Informal translation from BHRC - "Madagascar: le géant minier QMM dans le collimateur de la justice et de la population locale" - RFI, 30 August 2026

“Mining giant QMM announced on Friday, 28 August, that it was suspending operations at its ilmenite extraction site near the city of Fort-Dauphin, in the southeast of the country. The road leading to the island’s second-largest mine, whose main shareholder is the Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto, has been blocked several times over the past three weeks by farmers whose land has been flooded as a result of the site’s activities.”

“9.9 billion ariary, or nearly €2 million, is the amount that QMM was ordered to pay to 27 farming families by the Fort-Dauphin Court of First Instance on 18 February. The construction of a water retention dam for the needs of the mine flooded their fields and rice paddies. According to the ruling, these lands have been unusable since 2007, with the court pointing to ‘major impacts on the livelihoods’ of the landowners, as well as a lack of local consultation during the construction of the infrastructure.” “According to Transparency International Initiative Madagascar, the Supreme Court rejected QMM’s appeal against the ruling on 4 August.”

The anti-corruption NGO asks: “Can a multinational company disregard a decision of the Malagasy Supreme Court with impunity while families are going hungry?” QMM says its operations “will only resume once the safety of people and the free movement to and from the site are durably guaranteed”, while stating that it is “committed to dialogue with all parties concerned.” In 2022, operations had already been suspended following road blockades by local residents who accused the company of causing pollution in a nearby estuary. Contacted by RFI, QMM did not respond.