Tomen Corp. is reconsidering its planned investment in a huge phosphate mine in Eppawala, an ancient village in central Sri Lanka, according to members of a Japanese nongovernmental organization supporting residents who oppose the project.
Japanese Citizens for Eppawala has received replies from Tomen after sending letters in May and June urging the company to halt investment in the project because it will destroy the environment and threaten residents' lives.
As part of a project with U.S. fertilizer firm IMC Agrico Co., Tomen and the Sri Lankan government-owned body Lanka Phosphate Ltd. are to explore and mine for phosphate around 56 sq. km of ancestral lands, destroying 26 villages and 23 major irrigation tanks, the NGO said.