Sri Lanka’s Kahatagaha Graphite Mine calls expressions of interest to undertake value addition
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industries and Supply Chain Management has reportedly planned to call for expressions of interest (EOIs) for an investor to undertake value addition for the state-owned Kahatagaha Graphite Mine.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Ministry Secretary J.A. Ranjith has said that the relevant work is being carried out at the moment and the EOIs will be open for both local and foreign investors.
The value addition is to convert raw graphite into the highly valuable graphene.
“At the moment, we are exporting just raw graphite. We want to add value and transform it into graphene and export, which would bring in higher export earnings,” Ranjith has said.
It is learnt that the vein graphite is priced between US$ 1.2-1.8 per kilogramme while graphene is sold at around US$ 3,000 per kilogramme.
He has further added that depending on the amount of investment the graphite mine receives, the capacity of the mine would be extended further.
Early this month, the Ministry had sought Cabinet approval to call bids to find an investor to do the value addition for Kahatagaha graphite.
According to Ceylon Graphene Technologies, Sri Lanka is the only place in the world where vein graphite is produced in commercial quantities.
According to the news report, the Kahatagaha mine is one of the leading producers of high-purity, natural vein graphite, where the mined graphite contains over 99% of fully crystallised carbon. The mine is unique in its low ash content and high carbon crystalline graphite.
OSL take:
The call for EOIs by Sri Lanka’s Kahatagaha Graphite for value addition is a lucrative business/investment opportunity for foreign businesses/investors looking at opportunities in the country. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, the ease of doing business environment in the country and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it an attractive business destination in the South Asian region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/26022020/Z_3 |