Ambatovy
Location
Ambatovy is located in Madagascar
Ambatovy
Ambatovy
LocationMoramanga
RegionsAtsinanana and Alaotra Mangoro
CountryMadagascar
Coordinates18°50′46″S 48°18′14″E / 18.846°S 48.304°E / -18.846; 48.304
Production
ProductsNickel
Cobalt
Ammonium sulfate
History
Opened2007
Owner
CompanySumitomo Corporation (54.17%)[1]
South Korean consortium
Websiteambatovy.com

The Ambatovy mine is large nickel and cobalt mine located in Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. It is currently active, and the largest mine in the country.

Ownership and operations

Several exploration permits for the site were acquired by Phelps Dodge in 1995. In 2004 and 2005 Phelps Dodge sold its interest in the project to Dynatec Mining Limited.[2] The mine was set up in 2007 by Dynatec Mining Limited, a Canadian company, backed by international development groups including the European Investment Bank.[3][4] Sherritt International acquired Dynatec and later handed over majority control of the mine to the Japanese Sumitomo Corporation.[4] The rest of equity in the mine is held by a South Korean consortium lead by the state-owned Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR), as well as STX Corporation and POSCO.[5]

Until 2020, when it halted production due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Madagascar, the mine was producing 4,000 tonnes of refined cobalt and almost 40,000 tonnes of refined nickel every year.[6][4] Operations resumed in March 2021.[7] After running at a loss from 2014 to 2020, the mine became profitable in 2021, especially after a large increase in nickel prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5]

Economic impact

In 2022 the company paid 44 million US$ (198 Billion ariary) on mining taxes & fees to the Malagasy government. Furthermore 340 million US$ were spent with local purchases.[8] 40.000 tons of Nickel and 3600 tons of cobalt were produced during the same year.

Social and environmental impacts

Ambatovy is the largest investment in Madagascar's history.[9] The mine employs 10,000 people, of which 8,000 are Malagasy, and provides 27 per cent of the country's tax revenues.[4]

The mine has been criticised for its local environmental impacts.[3] The open pit mine displaced 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of rainforest and is connected by a 200 km long slurry pipeline to the processing plant at Toamasina, which has a 750-hectare (1,900-acre) area of lakes where waste materials are dumped. Effluent is also released into the sea, leading to complaints from fishermen.[10] On the other hand, the mine is among the first to fully offset the loss of forest from mining operations.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ Desai, Pratima (2021-08-27). "Cobalt producer Ambatovy makes surprise pick of Stratton as marketing partner". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. ↑ "NICKEL EXPLORATION – Dynatec to acquire all of Ambatovy". Canadian Mining Journal. 2005-02-02. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  3. 1 2 Randrianarisoa, Riana Raymonde; Soustras, Laurence (23 November 2017). "The Ambatovy Nickel mine in Madagascar has caused numerous environmental problems". The Ecologist. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mandimbisoa, R. (25 February 2021). "Mines: Ambatovy reprend sa production en mars". Madagascar Tribune (in French). Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Kim Hyun-bin (2022-03-15). "POSCO Int'l reconsiders selling stake in Madagascar nickel mine". koreatimes. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  6. ↑ Dykes, Jacob (13 August 2020). "No net loss: can development projects offset damage to biodiversity by boosting nature elsewhere". Geographical Magazine. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Sumitomo says Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar resumed March 23". MINING.COM. 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  8. ↑ L'Express.mg Redevances minières
  9. ↑ Widman, Marit (2014-01-02). "Land Tenure Insecurity and Formalizing Land Rights in Madagascar: A Gender Perspective on the Certification Program". Feminist Economics. 20 (1): 130–154. doi:10.1080/13545701.2013.873136.
  10. ↑ Raymonde Randrianarisoa, Riana; Soustras, Laurence (2018-06-27). "Uncertainty around Madagascar mine in wake of cyclone". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ↑ Greenfield, Patrick (2022-03-09). "Is a Madagascan mine the first to offset its destruction of rainforest?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  12. ↑ Devenish, Katie; Desbureaux, Sébastien; Willcock, Simon; Jones, Julia P. G. (2022-03-03). "On track to achieve no net loss of forest at Madagascar's biggest mine". Nature Sustainability. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 5 (6): 498–508. doi:10.1038/s41893-022-00850-7. ISSN 2398-9629.
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