KEY POINTS
- Pan-African billionaire Benedict Peters has deployed three sensor-equipped aircraft to map Madagascar’s mineral resources under a 2025 agreement.
- The project will provide free, detailed geological data to help the government attract investors and negotiate better deals.
- The initiative could shift control of resource information to Madagascar and support long-term mining development.
Pan-African billionaire Benedict Peters has deployed three aircraft equipped with advanced sensors to map underground mineral resources in Madagascar.
The move formalises a December 2025 agreement between his mining company, Bravura Holdings, and the Malagasy government. The aircraft will scan the country’s subsoil to detect mineral deposits, identify viable mining zones, and estimate their economic value.
Billionaires Africa reports that two of the aircraft are scheduled to begin targeted exploration over a six-month period, starting in the Toliara region in the southwest.
Advanced Sensors to Unlock Deep Mineral Deposits
According to Bravura’s Madagascar country manager, Colas Rafanoharana, the aircraft can detect mineral resources as deep as three kilometres beneath the surface.
However, final agreements with key institutions, including the national mining agency, are still pending before full operations can begin. Once completed, all data gathered from the exploration will be handed over to the government at no cost.
This is expected to significantly improve Madagascar’s understanding of its mineral wealth.
The Malagasy government believes the project will provide reliable data that has long been missing, making it easier to attract investors and negotiate better mining deals.
Madagascar is already known for resources such as chromite, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and precious stones like sapphires. However, limited access to accurate geological data has historically weakened its position in negotiations with foreign companies.
The Toliara region, where the exploration will begin, is also home to a delayed $3 billion mining project, showing both its potential and challenges.
Benedict Peters is the founder and chief executive of Aiteo, one of Africa’s largest indigenous oil producers.
He built Aiteo from a petroleum trading company into a major oil producer with assets including OML 29 in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Beyond oil, his mining company Bravura Holdings has investments across several African countries, covering resources such as lithium, gold, copper, platinum, and uranium.
His business interests span countries including Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ghana, and Mozambique.
