Environmental Assessment
Volume A-2
Introduction
History
increased production to 36,500 tonnes of nickel and 3,000 tonnes of cobalt per
year.
Between 1997 and 1999, various alternative sites for the ore leaching and
processing facilities were examined. In early 1999, an environmental
assessment, based on World Bank guidelines, was completed for the project
comprising a mine, process plant, auxiliary facilities including tailings and other
support elements including extraction of limestone from a deposit located north
of Ambatovy and Analamay.
In August 2003, Dynatec signed a joint venture agreement with subsidiaries of
Phelps Dodge Corporation, to enable Dynatec to evaluate the development of the
Ambatovy Project. Under the joint venture agreement, Dynatec would be the
operator at Ambatovy, and would have the right to earn a 53% interest in the
project by funding a portion of project costs, including expenditures for a
Feasibility Study, and by providing a commercial license for use of Dynatec’s
metallurgical technologies for the project.
A detailed feasibility study was done between August 2003 and February 2005,
based on the development of the mine, ore preparation, slurry pipeline, pressure
acid leach plant and metal refinery, tailings facility, port facility and
infrastructure.
The study indicated a capital cost for the project, in mid-2004 dollars, of
US $2.253 billion, and net of credits for by-product cobalt and ammonium
sulphate, and operating cost of US $0.67 per pound of nickel.
Key developments since the deposits were discovered are summarized below.
•
1960: Malagasy Service Géologique first notes the presence of
nickeliferous laterites.
•
1962: BRGM (France) completes 2,500 m of auger drilling and pitting.
•
1972: GENiM consortium completes major evaluation over three years,
including 11,700 m of core drilling covering Ambatovy and
Analamay on a 195 m grid.
•
1978: North Korean interests take 4,000 tonne bulk sample for
pyrometallurgical tests.
•
1980: Malagasy Service Géologique completes minor drilling on
Ambatovy.
•
1995: Phelps Dodge granted exploration permits and pitting started.
Ambatovy Project
4
January 2006
