Foreigners banned from gem mining as their technology can extract total Sri Lankan gem deposits in a single year!
The Government banned foreign companies from mining gems in this country, for if they are allowed to do so using new technology, the entire gem deposits in Sri Lanka would have been extracted within a year!
This was revealed by Vajira Narammpanawa, Chairman, National Gem and Jewellery Authority, at the launch of ICA (International Coloured Gemstone Association) Congress 2015 held in Colombo this week, responding to a question from the media.
The congress is scheduled to be held on May 16 to 19 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel and alongside the apex International Gem and Jewellery Exhibition – FACETS 2015.
He said allowing the locals to mine in the traditional way coming down from ages would ensure domestic employment and also preserve the environment as much as possible.
Clement Sabbah, Chairman, ICA Congress Committee, giving some insight of the congress said that this is the 16th congress. Sri Lanka earlier held the event in 1989 and since then the country has developed its mining and processing industry to become one of the most important hubs for the gem and jewellery industry.
Dr. Gamini Zoysa, Consultant Geologist and Gemologist, and ICA Director for Sri Lanka, in answer to a query by a journalist said that the application of technology in the industry has vastly improved internationally. About 10 years ago Israel developed a robot for gem cutting with no human involvement.
Dr. Zoysa, on the sidelines of the launch, told the Business Times that the robot is not used here because Sri Lankan industry is concerned about the weight of the gem (which could get affected if a robot is used).
He said that in the sphere of heat treatment of converting ‘Gevuda’ into Sapphires, Sri Lankan gemologists have mastered the technique and also in the case of gem cutting and in jewellery design Sri Lanka is in par with international standards.
“Our problem,” he said, is the supply of gems because Sri Lanka cannot meet the demand as the resources are limited.