Ambatovy

PROJECT DIRECTED BY Gary Smith

WRITTEN BY Laura Watling

Ambatovy team posing for a photograph

Putting Madagascar on the Mining Map

Two thirds of the world’s primary nickel ore is used in stainless steel production. It’s also becoming a key component in the production of electric vehicles, due to its use in heavy duty batteries. Investing News stated that in 2021 Russia was the third largest producer of nickel. Of course, analysts had their concerns regarding the nickel market due to the sanctions on Russia, and trading of nickel was even halted on the London Metal Exchange in March 2022. It is imperative then, that other reserves for this metal be found.

Ambatovy

Ajoint venture between Sumitomo Corporation and KOMIR, Ambatovy is a major industrial operation, mining and refining nickel and cobalt in Madagascar.

Sumitomo, headquartered in Japan, is a leading Fortune 500 trading and investment business. Meanwhile, KOMIR (formerly known as KORES) is a fully integrated mining rehabilitation organisation.

Together, the businesses produce high-quality nickel and cobalt from the Ambatovy mine, with a focus on sustainability.

Thus far, the project has seen investment of (US) $8 billion, making it the largest-ever foreign investment in the country – and one of the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa.

With an early production capacity of 60,000 tons of nickel and 5,600 tons of cobalt, it ranks among the largest lateritic nickel mining companies in the world.

Ambatovy strives to be a leader in operational efficiency, health and safety, environmental management, and social engagement – all whilst contributing to the long-term prosperity of Madagascar.

Achieving Top 5 Status

The mine site of Ambatovy is located 80km east of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo. The ore body of the mine consists of two large, weathered lateritic nickel deposits - the Ambatovy deposit and the Analamay depost.

Combined, the two deposits constitute one of the world’s largest lateritic nickel reserves, spanning around 1600 ha.

Despite a history dating back to the 1960’s, Ambatovy started its operations in 2012, accomplishing its first commercial production in January 2014. Operations at the mine have been designed to produce around 60,000 tonnes of refined nickel and 5,600 tonnes of refined cobalt annually. In 2021, however, the partnership exceeded its yearly projection, making them one of the top five producers of nickel and cobalt in the industry.

“We owe our 2021 achievements to a strong and fully committed team,” said newly appointed CEO, Gus Gomes, “They succeeded in achieving a major turnaround, in very difficult and challenging conditions, including the Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to stopping production between March 2020 and March 2021”.

In addition to its outputs, Ambatovy can proudly say its briquettes contain 99.9% pure metal. On top of its nickel and cobalt supply, the project also produces 120,000 tonnes of ammonium, created as a by-product of the refining process.

Petchem Supply Co Ltd

Petchem Supply is proud to be one of pioneer partners with Ambatovy Projects from establishing stage, ever since site construction 2007 when Petchem Supply serving to Sherritt - SNC Lavalin. Our continuing supply service is for Ambatovy & Dynatec in MRO activity with Steel structures, Piping & components i.e., Fittings, Flanges, Fasteners, Gaskets in various steel grades from Carbon steel, Stainless steel series, Nickel alloy and Titanium materials.

History PETCHEM SUPPLY started our business journey in Thailand since 1996, 26-years

’ experience enable us being one of the most reliable sourcing provider of special and exotic materials worldwide for supplying to Mining, Refinery, Energy, Petrochemical and Chemical industries for domestics and overseas customers.

Philosophy & Mission: Our international standardization through ISO 9001:2015 LRQA speaks well of our high standard. It demonstrates our strong commitment of business mission to maximize our customers ’ satisfaction first. Other than the best quality of materials we provide, our service dedication and flexibility is also recognized strength and make us well accepted by customers either domestic or overseas. Our philosophy is to “ supply the right thing at the right time with the best solution. ” Therefore, we intensively pay dedicated attention in every step from initial discussion with our customers through the completion of the project. Alliances Our strength is worldwide agency network enable us to deliver customers a full range of PIPES, TUBES, TUBES, FITTINGS, FALNGES and STUD BOLTS with a wide span of high standard materials such as

