Sri Lanka, June 26 -- Sri Lanka's mineral-rich coastline comprises of an abundance of heavy mineral sands including Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Monazite and Garnet. The mineral sand sector is now gaining momentum due to the global demand for mineral sand, driven by increasing construction, automobile industry and the transition to green energy. In this backdrop, the Sri Lankan government recently announced its National Mineral Policy with a primary focus of doing value addition to raw materials prior to exports. However, the unsustainable demand for mineral sands by certain multinational companies has been scrutinised by environmental groups and civil society organisations as they claim that it would pose detrimental impacts on people as w...