A planned gold refinery
Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina announced in early May the upcoming creation of a gold refinery in Madagascar, in partnership with the United Arab Emirates. The objective is “to transform ourselves in Madagascar the gold extracted from Malagasy soil into monetary gold and gold ingots before exporting it abroad legally and in accordance with standards”, commented the head of state. The refinery could be operational in 2025. April 13, Andry Rajoelina also launched the marketing of coins which will be made with Malagasy gold. He encourages his wealthy compatriots to do the same by registering on a Central Bank waiting list. The coin contains one ounce of gold (31 grammes), it is offered at 12 million ariarys (around 2,600 euros).
Madagascar has been engaged for several years in a campaign to clean up the gold market, marked by massive illegal exports. The country has ambition, eventually, to legally export 15 tonnes of gold each year.
Wind turbines in Fort-Dauphin
The city and surrounding areas of Fort-Dauphin could soon be the first region in Madagascar to consume electricity produced primarily from renewable energy.. An 8 megawatt photovoltaic plant already meets the needs of neighboring Rio Tinto mining facilities and will soon be expanded. Not far, near the port of Ehoala, the mining group associated with the investor CrossBoundary Energy invests in the first wind farm on the Big Island. It will be made up of 19 turbines, with a capacity of one megawatt each, which are due to enter service in 2025.
Exports at half mast
Vanilla, clove, cobalt, textile : Malagasy export products recorded a sharp decline in the first quarter of 2024. Falling vanilla prices led to a 63% drop in revenue. The drop in clove prices was less, but results in a 9% decline in revenue, mainly linked to the reduction in volumes. Same trend for cobalt : increasing volumes, but price down, -24% for recipes. For the nickel, the collapse in prices associated with a drop in shipments leads to a 64% drop in the amount of exports. Imports are also in decline, 15% according to the Central Bank, with the exception of energy products.
Rare earths : the American Energy Fuels invests
Energy Fuels, American producer of uranium and rare earths based in Denver, acquired the Australian mining company Base Resources at the end of April, for the equivalent of 240 million US dollars. Base Resources launched the Toliara heavy mineral sand extraction project in southern Madagascar, from where it extracts titanium, zirconium and monazite, radioactive ore. “Energy Fuels is currently engaged in high-level discussions with various U.S. government agencies and other offices that provide support to critical mining projects, at national level and abroad”, according to a press release from this company.
National roads in agony
According to a document from the Ministry of Public Works, Only 11% of the Malagasy national road network is in good condition, 25% in average condition and 64% in poor condition. Even essential axes for the economic life of the country, like the RN2 between Antananarivo and Tamatave or the RN7 between the capital and Antsirabé, are currently in a deplorable state. With the support of the World Bank, the Madagascar Road Agency (project management delegated to national roads) wants to experiment with a new way of rehabilitating the network. It proposes to award road contracts with an obligation of result, consisting of buying from a company a level of service rather than a quantity of work : the successful bidder undertakes to maintain the quality of the road for a specific period of time. Some first projects will soon be launched in this context.
