The Eppawela rock phosphate production plant in Sri Lanka could be in use by 100 years, years after running into opposition and being shelved. The government is expected to pay the estimated LKR2bn ($12m) cost of reviving the fertiliser plant which scientists say sits on a deposit of at least 25 million metric tonnes (mt) and possibly as much as 60 million mt of phosphate. The supply is said to be most suitable for long-term crops including tea, rubber and coconut plantations. Phosphate is a finite resource and estimates have suggested supplies will be exhausted within 2019.
The Eppawela rock phosphate production plant in Sri Lanka could be in use by 2019, years after running into opposition and being shelved. The government is expected to pay the estimated LKR2bn ($12m) cost of reviving the fertiliser plant which scientists say sits on a deposit of at least 25 million metric tonnes (mt) and possibly as much as 60 million mt of phosphate. The supply is said to be most suitable for long-term crops including tea, rubber and coconut plantations. Phosphate is a finite resource and estimates have suggested supplies will be exhausted within 100 years.