2010
AMBATOVY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
29
C1. Environmental Performance
C1.7 Materials
Primary Materials Input
In addition to the approximately six million tonnes of ore that
will be mined annually, the operation of the process plant will
require the importation of raw input commodities. Ambatovy
will use the following key material inputs annually:
3
1,700,000 tonnes of limestone
3
700,000 tonnes of sulphur
3
400,000 tonnes of coal
3
60,000 tonnes of ammonia
Processing also uses smaller quantities of materials, such as
sodium hydroxide, alum and polymers.
C1.8 Transport
The scale of a project such as Ambatovy normally creates
a significant environmental impact through transportation
of goods and people. However, there are key factors that
will help us reduce what might otherwise have been a large
transportation footprint. The significant effects of road-based
transportation common in many large mining operations will
be vastly reduced for Ambatovy due to the slurry pipeline
from the mine site. A further factor which reduces the need
for road-based transportation is the location of the processing
plant close to a major port that can accommodate both
incoming raw materials and outgoing shipments of the
finished product.
The existing port has been significantly upgraded and
modernized to be safe, secure and efficient. The port
upgrades will ensure a safer, cleaner transfer of energy
products from tankers and bulk primary materials from
cargo ships. Prior to any port construction activity, Ambatovy
conducted extensive dust modeling studies to determine
and verify safe breathing levels based on air dispersion,
particle size and the equipment to be used. Ambatovy’s new
infrastructure at the port has been designed and equipped
with the latest systems to monitor emission levels.
The imported bulk materials will be unloaded from ships and
transferred directly by rail cars to the process plant where
they will be stockpiled. Madarail, Madagascar’s rail company,
will maintain and operate the rail facilities under an agreement
for the life of the Project. The main line was rehabilitated and
a second rail line was added to provide for a full double track
operation. The use of an existing rail system greatly reduces
heavy truck traffic in the city of Toamasina, which is already
congested due to a nearby fuel storage facility that dispatches
fuel to the rest of the country via tanker trucks. Decreased
truck traffic reduces air pollution, noise and road damage.
The pipeline is another significant transportation infrastructure
used by the Project. It has a proven design, similar to pipelines
operating elsewhere in the world. Most of the energy needed
to move the ore through the pipeline comes from the 1,000 m
difference in elevation between the mine and plant sites.
Nevertheless, due to the size of the Project, there is still a
significant traffic presence, including some heavy truck traffic
bringing supplies such as food and fuel to Project sites.
There is also significant bus and car/truck traffic for personnel
moving in and around Project areas. In addition, national
and international air travel is significant due to the need for
skilled personnel from outside the Project areas. Ambatovy
has a small charter plane that regularly travels between
Antananarivo and Toamasina and uses Air Madagascar flights
on a frequent basis for the same route. The international
make-up of the construction workforce (74 countries were
represented during construction) required many international
flights in and out of Madagascar. This number will significantly
decrease once the Project moves into its operations phase.
No calculation of the number or distance of flights has been
made at this point.
