Opportunity - Bids are now called from prospective investors to export graphite as value-added products

Ministerial cabinet approved the proposal put forward by Minister of Industry and Logistics Management Wimal Weerawansa to call for competitive bids to find an investor to export graphite from the state-owned Kahatagaha mine as value-added products.

The Kahatagaha graphite mine mines about 65 to 70 tonnes of graphite per year and exports the entire output in raw form. Sri Lanka provides just 7 per cent of the international market demand for graphite.

The Sri Lankan Institute of Nano Technology, a research institute for public-private collaborations, has made progress in producing graphene, a high-value commodity produced from oxidising graphite. Kahatagaha Graphite, a state-run Sri Lankan, has been given the clearance to pursue an investor to add value to growth, the state information office said.

Ministers' cabinet had endorsed the idea that prospective investors would pursue expressions of interest.

In February 2019, a resource update put resources at 53.08 million tonnes of inferred resources, ranking 6.67% of total heavy minerals. With the upgrade, Titanium Sands introduced a new high-grade area with 9.85 million tonnes of full heavy metals at 9.06 per cent. Titanium Sands is also hoping with new tenements to expand Mannar's resources and is evaluating a proposed acquisition within an extended period.

Sri Lanka's graphite industry reaches far back in history to the point where it is an integral part of local folk culture. According to historical records, during World War 1 and World War II, about 35,000 metric tonnes of natural graphite were shipped per year.

While the industry has been alive and thriving for over two centuries, few know that Sri Lanka boasts the world's purest form of graphite, vein graphite (> 95 per cent). These graphite veins range from veinlets less than 1 mm thick to massive threads greater than 1 m thick.

OSL Take: Sri Lanka is the only place in the world where commercial quantities of venous graphite made. The nation is now looking to dust off the ashes and make its mark on the global economy and the market with the end of a thirty-decade civil war. The government considered graphite one of the leading mineral products in this endeavour, which has the potential to create significant private-sector foreign investments.

 The expansion of the Sri Lankan mining sector shows the varying scope of business/investment opportunities on the island and their success. The state-owned enterprise selling Zircon and mineral sands is also a clear indication of the many raw materials available for sale in Sri Lanka. Besides mineral sands, there is also a big phosphate deposit in the nation. Foreign mineral businesses could approach the government of Sri Lanka and explore company possibilities in conducting mineral-related operations.

VBS/AT/20200313/Z_TB3