ISLAND WIDE

CONSTRUCTION RAW MATERIAL SURVEY

REPORT ON DISTRICT

by

D.M.S Dissanayake

(Geologist)

Report No: MR/CRM/11/2018

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY & MINES BUREAU

No. 569, Epitamulla Road

Pitakotte

June 2018

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CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 01 2. Objectives 02 3. Area and Boundary 02 4. Location and Accessibility 02 5. Climate & Rainfall 05 6. Physiography and Drainage 05 7. Outline of Geology 06 8. Initial Study 08 9. Field Investigations 08 10. Construction Raw Material Occurrences 08 10.1 Building Materials 09 10.1.1 River Sand 09 10.1.2 Land Based Sand 09 10.1.3 Gravel and Soil Beds 12 10.1.4 Rock 17 11. Conclusion 27 12. Recommendation 29 Acknowledgements 30 References 30

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ANNEXURES

1. Construction Raw Material Resources Map of . 2. The Details of newly identified rock quarries in Anuradhapura District. 3. The Details of newly identified Gravel Occurrences in Anuradhapura District. 4. The Details of newly identified Sand Deposits in Anuradhapura District. 5. The Details of working Rock Quarries, Gravel Pits and Sand deposits in Anuradhapura District.

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Island wide Construction Raw Material Survey Report on Anuradhapura District

1. Introduction

Over the past two decades, state as well as private sector organizations initiated rapid development work throughout the country in a large scale.

Of these projects, Port City development project, construction of expressways (i.e. Northern and Central expressways, extension of Southern expressway to Hambantota and Mattala), extension of Southern Railway line from Matara to and construction of a massive building complex for the Ministry of Defense and Three Forces Head Quarters in Pelawatta and other government office complexes in Battaramulla, construction of irrigation and hydro power projects in many parts of the country, construction of multi storied apartment complexes in urban and suburban, etc., are the most significant. For these projects, huge quantities of building raw materials (sand, rock and soil / gravel) are required.

Being the regulatory authority on Mines and Minerals Act No. 33 of 1992 and amended Act No. 66 of 2009, it is the responsibility of the GSMB to identify mineral resources in the country, including building raw materials, required for various industries and development projects, initiated by the state as well as the private sector.

In the recent past, the contractors of various development projects have complained about the difficulties faced by them when identifying suitable localities for extracting and supplying building raw materials needed for the major development projects, currently initiated in many parts of the country. This has resulted in delaying construction work of some of the government high priority development projects.

This matter was reported to Mr. R. Paskaralingam, Senior Advisor to the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs by the relevant parties at the progress review meetings of the government development projects, held at the Ministry. Subsequently a request was made to the Director General, GSMB by Mr. R. Paskaralingam, to immediately initiate an island wide survey to identify minable locations of building raw materials (sand, rock and soil / gravel) and to estimate their resources in order to use them as per the requirements of the projects. 4

Accordingly, GSMB has commenced an island wide construction raw materials survey in early 2017. This report including maps, tables and annexes is the output of the survey conducted in Anuradhapura District.

2. Objectives

The objectives of this survey are as follows.

 Conducting field surveys to identify suitable sites for mining construction raw materials. ( sand, gravel and rock)  Identification of mining related issues and environmental concerns.  Preparation of construction raw material resource map of .  Assessment of mineable quantities of construction materials in identified locations and their optimum extraction limits.

3. Area and Boundary

Total area of Anuradhapura District is approximately 7179 square kilometers. The District is bordered by Kurunegala and Matale Districts on the South, Puttlm and Mannar districts on the West, on the North and Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa districts on the East direction. The District is comprised of twenty two Divisional Secretariat Divisions and situated at a distance of about 220 km from Colombo (Fig. 1).

4. Location and Accessibility

The area covered by Anuradhapura District lies within 1:50,000 topographic sheets of Anuradhapura, Kokilai, Pankulum, Vavuniya, Madhu Road, Wilpattu, Tantirimale, Medawachchiya, Horowpothana, Kalpitiya, Kala Oya, Kaudulla, Galgamuwa and Kekirawa. Main city of the district is Anuradhapura while Horowpothana,

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Medawachchiya, Kekirawa and Thambuttegama are the medium scale towns located within the district.

