Titanium Sands Ltd. halts trading amid Mannar Island controversy

COLOMBO (News1st) : Australian mineral exploration company Titanium Sands Ltd has halted trading at the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) pending an update over a proposed sand mining project on Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. "The Company requests the trading halt last from receipt of this request until the release of the announcement ... no later than the commencement of trading on ...1 July, 2020," the firm wrote to the ASX on Monday. The request had been approved by the stock exchange. A News 1st investigation exposed a series of irregularities involving the exploration activities carried out by Titanium Sands Ltd in the South Asian nation, that saw the drilling of more than 3500 holes on Mannar Island since 2015. The company, in mid-June announced its intentions to enter into a mining project on the island targetting 265 metric tonnes of minerals that include heavy metals such as Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, and Garnet.  Ilmenite which is the source of titanium that is used in manufacturing aircraft, was of a high quality in the island, according to Titanium Sands Ltd.