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Rio Tinto's
ilmenite project in
Madagascar is one
of the world's most
honored resource
projects of all time.
It was at the time also the largest
project ever undertaken in
Madagascar, an island state that
is home to 200,000 species of
animals of which 150,000 exist
nowhere else on the planet.
Hatch was most proud of the fact
that it could recruit and train 85
percent of the workforce from
Madagascar and amass 12.5
million work-hours without a
lost-time injury.
The project established
precedents for very careful and
incremental development, and
still began production
on schedule.
Rio Tinto's approach to the
novel development was one
of sensitivity to Madagascar's
unique ecology, and a singleminded
determination at Rio
Tinto's director level to respect
the company's commitment
to sustainability.
After several years of discussions
with local communities and
national regulators about
how the ilmenite sands could
best serve one of the most
ecologically sensitive regions in
the world, Rio Tinto drew up a
plan to create a dredging mine,
much like Rio Tinto & BHP
Billiton’s successful facility at
Richards Bay, South Africa.
Using a conventional cutter/
suction dredge, a floating
concentrator in the dredging
pond, a land-based minerals
separation plant, and associated
infrastructure (including a new
port facility, a power generator,
a 20-km-access road, and a water
supply), Rio Tinto developed
"a model for future projects
in Africa and elsewhere in the
developing world," said Rio
Tinto's Chief Executive Officer
Tom Albanese.
Despite its remote location
and the need to educate and
mobilize the local workforce,
the construction was completed
in three years and the overall
project in five years.
AN OUTSTANDING PROJECT
• Winner, Rio Tinto's Chief Executive Safety Award
• Winner, The Bentley Innovation in Mining Award
• Winner, The Nedbank Capital Green Mining Award
• Winner, The South African Steel Association
Export Award
Hatch Advantage July 2011 | 7