By the end of August 2021, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) had earned Rs. 2028.33 million. This is an increase of 74 percent over the previous year, the GSMB told the Ministry of Environment.
These facts were revealed when Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera inquired about the progress of GSMB yesterday (12).
This revenue is earned through the issuance of mining and transport permits licenses for export of mineral resources as well as geological surveys carried out by various external agencies, especially for sand, mettle, gravel, and soil. So far this year, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau have issued 777,000 licenses for sand, gravel, soil transport. GSMB says the number of transport licenses issued by the end of this year will exceed one million.
GSMB has so far issued 12 exploration licenses, 1856 industrial licenses, 281 trade licenses, 777,000 transport licenses and 374 export licenses within the last 09 months.
Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera also instructed the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau to issue licenses and find out the as well as other sources of revenue. It is already proposed to start several value-added manufacturing industries in particular. Meanwhile, preliminary steps have been taken to produce calcium carbonate from the Kaltota calcite and value added products from the rare and valuable mineral resource of Wellawaya Kotigambokka Quartz deposit.
