Resume activities at Toliara base?

Recently, the request to lift the suspension of Toliara project activities has accelerated. Mining Minister Herindrainy Rakotomalala said in March that discussions between the state and the promoters of the Toliara project were progressing. According to communications from the promoters of the Toliara project at the international level, negotiations on royalties and rebates are being finalized with the Malagasy government.

As a result, Toliara hopes to start mining the mineralized sands of its deposits. According to its quarterly activity report, the company hopes to be certified under the LGIM regime, or the Large Scale Mining Investments Law.

The project, which mainly mines mineralized sands in the Azimo-Andreifana area (comparable to the one in Ambatovi), has been the subject of controversy for years. The Council of Ministers decided to suspend him indefinitelyA small victory for some opponents of the project in the Lanobe region. It is a big blow to the project’s promoters, who announced that production would begin at the end of 2021, after the completion of infrastructure construction work.

However, the rehabilitation of the Toliara base project seems imminent. In fact, it is one of the five major mining projects announced this year by the President of the Republic. The mining project is worth US$700 million and the government considers the potential of the project to be in line with the general national policy, where the mining industry contributes significantly to filling the state treasury thanks to the new taxation standards. In addition, local elected officials openly support the rehabilitation and the beneficial impact of the project, especially in the regional context.

For their part, parts of the local community, supported by several civil society organizations, continue to sound the alarm. For years, Le Collectif Tany has raised concerns among the population and political decision-makers about the high radioactivity of the mineralized sands that will be mined and transported to the port. The pre-feasibility report for the project, published by the Australian parent company Base Resources, mentioned that the zircon contained in the Ranobe mineral sands deposit contains uranium and thorium, and its radioactivity will hinder the export of the product to the United States and Japan. Malagasy scientists have confirmed this radioactivity in publications, the report said. In addition, according to the Tany Collective, the number of permanent direct or indirect jobs created by the project will not make up for the number of jobs lost in the agricultural, livestock and fishery sectors. Finally, the organization fears that this water-intensive mining operation will further exacerbate water shortages in the region, undermining agricultural and household needs.

In its latest press release, dated July 23, Tany Collective said that the possible reopening of the Toliara Base project would not bring “economic independence” to the Atsimo-Andrefana region. He also mentioned the acquisition of the Australian company Base Ressources by the American company Energy Fuels last April, which would fundamentally change the activities of Base Toliara. Of course, the existing staff would remain in place. On the other hand, in addition to the ilmenite, zircon and rutile previously planned to be extracted from the Toliara II mineral sands deposit, rare earths and “large quantities of uranium (…) will also be produced at low cost (…) throughout the project, from monazite,” confirms Tany Collective.