COUNTRY IN FOCUS •
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MADAGASCAR – THE NEW GRAPHITE FRONTIER
Madagascar may have been famous for lemurs, but the country has emerged as the new graphite frontier, writes Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp.
The Republic of Madagascar is an island nation that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous small peripheral islands. The country is the largest island off the southeastern coast of Africa.
Geography, climate and biodiversity A narrow and steep escarpment that runs along the length of Madagascar’ s eastern coast contains much of the island country’ s tropical lowland forest. To the west of this ridge lies a plateau in the centre of the island ranging in altitude from 750 to 1 500m above sea level. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the Mozambique Channel and mangrove swamps along the coast.
The combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoons result in hot rainy seasons from November to April, with frequent cyclones battering the island both from the east and from the Mozambique channel. The relatively cooler dry season is from May to October. Most of Madagascar’ s rain originates from the Indian Ocean on the East coast, where heavy precipitation supports the area ' s rainforest ecosystems. The central highlands are drier and cooler, while the western side of the island is drier semi-arid in the southwest and southern interior of the island.
Madagascar is famous for it’ s lemurs, with up to 103 sub-species of these mammals living in various parts of the island. Almost all are classified as rare, vulnerable or endangered.
Most of the natural forests in Madagascar have been lost to“ tavy”, the local method of slash-and-burn to extend agricultural lands.
This has resulted in Madagascar having to deal with an everincreasing problem of soil erosion.
Economy and infrastructure Madagascar is largely dependent on agricultural exports, constituting roughly a third of the GDP, with France being the main destination of exported goods. Madagascar produces 80 % of global natural vanilla. This is followed by manufacturing, tourism and extractive industries.
Infrastructure challenges provide an obstacle in the island nation. Very few roads are sealed, the majority being unpaved. These roads can easily become impassable during the rainy months. Construction of the Antananarivo – Toamasina toll highway, the country ' s first toll highway, began in December 2022, with the aim of connecting Madagascar ' s capital to its largest seaport by 2026. The highway aims to reduce the distance required to travel from Antananarivo to Madagascar ' s largest port by 110km. In parallel, funding has been requested to improve the other connecting roads around the ports and major towns.
The rail system is in need of upgrades in order to allow ports( which are also anticipating upgrades) to handle future ocean-borne cargo.
Power and water supply also remains problematic. Hydroelectric power plants provide 56 % of Madagascar ' s power, while the remaining 44 % is provided by diesel engine generators. However, only 11 % of rural Madagascar has access to power. Telecommunication and access to the internet is relatively well
www. africanmining. co. za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • May 2025 • 17