K&M was hired by Alex Stewart International (ASI) to assist the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Mines of Madagascar with an operations audit of the Ambatovy nickel mine. The Ambatovy mine is designed to produce 60,000 tonnes of refined nickel, 5,600 tonnes of refined cobalt, and 210,000 tonnes of fertilizer grade ammonium sulfate per year. The operations audit had two objectives. The first objective was to verify the capital expenditure estimates and operating projections from the mine operator to determine the accuracy of the mine operator’s calculation of payments owed to the Government of Madagascar. The second objective was to assess the quality of the mine operator’s environmental compliance program and to determine whether the program met the operator’s contractual obligations for environmental management and community development.