The Malagasy people are believed to have been aware of gold deposits in Madagascar and worked alluvial deposits for "volamena" (gold) before the 1820s.The Sakalava and Merina monarchs kept the location of the deposits a secret to avoid international exploitation.In the 1840s and 1850s, Queen Ranavolana I of Madagascar sponsored explorations for gold deposits across the island.
Madagascar's gold is currently the country's largest mineral export, but it is poorly regulated and clandestine.The majority of gold mined on the island leaves the country illegally.Some say that illicit practices like corruption and money laundering are increasing in the gold mining value chain.
Some other facts about gold in Madagascar include:
Gold is commonly found in the eastern two-thirds of the island, in the Precambrian basement.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) takes place in 388 of Madagascar's 1,670 municipalities.
The annual gold production in the ASGM sector is estimated at 14 tonnes per year.
Most gold exploration concessions are on sites discovered by French colonists in the early 20th century.
Is Madagascar famous for gold?
Madagascar's primary gold deposits are thought to be of mesothermal “lode” quartz-hosted type. This type of lode gold deposit is extremely valuable, accounting for nearly 20 percent of world gold deposits.
Madagascar's history includes the arrival of the first settlers, the establishment of kingdoms, French colonization, and the struggle for independence:
Settlers
The first settlers are thought to have arrived from Indonesia in outrigger canoes between 350 BC and 550 AD. They practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the rainforests.
Kingdoms
Many small kingdoms ruled different areas of the island for centuries. The Merina people arrived in the central highlands between 600 and 1,000 years ago. The Merina rulers developed the marshy lands for rice cultivation.
Madagascar is mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo, but the first European known to have visited the island was Diogo Dias, a Portuguese navigator, in 1500.
Marco Polo mentioned Madagascar in his Travels around the year 1291. In book 3, chapter 33, he described the island as being about a thousand miles south of Scotra, an island off the coast of Yemen. He also mentioned a mythical bird that he believed to be a griffin, or half lion and half bird.
Diogo Dias route to Madagascar in 1500
Marco Polo's Island of Gold was either Sumatra or Madagascar.