Anuradhapura is the largest and one of the poorly developed districts of the country. Accessibility to the Anuradhapura District is mainly through Colombo-Puttlum- Anuradhapura road. There is another path to access the district through Kurunega and Dambulla.

These main roads are connected with a fair network of provincial roads (“B”,“C” & “D” grade) and roads (“E” & “F” grade) existing within the District.

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Figure 1 – Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Anuradhapura District

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5. Climate Rainfall

The entire Anuradhapura district falls within the dry zone of . The District receives around 1255 mm of rainfall in average annually. This is usually limited to 4-5 months of the year.

Monthly Average Temperatures

The highest average monthly temperature is recorded in the months of May,June, July and September (33-340C) while the lowest average monthly temperature is encountered in the months October to February (22- 230C). Anuradhapura has an average annual temperature, ranging from 22.5 - 32.5 oC.

6. Physiography and Drainage

Physiographically most of the area covered by Anuradhapura District belongs to lowest peneplain of Sri Lanka. The topography of the landscape is essentially derived from the processes of denudation and peneplanation that have worn down the land to its present form. This has resulted in a gently undulating peneplain with erosion remnants of the more resistant rock breaking the relief. Differential erosion of the peneplain surface has also left isolated remnants of rock outcrops with boundary land around their base.

Three major streams flow through the district are Malwathu Oya, Kala Oya and Yan Oya. The numbers of small to medium scale streams are drained through the district. Malwathu Oya and Kala Oya drain in NW direction and meet Puttlum and Mannar districts before discharging in to the Indian Ocean while Yan Oya drains north east direction and meet before entering the sea in Eastern beach.

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7. Outline of Geology

There are several rock formations of different ages and the main rock formations belong to Quaternary, Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Precambrian ages. The dominant rock type of the island is Precambrian high grade metamorphic rocks covering approximately 90% of the island. Also sedimentary rocks (approximately 10%) can be found in some parts especially north western and northern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Few igneous intrusions can be found within the island.

These metamorphic rock formations can be subdivided in to four groups of Precambrian ages namely Highland Complex (HC), Vijayan Complex(VC), Wanni Complex(WC) and Kadugannawa Complex(KC) as shown in Fig.( 1).

The Highland Complex composed of super crustal rocks (garnet sillimanite gneisses, metaquartzites, marbles, calc silicate rocks), orthogneisses of largly granitoid composition, and charnockitic rocks, metamorphosed under upper amphibolites to granulite facies conditions. The main rock structure of this complex is very clear syncline and anticline folded structures with clearly defined foliation planes.

The Wanni Complex is characterized by thick sequences of ortho gneisses comprises of amphibolite grade, migmatitic, granitic and granodioritic gneisses in northwest and western sections of the country. Towards the northeast, granulite grade variants such as charnockitic rocks and minor granulite grade metasediments are common.

Geologically the entire Anuradhapura District lies within the Wanni Complex of Sri Lanka.

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Figure – 2: Simplified Geological Map of Sri Lanka showing Boundary of Anuradhapura District

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8. Initial Study

Upon awarding the study, GSMB commenced project related activities in February 2017. GSMB assigned a geologist with support staff to perform raw material survey in the district. A senior geologist was identified to co-ordinate the project related activities.

Initially, all the available data on raw material occurrences within the district were collected and map showing all known locations of building raw materials of the district was prepared (both soft and hard copies).

9. Field Investigations

After the desktop study, assigned field crew left for field in Anuradhapura District to commence field work in May, 2017. The field camp was established in Dahayagama area which is situated near the main city of the District.

Field work in entire District was conducted within a period of two and a half months. During this period all the accessible areas in the District were investigated. After completing field investigations in July 2017, field unit shifted to to commence the same survey in .

This report, along with accompanying maps and tables, discuss the results of the construction material survey in Anuradhapura District.

10. Construction Raw Material Occurrences

The occurrences of following building raw materials have been identified. These include already known and newly identified deposits.

