Geologic, petrographic and tectonic background

Miner sorting excavated material in a pit

Malagasy is the world's fourth largest island. It expands over almost 600 000 km2 (i.e. ten times more than Sri Lanka). About 165 mio. years ago, it separated from the Gondwanaland, which is known nowadays as the mainland of Africa, and drifted about 400km east into the Indian Ocean, where she came to a halt, while other subcontinents and continents such as India and Australia, respectively, continued their journey to their present position.