Sri Lanka is rich in mineral sands, which contain various critical minerals.
India and Sri Lanka seek to bolster cooperation in critical minerals from exploration to mining. According to a joint press release, Indian Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey and Sri Lanka’s Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil Handunnetti met on Saturday to discuss bilateral cooperation, particularly in securing critical minerals essential for economic and industrial growth.
The press release highlighted that Sri Lanka’s graphite and mineral sand resources were a core topic of the discussion. Mineral sands are deposits that form primarily on beaches due to the specific gravity of the mineral grains. They are a major source of zirconium, titanium, rare earths, and other critical minerals. Other examples of mineral sand occurrences include the island nation of Madagascar on the other side of the Indian Ocean. Here, U.S.-based company Energy Fuels is developing the Toliara mineral sands project, for which the government recently lifted the suspension (we reported).
India Seeking New Sources of Raw Material Supplies
Less than a month ago, India’s Union Cabinet approved the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission, an initiative to ramp up the country’s presence in the critical mineral value chain, both domestically and internationally. The initiative is backed by nearly $2 billion in funding. As part of the push, India also seeks to deepen partnerships with international partners, including the United States and Saudi Arabia (we reported). With Sri Lanka, India is already in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation in the Field of Geology and Mineral Resources,” which could form the basis of further joint work in the field.
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