10.1 Building Materials 10.1.1 River Sand 10.1.2 Land Based Sand 10.1.3 Gravel Soil / Beds 10.1.4 Rock 11

10.1 Building Materials 10.1.1 River Sand Few major streams and a number of small streams are found within the Anuradhapura district. Most of them are perennial streams and few of them are seasonal streams. Some of them flow through other districts before entering the sea and few of them flow into major reservoirs within the district. A large quantity of sand is deposited along these streams during the monsoon period. Therefore, sand can be extracted annually from these streams in large quantities.

Malwathu Oya and Kala Oya streams of the district drain in North - West directions and enteres Puttalm and Mannar districts before reaching the sea. Yan Oya drain in North – East directions and enteres in to Trincomalee district before reaching the sea in the coast.

Fine to medium grained, sub angular to sub rounded river sands are available in the river beds of above mentioned river systems.

This survey was conducted in an extremely dry period. The sand deposits on most stream beds were mined out and mining was terminated temporarily. According to information received from license holders in the area, large amounts of sand can be expected after every rainy period.

10.1.2 Land Based Sand

Land based sand is also river sand found in older river or stream paths. Within the Anuradhapura district two major land based sand deposits can be observed in Aliyakanda and Wahalkada areas.

Aliyakanda Land Base Sand Deposit

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This is the largest and currently mining land based sand deposit in Kebilithigollewa DS division of Anuradhapura district. This deposit is associated with Yan Oya stream.

Plate – 01 Plate- 01-A

Plate 01& 01-A: Landbased sand formations in Aliyakanda area within Anuradhapura district

Wahalkada Land Base Sand Deposit

This is another large and currently mining land based sand deposit in Kebilithigollawa DS Division.

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10.1.3 Gravel and Soil Beds

Gravel is another important material used in road construction. Few gravel beds exist within the district. The quartzitic gravel beds are the main type among them.

Quartzitic Gravel Beds

Banded quartzitic gravel formations are found in most locations within the district. Prominent occurrences of quartzititic gravel are identified mainly in the weathered overburden cover of quartzite rocks at many places within the District. A characteristic feature of quartzitic gravel formations is that they generally occur above the ground surface. Therefore, backfilling is not required after completing mining activities. It was noted that some of the gravel beds were mined without a valid mining license from the GSMB. However, currently, mining activities in most of the gravel pits are conducted legally.

Following are some of the locations of quartzitic gravel occurrences which have been partly mined out or currently being mined.

Thunwaththegama Gravel Deposit in Horowpothana DS division

This is one of the largest gravel deposits within Anuradhapura district found during the survey. This is an abandoned gravel quarry located in Thunwaththegama area of Horowpothana Divisional Secretariat Division. This quarry is located within forest reserve and nearly 10% of the deposit was mined out. Estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 17.4x105m3.

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Plate – 02 Plate – 02-A

Plate – 02 & 02-A: Abandoned quartzitic gravel deposit located in Thunuwattagama area of horowpothana DS division.

Meegahawewa Gravel Deposit in Kebelithigollewa DS division

This is another large gravel deposit within Anuradhapura district. This is an untouched gravel deposit located in Meegahawewa area of Kebilithigollewa Divisional Secretariat Division. This is located within a wildlife reserve. Estimated gravel volume is approximately 3.0x106m3.

Plate –03 Plate – 03-A

Plate – 03 & 03-A: Untouched quartzitic gravel deposit located in Meegahawewa area of Kebelithigollewa DS division.

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Dunumadalawa Gravel Deposit in Kahatagasdigiliya DS division

This is a large abandoned gravel quarry located in Dunumadalawa area of Kahatagasdigiliya Divisional Secretariat Division. This quarry is located within a wildlife reserve and nearly 10% of the deposit was mined out. Estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 40x105m3.

Plate – 04 Plate – 04-A

Plate – 04 & 04-A: Abandoned quartzitic gravel deposit located in Dunumadalawa area of Kahatagsadigiliya DS division.

Palugaswewa Gravel Deposit in Nuwaragampalatha East DS division

This large abandoned gravel deposit is located in Palugaswewa area of Nuwaragampalatha East Divisional Secretariat Division. It is also located within a forest reserve. Estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 3.0x106m3.

