rich in coloured gemstone resources, except the north which comprises limestone. The National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) has currently issued 4,000 licences to mine gem lands, NGJA Chairman, Prof. P.G.R. Dharameratne, said. Most of these gem lands are around Ratnapura, Agalawatte, Kataragama, Moneragala, Bogawantalawa and Hatton. Gem mining commenced recently close to the Kantale Tank. In the past few years it was known that Kantale was rich in gem deposits, but due to terrorist activity, gem mining was not possible there, Prof. Dharameratne said. Whenever illicit mining is carried out on government, state plantations or even land belonging to private plantations, NGJA intervenes and auctions such lands. "We took into custody a large haul of gem gravel in Kantale recently and auctioned it," Prof. Dharameratne said. After gem mining on auctioned land is completed, NGJA steps in and flattens the land with the funds received by auctioning. "In this way, no environmental hazards are left behind," Prof. Dharameratne assured. The geological team to survey gem resources here, will be headed by Prof. C.B. Dissanayake of the Department of Geology of the Peradeniya University. Other geologists are from the Moratuwa and Sabaragamuwa Universities. The assistance of foreign geological experts will be obtained if necessary. |
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