2011
AMBATOVY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
14
We have always understood that in order to work in Madagascar we must be mindful of the unique social, economic and
environmental context of the island. Many of the impacts related to our activities are positive, such as the creation of
new jobs and industrial capacity, but there are also negative effects that necessarily accompany mining activities, such
as environmental impacts. It is necessary that we are aware of our impacts – good or bad – so that we develop and
implement strategies to eliminate, minimize, manage, mitigate and/or compensate for negative effects.
Key Impacts, Risks and Opportunities
Our Impact on Sustainability in Madagascar
We are aware that we are working in a country that has high
biodiversity and challenging socio-economic issues. If we do
not carefully manage our activities, there is risk that we may
negatively affect a delicate ecosystem and exacerbate the
poverty that already exists in Madagascar. These risks were
carefully considered before we even broke ground and we
continually assess risks and impacts as they arise. We have
identified sustainability-related impacts and opportunities
that have arisen over the last year and are working to ensure
that these impacts are as positive as possible. While each
challenge comes from a specific context, in general, we
prioritize them based on impacts on stakeholders and on our
ability to operate safely.
Environmental
We are operating in an environmentally sensitive area.
Protecting the biodiversity around the mine has been a key
issue since the early planning stages. We have an opportunity
to make improvements through our biodiversity and offsets
management program. We are working to offset the area of
land we will disturb (the mine footprint) with reclamation and
conservation areas several times the size of our footprint.
Moreover, we are incorporating the communities around
our site and offset areas into the management process to
preserve the long-term viability of Madagascar’s diverse flora
and fauna.
Economic
One of our greatest sustainability impacts in economic terms
relates to how we manage our presence in the local economy.
Negative impacts include price inflation as people move
into the communities surrounding our operations looking for
economic opportunities. However, there is also the potential
for extensive positive financial benefits to these communities
through wages and supply contracts. There is also the
potential to improve capacity to deliver goods and services
of international quality. We are working to maximize these
positive impacts through targeted programs to increase local
supply, local employment and training to support income-
generation for community members.
Social
Minimizing and mitigating social impacts of construction
have been a key focus for the last few years. One of the
most critical social aspects of sustainability has been related
to resettlement. Our target is to be fully compliant with both
Madagascar’s national regulations and the IFC Performance
Standard on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement.
Following assessments made in 2011, we have identified that
livelihood restoration remains a particular challenge related to
resettlement. Programming in 2012 is being oriented towards
meeting this challenge.
While there remains room to improve, we are proud of the
accomplishments made in 2011. We have put in place a
world-class biodiversity program. We have targeted programs
to ensure local entrepreneurs and job-seekers have the skills
and qualifications they need to work with us. We also have
audit and assessment mechanisms in place, both internally
and utilizing external monitors, to make sure that we stay on
track.
