Technical, socio-environmental & procedural limitations in Sri Lankan quarry industry from mining professionals perspective

Abstract

Over 2500 quarry sites are currently in operation to cater the large requirement of rock aggregates in Sri Lanka. The concerns of this industry are not limited to the environmental and social aspects but significantly influence its own functionality. Even though such instances are common and under regular discussions, documented evidence and efforts to methodically resolve them finds to be limited. Hence, only the adverse effects of the quarrying industry are mostly highlighted, sidelining the opportunities for sustainable development. This research attempts to systematically document the issues in the quarrying industry in Sri Lanka to address them based on three categories; Technical, Socio-environmental and Procedural. As an initial exercise the collected survey data was categorized on district basis, quarry grade, respondent’s skill level and the nature of the interviews conducted. Through cross analysis of these data clusters the most common concerns were extracted to prioritize according to the level of significance. Afterwards, statistical significance of the relationships among the issues so far identified was computed mainly using Chi-squared-test and Binary Logistic Regression. Findings of this pilot study can be used for future policy development, even though they are dominantly represented by the Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts.