I completely disagree but it is good to read more of your thoughts on this...
Why Sri Lanka?
1/ Sri Lanka is the only region in the world that produces vein (lump) graphite with a carbon content of more than 90%C in commercial quantities.
2/ Sri Lanka is one of the fastest growing economies in the world GDP growth: 8.2%
3/ The 25-year civil war ended in May 2009.
4/ The Sri Lankan government is keen on promoting foreign private sector investment, with graphite being the country's one of most important mineral products.
5/ Sri Lanka is underlain by Proterozoic high grade metamorphic rocks with Phanerozoic sediments being restricted to the coastal region.
6/ Sri Lanka currently produces a very small amount of graphite about 4,000 metric tons (MT) yearly, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
7/ But Sri Lanka's graphite is a unique product. The country produces lump and chippy dust graphite and is the worlds only source of these particular materials.
8/ Lump and chippy dust graphite are the highest-value graphite products found globally, the USGS notes. In 2012, prices for Sri Lankan lump and chip graphite averaged $1,990 per MT, significantly higher than prices reported for other products, such as flake or amorphous graphite.
9/ The significant potential application of modern geophysical techniques. Electrical surveys are a simple and effective way to check large amounts of ground for graphitic targets. By looking at the under-explored ground around Sri Lanka's major mines, incoming explorers have a high probability of making significant finds.
Strategic material is any sort of raw material that is important to an individual or organizations strategic plan and to supply chain management. Lack of supply of strategic materials may leave an organization or government vulnerable to disruption of the manufacturing of products which require those materials.[1] It can also refer to a group or department that manages these materials.
In the US Armed Services
The US Defense Logistic Agency manages strategic materials for the US military.[2][3]
In Business
Strategic materials encompass a subset of raw materials required to make a product. The strategic materials may be limited in number or subject to shortages. In this case, the strategic plan would call for an alternative supply chain or alternative materials in the event of a breakdown in the current supply chain.
References
United States, Office of Technology Assessment, Congress. Strategic materials : technologies to reduce U.S. import vulnerability. DIANE Publishing. p. 5. ISBN9781428923515.
The 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development was released earlier this year. In this plan, the Chinese government lays out its strategic vision and direction for the development of China over the next five years up to 2016. A key strategic priority in the plan is for China to transition from “Made in China” to “Designed in China.” This is part of a long term strategy to transform China from a manufacturing to an innovation economy.
22 Nov 2011Thomson Reuters
To support this goal, there are plans to further develop China’s intellectual property rights system and for heavy investment in science and technology education and R&D through development in seven “Strategic Emerging Industries” (SEIs). These are:
New Energy – Nuclear, hydro, wind and solar power
Energy conservation and environmental protection – Energy reduction targets
Biotechnology – Drugs and medical devices
New materials – Rare earths and high end semiconductors
Next-generation IT – Broad band networks, internet security infrastructure, network convergence, “Internet of things”
High–end equipment manufacturing – Aerospace and telecomm equipment
Clean energy vehicles – battery cell technology; target to produce 1 million electric vehicles per annum by 2015
There are plans to spend more than RMB 4 trillion on these industries during the next five years, with a view to increasing the SEI’s share of GDP from around 5 percent today to 8 percent by 2015. The drive for domestic innovation continues with the implementation this year of the 12th National Five-Year Plan on Science & Technology Development which also lays out a number of ambitious goals for the further development of China as a technologically advanced nation:
Increase in R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP from 1.75% in 2010 to 2.2% in 2015;
Improvement in ranking of citations in international science papers from 8th to 5th;
Increase in invention patent ownership per 10,000 head of population from 1.7 to 3.3
Measures to support this growth in indigenous innovation include:
Research & Development investment in science and technology aimed at achieving key breakthroughs in targeted technology subsectors, such as core electronic devices, integrated circuits, life sciences, space, marine, earth sciences and nanotechnology.
Intellectual Property improvements through efforts to strengthen creation, use, protection and management of IP rights.
Incentives through fiscal and financial policies that support high-tech industry, including updating management of research funding and systems for venture capital investment.
"DLA Strategic Materials is the leading U.S. agency for the analysis, planning, procurement and management of materials critical to national security. We serve our clients through a unique combination of technical expertise, global/geopolitical material supply analysis, and management & tracking of a broad range of existing & future critical materials."
Graphite is one of four forms of crystalline carbon; the others are carbon nanotubes, diamonds, and fullerenes. In graphite, the carbon atoms are densely arranged in parallel-stacked, planar honeycomb-lattice sheets. When the graphite structure is only a one-atom-thick planar sheet, it is called graphene. Graphite is used to produce graphene. Graphene is extremely light and strong. Graphite is gray to black in color, opaque, and usually h s a metallic luster; sometimes it exhibits a dull earthy luster.
Common uses of graphite:
The combination of conductivity and high-thermal stability allows graphite to be used in many applications, such as in batteries, fuel cells, and refractories. Graphite’s lubricity and thermal conductivity make it an excellent material for high-temperature applications because it provides effective lubrication at a friction interface while furnishing a thermally conductive matrix to remove heat from the same interface.
