2011
AMBATOVY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
26
Environmental Performance
Hazardous Waste
Ambatovy does not ship any waste out of the country.
Chemical waste is neutralized on site. Paints, hydrocarbon
waste and batteries are recycled and treated by local
companies. A waste management area is being constructed
at the plant site that will incorporate facilities for incineration,
separation, distillation and encapsulation for stabilizing
hazardous waste materials.
Hydrocarbon Waste Recycled and Managed
Substance
Quantity
Oil
32 m
3
Oil Filters
1,464 units
Air Filters
154 units
Batteries
49 units
Soiled Rags
4,014 kg
Overburden
Overburden is composed of pieces of rock and soil with
uneconomic concentrations of nickel and cobalt. During
operations, ore is delivered from a surface pit to the Ore
Preparation Plant (OPP), which is designed to separate waste
material from the ore and produce the slurry. The ore from the
trucks is dumped into a bin, screened, and conveyed to the
primary scrubber. Materials mined that are rejected as waste
will be returned to the pit and covered with topsoil during the
mine site rehabilitation process.
Material Extracted in 2011, in tonnes
Ore
753,781
Waste
188,325
Total
942,106
Tailings
The tailings facility is a long-term construction project
involving continuous expansion of the perimeter dams to meet
containment needs. In 2011, construction of the first phase of
civil works was completed, as was the testing of the pipelines
and pump systems connecting it to the plant and ocean
outfall. No tailings material was produced nor wastewater
discharged via the ocean outfall in 2011. However, work
carried out during the year was critical as it allowed us to put
in place key management plans and procedures necessary
for operations. The management plan for the tailings facility
was submitted to the ONE in December 2011.
Emissions
We have selected the following four major inputs used in
2011, which are sources of greenhouse gases, for monitoring:
diesel, coal, limestone and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). These
are contributors of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
We note that during our construction and commissioning
phase, emissions are not necessarily comparable with the
type and quantity of emissions that we will report during the
operations period.
Emissions from Major Commodities
CO
2
Equivalent
Material
CONSUMPTION UNIT (nearest thousand)
Diesel
40,913,673
L
110,000
Coal
118,184
t
286,000
Limestone
9,218
t
4,000
LPG
291
t
1,000
Carbon Dioxide Emitted
401,000
The proportion of emissions comprised of methane and nitrous
oxide was minor in comparison to those that will be produced
once operations begin. Once in production we intend to report
on these and other air quality indicators regularly.
Following up on the regulator’s request, an independent
firm was hired to undertake a safety audit of the ammonia
handling and storage systems. The audit was submitted
to the regulator by the end of 2011. All of the auditor’s
recommendations were taken into consideration and many of
them have already been implemented. We also worked with
local authorities to develop an off-site emergency response
plan in the event of ammonia escape or other industrial
incident. A provisional plan was agreed upon by Ambatovy
and local authorities in 2011 and the full emergency plan will
be completed in 2012.
Infrastructure
to Reduce Emissions
Our greatest emission-reducing initiative is the pipeline
that will transport six million tonnes of ore from the
mine to the plant annually. It would take 200,000
30-tonne trucks to make the 16-hour round-trip journey
each year in order to transport the same amount by
road. With diesel emissions, not to mention the wear
and tear on Madagascar’s RN2, the environmental
and economic impact to Madagascar’s eastern
corridor would be extensive.
