Madagascar - Ambatovy Nickel Project

The Ambatovy Nickel Project, which builds one of the world's largest lateritic nickel mines, is one of the largest foreign direct investments in Madagascar and will help the country diversify its agriculture-based economy. This intervention consists of three major components: the development and development of an open-air nickel and cobalt mine about 80 km east of the capital, Antananarivo; the construction and operation of a large hydrometallurgical ore processing plant, 11 km from Toamasina, Madagascar's largest port; the construction and operation of a 220 km slurry pipeline between the mine and the mill. The processing plant, which is by far the largest component of the project, will create significant value-added in the country, compared to the export of raw ore. Once fully operational, the project will have the annual capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of high grade construction and nickel, 5,600 tonnes of cobalt, and 190,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate fertilizer. The project life is 30 years, which includes a mine-reserve life of 27 years and construction period of 3 years.