Cargando…
State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka
Heavy minerals have become an essential commodity in modern-day technology. The objective of this study is to examine the current status of the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. The present study also examines the economic viability of potential heavy mineral placer deposits, based on geochemical...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2021
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8204065/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13563-021-00274-3 |
_version_ | 1783708280124604416 |
---|---|
author | Subasinghe, H. C. S. Ratnayake, Amila Sandaruwan Sameera, K. A. G. |
author_facet | Subasinghe, H. C. S. Ratnayake, Amila Sandaruwan Sameera, K. A. G. |
author_sort | Subasinghe, H. C. S. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Heavy minerals have become an essential commodity in modern-day technology. The objective of this study is to examine the current status of the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. The present study also examines the economic viability of potential heavy mineral placer deposits, based on geochemical data. Field investigations suggested the occurrence of heavy minerals as beach-placers, and inland/raised beach deposits along the coastline of Sri Lanka. Geochemical results showed the enrichment of TiO(2), Fe(2)O(3), Al(2)O(3), and trace elements, and depletion of other major oxides such as Na(2)O, K(2)O, MnO, MgO, CaO, and P(2)O(5). Consequently, it suggests the abundance of ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, sillimanite, garnet, and rare earth element (REE)-bearing heavy minerals in potential placer deposits. In contrast, this study illustrates the exported quantity (in the weight ratio of 35:3:1) of ilmenite, rutile, and zircon minerals during the last decade. Ilmenite is the dominant heavy mineral in Sri Lanka, and thus, its production and price volatilisations are essential to understand the current status and predict the future behaviour of the heavy mineral industry. Statistical observations suggest that the global production and unit price variations of ilmenite have increased gradually from 1950 to 2015. Besides, the forecasted variations in annual global production and unit price changes of ilmenite indicate healthy compound annual growth rates of 1.27% and 1.43%, respectively. However, Sri Lanka has less contribution (< 1%) to global ilmenite production. Consequently, the value addition of ilmenite must be highly encouraged with at least an immediate stage (e.g. synthetic rutile). The present study also highlights possible value addition stages of available heavy mineral resources (low-, intermediate-, or high-level value addition), and discusses action plans to improve the quality of the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. In recommendations, imposing sustainable regulations and policies would uplift the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. For example, value addition to local heavy minerals and terminating raw commodity export are highly recommended. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8204065 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-82040652021-06-15 State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka Subasinghe, H. C. S. Ratnayake, Amila Sandaruwan Sameera, K. A. G. Miner Econ Original Paper Heavy minerals have become an essential commodity in modern-day technology. The objective of this study is to examine the current status of the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. The present study also examines the economic viability of potential heavy mineral placer deposits, based on geochemical data. Field investigations suggested the occurrence of heavy minerals as beach-placers, and inland/raised beach deposits along the coastline of Sri Lanka. Geochemical results showed the enrichment of TiO(2), Fe(2)O(3), Al(2)O(3), and trace elements, and depletion of other major oxides such as Na(2)O, K(2)O, MnO, MgO, CaO, and P(2)O(5). Consequently, it suggests the abundance of ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, sillimanite, garnet, and rare earth element (REE)-bearing heavy minerals in potential placer deposits. In contrast, this study illustrates the exported quantity (in the weight ratio of 35:3:1) of ilmenite, rutile, and zircon minerals during the last decade. Ilmenite is the dominant heavy mineral in Sri Lanka, and thus, its production and price volatilisations are essential to understand the current status and predict the future behaviour of the heavy mineral industry. Statistical observations suggest that the global production and unit price variations of ilmenite have increased gradually from 1950 to 2015. Besides, the forecasted variations in annual global production and unit price changes of ilmenite indicate healthy compound annual growth rates of 1.27% and 1.43%, respectively. However, Sri Lanka has less contribution (< 1%) to global ilmenite production. Consequently, the value addition of ilmenite must be highly encouraged with at least an immediate stage (e.g. synthetic rutile). The present study also highlights possible value addition stages of available heavy mineral resources (low-, intermediate-, or high-level value addition), and discusses action plans to improve the quality of the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. In recommendations, imposing sustainable regulations and policies would uplift the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka. For example, value addition to local heavy minerals and terminating raw commodity export are highly recommended. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2021-06-15 2021 /pmc/articles/PMC8204065/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13563-021-00274-3 Text en © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021 This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. |
spellingShingle | Original Paper Subasinghe, H. C. S. Ratnayake, Amila Sandaruwan Sameera, K. A. G. State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title | State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title_full | State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title_fullStr | State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title_full_unstemmed | State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title_short | State-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of Sri Lanka |
title_sort | state-of-the-art and perspectives in the heavy mineral industry of sri lanka |
topic | Original Paper |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8204065/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13563-021-00274-3 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT subasinghehcs stateoftheartandperspectivesintheheavymineralindustryofsrilanka AT ratnayakeamilasandaruwan stateoftheartandperspectivesintheheavymineralindustryofsrilanka AT sameerakag stateoftheartandperspectivesintheheavymineralindustryofsrilanka |