ViMa Mining holds mining permit no. 12115 near Fotadrevo in Madagascar's Atsimo Andrefana Region, a gneiss and amphibolite terrain where gold, corundum, garnet and malachite are already worked by local artisanal miners, but which has never been systematically explored.
ViMa Mining is the mining arm of Vision Madagascar, a Malagasy conglomerate with more than a dozen subsidiaries across real estate, forestry, energy, food and beverage distribution, and hospitality.
We acquired an existing mining permit in southern Madagascar and are now advancing it through disciplined, staged exploration: reconnaissance, detailed exploration, sampling, resource evaluation and feasibility. We are committed to international social and environmental standards for mining.
The permit lies about 10 km north-west of the rural commune of Fotadrevo, around the village of Anavoha, on a near-flat plateau at 490–510 m elevation crossed by the seasonal Linta river.
The area sits within the Precambrian Vohibory and Ampanihy groups of southern Madagascar. Local rocks include biotite and hornblende gneisses, garnet-bearing amphibolites and marbles (cipolins). A 2014 field reconnaissance by consultants Cabinet WIT, with a team of geologists, a GIS specialist, an environmental specialist, a lawyer and a sociologist, confirmed mineralisation on and around the permit.
Two active artisanal sites in the east of the permit, near Analafatsy, work primary gold hosted in quartz veins within biotite gneiss, from shafts 12–15 m deep along a north-east trend.
Copper mineralisation as malachite occurs in fractured quartz veins south of Anavoha, a first indication of copper potential that has yet to be studied.
Corundum and garnet are mined artisanally from amphibolites south of Anavoha, on and just beyond the southern edge of the permit.
No modern exploration has yet been carried out on the permit. Our next step is a systematic programme of mapping, sampling and geophysics to define drill targets.
Four villages (fokontany) lie within the permit: Anavoha, Anavoha Ambonirano, Analafatsy and Belinjo. Together they are home to roughly 3,400 people, most of whom live from cattle herding, farming and small-scale gold panning. Our baseline work identified access to water, schooling and health care as the community's most pressing needs.
Rivers here run dry for much of the year and water points are scarce. Any future operation will be designed around its own deep boreholes, so it adds to local water supply rather than drawing on it.
Early, ongoing engagement with community leaders and the commune, with local hiring, training and procurement wherever possible.
Low-footprint exploration, environmental baseline studies and adherence to international social and environmental guidelines for mining.
Leads ViMa Mining's exploration and development activities.
We welcome enquiries from investors, technical partners and stakeholders in Madagascar.
andres.lo@visionmadagascar.com