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# [MADAGASCAR] Critical Minerals: The Island Exports Raw, the Value-Added Goes to Dubai and the US
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/madagascar-minerais-critiques-lile-exporte-brut-la-valeur-ajoutee-part-a-dubai-et-aux-etats-unis-en/
- Published: 2026-07-30T08:42:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-30T08:42:13.000Z
- Description: Africa's top graphite producer at 85,000 tonnes in 2024, Madagascar exports its minerals raw. A $291M anode plant was built in Abu Dhabi instead of Toamasina. A costly paradox decoded.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Madagascar, Investissement, Flash de mi-journée, #en

Madagascar is **Africa's leading graphite producer**. Its Ambatovy nickel and cobalt deposits rank among the world's largest. Its rare earths are coveted by energy-transition industrialists. Yet the island imposes no local processing requirements. The result: value-added leaves the country.

## Graphite, Nickel, Cobalt: Staggering Volumes

In 2024, Madagascar produced **85,000 tonnes of graphite** (2025 estimate: 80,000 tonnes). The Molo site, operated by NextSource Materials, has a capacity of 17,000 tonnes per year, currently running at 11,000 tonnes. The Ambatovy complex can refine up to **40,000 tonnes of nickel** and **4,000 tonnes of cobalt** annually — capacities that have been underused for several years.

The Vara Mada project adds another dimension: **959,000 tonnes of ilmenite**, 66,000 tonnes of zircon and 24,000 tonnes of monazite per year over a 38-year mine life.

## The NextSource Paradox: $291 Million Invested… in Abu Dhabi

That is where the problem lies. NextSource Materials, operator of Madagascar's graphite mine, chose to invest **$291 million** in a battery anode plant — essential to the electric vehicle value chain. Location chosen: **Abu Dhabi**. Not Antananarivo, not Toamasina. The same logic applies to rare earths: oxide processing takes place at the White Mesa facility in Utah, USA.

Why? Madagascar 'imposes no local transformation requirements,' according to industry experts. In a global race for critical minerals, the island risks remaining an open-pit mine while regional competitors — Zimbabwe, the DRC — experiment with stronger local content policies.

## Why It Matters

Critical minerals are at the heart of the global energy transition: batteries, solar panels, electric motors. Madagascar sits on an extraordinary resource base. But without an industrial policy that forces investors to process on-site, the island will remain a raw material exporter while value — and jobs — are created thousands of kilometres away.