Executive Summary
9
BBOP Pilot Project Case Study – Ambatovy Project
Table 1: Summary of the Ambatovy pilot Project
Company name
Ambatovy Minerals SA & Dynatec Madagascar SA (AMSA / DMSA)
Project name
Ambatovy Project – Madagascar
Sector &
project
description
Ambatovy is a large-tonnage nickel Project with an annual design capacity of 60,000 tonnes of
nickel, 5,600 tonnes of cobalt and 190,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate. Production is scheduled
to begin in 2010, with full capacity expected to be achieved by 2013. The Project’s assessed reserve
life is 27 years, with potential for extension beyond this. The main impacts to biodiversity are located
at the mine footprint with the clearing of near-primary forest. The Project has designed and
implemented a Biodiversity Management Programme to mitigate and monitor the residual impacts
associated to development, whilst pursuing its impact
AVOIDANCE
and reduction approach. The
mitigation measures cover flora, fauna and aquatics.
Country
Republic of Madagascar (Alaotra Mangoro and Atsinanana regions, eastern Madagascar).
Shareholders
Sherritt International Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Kores, and SNC Lavalin Incorporated.
Principal
biodiversity
components
affected by
Project
The key biodiversity components, mostly confined to the mine area and upper slurry pipeline portion,
can be summarised as follows:
Priority species:
– 16 lemurs species, including
Prolemur simus
(IUCN CR),
Propithecus d. diadema
(IUCN
EN),
Indri indri
(IUCN EN),
Eulemur rubriventer
(IUCN VU),
Daubentonia madagascarensis
(IUCN NT),
Hapalemur griseus
(VU),
Allocebus trichotis
(IUCN DD);
– 62 birds species, including
Tyto soumagnei, Anas melleri
and
Ardea humbloti
,
Sarothura
watersi
(IUCN EN);
– 123 herpetofauna species, including
Mantella aurantiaca
(IUCN CR),
M. crocea
(IUCN EN)
and
Sanzinia madagascariensis
(IUCN VU);
– 5 fish species of which
Rheoles alaotrensis
(IUCN VU) and at least two new
Ratsirakia
species;
– 24 insect species, which are considered rare at a national level;
– 376 plants including
Asteropeia mcphersonii
(IUCN VU),
Leptolaena multiflora
(IUCN EN),
Dalbergia baroni
(IUCN VU) and 330 species of concern, which are considered rare in
Madagascar;
Three structurally distinct habitat types: zonal, transitional and azonal forests (the latter including
seasonal ponds and upper watershed stream systems) and their fauna and flora communities;
and
The landscape-level habitat assemblage with the functional interaction between the zonal,
transitional and azonal forests.
Scale of impact
The main anticipated residual impacts on biodiversity caused by the Project will occur at the mine
site and in the upper portion of the slurry pipeline through the progressive clearing of the mine
footprint (approximately 1,336 ha), located within an ecologically sensitive natural forest mosaic of
the eastern mid-altitudinal forest corridor. Stringent impact avoidance and minimisation strategies
were applied in the design phase of the Project. Residual impacts on biodiversity at the other Project
components are insignificant due to human-induced degradation in these areas but will nonetheless
be offset. These include pipelines, the processing plant, the tailings area and a pier extension
project.
The 218 km of buried slurry pipelines will involve the clearing of a mix of native and non-native
secondary vegetation resulting from historical slash and burn with comparatively little biodiversity
value. However, two sections of the pipeline cross sensitive habitats: the first 2 km of zonal, near-
primary forest accounted for in the mine footprint and the crossing of the Ankeniheny-Zahamena
Corridor at Vohimana, where the pipeline has been routed to avoid residual primary forest fragments.