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Plate –05 Plate – 05-A

Plate – 05 & 05-A: Abandoned quartzitic gravel deposit located in Palugaswewa area of Nuwaragampalatha East DS division. Kirikkulama Gravel Deposit in Nuwaragampalatha East DS division

This large gravel quarry is being mined at present and it is located in Kirikkulama area of Nuwaragampalatha East Divisional Secretariat Division. It is located within a private land and nearly 50% of the deposit was mined out. Estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 24x105m3.

Plate – 06 Plate – 06-A

Plate – 06 & 06-A: Currently mining quartzitic gravel deposit located in Kirikkulama area of Nuwaragampalatha East DS division.

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Halmillewa Gravel Deposit in Nuwaragampalatha East DS division

This abandoned gravel deposit is located in Halmillewa area of Nuwaragampalatha East Divisional Secretariat Division. This is found on bare land within a forest reserve. It has an estimated gravel volume of approximately 2.0x106m3.

Plate –07 Plate – 07-A

Plate – 07 & 07-A: Abandoned quartzitic gravel deposit located in Halmillewa area of Nuwaragampalatha East DS division.

Kirikatuwewa Gravel Deposit in Kebelithigollewa DS division

This untouched gravel deposit is located in Kirikatuwewa area of Kebilithigollewa Divisional Secretariat Division. This new deposit is located within forest reserve and has an estimated gravel volume of approximately 4.8x105m3.

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Plate –08 Plate – 08-A

Plate – 08 & 08-A: Untouched quartzitic gravel deposit located in Kirikatuwewa area of Kebelithigollewa DS division.

Weimapothana Gravel Deposit in Horowpothana DS division

This untouched gravel deposit is located within a forest land and its estimated gravel volume is approximately 12x105m3.

Plate – 09 Plate – 09-A Plate – 09 & 09-A: Untouched quartzitic gravel deposit located in Weimapothana area of Horowpothana DS division.

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Karabewa Gravel Deposit in Nuwaragampalatha DS division

This currently mining gravel deposit is located in Karabewa area of Nuwaragampalatha Divisional Secretariat Division. This is located on a bare land within a forest. The estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 2.5x106m3.

Plate –10 Plate – 10-A

Plate – 10 & 10-A: Currently mining quartzitic gravel deposit located in Karabewa area of Nuwaragampalatha DS division.

Kandubodagama Gravel Deposit in Kekirawa DS division

This is untouched large quartzitic gravel deposit is located within a government land. The estimated gravel volume is approximately 4.5x105m3.

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Plate – 11 Plate – 11-A Plate – 11 & 11-A: Untouched quartzitic gravel deposit located in Kandubodagama area of Kekirawa DS division.

Diggahamillewa Gravel Deposit in Medawachchiya DS division

This is the largest gravel deposit found within Anuradhapura district during the survey. This untouched quartzitic gravel deposit is located on a mountain ridge in a forest land. The estimated remaining gravel volume is approximately 24x106m3.

Plate –12 Plate – 12-A

Plate – 12 & 12-A: Untouched quartzitic gravel deposit located in Diggahamillewa area of Medawachchiya DS division.

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10.1.4 Rock Rock aggregate is the most important raw material used in construction industry. Different sizes of broken and crushed rocks, varying from fine powder to boulder size, are produced according to the requirements of construction industry, mainly for road and building construction and other related development activities.

Any rock, to be used as a construction material, must be strong and be able to withstand the stresses placed upon it. In this respect, many of the crystalline rocks of the country can be considered as suitable rocks for the production of rock aggregates.

However, in order to set-up an economically viable quarry project, sufficient reserves of suitable rocks should be made available in an easily accessible location. In order to operate it in a sustainable manner, it should also be located in an environmentally less sensitive area where impacts are not significant or impacts could be mitigated without causing detrimental damages to the existing environment.

When considering the above facts, finding suitable locations to set-up rock quarry projects is not an easy task. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out extensive field surveys to assess the feasibility of possible quarry sites.

