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BBOP Pilot Project Case Study – Ambatovy Project
3. Project Summary
3.1 General project description
The Ambatovy Project is a large-tonnage nickel project with an annual design capacity of 60,000 tonnes of
nickel and 5,600 tonnes of cobalt. Additionally, the Project will produce 190,000 tonnes of fertiliser
(ammonium sulphate) as a by-product from the refinery, a product much needed in this part of the world.
The Project was permitted in December 2006 and construction began in early 2007. Production is due to
begin at the end of 2010, reaching full capacity by 2013. Based on proven nickel and cobalt ore reserves, the
Project’s expected lifecycle is 27 years, although operation beyond this is likely, as stored low-grade ore could
become an economic commodity in the future.
The locations of the main Project components are shown in Figure 2, and the key features are summarised below:
The Ambatovy mine lies within the mid-altitude forests, at the westerly limit of the residual eastern rain
forest known as the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor. The near-primary forests of the mine area have
undergone considerable human-induced pressures including hunting and gathering, selective logging,
slash and burn agriculture, uncontrolled fires and species collection for trade;
The slurry pipeline, buried over the majority of its route, will pass through 2 km of near-primary forest
surrounding the mine, crosses a Ramsar site (avoiding the wetlands by following an old railroad spur) and
traverses the Ankeniheny-Zahamena forest corridor by avoiding residual forest fragments whenever
possible. It then continues to the coast through hilly terrain of the former eastern rain forest destroyed by
extensive slash and burn agriculture;
The industrial complex, including the processing plant and the refinery, the tailings and the harbour, is
located within an anthropogenic coastal landscape in a suburban setting. The plant and harbour lay within
the industrial zones of Toamasina; and
The proposed Ankerana offset site, which is equidistant between the mine and Toamasina, is a large,
mountainous dome covered with primary forest, encroached only by slash and burn agriculture in
surrounding valleys where frontier dwellings exist. The pristine character of the site is a result of its
remoteness and the low density of surrounding human populations.
The Project’s principal impacts on natural systems and biodiversity will occur at the mine area, through the
phased clearing of the mine footprint within an ecologically sensitive natural forest mosaic. The sensitivity of
this mosaic arises from the considerable local heterogeneity in terms of geology, geomorphology, substrate,
topography and meso-climate.
It is widely documented that the average annual deforestation rate calculated over the period between 2000
and 2005 was 0.35%. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Madagascar lost 6.2% of its forest cover,
approximately 854,000 ha. The current annual loss of the residual eastern rain forest is equivalent to 14,000
ha per year. The total mine footprint to be cleared (1,336 ha) represents only 0.03% of the residual eastern
rain forest, estimated in 2008 at 4,012,100 ha. In consideration of the large forest loss in eastern Madagascar,
the
INTRINSIC VALUE
of the offset area at Ankerana (11,600 ha) will increase over time as such forest estates
and their associated biodiversity become rarer.
