Abstract:
Kirinda fishery harbour is dredged out periodically to pump out sand to maintain its depth.
Sand samples (n= 38) were collected from the dredged-out sand pile covering all the regions
and were analysed for mineralogy, particle size distribution (PSD) and microscopic
observation. Mineralogical analysis via X-ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed positive availability
of heavy minerals such as Ilmenite, Rutile and Zircon in different forms of compounds. As per
the results of PSD test, more than 90% of the particles lay below 250 μm size. The highest
percentage of the distribution fall in the range of 180 μm - 212μm. With the comparison of PSD
graphs and geometrical parameters (mean, skewness, sorting, kurtosis) obtained from results,
it can be concluded that the sand in the study area is well sorted. The X-Ray Fluorescent (XRF)
test was carried out to find the enrichment ratio of heavy minerals. There was a considerable
increment in the enrichment ratio of samples before and after Wilfley separation. But the
percentage of heavy minerals in the samples is not up to upper continental crust limits of
economically minable heavy minerals.
Citation:
Fernando, A.K.N., Perera, E.M.N.S., Saranga, L.S., & Vijitha, A.V.P. (2020). Heavy mineral sands in Kirinda area, deposit characteristics and extraction potential. In D.M.D.O.K. Dissanayake & A.B.N. Dassanayake (Eds.), Proceedings of International Symposium on Earth Resources Management & Environment 2020 (pp. 96-102). Department of Earth Resources Engineering, University of Moratuwa.