- Carbon Steel A106B/API 5L B/X42, X52, X60, X65 - Low Temperature A333/GR3, GR6 - Chrome Moly A335/P11, P5, P22, P9, P91 - Stainless Steel A312/304/L, 316/L, 317L, 321/H, 347/H - Duplex - Other Grades available - Copper, Copper Nickle, Titanium, Hastelloy, Inconel, Incoloy

All materials supplied to customers are approved and in compliance with worldwide Shell approved manufacturers. Furthermore, we are able to maintain an extensive stock of materials to respond to the rapid need of customers. Our respected service is based on the fast performance in sourcing, shipping and customs clearing from our worldwide network: Asia, USA, UK, and Europe. Further, our facility of stockholding in Thailand enables us to provide our customers with a Supply Chain Management system from Ex Work to DDP Incoterm.

Our many years of experience and expertise in the business since 1996 has been well-affirmed by leading organizations in various industries throughout Thailand and overseas. The high-quality materials and service that we provide are not only for the success of those organizations, but they also help strengthen the nations ’ economy and industries.

Vision Madagascar

Vision Madagascar (ViMa) was founded in 2000 by Zouzar Bouka, with some of Madagascar’s most iconic structures to its credit, including the 2007 South African Embassy and the 2010 Antananarivo City Hall. Since its creation, ViMa has aimed to be a major player in the development of a "new Madagascar" , namely the vision of a country where private companies contribute to improving the quality life of the Malagasy population. Therefore, ViMa is represented by several subsidiaries working in different sectors such as:

Represented by ViMa Real Estate, Majungasaurus Mall and Agulhas, ViMa is a pioneer in the Business Park concept in Madagascar with a prestigious lessee portfolio: Embassies, International Institutions, Banks, “Fortune 500” Companies...

ViMa Serv’ observes three key criteria: performance, profitability and customer satisfaction. Its offers customized solutions to its customers with the main ambition to meet their expectations in terms of quality, cost, time and specific tenders.

New technologies incubator for Madagascar with ViMaTek.

ViMa Dis offers consumers the opportunity to access quality products. ViMa Dis is helping to create a new Madagascar by promoting the entry of new ranges of quality products on Malagasy soil.

ViMa Hydro and ViMa Hybrid Energy accentuate the main vision of Creating a new Madagascar by setting up renewable energy projects across the country.

Real Estate Division

Procurement pioneer

New technologies

New path to trading

Hybrid Energy

Wood industry

ViMa Woods is a leading player within the forest and wood industry in Madagascar. The venture was created in 2010 and assures an optimized exploitation of the forest for the sustainable development of Madagascar.

Timeless place in Madagascar, in Marovasabe to escape towards art, history, the preservation of the environment and well-being.

In order to improve personal well-being, Z-Yoga promotes an Ayurvedic center and yoga training in a cultural center dedicated to the virtues of cosmopolitanism.

Vision Madagascar is an economic partner at national and international level. The group knows how to adapt to new challenges and mobilize its ressources to achieve success. Indeed, ViMa has qualified collaborators of differents nationalities and multiple skills. Then, ViMa's presence and expertise in various activities makes it a key player for companies wishing to establish in Madagascar.

Tsingy Bay

Healthy life

Vision Madagascar

Explorer Business Park - BP 12128 Ankorondrano - Antananarivo 101 Madagascar GPS : 18°53'04.8"S 47°31'15.9"E https://goo.gl/maps/TYXWEGi8dAgzg9b38

Vivo Energy Madagascar’s main activity is the importation, marketing and distribution of Shell fuels and lubricants both in service stations and to its commercial customers. The company is one of the main energy distributors in the country.

WORLD CLASS TECHNOLOGY WORKING FOR MINING

SHELL LUBRICANTS TOGETHER ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

UNLOCKING VALUE

Lubrication can unlock significant value, particularly when you consider the costs related to lost production from equipment downtime. We also believe that selecting the right oils and greases, and adopting effective lubrication management strategies can help to reduce maintenance budgets by up to 30%², primarily through lower maintenance costs, reduced equipment downtime and productivity improvements. Shell has one of the world’s largest lubricant expert teams (260 lubricant specialists) and a team of distributor partners, all passionate about their industry knowledge, and having strong industry relationships built on trust, who work with mining companies to achieve TCO savings and more equipment uptime.

