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| Thursday, 14 February 2002 |
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by Jayantha Sri Nissanka A scientific research study has revealed that gold deposits are available in the Walawe basin, Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Science (PIS) Prof. Kapila Dahanayake told the Daily News yesterday. The research study on gold deposits in Sri Lanka by G.N.Wijeratne, an M.Phil student of the PIS, found that gold sediments exist in the Walawe basin and also in some rocks along the stream. "Gold was found in certain Sri Lankan rocks and gold was used as way back as the Second Century B.C. in Anuradhapura. The gold industry existed here and gold was found in Sri Lankan soil. Our ancestors excavated them and produced gold items," Prof. Dahanayake said. The quantity of the deposits and more specific locations are yet to be determined in the Walawe but we have to conduct further studies to estimate the quantities and examine the quality of materials, he said. Earlier, Sri Lankans held the view that the country does not have raw materials to produce steel. Our ancestors produced swords and other items from steel in the seventh century BC, but we produce steel items today. Likewise, proper research should be conducted to verify whether we can produce gold commercially, he said. Presently, Sri Lanka spends a large sum of foreign exchange to import gold to produce jewellery. Sri Lanka can be converted to a rich nation if we can explore the possibility of producing gold, said Prof.Dahanayake. "The Government should encourage scientists to conduct research in different fields. They are idling today. Local industrialists should tap the neglected vast mineral resources to explore new avenues of business," he said. Our scientists are talented and should be encouraged to conduct research both by the government and the industrial sector, he asserted. Prof. Dahanayake made the keynote address at the workshop on "Potential for Mineral Based Industries" in Sri Lanka yesterday at the BMICH, organised by the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. |
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