Ampasindava mine

At the end of the 19th century, when Madagascar was a French colony, French geologists conducted studies which looked at a particular granitic rock on the Ampasindava Peninsula known as fasibitikite in the local language. In 1922, the presence of niobium, tantalum, and zirconium in the rock was documented. (TRE AG), the German firm that owned Tantalum Rare Earth Malagasy (TREM) from 2009. Tantalus went bankrupt in 2015. TRE AG filed for bankruptcy in 2015, and sold 60% of TREM to REO Magnetic, a private company in Singapore. In September 2017, the sale of the remaining 40% of TREM was cancelled. REO was under investigation for financial misconduct. In July 2019, ISR was renamed Reenova Investment Holding. In 2021 Reenova sold its 75% interest in the project for US$4.5 million to the GRM Group. On 18 September 2020, Reenova was placed under judicial management in August 2022, and in April 2023, the project was acquired by Harena Resources Pty Ltd. ==Description==

The concession is located in the municipality of Mangaoka, Diana Region, in northern Madagascar on the eastern side of the Ampasindava Peninsula. The ion-adsorption clays comprise aluminosilicate clay minerals, including kaolinite, illite, and smectite, created by the process of lateritic weathering of the host rocks. The Ambohimirahavavy ores are enriched with the rare-earth elements neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) (together NdPr) and dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) (together DyTb). "Rare-earths" is a term applied to 17 elements which have particular properties, such as their magnetism, which make them valuable components in the manufacture of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Dysprosium, neodymium, and europium are among the most expensive, and they are in the ground at Ampasindava. Around of rare-earths are estimated to be present in each 10 tonnes of clay rock. In May 2023, the Madagasacan Government announced the lifting of the moratorium introduced in 2011 that stopped mining licenses being granted. A new mining code requires that companies pay increased royalties (5%; previously 2%) on the value of exported resources. As of 2023, the site consisted of a number of scattered holes, some partially filled or covered, and five wide basins lined with old decaying tarpaulins, alongside vanilla vines and native forest. Since 2023 and , the Australian company Harena Resources is developing the site. Reserves In December 2011, Ampasindava's mineral resources were estimated at 104,000 tons of rare earth oxides (REO), leading it to be considered "one of the most promising rare earth deposits outside of China". The deposits are shallow, being mostly in the soil lying over the source rock, which makes extracting them relatively easy. In 2012 it was estimated that the deposit had reserves amounting to 130 million tonnes of ore grading 0.08% RE. By October 2014, SGS Canada Inc. had re-estimated this figure to be 562,000 tonnes of REO, which are high in rare-earths regarded as "critical" as well as being low in radioactivity. , it has been determined that the site contains a defined mineral resource of 699 million tonnes at 868 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). According to Harena, Ampasindava is one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world. ==Environmental concerns==

Background The Ampasindava Peninsula is known as "Tanibe Andrefa", meaning "Great Land to the West" by the Sakalava people who live there. The peninsula has a population of around 33,000, spread across 27 villages and four rural communes. The rest of the peninsula apart from the apart from the of mining concession, an area of , The ocean is also an area of significant marine biodiversity, where whales come to breed and a few dugongs remain. Eight species of lemur live on the peninsula, which include six that are endemic to northwestern Madagascar. Six of the lemur species are endangered, while two others are listed as vulnerable species. Around 80 per cent of all plants in Madacascar are endemic, and eight per cent exist only on the peninsula. Impacts of the mining, apart from the large amounts of rock that need to be fractured to obtain small amounts of rare-earths, include the use of large amounts of chemicals such as ammonium sulfate, used in the leaching process to isolate the metals from the crushed rock. This poses the risk of groundwater contamination. Another potentially adverse impact is the release of naturally high radioactive materials in the rock, such as thorium and uranium. Opposition After TREM failed to clean up its test pits and conducted research without obtaining consent from the locals, in 2016 a declaration expressing opposition to the project was presented to parliamentarians. The head of TREM sent a letter to the minister of mines complaining of defamation. The Committee of Reflection and Action for the Development and Environment of Sambirano (CRADES), headed by Raymond Mandiny, is campaigning against rare-earth mining in the area, and he has the support of the Sakalave king, Tsiaraso IV. Allan Mulligan of Harena resources wrote in response to a query by Le Monde newspaper that this site "is part of the new generation of very low-impact extractive projects [that] will leave a minimal environmental footprint during operations and zero residual impact while producing 'green minerals' vital to the renewable energy sector". He wrote that because the ores are close to the surface, the miners can only process small volumes of rock, and there would be no leaching done at the site. Waste would be washed and replaced at the site of extraction, which would be covered with stockpiled topsoil. Zo Randriamaro wrote on the Foreign Policy in Focus website in April 2023 that Madagascar had become a "sacrifice zone" where lives in poorer zones are valued less, and thus "sacrificed" so that wealthier countries can make their own energy transition to renewable energy successful. == References ==