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| Sunday, 26 September 2004 |
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Modernising Mineral Sands factory by Anura Maitipe The government has taken initiatives to re-open the Mineral Sands factory at Pulmudai. It recommenced its manufacturing work last week after two decades due to war situation in the North and East, the Minister of Infrastructure Development in the Eastern Province H.M.L. Athaullah told the Sunday Observer. Over 400 employees are working in this factory and it could produce about 130 tons of ilmenite, 15 tons of rutile, 10 tons of silicon and 5 tons of monazite per day. Pulmudai factory produced the best quality ilmenite which were exported to Japan, Russia, China and Europe. The Pulmudai Mineral Sands factory has targeted to generate over Rs 1200 million annually from its exports by further expanding its production capacity, the Minister added. There is a big demand for ilmenite and it is widely used for the ceramic industry.The other expensive mineral produced by this factory is rutile and it is applied as a shield for heat-resisting purposes for different equipment. This is mainly used for military equipment. Apart from this, monazite is used for manufacturing of different kinds of sand paper he said. During a recent survey, an Indian research team has found a large quantity of mineral sand deposits in the eastern coastal area and the Indian government has expressed its willingness to provide the latest technology to make use of these resources, he pointed out. The government has taken initiatives to modernise this factory with replacement of old machinery to increase its production capacity, he added. |
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