Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, who is on an inspection tour of the Monaragala district, went to inspect the Kotikambokka Vein Quartz deposit.
According to preliminary scientific explorations of this deposit, which is currently not being mined, it has been identified that there is a huge quartz reserve of 3.1 billion metric tons spread over an area of 700 meters.
The main objective of the Minister’s visit was to investigate the potential of this valuable resource to contribute to the national economy.
Following the field observation, the following important decisions were reached in the discussion held with the officials of the Department of Forest Conservation, the Bureau of Geology and Mines and the National Gem and Jewellery Authority:
Protection of the deposit: Immediate implementation of a formal program to protect this natural resource from unauthorized miners.
Demarcation and Reporting: The Department of Forest Conservation should demarcate the deposit area and promptly submit a full report on the obstacles encountered during official activities to the Divisional Secretary.
Recalculation of the reserve: Steps should be taken to recalculate the existing reserve amount in the deposit using more accurate and modern scientific methods.
Transparent mining process: After resolving the existing legal and environmental issues, immediate action should be taken to call for expressions of interest (EOIs) for formal mining activities.
Monaragala District Parliamentarian Chathurie Gangani and a group of others participated in this event.