Madagascar Reopened Its Mining Register After Sixteen Years

MADAGASCAR · MINING

Madagascar is granting mining permits again after a 16-year freeze. This reopens graphite, nickel, cobalt, rare earth, and mineral sands to foreign investors.

The register closed after a 2009 political crisis. It reopened into a world that now sees these minerals as strategic.

What the Madagascar mining permits decision changes

The moratorium dates from 2010, imposed in the aftermath of the 2009 crisis that removed Madagascar from normal international standing. New permits simply stopped being issued.

The transitional government lifted it at the end of January 2026. Categories reopened include nickel, cobalt, graphite, rare earths, mineral sands and iron ore.

Sixteen years is long enough for a mining code to become an artefact. Companies that held ground before the freeze had an effective monopoly on legal exploration.

The reopening therefore does two things at once. It admits new entrants, and it forces the state to rebuild the administrative capacity to assess them.

An unusually well stocked island

Madagascar is the second largest graphite producer in the world, behind China. Graphite is the heaviest single component of a lithium-ion battery anode, which makes the position strategically awkward for everyone except Madagascar.

The island also hosts Ambatovy, one of Africa’s largest nickel and cobalt complexes, which continued operating through the freeze on pre-existing licences.

Rare earth deposits in the north are like the ionic clay deposits of southern China. Those southern deposits are the main source of heavy rare earth supply.

The Ampasindava area is the best known prospect.

Mineral sands, iron ore and gemstones round out an endowment that is broad rather than deep in any one commodity.

Breadth is a mixed blessing for a small administration. Assessing six commodity classes at once demands technical capacity that sixteen years of a closed register did nothing to build.

Reopening into a strategic argument

The timing is not accidental. Washington has been backing critical minerals projects in Madagascar, including support for a rare earths development we covered in July.

That places the island inside the same contest running from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Mozambique. Buyers want supply that does not route through Chinese processing, and processing is where the use sits.

Madagascar’s graphite already competes with Mozambique’s, and Mozambique has begun refining its own for battery use. Refining rather than digging is the differentiator.

The country now has to decide whether to sell ground or sell processed material. That choice is made in permit conditions, not in speeches.

The governance question the freeze was meant to answer

The moratorium existed because the state did not trust its own ability to issue permits cleanly during a period of contested authority. That concern has not evaporated.

Madagascar has a difficult record on natural resource governance, including illegal rosewood logging and gemstone smuggling. A reopened register is an opportunity for both investment and capture.

The High Constitutional Court recently upheld a law reclaiming colonial-era land titles, a more assertive stand on who owns what. Mining tenure sits close to that question.

For investors the practical risk is tenure security rather than geology. A permit granted by a transitional government is worth what the next government says it is worth.

The macro picture underneath

Growth is projected to slow to 3.0 percent in 2026 before recovering to 4.5 percent in 2027. Inflation is forecast at about 8 percent, with the central bank policy rate held at 12 percent.

The IMF runs two programs here: the Extended Credit Facility and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Together they are worth US$658 million since 2024.

A staff mission concluded the third and fourth reviews in April 2026. That agreement could unlock a further US$183 million, once the IMF’s Executive Board gives final approval.

GDP per capita is around US$620, which places Madagascar near the bottom of global rankings despite the mineral endowment. Roughly 33 million people live on the island.

That gap between resource wealth and household income is the reason permit conditions matter more than permit volumes.

What to watch next

The first thing is who actually receives licences, and whether the awards are published with beneficial ownership attached.

The second is whether any processing obligation is written into new permits, which would follow the direction Namibia and Zimbabwe have taken.

The third is the IMF reviews, because programme money and mining governance are now explicitly linked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were Madagascar mining permits frozen?

Permits stopped in 2010 after the 2009 crisis. The freeze lasted 16 years.

It was lifted at the end of January 2026.

Which minerals are now open to investors?

Nickel, cobalt, graphite, rare earths, mineral sands and iron ore ground has been reopened to foreign investment.

How significant is Madagascar in graphite?

It is the second largest producer in the world after China. Graphite is the largest component by weight in a lithium-ion battery anode.

What is Ambatovy?

It is one of Africa’s largest nickel and cobalt complexes, which continued operating through the permit freeze because its licences predated it.

What is the economic outlook for Madagascar?

Growth is set at 3.0 percent in 2026 and 4.5 percent in 2027. Inflation is forecast at about 8 percent, and the policy rate at 12 percent.

Connected Coverage

This follows American backing for a Madagascar rare earths project and competes directly with Mozambique refining its own graphite. The wider contest for African minerals is tracked in Africa: The New Scramble.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error

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