The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GS&MB) will be conducting an airborne survey on the radioactive mineral resources in Sri Lanka in mid 2019, the GS&MB Senior Director (Geology) Udaya De Silva said yesterday.
Responding to the Daily News, De Silva said that the objective of the survey is to identify the radioactive mineral resources which are economically effective to the country. He pointed out that an island wide survey on the subject has not been done since the 1950s.
GS&MB, with the assistance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board (SLAEB) has been continuously conducting surveys to identify radioactive mineral resources island wide, he said.
“One of the main surveys we did in 2010 focused on the areas from Nayaru to Batticaloa. We have recognized 09 areas where there are radioactive minerals in this landscape. We are conducting further investigations on these areas at present. This year we started doing a survey from Mannar to Colombo extending to Kirinda. Our main focus is on Uranium and Thorium availability in these areas and the surveys mainly focus on Sri Lankan beaches.” De Silva explained. The Senior Director also said that the IAEA donated a Carbon Gamma-ray Spectrometer to Sri Lanka, which has immensely contributed to the survey activities of GSMB.
De Silva also said that three areas in Matale have also been identified to contain radioactive mineral resources. He pointed out that detailed studies are being conducted at present focusing on these identified areas.
De Silva also said that the airborne radio metric survey will be conducted with the help of helicopters and planes. “The airborne survey will allow us to collect data available across the country in a short period of time and then we will be able to conduct individual surveys focusing on those identified areas.”
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