Environmental impact mitigation

The Ambatovy Joint Venture environmental teams, assisted by various consultants, have been conducting analyses of habitats, flora and fauna since early in the project’s development. Stringent impact mitigation strategies have been developed to preserve species and unique habitats through avoidance, mitigation, compensation and net gain.

Forest protection

The Ambatovy Joint Venture is taking protective measures which include maintaining a forest buffer zone and conservation forest, replanting native species and developing erosion controls.  With the mine conservation forest and on-site offsets, a significant net gain in forest land is expected at the mine site.

Water management

The substantial storm water runoff during the rainy season in the area of the Ambatovy mine site will be collected in ponds and supplemented by water from the nearby Mangoro River.  Water runoff collection ponds and flow allowances are designed to meet the World Bank suspended solids concentration threshold of 50 mg/l of less, based on a one-in-ten year storm event.

Business and Biodiversity Offset Program (BBOP)

The Ambatovy Joint Venture is protecting a large offset area separate from the mine.  This is the Ankerana Forest offset area that has been designated as part of a pilot project under the BBOP framework.  BBOP is an international partnership between companies, governments and non-governmental conservation experts.  The pilot project is part of the voluntary conservation efforts of Ambatovy and will involve conservation of 11,600 hectares of endangered forest.