For the ongoing infra – structure development projects, large quantities of rock aggregate is required. Although a large number of operating rock quarries are available within the district, their supply is not sufficient to fulfill the demand. Therefore, in order to maintain adequate supply of aggregates for these development projects, it is necessary to discover suitable quarry sites in proper locations within the Anuradhapura District.

During field investigations it was noted that quarries are being operated within most of the large rock exposures in the District. In addition a number of applications have been submitted to GSMB by various private parties seeking licenses to commence quarrying in some other rock exposures. Apparently a few has been already issued. Number of

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new large rock exposures suitable for starting rock quarries were also identified during the field investigations.

Major rock types identified in the study area are charnockite and charnockitic gneiss, granitic gneiss and hornblende biotite gneiss. Only a few of the rock out crops are exposed several meters above the ground surface and as result quarries at such locations are limited. Therefore a large number of below surface quarries are observed within the district. Following are the locations of main hard rock exposures identified during field investigations with in the district.

Rambewa Rock Exposure at Medawachchiya

Rambewa rock exposure is located within the Medawachchiya DS division. This is an abandoned large charnockitic quarry. It has been observed that there are few abandoned quarries at this site. Mined out volume of this exposure is very small and a large quantity of metal can be mined from this exposure.

Plate -13 Plate -13-A

Plate -13 & 13-A Abandoned metal quarries at Rambewa rock exposure.

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Ihala Divulwewa rock exposure at Horowpothana

Ihala Divulwewa rock exposure is located within Horowpothana DS division. This is a large rocky mountain with charnockite. A number of abandoned rock quarries are found on this long rock exposure. Mined out volume of this exposure is very small and a large quantity of rock can be mined from this exposure.

Plate-14 Plate 14-A

Plate-14& 14-A: Abondoned Metal quarries along Ihala Divulwewa rock exposure

Upuldeniya rock exposure, Galenbindunuwewa

This is a large untouched rock exposure located within a forest land in Upuldeniya area of Galenbidunuwewa DS division. The rock type found at this exposure is charnockite. A large quantity of rock can be mined from this exposure.

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Plate - 15 Plate -15-A Plate-15& 15-A : Untouched rock exposure in Upuldeniya area Galenbidunuwewa DS division. Ihala Puliyankulama Rock Exposure at Medawachchiya

The rock type identified at this exposure is Charnockite. During the field investigations currently operating rock quarries have been observed. As this exposure is located within a forest land a large number of rock quarries can be developed with the permission of Forest Department.

Plate - 16 Plate-16-A Plate -16 & 16-A: Currently operating rock quarrie on Ihala Puliyankulama rock exposure in Medawachchiya area. 25

Ganewalpola rock exposure at Kekirawa

A number of abandoned rock quarries were observed during the field investigations around Ganewalpola area. The rock type identified at this area is Charnockite. This quarry was operated by a government organization but it is now abandoned. A large quantity of rock is still available in this exposure.

Plate- 17 Plate-17-A Plate- 17 and 17.A: Abandoned rock exposure in Ganewalpola area Kekirawa DS division.

Ralapanawa Korale rock exposure in Nochchiyagama The rock type at this exposure is Charnockite. During the field investigation a quarry was operating at this site. As this exposure is located within forest land, a few rock quarries can be developed with the permission of Forest Department.

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Plate 18 Plate-18-A Plate- 18 & 18-A Currently operating rock quarry in Nochchiyagama area.

Shrawasthipura rock exposure in Nachchaduwa

At this charnockitic rock exposure few quarries are operated below the ground level. As this exposure located within a private land, a large number of rock quarries can be developed on this exposure.

Plate 19 Plate-19-A Plate- 19 & 19-A Currently operating rock quarries in Nachchaduwa area in Anuradhapura district.

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Madathugama rock exposure in Kekirawa This large untouched charnockite rock exposure is located at Madathugama area in Kekirawa DS division. During the field investigations not a single quarry was operated at this site. Development of a rock quarry is impossible as a temple is located on this rock exposure.

Plate -20 Plate-20-A Plate- 20 & 20-A A charnokite rock exposure in Madatugama area in Kekirawa.

