Wilson, W.N.

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a country rich in various types of mineral resources. Following new discussions, Sri Lankan scientists have begun to investigate and explore the iron ore deposits in Sri Lanka. The iron ore deposits in Sri Lanka could be categorized into several groups. Attention has been paid to iron ore deposits in Seruwila Panirendawa and Buttala. Iron ore deposits in the world belong to Precambrian iron formation and iron ore stones which are Phanerzoic in age. This paper is an attempt to fill the existing chronological gap for Seruwila and other Sri Lankan iron ore deposits.  Most likely, the deposition time period and the rock types of the deposits suggest a possible link to the Snowball Earth, proposed by Paul Holfman in 1998, a geologist at Harvard. The Supergene type iron ores in the southwest region of the island could have formed by late diagenesis, but as the majority of iron first originate in the form of ferrous as iron, at least some of the Supergene type ores could have come from the same plutonic activities as Seruwila and Buttala..

Keywords: iron ore deposits, Snowball Earth, iron formation, iron ore stones, Sri Lanka