History, Physiography, Culture & Government

Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of southern Africa, separated from the mainland by the Madagascar Channel. It is the fourth largest island in the world, approximately 1600km in length and 500km in width, comprising some 590,000 square kilometres; approximately equivalent to the size of the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Due to its size, Madagascar is comprised of several distinct geographic regions, a high central plateau, largely deforested tropical east coast, scrubby savannah lowlands along the west coast, and desert in the south. The topography is generally hilly, the thick jungle regrowth of the east coast providing a logistically difficult environment in which to operate.

The Tropic of Capricorn passes across the south of the island; hence it is subject to frequent cyclonic weather in the December to June period, particularly along the east coast.

Madagascar has an ethnically diverse population of approximately 18 million people, comprising peoples of Indo-Asian, African, Arab, Indian and Portuguese origin. The dominant ethnicity within Madagascar are the Merina people, a group predominantly of Indonesian origin. They comprise the highlanders, occupying the central highland plateau of Madagascar, with people of African descent occupying the coastal parts of the country; Arabian and Portuguese in the extreme north. Additionally, Indians are ubiquitous throughout Madagascar.

Madagascar is officially bilingual; French being the language of government, business and the educated elite, with Malagasy comprising the official ‘local’ language. English is taught in schools but is not widely spoken outside of business and government circles. The average official literacy rate is 70%.

The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo (‘Tana’ / ‘Tananarive’) a city of approximately 1,500,000 people located in the central eastern area of the island. The name means ‘a thousand towns’ and the city layout resembles a ‘growing together’ of numerous smaller population centres. Located approximately 150 kilometres inland from the central – eastern coast of Madagascar, Antananarivo lies at an elevation of just over 4000 ft above sea level.

Subsequent to 65 years of French colonial rule, Madagascar gained its independence in 1960. Despite an ongoing association with the former Soviet Union during the following two decades, the French maintained a reasonably strong presence that continues to this day. Madagascar is governed under a unitary, bicameral system comprising a National Assembly (Lower House) and a Senate, overseen by an Executive branch comprising a directly elected President and a Prime Minister and PM-appointed Cabinet.

Mineral Sector & Legal Framework

The minerals sector and mining law generally are currently well advanced on a programme of comprehensive restructuring, a process likely to be ongoing for some time.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have previously proposed a USD38.65M programme, the ‘Mineral Resources Governance Project’, to facilitate reform of the Malagasy minerals sector. This programme is farreaching, encompassing significant taxation reform, geologic, geochemical and geophysical mapping programmes and promotion of private investment in the Malagasy mining sector.

At the instigation of the World Bank, a new mining code was promulgated in 1999, followed in 2000 by a decree on the conditions of application. In conjunction with this step, the ‘Bureau du Cadastre Minière de Madagascar’ (also known as the ‘Mining Cadastre Registry’); was established in May 2000. The Mining Cadastre Registry is designed to serve as a ‘onestop tenement office’ for mining operators.