Lack of ammonia nitrate brings quarrying sector to a halt | Page 2 | Sunday Observer

Lack of ammonia nitrate brings quarrying sector to a halt

19 June, 2022
National Metal Product Association officials addressing the media. Pic: Sudath Malaweera
National Metal Product Association officials addressing the media. Pic: Sudath Malaweera

The quarrying sector which provides material for the construction industry, a vital cog in the economy is in dire straits due to the current foreign exchange scarcity in the country that has brought imports of ammonia nitrate, an industrial chemical used as an explosive for quarrying, to a halt, according to National Metal Products Association officials. 

The Association held a media briefing in Colombo recently to highlight the plight of the industry.

Progress of the quarry industry which offers close to one million direct and indirect employment (over 300,000 direct and 500,000 indirect jobs) and serves as a vital component in the construction industry has come to a standstill due to lack of attention by the authorities who have turned a deaf hear and a blind eye to the grievances of the industry, National Metal Product Association Secretary Jagath Kumara Digalle said.

He said officials had been briefed about the plight of the industry which cannot go on without the industrial chemical which is not being imported due to the forex crisis.

Ammonia nitrate is imported by a single entity and it is  regulated by the Ministry of Defense.

The employers are unable to pay wages of workers and service loans obtained from banks and leasing companies for investments, Digalle said.

The industry comprises around 1,828 quarries and undermining the quantum of banking and leasing facilities offered to the industry could adversely affect the banking and leasing sectors of the country, the Association officials said.

Since the economic crisis took grip of the quarry industry the future of workers and the dependents have been bleak and however much the gravity of the crisis has been pointed to the authorities no solution is in sight, Digalle said, adding that the Association will be pressing the authorities to take swift action and save the industry.

The material produced by quarrying  provides the materials for the construction of roads and buildings and  delivers vital minerals for agriculture and the generation of electricity.

“It is tempting to see a quarry as an undesirable ‘hole in the ground’ but we need our quarrying industry to supply us with vital materials for our economy.

We need talented, professional women and men to operate quarries in a way that is safe, productive and good for our environment,” he said. 

Quarrying is the process of removing rock, sand, gravel or other minerals from the ground to produce materials for construction or other uses. So, a quarry is any such working on the surface of the earth where minerals are extracted. Quarries are also known by other names around the world: ‘surface mine’, ‘pit’, ‘open pit’ or ‘opencast mine’.

Comments