Sri lankan island community fights mining company’s plan to extract “black gold” from fragile coastal ecosystem

The residents of Mannar Island in northwestern Sri Lanka are mobilizing against a proposed mineral extraction project that threatens to destroy their fragile coastal ecosystem and traditional way of life. At the center of the controversy is ilmenite, a valuable mineral sometimes called “black gold” that has been deposited along the island’s beaches over centuries. The mineral is highly sought after for producing titanium dioxide, used in paints and cosmetics, and titanium metal for aerospace and medical applications.

The conflict has inspired local artists like Eric Fernando, whose Tamil song “Karunilam” (meaning “black sand”) has become an anthem for the resistance movement. “Cries in silence, her veins robbed by greedy hands, each grain of stolen sand buries a future beneath the lands,” Fernando sings, capturing the community’s anguish over the potential environmental devastation. His protest song reflects both the mourning and defiance felt by islanders who fear losing their coastal beauty, traditional livelihoods, and cultural heritage to commercial exploitation.

While Mannar’s ilmenite deposits were first identified during British colonial geological surveys in the early 20th century, the decades-long Sri Lankan civil war delayed serious exploration until the 2010s. Commercial interest intensified when Australia-based Titanium Sands Limited began extensive drilling operations on the island in the mid-2010s. As hundreds of exploratory holes appeared across their landscape, residents grew increasingly alarmed about the project’s impact on Mannar Island’s globally important and ecologically sensitive environment. The community now faces a critical battle to protect their island home from what they see as destructive resource extraction that prioritizes corporate profits over environmental preservation and local rights.