Sri Lanka’s mineral sector presents significant investment opportunities, particularly in graphite, mineral sands (ilmenite, rutile, zircon), and rare earth elements, driven by investor-friendly policies and the push for value-added processing, with potential exports reaching US $2 billion said Senior Economist and the Chairman of Energise Australia Pvt. Limited, Dr. Arosha Fernando.

Dr. Fernando has participated in a number of recent international investment forums, including in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, focusing on global economic trends and fostering new investments, especially in sectors like AI, semi-conductors, and technology, building on Taiwan’s strong economic outlook and efforts to become an Asian asset management hub.

He further learnt Taiwan’s mineral policy focus on securing critical minerals for high-tech manufacturing (semi-conductors, batteries) and clean energy, leveraging its strong downstream processing capabilities (magnets, components) through partnerships.

During the Forum, Dr. Fernando explained that the key areas for investment include high-purity graphite mining, graphene tech, advanced gem operations, and mineral sands development which is fully supported by the Board of Investment (BOI) and the new national mineral policy currently being formulated in Sri Lanka. While challenges, like regulatory clarity and past corruption concerns. exist, the focus is on attracting foreign investment for sustainable, modern mining to capture more of the island’s untapped mineral wealth, he further elaborated.

The government plans to make the maximum utilisation of its mineral resources to bolster the nation’s economic growth, and the potential for creating value-added products from these resources. Given the island nation’s rich mineral resources, the government has devised plans to expand investment opportunities.

Dr. Fernando requested the Sri Lankan government to further foster foreign investments and proposed that the state conduct a comprehensive ore reserves study to maintain transparency and informed decision-making within the industry. An ore reserve study will determine the economically recoverable quantity and quality of minerals in a deposit, involving geological modelling, data analysis (from drilling), and economic assessment to classify resources as reserves for mining, using standards like JORC or SAMREC, and is crucial for mine feasibility and planning.

Sri Lanka’s mineral export potential is as much as US $ 2 billion annually where the realised amount is only US $ 389 million as estimated by the ITC Export Potential Map, a report compiled by the Pathfinder Foundation.

“We think it makes a lot of sense for Sri Lanka as well. In Australia we know the potential of the minerals and the renewable energy sectors because much of it has already been realised. Mining, as many will know, makes a massive contribution to Australia’s economy. It’s roughly 10 percent of our GDP, more than 60 percent of our export revenue. These are huge figures,” Australian High Commissioner Matthew Duckworth said in a recent event held in Colombo that investing in minerals and renewable energy has made a lot of sense for Australia.

Commenting further on the mining sector, he said Sri Lanka had significant export potential here, including for many minerals that are only going to be in greater demand globally. We know there are graphite deposits in Sri Lanka that are renowned for their quality – crucial inputs into modern technology. We also know there are mineral sands deposits in the northern and eastern provinces.

“Now just as Australia has really benefited from the development of our minerals and most recently our renewable energy sectors, we really want Sri Lanka to benefit from this here as well. We see common interests for both our countries in this. On renewable energy for example, our view is that Australia and Sri Lanka share the same interests here,” he further added.