Kudarugama rock exposure in Mihintale

This above ground untouched charnockite rock exposure is located at Kudarugama in Mihintale DS division. As this exposure is located within a wildlife reserve, a significant number of rock quarries can be developed with the permission of wildlife department.

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Plate 22 Plate-22-A

Plate- 22 & 22-A Untouched rock exposure in Mihintale area.

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11. Conclusions

 Most of the rock exposures and gravel deposits identified by the survey can be mined.

 The total estimated minable resources of rock, gravel and sand within Anuradhapura district in cubic meters are as follows:

Rock - 96.02x106m3

Gravel - 62.83x106m3

Sand - 60.05x106m3

Construction Raw Material Occurrences in each DS division within Anuradhapura District

Gravel & Inland DS Division Rock (m3) Soil (m3) Sand (m3) Medawachchiya 24345000 19781500 Kebitigollewa 4212500 1428750 60050000 Horowupathana 6785000 12640000 Galenbindunuwewa 3000000 Palugaswewa 385500 75000 Thirappane 360000 1152500 Kekirawa 1135000 13125000 Palagala 200000 3600000 Thalawa 170000 45000 Thambuththegama 120000 Ipalogama 1855000 Nochchiyagama 25490000 Padawiya 2680000 206250 Nachchaduwa 40000 40000 Mihinthale 320000 1520750 Nuwara gampalatha East 17240000 100000 Nuwara gampalatha 760000 Central Kahasdigiliya 4830000 191250 Galnewa 10000 254000 Mahawilachchiya 120000 10675000 62833000 96020000 60050000

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Construction Raw Material Occurrences in each DS division within Anuradhapura District

70000000 60000000 50000000 40000000 30000000 20000000 Gravel & Soil 10000000 Rock 0

Inland Sand

Palagala

Thalawa

Galnewa

Kekirawa

Padawiya

Ipalogama

Mihinthale

Thirappane

Kahasdigiliya

Kebitigollewa

Palugaswewa

Nachchaduwa

Nochchiyagama

Horowupathana

Medawachchiya

Mahawilachchiya

Thambuththegama

Galenbindunuwewa

Nuwara gampalatha East Nuwara gampalatha Central

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12. Recommendations

 Suitable actions should be taken to reserve some lands containing minable deposits of rock in Medawachchiya, Nochiyagama and Kekirawa DS divisions for future mining purposes.  Suitable actions also should be taken to reserve some lands containing minable deposits of gravel in Medawachchiya and Nuwaragampalatha East DS divisions and Inland Sand in Yan Oya area in Kebilithigollewa DS division for future mining purposes

 The strength of rocks may have to be determined by laboratory tests when and where necessary.

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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Prof. Rohan Fernando (Former Director General), Mr. Nimal Bopage (Former Chairman), Dr. C.H.E.R Siriwardhana (Director General), Geological Survey and Mines Bureau for readily providing all facilities to carry out the survey successfully, within the specified time frame.

A special word of thanks is extended to Mr.K.T.U.S De Silva (Senior Director) and Mrs D.P.R Weerakoon (Senior Geologist) of GSMB for coordinating the programme successfully.

Mr. L.J.M.U.S.K Jayasundara (Trainee Geologist) is acknowledged for their kind co- operation given during the entire field investigations.

Preparation of maps would not have been possible without the assistance of Miss. D.D. Upeksha (Trainee), Mr. M. P. Priyanga, (Cartographer) of GSMB.

Finally, all the geologists and rest of the staff members of the GSMB are acknowledged for helping in various ways during the entire field survey and compilation of the report.

References

Cooray,P.G . 1967. Geology of Sri Lanka. Geological Survey Department, Sri Lanka. Second Revised Edition 1984.

Geological Map of Anuradhapura - Polonnaruwa (Sheet No. 08), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Geological Map of Kalpitiya - Galgamuwa (Sheet No. 07), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Geological Map of Silawatura - Tantirimale (Sheet No. 05), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau. 33

Geological Map of Vaunia - Trincomalee (Sheet No. 06-A), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Geological Map of Dambulla - Pallegama (Sheet No. 11), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Geological Map of Mankulam - Kokilai (Sheet No. 04), 1:100,000 scale, published by Geological Survey and Mines Bureau

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