REDUCING COSTS

Ambatovy was seeking to reduce maintenance, operating cost and downtime without decreasing generator reliability and performance. The Vivo Energy lubricants technical team recommended using Rimula R4X 15W40 oil for all the generators to increase the oil-drain interval from 250hrs to 500hrs. Since switching to Shell Rimula R4X, Ambatovy has extended the oil-drain interval of its generator by 100%. As a result, the company has benefited from increased equipment availability, reduced consumption of lubricant and spare parts, and lower maintenance costs.

www.vivoenergy.com

Ambatovy

Contributing to community, country and economy

Central to Ambatovy’s mission is supporting Madagascar’s input into the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Ambatovy sees its support for Madagascar’s achievement of the SDG’s in three pillars: Business Approach; Community and Environmental Approach; And Supporting Local Growth.

By processing its raw ore in-country, Ambatovy contributes to Madagascar’s economic development. By doing so, it increases Madagascar’s foreign earnings through export of nickel and cobalt.

Ambatovy has also made significant investment into local, social infrastructure. This includes creating roads and rehabilitating schools and medical centres. In addition, it has focussed on creating environmental programmes to educate the local community on the importance of Madagascar’s rich biodiversity, and its role in the country’s future.

At the heart of Ambatovy’s procurement practices is its “buy locally, hire locally” policy, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to support the growth of the Malagasy industry and small business.

“We are proud of our diverse and international workforce, with over 90% Malagasy employees, and 65% of leadership roles held by Malagasy professionals,” said Mr Gomes.

From providing training and capacity building, to assisting in the development of local suppliers, Ambatovy appreciates the importance of its role in driving the local economy forward in its development.

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Antananarivo105.Madagascar

Tel:+261344217701

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Ambatovy

Ensuring a future for the next generation

Ambatovy considers its sustainability programme to be second to none, worldwide

Its continual efforts include having a strong safety culture and demonstrating responsible environmental stewardship, both elements of which Ambatovy strives to meet the highest standards.

In June 2022 the organisation celebrated Sustainability Month. The theme it followed this year was “Ensuring a future for the next generation”, something Ambatovy considers part of its culture.

As part of the awareness campaign, Ambatovy gave colleagues and their families an opportunity to learn more about the business’s environmental activities, including its unique breeding program for the golden mantella.

An exhibition was held at the mine site and plant site, where visitors were able to learn about Ambatovy’s activities in the fields of biodiversity, livelihoods, community engagement, reforestation and environmental monitoring.

“Our biodiversity commitment includes protecting large conservation areas,” said Mr Gomes, “We have an orchidarium and orchid parks with over 283 orchid species, including 28 new species we discovered and some that are critically endangered. The orchids are protected and transferred to our rehabilitation areas. We also protect a large number of fauna, including unique Lemurs which only exist in Madagascar”.

Ambatovy continues to make specific investments in education and social infrastructure. Its aim is to ensure that its presence in Madagascar is providing the maximum benefit to its host communities now and for future generations.

A new era

In November 2021, Ambatovy appointed Gus Gomes to head up the business, which stands at 10,000 employees and contractors.

Mr Gomes has more than 35 years experience in the mining industry, with appointments spanning the globe.

Having completed a degree in Engineering and Geology and an MBA in Finance, Mr Gomes first embarked on his mining career for Broken Hill Proprietary. He went on to work as Director of Operations and Technical Services for the second largest metals and mining organisation Rio Tinto.

Prior to working for Ambatovy, Mr Gomes took on senior managerial roles at MPX Energia and MMG, as well as ArcelorMittal and Vale.

On his appointment, Mr Gomes said, “We are committed to continuing our activities in a sustainable, responsible and effective manner, following good governance, in order to generate tangible benefits for the country. I assure you that Ambatovy will continue to live up to its commitments”

www.ambatovy.com